L.A. THRASH IS KING!!
Rising out of Pomona, in the Los Angeles, Ca. outer suburbs, Bonded by Blood have rapidly emerged as one of the youngest (average age just 18) and arguably one of most proficient of the New Thrash wave of acts pouring out of that city in recent times.
Formed in the summer of 2005 by a 17 year old hardcore-punk-thrash driven vocalist (Aladdin), he soon teamed up with like-minded young guitar shredders (Alex Lee and Juan Boogie), then found a drummer influenced by more classic metal (Carlos Cervesa), and finally added a bassist who was more than a little "out there " (RuDo) to round out the line-up.

Although partly influenced by different styles of music, they all met through a love of one genre: THRASH METAL. Having one major fave band in common - namely, 80's Thrash stalwarts- Exodus, they decided to name themselves after the bands genre-defining classic debut. Thus, Bonded by Blood was born. Ironically, none of band were actually born when the album first hit the racks back in 1985!

The band's prowess was noticed when they won first place in the TNT productions battle of the bands at Riverside, which included over 250 bands. That was no mean feat in a notoriously competitive LA scene- but as a young band starting at the bottom of the food chain, Bonded By Blood knew a solid practise regime was required to hone their razor sharp riffs with one single purpose- to become a respected LA thrash metal band, perhaps one worthy of eventually following in the footsteps of the 'Big 4' Thrash acts of the 80s.

Time will tell, but 2 decades on from the origination of the genre, the big 4 have since become part of the regular metal mainsteam, leaving legions of fans starved of the Old-school thrash vibes. Bonded By Blood aim to change all that - and hence lead the pack of bands playing old-school Thrash but with an added energy, fun and youthful vigour, with a modern twist all of their own making. Bonded By Blood are no mere 80's rehash.

After playing a countless number of shows in a short amount of time, BBB began to gather genuine momentum, rapidly amassing a rabid LA fan base, helping the band to play their part in putting the LA New Thrash Wave on the map as undoubtedly one of the most exciting, fast-rising scenes currently in metal. Word spread, and they soon shared the stage with Testament, Flotsam and Jetsam, Sadus, and recently got to play main support to their heroes - Exodus.

Recording-wise, 2006 saw the release of their first demo, 'Four Pints of Blood', which finally showed what Bonded by Blood was all about. BBB got attention from many more fans after promoting that release. August 2007 saw BBB's 'Extinguish the Weak' self-released EP hit the web and the streets, resulting in instant acclaim from the awaiting hordes of thrash fanatics, and label interest was swift to follow, as the spotlight had by then begun to shine on the burgeoning LA Thrash scene.

Weeks before the EP was released however, Bonded by Blood had received an offer from the label which is doing the most to put the new Thrash wave of acts on the global map- Earache Records. So, naturally, in September of 2007, Bonded by Blood and Earache inked for a long-term worldwide recording deal.

The debut Bonded By Blood album is slated for release on Earache during early 2008. Watch this space.

More info at www.myspace.com/bondedbyblood.



BONDED BY BLOOD INTERVIEW with vocalist Aladdin. September 2007
Introduce the members of the band and what does everyone play?
Aladdin does vocals, Alex and Mr. Boogie (Juan) both do their guitars, Rudo stands there with his bass, and Carlos just thrashes his skins. We formed in summer 2005.
 
We figure you take your name from the classic Exodus debut album. Why
Did you choose that name and  why are you  such big fans?
We are all fucking major Exodus fans and that album is just a total killer
Thrash classic! From the 1st track till the end it just shows how fucking thrash REALLY was. The name was mostly chosen by Aladdin, he kept listening to that whole album so much that it was bound to happen.

(above: Bonded by Blood)
 
You're an extremely young band, with the average members age being just 18 years old. How did you get so proficient?
Practice, practice, and even MORE practice. A lot of dedication to our instruments and no slacking off. But when that doesn't work, sell your soul to the devil, that tends to help out a little.
 
Who are your major influences?
As a band, the name says it hahaha. Exodus, but our top 3 bands are :
Exodus, Megadeth and Testament.
 
Tell us about the LA, Californian scene. Big things are happening
there at the moment with the current  New Thrash Wave of young bands
reviving the Thrash movement.
Yeah it's pretty awesome! Crowds get bigger by the minute, more thrash bands rise up from cities everywhere. We remember when we first started we were playing with other genres of music because of the lack of thrash bands around. But it seems like out of no where, thrash bands  have begun to rise and in our opinion, it's pretty awesome.

