Artist Interview
For over 20 years, Phobia have been deploying crushing, anarchistic grindcore and lacerating eardrums across the globe. Since forming in 1990 in Orange County, CA, Phobia have released a multitude of singles and splits with such bands as the legendary Corrupted and Plutocracy, as well as several full-lengths on such labels as Slam-a-Ham, Crimes Against Humanity, Relapse, Willowtip and Deep Six to name a few.
MetalKult's buddy, and Tombs mainman, Mike Hill recently caught up with Phobia's vocalist and sole original remaining member Shane McLachlan to discuss the making of their latest record Unrelenting (Relapse Records) and what it takes to keep a "100% punk" band going for more than two decades.
MIKE HILL Phobia's new record, Unrelenting, is out on Relapse. Can you give me a run down on where you recorded it, who played on it and who did the artwork?
SHANE McLACHLAN It was record at Winter Skies in San Antonio, Texas, by Mike Garrison. We tracked and wrote there and Scott Hull [Pig Destroyer] did all the producing and mixing at his studio Visceral Sound. I played on it along with Dorian [Rainwater of Noisear], Bryan [Fajardo of Noisear, Kille the Client, Gridlink] and Steve [Burda]. As far as the artwork, I just wanted something old school, you know? Actually Relapse just handled that for me, and it came out exactly how I wanted it. We're all real happy about it.
There have been some changes to the touring lineup of the band, can you elaborate on that?
We have been around for about 21 years, and in that amount of time there is bound to be some changes. We made some changes right before the Eyehategod tour because our original guitar player couldn't do it. We had had some issues with him for a while; he had other stuff going on and lacked the commitment that we needed. And if you know Phobia; that shit isn't going to stop us, you know? So we added our friend, Cece, who has helped the band tremendously: doing merch, driving, tour managing. She basically just kept the band's heads straight, and is an awesome person and kick-ass guitar player. We are tighter then we have ever been, so it was a good move. I figure we could of gotten numerous people we know to help out, but we wanted somebody that was like family to us. We also had Bryan's friend Clint play drums on that tour. I was really impressed by his drumming and the power he laid out. I wasn't sure in the beginning because Bryan is like the best drummer out there playing this type of music. But we really wanted to do the tour, I'm a huge fan of Eyehategod, so it just had to happen. And it went really well. We got a great response and had loads of fun.
Phobia has been active for over two decades. What keeps you moving forward?
I think we just still believe in what we do, we believe in the music, the ideals and idea that goes a long with it, you know? A lot of bands come in, talk their shit, preach their shit, and then they're gone. That's not what we're about. It's all about integrity to me. We just have it in our blood.
The lines between genres have blurred over the last several years. Do you see the band as a "punk" band or a "metal" band?
We're a punk band, 100%.
There seems to be more and more bands calling themselves "grindcore" or "powerviolence" over the last few years. In my opinion some are good, and some are just recycling old Napalm Death riffs. What is your take on this?
Well, yeah, that's pretty much how it works. We're always going to have our influences, you know? We have some old-school Napalm influence, and we are proud of it. You can't hide stuff like that. But bands should try and progress in other ways and find who they are. There are so many rad bands out there that kick ass, are grindcore and do it their own way. Phobia has a style, our influences show for sure, but still we have other shit going on as well. As for power violence, I never got into that shit. like, "where's the power?, and where's the violence?"
Phobia has done some touring recently, leading up to the release of Unrelenting. What are some of the highlights?
We did a kick-ass tour with our buddies Municipal Waste; that was a fucking blast. They're great guys that we've known for years and it was good to hit the road with them. We did a small tour up to the Central Illinois Metal Fest in Illinois, where we had Zach Gibson on drums. He's a fucking awesome drummer and we were stoked to jam with him. We also some Mexico dates, it's always good to be there: great people and crazy fuckers! Good times, man.
Are there any upcoming tours?
We are working on some dates for August. We have a good route planned: Midwest and East coast as of now. We also want to start working on a new record. I love to write, it's like my favorite thing to do.
