Internal Bleeding Guitarist Chris McCarthy Shows Off His Metal T-Shirt Collection!

A metalhead’s t-shirt collection contains some of their most prized possessions. Sweaty, stained and torn, our shirts are chronicles of our lives, physical markers of a past time and place that we pridefully put on our bodies every day. They have a clear pecking order: there are those shirts you wear only when all the best ones are in the laundry, there are the absolute favorites you wear once every couple of weeks, and there are all the shirts in between, each with their own clear rank. To a metalhead, T-shirts are EVERYTHING.

Internal Bleeding guitarist Chris McCarthy is the latest to share his most prized threads for our series My Metal T-Shirt Collection. Internal Bleeding are on the Bloodletting North America Tour with Arsis, Decrepit Birth, Within Destruction and others right now (dates at the bottom of this post). The band’s new album Corrupting Influence comes out on October 19th via Unique Leader Records; pre-order here. 

1. Nine Inch Nails

Nine Inch Nails were the first so-called underground band that I ever really got into in seventh grade. This is the shirt that started my extensive collection and means a lot to me. I recently lost weight; still not enough to fit into it, but I’m working on it.

2. Metallica

I have over 100 Metallica shirts, but this is one I chose to wear on my first day of high school. Everyone hates the Load and Reload albums, but I don’t care.

3. Dying Fetus

Favorite band. Favorite album. Favorite article of clothing. I’ve worn it countless times on stage and it always retains its size and print quality no matter how many times I wash it. Just like the album, the shirt is pure magic.

4. Punch Your Face

The most violent band of all time and the most violent fan base of all time. If you saw a group of dudes wearing this shirt at a hardcore show on Long Island, you knew it was going to be a slobberknocker. The logo is by legendary underground artist Kentax.

5. Internal Bleeding

I got this shirt 10 years before I joined the band, and I own it in all formats: t-shirt, long sleeve, hoodie and windbreaker. It has managed to offend people on numerous occasions. This particular one is cool because it has the website address on it, and I used to go to the website just to listen to the loop of “Falling Down” playing over and over.

6. My Beloved Raiders Jersey

I’ve worn it on every continent and also on international waters during the 70,000 Tons of Metal cruise. I’ll retire it after we play Antarctica.

Arsis, Decrepit Birth, Internal Bleeding, Pyrexia, Angelmaker and Within Destruction:

10/12 San Diego, Ca @ Brick By Brick
10/13 Pomona, Ca @ Glasshouse (moved from 1720 in Los Angeles)
10/14 Mesa, Az @ Club Red
10/16 Dallas, Tx @ Gas Monkey Bar and Grill
10/17 Austin, Tx @ Come and Take It Live!
10/18 Laredo, Tx @ Ethos Bar
10/19 Houston, Tx @ Acadia Bar
10/20 New Orleans, La @ The Howlin’ Wolf
10/21 Orlando, Fl @ The Haven
10/21 Greenville, SC @ The Firmament
10/24 Virginia Beach, Va @ Shakas
10/25 Clifton, Nj @ Dingbatz
10/26 Brooklyn, Ny @ The Kingsland
10/27 Manchester, Nh @ Bungalow
10/28 Quebec, QC @ Salle Multi
10/30 Montreal, QC @ Les Foufounes Electriques
10/31 Ottawa, ON @ Mavericks
11/1 Detroit, Mi @ Harpos
11/3 Chicago, Il @ Reggies
11/4 Mirriam, Ks @ Aftershock
11/6 Denver, Co @ The Roxy Theater
11/7 Salt Lake City, Ut @ Metro Music Hall
11/9 Seattle, Wa @ Club Sur Rocks
11/11 Watsonville, Ca @ Appleton Bar and Grill