Doomsday Nesha Interview... April 2012

 

PE: Even though alot of people in the punk scene are familiar with your art can you please introduce yourself ?
Nesha: Hi Flox, first of all thanx for doing this interview with me.I Think people who are familiar with my artwork already know  alot about me, cause my artwork transparently show  my views of reality and my imagination…but for the record, my name is Nesha (better known as the guy behind Doomsday Graphics), I’m 36 years old, living in Berlin, Germany for almost 2 years now…born in communist Yugoslavia, grown up and lived most of my life in Serbia,the country that was involved in few wars, dictatorship, big economic crisis, international isolation, and brutal transition in recent history, that influenced me a lot as a person and artist. Beside this, things that influence me and I’m interested in,are visual art, especially painted/ draw surrealist art, and people behind it…different subgenres of punk and metal music, individualism, 70s and 80s post-apocalyptic, SF and horror movies and literature…comics…history of 20th century, especially World War II…
 
PE: It’s been years that I’ve known you now and it’s crazy the amount of work you have done. For how long have you been drawing ? And how did you get involved in art and then into punk art ?
Nesha:I’ve draw my whole life…my first memories are connected with drawing…when I was a kid,different kind of pens and paper was my favorite toys…but that was my thing in those times, I didn’t have vision of me becoming an artist, I grow up in small place, village, nobody from my family was artist or something…first time I was exposed to the world of art was when I entered high school for graphics design…I learned a lot there about technics, history of art, etc. ,and  got exposed to work of Hieronymus Bosch, Eduard Munch, M.C. Escher, H.R. Giger between others, but also to the work of my classmates…About more or less same time I got into punk, and later d.i.y movement…I was attracted not just with music and lyrics, but also with covers of the records done by Gee Vaucher, Pushead, Jeff Gaither, Nick Blinko, etc. Also in those times there was a lot of art fanzines going around, like Sivulinen from Finland…first cover artwork I did was a tape cover for my first band Unutrasnji Bunt split with our friends Agitator(also from Serbia). After this my artwork started to be published in fanzines in Serbia and abroad…but that was different time, before domination of internet, the world was still not so small like today…
 

PE: Knowing you are from Serbia I imagine things don’t have the same reality and chances that people have on the western front. You told me you didn’t do any art school what so ever! What were your techniques to learn on your own ?
Nesha:One can’t choose place of birth, it’s simply like that…but on an another hand everybody should have a right to choose where to live, and to have right to travel, to move freely…this right was taken from me and the rest of the people who live in Serbia. For almost 20 years Serbia was like a prison, we needed visa to travel to most European country’s…and it was a really complicated procedure to get the visa…it was almost impossible…things changed lately…I Think you misunderstood me, I went to art school, and i really learn a lot there…but techniques I use now  I learn mostly by myself during the process of  drawing. After I finished art high school I wanted to go to art university but I couldn’t get in…that’s also the story of living in Serbia where art universities are considered like some kind of elite schools, so you needed good connections or money to pay to the right person to get in. So I was learning by myself, I was drawing every day, and during the years I was becomming better and better in what I do.
 
PE:You work alot on the black and white contrasts in some kind of Giger influenced art as some other punk artists such as Fartwork, Ratgrinder, Melvin, people from Pack, Sonia, Mid, etc… How do you work on projects for bands ? And how does the artwork form come together ? Is b/w a deliberate choice ? 
Nesha:Yes it’s a choice, I like to work in black and white, this contrast always gives the picture kind of strength that full color pieces don’t have, at least for me.  But also, somehow it was a set of circumstances, cause I draw a lot for fanzines in 90’s and they were always copied black and white so there was no point to make color illustrations, also if you do black on white you just need black pen and piece of paper, which is more practical and cheaper than to have all colors brushes etc.. Sometimes I also use  colors in my drawings, and recently I did some color paintings also…cause I came to the point that I can’t visualize all I want just with black and white. When I work with bands, we first discus the ideas for the artwork, than I make a detailed sketch and if people from the band like it,I start with drawing an original artwork…usually it’s simple like that.
 
PE:Even though this is the art section of the zine can you talk to us a little bit of how it was growing up in Serbia in the middle of your teen years in the middle of the war ? How things have changed over the years there and how the situation is now ? Do you think this has affected your work and inspiration of creating a band as well ? As you were telling me that the situation living now in Germany leaves you a bit speachless as to lyrics because of the different atmosphere and politics here or am I wrong ?
Nesha:Huh, it’s not really easy for me to explain it, especially not in a few sentences and in english…but for sure the 90s in Serbia was not the best place to grow up, sure not the worst also…Serbia was involved in all conflicts on the ex-Yugoslavian territory, from ’91 and war in Croatia, to war in Bosnia, and war in Kosovo that ended up with NATO bombing Serbia in ’99. So how it was…living in fear, living in poverty, being contra regime in a country in war…avoiding going to army that was obligatory at that time…being anti nazi in country with Nazis in power…was scary sometimes, like walking around with the target on your back…but fuck it, it’s only one life I have, I also had a lot of fun in those dark times…in 2000. government changed violently, and lot of people were thinking that after this change better days are coming… of course that’s not what happened…local war profiteers and foreign companies were buying this destroyed country for cheap…all that what people build by their own hands after the second world war, was first destroyed and then sold for nothing…the new government was providing all this…same people that promised fairytale democracy when they needed help to come on power…so people were pissed, angry, more poor than before and still isolated, also nationalist hatred  from past wars were never publicly discussed or recognized like bad thing…and that was a perfect ground for Nazis and the church to spread their  sickness. The Situation now is maybe even worse than before 10 years….Of course all this affected my work and inspired me to create a band….when we started with Nakot, beside that I wanted to play fast and loud music, I wanted to talk/sing about things that happened and still are going on in the country I lived, and even more because nobody was actually talking about this, even in punk scene. In Germany the things are on a different level, oppression same as resistance are much more layered and better organized than in Serbia.
 
