Mr. Schieppati is also a "rock star." He has "it," that quality that makes him shine while onstage, that draws eyes to him.

But what the hell does he have to be so angry about? It's as though he's won big in the lottery of life. Brandan Schieppati has got it all. He's good looking. He's adorned with tatts on his trim, toned body. He fronts a successful extreme metal band. He's from Orange County, Calif., one of the most pleasant climates in the country. When you call his cell phone, you're treated to the relaxing sounds of classical music while his fancy phone tracks him down. Girls swoon over him, and gaggles of dudes secretly wish they could be him. So, Brandan, why are you so pissed? What's the fucking problem?

"I have a temper," Schieppati, who doesn't mince words to spare anyone's feelings, laughs over the phone. "I don't get [my anger] out in other ways, or I'd end up in jail! I get it out through my music."

That's good news for any unknowing ruffian who might cross this singer's path or inspire his ire! Thankfully he's got music to channel his anger.

"I'm fortunate," he continues. "There are people out there who struggle daily, and I thought of destructive things and of wanting to disappear before I found this outlet, and it saved my life." The singer admits he went to a counselor while in high school, and says it "was the sort of thing where I would sit down for an hour and tell him everything that made me mad. I wish I'd recorded that, because some of the shit I said was probably priceless."

People question Bleeding Through's right to be pissed off, due to the fact that the group seems to be doing so well at such a young age.

"People think we're from an amazing area, and people see me as being all these great things, but it took a lot to get to where I am now," Schieppati says. "We are from a nice place, but it's an area where people are vain, and there is a lot of competition. It's hard, because if you're not a certain way, you're condemned for being how you are. We live in this magazine-type world." He also jokes, saying, "We'd make happier music if we had grown up in Lawrence, Kansas."

Apparently, growing up in the confines of Orange County facilitates that "keeping up with the Joneses" mentality. That plastic lifestyle inspires BT's aggravated new album, The Truth.

"A lot of bands around here have their own thing going on," Schieppati theorizes. "Eighteen Visions and Avenged Sevenfold have their own thing going on, because they don't feel content being like everyone else. Bleeding Through is the same way. People claim there is no competition, and that's bullshit. There is friendly competition in everything you do. You always want to be the best, whether you admit it or not."

Schieppati says his new album is meant to be a tribute to the cathartic, think-for-yourself quality of music.

"I hope people can find solace or shelter within these songs. The album represents being stripped down to the bone, and coming clean with your emotions and the shit you have built up inside of you, and coming to terms with yourself, and realizing that the world is full of backstabbers and people out for their own necks," he explains. "The songs have mood and emotion, and every song has its own story to tell."

And those stories are told in Schieppati's drill-sergeant style, an intimidating bark that calls to mind Henry Rollins, circa his Black Flag days.

"I scream, but you can understand what I'm saying, without sacrificing any of the intensity. My style is kinda like [Hatebreed's] Jamey Jasta," Schieppati concedes. "The new album is positive, in a negative way!" The Truth is positive in a negative way? That seems implausible, but it's not. The Truth fires on all cylinders, and it clobbers listeners with its harsh, guitar-driven rage, but it also soothes and calms when Schieppati tries his hand at melodic singing and balladry. There's a delicate balance between the ugly and beautiful sides of BT, and Schieppati feels the band has achieved that balance.

Schieppati sings more on The Truth, and confesses he didn't take singing lessons.

"I sing a lot more, and we wanted to do that on the last record, but there was not enough time in the recording session," he admits. "I never want to come across cheesy, and I am super insecure about my singing voice. I'm not trying to belt it out like Avenged Sevenfold does, but I got the job done, and I'm alright with it. I got the job done."

The singer, despite his insecurity, is a capable one. He knows that the ballad-y "A Line in the Sand" is going to receive backlash from the elitist fans, but he doesn't give two shits. It's his favorite song, and he suggests "it's going to gain [us] more [fans] than it's going to lose."

