There are still four months to go, but anticipation for the joint Latin American tour featuring Testament, Municipal Waste, and Immolation is already sky-high. Brazil will host five dates: Curitiba (Dec 5), São Paulo (Dec 6), Limeira (Dec 8), Belo Horizonte (Dec 10), and—to the surprise of many—Rio de Janeiro (Dec 13). This will mark the fifth visit to the country by these death metal veterans. Although their previous tour was recent, this new run serves to promote the newly released and acclaimed "Descent". Guitarist and founder Robert Vigna discusses the album with the excitement of a child who has just received a new toy.

Marcelo Vieira (@marcelovieiramusic)

"Descent" is Immolation's twelfth studio album, yet the band still sounds unmistakably like Immolation without simply repeating the formulas of the past. How conscious are you of the balance between preserving the band's identity and finding new territory as a songwriter?

I guess, yeah. Well, you have to be. You have to watch out for repeating yourself or trying to sound like anything else. It becomes more difficult the more songs you write and the more albums you release, you know? It gets harder and harder. But luckily, I just try to write stuff that sounds cool. Then, once I'm done with certain things and I send them out to the guys, I rely on Ross or Alex, who are more in tune with the older stuff, you know, and Steve, of course. If it sounds like anything else, they're kind of like my police, so to speak.

But, you know, you just try to do the best you can to come up with interesting-sounding stuff and go from there. I mean, there's really not too much of a formula in the sense of, like, "Okay, we're going to try this now. We're going to try something like that." It's just, "What do we come up with?" And then, if something sounds cool, we make it work. Or if it's something like, "Okay, this is a little different, but I think this could be cool," then we're good, you know?

But that's it. It's not like we go out of our way to say, "Okay, we're gonna do this. This record's gonna sound like this now." You know, it doesn't work that way.

The album title, "Descent", suggests a movement downward, while songs such as "False Ascent" and "Bend Towards the Dark" seem to reinforce that imagery. What does "descent" represent to you in the broader conceptual world of the album?

Yeah, well, the concept basically runs through the whole record, but mainly that song as well, which wraps up the record. It's really looking at everything going on around us today, as we always do. We're always just looking at what we see in the world and kind of reflecting on it, talking about it, bringing it to light, bringing the darker side of mankind to light.

In general, the song "Descent" just looks at really where we are today and how we've kind of... We're at a place now where, I know, we're starting to repeat stuff from the past that we shouldn't be, but we're also heading into some areas that we've not quite been before, I think. And that's kind of what that song is about. It's just about saying, "Hey, what are we doing here?" Because, you know, it seems like these days the world is a very... Everywhere you go and every subject, it just seems like everyone's at opposite ends of everything. Everything has become extreme, you know what I mean? Way too much. Less talking, more hatred, more anger, you know. So it's just a crazy place.

And I know we've done plenty of that in the past in our history, but it just seems like we're repeating certain points of that that people should realize by now never got us to a good place. So why are we doing that again, you know?

So, basically, that's roughly, in a nutshell, what the album looks at.

Immolation has always dealt with religion, power, humanity and the darker aspects of existence, but the band's lyrics have never felt like straightforward political or religious statements. After more than three decades of writing within this universe, where do you still find new ideas to explore?

I guess it's a little bit of both, but at the same time, there's a lot of stuff out there, so it's easy in that respect. It's just a matter of, well, you know, there are times when you're like, "What angle are we going to take? What are we going to do a little differently?" You know what I mean?

So, like, "The Ephemeral Curse" was cool because that kind of looks at humanity in general, basically explaining how small we are, you know? All the stuff we go through, but we mean nothing in the universe. You know, that's kind of what that song's about, in a nutshell.

So, you know, there are certain aspects you try to take different turns on, but I mean, there's plenty of the basic ideas and other darker things to go around to come up with stuff. Trust me.

I think, with the music, the more you've done, the harder it gets. But Ross and I always keep a lot of different ideas and concepts around, whether it be a title, one word, or a line or lines I've come up with when I'm writing the stuff. And then you take those and say, "Okay, what fits with what song?" Or, "This idea sounds cool. This song's a good song for this." You know?

So we just take it from there. That kind of makes it easier, and then we bounce things back and forth to each other. And that becomes the more... As stressful as it is, it's still the fun, the more fun part of writing, because the music—the hard part of the music—is done. The ideas and things we want to explore are there, so it's just a matter of kind of connecting them to the songs and then coming up with the lyrics.

Luckily, with that, you can do things at the last minute, or you can just brainstorm and come up with a bunch of stuff in one shot. So it's a little easier for me to write that stuff than it is the music itself. The music is always a little harder for me.

Immolation's guitar language has always been remarkably unconventional, with dissonant intervals, unexpected chord movements and riffs that often seem to work against traditional death metal structures. When you are writing, do you approach the guitar as a source of melody first, or are you primarily thinking in terms of atmosphere, tension and rhythmic movement?

It's usually more about the atmosphere, the feeling, you know what I mean? Like, whether I'm writing riffs, it doesn't matter if it's basic, if it's technical, or if it's something else. It's like, whatever sounds interesting or cool to me, that's what I go with.

It could be the most basic of things, but if it sounds cool, I'm like, "Okay, that sounds kind of basic, but it also sounds very cool, so I'm just gonna..." On my computer, I'll put drums to it to get an idea of what I want it to sound like, and then I'll put it to the side. And I'll do that with all the other parts, too, and eventually find parts that connect together. Or you come up with a part that you think can carry a song, and then you take that as your main thing and work around that.

But yeah, to me, it's more about the feeling. That goes for the solos as well. I've never been one to be like, "Okay, I have to really do some crazy solo here. I gotta show off," or whatever. You know, it's not that for me. It's more about what fits the music.

There are a lot of times when I do solos that are more rhythmic, that go along with the rhythm to carry a song to a certain point. Or if Alex and I are working on solos, he might do a solo and take a certain approach to it. So if he's doing that, I'll answer it with something a little different. This way, you have a little... You know, it's not like, "Okay, he's doing something crazy, I gotta do something crazy." It's like, "Okay, he did that. It's got a lot of emotion, so let me do something that's more laid-back," or vice versa, you know? So they kind of carry each other.

That's all it is to me. It's always about the feeling, no matter what it is—rhythm, solo, or anything else.

"Adversary" was the first song released from the album, and you also directed its video. Did you already have a visual concept in mind while writing the song, or did the music inspire the imagery afterward?

We had the music first, obviously, and then that was one of the first songs we put lyrics to. I happened to see "Adversary" written down in one of our notes, you know, and I said, "Okay, that's a pretty aggressive song. It kind of would fit that, I think." So I was like, "Let's go with that," and then just started writing from there.

