Interview with DRANZER
!!!TECH THRASH/SPEED METAL FROM THE UK!!!
We had a conversation with James (Lead Guitar/Vocals). Enjoy!
Welcome to the FILTHY DOGS OF METAL Webzine.
Tell us a few things about DRANZER (Members, Starting Year etc).
Dranzer are a Technical Thrash/Speed metal band originating from Newcastle Upon-Tyne in the north-east of England. Dranzer was originally formed as a solo project in late 2021/early 2022 by lead guitarist and vocalist James Alberto Taylor. By early 2025 James had eventually put together a lineup with James Taylor on lead guitar and vocals, Cole Hogarth on bass, Owen Murray on drums and finally Matty Miller on rhythm guitar. In 2024 James recorded a 6 song Demo however was not released till May of last year. In 2025 we released our Demo, our first single “Beowulf” (later re-recorded for our EP) and began recording our Debut EP in October 2025 as a 3-piece. Halfway through recording we recruited our new second lead guitarist Brandon Cummings.
Dranzer are:
James Alberto Taylor - Lead Guitar / Vocals
Owen Murray - Drums
Brandon Cummings - Lead Guitar / Backing Vocals
Dan Hogarth - Bass / Backing Vocals
You have recently released your EP ''Retribution''. What is the feedback from your audience as well as from the press?
Yes we just released our debut 6-track EP, funnily enough on my (James’) 20th birthday. So far we have had really strong and positive feedback from what I have gathered from everyone I have spoken to or from comments I have seen which I am very appreciative of. We have had much better press coverage from people after releasing the EP as we were ignored quite a bit in the beginning (being a new Young band and all haha), but this EP feels like a big step in the right direction. Everyone seems to be loving the songs as well as the mid-80s style production and mixing (a great improvement from previous efforts). However one issue with the production was the mastering. I do all the production (apart from drums), mixing and mastering myself, and mastering was still something I was very new to learning therefore I did mess up a bit with the gain staging in that aspect. It’s all a learning experience, but I will definitely do a remaster at a later date.
And what about the lyrics?
I write all the lyrics for the songs, as well as the music 90% of the time. Most of the lyrical themes I write deal with more political, mental and psychological themes, as those things tend to come naturally when writing and is what interests me most especially when finding inspiration from films and books (such as: Berserk, A clockwork orange, Brazil, Jacobs Ladder, 1984, etc). I have also written more fantasy or story focused lyrics too on the flipside. Such as the second song from the EP “Beowulf”, which was written by an old anglo saxon tale I was obsessed with as a kid. Another song which we are in the middle of finishing up recording for now is called “Devildogs” which is about the blackdog knights from Berserk Vol 11 and 12 (this song was actually written even before the demo was recorded in early 2024).
Are you in searching for a record label? What do you prefer, Label or DIY and why?
Currently we aren't really scouting for any labels in particular. We have had interest in very small indie labels but we weren’t too interested considering we are doing alright independently. However we would like to try to get signed before releasing our debut full-length album hopefully by next year. Hopefully if any labels do hear our EP “Retribution” with it being fully funded with only a budget of £500 (300 for cover art and 200 for recording drums) they might show some interest. I love DIY especially for the place we are at now in our career because we are building a close community with our fans, although as I mentioned previously we would like to find a label before the full-length.
Is there any funny or weird story from the recordings or from your live shows that you would like to share with us?
