Butcher Babies are a unique up and coming metal band hailing from Los Angeles California. Lead by the high energy vocal assault of Heidi Shepard and Carla Harvey. The band is set to release their debut album Goliath July 9th and start their trek of the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival June 29th. Recently we sat down with the band for a look into the make up of Butcher Babies and their summer ahead on Mayhem Festival.
Crypticrock.com- Now Butcher Babies is a very different type of metal band because you have two front women. Briefly tell me how the band came to be with two front women?
Heidi Shepherd- Carla and I were in a punk/metal cover band years ago, like 5-6 years ago. We decided we wanted to quit that band and do something original, something heavy. We liked working with each other and saw a lot of potential, so we decided to create Butcher Babies. We found these wonderful musicians and we all put our minds together and created the sound that is Butcher Babies. When it started we didn’t really think, let’s do this and we’ll have two females fronting the band and it will be a hit! (laughs) It was just really something that we wanted to do, bunch of friends playing music together.
Crypticrock.com– Right and it’s absolutely very unique regardless male or female it’s interesting to have two front people in a band.
Heidi Shepherd- It’s a lot of fun (smiles).
Crypticrock.com- I imagine it so, now Butcher Babies will release their debut album Goliath on July 9th. Briefly tell me what fans can expect to hear?
Henry Flury- Heaviness
Heidi Shepherd- The album as a whole is very diverse. There is basically something for everybody. We all have different influences and everything is portrayed on this album. Jason loves death metal, Henry in general metal, I love nu-metal, and Karla loves classic metal. We all love every metal but those are our favorite and those are where we came from. All our influences shine bright on this album. It’s definitely a coloration of everybody’s influences and everybody’s love. We’re all very proud of it in one way or another, there is something for everybody in it.
Crypticrockcom- Absolutely, I’ll be looking forward to hearing it. I heard the single ” I Smell A Massacre” and it’s really good stuff.
Heidi Shepherd- We dropped another single yesterday it’s call “The Death Surround”.
Crypticrock.com- Cool, looking forward to hearing it. You guys are going out on the Mayhem festival this summer. Is the band excited about this opportunity to play in front of such large crowds?
Carla Harvey- Obviously we’re stoked. Mayhem festival has been a big dream of ours to play since we started to band. I and the rest of the band believes it’s the best way to get metal out to the masses in North America. Everybody goes to this festival, everybody talks about this festival. It’s die hard metal fans, so we’re playing for the cream of the crop metal heads. It’s exciting, it’s always good to be on stage in front of a ton of people. I think it’s the best feeling in the world personally. It’s better than drugs or anything you can put in your body.
Heidi Shepard- I think, along with that, you can play in front of 15,000-20,000 people and if they’re all there just staring at you it’s just as shitty as playing at a tiny club with people standing there staring at you. The great thing about metal and great thing the metal community is everyone’s there to get crazy, and that’s their release. With Mayhem, I’ve been several times and every single year the crowds just get nuttier and nuttier. I think for us playing in front of cream of the crop metal heads there’s no better energy that you can feel than that.
Henry Flury- Also we heard a rumor that there is 4 dollar beers and we expect everyone to be good and liquored up by the time that we hit the stage, so they really have no excuse.
Carla Harvey- 4 dollar beers and dehydration is really something magical. (laughs)
Henry Flury- And metal is a recipe for Mayhem (laughs) get it.
Crypticrock.com- It definitely will be a crazy festival and it should be fun. I want to ask you do you have a favorite band on the Mayhem Festival that you want to check out?
Carla Harvey- I really want to see Mastodon and Job For a Cowboy.
Henry Flury- Definitely Mastodon, and Amon Amarth. I’m interested to see what they’re going to do, you never know with vikings. (laughs)
Jason Klein- Battlecross
Heidi Shepard- Yea Battlecross, they’ve come up kind of the same way we have right now. I’m so excited to see them and share the stage with them. They’re all really cool dudes. I’m excited to see Emmure everyday and Motionless in White. Motionless in White actually put on one of the best live shows I’ve ever seen and they hit the stage immediately after us so I’m excited.
