Music News Headline Answers With Sangre's Henry Sanchez November 13th, 2019
Metal Pulp And Paper: Hello Henry. So glad to be catching up with you. Thank you for taking the time to speak with us here at Metal Pulp And Paper. We appreciate it. How are you doing?
Henry Sanchez: The band and I are doing well, just wrapping up the artwork for the album after some busy times touring throughout Europe with legendary Mexican Grindcore/Death Metal band, Brujeria. MPAP: Now give us a little run down about your band Sangre and what we need to know, and especially tell us if you have any new music coming out soon. Henry: I’m gonna skip all the biography stuff because anyone can find that on our website www.sangremetal.com. So let’s get down to the current status of my band Sangre. We’ve been hitting it hard for years and in 2018 performed across the Atlantic for the first time at Bloodstock Open Air Festival in Derbyshire, UK. Upon returning from the UK we focused on finishing up our new album which we had been working on for a while, and soon after entered the studio to start recording demos to hash out the songs. Finished up the recording sessions earlier this year and had planned to release the album by Summer 2019. Right before we could start planning the release, we were offered a unique opportunity to tour throughout Europe with Brujeria, a band in which I am also a part of as the co-vocalist of that band. The offer was too good to pass up, so we put the new album on hold as we then had to prepare for a 28-day tour in Europe and the UK. The tour was a massive success for us and many new fans and friends were made in the process. We returned more determined than ever to put the final touches on the album and get it ready for release. We shot a music video for one of the new songs titled "Death March" which is available on our official YouTube channel www.Youtube.com/Sangreofficial and had a lyric video made for our new song "Pharmakon." Our forthcoming album, Mas Fuerte Que La Muerte, will be released on December 13th, 2019, and we cannot wait for the rest of the world to hear it. MPAP:Very nice. We’re going to change up this interview and do something different. I’m going to pull some recent headlines from the Metal Injection website and get your reactions and comments on them. Here we go: 1. Celtic Frost Frontman Wishes Metallica Had Left 'Their Millionaire Fingers' Off His Song MPAP: So, at a recent Metallica show in Switzerland, Kirk and Rob played one of Celtic Frost’s song "The Usurper" during a break in the show. According to Tom Warrior, vocalist for Celtic Frost, the two of them butchered it. He said, 'Maybe I should go onstage and do a really miserable version of [Metallica’s] "Hit the Lights" with, like, 200 mistakes to set the balance.' What do you think about this? If someone was going to cover one of your songs, do you think it should be done in good taste and without any mistakes, or it’s Metallica, and they can do whatever they want, it's no big deal?
Henry: Wow harsh words from Tom Warrior, and I can’t really comment on the quality of Metallica’s cover of the Celtic Frost song because I haven’t heard it. I do agree though that if you are going to cover a song you should rehearse it enough that you can play it as good as possible. It’s a little disrespectful to butcher someone else’s song especially in their presence. A few years back we did a cover of Brujeria’s infamous song, "Matando Gueros," and everyone enjoyed it. We did add a little bit of our own flavor to it but overall it is a solid cover, and we even recorded it and released it as a free downloadable track. 2. A Fan Died In The Slipknot Mosh Pit This Weekend MPAP: This is very sad. So, apparently, a 62-year-old Slipknot fan died while in the mosh pit at a Chicago show. Corey Taylor had recently stopped a previous show because he saw the mosh pit was getting too violent. Accidents do happen, but do you think mosh pits at metal shows are becoming more dangerous?
Henry: Mosh pits at Metal shows have always been dangerous, nothing new there. I hate to sound cruel, but some people don’t belong in the pits. I’ve hit and been hit many times over the years, and you have to be able to handle it and take care of yourself in there. I was actually at the San Bernardino date of Knotfest roadshow where Corey stopped the show due to the pits getting dangerous, and I can vouch that it was more of a case of people upfront near the guard rails getting smashed than the pit being too violent. There are some cases where you get some asshole who is purposely hurting people in the pit and those are the guys I do not like or support. We are in the pit to enjoy ourselves and release some pent-up aggression, but overall, it’s to have a good time. We need to continue to look out for each other and when someone goes down pick them up. 3.Slayer Pulled As Primary Sponsor Of NASCAR Due To Complaints From Other Sponsors MPAP:Really? C’mon., it’s just a band name. It’s not like Satan himself will be driving the car, right?
