Jon Kristiansen, backed up by trusted metal warriors Nifelheim

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• A sidebar rant called “Why Symphony X isn’t progressive,” but that didn’t quite happen the way I originally envisioned (well, it kinda sorta did—it evolved into Chapter 13. Deviation or Derivation?).

• A page of ‘70s-era prog rock album cover art images that could easily have graced later metal albums, drawing yet another parallel between early prog and modern metal. Covers from Omega (The Hall of Floaters in the Sky), Gnidrolog (Lady Lake), Neuschwanstein (Battlement), and others were to be featured, but it didn’t happen. Maybe a future blog?

Doomsword or Primordial would have killed for this album cover, no?

• Features on metal artists and fans who were steadfastly “anti-progressive,” giving voice to those averse to mixing prog rock’s peanut butter with metal’s chocolate. I wanted to talk to the most militant metal purists. I thought of Tom Angelripper from Sodom, and of Don of the Dead from the long-running NunSlaughter. I did talk to Don for the book, but the whole idea just didn’t fit in the book after all. Our interview begins after the jump…

Don of the Dead is a strict son of a bitch. Or so I once thought. I’d read a couple interviews with the guy and thought he sounded like a complete and total metal tyrant. A purist of the purest order. A guy who thinks Death’s Leprosy and Morbid Angel’s Altars of Madness were sellouts. Serious mania like that. I got in touch with Don in April of 2009, in the thick of the writing of Mean Deviation, and he agreed to answer some questions. He proved to be a fascinating ball of contradictions. He likes Voivod’s Nothingface, and listens to Stevie Wonder, but for him Altars of Madness was a totally disappointing follow-up to Abominations of Desolation. Wow.

Morbid Angel's Wuss-Metal Sellout Album?

Yet not a word of this interview made it to Mean Deviation. It wasn’t that I found his responses too radical (I welcomed that, actually, and found myself agreeing with him on many points). It was just that, as the writing evolved and the book started shaping up, I didn’t think any of Don’s quotes would have been relevant to the direction the book was taking. Which is too bad, because his ideas on the worth, or worthlessness, of progressive metal are intriguing, to say the least. Here is that interview in its uncut entirety.

[note: I usually don’t play the “name game,” you know, some band insisting they print their name in all lower caps or similar nonsense, but I kept NunSlaughter as Don writes it below. That way it doesn’t get read as “Nuns Laughter” right?]

Interview with Don of the Dead of NunSlaughter, 4/21/09
Jeff Wagner: Are “metal” and “progressive” incompatible terms? And, if metal draws from outside influences (ie. prog rock, jazz, electronic, etc.), can it still be METAL?

Don of the Dead: I would not say they are incompatible, just more of an oxymoron. It can exist and some bands have done it very well, but most bands stumble because of its complex structure and their own inabilities. Prog metal is a difficult field to master and those who venture should tread cautiously. A bunch of noodling and wanking on a guitar does not make your band progressive metal. Bringing non-traditional metal instruments into a band is also the kiss of death if the individual does not know how to write or compose for that instrument. Just because you have an oboe and a mandolin following a screeching guitar does not make it good. In fact, more often than not, it makes the music shit.

Wagner: In Mean Deviation I give some focus to Voivod, Celtic Frost and Mayhem. Specifically albums like Dimension Hatröss, Nothingface and Angel Rat (Voivod), Into the Pandemonium (Celtic Frost) and Grand Declaration of War (Mayhem). These bands all started out as cruder, rawer versions of what they became. What are your thoughts on these bands, and specifically the albums/eras above?

Of the Dead: All of these bands changed and progressed, but I would not have saddled them with the “progressive metal” term. These bands betrayed their fan base by switching gears mid race. I was, at one point in time, a fan of each of the above bands but I was confused by what they were trying to do. To draw a simple analogy:  if you open a can of Coca-Cola you expect a certain taste. If you get lemonade, although tasty, it was not the flavor you wanted. Referencing the albums/bands above–I was a fan of Voivod up until Angel Rat. I thought [Angel Rat] was pale, and instead of being unique in metal they were now a generic band drawing too much from other bands’ music rather than on their own creativity. I was not a big fan of Celtic Frost but I did like some of the music until Into the Pandemonium came out. This album was comical and lacked focus. Covering “Mexican Radio” made it pop, but it also had dark, even goth elements thrown in, as well as some new wave. Sometimes one extra ingredient spoils the whole soup. For the other band, they should not even be mentioned with legendary bands like Voivod and Celtic Frost.

Don of the Dead: probably not singing a Dream Theater cover right here...

Wagner: What were some of the biggest album disappointments for you, as a fan (which may include some of the above-named albums)? Also, which do you feel is worse — Cold Lake or Into the Pandemonium?

