As ever, we’re going to try and cover every single Jäger, New Blood and SOPHIE stage band before Bloodstock kicks off on August 9th. Your chance to check them out and start planning which bands to get there early for!
Trust us when we tell you that this is bound to result in some frustrating clashes because, as ever, there are some great bands on these three stages.
Our thanks to all the bands for taking the time out to answer our questions!
Trivax – Hobgoblin New Blood Stage, Friday
Simple things first – where are you guys from?
The band was originally started in Tehran, Iran in the spring of 2009. In 2011, I moved to the UK to be able to have the freedom of speech and be able to perform metal music legally. I then reformed the band with a British line-up and we have more or less had the same line-up of the two Brummie guys and myself in the band. Recently we’ve had a new bassist our forces and he’s originally from Syria, but he’s based in Leeds. We are kind of from all over the place really, which is fitting for a band that requires elite to deliver the true essence along with the music.
How long have you been playing together as a band?
Myself (Shayan), Ben Sheldon (guitarist) and Matt Croton (drummer) have been together since 4th of December 2011.
Where does the name of the band come from?
It is the English transcription of a name originally written in Persian. The pronunciation is different, and the meaning of the word is ‘Storm’. The name itself comes from an album title by the occult band Lavizan Jangal from Iran.
Describe your music. What makes you unique?
A hypnotic force of spiritual transcendence, in the body of rock n roll and more specifically, extreme metal. It’s unique due to the fact that the music often comes to us from higher forces, we simply let it flow through and allow for it to be made. The songs themselves are generally structured in a certain way so that it triggers certain brain waves from the audience, which feeds our higher source with energy.
What’s your live show like? Why are people going to watch you instead of another band?
It’s a total release of energies of what we carry within us. The fierce and intense expression of what we feel towards the world and its twisted existence. When you come to our shows, you won’t see people or musicians who are there for “fun”. This is our life’s mission, and when on stage we give it all that we have. If you wish to witness the manifestation of the forces of chaos and have a taste of freedom injected into your soul and subconscious, then there is no better place to be than a Trivax concert.
Have you been to Bloodstock before? What did you think?
I have some great memories from this festival. My first visit was in 2012 and dare I say it was a life changing experience. Having only been in England for less than a year, I got to see so many of my long-time idols in flesh. That was also the first time I saw Watain, which was a show that I will never forget. I also have fond memories of my friend Sam giving me some drug-fuelled oily bread without my knowledge, which then later that night led me to go to the Sophie stage and see purple triangles and trees floating about.
Did you enter M2TM thinking you could win it? Which region did you win, or did you come through other channels?
We won the Birmingham one, which was a great honour. We went into it thinking that it would be good to try it for one last time and tried our best not to get competitive and do it for the enjoyment, which is exactly what we did. Even if we hadn’t won it would have been fine as all three shows were incredible and both myself and our bass player already had tickets, but it was amazing to win it and get invited to play.
What sort of setlist can we expect?
We are doing 15 minutes of material from our last album SIN and 15 minutes of new tracks from our next album. Normally we wouldn’t bring out new tracks until the album is out, but these have been going down really well so we will have to treat those at Bloodstock with some new material.
Which other bands do you most hope you’re not squished up next to so you can see them play?
Judas Priest, Emperor and of course, Watain.
What are you working on at the moment?
The finishing touches on the next album’s song writing. We are arranging a headline tour for later this year, and as we enter 2019 we will be recording our next album and bringing it to life. People can expect a massive leap in of progression compared to our last one.
What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done at a live show?
Far too many to mention and few that wouldn’t be appropriate to mention due to legal reasons. All I can say, is that you can expect every Trivax show to be as wild and as ferocious as it can get. Anyone who has ever stood in our audience can back that up.
Jäger, Hobgoblin Ale, Red Bull, Kingstone Press Cider, Kaltenberg Beer or Bulleit Bourbon? And, yes, we’ll be counting all the votes!
Not sure what the other guys would say, but for me it has to be Bulleit. I just love whisky and Bourbons especially. As a second choice I’d go with Hobgoblin.
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