Gama Bomb (by Ruth Medjber)

Hi Joe, tell us about ‘Tales From the Grave in Space’. The track titles seem to follow a cult horror sort of vibe; is there any particular concept running through the album?

Yeah, most of the tunes are based on shit-your-pants scary stuff. The idea was to do the album like an E.C. comic – lots of short horror stories and a comic design vibe. Obviously there’s some non-horror stuff in there too. We came up with the title first and figured out our own mythos around it (what the Grave is and where it came from etc). After that we kind of took a step back and started writing songs as we usually do. Cool ideas like ‘Mummy Invasion’ and ‘Escape From Scarecrow Mountain’ came from the central theme of the album being a thrash comic book, but there’s not really a big difference from our usual subject matter overall.

Talk us through the free online album give-away. Philly announced that this was a response to the way music is increasingly downloaded by the masses – is your philosophy that it’s best to reach as many listeners as possible regardless of whether they acquire the CD, or do you still think there’s merit in owning a record in the flesh (hence the album also being released on CD)?

Since we are a new or rising band we thought it could only help to release the album for free online, to bring in lots of new fans and give the more skint amongst us a chance to get the album without feeling like they’re robbing the band’s music. As you know we’re big fans of downloading music as a way of discovering new bands or checking out old or hard to find albums, but we’re also into buying albums from good bands. Having the album up for free download was therefore a no-brainer for us, but the double CD and 12″ was always an essential part of the plan.

I’m a massive collector of 12″s and CDs so I think owning great albums physically is a must, but having the opportunity to check out new albums before buying is a great plus of downloading, like checking out the new Megadeth or whoever before parting with the hard-earned bucks, you know?

Citizen Brain

You’ve opted for another Scott Atkins production job – does this indicate that you’re going for a largely similar musical formula to ‘Citizen Brain’, or have you thrown some extra ingredients into this latest “zombie brew”?

We’re fairly confident that the new LP is gonna blow Citizen Brain away. It’s in the same sort of speedy thrash style we’re known for, but with maybe a bit more of a Judas Priesty, Megadethy vibe about it too. It’s very hard to be objective about the songs – initially we thought they were exactly the same style as Citizen Brain, but as we got on with the recording we kind of realized that the songs really had more of everything. More speed, more firepower, higher insane vocals, you know? Scott has never had any input in the songwriting or arranging so the main reason we went with him again was because he did a good job last time and we knew there was gonna be a quick turnaround between recording and release so we needed a workaholic. Plus he’s a nice guy with a good encyclopaedic knowledge of C and D grade 80s thrash bands like me!

Could you give those of us who have never participated in a major tour a picture of life on the road for Gama Bomb? How do you spend your free time? What’s the typical food and drink intake, and do you try to ration yourselves at all?!

We usually tour in a camper van or a bus (depending on the line up etc.), so a day on tour in Europe would probably go something like this:

Wake up at 12ish driving down the road towards the venue; find out from the driver or Tour Manager how long it is to the venue and either go back to sleep or make a really shit sandwich.

Get to venue and check out the three most important things: is there a shower? Do they have wireless? What’s the deal with the rider? If we’re somewhere nice like Spain or Holland we’ll have a look around town; if not we’ll go on the internet or whatever till sound check (around 5pm).

Eat as much of the rider as possible (as it will be gone in an hour); start drinking booze and smoking weed; talk to fans outside about how “blackened thrash is the best” apparently; watch the support bands; write a set list.

Do gig; drink till the end of the night; find out if it’s a night drive or not and have a joint before bed.

Drive away ‘Into the Night’ as Enforcer say.

A vintage shot of Joe raging in London circa 2006

And how would you say your level of success has affected you personally or as a band? Have you found the amount of travel gets in the way of jobs, friendships or anything else back home, and do you think you have ‘grown up’ at all (haha!) as musicians or people?

I don’t think our moderate success has changed us as people too much – we’re still fairly nice people haha. As we’re only kind of like a semi-pro band we are usually only on the road for 4-5 months a year so we all have real full-time jobs the rest of the time (some of us have long-term girlfriends as well). Travelling and airports can get very annoying at times – e.g. if you have to go to Dublin airport at 4:00 in the morning four times in two weeks – but then you have to remind yourself that this is something that you want to do and lots of people would kill to be in our position. I guess we’ve all grown up a bit, we started the band when we were 18 and I’m 27 now so yeah lots of changes. Sometimes the band has been the only constant in life you know? As musicians too we’ve come a long way, our early stuff was definitely a product of a lack of chops.

