The Production Of Death Metal Guru Scott Burns

In so many words when it came to bashing out the most brutal Death Metal of the late-eighties, early nineties, everyone went to Scott for extreme metal production. Scott Burns was the fucking man. Thanks goes to Albert Mudrian, too, as he helped me to get in touch with Scott , as Scott is a very private person lives a normal life free from the stench of bile, down tuned, satanic madness. I grabbed a gatorade and let em rip.

 

Hi Scott, first up thanks a lot for taking the time to answer my questions. I’m really glad about that and this means a lot to me. So, how are you?

 
I’m well. Just took my son to his first t-ball practice. Just working as usual and watching the kids get bigger. Summer is coming and looking forward to working outside around the house and doing some boating.
 

What are you up to these days? How does your average day look like?

 
I work doing computer programming. It is a normal 40-60 hour a week job. I guess you could say 9-5.
 

Do you still have contacts within the Metal scene and do you follow whats happening in the scene?

 
I do not actively do follow the music scene or do any recording. I still see some of the guys who are local. OBITUARY, CANNIBAL CORPSE. I saw Steve Asheim briefly for the first time last year and that was nice. He was always a great person to work with and good guy. Like I said I work a lot and typically I work out of town so when I‘m home I just tend to spend time with my family. It would be nice to see the guys more but as you get older it gets harder to stay out later. I guess my clock is a little different now. I typically get up early and go to bed early. 

I read you were a Death Metal fan yourself! Which records impressed you the most lately? If any.

 
Well I’m sorry to disappoint but I don’t listen to much new music anymore except the Disney channel when my kids are in the car. I did get the new G & R record and there are some great tracks on it like the title track and ‘Better’. I do like VELVET REVOLVER but typically I listen to satellite radio. Usually I listen to NPR and NFL network. I have been listening to THE CURE “Pornography” and ECHO AND THE BUNNYMEN “Heaven Up Here” some old BAUHAUS. Those albums have some great dark songs and I love the drumming.

The reason for this interview is pretty simple. How does it feel to recognize that there is still a certain (or better: huge) interest in your person after all these years since your departure from your activities as a producer?

 
It is quite flattering to think there is interest in the work I, we, the bands and I did back then. I was very lucky to have been able to work at a great studio and work with a lot of cool bands. You can be a very good engineer and do demos for bands that no one likes and no one will care but work with popular bands and you’re a genius.
Did you often get asked to answer interviews?

 
I guess I end up doing interview a couple times a year. Typically when it is a slow news day I guess .

Let’s start from the very beginning: how did you get the job as a producer? Was it more or less by accident, or was it some kind of “a dream came true”?

 
When I was around 18-19 some friends of mine had a band and needed a soundman. So Mike, the guitarist, taught me all he knew about doing sound and that was the start. They eventually won a battle of the bands contest or something like that which won recording time at a recording studio. And I became hooked on studio work instead of live audio. No crappy sounding rooms, no drunks spilling beer on the board etc. So after the recording I looked for a good studio to record at in Tampa and the only professional place was Morrisound. So I would go in with the bands and Jim, Tom and Rick would make sure I did not screw things up too bad and record with various local bands and the bands and I would split the cost. I eventually got a job as an assistant engineer there, not sure how but that was around 83-85.

How did you get the necessary experience or did you get taught by someone?

 
As mentioned I learned from Tom, Jim and Rick Miller. As an assistant you work a lot of hours so things like setting up the console, microphone techniques, instrument tuning, machine calibration etc. you get a lot of practice doing. And like I said if you work at a place with very good technical engineers you will learn a lot.

As far as I know your first producer-job was for OBITUARY’s “Slowly We Rot”.

 
Rick Miller was the original engineer on that record. I knew the Tardy brothers because they had been coming to the studio for quite some time. Rick left for another project so I took over. The producer tag was a kind gesture by the band. We were just friends and I would do sound for them and NASTY SAVAGE occasionally when they played locally.

"
One of your next jobs was to fly to Brazil to record SEPULTURA’s classic “Beneath The Remains”. You were pretty young back then, how did you consider this trip? As a chance or as a new experience or probably just as a job which “someone had to do”?

 
It was great. I was in college and the OBITUARY guys had been playing their latest album “Schizophrenia” so I was aware of the band somewhat. Roadrunner had contacted numerous producers but because the budget was small, it was over Christmas, they were an unknown band, and they were Death Metal. Roadrunner used me as a last alternative

How was the stay in Brazil? “Choosing Death” already offered some anecdotes about this trip!

 
It was a great time. Brazil was beautiful. We spent the days, when not sleeping, at the beach and recorded at night. At the time communication was difficult because their English and my Portuguese was not too good. We were there for about 21 days. I remember the cars ran on alcohol which was unheard in the states back then. I plugged up my sink to see if water really drained counter clockwise in the southern hemisphere. All of my stuff got stolen, cassette boom box and tapes etc., the first day at the hotel. We had to pay off the airport security guards to get the equipment in to the country so Roadrunner had to send more money. I got to have a beer at the Veloso bar that inspired the song ‘Girl From Ipanema’.  Inflation was 1000%, so each day the price went up on items. When we paid for the additional equipment rental at the end it cost about $50.00 extra. And while you never know how a band will do you always get a feeling when working with a band whether or not the band is really working hard and dedicated which give them a chance and they certainly were hard working. It was an amazing experience.

I suppose “Beneath The Remains” can be taken as your most successful recording and considering the fact that it was one of your earliest jobs, too, it’s even more amazing. What’s your point of view regarding that?

 
Never look a gift horse in the mouth. No one wanted to go to Brazil over Christmas to record a Death Metal band for very little money. I said hell yeah. Sometimes it is better to be lucky than good

What actually is the job of a producer for those who don't know. How long did an average production take? Did you have to work under a lot of time pressure?

 
For the Death Metal genre producing was more about being responsible for trying to get a high quality recording and making minor changes to the songs arrangements etc if possible. In the beginning most of the recordings were done in about 7 to 14 days so that is pretty quick. And the labels were willing to let you run over budget and ask for an additional $10,000.00 to finish. As a way to make up for time we typically worked more than our 12 hour a day block of studio time, so if we could get in 14-18 hours in a day that would be equivalent of having a larger budget.

What do you think is the most important attribute of a producer?

 
Well I think to start with you have to be technically competent. You need to be a good engineer. When you’re done the product needs to sound professional. I think this is an easier task to accomplish nowadays since technology has advanced so far. But back in the earlier days it was more difficult due to the lack of recording technology. For instance, using analogue tape, limited number of tracks, bouncing tracks using analogue tape etc. On the creative side I think the most important aspect is to make the artist feel at home and inspired in the studio. If they feel comfortable and are relaxed in an environment that is pretty foreign compared to playing live or in a rehearsal hall I think the recording will probably come out well. Being diplomatic is always a good approach when trying to get your point across especially when recommending change. It is fine to be straightforward and tough but you had better have the trust of the group you are working with or soon you won’t be working with them again.

How long did you work as a producer?

 
I worked at Morrisound from 83-96 approximately. Like I said due to budget constraints we typically worked 7 days a week 12-16 hours a day. For a few years there I bet I worked 7 days a weeks for very long stretches. As the bands became more successful the recording budgets increased typically and if they lived in Tampa this allowed a more leisurely recording schedule.

All of a sudden everyone was talking about Scott Burns – the Death Metal producer. Wasn’t it strange how fast everything developed in this direction?
Yes it was and it was simply because of the bands. I was just lucky to be surrounded by a lot of great bands. A band and record label typically hire a producer for one of two reasons. You recorded that band’s favourite record or the label wants the producer because they are popular at the time.

Bands like the German ATROCITY came to Florida to record their debut album with you, Germany’s MORGOTH asked you to do the mix of their 2nd MLP “The Eternal Fall” and French LOUDBLAST came to record their “Sublime Dementia” album at Morrisound. Was it your fame, your capabilities, “your” sound, the name “Scott Burns” or probably the name of “Morrisound”?

 
I think Morrisound gave Death Metal a legitimate professional sound and bands wanted to be a part of that. Plus there was an understanding that we understand and liked Metal so there was a certain comfort zone. Plus if you were young and in a band wouldn’t you want to fly half way around the world to record an album. Also some of the bands lived in Tampa so bands from around the world could come hang out where the scene originated I guess. It was a scene and everyone likes to be a part of the ‘in’ crowd .

What was so significant of this so-called “Scott Burns-sound”? What do you think was the reason for your fame?