(left: Exodus) 

What other bands do you recommend in the LA scene and which ones have You played with/hung out with?
Man, there's just so many to choose from, there's Tyrant, Neurotoxin, Rattlehead, Primevil, Desecrate, Hexen, Warbringer, Svenhardz, and our really good buddies which are not mainly thrash but have the thrash taste, Exmortus. There's more but our heads hurt haha.
 
What are you doing differently to the bands that have come before you and how do you stand out among the new breed?
We love the old thrash sound and we are trying to mix all of the things we love about thrash and put our own twist into it. I think what sets us apart from the new breed is the whole complexity of our playing plus Aladdin's vocals really stand out from the rest, Alex's shredding, plus our bassist plays slap-bass style  in some songs, which is rarely heard in thrash bands now.
 
What are your songs about and what influences your music?
Well, this ones kinda hard to answer. We don't tend to stick to one subject, it could go from total destruction to life experiences, Aladdin has big comic book influences and that tends to help a lot in our lyrics. Our songs are about hate, pure destruction, feeding beasts, and everything in between.
 
But whats with the one about  Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? It's brilliant and deserves to really catch on -but why about the turtles?
It was to define our generation, plus, we're big turtle fans! Fucking Cowabunga! Why not make a damn turtles song, it's what the world needs haha.
Come on, kids our age back in the day watched it too, even Rudo, our bassist, who didn't even know English at the time loved them.

Do you have jobs outside of the band and if so any interesting ones?
Well, Alex works at the Metal shop and he thinks it's cool because he's got to slice with metal drills and machines. Aladdin and Rudo both work at a big screen TV warehouse which makes it pretty convenient as they both pretend to work all day, well if you want to call it work, they just watch a bunch of TV and write material. Actually, that's where most of our material came from. Juan and Carlos go to school part time and party full time.
 
Alex Lee is  already quite revered as an outstanding guitarist - one of the best in  the worldwide New Thrash Wave. Any comment, Alex?
Alex: I'm really flattered and honoured to hear the remarks that people say about me. I really appreciate the kind words that you guys gave me, it still feels like I don't deserve it haha I still have much to learn. One day
I'll conquer the guitar, for Mr. Boogie (Juan) is catching up to me and when that day comes, we'll have the biggest guitar battle ever in the world! So guitar freaks- stay tuned haha.
 
(right: Alex Lee)
 

(above: 'Extinguish the Weak' E.P.)

Have you heard about the flourishing UK Thrash scene and are you in touch with any of the bands? 
Yeah I heard all about the UK Thrash scene, bands like Gama Bomb, Mutant, Pitiful Reign, and of course, Evile. We really don't keep in touch but we've heard a lot of good things about them. Can't wait to actually play a show with them  as label mates, one day soon I hope.
 
You currently have a blistering  self-released EP out called ‘Extinguish The Weak’. How close are you to completing the debut LP?
Well, we are all happy with how the EP came out, it really sums up  what we are. When the album comes out, it should be even more brutal than the EP ever was, kind of like getting shot in the head. We plan to go into the recording studio later on this year to complete our  debut album for Earache.
 
(above: Bonded by Blood gig) What are your plans for touring and what can we expect from a live Bonded By Blood show?
Well, we want to go out and tour as soon as possible, hit as many cities as we can, spread our thrash to the masses. As for the live shows, you can expect total brutality. Don't go in the front unless you want to get smashed by the pits. You can expect us to be all over the stage doing what we do best, running around and rippin' it up!

What do you do in your spare time besides music?
Well when we have time, we like to relax, go play some arcades, SKATE, catch Alex watching porn haha. Ping Pong, watch horror movies or super hero movies, those are cool too.
Lastly, what are each of your fave 5 Thrash albums of all time? Alex
1 Exodus- Bonded by Blood
2 Metallica- Master of Puppets
3 Megadeth- Countdown to Extinction
4 Megadeth- Peace sells but who's buying
5 Testament- Practice what you preach
Rudo
1 Exodus- Bonded by Blood
2 Megadeth- Countdown to Extinction
3 Metallica- Master of Puppets
4 Testament- The Legacy
5 Exodus- Fabulous Disaster
Aladdin
1 Exodus-Bonded by Blood
2 Megadeth- Killing is my business and business is good
3 Metallica-  Ride the Lightning
4 Suicidal Tendencies- Lights, Camera, Revolution
5 Testament- The Legacy
Juan
1 Exodus- Bonded by Blood
2 Testament- First Strike Still Deadly
3 Exodus- Tempo of the Damned
4 Testament- The Gathering
5 Megadeth- Countdown to Extinction
Carlos
1 Exodus- Bonded by Blood
2 Metallica- And Justice for All
3 Megadeth- So far So good.. So what
4 Megadeth- Rust in Peace
5 Metallica- Kill em' All