INTRANCED

Every so often, I am blindsided by a new band (or a band that has been around for a while but is new to me) and they get me excited about their releases.  That happened to me when I attended the Hell’s Heroes festival in March of this year.  I was already weary after a full day of metal mayhem but on the second day there was this band from California that captured my attention really quick.  INTRANCED hails from the Los Angeles area and they capture that 80s LA metal sound but with a twist.  Added into their sound is a good dose of SCORPIONS along with a smattering of THIN LIZZY.  They took the best elements of the late 70s hard rock scene and threw in a bunch of that early 80s metal and came up with a record that will definitely make it into my Top 10 of 2024. 

Aside from a couple of E.P.s that came out starting 2022, the band is out there now promoting their first full length release and as previously stated, it stands tall with all the other albums that have come out in 2024.  The name may be new to you but you may have seen the members of INTRANCED  in other outfits.  James-Paul Luna was fronting HOLY GRAIL last time I saw them in concert while Fili Bibiano was shredding with WINTERFALL and Ben Richardson lent his drumming talents to SERPENT CROWN.  Safe to say, these guys put in their dues and should get their big break with INTRANCED.

I was lucky to catch an interview Ben Richardson on a number of INTRANCED topic from influences, to touring, and even a quick question about their logo.

WORMWOOD CHRONICLES:  When I heard your band name, my first thought was that it reminded me of the SCORPIONS album “In Trance.” How did you come up with the name?

BEN RICHARDSON:  That was how! Naming a band can be hard work, and we were trying to think of things that we all had in common – ideas, values, influences, inspirations, etc. Our love of the early SCORPS records was a big influence on our sound and on the “concept,” of the band, so it made sense to pick a name that referenced that directly. We figured that like-minded people (like you) would “crack the code,” even if the reference isn’t exactly subtle, if you’re a fan of metal and hard rock.

WC:  I love your band’s logo because it has a very 80’s metal look.  Who designed your logo or how did that come about?

BR:   We reached out to a super-talented UK designer named Dan Capp, who has designed logos for other bands in our genre: ETERNAL CHAMPION, VISIGOTH, BLOOD STAR, and SPIRIT ADRIFT, to name a few. He immediately understood what we were going for, based on the references we sent him, and created something that we’ve been really happy with ever since.

WC:   I hear some THIN LIZZY in certain guitar parts, along with other 70’s hard rock bands.  What bands really had a profound musical influence on you or other members of INTRANCED?

BR:  THIN LIZZY is definitely an important influence. I already talked about THE SCORPIONS; in addition to them, I would also mention DIO, DIAMOND HEAD, UFO, MICHAEL SCHENKER GROUP, QUEENSRYCHE, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN’S RISING FORCE, RATA BLANCA, and ANGELES DEL INFIERNO. It’s also impossible to be in a traditional metal band without being hugely influenced by JUDAS PRIEST and IRON MAIDEN, even if it’s not a particularly novel thing to mention.

WC:  What was the moment in your life that made you decide that drumming for a metal band was the path you were going to take?

BR:  It’s hard to point to one particular moment, but there is one show I played in my late teens at Ottobar in Baltimore, MD that always sticks out in my memory. Playing live music for people is always fun, and the fact that people want to pay their hard-earned money to come see you do it is always a privilege, but there have been some shows that felt extra special to me, because I felt the connection between my bandmates and myself and between the band and the audience just that much more powerfully. That night on stage, I remember thinking “this feels amazing – how do I find a way to do this as often as possible?”

WC:  What is the process that you and the other members take when it comes to writing songs?

BR:  Fili, our guitar player, is almost always the one who generates the initial ideas for our songs. He usually sends a guitar demo with scratch drums and bass, and each of us start fleshing out our parts individually. Once things get closer to recording, we work together to finalize arrangements and work out any kinks. When it comes to the lyrics, Luna takes the lead, but he also collaborates with me (or our bassist Nico, for Spanish lyrics).

WC:  Even though I don’t speak Spanish, I loved BARON ROJO’s “Volumen Brutal” album after reading about it in Kerrang! Magazine. Was there a specific idea behind adding Spanish lyrics to “Muerte y Metal”?

BR:  Incorporating Spanish lyrics was part of the plan from the beginning, and as the band has written and recorded more music, Spanish has featured more and more prominently. Luna and Fili are both Chicano/Mexican-American, and Nico is Argentinian, so Spanish lyrics enable the band to channel and draw inspiration from their heritage, identity, and culture. It’s also a tribute to LA’s own unique metal scene, which is full of passionate Latino fans and musicians, many of whom are bilingual.

