I Am War is a new band that features both Atreyu vocalist Alex Varkatzas and Bleeding Through vocalist Brandan Schieppati, and while I’m sure the idea of that dynamic duo really, really excites some people, I am not one of them. That being said, the first song the band has unveiled — a demo entitled “The Poisoning” — is not nearly as intolerable as I would have suspected. For the most part, it’s just generic metallic hardcore; the only parts I out and out hate are the two deathcore breakdowns, the second of which seems to go on for-EVER. But the bottom line is, “The Poisoning” is more sleepy than it is offensive.

ANYWAY, you can check out “The Poisoning” for yourself below and make up your own mind. I Am War just signed with Razor & Tie and are expected to release their debut album in the spring.

-AR

If you are reading MetalSucks, I assume that you hate Bleeding Through. They don’t have beards, don’t sound like Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, or Cynic, but they do have short hair and breakdowns — in short, the formula for MS reader-repellent as far as I can tell. But even if you’re a butthurt internet metal dork, I hope you are at least smart enough to give them the credit they deserve. After serving time as a founding member of the equally-awesome and underrated 18 Visions (read my definitive history of 18 Visions on Stuff You Will Hate for more info), Brandan quit to do Bleeding Through full time — a decision that at the time we thought was ridiculous, but proved to be very smart. As one of the first groups to play what we now call “deathcore,” they’re also one of the very few bands from that era who’s not only still around but still relevant.

BT singer Brandan Schieppati is a busy man, getting ready for an upcoming tour as well as the launch of his Huntington Beach-based fitness company Rise Above Fitness, but he was kind enough to answer a few questions for me. I’m sure it sounds geeky, but I’ve been a big fan of BT since 2000 or so, so I was really stoked to do this interview — thanks to BT alumni Javier for setting it up!

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Have you ever seen some smokin’ hot chick with a dude who’s not only like one-tenth as good looking as she is, but isn’t particularly smart or funny or interesting or even rich? And you sit there and you go, “What the crap happened there?” That’s usually around the time a friend leans over and whispers “She used to be fat, before they met.” And you go “Ooooohhhhh.” Self-esteem issues: she used to be a behema, and even with all the weight she’s lost, she has no idea how fine she is now. As a friend likes to say, “We all had a shot.” Just shows to go ya that it pays to be an arrogant fart nugget who hits on anything with a hole and a pulse, ’cause sometimes it’s a former fatty who has totally devalued herself.

I don’t really know much about Mick Kenney from Anaal Nathrakh, but I guess he used to have a weight problem, because he’s started a new band, Sorrows, with Bleeding Through’s Brandan Schieppati. When you think of all the people in the world Kenney could have collaborated with… why choose the dude from a not especially good metalcore band? Somewhere the guys from Bury Your Dead are thinking “Shit! We all had a shot.”

Sadder still is that Sorrows just aren’t very interesting. Anaal Nathrakh are one of those bands that challenge our perception of what metal could be, in the best possible way; if you didn’t know that Kenney was involved in Sorrows, you’d probably never even give them the courtesy of sitting through an entire song before shutting it off and going about your day. But if you’re curious, you can listen to some of their stuff here.

And because this is kinda-sorta a Bleeding Through post, I’ve included the customary photo of Marta after the jump. Be forewarned, however, that the MetalSucks Mansion Monkeys made a time machine and snapped this pic in 2020, after BT have broken up and she’s settled into life as a mommy and homemaker. So she doesn’t look quite as hot as we’re all accustomed to:

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Headbanger’s Blog just debuted Bleeding Through’s new, David Brodsky-directed video for “Death Anxiety.” Vocalist Brandan Schieppati says, “The only thing we told Dave Brodsky, the director, is that we wanted it to feature the band playing the song and we wanted lots of pyro. And that’s exactly what we got!”

So here’s Bleeding Through, in all their pyromanic glory…

-AR

Just a little over a month ago, Bleeding Through lashed out at Trustkill Records for allegedly screwing them out of royalties; that conflicts seems to have been temporarily resolved, as Trustkill will release Bleeding Through’s new album, Declaration, September 30.

But now Throwdown vocalist Dave Peters is lashing out at Trustkill for nearly identical reasons (As an interesting side note, Bleeding Through front man Brandan Schieppati used to be a member of Throwdown). A guest column on Headbanger’s Blog reads in part:

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