Hemoptysis interview

Hemoptysis are a thrash band from Tempe, Arizona who formed back in 2007. I recently had the chance to talk to them and learn more.

MM-Please introduce everyone in your band and tell what instrument everyone plays.

Masaki Murashita, vocal/guitar
Jack Fliegler, lead guitar
Sunao Arai, bass
Travis Thune, drums

MM-Tell us a little about the history of your band.

Masaki: Travis and I jammed in early 2007 and got together a few months later with a guitarist we used to have. It took at least six months to find our bassist, Sunao.We had a hard time finding a singer. A lot of guys contacted us, but most of them never even showed up for an audition.We found a singer named Anthony Bartinelli and he was with us for about a couple of months and wrote lyrics for few songs, but we parted ways because he wanted to succeed in boxing. After he left, Travis and I started looking for another singer, but we had so many flakes and almost gave up on finding one. I started singing to fill the void and move forward writing songs. We all started to like how it sounded and stuck with it.This past summer we went through some lead guitarist changes and lucked out by finding Jack.

MM-Who are your musical influences?

Masaki: I am a huge Megadeth fan, and as you can probably see, Dave Mustaine is my biggest influence. Mostly I have many influences from old school metal bands such as Slayer and Iron Maiden, but also I listen to all sorts of Metal.

Travis: I am influenced at my core with those same kinds of thrash bands but I have branched out to all sorts of bands like Hypocrisy, Morbid Angel, Death, Cannibal Corpse, Deicide and a list of bands a mile long.

Sunao: I do listen to lots of music, not only metal. As I was developing my Bass style, I studied Zeppelin, Jaco, early Metallica, and Suicidal Tendencies and lots of other bands.

Jack: I take things I like from every form of metal and try to puzzle-piece it into our music. I’m a huge fan of the Norway/Finland/Sweden sound. Some examples would be bands like Children of Bodom, Kalmah, Amon Amarth, Equilibrium, Finntroll and many more. I’m also a huge Thrash/Death fan and am heavily influenced by bands like Metallica, Slayer, Death, Atheist, Entombed, Sodom, and countless other bands.

MM-Your band name is the term for coughing up blood I believe. Why did you pick that particular name?

Masaki: Travis picked it up.

Travis: My wife is a pharmacist who specializes in infectious diseases so she started throwing out these medical terms at me. Hemoptysis sounded cool and had an awesome, very metal definition, so we went with that.



MM-Guitarist, Jack Fliegler just came on a few months ago to replace Brian Bieganski who left. How is Jack working out and what he has brought to your band?

Masaki: He is doing a great job. Jack and I have different music backgrounds and influences and it fits well together. Sometimes his badass ideas blow me away!He brought a good spice to us and I am really enjoying writing songs with him.Our music got more vivid and a tighter sound since we got Jack.

Travis: We were worried we wouldn't be able to find a replacement as good as Brian, but we totally lucked out in finding Jack in only a month's time and he is even better than Brian. Sorry, Brian, if you are reading this, but it is true. Jack is technical in his playing, but also has a lot of feeling in it that complements our music so well.

Sunao: He is great. He is not only playing fast but has melody in his solos.And he has some cool ideas when we write.

MM-Is there much of a metal scene in Tempe, Arizona?

Travis: There is a decent metal scene here that seems to be growing. It seems kind of small, but there is starting to be some great metal bands coming out of here again like they did in the late 80's.

MM-Who are some of the best metal bands in your area?
Masaki: Vehemence
Travis: Job For A Cowboy, Sacred Reich, Flotsam and Jetsam is still here, I think, and many other up and coming bands.

Jack: My favorite band from here would have to be Abigail Williams although they’ve relocated. We have a great Death core scene as well with bands such as Job for a Cowboy and Knights Of The Abyss… Not too big on that genre however.

MM-Have you played many shows outside of your home state? If so then where have you played?

Masaki: Not yet, but we would love to play some shows in other states when we have opportunities. I’d love to play some shows in my home country, Japan and Canada where I used to live.

Travis: We were offered a show in Mexico, but we turned it down.
Sunao: Hope we’ll be able to go to other states soon and also in other countries such as my home country of Japan!!

Jack: Hopefully California will be calling our name in the future.