 
As I said I think Morrisound was known for Metal: SAVATAGE, CRIMSON GLORY, NASTY SAVAGE, DAMAJ, AGENT STEEL, WHIPLASH before the Death Metal scene gained momentum. As you know there were a lot of Death Metal bands in our area and even CANNIBAL CORPSE started coming down from Buffalo from day 1. I was just lucky to be a part of a great scene with a lot of great bands. I tried to make the records sound heavy and professional, especially the drums.

Some labels even requested a “Scott Burns”-production like e. g. Nuclear Blast as far as I know. Did you recognize that the whole movement turned out to become a huge trend?

 
  think I realized it when it had a negative connotation instead of a positive one. Since I really was enjoying the bands I didn’t think pay too much attention either way.

The strange thing is even that you and Morrisound were such big names in the scene you were (as far as I know) more or less forced to work as cheap as possible. I mean, quality has its price, even more if it is quality produced by a person which already got a name in the scene. How did you see your position in this industry?

 
Looking back I guess I could have charged more. I did not take points from the band. But as I said I was really enjoying it and never had aspirations to be a pop or commercial success. I always like music that was more or less underground. And at the time I saw how hard it was for the bands to make money so I figured my job was more secure than theirs so why take more of their money like everyone else does.

In “Choosing Death” you said that every record needed to be done fast and cheap. So producing all these Death Metal records turned out to be some kind of assembly line work, right?

 
I don’t know if I would call it an assembly line but when you can only do so much with the budget you have. Just like anything the more you repeat a process the more streamlined it becomes. I suppose on the creative side there is a downside to this. Nowadays everyone records at home and has a Pro-Tools rig. In the time period we mentioned studios were very expensive and Pro-Tools, ADAT machines and digital recording was just beginning to become available without having to rent a Sony X850 for $1500.00 a day. And you tell me, pick an artist you like that has recorded multiple albums. Assuming the budgets went up and more money was spent do you see a signifigant improvement each recording?

Though you mostly recorded Death and Thrash Metal records I read that you did some regular rock albums, too.

 
Each genre has its own challenges. Perhaps recording fast heavy bands is more technically challenging because every member wants everything up front and audible. With slower more melodic bands there tend to be more open spaces or pockets to let particular instruments shine through. Also when you start moving away to more commercial standard rock acts there is more of an emphasis put on arrangements and vocal melodies.

Did these limits to be a “Death Metal producer” annoy you?

 
In the end yes it was somewhat disheartening because I wanted to try something other than Death Metal that still had an edge or what not straight ahead mainstream rock etc. I did get to record great bands like PSYCHOTIC WALTZ and do some remixes for GRAVITY KILLS and KMFDM which was very cool. Looking back though I think it was ok. I had so much fun and got to make great music with a lot of great band that I really liked. And to be honest there wasn’t a new scene that I was really getting into. I think I was just getting older and more focused on things outside of music like computers.

I can imagine that it was a tough job to produce all these newcomers which probably couldn’t handle their instruments pretty well or just were one of so many similar bands without an own identity. At the end many of these records just wanted the sticker “produced by Scott Burns” on them.

 
I guess at first it was fine because I tried to approach it as there are always something good on each demo I received and it is not my job to dictate what is signed and not signed. But eventually as bands start to sound more and more alike or sounding like other larger bands of the genre that made it harder to enjoy the music.

Wasn’t it strange that nearly all Death Metal albums beginning of the nineties had to have a cover from Dan Seagrave and a sound either from Tomas Skogsberg or Scott Burns?

 
Everyone likes a McDonald’s hamburger now don’t they?

Do you have some funny, strange or even sad anecdotes of your time as a producer?

 
"DEICIDE – I remember back when they were AMON and were playing a show with MORBID ANGEL and NOCTURNUS in Tampa. It was on someones property slightly out of town and the stage was elevated about six feet off the ground. As part of the show there were hanging statues of religious icons. During the show Glen smashes them and they were filled with guts and blood. Well the next you know the owner had some large dogs and they were sitting there eating all the parts from under the stage. It was bizarre. I got to go to Europe to do sound for DEATH and CANNIBAL for a two week festival tour. It was amazing. We made a stop in Poland and I’ll never forget thinking how lucky we are that our government as screwed up as it may be was at least not a police state run. The kids could not stage dive at the show because the police / military guys would beat them with their batons that were simply metal rebar cover with rubber.

I remember doing sound for NASTY SAVAGE and IMPALER. Curtis was a great drummer, fast as a shark. Mick Harris – sorry that it didn’t work out the way you wanted. I remember sitting in my truck and we compared “Harmony Corruption” to ENTOMBED and he was bummed because we did not have that heavy Swedish sound. Steve Digorgio - if I could remix one album it would be “Human” so we could bring up your bass. LOUDBLAST – sorry guys you were not happy with “Sublime”. Vinny from DEMOLITION HAMMER - Steve and Vinny were great. Vinny’s father passed away before we started recording. A great guy and what can you say to play through that was amazing. Rest in Peace Vinny. Chuck Schuldiner – For years Chuck always had severe migraine headaches maybe this was part of the cancer that took his life. Rest in peace Metal brother! EXHORDER – these guys were one of my favourite bands of all time. I’m sorry we never got to do a complete recording and that we were always replacing tracks. Chris was a monster drummer. TRANS METAL – these guys were the cool. They were from Mexico and worked very hard. We used to go to a Bucs football game each time. OBITUARY – I remember doing their sound before “Slowly...” came out and they had a multi level stage, flash pots, fog, Spanish moss. It looked so cool to see a band do that in local club. ATHEIST - They had a really an original sound. Roger was an incredible talented and naturally gifted musician. I am glad to hear they are going to record again. Rest in Peace Roger. CANNIBAL CORPSE – Like OBITUARY these guys are like family. I always had such a good time hanging out and recording. We used to play a lot of video hockey for hours and hours in the studio. They drove down the first year in Jack’s van and paid for their own living expenses etc. to record. Metal Blade only gave them $5000.00 to record. They were dedicated from the beginning. Steve Asheim – He should get an award for all of he done for DEICIDE. Super talented musician and cool guy. He has kept that band together. The first album is one of the best ever. Darren Travis - What’s upppppp, I’m in your face ;-) Jason Rawhead - I recoded these guys in Belgium and spent a quite a time there. Steven, Dirk, and Jan of Hype Studios were some of the coolest guys I have ever worked with. I really enjoyed my stay there and they treated me like family. It was awesome to spend a month in Europe.

"
To be honest, some Death Metal musicians are, let’s say, different. How did you manage to get along with them?

 
I didn’t think overall they were different at all they reminded me of myself when I was growing up listening to any type of music that my parents didn’t like.

As far as I know you didn’t produce one single Black Metal record. Why? Were you asked by any of these bands or were you simply not interested?

 
Well there was a movement against me in the beginning by the Black Metal bands and to be honest while I thought they had the ‘look’ part of it I thought musically they were not as good as their Death Metal brothers. To me it reminded me of why I quit listening to Punk when I was young, because I wanted something that was more technical in nature.

All of a sudden your fame disappeared and everyone said your recordings sounded all the same. What do you think was the problem? And what actually is the truth?

 
Everything comes to an end and the scene was winding down. It was hard for labels to find new original bands. You could listen to a demo and clearly hear the influences for the larger bands. And as I said previously everyone develops a sound even producers / engineers and when you are constrained by minimal recording budgets it becomes even harder to experiment. Also as the bands careers progressed they dictated more of the direction or sound that they wanted to have. All in all I think it is a natural progression that occurs with every genre and scene. C'est la vie.

Monte Conner (Roadrunner’s A&R-manager) said “We discovered him (Scott Burns) and he did some great work but you shouldn’t as a label, or as a band, stick too long with one producer.” I mean, you were some kind of house producer for Roadrunner and then they got “rid of you”. To hear something like this wasn’t it like a stab in the back?

 
I see a psychiatrist weekly every since I read that from Monte. I am thinking about going on Oprah and using that as my excuse for getting fat and bald, well I’m really not bald but I am a little out of shape. Maybe I could sue Roadrunner and get some free CDs or merchandise out of it

(I wouldn't feel bad if you have seen Monte Conner lately, you'd think all those millions he has hed be in shape with a head full of hair haha..)

Did you see yourself as some kind of scapegoat or victim?

 
Yes I feel like a scapegoat and victim. I have setup a website to support victims like myself. If you have a paypal account you can make a donation to stop this type of abuse ha

Was that one of the reasons why you quit working as a producer?