And then, once the song was done and we were thinking about video tracks, that one came up, obviously. And yeah, we did have a couple of concepts in the sense of, "All right, I think we could put us in this kind of scenario." So that was my thought for that song.

You know, the videos—we actually shot all three of them together in the same weekend. So we had to kind of have somewhat of a concept. Luckily, the Adversary concept was there, so I was able to get the lighting to work for that particular concept. And then I did different lighting and looks for the other two songs, kind of not knowing what I was doing exactly for those.

But I tried to, you know, basically, when filming the band, I wanted to at least have three different looks so I could create three different videos with that. But yeah, Adversary—we kind of had the fire idea for sure, and then, you know, brought it on from there.

Luckily, it worked out, because when you're shooting and you're doing something specific—which I normally don't do—I'll shoot with certain lighting, but I won't do something as specific as we did with that kind of flame look. So that was kind of hit or miss. You know, if it didn't work, we're like, "All right, well, we're gonna have to figure something out here." But it worked out really good, and the video, you know, everything kind of came together on that one.

You also directed the videos for "Attrition" and "Bend Towards the Dark." What do you find creatively satisfying about working with images in addition to music?

It's interesting. I mean, it's something I slowly got into because I worked for a production company in Brooklyn, New York, for many years, where I not only programmed moving lighting fixtures and did that kind of production work, but we also did some minor video stuff on a small scale.

But then, as I worked with other video guys like Tommy Jones, who did our first couple of videos with Nuclear Blast, and saw how he did things, and then worked on other videos... Little by little, we had to do one with a project Ross and I were working on called Gospel for the Witches with Karen Crisis from Van Crisis, from back in the day. She and her husband had this new band, and Ross did some vocals on the first record, and I played guitar live. We played a few shows live, but she wanted to do a video, and they had ideas and a concept.

So, at that point, I said, "Okay, let me give it a shot." Because I'd done minor video stuff for weddings and events and things like that, so I knew roughly what the tools were and had some basic knowledge. But going forward, I just kind of thought, "Let me just give it a shot." So we did it, and it came out pretty decent.

And then, from that point on, when Atonement came out, that's when I started working on videos for the band.

And yeah, it's fun. You know, we kind of do everything on our own. We'd help some friends and stuff, but for the most part, it's just us recording everything. I'll come up with some ideas, but a lot of times I'll... We'll film the band, and I'll figure the rest out later, you know?

But it's interesting. It's fun. I enjoy it. Like, same thing with the music, it's kind of fun to try and create stuff for the music that you've created, you know what I mean? And try and create some kind of visuals.

So I find it interesting. There's always stuff that I wish I had done better or whatever, but it's a learning process for me. And over the years, it's gotten a little bit better, and I've been able to learn more. But I still have a lot more to learn, especially with all the new technology out there now. So I have a little catching up to do.

But, you know, I try and keep as current as possible. It's always a learning process, though, but it's a fun one.

"Descent" features Zack Ohren as producer, mixing engineer and mastering engineer. What did you want to achieve sonically this time that perhaps you felt was missing from previous Immolation records?

Well, the last two records we liked a lot. I mean, I thought Atonement came out really cool. It had a really good... You know, Kingdom of Conspiracy, and I think Atonement was a good... You know, kind of like, from that point on, it was better in the sense that we had a more organic sound on Atonement, and that came out really good. It was a little darker-sounding, and then Acts of God was also very cool.

Different from Atonement, but also a really good production. It had a very cold sound to it, which fit the music well. But Zack Ohren, you know, as the years go by, Zack kind of has been more and more familiar with our music.

And with this record, we recorded it very differently. We normally would all go into one space, into a studio, and spend time with each other, etc. with Paul Orofino, who we've worked with since the third record. He had moved the studio down to Tennessee, and we also had a lot of stuff going on in our personal lives at the time. So, you know, it was like we couldn't really all go and meet in one spot.

So we had a local guy here, Justin Passamonte, who has a studio, and we went and did the rhythms, vocals and bass here. Steve recorded his drums close to home, about an hour away from his place in Ohio, with Noah Buchanan, who has Mercenary Studios. He was familiar with him and comfortable doing it there.

So Steve would record his drums and then he'd send us the tracks, and then we'd record to the stuff here. I even drove down to Virginia and got some of Alex's solos and stuff when he was down there. So everything was done in different spots.

But what we got sounded very good. And even though we were still under the gun to get the stuff done, it was a more relaxed feel because I would just go for a few hours a day and come home, you know? It didn't feel like there was the event of being in the studio, which, although we've enjoyed that many times over the years and had great times, this was more like, "All right, I'm gonna go record guitars for three hours and come back," you know? It was very nonchalant like that.

But we had the EVH head in there, and it was nice. It had a good sound, and I just... You know, it was very simplistic. We just jammed stuff out to Steve's drums, and yeah, all together it came out great.

And I think Zack, although we had very little time and we didn't really bug him too much, he did his thing, and he just did a phenomenal job. I mean, it's one of the biggest-sounding records we've had. It's very strong and powerful and very large-sounding.

And I think, production-wise, the music, and then the artwork for the cover came out amazing from Eliran Kantor. You know, everything just kind of came together, even though it was a tight window to get it done. But everything came out really, really well, and I'm super happy with it.

One particularly interesting aspect of "Descent" is the participation of Dan Lilker on vocals on "Host" and the title track. What made you choose him for those songs, and what did his presence bring to the material that you couldn't have achieved with the regular lineup?

Just a fun thing we do. He did it on the last record, I know, and he might have done it on... I can't remember. He did something on Atonement, but, you know, I think on the last record he did something at the end of one of the songs. And I think he did it on his phone, and he said, "Oh, you know, maybe you could use this," or something like that.

And then I heard it, and we put it in a certain spot, and I said, "Oh, that's cool. Tell him to do a longer one." So he did it on his phone again, like, whatever, and he just sent it to us, and it worked out.

But it wasn't... It was there, but it wasn't as present as these two are. These were kind of cooler because you can really hear them a lot better on this one.

So we had the last song, "Descent," where I thought it was really cool for him to do a nice scream together with Ross at the end. It was just kind of a cool thing. It added a different layer, you know, because Ross has the heavier side, and Danny likes... I mean, the guy's a thrash legend, but he also loves black metal, and he's into that kind of thing. He wanted to do some of those kinds of vocals, and I was like, "Yeah, go for it, man." And it sounded sick.

So it was that one, and then there was another part in one of the other songs that Ross thought of as well. He's like, "Ah, this would be a cool part for Dan to do something as well." So I was like, "Yeah, awesome."

