Is back! Some of the finest in thrash, speed, heavy, and power metal unite in Ohio this summer for a pummeling metal festival, complete with camping and 2 days of headbanging! Be sure to stay update with this fest, it promises to be completely fuckin crushing!
Heart Stopping Death Fucking Rot. That's the exact phenomena that occurs to those who take a listen to CARDIAC ARREST, Chicago-based Death Metal Masters. Incepted in 1997, it wasn't until 2004 that the band's debut EP took us by the balls. HEavy touring and stellar records have not only made them underground heroes, but they know join the ranks of IBEX MOON RECORDS alongside blasphemers INCANTATION and GRAVEHILL. Being one of my favorite hometown bands, I could not miss the chance to do this first, small interview with Adam Scott, vocalist and guitarist from the start. What follows is only horror:
(Conducted Dec/Jan, many setbacks on my behalf...)
So, 2010 has more or less been one hell of year for Cardiac Arrest. Care to give us a rundown on the biggest things that went on for you guys?
Well, prior to releasing our 3rd Full Length "Haven For the Insane". We went on our first US tour w/ friends and label mates Gravehill. It was a tough time but not without their being any fun too. We also embarked on the last dates of the ENTHRONED/DESTROYER 666 North American Tour which led us to our first time into Canada which I can say were some of the best shows we've ever done! Other one-off shows we did were this year's Central Illinois Metalfest and the New Jersey Deathfest.
Nice! Goddamn that is some tight touring. I'm guessing that your signing to Ibex Moon has had it's pluses- there must be a lot more exposure for you guys, and by looks of your touring circuit, business is good. Any background information on the signing?
The signing to Ibex Moon was definitely the push we could use as a band. We've known John Mcentee (Label Ceo/Incantation) for a great number of years. We did a midwest mini-tour w/ Incantation a year or so ago. It went really good for us. That did lead to some serious talks about releasing the Haven album, and lo and behold. hehe.
An excellent album by the way! Was there a specific way you guys chose to do this one? Or is there already a writting formula you guys stick with?
Thanks alot man!!! I don't think there's any particular formula in this stage of the game other than we play what we want to play.
And that's the way to fuckin' go. A lot of modern death metal seems to focus heavily on how intricate and technical your shit is. You guys on the other hand opt for the old school style, which is just brutality and homicidal fun. Honestly, that's the shit I prefer, because if you over-exaggerate what you're making, you loose the soul of the music don't you think?
Oh for sure. There are alot of great musicians who perform in this kind of music. SOME are good at the technical stuff, but in the end if there is no hook in your riffs or songs it's worthless.
Indeed. It's badass when Dying Fetus, Decrepit Birth, or Suffocation do it, but you guys have nailed the roots of death metal. Does that have anything to do with the "Campaign For Death Metal Purity"?
Yea pretty much that was kinda the idea with the tour name. The (then) 3 bands being generally rooted with that kind of background. It seemed fitting for such a tour.
Any particular memories on that brigade?
Not one in particular. Just alot of hustling. Overall the crowds at each city was good. Only maybe two dud-gigs. Alot of laughs between band and tour mates, all that stuff.
Going back to Chicago, you guys were around for the essential glory days of the Windy City- bands like MASTER, MORGUE, CYANIDE, SEVERED, USURPER, LORD BLASPHEMER- and saw most of them come to an end. You guys definitely help put Chicago on the map in the metal world, any thoughts on that and on the current state of the scene?
The current state you ask? Kinda hard to say at times. I don't really go to shows as much as I used to, but I know it seems every couple years turnouts are kind of low, but of course it comes right back around, I can definitely say the scene is extremely saturated. A gigantic amount of bands which can lead to shows happening on the same night which is tough when the crowds get divided. As if to say "How do you make your mind up?".
Ever heard of High Spirits? They're fucking great. Speaking of fucking great, what are you're plans for Cardiac and Death Dealer next year?
Oh hell yea!!! I love High Spirits. Good Heavy Metal. Well as of the next year...well, completing the recording the upcoming 4th album which is looking like a summer release on Ibex Moon. Not much at the moment on the live spectrum except Jan. 2nd @ The Empty Bottle in Chicago w/ Eye Gouger and Johnny Vomit, as well as the Evansville Deathfest in late June. I'm sure some more stuff will come along in due time but time will surely tell.
Thanks for all of your time dude, it's an honor to interview one of Chicago's finest. Keep rotting man!
Thanks a bunch for the interview, Chris! The support is truly appreciated! ROT THE FUCK ON!!!!
