Bloodstock 2019 – Band Feature/Interview: Zealot Cult

Bloodstock Open Air 2019 is nearly upon us and to say we’re excited is an understatement. We adore the festival and this year’s line-up is simply phenomenal. From the Ronnie James Dio Main Stage to the Sophie Lancaster Stage to the New Blood and Jägermeister Stages, there is something for everyone! Not got your tickets yet!? What are you waiting for!? Head over to the Bloodstock Festival website here and join thousands of like-minded head-bangers for a weekend of quality rock and metal.

Zealot Cult were formed in Limerick, Ireland in 2008 and released their self titled demo in 2010. After a few years in exile, the band released their 2016 EP “Karmenian Crypt” which received widespread praise from the international metal community and was released on vinyl exclusively by Blood Harvest Records.The band went on to share bills with legendary bands such Napalm Death, Possessed, Destroyer 666, Pestilence, Decapitated etc..

In November of 2018, Zealot Cult released their debut album “Spiritual Sickness” again through Blood Harvest and has received overwhelmingly positive reviews from the international metal community and various media outlets. You can read our review here.

Comparisons have made to the classic Floridian Death Metal sounds of the late ’80’s/early ’90’s citing legendary artists such as Morbid Angel, Obituary, Death, Pestilence etc. Join the Cult!!

They will be playing the Sophie Lancaster Stage on Friday the 9th August 2019.

Interview

1. Congratulations on being added to the Bloodstock 2019 bill. You’re opening the Sophie Lancaster Stage on Friday the 9th. How big of a deal is this for you?

Thanks so much! It’s a massive deal for us. To be playing such a great fest like Bloodstock is a dream come true – and playing the Sophie stage is a honour. As a band over the years we have played many great gigs, supporting some of the bands we grew up on, which was amazing, but to be playing in front of the Bloodstock crowd we reckon will be a completely different experience and we can’t wait.

2. Have you ever been to the festival before?

None of us have actually been over to Bloodstock. It’s always been one we’d have liked to do, but being a little older with family responsibilities, sometimes the only option is to hit one of the European fests in the summer. So not only do we get to play but we’ll get to see a lot of cool bands.

3. What can Bloodstockers expect from your set?

They can expect Old school death metal served straight up. That’s what we do. No frills. Just death metal haha.

4. Are you there all weekend? If so who are you most looking forward to checking out yourself?

Yeah we’re getting in Thursday evening as we’re getting the ferry over from Ireland in the morning. We are now heading away on Sunday as we are playing in London Sunday night and in Manchester Monday night with Skeletal Remains and Blasphemer. We’re looking forward to catching Skeletal Remains, a band that we’ve all liked for a while – and now we’ll get to gig with them! Rotting Christ, Grand Magus always a great live band, Xentrix, Anthrax. Of course our brothers Ten Ton Slug will be ripping it up Thursday night and they always give a great show. To be honest there were a lot of bands I’d like to have seen on Sunday that we’ll miss now – like Aborted, Queensryche, Scorpions and our mates in the excellent Damim.

5. It’s been a wild couple of years for you and you’ve really expanded since the release of Spiritual Sickness. What has been the highlight of of this period?

It’s been a great few years. We’ve been at this game a long time now, and regardless of the success we’ve had, modest as it is, we do it because we love playing death metal. However the positive reaction our EP and now the LP has gotten has been great. Really rewarding. The highlight so far has probably been playing a few shows over on the east coast of the US last month. We had such a blast and met some of the greatest people. Good music, great people and cheap beer make one hell of a time haha. We have a feeling Bloodstock might be up there soon though.

6. What does the rest of 2019 look like for Zealot Cult? Shows? Releases?

After Bloodstock we’re playing 2 shows with Memoriam in Ireland – that should be a blast. The end of the year we are playing a winter solstice celebration with Invictus Productions with bands such as Dread Sovereign, Malthusian, Vircolac and a few more cool Irish bands. Other shows may come up depending on schedule. Apart from that we are focusing on writing new material – we’re chatting with another band about doing maybe a 7″ split – and hopefully looking at recording more in 2020 – and maybe some European live shows.

Links

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