Shots Fired are a metal band that aren’t too fussed about been slotted into one of the many genre specific pigeon holes that plague todays hardcore scene. This is a good thing – it allows the band to be who they are and frees the listener to concentrate on what matters, the music, as opposed to trying to decide if they’re ticking the right box…
Shots Fired: In terms of the music we write we like to just call it ‘Metal’. There are just too many sub genres and nonsense. For us it’s not about putting yourself under one genre and that’s all you’re allowed to write and play. We like to take influence from everything, whether it be every day scenarios, things we’ve gone through as a band or individuals, what we listen to, what we see, what we read etc. We’ve all got such different influences and inspirations which is why throughout ‘Warpath’ you’ll hear elements of metal, hardcore, deathcore. Saying that, without restricting ourselves with what we write we feel it becomes a whole lot easier to write something that’s honest which is what we aim for. If people dig what we do then we’re stoked but if you don’t that’s fine too, everyone has different tastes but we like to think we have a little something of everything for everyone.
BM: Where did the name ‘Shots Fired’ originate?
SF: ShotsFired came from when there has been a shooting and it goes over police radios as ‘shots fired at insert area’. It also came from being a popular term on the internet for when someone would burn someone else. We liked it because it links a lot with our lyrical content, as if we were opening fire with our music.
BM: You’re not too keen on been too rigidly labelled under a specific genre. Is this because you are influenced from a variety of bands?
SF: We take influence from a variety of different sources, some obvious influences are worn on our sleeves naturally, bands such as The Acacia Strain, Lionheart, Gideon and Thy Art Is Murder etc have shaped us as musicians and definitely played their part in our individual tastes,however we are also influenced by those around us as we live with other bands and absorb their creativity, whether it be bred from hardcore/metal or not.
BM: Was there one particular band/album that you guys bonded over?
SF: When myself (Jordan, Guitar) and Ryan (Vocals) first met, we spent a lot of time hammering Desolated’s ‘Disorder of Mind’ EP. Although the stigma attached to that band has now reached levels of almost political value in the underground hardcore scene, we can still say it probably shaped how a lot of our original material was crafted.
BM: Before Shots Fired you’d all had a bit of experience of playing live in various other bands, what was it like getting on stage as Shots Fired for the first time?
SF: The first show we played was 30th September 2014 in Leeds. As always there was a few tech issues but other than that we had a lot of fun and we had a real good turn out and reaction so it couldn’t have gone better for us. It had been a good few years since some of us had stepped on stage but managed to brush the cobwebs off in no time.
BM: How would you describe your live set?
SF: We try to be as honest as possible when performing and don’t particularly attempt to choreograph any elements of our set, however that being said our only real way to connect with new fans is at shows so we give it our all every show. Playing live is our way of venting and really connecting with what we’ve written. It can also be demanding for both us and the audience so we try to bring as much energy as possible and give the truest portrayal of our music.
BM: Your debut EP , ‘Warpath’ was released in February, and is available as a free download. What kind of reception is it getting?
SF: So far we’ve had some really good feedback and are pleased with the end result. We spent the best part of a year dedicating our time and what little resources we had into making the EP. A lot of people have shaped how the EP turned out, whether now we look back on those moments fondly or not. However we are proud to finally have something we can say is a piece of our collective consciousness. We recorded everything from my bedroom with our good friend Luke Griffiths (Release the Kraken) over the year. Regardless of how our band has changed during this time, we still believed we could create something to the best of our current potential and I believe we did that. We’re currently writing new material for the next ep with possibly a new single dropping soon, we won’t say too much just now but it’s a whole other level and we can’t wait to get it out there!
BM: So what’s next for Shots Fired ?
SF: 2015 will consist of hitting as many shows as we can around the UK, writing, touring and recording and releasing our new Ep. Ryan is going to be featuring on a couple of other bands tracks as well and I guess the rest, we’ll see what happens.
BM: And finally – any bands you think we and our readers should be looking out for?
SF: Check out The Colour Line from Hull who are a real breath of fresh air to the national metal scene. Also big up to Guardian, their bassist Cory has been filling in for us recently and has been a massive help and we really appreciate them helping us out. We’ve made a few friends since playing shows, make sure to check out – Eyes Upon A Ghost, Lacerate, Osiah, On Hollow Ground, Hold Out and our Leeds lads in Tintagel
Shots Fired are: Ryan Kennedy – Vocals, Jordan Hodson – Guitar, Danny Stone – Guitar, Chris Vinter – Drums
Warpath is out now and available to download for free via the bands BandCamp page – www.shotsfireduk.bandcamp.com
You can keep up to date with all things Shots Fired via www.facebook.com/shotsfireduk
Shots Fired merch is also available from www.shotsfired.bigcartel.com