So those two little parts... They were very quick. He just came by the studio because, again, we were here in Rochester, so he just came by with his wife, Heather, and we just came in. It was very quick. He sat there by the mic, did a couple of things, and it was done.

But it was just fun. It's like a fun thing to do, and it just adds a nice little... Just kind of like a cool little thing to add in there. It just adds what they call "ear candy," you know? It's like a nice little change there for certain parts.

And yeah, it sounds awesome. He did a great job, so it just added a nice little layer to a couple of those vocal lines, which was awesome.

Looking back at the band's discography, do you hear "Descent" as a continuation of the path that began with "Acts of God", or does it feel like the beginning of a new chapter for Immolation?

It just feels like where we are now, you know what I mean? Every album feels that way. I don't think it's the beginning or end of anything.

I mean, I would say more so the last three records—Atonement, Acts of God and Descent—are kind of like... I guess those two led up to Descent, so to speak. But I think after the many years of writing songs and being on the road, we've just gotten more into a certain place where I think we need to be as far as the writing and everything.

And, you know, we're going to take it to the next level with the next one, I guess. You know, it's always crazy to get down to a record and start writing when we had Atonement, which we thought was a really good record, and a lot of people liked that one. And then the last record, same thing. You're like, "You know what? Now what do we get here?" Because you always want to try and be at least as good as the last record, you know what I mean?

So you can't really do anything but just do your best and hope for the best, you know?

But yeah, that being said, I think it came out awesome. And it's good to be able to have that twelfth record and just say, "Wow, you know, this is a good one." We love playing the stuff live, and we're super happy about playing all the songs live, you know? It's great.

After twelve albums, countless tours and decades of surviving changes in the metal landscape, what still gives you the feeling that Immolation has something genuinely new to say?

I guess because there's still all these things out there that we see, and, you know, someone else is gonna say them, so why don't we say them? You know what I mean?

There's always gonna be other bands, new music, talking about everything that's going on. So we just continue to do that. And I think with every record, you know, you think, "Well, I don't know what to do here." And then we'll come out with a record like this and think, "Wow, we wouldn't have these nine songs now if we didn't go out there and get it done." You know what I mean?

So it's... It's always cool. Because I'm always happy with the stuff, especially this record. It's like thinking, "Wow, these are great songs. Like, it's cool. We have these now," you know?

And, you know, there's always something to say. There's always something out there. There's always that dark side of humanity. That's always there. And a lot of it keeps happening over and over again.

So we'll continue to talk about those types of things from different angles and everything, because all these things that are out there have gotten progressively worse over the years. So yeah, there's always that inspiration, for sure.

And then just the love of the music, you know? Because in the end, we love music. We love what we do. And it becomes a positive thing, even though we're talking about darker subjects.

You know, ourselves as a band, and I'm sure the bands and the fans that come out to all the shows that go on... I mean, I think it's just nothing but a unifying and positive experience for everybody in the end. So it's always a more unifying thing than anything else.

We talk about all the things that are going on that are separating people, and I think that kind of unifies us because we all have the same ideas.

Sometimes life is a bitch and it doesn't work as it should. This interview was already done in spring but unfortunately I just found the time to write it down by now. My apologies for that but I hope that my questions about Hellripper's new album (read full album review here) are still actual and interesting. So, maybe you might still enjoy reading my questions I asked James McBain.

Michael

Hi James, I hope you're doing fine?!

I'm doing very well, thank you very much!

You new album "Coronach" is going to be released next month. First of all, what is this title about?

The title is an improvised song for the dead. It's a vocal lament that will be performed at funerals in Scotland and the Scottish Highlands to honor the dead. I think the word sounds cool and it fits the theme of the album.

Is it Gaelic?

Yes it is. But I think it's also used in English but I'm not too sure about it (laughs).

It took me some spins to fully get into it, maybe it is because of the kind of bulky opener, did you try to get out of your comfort zone a little bit this time with this song?

Yeah, there's lot of new things I wanted to try, different things and trying to get out of my comfort zone. I was trying different vocal styles, different mixing techniques, different instruments and stuff like that. The first track starts off with a change in time signature between the first couple of bars. Each bar kind of changes the time signature a little – not too complicated but it's not something I've done previously. So that was something new and I like the chaotic feel of it and thought it was fun to open the album just with chaos and no room to breathe or time to get ready as the listener. It just blasts you in the face with dissonance and craziness (laughs).

The last album was on #12 in the British album charts, if I am correct – so what do you think about when they buy the new album and listen to that track and think "what the fuck"?

Haha, yeah! I think it's fun and it's always fun to think of an album. I always think of an album as a whole thing and I think of an opening and a closing track of side a and b and I'm always trying to make sure that it's some sort of journey and difference between atmospheres and styles of songs. For example the first track is very chaotic and a bit complex structure-wise and there's blast beats and punk parts, spoken word parts and five guitar solos happening and in the next song is a little bit more straight forward rock n' roll vibe. It's kind of contrast between these songs, trying make the full album experience as effective as I can.

You said you try to play a lot of different instruments on the album – did you have any guest musicians or did you just do it all on your own?

Both. I did a lot of piano and synthesizer on the album and I had some session musicians for bad pipes and violins. I had my friend Joseph (Quianlan; M.) who is the live guitar player in Hellripper. He performed two or three guitar solos on the album and he's done that for the past few albums as well. I had our drummer Max (Southall; M.) contribute some cow bells because this is very necessary I think.

Cowbell?

Yes! So it was lots of fun, both playing new instruments myself and figuring out how to incorporate them, how to make them sound good and how to make them work in Hellripper and even for the instruments performed by the other people just to write things on these instruments and trying to make it work in Hellripper. Also to add some things, I don't like things just to be there for no reason, I need to have a reason for them to be there. They've got to improve the song in my view, it's all very well bragging about having something different but if it's not improving the song it doesn't matter how different or unique it is.

How can we imagine the bagpipes when you will perform live? Will it be like Saor did with guest musicians?

Unfortunately not. Usually the bagpipes and things, to be fair, all of the non-traditional Hellripper things are usually there for texture ad atmosphere. They can be adapted to the live show, the vibe of Hellripper live shows is quite chaotic, fast and aggressive. Usually if there's something like a bagpipe part that needs to be in the song we translate it guitar so it still works. We like the studio side of recording – I love having all the textures, different instruments, vibes and atmospheres and some experimentation but the live side of things I really like it stripped back and raw, fast and rock n'roll so it's kind of two different sides to me which I enjoy.

Also the title "Hunderprest", as many others on the album, are not easy to understand if you don't have a very specific knowledge in Scottish history. Maybe you can fill me in a little bit more into the background of these songs with Gaelic titles?

