Bristol’s Hateful Abandon are one of the most exiting and unpredictable bands in today’s underground, and 2011 may well be their biggest year yet. After 2008′s genre-despising masterpiece Famine (Or Into the Bellies of Worms) (Todestrieb), the band laid low for a while, but are now resurfacing with two new albums and some live performances in the works. We caught up with frontman and multi-instrumentalist V/M to find out a bit more about what’s in store.

You’ve been speaking prophetically about a complete change in direction for Hateful Abandon. How would you describe what you’re trying to do as a band in 2011?

We’re just going to be doing what comes naturally, not really changing direction as such. We always said that it would be great play live if we could find a way and always looked to find other people to fill our vacant positions on stage (E.g. on ‘Famine’ there was 2 guitar parts, bass, keys, vocals and drums). So we’ve had to find a way of playing HA with just the two of us. One way of doing this and keeping it ‘live’ was to strip our sound down to keys and vocals. We’ve been playing ‘live’ in the studio for about 9 months or so now and it really works as a two-piece. It feels really fresh and exciting, so the album after the new one will be written entirely like this in order to play the songs live.

I had the impression from your updates last year that you’d got quite far with a follow-up to Famine…, called Money Bastard Soul. Is that all completely scrapped now? Is any of the recorded material (like ‘Buried’, which is still on your myspace page, or the Cabaret Voltaire cover) ever going to see the light of day?

Yep. We’ve done a 360 on this one. We’re going to be releasing that album this year (very soon hopefully) under the name of ‘Move’. Sometimes when you write music it can a get a little stale and you become detached from the message and the sound. We were so excited about the new way of writing we just thought ‘Fuck it, let’s scrap that bastard and write a new album.’ Late last year I was pissed and stuck on the demos and it blew me away. Tom mailed me the next day and said he’d done the same. It really is a great great record and we now can’t wait to release it. ‘Money Bastard…’ will be the name of album number 3…hopefully out Autumn 2011.

Your sound on Famine felt as if it had developed organically, rather than a conscious attempt to blend genres. How did the new one come about? Are there any artists in particular that have influenced it?

‘Famine’ was pretty much improvised/jammed in 3 sessions. No direct influence as such, just ‘photosynthesis’. Obviously some other influences bled in more than others. You know which track I mean (Painters Rope *cough). I find it a little bit embarrassing to be honest. BUT FUCK IT. It’s a good song.

What kind of subjects have you been exploring in the lyrics to your new songs?

The can of worms. Decay. Apocalypse. Money money money. Poundland. Streets. Dust. Dying culture. Wires. People. Slums. Farmers. Work. Pain. £££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££
£££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££

How has it been taking Hateful Abandon to a live stage? Have you had a good response from audiences?

I think the audience was pretty scared to be honest. Well, at least shellshocked. I got pretty angry/worked up. I thought I’d ruined it to be honest because I just can’t pretend everything is nice and we’re going to play some nice music for folk. Fuck it, it was what it was and what will be. We’ll be playing in London with Urfaust this Autumn.

Are you playing anything off Famine, or is it all new material?

All new brother. That’s the plan. I’m thinking of trying some old tracks though. We’ll see.

From the live video of ‘There will Never be Peace’, you can definitely still hear a bit of metal in there, at least in the vocals. Do you guys still listen to much metal? What modern metal have you most enjoyed lately?

Yeah, I listen to a ton of Metal. Not really fussy about genres to be honest I just like music. It just came out Metal because I was angry. It wasn’t like that in the studio.

Modern Metal? Ugh, Dunno……dunno.

Between the two of you, you’ve covered a fair bit of musical ground in the different projects you’ve been involved in. How does it feel listening back to the stuff you’ve done in the past in Abandon, Basilisk and Swine? Do you feel any continuity between your past and present music?

V/M – I only listen to HA and Tom’s projects. Don’t listen to Basilisk and Abandon. Hard times mate. I was in a bad way really. Too difficult.

You said in an interview that you always used to get drunk before recording stuff for your past projects. What role does intoxication play in the writing and recording of material for Hateful Abandon?

We get drunk yeah. I don’t think it’s important as such but more because we’re having a good time doing HA and we want every session to be a celebration. We’ve done literally hundreds of cans these last couple of years.

The photography in the artwork for Famine captures the feel of the music perfectly, especially the front cover image. Where was it taken/where did you find it? Can you divulge any plans for the next record’s artwork?

That was taken by Håkan Jonsson of Total Holocaust Records of a pier in Sweden. The loneliness of the piece really struck me. Bleak as Hell. Next artwork…ooh you’ll have to wait and see. It’s one of the most powerful images ever…not going to ruin it now though. Wait.

