A Dirty Dozen with MIKE SCHWEIGERT from TEMPLE OF BONES – October 2026

According to a recent press release: “Rising from the ashes of the death metal legends Ripping Corpse and Dim Mak, TEMPLE OF BONES makes their Relapse Records debut with Walk The Winds, set for release on November 13th. Featuring Scott Ruth (Ripping Corpse, Dim Mak) on vocals, Brandon Thomas (Ripping Corpse, Dim Mak) on drums, Mike Schweigert (Lord Sterling, Full Speed Ahead) on guitars, and Dennis Carroll (Torture Krypt, Dim Mak) on bass, TEMPLE OF BONES combines a homebrew of heavy musical elements to shred preconceptions of styles. Today, the band shares their second single from Walk The Winds titled “Sky Is Like Ocean.” We get guitarist Mike 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?

This new release is a 6 song EP we’re honored to be putting out with Relapse Records in November. We’re really happy with how it came out! It’s hard to say what people would pick up on or not with our music. Especially being our first release. I do think it will be a departure from what people expect from our other bands in the past, but they’ll still get the same energy and aggression from this.

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

Me personally, I still don’t consider myself a musician haha. I play guitar like a caveman! I grew up listening to music and always searched out for music with edge and feeling, and always looking for harder and louder and nastier stuff. For me, hardcore and punk rock drew me to pick up a guitar and try to make music with other people. But things evolve (or devolve depending hoe you look at it).

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

Albums? Hmmm, early on Sabbath. Still Sabbath to have honest. But they’re the catalyst for all that is heavy and dark in my opinion. My musical taste as well as the other guys in the band is all over the place. For me as far as metal, Ripping Corpse was a band I saw live that redefined the genre for me. They were around my age and just blew my mind. The other guys, well they were in Corpse so they wouldn’t say that and probably not like me saying that. But it’s true, as a hardcore kid in the 80’s they introduced me to death and thrash metal on a face to face level.. and I went down the rabbit hole.. another band that blew my mind live was Buzzoven.. raw and violent!

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

Wow, that’s tough… I don’t know. This band for me IS that situation. 3 musicians I’ve respected and wanted to collaborate with for a long time.

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

Speaking for myself, I’m a tattooer so I love working and hanging at the shop. Going to see shows, and hanging home with my wife and the kids.

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?

It’s hard for me to pinpoint how to describe what our music sounds like. My intentions when I asked Brandon to work on some songs was leaning towards a heavy black metal vibe, but when we started working out the riffs I had they went a different direction and in my mind, a more natural direction. So when that started happening I allowed myself to tap into death metal, thrash, doom etc. Whatever I felt the song could use.

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?

Acoustic guitars are illegal in this band haha.

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

Lemmy in 1992. But he was the coolest. My old band opened for them and he was just playing pinball all night and talking to anyone that came over to him. Myself included.

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?

I have my dream job making tattoos on people, as far and making music though, my favorite part of it is getting in a room and hashing out songs… then getting in front of people and seeing how they react to the music we make.. and playing loud haha.

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?

It’s way to early in the interviewing stage for me to even answer this question ha.

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?

I’m sure I could come up with some, but no. Not really. Everything happens for a reason. And here we are with Temple of Bones doing what we love.

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?

Another tough one to pick.. so many recordings.. maybe Death’s Symbolic. An album full of amazingly creative people pushing a genre way beyond its boundaries.

TEMPLE OF BONES LINKS:

INSTAGRAM

Category: Interviews