Bleeding Through - rounded out by keyboardist Marta, guitarists Scott Danough and Brian Leppke, drummer Derek Youngsma and bassist Ryan Wombacher - have forced themselves to stand out, because they've created their own genre within a genre. They look good, have a uniform image, and are always clad in Johnny Cash black. But they play even better than they look!

"You look at bands through history that stand out aesthetically, like the Misfits and the Ramones, with their tight black jeans and their leather jackets, and the Misfits were the coolest fucking looking band ever," he says. "I have always been drawn to that side of being in a band. The image goes with it, too. Our scene is supposed to be anti-image, but I don't buy it. It's so about image."

Wow. Someone in an image-friendly band finally said it out loud. The hardcore/metalcore scene is image-conscious. We told you that Brandan Schieppati says what he thinks and doesn't hold back!

"I wear black because Johnny Cash and the Misfits wore black," he claims. As for his out-and-out Misfits fanboy worship, he says, "They did everything their own fucking way and they weren't accepted, and you read the lyrics and are like, 'Fuck! This is ... fuck ... this is great.'"

While BT associate themselves with hardcore - more aesthetically than sonically - they can be classified as a metalcore band, thanks to their bloody, butchery riffs and the way they insert clean, melodic vocal lines in the middle of the feeding frenzy. Their use of keyboards adds a symphonic and eerie black metal cast to their sound, which is sometimes dubbed "blackmetalcore."

"There are black metal parts on this record, which is really weird, because it's thrashier, too," he says, a tone of childlike excitement creeping into his voice. "Marta harmonizes with the guitars and fills the music, and adds to it all these cool parts, not the usual keyboard sound."

Besides their use of keyboards, it's a serial killer-like intensity and thorough focus that make Bleeding Through trump their well-coiffed, black-clad peers. The BT kids avidly adhere to the straight edge lifestyle and philosophy. They also work diligently toward a singular goal: to take BT to the top of the hardcore heap.

"We have an intensity that none of the other bands do! Maybe other bands don't wear their heart on their sleeves," Schieppati says. "I think we put it on stage as intense as possible. We feel that powerfully about what we do."

That pinpoint concentration has caused critics to view BT as a humorless, rigid band. Schieppati (who once played guitar in Eighteen Visions and also plays guitar in Die, Die My Darling, a Misfits cover band with his manager, former Burn It Down singer/rock scribe Ryan Downey as well as Mick and Ken from Eighteen Visions) contends that BT critics mistake the band's serious dedication for a somber mood.

"I take what I do very seriously," he says. "Some bands, before they play, sit on their couches in their dressing rooms, drinking a soda. I jump around and get hyped up. I'm hard on other bands, because most bands half-ass it and we don't."

You can never accuse Bleeding Through of half-assing their way through a set, or of coming down with a case of onstage lethargy. They're always steamrolling ahead at 100 percent. And The Truth is played at 100 percent intensity.

Schieppati is disciplined in other areas of his life as well, not just in his role as frontman. Take his workout regimen, for example. He goes to the gym as often as possible.

"I am trying to be more serious, and I feel like I never do it enough," he says of his workout routine. With all his tatts and tight physique, he looks a bit "yard hard." Working out alongside OC moms, he's handsome, yet he looks like he just finished serving time. That's just another in a long line of misconceptions about Bleeding Through, collectively and individually.

"When people meet me, they expect me to be intense because of my lyrics. But I've been told I'm mellow, and that's because I get it out on stage. I was intense through high school and I got into fights, but as I get older, I've calmed down."

One thing that hasn't been quelled or calmed down is BT's straight edge aesthetic. These days, straight edge is an endangered species, and has gone out of style among hardcore scenesters. But Schieppati sees the band's personal lifestyle choice as a benefit, not a hindrance, to that goal of taking BT to the top.

