Blood of the Tyrant Guitarist: Chicago Metal is Not a Scene — It’s a Family

Something happened a few years ago and it's not that big of a surprise, but Chicago has a huge metal scene going on these days. It's one other cities should copy. The bands coming out of the Windy City are getting more and more progressive with each demo, and the rest of the country is taking note of the bands standing out.

One such band is prog/metal act Blood of the Tyrant, and their guitarist/vocalist Josh Primack told Noisecreep why he thinks Chicago has such a great metal scene going on right now, saying, "Heavy music has prospered and flourished in Chicago due to two things. First off, we have an astounding number of talented metal musicians residing here working in a diverse array of metal styles and sub-genres. The second thing would be the support that those musicians offer to one another."

But Primack feels what makes everything work in Chicago is that it's more than just a scene, since those come and go. "Our friend Alex, who has been a long-time supporter of all things metal in Chicago, once summed it up perfectly by saying that the metal musicians here don't consider themselves to be part of a 'scene,'" Primack said. "They consider each other family. These bands work together to help one another get shows, advertise and build up each other's fan bases. And they do so out of a genuine love and respect for each other's work."

Now most cities can attest to having some support for the metal bands coming up and making sure good shows come though, but only Chicago has Kuma's Corner, a metal burger joint. And if you didn't know already, Kuma's names food after bands that bring the metal. Blood of the Tyrant have gotten such an honor. "The folks at Kuma's have been kind supporters of Blood of the Tyrant ever since we formed," Primack said. "So when we finished recording our EP, Kuma's graciously offered to create a burger for us to coincide with its release and hosted a listening party for us as well," Primack says.

The band actually had no say in what went on their burger, which they actually preferred. "The burger was kept a secret from us until the day of the party. I think that is usually the custom at Kuma's Corner: the bands let the professionals in the kitchen decide what to put on it."

One thing the members of Blood of the Tyrant do to help promote shows and other bands in Chicago is to sit in as guest DJs for metal nights at clubs like Exit. "When it comes to choosing the music, we obviously play things that we enjoy, but we also try to emphasize bands who we feel might not be getting quite as much attention as we think they deserve, and thus we try to give them a little extra time on the decks," Primack explains. "Beyond all of this, DJing is simply a great deal of fun for us. We love inflicting our tastes on everyone at full volume in a public forum, usually while imbibing a few libations. Getting wasted and singing along to Pentagram at the top of our lungs – this is our idea of a great time."