Interview Beltfed Weapon

"Darkened Demise," the latest EP from Beltfed Weapon, is a labor of love blending speed, thrash, death, and power metal. Founder Frank Hetzel shares insights into the diverse collaboration and emotional fulfillment behind the EP.

1. Congratulations on the release of your latest EP, Darkened Demise! Can you share the inspiration behind the title and the thematic elements of the EP?

Thanks originally i wanted to call the ep eternal fire but had some trouble getting the art work the way i envisioned it at first, darkened demise was a song title i had in mind and i ended up using that instead seemed to fit more with the times and beltfed weapon main concept is more on the topic of war and destruction, the title just came to mind one day not sure what it meant then i googled it and found somewhere it described as the death of a powerful leader as we know there are quite a bit of corrupt powerful leaders in this world and has been for quite some time so this seemed to sit well with the ep title, i came with some words to give to steve tucker and he built off of it from there and i couldn't be happier with what he did and all others as well

2. The journey of Beltfed Weapon has seen its share of challenges. How did these experiences shape the creation of Darkened Demise, particularly with the shift to recruiting an all-star lineup for this release?

After years of trying to get a actual band line up there had been a lot of people who came in and was there to help me out which i am very thankful for but it was very challenging to make an actual band out of it so after the release of raining plague which i had reached out to people i knew in the industry and friends which was an honor, then when it came to darkened demise i took same approach and since raining plague had the 2 different vocal styles but with one singer other than harsh vocals on the song raining plaguei did those, i really wanted to keep going with but unfortunately dean sternberg vocalist (raining plague) was not able to sing on darkened demise so i reached out to tim aymar (R.I.P.) who i had been a huge fan of control denied and he had liked liked bfw in the past and he was down to work with me, my good friend jason viebrooks on bass introduced me to steve tucker and steve really liked the material so it was awesome i was able to keep the 2 different vocal styles but just in a different way

3. Frank Hetzel, as the band founder and guitarist, took on the task of writing the new songs before recruiting the lineup for Darkened Demise. How did this approach influence the creative process compared to previous releases?

Well my writing process is the same as before i start with a couple riffs and put drums to them and start building the song from there by adding new riffs i create on the spot or grabbing riffs i have laying around and seeing what works i have a more simple approach to start this process intro, verse, chorus, solo verse, chorus ending then ill tweak things from there my ears tell me what to do as i structure from a listeners stand point and what sounds good to me, darkened demise only had 4 songs then after those where recorded i came up with accept your insanity after the fact and that song was written and structured ou tin 4 days and i felt it was too good and was a perfect addition to the ep so it just took a bit longer to get the ep completed

4. Darkened Demise features an impressive lineup of guest musicians from bands like Morbid Angel, Exhorder, Arch Enemy, Black Label Society, Testament, and Heathen. How did you decide on this diverse group of collaborators, and what was the collaborative process like?

Originally i wanted dean to sing on it and i tried to get fredrik widdigs from raining plague on drums but doesn't play any more such an amazing drummer  and very cool guy, jason was on board to play bass, so since dean was not able to sing i had tim and steve covered for vocals and jason on bass then i was on search for a drummer i reached out to my friend tim from into eternity and asked him if his drummer bryan newbury would be interested in doing session work, and put me in touch with bryan and bryan really liked what heard and was on board jason also introduced me to kragen and he was on board to work with me and i thought it would be a cool idea to have him and jeff loomis share solos on a couple songs and they both were ok with it, my good friend dagna silesia played bass on head first into hell that was song that her and i wrote together as a side project but time didn't allow that to happen so i felt is was a good fit to the ep, also my good friend andy beech introduced me to jd deservio to play bass on acccept your insanity as jason had already done his tracks and he did not have time to do the last one so thats how that all came about it is such an honor for me to have this opurtunity to have so many great musicians and good friends involved in this ep

5. Working with such a variety of talented musicians, what unique elements did each guest bring to the EP, and how did it contribute to the overall sound of Beltfed Weapon?

