Don “Bentley Dodd” Slater
September 17, 2011
Instrument: 4- 5- & 7-string Bass Guitars
Birthday: How rude!
Hometown: Romulus, MI
Hobbies: Hermiting, Couchlock, Buttmittens, Japanese RPG’s (the good ones) and other assorted video games,
Getting into threat matches with my dad, Hackysack, Pyromania, & Drinking
Favorite food: Almost anything with noodles!
Unique facts or talents: Bowled for 23 years and carried a 210 average for the last half decade – abruptly ended due to back injury (thanks Dave);
Sire 17% of the BATTLEkid (thanks Heugz); undefeated at Nintendo Championship Bowling (thanks Adam); When I laugh hard, you can’t help but laugh with me (thanks me).
Hiran Deraniyagala
September 17, 2011
Instrument: Guitar
Equipment: Peavey 6505+ w/ Krank Cab
ESP LTD MH-500 & ESP LTD JH-600 Jeff Hanneman Signature
Birthday: July 25, 1983
Hometown: Canton, MI
Hobbies: Playing guitar, drums, karaoke, movies
Favorite food: Chinese, Lebanese, Mexican, Italian
Unique facts: Born in London, England
Heritage: Sri Lankan
Influences: Pantera, Slayer, Metallica, Black Sabbath, Down, Enkephalin, Cephalic Carnage, Cannibal Corpse, Gutrot, Summer Dying, Woe Of Tyrants, Meshuggah, and Testament
Michael Charles Kreger
September 17, 2011
Instrument: Drums
Gear: Vic Firth *exclusively*, 7-piece Pearl Vision drum set, Zildjian cymbals, Joey Jordison Pearl sig snare, Alesis Dm5 drum module, Roland tk10 triggers, Axis Pedals.
Born: July 10th 1979
Influences: Igor Calavera (Sepultura), Dave Lombardo(Slayer/Testament), Paul Bostaph,(Testament/Slayer) Shannon Lucas(ATR,TBDM), Zach Gibson(TBDM/Shit Life),John Longstreth(Origin), Chris Adler(L.O.G), Vinnie Paul(Pantera), Tomas Haake (Meshuggah), Kevin Talley.
Favorite foods: Sushi, Nachos, Tacos,Pizza, Beer!
Favorite Beverages: COFFEE, H2O, Sam Adams “Boston Lager”
Creative studies: “I like to think outside of the box, when drumming. I was a punk styled drummer when I began, but Thrash was my calling!! When writing I like to accent the guitars, instead of always playing in the pocket. I love the intricacy of following a riff instead of playing through it, unless in some cases it needs that energy!”
Personal Note: “I have A.D.D, I have Vitiligo, I am a Clown and if I don’t make you laugh….Fail!”
Tony Asta
September 17, 2011
Instrument: Guitar! ESP EXCLUSIVELY
Equipment: ESP LTD EX400, ESP LTD F250, Peavey 6505+, Mesa Rectifier 4×12 Cab
Hobbies: Tinkering, fixing, and creating things
Born: October 15th, 1984
Hometown: Warren, MI
Favorite Foods: Pizza & Chinese
Favorite Beverages: Beer, juice, & water
Influences: Metal 
Hiran Deraniyagala w/ Blistering.com
September 11, 2011
In this day and age of modern technology, the number of bands plying for fan attention is mammoth. Back in my early teens, we depended on any print magazine we could find or a specialty radio show that played maybe at midnight on a weekend for that one-two hours of metal music. You would comb the record stores looking for names that sounded cool, covers that captured your eyes and possibly raided the music collections of your friends. The youth of today do not realize how instantly accessible anything they want is with a few keystrokes and a computer/tablet/ cell phone device.
So it’s nice to hear that younger acts like Michigan’s Battlecross still believe in the label model to advance their career aspirations. The debut album Pursuit of Honor fuses the old with the new when it comes to thrash and modern metal. You can hear aggression but also slip into some fine musicianship-laden passages and the ability of writing songs- not merely musicians slapping together four or five riffs and hoping the listeners will retain all the parts that whiz by their ears.
Click Here To Read The Full Interview
RingMaster – Pursuit of Honor CD Review
September 11, 2011
Distinct uniqueness and originality is a few and far between occurrence in music today, the possibility of finding something that is so new that jaws drop and heartbeats stop is becoming as rare as honesty in politicians. So the next best thing is a band that uses elements from elsewhere to flavour and expand their own sound to create something that does nothing less than warm the soul and devour the senses. Detroit thrash metalers Battlecross are such a band and with their debut for Metal Blade Records they have delivered just an album.
Click Here To Read The Full Review
Xplosive Metal – Pursuit Of Honor CD Review
September 11, 2011
REVIEWED BY: Caroline Restiaux
What I love most about metal is that it is quite diverse. You have so many bands out there that are made up of distinct characteristics, elements, and qualities. Where some bands lack in musicianship they gain in vocal ability, some have stronger guitar solos and others kick ass when it comes to drumming. When you find bands that encompass all of these strengths it’s hard not to turn the volume up and crank it to 10. This is the case with Detroit’s very own Battlecross.
I admit to sleeping under a rock when it comes to these guys because I had never heard of them before and this is their 2nd full-length release however it’s their debut with Metal Blade. The band has only been around for 4 years now and they already have a mature sound about them and they bring out brutal technicality in their music. The best way for me to describe their sound is to say that it’s extreme death/thrash/tech metal. The release is full of juice and by that I mean it’s dynamic and filled with tons of energy.
To Read The Full Review Click Here
