For those that may not know you, how would you describe your projects and your zine? Can you talk a bit about the lineups and how it has been to work with them?
Hails Paul and thank you for your time to interview me. Well my projects Lepra, Zeeuwse Meisjes Molestors and ReakThor are just me, my own solo projects, and it`s really easy to work with myself haha. Not many people know that Meanie (Zeeuwse Meisjes Molestors), Nuklear Bastard (ReakThor) and Evil Zjaak (Lepra) are the same person in all the solo projects; just me. Lepra is fun death/grind with Dutch lyrics and a lot of double entendres. Zeeuwse Meisjes Molestors is a journey into weird, funny, crazy and insane grindcore/death/thrash/black metal which is too insane to describe and I call it NekroHouzeMetal. And Reakthor is Nuklear Grind Metal, indeed a new genre, like NekroHouzeMetal. The first ReakThor album ``FuckYouShima`` is a funny (to me it is) concept album about nuclear disasters in Japan. When I started making musick in 1997, I didn`t know either it were the blueprints of the music I make nowadays, and for my old school black metal band Penis Christ. Current line up of Penis Christ is Lord Panzerfaust and Sturmgeist Fornicator Insultus (S.F.I.). To work with S.F.I. is great, he is a talented musician like me and understands what Penis Christ and black metal is about. For the 3rd album of Penis Christ, I wanted a bassplayer. So after trying/asking 3 bassplayers I asked S.F.I. if he could do it, he said yes, so I sent the music files of the planned ``Nocturnal Slaughter`` album to him. I didn`t have to wait long for his bassparts, and his vocals on the recordings. Finally after 3 years, ``Nocturnal Slaughter`` was released. To me it sounds awesome, and it`s a great black metal album to my opinion. In that time S.F.I. was already with SpeedSlaughter magazine and productions, and he does a lot of work like interviews and reviews as well for SpeedSlaughter magazine. The magazine and label I also run is just for when we have time for it, and the label I run is to help out bands releasing a cd if they can`t do it themselves, or if other labels won`t. It is not a professional thing (yet), but we got everything in our own hands, we are independent and no rip off. Basically we do interviews with bands, artwork artist, cd reviews, some reviews about books, movies and games. I made a bock beer review once! I had 23 bock beers to review, that was fun to do haha. We also have some partners that work with us, a distribution (Zwaertgevegt label/distro) and we can provide artwork for bands if they don`t have any (Enchanted Playground). And Domini Inferi Prods. is a partner of us. I hope to announce more partners soon in the SpeedSlaughter magazine. It is great to work with them all, because as online magazine we don`t have a deadline, and time to do our own private stuff as well, and not to forget, all of us in SpeedSlaughter are musicians, Armand Martin of Plagues of Rhyzyktus, Sturmgeist Fornicator Insultus, Razakel Krieg and me to name some.
What are some of the themes covered in your bands and where do you normally get inspiration for writing?
For Penis Christ it`s Satanism,death and destruction, ReakThor is a conceptproject that got in my brain after the Fukushima disaster in Japan. Zeeuwse Meisjes Molestors is a bunch of controlled chaos that jumps from this to that subject and it`s just a fun project. Lepra has lyrics that go from fucking a sheep, some old dude that`s having sex with a T-rex doll and to a exploding alcoholic... My ispiration is just But nothing that has to do with politics.
When did you first pick up an instrument and decide you wanted to play in a band?
I think it was around 1994 or so, I got a stupid Ibanez guitar I couldn`t play, and then a Hamer Diablo or something. Nothing for me so when I finally got a B.C. Rich Warlock the fun began. In 2000 I tried to make Penis Christ the first black metal band from Katwijk, but yeah... that was a faillure. But i`m still the first black metal artist from my town Katwijk haha.
What originally drew you to metal? Were there any bands in particular that you would consider influences?
As a little kid I listened to popmusic... But also to Motorhead, Black Sabbath, and Boston when my dad was in the mood for some metal at home haha. Later on I got friends that listened to Iron Maiden and more extremer bands like Sodom, Bathory, Hellhammer, Celtic Frost, Destruction... And from there I chose to listen to metal music. I was 13/14 years old when I heard Death`s ``Scream Bloody Gore`` album... Penis Christ is based on older black metal bands from the past. The other projects I have are not influenced by any band, i`m not too much into grindcore and death metal music for many years.