PE: Is the fact of moving to Berlin a choice because you don’t see a future in your own country, when you see that you have much more access to things here ? Has living in Köpi been inspiring for you as well to see and meet all these international bands, people and activism here ?
Nesha:You can say it’s a choice I made when I finally had an opportunity to choose (in December of 2009. EU finally cancels the visa-obligation for Serbian citizens). I lived all my life in one country, so I wanted to travel, to see and to experience something different. I wanted to see  shows I don’t organize myself or play on them,  I was tired of being responsible for this and that, for being always in the first row, trying to create something over the years there, but always ending up in the beginning…watching my friends leaving the country, or getting fucked up on drugs, or just disappearing. I was sick and tired of watching my back every time I leave the house, just because the way I look… I wanted to move from all this. At the same time I got together with Marina, and she was living in Berlin, so I decided to move here …and definitely I’m impressed to see all this places, not just Koepi, but lot of other houses and projects I saw in the last two years…places that exist for 20 years or more, something like “institutions” of the scene, we miss places like this in Serbia.
 
PE: As for the record you used to play in NAKOT which has some releases people can find. But how is the punk scene in Serbia and which bands would you recommend to people. What is going on in the punk scene there nowadays ? Politically you were telling me how crazy people were intolerant with the gay pride marches and the rise of more right wing and extreme right wing reactions over there. How do you feel about this ?
Nesha:Yes I was singing in Nakot, and we have few releases:
Nakot/Dyspnea split 7″
Nakot/Dazd split 7″
Nakot “Pod NATO bombama i represijom nacije” CD and Tape
“Grombiera & Paprika” 4 way split LP
with Murder Disco X, Nulla Osta and Corrosive.
I think most of this releases are still available and easy to find. Today scene in Serbia? Well some bands that were important in the last years are not so active any more like Dazd,  or stopped to play like Nakot. But there are also some good new bands like Dishumanity from Kragujevac, or Katma and New Mortal Gods from Belgrade and Otvoreni Prelom from Senta. Less foreign bands are touring Serbia then before a few years, so there are less shows. Some active people moved out from the country, or just stopped doing things, and there is not much new, young, active people.  On the contrary Nazis are getting bigger. They are supported by church and secret police and of course used to do the dirty jobs for them.  Gay Pride march was always a big topic in Serbia. First march was organized in Belgrade  in the year 2001, and a few people which had the courage to go out on the street demanding their rights, got brutally beaten up by hundreds of Nazis and football hooligans lead by a priest. 10 years later the situation is not much better, few weeks ago police forbid Gay Pride 2011, claiming that they can’t guaranty safety to the participants of the Pride Parade. That was the result of negative campaign that was going on for weeks, made from church, most of the political parties and nazi organizations. Few days after they forbid the Gay Pride march, one girl got stabbed on the street of Belgrade from a underage kid, just because she had t-shirt with the colors of Gay Pride flag. Sadly that was not a big story because it became common to hear stories like this. How I feel about it, same like when I lived there – angry and frustrated.
 
PE: Which artists inspire you outside and inside the punk mouvement past and present ? Are there things you have never tried that you would like to work at ? 
Nesha:All artists who put a lot of effort and meaning in their work, and there is a lot of them. I hate to make a top list, but some of my favorite artists  are Zdislaw Beksinski, HR Giger, Frank Frazetta, Ed Repka, Vania Zouravliov…And from the punk scene: Pushead  and Gee Vaucher  were the first I got into… I like a lot the work of Sugi, Septic art(my friend from Serbia), John Baizley, Florian Bertmer, Daniel Shaw, Adam O(from Copenhagen, who recently put out a really good comic book “Ruiner”)…
Yes, I would like to experiment with screen printing, printing my stuff with different colors and on different type of paper, and I would like to try air-brush and some other techniques.
 
PE: You’ve had a first book of your art that came out years ago! Since then it’s been sold out for sometime, are you considering working on a new one, since you have done tons of work since the previous one ? Your art has also progressed over time. What are your own 5 favorite works til now ?
Nesha:The book came out in 2005, and it was published by my friend Oui Oui( Louarn Konnaret Releases). I met him last summer and he had with him the last 10 copy’s from the book,which he found at his mother place. Maybe it is still possible to get this book trough some distros, 700 copies were printed, and that’s not too much. Before a year or two,Irena from Active Rebellion came with this idea to release a split book with Steve’s (VoW) and my artwork, but to this day nothing really came out of it. I still hope that this could work, cause like you said the old book is sold out and I did a lot of new artwork in the meantime, and it would be great to split the book with Steve, he is a cool guy and his artwork marked European crust. I like all the artwork I did, some pieces looked better to me at the moment I made them, then after  few years of distance, but I think that’s normal. Again I love all pieces I made and I can’t name my favorite 5, I could name 5 favorite bands I worked with, but maybe that wouldn’t be polite to the others.
 
PE: It’s nice to see also your artwork etched by acid on metal plates by your wife Marina ( AC/D Witch ). How does that work, and is this something you two would like to develop since it’s quite original ? 
Nesha:Marina’s metal work is really special and unique. I’m a fan from the first time I see it, and I’m really happy to see my art etched in metal by her. It’s like some kind of artifact you know, something durable, one day ink on paper will fade away, and paper will dissolve but metal will stay. It is also one higher level in our relationship, to produce something together, that’s really something special. Recently she started to make jewelry, and I did series of drawings specially to be etched on these jewelry pieces.  You can check Marina’s(Acid Witch Produxions) stuff at http://www.acidwitchproduxions.de/
 
PE: You’ve also practiced a bit of tatooing! Is that something you would like to develop as well ? I feel it’s a great continuation / extension of your art and are tatoo artists also an inspiration to you ? When will we see the DOOMSDAY tatoo shop in Berlin ? 
Nesha:Ha,ha…I’m not sure about Doomsday tattoo shop, but yes I would like to develop my tattooing skills…I didn’t do much tattoo’s in my life and I’m not sure if I could totally commit myself to it, which is necessary  if I want to be good at it. At the moment I have some equipment and I urge to do it, and we will see where this will lead me.
 