WC:  Do you feel that no matter the language, metal fans are just receptive to any good metal no matter the lyrics?

BR:  We absolutely do, and not just because so many metal lyrics (including lyrics that we love) are really a bit silly, when you get down to it. There are so many great bands that either sing in their native language, or struggle to write lyrics in a second language, or use harsh vocals that you can’t decipher without the printed lyrics. At the end of the day, it’s about the vibe, the passion, and the melody, even if that melody is more of a texture or a tone.

WC:  I hate to mention it, but “Muerte y Metal” did remind me in one way of the SCORPIONS’ “Blackout” record.  Their album ended with "When the Smoke Is Going Down," and your record ends similarly with the ballad “See You on the Other Side”. What was the idea behind ending “Muerte y Metal” with a ballad, which is great, by the way?

BR:  I was very keen for us to write a ballad, which I see as a bit of a lost art — there are a lot of bands bringing back various aspects of “traditional metal,” but not many of them are writing ballads, at least as far as I know. We also knew that Luna’s voice had what it takes to make a ballad work – it sounds so good even without a lot of instrumentation behind it. The song, which is based on a demo that Luna wrote himself, came together very late in the recording process, but we’re nonetheless very proud of how it turned out.

In terms of the sequencing, the ballad felt natural at the end, rather than having a big drop in tempo in the middle of the record’s momentum; I’d imagine that’s why the SCORPS and others have chosen to put their ballads at the end. We also ended up recording – more out of luck than anything else – exactly as much music as would fit on a single LP, so in the end there was really only one sequencing that enabled us to fit everything on there.

WC:  I was lucky enough to see INTRANCED perform at Hell’s Heroes last March, and you guys were great.  Do you have any touring plans in the works?

BR:  We do! We have something excited in the works for next year, but I am unfortunately not able to say anything about it yet.

WC:  What would be your dream bands that you would like to tour with or be part of a line-up?

BR:  How ambitious/fantastical are you wanting me to be? Obviously it would be a dream come true to tour with some of the living legends of traditional metal. MAIDEN, PRIEST, KING DIAMOND, ACCEPT, SAXON, QUEENSRYCHE, and others are all out there still crushing it. I know touring with or opening for RATA BLANCE would be really special for my bandmates in particular, who grew up listening to their music. Then there are more underground bands that we really respect and admire, like ETERNAL CHAMPION, UNTO OTHERS, NIGHT DEMON, ENFORCER, and many more.

WC:  Have you already started writing or coming up with ideas for the next release and if so, is it following the same style as “Muerte y Metal”?

BR:  Fili is a very prolific composer, so we have lots of demos that didn’t make it onto “Muerte…” that we are looking forward to completing, in addition to new ideas he’s come up with since then. Stylistically, people should expect more of what we’re already doing, except hopefully even better!

WC:  What was the last CD purchased?

BR:  I just bought “The Time of No Time Evermore” by the incredible Dutch heavy psych band THE DEVIL’S BLOOD on Bandcamp. Incredible sound, songwriting, singing, and evil vibes. Highly recommended for fans of HÄLLAS, UNCLE ACID, GREEN LUNG, etc.

WC:  What was the last concert you attended as a fan?

BR:  A friend of mine plays bass in a pop punk band called CUT/TIES – I went to go see him!  My wife and I have a toddler, so I don’t attend as many shows as a fan as I used to, or wish I could. I just missed HULDER & SPECTRAL WOUND here last week – that would have been amazing!

WC:  Even though INTRANCED has only been around for a few years, have you had any Spinal Tap moments?

BR:  Great question! We tried out a new intro track for the last couple shows, and there was some confusion about when everyone was supposed to be on stage when it was ending. I was sitting there alone on stage when it ended, instead of being able to count off the start of the first song – not ideal! We’ve also had our fair share of strings breaking, or vocals being inaudible because of a bad front of house mix. We played a show in Atlanta when Luna was sick and had to do the whole set in a black metal scream. I think he puked side stage during that show – it was an incredible display of strength, commitment, and, well, guts, if you’ll pardon the pun.

WC:  What’s next for INTRANCED?

BR:  We just announced two awesome shows supporting 3 INCHES OF BLOOD in LA and San Francisco, early next year. In the meantime, we’ll be writing new music, and working on our touring plans for 2025.

WC:  Any last words for your fans?

BR:  Thank you to each and everyone who’s supported the band by streaming our music, buying it, buying merch and records, and coming to our shows. This is a labor of love for us, and to know that the music we make is resonating with people really means the world. We’re really grateful for all of the support that we’ve received so far, so: THANK YOU!

INTRANCED