Do you receive mail from fans across the globe? What about local press? Do you ever see any interest from record labels?
I do not get much reactions or fanmail, I don`t have time to reply them either so that`s just perfect haha. The local press... Local press here does not care for (local) metal bands, unless they are well known. We have some ``metal`` magazines here, like Aardschok, but they are just boring and same commercial bands are featured in their magazine all the time. Besides that, those magazines are expensive but good to use as toiletpaper haha. Wiping your butt clean in the face of that Within Temptation singer haha. But it`s also a reason that I started SpeedSlaughter, magazines are just boring featuring same bands over and over again. And if no one else does care for local and underground bands, then i`ll do it. I interviewed local bands though, but yeah the metalscene here looks like it`s dead. So local Dutch bands, make yourself known and contact SpeedSlaughter! Bands worldwide can contact us too. Oh yeah I got interest from Salute Records and Depressive Illusions Records. They released some of my albums in limited editions and also on tape. Besides that I am on my own SpeedSlaughter label with all my official releases and that`s not going to change. I got a few releases done by Satanica Productions in the past, but yeah... I never got a copy of my albums released by them and a compilation cd which i`m featured on, which were promised me. Nor any money from the sold albums... So the owner of that label is a rip off dicklicker and with these words all of you are warned... Satanica Productions is a rip off label, and it`s a pity there are more of them out there. So do research before you send material to a label for a release!
What are your thoughts on the metal scene (or lack thereof) of today?
Too many people scream and yell that they support the metalscene while they don`t. To my opinion it`s ashaming that metal music became something commercial, the ticketprices of metalfestivals are insanely expensive nowadays! And undergroundbands are chanceless if they are not a support act of bands as like Metallica, Slayer, Dimmu Borgir or Cradle of Filth. And undergroundbands are not bad, underground bands on my label, as like Plagues of Rhyzyktus, Bewitcher, Necrolepsy, Luciferian Insectus, Graverobber and S.F.I. and all are really great! The people forgot, or don`t know how it all started in the 80ies, with buying physical albums, tape trading, buy official merchandise... Now it`s like: Oh yeah I saw that band playing live with Marduk, they were good, let`s download their album(s) so we don`t have to buy them... And to those whom really do support the metal scene, I only can say that people like them keep the scene alive and that i`m proud to be one of them! Also it`s a pity that a lot of clubs just don`t make it here and have to shut their doors. No financial support from the municipality to get great bands play live, and as the amount of visitors goes down, it`s done with the club. A pityful thing and bad development it is, and sometimes it`s not even the club`s fault. The travel times of public transport... example: the last bus goes at like 23:30 as the 2nd band of the three or four bands is still playing... So the club has a financial loss when visitors have to take the last bus to get home, and if that keeps ongoing, bye bye club.
Any particularly memorable shows?
Hmmmz I did guest vocals live a few times in the past... With The Impaler (a local band from Katwijk) haha. Yeah it was called ``Poep met Porno`` (poop with porn). And a song with Malignant Tumour but what song it was...? I think one of my own Lepra songs, ``Leven is niet fijn, ik spring voor de trein`` (Life is not really good, I jump in front of a train). So not much to mention, I prefer to see others play live shows haha. Or the liveshows I went to? I guess it was with Ancient Rites (black metal from Belgium) on a festival, and the afterparty was memorable... I don`t know how I got home that night (but I did) and some great backstage moments with Destruction after a few of their great shows.
What are you currently listening to? Is there anything new out there which you can’t stop listening to? Are there any releases or bands which you go back to very often?
I saw Disenterred from Belgium play live a while ago, and they really kick ass! I like to hear their demo ``MMXIII`` and Incarceration`s ``Sacrifice`` ep is really great. Witch Trail is also great and from Belgium, I like to listen to their demo ``The Witch's Trail``, Funeral Whore from Holland is awesome old school death metal and Hats Barn, black metal from France is great (I saw them all live and I bought their merchandise!). When it comes to death metal I prefer to hear old school stuff and Disinterred and Incarceration would fit well together in a live package. And well, I truely love to hear the ``World Extermination`` album by Insect Warfare.