PE: Ok so I’d like to thank you for your time answering these questions, do you have any closing comments and what are the upcoming projects for you ? Any bands you would like to work with in the future ?
Nesha:Thank you for doing this interview Flox! We will see what future brings, sure there is a few bands I would like to work with, not just one…also soon some good records will be out I did the artwork for, and hopefully I will present that artwork on my new website.
Cheers!

http://www.facebook.com/DoomsdayGraphics

http://www.myspace.com/doomsdaygraphics

Amebix Interview 2011 or 2012 ?

AMEBIX interview for SEDTION mag France ( by Flox )

Sedtion: Hey Stig, it's been over 20 years of silence for AMEBIX! The creation of 'Sonic Mass' has been quite a surprise for alot of people. Why have you waited so long to make a new record ? When and how did the idea start out ?

well it has been a while i guess.and intitially we kind of ground to a halt in 1987 after just getting nothing back for so long and people didnt understand what we were trying to do ..its different now ,but back then there was nobody else on the same path as us....this came about after doing a dvd about Amebix and our lives from the early days ..a tour came from meeting Roy and us all cliking so well together ..and after and during tours we would come up with ideas but after i came up with the title [sonic mass]we all had a focus for our ideas..also we had already recorded the redux versions of old songs that Roy mixed and recorded so we knew that he would be able to make something special out of all these ideas floating around .. 

 

Sedition: At the time of your revival you guys decided to bring in Roy Maygora ( Nausea / Soulfly ) into the band! How did this happen, and was the first plan just to do some gigs or had you already the will to re record some songs and have the earge to make a new record ?

we met Roy through a e mail contact of Robs   ..a woman called Alicia introduced him to us ..and he was really excited to play with Amebix as he was an old fan of the band ...i had heard of him from his work with Soulfly and various different bands so i knew his reputation as a great drummer and multi talented musician ,but as soon as we started playing together it was like we had been together for years ,we had a great connection and he understands what we are trying to do ....its was just going to be a one off with him to rerecord some old stuff but it was so inspiring that we ended up coming out of our self imposed retirement and after playing together off and on for a couple of years we started thinking like a brand new band ..and recording songs after or during tours ..all over the place 

 

Sedition: When 'Sonic Mass' came out people have been quite sceptic about your new LP! I've read a few reviews and reactions of people saying your record is a bit too polished and much closer to a KILLING JOKE sound rather than what they were expecting from AMEBIX. How do you feel about this ? Has having Roy in the band been a big influence to this change or is it mostly from the fact that you have 20 years of musicianship behind you and a different musical approach these days ?

personally i dont care what people think   if i did then i would have given up years ago and not started Amebix at all..people didnt like us when we started, and there will always be people that dont like what we are doing ...thats fine   dont buy our records no one is forcing you to ...i dont make music for other peoples approval that would be pointless ..we have always been about being true to ourselves that is what makes us different we are not here to cater to anybodys idea of what they think we should sound like ..we epitomise  the true spirit of punk rock in our music [originality/ progression..ect ] rather than trying to conform to some box like musical catagories so that it will be nice and safe and easy to digest and label..Roy has been a big influence on what we do because he has so many skills as a musician ..there are things that would have been impossible to do before that he has made possible now definately ..

 

Sedition: Still about this new album 'Sonic Mass' initially this record was announced to come out on your good friends labels AT and PE. Why a change to Easy Action ? Are you satisfied today with your choice ? 

 it     it was originaly going to come out on both labels one doing digital and the other doing vinyl ...but for one reason or another it didnt work out .....also we wanted to do things in our own country again rather than it being done in the US ....and this is where we have ended up ..although this would not have been my personal choice ...we must make the best of it ...so i am hopefull after all the shit we have been through ..i hope it works out 

 

Sedition: The song and vidéo of 'Knights of The Black Sun' ( by Andy Lefton ) have been stunning as well as the 12" record that came out for that! I imagine it quite hard to put images on music and lyrics, how did the imagery come together ? What was the idea behind the whole vidéo ? How was it meant to be interpreted ?

      i had little or no input on the video ..so i cant answer that one im afraid 

 

Sedtion: I know you've been involved in Zygote for years but what else has been going on during AMEBIX's hiatus ? What have ex-members been up to ? Are you all still in touch with each other ? 

       we sometimes see  some of the old members at gigs or whatever ..but we all live in different parts of the world from each other even the current line up is  in  Scottland / California and west country UK respectively ..so getting together for a quick jam these days takes a lot of organisation ..but when we do we all spend time together and things develop naturaly ...as they should really i guess...i have been doing different projects on and of for the entire time   with different people or just lately solo projects as im just  starting to record my own stuff...whats been going on for me in the' hiatus'  would take a fairly long book to describe [which im actually thinking about writing one day ]   but suffice to say    life is difficult and music has helped me through it a great deal ...as for everyone else i dont really know what they have been doing other than Robs amazing swordsmith business that he has become a world leader at 

 

Sedition: AMEBIX has been a huge influence on the Crust punk mouvement in the late 80's and throughout all the years. You've been pioneers in a special imagery for the artwork and metaphoric lyrics. Since the lyrics are not printed in your new LP can you give us a global view of what you wanted to come out of your new record lyrically and visually ? Has this new sound brought you a new following ?

