Interview with Guitarist Aaron Robinson of Blood of Angels

January 23, 2023

Interview with Guitarist Aaron Robinson of Blood of Angels

By Mick Michaels

The Cosmick View: Hello! Welcome to The Cosmick View. Thank you for taking some time out of your day to chat with me, it's greatly appreciated.
Aaron Robinson: Thank you for the opportunity to be a part of The Cosmick View and allowing us to communicate with your audience.

CV: Please tell us a little about BLOOD OF ANGELS.
AR: I am the guitarist for Blood of Angels. We also have Randy Reyes as our vocalist, Jonathan Rushford on drums, and the madman Maggot on Bass.

We began in 2015 with our first release being the “Rise of the Fallen Gods” EP in 2017. The single “Odin’s Wrath” did a lot of good things for us. We won some independent music awards…the big one being Best Metal/Hardcore Song at the 16^th Annual Independent Music Awards.

Since then, we released our first full-length album “Failure of Faith” in 2020. As soon as we were able to, we got on the road and toured in the USA and headlined a few small festivals such as Metal Fest XI in Kentucky. Which is a fantastic cancer benefit headed by Allen Ashbaugh. We also contributed tracks for Black Sabbath and Motorhead tribute albums.

Recently, we just released our latest single titled “Spillage” last October. We plan on writing and recording a new album this coming year.

CV: Given so many major changes over the last decade, do you believe the music industry is a practicable and stable enough environment for new artists success really be achieved in your opinion for your band?
AR: I don’t think it is a stable enough environment…on the financial side at least. Metal isn’t a very popular genre. It has gone the same direction jazz and blues has in the music industry. Will metal always exist? I believe it always will. But I don’t think it will ever be back to its height in the 80’s to mid-90’s. Metal like jazz and blues music is mostly in the underground with festivals bringing in large attendance of fans. I know people are going to say, what about Metallica, Iron Maiden, Slipknot, and other nostalgia tours. My comment on that is, those bands have been around for decades and were already having success at that level before Napster brought the traditional music machine down. I have recently been to an Iron Maiden show, a vast majority of the fans were middle age to say the least. They were there for nostalgia of the past if anything. You could tell, when they played songs from Senjutsu the response of the crowd was nowhere near what it was when they played songs from the 80’s. These bands can’t go on forever. The industry isn’t developing the next acts to take over.

My other thought of the environment is the business practices of promoters. It seems like; you can’t get on a decent tour unless you come from wealth if you are a new band trying to get a break. We have been offered some fantastic opportunities to open for some great tours. Some tours wanted us to buy-on. We were required to pay as much as $20,000.00 USD to go on tour. Plus cover our own expenses. I could understand if they wanted us to play for free for the opportunity to prove ourselves. But in my world, $20,000.00 is a down payment on a house…just to go on a three-week tour…let alone pay for gas, food, the occasional hotel, and our bills at home so we have a home when we get off the road. At the end of it you’re looking at $30,000.00 USD.

For the second question, I do believe Blood of Angels can find our own sustainability. Depending on how you define success. Do I think we could be an arena band? That would be nice, but not realistic. I believe we could build a solid following to where we could make a profit touring. If we could break even on recorded music, that would be an amazing achievement.

CV: What do you see as the biggest change in the music industry since you first started out with the band?
AR: The dominance that Spotify has on the whole industry.

CV: How do you see the band's music separating itself from your peers and avoiding just being another cog in the wheel?
AR: I feel our ability to not lock ourselves into one specific subgenre when we write does separate ourselves some. We haven’t gone into the “breakdown” rabbit hole. So many bands have and are still doing it to excess. We also like to do concept albums focusing on a singular subject or telling a story.

CV: Has the industry’s many changes affected how you write music? Has it influenced your songwriting style in any drastic form?
AR: It hasn’t changed the way we do things. I still like the traditional way of four people in a room hashing out ideas, and we still write mostly five-minute songs. I know the industry would like everything to be three minutes or less. There is nothing wrong with writing three-minute songs. Songs so short does not give the music the opportunity to breath. Since most commercial music is the same two measures looped over and over again, there is no need to express anything outside the lyrics.

CV: Has digital technology led the way for almost anyone to be a musical artist in your opinion?
AR: It has, because when I have spoken to younger people about music it isn’t about the instruments they play but how they sample sounds a blend them together. That is also the current pop musical trend today. I can see why most of the younger generation is inspired to make music this way.

CV: Has music in general been broken into too many sub-genres? Why do think there are so many classifications of music types? Can this be confusing for an artist who is looking to build a brand? As well, can it be confusing for the fans?AR: It has been broken down too much. With that said, I understand the reasoning behind it. They’re so many classifications, because as humans we feel the need to label and organize things to make it understandable. I don’t think it confusing for the bands or the fans. Once the bands know which label best describes them, they know who to market too. I cannot see how it is confusing for the fans, considering the fans created much of the labeling in the first place.

CV: How would you define “iconic” when it comes to being an artist or musician? What do you think makes an artist iconic?
AR: A band is “iconic” when they have created a style to express themselves in a visual or musical way that no one has heard or seen before and is recognized for that effort. Also, someone who has broken through convention to achieve success.

CV: Who would you consider to be a modern day “rock star?” And is being a “rock star” something to aspire to?
AR: That is a tough one, I would say Johan Hegg of Amon Amarth would be my best choice for this question. The way he can capture an entire audience and hold them in the palm of his hand is incredible. To be called a “Rock Star” would be a title I would like to be associated with.

CV: Does music need to have a message to convey to the world for it to be worth listening to in your opinion?
AR: I think so. Whether it is to tell a story, discuss a moment in history, or conveying a deep emotion I feel the songs should have a message.

CV: What's next for BLOOD OF ANGELS? What can fans expect to see coming?
AR: We have taken a break for the holidays. After the New Year we will be getting back together and start working on the new album. We plan on having out by the end of the year. Then we will be hitting the road in 2024.

CV: Thank you again for spending some time talking and sharing with our readers. It was a pleasure. I wish you all the best and continued success.
AR: I wish you all the best as well. I really enjoyed answering your questions. Thank you for making them interesting, and deep meaning. I hope to do it again sometime.

Check out BLOOD OF ANGELS at:

Official Website: http://www.bloodofangels.net

Facebook: http://ww.facebook.com/bloodofangels1

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/bloodofangels

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/bloodofangels1

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/bloodofangels

Reverbnation: http://www.reverbnation.com/bloodofangels1

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My name is Mick Michaels...I'm an artist, music fan, songwriter, producer, show host, dreamer and guitarist for the traditional Heavy Metal band Corners of Sanctuary. Writing has always been a creative outlet for me; what I couldn't say in speech, I was able to do with the written word. Writing has given me a voice and a way for me to create on a multitude of platforms including music and song, articles, independent screenplays, books and now, artist interviews. The Cosmick View is an opportunity to raise the bar and showcase artists in a positive and inspirational light. For me, it's another out-of-this-world adventure.