You've relocated to Austin. How did that effect the productivity of the band?
It doesn't at all. I have always written most of the stuff anyways, and Bryan lives in Dallas. Dorian lives there as well, and he helps write Phobia stuff as well. CeCe lives in San Antonio, Texas, so that's been good. Calum lives in NYC...but like I said, Dorian, Bryan and I pretty much will be recording everything.
Has your relocation had a positive impact on your life?
Yes, it's been really awesome. I love Austin and always have. I've been here a lot and always had a great time. People are nice, there are lots of things to do. Being from Orange County, I love being around water, and it's all over here. I'm a lot mellower than I used to be. I miss my family and people I grew up with. But for me, this is the best place to be.
What's your take on the explosion of downloading music? Do you think it helps or hurts bands?
Well, it definitely hurts bands if people are doing it for free. I mean you can't avoid downloads, but I think it's wrong for people just to take it. You gotta support your bands. Bands depend on sales. With no sales, no label support or whatever they end up in debt, which is fucked!
The Devil Wears Prada are releasing their fourth full-length, Dead Throne (Ferret), on September 13. Watch the video below to see the first reveal of the album's cover art. Let us know what you think about it in the comments!
On July 19, Floridian post-grunge rockers Cold release their fifth album, Superfiction (SonicStar/Eleven Seven). The liner notes to the CD feature original illustrations to go with each of the record's 12 tracks. Leading up to the record release, we'll be unveiling one piece of artwork, as well as the corresponding song, each day. Up today is Superfiction's third track "American Dream." What do you think of the song and the artwork?
[audio:http://www.revolvermag.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/03-American-Dream.mp3|Titles="American Dream"|Artists=Cold]
On July 19, Floridian post-grunge rockers Cold release their fifth album, Superfiction (SonicStar/Eleven Seven). The liner notes to the CD feature original illustrations to go with each of the record's 12 tracks. Leading up to the record release, we'll be unveiling one piece of artwork, as well as the corresponding song, each day. Up today is Superfiction's second track "What Happens Now." What do you think of the song and the artwork?
[audio:http://www.revolvermag.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/02-What-Happens-No...|Titles="What Happens Now"|Artists=Cold]
On July 19, Floridian post-grunge rockers Cold release their fifth album, Superfiction (SonicStar/Eleven Seven). The liner notes to the CD feature original illustrations to go with each of the record's 12 tracks. Leading up to the record release, we'll be unveiling one piece of artwork, as well as the corresponding song, each day. First up, Superfiction's lead track—and lead single—"Wicked World." Check back tomorrow for new song, "What Happens Now."
[audio:http://www.revolvermag.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/01-Wicked-World.mp3|Titles="Wicked World"|Artists=Cold]
Metalocalypse Now!
Revolver's Mayhem Fest 2011 issue, featuring an apocalyptic cover painting by Metalocalypse artist Antonio Canobbio, is out on newsstands today, as well as available online here.
If the world's going to end next year, 2012!!!, Mayhem is the tour to go to this summer. Disturbed, Godsmack, Megadeth, Machine Head, Trivium, In Flames, Suicide Silence, Unearth, All Shall Perish, and the rest of the lineup tell you why—and ruminate on whether the end times are, in fact, nigh.
The issue includes a free Black Veil Brides sticker (see below), as well as a BVB poster and a poster of this issue's Hottest Chick in Hard Rock, Syd Duran of Valora!
The magazine also features stories on:
Purchase a limited-edition Mayhem Fest 2011 poster featuring artwork from the cover of this issue online here or at the Revolver tent on Mayhem this summer!
Chris "Slacks" Krovatin is the author of two young adult novels, Heavy Metal & You and Venomous. He is currently working on multiple new writing projects, as well as new material with his local New York metal band Flaming Tusk. He is a freelance writer for Revolver and generally comes off as a good-natured pain in everyone's collective ass.