we wanted to make something that would reflect our past present and predict our futures ....Rob is a truly great writer of imagery in my opiion one of the most talented lyric writers alive [dont tell him i said that though ].while my thing is making atmospheric music im not great at lyrics...but as usual we wanted to tap into certain ideas and archetypes and i believe we have succeeded in doing so ...we have made something from nothing ... and that is a good thing 

 

Sedition: Going back to the release of 'Redux', were those titles chosen because you think those four songs are those that represent best the band ? 'No Gods, No Master's' taken from the anarchist leitmotiv and in the song 'Chain Reaction' has really been attached to the bands philosophy. Do you still feel the same politicaly after all this time ? After your passage through CRASS records on the 'Bullshit Detector' comp, the Bristol squatting mouvement of the early 80's, the Manoir of Dartmoor. How as individuals do you feel you have evolved ? Does the DIY punk mouvement still feel the same for you down the road ?

in obviously things have changed in the world a lot but people are still the same as they were back then and my beliefs are still pretty much unchanged ..my views on life and humanity have always been along the lines of the things i felt to be true as a child ..polititians come and go fashions change ...but i believe in freedom of mind and body to do youre own will with providing you are not hurting others .... 

 

Sedition: It's also cool to see a proper reedtion of the 'Monolith' LP that originally came out in 87' on Heavy Metal records now available again from 'Back on Black'. Re reading your biography on your website it's stated that the collapse of Heavy Metal records and your last tour in 87' saw the decline of the band. Is this the reality of things and do you think it was a good call at the time ?

i dont think  Heavy Metal records collapsed as such but as far as i know they are still chugging along quite happily despite never paying us for monolith .. as for the band even a painter needs money for brushes and canvas ..we werent getting anything back to keep us going so we stopped ..at the time it made sense and yeah i think it was a good idea to knock it on the head then ..

     a

 

Sedition: Coming back to your song 'Largactyl' talking about the diagnosis of your first drummers 'paranoiac / schizophreniac' state. What was the idea through the song and how do you feel about 'Modern Medecine' and the way people are dealt with ?

that is one of the  only lyrics that i wrote for Amebix...it was about a lot of people around then that were being messed up by this horrible stuff and also about what is sane and what is not ..treatment for mental problems is  very primitive and underfunded in my opinion  especially as mental health is the measure of weather society is functioning properly or not ... is it life that makes one mad or are we born to it ?  is modern living fundamentaly  bad for ones brain ?

 

Sedition: For sure AMEBIX has a much bigger following and opportunities to play bigger venues than when you where initially around. Does this make things easier to live with the band ? Do you feel comfortable with the way the band has gained in notority throughout time ? Does this make you approach things any differently these days ? Is AMEBIX in anyway more stable financially ?

no/ yes/ no and no 

 

Sedition: Rob moved to the Isle Of Skye that seems very epic as a place to be. And has also become a self taught swordsman! This medival / pagan lifestyle is also a good part of the band. How did this happen ? What attracts you with this way of life and imagery ? Is this swordsmanship a good way of making a living or is it essentially an artform ? Who are typical buyers ? Is there a way to see Rob's work ?

castlekeep.com [i think ]

 

Sedition: What are the subjects today that you would like to approach with AMEBIX ? What kind of subjects inspire you to continue writing music ? Are there new AMEBIX projects coming up in the near future ? Tours ?

Amebix is inspired by life and living itself, the difficulties and triumphs ,the will to power the potential of mankind to be more than it is ..i am inspired to continue writing music simply because i have so much more to say with it and music is  what keeps me sane ...ha ha if it was about money i would have got a 'real'job years ago 

 

Sedition: Thanx for your time Stig for this interview, it's a pleasure having you guys inside SEDITION mag. Any last words, comments for french readers ?

my pleasure   be nice to each other    NO GODS NO MASTERS   stig c miller. 

 

SIck Of It All Interview 2012...

 

1- Hey Armand, how's it going ? So 2011 is the year of SOIA's 25th anniversary! Your celebrating by touring apparently, and of course the release of your brand new LP 'Non Stop' with the rerecorded SOIA classics. What makes you still go strong in 2011 ? And what can people expect from this new release?

Things are cool, thanks.  We just finished up the touring for the year and can now go into creative mode.  I’ve started writing new material and we hope to record by fall 2012.  “Nonstop” features some re-worked classics, as well as a bunch of songs that we thought should be done over because the original recordings were lame.  It’s not like we messed with the arrangements much, we just wanted to give the songs the power they lacked.  When we recorded our first album, Lou hadn’t learned what to do with his voice in the studio, and had a hard time projecting any power or attitude.  We were also pretty amateuristic as a band, and you can hear how shaky we were back then.  We had been talking about doing this for years, but working with Tue Madsen made us realize that we finally found the man who could make those old songs sound the way they should.

 

2- You guys play rather often in Europe. Is there a bigger following of the band here rather than in the states ? It seems you guys are quite attached to touring here and South America as well. What makes it different than being at home and what do you like about travelling across the borders?

Europe is every hardcore band’s bread and butter.  Some bands only exist to tour Europe!  The scene is so much stronger than the States, and there’s a certain respect for the genre that doesn’t exist here.  Regarding South America, sure, we love playing there, but 5 years passed between our most recent tour and the one before it.  Those tours are more rare than you imagine.  Overall, travel is really tiring and can be hell, but once we’re settled into each country, we have great experiences.

 

3- Going back to some troubled times when there was the Wayne Lo case in Massachesetts wearing a SOIA shirt at the moment of the tragedy. How did this affect the band ? Did the puritain american politics take advantage of taking an easy blow at the band ? Can you explain a little bit how the band lived this event?