Have your rehearsing habits changed much since your early days? How frequently do you practise as a band, and do you still use a trusty local establishment (if you ever had one), or have your rehearsals migrated elsewhere?

Nah man, since Day One we have rehearsed in my garage! It’s actually a wicked set-up on the top floor of a 2-story building. Lots of 1/2 stacks and empty beer cans. We’ve got lots of vintage zombie movie posters up there too, along with all our flyers etc. We’ve also got a cool living room style joint for watching Bruno Mattei films up there. Rehearsals are usually based around what we need to do, as we’ve found out that there’s a big difference between rehearsing and working on new stuff. If there’s a fest or tour coming up we jam out two set-lists of songs so we can change it up. If we’re working on new songs then that’s all we’ll do, no running over old songs at all.

How is the typical Gama Bomb song composed? Does the new album represent ideas that have been on the back-burner for some time, or is it a product of an intensive ‘album writing’ period?

The actual song-writing is usually very democratic in the way everybody brings something to the table. So Domo will have ideas for a key that he’d like to solo over, Philly will have lyrical ideas and Paul arrangement ideas. Luke’s kind of like me in the sense that he’ll bring a whole song to the table or add riffs to someone else’s song. With this album I think we got the best out of everybody, which was a relief for me as I’m a worry-wart about writing and tend to “over write” for an album, so it took some of the pressure off.

Speaking from a musical point of view, I tend to write a lot around the year, whereas the other guys usually start coming up with stuff closer to the album deadline. As for a format for writing an album, I’ll usually write 3-4 songs to get the ball rolling, then Philly will come up with a list of song titles he wants to use, and as we get closer to recording, my stronger material will start coming out and Luke and Domo will start bringing song ideas forward, then in the last month or so 2-4 really great “totally collaborative” songs will come out.

Why don’t we write like this all year round? We just seem to work better under pressure. I can’t really speak for Paul or Philly as I’m sort of a ‘riffs only’ guy these days so we sort of leave arrangements and lyrics to them because they are good at their jobs. Although there are also exceptions to this rule.

Does any particular band member take a lead in the imagery or graphic concepts behind the band? Obviously you have some very talented artists to turn to, but do the initial ideas get brainstormed collectively or is there an ‘arty’ Gama Bomb member with all the crazed ideas?!

We’re very collaborative when it comes to visuals – everybody in the band helps come up with shirt concepts, album covers etc. Philly is usually the guy that produces sketches for that kind of stuff though, so he kind of puts everyone’s ideas down on paper. He actually did the covers for The Survival Option and The Fatal Mission back in the day. Everything from shirt concepts, what song to do as a shirt, artist choice and so on is fiercely ‘debated’ by everyone. Aside from having some great artists available we’re also very lucky to have a great graphic designer for album design and booklet concepts. For us the design of the album is just as important as the cover. It’s so sad when you get something like the new Megadeth album and the booklet looks like crap.

Philly invoking the spirits of old (by Stefaan Temmerman)

Do you get nervous before going on stage? There is some great backstage footage of Gama Bomb taking to the stage at Hellfest ’09, and the scale of the venue and crowd is stunning – that must have felt like living the dream! Are there butterflies before major gigs like that or would you say you’re used to the festival experience now?

It’s always amazing to get to play to really big crowds but I think we’ve done enough now to not get the shits about doing big shows.

Where do you personally prefer playing, in small intimate venues or on huge open air stages? I imagine both have their merits…

Well playing fests and doing supports to big crowds is great but I kind of prefer playing clubs. When you’re doing big gigs you get big crowds, but you tend to get dicked about a lot; no sound check, crappy monitors and what not. If you’re doing small club shows it’s easier to be in control of that kind of thing. Another big difference is that when doing your own small gigs the crowd is there to see you, which isn’t the case when supporting someone like Soulfly.

