Interview with Fueled By Fire vocalist/guitarist Gio
Fueled By Fire are: Carlos Gutierrez (drums), Gio (vocals, guitar), Rick Rangel (guitar), Anthony Vasquez (bass)
Fueled By Fire are on a mission from God...or maybe the Devil. Either way, they are undertaking a musical venture of seemingly biblical proportions. Their goal: to return Heavy Metal back to the classic sound that inspired them as kids. Over the years, the classic Thrash sound of bands like Metallica, Exodus, Testament, Death Angel, Megadeth and so many greats has been bastardized, cheapened and ultimately left behind as a relic of an era where bands could actually play their instruments and write well crafted songs. Fueled By Fire formed to bring that style back, and Metal Blade Records have joined in to help them do it! Their debut album, Spread The Fire is in stores now, and vocalist Gio stepped up to talk with us about the bands glorious quest for the return of Thrash!
Anarchy: You guys grew up in what is essentially the backyard of classic Thrash. What was that like and how it came to be that you wanted to bring that sound back?
Gio: Most of us have our own individual way of how we came into the Metal scene. Three of us actually grew up together discovering Metal. We started off with Heavy Metal. My parents showed me the old-school Heavy Metal stuff. We got into bands such as Iron Maiden and Dio and from there it just grew. It grew into wanting to know more about this type of music and we just enjoyed it a lot. We found places that showed us all types of music. Then we got together and shared what we liked. We didn't want to just bring it back, we just love the style and wanted to play it.
Anarchy: That has become sort of a goal for you though. You even have a song called "Thrash Is Back". Being inspired by the great bands from the classic era of Thrash, what is your opinion of what Metal has become in the decades since?
Gio: During the 90's there were a couple of good songs here and there, but it started being less truthful. It was more towards Pop and more towards radio play and money. There's not really that much great music in the Metal scene through the 90's and even lately. The Nu-Metal stuff and certain other styles that calls themselves Metal but really are not. Our take on Metal nowadays is pretty much people trying to sell, people trying to get radio play and pretty much just brings the name of Metal down, in general. That's why we are playing our old-school Thrash Metal because that's where it's raw. That's where it came from and what is real to us.
Anarchy: True Metal hasn't really been in style over the past several years, but you guys have scraped and clawed your way to a pretty big fanbase. How did you get the word out about the band to the point where you're getting to play big festivals and such?
Gio: The way we started off getting the word out is like any other band. We started out in a lot of backyards and peoples houses. We'd play and use tools like Myspace to get our name out, and luckily there were a lot of people who felt the same way about this music. They loved it, and there were a lot of people who didn't even know about Thrash until they heard us. When we'd do a show we'd catch people there, and it just started going and going. Now it's to the point where we don't wonder where we're going to play or anything because there's so many people that are demanding this style of music and so many bands out there with this style of music that are pushing for Thrash to come back. It's getting everybody's attention. So, we're playing anywhere we can, big shows, small shows, to get other people to listen to it.
Anarchy: You mentioned some other bands that are embracing this style. Who have you been playing shows with? Who do you endorse?
Gio: It started out with Merciless Death. We were the first two that started playing together. Other bands came out from there, like Witchaven, a really great band. We haven't had the pleasure of playing with any bands from Brazil, but there are bands coming back. There's a band called Violator from over there. There's a band called Strikemaster from Mexico that we've played with. There are also bands called Meltdown and Devestator. Those are all great bands that came up on their own. So, there's a handful of bands that have been coming out and we're trying to show them support.
Anarchy: Have you gotten any feedback from bands like Exodus and Testament or any of the classic bands that are still around on what you're doing?
Gio: Actually, it's funny that you should ask that because the other day we met Gary Holt (guitarist of Exodus) and Neil Turbin from Anthrax. We got a pretty good response from them. They were really supportive of us and we're actually trying to get some shows with them. Agents Of Steel has been real supportive of us and hes been helping us along and guiding us through. So we've gotten some pretty good feedback. There's a couple of old-school Thrashers that we haven't met but they've already put down the Thrash scene. The ones who have stayed true to the Metal scene have come up to us and offered to help us out with shows and promotion.
