 Zambia is not necessarily a country you would associate with metal music, despite existing in it's infancy, like other scenes across Africa it faces challenges daily that those in say Europe could not fathom. Despite Zambia having rich heritage in the Zamrock movement, the attitude towards metal music has been lukewarm, and so GMA decided to speak to one of the flagbearers of Zambian metal to find out why this is, we present to you the Melodic Doom / Death Metal band Poisoned Blood, who released their debut album "Artificially Alive" in 2025. From humble beginnings to working with Batswana metal legends, and from taking the debut album title from a Breaking Bad quote to prospective 2026 material, Poisoned Blood is going places. Please give us the history of how Poisoned Blood came to be, the current line-up (both studio and live). How did you discover metal music, what were the first bands you heard and what pushed you towards creating Melodic Doom / Death Metal? First off would like to thank you Rhys for having us on your interview and giving us a chance to talk about the band. Poisoned Blood's line up started off as a two-man band, with Mwango Lunda on guitars and vocals, and Costa on guitars; all songs having composed and recorded by Mwango Lunda. After issues with relocating from the copperbelt to the capital Lusaka, currently its a one man band: Mwango Lunda. The history is mainly rooted in my experience of growing up in a neighbouring country where the metal scene is more alive and bigger! Botswana. As a kid I had always been drawn to music made with live instruments. My late father had a huge collection of the old rock legends: Bon Jovi, Bryan Adams etc. From these I forged a connection with the rock sound. Of course MTV and VH1 also had a huge role to play. Coming of age I was drawn to my tastes in Nu-Metal. Years of junior high were filled with listening to bands such as Linking Park, Limp Bizkit and alternative rock bands like Nickelback and Puddle of Mudd. High school opened a whole new door to different genres. There in the 11th grade I met a young lad who probably shaped what I am right now in the music sense. His name was "Maiden", a nickname given to him because of he's love for Iron Maiden! Needless to say, he introduced me to Iron Maiden and I immediately fell in love with the 'Brave New World' album. Tracks like "Blood Brothers" and "Brave New World" hit hard. Maiden listened to something else that I wasn't a fan of at that time, DEATH METAL!!!! I couldn't comprehend the screaming, shouting and louder instruments. Plus the images and images of one of his favourite bands Cannibal Corpse disturbed me. After high school I decided to pick up the guitar in 2005 at the age of 18. I was mostly interested in writing alternative rock. I managed to get with some garage bands here and there (with some ex members of Skinflint, Purity Of Sebek). In 2006 / 07, Maiden introduced me to other metal heads in the local scene. It was through him that I met the likes of Starks Deamon and Lawd Master of Wrust. Through these new connections I was introduced to bands like In Flames, Amon Amarth etc. Some bands I discovered on my own. Killswitch Engage in particular I discovered at the end of a Resident Evil 2 movie. In Flames, who are the greatest influence on my style of play, were introduced to me by another long-time friend of mine, Purity Of Sebek (whom I taught a few guitar-playing skills hahaha). Now, finally I found something that blended my love for ballads, melodic and heavy guitars. I finally found a reason to listen to the screaming hahhahahahhaha! Since I was already playing guitar I was intrigued by the way Death Metal guitarists played their riffs, and wanted to learn that. As a result I expanded my scope to other genres such as Old School Death Metal, Thrash Metal etc. Oh by the way, I was already a huge Metallica fan by this time! The band Death is one band that I got very fond of. And that is how my love for and composing Melodic Death Metal came to be. Zambia is not the first country people would think of when it comes to metal from Africa, so could you discuss more about the fledgling scene, it's challenges, was it built from the foundation of the Zamrock music genre? How many metal / rock bands exist in Zambia - are Stasis Prey active? "Yes you are definitely right! The Zambian metal scene is what I would define as being "DEAD"! It's a very very unpopular and uncommon culture here. The early scene of the Zamrock era just faded away. Most metalheads keep to themselves or just in some circles. Once there was some efforts to make the scene grow by putting up some gigs and social media groups but these eventually died off. Zambia is