 
  John Tardy had bought me my first PC. I like computers very much and more and more aspects of recording were software driven. I went back to college and took some programming classes. I was offered a job by a small technology company and decided I wanted to take it. Once I had been there for a year I knew that I did not want to go back it was time to move on."

Imagine you didn’t quit your producer job, what would you be up to today? Do you think you had a future in your job?

 
Sorry but you could not pay me money to go back to being a recording engineer again. That was a part of my life which I loved but I do not want to go back and do it again. I love programming, I love being with my family and having a 9-5 job. I know that is not exciting but it is the truth. Maybe when I’m 60 I will wake up and want to record again but right now no thanks.

What’s your opinion of the work of producers like Colin Richardson, Tomas Skogsberg, Dan Swanö or Peter Tägtgren? All of them are more or less known for their classics they produced for the Death Metal genre. I surely believe they don’t want to be labelled as Death Metal producers.

 
I’m sure they are still accomplished engineers / producers but I have no idea what these guys are doing these days, sorry.

Are you still in touch with the staff and bosses from Morrisound?

 
Yes I see Tom, Jim and Rick from time to time we just had a 25 year anniversary of the studio. Almost everyone made it back. It was great to reminisce about the good old days. Jim and Tom still do a lot of work as you know."

I can't  believe that you have so many negative emotions about this era in a way,  but surely also great moments. Do you miss these days?

 
I don’t have any negative or sad emotions at all. It was a wonderful time in my life. But I could say the same about my career now I love software development I wouldn’t change jobs for anything. I miss seeing the bands and our friendships but I still run into them on occasion and always enjoy catching up."

Talking about the Death Metal scene back then. There were 2 scenes everyone was talking about: the American / Tampa-scene and the Swedish one. As you were highly involved in the Tampa-scene did you ever want to produce one of the Swedish bands (e. g. ENTOMBED, DISMEMBER, UNLEASHED…)? What did you think about the European Death Metal scene compared to the American one?

 
I really like the first ENTOMBED record, it was super heavy. I would have enjoyed recording those guys.!!

I think we can easily call this whole Death Metal movement a phenomenon. What attracted you the most, what do you think was the reason why it became such a trend, or as popular as it was and now again is?

 
It has lots of elements that kids like. Metal, anarchy, rebellion, black t-shirts all of these things kids like. Why did I like UFO, RUSH, THIN LIZZY, DEEP PURPLE and stuff like that when I grew up? It is just a generation or so evolved.

And how did you see all these things happening like tape trading,  fanzines…?

 
Pretty funny how it has changed huh? Yes fanzines like that were common and the norm back then. I remember when the studio got our first CD burner. A blank disc cost $15.00 and it recorded in real-time. I remember Ronnie from NASTY SAVAGE was the king of the fanzines. He was always getting SAVAGE press even before their first album came out.

What do you think about a book like “Choosing Death” (where you also were one of the participants) and how the scene and basically the whole movement was explained in it?

 
Albert rocks, he did a very good job. Even though his Philadelphia Phillies beat my Tampa Bay Ray in the World Series.

 

At any time was there a recording where you said, “Damn if they had chosen me as the producer, this album could be a masterpiece!”?

 
Sorry, not really no.

Some of the bands were and probably still are very popular, like e. g. DEICIDE, MORBID ANGEL or OBITUARY. Many expected that they made it and could live a quite comfortable life as result of their success. But do you think they are happy with their lives and with what they achieved?

 
Sure they get to play their music in front of fans all across the world and get paid for it. What musician would not want that? There are a lot of talented musicians that have to have a day job because they can’t get a deal. These guys have done well for themselves. They should be very proud of their accomplishments as long as you put two feet on the ground everyday life is good. Life is what you make of it and everyone is entitled to live life as they think best. I don’t see how you can say one is better than another. Different strokes for different folks…Although I don’t think Rush Limbaugh and Glen Benton are going to do a duet anytime soon.

If I’m correct you said back in 1995 or something that the good Death Metal bands will stick around and the other just fade away. Now more than 10 years later how do you judge this sentence?

 
I think it is true for any genre. Bands that had something original to offer and continued to work hard at their craft and took it seriously are still together.

You said in “Choosing Death” (quote): “In my experience, there were very few bands that on their third and fourth record were putting out better records than their first or their second or even a demo.” I mean, I have to agree with you on that and also the sales figures show that. But how do you see that point now connected with all the bands like DEICIDE or OBITUARY which are still (or again) active and releasing albums on a regular way?

 
They are institutions of Metal just like METALLICA, SLAYER, etc. As long as they work hard and want to be successful they can continue to record and perform. There is a generation that was not able to see these bands in their heyday as it were so now they can. It is no different than THE EAGLES, SPANDAU BALLET, GRATEFUL DEAD. Do Metal fans even buy METALLICA records anymore?  They just want to hear the hits.

I think one of your last jobs was to work together with your buddies from OBITUARY for their “Frozen In Time” record. Why did you start again?

 
"t was really done by the band and Mark Prator. I just stopped by to see the guys again. They are like family and I don’t get to see Trevor and Frank so much since they no longer live in Tampa. Plus they offered me free beer so what could I say.

  Scott, I think this turned out to be a long one haha shit...

 
Thanks for the interest and thanks again to all the great bands that made it possible!!!" 

 

Thomas Ehrmann

Chuck Billy

  

Chuck Billy around here gets maximum respect. He has recorded classic thrash albums, toured the world and has paid his dues ten times over battling a sickness that nearly took his life. Since he has recovered, Chuck seems to be in perfect spirits. Perhaps it is because when he was sick he went to an indian shaman who basically cured him with his hands. You must believe.

How come you decided to put together a special tour edition of your Formation Of Damnation CD?
Chuck Billy: It was something we spoke about doing early on, when we were touring last year. It wasn't pulled together in time. Then when the American Carnage tour came up with Slayer and Megadeth, the record label decided it was time to put this out. It has some cool stuff on there, like when we performed live at Alcatraz in the mess hall at night. It was a pretty cool vibe.

How did the response to Formation Of Damnation compare to your expectations going in?

It was what we hoped for. We are very proud of the record. We've done almost 200 shows since the release of the record, so we've been out there trying to promote it everywhere.

What's the status of your next studio CD?

We've been working on it since October. We weren't really planning to tour this year. We passed on a summer tour, but then American Carnage came up and we took it. We decided to do the tour, then come home and finish the record. We had hoped to get the record out by the end of the year.

You're heading out on a tour with Megadeth and Exodus, then with Megadeth and Slayer later this summer. It's nice to see three classic bands together instead of having some unknown young bands as opening acts.

It's killer. Last year we toured with Megadeth and Judas Priest. We talked about a Testament/Megadeth/Exodus tour, and it's good to see a guy like Dave Mustaine stepping up and not having the record company telling him to put a band on the tour who will buy in for a certain amount of money. Then it's not as special of an event. We are three bands in a genre who are still putting music out today and kicking butt. It's great he went through with it.

Dave Ellefson just rejoined Megadeth after being out of the band for several years. You guys have had that same thing happen with an old member coming back. What's that dynamic like when they a member returns after a long absence?

For us it was amazing. At the first rehearsal together, we knew the material wasn't the tightest, but the second day it was like we never left. It was locked in. There's something to having the guys who wrote the songs perform them. We've been fortunate to have a lot of great musicians in the band, but it's not the same as the original members playing it.

On the Megadeth tour you'll be playing The Legacy in its entirety. How was it going back and relearning the older material?

It was good. We did The Legacy and The New Order in Holland, London and Japan last year. Those shows went over really well and we had a lot of fun. So when they talked about us doing The Legacy, we thought it would be killer. We did it before and had a great time. When we started rehearsing for these shows, we stepped right back into it again. We're definitely up to par on the old stuff. We're excited about it.


For the Megadeth tour you're offering VIP packages to fans where they can meet you, get some merchandise and a few other perks. Have you done this before?

It was new to us last year. We were approached, and I didn't really know what to think about it. The fan response and appreciation from it has been cool. The fans wanted it, and they got it.

Is there anywhere you haven't toured or played live that you'd still like to get to?
There was talk about getting to India. That would be pretty interesting. We've been everywhere else. The last couple of years we got new agents and management and told them to send us everywhere we've never been. That was the goal, and we've covered a lot of spots that we hadn't been.

Now that you're older, do you make more of an effort to see some of the sights when you're playing in different countries?
That's all I do now. Since 2001 and the cancer, I've been back touring and have been taking my family and friends. I have a lot of friends that I've known since high school and before that. A lot of them have never been to Europe. It's a great chance to show my friends what I've gotten to experience and take for granted over 20 years. You see it all over again through different eyes, as a tourist. We go out during the day and do our thing, then I go back and do the show. It's flipped around. It used to be party, tour bus, good times, party, and I missed a lot. Now it isn't about that. You might party a little after the show, but not like 20 years ago.