The most potentially damaging article was in the New York Times, who did a pretty big piece about the incident.  They made connections between fascism and SOIA.  We wrote a letter to the editor, and they chose to print it, which helped to clear our name.  There was some mainstream interest in us, and I did appear on a TV talk show and a national radio show, but the fact that we wanted to distance ourselves from the incident didn’t make for good entertainment, I suppose.  They want sensationalism, not rational, positive thought.

 

4- SOIA at it's beggining seemed to have somewhat of a reputation to have a quite violent following or fans at shows like most NYHC bands ! Has this ever been a problem for yourselves as a band ? Has having a quite macho scene been a handicap over the years ? Have you ever been confronted by these aspects in the past ? Do you think this has kept women in the scene a bit away from shows ? And what is the full purpose behind PMA?

The New York scene itself was mostly responsible for that.  There was a lot of violence at the shows in the late eighties, when we were just starting, so it just came with the territory.  We also had a few songs about standing up for yourself and fighting, but never glorified it the way some other bands did.  The more violence there is at shows, though, the less likely a scene is going to last.  Clubs will be less and less willing to do hardcore shows, and for good reason.  CBGB’s closed its doors to hardcore after some horrible things happened there, and that affected the scene in a big, negative way.  Regarding women, I think it’s the lack of singing and dance beats that limits hardcore’s appeal to them.  I have to say, though, we’ve always been lucky that we have a good amount of women at our shows - even up front and singing every word.  I feel a sense of validation from it to be honest.   PMA is just positive mental attitude - nothing that can only be attributed to hardcore.  

 

5- SOIA has also had a very strong social and political aspect in the lyrics since day one (and all of them are still relevant after all these years) and it still is and probably more these days. Knowing the full crisis the US is going through and more globally how the whole world is tending too. What inspires you in humanity these days to keep it angry?

Keeping it angry is easy.  That’s a simple emotion that is constantly stirred by current events.  It’s seeing the good in the world and maintaining a sense of hope that becomes more difficult with time.  I feel that although I gave into anger more eagerly when I was younger, I also had an idea that I could possibly change the world somehow.  There was a youthful optimism that I don’t think I possess as much any more.  I’ve always thought people are generally fucked, and they prove it more and more every day. 

 

6- Some years ago the 20th anniversary of the band was also celebrated by the release of a tribute record featuring some of the bands you've been close to or toured with over the years such as Sepultura, Napalm Death, Pennywise, Madball, Ignite, etc... How did you feel about this release when it came out since most of these bands have been very influential in different musical scenes over the years ! Did you have anything to do with the choices of these bands and are you satisfied of how this all came together?

It was very flattering to see the amount of interest from different bands to contribute songs, and especially because so many of them are influencial themselves.  We reached out to people we knew and it came together easily.  I especially like the tracks that got a boost of melody, like the ones by Rise Against and Ignite.  

 

7- Coming to the name of one of your best records that came out in recent years I think personally 'Death To Tyrants'. Have you been following what has been going on in Northern Africa / Middle East ( Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Syria, Yemen) and the spring revolution and the downfall of some of these dictators such as Ben Ali, Moubarak and the recent death of Kaddafi ? How do you feel about this situation and does this inspire you for the future of these countries and people and to another extent to the sudden uprising of occupy the streets protests going on all over the USA against the financial situation going on and the repression the american authorities use upon these protesters lately?

It all depends, because the most important thing about ousting a dictator is what comes next.  There’s always a danger that these countries could fall into civil war or ethnic conflicts.  Democracy in the Muslim world is a difficult undertaking, because the religion itself is designed to be governing.  Somehow, there’s going have to be a separation of mosque and state in these countries for democracy to ever gain a foothold, but that idea is inherently Western and won’t be embraced by many.  I suppose Turkey is the best role model for all of them to follow.  In America, protest is something we need to see more often.  During the Bush years, I was surprised at the lack of protests.  It’s very refreshing to see Americans taking to the streets again. 

 

8- You have a song in memory of the CBGB's in 'Month of Sunday's'. It seems as that place along with ABC NO RIO were ( and still is for the later of the two ) the spinal back of the whole HC / Punk scene in NY! How did that place inspire you ? Is another space like that club in NYC ever going to rise up again ? And on a further note how was it to go from there to such fests as Hellfest, Groezrock, and all the big summer festivals ? Do you miss those intimate shows of the past?

We’re constantly going back and forth between small clubs and big festivals.  CB’s was a pretty big club.  It used to hold 500-600 people.  Nowadays, there are a lot of scenes in America where a good hardcore show consists of 100-150 people.  CB’s meant a lot for the scene and the community, but for some reason, I wasn’t in love with the place.  I didn’t think the staff treated bands well enough, or gave hardcore the respect it deserved.  It had great sound and atmosphere, but being treated well for selling the place out was asking too much, know what I mean?  

 

9- I'm sure you've been following as well the end of the military occupation of the US in Irak. Obama has promised to bring back all the american troops home before the end of 2011! What do you think about the foreign politics of the US these days ? How does this affect the band and maybe your lyrics?

The song “Good Cop” is about Obama.  A leader who supposedly represents hope and change, but is in it for all the same reasons as the guy who came before.  I still can’t believe we invaded Iraq.  The war was sold to the American public as a retaliation for 9/11, which made zero sense and the rest of the world seemed to realize it.  I look at Iraq the same way I look at the recession: two miserable situations that the Bush administration created and Obama inherited.  Regarding our foreign policy, I think it operates only with corporate interests in mind, not the American people.  

 

10- You've gone through quite a few records labels over the years ( Revelation, Relativity, Elektra, Fat Wreck and on to Century Media ). Have you kept good memories of working with all these different labels ? It also seems that you're pretty open minded  towards labels that have different genres. Has this helped you reach out to other crowds over the years ? Was putting out 'Scratch The Surface' or 'Built To Last' on major labels a good move after reflexion and experience ? And will we ever see your full discography back again out on vinyl?

