After we broke the news yesterday that Bleeding Through will be heading out on the Thrash And Burn tour, we thought we’d bring you a little closer to Bleeding Through’s Brandan Schiepatti in this exclusive interview.How much further can you go? How much further do you want to go?

“We’ve been a band for nearly a decade and that’s crazy. We’re still going and we’ve just put out our best record, so that’s inspiring for us. The fact that we can still tour and make a career out of this is satisfying enough. We don’t have any great desire to be the next big thing.”

You started out as the guitarist in Eighteen Visions…what lessons did you learn from that experience?

“We didn’t have a label or a merch company and magazines wouldn’t talk to hardcore bands back then, so we learned how to build something from the ground up. Then I joined Throwdown and played guitar with them for a couple of years and learned a lot about the business side of things.”

How has the Orange County scene stayed so strong over the years?

“For the most part, local bands are really supportive of one another. Bleeding Through is more metal-influenced than a lot of the bands that were around when we started and some bands were like ‘Who are these people?’ but we always kept a level head and we always respected the bands that helped us get where we are.”

When did you realise that Bleeding Through were part of an important new movement in heavy music?

“The fifth show we ever played, we headlined at a place called Chain Reaction, and it was sold out. We were like ‘What the fuck?’ I’d been in Eighteen Visions for four years and we’d never sold out /anything/. People were there, really into the music and singing along, so I guess we struck a nerve.”

Was there a particular moment when you realised you were successful?

“Selling out our first show in Orange County was important, but everywhere else in the country we’d be playing for 20 people and it was like that for a good two years. I think the time that I felt we’d succeeded country-wide was when we played Hellfest in 2001. We were an unknown band and played really early in the day and all these kids showed up out of nowhere and they were singing along to songs from our demo CD.”

Does doing this for a living take the fun out of it sometimes?

“People called The Truth a successful record for us and I can’t argue because it took the band to a new level, but I didn’t enjoy any of that time. You see bands being hailed as the next big thing and then they come crashing down, you know? since we started writing Declaration, I’ve really started enjoying doing this again, doing shows and the whole interaction with people. We feel rejuvenated.”

Watch our video interview with Bleeding Through’s keyboardist Marta.