Please give a brief history of the band.

The band was formed in 1998 under the name,"Thirsty For Blood". Originally I was drumming for another local metal band The New Plague, when I decided I would like to move to guitar and vocals as a side thing. I ended up leaving the drum position and focusing on TFB. We played some local gigs, and self released a five song demo. We used a few gimmicks back then like having fake blood and fire breathing etc. I thought that it was too much and decided to do away with that. So we had a few member changes and as a result, changed the name to Shirne Of Scarswhich ironically was a song that I wrote lyrics for in The New Plague.

Looks like from the website you’ve parted ways with bassist Mike Francis. How did that come about?

Well, Mike and I have been friends for over ten years so it was a real shame for him to leave. I understood completely understand. He had a full plateas it was with his two jobs and we were right in the middle of recording, which was semi stressful. So we had a talk about the direction and devotion aspect of the band and we thought he would stay. He decided perhaps it was too much for him. I miss him and wish him the best of luck.

Was this your first appearance at the Milwaukee Metalfest?

Yes, and we won’t be back for a great while, great gouda!

Describe Shrine of Scars, in your own words for those how haven’t heard of you.

I would say we are a death/thrash band. I really like the old school of death metal, and back then they were just coming from a thrash wave so it was tough not to play that style. I have heard tons of comparisons like, Kreator,Carcass, old Death ect,ect.

Are there any other projects going or is S.O.S a full time gig for all of you?

Larry our fill in bass player is in Alter Ego of San Francisco. I am with Vulgar Pigeons, and the other two guys are in S.O.S exclusively.

How do you feel the underground death/thrash scene is fairing. How about in N. Cal.?

Thrash is back! I am very happy about that. Seems like the old bands are doing shows and albums once again. Not sure how it is elsewhere, but here it’s mixed. We get a different response from different crowds. There is a lot of brutal,grind,thrash metal, but I think what we do is a tad different.. I think with the right exposure we will find our ninche.

How do you go about writing new material?

Most of the time it’s done spontaneously in the rehearsal room. We don’t seem to have a problem with coming up with riffs or ideas. The nexy album is about 1/4 of the way done,and we’re hoping for an early 2004 release.

The promo songs I listened to have a cleaner sound to them than the last release,"Deathbed for the Awakened Spirit". Was there a different recording process taken? Same studio?

Yeah big difference on the new record. First off I didn’t have to play drums which was nice. We also had a little bit more time to get the sound we wanted. I am satisfied with the results. On the demo we went to Larry’s home studio in SF and basically were not as prepared as we should have been. Also we lost our drummer. The demo was rushed and it shows. It’s our own fault. For VITA we went to Matt Erich’s studio in Sacramento. I really wanted to get a raw yet somehow clean sound in the mix and I think we got just that. I can appreciate some of those million dollar super polished albums, but I don’t think that would work for us. I like some tracks to have that bitter sweet teeth hitting the pavement grit of feedback and an overall more organic full bodied luster. Most records sound thin and too glossy/manufactured these days.

Are you currently on the road? If no any plans to in support of the new album?

We have no tour plans as of yet. I would like to see a fall west coast mini in support at least, we shall see. Everyone is always so busy.

Where can people get your merchandise?

You can get stuff through our site or e-mail me direct(because I have all the merchandise).

Www.shrineofscars.com or shrineofscars@hotmail.com.

We have stickers and t-shirts.

Anything you’d like to add?

I am stoked that JP is back. Check out our new album and look out for the new VP record this year as well if you like insane grindcore . Thanks SHRINE OF SCARS

www.shrineofscars.com