Each label brought it’s own specialty to the table and we benefitted from it in one way or another.  Our major experience was strange, because when we released “Scratch the Surface,” the U.S. office was terrible and Europe did a great job.  Just three years later, it was the opposite for “Built to Last.” It all depends on who’s working in what office at what time, and how much they understand what to do with a hardcore band.  Marketing us in the right way is tricky. 

 

11- Your sound over the years has changed for a quite heavier aspect of things since your start while still keeping the original urgence of a raw NYHC outlet. As a couple other bands which your close to as AGNOSTIC FRONT or MADBALL that have survived all these years! Being over 40 years old and still going strong, do you still have alot of friends around from the start ? And how can a band stick together without killing each other after all these years :-)?

Mostly, we catch up with our old friends at NYC shows.  Everybody has grown apart since the CB’s days, because of family or careers, but still love the music and like to catch up here and there.  All four SOIA members were friends in high school, years before we were in a band together, and I think that has helped our longevity.  It definitely helps in our understanding of each other.

 

12- Going back to the remix of 'Just Look Around' with House of Pains music and Everlast doing a featuring, has SOIA ever felt tight to the underground Hip Hop mouvement ? Knowing some interesting artists such as KRS ONE, and ILL BILL, La Coka Nostra, Immortal Technique from NY have similar politics and now that Freddy from Madball raps as well, will we ever see another Hip Hop alliance for the band in the future?

We’ve never been tight with the hip hop scene - we’ve just been fans of the music.  The fact that we had KRS ONE on the first album and on “Nonstop” is awesome because we’re fans of the man and his message.  We’ll see what the future holds, but for now, I think we’re going to concentrate on what we do best!

 

13- Alright, can you please talk to us about your upcoming projects and give us your last words for SEDITION mag ? And I'd like to thankk you for your time and energy you put into this interview, cheers...

Thanks for the interview.  Like I said earlier, we hope to record by next fall, so there’s a chance we’ll have a new album out by late fall 2012 or early 2013.  Keep an eye out for us during festival season, because we’ve already booked Graspop in Belgium and Wacken in Germany.  Those should be some memorable shows!  

Napalm Death Interview 2011

 

Ever since their genre breaking Scum LP in 1987,
NAPALM DEATH have been trail blazers in the
extreme metal undergroud. Here is a recent interview
with ND vocalist and 20-year veteran Barney
conducted by Flox of Fight for Your Mind Records.

PE: Greetings, Barney! We’re going to pass on the
usual band presentation since ND isn’t a newcomer
to the political underground scene. So why ND in
PE ? I believe the band has a tight link with hardcore/
punk due to the first years of the band and the
bands covered on Leaders Not Followers (AGNOSTIC
FRONT, SIEGE, DISCHARGE, etc.) and from seeing
you wear an INFEST shirt in the video for “When
All is Said and Done.” I also recall you wearing an
ATROCIOUS MADNESS shirt on some kind of gig
poster years ago and having Jello Biafra participate
on The Code Is Red... Long Live The Code album.
It even seems that you have tighter roots into this
scene then into metal. How do you feel about this?

BARNEY: Greetings, mon ami. I like all kinds of music,
but punk and hardcore punk in particular mean a lot to
me. I feel a very strong connection to it both as a musical
and ethical form, and I have been close to it since
the mid-eighties when I got involved fairly heavily with
the great hardcore scene we had around the Midlands
region, Birmingham in particular. Within NAPALM, I feel
that hardcore has always had a huge influence. There
have been some amazing metal bands down the years
– DEATH, REPULSION, and CELTIC FROST to name
some – and they had a real raw power to them. Hardcore
also has that perhaps to an even greater extent and
we have definitely learned as a band that its influential
chaotic edge keeps things exciting. I don’t know about
you, but when I hear albums by extreme bands where
the sound is all polished and the rough edges smoothed
off, I find it quite hard to get excited. There’s nothing like
ambience and the spontaneity of noisy hardcore to give
an album a real sense of thrust. Lyrically, I don’t really
copy anyone because I think it’s important to form your
own thoughts, though I guess my thoughts fall on the
side of general humanitarianism. All the same, I would
have to acknowledge the irony, tragedy and sometimes
comedy within the lyrics of classic bands like CRASS
and old DEAD KENNEDYS. In terms of stylistic definition
though, I really don’t stay awake at night about
whether NAPALM is punk, metal or grindcore. I leave
that to internet forum dwellers. They get quite aggressive
about that stuff sometimes. I definitely don’t.

PE: It seems that the band has been able to evolve
and gaining a reputation and a new and young
crowd. Your latest LP Time Waits For No Slave is
fucking extreme! ND is definitely not a band of the
past and still making it happen. What keeps you fueled
/ inspired and where are the old diehard grinders
from the late 80’s early 90’s these days?
BARNEY: Thanks, I appreciate that. On the most basic
level, it’s simply our own excitement that keeps us going
and hopefully that produces albums which sound vital
and alive and not at all like we are just going through
the motions. I’m kind of proud that after making 10+
albums, we still have that excitement and enthusiasm.
Perhaps one day that motivation won’t be there, and at
that point I would probably just quit because I wouldn’t
want to make music or play gigs where deep down I
know I’m only making half the effort I could be. On the
lyrical level, there are always lots of things to bring to
people’s attention, and the art is to try an interpret those
in different and fresh ways. As far as other bands from
previous times that you sort of referred to, well, I guess
that with most bands nothing lasts forever. When you
have people living in each other’s pockets most of the
time, it can be very testing. It’s usually burnout from
those kinds of circumstances or perhaps feelings that
a band has run out of creative steam, or has different
visions for the future, that people decide to give up and
move on.