God theres alot haha. 1 day before going in to record drums for “Retribution” Matty left the band to focus on his other band, however considering he was only rhythm and I was planning on recording all the guitars myself anyway it was not too big of an issue. We had 4 guest lead guitarists featured across 2 songs on the EP, “The God Complex” and the title track by a bunch of amazing and very talented guitarists (Jake Genest, Cobain Kemp from Fracxura, Joe Blackford who was one of our previous lead players as well as Patrick Vollering Ex-Tailgunner lead guitarist). We had to delay the EP by a month or two due to having to teach previous members the songs while they were recording their parts which ultimately took longer as well as the mixing (due to me being a bit of a perfectionist). I remember our second show in which we debuted Beowulf for the first time a few weeks before the initial single came out. I nearly fainted as this was my first time singing on stage (we had a guy called Rory fill in on the live singing for all the cover songs at that point), we played the song way faster than what we recorded it at and again i was very new to singing and playing lead guitar, felt like our drummer owen just kept playing faster and faster hahaha. Now I can sing and play at that speed comfortably haha. Also at our previous two shows our new second lead guitarist Brandon had a bit of bad luck on both days. His strap came off during our second song and then the next day on the first song he didn’t realise his amp was on clean instead of distorted which was hilarious as he went into a panic hahaha. Also on the 1st show of the year when I was announcing that we had merch I got tongue tied and mumbled utter nonsense to a sold out show, don’t think I’ve ever been more embarrassed (watching a clip back its utterly hilarious).
Do you prefer Vinyl, Tape, CD or Digital Format and why is that?
I used to prefer Tape and Vinyl (as a record collector myself) however now I much prefer CDs due to ease and more consistent sound recording. Though Vinyl is my favourite to collect, but for listening definitely CDs.
Your music style is Thrash Metal. Which are your main influences (Favourite Artists / Bands etc.)
I’d say we are a fusion of different styles, but yes we are directly Thrash to sum it up. For the writing and recording on “Retribution” I was really influenced by early Power and Speed metal, with some thrash and heavy metal with bands such as Helloween (Kai on vocals era), Omen, Agent Steel, King Diamond and Mercyful Fate. That's why some people are a bit confused when listening to the EP when we say we are a thrash metal band because we aren't strictly just thrash. I have actually had roughly 3 albums worth of material fully written and composed for years now all taking inspiration from different things. Our next album and songs are way more “Thrashy” taking inspiration from Toxik, Megadeth, Coroner, Voivod, Slayer, Destruction, Death, Nocturnus, Evildead and many more. Of course I was still greatly inspired by these bands during the writing and recording of “Retribution” but I wanted to take a more melodic approach, you can definitely hear the Tech-Thrash influences in Guts and The God Complex, both of which as well as Beowulf being my favourite to play.
Which things do you think a band should sacrifice in order to succeed? Have you ever sacrificed anything in your life for a better future for your band?
Unfortunately it is necessary to sacrifice something for the benefit of the band. I have had to go through huge setbacks due to other members not taking it as seriously as me, and sadly in a situation like that you have to let people go. It took 6 months to find Owen as a replacement on drums and we have been through our fair share of guitarists too (at one point we were going to be a 3-piece haha). Other sacrifices have to be made such as canceling shows and postponing releases. I'm a stickler for planning and timing things out perfectly but no matter what it will end up being pushed back, usually due to other people. I'm not trying to bad mouth anyone but this goes for everything in life and I've learnt to just accept people are busy too and you need to make a big effort to communicate with members and fans, if that falls through then there's no more band.
Describe your ideal live show as a performance band. Have you already experienced that?
So far we have only played 4 shows, and I think we have yet to have our best show. I think the perfect show would be a great stage and room sound, and of course a great audience and lineup. There's nothing worse than rocking up to a gig and the audience are all just filming and not interacting or having a good time (this is coming from someone who tends to just watch and listen at gigs instead of going crazy). A great lineup of bands also goes a long way too. We, Final Witness and Demonology (all Northern Thrash/Death metal bands) are planning a mini tour across the North east of England which we are all excited for this summer.
What do you think about the rise of AI in music production?
I’m not a fan of AI at all, I think it’s massively disappointing seeing these bands I admired and respected taking money away from artists. If they use AI for writing songs especially at a professional level (Either way to me I think is wrong) it’s just very lazy. I remember when AI in the creative industry was very new and sort of a joke just a few years back due to how terrible it was, but now its used by big pro bands, I just find it quite disrespectful to fans as well as artists. I mean everyone will have different opinions, just like with everything but I’d rather have bad artwork than AI “art”.
What attributes do you think that a new Thrash Metal Band should have in order to gain identity and be unique?