What are some of the bands/albums you’ve been listening to lately, and do you find thrash/speed metal remains your predominant diet as a listener?

The new Megadeth and the new Evile album are the main culprits, as well as The Best of UFO. I do still listen to an awful amount of thrash but I’m also a big fan of things like Bob Dylan, B.O.C, Tears For Fears and Mansun as well as the usual classic rock suspects. I try to keep up-to-date with all the new thrash releases, be it demos or albums.

And finally, tell us what’s next for Gama Bomb. Can you reveal any new song ideas or lyrical themes that are in the pipeline, or is it too early to say?

Here’s the track-list for the album:

Polterghost
Skeletron
Last Ninjas Unite
New Eliminators of Atlantis B.C
Escape From Scarecrow Mountain
Return To Blood Castle
We Respect You
Slam Anthem
Mummy Invasion
Three Witches
Mussolini Mosh
Apocalypse 1997

We’ve got a week in the UK then 3 weeks in Europe coming up, then another UK/Euro run for the start of next year. Fingers crossed we should have some South American dates lined up by then too.

Thanks for the interview, and keep up the good work!

No problem dude, we’ll see you guys in a few weeks at The Underworld!

GAMA BOMB – Faster Is Gooder
www.myspace.com/gamabomb
www.earache.com/archive/gamabomb

Gama Bomb (by Ruth Medjber)

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Martin Walkyier

Best known for his distinctive vocal work with UK thrash godfathers SABBAT, Martin Walkyier has been something of a workaholic in various other musical projects over the years, and is now adding finishing touches to the hotly anticipated album of NWOBHM ritualists HELL, for whom he is the replacement singer [original frontman Dave Halliday sadly took his own life in 1987].  James Ashbey phoned Martin in May 2009 to discuss exploding Bibles, Fawlty Towers, and thrashing in one’s forties…

Hi Martin, could you start by filling us in on the musical projects you are currently involved with?

A lot of people think I’ve disappeared from the scene, when in fact I’m busier now than I’ve ever been in my life! In SABBAT we’ve been doing quite a few fests and gigs – we don’t plan anything new with that, but we just play the old songs for all the people who want to hear them one last time. Me and Andy Sneap are also currently working on the HELL album; they’re the band that inspired SABBAT back in the old days, and the album is sounding killer as you can imagine with Andy’s production. I’ve also recently got back from Argentina, where I was doing some SKYCLAD songs with a bunch of kilt-wearing Argentineans called SKILTRON!

I also read somewhere that you have started to work on new CLAN DESTINED material…

I’m writing some new lyrics. After practically being beaten into the dust with it all, I thought “bugger this I’ll do some more”, because the response to it has been really good. So I’m getting together with Jay Graham (ex-SKYCLAD) who played drums on the last CLAN DESTINED CD, and a young lady called Jackie Taylor who’s an absolutely brilliant guitarist. I’m basically trying to pull together the best group of fellow musicians I possibly can, to come up with something really quirky, off-the-wall and different.

I’m really looking forward to the release of the long-awaited HELL album ‘Human Remains’. How has the recording process been going, and what can people expect from the finished product?

The album’s nearly done actually, we’ve got about two more days worth of vocals to do, and then it’s down to Andy to mix it all. It’s going to be really epic; it features bagpipes, choirs, violins, some guest vocals from Dani Filth, and God knows what else. The songs were literally three decades ahead of their time, and some are up to 8 or 10 minutes long. The best way I can describe the sound is VENOM meets RUSH; progressive in places, and yet at the same time the lyrics are Satanic, dark, very gothic. Heavy stuff!

We’ve had no record company pressure either, so there’s no deadline and it’s a labour of love. We’re all doing it for the right reasons; we probably won’t sell many copies, but it’s going to be bloody brilliant.

The late Dave Halliday of NWOBHM coven HELL

So how have you approached the task of recording the vocals in the place of Dave Halliday?

Andy’s actually managed to lift some of Dave’s vocals off the original HELL recordings and filter out the background music, so there are places where I’m singing a duet with my hero who’s been dead for 20 years – that’s a really weird feeling! Dave was my main inspiration, and I’ve kind of copied his vocal style, his beard and his eyeliner! It’s strange trying to fill his boots.