Will there be another Dublin Death Patrol CD?
There's almost a whole record of material written now. We're just trying to schedule it. Testament will be focused on getting our record done, and I'll also be trying to get Dublin Death Patrol done as well. Now even more of our friends from Dublin are coming out of the woodwork and are ready to play. It's growing. It's going to be interesting.

More than 25 years later, so many Bay Area thrash bands are still together and making music, which says a lot about that scene.
It's pretty incredible. Speaking for myself, it's not about the business. It's about making music, having a good time, enjoying that I'm still getting the opportunity to do it. It's a good time for Testament and for me.


Thanks for enriching my life with some of your tunes brother. cheers!

The Sword

The Sword drummer Trivett Wingo sat down with us derelict stoners to talk about the musical shift of "Warp Riders," the absence of acoustic guitars on the the record, tug of war battles with "Warp Riders" producer Matt Bayles and the band's love for all things old school, oh and Lars.

So you guys just released “Warp Riders.” How has the response been to the new album?

Trivett: Its been 99% positive. Out of all the reviews Ive read there was one magazine that said we had made a mistake by putting the record out, but that's been the only bad review so far.

  What caused the musical shift heard on the new material?

Trivett: You know, it was not something that was premeditated or deliberate. There were no motives going into the writing process, it just sort of happened.

 Any specific bands or albums that influenced the new sound?

Trivett: There are definitely bands that we’ve always been into, we've all been into alot of rock’n’roll and heavy metal stuff but some of our more rock influences came through on this record. Like alot of people listen to “Warp Riders” and say we must have been listening to alot of ZZ Top and Thin Lizzy and yeah, we have for like the past 15 years but finally that came through somehow on our record. For whatever reason we've just been feeling a little more rock than we have in the past and maybe that's because were getting a little older and we all got tired of bludgeoning people and putting ourselves through that as well. So we just wrote a record that was a little less abrasive than our previous releases.

 Was the writing for “Warp Riders” easier than compared to the previous two records?

Trivett: There was alot more collaboration than there was previously. For the first record [Age of Winters, 2006] JD [Cronise, Vocals] pretty much wrote everything except for a few riffs and then the second one Kyle [Shutt, Guitars] wrote about half of it. On this one, I actually wrote a couple parts which is unheard of. So this one was a little easier, things seemed to come together easier. When we did “Gods of the Earth” we were under a foolishly self imposed time constraint and we felt we had to hurry and get all of the crap done and rush into the studio to make that album. That album was more about deadlines and less about songs. This time around we did the writing first then worried about when we were going to record it. This time was easier, we allowed things to breathe more and we weren’t under the same amount of stress we had been in the past.

 This is the first time the band has worked with a producer. Was that difficult at all?

Trivett: It made things alot easier. We thought it was going to be alot of butting heads and it turned out to not be like that at all. It was really more of an unburdening. There were things we used to worry about but now we could just go in and play. We still got to use all of the stuff we wrote, all of the same arrangements. But as far as worrying about all the small technical things that we used to worry about being a band who has self-produced our albums before it was nice to let the producer handle all of that. We just went in and played. There was no difficult decision making either, so that was a relief

One thing noticeably missing from “Warp Riders” are the acoustic guitars. When was the decision made to not include any of this album?

Trivett: There actually was an entirely acoustic track on this record and the record was over an hour long so we took two songs off, leaving it at around 50 minutes or something like that. One of those songs was fully acoustic and the other was like a semi-acoustic thing. It wasn’t something done on purpose really, we didn’t remove them because they were acoustic. But there are some acoustic tracks from these sessions that will be coming out at some point in the album’s cycle.

 Will there be a special edition version of “Warp Riders” that will have those acoustic tracks?

Trivett: I think so. The whole narrative for the album was conceived as something that would be made into a comic book. We had this idea that we were going to put the record out and then release this comic book and that the missing tracks would be included with that, adding in the missing chapters of the story. But what were discovering is that making a comic book is extremely difficult if not impossible due to what it costs. You know, getting someone to draw you a comic book that you would actually want to draw one for you. Like holy crap! Yeah so that's a big problem. Its a way bigger problem than we ever imagined.

 You guys have announced a ton of tour dates for the coming months and even up into 2011. What can fans expect to see on the “Warp Riders” world tour?

Trivett: What can they expect to see? Well, its going to be the same four dudes playing your favourite ‘Sword songs but playing alot of the new stuff too. Some bands either don’t play enough new stuff or they play to much, but were going to play really long sets and were gonna try to keep everyone happy with a good balance of ‘Sword tunes. Nothing out of this world, I’d hate to say that but I'm just being honest. We don’t quite have the resources to do a fancy laser show or something like that. Were actually in one of those transitional phases where bands are getting bigger but they cant afford to be the band they should be. For The Sword, we don’t make enough money that it takes to do the big stuff that other bands can afford to do. We are trying to go there though. Maybe next time around we can bring out the ‘lights guy’ or the ‘laser dude’ or whatever. To be quite honest with you what you can expect is; well hey, its going to be The Sword show you've seen before but a perfect mix of both the old and new stuff. So you're gonna get what you came to see no matter what that is.

 Any bands you guys have in mind to bring out on tour with you?

Trivett: Were taking this band called Karma To Burn. They haven’t really been to active in the past 10 years and were more active in the 90’s. They've come back though and just out out a new album. They have a new singer that's incredible and they are just awesome dudes. Really good friends of ours. Were bringing them out to Europe with us as well as on all the U.S. stuff.

Speaking of Europe. Over the past year or so The Sword have been touring with Metallica. How was that experience?

Trivett: Awesome. We haven’t been back to those places to see the results but were hoping that it helped us. Were gonna find out though when we go back to Europe. I think were starting to see some positive effects here in the U.S though.

Lars Ulrich of Metallica has been very outspoken about his love for “Gods of the Earth.” Have you spoken to him about “Warp Riders?”

Trivett: Oh yeah, he loves “Warp Riders.” Maybe even more than the last one. I’ve been sending him tracks long before the album was released so hes been flipping out over it for a while now. Its been really encouraging.

So what is the difference between the American and European crowds? Having seen both on the Metallica tour.

Trivett: What are the differences? Well, the Europeans hold their alcohol better!

Amongst other things ...ha..So now the band have played everything from small clubs to festivals and arenas. Which do you prefer?

Trivett: The most fun is always the small club. That's always for me the most fun show to be at and see. You know, I’d much rather see Slayer in a 500 person room than at a festival or in an arena. Preferably , because it sounds better. I’d rather play those rooms too because the audience is always more excited to be there. Once an audience reaches a certain size you cant expect to engage everyone but in a cozy room the whole crowd seems to share in the experience.

The Sword are signed with Kemado  which is a very indie based and very eclectic label. How has it been working with them?

Trivett: Its been great! They are really good at what they do and have been taking good care of us. Kemado has really helped to get us where we are and promoting our releases, getting them into all the little record shops. Kemado have also spent alot of money funding these big tours and have been really supportive helping us out with alot of things. We might have been able to get where we are without them, but without a doubt it would have taken much longer and would have been alot harder. Were very grateful.

Do you have any more album to release under their imprint?

Trivett: No, we don't owe them anything. Were totally free now. Now lets see what happens with this new album and if it does incredible things then we can see what the future holds for us. Right now its looking very good. We could end up going back with Kemado, or going to a major label or we could end up doing a wide range of things. We’ll see over time and what we end up doing. Quite frankly at the end of the day, the sad thing is no one cares how cool your band is or how good your record is all they care about is how many records you sell. So how many records we sell will determine where we get to go and what we get to do. We hope we sell the most records because that will give us more freedom. On a side note; I always read these idiot blogger people on the internet that think Kemado is a major record label or they think its owned by a major label and they have all these stupid theories about how Kemado is owned by something and that's how we get to go on these certain tours. Alot of things they say don’t even make any sense. To Kemado’s credit they are not a major, were never owned by a major and aren’t affiliated with a major and they've done all this cool stuff through hard work. So its pretty amazing.

Speaking of idiot internet bloggers. What do you think of those people who label The Sword as hipster metal?

