DAMNATION ARMY
Interview with Thomas of the bands Damnation Army and Rotten minds done by Patrick for No Bullshit ZinePATRICK: -hails my thrashing metal brother of sickness. How's life been treating you? please tell the underground a little about yourself?
THOMAS: -Hails to you brother! Life is pretty damn good (and shitty at the same time ha) right now. Lots of things are going on. I shouldn't complain. Have just finished a recording session and are waiting for some stuff to be released. I am also tape trading as hell so I should be broke very soon... But anyway, things are definitely turning to the better. A little bit about myself... Well, I am NightSpawn and perform music in the dark forms of Damnation Army, NightSpawn & Rotten Minds. I am a complete underground maniac and have given my whole life to metal and the dark arts surrounding. Don't know much else to add...
PATRICK: -at what age did you discover metal? Did it take long before you found your way into the depths of the underground?
THOMAS: -I think I was about about 10 or so when I discovered the music that would completely change my way of looking at life. To me, metal isn't just music. It's a lifestyle, a dedication, the blood in my veins. It is something you worship. It keeps me occupied and somewhat sane in my life. Every true metal beast out there knows what I'm talking about. Yes and no to the question about how long it took for me to enter the world of the underground. I have always played music, and did tape trade with at the time only Swedish black Death bands when I was probably only 14 years old. Me and a friend used to read these magazines and order whatever that sounded appealing. I then continued to do this for a couple of years. Some of the bands demos I traded with where like, Thyrfing, Abyssos, Morannon, Throneaeon, Funeral Mist, Korp among many. Then I kind of where un active for a while, spent most time on evolving my own music. Then with the internet and all I decided to put some mp3's up on a music site. And later, God is Myth Records showed interest in my music and that's the way I got back to the underground and now I will never ever leave. So I really owe everything to Todd at GIM. He fueled the fire in my dark soul. Then I got in touch with more really cool dedicated metal maniacs like yourself.
PATRICK: -Who are some of your all-time favorite bands? Who are some of your "current" favorite bands?
THOMAS: -That's a hard one... Some all time favorites would be Iron Maiden, Judas Priest & Danzig. They are the greatest! Hmm some current stuff I've been spinning lately at home are material of Sapfhier, Uvall, Terminal Descent, Woodland's Edge, Nihil Nocturne, Sempiternal, Blodulv, Deadmoon, Judas Iscariot, Grima Morstua, Onslaught to name a few. I am also expecting to get very soon stuff from: Mutilation, Nicatas Drumer, Nokturnal Mortum, Killer Elite etc.
PATRICK: -You are the sole member of the blackend/thrash band Damnation Army. when did you first decide to create such a blasphemous war machine? How did you come up with the bands name?
THOMAS: -Don't know really. It feels like it created itself. It wasn't something I planned really (how weird even that sound). It just turned out what it is. About the band name, it was in fact a friend that came up with it. I thought it sounded perfect for my band so I decided to just go for it. I stole it from him ha ha.
PATRICK: -So far you have released 2 D.A releases on god is myth rec..{u.s label} how did you come in contact with this label? Any future plans to work with this label?
THOMAS: -It was in 2003, I had some mp3´s up on the net. Todd had found them and liked what he heard. He then contacted me about a possible release. And then everything just went along. God is Myth is a great label and a very serious one I might add. No bullshit. YES, I will very soon release through GIM my third piece. This will be a professionally recorded pro pressed cd limited to 500 copies. I am very exited about it. The music on this one has progressed a lot and is only black metal oriented this time and will be that from now on only. I am really satisfied with the result on this one. The album will be entitled "The Art of the Occult".
PATRICK: -I would like your opinion on female vocals in black metal and also keyboards ? Do you think they fit with this style of metal? Have you ever considered using them in one of your projects?
THOMAS: -To use female vocals in black metal is so very wrong!! I can't even comprehend to understand how someone would even think of it! So I guess you can figure out my answer on that one... Regarding keyboards, I'm very sceptic about them. Some bands can use them without sounding likea bloody circus and some cannot. It is very risky to use them I think. There was actually a time when I thought of adding some keys on Damnation Army but in the end I didn't. It felt like I was betraying myself. The new opus has absolutely NO keyboards. If I was to add keyboards in the future I would only use them very carefully. The problem some bands have is when the synth overpower the whole mix and plays a bigger part then the guitars. You know, when the guitars are only playing like two chords and the synth plays all different kinds of melodies. That's NOT very nice.
