Arm The Pit - Angelical Tears

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ATP

For the record, who's answering the interview?

ANGELICAL TEARS

Primarily Steven Bittle, guitarist. Others where noted.

ATP

What is your band's name? How did you come up with that name?

ANGELICAL TEARS

Glenn: Angelical Tears. We wanted something that was sad and had angels in the name. I think Julia and I came up with it driving down I-44 one afternoon.

ATP

So who's in the band and what instruments do you each play?

ANGELICAL TEARS

Julia Flansburg - Vocals
Glenn Flansburg - Bass
Steven Bittle - Guitar, Backing vocals

We parted ways with our drummer back in the summer and there are no immediate plans to refill the position permanently just yet. We are however, collaborating with former Where Angels Fall/current Assimilate Drummer Ole Kristian Løvberg out of Norway.

ATP

How would you describe your sound. What makes you unique?

ANGELICAL TEARS

For starters, we are a female fronted band which is still a minority in metal. The Gothic Metal movement has made this more commonplace than it had been in the past but it is still not the norm. Another unique feature is the use of Russian language lyrics in some of our music (Russian is Julia's first language).
Overall, our sound could be described as Symphonic Metal with Gothic influences. Our sound is evolving slowly but surely and we are looking forward to sharing new music with everyone in the coming year.

ATP

What bands have influenced each of you?

ANGELICAL TEARS

Steven: Probably my biggest would be Fates Warning. Yngwie Malmsteen and Candlemass were early influences but I really latched on to the things Fates Warning was doing which opened the door to me for Progressive Rock/Metal. I frequently listen to older bands such as Rush, Yes, ELP, and Kansas as well as newer bands such Fates Warning, Dream Theater, Kamelot, etc.
Glenn: Megadeth, Iron Maiden from a historical perspective. As far as our genre goes it was Lacuna Coil and Nightwish that influenced me the most.
Julia: Evanescence, Within Temptation, Lacuna Coil, Nightwish

ATP

How experienced are you on the stage, a virgin or whore?

ANGELICAL TEARS

The band has had a lot of stage time so it is second nature to us.

ATP

How would you describe your shows?

ANGELICAL TEARS

Energetic, melodic, passionate perhaps.

ATP

Tell us about your favorite show and why?

ANGELICAL TEARS

Steven: I'd still have to rate our first CD release show as my favorite. It was a good time with lots of good memories.
Glenn: I really enjoyed playing at Westfest in Woodward, OK
Julia: I agree with Westfest. Energy and crowd was awesome.

ATP

Tell us about your worst show and why?

ANGELICAL TEARS

Steven: hard to say on that - probably for me personally, it was a show where I had pinched a nerve in my back a few days prior & was in a lot of pain. In addition, I blew a fuse in my amp that night. It was a difficult show all the way around but we did ok otherwise.
Glenn: That's tough. A toss up between playing a show with artists from every genre and the one where we played with the worst artist ever. Both shows had zero attendance.
Julia: Any of the shows where we played to an empty bar except for the other bands, but still give it our best and have a good time.

ATP

Tell Us About Your Dream Show, who you'd like to play with and where?

ANGELICAL TEARS

Steven: I'd love to do a show with Kamelot. I've seen them twice so far and they were such killer shows that I'd love to be a part of that. Where? Europe for sure!!
Glenn: Kamelot for sure. And Europe. We hope to make that happen.
Julia: Any of the bands the influenced our music such as Nightwish, Within Temptation, Kamelot. The crowd is absolutely insane. Anywhere we can get a large crowd.

ATP

Do you have a street team and how can you join?

ANGELICAL TEARS

We do not at this time. As we work on the third CD, we are retooling things a bit and may well start setting this up sometime in 2014

ATP

Do you have a record label and if not are you looking for one?

ANGELICAL TEARS

We are working with Blue Freya (Australia) and Liquid Tree (Germany) for distribution but we are not officially signed. We are not actively looking for a label at this moment but would be open to it if the right deal came along. A label deal is a business transaction and they are offering to invest in the band and we want the right investor. Any deal has to be mutually beneficial and not just filled with a little cash and hype about fame and success. The grand irony about the music industry is that it really doesn't care about the music. To the industry (at least in the USA), musicians and their music are, by and large, a product to package and sell, nothing more. Therefore, bands have to be uncompromising about their own interests. We're simply not going to sign on with anything that causes to compromise who we are as individuals or collectively as a band.

ATP

What are your plans for the future, in a year, 5 years?

ANGELICAL TEARS

Improve as a musicians, write good music, put on some killer shows. We are writing for our third CD and hope to have it released in 2014 though we are not going to rush the process. over the next 5 years, we'd like to tour Europe and release more music!

ATP

Finally, do have any words on what Arm The Pit means to you?

ANGELICAL TEARS

An opportunity to share a bit about ourselves with your readers! Thank you!!