This album every song is based on Scotland in some way. There are things like "Hunderprest" which is based on the legend of Hunderprest, the vampire of Melrose Abbey. There are also historical events like in "The Art Of Resurrection" which is about the body snatchers and grave robbers in Edinburgh in the 19th century. It's also about creatures from folklore like the Banshee, there's horror stories in there – "Blakk Satanikk Fvkkstorm" is based on a story by Robert Louis Stevenson called "Thrawn Janet" which is a cool horror story about possession and witchcraft. There are things inspired by some poetry like in the title track and some more of my personal experiences. So it's all based on Scotland in a way and it's cool to be able to do that. It kind of fits the vibe of Hellripper: about good and evil, horror stories, dark lyrics but kind of seen through the Scottish lens which allows me to use different settings, atmospheres and words. It keeps me creative and inspired much like using different instruments and different types of songs. It want to keep myself creative and learning and exploring new things which allows me to do that.

How can I imagine you are writing the lyrics about Scottish history? Do you dive deep into the material with reading a lot of stuff about it or is it more superficial?

Usually I do try and write the best lyrics I can. Obviously I am more a musician than a lyricist so the music is the most important thing. But I put a lot of effort into the lyrics. When I'm coming up with song ideas or titles, I just kind of anything I hear or read about I make a note of. I just have random documents, random quotes and folklore stories, legends, whatever. When I'm writing songs, some of the music suggests to me the vibe I want to go with the lyrics. Then I dive deeper into it, do more research and write the song that way. A lot of stuff are stories I've heard of while growing up and some I'm very familiar with. But some stuff is new to me as well. I enjoy the learning process of hearing new stories or historical things and writing a song about it. Again, it just keeps me creative and it's fun to learn new this as well, that's an additive little bonus.

Is the Scottish history and the heritage connected to it very important for you? I mean, people like Sean Connery always held the banner high and of course there is this difference between England and Scotland….

It's not really important to me. I mean, I do like Scotland and I enjoy being in Scotland but it's not a massive part of my identity. It's just a part of my life but I'm not engaging in all the traditions and celebrating every occasion, making a big deal of things. It's just kind of something that is a part of me. For the band the Scottish themes where we always explore horror stories and stuff like that, it's never based on historical wars or so, it's just to fit the Hellripper aesthetic and imagery.  

Can we expect a Nessie song in the future, haha?

Haha, if I can come up with an evil story involving Nessie, I'm more than happy to, haha!

Could you imagine to write a complete song in Gaelic lyrics?

No, I don't speak Gaelic. There are some words I understand or that may be more part of our everyday use but I don't speak it at all. It's not a very common language spoken in Scotland actually but where I live right now a lot of people speak it. It's cool to have these words and titles and it adds to the theme.

Am I wrong when I state that Motörhead and Cathedral were some of the influences you had this time while writing the music? There is one specific riff in "Baboahn Sith" that sounds so much like Cathedral …

Okay! That wasn't something I was listening to but I'll take it. They're a great band. It's cool that it can be heard, it's a different aspect to the sound. I like hearing what people can hear in the music because sometimes it's exactly what I was meaning, exactly what I was listening to or I was influenced by. Sometimes it's something I wasn't consciously influenced by and it's really cool that this can be evident, that Cathedral might have been a subconscious influence.

"Kinchyle (Goatcraft and Granite)" is another very untypical track, quite slow and doomy in some parts and full of energy and party vibes in others. Could this become a new band anthem?

Maybe. That's why it was released as the first single from the album because to me it is the most appealing, most accessible song of the album with the chorus and it has more in common with songs of mine already like "All Hail The Goat" where you can shout the chorus along. It is one of my favorite songs on the album and I hope people like it. We've been playing it live a few times over the past few months and it seems it's gone damn well.

The last words belong to you!!

Check out the new album. There's a bunch of different vinyl, cassettes, CD versions of the album. Come to our shows throughout the whole year and all hail the goat, of course!

For some time now, Azeroth has been more than just one of Argentina's leading power metal bands—they've also built a strong connection with Brazilian audiences. After opening for Angra in Brazil, paying tribute to Viper, and strengthening ties with the country's metal scene, the band now presents Trails of Destiny, the English-language counterpart to Senderos del Destino (2022), furthering its international ambitions. In this interview, vocalist Ignacio Rodriguez discusses rewriting the album's lyrics for a new language, working with Fabio Lione, the challenges faced by South American metal bands, the influence of Brazilian metal, and the excitement of sharing the stage with Helloween at Buenos Aires' Movistar Arena.

Marcelo Vieira (@marcelovieiramusic)

"Trails of Destiny" is the band's first album entirely in English, but it stems from a reimagining of "Senderos del Destino". What motivated this language switch?

Actually, it wasn't the first. We had already done that with Beyond Chaos, the English version of Más Allá del Caos. While working on that album, the idea came up to do the same with other records. Shortly after, we received an invitation from Angra to play in Buenos Aires, followed by an opportunity to tour Brazil. We realized that if we wanted to reach more people and play in other countries, it made sense to release English versions of our songs.

Did the lyrics need to be completely rewritten to work in the new language?

Yes. There is no such thing as a literal translation. We kept the same message, but all the lyrics were rewritten from scratch. You have to respect the rhythm, melody, accentuation, and the way words sound when sung. Translating word-for-word simply wouldn't work.

Did you feel that any emotion or nuance from the original versions was lost during the process?

I wouldn't say it was lost, but it certainly changed a bit. Singing in English is different from singing in Spanish, which is my native language. Even so, I've been singing in English for about fifteen years, so I'm quite used to it. In fact, for some songs, I actually prefer the sound of the melodies in English. Each language has a different sound, and that influences the interpretation.

Does that preference also have to do with the fact that power metal is a genre traditionally associated with English?

Definitely. The biggest bands and key influences in power metal sing in English. When you start listening to the genre, it's almost always through bands that use that language. In Argentina, we have important groups—like Rata Blanca—that lean toward power metal but don't exactly embody the style. So, we grew up listening to our idols singing in English, and it ends up becoming something very natural.

Since "Senderos del Destino" is still a relatively recent album, was there any temptation to use this new version to correct or change anything you would do differently today?

Senderos del Destino brought us many achievements. It was with this album that we had the opportunity to play in Brazil for the first time, and now we're taking this work to Chile as well. So, it didn't make sense to change much about it. Of course, there's always something you'd do differently, but we prefer to save that evolution for the next album. The band has grown a lot since those first international tours, and all that experience is naturally being incorporated into the new songs we're writing.

I often say that Brazilian audiences only start to value a domestic band after it gains recognition in Europe or the United States—as if foreign approval acts as a seal of quality. Does the same thing happen in Argentina?