Henry: That’s just stupidity and ignorance on behalf of the other sponsors. The whole 'Metal is Satanic blah blah blah' whatever, get over it and focus on the actual races. Would be pretty cool to see Satan there behind the wheel though, right? Hahaha! 4.Maynard Got Death Threats Over How Long The Tool Album Took MPAP: Talk about some diehard fans. I think that is going a bit too far, even if you’ve been waiting 13 years, right?
Henry: Another case of stupidity right there. So, what it took them 13 years, it’s their band, their lives, fuck off if you don’t like it. I’ve been a Tool fan since 1993, and I honestly haven’t liked the last couple of albums as much as the earlier stuff, and every time I heard rumors that they were almost done with a new album I would still get excited but wouldn’t hold my breath for it. There are so many other bands out there to check out and get into. It’s not like I was sitting in my room just waiting for the new Tool album, haha, I mean who does that? I guess possibly these idiots who sent Maynard death threats, crazy… To say they went too far is an understatement. 5. Controversial Video Shows Rob ZombieGrabbing A Female Fan By The Hair After Being Groped MPAP: His shirt was pulled, but, nevertheless. I guess during a show Rob went out into the crowd, and an enthusastic fan reached out and pulled on his shirt. After this headline was posted, quite a few bands like Shinedown, All That Remains, and Bad Wolves defended Rob’s actions. What are your thoughts, do fans need to keep their hands to themselves?And if you have any stories of a fan invading your space, please tell.
Henry: I’d have to say the fan was in the wrong by groping Rob in the first place. I appreciate my fans as much as the next guy, but it’s not cool when a random person starts getting handsy with anybody regardless of how big of a fan they are. If it was the other way around, and a man groped a female performer, he would probably get manhandled by security staff and beaten up and or arrested for some type of sexual harassment or violation. I have a lot of stories, but one that stands out is when a drunk fan climbed on stage and was acting violently and hanging on me and trying to grab my microphone from out of my hand, and this was in South America where security at some shows is sparse, so I was left to defend myself mid song. As much as I wanted to just shove him off the stage, I resisted the temptation because I wouldn’t want him to fall and break something, or worse and I end up being at fault for it. 6.Behemoth Frontman Confronted At YMCA For Wearing Darkthrone Shirt & Kicked Out Not Believing In Jesus MPAP: It was just a shirt, and he was going there to workout. It wasn’t like he was going there to sacrifice some virgins and spill blood everywhere. What do you think?
Henry: It’s the culture we unfortunately live in where everyone is offended by everything. I have to admit though, I pick and choose which shirts to wear into public places, but mostly because of the situation I’m in. For example, I won’t wear a Cannibal Corpse or Dying Fetus shirt to my daughter’s elementary school. Some places you just have to expect to get negative looks and eyerolls from the public when you wear 'Metal' shirts. The believing in Jesus part shouldn’t be an issue in most cases, but isn’t YMCA, Young Men’s Christian Association? Hahaha! 7. Former Weedeater Drummer Arrested For Allegedly Spiking Wife’s Drink With Meth MPAP:Umm, this doesn’t look like they have a very good marriage going on for this to have happened. Do you think they need some marriage counseling or what?
Henry: What’s wrong with slipping a little meth into your old lady’s drink? That’s normal where I’m from, San Bernardino County, California, the home of Crystal Methamphetamine. Lol… No no no, that’s very wrong ,and not a healthy relationship at all. Fuck meth and tweakers! 8. Walmart Shoppers Call The Cops On Metal Band for… Sitting In A Van Parking Lot MPAP: This happened right after the tragic Dayton, Ohio shooting where ten people were killed, including the shooter, and 27 others were injured. The gunman just happened to be a metalhead because he was wearing a The Acacia Strain hoodie. It’s good that people report things, but this could turn out that every traveling metal band that’s parked in a Walmart parking lot are going to get reported now. What do you think?
Henry: As a band who have spent many nights sleeping in Walmart parking lots, I can tell you we’ve been stared at and questioned in the past as to why we were hanging out in those lots, so this isn’t really anything new for bands to get harassed. I understand 'regular people' being paranoid or curious about the van full of guys posted up in the parking lot, but the stereotype sucks that just because the shooter this time was a 'Metal head' doesn’t mean we’re all like him. Terrorist come from many different backgrounds, so to think 'uh oh look at those Heavy Metal guys, they might be terrorist' is a ridiculous theory. A terrorist could literally be anybody. 9. People Are Going Wild For This Rant Tommy Lee Shared Against Donald Trump MPAP: The rant/tweet is quite a bit long, so I'm not going to torture you to read it, but I will say this: should musicians talk or write about politics? In a way, it’s like their forcing their beliefs down our throats. What are your thoughts?
