BELTFED WEAPON Drops “Eternal Fire”

Darkened Demise EP

Dedicated to the Memory of Timothy L. Aymar

Drops June 25th

cover art by Sidjimbe Art

Guitarist Frank Hetzel with Esteemed Metal Musicians

Tim Aymar (Control Denied), Jeff Loomis (Nevermore/Arch Enemy),

Kragen Lum (Exodus/Heathen), Jason Viebrooks (Exhorder, Grip Inc.)

and Bryan Newbury (Into Eternity)

BELTFED WEAPON mourns the loss of project member Tim Aymar.

Timothy L. Aymar

(September 4, 1963 ~ February 13, 2023)

“Years ago I was searching on YouTube for projects Ronny Munroe former metal church vocalist was involved with then, and I found Beltfed Weapon’s P.O.W. and I was impressed. So I checked out more of their stuff. Somewhere along the line Guitarist Frank Hetzel friended me on Facebook and he contacted me about writing lyrics and singing on some of his stuff. I just loved the riffs he came up with. so it didn’t take long to get him my tracks. He didn’t mention it at first, but I secretly hoped it was for Beltfed Weapon, and my wish came true. I hope to do much more with Frank and the gang in the future.” – Tim Aymar 

One day I was listening to Control Denied, and as this is one of my favorite albums of all time, I said to myself ‘I sure would love to work with Tim Aymar. I wonder what he would think if I messaged him .’ I was also impressed with his work in (Helios and Pharaoh), so I sent him a message on Facebook (as we have been friends on there for a while), and he replied, ‘yea, I’ve liked your band Beltfed Weapon for some time and I would love to be involved with this.’ I was super stoked, so I sent him the tunes and he got to work on them right away. Tim had a different way of writing. He sent me the vocal melodies worked out with a trumpet, with major keys in the melodies. This method sounded very odd to me, but I could envision the vocals with it. Once he sent over the vocal tracks, all was perfect. Tim said he learned how to do vocal melodies this way from Chuck Schuldiner. Tim’s lyrics have always touched me. It was an honor for me to have had this opportunity to work with him. I really wish I could work with him again and that he was here to witness the release of the Darkened Demise EP.. So, I am honoring his life and memory and dedicating this EP to him. I know all he wanted was to have his music heard. That was most important to him. I am not certain, but do believe the song ‘Eternal Fire’ was the last song Tim recorded before he passed. I will miss him and remember what we shared together forever, R.I.P. Tim Aymar ” – Frank Hetzel

Hear “Eternal Fire”

Tim Aymar’s Swan Song

HERE:

“Eternal Fire” (video by Andrea Giambona)

Frank Hetzel says “‘Eternal Fire’ is about two souls who hearts are on fire for each other with love, passion and pure ecstasy, bonded by a raging inferno that is forever ignited, rising up from hell into the heaven that they create for themselves, surrounded by bad lost selfish souls condemned to their hell to dwell for eternity and burn forever as they have chosen their demise.”

Frank Hetzel – rhythm guitar

Tim Aymar – vocals

Jeff Loomis – lead guitar 1st solo

Kragen Lum -l ead guitar 2nd solo

Jason Viebrooks – bass

Bryan Newbury – drums

Beltfed Weapon hails from Seattle and was founded in 1999 by guitarist/songwriter Frank Hetzel.   

For more than 20 years, Frank Hetzel has been a staple of the Seattle metal scene. He first established himself in the music business by booking national and international touring bands. On the side – at least at first – he was the guitarist and main songwriter for Beltfed Weapon, a Pacific Northwest band influenced by speed, thrash, and death metal.

Over the years, the group released three critically-acclaimed EPs, and along the way, Beltfed Weapon played shows with metal luminaries including Testament, Over-Kill. Death Angel, Nevermore, Mushroomhead, Nile, God Forbid, Nuclear Assault, Cryptopsy, and Agnostic Front. More recently, Hetzel teamed with ex- Metal Church vocalist Ronny Munroe to release the single and video “P.O.W.” Proceeds helped cover medical expenses for Munroe’s wife and manager, who was battling cancer.

Beltfed Weapon has released three EPs  Beltfed Weapon (2001), Peacekeeper (2009), and Raining Plague (2015). Beltfed Weapon recordings  have featured special guests Steve DiGiorgio (Testament, Death, Sadus) [Bass]; Fredrik Vidigs (Marduk) [Drums]; Dean Sternberg (Where Evil Follows, Ashes Of Ares, ex-Into Eternity touring singer) [Vocals]; and Andy Beech [Lead Guitar]. Jeff Loomis (Arch Enemy, Nevermore, Sanctuary) and Matt Wicklund (Ghost Ship Ocatvius, God Forbid, Warrel Dane, HIMSA) and more.

Beltfed Weapon have returned with their best, most ambitious, and most creative offering. Hetzel spent years writing five new songs and tracking them with an all-star lineup that includes members of Morbid Angel, Control Denied, Arch Enemy, Black Label Society, Exhorder, Into Eternity, and Heathen which comprise the Darkened Demise EP, releasing June 25, 2023.

Beltfed Weapon’s EP Darkened Demise, mixed by Juan Urtega,  features Steve Tucker (Morbid Angel), Jason Viebrooks (Exhorder/Grip Inc),  JD DeServio (Black Label Society), Tim Aymar (Control Denied), Jeff Loomis (Arch Enemy), Kragen Lum (Heathen). Bryan Newbury (Into Eternity) and Dagna Silesia (Ghost Ship Octavius).

Combining four or more styles of metal into a single batch of songs is no small accomplishment. And Darkened Demise is packed with abrupt tempo shifts, staggered rhythms, extended middle-eights, and other musical hairpin turns that keep the music exciting and unpredictable.

WEBSITE: https://beltfedweapon.net/band/

FACEBOOK:  https://www.facebook.com/beltfedweapon/

  YOUTUBE:  beltfed weapon official – YouTube

BAND CAMP: https://beltfedweapon.bandcamp.com/

cover art by Sidjimbe Art

PREORDER HERE: beltfedweapon.net

Frank Hetzel