PATRICK: -How long does it usually take to complete a song? Any new songs written for the next release? For those poor souls who have not heard Damnation army how would you describe the bands sound?
THOMAS: -That really depends, Patrick. Often when I decide to record new material I do it in a time when I just shit out songs. When I feel very creative and the riffs are basically writing them self. Then a song can be made pretty fast. To me, it's more honest that way. I'm not the kind of guy that sits around for two hour just to decide if this or that riff is good or not. Music doesn't come from the brain, it comes from the soul. That's the way I feel about writing music and lyrics. To qoute Fenriz of Dark Throne: "It's not rocket science we do." This doesn't mean I don't care what I write. Music is the most important thing in my life. If I'm not a happy with a recording I become very depressed. So music to me is very emotional. And yes, the whole new album is done. I can't say when it is going to be released. It shouldn't take very long. To describe my sound, The first ep I (Towards Damnation) did was an evil sounding thrash machine. Fast and a bit melodic but mainly thrash. My next assault (Misanthropic Satanarchy) was an all out war machine. I was extremely pissed the time a recorded that piece and I'm sure you can tell by listening to it. This was a mix of black/thrash/death, but mostly black. My new assault (The Art of the Occult) will be pure black metal. This one will have an occult atmosphere all the way through. Melodic and aggresive at the same time. This is really Damnation Army's debut album. Here I will show what I really intended.
PATRICK: -You are also in the death metal band Rotten Minds. When did this band come into existence? Who are some of the bands influences? Any upcoming releases to tell us about?
THOMAS: -Yeah, Rotten Minds was formed by me (in 2003) and was quickly enhanced with Gus Grave on vocals, a friend of mine. Rotten Minds play primitive, ugly, old school, kind of midpasted death metal. We will soon have our debut demo out on tape by a label in Chile called, Ironfist Kommando Prod. This will be limited to 500 copies. This was made for my love of old school death. Really not much more to say.
PATRICK: -In your opinion what are the best and worst things about the underground today?
THOMAS: -The best thing about the underground is probably because it isn't ruled by profit, instead for the possession of metal. It is also more personal. You have a closer relationship with bands, labels etc. Hey, If you want to be a rockstar, the underground isn't your way to go, fucker! The underground is about releasing killer metal, zines for the true maniacs out there. Not releasing (what is trendy right now) metal with the only purpose to get bucks. Surely there are posers in the underground too but it is VERY easy to recognize them. People will notice it. I don't really know about the worst thing. I only have contact and make contact with the REAL people out there, If you are a shithead I will not pay attention to you.
PATRICK: -When not working on band things. What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?
THOMAS: -I put lots of effort on my free time into trading and buying ug metal. To prepare and send packages takes a lot of time. I send or get, about 4 packs a week. Oh, there's a bad thing about the underground. Postage is to damn expensive. It can really ruin you. But if you mean other than music related activities I watch a lot of movies. Mostly in the horror category but also some science fiction and fanasty. I have a very big and weird, some might say, passion for crappy cinema. B films and just plain crappy stuff. Fantasy movies are best when they suck ha ha. Some examples of b movies I enjoy are: Bride of the Monster, Beast of Yucca Flats (Tor Johnson!! Hell Yeah!) Eegah (Richard Keil!), the old Hercules movies, Sword & scorcery, Conquest, Creature from the Haunted See (probably has the most silly monster ever made in it), Killers from Mars, The Mad Monster, All Bela Lugosi movies, The Galaxy Invader, Destroy All Planets (giant turtle?), Santa Claus qonquers the martians (really too silly), The Ape, The Apeman, The Gorilla, The Killer Shrews, King of Kong Island, Blood Tide, The Brain that wouldn't die etc etc. I could go on forever... So movies keep me pretty occupied. Aside from that I like to lift weights, go long walks in the forest... I do not "hang out" with people. I do not "party". I'm kind of a lone wolf. I need to have a lot time being by myself. When I'm with friends I either, workout, listen to music or watch movies and things like that. Computer games can be time consuming too.
PATRICK; -Well my brother I am out of questions do you have any final comments?
THOMAS: -A big hail to you Patrick for the interview and your support and a big hail to the readers! If anyone is interested in contacting me, I can be reached at the Email below. Be sure to stay tuned about the upcoming Damnation Army cd at www.god-is-myth.com, Also be sure to look for NightSpawn "Release the Demons" that will be out on Morbid Souls Music probably when you read this (blackend old school thrash!!!)
contact
Damnation Army and Rotten Minds at:
eerie_thomas@hotmail.com
www.damnationarmy.cjb.net
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