Nothing is more metal than time. Time defines us, shapes us, gives us the basis for everything we have. Without time, there is no past to smile or shake our heads at, no future to grasp for or fear, and no now in which we can be (deep, Chris). The time in which humanity has existed is a double-edged sword—on the one hand, so many epic events have taken place in the 50,000-odd years that we've ruled this globe; on the other, our entire existence is a blink of an eye in the universal scale. But it's safe to say that during the Human Age, many things have happened that have been pretty fucking metal. Blood has been spilled, lives have been won and lost, and riffs have been chugged. Awesome.
Sadly, things have not always been so killer. At certain crossroads in history, humanity has randomly decided to become an obnoxious bitch-fest full of poor fashion choices and ridiculous etiquette. Assholes have dictated what is cool, and many times that involved wearing slacks. And if you've just bought your first time machine (or you're borrowing Dad's for prom), you don't want to accidentally end up landing during a time period where Whist is considered a bloodsport. So here, Mrs. Frizzle, is my list of the Six Most and Least Metal Times In Human History.*
The Six Most Metal Times In History:
1) The Roman Empire (Approx. 27 BC – 476 AD) During the longest societal reign in all of history, the Caesars owned most of the world, building themselves an era of knowledge, industry, and pure insanity the likes of which the world has never seen, until maybe now (and guess what happened to Rome?!).
2) The Black Death (Approx. 1345 – 1400 AD) Killing approximately 450 million people (fuck!), the greatest period of disease known to man brought our race to its knees, with people turning to torture, self-mutilation, and religious mania as a cure. And you know why? Because of fleas. It's always the small ones that get you.
3) The French Revolution (1789 – 1799 AD) Sometimes the rich get way too rich, and they eat swan and sturgeon at every meal. And sometimes the poor get way too poor and eat mud and die. And sometimes the universe sorts itself out with fire, violence, and a little device called the Guillotine. History is balance.
4) World War II (1939 – 1945 AD) With approximately 70-million casualties behind it, the Second World War reinvented our understanding or corruption, genocide, and hatred. It also introduced the world to one of its greatest villain, an apocalyptic racist who sent droves of mad dog soldiers into heights of depravity hereto unknown. So, yeah...
5) The Industrialization of Birmingham, England (1770 – 1860 AD) While less outwardly brutal than the other examples in this list, there are six words that make this time in England historically metal: Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Napalm Death. Oh yeah, you heard.
6) The Apocalypse What do you mean it hasn't happened yet? Dude, look out your window. Ride the bus sometime. We're soaking in it!
The Six Least Metal Times In History:
1) The Victorian Era (1837 AD – 1901 AD) Oh man, you know England needs? Less sexuality! And what if we all lived by an overly rigid code of morals and ethics that led us to believe our reputations were far more important than our happiness? Being a human being never felt so terribly unnatural.
2) The Renaissance (Approx. 1400 AD – 1600 AD) Look, after the plague and the Middle Ages, the Renaissance must've been awesome—it just wasn't terribly metal. There's art and science and hope everywhere…I'm just not seeing it.
3) The Enlightenment (Approx. 1650 AD – 1789 AD) Sure, this era did see the snake of religion being stomped by the boot of thought, but this entire social and philosophical discovery lacked any drama. I mean, come on, gravity? I'm supposed to get excited because we discovered gravity? Bring on Napoleon, that irrational little fucker!
4) America In The 1950s 1950s American society was a world of economic oversaturation and witch hunt-style hatred of anything different. How bad was it? The responses to it were the Civil Rights Movement and the Hippie Era. You can't use that many primary colors all the time without a serious backlash.
5) The Ages Of Discovery (15th Century AD – 17th Century AD) At last, we've made contact with much of the globe! Look—Africa! Asia! The New World! What should we do first…oh, I know! Murder! Slavery! Smallpox! Thank God we showed up to your little country!
6) The Late 1990s When "metal" was a dirty word. When a band needed a rapper of some kind to get big. Dark ages? You have no idea.