The lyrics are a huge part of what you do, and I’ve always wondered what your song ‘Painter’s Rope’ is about. Would you be willing to shed some light on that?

V/M – I had a dream where I was responsible for painting the night sky black by heaving a pulley for 7 hours as punishment for my earthly sins.

When can we expect a new release from Hateful Abandon? And do you have plans for some more live shows soon?

I Would like to say Spring/Early Summer. Fingers crossed…we have a couple of shows pencilled in like the once with Urfaust in October. But nothing else written in stone. Keep an eye out!

Finally, in interviews you both come across as huge music geeks (like us…) Please could you recommend a few records you love that we’ve probably never heard?

You may have heard these, I’m not the one for obscure records anymore.

Killing Joke: – Everything up to and including Extremities.
Suicide: Fuck it – everything.
Pil – Metal Box/Flowers of Romance.
Vangelis – Bladerunner Soundtrack.
Autechre – Chiastic Slide.
Bosse – Echoes of the Forgotten.

I can’t go on…I have maybe a list of 200 favourite albums…

Is there anything you’d like to add?

Sorry for the wait. It takes time to Hate.

1. Dark Recollections: For those not familiar with the beast known as Ghast… introduce the band.

Kz: We’re from Wales. There are three of us in the band. We practice the dark arts.

Arrr: Messy, melancholic aggression performed with the minimal of fuss.

2. Dark Recollections: Tell us about your demos, eps and Cd you have released so far…

Kz: We self-released 3 demos, one a year, 2004, 05 and 06, under the band name Souldust.

Then in 2007 released our first recordings under the moniker Ghast, on a split release with Helvette from Singapore.

Our album ‘May The Curse Bind’ came out on CD in 2008 on Todestrieb Records, re-issued on cassette in 2009 by Sinister Stench Productions, and finally released on double vinyl in 2010 by Flenser Records.

Also in 2010 our new CD ‘Terrible Cemetery’ came out on Todestrieb Records, it is also to come out on 12 inch format sometime in 2011 on Thorn Laceration Records. We are now writing our second full-length album.

what has been the response like for each release?

Kz: The response to ‘May The Curse Bind” was surprising, I didn’t really expect any response at all, but we’ve received high praise for what I consider a rough bag. Terrible Cemetery is following suit, it isn’t as rough and it has still been well-received so far.

Arrrr: MTCB: People seem to like it. Not too sure about TC, not too much feedback.

3. Dark Recollections:why was the named changed to Ghast?

Kz: I never liked the name Souldust.

Arrr: ^ Souldust was a poor name, we needed something half-decent.

4. Dark Recollections: has the line up been the same since the souldust days ?

Kz: No, on the first two demos in 2004 and 2005 we were a four-piece, had two guitar players, Arrrrrrrach and Va. By the time we recorded our 2006 demo Va had left, and we’ve been a three piece ever since.

5. Dark Recollections: what kind of response did your debut Cd receive… how did contract with record label come about?

Kz: Todestrieb contacted us via email after hearing the 2007 split release.

Surprisingly the CD received excellent reviews in the metal media, and spread across the blog downloading sites like a virus.

6. Dark Recollections: talk about your latest release “terrible cemetery” … tell us song with the same name… it has the be the longest song ever..(20 mins)

Kz: Terrible Cemetery is the longest recorded Ghast track. We were glad to record it so we could concentrate on writing new material at rehearsals.

Arrr: TC was a song that would not stop growing, which is why it doesn’t really finish. Thought there would be no more material like that from us, but two songs fr the next album seem to have wormed their way toward 15 minutes.

did you ever think you would write such an epic blackened anthem… is this song ever been played at a show?

Kz: We haven’t played Terrible Cemetery at any of our shows. It might happen one day.

Arrr: I thought about it, but more as a fancy. It happened somehow, not consciously.

7. Dark Recollections: have you had any offers from record labels outside of European Union to release your Cds?

Kz: Yes, several. ‘May The Curse Bind’ was released on 12 inch records by Flenser Records from San Francisco.

8. Dark Recollections: Tell us about some of the shows you have played… what bands have you played with, fan reaction t yer musak?

Kz: We finished up last year with a short UK tour with Skaldic Curse, Primitive Graven Image and Throes. We played all over Britain last year, and this year is looking to be the same.

Arrrr: Live, we usually get a decent response. It feels as though people appreciate that we get on with the job- no frills.

9. Dark Recollections: would Souldust demos ever by released on Cd?

Kz: That’s highly unlikely, it would have to be a limited run if so. I don’t think the material is strong enough to justify asking someone to spend money buying it.

