By Rod Whitfield
Many bands start out playing covers, and this Melbourne based four piece thrash act is one of them. They started out as a bunch of good mates playing Slayer covers back in 2010, and gradually morphed over the course of the next year or so into the all original outfit they are today. They recently completed and released their self titled debut album, and singer/guitarist Jimmy Rose couldn’t be happier. Despite the fact that the album took quite some time to bring to full fruition.
“It’s really good man,” he enthuses, “it’s good to finally see it out there, we’re a bit older now and things take a little bit longer to do, because of kids and work and all that sort of stuff. So it’s good to finally get it done.
“Some of the riffs are six years old, they were just riffs that got brought along the way, because I always liked them. Maybe around 2012 we started getting all the songs together, and then it probably took about a year to record.”
Rose thinks that anyone who digs the old style sounds of thrash and death metal will find something to like in Direblaze‘s sound and style.
“It’s old school,” he describes, “we’re big fans of the 80s, the early Slayer, Metallica, and Sepultura recordings and all that type of stuff. We were teenagers in the early 90s, so we heard the death metal thing that was coming out like Entombed and Morbid Angel, we grew up with all of that.”
“So we’re of those two worlds, that’s where we come from.”
And that old school vibe flows through to their live show, which people will get to experience when the band launch the album at The Bendigo Hotel in Melbourne on the 28th of March. Rose can’t wait for the day to come.
“There’s a good vibe, there’s heaps of people coming along,” he states with anticipation. “We’ve got good support bands and all that type of stuff, and I can’t wait for it, it’s going to be a great night. We’re just going to go out there and play for an hour or something like that, we’ll probably end up playing all the songs off the album. We’ll probably do a few covers too, we know a lot of covers, some good old thrash songs that everyone loves.”
“It’s an explosion of aggression and metal,” he describes their live show, “we refuse to cut our hair, and there’s all headbanging and it’s just a hundred miles an hour…it’s just a big party, that’s what gigs are all about, it’s a party so you might as well go for it!”
Post launch, more Melbourne shows are what’s on the cards for the rest of 2015 for Direblaze, and Rose hopes that people will check the album out now that it’s out there in the world.
“We’ve got another show coming straight up, at Cherry Bar, “ he reveals, “we’ll play every couple of months, we’ll constantly play but not too much.
“So just check it out online,” he concludes, “if you’re into the traditional, old school thrash and death metal, late 80s, early 90s and all that kind of stuff. I’m sure we cater for you, and you’ll enjoy it. And it’s the same with the show. That’s what we grew up with, and that’s what we do.”
Direblaze’s Self-Titled album is out now through Rosetin Records. Their official album launch will be held at The Bendigo Hotel in Melbourne on 28 March.