Henry: Bottom line is, politics has always been a subject in Heavy Metal and Punk Rock. It is a topic that has fueled some of the greatest music, bands, and movements. Love it or hate it, politics will always be a part of our genres. If you don’t like it, don’t listen to it, simple as that. They can’t force their beliefs on you if you don’t listen. I personally do incorporate politics in a few of my songs because it’s a part of life, something we deal with every day, and I have my opinions that I want to share via my music. 10. James Hetfield Calls Woman Who Used Metallica’s Music To Fend Off Cougar MPAP:A young lady, was out walking her dog when off in the distance a cougar began to stalk her. She eventually played a Metallica song on her phone to scare the cat away, and it worked. She definitely had luck and the power of music on her side, right?
Henry: Well played lady, well played… That was a smart move on her part. I don’t know much about fending off cougars, well I have a couple times in the past, but a different type of cougars, hahaha! I’m guessing the loud heavy music scared it away, older Metallica right? Or possibly she played something off the St. Anger album, those snare hits can scare anything away. Hahaha! 11.While She Sleeps Release Free T-Shirt Design To Clue Fans Into How Much Streaming Doesn’t Pay MPAP: This is what the design said: One T-shirt is the equivalent to 5000 streams on Spotify. 76% of all music is streamed and not bought physically or digitally. Band merchandise is the most direct way of supporting a band. Sadly, buying music isn’t the same anymore. Back in the day, it used to be fun to buy an actual album or CD, don’t you think?
Henry: I used to look forward to my trips to the record store. As a kid I would work my ass off doing chores or my paper route to earn money to buy cassettes of my favorite artists. In my teens when CD’s came out, I was really digging the fold outs with all the artwork and song lyrics, band info etc… Those were the extra things that made buying cassettes or CD's awesome! Everywhere I went I had my Walkman/discman. Music has been a very important thing to me since I was a young kid. Now vinyl has made a comeback and CD's and cassettes are pretty much obsolete. Everyone just streams music now, which is convenient, opposed to the multiple cases I used to have in my car overflowing with compact discs. My word of advice to the fans/consumers, bring your money to the concerts and buy direct from the bands. That’s the best way to support your favorite bands/musicians/artists. 12. David Hasselhoff Teams Up With Ministry Frontman For "Sweet Caroline" Cover MPAP: All I can say is, this should be interesting. Hopefully, it’s not a train wreck for the Hoff. It's worth a listen to when it comes out though. What do you think of this collaboration?
Henry: Uh oh! Uncle Al & The Hoff together on a track? "Sweet Caroline"? This is gonna be a panty dropper and a game changer for sure. I think it will be interesting enough to give it a listen, The Hoff is legendary, and Ministry play by their own rules, so I will be looking forward to hearing that collaboration. MPAP:What tv/movie actor would you like to cover a song with someday?
Henry: Me personally, hmmm I’d like to collaborate with Anna Kendrick because I really enjoyed the movie Pitch Perfect, and she seems like she would be fun. Or a comedic collaboration with Will Ferrell would be nuts! Hahah! MPAP:On behalf of Metal Pulp And Paper, I’d like to thank you, Henry, for taking the time to answer these headline questions. We look forward to what your band Sangre does to finish out 2019 and beyond. Any last words for all your fans out there?
Henry: Thank you for giving me the opportunity to answer these questions and for giving me a platform to talk a bit about my band, new music andvideo, and our forthcoming album, Mas Fuerte Que La Muerte. We are super proud of the new music, and have worked very hard on these new songs over the past year or so. Initially we began writing new music and some of the earlier versions of these songs about three years ago, but due to a few member adjustments, we would end up scrapping ideas and starting over fresh has helped us really find our own sound and gave us a lot of time to experiment and create something that has a cohesive feel, opposed to our previous LP which was kind of a mish mash of songs we just wanted to put out, more of a b-sides record. These new songs lyrically hit hard on many important issues most of us deal with every day in society. I worked vigorously to make sure my content not only made sense and was full of factual info, but that my vocal delivery was on point as well. I strongly believe people are really gonna dig the sound Mike, Josh, and Sergio have shaped sonically, because its fuckin heavy with tons of groove and brutality! Fans, you are in for a treat and we cannot wait for you all to hear what we’ve been cooking up. Thanks for supporting us over the years, 20 to be exact. It’s been a long road, but we are always pushing forward and working to expand the fanbase with loads of touring and more to come. We couldn’t keep this machine rolling without you! We love you all and look forward to seeing you when we hit your city. Gracias a todos!