Arrrr: I fucking hope not.

10. Dark Recollections: have you had any offers to play outside of the U.K

Kz: There has been talk of us playing overseas, I hope the talk does lead to us doing it. I’d like to see how people in other countries react to Ghast.

… if you could pick the perfect touring line up.. what bands would you tour with?

Kz: Hopefully bands I could bare to listen to every night.

Arrrr: I have no idea, I like watching all sorts of music. If it was straight BM, I would rather they could jam a bit, or let aggression and passion overshadow finesse, so I could enjoy them every night.

11. Dark Recollections: do you go to metal shows much… if so, what are some of the bands you have seen play, or bands you wish you had seen play?

Kz: I see bands play often. I wish I could see bands play in a good venue, at a reasonable volume, not over-crowded, no waiting at the bar and a comfortable seat and low table if required.

12. Dark Recollections: any merchandise available from you…(list items, prices, etc)

Kz: We have shirts.

13. Dark Recollections: any last words, comments, thanks for the interview

Kz: Thanks for your continued interest, and thanks for the interview.

Arrrr: Ta!

In discussing his band’s inclusion in this week I insisted that their origination in black metal and development through post-black metal 80′s x-wave/post-punk bands out to their current sound made their inclusion essential as an example of the kinds of developments the genre is capable of producing, specifically within the UK.   Here comes Martin’s response:
I have spent the better part of an hour looking at your questions and deciding how to answer them, the reason for my difficulty lies in how we are represented (now globally, because of the internet). A lot of people that have heard of us have done so because of either the debut album “Famine…” or because they know of our past, and in Tom’s case other present, band/s (Basilisk, Swine and Salute respectively). The obvious ties to Black Metal are present for all to see.

However, H.A. (Hateful Abandon) is a different beast entirely, the reason I feel that I need to make the difference plain is both out of respect for Black Metal and also H.A. as an entity.

You see, we have been ‘lumped’ into a sub-sub-category of music that neither of us are happy with. That is to say ‘Post-Black Metal’. It’s easy to see why this is a simple, almost lazy way to describe our music. Our debut album has a very real influence that most would agree has stemmed from our Black Metal past projects. You see, the first record is a cathartic brain-fart of all the ideas, both lyrically and musically, I’ve been unable to do recording on my own from the last 15 years. Some of the lyrics, for example, are very personal. Being inspired by at last having someone I could work with that totally knew how I wanted to express myself was, and continues to be, overwhelming. The result is a mishmash of half improvised, half jammed music that simply came from within.

We didn’t think about ‘genre’ once during the recording process and let the album just naturally bleed itself out.  So, on the debut we have a lot of songs with half snatched riffs, a backbone of spiky bass guitar and lilts of tone similar to what some would call ‘post-punk’. In reality, far from this being planned it was just the most basic way to work fast and keep the emotion intact.

So, the record came out 2 years ago to this very day and we have grown as a unit since, with both members now fully committed to writing. We have now ditched the ‘guitar’ completely, and have forged a new sound that is neither ‘this’ nor ‘that’. It is bound to confuse and confuddle the lazy journalistic types and frustrate the weekend warriors into a state of brow-knitted frenzy. We hope it entertains and delights as many as it disgusts. Nothing has been released yet, but you’ll see us on the road next year. It’s a new start, as they say in the Independent Sunday supplements.

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Appalled to see we are mentioned alongside the new ‘shoe-gaze Black Metal’ movement. I’ll make this simple, we are absolutely appalled. I don’t understand why nowadays music HAS to be ‘Something Black Metal’ or ‘Something Punk’etc. Why can’t it simply be an influence? I would HATE to think of H.A. being associated with a watered down crossover version of Black Metal and another form of music. That’s how I see this up and coming trend, as two types of music watered down. If you’re recording Black Metal, do it pure. Do something new by all means, but play Black Metal.

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That kind of segues nicely into another question you asked me, about UK Black Metal. I have to be honest; I’m out of the loop. I know what I like and I know what I don’t like, but that’s not much use to you. I will say this, it’s far better than it was when Basilisk started back in 2002. There was literally nothing around then at all. If I have to namedrop, I’ll say whatever state UK Black Metal is in, it’s made infinitely better by the existence of Caina and Instinct. But I fear I do them a disservice by attaching the stigma of ‘UK’ to describe them, they deserve much more than that. Also, with both of these projects I hear a lot more going on in the sound to describe it as simply ‘Black Metal’. I think Black Metal, and actually Metal in general, has lost not only its soul, but its shock value and ability to provoke as well, unless you’re in an environment that is very naive and religious nobody seems to bat an eyelid. I am certainly now totally desensitized to its provocation; maybe I’m the naive one…?