I get the impression that HELL were a real spectacle live, and had a darker more theatrical edge than many UK bands of the time. What do you remember about HELL on stage?

They were brilliant! They were the first band I ever saw live, and I’ve got the ticket framed on my wall [goes to look]… In Nottingham: MOMMA’S BOYS headlining, with WITCHFYNDE, HELL and SHYWOLF. The moment I saw HELL and Dave Halliday on stage I thought “that’s what I want to do with my life”, and it had a profound influence. They did one song called ‘Macbeth’, and the band had a cauldron on stage which they ‘stirred’ with their guitars while playing them upside down! Imagine if KISS were crossed with VENOM and MERCYFUL FATE…

Haha, I’ve also heard stories about an exploding Bible during the song ‘On Earth as it is in Hell’!  It seems that pyrotechnic stunts like that belong to a bygone age now though, which is a sad loss in my view.

Well you can’t do any of that any more, you have to get Health & Safety permits just to light a match on stage! In a way it does take some of the danger out of rock ‘n’ roll, but I understand the reason for it. Back in the old days SABBAT had a load of chipboard boxes nailed together and a home-made pyro detonation unit, which these days wouldn’t be let through the door of any pub or club in the UK! And quite rightly so, I wouldn’t even let it in my house, it was a death-trap waiting to happen! But hopefully if the HELL project gets to play some shows we’ll find a way to resurrect the pyro.

Let’s turn to the recent activities of your original band SABBAT. The reunion has been in full swing since 2006; was there any timescale in mind at the time, or do things look set to carry on indefinitely?

We’ll carry on doing it indefinitely, as long as the show offers come in. The whole reformation is Dani Filth’s fault; Andy had CRADLE OF FILTH in the studio, and invited everyone over for a birthday barbeque. We ended up completely trashed, and Dani was on to us all night about getting SABBAT back together. We agreed to do it, and the next morning he’d been on to his manager and booked us on the tour dates before we had a chance to say no!

We’re not planning any new songwriting; we were so young when we wrote that material that we were completely different people – 18 years old, full-on thrashers – trying to recreate those days would sound like a completely different band, so if we brought a new album out people would think it was a world apart. I don’t really see the point in doing that and neither does Andy.

Martin at the time of 'Dreamweaver'

Perhaps that’s why new albums from resurrected ‘80s bands don’t often go down very well!

It’s like Fawlty Towers – they did 12 episodes, and they’ll never do any more because they can’t actually recreate that vibe. I’m sure John Cleese and Andrew Sachs are more than capable of being Basil Fawlty and Manuel again, but it wouldn’t be Fawlty Towers would it?! We’re not out to prove a point, we’re not out to do a new album or change the world, but if somebody offers us a gig and we think it sounds like a laugh, or if someone wants to offer us a couple of grand for playing somewhere… yeah go on then!

I first witnessed the SABBAT reunion when you supported CRADLE OF FILTH at the London Astoria in 2006, and the magic(k) was definitely still there…

Oh that was horrible! My dad had just been taken into hospital for the last time before he died, so I wasn’t well prepared. It was grim, I’d been looking forward to it for so long, and then to be going out with a completely screwed throat was a bit of an embarrassment, so I’ve tried my best to make up for it.

I doubt anyone left disappointed! You’ve played in many countries with the reunion so far; do any shows stand out in terms of the crowd response?

The last show we played was in Athens with EXODUS and ENTOMBED, and it was absolutely wicked, back to the old school days, stage-diving everywhere. It’s great to see such a massive mix of ages in the audience, from 16 to 60. We like to play places we’ve never been to before, like going to North America in 2008.

At the end of the day thrash is heads down ‘going for it’ music, but at the same time it’s very technical and not easy to play. Calling something “thrash” makes outsiders think it’s a pile of noise, but if you lose concentration for half a second in a SABBAT song, that’s it – you’re lost. It’s a challenge to get out there and play it, especially when you’re 41 like me!

There has been quite a spate of young thrash bands emerging in recent years, and you’ve shared the stage with some of them (e.g. GAMA BOMB at the Scala in London). Do you have any advice for this younger generation of musicians, based on your experience with SABBAT?

