It’s no secret that one of the most tried and true methods of building an audience for a new band is to open shows for a more established band. And that is exactly the model that Weapons Of Anew is following in support of their debut album, The Collision Of Love And Hate, by opening shows for Tesla from late September until early October. The band’s guitarist, Freddy Ordine, spoke with BraveWords correspondent Greg Prato shortly before the September 15th release of the album.

BraveWords: Where is Weapons Of Anew from and when and how did it form?
 
Freddy Ordine: “We’re from the New York and New Jersey area. Originally, it started out as me and Chris, the drummer, we were playing together in another band. Chris left and came with me, and I knew Reno because he used to tour with HavocHate with us, when Greg went back to Testament. So, I’ve known Reno for years - I’ve always wanted to write with him. So, I called him up and he was into it. We were looking for singers and we couldn’t find anybody, and Ray West’s name kept on coming up. I was like, ‘Isn’t that the guy from Spread Eagle? We don’t want to do anything like that.’ I finally gave in and called him, and we completely hit it off. It was a perfect fit, so that was it - that’s how it started. We added Kris Norris in April of this year - he came in as soon as the record was wrapped up.”
 
BraveWords: How would you describe the band’s sound?
 
Freddy Ordine: “We definitely have a metal tone to us. We’ve got a little modern rock thing going on. We really didn’t put any thought into what we were going to sound like. We just kind of got in a room and wrote, and whatever came out of us, came out of us.”
 
BraveWords: I thought that the music sounds melodic but also heavy at the same time.
 
Freddy Ordine: “Yeah, melody was a big part for me, man. That’s why when I met Ray, I was like, ‘Wow, this guy gets it. He can sing in modes and all these crazy scales.’ It was perfect. That was the big thing for me - I wanted to make sure that this band had some cool melodies and cool hooks in it.”

 
BraveWords: Who are some of the band’s influences?
 
Freddy Ordine: “We all listen to so much different stuff. I grew up on the ‘80s thrash bands - Testament, Slayer, Metallica, and stuff like that. You hear a little bit of that in there. Reno, the bass player, I know he’s really into the funk thing, but he’s a metalhead at the same time. Chris Manfre grew up on probably more ‘80s rock, and Ray is into Zeppelin and Aerosmith.”
 
BraveWords: Let’s discuss the new album, The Collision Of Love And Hate.
 
Freddy Ordine: “It was a long process. It seemed like it was never going to end. Once we got James F. Murphy in and he helped us get focused and dialed in, things started moving along. We started writing for the band initially as soon as we all got together, so it was probably about two years now - September would be two years since we’ve been writing. And then James came in, in November, and we really put it together and got it to where we were ready to record the record, and just went in there and did what we do. But it was great having all of us together, and having James come up was awesome. And then James got sick with I think his gall bladder, so we pulled Mike Ferretti in - he actually lives right by where we rehearse - and he mixed it and finished it off for us.”
 
BraveWords: What are some memories of shooting the video for “Killshot”?
 
Freddy Ordine: “There is a boxer guy we know, Julian Rodriguez - they call him ‘Hammer Hands.’ He’s a younger kid, and is 16-0. He had a gym in I think Hackensack, New Jersey. So, we called him up, and said, ‘Hey, can we make this happen?’ And he said, ‘Yeah, man! Come and use the gym! I’ll even be in the video.’ We were like, ‘Are you cool with getting the shit kicked out of you by a girl?’ And he said, ‘Yeah, absolutely! It will be awesome!’ So, we had a good time. It was fun.”

 
BraveWords: What can fans expect from seeing the band live?
 
Freddy Ordine: “A full-on assault. Pure energy from the time we get on to the time we get off. It’s pure. It’s real. It’s a good time - we try to get everybody in the crowd having fun.”
 
BraveWords: Are you looking forward to the upcoming tour with Tesla?
 
Freddy Ordine: “Yeah, I think it will be cool. I don’t really know much of Tesla’s stuff. Like I said, I grew up more on the thrash stuff, but I remember hearing ‘Love Song’ and ‘Signs.’ I’m just actually starting to check them out now, and I think it will be cool. It will be a good time. Those guys have been doing it for a long time, so any time you get to tour with a band that’s been doing it for 30+ years, you get to learn some cool shit from them, and hopefully we connect and have a good time with those guys.”
 
BraveWords: Future plans? 
 
Freddy Ordine: “Tour, tour, tour, and tour some more! We’re just going to try and stay out for as much as we can. We’ve got the Tesla tour coming up, and then as soon as we’re off that, we’re doing some stuff in the Midwest, and then it looks like we’re going out with Michale Graves. I think that starts November 23rd, and goes right up until Christmas. So, we’ll be out with him for a good month. And into the new year, hopefully touring more.”