Trivett: I just don't even care what they say. Like, its kind of flattering that they take the time to comment on what I do. It means they're listening. Especially considering the fact that I don't care what they do, I don't know they're names and I haven't taken the time to come up with a cutesy name for the type of blogging they do or whatever I'm supposed to call it, whatever it is. So its actually pretty normal. Whatever you do, no matter how awesome it may be, especially if its really good its going to upset someone. Those people are going to latch onto something like ‘hipster metal’ and throw that around and at the end of the day its all completely insignificant. Its actually true that all press is good press so the fact that people take time out of their day to blog about what I do and to perceive there to be some controversy over the legitimacy of our music, it just elevates us further.

 Whats your opinion on this huge influx of bands doing the whole throwback metal thing?

Trivett: I think its pretty awesome.

     Really?

People call it throwback metal but its like if someone made a blues record, blues hasn't really changed or a jazz record which hasn't changed in 50 years or something people don't say “oh, that's throwback jazz” they just say that's jazz. Or they say; this guy made a blues album and its just blues, its the exact same thing people have been doing for years its just how good you do it. So people are making these retro metal or rock records but really its just making those records of a certain style that used to be more prominent and now its not as up front because metal is much more abrasive these days. But there are still all these great rocking metal bands. There is this label called Rise Above from the U.K. and they have been putting out alot of really good rock bands, bands that are just really awesome rock bands. There is this band from Sweden called Graveyard that The Sword are really into. They sound like 70’s rock but they do it so well, they do it wonderfully. So its just like someone making a blues record today or a jazz album or whatever. Its nothing new but they still do it originally and creativly and the songs are awesome and the lyrics are great. So when bands come around with these fuzzy guitars and play what I consider to be classic rock music im totallu into it.

On “Warp Riders” your drumming sounds much lower in the mix than it has in the past. Was that done deliberately or was the style of playing just different?

Trivett: Well, two things happened. One is that I didnt overplay as much as I used to. I used to just go in there and slam the drum kit as hard as I could all the time. I’ve gotten better. Ive actually leanred how to play the drums. I learned how to quit beating them to death. I still like to beat them to death and its a good mental hygiene for me to be able to do that but I learned to control myself and to not do that all the time. The other thing is the guy who produced our record, Matt Bayles, the guy who mixed the record as well just had different ideas on how the drums should be and he actually mixed them even lower than that and we got into some pretty major tugs of war over drum volumes. I was getting pretty angry about it for a while and it was like he didnt understand what i was saying. I thought he clearly couldn't hear what I was hearing. It came to a point where we were unable to agree. I was feeling really bummed out about it and then eventually it got to a point where I said we just have to turn these drums up, I dont want to talk about it anymore. Loud drums are how ‘Sword records should sound, you know? He was under the impression that the drums had always been to loud in the past. Ive been in the opinion that the drums sounded great. He was going for something more subtle while I was going for something more brutal just maybe not as loud as in the past. I still want people to hear the drums and feel them with the music. I still think that maybe they could be a bit louder in places at times but it is a different type of record and in the end I learned a valuable lesson. If you want things to sound a certain way, the way you want, you need to go to mixing. We had him [Matt Bayles] mix the record, he was in Seattle and we were in Texas and he would send us mixes and we would tell him to turn things up. He would turn them up a little bit. He maybe didn't even turn them up at all. Eventually I just said, it all needs to be louder. I think its loud now. The kick drum could be louder, in some parts everything could be louder. But in the end you can hear everything and that's all that matters.

.The Sword have played Vancouver, Canada twice before. When are you guys coming back?

Trivett: Were not coming to Canada this time around and I really don't know why. At the very last minute we had to re-route our tour in order to head over to Australia and Japan with Metallica so we had to cancel a week or so of shows , very last minute. We had to reschedule in order to make it back to Austin, Texas by a certain date and still hit all of the major markets like Los Angeles. You know, things weve already committed to. We lost alot of flexibility we had going for us into this tour when that happened. But we love Vancouver man. I actually wrote a tour diary piece for a newspaper here in Texas and I wrote about Vancouver and its one of our favorite places in the world to be. It seems like the people in Vancouver are actually real metal fans there and they just get it. These people wear denim vests and they are ready for heavy metal! It was awesome and that show there with Metallica was awesome. That was the last time we played there and that was like in December of 2008. Its been a really long time. Vancouver has all these badass sushi joints in town and tons of really great places to get fresh fish and I love the weather up there. We have no excuse for not coming because we really love it there. I think we might at some point do a trans-canada tour. Weve talked about it for years and it would start in Vancouver and end in like Quebec or Montreal or something. I think thats what we’ll end up doing at some point. The trans-canada tour is something weve talked about since the release of our first record. Our albums are out up there so its stupid of us that we haven't done that tour yet. We need to get one of those awesome Canadian metal bands like 3 Inches of Blood, go across Canada and promote the hell out of our records. No matter where you are, sit tight because The Sword are coming!

Dax Riggs

With a laundry list of amazing and incredibly diverse bands on his rap sheet, Dax Riggs is soon releasing his second solo album and then heading on a tour of the U.S. Former cult sludge/psyche agents Acid Bath/Agents of Oblivion/Deadboy and the Elephantmen. I caught up with Dax before on the eve of his album release and tour to discuss "Say Goodnight to the World," what he believes his sound is exactly, and the BP Oil Spill Disaster that has affected his hometown.

 Your new album “Say Goodnight to the World” is coming out on August 3rd. It’s the first one you’ve released in three years. How excited are you about it?

Dax Riggs: Oh yeah, man. Really excited. Yeah, I’m ready to get out and play these new songs, you know.

Have you been playing any songs from the album during the last few shows you’ve done this year?

Dax: Yeah. Everything I’ve been doing lately has kind of been focused on this recording

: Well, you’ve had it ready to release for a while now. Why did it take so long to finally get it out there?

Dax: I’m not really sure. Kind of…record company bureaucracy. I’m not sure why they waited a little while.

Just corporate bullshit?

Dax: Pretty much. Well, it isn’t too much corporate over there. Just __ I don’t know. I guess that they have their reasons. I’m not really sure. Yeah, but it got pushed back like a month and a half or something.

  Were you doing your residency at One Eyed Jacks because it wasn’t released on time?

Dax: I guess we did do it because the record was going to be pushed back a little bit. So it was kind of like a way to get ready to tour, you know.

: And speaking of touring, you’re about to go on a two-month tour across the U.S. starting in just a few days, and I noticed that you’re playing some shows that are two-night stays at one venue; one is the Mercury Lounge in New York and one is Spaceland in Los Angeles. Are you playing different sets on those nights?

Dax: No, not really. I’m sure they’ll be somewhat different, but it’s not going to be a totally different set.

  Do you plan on doing a European tour for this album?

Dax: I have no plans at the moment. But we might after we go over the United States. We would like to get over there, if even just to play a few shows. That would be great. Yeah, but there’s no plans for that at the moment.

Well, throughout the year you’ve been playing shows mostly around Texas and Louisiana. Where do you call home?

Dax: Texas and Louisiana. Austin, Texas, and like Lafayette, Louisiana, I guess. Houma, Louisiana. Both places, I mostly live in Texas. But, yeah, I lived in Louisiana for a long time.

  As with the last album you did, this album is being released under your name. But you have a long history of being in proper bands. Do you think you’ll ever do that again or do anything with your previous bands?

Dax: I’m sure eventually I’ll do something under a band name. Probably nothing that I’ve already done. Something new, but there’s definitely no reason why I wouldn’t do a project under a band name. It’s really still a band project, even though it’s under my name. So it’s a little strange, I guess. I like band names. I have a lot of different ones I’d still like to use. It could happen tomorrow.

  And each band you do kind of has a different sound. What would you say the sound is of this album?

Dax: It’s definitely kind of a proto-metal. In my opinion, it’s punk and proto-metal kind of aspects to it, but I find that it’s very transcendental-meets-Stoogey (Iggy Pop) kind of stuff. It’s like rock and roll with some transcendental vibes to it. So that’s how I think of it.

That sounds really cool. And the title “Say Goodnight to the World” kind of goes with the transcendental vibe.

Dax: Yeah, it’s very much in that way of thinking.

  Well, being from southern Louisiana, like you said, Houma/Lafayette area and visiting often, what are your thoughts on the oil spill disaster?