Always try and do something that’s different. Follow your own heart. Don’t try and sound exactly like your favourite band; a lot of bands do that, and end up like a carbon copy of their heroes. You also have to be clever about the business side of music; keep your eyes and ears open, because there are plenty of managers and labels out to rip young bands off. You wouldn’t rush into a marriage, but in many ways it’s easier to get out of one of those than to get out of a record deal!

The real lesson I’ve learnt over the years is in merchandising. Even if you release a brilliant album, all it takes is for one person to put it on a fileshare website, and 9 out of 10 people will download it. You can’t download a t-shirt though! I’m a big fan of the internet and I run two internet businesses, but at the same time it can be destructive – a double-edged sword.

Do you have any final thoughts about the future of metal?

Heavy metal will always find a way, it always has. It’s here to stay, because it’s such an honest type of music. I got into metal because no other genre has so many enthusiastic people behind it. It’s all down to performance, attitude, dedication, and that’s why I’m proud to be a heavy metal musician, being part of such a great heritage.

That seems like a great note to end on. Thanks for the interview!

www.sabbat-uk.com

www.theclandestined.com

www.myspace.com/martinwalkyier

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(l-r) Paul Thompson (bass) - Jim Lees (guitars) - Will Lowry-Scott (vocals) - Christian Horton (guitars) - Adam Sidaway (drums)

Whilst not strictly qualifying as a UK thrash band, Birmingham’s DARK FOREST have won the allegiance of many traditional metal lovers with their fist-banging anthems and retro live assaults. Now with label backing and a new vocalist on-board, the band are going from strength to strength. James Ashbey talked to guitarist/arch-mage Christian Horton in early 2009 (the exact date has faded into the mists of Avalon)…

2008 was a big year for DARK FOREST as it brought the release of the self-titled debut album on Eyes Like Snow Records. How did this signing occur, and what demos had you released before the album?

Well we released our first demo ‘Succubus’ in 2004 after a year of playing local pubs and jam nights. A couple of years later we decided to try and record ourselves (all being completely broke) and we did two EPs called ‘Fear Dearg’ and ‘Phantoms of the Sea’ which we sold via Myspace. We basically went and made a small batch of them each time we had someone asking about buying them. This was how Eyes Like Snow heard us, they saw potential and got in contact shortly afterwards. We decided to sign with them in 2007 and the album was finally released January 2009.

The band has had a couple of line-up changes since the album release – what’s your current battle formation, and what prompted the reshuffle?

Yeah, shortly after recording our bassist Bill left basically due to different ideas musically. The current line up is: Will Lowry-Scott (Vocals), Christian Horton (Guitars), Jim Lees (Guitars), Paul Thompson (Bass) and Adam Sidaway (Drums). We have only recently recruited Will but we’ve been looking for a frontman since the band started. I had filled in on vocals up until now, but especially since the album release, we really tried hard to find a proper singer to do our songs justice and also to give us more freedom when writing. We’ve been very lucky finding Will, it’s the first time we’ve been a five piece band and now it finally feels like the right line up.

Your lyrical themes delve deep into British history and folklore. Tracks like ‘Excalibur’ and ‘Fight For Metal’ need little explanation, and ‘The Wizard of Alderley Edge’ will be a familiar character to any who have read ‘The Weirdstone of Brisingamen’ by Alan Garner, but many of your topics have faded from general knowledge. Could you briefly explain the subject matter of the following songs:

Dyed In Crimson

This is about a legend usually connected with the northern boarders of England and tells of a spirit that is created by acts of evil that were once committed at the place they now haunt, making sure the horrid energies never leave by murdering people and then dying their hats in the blood of their victims.

Fear Dearg

This is a spirit from Irish folklore and means ‘Red Man’, as he is only ever seen wearing a red coat and cap. He does nothing else but indulge in gruesome practical jokes.

The Wrekin Giant

This is a story about the creation, according to local legend, of the hill called ‘The Wrekin’, which stands in nearby Shropshire. It tells of a Welsh giant who came to flood Shrewsbury by placing a huge mound of soil in the river Severn but gave up half way through, leaving behind the soil which became the hill.

