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Interview TEMPLE OF BLOOD
A Talk With JIM MULLIS
METAL TO INFINITY
Hey Jim, thanks very much for your time doing an interview for Metal To Infinity! How are you man?
Very good! Very excited to be going in the studio in a few weeks!
What made you start playing Metal music the way you do these days?
I think it's a culmination of all our different styles, musical tastes, and the bands we have played with in the past. The members of the band are very different and each one has different skills and a different style they bring to the table that creates the Temple of Blood sound.
Most of the guys in the band have played technical death metal and so they have that side to their playing, but we primarily reflect the classic thrash and heavy metal sounds that we have listened to for so long.
Could you please give us some historical perspective on Temple Of Blood?
Sure. Lance Wright , Garth Lovvorn, and I started the band in late 2001 and we were playing coversongs from bands like Annihilator, Slayer, Overkill, Death, and Iron Maiden. Just trying to learn how to play as a band and get our chops in shape. We started working on some original material shortly thereafter but theband went on hiatus for awhile.
We reunited not too long ago and got another guitar player named Matt Barnes who has really fit inwell and given us a boost. We finished writing all the material for our upcoming album and now it is fullsteam ahead.
Where did you get the name Temple Of Blood from? Some special reasons for taking a name like that?
Yes, it has two symbolic meanings. The first is that it says in the Bible (1 Corinithians 6:19) that our bodies are temples to the Lord, and since our bodies are flesh and blood, we could say that we are each "temples of blood".
The second is that the church of believers in the world are united by the sacrifice of the blood shed by Jesus Christ. This band is merely one small vessel of that church, which could be thought of as a "temple of blood".
How would you characterize your music to someone who hasn't had the chance to listen to any of your songs?
I'd say there is a bit of variety in our songwriting. Sometimes we play aggressive technical thrash metal inspired by the Bay Area thrash scene and the European thrash scene. However, some of our songs are anthemic / melodic heavy metal like Iron Maiden, Dio, Manowar, or Judas Priest. We try to give each song its own character and make it special in regards to what it is expressing.
What?s your personal statement about the evolution of the US Metal scene?
I think the scene is at a good stage right now because people are playing metal solely for the love of it and not to make money, since there is none to be made anyway. I think that's good because it keeps the music pure from contamination. There are some good things going on in the metal scene these days, one of which is that younger kids seem to really want to try to practice and play guitar solos again.
Do you guys have religious backgrounds? Tell me about it please.
Yes, our songs have Christian lyrics and the songwriters in the band are Christians. One person in the band is not but we are still friends and work well together in this band. Temple of Blood will always be a Christian metal band though.
We believe that we have to be true to what we love musically as well as personally, and so we express our genuine beliefs through the music we have loved for so long .... heavy metal! What's the point in doing something you don't really believe in anyway?
You are bound to release your debut album in the near future. Can you give us some info about that?
Sure.The album will be called "Prepare for the Judgement of Mankind" and will feature 9 original songs and 1 bonus cover song from Deadly Blessing. Some of the tunes are technical thrash metal while others have a more classic metal sound. The vocals are melodiclike Halford but at times they have more of a thrash edge to them.
All the musicians in this band are incredible so I am very excited to see what the metal community will think about this. We'll be going into the studio on March 12 - 2005 and so I expect that we'll probably have the CDs available for sale about a month or so after that.
It's a self financed album, right?
Yes. Hopefully an interested label will come along so we don't have to pay for another one out of our own pockets.
Where do the recordings take place Jim and who's the leading person that helps you out delivering a great final product?
We're going to be recording with Dave Pittman at Xist Studios. Dave has a lot of experience and has worked with most of the local metal bands around here.
What about composing new songs, how's that going and what do the lyrics refer to?
Well,we are still rehearsing for this upcoming recording but we have bounced around a few riffs and ideas. I think each album we do will be an improvement over the previous one. It is still a little early to divulge too many lyrics yet because we don't have any completed songs for album #2.
I've heard a sample on your website called "Deliver Us From Evil" which is awesome! You've told me by email that the vocals are done by Ski (Deadly Blessing). How did you get involved with such a fantastic singer?
I've been a huge fan of Ski and Deadly Blessing since their CD got reissued and I happened to find his email address on the internet. I spoke with him through email that we were thinking about recording a cover version of the Deadly Blessing song "Deliver Us From Evil" and asked him if he would like to sing on it for us.
I knew he was also a Christian. I had heard him sing "Nightrider" for Factor Five on the Queensryche tribute so I knew his voice was still in fantastic shape. He flew down for a few days and we had a great time. He gave us a lot of good advice and spritual guidance for the band.
In how many songs of the new album is he singing?
He only sings on "Deliver Us From Evil".
How would you discribe the new album in three words?
Christian Power Thrash
Approached by a major label so far and if you could choose your own record company, which one would you take and why?
I think there are quite a few good labels out there for our type of music, both large and small. I would like to go with a label that is as passionate about our music as we are, and that can give it some good publicity and distribution.
How does it feel to know your own full length album is almost ready to be released on the Metal market. Must be giving you all a special feeling, isn't it?
Yes, we are so excited about it that it is hard to wait!
What are the expectations, aiming high or just brings out that thing and see what follows?
We are aiming to the very top, but we will be happy with whatever God chooses to do with this band.
Talking about touring! If you had the choice, with which bands would you like to go out on tour and why?
There are many bands that I think we could have a good tour with. Everyone in the group has their own preferences and I can't speak for them but I think bands like Megadeth, Iced Earth, Metal Church would be a lot offun. We are certainly not opposed to touring with newer bands though.
What are the plans for the near future?
We are going in the studio on March 12th and hope to have the CDs in our hands in May. From there we will continue rehearsing, writing new material, and playing shows. Hopefully an interested label will come along before we get ready to record our second album.
Our CDs will be available for sale from our website: http://www.templeofblood.net and I can be reached at templeofblood@yahoo.com
Thank you very much Stefan for this interview! Stay metal and God Bless!