Yes, exactly the same thing happens. There's this common idea of ​​saying, "This band sounds like a foreign band." But why should that be a compliment? We're an Argentine band and we want to sound like an Argentine band, while still doing professional work. I think this is a common problem across South America. If local bands had the same financial resources as European ones, they could reach the exact same level. That prejudice needs to end.

In your opinion, what is needed to change this mindset?

We need to strengthen the scene as a whole. In Europe, there's much greater unity among bands, record labels, and the market. Just look at Finland: Nightwish, Children of Bodom, Sentenced, Amorphis, Sonata Arctica, and Stratovarius all grew up around the same time because there was a structure supporting multiple bands simultaneously. When there's room for many artists, the entire scene gets stronger. We also need audiences to give a chance to the local bands that open for international acts. There are a lot of people doing excellent work.

Interestingly, you mentioned only bands that sing in English. Ultimately, does this issue come down more to language than geography?

That could be it. In Argentina, there's a strong barrier regarding English due to historical reasons—mainly the Falklands War. When we started, a lot of people asked why we sang in English instead of Spanish. There's a strong cultural component to it. I don't know if it's the same in Brazil, but here, that debate has always been present.

Power metal is often associated with virtuosity. How do you prevent technical skill from overshadowing the emotion of the songs?

That's a great question. Many people think power metal is just about playing really fast or showing off technique, but we believe the music needs to go beyond that. Acero was born out of passion ...by heavy and speed metal. We are heavily influenced by the early era of Sepultura and by bands like Blind Guardian, who manage to combine aggression with memorable melodies. In our music, melody always comes first. All arrangements are built around it, which prevents technical skill from becoming an end in itself.

Speaking again about that "foreign validation," the album features Fabio Lione. What did his presence add to the work artistically?

First of all, it was a great opportunity. We met Fabio when he was in Argentina with Rhapsody and Angra. We had a brief chat; he listened to the band, liked what he heard, and said we could talk more later. Since we were already planning to record an album in English and invite an internationally recognized musician, his name came up naturally. Beyond the artistic contribution, observing his work process was a very enriching experience. It also showed us that the band is capable of operating at an international level.

Did you feel extra pressure having a world-renowned musician working directly with you?

Not really. Everything happened very naturally. The band is currently going through a phase where many important things are happening, including collaborations with big names in power metal. Fabio is a world-renowned artist who does incredible work, but at the end of the day, he's a musician just like us. We worked together as equals. Plus, he's an extremely humble and pleasant person, which made the whole experience very smooth.

Another striking aspect of the album is the Viper cover "Prelude to Oblivion", which brings the band even closer to Brazil. What does Viper—and Brazilian metal more broadly—represent in your development as a musician?

Acero was founded by our bassist, Fernando Ricciardulli, and it all started because he heard Soldiers of Sunrise here in Argentina. I think it was in the early 90s, when the album first arrived here. That left a deep mark on his life. In 2018, we decided to pay tribute to Viper, and after André Matos passed away, that idea took on even greater significance. We released an EP before our first tour of Brazil and included that cover specifically to celebrate that legacy.

What makes Brazilian audiences different in terms of energy and receptiveness?

What impressed us most was the reception we got at the band's very first show outside Argentina—in Curitiba. We didn't know what to expect, but as soon as we started playing, the crowd sang along, got involved, and responded in an incredible way. Back in Argentina, that usually only happens when a foreign band is playing. In Brazil, it was different. We finished the first song, and the reaction was so intense that it took us a while to even start the second one. It was an indescribable feeling—a mix of achievement, gratitude, and fulfillment. It's been a few years now, but I remember that moment as if it happened yesterday.

Sharing the stage with Helloween at the Movistar Arena—one of the bands that helped define power metal—carries enormous symbolic weight. What was it like to receive that invitation?

Without a doubt. We had already worked with the same promoter on shows for bands like Stratovarius and Powerwolf, so they mentioned the possibility of us playing with Helloween the following year. At the time, it was just a possibility. When I got the confirmation, I was at my parents' house. Shortly after, I saw the official poster on Instagram with our band's name on it. It was an incredible thrill. A whole movie of memories flashes through your mind because you remember all the struggles you've faced since the beginning. Sharing the stage with one of the bands that created the genre we play, in a venue like the Movistar Arena, is priceless. There is, of course, a greater sense of responsibility, but above all, it's a moment of celebration.

Are experiences like that what help keep the band's creativity and motivation alive, even after lineup changes and so many challenges?

Absolutely. Ever since we started playing outside Argentina—especially in Brazil—everything has entered a very positive phase. We're also heading to Chile now and are in talks with producers and musicians from various places. All these experiences help the band grow and directly influence our new music and even our visual identity. We have a lot of new things planned for 2026, and I believe the highlight of this period will be the show with Helloween at the Movistar Arena. We are living through a very special time.

Do you miss that feeling you got as a teenager when you were watching live videos of all your favorite 80's metal bands for the first time? Do you really wish to see bands once again tear the stage apart with their primitive heaviness and evil rock ‘n roll, revolting against musical consumerism and revive what was once crucial in both the New Wave of British Heavy Metal and Thrash Metal movement? An exemplary band that really throws you back in those days when wild bands like Venom, Tank, Metallica, Slayer and Exodus were really on the rise, is the South Carolina based black/heavy/speed metal band Interceptor. After 2 years since their inception, they released their highly anticipated debut full-length album "Tales Of Mayhem" via Motorpunk Records, showcasing some violent heavy metal action with a bulldozing sound production that sounds like an overheated jet engine. These guys became really popular with all the youths that are into oldschool metal, and after a while they started looking at Interceptor as a Phoenix that arose from the ashes to bring back those sacred traditions. A week after the album had been released, I had the pleasure of talking with vocalist/bassist Blake "Bulldozer" Arenvurst and guitarist Johnny "Reaper" Faiella, regarding the release of their debut album "Tales Of Mayhem', the overall feedback that they got, as well as their initial goals as a band when they started out in 2022. Stick around, grab a beer or two and inject yourself some dose of violent heavy metal.

Vladimir

It's been few weeks since the album has been released, how are you guys feeling about it? How has the fan and critical feedback been for you?

Bulldozer: I mean the fan feedback has been great so far, people are digging it, the records have been almost sold out on Motorpunk Records, so people watching this, go get yours!

So, it's been already sold out in just one week and I still see people posting that album on social media, whether it's on Facebook or Instagram. So, I wanted to ask you guys this really quickly about the making of "Tales Of Mayhem", this album really stands out to me because I was always a big fan of first wave black metal, and of course a lot of the NWOBHM, and this album really kicks ass because it's got a lot of that old 80's necro sound production, can you guys tell me how did you get that specific sound?

