Beltfed Weapon

Country: USA
Genre: Death/Thrash Metal
Founded: 1999

After releasing their third EP, the highly acclaimed Raining Plague, in 2015, Seattle metal band Beltfed Weapon had a tough time cementing a lineup of dedicated band members. So, frontman Frank Hetzel took matters into his own hands. Instead of wasting time auditioning new musicians, Hetzel wrote a batch of songs on his own and then brought in some of the top musicians in the thrash, death, and technical metal scenes to work with him on the new Beltfed Weapon EP Darkened Demise.

Darkened Demise showcases Beltfed Weapon at their best. Driven to succeed at all costs, Hetzel put the pedal to the metal and wrote five skull-crushing songs full of aggressive riffs, innovative arrangements, and multidimensional vocal approaches. A two-decade veteran in the business, Hetzel has met and befriended some of the top players on the meal scene. So, he played the new songs for musicians from bands as diverse as Morbid Angel, Into Eternity, Arch Enemy, Exhorder, Black Label Society, Testament, and Heathen. Then, he invited them to perform with him on the EP, and everyone was thrilled to help.

The first Beltfed Weapon song in four years, “Headfirst Into Hell,” is a multidimensional assault that features clean vocals by Tim Aymar of Control Denied (the last band to include Death founder Chuck Schuldiner). The song is both rousing and roiling, rife with thrash riffs, double- bass drumming, and prog/power metal rhythms. Hetzel started working on the song with his friend, bassist Dagna Silesia for a different project. But when he heard how well it was turning out, he decided to turn it into a Beltfed Weapon song.

While many of Beltfed Weapon’s songs are about war, “Headfirst Into Hell” confronts a different kind of battle. ““It’s about drug addiction,” Hetzel says. “I had a really close family member who went down that road. It’s a painful process for the addict, but also for the family.
It’s so hard to see someone going through that and not be able to do anything.”

Darkened Demise is loaded with abrupt tempo shifts, staggered rhythms, extended middleeights, and other musical hairpin turns that keep the music exciting and unpredictable.
Moreover, the EP is a labor of love – a project Hetzel pursued by himself with a bunch of friends and guests he invited along for the ride.

Members of the band:
Frank Hetzel — guitar, songwriter
Jeff Loomis — lead guitar
Kragen Lum — lead guitar
Tim Aymar — vocals
Steve Tucker — vocals
J.D. DeServio — bass
Jason Viebrooks — bass
Dagna Silesia — bass
Bryan Newberry — drums

Links:
Website: https://www.beltfedweapon.net
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/beltfedweapon/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/BELTFEDWEAPON
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/29UmL3qkm2Evn8gOZmC8kc
Bandcamp: https://www.beltfedweapon.bandcamp.com