Interview: 06.2006
BY BLOOD ALONE:
B-Movie Horror Prog-Metal
By Randy Billings
Chances are - if you have heard the name By Blood Alone or seen it in the local band calendar of this or other local rock rags - you have simply passed over it, thinking that they were just another heavy band playing at Geno's Rock Club or the Alehouse. If this is true, you couldn't have been more wrong and your ignorance has cost you several chances to see one of Portland's more original and unique bands.
"I think people hear our name and prejudge what we sound like," said Cruella, the lead vocalist and lyricist. “They assume we’re some thrash band or grindcore or screamo.”
The fact of the matter is By Blood Alone is none of the above. If this writer were to offer a description to go along with the countless others, he might be inclined to call it ‘B-Movie Horror Prog-Metal, presented with a macabre sense of humor.’ One thing BBA is, however, is grandiose - with songs ranging from six to ten minutes and their elaborate stage designs for Halloween (please do yourself a favor, go to their show in Oct. wherever it is); or other special performances, such as the Halfway to Halloween Horror Ball they recently played at The Space Gallery with Covered in Bees, which included a collaboration with Portland belly dancing troupe, the Medusa Maidens.
The brainchild of John Graveside, By Blood Alone is, for the most part, a metal band born in 2003. But narrowing the scope of this all-encompassing genre to peer into their world (or underworld) of music becomes tricky. In a case like this, it's best to put it in their own words.
"It mutated out of an idea I had about 15 years ago," said guitarist/composer Graveside (a proud college drop out who once majored in Medieval and Renaissance Lit.) "Maybe five years ago I started listening a lot to Mercyful Fate, The Damned and some of the female-fronted European metal bands. So I wanted to do a really heavy, dark, melodic band with a female vocalist. At the time, it was going to be a metal Ten-Thousand Maniacs, if that makes any sense.
“I had very set ideas about what I wanted,” he continued. “But even if it didn’t come out exactly like that, just as long as it was something unique, I would be satisfied.”
The group is unique and guided by Graveside’s vision, is simply equal to the sum of it's parts. In this case, they are many. First there's Graveside, with too many influences to list, having played in everything from alt-county bands to his current endeavor. He spent most of his life in New York, where he and his Manhattan alt-country group of nine years, The Trailside Rangers, nearly broke through with Epic Records, but ultimately, were not signed after negotiations with mega label.
Disenchanted with both the big business of music and the Manhattan lifestyle, Graveside and company went their separate ways. After trying to start a group in Boston, where according to the guitarist, it was nearly impossible, especially if you didn’t own a practice space, he and his wife came to Southern Maine, where they bought a house in Westbrook. Then viola! He had an instance rehearsal/audition space, which he promptly put to use.
It was through the arduous process of auditions that he met Cruella, who he had actually met both first and last out of the current lineup, since she first responded to his ad for a singer after it had been filled. Cruella was eager to front a band for the first time, having recorded and performed with Portland groups Swamp Witch Revival, Super Soul Challenger and Conifer. After getting the callback when the other vocalist failed, she quickly put her influences to work - influences that include personal struggle (i.e. decay and beauty), Norse Mythology, Tim Burton, pop culture, 1980's rock, Gothic subculture and chronic nightmares.
“I listened to a lot of pop growing up - everything from Madonna to Prince to Chaka Khan,” she admitted, making no apologies. “Then, I listened to a lot of R&B in the 80’s, but before that - from infancy to say junior high - I was influenced by Joni Mitchell, the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. And recently, I have rediscovered Goth bands like Fields of the Nephilim and Christian Death.”
One listen to Cruella’s vocal style and all of these influences, well, pop out, but not in any way that is contrived or lifeless. Although she still loves R&B and blues, she doesn’t use the stalk vocals runs and breathy whining that have come to define the genre today, taking from them the organic heart and soul and leaving the fluff behind.
“In the beginning I may have been in a bad space emotionally, because (the songs) were definitely a lot darker and broody - just a spilling of frustration in general,” said Cruella (who holds a Masters of Fine Art from Cranbrook Academy) of her early inspiration. “But at the same time, like with ‘Every Night’, which is on the EP (Eternally, available at Bull Moose, live shows and most online retailers, including iTunes, CD Baby and Amazon), I have very vivid and violent dreams - sometimes horror movie dreams. But I also like the creepy, light-hearted, dark stuff and there is definitely a romantic side to it.”
Rounding out the lineup is: Jack Doran, the bassist influenced by both American and Euro-metal, who is the quiet killer of the group - both in terms of his wit and technical abilities as a performing bassist; Jenny Williamson, who is a classically trained keyboardist who has really excelled with her first band (BBA), filling in the sound with ominous organ overtones which give each tune its doom-like quality; and Runtt, the drummer with “amazing technique” who has been influenced by all of his huge record collection, according to Graveside.
He recounted for Good Times his defining moment with Runtt. “The thing that got me was when I was talking about how a lot of our songs have a gallop to them. And he said, ‘I’ve got three gallops: the Iron Maiden, ‘Run To The Hills’ gallop; the Devo, ‘Whip It’ gallop; and the "In a Big Country" by Big Country gallop. Which one do you want?” That, according to Graveside, sealed the deal.
Now, one might think that having such a broad base of influences might be a detriment to a band, which - without the right personalities - will suffer from an identity crisis for as long as they exist; but that isn’t the case with By Blood Alone. According to both musicians, the group has found common ground and is beginning to write music more collaboratively. Now, it’s more of a two-way street, one in which Cruella writes lyrics and melody lines, to which the rest of the band sets a musical arrangement, whereas before, she would primarily write to Graveside's arrangements. The result is a less poppy (not that they were pop before) and more Epic-based sound, as is the case with their new nine-minute odyssey “Serpentarious.”
Folks in New Hampshire will get a chance to catch By Blood Alone at Milly’s Tavern with Mindset X in Manchester. Portlanders, however, will have to wait until July 21 to see them at Geno’s Rock Club, when they play a show with Mata Hari and Damien Zygote (sponsored by WCYY’s Spinout). BBA will storm Geno’s stage again on August 26 for Graveside’s birthday bash, so don't miss it. For up to date concert info log onto ByBloodAlone.com or visit MySpace.com/ByBloodAlone