PE: ND has worked with numerous different labels
from Scum through Time Waits for No Slave. To
cite a few, you’ve been with Earache, Peaceville, Relapse
and for some years now with Century Media. I
imagine there has been some hard times with some
of these labels. Does ND have any rights on their
music ? What made you take all these decisions of
changing so many times over the years ? Will we
ever see vinyl reeditions of all the Earache releases
and of Enemy of the Music Business?
BARNEY: We have certain rights over our music in
areas that we feel are important – not being used to
promote certain companies or corporations is one that
is worth mentioning. But when you choose to sign to a
record label the compromise is that you unfortunately
have to sign some other rights away. Realistically, we
could not manage a ND release on our own as a band.
We’re not the biggest band in the world and I totally love
the DIY ethic, but it would still be too much for us to
handle besides everything else. I don’t really want to go
deeply into the unhappy times with Earache because I
feel enough has been said on that subject, but I will say
on the flipside of the coin that Century Media have been
fantastic with NAPALM DEATH. They understand what
the band ethos is, they promote us in the right away and
they are always there when needed – and they know
that musically ND knows what is best for ND. It’s not
that crappy kind of situation where the record company
puts your record out and you never hear from them
again. So you can imagine why we have wanted to stay
with them, and on the other hand why we moved away
from so many other labels in the past. You may see vinyl
at some point of the Earache years, but that label still
owns the rights and we don’t really cooperate with them
at all, so that would be down to them. On ‘Enemy…’,
we tried to get rights back to redo vinyl, but the label
involved there didn’t show much interest in that either.

PE: I’ve only seen you twice live, once when you
were on tour in France with NASUM and a little
over a year ago in a festival with BLOCKHEADS
and WITCH HUNT. I’ve been impressed both times
with the dynamic, positive political positions of the
band, which is very uncommon for a metal band to
confront their audience with. You’ve also toured
with SEPULTURA, SICK OF IT ALL, etc. and played
in front of huge crowds. Are you ever confronted
with idiot crowds who confront your ideas of being
anti-fascist, anti-homophobic, pro-choice, and a
pro-feminist band ? Knowing that some death metal
and black metal bands are very rightwing,
how do you deal with this at bigger
festivals? ND does play out of the comfortable
bubble of small crowd, but up to
what point can ND’s politics disturb? And
is doing the cover of Nazi Punks Fuck Off
live something you feel very important to
do?
BARNEY: Firstly, let’s say that super-negativity
is not exclusive to some death/black
metal bands. I’ve met some hardcore and
punk bands who were equally as ignorant…
On tour, we certainly have had a few unfortunate
moments down the years – attacked by
self-proclaimed fascists in the USA (the worst
place for macho right-wing violence, I found,
in the early ‘90s), South Africa, Russia, northern
Europe at certain points…I don’t want to
go into specific stories because I don’t want it
to give credibility by romanticising confrontation
or something. Despite such depressing
experiences, I open my mouth and speak my
mind when I feel it is necessary and that applies
to a band situation or not. As far as I’m
concerned, people know about the NAPALM
DEATH way and I’m certainly not one for
self-censorship. If, hypothetically speaking,
a promoter didn’t like it, then don’t book the
band in the first place. What can I say? Nazi
Punks… is as vital to the set as any other
song. People would really fucking complain if
we didn’t play it – ha-ha! On festival crowds,
there is not so much opposition as you might
think at certain ones. Most people at any
festival have a generally open-minded perspective, I
would say. Honestly, I think it’s a big mistake and bad
stereotyping to pass off certain types of festival crowds
as being ignorant. They’re really not in my opinion, apart
from a few bullshit merchants. I just blow kisses at the
few negative heads in the crowd when they shout stuff.
They love that – ha ha! Incidentally, some bands with
renowned “right wing” perspectives never really come to
challenge us, even when we end up somehow playing
on the same festival.

PE: Have you been following what has been going
on in Tunisia (having Ben Ali fly out of the country
with millions of dollars worth in gold ), Egypt and
now also Algeria which is starting to revolt as well ?
Do these situations inspire you at all even if the political
situations are a bit different? Even if we can’t
compare life in western countries to these situations,
would such a popular uprising of the people
be of consideration in the UK these days? Can having
people attack Prince Charles in his Rolls Royce
be a sign of hope?
BARNEY: Yes, you cannot fail to be following the
Middle Eastern situation – it’s everywhere right now. It
is always inspiring–and also inevitable–when enough
becomes enough and people come to a self-realization
and cease to be scared of their bullying governments
any more. You can apply that to any country in the
world. It’s a pity that people often have to go through so
many years of intimidation, loss of liberty and equality
to get to the point of action. The thing is that somehow
over the development of these oppressive governmental
systems, the rights have been allocated to
smaller and smaller groups of people, with the rights of
the majority eroding in that process. But, as we know,
thankfully there is always a breaking point in the end.
All this said, I can say I’m still not comfortable with violence
– it’s a difficult subject. Often I think the human
race gets caught up in an endless cycle of violence, and
whilst I understand the infuriation of people who attack
those who have enslaved them, somewhere we have
to move forward, learn lessons of the past and make
the changes. Surely that is the ultimate aim – equality
and a peaceful world for all. For example, attacking that
Royal car in the UK protests recently was somewhat
symbolic, but I feel the real actual issue is to understand
that the British Monarchy is an unnecessary, outdated,
elitist institution and should be dissolved. That does not
mean personally hurting or executing the Monarchy or
anything though—that’s like bloodlust and I couldn’t do
that to another human being whoever it may be. If we do
that then we learn nothing.

