Karl Buechner screams his throat -- and pardon the pun here -- bloodier than a raw slab of beef as frontman for straight-edge, vegan warriors Earth Crisis and Path of Resistance, and as the vocalist for the less political yet just as intelligent Freya, who borrow their name from a Norse pagan goddess.

Buechner has to work to achieve a balance between his many bands as well as owning and operating his own label. Buechner told Noisecreep, "The majority of my time is spent running my record label, Krom Records, while the rest is divided equally between Earth Crisis and Freya. I also play with Vehement Serenade and Path of Resistance, too!" A man's work is apparently never done in the HxCx and sXe scenes!

The new Freya album, 'All Hail the End,' is expected to be released next year via Victory Records, and Buechner explores a range of topical terrain, such as spiritual and religious topics in the lyrics, saying, 'The theme of 'All Hail the End' is a gathering of end time prophecies of different cultures and religions from around the world. Musically the songs are far darker than anything we have written before, and the compositions are more involved."

Besides the obvious -- with Earth Crisis serving as a vehicle to educate people about animal rights issues, meat-and-dairy-free living and a drug-free lifestyle, and Freya being less message-driven -- Buechner pointed out other differences between his many bands, saying, "Earth Crisis and Path of Resistance will always be vegan straight edge bands. Freya and Vehement Serenade are both experimental bands, and with each of them, I am free to cover a wide variety of topics ranging from history and religion to current events and personal topics."

Variety is the spice of a well-lived metal life.

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