1.Hello Britton how are things going with you this week?
Britton: Just this week? Lol. They are okay, I guess. I have a five month old Black Labrador puppy and he is cute, smart and I love him, but he can be a complete asshole sometimes. He’s teething and play-biting/mouthing a lot, so for a few months both my arms have looked like tubes of hamburger. I still love ya, Cinder. Aside from that I’ve done some reviews, a few interviews, played some video games and generally was trying to live my best life. I went out to eat with my fiance Shamara earlier today before she went to work.
2.When did you first start listening to Rock and Metal and who were the first bands that you listened to?Who are some of your current favorite bands?
Britton: Well, my first experiences with music was with my parents' music. They listened to a lot of 50’s and 60’s Rock. They played this a lot at home, especially my mom. She loved old country as well and turned me on to stuff like Conway Twitty. My dad was more of the Rock guy. I experienced all those old 50’s and 60’s hits through him first. We’d listen to Solid Gold Saturday Night With Dick Bartley on the weekends and I still remember that show's jingle that they played going to and coming back from commercials. They sang the phone number to call in and request songs. “One, eight-hundred… six, three four, five, SEVEN EIGHT NINE”. I still remember that and that was almost fifty years ago. Lol. My first experience with heavier music was in 1979 when my Aunt Kelly bought me Paul Stanley’s solo album. I loved it, it was a new world of music for me. If you blame anyone for my crazy taste in music today, blame Aunt Kelly for starting me on my musical journey! Lol. Around this same time I started noticing I just simply loved music and picked some of it on my own. I really loved the Schoolhouse Rock songs that played during the breaks for the Saturday morning cartoons in the 70’s. You know “I’m Just A Bill”, “Conjunction Junction” and may fave “The Great American Melting Pot”. The lady that sang that had such a beautiful voice. I actually found her online like five years ago and told her how much that song had an impact on me. She loved that I even wrote to her after all those years. LOl. I also acquired a deep love of music from my Grade School music teacher, Mrs. Dee Dee Tibbits. She’d have us kids sit around her in a semi-circle on the floor as she played and taught us about music. She was and still is a professional musician that has some albums under her belt, and her daughter was on one of those Network TV vocal talent shows. I got into heavier Metal on my own from buying magazines and reading the band thanks lists on albums. I got into Iron Maiden, Kiss, Judas Priest and more in like 1983 or so, and from then on out I got into Thrash, Death Metal, Black Metal and really got into Folk/Viking/Pagan Metal started in the early 90’s. I have grown out of Folk Metal a bit and now Thrash is my favorite genre once again. For old school favorite bands I’d say Venom, Overkill, Black Flag (I’m a huge old school Hardcore and Punk Fan), Mercyful Fate/King Diamond, Candlemass, Lizzy Bordem and Kiss. I love literally thousands more though. For newer bands I’ve recently discovered, the big one is Witherfall. Last year they sent me their newest album on vinyl to review and I was blown away by how fucking professional they were with every aspect of their music. I mean, the vocals, bass, the guitar playing and drumming are all phenomenal. After I reviewed that album I ordered a box set of all of their CD’s off their website and they are all just simply beautiful Metal albums. Some other newer bands I’ve found myself liking are Abortion Survivor, A La Carte, Hekseblad and Torn From Existence.
3.I belive you were writing for various fan and web-zines in the early 2000's when did you first become interested in writing for zines?
Britton: I used to be a member of some late 90’s message boards and got to know a lot of people from those. Eventually one of the members decided to make her own webzine and she asked me to start writing for her and I did.
4.What fan/web-zines did you write for?
Britton: First was Metal Psalter which I did about three hundred reviews for over a few years. I got to review some of my favorite musicians there. Jon Oliva, Martin Walkyier and Andrea Haugen (RIP!) from Hagalaz’ Runedance, just to name a few. Next was Highlands Webzine from Argentina. It focused on Folk and Viking Metal, so that was right up my alley. It was a trip, because the owner (Who I wish I remembered the name of now!) had to translate all of my reviews from English to Portuguese. Lol. Lastly was Viking Blood, another Folk/Viking oriented Webzine. With this one though, he asked me to write for him and I did one review and the site closed down. Oh well, right? Lol.
5.I believe you started Blasted By Britton in late 2024 to start reviewing and interviewing again.What made you decide to start writing again?