Dax: Oh, I think it’s…I don’t know. It’s horrible. The people of Louisiana have been in a toxic dump site. It’s one of the cancer alleys of America, and it’s horrible. The people there have been beaten down for so long, and abused by chemical companies and petroleum companies. And they cut the unions out of it; there’s no unions workers, you know. It’s a long-standing tradition that if you get hurt out there, working in the oil fields, they will try to not pay you. They’re the worst. It’s a horrible industry. And then what’s super bad about it is that after stuff like that happens, people can’t…you know, they can only have so much anger towards these people because that’s how they make money. Even though there’s all this, they just accept it. You know, I’m so angry about this. I want people to take arms in the street, you know, over this. I want drastic action taken. They’ve ruined Louisiana’s coastline, and there’s no telling what kind of damage it’s going to do to the whole world in the future. But it’s just an absolute shame, and I don’t know. I don’t know what to say about that.

  What’s your favorite way to show your anger about that?

Dax: It makes me obsessed with it. I watch it a lot, you know. And it’s a horrible cycle because it’s all this venom and ugliness. It gets you angry at the people around you that don’t want to hear about it, you know. I don’t know.

  That’s absolutely true. I was putting up anti-BP flyers in the French Quarter and this woman came up to me and said, “We need oil. What are you doing? That’s horrible.”

Dax: Right. No, no. We don’t need oil. We need to make a change, and we need to quit listening to people who think that things can’t change. You know, everyone’s so afraid that they’re going to have to stop driving as much or maybe…you know or that their lives might be changed in just the tiniest little bit. Or they might have to give something up, you know. And people like that really do irk me. I mean, don’t you have any respect for the unborn? People that are coming in the future, don’t you have any care for these people? Of course the answer is no. People that live today cannot fathom that someone will one day follow in their footsteps and be trying to live in the same space. People, with our consciousness…you know, we’re just an animal. No more right to anything than a chipmunk or a squirrel, which is another animal that has gotten a really big head, you know. And I think the Earth will deal with this in its way, and one day we will be just a mess.

:We’re getting there pretty fast.

Dax: Yeah, I mean, I believe it. I am totally sold about this. Of course, it all comes down to not having the people’s best interest in mind ever. People are looked at as useless, peasent, only there to work and slave away their lives. You get to make no decision. They will decide for you. And the only way this is going to change is a lot of people are gonna have to die; we’re gonna have to someday stand up for ourselves and people will have to die. And that’s the way it happens, you know. There’s been a lot of South American countries that don’t want to have anything to do with America anymore, and they’re doing just fine. You don’t need the material United States there abusing your resources. So I do believe that we could change, but we’re just too just fat in our luxury. Or we just can’t…we’re no longer alive. We’re sheltered from nature. Cut off from nature. I don’t know.

: Is there anything else you would like to say or talk about?

Dax: I can’t think of anything right now, I mean. What we believe to be true can be true. I do believe that. Call it magic or whatever you want, but I do believe that if we want something to happen, we can dream it and make it real. Whether it’s you as a person, your art, the world. Everything can be changed. That’s all I have to say.

  That’s a beautiful ending line. Thank you so much.

Dax: Thank you.

Maynard Horny For Circle Again?

A Perfect Circle has returned from their self-imposed hiatus. The band, led by Maynard James Keenan (Tool, Puscifer) and Billy Howerdel (Ashes Divide), will embark on a five-city tour this fall (dates and ticket on-sale information will be announced shortly). Maynard has said in the past he was disillusioned with the recording industry and didn't want to continue with APC for business reasons having nothing to do with any personal turmoil between group members. Long time fans may be in for a treat if they head into the studio.

Shows in Phoenix (Marquee Theatre), Los Angeles (Avalon), Seattle (Showbox at The Market) and San Francisco (The Fillmore) will be three-night stops with each night featuring one of A Perfect Circle’s three albums in its entirety (Mer de Noms, Thirteenth Step and eMOTIVe). Las Vegas (The Pearl) will be a two-night outing (Mer de Noms and Thirteenth Step).
The band will perform on Jimmy Kimmel Live on Oct. 27.

A Perfect Circle has sold four million records in the U.S. After the band announced their hiatus in 2005, Keenan focused on Tool, launched the multimedia project Puscifer and worked on his burgeoning Arizona vineyards. Howerdel went on to form Ashes Divide who released their debut album, Keep Telling Myself It’s Alright, in 2008.

Nocturno Culto

 

Well, hey there everybody, my name is Ted and I’ve been in a band for 2 decades now.  I play metal.  I like metal.  Ahh, fuck that.  I can agree with you on the “diverse” thing, since we don’t have a plan when we’re making music, and since we have moved even further away from the strict Black Metal way of sounding on the FOAD album, the music is a product of pure ENTHUSIASM for METAL and ROCK.  We hail the 70’s and 80’s.  We feel free as the wind after getting our own studio.  The way we work now is just plain ACE for us.  Can you feel the live vibe of the album?  The booklet and cover art is also different from what we’re used to, but I think it turned out really satisfying, lots of pictures of us handsome dudes, and Fenriz’ tent of course.  Hey, we are just being honest, we give from ourselves on this one.

 
With that album it includes no Lyrics, only explanations for each song.  Why did you guys choose to go in this direction?  What about including the lyrics were you against?  Also I noticed you did the lyrics for two songs (Banners of Old and These Shores Are Damned).  How do you feel those turned out?  Will you be doing more lyrics in the future?

 
I will definitely do more lyrics in the future.  All of a sudden, I got the gift!!!  It’s our belief that people should listen carefully to the singing on the album and discover by themselves…. We twist and turn like a twisty turning thing.

 
DT is pretty scornful of modern music both lyrically and musically.  What is your opinion in regards to most modern music?  Do you feel that music with “magic” in it exists exclusively in the past?  What about earlier metal made it so special and when did the metal scene start becoming plastic?

 
I would say that in EVERY genre, there are bands/people who grab the roots and make it plastic.  This is not a new thing by any means.  Take the genre opera, I guess the diehard opera fans are mighty pissed off by, lets say Josh Groban!!!!  But without hardworking poor people down in the mud, there would be no “high society” kids living out their wet dreams on stage.  I know, what the hell am I talking about here?!  One thing I must admit is that in the last two years or so, I have heard more great new bands than in a decade before, so something cool is happening.  OH NO, this is insane, ok, to put this REALLY simple; I just notice that there are many popular bands “up there”, but do I REALLY care?  No!  My entire metal heart belongs to the underground.  UNDERGROUND: where things really happen…..always.

 
The collaboration between Fenriz and yourself seems to be working just perfectly and efficiently these days with the help of the handy Necrohell 2 studio, right? Also I noticed a small paradigm change because earlier in your career it was crystal clear who did what part, f.e. Fenriz was the lyrics writer (with quite a few exceptions like inputs by Zephyrous and yourself) and Nocturno Culto the voice of DarkThrone.  Nowadays there are more experiments - if one can even call them that way – as Fenriz takes over vocalist duties sometimes and you are doing more lyrics which is a thing you haven’t done too much since the days of the “Total Death” album way back in 1996.  Are you guys just shaking off all boundaries left, and do what you can do best which is walking your own path?  I mean F.O.A.D. - as the title already says - is just a perfect case to show that you guys just do what you like, regardless of what other people - even avid supporters from the old days - expect from a leading Black Metal act such as DarkThrone – would you agree?

The collaboration I have with Fenriz now, and had the last 20 years, is something I really value.  I always feel lucky when I think about it.  We develop Darkthrone the way we want, and we know we’re going AGAINST the stream, and we pay a price for that, but whatthehell, our albums will last longer than a decade…ahahaha.  No matter what you do artisticly, music, paintings, sculptures…whatever, you will always get A: slaughtered, B: praised.  Heh, so you’ve noticed then?  We’re shaking off all boundaries, and, WE LIKE.  Last year, all of a sudden, I felt a force that was telling me to write lyrics…(in my narrow world that is).  When it comes to Fenriz doing vocals: nothing pleases me more.  For several years I tried to encourage him to do so, but he had some comments like “I can’t sing”, “I’m a crap singer” and so on.  JIZ!!!  It’s like saying he can’t play the drums!!!  I KNEW he would be great on vocals again.  He is just a natural when it comes to metal.  He knows his shit very well, and I deeply respect him.

 
I expect this album to generate even more controversy surrounding Darkthrone than any of your recent albums.  Do you see that happening as well?  Did you foresee this happening and the whole album concept of telling people to “Fuck off and Die” was sort of a pre-emptive strike against them?

 
We don’t plan on anything to happen, we just see it as a natural path for us to go at this point.  We just recorded two new songs for the next album, and we’re stretching the limit.  Hello, we’re Darkthrone and we play music with FUZZ guitars.