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Your question about environment is interesting, with H.A we are constantly inspired by the old disused warehouses, dilapidated wastelands and cracked pavements of the United Kingdom, it clashes beautifully with the green, leafy, twee idea of England that most people seem to have. Ok, that England does still exist (for now) but look hard enough and you can see the decay. Civil unrest, the credit crash, and the approaching end of the World are other constant muses for H.A 2010. Don’t try and save the World, it’s already dead! Sit back and watch it decompose with H.A as your soundtrack!
So, what is the point of this whole piece? H.A is not a Black Metal band. What are we? Come see.

Interview by Not for Resale blog.

Amen to that.

Guitarist/vocalist Arrrrrrrach, is slightly more abrupt with his assertion that their form of Black Metal simply involves “Atmosphere and aggression”
Amen to that.

The savage bleakness and minimalism of their sound sets them at odds with almost the entire wave of current bands I’ve come across. Environment playing as large a part in the genre’s sound as it does, is it because of their location in the industrial town of Swansea, under the rugged mountainsides of the Welsh countryside that engenders such a gritty morbidity.
Drummer Kz: “That is something you can’t escape, music is made by humans, and humans react to their environment. Some Black Metal bands make a big deal of this, and to others it is simply obvious and not worth pointing out.”
Myrggh: “You could argue that black metal should be against nature and should deny environmental influences. Look at early Mayhem: its more about striving towards the death of everything than appreciating the forests. I wouldn’t argue that though. Environmental influences? Yeah, why not”
I pose the notion of a distinctly British Black Metal sound developing around the country, to which Kz: is quick to refute “No, although there maybe a cheap computer sound that you could associate with some current British Black Metal, but overall, I think bands are doing different things.” So do they not feel there are any unifying elements or themes simultaneously, or co-operatively, stimulating many bands across the country, other than a coincidence of a lot of interesting music emerging that is garnering attention, or is that again, simply a convenient media editorial fabrication?

Arrrrrrrach: “I’d say that when we started, we made a conscious decision to be more miserable and rough than everyone else, so it’s fair to say that my/our perceived lack of these elements in the scene was something that helped shape what we are.”

Myrggh: “People often complain about journalistic tagging, or labels, but we need them to allow us to place things in context. Its how we make sense of the world – create stereotypes, make assumptions. It’s impossible to singularly attend to every new piece of information (i.e., including new bands you’ve heard). Therefore label of UKBM is inevitable and necessary. Perhaps there is some motivational effect in feeling part of a scene, which facilitates the creativity of bands within it, but also causes a herd mentality amongst newer bands. Look at other scenes in their early days – bands start out sounding different, but as a scene is increasingly identified a ‘sound’ develops. If there is a particular sound, we’re not part of it.”

So is there nothing recognizably British in Ghast’s music, or would that even be something important to them?
Kz: “We don’t try to sound like a British Black Metal band, we are aware of sounding like ourselves, however I can also recognize a British Doom sound in some of our material.”
Arrrrrrrach: “I mean, I think we listen to a lot of British music, older northern death doom, trad doom and all that sort stuff, as well as stuff from elsewhere that was influenced by it. I’m pretty sure there is a distinct British way of harmonizing, which I fucking love and want to continue, but not because it is British, just because it is so mournful.”
Myrggh: “I’m not concerned what other British bands do, as long as it’s not consistently shit. I was concerned about 10 years ago when Thus Defiled used to be considered the frontrunners of UKBM – those were sad, sad days.”
Their new two track EP, Terrible Cemetery has just been released on Todestrieb Records and features one short 8 minute track and one expansive twenty minute saga, incorporating every element they’ve described int his discussion – evil overbearing atmosphere weighing down like a doom claw spread over a ritual anticipating the delivery of its sacrifice. The vocals are pitched just under a hysterical shriek, flung wild and feral into the night sky as the music traverses its dynamically planned course across slow climbs and rapid descents, big bursts of power riffing that casts shadows over the faster, blurred tremelo shredding then down, grinding into blown out bass noise sections where the momentum carries the track forward but everything else seems to stand still. As essential an addition to the UKBM canon as their previous 2008 demo album May The Curse Bind.

Interview by Not for Resale blog.

Salute Interview Audio File

Salute on Sonic Attack, Total Rock Radio, 29 July 2009 – Interview and Playlist – Part 1

Salute on Sonic Attack, Total Rock Radio, 29 July 2009 – Interview and Playlist – Part 2

Left click or right click/save-as will work.