Bulldozer: Well, a lot of that comes from using Marshall amplifiers, that's the big thing for the tone, we didn't wanna just sit there and use modern micing techniques, we didn't want to make it sound big and empty in the room, so we put the microphones few feet away from the amps. We do all that, and then we made sure to get a fine tape sound after we recorded it on GarageBand, because we don't wanna spend bunch of money on real DI's, we just wanted to make use of what we got and GarageBand has worked with me before. But obviously with that you get kind of a clean sound when you just use that, so we ran it through tape and then spit it back out, and it sounds old, it sounds like it came from tape.

Reaper: We originally wanted to record all three of us together, but with Tyrant living in Tampa right now, we couldn't really do that, so we recorded all tracks separately, which wasn't ideal, but it got the job done.

Bulldozer: Yeah, he recorded his drums in a home studio in Tampa, which we've never even figured out where it was, so that's why we just credited it in the album as a "random home studio in Tampa", and then right after that I recorded everything here in my home in the garage, bass, vocals and guitars, we just ran it real quick. The final drum recordings didn't get done until three days before the release of the album, mixed it all that night.

It's funny because I originally thought that Tyrant was present there during the recording of the album, because everything sounds like it was recorded on place. It's just got that demo quality, like I already said before that it has that first two Venom albums, as well as their demo tapes, because you really sound like you guys were all there in one room, recording that whole thing together. When you were recording that album, did you feel like some kind of presence there in the room, that something was going on?

Reaper: I mean, I haven't even met the guys since after the album was recorded, so we didn't record to his drums, we recorded to the demo drums that were just programmed, and he recorded after we put them in.

Bulldozer: Some of them we did record over his drums specifically, but then the last bit, the studio time gut put off, because the guy recording it had stuff to do, so first few checks we recorded over his drums, and then the other ones we just had to go program some drums and then go overlay his tracks over ours, you will have to guess which ones they are because I don't think you can't hear too much of a difference.

I really see that you guys are pretty much going back to the old days when people weren't frustrated to have as perfect sound as possible. I had this issue lately, for the past couple of years, that the US metal scene was talking too much about originality, and also about having as much of a polished sound and music, there is a lot of pretentiousness going on here and there, and when you guys showed up it was pretty much like you were basically saying "Fuck you!" and then just kicking it right up with the ass with the album it came out. Would you agree with that?

Reaper: That's it, that's what it's all about.

Bulldozer: Absolutely, I loathe the modern production, it steals away from music, especially metal. Metal is supposed to be something that is raw and scary sounding, it's supposed sound like a fucking motorcycle, peeling out on your fucking face. It's not supposed to sound like clean and pristine, like all these shitty modern metalcore and nu metal bands that record their music videos in like a white room, just kind of hanging around with no amps and stuff. It's not what metal is supposed to be about, it's not supposed to sound like you are playing through a glass window, it's supposed to sound like you are playing in a big empty stadium or a giant cave, that's how it's supposed to sound.

That's like the very big human factor that's been taken away after everything became so digital and processed after so many years. You are definitely right about the fact how everybody records their music video, it's always like in this one studio room where there is just like no color, no amplifiers whatsoever or anything, it's basically like they are trying to make a rap music video, but instead you just pun on some guys with guitars and goofiest haircuts possible. I think if you guys come up with a music video, it would be like a weird VHS recording that would be a nice throwback.

Reaper: We definitely have plans for that.

Bulldozer: That's the plan, we plan on recording maybe three or four, hopefully withing about a month or so, probably will be released in about a month or so, hopefully within a month we can start recording them and then get some stuff done. We want to show off the kind of aesthetic that we wanna replicate in our music videos, because we have little promos here and there that do a decent job, we show the people the kind of aesthetic we're about. You know, full-length music videos, those will kind of take it down.

Also, on the other side I have to say that this album is met with a lot of simplicity, but there is a lot of catchiness to it as well with the riffs. It's not like one of those instances where you can just hear the album and say that it's trying to be something but it's not anything, because you have headbanging tunes like "Slut", "Wehrmacht", the title track, the self-titled track, even "Witch's Dance" and "Into the Hellmouth" as well. You got very nice solid material on here, but I really want to know, where you having challenges while you were making Tales of Mayhem?

Reaper: Well, the drums was probably the main one. The reason we didn't get them until three days prior was because Tyrant actually recorded all the drums good, but when we were finally mixing it, we realized that couple of songs were not recorded to the right demos, so we had to scramble and really get into this guy's ear to make him record it before the album had been released.

Bulldozer: He had to go back in the studio about like 9/10/11 pm one night, so it was like the last-minute thing.

Reaper: That's probably the only mishap. Well, for me though actually, the solo to "50 Megatons", that one took me a real long time to record it, I just couldn't do it. Blake said it sounded good, but to my ear it didn't, so I recorded that probably about 15 times before the final take.

Those are the kind of difficulties you face as a guitarist, because you want to nail that solo right just to get that real feeling, it doesn't have to be perfect it just has to be right.

Reaper: Yep.

I really wanted you ask you guys about the whole background of Interceptor, what were you guys initially planning to do as a band, what kind of goals did you have as to what kind of sound or energy did you want to resonate through the music?

Bulldozer: Yeah well, so, when I originally started Interceptor, it's funny enough, because "Into the Hellmouth" is the remainder of what we started as. I loved thrash metal, that was my favorite genre, like '87 was the best year, so when I started Interceptor I wanted to sound like Persecution Mania, I wanted to sound like Power and Pain, I wanted to sound like Kill ‘Em All, straight thrash sound, but at the time too I figured I really also dug this game called Ace Combat Zero that was on a PlayStation 3, it was a jet-fighter game and it was one of my favorite games growing up. I wanted us to be themed as like an Ace Combat, not exactly by the game, but an air combat type of themes, like all our songs are about fighter jets and arial combat and stuff, that's what "Into the Hellmouth" was, it was our first song like that. The demo was pretty different from the album version, but that was kind of the one remainder of what we wanted to start out, it was fighter jet themed thrash metal and slowly our sound kind of traveled back in time a little bit, and here we go with the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, speed metal and first wave black metal sound. The thing is, I feel like we've pulled from good few genres, I see thrashers that like our music, I see the New Wave of Traditional Heavy Metal crowds that like our music, we got black metal fans like our music, and our music ends up on Black Metal playlists. So that's why I say we're just "violent metal", because at the end of the day you see videos of us playing onstage, we're pretty damn violent thrashing around.

That's one of the things I remember, how I actually discovered you guys, someone posted a video with a caption "POV: You came to the Interceptor show", and it was you Blake shredding that bass like crazy, I went like "Jesus Christ, this guy is fucking nuts!".