 
You seem to be working in overdrive these days.  I read somewhere that you are already working towards your upcoming album 14^th album.  I heard it would be called Dark Thrones and Black Flags.  Is this true and how far along are you with it?  Has having your own studio made it much easier to just keep recording songs as you feel like it?

Oh no, you know the title??  Ah, fuck, ok, it slipped out of me in an interview with Metal Hammer.  Fenriz urged me to keep my mouth shut, but at this point it’s no great idea to take on the strategy from Black Adder “deny everything Baldric”.  Yes, as I said above, we’re just been to record new songs, and we’re deeply into making this album now.  I know Fenriz has even two more songs ready, and I’m on the case as well.  We have now 4 sessions with recordings left for fulfilling this album now.  So late 2008 will probably be a good time for release (Peaceville decide that of course).  Necrohell=freedoom.

 
Some people have stated that you guys have regressed too much with your incorporation of Punk influences.  Do you think this is a little narrow-minded of them?  I mean if they truly paid any attention they would have noticed some punk influences on even A Blaze in the Northern Sky.  And what would Bathory have been without GBH?  What are some of the most important punk bands that “metal” people should know?

 
People should find out by themselves.  And blackmetal has a lot of roots to the punk music, but to goth-blackmetallers this is NEWS I guess.  At what point in time did blackmetal turn goth?  94?

Your role in DarkThrone has certainly changed throughout the years. In the mid 90ies Fenriz was certainly been the "head" of DarkThrone, whereas you have been very silent - aside your vocal contribution on the albums, of course - and then you have taken more or less over the control of handling DarkThrone activities in the late 90ies and especially in the new millenium, for example when it comes to PR matters as well as giving interviews, the work with Tyrant Syndicate as DarkThrone's "own" label (with strong ties to the original label Peaceville Records from the UK) and such.  Is there a certain motive behind this agenda change?  I can remember a Fenriz interview where he simply stated that it now was your turn to "be in charge" of DarkThrone and that this "evolution" kind of happened naturally. How do you yourself see this whole matter?

 

Both Fenriz and me have made riffs for Darkthrone always, and Fenriz was in charge until around 95/96, when I just grabbed the situation by the balls.  Well, when I think of it, I did have computer experience long before he did (that old-school bastard, refuse to following what was HOT).  And e-mails and document exchange was suddenly very easy, and it was just natural for me to keep in touch with our partners.  Also I worked hard for 2-3 years to get all the loose threads we had, in place.  Now, everything runs smooth.  But still, the natural thing is that he comes up with ideas of album titles and the order of the songs on the albums etc.  This is something he really likes, and he’s fucken good at it!!  And in the end, Fenriz was the founder of Darkthrone.  We joined ranks in March 1988, after Darkthrone had run for some months.

 
Earlier you performed Live with Nocturnal Breed.  Can you tell me a little about that experience and why you hooked up with them for that show?  Also you and the guys from Satyricon did join forces in Wacken a few years ago to present some DarkThrone classics live.  Do you feel the urge to perform live sometimes and need an outlet for it? Does it ever bother you that Fenriz doesn’t want to perform live?  Man I know you hate “live” questions but I have noticed a little bit of a trend here.  Heh heh.

 
Hahaha, correct, I don’t like this question.  Well, I don’t know if I should bother, but whatthehell: Wacken had asked Darkthrone for many years to headline the festival, somebody picked up my performance with Satyricon on Moonfog’s 10 year anniversary in Oslo, so I got this phonecall if we could do an extended version at Wacken, and both me and Satyrican agreed to that.  Great experience, great crowd and festival and so on.  But no more Darkthrone stuff live ever, at least not without the chief himself, Fenriz.  It does not bother me at all that Fenriz is not into live playing….common, live SUCKS, heh?  At least for us. Nocturnal Breed is a bunch of diehards, and I was hanging around with them for some days, being present at their rehearsal place to practise a little for this performance.  Great persons they are.

 
And speaking of contributions I noticed that you have lent your vocal skills to several bands lately like Vidsyn, SCUM, and so on.  Why have you been so active with other bands as well as Darkthrone?  Any other musical projects that will get your assistance in the near future?

 
Please, come on.  I just happen to know people you see, and Samoth is an old friend of mine.  We had some rememberal times in the past.

 
DarkThrone has been around for such a long period of time now and I guess it is safe to say that you guys are the last band from the so-called "original second-wave of Scandinavian/Norwegian Black Metal" which is still standing strong after all these years whereas most of your peers have long since abandoned the path of BM, split-up or changed their style.  Where does it end?  When is Nocturno Culto going to tell Fenriz that it's all over, that it's time to end DarkThrone's enigmatic reign as an active, genuine Black Metal outfit?  How many new albums can we expect until then? I simply was wondering because DarkThrone as a band is currently probably in its most productive phase since the beginning with all the tremendous releases in the early years of this millenium, also featuring cover-versions of other bands for the first time in the bands history.  Hopefully we will see another 10 new albums arise before you call it quits, so that DarkThrone would be the "AC/DC or Motörhead" of Black Metal then.  Is that a goal you'd like to reach or is this scenario totally far out?

 

Our key to sticking together for this long, is that we have no major plans or goals to reach.  But Darkthrone have no plans for quitting, and I can assure you that sometime in the future when we do, THERE WILL BE NO REUNION!!!  I’m so inspired still, and so is Fenriz, and when we make a crap album, WE will be the first to know, and stop the release.

I read in your blog that you like the feeling of Isolation.  What sort of things inspire that feeling in you and what about isolation in particular appeals to you?  (Addition: Is the internet a medium of conversation you like to use more these days

I must admit that I don’t like the internet, it’s just a practical tool.  For interviews, I prefer the internet.  Isolation in the winter is great feeling.  People stay indoors, it’s quiet, white and clean, only the sound of your breath and your old skis.  Cold and “hostile”. But then again, there is FISHING in the summer.  Desolate style.  DID YOU HAVE TO SAY BLOG!!!??  It’s NOT a blog, I insist.

 
Artistic expression also seems to become more and more important for you these days. Hereby I’m referring to your “The Misanthrope” DVD which you directed and compiled all by yourself and had it released via Peaceville Records as well - not only to present some DarkThrone-related material, but also to display a more visual approach except “only” creating music for DarkThrone.  How do you see your first attempt as a “director” in retrospect? In know you’ve been planning this for quite a few years, so what was your main motive to have this brought to the public in the end? How have the reactions of the audience been so far?

 
I don’t know of any reactions yet, but the great audience at the premiere in Oslo in April made a great day for me.  I never was so nervous.  I learned a lot from this “creative” process of making this film, and I would not be without this experience.  It triggered some kind of thought to take my experience to another level, a story-based thing almost without dialogue.  But time will tell if I will do it.

 
Future plans of yours regarding any other audio and/or visual releases, not necessarily DarkThrone-related, are…

Caught me there!  Many times I had plans for my own music-project, and AGAIN I’m at the threshold for diving into it.  It MIGHT happen, just might hehe.  I feel the URGE!!

 
Last Words to conquer all Dark Thrones and raise the Black Flags are yours…

 
Dear Fenriz: I really hope you will experience a stronger winter than last year in your southern realm, so your outdoor activities will get a great boost.  

Dear everybody else: fuck off!! No, fooled you.  Hail you all.  Seriously.

 

New Shitfun With Autopsy

Words are limited to describe the influence Autopsy has had on Death Metal musicians and audiences for over 22 years. Preposterous to think that a group of brooding stoners has had such an impact on heavy music Reifert and his ghouls have. Influencing everyone from Nihilist, who quickly became Entombed in a matter of a week, to Napalm Death and half of the blossoming Swedish scene such as Carnage. The stench of the aura Autopsy has been spreading this year is highly infectious. Cover your eyes and open your nose.

What has the band been up to so far this year?

Chris: We've been pretty damn busy really, not that I'm complaining. We played Maryland Death Fest, recorded a new ep, played the Party San and Hole in the Sky festivals, all the while being filmed for our upcoming dvd and now we're working on stuff for the next album. Besides that stuff, we've managed to get some eating, drinking, smoking, sleeping and other assorted ordinary things. Maybe next we'll build a spaceship but we're probably too lazy for that.

Describe the new EP release ‘The Tomb Within” and how the music reflects the present day and recent reunion.

Chris: When you hear it you'll scream, vomit and fart all at the same time. . It's ten gallons of brutal in a five gallon drum. Need I say more? Well, maybe. How about buy lots of copies of it. One for each day of the week. Anyways, it reflects how we feel should sound whether it's 20 years ago or right now. The sound and soul of the band is exactly the same as it always has been. Dark and horrific.