Tracks, the tracks:

Salute – Shredding Belt
Discharge – Protest and Survive
Saint Vitus – Dark World
Salute – Downtown
Darkthrone – Lifeless
Tyrant – Restart
Inepsy – Who’s Next
Eibon – Mirror Soul Jesus
Ramesses – Baptism of the Walking Dead
Salute – Gin Lake
Killing Joke – So36
Amebix – Winter
Eyehategod – Revolution-revelation
Hellhammer – Messiah
Witchfinder General – Last Chance
Nekromantheon – Unchained from the Devout
Aura Noir – The Spiral Scar
Virus – Archives

Khaks & Socks

The ‘LUTE space.

Hi SALUTE great to talk with you how r you doin guys?.

SWINE – Pretty sharp brother, pretty nice. Late, alone in the Salute bunker drinking cold ones and listeng to Caramel Dad’s back catalogue. Its snowing quite heavily outside… First time in yeeeeaaaarrrsss. Pretty rite!

G – The first question is about your upcoming album. I’ve been waiting for this release for so long and some demos i’ve heard on your myspace page are just killer! So how long have you been working on this album and what music influenced you the most during recording of the songs?..

S – We started recording the album October 20th 2007, and we finished around Jan 08 (spread over a few sessions.) Some tracks were written at the time of recording and some a year or so previous. We mixed/mastered it throughout the first part of 2008 whilst waiting to find a label. Influence on this one – heavy sounds and dragon stout. Plenty of of Soul on the album… Much more nasty than Above the law.

G – What label is gonna release this new LP and will it be available on vinyl or only CD again?

S – WITCHES BREW GERMANY is releasing the slab on cd at first, then maybe vinyl in the future by someone. Above the Law will come out on vinyl im sure. We didnt realise enough people would want it on vinyl, so we didnt even really think about it. We just pushed on. STRUGGLE!!!!
Dont get me wrong though vinyl is the truth. Listen to hell awaits or south of heaven on vinyl compared the cd versions. Makes you want to melt your disk collection….

What studio do you use for your recordings and do you produce your work yourself?..

S – We have our own self-built studio – MUSCLE STUDIOS UGH!!!. it’s an old barn we use for jamming/recording. Its been THE compound for the past 7/8 years. Many parties here. Marked by the Baron was done here too along with Hateful Abandons new one (ROPE-AAHHH). I control the dials in the studio along with help and much input from Kaptain, although the equipment gets damp and solied from cider spillage and cig dust. Lots of old drum around courtesy of the Axelad! JIMMY!

G – The new songs seems to be a little bit doomish maybe heavier.. i mean “Six Deep”, but on the other hand “Dr. Faust” is a very motor song, fast and punkish. Who composes all music in the band and do you make all arrangements together?.. Or do you and Kaptain just write different songs and then work with these songs in the studio?..

S – HAHA Motor grind! Heavier for sure!!! The work ethic is – know your music, keep buying music, and write riffs that are horrid/sharp/nasty. We’ll never change or stop. SALUTE is an old Tanker!.
Kaptain and I both write songs. I write alot separately and he brings shit to the table for us to jam out together with myself on the beaters. In the futue we will be writing songs in our room as a full band along with our drummer Jimmy Axe. Hes a rusher/shredder on the kit…sounds very punkish to me. Aggressive. Hes been laying down stuff for a while now. JUST YOU WAIT! GAS TANKS!

G – If you can name some songs from the new LP and describe them, please tell about it. Especially interesting to know about your influences because some riffs are just fantastic (like main “Shredding Belt” riff for example!).

S – That riffs a fucking nasty backward riff. Horrid. All riffs are influenced by mood/feel/groove/time. Its gotta sound alive as shit! That is SALUTE. Real and true!!! Always. We’re all buggers, but we stay true to the way of Humongous.

I dont wanna describe my mornings or the songs though, you’ll know whats going on by the sounds. Most of the lyrics will be in the sleeve so look and sip! Its all just influence pushed through and out how we want it to sound. FEEL! No harbouring of guilt and unhappyness here. LET IT OUT! PUSH!

G – The last album was very heavy metal like, maybe with an influence of some sleaze/glam metal (i think so at least). You are the only band i know that mixes Motorhead, Celtic Frost and maybe old hard rock and heavy metal into very original and outstanding type of metal, so do you consider yourself a heavy metal band or something else?.. I personally think your first influence is Hellhammer/Celtic Frost am i right?