Of the Dead: Angel Rat was a disappointment. I remember buying it and throwing it under my refrigerator.* Other major disappointments were Diabolus in Musica [Slayer], Somewhere in Time [Iron Maiden], Turbo [Judas Priest], And Justice for All [Metallica], Necroticism: Descanting the Insalubrious [Carcass], Rotting [Sarcofago], Forward to Termination [Sacrifice], Calm Before the Storm [Venom], Bark at the Moon [Ozzy Osbourne], Theatre of Pain [Mötley Crüe], Darker Days Ahead [Terrorizer], Altars of Madness [Morbid Angel], Leprosy [Death] and the list goes on. I would say that Cold Lake is a better album than Into the Pandemonium. I am not a fan of either but Cold Lake has some focus and it is what it is–a glam metal record.

[*In an appliance-related coincidence, I had a friend who bought Nocturnus’s Thresholds and hated it so much that he put it into the freezer. Even when he moved from place to place, it would takes its spot in the freezer.--JW]

Wagner: Can metal remain vital if it does not change? Will there even be a need for vicious, primitive black/thrash/death metal bands 10 or 20 years from now? Won’t it all have been done 100 times over by then?

Of the Dead: Ah, and within this question you have brought to light the challenge of writing. Metal can remain vital–all that is needed are talented bands to create solid music. Bands like AC/DC, Misfits and Motörhead are proof that it can be done. Change is inevitable but much like evolution it does not and can not happen overnight. It takes time. The great thing about creativity is that it can come from anywhere.

Wagner: Have you ever written anything for NunSlaughter that you scrapped because you felt it was too “progressive”? How strict are you in regards to your writing and what you will or won’t allow in the music? Do you listen to anything other than black/death/thrash metal? If so, what artists?

Of the Dead: We have scrapped more music than what we have actually recorded for NunSlaughter. I decided what the scope of the band was going to be early on and I did not want to widen it to accommodate other influences. This may not work for other bands but it works for NunSlaughter. At times it is suffocating but in the long haul it has been the rock that has held NunSlaughter to our roots. There is so much music out there that can grab me. Other music I dig is Frank Zappa, Captain Beefheart, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, David Allen Coe, Blue Öyster Cult, The Who, Johnny Cash, Jethro Tull, Nazareth, Elvis Presley, Stevie Wonder, Uriah Heep, Coven, the Beatles, Bob Marley, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Bloodrock, many more.

Wagner: There has been some kind of evolution in NunSlaughter over time, although nothing drastic — I’m wondering how much you feel NunSlaughter has changed, and how much it will change in the future?

Of the Dead: A major change occurred when I stepped back and let our drummer write more of the music. This was because I wanted to focus on other aspects of the band. This was first noticeable on our split 7” with Dekapitator and has been ongoing since then. [Drummer] Jim [Sadist] has more of a thrash background with a grand appreciation of the German and Swedish metal movements. My plan for NunSlaughter is for us to begin to regress back into the sewers.

Next time: If only Mike Portnoy could have waited one more little week to announce his departure from Dream Theater. I really wish he would have consulted me first… I’ll tell you why in #3 of my 2,112 part blog series.

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“Alright, this is another fast one… but aren’t they all?”

Bazillion Points just received some advance copies of Murder in the Front Row: Shots From the Bay Area Thrash Metal Epicenter, by Harald Oimoen and Brian Lew, and it’s a shiny black time machine from the birth of thrash metal. Underage drinking and dynamite energy levels are everywhere. The Exodus/Metallica dustjacketed versions are available only through Bazillion Points, the book itself will soon be available worldwide wherever books are sold.

Keep in mind that in this case, the book is definitely better than the movie!

http://www.murderinthefrontrow.com

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1. MURDER IN THE FRONT ROW: Gary Holt on How Metal Learned to Stage Dive
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The printer proofs of the limited Murder in the Front Row dustjackets arrived today. These measure x 27.5″ wide x 11.5″ high, and will be wrapped around copies of the book shipped directly from Bazillion Points. Each side features a photo by one of the book’s authors, Harald Oimoen and Brian Lew, with Harald’s classic Metallica yard FxUx pic facing outward (he had just told them he needed to split to go see Megadeth, true!). Brian Lew’s side offers some Exodus blood-upon-the-stage action, starring one murderous fan lower left with the infamous call to arms written in gaffer tape on the back of his denim: KILL!

This book is amazing collection of inspired moments from probably the most energized local scene heavy metal has ever known. More to come!

Click the photo above to enlarge. And join the Facebook page for regular commentary by Misters Oimoen and Lew…

Main site:

MURDER IN THE FRONT ROW

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Here’s a plumb pulled from the written portion of Murder in the Front Row:

In upcoming SF thrash metal photo book MURDER IN THE FRONT ROW: Shots From the Bay Area Thrash Metal Epicenter, by Harald Oimoen and Brian Lew, guitarist Gary Holt of Exodus (and currently Slayer) claims that the bruising scenes seen nightly at metal shows everywhere first came to thrash metal from punk at Ruthie’s Inn in Berkeley, CA.

