Blistering.com: Your influences come all across the map- I hear thrash, melodic death, modern screams as well as musicality rarely combined in today’s artists. What would you say are 3-4 bands everyone can agree on that shaped the essence of the Battlecross sound?
Deraniyagala: I would say Pantera, Testament, Slayer, and old Metallica. Those kind of bands. We are all so diverse in the stuff that we listen to. There are some bands I like that maybe the other guys in the band don’t listen to. It’s hard to pinpoint core bands that have influenced us. What gives us a variety of sounds is the fact that we do listen to diverse styles and we try to incorporate this into the feel of our songs. Guitar-wise Tony and I are influenced by the playing of Metallica and Testament, whereas Don is more into video game music, Gwar, Primus. Kyle is into Black Dahila Murder and more of the newer stuff too, and our drummer loves Sepultura and Black Dahila Murder but it all just comes together.
Blistering.com: How would you describe Battlecross live? What aspects of your performance separate you from the rest of the bands locally?
Deraniyagala: Live for me I have always been a fan of the bands that really just get into it. When you are out there you should really show what you are feeling with your music. And that’s what I strive to do – give 100% and go up there and thrash, headbang. If you do not look like you are into it and care, why should anyone else care? I think live, stage presence is very important on top of the music you write.
Blistering.com: I believe you have a great management team behind the band. How important is it for bands to realize that you need a solid team behind you to succeed in the metal business?
Deraniyagala: Very important. Having a solid team and you have to treat this like a business if you want to survive. You have to have that mentality on top of being creative and all other aspects, you need people behind you with a good work ethic and a business mind. When you have a team that can work together with the label, that’s the best thing you can do. You want to make their job easier, and the more they will promote you. You need to put out a lot of the work yourself – you can’t expect the label to do all the work for you, it doesn’t work like that at all.
Blistering.com: If you had the chance to have a conversation with anyone in the recording industry, living or not, who would you choose to talk to and what things would you want to talk about?
Deraniyagala: Tough one. Man, if I could I would love to talk to Dimebag. I’ve looked up to him so much as a guitar player, just to get his advice on everything- how huge Pantera got, everything he put in from the beginning to the end. I respect him so much as a person, I wish I could have gotten that time with him. That’s a guy I highly respect and that band were on top at one time, pick his brain.
Blistering.com: How important do you believe friendship and personal chemistry are to the development of a band?
Deraniyagala: It’s really important and I think it helps out with the band a lot. Tony and I grew up together and we started playing guitar together. It’s important to work with people you can get along with, because obviously being in a band there are always going to be little fights here and there. You want to be with a group of guys that all want the same thing and goals. If you have one person that isn’t working hard enough it will affect everyone else. This is a family- we are all brothers, we are working for the same common goal.
Blistering.com: You work for your day job at Quicken Loans – does it scare people that know that you play in an aggressive band or are you able to make some of your co-workers into Battlecross fans?
Deraniyagala: It’s so cool, they are really supportive. They call me the rock star at work [laughs]. I’m following my dreams and they think it’s really cool. This is that type of company, they love supporting my dreams. I send them the video links and they are following the whole story.
Blistering.com: Do you think in today’s society with everything moving to digital mediums and downloads that it’s hard to establish a following being an up and coming band versus the veterans who were successful in the 80’s and 90’s?
Deraniyagala: It’s a huge difference. Especially in the older days when you didn’t have this technology and you had to go out and buy music. I think it is a little harder. You have to avenues with the internet to get your music out to everybody, but there are so many bands now and it’s oversaturated. That’s one of the main reasons why we wanted to sign to a label, that notoriety and reputation that can help you get out to larger chains. It is possible, but it’s about networking and it can be hard for a newer band if you don’t have those connections. The internet is only so much of an audience, there is still an audience that doesn’t always use Facebook or Myspace, and they may not be searching for bands on the internet. The internet has helped get more extreme music out to the mainstream, but as a younger band compared to the veteran bands it’s definitely is a difference. It’s important to have management and a label to get you out there.
Blistering.com: I would imagine you’ll be a touring machine over the next year or so. Have you begun the writing process for the second album and if so, what type of direction do you foresee Battlecross taking on the follow-up?
Deraniyagala: Touring is in the future, but we have been writing material for the second record. I just see us trying to outdo what we did with the first record. We are not going to do drastic changes and fit in the mold to be more popular, we are going to challenge ourselves and be even more musicianship-wise but still writing a good song. We have to write good songs. I just see us stepping our game up and writing what we feel, and I’m sure touring will affect us.