S – You are correct about the first album to a point yeah. Kaptain was pumping the sleaze alot at the time. We have probaly talked about what genre type we would be about twice in the last 5 years. Its doesnt matter AT ALL! I mean Voivod used to be classed as power metal sometimes. Whats power metal now?????
Ive never wanted to be in a one genre band playing just thrash or just heavy metal etc. We listen to a HELL of alot of music and as long as we create songs that we can pour to and live by then thats all that matters. That goes for alot of bands too i think..good bands. To us its boring writing just thrash songs because you’re supposed to be a thrash band etc. You’re gonna get tired pretty quick.

G – OK what was your influence from the start when you formed the band? I know that Salute was kinda black metal oriented band (or cover band) is it right?

S – We were a Marillon cover band to start with, mixing our sets with some Mcartney hits too. HA! Fuck Paul!!! Dickhead… Our first demo/album was mostly black metal with some groove and thrash. Some good songs from that time but the style was done with for us so we swiftly sorted things out.

G – Also tell please about the “Swine” project.. great straight Von worship band! Is this project alive or it is buried?..

S – That was a one-off idea back in 2004 after quitting controlled education. Written and recorded in a week and released by ourselves. It turned out pretty good. Maybe a little polished but there wasn’t much thought to it. Again, just mood. I’d like to do more sometime but Salute is priority at the moment. Im waiting for the sign… V FOR VEADTUCK

G – ‘Marked By The Baron’ has been re-released but maybe other records of SWINE are possible?

S – Hopefully. Itll be fucking real next time around though.

G – You are a completely underground band. What do you think about signing to a big label?.. In the 80s many great bands had struck deals with big labels but now all good underground bands are doing everything themselves or use DIY type labels..
Do you think the situation on that field has changed for the worse in last 10-15 years? Big labels are no more a target, you know.

S – BACKLASH/BACKWASH/BACKBREAK

With the Internet and cheaper recording equipment made available, bands have the opportunity to do alot more work themselves. This has problems with quality control though. Alot more shit gets further than it should (check out free cd’s you get with alot of metal mags for instance.. Crap.) I dont know about big labels, there must be good points and bad points. Alot of ripping off happens. You hear about it everyday. MONEY! Real people will find the music that counts wherever it is, the rest doesnt count for shit.

G – What influences your lyrics? Who writes them in your band?

S – We usually write lyrics for our own songs, sometimes together, mostly not. Influences vary from rotten moods to certain riffs/songs/bands we like. The mood a good riff puts you in can be more productive than anything.

G – What were the first metal bands you’ve started to listen to and when did you discover heavy music? (the question for all members!)

S – Kaptain says he’s been listening to Hellhammer since ’83!!!! Maybe son! He did go to school with Nico Mcbrain’s son though, and they were good friends for a time, so thats pretty hardcore. He was always a big Maiden fan when we were growing up. I prefer the Dianno albums now but when he showed me Rhyme of the ancient mariner back in the day I couldnt believe it!!!! Jimmy has been exclusively listening to Repulsion all his life, and I got into Sepultura’s Morbid visions when I was about bloody 8! I didn’t realise back then that it’d become a fuckin destert island number. AAAGHGHGHH. OHG!

G – What was the last CD/LP you’ve bought (also a question for all members).

S – My last few were some Killing joke rarities, Budgie, Nazareth’s Best of (a present)
Kaptain – Noir’s HADES RIIISEE.
Jimmy Axe – Kode 9 and the spaceape – Memories of the future, some new wave dub-step.

The new VIRUS too!! Shitting hell!

G – What do you think about punk and metal music mixing into the poly-stylistic thing? Can you name the best punk-metal band in your opinion?

S – The style is about a natural as spending all your spare time ploughing music. Salute is the best band that mixes punk/metal. Yes that’s correct now…

G – Please name you favourite modern bands and also maybe some british unknown bands which in your opinion are best in UK scene.

S – Modern bands as in bands still going/past 10/20 years i’d say Inepsy, Darkthrone, Electric Wizard, Ramesses, Aura Noir, Portishead (for 3). This aint a good question for me, the beers have kicked in and Ive been spending all my time STILL searching the vaults of old. Check out Gayspace, follow links, hit the zines. It’s all there, fucking tonnes! British bands – Old Mayor – some old lads weve known for years. HEAVY STREET DOOM RIFFS! Thats about it for the british unknown scene. Dry…

G – How big was the people’s response to ‘Above The Law’? Are you satisfied with it?

S – The response was all positive. Even if its a bad review its good anyway, as it means the reviewer hasn’t got a fucking clue!!!! We didnt know what the response would be like at all and we’re satisfied with the album as a first proper release. Again, it was true to us at the time. There is not fake striding on there!!!

G – Tell us about your interests and views if its possible.

