[LOCAL INTERVIEW] Bulletscript jet off to Johannesburg

As Bulletscript prepare to jet off to Johannesburg for a few shows and the Battle For Wacken Final on May 28th after winning the first heat of the Battle For Wacken Cape Town legs, The Metalist za caught up with them to find out what makes them tick and what they have in store for the future.

Firstly, congratulations on winning Cape Town’s first leg of the Battle For Wacken held at ROAR on Thursday 28^th April. I’m sure the event must have been quite exciting with the variety of quality bands on show.

What was the preparation like building up to the battle? Did you change up your usual pre-show traditions?

We booked a few more practices than usual. We have been working on making our shows more exciting for some time now, but for this one we tried to focus on making the music the primary thing. If you don’t have that, then you don’t have much to build upon live.

When Bulletscript were chosen to compete, what were your initial thoughts?

Great! We were all super keen. The band got to compete in the first Wacken Battle a few years back (when Ian had just joined the band), and we ended up losing to Zombies, so it was great to return to the same venue and win this time! It does feel like the work we put in since then has made a difference.

Once all the bands had been announced for your leg of the battle how did you think you would fair in comparison? And how had you prepared for the possibility of not being chosen to go through to Johannesburg?

We were happy that we were paying a ROAR to be honest, because we like the venue. All the legs were tough in our opinion because there is a high standard in Cape Town. We had lost before, so we were prepared for the worst, but we focused on winning the show, and not allowing negativity to enter the mind!

Last year BS opened for Darkest Hour in Cape Town. How did it feel to open for an international band?

It was a really awesome experience. It all flied by so quickly, from the moment you get to soundcheck to the moment you walk off stage. The crowd was supportive and that made a huge difference, so thanks to them.

What can Johannesburg and the judges look forward to and expect from BS on May 28^th?

We don’t really want to give away too much, but those that know us will know we like to keep it sludgy yet tight. We have a few ideas when it comes to prepping for Joburg, which will be focussed on the music as number one, but then throwing in a slicker stage show, because we know it’s going to be super tough to win. We are under no illusions.

Tell us a little bit about how BS was conceived and the message within your music.

BULLETSCRIPT has been operational for about 6/7 years now, with the current line up coming together last year. Jacques and Kyle are the longest serving members and form the backbone of the band. JJ and Ian joined a few years back, but it was with the addition of Olly that the band finally settled on what we have now, which we feel is our strongest line-up yet.

We try to focus on bringing out the groove, and are definitely more 90’s influenced, but with a slightly ‘prog-ish’ take on arrangements (well for us anyway). This also extends into the lyrics, which are less flowery, very direct, and to the point.

We feel metal gives people the opportunity to let off some steam, so the music and lyrics should reflect that catharsis.

With your EP, Knotted, being released 2 years ago in 2014, can we expect something new within the near future?

We have some new material lined up, and are weighing up options regarding recording studios. We are going to spend more time in pre-production and have set up some basic gear to facilitate that process. We have a dedicated live sound engineer, Jethro Harris, who assist us with studio work too as we firmly believe a band must take charge of
their sound, as it is the most important aspect when it comes to perception of the band, even in a world where marketing often precedes music (like we said, we are 90’s influenced J)