Dark Forest's self-titled debut album

You did the cover artwork yourself, and I think it really captures the rustic mysteries behind your songs; is this art associated with a particular set of DARK FOREST lyrics, or is it a general portrayal of the band’s atmosphere?

It’s more of a general portrayal of the atmosphere yeah. It’s actually my depiction of some scenery that’s close to where we live. There’s a wood which we love to visit at night, get a fire going and drink some beers. I thought it was a nice idea to include it as part of the album cover instead of some cliché heavy metal image. This way it’s more personal to us.

What DARK FOREST gigs have been your favourites so far? Are you currently looking overseas for gig opportunities, and has there been any interest from metal festivals?

There have been a couple of ace gigs at Re-animator Metal Night in Birmingham, and also a really good one up in Lancaster where we were surprised at the crowd’s reaction as we didn’t think anyone had heard of us up there! Yeah we’ve always been keen to get over to play in Europe; I’m sure we’d go down well and we’ve actually got a couple of things lined up this year over there. We’ve been asked to play Hammer of Doom festival in Germany in October and there may be something happening festival-wise in Sweden this Summer, as well as England early next year I believe.

The DARK FOREST gigs I have seen have been increasingly visual spectacles, with more and more leather, studs and spandex each time it seems! What tips would you give aspiring heavy metallers for accessorising on the cheap? Is it a case of scouring charity/biker shops, or are there secret outlets you’d rather not divulge?!

Haha, well we’ve always believed that a gig should be just as entertaining visually as it is musically because it’s a show after all. Who wants to see five guys that look like roadies standing still on stage? You may as well stay at home and listen to the album. We think the band should be on a different level to the crowd visually, but also it’s all part of the fun of playing live, it’s just another aspect of it. As for accessorising on the cheap, the best is to make it yourself!

What’s your verdict on the health of traditional heavy metal in the UK? For me there isn’t much of excitement happening within the younger generation, even though some great old-timer bands are still going. Also, do you feel any sense of ‘duty’ to fly the flag on behalf of earlier British bands, or do you think classifying metal by country of origin is a meaningless exercise?

No, we think it’s totally important to fly the flag for British Heavy Metal! We’re also flying the flag for our country not just the music. I agree that Heavy Metal in the UK is in a pretty sorry state and has been for some time. Some good UK bands have been produced from the recent Thrash revival but unfortunately there’s also been a lot of bands who sprung up just to ride the latest trend. I guess the same will happen as Heavy Metal makes a comeback here as it is doing over in Europe; the young generations just don’t seem to have any integrity or genuine love of the music, they just jump on to whatever’s cool at the moment. So with such low hopes for any decent upcoming UK bands, it’s our duty to fly the flag, not only for this reason but also to show our pride and love for the great British bands of the past.

Christian on stage with Cloven Hoof

Speaking of old-timer bands, you’ve been handling secondary axe duties in CLOVEN HOOF for around a year now. This must have been a really exciting job offer! How did it come about, and what have been the highlights so far?

Yes it was an amazing opportunity! We supported Cloven Hoof a couple of times, the last time being at Metalbrew festival in London. A few months later I got a message from Lee Payne asking me to phone him and it turned out that they had their eye on me at those gigs and wanted to recruit me as Rhythm Guitarist. My first gig with them was headlining a festival in Holland; first time I’d ever played abroad! So they dropped me in at the deep end there, but it was brilliant experience. The biggest highlight so far has to have been playing the Keep It True festival in Germany this year. It was great playing to a crowd that size and also great meeting fans of Dark Forest over there!

Now for some quick trivia questions. What 5 albums would you say have most shaped DARK FOREST’s sound?

In no particular order:

1. Deep Purple – In Rock
2. Iron Maiden – The Number of the Beast
3. Iron Maiden – Brave New World
4. Isen Torr – Mighty & Superior (not an album but still a big influence)
5. Angel Witch – Angel Witch

What 5 real ales have most shaped DARK FOREST’s sound?!

1. Batham’s Bitter
2. Enville Ale
3. Hobgoblin Dark Ale
4. Dragon Heart Ale
5. Samuel Smiths Stout

Have any historical/atmospheric/cider-drinking locations in your corner of England particularly inspired you?