PE: Have you been aware of the situation in France
when Nicolas Sarkozy has decieded to expluse all
the Gypsies from the country, while destroying their
houses and caravans?
BARNEY: Yes, I find it deeply unsettling that this has
been allowed to happen in France – especially as the
EU (agree or disagree with them as an organisation)
– has always been quite vocal about human rights and
racism and associated things. If the EU is unwilling to
stop this action, then obviously we as people have to
make our voices heard and underline that all people are
equal under the basic human right to exist without provocation.
As far as the extreme right wing movements
go, they are always there. They may have a bit more
momentum with the economic situation, but I have not
known a time when they weren’t encouraging paranoia
and suspicion of others.

PE: I’ve always been a big fan of Rob Middleton’s
artwork and I think alot of people involved in PE
are as well, since he’s worked on a few projects for
the fanzine / label and has been a featured artist in
one issue. What importance do you as a band have
for your artwork and layout and how did you come
to work with Mid and what is crucial for you in this
aspect of art for your band and albums?
BARNEY: Personally, I’ve known Mid since before his
band DEVIATED INSTINCT even released the first
demo. He’s a great guy and his art thing was always
eye-catching; kind of that doomsday-esque / AMEBIXish
approach. Without changing that direction too much,
for NAPALM, he colorised it a little more and just simply
developed it to the kind of topics we were talking about
on our albums. Nothing was too crucial – we would
rather let Mid develop some art naturally as we kind of
thought that he would know best after we’d given him
the themes . Generally I think art is very important, but
it’s also subjective – some people don’t care too much.
You can, though, be as creative with imagery as you can
with writing a guitar riff or a lyric.

PE: How did Feto Records come together and was there
ever a possibility/consideration for NAPALM DEATH to
take back its own catalog and rerelease old records?
BARNEY: The initial nucleus of the idea was to have it
as an imprint for the band, so we could assume more of
the control by sub-releasing our stuff onto it from bigger
independent labels. However, as I mentioned earlier,
the release of a NAPALM DEATH album would have
proven to be be just too much for us alongside everything
else. Plus, we don’t have access to the rights still
from a lot of earlier albums so there’s not much to say
on that.
Shane (our bass player) actually went onto develop
it as his own label and put out bands that he wanted
to, which was fine with us. So it’s not really wholly a
NAPALM thing anymore. I think even that got to be too
much work for Shane, so I suppose the label is kind of
in suspension for now. Actually, the only NAPALM thing
available on the label is a split picture disc with Nasum
which was recorded in Japan years ago. I almost forgot
about that.

PE: How has touring with NAPALM DEATH changed
over the years, knowing the band’s going to celebrate
its 30 years of existence soon? Do you have to compromise
to make a living out of the band, especially with
members’ side projects?
Touring is a really varied process for us and that’s not
really changed over the years. We’re quite happy to go
out and self-drive a van, but if it’s a 30-date Euro tour
with a package of other international bands, it’s actually
cheaper to hire a tour bus and get all the bands
on board. We had something like 27 people on one vehicle
for the last Euro tour. Or of course we do the short
weekend fly-ins quite a lot. Regarding on-tour habits,
I couldn’t really think of too many differences with that
over time either. Speaking for myself, I live a very simple
life at home and I similarly live a very simple life on tour.
All I really need is a shower, relatively healthy vegan /
vegetarian food, a few hours sleep, my books that I take
with me and not too much else. For one thing, I don’t
touch alcohol on tour – it would have a really negative
affect on me being able to play. As far as side projects,
obviously Shane has lots of them. He’s just brimming
with ideas about doing lots of different stuff, so that
release feels good for him. For me, I
get asked to do a lot of guest vocals
on other band’s albums and I’m happy
to do just that alone for now. NAPALM
alone gets us a certain living from the
band, and I don’t see anything wrong
with that. It’s certainly not excessive
and we don’t compromise the ND approach
to get more.

PE: Your lyrics are a very strong
part of ND- For Time Waits For No
Slave, you made short videos for
each song to get the message out.
Do you think alot of your fans attach
a lot of importance to it? Would
you like to make the message more
important than their long hair and
head banging ? What kind of back
flows have you had from this ? Does
ND consider itself as an anarchistinfluenced
band ?
BARNEY: I think video is just another
extension of the art and you can obviously
do lots more with moving images.
People talk about the subject matter of
our various videos and of course we try
to always give them a subject basis, so
I guess it must be working somehow.
All these things are subjective though,
so what I would say is that it’s up to the
individual how they enjoy it or whether
they look a little deeper. Is ND an anarchist-
influenced band? I would say that is kind of a
paradox given that anarchism is kind of based around
free-thinking anyway. But is ND influenced by certain
bands that happen to class themselves as anarchists?
Yes, on several levels of course. Personally, I moved
away from labelling myself as an anarchist or assuming
any kind of personal label years ago. Quite simply, I just
try to open my mind and think freely. It’s consistently a
very refreshing way to live life.

PE: I think this has been long enough to get some
words through even if I’d like this to go on. Just a
last question, how do you feel about an interview in
PE rather than in some kind of a big metal magazine
with much bigger circulation of copies ?
BARNEY: Great. I don’t tend to make distinctions. I do
every interview that comes my way. It doesn’t matter
what it is and I don’t count circulations. Most important
to me is that people actually want to talk about the band.
I’m quite familiar with Profane Existence anyway – have
had quite a few friends who were connected with it over
the years. We are therefore old acquaintances!

PE: I’d like to thank you, Barney, for taking your time
doing this interview. You are more than welcome to add
whatever you feel like on any subject and on any upcoming
projects for the band and tours! Keep it grinding,
buddy!
BARNEY: I suppose it’s a fairly common closing comment,
but thanks to everybody who keeps supporting
us and therefore helps to keep us excited and enthusiastic!
We’re about to start working on a new album,
which should be out late 2011. Peace and love to everybody.
And thanks for the time, space and attention,
Flox. Cheers.
NAPALM DEATH e PE 60/61 15