All musicians involved are very talented and have different styles such as jason has a unique style to his playing he is really in the pocket with those bass lines he throws it at the right time he really knows when to and when not to and does exactly what the song requires and he's so solid, dagna her style is more of a fates warning vibe mixed with alice in chains and she wrote the verse and chorus riff and part of solo section to head first into hell so that song was a bit out of the norm from what i do but that definitely brought something different with a bit more groove to the ep, jd his bass playing is not so much thrash style but he's an amazing bass player and he liked the challenge and brought a solid and tight dynamic to accept your insanity, tims vocals where exactly what i wanted in his style and he has a very different aproach to writing he would come up with the melody and used a trumpet in some major keys when i first heard it i was sceptical then he put the lyrics to it but once he layed the real tracks it was absolutly perfctly aligned, steve has the full death metal style whch i love but he liked the thrash idea and really brought a killer element to the 2 songs he did killing machine is more death metal song mixed with thrash and his vocals complimented both song very well, i asked hom to do some layeres with vocals and he was open to it and made it so thick and crushing, jeff and kragen both are so amzing and have those 2 share solos on killing mchine and eternal fire reeally fit well together its a bit hard to tell the difference between to two at times the added song accept your insanity has my favotite solo out of every beltfed song its a minute long and jeff told me he has to write a story behind this solo and took extra time to deliver so much love into this solo, bryan his style is very unique as well he really felt the songs and i had no idea what he was going to do i never got scratch tracks but i visioned his style to my music and was completly blown away once i heard his tracks my favorite thing about bryan is his creativity with him writing out his parts its as if we were in the same room working things out and his symbol works is just insane, as a whole combining all these different styles of musicianship and letting them all just do what they do and the fact that everyone took the time to really give the songs what they deserve behind the different riff styles which i am a big fan of death metal, thrash metal and some power metal so in all just made a well rounded diverse ep i feel theres something for everyone on this ep even if they dont like the whole thing and what an huge accomplishment and honor to put this all together with such amazing talent and friends 

6. The first track, "Headfirst Into Hell," features clean vocals by Tim Aymar of Control Denied. Can you tell us more about the song and the decision to incorporate clean vocals into the track?

This song is about drug addiction and what it like watching a loved one go threw this battle and how painful it can be to see someone you love caught up in this situation, after wanting to add this song to the ep i knew clean vocals were perfect for this song and once tim was on board i knew he was perfect for this song i decided i still wanted to have clean vocals on this ep so this song was one that was perfect for it 

7. "Accept Your Insanity" includes guitar work from Jeff Loomis and features J.D. DeServio on bass. How did this collaboration come about, and what was the experience like working with such accomplished musicians?

As mentioned earlier andy beech (solos on raining plague) introduced me to JD and jeff was totally down as well as i have known and been good friends with jeff for many years with the combination of tim and bryan the process was great and they were all so easy to work with, i just sent them the song to track to and let them do their thing and the process went very smooth such a great experience working with such professionals and a huge honor 

8. The EP is described as both "skull-crushing and musically diverse." How did you manage to balance these two elements, and what challenges did you face in achieving this balance?

i just tried to incorporate all my styles i'm influenced by into the music when i structured the songs out and the two different vocal styles definitely had a huge impact on the diversity mixed with some of the different riff styles, i would say the biggest challenge to this whole process was working around everyone's schedule as they are all pretty busy with the current bands they are in which is why it took some time to put it all together just being patient and knowing good things don't happen overnight 

9. The video for "Eternal Fire" premiered on Decibel. Can you share the story behind the song and the creative process involved in making the video?

Eternal fire is about 2 souls whos hearts are on fire for each other in a raging inferno with lust, love, passion and desire bound together for eternity rising up above bad souls of the past who are condemned to their hell to burn for eternity, the art work was created by sidjimbe art and i gave the lyrics and artwork to andrzej art and he put the video together and did such an amazing job on it and all other videos on the ep, tim really delivered the concept into the lyrics and the melodies are amazing this was the last song he ever recorded before he passed away i wished he was still here and it really sucks he did not get to witness the release of this ep this song seems to be the one people like the most and it is very special in more ways than one, the ep is dedicated to his memory (R.I.P.) and if i died tomorrow i would be more than happy with what i have accomplished with my music and everyone i have worked with up to date

10. Darkened Demise has been described as a "labor of love." Can you elaborate on the emotional and creative fulfillment you experienced throughout the process of creating this EP?

Definitely a labor of love for sure thats why i do it and some of the concepts such as head first into hell, eternal fire and accept your insanity are about personal situations i have dealt with in my life i thought it is cool to mix it in with the concept of war and with the diversity of vocal styles and guitar riffs i write making it something different it gives me a great deal sense of accomplishment and satisfaction to put together such great music with amazing people and talent

11. Given the collaborative and diverse nature of Darkened Demise, how would you describe the signature sound and style of Beltfed Weapon?

I guess i would describe beltfed weapon sound and style as speed/thrash/death metal mixed with some power metal and very aggressive with hooks and little progressive  

12. Looking ahead, what are the future plans for Beltfed Weapon? Any upcoming projects, tours, or new releases in the works?

No tours or shows coming up but one day i would like put together a show or play a festival or small tour that will be tricky to collaborate with everyone's schedule and their commitments, we have 2 new crushing song to be released sometime in 2024 so far the guitars and drums and 1 solo is done so it will take a little time to get all together but it will be well worth the wait in my opinion, and my goal is to reach a point where i can take time off from work and structure out a full length but that will take some time as well so until then ill keep putting out singles, there is lots of cool merch available on the website if any one wants to support this project www.beltfedweapon.net

Music | beltfed weapon (bandcamp.com)

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