AVENGER OF BLOOD (US)

Cheers Shannon, welcome in our unholy Mag! What`s up in the fuckin States? Tell me some news from Avenger Of Blood camp!

Greetings Marcus! Well not a whole lot is going on here in the States. At least not that I know if. I don't pay much attention. Gas prices are high, cigarette prices are going up in cost, and more hahaha. As far as the Avenger of Blood camp, well we are just awaiting the release of our full length CD, rehearsing a lot, and we have some big shows coming up that we are looking forward to! We are playing with my favourite thrash band of all time, Sodom, May 7th in Minneapolis MN! We have more shit coming up as well but a lot is still in the works.

At first you can introduce yourself, the members from AOB and at least the band! When and why did you start playing Metal?

Well Avenger of Blood consists of Eric (guitar/vocals), Nathan (guitar), Shawn (bass), and myself (drums). This band has been together a little over 2 years now. We pretty much live and breathe metal! Myself personally, I started playing metal in 1983 after hearing Quiet Riot and Motley Crue! hahaha! I loved the sound and energy metal had at the time. Of course my tastes in metal evolved as metal did and the music had to be harder and faster.

Your first Demo is a real killer! Congratulations! I like the Old School stuff and how you play it! Three tracks of pure old school German sounding Trash Metal! Are you satisfied with the demo?

Thanks for the kind words man! Well I am satisfied for what it is and how it was done. It has really gained the attention of a lot of people and that really surprises me. We put a lot into the demo as far as energy and aggression goes. We also learned a lot from that knowing what to do and what not to do when we did our debut album. But I am glad you like that demo!

The sound is real killer for a demo! Where did you record it?

We recorded it at a place called Trident Studios in Pacheco, California in August, 2003. The owner/engineer of the studio is the ex-vocalist for the death metal band named Vile.

Did you get some feedback about the demo? What did they say about?

All the feedback we got was excellent! Way better than we had ever thought it would be. almost everyone had said that the music was what had been missing for so long in metal, being that it was so aggressive and energetic, yet ragingly pissed off. I guess it was a demo for the revitalization of thrash. It definitely sparked interest in the metal genre.

On the pics on your h-page I saw your singer wearing spikes and leather. Are you into that stuff? You like it? Do you know Usurper from Chicago and Disinter too? They always wear spikes when playing live too, hahaha!

Actually the entire band wears the leather, spikes, and bullet belts. haha! To us, that is metal! It just puts an image out that proves we are metal! I like it for the fact that it gets people's attention as well as the look of it. Yeah we know Usurper! Great guys with bad ass music! We actually played with them last year at the 1st Minneapolis Mayhem and are doing so again this year! I look forward to doing more shows with them if the opportunity should arise. Usurper's new album is killer! Disinter I have never heard... but now that you mention them, I'll definitely look into them!

It's not a secret that you sound a little bit like KREATOR when they released the Flag Of Hate Single. Why did you choose to sound like German Bands and not like Americans?

Well to us, the German sound is more what we feel thrash is. Its very militaristic in feel, and to us it is a lot more angry. The sound of the guitars and the vocals are just edgy, yet raw! The drums just push that feel. American bands just don't have that feeling to me. Not saying that I hate American thrash bands... its just that the German bands have that feeling that we like so much so we have to keep it going! Plus, we are much more influenced by those bands. We try to combine the best of the big 3 German bands yet make it our own. So far it seems like we are really doing a good job and that's real pleasing!

To me it's very weird: Germans wanna sound like Americans (mostly like the Bay Area Sound) and the Americans wanna sound like Germs like Kreator, Assassin or Destruction or at least Sodom. Can you explain me this phenomenon?

HAHAHA, Yeah I know what you mean. I guess it's like this.... since the German bands have that certain intensity, Americans try to get that thrash intensity but they are too influenced by Metallica and Pantera. So the 2 just don't mix. Since Germans are so used to the big 3 over there, the style they play is just automatic and they want to sound like Pantera and Metallica. hahaha I don't know... I'm just trying to make sense of this as well. Will there ever be an answer? hahah!

You don't like the music from the Bay Area, hahaha?

I like very little of it honestly. I like Heathen a lot, I like the 1st Vio-Lence album, the 1st Forbidden album, and I like Testament, Exodus, and Sadus... but the other bands just don't do much for me. So basically, no! HAHAH At least not when it comes to thrash. Death metal is a different story as the Bay Area has Exhumed, Impaled, Hadan, and more. It has a good couple black metal bands as well, like Ludicra for example. Leviathan is good, and there are a few others.

