BUTCHER BABIES Will 'Really Take Chances' With The Vocals On Next Album

Gene Gaona of Capital Chaos TV recently conducted an interview with BUTCHER BABIES frontwoman Carla Harvey. You can now watch the chat below. A couple of excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On what inspired the title of the band's most recent album, "Take It Like A Man":

Carla: "That was a lyric from a song 'Dead Man Walking'. As the writing progressed and we were trying to think of a name for the album, we thought, 'Why not use that line?' That song is very important to both Heidi [Shepherd, co-vocalist] and I. It details how we grew up with our fathers. That line kept coming back and back. It's such a great statement. It's a statement that says, 'Life's going to come at you hard. You have to remain strong no matter what it throws at you. Keep yourself tough.' It's not gender-based; it's not telling little girls 'Just take it like a man!' It's not for men. It's for anybody who has a dream and is going through a hard time. Just owning up, pulling your boots up, get on with your life and get going. It's the perfect title."

On Harvey's upbringing in Detroit:

Carla: "I grew up in a mixed neighborhood. My first neighborhood changed dramatically. I grew up in a multi-cultural neighborhood, but overnight, it became predominantly African-American. I'm half-black. The problem with that area when I was growing up was that it was very racially divided, unfortunately. I've been to a few places in my life that still feel racially divided and where I grew up is one of them. It's better now and is getting better all the time. There were a lot of race riots in Detroit that really did separate people, unfortunately. Before my mom married my dad years and years ago, she got a lot of flak. She lost a lot of friends. They would say stuff to us that was very negative. Going through those experiences and having a hard time growing up, just makes you a stronger person. It makes you who you are. I'm very proud of everything that makes up who I am. A lot of people always say, 'Why do you talk about being black? Why don't you talk about being white?' I'm most likely to talk about being biracial because being biracial is something completely different than being black or white. It's a special thing. It really makes you who you are. I get the best of both worlds and the worst of both worlds sometimes. All of those experiences have made me who I am. I wouldn't have it any other way."

On how she got into metal:

Carla: "MEGADETH was my first rock concert ever. The first metal song I ever heard was a METALLICA song when I was in the back of one of my friend's vans and they were listening to METALLICA. I always tell the story that the sound, the angriness, the lyrics, just the speed of the song, it felt how I felt on the inside on the outside. So I was immediately attracted to thrash metal. I loved the 'Big Four.' I loved PANTERA growing up, and I also loved stuff like GUNS N' ROSES, but for me, growing up like I did, it was very hard for me to admit that's what I was drawn to. People wanted me to prove my blackness. I always drawn to rock and roll, especially thrash metal."

On BUTCHER BABIES' increased use of clean vocals:

Carla: "Heidi and I are both trained classically as singers. We love doing both. I know that Heidi, when we started, she said, 'I don't ever want to sing, ever!' Over time, we've both gone down the path of singing and screaming. It's great to mix it up. We can do both. I'm so proud of how far we've both come with our vocals. It's fun to switch it up and do new things. On the next album that we're writing, which we're going to finish after this tour, we're going to be doing all different kinds of stuff, really taking some different chances with the vocals."

BUTCHER BABIES' second album, last year's "Take It Like A Man", was produced by Logan Mader, who has previously worked with FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH, DEVILDRIVER, CAVALERA CONSPIRACY and GOJIRA.