Can one be popular, successful, making money out of their music and still be “underground” in spirit? When does a band become “mainstream”, a “sell out” and stops being “underground”?
Good question. My opinion about all that is: Popularity and success can come in time, money has to be earned, that`s not being a sell out. Still it`s not always the band`s choice to stay underground or become mainstream. A good example is Darkthrone. Everyone knows Darkthrone, they don`t want to be a mainstream (and maybe a sell out band), which they are now, despite their will, but they want to be a underground metal band. They only become underground again if they make true black metal again. I like bands as like Immolation, they were dropped by RoadRunner or Roadracer, after the release of their fantastic ``Dawn of Possession`` debut album. Reason: death metal wasn`t popular anymore, but grunge and black metal become popular so they had to go, the label would not earn any money with Immolation, right... But Immolation kept on going in doing in what they believe in, and well they are still underground, but popular and I do hope they earn some money with selling merchandise and releases, they got my respect. Dimmu Borgir and Cradle of Filth are sell outs, just like Metallica, they used the underground scene to become popular, got a clean commercial sound, and even little kids think they are ``cool`` wearing their shirts. If those kids really were into black or death metal, and thinking they are brutal and evil they would wear shirts of Suffocation, Hell Militia, Thornspawn, Sodom, or Hats Barn! Bands like Dimmu Borgir and Cradle of Filth are no longer underground bands and are promoted very well by recordlabels and a lot of people go to see their well promoted shows with expensive merchandise. Bands, promotors and recordlabels like that fucked up the scene, to my opinion.
Do you think the music / metal industry has become too professional?
No, it became too commercial, sadly. And expensive, I don`t go to metalfestivals anymore because of that. Not only the merchandise is expensive, but also parking your car, or go there by public transport, consumptions at festival area and needing a hotelroom maybe, it`s not cheap (in Holland).
Do you read any metal print magazines? In this age of mobile apps and the Internet do you think they are still important and worth purchasing?
Yeah I do read paper magazines sometimes, I have a bunch of old undergroundmagazines still, but I barely have time to read magazines to be honest... Busy with my label, my magazine, my music, and private life of course. I try to promote my releases as good as I can in between, and reply messages of bands that want to release their album through SpeedSlaughter. Indeed, in this age it`s not really necessary to buy underground magazines. Maybe when internet shuts down, and people buy albums again, and paper undergroundmagazines... but it sure does have it`s charms and I wish it all comes back, the times that people bought cd`s or vinyls and tape releases and magazines like yours. And sometimes people that try to make a magazine really don`t understand music, or are too lazy to check backgrounds of bands/bandmembers, and that`s really unprofessional.
Thanks man! Your dedication and never ending support to the metal scene is to be commended. Any final words for the readers of Soulgrinder?
In first to you Paul, thanks again for this really great interview with me, your interest and for your support. I hope all of your readers keep on supporting you, the underground metal scene, and keep on supporting us, all the people that work hard for it, to keep the underground healthy, alive and kicking! Check out SpeedSlaughter online magazine & productions here:
https://www.facebook.com/speedslaughterproductions
http://speedslaughterproductions.webstarts.com/
https://soundcloud.com/speed-slaughter
https://speedslaughter.bandcamp.com/
Check out my bandprofile here: https://www.facebook.com/pages/DaInzaneProjektzMazter/233754763309480
Cheers and hails to yall!!!
Interview by Paul Caravasi
Violent Wisdom is a Thrash Metal band from Chicago, this band is fairly typical 80's style , but they are good at what they do. Their music has a lot of killer riffs and guitar solos, but they still have a structure that is definitely worth to listen. I notice that very few bands actually use a guitar solo in their music, but many of the bands out there today couldn't pull it off very well to begin with. This is one band that can and does. This CD-R is a compilation of early demos from 91-92. I don't think they know how to write a bad riff, and are experts at creating memorable metal. I'd like to get some more of this. Overall, a diamond hard gem of anger and brutality!!
