It’s that time of year again, when in the run-up to Bloodstock we endeavour to interview every band gracing the Sophie Lancaster, New Blood and Jägermeister stages from 8th – 11th August 2019. This means you’ve got a chance to read up on all your favourite bands set to play over the weekend and decide which new ones you’ll want to check out.
As ever, we’re predicting some horrible clashes because, true to form, there are some great bands across all three stages so you should start planning who you want to see.
Our thanks to all the bands for taking the time out to answer our questions!
Grief Ritual – New Blood Stage, Saturday
Simple things first – where are you guys from?
We’re from Gloucestershire.
How long have you been playing together as a band?
We formed in the latter part of 2018.
Where does the name of the band come from?
Grief Ritual is a name that two of us had been playing around with for a couple of years, with a nod to songs by Fever Dreams and Brotherhood of the Lake but it’s taken on its own personal meaning to us due to other circumstances since those initial times. Added to this, our output as a band follows what some might consider quite a dark series of themes so we feel it fits pretty well as it has the ambiguity to be interpreted as being both grim and/or cathartic.
Describe your music. What makes you unique?
We play super abrasive and heavy blackened hardcore/post-metal and feel that our sound has potentially something for anyone who enjoys their music on the crushing, darker side of things. As a band we’re all into a lot of different music and that really comes out in our songs as we mix heavier hardcore, metalcore and grindcore with grim post-metal as well as a healthy dose of black metal. You’ll probably like us if you’re into bands like Conjurer, Cult Leader, Harms Way and Leeched.
What’s your live show like? Why are people going to watch you instead of another band?
Intense and dynamic. We’re crushingly heavy but there’s a lot of movement in our style so we’re the perfect band to bang your head, push pit or slam dance your friends into oblivion or just enjoy a beer to.
Have you been to Bloodstock before? What did you think?
This will be our first time and we’re really looking forward to it.
Which M2tM region did you win, or did you come through other channels?
Cheltenham.
Can you put into 10 words or fewer how it felt when you realised you were heading to Bloodstock?
Utter shock and then incredibly happy.
What sort of setlist can we expect?
We’ll be playing a mixture of songs from our debut EP Life is a Phase and our forthcoming EP Moments of Suffering, which was recorded with Joe Clayton (Pijn/Leeched/Curse These Metal Hands) at No Studio and is due for release later in the year.
Which other bands do you most hope you’re not squished up next to so you can see them play?
We’re playing on the Saturday which means we’re potentially up against excellent bands like Lotus Eater, Cancer Bats, Swallow the Sun and Thy Art Is Murder, but hopefully we’ll be able to play and still catch at least some of them. As an aside we’re also really looking forward to seeing Children of Bodom, Soulfly, Parkway Drive , Cradle of Filth, Soilwork, Raging Speedhorn and Boss Keloid.
What are you working on at the moment?
At the moment we’re putting the finishing touches to our forthcoming EP release and playing / booking as many shows as we can.
What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done at a live show?
During our Bloodstock M2TM final we had a really great crowd reaction and subtly encouraged all those in the pit to form a huge wall of death that subsequently descended into a thirty-odd person mosh pit. It was absolute carnage and one of the happiest moments I’ve had the pleasure to witness whilst being involved in music.
What drink do you throw back to get yourself fired up before going on stage?
I don’t tend to drink anything other than water before a show but the others all enjoy a nice cold beer and we all share a fondness for anything made by BrewDog, Camden Town Brewery and Sierra Nevada, so if any of those fancy throwing an endorsement or some free beers our way then that would be great.
Grief Ritual: facebook | twitter | instagram | youtube | bandcamp
https://youtu.be/jBUeK2zOE
