Written In Blood + Songwriter in Forest City, NC

ABOUT

Originally formed in 2005 by guitarist Justin Stamper, WRITTEN IN BLOOD was created with the sole purpose of breathing new life into today’s Metal scene. WIB boasts three guitarists among their ranks, which certainly helps the band to stand out from their peers. But even with the triple axe attack, which we’ll get to later, the band’s music has a nearly unexpected lyrical depth and vocalist. J.D Blood is positioning himself to be the humanist voice of a depressed, dejected generation. His military background is an influence that proudly shows up in his provocative, personal lyrics and he is more than happy to be a source of lyrical comfort and express “I’ve been there” sentiments to the generation that will undoubtedly flock to his band.

The singer actually revealed that he kept a diary while at sea and would right three to four inspirational quotes per day in his spare time. He said, “The song ‘In This Fire’ originally came about when I was in the military. I had been sitting on a ship back in 2001 when I heard news of a close friend in the Army who had died in action in Iraq and it kinda hit me hard. So I just started writing the lyrics to what would soon become the chorus, many years later, to ‘In This Fire.’ The quotes I had written were, ‘I will die right here beside you / You are my brother / In this fire / We will reunite forever.” It meant everything to me and came straight from the soul. Death is only the beginning of the afterlife where unity will surely exist. It’s almost like reliving the past events. I hear death, life, love, hate and pain every time I listen to our lyrics. Life lessons and inspirational growth surely flows from these songs.”

Another song that will speak to the kids on an emotionally poignant level, without ever sacrificing one iota of ferocity is “This Purpose Driven Life,” which serves as a platform where J.D Blood speaks to himself about following something that often seems unattainable: a dream. He said, “I tell myself no matter what happens in life, you can always believe that things will get better if you work hard to achieve your goals.” This comes from the difficult things he went through while growing up. He continues, “This song is about growing up in a broken home or growing up having nothing, trying your best to believe in the most unimaginable thing: a dream. It is pretty much about me and every other kid out there who had a struggle growing up and the road to success or road to conquering depression. It is just my message to myself and every kid that with a little pain, heartbreak, blood, sweat and tears, dreams can be achieved. If I can conquer the past of a depressing childhood, anyone can.” The vocalist claims that if it weren’t for metal, he may never have conquered these vicious demons, but he did and he wants to give back. “I just want to give kids some music that will make them believe in themselves and show them with hard work you can conquer anything,” the singer says.

“I have a heart for the world, things bother me sometimes,” he said, about why he chooses to delve so deeply and personally in his lyrics for all the world to see. “ I hate to see people suffer, because I know what it’s like. Life itself is my inspiration. I view the world as a big fire burning away. It’s like a time bomb waiting to explode to me. I have a lot of anger, as well as frustration, inside so I channel it into my lyrics. I just want to give a message to the youth of today, that life is hard and we all go through pain, We all have loss and depression kills but inspiration drives those who believe in themselves to achieve. If you have a dream, chase it. Don't let anyone ever tell you you’re nothing because they are full of sh*t.”

The service also fuels the singer’s inspiration because” it takes balls to serve your country, It takes heart to go away from your family, but without freedom this country would be nothing, People do not realize how awesome we have it here because of those who were not afraid to serve. I see dudes from Vietnam and past wars who are so fu*ked up in the head with post-traumatic stress disorder or even traumatic brain injury, among other problems that no one cares about. I see neglected military veterans and the song ‘Alone We Walk’ is about people who suffer from post- traumatic stress disorder. I am a big supporter of veterans, and think they are great people. I love my country and am proud of those who died.”

Now, as for the music, that’s another factor that makes Written in Blood stand out in a very crowded, very saturated metal scene. “It's pretty apparent that IRON MAIDENS's music is a huge influence in our sound,” lead guitarist Bill Hudson, who hails from Brazil and was formerly a member of CELLADOR, said. Although other bands have had three guitars, I don't think many of them use that quite the way we do it. We have freedom to have three-part harmonies or play harmonized solos live without losing the aggression of a rhythm guitarist underneath it. The approach we're using to songwriting differs because of this as well. But Hudson is succinct when summing up his band, calling it “catchy, fast, straight to the point, in your face American melodic heavy metal.” WRITTEN IN BLOOD, who will release the five-song EP We Are Divinity through Revenge Recordings, have the metal chops to back up the confidence with which they speak. They play no-nonsense, trend-free and traditional heavy metal that owes much to the tradition of bands like METALLICA, TESTAMENT, DIO, and well, MAIDEN! The EP was recorded at Audio Hammer Studios with Mark Lewis (TRIVIUM, DEICIDE, ALL THAT REMAINS, THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER to name a few!) Additionally, metal giant Tim “Ripper” Owens (ex-JUDAS PRIEST/ICED EARTH) also lends his big, soaring pipes to the track “Alone We Walk” on the EP.

While WRITTEN IN BLOOD are currently drummer-less, they are enlisting the talents of Kevin Talley, who has played with everyone from DYING FETUS to CHIMAIRA to HATE ETERNAL throughout his prolific career, in the studio, which anchors the rhythm section on We Are Divinity, which will only serve as an introduction to a band on the verge, backed by three guitarists, non-standard lyrical topics and a drive to make their presence know. –AS

Contact name:

Justin Stamper

Screen name:

wibjustin

Member since:

Jun 08 2010

Active over 1 month ago

Website:

http://www,myspace.com/writteninblood

MUSIC