Our regular run-down of as many of the Bloodstock bands as we can get to talk to us! Wild Heat play the Jager stage on the Friday…
Simple things first – where are you guys from?
We’re scattered all over County Down, but mostly in the Greater Belfast area.
How long have you been playing together as a band?
Various versions of the band have been jamming in Carlos’ living room since late 2016, but the band that you’d recognise as Wild Heat formed shortly before our first gig in April 2018.
Where does the name of the band come from?
In certain parts of Northern Ireland “wild heat” is a phrase used to describe very hot weather (eg “wild heat today lads”). Our first drummer used it to describe his holiday in Singapore and we thought it would make a great band name, and the rest is history!
Describe your music. What makes you unique?
We would classify ourselves as shred-pop; big riffs, killer solos, pounding beats, and driving basslines, but with catchy hooks and intricate melodies too. Feel-good music guaranteed to put a smile on your face!
I think our uniqueness comes from our broad range of influences; Carlos and Kostas love “proper” metal, Dave loves 80s rock, Neal loves Queens of the Stone Age and the Chillis, and Tommy loves everything from Prince to Poison.
What’s your live show like? Why are people going to watch you instead of another band?
Our songs all have a high-energy hard rock feel and our live shows reflect that. Plenty of jumping around, some headbanging, maybe a big sing-along cover… We see ourselves as a palate cleanser for the heavier metal bands and that has served us well in the past.
Have you been to Bloodstock before? What did you think?
This will be the first time at Bloodstock for all of us… We can’t wait!
If you like what we do, consider ing us on Patreon for as little as £1 per month!
When/how did you find out you’d been selected to play at Bloodstock?
Our manager James at The Distortion Project just messaged the groupchat and said, in typically understated fashion, “Right lads, I have news…” Unbeknownst to us, he had put our name forward to the Bloodstock bookers. A lot of other Distortion Project bands have played Bloodstock in the past (such as The Crawling, Nomadus, Sinocence, and Skypilot) so they took notice.
What sort of setlist can we expect?
We always tailor our shows for the metal crowd so except a lot of double kick pedal action, plenty of headbanging opportunities, and an epic metal cover song for you guys to sing along to.
Which other band do you most hope you’re not clashing with so you can see them play?
All of them! Megadeth, Sepultura, Helloween, Meshuggah, and Killswitch would be the top 5 though.
What are you working on at the moment?
Our third album is currently coming down the pipeline. Still very much in its infancy but watch this space…
What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done at a live show?
Not exactly wild, but hilarious; when we were on tour in England there was a very inebriated female (let’s call her Gypsy Girl, because that’s what she told us her name was) who took a real shine to us. She would stand at the front then suddenly rush the stage to accost a random band member before being escorted away. Repeatedly.
Tommy also used to crowdsurf until he saw a member of another Belfast band (naming no names!) fall off the stage while drunk and have to be helped back up.
What drink do you throw back to get yourself fired up before going on stage?
Seeing as we’re playing the Jager Stage, it’ll have to be Jagerbombs!
Don’t fancy Patreon? Buy us a one-off beverage!
Header image by Paul Wharton
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