Anarchy: Your debut album Spread The Fire has just been re-released by Metal Blade. That's got to be a dream come true since they were really THE label to bring Thrash to the masses. What's it like being with Metal Blade and have they been supportive of a return to Thrash?
Gio: It feels great. It's an honor to even be signed by Metal Blade, because they were one of the labels that started it all with Metallica, Slayer and everyone else. Their take on it is that they heard us and thought we were great. They have signed other kinds of bands so we didn't know where they stood. Now that we see what they are doing with us, we know that they see that the scene is coming back and the music is becoming true and raw again. They are being supportive in every conceivable way because they want to see this music come back as much as we do.
Anarchy: Joey Vera from Armored Saint remixed the album for it's release. I imagine that you're like me in thinking that Armored Saint are gods. Did you get to work with him during the process?
Gio: You're right, we all grew up admiring Armored Saint. We grew up listening to them and thought the music was great. When we heard that he was going to remix the album we were like "oh my God, that's amazing!" We did get to work with him. At first it was through phone calls, but finally we got to go to his house and sit down with him and tell him what we wanted with the music and collaborate and interact. He showed us what he wanted to do with it and it was great just to see one of our idlos working on our music. It was great.
Anarchy: Do you feel like working with him has helped the band evolve into a better band? Obviously Joey Vera knows how to make a great record...
Gio: Actually, yeah. He's given us some great tips on what to concentrate on, what to do, what to not do. He's given us a different direction with our sound. It's great what he did. He cleaned it up and made certain parts more noticeable. He knows what to do with the music. We trusted him on it, and Brian Slagel from Metal Blade seems to like it so we're trusting him on it.
Anarchy: For the people who got the indie release of the album, they still need to get this one because there's some bonus stuff on there. Tell me about that.
Gio: We put two bonus tracks on it, mainly because we wanted to give a preview of what the next album will be like. It's still Fueled By Fire, just a different side of the bands attitude and music style. That's why we wanted the bonus stuff on there, so people can get a taste of what else we're going to bring to them.
Anarchy: Even the cover of the cd seems to be making a statement. What do you guys think of the emo trend?
Gio: In the 80's the Thrash scene rose against the Glam scene. With us, we see who we consider posers, and it's a scene that annoys us. It always got in our way and we're fed up with it. just like back then we're going to stand up against it. It's one of those statements. We're here to stay, we're not going to back down, and we're showing it right there on our album cover.
Anarchy: You talked about how the classic bands stood up against the poser trends. Staying true to Metal ended up paying off and many of those bands became legends. Do you feel like there's a similiar thing going on now and that Thrash is just going to explode?
Gio: Actually, yeah. If you look at the scene you see all of these different metal genres. Everyone has their own style and take on Thrash. It's really great because if you love the Heavy Metal and Thrash scene, you're going to love it. Even here in LA, there's so many bands and so many different styles that you never get sick of it. I think that that's exactly what happened in the 80's with Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, Vio-lence and so many different styles but all of them were one, true music: Thrash. That is exactly what's coming up now. We're trying to prove that we're not just an 80's Thrash Metal cover band. We are our own Thrash Metal. This is a new age of Thrash Metal and we're here to represent. I think you will be seeing that all over again.
Anarchy: What are the tour plans?
Gio: We want to go out to different parts of the world and even the US and expand our music. even if there is one person or 10 people that listens to us, as long as we got somebody, that's great to us. We're trying to get as many shows as possible, especially with bands that we look up to like Testament, Metallica and all those bands. Hopefully they'll see something in us and let us tour with them. We'll be in every city. Fans out there who are reading this, know that we will be in your city. When you come to certain shows, especially in our hometown, you will freak out. Not only with it be the 80's all over again, but you will be hit in the face with a new Thrash Metal scene. It goes crazy.
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Thanks to Gio for spending some time with us, and thanks to our friends at Metal Blade for keeping the Metal alive! For more info on Fueled By Fire, visit their Myspace page .