PlanetMosh Keeping it Metal
On the back of the release of the album ‘Decades Of Addiction’ we caught up with the Eastern German Death Metal band Led Astray to find out a little bit more about what makes them tick ,the album ,future plans, etc.
Thanks for taking the time to talk to us here at Planetmosh, I’d like to
begin by finding out how the band got together, had you known each other
previously?
We were rather random acquaintances really, we were all into the harder side of music and
the odd one of us had seen each other at various shows. Also we got to know each other through mutual friends and then quickly found that we understood each other very well.
When you were starting out who would you say were your musical influences at that time ?
Fundamentally it was any kind of hard music. We come out of the hardcore
scene but we also love every form of Metal. Bands like Slayer, Misery Index,
Bolt Thrower have always been very big influences.
Lets bring things up to the present with your second album ‘Decades Of
Addiction’. The first thing that struck me when listening to it was the
amazing vocal delivery, has that always been the bands style?
Yes. From the beginning we wanted to make the music a two part thing. One singer can often not contribute as much as two in the live environment. And also in the end it just looks even hotter from the audience’s perspective, full platform motion and emotion everywhere.
Tracks like ‘Black Blood’ and ‘Story Of A Modern Gladiator’
incorporate a number of different styles. How do you approach writing songs such as those?
Actually we are a Death band but that is just the main influence in our
music. We try to mix a lot of styles but it’s always what we like to do at that moment in time.
That’s why our songs are varied but still with the typical Led Astray
sound.
Although the bands sound is pretty extreme, you do use a lot of melody
as well. Are you conscious of trying to keep the music accessible to a
wider audience than say just fans of Grindcore for example?
No not at all. We said that we want to make hard and fast music in the
first instance and that’s how we like to express how we feel. So we
create melodic songs when we are sad or something like that, or we write
heavy grind tunes when we are angry or disappointed.
How does it feel to have a label like Massacre Records behind you now,
it must offer a lot of new opportunities for the band?
It has. Before the release there was not much opportunity because we just didn’t have
the tools to present ourselves worldwide but now with Massacre Records
behind us, our stuff flows around everywhere which is great. Also we’ve had
a lot of good feedback from all over the world after the release, which makes us excited for what comes next.
What is the situation with touring, have you anything planned for the
new year?
It is planned to do a seven date mini tour with our friends Dying
Humanity and Dispotion around Spring called “Follow The Dead Rabbit
Tour” and then we want to do an Eastern European tour at the latest in 2014.
Have you any ideas floating around for new songs yet, or is that
something you’re not really thinking of at the minute?
There are already three new songs completed, we tend to work more than rest and don’t really want to
rest on this album. We want to continue to evolve.
Do you have a timescale in mind for writing new material?
It would be nice if we are back in the studio in the end of the year.
As the year ends, how do you look back on it, has everything sunk in yet
and have you had time to sit back and enjoy the bands achievements?
No not really. We’ve been busy playing our live shows and then straight into
the practice room. Now it carries straight on into the beginning of the year. We
have so much to do, so we’ll just try and just enjoy it as we go along.
Finally, for those not familiar with Led Astray, how would you describe
the band and its music?
Led Astray has 6 music fanatic band members. Years ago we got up off
our asses and started to make music. As times gone on we’ve became more solid and
mature in our music and have tried to express whats in our minds without the barriers
between the different genres. Hard, heavy and fast forward. that’s what
Led Astray stands for.
Thanks again for your time guys, best wishes for the new year.
Thanks a lot mate!
Led Astrays current album ‘Decades Of Addiction’ is available through Massacre Records.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jv2EmeHje5c&w=420&h=315]
