A Dirty Dozen with BRIDGES ABLAZE – May 2025

According to a recent press release: “Austin-based Bridges Ablaze, the buzzing rock band born from the serendipitous encounter between two incredibly talented artists—Brien Allen and Ruben Zamora—continues to captivate audiences with their transformative music journey. BridgesAblaze dropped the official video “Heartless” premiered via Substream Magazine ând now, are giving fans a look into the BTS of the video, dropping 3/21! Hot off the 2024 release of their singles “Take Me,”  “Heartbroken Angel,” “Numb,”and   “‘Apocalypse,” (over 28M plays on TikTok).” We get the duo to discuss new music, influences, and more…

1. Tell us a little about your latest release.  What might a fan or listener not grab the first or second time they listen through?  Are there any hidden nuggets you put in the material or that only diehard fans might find?

There’s a lot of complex guitar layering in this song (“Heartless”). I think, if anything, listeners might pick up on new layers if they really listen to the varying layers. As far as hidden nuggets go, we didn’t intentionally place any in the song. However, I could see how fans might view specific layers they didn’t initially notice that way.

2. What got you into music, and can you tell us about the moment you realized you wanted to be a musician?

Opera vocals or even Shania Twain got us into vocals in early childhood, but classic rock riffs got us into guitar when we were a little older. Songs like “Thunderstruck” by AC/DC or “Eruption” by Van Halen, really inspired us to learn rock guitar.

3. Building on that, is there a specific song, album, performer, or live show that guided your musical taste?

I’d say, eventually Metallica happened for us both in childhood and that was a pretty defining moment for us. It’s where we both switched from rock guitar to a more metal guitar sound.

4. If you could call in any one collaborator to do a song with, who would it be, and why?

Probably Linkin Park or Avenged Sevenfold.

5. What is your favorite activity when out of the studio and/or not on tour?  What do you like to do to unwind?

We really like to eat food. Honestly, we are total foodies. We love sushi and ramen. We love authentic Mexican food.

6. How would you describe your music to someone who’d never listened to you before? What is the one comparison a reviewer or fan has made that made you cringe or you disagreed with?

We’d tell them that Bridges Ablaze is a sonic mashup of classic metal titans like Bullet For My Valentine and Killswitch Engage with the sound of modern metal acts like Architects and ERRA. We draw on a wide range of influences across rock and metal through the decades, and even genres beyond rock and metal. We are both lead guitarists and vocalists that approach metal / rock songs from a singer / songwriter point of view, leading to our unique sound.

7. When your band is hanging out together, who cooks, who gets the drinks in, and who is first to crack out the acoustic guitars for a singalong?

We don’t really drink much. Ruben is actually entirely sober from alcohol. I’d say Ruben would be the cook, and Brien is the first to start ripping on the acoustic guitar.

8. When was the last time you were starstruck and who was it?

Maybe when Howard Benson followed our band, or when Max Green reached out to us. Those were truly insane experiences.

9. What is the best part of being a musician? If you could no longer be a musician for whatever reason, what would be your dream job?

The best part of being a musician is the emotional expression, as well as the pursuit of a technical skill. If we weren’t musicians, we’d likely be involved in some technical field. For me, I’d be a theoretical physicist.

10. What is one question you have always wanted an interviewer to ask – and what is the answer? Conversely, what question are you tired of answering?

I’m honestly not even sure. You’ve covered a lot of good ones so far! Maybe, if anything, we’d like to be asked what our biggest influences are. The answer is enormous. One question we are tired of answering is what our next song is about. We usually like to keep meanings as open as possible for listeners to interpret freely.

11. Looking back over your career, is there a single moment or situation you feel was a misstep or you would like to have a “do over,” even if it didn’t change your current situation?

Maybe having a couple business conflicts with high profile musicians over bad and dishonest behavior. Obviously, they were in the wrong, but I wish I approached them more politically and less raw.

12. If you could magically go back in time and be a part of the recording sessions for any one record in history, which would you choose – and what does that record mean to you?

Honestly maybe Hybrid Theory by Linkin Park. That record is insanely emotionally and stylistically significant to us. Maybe one of the most influential records ever for us.

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Category: Interviews