Could you explain how the studio sessions went this time around?

Chris: It was a kick ass time as usual in the studio. There's the pressure to get it right, the endless listening to the same parts over and over again, but I love all that stuff. The whole studio experience is like magic to me and I never get sick of it. I can say we are all quite satisfied with the results and I hope other people dig it as well.

You are hailed as “Gore Legends” and “Godfathers Of Death Metal”, these are your dedicated and true fans opinions. How does that make you feel?

Chris: Like raising a beer in salute! Thanks for all the nice words and get ready for even more sickness and brutality! Cheers.....

Bands such as Cannibal Corpse and Deicide refer to Autopsy as a musical influence, what bands have influenced you the most?

Chris: Well that sure is nice to hear. Fuckin hell yeah! Again thanks. As far as Autopsy's influences, we try not to sound like anything but ourselves but I know when we first started the band we listened to lots of Death, Slayer, Repulsion, Terrorizer, Trouble, Master, Cream, Alice Cooper, Frank Zappa, Candlemass, Pentagram, Robin Trower and other different things. Really, the most important thing has always been to keep it heavy, crushing, dark and brutal.

What is your opinion of the new trends in Metal? What stays and what should go?

Chris: I can only speak for Autopsy so it doesn't matter what other bands do that revolve around trends. We've always stuck to what we do best and are pretty good at ignoring stuff that is irritating. Haha!

In your opinion how do you think Metal has changed in the last 20 years?

Chris: I think the heart and soul of metal are the same. That feeling that you get when you hear a band that just kicks your ass. I still get that great feeling when I hear something heavy and special and I suppose other folks do as well. That's the main factor. Besides that, there are more bands than ever naturally and things can happen really fast with the internet. Metal is alive and screaming.

Name and describe the first band you have seen live..if you can remember

Chris: The first real show I saw was Iron Maiden, Saxon and Fastway in 1983. Hell of a show there! All three bands ruled. Due to my age (heh heh) I've been fortunate to see lots of shows that people would kill for.

lame question but..Name the best / biggest / most brutal Moshpit you have ever been in haha 

One that stands out to this day was Slayer on the Reign in Blood tour. I got in there for a few songs and got pummeled by elbows, knees, fists, feet, etc. along with everyone else of course. It was extremely violent and a killer show altogether. There have been others but that one was really insane.

If you could have been involved in the writing, production or recording of any album, which would it be and why?

Chris: The next Autopsy album. It's what we are living for over here and we can't wait to get that beast recorded and out into the world. It's gonna be a savage, foaming, bloody creature indeed.

Tell us more about future plans, new releases and upcoming tours for the band.

Chris: There's quite a bit going on right now. The new ep is almost out, we've been filmed for an upcoming dvd, we're working on the new album stuff, there's some reissues coming out, a few shows will be set up for 2011 and there will also be a special 20th anniversary edition of Mental Funeral later next year. We've been busy as fuck, you could say!

Thanks for your time. Any last words?

Chris: Thank you for all and cheers to all who are reading this. There's more death metal on the way! Yyyeeaarrgghhhh!!!!

Devourment

Recent Relapse signees and veteran brutal death metallers Devourment are one of the most well-known examples of the style, and have undoubtedly inspired countless others within the ranks of the slam nation. It's not much of a stretch to assume that many of the modern deathcore bands have taken some cues from their trademark ultra brutal approach.

Devourment spew out plenty of slow, grinding breakdowns and bass drops, but throw these Texas gorehounds on a stage and you'll watch 'em blow the heads off any stray Suicide Silence or Job for a Cowboy fans unlucky enough to wander in. Vocalist Mike Majewski weighed in, telling Noisecreep that, "It would be pretty arrogant to assume any band is influenced by us just because it's a similar style. We didn't invent that style, so who knows? I personally don't listen to much deathcore or whatever, but I have no problem with it; each his own. S---, I ripped off a Van Halen song on 'Anal Electrocution' [from 2005's 'Butcher the Weak' LP]."

You've got to wonder, though, what the death metalheads behind such top 40 hits as 'Babykiller,' 'Autoerotic Asphyxiation' and 'Anal Electrocution' make of the deathcore trend and its decidedly non-brutal hallmarks -- fitted hats, neon merch, uber-tight jeans, you know the type. Noisecreep inquired as to whether he sees deathcore/metalcore as gateway drugs to the real underground metal scene, or as something to be ignored/condemned/stamped out.

Majewski doesn't take the bait. "I honestly don't waste my time or energy giving a f--- what other people talk about or care about. I always have my 'Reign in Blood' CD close by. If it skips, that's when I get f---ing pissed."

Devourment are gearing up for an assault upon the European metal festival circuit this August, then they'll be returning to spread the plague across the U.S. with Cattle Decapitation and a host of young deathcore acts on the California Blood Tour. How does Majewski think Devourment's bloodthirsty fans will react to the other bands on the bill?

Diplomatically as always, he muses, "Hard to say really, as this will be our first U.S. tour so everything will be a very new experience for us. We have played in the U.S. before, but very few cities so it will be exciting to see how it goes. I'm sure all of the bands on the tour will do great and have a lot of fun."

Pretty positive fare from a dude that spends most of his time writing lyrics like "she twitches with an ounce of life still /I stomp her skull to further the kill/her brain destroyed spews viscous fluid/I stab her face for my amusement" (from 'Over Her Dead Body,' on 2009's 'Unleash the Carnivore'). You can catch Devourment on tour this summer, and get ready to unleash the gore.

Devourment tour dates
9/29 -- Tempe, AZ -- The Clubhouse
9/30 -- Albuquerque, NM -- Launchpad
10/4 -- Fort Worth, TX -- Ridglea Theatre
10/5 -- Tulsa, OK -- The Marquee
10/6 -- Little Rock, AR -- Downtown Music
10/7 -- San Antonio, TX -- White Rabbit
10/8 -- Metairie, LA -- The High Ground
10/9 -- Tampa, FL -- Brass Mug
10/10 -- Stuart, FL -- Cruisers
10/12 -- Orlando, FL -- Back Booth
10/13 -- Raleigh, NC -- Volume 11
10/14 -- Spartanburg, SC -- Ground Zero
10/15 -- Baltimore, MD -- Sonar
10/16 -- Wilmington, DE -- Mojo 13
10/17 -- Patchogue, NY -- Karma
10/18 -- New York, NY -- Santo's
10/19 -- Poughkeepsie, NY -- The Chance
10/20 -- Buffalo, NY -- Club Paradise
10/21 -- Cleveland, OH -- Peabody's
10/22 -- Detroit, MI -- Harpo's
10/23 -- Chicago, IL -- Reggies Rock Club
10/24 -- Omaha, NE -- Sokol Underground
10/25 -- Denver, CO -- Marquis Theatre
10/26 -- Salt Lake City, UT -- In The Venue
10/27 -- Boise, ID -- The Venue
10/28 -- Seattle, WA -- Studio 7
10/29 -- Portland, OR -- Satyricon
10/30 -- San Francisco, CA -- Thee Parkside
10/31 -- Las Vegas, NV -- The Farm
11/1 -- Hesperia, CA -- The Seen

Maiden Beat Tornado

Steve Harris has played some strange shows over the years, but one of the strangest in recent memory was at the Sonisphere festival in Pori, Finland on Aug. 8. Before the band went on, a mini-tornado touched down in the concert area and destroyed the second stage, damaging some of Iron Maiden's equipment.

"20 minutes before we got there, the wind was on the floor and trees were down, and when we got to the show the second stage was all messed up and all our monitors and lights were messed up," Harris told Noisecreep. "We were lucky, because our gear hadn't been put on yet. It was weird, because the wind veered in and out. Some parts were untouched and other parts of the place were just trashed. We still managed to do the gig, but we went on two hours late."

By the time Iron Maiden played, the storm had passed, but conditions on stage were dangerous. During the show, vocalist Bruce Dickinson fell flat on his back after he lept from the drum riser to the stage. "Fortunately, he didn't hurt himself," Harris said. "It was just very, very humid and the stage was all wet, so it was very slippery. The last half our of the show was completely fogged over, so we could hardly see most of the crowd. Fortunately they could see us because there was lighting, but it was a very weird gig."

Mötley Crüe, who were scheduled to headline the second stage, canceled their show because the stage was damaged beyond repair and posed a safety hazard. Alice Cooper performed a full set on the main stage, but had to borrow Slayer's drums. Iggy Pop also performed an acoustic four-song set on the main stage right after the storm.

Iron Maiden's new album, 'The Final Frontier,' is out now.