a very barren ground to grow a Metal project. To be honest with you at this point I don't even know how many metal / rock bands exist in Zed! You asked about Stasis Prey. Funny thing is I recently just received a new song by them sent to me by a radio presenter asking for my opinion on it. Truth be told, THE SONG HITS HARD!!!!! It is such songs that can get people liking the scene more, cos unlike Poisoned Blood, their music appeals to a more wider audience. I am hoping something gives. Back in August 2025 you released your debut album "Artificially Alive", please talk us through the creative process - from start to the finished release, who designed the artwork? After relocating back to my home country in 2012, I had tried putting up some projects but to no avail. At some point between 2012 and 2016 I completely disappeared from the Metal scene. In 2017 I began working on a project called Ductone with Lawd Master (ex Wrust) and Vulture (Overthrust). It was a long distance collaboration. We managed to put up some demos and even performed two live shows. But due to the COVID era we went into a hiatus. In the years that followed I composed music on my own. So in 2025 I decided to work on a solo project which I involved Costa as a supporting artist. "Artificially Alive" is an album that is largely based on myself, my beliefs and life experiences. It was recorded in a bedroom studio setup and mixed and mastered by myself, and thus the poor quality production (something I had never done before, It was my first attempt at production). But despite that, it managed to have 3 tracks in the African Metal Top 10, and I was proud of that!  The artwork was done with the help of AI hahahhahhaha. But I specifically fed it a concept which it gave out. The woman in bed is on a life support system and is "Artificially Alive". That's the literal sense but it has got different meanings to it. To be 'Artificially Alive' can be simply passing through life, without joy, purpose and hope. This was my disposition when I worked on this album. Unfortunately. The idea was born in my mind after watching an episode of Breaking Bad and Walter White says "I don't want to be hooked to machines and be Artificially Alive....." Talk to us about the "African Metal United Project" - is this a compilation release featuring musicians across the African continent, how did the concept come about? Will this be released on CD? Initially right after completing the "Artificially Alive" album I began writing stuff for a planned 2026 album release. I remember one time coming across a Nuclear Blast album called Nuclear Blast All-Stars: Out of the Dark, produced and written by Peter Wichers of Soilwork, who wrote tracks and featured different vocalists from different Nuclear Blast signed bands. I really thought that was a cool idea and that's how I thought to myself "well....this can also be done with African Metal bands!" I had not known nor even spoken to most of the vocalist on this project by then. I remember looking at the African Metal Top 10 bands and checking their profiles trying to see who can fit in for which kind of song. Im going to be honest with you. It wasn't an easy sail. I was met with mixed responses, from very welcoming conversations to outright bad attitudes or just total silence! But I decided to work with whomever came aboard. One of the first if not the first person I hit up was Akram Soliman from the Egyptian band Anemoya. We were total strangers to each other but we became very good friends. We worked on a track called 'Fragile Minds'. It took months, cos of life busy routines of our individual lives. Karim the guitarist came on board and as did Mustafa of Maddox Theory. After almost 7/8 months of working on it, it finally came out on December 25th! There were certain individuals who instantly agreed to work on the project and did not delay to record and delivered! The likes of Van Zyl Roberts (Architecture Of Aggression), Vulture (Overthrust), Chelsea (Surdus) and Frank Taljaard (Ave) just to mention a few. And I'm thankful for their support! Because of the current demographics of users preference of streaming platforms, the album will be released first on these platforms and maybe, just maybe later on CD, depending on demands etc. But each song as being given a release on its own to acknowledge and honour the supporting individual vocalists. Outside of the metal music base in Zambia, what is the general perception by Zambian society - is there interest from the mainstream media outlets for metal and rock music? Hahahahahaah! Zambia.... Zambia.....Zambia. It's a world of it's own. Cos just even the people who listen to rock music are perceived to be nut cases. How much more so Metalheads....! Its simply seen as a "Satanic movement"! Or insane culture! 2026 is upon us - so what are the plans for Poisoned Blood in the coming year? Are there any greetings you wish to send out, any final comments? Well the majority of 2025 saw me focus my attention on production works. I literally put down my guitar for such a long time. But hopefully early quarter of 2026 will see me get some inspiration and write new stuff!!!!! So in shot, YES!, DEFINITELY THERE WILL BE A RECORD FROM PB!!!!!! https://www.youtube.com/@PoisonedBlood-s8i https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61575539544993