Britton: Well, I wrote for the first three ‘zines in the early 00’s and eventually it became too much because I was working at the time too. I had to quit because I just didn’t have the time. Last year I became disabled so I have the time to do it again. It’s perfect as I can do it at my own pace and write a bit while sitting in a chair or even laying down if I’m in pain. It’s the best thing I could have done for myself. Something I love to do and something I can work on at any time when my fiance is at work.When she’s off, that’s our time. On those days I’ll talk with people in the group, but won’t work on reviews or interviews until she goes back to work.
6.Who are some bands you have reviewed and interviewed so far?
Britton: Well, I only recently started to do interviews for my group as I wanted to get a bunch of reviews up first, but I've interviewed Glenn Cummings (Ludichritst/Scatterbrian guitarist), Tommy Stewart (Hallows Eve bassist, owner of Black Doomba Records), Sandra “Metal Mom” Newton who is a legendary concert promoter from here in Michigan and you, Patrick! I have a few more too. I can’t remember off the top of my head (I’m old!). I also have a few I’m waiting to get answered and returned to me. Don’t leave me hanging, guys! Lol. Oh, and I recently interviewed one of my group members. That’s something new I started and will continue to do since the fans are as important as the bands and labels. Maybe more important. We can all get to know one another more with these fan interviews, I believe.
7.If any bands or labels are reading this and are interested in submitting music how can they contact you? What styles of metal do you cover in the zine?Are their any any genres that you won't review or support?
Britton: I’ve actually had a good response with labels and bands sending me review material since I started. I’m old school when it comes to reviewing so I prefer physical media to review because I like to talk about everything about the album. Music, sure; but also lyrics, artwork, packaging and layout. So I prefer physical media or at least a Bandcamp code. I don’t do MP3’s anymore due to viruses. I will provide a shipping address below so anyone can send review material, or you can just go to my group and read the “About” section. As for what I cover. Everything if it’s Metal, Punk or adjacent to these genres. Traditional, Thrash, Speed, Death, Black, Folk/Viking, Glam/Hair, Dungeon Synth, acoustic Folk music, comedy and more! I absolutely refuse to review any racist bullshit. No white power, NS, nothing Anti-Semetic, none of that shit.
8.What have been some of the most memorable concerts that you have gone to over the years?Who are some of your favorite bands that you got to see live?
Britton: The most memorable was Kiss’s Saginaw, Michigan stop on their “Animalize” tour in 1984. My uncle Jim went with my friend Jim and I because we were 13. Experiencing music that loud for the first time and seeing Kiss’s huge stage show was otherworldly to me. Another very memorable one was Nuclear Assault in 1989 or ‘90 at the infamous Blondie’s in Detroit. It was fucking nuts. People were stage diving off the amplifiers and crawling up into the rafters. Lol. I also got to see Danzig on his “Lucifuge” tour in Detroit and that was amazing, but in typical Danzig fashion he tried to pick a fight with someone in the crowd. That is also the only concert I’ve ever been to that had religious people protesting it.
9.In your opinion what is the best and worst thing about the Underground scene?
Britton: The best thing is that there’s still so many talented young Metal bands out there. I focus on smaller bands that are either unsigned or are on small record labels and I constantly get albums in to review where I think “This fucking rules. Why aren’t they signed?”. I know some bands don’t even want to be signed, but either way there’s a seemingly endless amount of very good bands. The people that say there’s nothing new out there need to dig deeper. The worst thing is the egos from some people that are selfish and don’t want to help anyone but themselves. My group is open so anyone is welcome to show up and post a link to their new album, video, concert dates or whatever as long as it’s not spammed daily. A lot of other group owners don’t allow that. I gave up trying to post links to my group or reviews in other groups because they usually delete them. Why? Aren’t we all Metal brothers and sisters supposedly here to promote the music we love?
10.When you need to take a break from working on new reviews or interviews what do you enjoy doing in your free time?
Britton: I am a huge video game nerd! I can sit on my PS5 or Switch for hours. I love RPG’s mostly, but my favorite game series of all time is Battlefield. I also own one of the largest Dragonlance novels collections in the country. So yeah, I’m a fantasy novel nerd too. I am big into astrophysics as well and research and read up on all things about space. Space is quite terrifying, you know. Lol.
11.Thank you Britton for taking the time to fill this interview out. Do you have any final words for the readers?
Britton: Thank you for the interview, Patrick. This is the first time I’ve been interviewed. Lol. I welcome any fans of Metal and Punk to stop into the Blasted By Britton group. Join if you like. If you’re a label owner or band member, feel free to post anything Metal related you want to.
http://www.facebook.com/groups/blastedbybritton
