INTERVIEW: Night Raids at Shadow Woods Metal Festival September 14-17, 2017

By: Mark Ambrose

From September 14-17, hundreds of metal fans descended on White Hall, Maryland for a weekend of camping, music, and generic mayhem at the third annual Shadow Woods Metal Fest.  THE SLUDGELORD was on the scene and managed to snag a few interviews with performers, artists, and the people behind this unique, amazing musical event.  As part of our coverage, we sat down with Philadelphia grind-thrash-metal-punk duo Night Raids, who delivered a blistering set, highlighting tracks from their self-titled debut and latest release, “Servants of the Scablord”.  Vocalist/guitarist Worm Vomit and drummer Jazzy Bonehead shared their thoughts on the festival, the balance of work and music, and their commitment to DIY.

You guys manage to pull off a surprisingly full sound in your live set despite the two-man (guitar and drums) setup.  Was the dynamic a matter of choice or necessity?

WV: I think it started off as a matter of convenience and then we grew to embrace some of the limitations of a two man group.  It makes it easy to write songs, too.

Your latest 7 inch, “Servants of the Scablord”, came out in March. What’s the timeframe for the next release?

WV: We recorded on a four-track and we’re gonna have it out before the end of the year.  Hopefully December.  We’re gonna put it out on tape and it’ll have a few more tracks than “Scablord…” – maybe six tracks total.

JB: Some new songs and we also revisit some stuff from our first cassette release.  We’re constantly developing and from playing so often the songs just get honed.

Tell me a little about Scum Cult – the label that you use to put out your DIY releases.  Are YOU Scum Cult?

WV: Scum Cult is actually an old thing that was started by some old bands that were associated with our house and us.  So we’re PART of it and there isn’t anything else coming out on it right now.  There was an old, Flipper-style punk band called Deep Possum that was probably the first thing that Scum Cult did.  Then a death-doom band Rorschach.  Our friends Spencer and Tiffany have a band, Hexer, that put some stuff out through Scum Cultbefore moving on to other labels.  It’s just our DIY outlet.

What do you see as the benefits of DIY?

WV: In the broad sense, the work ethic that we’re doing it all ourselves feeds into everything in terms of our rehearsal and our work schedules.  The way that we make the whole project strengthens the unit in an intangible way.

What is the civilian Night Raids life?  Are there any side projects you’re working on?

WV: We both have other music.  Jazzy is more active in terms of playing “out” at shows so I’ll let him talk about that.  We work jobs and that’s a big part of our band, too.  When we get to rehearsal it’s about getting out of that work week.  I’m a woodworker. 

JB: I work in the service industry so obviously there’s a lot of disgruntled attitude.  There’s a nice, venting component of Night Raids.

WV: We’re definitely a working band.

JB: Subcommandant Worm Vomit taught high school for seven years and that was during the [Pennsylvania Governor Tom] Corbett administration which was probably the worst time to teach.  That kind of stuff chews you up and spits you out.

WV: The music’s about our work days in some ways and just being in that grind.

This is your first Shadow Woods.  What are some bands you are specifically excited to see?

WV: I’m really psyched for Vastum.  Our homies in Dead in the Manger

JB: Heavy Temple are friends from Philadelphia so I’m excited about that.  I’m bummed that we missed out on Elagabalus who were playing when we were setting up.  We could hear them from the stage and their stuff is just so amazing.  Really cool.

WV: We’re also excited to hear a lot of new bands – new to us.

And finally what shows do you have coming up?

WV: We have a benefit show the day after Thanksgiving (November 24) in Trenton, New Jersey for hurricane relief and homelessness.  And we’re playing our friend’s record store in Philadelphia on Sunday, September 24.  It has a stage and stuff – R&D Records at 6^th and Dickinson.

The End

Thanks to Night Raids and Shannon Void of Perfect World Productions. This interview has been slightly edited for clarity.

Band info: bandcamp || facebook