Bolt Thrower
// Karl Willetts, vocalistBOLT THROWER are a death-metal band from Coventry, England. “The Peel Sessions [EP]” (1988) is available from Strange Fruit Records, “In Battle There Is No Law [LP]” (1988) is available from Vinyl Solution, “Realm Of Chaos” (1989), “Cenotaph [EP]” (1991), “War Master” (1991), “The IVth Crusade” (1992), “Spearhead [EP]” (1992), and “… For Victory” (1994), are all available from Earache Records, “Mercenary” (1998), “Honour Valour Pride” (2001), and “Those Once Loyal” (2005) are all available from Metal Blade Records.
Website: www.boltthrower.com
Photo: Bolt Thrower / Metal Blade Records
Interview:
Spirituality is intrinsically linked to the concept of the soul. We all have an inner spirit; a soul which links us to the world in which we live. This is not a religious thing. Your spirit is made from all the experiences that you have in your life, it shapes you and makes people the way they are. I would say that there is a spiritual essence within all music created and heard by an audience. The music can move and touch people at different levels, and the lyrics can be interpreted by different people in many ways at various times in their life.
Throughout my musical career with Bolt Thrower, I have met a wide range of people across the globe that relate to our music in many different ways. In the U.S.A., I hear from military personnel whom use our music to inspire them into battle, and also hear from people that got something from our music to help them with the horrors of 9/11. In Croatia, I have seen grown men moved to tears by our songs in relation to their own experiences of war. With the heavy sound of the rhythm and the lyrical content that forms the music of Bolt Thrower, we must have touched a point within our supporters to explain the longevity of the band’s existence.
“There is a spiritual essence within all music created and heard by an audience.”
– Karl Willetts, vocalist in Bolt Thrower
