Tell readers a little about the ideas that inspired the creation of Krotalus. You guys sound like a monster combo of Speed, Thrash, Black, and Death Metal on ‘Blood Offerings,’ was that the intention?

Chad- Haha, Well not at first. The whole reason I wanted to put this band together was because I really missed the good ole days of Thrash and Speed Metal which is what I started out playing. And me and Clay, our drummer at the time, were actually talking about doing a Black Metal project on the side. After spending a lot of time putting Krotalus together we realized we didn’t have enough extra time for another project so we decided to just do it under the Krotalus banner. This way we’re not limited to any one style or sound and it really lets us take advantage of all the different influences we have.

I do not have the lyrics to the CD in the booklet and I could not find them on the Internet, but ‘Blood Offerings’ seems to be in part a concept album. Tell fans about the meaning behind “The Dark Prophecy (Sea of Vengeance I),” “Cloak of Darkness (Sea of Vengeance II),” and “Brink of Destruction (Sea of Vengeance III).” How do those songs relate to the rest of the tracks lyrically? Does the band ever envision doing an entire concept album?

Chad- A concept album would be interesting but I don’t really see us doing anything like that, the Sea of Vengeance trilogy came about by accident really, I had a story to tell through the lyrics and it took 3 songs to finish the story. It’s basically about religious persecution and how a group of like-minded people come together to take vengeance against those that wished to drive them away.

The riffs and solos on ‘Blood Offerings’ are all awesome. How do you guys come up with that many creative guitar riffs? How does the band know a solo belongs in one spot and a harmony lead or lick in another area?

Chad- There’s so many bands that stick to the traditional song structure of verse/chorus/verse/chorus/solo/verse/chorus and that can become stale and very predictable. We wanted to try and make every second of each song interesting to the listener so we threw out any kind of structure and just arranged the songs the way we felt they should be. As far as the placement of solos, that’s kind of trial and error a lot of times and that’s something I usually play around with when we rehearse. There’s a couple solo’s on this album that I actually came up with on the spot in the studio because I felt a song needed something more.

Black Metal goes for an occult mysteriousness with a trance state/conveyance of atmosphere and most Brutal Death Metal is concerned with “brutality.” The result is a phasing out of guitar solos, but this mindset seems faulty for the fact that solos can create tension, fear, and other emotions in songs regardless of the Metal genre. What makes a great solo and what are some of the emotions you are expressing during a lead as opposed to playing a riff? Do you think guitar leads are becoming a bit of a lost art on the younger generation?

Chad- I think a good song should be able to stand on its own, with or without a solo and there are a lot of extreme metal bands that can pull that off well. A great solo is one that makes a good song better, if it doesn’t better the song then you’re wasting time and probably boring the listener. I agree though, it seems solo’s have been fading away in the last few years but with the resurgence of 80’s influenced metal bands I think you’ll start seeing more and more, at least I hope so!

At the time of this interview, Krotalus is actively searching for a new drummer. What happened with Clay Lytle? Have you guys had any success locating a drummer?

Chad- Clay moved away which of course made it impossible for him to remain in the band, he’s an amazing drummer and he’ll be missed but I’m sure he’ll pop back up in the scene before long. As far as a replacement, we’ve been talking to several drummers and they’re currently learning the material. We’ll be holding auditions very soon and I feel confident that we’ll find a replacement in no time.

Krotalus is not on a label and ‘Blood Offerings’ is a self-released title. Considering the power of the Internet, does the band need a label to promote and spread the music?

Chad- There’s no doubt the internet helps unsigned bands get their music heard by people all over the world, especially with Myspace.com. And there’s so many webzines out there just like yours helping to promote bands, but I think labels still serve a purpose by giving bands worldwide distribution.

I saw a video of the band playing “Stripped of Innocence” on Google and I was amazed at the speed and precision. HAHAHAHA, are you guys on steroids like Bonds and Clemens?

Chad- HAHAHA We’ve joked about that before. When you play live and get the adrenaline pumping everything seems slower, then when you go back and watch the tapes you realize everything is much faster than usual. Of course it always helps when the front of the stage is lined with crazed Metalheads pumping their fists in the air!

I realize that Krotalus does not have a drummer, but are there any plans to play live shows with a session member. In addition, I know ‘Blood Offerings’ just came out, but I am wondering if a Split or EP is on the horizon.

Chad- Well like I said we have a few different drummers in mind so I think we’ll be back on track with live shows very soon. As far as any other releases, there’s nothing in the works right now. We want to promote the hell out of this album with the hopes of releasing the next one on a label but we’ll see what happens.

All right, hypothetical question, your house is on fire and you can save only one Metal CD to play over and over; what band is it gonna be? Other than the phenomenal Krotalus, what bands from South Carolina should fans be injecting into their dirty little Metal ears?

Chad- Good question, I’d have to say Slayer’s “Reign in Blood”, that’s one album that never seems to get old no matter how many times you hear it, and they are such a huge influence on all of us. Other bands from this area to check out, of course the mighty Nile and our brothers in Lecherous Nocturne, and I know you’re familiar with Steve Green and Atrocious Abnormality. Then there’s Goliath, Insidious Demise, Chaosego, Apotheosys and Wehrwolfe to name a few.