MM-What is your band doing that is different or that sets you apart from other thrash bands going today?
Travis: I think most bands start learning a bunch of covers and then end up actually ripping off the sound or format of those songs. Some bands will even go as far as to say they want to do a song that sounds like Slayer's "The Antichrist." We were never big on covers. We learned a few songs loosely in the beginning just to warm up with, but our songs don't sound anything like those covers. Each of us had a musical style going into this band while other bands might develop their styles while in their band. We have a unique sound. The new stuff we are writing with Jack seems to be even more refined and unique because usually Masaki will come up with a riff that is classic Hemoptysis and Jack will then dress it up with his unique melodic but brutal touch.

Sunao: Most bands are trying to be some band already out there, but I think we are going the opposite direction. All of us are influenced by different sounds and when we mix them up, we get our sound!!

Jack: I’ve noticed that many local metal bands focus on being heavy and pretty straight-forward. I’d like to think that our sound is a bit more colorful and exciting compared to some acts I’ve heard locally. Others have told me this as well which is great.



MM-In what areas do you think that you need to improve on?

Travis: We need to improve on writing lyrics a little. Masaki and I have been doing it since Anthony left, and we are getting better almost every song it seems.

Jack: I’m not yet fully satisfied with my live performance, I’m still working on playing accurately while moving around and interacting with the audience.

MM-What are you currently listening to?

Masaki: The Absence. They are awesome!

Travis: I have so many CDs in my truck but Death is the band that I've been listening to the most lately. Their last three albums, mostly. At The Gates and some old thrash stuff too.

Sunao: I’ve just borrowed one of Travis’ Soulfly CDs the other day and I’m listening to it on my I-pod.

Jack: Old Kalmah records!

MM-Have you had any label interest? How important is it to you to get signed at this point?

Masaki: We have not approached any labels yet. We want some more reviews of our CD before we do that, but it is very important to get signed and it means a lot to us.

MM-It is very early in the year so what are your band is goals for 2009?

Masaki: We want to record a full-length record, get more fans and play bigger shows.

Travis: Yeah and we have three songs written for that CD plus two we are almost done with, two songs that are in their infancy, and numerous ideas for other songs. I know I have a lot of ideas for song lyrics, and no Masaki, they are not all anti-christian, or about killing, although those subjects will be covered a lot!

Sunao: Yeah, and since we have Jack now, it’s gonna be one bad ass CD!!

Jack: Sunao said it! With me it will be the best record ever! Haha but on a more serious note, we’re still trying to refine our sound and ultimately record one badass full-length.



MM-Pick the band from the following pair that you prefer and tell why you picked them.

Fueled by fire or Municipal Waste
Masaki: Municipal Waste.
Travis: I'm not familiar with Fueled by Fire, so I'll go with Municipal Waste even though I have yet to hear their stuff that I heard was thrash.

Dark Angel or Death Angel
Masaki: Dark Angel!
Travis: Dark Angel without a doubt. It's harder, faster thrash and it has Gene Hogland! Hell yeah!
Jack: Dark Angel by far. Darkness Descends is a killer record!

Morbid Angel or Obituary
Masaki: Morbid Angel!
Travis: Morbid Angel all the way, man! Pete Sandoval is a god and Trey Azegthoth is incredible! They are one of my favorite bands of all time!

Testament or Exodus
Masaki: This is a hard question! I love them both a lot, but I'd say Exodus. I think Gary Holt is one of the most underrated guitarists.
Jack: Testament by far for me. Exodus can shred but Testament has been putting out great records since the beginning and Alex Skolnick is the man!
Travis: Easy, Testament. They always have great drummers playing for them, most recently from Slayer and Death, plus they have great guitar hooks that I love.

MM-Is there anything else that you would like to say about your band or your music?

Masaki: Keep checking us out and supporting us! We are Hemoptysis!

Travis: Give our music a shot. Our EP is just $5 for five songs. We're not making money off it really. The next CD is in the works and it will be so fucking awesome! There is one riff that Masaki has come up with that just blows me away. It always brings a fiendish smile to my face because it is so wicked and cool. I can't wait to see where he and Jack take it.

Sunao: Check us out on Myspace. We got some cool songs and if you like them, come to our shows and buy our CD!! Jack: Travis and Sunao pretty much summed it up. Just check us out, tell us what you think, come to a gig or 2 and if you like it, buy our CD and a shirt to support us. We truly love our fans and hope to make many new friends in our conquest for playing around the world and keeping true metal alive. Oh and one more thing, it’s pronounced Huh-MOP-ti-sis. haha

http://www.myspace.com/hemoptysismetal