BLEEDING THROUGH Keyboardist Talks New Album

Altsounds.com recently conducted an interview with keyboardist Marta Peterson of Orange County, California's BLEEDING THROUGH. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Altsounds.com: The new album is self-titled. Do you think it's the best representation of who you are as a band?

Marta: Absolutely. We've been doing this a long time now. I've been in the band almost seven years, but BLEEDING THROUGH's been around for a decade now. Regardless of member changes and whatever BLEEDING THROUGH has been through, this album is pretty definitive of our sound and what we're about, and I think after 10 years you get a self-titled album! (laughs)

Altsounds.com: You've been through a lot as a band with line up changes and labels as well. But every time you come back you're always a little bit more pissed off and you keep fighting. Would you say you're a band that thrives on conflict and does it push you harder?

Marta: It can do both. It can be absolutely crushing when things are down and times are hard. We've all struggled personally with BLEEDING THROUGH or with our own lives, it can be hard to want to continue, but at the same time you gotta kinda use that and I think that's what BLEEDING THROUGH has always done. We've always used whatever down trodden times we've ever had and used them to continue to make music. As much as it can be your fuel, it can also be the water to put you out as well. It's not like we've sky rocketed or anything, it's been a relatively steady climb for BLEEDING THROUGH, or an uphill battle which ever way you wanna look it at. We continue to do it because we have to, we're all still committed to it, but its not always easy.

Altsounds.com: You've added a more gothic almost black metal touch to your sound. Did you push for more keyboards or was it a natural progression?

Marta: It's been a natural progression. If you listen to "Dust To Ashes" or "Portrait Of A Goddess" there's an element of black metal, that's why Brandan [Schieppatti, vocals] started BLEEDING THROUGH, he wanted something darker, he wanted something with keys. BLEEDING THROUGH always had a black metal influence even though some of the albums are a little less obvious or a little lighter. It is always something I think BLEEDING THROUGH wanted to incorporate and was a part of BLEEDING THROUGH. With every album we've figured out more and more what its is that BLEEDING THROUGH's sound is and it is quite obvious that a big part of it is black metal. It's not pure black metal because none of us is pure one way or another we all have such different influences.

Altsounds.com: Your new song "Anti-Hero" is pretty brutal!

Marta: Thank you.

Altsounds.com: Is It indicative of how the new album is going to sound?

Marta: Yeah I think so, it is a pretty good preview I guess. Thrash, fast and black metal. It's a good preview, although there are a handful of melodic parts throughout the album I'd say its still a pretty good representation.

Altsounds.com: What themes are you covering this time around?

Marta: Generally, it's about our situation and the way it's continued, and the way we've been around for so long and witnessed the changing of people and the changing of times, and all the frustrating things that come with being in a band that has not just been given things. There's a song called "Your Abandonment" and it's about being abandoned by certain things.

Altsounds.com: We've talked about the trails and tribulations of the band at length. Was there ever a time when you thought you wouldn't be able to carry on any more?

Marta: No. There have been ghosts of that idea, though none of us have ever talked about it. We have a tendency to no need words to understand where everybody is. There were certain times when certain people thought they couldn't do it, any of us have gone through it individually but it's never lined up enough that all of us have wanted to throw in the towel. When it comes down to it we've all worked so hard to get where we are now and even though members have left or whatever, everybody time line is different and I guess certain things would tear the band apart, but losing members along the way didn't. We never had a time where we said we want to stop or have to stop. It was more personal rises and falls.

Read the entire interview from Altsounds.com.