1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?
Guilty As Charged is a Thrash/Heavy Metalband from Bruges, Belgium. Our current lineup was formed in 2008. One year later we recorded our first demo CD. With good results, we played a lot of cool shows over the years! We played Alcatraz Metal Festival 2011 and Masters @ Rock 2012 and played with bands such as Soulfly, Helloween, Death Angel,... Now we’ve released our first album: Leap Of Faith, and we ourselves are ready to take a new leap to bigger stages!
2.Recently you have released a new album, how would you describe the musical sound of the newer material and also how does it differ from the album you have released 5 years ago?
We obviously still play thrash/heavy metal, the genre hasn’t changed. I think we’ve matured more in sound and structure the songs. We’ve put in a lot more effort in this album than the previous one and I hope it shows! This album was mixed and mastered by Dan Swanö and we’re very happy with the sound we got!
3.This is the first recording that has been released since 2009, can you tell us a little bit more about the 5 year gap between releases?
We admit we took some time before this album came out. We’ve been playing shows and finally gathered enough money to pay for the recordings, mixing & mastering. Also we wrote more music than we put on the album. Songwriting isn’t something that should be done too fast, it should be done right.
4.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
Preach to the masses for example, is a song that delates war. I’ll Never… is about a child being mistreated by his father, the kid rebels and swears to never be like his father. Leap Of Faith is, to no one’s surprise, about taking a leap of faith, Making a change in life. Jan (vocals, guitars) is taking the writing of lyrics for his account, he usually writes about things he encounters in life.
5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Guilty As Charged'?
The name came up when the first songs were written.. the titletrack of our demo was about someone rotting away in his cell, therefore you must be guilty of something. We are guilty of playing heavy music and we thought it was a good name for a metal band.
6.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?
The finest shows were definitely the couple of festivals that we played: Alcatraz Metal Festival and Masters @ Rock. On and offstage, everything is organized on a professional level. It’s a delight for musicians to play and also good for promotional purposes. We could reach a lot of people this way.
On stage I’d describe our performance as energetic, active, asskicking, humoristic and tight sounding! We plainly have a lot of fun on stage!
7.Do you have any touring or show plans for the new album?
There aren’t any specific plans yet, but yes, we would like to tour in countries other than Belgium and in general play all the shows we can to promote the new album! Therefore we are also searching for a management solution, it’s impossible for us to keep doing everything by ourselves.
8.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?
We’re unsigned and independent, but a label is very helpful. A professional organization has contacts that we just don’t have.
9.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of heavy and thrash metal?
I was stunned to get reactions from Europe and America through youtube, facebook,… All feedback we got are positive, so we’re happy with that and eager to reach a whole lot more people!
10.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
Musically we’re happy with what we’re doing right now. Thrash and Heavy metal is a genre all four of us can relate to very well. We will make sure there’s always some catchiness and melody in our music besides the heavy stuff… and of course we hope to grow bigger and get better.
11.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
The four of us all listen to different genres of metal but the big four all influenced us greatly. We’re still listening to that good old thrash, it doesn’t seem to ever lose power. But as I said: we all listen to different genres. Dempsey and Heinz listen to death core and death metal, the drummer Matthew loves glam metal and Jan has always been loyal to thrash and rock ‘n roll.
12.What are some of your non musical interests?
The usual stuff I guess: go out, party, drink, have a good time with friends,…
13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
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