Bulldozer: Actually, the thing about that show, Tyrant recorded that video before he was in the band. He was a fan, he came down to Tampa, this was when we had "Double A" and "Poltergeist" in the band. We played in Tampa, it was a great show, and Tyrant was down there, he was actually a fan at the time and he's the one who got that video with a few others, and he made it look that it was real wild in there.

If you take that video and the whole performance, including your highly anticipated debut album, even here in Serbia fans were asking when is the album going to come out, everything kind of exploded all at once, I just kept saying to myself "Damn these guys are more Venom than Venom is today", like you know what I am saying?

Bulldozer: Oh yeah. The thing is we don't want to necessarily want to capture one band sound. I mean, Venom are one of our biggest influences, but we also take influence from bands like Tank, Motörhead of course that was a real big one, also Warfare, even Carnivore here and there, and little bit of Iron Maiden with some stuff, and other bands too, I mean like "50 Megatons" was inspired by Ted Nugent, and "Slut" was inspired by AC/DC. Some people immediately just write us up like "Venom clones" and yeah, we were pushing a bit too close to that, but the thing is we're trying to go towards our own sound, while sticking to the rawness and the power that Venom had, the rock and roll sound, that just evil rock and roll. I think with what we're doing right now, we're on track to fully develop into our own thing while still sticking to the raw heavy metal classic sound that we got.

That's one of the things I actually mentioned in the review, that you can tell that there is more stuff than just Venom, you can tell that there is stuff like Tank, Warfare, Angel Witch and of course Discharge and GBH from the hardcore punk stuff, because let's be honest that's one of the things that basically built the foundation of this "violent heavy metal sound" that we would be calling today black metal or as first wave black metal as it is. The part about being labelled as "Venom clones", I actually read a review from some other guy on the Metal Archives that basically left a 0% while stating that.

Bulldozer: That guy right there, man let me tell you about this guy. Every post that we make, every post that someone makes about us, every comment that we make, every comment that someone leaves about us, that guy right there, his name is Zach and he goes by his name as Slam on TikTok. He's our biggest fan, he comments on every single post, reply, comment, everything that mentions us, and in all honesty, we're thinking about sending him an Interceptor product package, just for his dedication to always replying to anything that mentions us. That review was not a serious review, he just hates us that much for his own personal reasons. If you go look at the other reviews he's left, he's left 90% ratings on Lorna Shore and other deathcore bands. He's got a personal vendetta, because I am pretty sure I insulted the deathcore bands he likes in the past, he took it way too much to the heart and now he's just being a baby about it. But no, I appreciate him very much for always having the dedication to reply to every single comment and post that mentions us, including our own.

Damn, I mean that part where you said that he's really into Lorna Shore, honestly that band has been so overblown and so hyped to death that it makes me go "Fuck off!", because I didn't listen to bands like Hellhammer and Sarcofago just so Lorna Shore can be considered as one of the primary black metal acts in the 21st century, even though it's got nothing to do with black metal at all. It just has some elements of it, but it's still metalcore/deathcore. When I saw who that guy is and saw that he's into slam and grindcore, it's no wonder he doesn't like Interceptor hahah.

Bulldozer: Exactly. That's goes for a lot of people too because at the end of the day, when I look at our fans, for the most part they're real headbangers, they're keeping it true. The people that hate us, I go look at their videos and the videos they're making, they're the guys that are in those big 2000's jeans, like triple X T-shirts, sitting there and doing like rap photos, but they're slam fans and nu metal fans. At the end of the day, I don't care, I don't want those dudes to be our fans. You know, if some bands are too afraid from alienating some people, I say that's not who we want to be our fans, I don't want people to be looking at them like "Yeah, it's an Interceptor fan right there dude".

Reaper: I'd rather have a hundred loyal fans, than a thousand fans who just follow you on TikTok and come at your show to just look the other way, like the guys standing at the bar and just chill.

That's one of the things I really hate about social media when people feel really entitled when they say that they are into that band, just because they jumped on the hype train. About people at shows with caps, shorts and everything, whenever I see a guy like that, I can't imagine him climb onstage with a band. When I interviewed Bobby of Pentagram, he said that every time he sees a guy like that, someone like that looks more like he's on his day off, like how is anyone supposed to take that seriously, there is like no stage presence whatsoever. Imagine like fifty or a hundred of those bands onstage, honestly you have to be very low minded level person to be into that, but of course with Interceptor, like I said there's a lot of kids here in Serbia like 14-, 15- and 16-year-olds that really dig you guys. They are really getting into this stuff and honestly, I can't recall seeing local kids be into a band that is just coming up and they are really digging this stuff. It's not like "Oh this band sounds like Venom and it's cool", they are like "These guys fucking kick ass", it's honest.

Reaper: That's great because people's perspective of metal has been jaded for the last 20 years, what it used to stand for and what it used to be was just angry people wanting to kick your ass and shit like that, but now it's just like you said, people with the baggy jeans, it's just not the same. It's great that there's young kids that aren't falling into that type of metal, they are staying true to what it used to be, it's great that there's young kids still out there that are liking that stuff.

Bulldozer: I've had people tell me "Oh your fans are kids", I am like we're kids too, we're 18/19 years old, most of our fans are from 14 to 16/17, that's like the majority of our fans we've noticed, and that's the thing. We would rather have these kids that are banging their heads, like so what, they are practically our peers, we would rather have these kids that are practically banging their heads than just some old bald guy sitting up there and doing the Benito Mussolini.

Reaper: Those are the guys that are gonna be our long-time fans. When they listen to us as kids, they are gonna listen to us as adults.

Bulldozer: Yeah, they'll be able to buy our records, unlike the old dudes that are gonna die too quick hahah. We'll be around.

I have to say that even if these kids aren't into vinyl, at least you can expect at some point that they will pick up a vinyl on a gig and they'll take it home, but when you see those guys at the big shows, the bigger bands that we're not into, you will almost never see them buy a physical copy, although they might buy a shirt. There is something really so special when you hold that physical copy in your hands, and it's not like when you have that album downloaded on Spotify, because you don't touch the cover, you don't see the band pictures and everything, that's one of the things that got me into collecting vinyls at the age of 20, because I wanted to really feel it. That's the human factor of it, and that's something you don't get that much from contemporary bands, you only get that from oldschool metal bands like you guys.

