Philadelphias Blazon Rite have just unleashed their brand new album “Wild Rights and Ancient Songs” which is an epic journey of burning metal that everyone should check out! Rhythm guitarist James Kirn quickly caught up with The Nwothm and this is what he had to say!
THE NWOTHM: For those who do not know who you are, can you tell us your band name, who is in the band and where you are from?
James Kirn: We are the true heavy metallers, Blazon Rite and we consist of Johnny Halladay on vocals, Pierson Roe on lead guitar, Ryan Haley on drums, Devin Graham on bass and myself, James Kirn on rhythm guitar. We are from the mighty Philadelphia, Pennsylvania USA!
THE NWOTHM: How did the band form and is there any interesting story surrounding its formation?
James Kirn: Blazon Rite formed from the ashes of our old band Crazy Bull which was a 70’s style hard rock band that I formed in 2014. Johnny moved from bass to vocals because he had sung in a band called Chain and I loved his vocals. Ryan stayed on drums and I stuck on guitar. We wanted to transition into something heavier and really push ourselves musically. We added Pierson Roe, a mutual friend, to the mix because of his wild guitar prowess and love for heavy metal. I had some ideas for a concept demo and we ran with it having no expectations for the future. Quickly and to our surprise people online started loving it and now here we are releasing our second full length. It’s pretty wild.
THE NWOTHM: Since the bands formation what big milestones have you achieved? James Kirn: I would say signing to Gates of Hell Records and having our records distributed in Europe is amazing and much thanks and credit goes to Bri from Gates of Hell and Enrico from Cruz Del Sur. They give us a chance to take our music to the next level and expose a wider audience to our brand of heavy metal glory. When we started we had no expectations and as time went on it started becoming very exciting for us to garner interest from a label we really respected. Especially when we made contact they already knew who we were! HAHA
THE NWOTHM: Can you tell us any fun/ interesting facts about the members of the band?
James Kirn: Oddly enough, I’m in school to be a Dental Hygienist and Johnny, our singer, just became a father. Devin is a plumber in school for psychology and Haley runs his own dog walking business. Not much to report to be honest. We all live pretty normal lives haha
THE NWOTHM: What bands and artists have influenced you and helped you to carve your sound?
James Kirn: WOW. A very big question. We love NWOBHM, of course. Priest, Maiden, Witchfynde, Diamond Head, Alien Force, Saxon. That’s what I would say is our main influence. Of course we also love classic power metal. Whether it be Euro or American. Blind Guardian, Manowar, Helloween, Crimson Glory, Liege Lord, Jag Panzer. We love traditional doom as well, Witchfinder General, Pagan Altar, Candlemass. The list goes on and on. We also love prog and hard rock which I think our earlier recordings were clearly influenced by. We love most forms of metal tbh. No metalcore though hehehe
THE NWOTHM: Can you tell us about your most recent release(s) and any background information to the music? How did the songs come about?
James Kirn: I started writing the songs right after we recorded the full length during the winter so a lot of the vibe I wanted to get across was the winter into fall mood shift. I think we did some different things on this album. Made it more concise, more catchy, put in something for everyone. We go from thrash to folk to doomier riffs. The lyrics mainly revolve around a fictional town setting and different things happening in or around this town. The town on the cover to be exact. It was really awesome to have Pierson write 2 songs on this album and have Johnny contribute lyrics to a song. t was cool having a more collaborative effort.
(Wild Rites and Ancient Songs can be checked out here!)
THE NWOTHM: What shows have you got coming up for 2023? Any major performances you would like to highlight?
James Kirn: As of right now we only have one show lined up with Knight and Gallow later in the year. We don’t know what’s in store for us show wise. We have dreams of Europe one day but we’ll see. We’re all very busy and it’s hard to plan too far ahead so we’re playing it by ear!
THE NWOTHM: Any other plans for 2023? With it being a new year, what do you hope to achieve in the upcoming months?
James Kirn: We already have some ideas for new songs because we never stop writing and tinkering with things. We’ve been taking a little break from rehearsing the last month but we’re gonna get back in the saddle soon and see what new music starts coming out. If people keep loving the new stuff I think we will just continue to produce our brand of heavy metal.
THE NWOTHM: Where can people check you out on social media and buy your music/merch? Were on Bandcamp where you can get all of our merch and releases. We also have a instagram @blazonrite_philly
Bandcamp: https://blazonrite.bandcamp.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blazonrite_philly/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/blazonriteofficial
THE NWOTHM: is there anything else you would like to mention?
James Kirn:We would just like to thank people like you for having interest in our music. Reviewing, listening and buying our albums. It means so much to us that people enjoy our music because music is such a huge part of our lives. It’s crazy that this is our second album! Everyone should check it out! It’s entitled “Wild Rights and Ancient Songs” ! Thanks again for your time and all the very best for 2023!
Check out the full review of their newest album Wild Rites and Ancient Songs!
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