S – All of us live for music…. nerd overlords! Then comes film, beer, literacy PILES, hanging out, working hard and the struggle/push. Kaptain is a Poker lad, Jimmy hits Chess. I do youtube music research ha! V/M stlye!

G – Are you plannin to do lots of big tours?.. Maybe a european tour in near future? (that would’ve been great!!)

S – We wanna start hitting Europe more for sure. We need to be invited first though ha! Were hitting Portugal in March so cant wait for that little baby. Gonna explode. We wanna start putting our own shows on in the UK though. We’re fed of paying like 200 quid to travel and play a fucking show with bands you wouldn’t even believe!! ROT

G – The next question is just for fun: ‘Above the Law’ was also a name for one Stieven Seagal movie
Maybe you took that name for the album from the movie?

S – HAHA the only Seagal/Seagul movie thats any cop is an old one, maybe his first. Man I forgot it. The ending scene is him busting down a drug den. Going nuts. Bar that i’d maybe only watch Under seige for the millionth time on a sunday in cacks and Blue rays. Hard times, but the 12 cold will rise to the occasion!!!

But no we didn’t take our name from that. The name represents passion for SOUND!

OFF!

Alright Kaptain
Turn it up… Louder! LOUDER! LOUDER!!! So when did the band turn up on this earth, and who is in the line up now? Did you have any bands before forming Salute?

Bands before the lute?? Yea, there was Castle Rat, We smoked! Played heavy daze! I handled the 4 string digger in that band..ough. Myself and Swine did a few various ‘projects’ i guess you could call them, but nothing that could be considered a band.

The first demo you had out was the Break Neck Speed Triumph, are you happy with the way this for a debut? Do you still promote it, as it’s somewhat blacker than the newer material? Is it still available?

why promote a demo? Its killer…hopefully it’ll see the light on an lp format or something with maybe a Salute keychain and wallet…heavy metal money keeper!! EEEEOUSEEEE!! AOOOOOOOAAWWW Its the future boys, ive seen it.

Your next output was on the Above the Law album from ’07. As Todestrieb is only a small label, do you know how well Above the Law has been spread beyond these isles? What’s the furthest out you’ve received feedback from? Do you know how well it’s selling?

Hopefully its spreading far and wide EPIDEMIC – PANDEMIC!!, i like to think there is a girl in South Korea banging her head kamakazzii style to sweet tones of Downtown….Maniaxxx. I know yer out there baby! This one’s for you…

There wasn’t much of a break between the release of Above the Law before you started recording the next album The Underground, so what caused the rush? (speedfreaks?…no rest for the wicked) You mentioned in Birmingham about not being happy with the sound of Above the law (The Underground seems to have lost some of the lighter rock n roll feel, being much denser sounding), but what was it you were looking to improve on with the newest one?

The sound on Above is good, it fits the mood of the album. Its true, the U.G sound has a’lot more depth, more weight! We wrote a much better record than Above, more mature and rounded. Swine wrote the majority of this one where as I wrote most of Above, I tend to lean toward writing the rockers where he writes the pumpers.

The last two albums have leant heavily towards the early sounds of Celtic Frost and Hellhammer. But do you want to be banded together with Warhammer, Apokalyptic Raids, Nordic Mist or any of the other Hellhammer worshippers, as little more than a tribute (or a salute to the old guns) band? Or do you want to be judged purely on your own material rather than being continually compared to the old masters? But would this mean that you’d have to drop the Ooough! at some point?!?

Drop the Ough…haha are you kidding? Thats the whole reason the band exists!! OUUGH! We’ve barely scratched the surface…OUGH! you want another?? OUGHGHH!! OUUUUUSEE

Banded together with the other CF/Hellhammer worship bands…? No!

Influences are encouraged and run strong for sure, old ways cannot be ignored but Salute has its own sound, its own vision, its own purpose. Apok Raids kill and i love them but i wouldnt personally feel satisfied if I was in a band that was that close to homage, its one away from changing your name to Thomas Fischer, speaking German and thinking its cool to be hang out with 1349.

Is it true that chanting Ooough! backwards 666 times over an open grave is enough to wake the Reaper? Only the mounds are deaf…

It is. I thought that was myth until I did it one drunken evening…REAAAPER PER PERRR!!

Aside from the Frosty influence, you’ve got a nice mixture of the grittiness of crust punk along with the bulldozing raw power of the Kilmister in his prime. But where do the main influences to create this lo-fi music come from? If it’s your lifestyle/social environment, why is it that no one else in England can play this kind of ballsy metal any longer???

