Metal Monday: Blackguard Q&A
posted in: Exclusive Interviews • Features
If you’ve been to a few metal shows in the past year, there’s a fair chance that you’ve seen Blackguard, if not on purpose then by accident. Since the band’s release of Profugus Mortis in 2009, they’ve toured on a near constant basis”with close to ten tours supporting bands that range from Epica to Necrophagist and all sorts of bands in between. Paul “Ablaze” Zinay, the band’s vocalist took some time out of the band’s rigorous schedule to answer a few questions for us regarding touring and the new record, Firefight:
OS: You’re known as a band that tours incessantly, when did you find time between tours to record Firefight?
PZ: Mostly on the road and the small break we had after the Hypocrisy tour. It’s been tough but Kim (guitar) has a work ethic that puts most people to shame. The man busted his to get this done.
OS: Given that you tour a lot, you have to like it, but what would you say is your favorite part of touring?
PZ: I love playing shows plain and simple. There’s nothing like being on stage, playing the music you love for people who love to hear it.
OS: With the number of tours you’ve done, you’ve toured with a lot of bands. Which bands that you’ve toured with have been the most special?
PZ: The Nevermore tour will always hold a very special place in my black heart [laughs]. Not just them but everyone on that tour (Warbringer, Hatesphere). There was such a good vibe on that tour, it didn’t matter that most of the shows were shit for us.
OS: Are there any bands you’ve really wanted to tour with but haven’t had the opportunity?
PZ: Sure. I’d love to tour with some of the really big bands like Dimmu [Borgir], Cradle Of Filth, Children of Bodom, ect. just to be playing in front of so many people. Actually, I would kill to tour with Municipal Waste, I think that would be fun.
OS: When you were writing and recording Firefight, the band was still a six piece (Jo still being on keyboards) but there isn’t much keyboard on the album”what’s the story here?
PZ: Actually the record was pretty much all done after Jo left. After the Hypocrisy tour we scrapped everything we had been working on and started from scratch. There’s pretty much a full Blackguard record recorded that will never see the light of day.
OS: It’s quite clear by the band’s style that the primary roots of your bands are in power metal and folk metal, but what bands would you say had the biggest influence on you as a band?
PZ: Yeesh, I don’t know. I suppose there’s a lot of bands that have made up the landscape of the band so to speak. I suppose you can throw in anything from Nightwish, to Rhapsody of Fire, to Megadeth, to Ensiferum…and hell probably a few more in between.
Firefight comes out March 29th via Victory Records, and is probably the band’s heaviest and most straight-forward album to date. Definitely worth checking out if you’re a fan of any of the following bands: Ensiferum, Children of Bodom, Norther, Equilibrium, Nevermore, Kalmah, Wintersun, Dragonforce, etc.