OUTLOUD’s Exclusive Interview with
Austin Diaz of Black Tide
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Austin Diaz, guitarist of Black Tide
Interview by Kevin Allen
Photos by Devanshay Guyton
Never judge a heavy metal band by its cover. At first glance, Black Tide looks like a group of teenage head bangers. But if you look a bit closer, you’ll see a foursome of young adults with pure talent and a passion for their art.
Lead singer Gabriel Garcia, guitarist Austin Diaz, bassist Zachary Sandler and drummer Steven Spence formed Black Tide a little over four years ago. Since then, they’ve gained the respect of fellow artists, record executives and countless fans.
"It feels surreal living out your dreams," Diaz said. "You grow up playing your guitar in your room and the next thing you know you’re getting paid for it."
The Miami natives released their debut album Light From Above last March and were greeted with rave reviews. Revolver Magazine said the songs were "fueled by aggressively raw, streamlined thrash-metal riffs and tempered with catchy, hard-rock choruses" and that the album is filled "with the unbridled enthusiasm and energy of an act in the earliest stages of its career."
"All four of us branch off when it comes to our musical influences and when we put them together we create a sound that is completely our own," Diaz said.
The band has made it a top priority to promote their album and get their name out there through various tours with multiple bands. One of their first major appearances was on the Jimmy Kimmel Show where they performed their hit single "Shockwave." They’ve also toured with bands such as Avenged Sevenfold, Dir En Grey, Lamb of God, Slipknot, Mindless Self Indulgence and most notably Ozzy Osbourne.
"We’ve been on a couple of tours and we were treated as equals. We did a tour with MSI (Mindless Self Indulgence), Bullet For My Valentine, Dir En Grey and all of them were f***ing sweet, " Diaz said. "They were all nice to get along with, to hang out with and party."
All of this attention has not gone to the their heads. In fact, they are very humbled and modest about it. They’re just your up-and-coming rockers who know where they’ve come from and know where they’re going.
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