Exclusive Interview: 20 Questions with Murderhorde!

Want a less serious, fun interview with get to know you vibes? Well look no further than our new series of them titled “20 Questions with…” because they’re all about having a good time and where else might you find a question like “If you see a Gorilla riding a Rhino down the road in front of you, are you following to see what all the fuss is about?“. Hailing from Newport News, Virginia Murderhorde are currently composed of drummer Joey Ambrosia and guitarist Michael Velazquez who also handled vocals on this one and after dropping their debut EP “Ritual“, we had this little conversation…

1. What’s your poison? “We enjoy plants, and plant varieties”

2. What’s your habit? “If not working on music or graphic art, then probably gaming”

3. As a band what was your highlight of 2021? “A late highlight, but the release of Ritual on New Years Eve”

4. What are you looking forward to most in 2022? “Writing for the next release, and hopefully promoting Ritual via playing shows along the East Coast of America”

5. What made you decide to keep the lyrics by former vocalist Jack Bryant on “Connection Severed“? “Truth be told, we released an earlier version of the song with his vocals, and after he left we had pulled the single from stores because we were unhappy with the state of the mix. Some of his lyrics were tweaked to fit the narrative of the album, but his structure and phrasing remained intact to pay respects”

6. You recorded debut EP “Ritual” as a two piece after the departure of members due to other commitments; how different do you think the EP would have sounded if the original line up had recorded it? “Instrumentally it would probably have sounded the same, but with Jack on vocals it definitely would’ve had a more brutal edge”

7. Do you foresee the band fleshing out once more in order to play live or do you think it will remain a studio project at this point? “Yeah the goal is to acquire the missing pieces and assemble this troupe but finding other dedicated members in the area has proved difficult. Regardless you can expect another album, this time a full length LP”

8. What made you reach out to Shawn Rayment at SDR Audio Production in the UK for additional drum mixing, post mixing and mastering after completing the initial groundwork for “Ritual“? “Michael is in a group on Facebook and met Shawn through the community. They discussed mix techniques and eventually the EP was handed over to Rayment for polish and balance”

9. Did you make any and have you broken any new year’s resolutions as yet? “Our only resolution is to keep grinding and we have no plans of stopping”

10. If life is a box of chocolates, which one are you eating first? “The one with riffs in it”

11. When times get rough, what are you screaming along to on your headset? “For Michael, KEN Mode – Loved, For Joey, probably Metallica or Carbomb”

12. What has been the strangest moment Murderhorde have experienced? “We became internet pals with a brutal Vietnamese band called, Diarsia. They’re pretty sick!”

13. How intense was the barely visible and almost ghostly figure of Michael Velazquez appearing in the cover artwork for “Ritual“? “The photo was taken in late December 2014, originally for another project Velazquez was working on titled DIRECT.thought, which can actually still be found on streaming services. It was taken by his girlfriend at the time shortly after an argument they had about the placement of the candles, so probably fairly intense (Velazquez laughs)”

14. If you could go back 5 years and give a nugget of knowledge to your younger self, what would you say? “We don’t condone meddling with the fabric of time, that’s dangerous business!”

15. Pizza and beer is a sensational award winning combination so what are you favorites? “Well Joey is allergic to alcohol, but you can’t go wrong with pepperoni and a fat jay”

16. If someone asks you what Metal is, what would you say? “Metal is a spirit”

17. What was the last record you listened to; what’s your go-to album and what is your guilty pleasure?

“Last record: Love Gun – Kiss The Sky
Go-To: Revocation – Deathless
(not)Guilty Pleasure: Ryo Fukui – Scenery”

18. How brave are you? One Chip challenge, Ice bath or throw your bullets in the fire and run like hell? “Let’s do all three at once and add a slip ‘n’ slide covered in brass tacks”

19. You walk into your favorite bar and you suddenly realize that one of your tunes is playing on the JukeBox. How do you react? “We’d probably shout “this band SUCKS”  but be in legitimate awe”

20. Who would you thank in your Grammy Award winning speech? “We would only thank American actor Dennis Quaid, the father of Murderhorde”

“Ritual” by Murderhorde is out now and available over at bandcamp.