I think really it's to just be themselves, take attributes from bands you love and make them your own. I'm not a fan of newer bands totally ripping off the sound and identity/image of older classic bands (Typically Tiktok oriented bands), as it seems to be the easiest and fastest way to get big now is to copy a classic band through and through. I've always loved discovering new bands especially when they are uniquely their own, and I feel with Dranzer we are very much our own band. You can definitely hear our influences but as I said we are very much us, if that's with our riffs, production, lyrics, structure, etc. However I feel like we as a band are still searching for our own image, I have a few ideas but still flirting with them currently haha. I'd also like to mention paying tribute to a band your influenced by is far different than copying, for example Vektor and Voivod, are very cosmic (much more so with Vektor) and have similar style logos, but they are very uniquely distinct from each other, especially their sound.
Do you believe that Digital Platforms help the new Thrash Metal Bands? Which, do you think, is the ideal way for a band to promote its work?
Yes I think digital platforms are definitely the ideal way for a band to present themselves. I personally prefer instagram, but I honestly think it's more of your target demographic. Though I’m not a fan of the low effort style of contempt used on Tiktok but that's just me I think.
From your experience in the music industry, what would you tell to a new Thrash Metal band to avoid or what to do?
Be original, play covers but be primarily an originals band, make sure to have merch at gigs and build contacts and be respectful. No one likes bands who talk shit and say things which aren't true just to make themselves look better. Also put together a demo to sell and t-shirts to sell at gigs, it's not about the money from selling merch, it's about connecting with fans and spreading the word of your band.
Tell us a few things about the New Underground Metal Scene in the U.K. (Bands, Fanzines, Webzines, Metal Clubs etc.)
I'm not too active with many magazines or communities but I'm definitely aware of the scene and the big bands in the underground scene. I think the UK is starting to build back up again in the music world as for years it seemed to be very unsupported as a whole (especially before covid, which was before I even got into music really). I'm a big fan of some of the newer bands coming out at the minute and I love supporting them. However some are very toxic and tend to be very egotistical, etc and just cause problems. But as a whole I think and I hope soon enough there will be a true Uk thrash scene similar to the current one in the States which I am very imbedded in (luckily have a lot of friends and mutuals with the guys in the underground scene in the States and they have been very supportive as well).
What does Metal means to you? And give us 10 metal albums that run in your veins.
Metal is primarily an emotional and creative outlet, which I think it is to most metalheads. My top 10 albums (which can change on my mood and in no particular order) are:
1. Peace sells - Megadeth
2. Killing is my business - Megadeth
3. No more Colour - Coroner
4. World Circus - Toxik
5. Walls of Jericho - Helloween
6. Release From Agony - Destruction
7. The Key - Nocturnus
8. Individual Thought Patterns - Death
9. Annihilation Principle - Laaz Rockit
10. Think This - Toxik
(I think Rust in Peace - Megadeth should be on there too but that goes without saying haha)
Do you know anything about the Hellenic Metal Scene?
Unfortunately no, but I'm always interested in discovering different scenes and underground bands.
What are your future plans?
Currently the plan is to finish up recording these 4 new songs to release as singles taking up the rest of the release year as well as play as many shows as we can. Hopefully getting this mini tour all sorted will be perfect as well. Hopefully if all goes to plan we will begin tracking drums in August for our Debut Full- Length LP (10 songs, some of which were on the 2024 demo but have been a bit reworked). Hopefully it will be released early 2027, the album's title is “Tribulation”, following a similar sort of trend as the EP title wise haha, but as presented by the name it will be leaning more into the darker and more surreal aspects of life both musically and lyrically.
Thank you very much for your time & keep up the good work! The closure is yours.
Thank you for giving us the chance to have an interview! We would like to thank everyone for the support and feedback from the release of the EP as well as a big thank you to the bands friends and family as well as the fans!!! Hopefully we will see you guys at one of our shows, and be sure to check out our spotify as well as our bandcamp for merch. Thank you!
By Steve the Filthy Dog.
DRANZER CONTACT:
https://www.facebook.com/people/Dranzer-Thrash/61576663784839
https://www.instagram.com/dranzer_band
https://www.tiktok.com/@dranzer83?_t=zn-8xl8javt1si&_r=1
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXHCzewFVVjYjB69Y0PDqvA