It feels like these days if you play heavy, fast, loud music it has to be labelled “something core” (hardcore/skatecore/grindcore/metalcore etc). Blood Duster could be labelled grindcore, they could just as easily be labelled a rock band. They also don’t give a fuck what we think because after 20 years, they have done alright without the media’s useless labels and mainstream popularity terminology. They just continue to make music for themselves and we are just lucky enough to be allowed to hear it occasionally. Like we will get the chance to as they tour with Bastardfest. A local touring festival of heavy music. We caught up with Jason from the band to learn about the new record, the bands longevity and Reflex copy paper.

What's new in the Blood Duster camp?
 
Working on new records and concepts for those records. Apart from that not much really just listening to records and acting like were 16 all over again, getting fatter and older by the second.
 
Tell us a bit about this years Bastardfest?
 
It's good, lots of good bands and if your into supporting Australian heavy music then you could do far worse. Like Soundwave for example that seems to be taking delight in shitting all over Australian bands by excluding pretty much all of them.You tell me bands like Psycroptic, Extortion and I Exist are not of an international standard and I'll tell you, you are a fuckhead.
 
How does Bastardfest compare to when you played the Big Day Out?
 
Well the Big Day Out was offering freshly shucked oysters for lunch while we were sitting a table away from Drew Barrymore, we also played ping pong with Metallica... so in comparison Bastardfest is  a cheap as shit metal fest.No frills. No celebrities and no oysters, apart from that, we treat the actual playing and shows the same.Although given the chance I would choose oysters and Drew almost every time.
 
Any plans for new record?
 
Yes, this will be announced in the next couple weeks, Its is call KVLT.
It is the fastest and heaviest record we've ever done. Check out the website for announcements, I hope everyone likes it. We will be playing a lot of it at Bastardfest.
 
What has kept Blood Duster going for over twenty years?
 
Lack of funds and a willingness to keep making things. I guess for lack of better words - we just really like creating stuff, all the other stuff is kinda whatever, we just love making songs and coming up with interesting ways to present those songs.
 
Do Blood Duster have another twenty years left in them?
 
If you ask me I would say no, I've actually wanted to kill the band for awhile simply because I would really like to see what its like not to have this in my life. We've been at this a long time and in my life its been in it longer than it hasn't. I think we will be around for a long time though, everyone likes doing stuff and we've never had a goal to reach so why not just keep going till it reaches a conclusion like someone’s death.
 
Has there ever been a lyrical theme that Blood Duster finds too offensive?
 
Yes, there lots of things we find offensive, pretty much any kind of violence gore or porno type stuff that doesn't have deeper level of "something" other than "offensiveness" offends me. There are far, far too many gore grind bands that just don't get the difference between doing something "clever" offensive and stupid pointless offensive. For example when we did the "Cunt" record people got offended - but not by the fact that it was violent or sexist as we didn't present it in any kind of context, some people understand that and some people missed the point.


Saying dumb shit like most gore bands do just doesn't interest me in anyway. These bands are not offending anyone that I can see and a lot of it just has no point other than to just say something dumb.
 
On Lyden Na there's the 20+ minute doom track 'SlowAndLongina', how difficult is it to write a song that long and have you ever thought of busting it out live?
 
Not that long, everything we do happens pretty quickly. Blood Duster fans wouldn’t stand around and listen to that live. That was more for us than anyone else. I think we would have glasses thrown at our heads if we tried to subject our fans to that.
 
How did '66.6FMONYOURRADIODIAL' end up being used on an ad for Reflex copy paper?
 
Someone liked it who was in a position to put it there, I really appreciate it as it was a great thing to see during the Simpsons.I never ever thought Blood Duster would be used for anything in a commercial sense, it was actually quite amusing and surreal. In fact that song is about never being on the radio.... strange how things happen in life. I’ve simply learned to accept that shit will happen so now I'm never surprised.
 
With the Olympics near done - what would Blood Duster win the gold medal in?
 
Do they have a medal for a sport called staying the fuck away from the Olympics? Because we could win that.

-----------------------

Bastardfest 2012 featuring:BLOOD DUSTER (VIC), ASTRIAAL (QLD), FUCK…I’M DEAD (VIC), DREAMKILLERS (QLD), AVERSIONS CROWN (QLD), DISENTOMB (QLD), HELLBRINGER (ACT), KING PARROT (VIC), DAEMON FOETAL HARVEST (NSW), NORSE (NSW), FESTERING DRIPPAGE (NSW) plus more to be announced...