A defiant force in the realm of bass music, MUST DIE! also known as Lee Austin Bates is a relentless innovator, pushing the boundaries of dubstep and beyond. With a decade of bass under his belt, he has solidified his position as a leading producer in the scene, captivating audiences with his dark, distorted soundscapes and relentless energy. MUST DIE! began building his cult with consistent releases on bass music’s most notable labels, leading him to represent Never Say Die, and more recently Kannibalen Records.
MUST DIE! cannot be contained within the boundaries of dance music genres with his forward thinking sound and bolstering drive to energize crowds worldwide. Throughout his career, he’s gone on to charter his sound design to unknown territories and continue to improve on his unyielding craft. As a way to close out 2024 with a bang, MUST DIE! recently released his latest 10 track album of work. VAMPIRE WEAPON: MIDNIGHT is his most personal album yet. Although he’s dropped a handful albums before – all of them being incredible – his latest venture is one that may be his most pure expression.
Here’s what he had to say about the album:
“I have worked day in and day out on this album for nearly 7 months. It’s dance music for dance music’s sake, and I made it with love and care for the culture and music I care so much about.”
EDMTunes had the opportunity to speak with MUST DIE! on his latest album, check it out down below!
Hey Lee, thanks for chatting with us. First off can you give us an introduction of how you got your DJ name, and how you got into dance music?
I got my artist name from a bad movie called John Tucker Must Die, and it was my AOL Instant Messenger screen name for almost a decade prior to my using it as a musical alias. I was in love with dance music as far back as I can remember. Likely 6 or 7 years old. It has been a big part of my musical lexicon my entire life.
Congrats on the release of your latest album VAMPIRE WEAPON: MIDNIGHT. It’s described as your most personal yet, can you elaborate on what makes it so personal to you?
Thank you so much. It’s definitely an album that feels more like a personal accomplishment to me than a commercial music product. I held myself to really lofty standards and tried to improve as much as possible to reach them. It really helped me modernize my approach and my sound and brought the challenge and risk back into the process. I’m at my happiest when I’m not sure something is going to land but I know it’s going to get some sort of reaction either way.
What are some of your favorite tracks on the album and why?
I loved making ‘2 Ya Face’ as my new alias XBLADE, and debuting that project on a MUST DIE! album just seemed fitting. I also had a blast making ‘Wanna Rock‘ and ‘Selecta’, which just reminded me of a style of music I’ve loved for so long now.
How has your musical style progressed over time, and what distinctive elements define your sound within the bass music genre?
I don’t know if I have much of a sound anymore as opposed to an ethos or intent. I simply do not listen to much bass music, so a lot of my music is inspired by genres far away from my peers. Over time I have definitely embraced and allowed myself to pursue aggression or noisiness in a way I would have done in high school or with other projects, instead of relying on only melodicism to get my thoughts across. It’s definitely more me nowadays.
Was there a particular song on the album that evolved and changed heavily from when you started it, to when you finished it?
‘Once Again’ was rewritten twice, so probably that one. Although, Frequency Knife was originally a very different iteration and just a set ID I made a few hours before Summoning of the Eclipse a couple of years ago.
There’s a particular debut on the album we’ve got to talk about… Can you fill us in on the XBLADE project?
Absolutely! XBLADE is myself and Descender, my long time best friend, frequent collaborator, and former roommate. We have always made music together and I am really happy with what we are doing as XBLADE. Very in your face, aggressive, early rave influenced Hardcore and Uptempo. I can feel us shifting even more extreme as we write the first few releases, and I’m sure we will dabble with noise, splittercore, etc. We have maybe 5 songs ready to go and plan to just start letting them loose.
Let’s talk about the only other collaboration on the LP “One Eight Seven.” How did that song come about with AFK?
We started it at his house when I stayed with him recently and I was so glad we could get it finished for the album. He has been an important and close friend of mine for over a decade now and I have wanted to write something new with him for ages. He’s been making really great stuff lately on his own too! I think we also both just really despise authority figures, and what better way to bond than to make an anti-police dubstep song.
What’s next for MUST DIE!? Are there any upcoming projects, tours, or collaborations on the horizon?
I plan on starting my own military, and taking over various Petco and PetSmart locations along the west coast. I also plan on releasing more music, maybe not as a larger project but more consistently being present in the release schedule. XBLADE and Hivemind have music coming as well.
When you’re not on tour or busy working in the studio, how do you like to spend your free time?
I’m a full time parent as well as a musician, so if I’m not parenting, I’m usually catching up on Horror movies and novels, playing through my video game backlog, or so burnt out I can only re-watch the entire Star Trek series.
Lastly, any artists you’d like to collaborate with on your next album?
Only dead ones.
Stayed tuned to Lee’s socials to stay up to date with what he’s doing down below!
