Earlier this week, I posted about the Blessure Graves' amazing new album 'Judged by 12, Carried by 6'. They were kind enough to spend some time we me on talking a bit about their release.
Zoe: "I want to give you a welcome in advance to Texas. Got any plans on what you want to visit while your here?"
Toby: "Were just hoping to see friends. Reyna has never been to Austin.We spent a romantic weekend in El Paso once haha but this will be our first time there. No tourist stuff planned or being dreamt up yet."
Zoe: "While listening to your new album (It caused me to start going through my goth cds from Xmal Deutchland to Virgin Prunes...I even found Mick Mercer's Goth Book and flipping through it to see what I might have missed... your influences are quite obvious but, are there any other influences that don't stand out that play a large part in Blessure Graves' vision?"
Toby: "Bands that influenced us within the "goth" realm are Play Dead, Killing Joke,
Sex Gang Children,
Death in June, Agrimnsor K, early Virgin Prunes (at their most primal), Tones on Tail, early Skeletal Family, KUKL... but also Crass Records bands like the Snipers,
Rudimentary Peni, the Mob, Zounds, Omega Tribe,
Poison Girls,
Honey Bane. We're also really into Swans, Screamers, Gun Club, Blitz, 4 Skins, Guided By Voices.Aesthetically and fidelity wise depressive French black metal as well. Some of that is sneaking it's way into our songs now too."Zoe: "Your sound captures that perfectly. You're obviously skilled at your craft! With the intro, it feels very much like a
concept album. Something that has to be enjoyed as a whole. Is there a particular themed narrative that you had in mind for this album or is it opened to interpretation? I'm generally a very visual guy and plan on listening to this while wandering on some abandoned railroads."
Toby: "The intro was the last thing recorded. It was improvised at Guitar Center and recorded onto my phone. The album is very conceptual. It's about the unraveling of everything you've worked for. While autobiographical, I think absolutely everything is subject to one's own interpretation even if it's laid out as "I did this, I did that". Even my favorite books growing up were autobiographies that effortlessly made me reflect upon my own experiences good or bad."
Zoe: "One last question...What does the future hold for Blessure Grave? I see you guys will be busy touring overseas. I know for a fact that Dallas/Denton would love to have you here! When you get the chance, please stop buy and we'll all go get trashed... Sooouuuund Good!?"
Toby: "June we stop in NYC for one show then spend the rest of the month in Europe. My last band played Denton and it was one of the best shows we ever played. We just plan on doing some short tours, maybe flying in, doing a week in a specific area and then going home. We have a whole pile of records coming out. Zero plans for world domination."
http://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fsoundcloud.com%2Fpma%2Fthe-cycle-by-blessure-grave&show_comments=true&auto_play=false&color=c7020a The Cycle by Blessure Grave by PMA