Crypticrock.com- Motionless In White are great. I’m really excited for them. Now each of you came from different projects, and they were different types of projects, like you said you came from a punk project etc etc. What was it like coming together and combining all those influences together? How did the chemistry work for you guys?
Heidi Shepard- You know it was really interesting. Karla and I have worked with a couple of other people, trying out different musicians, seeing if anyone shared a vision. Jason and Chris have known each other for a long time. Karla and Henry knew each other for a long time. Karla and I have known each other for a long time. So once we stepped in room, touched the instruments, and turned on the microphones it was magic. It was fucking magic. It was the coolest feeling to feel, wow, this is exactly what we wanted and everyone shows the exact same vision.
Crypticrock.com- That’s great, that’s the way it should be and it will make for a great record and it makes for a great band. When everyone is on the same wavelength and are going in the same direction. Now my last question for you is pertaining to films. CrypticRock.com covers rock/metal and horror movies so we like to focus on both genres. If you are a horror movie fan what are some of your favorite horror movies?
Henry Flury- Oh yea
Carla Harvey- I’m in love with Leatherface. My favorite is Texas Chainsaw Massacre, for it’s my favorite of all time.
Heidi Shepard- I just saw the new Evil Dead a month ago. I never seen a more thorough horror film. It was incredibly intense the whole time. My heart was pounding the entire movie. I didn’t like the old one but new one was so good. That took the cake for my favorite horror movie.
Carla Harvey- That was a really good one, for a new horror movie that was definitely.
Henry Flury- I agree, that one was terrifying from beginning to end.
Heidi Sheppard- When all the ads were coming out for that movie, I probably had a countdown waiting for it.
Crypticrock.com- Absolutely, how about some older horror films. Are you guys into some older horror films as well?
Heidi Shepard- Some of them, I like Amityville Horror. I kind of like the newer one better though. There are some good older ones. The old Halloween movies are classic. Those are really good. I think on a new age stand I think Rob Zombie did a great job remaking that.
Carla Harvey- Dario Argento movies are pretty good, all the Italian horror movies are pretty good.
Henry Flury- I’m a big Shining fan. That always kept me up at night.
Be sure to check out Butcher Babies on the Mayhem Festival this summer.
Dates are as follow:
06/29 San Bernardino, CA – San Manuel Amphitheater
06/30 Mountain View, CA – Shoreline Amphitheatre
07/03 Auburn, WA – White River Amphitheatre
07/05 Phoenix, AZ – Desert Sky Pavilion
07/06 Albuquerque, NM – Isleta Amphitheatre
07/07 Englewood, CO – Fiddler’s Green Ampitheatre
07/10 Toronto, ON – Molson Canadian Amphitheatre
07/12 Burgettstown, PA – First Niagara Pavilion
07/13 Camden, NJ – Susquehanna Bank Center
07/14 Darien Center, NY – Darien Lake Performing Arts Center
07/16 Mansfield, MA – Comcast Center
07/17 Bangor, ME – Bangor Waterfront
07/19 Scranton, PA – Toyota Pavilion
07/20 Saratoga Springs, NY – Saratoga Performing Arts Center
07/21 Hartford, CT – The Comcast Theatre
07/23 Holmdel, NJ – PNC Bank Arts Center
07/24 Bristow, VA – Jiffy Lube Live
07/26 Noblesville, IN – Klipsch Music Center
07/27 Tinley Park, IL – First Midwest Bank Ampitheatre
07/28 Clarkston, MI – DTE Energy Music Theatre
07/30 Atlanta, GA – Lakewood Amphitheatre
07/31 Tampa, FL – 1-800-ASK-GARY Amphitheatre
08/02 Austin, TX – Tower Amphitheatre
08/03 The Woodlands, TX – Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
08/04 Dallas, TX – Gexa Energy Pavilion
Butcher Babies “I Smell A Massacre” lyric video
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