Boston, MA’s Giftkrieg might just be the best thing we’ve stumbled into in quite awhile. And that’s not tooting any horns either, some of us are aged well and remember the days when the likes of cult classic era Kreator and company ruled our tape trading ways and our airwaves. Giftkrieg’s hot off the press EP, Poison War, effectively captures that lightning in a bottle but with their own authentic take. The title track practically drips spent gasoline while “March On” rips and tears with reckless abandon and the epic closer “Fires Burning In The North” conjures battle vests and bulletbelts. What you need to know is this EP rules but before I get too far here in spilling the beans, we sent the band our Profile questions so we could dig around under the hood and guitarist Judson Belmont was kind enough to respond. Head directly below to get acquainted and be sure to pay them a visit and get in on the ground floor. Do it…

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How and when did you first get into playing music, or metal more specifically, and how did your band get its start? Any pushback from family/those close to you?

I got my start playing guitar when I was about 12 or 13. Initially I picked it up just to play alt rock and whatever nonsense was on the radio at the time, but once I heard Metallica it was all downhill from there. My mother and her side of my family are very musical, so I had a lot of encouragement early on to pursue it.

As for this project, we’re pretty much the band that Craigslist built. Rich (bass) and I (guitar) started Giftkrieg back in 2023 after we met via a Craigslist post, and we found Brian (vocals) the same way. We had a different drummer at the time, but after we parted ways with him, one of the guitarists in the band that shares our practice space recommended we get in touch with his friend, Chris. He came down to try out and was a natural fit for what was shaping up to be a pretty fast and aggressive project.

How would you describe your band and what you play to someone who is completely in the dark?

If you like militant barking about warfare and evil set to fast, chaotic, shredding noise, then have I got a band for you.

Is there one (or more) thing about your latest / upcoming album or about your band that no one will find in any interview or review that you care to divulge?

Here’s a fun fact: our bassist’s last band had a song featured in the game Rock Band 2. For anyone curious, the song is “Shoulder to the Plow” by Breaking Wheel, and I’ve been told that about 3 seconds of it were featured in some medical drama TV show. Frankly we’re still a little starstruck to be in a band with him.

Any funny stories from playing shows / tours / festivals, etc?

Unfortunately, we’ve only just begun playing out, so we haven’t had many Spinal Tap moments as a band yet.

What do you see as some of the great things happening in and around the metal scene (yours or just in general) and what are some of the worst things happening right now?

Greatest: Rejection of AI. From what I see in metal right now, there seems to be a consensus that AI-generated art and music is not welcome in this scene. It gives me some hope that, at least for the near future, music and art will continue to be made by humans.

Worst: The over-digitalization of how we consume and discover music. I’m a big fan of digital media for the convenience, but I think it’s hard to deny that streaming platforms have changed the way we interact with music in some negative ways. By deemphasizing the art and visual presentation of music, disincentivizing bands to do longer releases in favor of singles so they can stay current in the algorithm, enabling censorship, etc.

Most folks have passions for a cause or causes that are close to them. What, if any, are some of the most important issues (social/political/humorous/etc.) for you / your band and how do you insert those issues into your music?

This band isn’t a platform for any of our social or political views. In my personal view, much of our subject matter—grotesque descriptions of mass casualty violence, bloody struggle for survival, etc.—should be shocking and uncomfortable, and if they do prompt someone to reflect on an ugly side of humanity we welcome that. But we’re not patronizing the listener by moralizing to them about these topics.

Do you guys have day jobs or hobbies you want to share?

We all keep fairly low profiles about our personal lives outside the band. My day job has me sitting in front of a computer taking zoom calls most of the week, so outside of work and music I try to get outside when I can.

What advice do you have for music critics and outlets out there? How can we all better serve the genre in the eyes of a hard-working musician?

No advice here, I’d just say that outlets like yours do a lot for the scene by giving a voice to the underground, and we appreciate that.

Any specific long term goal(s) in mind?

To write great songs and record them. Any other opportunities that come around as a result of that are welcome, but if that’s all we ever achieve we’d be satisfied. Having said that, I’d love to see this band gain enough traction to work with a small label on a vinyl release in the future.

When you’re not obsessing over your own material, what are some of your favorite albums to listen to currently? (Feel free to include non-metal)

On the non-metal side, I’ve been listening to a lot of Death in June lately, as well as a weirdo one-man project called Warlock Corpse that plays dungeon synth primarily, but occasionally breaks into punky/first wave BM-inspired riffage while still staying entirely synth-driven.

As for metal, I just got a copy of Veneraxiom’s debut album, Apocryphilia, that has not left my tape deck in weeks. Really filthy and occult black/death metal from the USA that I strongly recommend. Aside from that, at any given time I’m usually obsessed with some Bathory record or another, and most recently it’s been Hammerheart.

What is the near future outlook for you or your band? Any specific events on the horizon that the masses should be aware of?

Right now our main focus is getting some live dates together to promote the release, but in addition to that we’ve also been talking about doing a physical release of the EP, probably on tape. Besides that, we’ve already started working on a batch of three new songs that we’re really excited about. So for anyone who liked the EP and is curious to hear more, you may not need to wait long.

Summarize your band in one word. (Disclosure: If you use more than one word, we’ll probably just pick our favorite.)

Reckless

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Many thanks to Judson and Giftkrieg for their time!

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Poison War is available now on the band’s Bandcamp page. For more information on Giftkrieg, visit their Instagram page.