*The author would like to acknowledge that the Most Metal Time In Inhuman History was, is, and ever shall be the Age Of Dinosaurs. Anyone who says otherwise is a fucking Communist.
Hard rockers Art of Dying released their debut, Vices and Virtues (Intoxication), earlier this year. The group, which will be heading out on the Rockstar Uproar tour in August, plays a special acoustic version of the album's first song, "Die Trying," below. Frontman Jonny Hetherington fills us in on the song below. Let us know what you think of the song in the comments.
[audio:http://revolvermag.com/wp-content/uploads/audio/DieTrying.mp3|Titles="Die Trying (Acoustic)"|Artists=Art of Dying]
REVOLVER What's "Die Trying" about?
JONNY HETHERINGTON "Die Trying" is really the personal story of our band. Starting from nothing, following our dream, and doing whatever it takes to get where we want to be. It's about never giving up. Figuring out what you want and fully committing yourself is very powerful, but it's a lot harder than it seems. I mean, it's easy to say "I'll do what ever it takes… I want this," but actually living the struggle day by day, year by year is another thing. It's not a 90-minute film with a montage, it's real life. You sacrifice so much to truly put everything you have into your dream and it's fucking hard… but I think it's worth it. Even if you don't get there, you died trying, and I think that's a pretty killer way to live.
Which part of it did you come up with first?
Greg brought the riff and the meat of the song to me and we worked on the music together on acoustic guitars. The lyrics came to me pretty quickly in the following days. We had a former manager pass away around that time and I wanted to honor him with a song. His name was Jeff "Ffroe" Roe and he was truly a dreamer. I always remembered his email signature and mantra which was, "If you don't try, you'll never know." And that really inspired the pre-chorus line "I'd rather fail than not know."
How did you come up with this acoustic arrangement?
I do a lot of my best work on the porcelain throne. You'd be surprised at the number of songs on Vices and Virtues that were originated in the can. I love messing around with different acoustic versions of our songs in different tunings. I play in drop B, so I've got a lot of room to jump up the frets with a capo, which is exactly how this version of "Die Trying" came to be. I threw the capo on the second fret and rediscovered the song in a new key. It's a really nice place for the vocals to sit for an acoustic version. It's actually higher than the original version which allows me to sing the chorus in a lower register but still with some juice behind it. I took it to the guys and we worked together on it in the studio in Chicago with engineer Matt Doughrety. It came together really naturally and we nailed the tempo, allowing it to sway a little more than the plugged-in version. It kind a makes you want to drink rum.
What sort of feedback have you gotten on this song so far?
We get a lot of mail saying it's become a personal theme for people which is pretty amazing. There's really nothing more rewarding for me as a musician than to have a song actually resonate and to feel that connection.
When's the last time you thought to yourself, "I'm going to get this done, or die trying?" What were you doing?
There are the big battles in life, but there are the little ones too, the daily ones. I often trek up this crazy mountain path called the Grouse Grind when I'm home in Vancouver, which is two miles straight up. "Die Trying" always helps get me to the top.
An interview with Zakk Wylde never seems to go as planned. One doesn't interview Zakk so much as one throws down with him. When Revolver gets him on the phone, the Black Label Society frontman/classic Ozzy guitarist/ax-god goes off, chatting so casually and zealously about his band's recently released acoustic album, The Song Remains Not The Same (eOne), and his recent sobriety that our readied journalistic questions go right out the window. Instead, we talk shop with a man who feels for all the world like just a fellow music fan and an old friend.
REVOLVER Hey, man, how's it going?
ZACK WYLDE I'm good, man, just doing some methamphetamine, some steroids, and some crack cocaine. Aside from that, it's good. [Laughs] We got another gig tonight, man. Basically, just doing the majesty of rock.
On your new acoustic album, The Song Remains Not The Same, you re-recorded a couple of tracks from the last BLS album. How do you translate a big, burly BLS song into an acoustic track?