Death, the brutal way. Be sure to check out Cardiac Arrest's latest offering "Haven For The Insane", out now on Ibex Moon Records.
Bailey Arnold - Guitar & Vocals
Kasey Pritchard - Guitar
Gage Shanahan - Bass & Vocals
Matt Washburn - Drums
GENRE: THRASH METAL
Short interview with Gage Shanahan
What can you tell us about Straight Jacket?
Pretty much, a few High schoolers who all wanted to get together and make some good ol' thrash and thats what we've been doing for about 10 months now haha.
In those 10 months, what would you say is your biggest accomplishment?
Writing as much as we have, and having done one self-produced demo EP and one professionally done demo LP within such a short time. its kind of amazing how much we've written.
Sounds good! You guys have released some previews for us via YouTube, I'm hugely into "Necromacht". What direction do you guys take lyrically and musically? Influences?
!ell...for the most part, we kinda just go with it, anything fast, heavy, and not too simple...Vocally we just write what Bailey (our guitarist/singer) can sing while he plays. we go for the classic thrash topics when it comes to lyrics...war, demons, anger, history, stuff like that. influences are anything thrash/metal, some punk. But we've been told we do sound alot like DARK ANGEL.
Gnarly. Very gnarly man, and I really do hear a lot of old school DARK ANGEL, SLAUGHTER (CAN), and SLAYER going on. Any slated release for the new demo?
Probably here in late april. we've been having a few money issues here and there, so we've gotta finance some art and other things since we're going to be independently distributing the demo, but luckily we've got tons of request from all over the world for it. we're definately excited to get it out there.
Very much looking forward to this. Any last words?
Just wanna say to keep an eye out for some real underground metal, and I wanna give a shout out to the POSSESSOR guys and NEMESIS!!
In this short but gnarly interview (which was done in Jan/Feb, but had setbacks in our behalf), I got the chance to catch up with guitar diablo, David Sanchez of HAVOK. On the brink of releasing a new albu, these new-school thrashers delivered us to evil with their debut "Burn", and their sophmore effort "Time Is Up", diminishes any talk of trend-hopping. These guys are far beyond that, and now it's time you take note. Class is in session.
So tell us a bit about yourselves for the unfortunate souls who have not experienced Havok.
Well, we're a thrashy metal band from Denver, Colorado. We officially had our first show as "HAVOK" in February of 2004 and have been playing out ever since. To this day we've released a bunch of EPs and one full length album. We just finished work on our second album and it should be coming out in Spring of 2011. Shwing!
How did you guys come to be? You're one of the heavyweights in the new era of thrash acts to come out recently.
I started the band in high school with a drummer that I met. We began jamming and playing METALLICA songs together, then got a guitar player and bassist. Within a few months, we had an hour of metal covers down and a few originals, so we started gigging. We released a couple of demos and EPs with that original lineup, then after a couple of member changes, we started touring in 2007. Touring has been our main priority ever since then. We have toured the country many times since then and we will continue to do it in 2011. This new album will bring lots of time on the road!
Speaking of which, you guys are set to hit the road with MALEVOLENT CREATION soon, excited to get back to what you guys do best? (Upon release, they already played. I love Malevolent, but hands down, Havok stole the show.)
Hell yes! Touring is what we love more than anything, so we are totally psyched to get out again! We would rather be on the road any day than sitting at home doing nothing. Ha.
Burn is a killer album, absolute thrasherpiece where all the hitting comes off hard. I know you guys have been working on number 2, what's new this time around?
Ha, thanks! We have just about finished work on our new album, "Time Is Up". Release details about the album should be released early this year. It absolutely destroys the last album in every way, so I can't wait for our fans to hear it. If you liked "Burn", you're going to like "Time Is Up" 43 times more... The songs are better in every single way possible. This album is faster, catchier, more technical, and way heavier than the first one, so I feel like metalheads are in for a real treat when they buy this one. Keep an eye out for details about the upcoming album!
Very nice, looking forward to it. Your last big tour, I believe, was with Primal Fear? How was your reception to all the, what I assume was dominantly, power metal/traditional fans? I also know you guys pulled off a few solo dates, how was that reception?
The Primal Fear tour was rad! We had a great response every night. With PF being a traditional metal band, that means their fans like it old school, so we fit in in that respect. When we play solo, it all depends where we are.
I've recently heard "Scumbag in Disguise" off of "Time Is Up", and I gotta say that I was blown away. It's very heavy and quite fast, and the solo's are just blistering. If the album is just as punishing as this song, you guys have a lot coming your way.
