Sea Of Tranquility staff writer Scott Jessup recently interviewed Masaki Murashita, Singer/Guitarist from new extreme metal band Hemoptysis. The group from Arizona is working on a full length follow up to their debut EP Who Needs A Shepherd?, and Scott talked to Masaki about the EP, the writing for the new CD, and the history of the band.

SoT: Hi Masaki and thanks for taking the time to answer some questions for Sea Of Tranquility's readers.

Masaki: Thanks for having me. I appreciate it.

SoT: Has your EP been getting plenty of exposure?

Masaki: We are receiving many good reviews on this EP but, since we are unsigned, it is hard to get exposure unless we try really hard. We are doing what we can do every day to get the name out and hopefully we will get more exposure soon.

SoT: How long has the band been performing together, and have you known each other for a while?

Masaki: Travis and I started jamming together in June, 2007 and we went through several member changes and ended up with our current line up in August, 2008. Therefore, we have actually been together for less than a year with this current lineup and Travis and I have been together for about two years.

SoT: What's the average age of Hemoptysis's members?

Masaki: The average age is about 23. I'm 23, Sunao and Travis are 26, and Jack is 18.

SoT: Where did the band's name come from?

Masaki: Travis's wife is a pharmacist who specializes in infectious diseases. We needed a name and were stuck. Travis asked her for some sick medical terms and she pitched a few at him, including Hemoptysis, which means coughing up blood. It sounded cool and has a brutal meaning so we kept it.

SoT: Can you tell us about Hemoptysis's first full length release, which the band is currently working on?

Masaki: It is more developed and has a unique sound. It still has an old school feeling to it, yet it's more melodic, aggressive and heavy. We have five songs written so far and there are a few songs we have started writing. The songs on the full length will contain both thrash and death metal sounds and it's more melodic. I just can't wait until we lay down all the songs for the full length and hit the studio.

SoT: Will it be in a similar style to the Who Needs A Shepherd? EP?

Masaki: It's similar, but it's definitely different.

SoT: Do you plan on doing any cover songs for the album? Or all originals.

Masaki: We don't have any plans for putting cover songs on the album. We don't even play cover songs at shows and I am not a big fan of playing cover songs. I don't see the point of playing cover songs or putting it on the record unless it's arranged, unique and different than the original. We might play some cover songs in the future, but at this point, no.

SoT: What gives you inspiration for your lyrics and music?

Masaki: Frustrations and paradoxes in everyday life.

SoT: Do you plan on touring to support the album?

Masaki: We will see what happens. We would love to tour if it's possible, but it will be when a full-length is out.

SoT: What do you aim to achieve with Hemoptysis?

Masaki: World tour! Share stages bands that we listened to grow up like Slayer and Megadeth.

SoT: Do you have other jobs, besides the band?

Masaki: We all have day jobs working in restaurants, grocery stores, taking college classes, etc. It would be nice if we could make a living with music.

SoT: Who are some of the band's influences and favorites?

Masaki: We have different music backgrounds and influences. My favorite band is Megadeth. Travis's favorite is Slayer. Jack doesn't have one favorite band but he listens to mostly melodic death metal and black metal and some thrash. Sunao listens to just about everything.

SoT: Thanks again, I look forward to hearing your next release!

Scott Jessup