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 "The Zambian metal scene is pretty underground. We conjured it here, in 2013 ha ha. There was a Zamrock movement in the 70's, but that was mostly made up of psychedelic and acid rock sounds." Zambia during the 1970's was bustling with what was then known as 'Zamrock', however that has sadly died away and faded into the background of music history. However one band has set out to bring it back albeit a lot heavier, the first ever metal band from Zambia, their name? Statis Prey. Having released their debut album "Sanguine" last year, the quintet are continuing improving what they have built up since 2013 and are sure to put Zambia on the international metal stage. Much like their brothers Dividing The Element in Zimbabwe, they have a DIY attitude towards it all, after all they're the leaders of the scene and as such hope to lead the way for other potential bands to follow in their wake. Stasis Prey survived their interrogation, we were kind to them. The Victoria falls however were not.  For those who have not heard of Stasis Prey, could you give us a brief history of the band? What does the band name mean? "It all started with Tumelo (vocalist) meeting Lerato (bassist) who then asked Joshua (lead guitarist) to join the band. Then Joshua's cousin Sina (rhythm guitarist) joined later on. The band name is a metaphor developed by Tumelo in relation to the idle mind philosophy, which says that the mind that is in stasis / not in motion, is likely to be prey. So the name is pretty much an anthesis to that." Last year you released your debut album 'Sanguine', what was the reaction like? Did you have anyone outside of Zambia check out it? "The reaction was moderately well received online... the fun part was playing the songs on the album live. The energy was raw, organic, honest, and more heartfelt." How would you describe your sound without the use of genre tagging, given you play Alternative Metal; such a broad genre? "That would be a different answer from everyone... blurring heavy distorted guitars with raspy hyper-tone vocals, and blurring powerful grounding bass with regimented drums..., for the most part." What do your parents think of your music? Are any of your family members musicians? "They have mixed feelings about it. Yes, some of our family members actually ARE / WERE musicians. Just not Rock / Metal musicians. Ha ha."  Lusaka, Zambia / Source: Pinterest Tell us more about the Zambian Metal scene, when did metal arrive in Zambia? What is the public opinion of metal? Is the scene active?
"The Zambian metal scene is made up of a minority movement. It's pretty underground. We conjured it here, in 2013 ha ha. There was a Zamrock movement in the 70's, but that was mostly made up of psychedelic and acid rock sounds. The public opinion of metal around here is mixed. Genuinely loved OR hated. No two ways about it. The scene is currently active in university dorms and male and female bedrooms laden with angst. Ha ha." Do you feel there is a current trend of people outside of Sub-Sahara Africa paying more attention to bands from the region? "Yes there is. A great Zambian band called W.I.T.C.H has been touring Europe for a while now and also had one of their songs featured as the opening soundtrack on an American TV show called "Watchmen" so... " For metalheads visiting Lusaka, what sights / attractions and bars / venues could you recommend? "We would recommend the Victoria Falls (the city of Livingstone in general), the sinkhole and bongohive in Lusaka... and any dynamic live music show / event / platform... you'll most likely stumble upon interesting bands there." Do you have any thanks or greetings you wish to send to friends, family or fans? "We don't have fans... only friends... in many places.... here and across the globe. Ha ha. So a huge shout out and thanks to them for their support. And also a HUGE thank you to you too for your interest in us as well as your support! Cheers!" https://www.facebook.com/StasisPrey/ |
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