Thanks a lot man, glad you dig it! I think "Scumbag In Disguise" is a good representation of the whole new album. Anyone that likes that song, will definitely want to get "Time Is Up." The entire album is aggressive, heavy, technical, and catchy. It'll be worth the $10-$15 to buy it.
I'll most definitely be picking it up, and I encourage our readers to support these thrash heavyweights as well. "Time Is Up" will be out March 29th, 2011 via Candlelight Records.
Rad! Thanks for the support. Much appreciated!! See you on the road.
Again, at the time of this interview, done between Feb/March of 2011, "Time is Up" has officially been released to the masses. Pure fucking thrash metal insanity, buy it NOW.
Hailing out of Virginia (USA), East Coast thrashers POSSESSOR vomit forth old school sounding metal, complete with Satan, babes, and leather. I've been hooked on these guys for a while and fetl they definitely deserved some more exposure for the heavy duty activity they've been conuruing since their 2009 formation. Here's an interview I did with their drummer/founding member Chris Sobltone.
So you guys recently got off the road with VINDICATOR and AGGRESSOR, how did that go?
It went really Awesome! the dudes from both bands are awesome as shit! Aggressor being from Canada and all their humor is a lot different than here in the States. Some of the jokes that are acceptable there isn't the case here. haha. But yea it went really well, we got a lot of exposure and meet alot of cool people. Couldn't have went better!
Sounds like a long way from your beginnings with Robbie Rainey in AXE BITCH. After that dissolved, how did Possessor come into being?
Aha! Good 'ol Axe Bitch! Those were the days. But yea after about 6 months of no Music, Robbie and I decided to try again. I automatically went to Craigslist and posted an ad for a old school thrash guitarist. After about 3 days of that ad being up Kevin Chappel called me up one afternoon and said he was the man for the job. I said awesome and Me, Robbie, and Kevin meet up at Robbie's house to see if this guy was all what he said he was. Turns out he was exactly what we were looking for after writing "Taste The Blade." Then he mentioned that he knew another guy named Mike that he used to be in a band with. I told him to bring him on over next Sunday. Then Mike showed up and really impressed us. As of that day the soild Line-up Formed. We couldn't find a Bass player for about a year and then Jon Pierson came to a show we did in support in PAUL DI'ANNO. Jon said That he played bass and after a couple of weeks of coaxing we finally got him to come to a practice. We thought he was great and as of July 24th Possessor was finally complete haha. There's the short version anyways haha.
Sounds like things played out well! You guys have also released a demo, which I have a signed copy of. I gotta say, this shit sounds old school as fuck. What are you're primary influences as a band? Not only musically, but what's the driving force behind Possessor's agenda on old school thrash metal?
Yeah everything turned out just great! Thanks for the compliments on our sound man, we really try to bring back our favorite parts of old school metal and add our own little mix in too. Our main drive as a whole comes from just sheer outrage and anger at what has become acceptable as music and what has become acceptable as metal. The carbon copy new metal bands aren't memorable in our eyes, always the same vocal style, same down tuned guitars, and its very over produced most of the time. We really just want to make music that we would enjoy listening to. That's the Basic Drive Behind Possessor. Bring it back and keep it heavy.
And that's the way it should be. You fucks are like the musical version of what Verbal Razors aims to be. I know by association that NEMESIS are another sick band from the East coast, any other notable mentions you want to shoot at us and other fans of the old school sounds?
Absolutely! There is another VB band that's our partners in the fight to keep the metal alive. STRAIGHT JACKET! There the young thrash assault and there taking it back right along side of Possessor. You can check them out at http://www.myspace.com/straightjackethrash . They're a killer band.
Very nice man, I'll add a feature on em as well! What can we expect in the future from Possessor?
Definitely dude, SJ is awesome! The future of Possessor looks good. Early 2011 The CD "City Built With Skulls" is Scheduled to come out with a tour to tour to follow. Bunch of local shows. Hopefully some label action there. Never know with us we are pretty spur of the moment guys. I guess everyone has to stay up with the facebook to know.
Badass man, I'll definitely be looking forward to that. Any last words?
Last words? I guess the only Words would be THRASH HARD AND STAY HEAVY
Possessor are definitely worth checking out, and ordering their demo is a must, which is packed with hitters including my personal favorite "City Built With Skulls". Blazing solos and shrieking vocals have paved way for this thrash metal onslaught.
