Photos courtesy of Cadee Havard
Story by Bailey Brantingham
Many bands in Murfreesboro are adept at playing little laid-back venues, performing acoustic sets at MTSU’s Student Union or a small corner stage in a coffee shop. Others, however, are better accommodated by grungy, rock n’ roll stages with durable speakers and plenty of moshing room.
Murfreesboro metalcore band Bloodveil is the latter.
Bloodveil is one of few local bands aiming to usher in an era of metal domination in Middle Tennessee — or at least make space for the genre in an area flooded with country and pop artists.
The band came together through a string of coincidences. Guitarist Matt Baxter met singer Aidan Ross while scrolling through an Instagram group for MTSU freshmen. Baxter recruited longtime friend Max Didio as Bloodveil’s second guitarist soon after. The trio formed Bloodveil in December 2022 and began work on their first EP, “Hollow Heart,” the following month.
The band wasn’t complete, yet. Another coincidence threw drummer Wes Augustine into the mix. Ross met Augustine on the sidewalk one day, starting a conversation by randomly complimenting Augustine’s shirt. Augustine mentioned he was a drummer, and Ross invited him to meet the band. The pair became instant friends.
Despite a few creative differences when writing their first EP, the band agreed on one genre of music: metalcore. They piggybacked on Murfreesboro’s humble metal scene, taking inspiration from bands that mosh and wail rather than those that strum and serenade.
“What I like tends to lean a little bit heavier, and then some other members of the band, like Aidan … he loves singing and he loves, um, songs without screaming in it,” Didio said. “This compromise between writing a lighter song and a heavier song, we do that for pretty much every song we write.”
The group has faced a number of challenges making music that’s often perceived as loud or rowdy, especially in a Southern town. One of the biggest challenges for the up-and-comers is recording.
It’s easy to play their ear-piercing beats at concert venues, but recording vocal yelps in their makeshift apartment studio is another story — a frequent occurrence in the early days of Bloodveil.
“(One time) it was Aidan full-belt screaming, so I had him get under my bed and then put blankets all around to try to muffle the sound,” Baxter said. “It worked pretty well, but I was worried someone might call the cops for, like, a murder. He’s a f—in loud guy.”
No complaints were filed. Luckily a bassist and drummer lived in the apartment below Baxter’s, which Didio thought aided in their uninterrupted recording sessions. In an effort to avoid future evictions, the band learned to record the loudest parts of the music — drums and vocals — in the MTSU studios.
The band has learned to adapt to the non-metal musical preferences of Murfreesboro and even MTSU itself. They’ve found the local off-campus spots that embrace the headbanging energy they bring to the table.
“Nobody wants a loud metal band at, like, the Chris Young Cafe,” Baxter said.
Although showcases at the Chris Young Cafe or Live at Lunch performances might not be the band’s style, they’d make an exception for MTSU.
“I think we’d be open to it … if they’d have us,” Didio said.
With a majority of the band members being students in MTSU’s Department of Recording Industry, they’re being prepared to enter a world of country and pop music in Nashville. The group intends to plant their post-graduation roots in Murfreesboro, though, hoping to set up shop in an effort to grow the scarce local metal scene.
“I can think of tons of bands, you know, those really big influential bands that established scenes in whatever small town,” Baxter said. “I just think it’d be really cool to be a hometown kind of band.”
In the meantime, Bloodveil plans on traveling the 30 or so miles to play venues like Nashville’s The End and Drkmttr, as well as carving out time for a few trusty house shows around Murfreesboro.
The band also plans on encouraging those who typically shy away from the metal genre to give their heavy-hitting thrashers a try.
“I think if you can’t understand why we’re screaming … you’ll just have to, I don’t know, get over it I guess,” Baxter said.
Bloodveil plans to release their second EP, “Before I Waste Away,” at the end of the year and will perform at The End on Dec. 11. Their music can be found on all streaming platforms.
Bailey Brantingham is the Lead Lifestyles Reporter for MTSU Sidelines.
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