“From our first show together with Slayer,” Holt writes, “to all the shows with everyone from Death Angel, Possessed, Violence, Legacy, and many others, Ruthie’s Inn lives in infamy because it’s the one and only birthplace of violence becoming part and parcel to an Exodus show. I had never seen a stage dive, a pit, or anything coming close to resembling that before Ruthie’s. It was born there, with the help of Wes Robinson and the Exodus Slay Team, and anyone who says different doesn’t know what they’re talking about or they’re lying to you. While the rest of the metal world would later come around and learn the joys of a little good friendly violent fun, it all started there at Ruthie’s, end of story.”

Holt’s full essay joins over 400 color and black and white live, candid, and studio photos in the large-format hardcover MURDER IN THE FRONT ROW book, an untouchable eyewitness viewpoint into the sometimes violent mid-1980s San Francisco metal scene that launched Metallica, Exodus, Testament, Death Angel, and Possessed, and first supported Megadeth and Slayer. The book will be available December 2011 wherever books are sold, including directly from Bazillion Points with a limited two-sided exclusive poster-size dustjacket.

See this location for page samples and preorder info: http://www.murderinthefrontrow.com

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Our charged-up friends at ACDCcollector.com have uploaded a brief preview of Bazillion Points’ forthcoming DIRTY DEEDS: My Life Inside/Outside of AC/DC, by former AC/DC bass player Mark Evans. The short PDF includes a scene which is set in the lovely city of Paris, costarring Bon Scott, and it can be downloaded here [click the teeny "AC/DC News" link on the left].

DIRTY DEEDS is the first insider account of the classic Bon Scott years of AC/DC, a gripping, laugh-out-loud tale of a band that lived fast and played harder than anyone else. For more info about the book and to pre-order (with bonus metal badge), visit the main Bazillion Points page.

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Daniel Ekeroth’s beloved Swedish Death Metal book has had some rabid supporters over the years, but voracious reader Alex Sooz from Spain is walking the extra mile with Nicke Andersson’s iconic cover illustration tattooed into her flesh. Needles over several sessions by Jaime Bosch at Inkfierno in Mallorca, Spain.

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Bazillion Points Books, the Swedish Film Institute, and author Daniel Ekeroth (Swedish Death Metal, Swedish Sensationsfilms) got the ball rolling for the first-ever uncut screening in Stockholm of director Boarne Vibenius’ 1973 touchstone exploitation classic Thriller: A Cruel Picture. The uncut film print hasn’t been seen elsewhere since the Cannes Film Festival in 1973.

The film’s star Christina Lindberg (Exposed, Maid in Sweden) participated in a Q&A afterwards, and then she gamely stood between Daniel Ekeroth (left) and the book’s translator, Magnus Henriksson (right).

As outlined in Ekeroth’s book Swedish Sensationsfilms, Thriller was a groundbreaking European grindhouse film in the early 1970s which rose to notoriety in the 2000s as the primary inspiration for American director Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill series. “I love Christina Lindberg,” Tarantino said in 2003. “And that’s definitely who Daryl Hannah’s character is based on. In the next movie, she’s wearing mostly black. Just like Thriller…  And that is, of all the revenge movies I’ve ever seen, that is definitely the roughest. The roughest revenge movie ever made! There’s never been anything as tough as that movie.”

Daniel Ekeroth will present three other sensationsfilms at the Swedish Film Institute this fall, including Around the World With Fanny Hill and The Language of Love—the infamous Swedish film Robert DeNiro takes Cybill Shepherd to see on their ill-fated date in Taxi Driver.

UPDATE: In the life imitates art department, one elderly couple on a date was spotted at the subsequent Language of Love screening. Bickle lives!

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TOUCH AND GO: The Complete Hardcore Punk Zine ’79-’83 co-author Tesco Vee returns to the Motor City August 27:th and along comes this absolutely stellar poster. The incomparable Vee will once again take the stage on St Andrews Hall with his The Meatmen and treat the audience to a potent witches’ brew of punk, metal, flamenco, wardrobe changes and a 130-pound air compressor gun. Great fun for anyone lucky enough to live in Michigan.

Meanwhile, TOUCH AND GO: The Complete Hardcore Punk Zine ’79-’83, by Vee and Dave Stimson, is available from Bazillion Points Books, and ships today w/ bonus badge and more!

http://www.touchandgobook.com

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Christina Lindberg, the cover girl and foreword writer of Bazillion Point’s Swedish Sensationsfilms, will be one of the celebrity guests at Flashback Weekend in Chicago, August 12-14. The cult actress, Quentin Tarantino favorite and all-around great gal will do the usual signing and chatting, and Synapse Films—who have released a number of her movies in the US—will have the book for sale. Here’s your chance to meet a legend!

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