Bulldozer: That's right. That's the thing I've noticed. While record sales are back on the rise again, it seems like metal bands don't like to sell the most records and cassettes. Actually, we've sold a higher percentage of the cassettes than we have the records, whether that be just because it's cheaper or whatever, but I think people like to hold the music in their hands. These days, like you mentioned, digitally you just get to look at it on your screen and that's it, but with the physical music you get to hold it, you get to hear it, you get to look at everything inside, you get to see the band, and sometimes what's cool about is that you don't get to see all that much about the band. You don't go to social media where you see every single thing, you see the image that they gave out, and you're not like "Oh man, this guy, he lives here and he does this for a job", you just say "That's that guy, he plays this instrument for this band and these are the songs he played on", and that's it, that's the image you have in your mind. All the while you can almost feel closer, knowing them not on a personal level, and knowing them from what you see on the record, than you do from social media and just digital music.

I think that's very ensuring and a heartwarming fact when you see kids do the same thing when they buy records, it really throws you back in time, when people were actually wanting to connect with the band as much as they possibly can. Nowadays, people can connect with the band just because they have social media. I think that there is something much more magical when you buy that record and you take it home, it's like the DNA imprint of the band that's sitting in the corner of your room alongside that album cover. It's not like when you download the album, you can basically erase the download after a while when you get bored of it, but when you have it on vinyl or cassette, you're like "Hmmm, I haven't listened to this one in a while, I could take it with me an put it on my record player and that's it". Honestly, I really have to wonder what kind of stuff you guys can come up with next, because this is like you said, a violent and wild heavy metal record, and I can only see this getting more violent and wilder than it was the first time. With the demos it was gradually building up, and once the album came out, it's really taking shape, almost like a final form. What are you guys currently planning after this album's been out for some time?

Bulldozer: Well, I know we've got the Gulf tour, we're just doing four dates across the Gold Coast in the United States, we're in Tampa, Pensacola, Lafayette/Louisianna and Houston, and it's all spots where bands like us are around. For each one of theses shows, we've got, at least for the most part, oldschool sounding bands, because we want to stimulate the rising scene for that as much as possible, because there are so many bullshit bands. We've played with great bands, very nice fellas, but it is not our scene sometimes at all. We've played shows with some guys that sound like one of the bands at our local church, like a local megachurch band, and they were metalcore bands. It was just strange stuff, I figured we might as well just get people out there that are the real true fans, rather than just getting some random folks just standing there, we don't want those kinds of people at our shows out front. We want all the kids banging their heads, we want everyone to be out there just going wild, going crazy, we don't want like people standing around. I figured this next record that we'll come out with, hopefully we'll get it out within a year just because I like to keep a solid flow of music coming. It's gonna be heavier and faster, but when I say heavier, I don't mean we're gonna bring up seven string guitars and do breakdowns, none of that crap, I just mean the power that you feel through the music. I'll tell you what, stuff like Withcfynde, they are about as heavy as AC/DC, when you think about it in the modern heaviness terms, but at the end of the day, they are heavier than bands like Slipknot or like Lorna Shore with their breakdowns and stuff like that. People sit there and go like "Oh Lorna Shore is so heavy", I am like "No, bands like Witchfynde are heavier than that", just because they got the rock power to it, that's what it's about. So, we'll just keep putting out music, we'll just keep putting out evil rock and roll.

I like the fact that you mentioned Witchfynde, because I always looked at Give ‘Em Hell as one of those quintessential NWOBHM albums, because it's heaviness through intensity, and I always think that a lot of people don't take that term "heavy" the right way, because I always said that there has to be like a nice balance of intensity and the musical suspense that keeps you on edge. I think it really is more effective than a breakdown, because with breakdowns I can imagine almost any band doing that, but the way how a band like Witchfynde throws those kinds of moments in their music, it's very occult and atmospheric as well, and it has a genuine feeling. About being as heavy as AC/DC, I mean you are right, I mean I think they basically come from the same cloth and I wouldn't be surprised if they wanted to go heavier in that term.

Bulldozer: Yeah exactly, what you mentioned about the atmosphere, that is a big part of our music. Not just our music, but music in general. These days you listen to a band, especially with black/speed metal bands, so many bands do not get the atmosphere and the aesthetic down. Bands like BAT, they got the right idea, but they don't have the right execution of it, because yeah, they are playing the black/speed metal, but they do not have that atmosphere at all. They are trying to play stuff but with Slipknot kind of production and atmosphere, like it is so modern and clean, and the problem with that is the modern record labels, because we got buddies in similar bands and they wanted it to sound raw, and then Metal Blade told them "No, you have to make it sound clean so you can appeal to a more mainstream audience". These big record labels that were once bastion of real true metal, all they are doing now is just stimulating sterile and overproduced crap that doesn't have the same atmosphere, when literally all they are doing is just taking away from the music and they are taking away from the fans that would truly enjoy the music and then giving it to all just mainstream people that are like "Yeah, this is kind of cool man, I am now gonna go listen to Slipknot now".

Reaper: You can play all the right notes, but if you don't have the right atmosphere, you are not taking somebody to a place that they are not in. When someone listens to our album, when somebody listens to "Wehrmacht" or something, they feel like they are in the middle of a battlefield, and that's what we want it to be. It's all about the atmosphere, because you can't just play the notes and rob them of emotions.

Exactly, because I think that's the problem with consumerism in metal nowadays, it really destroyed the human factor of it. You mentioned Metal Blade, it really is like that. You have like a nice band catalog over there, but on the other hand you have those bands that really just seem like they want to appeal to a wider audience, just because of the production side of things. That's one of the things why I don't like the fact about great bands doing their albums at Andy Sneap's studio, because as much as I love the early stuff he did with Sabbat, I don't like his production, it's very sterile and it's like they are trying to make the perfect record from the production standpoint, not from the performance standpoint as well. I think that people should really feel the heaviness of the riffs as they are, not the way how it's produced, and I think it's really impossible to revolt against that. But the fact that there is always this cult underground movement, standing up for itself, it really brings hope because these guys don't care that much. We are all simple people, we don't care about these things, we just want to have fun. That's one of the things that I really like a lot about you guys and your fans and anybody else who is getting into bands that are in the similar vein as Interceptor.

Bulldozer: Definitely!

It's been really nice talking to you guys, I really hope we'll get a chance to share a beer and see you perform in Europe, I would really love to see you guys because I think it's gonna be very wild. Are there any final words you'd like to leave for all the fans?

Bulldozer: Go buy Tales of Mayhem before it's sold out, that's the biggest one. Stick around, because we have a lot of stuff coming, we'll be coming to Europe.

Reaper: Where metal only gets more violent.

Bulldozer: Yeah, where metal only gets more violent, like he said. Stay heavy!

Reaper: Don't conform to the Metal Blade standards.

Bulldozer: Yeah, don't sit there and play your music all crappy, play your music loud and play it raw, play it rude, go and smash beer cans on your face, stuff like that. Don't be like one of these modern pussies.

Reaper: Do what real metal was intended to do!