An Interview With The Orlando-Based Metal Band, BLESSING A CURSE!

Meet the Orlando-based metal act, Blessing A Curse, who are best known for their unusual amalgamation of metalcore, rap-metal, and pop-rock. The group recently released their album Waste, produced by Stephan Hawkes (Attila, Jonny Craig, Chelsea Grin) at Interlace Audio in Portland, OR. The album was put out on March 29th via Smartpunk Records.

Off of the album comes title track “Waste,” a song about letting yourself become engulfed in worries, stress, anxiety, and tension and taking it out on others. It is during those moments of weakness that a unique sense of clarity appears, to show you that through determination in the face of complete hopelessness and uncertainty, one can surpass it all.” This is the ideology behind Waste. Throughout the recording process, the band cited influences from Slipknot, Of Mice & Men, and Ice Nine Kills to add an eclectic mix of melodic guitar solos, technical riffs, blistering scream-rap verses, and soulful anthemic choruses guaranteed to tug at the heartstrings and leave the listener wanting more.

Learn more about Blessing A Curse in the following All Access interview:

Thanks for your time! What is on tap for the rest of your day?

-Just packing up and getting ready to go to Austin, Texas to play some free SXSW showcase gigs next week!

Now that a new year has started, what musical goals does this band have for 2019? What are you most proud of about 2018? Do any of you make any New Years Resolutions? 

-We just wanna tour with as many big names as possible to help get the word out about WASTE. I’d say writing it is our proudest accomplishment of 2018.

Can you recall the moment when you thought you could be in this group together? Was it hard to think of a name that you could agree on?

-We actually all joined this band at different times after the name was already formed, so no it wasn’t hard to agree on the name at all because it was already created.

How do you think your hometowns have influenced the sound and how you all carry yourselves in this group?

-We’re all from different little towns in Orlando, and when we were just starting out we were kind of the black sheep of the local scene so I think that difficulty with gaining traction definitely fueled our frustration which translates really well into heavy music! Haha

How has your various musical backgrounds helped shape the sound of this band?

Everyone in this band listens to drastically different shit so I think that keeps the sound fresh. I’ve always been into rap and hip-hop so that bleeds over into the scream patterns and choruses I write, and I’m sure the same can be said for the rest of the dudes in regards to what they listen to.

How do you think that you have grown as a band since forming? What has remained the same?

We’ve had the same 3 core members since the beginning (me, our bassist/vocalist Ronnie and our lead guitarist Brandon) so I think that’s helped us retain the same trademark sound while still trying to progress and branch out as much as possible with our sound.

Let’s talk about your brand new album, “Waste.” What was it like putting this collection together? What was it like working with your producer Stephan Hawkes?

-It was pretty stressful at times writing this album, but we wrote way more material than we ended up using on the record itself so only the best songs made the final cut. Recording it with Stephan Hawkes was the fun part though for sure. It was our first time recording music outside of Florida and he made us feel right at home. He was always willing to try whatever weird ideas any of us had and was so positive and encouraging at all times, I couldn’t imagine this record having been produced by anybody else.

What was the inspiration for the title song, “Waste”? How did it come together and get to be on the album?

-Brandon sent me the demo one night and was like “I know this is different from what we usually sound like but just see what you can come up with for it.” So I recorded some scratch vocals and sent it back over to him, and we actually ended up keeping all of it almost exactly as it was from the demo to the final version. It’s a raw, angst-ridden anthem for people who may hate their life right now but want to push through it because they know they deserve better.

Why is Smartpunk Records the right place for this group and your music today?

-Because they generously paid for our recordings and they let us have complete creative control of our sound!

Generally, how do you all go about writing your music? Do you write together or separately?

-We all write separately. Brandon will initially send a demo over with just his guitar ideas and digital drums, and then we all add our own parts to it one by one and revise stuff at practice or whenever we’re hanging out until the song kinda clicks into place.

Where do you think you are all happiest- in the studio recording new music, on stage performing or elsewhere?

-Probably on stage. As corny as it may sound that’s the only time all the other stressful bullshit that comes with being on the road is justified and we can all relax and do the fun part.

Do you find that all of social media and keeping up with your fans has gotten so overwhelming? Or do you rely heavily on others to take care of that for the band? Which platform would you say that you enjoy engaging with the most?

-It’s definitely not overwhelming yet. hahaha. We run all of our own social media ourselves, I guess the most fun one for us is Twitter. But we interact with everyone who comments/messages us on Instagram/Facebook/Twitter so hit us up! @BlessingACurse

We are currently living through a very trying and politically charged time right now so I am curious to know how you all think being musicians and in this band still gives you the most joy in life today? Do you find that your music is an escape to all the current events?

-I wouldn’t necessarily say that music is an escape from anything because it’s a lot of work and comes with its own share of roadblocks and obstacles like anything else, but it’s definitely the most worthwhile work of anything we all do because it’s where we can channel all our frustrations from every other aspect of life and make something constructive out of it.

What musicians would you love to work with in the future? What artists have really been inspiring this group and your music since day 1?

-We would absolutely love to share the stage with/open up for Of Mice & Men, Beartooth, Slipknot, Bring Me The Horizon, Ice Nine Kills, A Day To Remember, Underoath, Motionless In White, Killswitch Engage, Parkway Drive, New Year’s Day…pretty much any big name in rock/metal right now because they’ve all inspired us in some way or another.

What do you hope is the message of your music? What do you hope people continue to take away from your songs?

-That no matter how high the odds are stacked against you, no matter how small and shitty your hometown is, no matter how many times you’ve been told you don’t know the “right” people, no matter how many scars you have or how many doors are slammed in your face, no matter how broke or broken you are, you can still succeed if you work hard and never give up.

Is there anything else that you would like to share with our readers about this group?

-The first week of sales determine everything for a band after their album is released! What tours we can get on, how much we get paid every night etc. So if you want to support us, the absolute most helpful way to do it is to pre-order or buy our album between now and up until Friday, April 5th at www.smartpunkshop.com (we have CD’s for $5 and Vinyl for $15!), but if money’s tight then streaming our album on spotify or apple music helps too! Follow us on instagram/twitter (@BlessingACurse) and tell us what city you want us to come play in!