Bleeding Through seek to make metal for all

Despite their menacing tattoos, mohawks, and off-putting eyeliner, Bleeding Through strives to be a hospitable hardcore band.

Brandon Schieppati is the singer of the Orange County-based group. Their specific blend of hardcore and metal falls somewhere between gothic black metal and old-school hardcore.

Bleeding Through is playing at the Town Ballroom on March 3, with special guest Every Time I Die, as well as Between the Buried and Me and Haste the Day. Bleeding Through has been on tour for their new album "The Truth," which was released last month.

"I think it's the most progressive that the band has ever been as far as the writing goes," Schieppati said in an interview with The Spectrum. "I think this record appeals to all kinds of kids, not just hardcore kids or metal kids. That's what we want, every kind of kid to rock out with us."

Being natives of Buffalo, it's expected that Every Time I Die will bring in a large crowd. Schieppati acknowledged the possibility of being upstaged.

"Every band has a draw from their hometown," he said, "so obviously Every Time I Die will have a big pull, just like in Orange County when we play it will draw in a lot of Bleeding Through fans."

Regardless of the anticipated turnout, the band has managed to attract a satisfying following so far.

"The tour is going amazing, every show has been sold-out so it's obviously going incredibly," he said. "I think the package is very strong so every band brings something to the table."

Schieppati and one of his guitarists, Scott Danough, formed Bleeding Through in 2000. He was previously in the band Eighteen Visions, another Orange County hardcore band.

"I started Bleeding Through as a side project strictly on the fact that I wanted to play brutal metal stuff, and it just turned into what it is today where as (Eighteen Visions) was heading in a different direction," he said.

The band has six members, including Brandon Schieppati and Scott Danough. The other members are guitarist Brian Leppke, drummer Derek Youngsma, bassist Ryan Wombacher and keyboardist Marta.

Schieppati said that the band's major influences include Integrity, Slayer, At the Gates and Entombed.

Bleeding Through makes a point of not conforming to hardcore's current direction.

"We don't write music to see how hardcore kids feel about it," Schieppati said. "We write music on the basis of how we want it. If hardcore kids don't like it, that's fine. We always know that someone out there will like it so I guess that's good enough for us."

Their music videos have been played on MTV, and when "The Truth" was released, it was the No. 1 release of the week in the United States, hitting No. 48 on the Billboard 200. "The Truth" is their fourth album released by Trustkill Records. Schieppati says that the album is simply "the future of metal."

Many bands facing immense fame adjust their look to become more compatible with the mainstream. Schieppati, however, doesn't see that happening.

"We're always gonna be the same people we are. We're all hardcore kids when it all comes down to it," he said. "When (Bleeding Through) is done one day, we will still be those same kids that went to shows and had fun with everyone else."

The band performs this Friday at the Town Ballroom. Doors open at 7 p.m. Tickets are $18 at the door.