Are you into Death Metal?

I like a lot of death metal. I am more into the old stuff though! My favourite death metal bands are Grave, Edge of Sanity, Dismember, Entombed, Carnage, Morgoth, Hypocrisy (old stuff), Gorguts, Asphyx, etc. Mostly the stuff from the early 90's. And yet again, it's mostly the European bands. As far as bands now days, there isn't a lot that sticks out. I like Disavowed, Misery Index, Dying Fetus, Suffocation, Amon Amarth, Exhumed, Necrophagist, and Iniquity amongst some others. I think Amon Amarth are great at what they do as well! I also like some black, doom, and a lot of classic metal as well.

I'm listening DEATHROWs "Satan's Gift" at that point of time and you?

Grim Reaper "See You In Hell" is what I have playing now! This band is genius!

What are your favourite 10 Thrash Records? And why?

Hahaha Oh man, you made this difficult! Ok...
1. Kreator - Extreme Aggression = The musicality and aggression just kicks ass!
2 Slayer - Reign In Blood = This still makes the adrenaline pump in the veins!
3. Rigor Mortis - Freaks = Fast and raw stuff! Genius EP in my book!
4. Sodom - Code Red = So much feeling and excellent song writing!
5. Sodom - Agent Orange = Felt this album was perfect in every way possible!
6. Destruction - The Antichrist = Excellent production, killer riffs, shows a side of the band that I had been waiting to hear and they dominated!
7. Kreator - Coima of Souls = To be able to continue Extreme Aggression and add different elements to an already established style just pumps metal!
8. Slayer - Hell Awaits = Just Evil sounding!
9. Usurper - Cryptobeast = Yes it was just released this year... but damn this is a monster! Kill For Metal!
10. Slayer - Show No Mercy = To be able to add their Judas Priest influence and make an album fast yet with the dual guitar attack while keeping an angry emotion is great!

You've recorded your new longplayer! What can we expect from AOB on that record? Will you be a little bit faster as on the demo? Any songtitles?

Yes we've recorded our 1st full length CD. It is titled "Complete Annihilation". On this release, you can expect a more matured band yet twice as angry. Its faster than our demo with more structured songs, way better solo's, and better drumming. Also it has better production of course, and to us it is a pure onslaught of metal raging mayhem! Some song titles include "Complete Annihilation", "Scent of Death", "Bound By Torment", Forced To Kill", and Tyrants of the Bloodlands" to name a few. It will be available around the end of March.

How much and with whom did you destroyed the stages till now? Any cool stories from playing live?

Well we play live quite a bit. We try to do 2 shows a month right now but we are slowing it sown in our local area since we don't want to burn people out on us. But we have played with bands like Morbid Angel, Suffocation, Satyricon, Agent Steel, Usurper, Into Eternity, Fleshgrind, Aesma Daeva, Heathen, Anal Blast, and a lot of bands that are out trying to make a name for themselves. But I will say sharing the stage with Heathen and Usurper was one of the best experiences I have ever had so far. Heathen were always a great band and just meeting them was awesome! Not to mention how ragingly cool they are as people! Usurper are just straight awesome! That band is a band that describes what modern metal is to me! They fly the metal flag high!

What can we expect in the future from AOB? What`s your goal with the band?

The future of AoB holds some tours, more albums, and a lot of merchandise! We aim to keep doing what we do best.... and that is playing thrash the way we do! No compromises, just pure assaulting thrash! My goal with the band is to continue to be happy doing this! To keep gaining fans, and to please them as much as we please ourselves! My ultimate goal is to be able to have a successful tour with Sodom!

Ok, Shannon, thanx for answering my stupid and boring questions! Good luck to you and the band. Maybe we see us anytime in Germany and the your ass is mine, hahaha. Cheers, take care and Thrash On, Metal warrior!!!!!

Thanks Marcus! Good luck to you and your zine as well! Take it easy on the Polka's and Waltz music hahaha! Hopefully we can get over there to Germany soon to play for all the rabid thrashers there! For those reading, feel free to check out our website.
"Til Death Do We Thrash
Shannon

www.avengerofblood.com

Interview: Marcus