That's why we named it The Song Remains Not The Same—you know, besides being real into Zeppelin. The only song that's really an unplugged version of an old track is "Overlord." With "Parade of the Dead," the only thing that's the same is the title and melody. I'm playing it on the fuckin' piano, and I'm not even playing the riff. It's me just using them as a working title and lyrics. That's how I jam. If I'm jamming on an acoustic song, I'll just start singing "Knocking On Heaven's Door" over the melody. It's just something to fucking set it up.
What inspired you to put out an acoustic album rather than just another electric record?
Well, the Order [of The Black, BLS' last full-length] album hadn't been out that long, and when we were talking about putting out the next single, we were like, "Why not just put out something new to listen to?" And we had a lot of stuff lying around. And people always talk to me about [BLS' 2004 album] Hangover Music, how much they love that mellow shit at the end of the night to chill out to.
Are you going to take the acoustic stuff live?
We've got a lot of tours coming up—we're doing all the festivals, and then South America, Asia, and Australia—but then we were talking about coming back and doing something, with the songs being performed acoustic but with me playing electric solos and stuff, and maybe having Father Cantrell and Father Slash in, have my buds sit in with me. I thought it'd be cool, like Neil Young's unplugged stuff. We could get some strings in there with me playing piano and Jerry singing with me, make it sound totally fucking insane. Do a real "un-blackened" thing.
Do you find you have to do either a big electric show or an acoustic show, or can you do a little of both on the live stage?
Well, a set is like a movie—you gotta keep that movie moving along. If we're watching a movie and it dwells on one part too long, it's like, Why am I paying attention? Same with a set. If we have a song with four choruses, we only play two. I'll play Dime's song, or a song like "Darkest Days," but that'll be the mellow song of the set. If you have four mellow songs, you're losing the crowd. If I go see the Eagles unplugged, I know what I want to see, and if they don't play "Hotel California," the crowd gets lost. It's no good losing a crowd.
Has sobriety mellowed you out?
Nah. It was never really about that, it just got to the point where it started messing with the shows. When it starts getting in the way of shit, that's when it just gets stupid. It's like a football player—you run him into the ground enough, he can't play anymore. All of a sudden, you start having trouble with getting out of bed and taking a piss, and that's a problem. But nah, we're still chilling. The rest of the guys are in the back pounding booze and smoking weed and shit the whole time! We got wide-load trucks unloading cases of hard liquor into the bus!
What about productivity? Do you work harder now that you're on the wagon?
Me and Oz were talking about that one day. He was talking about how getting wasted can give you a lift-off pad. And yeah, if you and the guys are just jamming, it gets your inhibitions down, and some good stuff comes out of it. And if it sounds good, cool! The Sabbath guys were high all the time! But with alcohol, half the time you listen back to it, and you think, Ah, man, that sucks! You're jamming on some Zeppelin-y thing that you think is the greatest music in the world, and then next day you're crying from laughing at it, because it's so fucking horrendous. It's not like that for all bands. Some bands get cleaned up and sober, and you listen to their new stuff and think, Wow, these guys need to go back on drugs right now, because this is God-awful!' [Laughs] It never really affected me, man. I never really recorded when I was blasted, anyway. Yeah, in the studio, we'd be drinking beers, but we'd take care of business.
Yeesh, sounds like you've been working your ass off lately.
Well, we toured for about four years for the Shot To Hell record, and then the [Order Of The Black] before this one, but in between those four years, I wasn't just sitting at the house writing songs, I was out working. So as far as I'm concerned, we never really stopped. Between that and tour dates with the Boss, I've been always working.
That all sounds exhausting.
I prefer it that way, man! I've always said that vacations are for people who hate their fuckin' job, you know? I'm really not for going to Tahiti and sitting on the beach for a week doing nothing. And since I don't drink anymore, what am I going to do that I can't do at home? If I go on vacation, I think, How much is this costing me? Ten grand?! I could be doing this at the house! And it's not like I'm sitting around doing nothing at home. When I'm sitting at home watching the Yankees, I've got a guitar in my hands.