Its impossible to place where it comes from, me and Swiney channel everything into the music, emotions/dreams/visions etc and this is how it sounds, if my head was attached to a loudspeaker then ‘lute would be blasting out. THRASH MAD! WISIONS OF THE GODS! PROCREATION OF THE NITE!

All of your recordings, were they recorded in your own rehearsal bunker? What prevents you from recording in a ‘professional’ studio? Finances? Or just that you enjoy your own freedom as far as recording deadlines go? What kind of equipment and guitars are you using? How does the writing process go into making a complete song?

Yea we record all our stuff in the bunker, THE COMPOUND!! we want complete control and although it can be a total ballache going through the recording process ourselves, on the whole it works out better and is ultimately rewarding. The bunker can almost be considered integral to our music, we can record as and when we want, infuse new ideas and if needed pour booze and drugs all over ourselves. It would be nice to be able to go into ‘pro’ studio and lay down tracks and whatever and let some other monkey do all the mixing etc, but I think it would be boring and frustrating, myself and Swine want to get our hands dirty. Equipment wise, nothing spectacular, but it’s getting better…I use old battered amps and crusty cabs how i get my sweet tones. Swine is a little more careful, he likes to polish his up…how he rolls

If I was to find a flaw in Salute, perhaps I could say you need a few more ripping leads. But this seems a problem with most bands these days, there aren’t too many that have managed to fully master their axe. Is this keeping in with the punk tradition of ‘it’s not what you play on the guitar, but how you play it’? How long have you been playing guitar, and how often do you spend practicing and in rehearsals?

Ripping leads?? Flaws in the ‘lute? what are you saying??? I can outrip both Tipton and Downing together brother…watch out!! I honestly cant play the guitar, never practice, cant even tune it, dangerous ways!!

Now for the inevitable ‘lyrical’ line of questioning… except the promo of The Underground doesn’t include any! So choosing two songs at random, what are Dr. Faust and Cargo of Loss about? Are the lyrics written to promote a certain ideology, or just about trying to cram in as many metalloid sounding words into a sentence as possible?

Dr Faust is about the legendary figure who made a PACT with the devil, In return for knowledge, wealth and women, he would give his soul to the devil after 25 years. In this instance Dr Faust does the deal and then hits the town to thrash mad and stove in women of the night!! YOU KNOW THAT’S RITE!!

You’ve recently penned a deal with Witches Brew to have The Underground pressed onto black wax. How will the artwork and layout differ from on the promo? Any chance of a collage? Will there be a CD version as well, or just the vinyl?

No vinyls as yet matey just cds…..

You’ve played a few shows up and down the country now, and if I’m not wrong have some Euro trips planned (or played?) with the Thor lover of OLD. But how has the reaction been in the UK? Most people here tend to waltz around with arms folded, turning their nose up at ‘drunken idiots’, so have you been given a warm welcome by the locals? What does a Salute live show involve, beyond heavy drinking?

We did a gig in Porto a few weeks back, it was a disaster….we couldn’t of played worse if we tried…bad tunings and drunken fuel; Apologies to anyone who paid money to watch that car accident of a performance…it wont happen again haha

Its true gigs in the UK can be stale with people stood there like lemons, but there aint much you can do about that. A Salute show normally involves a few games of cards pre-show whilst we douse ourselves in the free boozes, check out the local talent, a brief sound check followed by a backstage argument as to who forgot to bring a 9 volt. Salute then play 8 of the best from our ‘ahem’ solid back catalogue, we sometimes chuck in a cover…..then its drink/drugs time. END

Your vocalist Swine also plays in the band Swine, whose demo was the closest thing I’ve heard to capturing Von’s hypnotic pulse (maybe cus he stole a few of their riffs hehe…). Was this demo a one off recording, or will there be more in the future? Are you involved in any other projects? (is there a new Hateful Abandon album out soon?)

Similar to VON? First person to mention that, i’ll let him know.. I think he’s gonna do another PRAISE SATAN PRAISE SATAN PRAISE SATAN PRAISE SATAN PRAISE SATAN PRAISE SATAN. Im not involved in anything else, as far as H.A is concerned you’d have to ask them.

Once The Underground gets pressed, do you have anymore material you’re working on?

We’ve got some new irons on the go, a track called England which is a little nasty number, and some other daggers…be warned, Album number 3 will be fierce

Alright, we might as well close the bar up here, so the final calls are whose arm is it on the cover of Above the Law? And who does the scream at the beginning of 2 bit punk? Stay drunk, and stay ugly. Cheers!

The arm on the cover? No idea.

The scream? That’s the sound of the last divkid who tried to test the ‘lute…he was wearing an Arch Enemy shirt and stepped up…Ousee!!