Exclusive Interview: Bleed Again talk “Resurgence”!

Mixed and mastered by Justin Paul Hill (The Five Hundred, Hacktivist, Heart Of A Coward) the new album “Resurgence” from  Brighton Metalcore merchants Bleed Again landed at the end of October and following its critically acclaimed predecessors in 2017’s  “Momentum” and 2019’s “Transition” the band simply continued to do what they do best. Their rehearsal space is like some kind of conveyor belt for classic Metalcore sounds and instead of panning for gold and finding small nuggets, it has them very much looking to take the crown from their south coast neighbours Bury Tomorrow. So here’s the first of… yes, you guessed it, two interviews with them all about their World.

How have you found the reaction to the pre-release singles “Survive“, “Cursed” and “Victim” so far? “Forgotten Ghosts” has an absolute ripper of a solo and is for us one of many standouts, so what made you choose those three cuts over any others? “The reaction to ‘Survive’ took us back a bit, it got a play on Kerrang Radio with Johnny Doom and ‘Victim’ & ‘Cursed’ seem to also be getting some attention! We chose these 3 as each song shows a different side to our song writing and sound, hopefully leading to us giving a brief taster of what was to come on the album”

When you went into the writing sessions for “Resurgence” did you feel any pressure after the critical acclaim of the first two records? “I wouldn’t say so, I know we felt confident of the sound we wanted to create and knew we could create something special and different. Feeling a sense of freedom when writing I think is very important and to block out any exterior pressure or opinions.”

What would you say your influences were going into the writing phase? Was everyone listening to Killswitch Engage or was there a sneaky bit of Adele getting in there when no one was looking? “I mean Killswitch Engage have definitely influenced all of us, (is it obvious?) however we all listen to a variety of genres in our own time. Anything from Biffy Clyro,, Linkin Park, The Darkness and Jamiroquai to Polaris, Whitechapel, Meshuggah and Trivium”

You’ve got live shows in November and December to accompany the album, so what can fans expect? Are they going to be all about the new material or are some of the older cuts going to make the set lists? You must have been itching to get back to the stage post-lockdown(s)? “Oh we were genuinely tearing our hair out, definitely a struggle to hold onto this album and not play a show for so long. As I write this we’ve played a few shows end of October / early November and they’ve been awesome, the cobwebs lasted all of 5 seconds! We are definitely playing a majority of new songs off the album, but there’s always room for an oldie…”

As a band, what would mean more to you; a run of 5 or 6 bigger venue shows in the United Kingdom in support of a band like Bury Tomorrow or an appearance on one of the smaller stages at Download Festival? “Wow, I’m not sure. I personally think it’d mean more and be more beneficial to get on a tour like that in bigger venues than a one off show, but it’s DOWNLOAD! I’d say the tour as we love being on the road together and that may also then lead to a slot at Download”

What’s next for Bleed Again? We really enjoyed the acoustic rendition of “Sign Of Fire” that finishes off the album so could a full acoustic EP be in the offering at some point? “Haha I’m not sure the guys would back me on that suggestion! Next for us is playing as many shows as possible now this album is out and push ourselves to get on bigger stages, tours and then keep writing for the next album!”

“Resurgence” by Bleed Again is out now and there are a trio of shows in December during which they can be caught;

3rd – The Pig, Hastings
4th – B2 Venue, Norwich
18th – The Black Prince, Northampton.