Yeah that’s where a lot of inspiration comes from. I’ve mentioned local woods and countryside, there are some places here with great atmosphere: Kinver Edge, Wychbury Hill, Ridge Wood, Enville (Witchfinder General’s album cover ‘Friends of Hell’ was taken at the Church in Enville), as well as haunted places like White Ladies Priory and Gibbet Lane. When you go walking around places like that there is a real atmosphere about and you just want to get back home and write music that captures it. Then there’s the many pubs that are always a great influence!

And finally, will 2009 see a follow-up DARK FOREST release, or is your current priority more live performances with the new line-up?

It’s both, we’ll be recording some new songs in a few weeks showcasing our new line up with Will on vocals and we’re hoping to be releasing them shortly afterwards. We’ll also be getting some merchandise done soon, and in the near future a second album! In the mean time we’ll be playing as many gigs as possible; there are already a fair few in the pipeline!

Thanks for the interview, do you have anything else to add?

Thanks a lot for helping spread our name, just keep a look out for our gigs and come and see us live!

www.myspace.com/darkforestrealm

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Amok

With a full-length album under their belts courtesy of Witches Brew Records (Germany), Scotland’s premier mosh-merchants Amok are hungry to spread their sound throughout the UK and beyond. James Ashbey caught up with them in February 2009…

Hi lads! Let’s start off with a run down of Amok’s current situation: who’s in the band, how long have you been going, and where do you call home?

Keith – We formed around 2004 roughly through a mutual love of beer, guitars and AC/DC and started writing thrash because we were sick of the shit generic garbage that was getting played back then. Home for us is definitely Glasgow and we are all proud of our roots. We are: Calum Henderson (Guitars),  Greg Corlett (Guitars),  Keith Henderson (Bass), Jamie Bremaneson (Drums) and Steven Matulewicz (Vocals).

Amok recently announced a record deal with the German label Witches Brew; this is obviously great news for the band, and will hopefully result in big things for the ‘Downhill Without Brakes’ album. How did this offer come about? Had you sent material to Witches Brew beforehand, or did they approach you?

Calum – It happened really fast. A couple of the guys from Gama Bomb told us that Cheryl (Witches Brew) wanted copies of the album. We sent one over, I guess she liked it and an offer was made. It’s really good news for us and I’m happy that the work we put in paid off.

Greg – We had other offers for the album but we know Witches Brew and their good work with other bands so we were happy to sign with them.

Keith - Yeah it is fantastic that the album is going to be pressed and produced properly! We definitely made the right choice.

Stephen – Aye The Witches Brew deal was definitely the best for us from the ones we got approached about. It offered us excellent promotion and support from a committed label with a proven track record (Look at Gama Bomb for example) as well as allowing us to release the album ‘properly’ and reach as many people as possible, without any major obligation. Too many labels rip the arse out of bands for all their worth then dump them, with this we don’t have that!

Downhill Without Brakes

Your album features great hand-drawn cover art which exhibits the ‘devolution’ of humanity into alcoholic squalor! What is your take on the beer-bong infested world of ‘Party Thrash’? Do you feel you share the mission of fun-loving bands like Municipal Waste, or is the artwork more of a commentary on Glaswegian society or the band’s own habits?

Greg – The artwork is generally representative of the cycle a number of alcoholics or addicts find themselves in, impossible to stop their habits yet this just accelerates their downward spiral and leads to complete dehumanization or ‘devolution’ as you put it. And whilst this definitely fits in with Glasgow the same can be said for anywhere.

Calum – The artwork just shows how pointless going down that route is. It’s taken you millions of years of evolution to get you there, and you ruin it all by sticking a needle in the main vein. ‘Downhill Without Brakes’ is loosely based on our own habits.

Greg – In terms of how we can be defined, we do have a serious side, but we just can’t help but indulge in some pure party thrash!

Calum – Aye, I’m not sure if we are part of that movement, but if that’s what you want to call us it’s fine by me. We share the mission in that we believe metal doesn’t have to be grim!!

Keith – Aye, we do like to party and play non grim catchy as fuck thrash but we are serious about what we do and put a lot of effort into writing to the best of our ability.  I think songs like “Global Hangover” definitely show our more serious side.  However if the album makes you want to party and drink like a champion then I will be happy!