I vividly remember hearing SAXON for the first time: It was 1980, I was young and thirsty, and "Princess of the Night" was blaring out of my little radio. In essence, that seems like the ideal time for a person like me. Sadly, I missed out on those times b ya decade or two. But that's okay. We have SPELLCASTER. From the high lands of Portland, OR (USA), come the 5 piece chainsaw champions, recently signed to HEAVY ARTILLERY RECORDS, delivering us speed metal mayhem to a new generation of metalheads who may have or may not have experienced W.A.S.P., EXCITER, RAZOR, or, satan forbid, JUDAS PRIEST. I've had the pleasure (to kill) to interview Cory Boyd, 6 string slinger for the up and coming group who have just recently released their brutalizing EP, "Spells of Speed".
So I know you guys recently got back from a small stint on the road, and as far as I know it's been the most extensive gigging done in support of your recent signing to Heavy Artillery Records. How did it go?
It was great man! we got to go to a lot of new places most of us had never been too, drink beer, and play Heavy Metal so it definitely went very well.
It seems like there's been a rise in old school sounding metal bands the last few years- Cauldron, Voltax, Enforcer- why do you think there's been a resurgence in it?
I think there has been such a resurgence because nothing is more loud, powerful, and energetic than Heavy Metal music. People want to crank up a record, or go to a show, have fun, and listen to music that gets their blood pumping, and I think Heavy Metal brings that to the table.
I love how he capitalizes "Heavy Metal" like a pronoun. Death to those who refuse to refer to metal as a pronoun.
You guys have certainly put a lot on the table in response to all the overseas acts taking a similar approach. With the success of your EP, what can we expect from the full length?
Thanks Chris! all the Metal Maniacs out there can expect some new songs that we're very excited to get into your ears, definitely more touring around Spring/Summer, and hopefully our first music video.
What's the reception been like for Spells of Speed?
It's been pretty good so far man, we received a lot of positive feedback from people who bought either the Vinyl or CD, and the reviews on various websites, zines, etc. have all been pretty good, even the blabbermouth review was decent and those guy's are usually dick's when they review bands that aren't hipster metal haha.
Ah that's true. Blabbermouth always seem love all the bree bree bands with their trendy sounds. So what's the next move for Spellcaster?
Haha oh how they do. The next move for us is to get our full length done, we're gonna head down to a local studio and record at the end of this month and then it's scheduled to come out in May. Once summertime comes around we plan on doing some extensive touring in the U.S and hopefully Canada depending on how we are doing financially, and if the album does really well and get's us out there, our biggest goal is to go to Europe.
Fuckin' A. I think you guys would be taken with a lot more interest over in Europe or South America then here in most of North America. They're the biggest ragers haha. I forgot to ask some other basic stuff: How did Spellcaster come into existence?
Yeah, granted there are ton's of true metalhead's here in the states but man, it's like every where else it's like a fucking religion! Spellcaster came into existence after I quit a band I was a part of most of High School back in 2008, I wasn't happy with the direction it was going and wanted to start a more traditional metal band with a dose of speed and intensity. After getting our drummer Shad on board, I met our singer Thomas at a job we were both working at, heard him sing, thought he had pipes, and he hopped on as well. We then went through a few line up changes with the Bass and second guitar positions until we recruited our buddy Gabe Franco on Bass, and our buddy Tyler on second guitar who was actually in the band I played in back in High School.
So I'm assuming you guys clicked well. Do any struggles come about with 5 members and touring?
Yeah we all mesh very well personality and songwriting wise. Oh yeah, obviously packing 5 guy's(Actually 6 including our buddy Logan who did lights for us) in a ford Econoline van for 3 weeks, barely getting any sleep, you don't know whether you'll make enough money to get home, and your giving your all at every show you start to get worn down after a while and arguments and things like that happen, but they always get resolved very quickly.
That's good man, bands that deliver real metal like you guys need to stick around. Any last words for our readers?
Thanks man! we definitely don't want to go away any time soon. Yeah, our debut album "Under The Spell" will be coming out in May on Heavy Artillery Records so definitely be on the lookout for that, and we'll be touring a lot this Summer so come out to a show, buy some merch, and enjoy a rip roarin' Heavy Metal show! And last but not least thank you very much Chris for doing this interview and helping us spread our brand of spellbinding Heavy Metal!
Cheers Man!
And so I return to reminisce on the good days when ANGEL WITCH was around and I wasn't. if you're a fan of traditional metal but don't mind a circle pit or two, be sure to give a much-needed listen to SPELLCASTER.
I vividly remember picking this up about 2 years ago at a local record shop, Reckless Records. What caught my attention was the tits. Not too big, not too small, just about right. And of course, I realized this was a metal album. Very fucking metal indeed.
When you YouTube "vicious attack", you may come across another stellar Chicago, IL based thrash act.
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