Illinois Entertainer November 2015 | Page 34

By Kelley Simms MOTOR CITY THRASHERS Tony Asta , Battlecross (second from left) Photo by Vince Edwards D etroit-area thrashers, Battlecross, has been on a steady climb in the metal community since its 2003 inception. Playing a brand of selfdescribed "Blue Collar Thrash Metal," Battlecross has a bright future ahead of itself. Friends since high school, guitarists Tony Asta and Hiran Deraniyagala created a bond and a solid foundation that led to the formation of Battlecross' core sound. On its killer third full-length release, Rise to Power (released Aug. 21 via Metal Blade Records), the band is firing on all cylinders. Joining Asta and Deraniyagala are bassist Don Slater, vocalist Kyle "Gumby" Gunther and drummer Alex Bent. Battlecross will be hitting North American stages this fall opening for GWAR, who will be making a stop at Concord Music Hall on Nov. 3. and Bada Brew in Joliet in December. IE: Detroit has always had a great rock ’n’ roll history, but there’s not too many well-known thrash bands besides Battlecross. How did you get known in the Detroit scene? Tony Asta: Hiran and I started the band back in early 2000’s and we were on the scene for a few years. We just had this 34 illinoisentertainer.com november 2015 drive to get out of the state, honestly. After playing the same places for so long, we wanted to venture out. We had this drive to make something of ourselves and write the best music that we can, and it just translated. Pounding the pavement and having a great fan base has really helped make a name for ourselves in the metal community. Writing is really important when you’re trying to do something dynamic, and that’s what makes it more heavier at times, or more melodic at times. If it’s the same all the way through then it may get a little washy. So that’s important to me and that’s what keeps me interested in the song. IE: The new album Rise to Power is consistently good on all tracks. What was your mindset while writing this material? Tony Asta: Our mindset through the writing process was keeping an open mind. But also sticking to our guns as far as kicking ass. It has to make your lip curl, make you head bang and make you want to drive (your car) faster! That’s the number one thing we try to do. Writing the second album (War of Will), there was a lot more pressure, but writing this album, Rise for Power, I think we put all that aside and were confident and knew what we were going to do and tried to write the best album that we could. We just had the attitude of being confident but also not being afraid to try new things. IE: The track “Spoiled,” which you had a hand in writing the lyrics to, was inspired by the dependency on modern technology. I take it there was plenty of lyrical ammunition for this song? Tony Asta: The gist of what I was trying to get at is having so much information and so much media at your disposal that it’s almost numbing and distracting because now our culture is spoiled by it. If you turn back just a few years ago, imagine how much time it took to figure stuff out before. Everybody and their mother is a YouTube professional these days. If you want to figure out anything you just look it up on the Internet and they can find out how to do it. And if they can’t, it’s freak out zone. So that was the fuel for me that inspired me to write the lyrics that influenced the song. IE: Even though the band plays an aggressive style of music, there are some wellplaced melodies on every song. How important is that? Tony Asta: I think it’s pretty important when it calls for it. I think that’s something I bring to the table more. Also, Don our bass player, writes guitar riffs too and he brings stuff like that to the table as well. I think we get our straight up thrashing from Hiran. The three of us take that and put it together and come up with something that’s a nice balance or combination. IE: Yours and Hiran’s leads and riffs are so flowing and natural, they serve the song well. What do you try and achieve with your playing? Tony Asta: It just has to be something that’s memorable and that sticks in my head. To find that sweet spot when we sit down and write some riffs, and it’s really inspiring. It’s easy to write a song when it’s inspiring and it’s something that you like. You’ll hear on the new album, Rise to Continued on page 48