"It allows us to focus, and that is the main reason that it's a requirement to be in the band," he reveals about the group's straight edge doctrine. "We do it to focus. We're all straight edge. And when it comes to being on the same page as far as work ethic, it plays to our advantage, not having someone going off, getting drunk and being stupid. I'm 25, and have been straight edge for 12 years. Scott has been straight edge for 18 years. I feel no need to preach. Through our accomplishments, the straight edge ethic will inspire kids to take it on themselves, if they want."

Again, BT seem rigid when sticking to such strict schematics, but their lifestyle choices and vehement music never hinder their fun. Despite the scowls on their faces and the fury with which they headbang, BT still love what they do.

"We just care," Schieppati says. "This is our lives and we've made sacrifices. We do have fun. Just because we're not drinking after our show, doesn't mean we're not having fun. I don't care what anyone has to say anymore ... ever. I just don't care. I should care what some 17-year-old kid thinks of my band or if I am hardcore or not? I don't care. It's not going to change what I do."

So maybe Brandan Schieppati isn't as angry as we've given him credit for. Determined is more like it. He and Bleeding Through are on the straight and narrow course to making this the biggest band in metalcore, and they're doing it armed with dedication, disciplined living and pure passion.

A Few Questions With Keyboardist Marta

Marta - no last name, like Madonna - is living proof that a chick can rock. Nicknamed "Stigmarta" by the ruffians in Cradle of Filth, she's a fixture in the band. But she doesn't do many interviews, so you can imagine how thrilled we were to snag a few moments of Marta's time while she was in her native Idaho, enjoying down time with her family. Miss Marta was graceful and ladylike, a result of her classical education.

Any tips for up-and-coming rock chicks navigating band life?
It's a constant readjustment. Some people will join a band and find their little place in the puzzle of touring. There is a balance that needs to be kept. On one hand, I'm part of the band and my job is not any different. I'm just a band member. But I have an appearance to keep up. I act like a girl; I'm a sensitive girl, as well. It's a tug of war between being a member, being one of the guys, and keeping your role as a girl. I'm the newest, the youngest, a girl and a keyboardist. I fall in every category where the deck is stacked against me. You have to be strong and have good support at home.

Do you feel pressure as a female in a testosterone-driven scene? Do you feel intimidated? Or does it make you stronger?
I feel all those ways at one point or another. I feel strong, and special, and at other times, I want to be the same and treated the same. Me onstage and offstage are two different people. I'm sweet, goofy and ladylike, but on stage, I get inspired to be pissed and tough! It's an outlet for me.

Are wearing black and adhering to the straight edge lifestyle requirements for being in BT?
It's funny. It's not in a contract or anything [laughs]. I didn't call myself straight edge before I was in BT. I was a clean-living person in my life. It's a common ground and we're straight edge for our own reasons, not to be in Bleeding Through. As far as wearing black, it's who we all are anyway. If you're dressed all different on stage, you don't look much like a band. If you all dress the same, you look more solid and together.

A lot of OC bands get flak for being fashionable. How do you react to that?
Bleeding Through always looks uniform and wears black. This whole year, we came on stage to Johnny Cash's "Man in Black." People criticize us for looking how we do. Others praise us for it. Our endurance withstands the people who do it for ulterior reasons. We don't change because people criticize us. We look how we want. Even in black, we have our own style. We'll keep doing it, regardless of fashion and anti-fashion phases. We'll be recognized as never changing and holding our own.

BT is one of the few straight edge bands out there. How do you feel about being one of few, as opposed to one of many?
All the more power to us. It gives us recognition, and straight edge kids look up to it. We have pride, but we never shove it down anyone's throats.

How did you start playing keyboards?
I've played classical piano my whole life. Playing keyboard is simpler, and more fun.

Did you take lessons after school?
Every week, after school, for 10 years. I stopped when I was 15. At that point, they couldn't teach me anything that I couldn't figure out on my own. I did classical ballet all my life. If I ever got the chance to go back to school, I want to be a nurse.

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