Stephen – We’ve never really pigeon-holed ourselves into that ‘Party Thrash’ approach. Fair enough, we are a right good laugh and arse about a lot but we don’t use it as a gimmick like many up and comers do. We’re serious as fuck when it comes to Amok, but our easygoing personalities don’t allow us to be all boring and stern faced about it. We like fun too much and hate grim.

Can you say some words about the Scottish thrash scene, or lack thereof? A few other band names come to mind, but do you feel part of a thrash ‘movement’, or more like lone warriors doing what you like amidst a sea of indifference?

Keith – I do feel that with the release of the album we are now starting to become more recognised and feel more of a part of the UK scene.  However at first I felt we were a bit isolated from the UK Thrash revival being stuck up in Scotland.  This was quite frustrating but gigs such as Apocalyptic Rage in London have hopefully exposed more people to our music.  When we do play in England we definitely do feel that we are flying the flag for Scottish thrash though which does spur us on to play well and put on a solid show!

Stephen – Yeah I definitely agree with Keith there. At first it was like we didn’t get any attention because we’re from Scotland and not in the main ‘hub’ of the scene down south. It pissed us off because we knew we’re bloody good and had so much to offer the scene. I think it was a bit of a challenge for us to try and break down the barriers of the North/South divide and get people to notice us. We definitely feel more at home now and the gigs in England have helped big time. As for the Scottish thrash ‘scene’, well there isn’t one. Sure, there are a few bands but no scene as it where, it’s funny, we’re young but are like the granddaddys of the Scottish thrash, hahaha!

According to your bio you were formed in early 2004, and so arguably pre-date the ‘revival’ hysteria thrash is currently enjoying. The album deal aside, do you detect greater attention to the band as a result of this ‘thrash is back’ climate, in terms of venue and crowd interest?

Greg - Generally our gigs in Glasgow have always been fairly consistent but again recently there has been a slight change. While some of the old dogs have been there since the start, there has been a younger crowd growing in size who seem to belong to the thrash revival. That can only be good though and the more thrash attracts a younger audience then the longer thrash will reign.

Browsers of UKThrash.co.uk may have heard some anecdotes of Amok antics involving US thrash gods HEATHEN; can you briefly explain how your paths crossed, and what you remember of the encounter?

Keith – Ah, my moment of glory or shame. When Heathen came to town they needed a place to crash so my friend let them crash at his flat. I think the plan was after the gig we would go back and have a few tins with them, which was fucking cool as Heathen are one of our favourite bands! I remember vaguely drinking with some of the band after the gig.  It then goes blurry for a couple of hours haha. The next thing I remember I’m walking around Anniesland with no shoes, trousers, socks, phone or wallet. Being stranded and pished I had to walk home.

I finally got to the flat just as Heathen were arriving. I was well excited to see them but then I realised they were all pissing themselves at seeing this drunken semi-naked Heathen fan wearing dodgy y-fronts staggering in the middle of the road! The obvious thing to do was to have another beer so we went in and drank some more tins all night listening to Bonded By Blood which was fucking cool! I still have no idea what happened but it was a good laugh.  Actually, I think part of the song ‘Downhill Without Brakes’ was based on this haha!

There’s also a story of Metal Iain fouling himself in our bathroom, but maybe that’s for another day…

To wrap things up, what can we expect next from Amok? I was impressed with your performance in London in late 2008; do you plan to return to some English venues? Has the Witches Brew signing cast your touring sights more widely?

Greg - Hopefully we will be touring soon enough around the UK and some European dates too. The release of ‘Downhill Without Brakes’ has been a great success and at the moment we are writing and arranging material for a new album, hopefully we can record sometime in the Summer.

Calum – Yeah, we are working hard to raise the bar for the next release. I think we understand where our strengths lie and it’s becoming clearer what we are all about. We have about 5 song ideas already and we can’t wait to get working on them!!

Stephen – It’s going to be more of the same, ‘Premium Brand’ thrash! We’re pushing for a lot more gigs, exposure in press and working on a new demo so keep your eyes and ears firmly open!

Greg- But as of what to expect, expect more thrash with too much girth for your maw to handle!

Thanks for the interview, and good luck for 2009!

www.myspace.com/amokscotland

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