Interview with Celebrities

Interview with Glen Benton by René Veerkamp
R.V. : First of all, I think that Serpents Of The Light is an excellent album, but I can already picture the reviews : New album, same music, same lyrics, we''ve heard that before. What is your response to that kind of criticism?
G.B. : NONE! I don''t give a ****! We make music the way we want. You can blame Deicide for everything but we don''t copy anyone else. The reviews I''ve read so far about the album were positive in general. According to most people, this album is to be placed in between the first and the second album and the production is better than ever.
R.V. : I guess you''ll be sick and tired of all the questions about Satanism, so I don''t want to talk about that. What I''m still wondering about is, how you can maintain such anger against Christianity for ten years now? Don''t you ever get fed up with it every now and then?
G.B. : I can''t explain that. I just sit down and something possesses me. The band first writes the music and then when I''m ready for it, I''ll write down the lyrics and it just happens. I hear the lyrics in my head. I regularly have mental blocks and then nothing comes out. Sometimes I need a little pressure to get an achievement. Although I hate it, it is sometimes the only way to achieve something. It''s especially when the record company is gasping in my neck that something gets out.
R.V. : The big wave of death metal bands that arose in the late Eighties and early Nineties is almost gone. What do you think about this development?
G.B. : There''s that whining about death metal again! Deicide ain''t a death metal band. What''s that, death metal? Are those bands singing about death? Of course, Deicide is dark and sinister, but when we started back in those days, there was no such thing as death metal at all. It''s especially the press, who is bull****ting about those tags, death metal, black metal and I don''t know what kind of ****ing metal else. I assume that fans know the difference between Deicide, rap music, classic music and reggae?!
R.V. : Well, you could describe death metal as a kind of musical style? You mention styles such as reggae and rap yourself. A certain kind of categorisation is pretty helpful for music fans.
I personally think it''s nice to know in what corner I can find a particular band.
G.B. : Ok, so you want a description of Deicide? Well, let me call it satanic rock ''n'' roll. Deicide is anti-Christian, anti-god and anti-organised religion. Nothing more, nothing less.
R.V. : When Deicide started, there were hardly any bands with such an extreme anti-Christian point of view. Nowadays, bands with such points of view predominate (especially in the black metal scene). Do you think that''s a good development and do you listen to those bands?
G.B. : I try to listen to other bands as rarely as possible. I don''t want to be influenced by others.
Before you know it, you''re copying riffs from others. I want to stay creative and that''s only possible with a certain extent of isolation. We want to be innovators instead of imitators.
I only listen to older music, Black Sabbath for example. I don''t care much about black metal, I''m from another generation. I''ve seen all that make-up stuff before with Kiss and Alice Cooper and besides that most of those bands aren''t catchy enough. I love aggressive music, but it must stay understandable, swinging and clear. I want the people who listen to our music to be able to follow our music and make out the lyrics.
R.V. : In the past there were some kind of troubles around the band. Death threats and cancelled shows. I still remember that the mayor of Katwijk wasn''t very pleased with Deicide.
G.B. : Yeah, even though we played there before. In general, all the commotion around Deicide has subsided a little. Some of those authorities seem to think that when Deicide is in town, everything will go up in flames, or something like that. By now it is clear that Deicide isn''t such a threat to public order as some had thought. I think that by now, most of the people have learnt to live with Deicide. The attention of moral conservatives has moved on to other territories.
R.V. : There were quite some problems with the cover of Once Upon The Cross. The original cover has disappeared to the inside of the booklet. Is Deicide yielding to censorship?
G.B. : It has been the record company especially who didn''t want that cover. If we had used the original artwork then the record wouldn''t have been available in all the stores. That''s all ****in'' politics and as band, there is not much you can do about that.
R.V. : The inevitable and boring last question: Is there anything you have to add yourself?
G.B. : Yeah, is there nothing you want to ask about the newest CD, the songs, the lyrics, or something like that?
R.V. : No, actually not, I guess everything is clear to me.
G.B. : Mmmm, well I guess I see you when we''re in Holland.
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VADER is one of these bands whose subsequent albums are awaited with more than mere curiosity. Why? There seems to be more at play than their constantly increasing popularity and almost "star" position in the scene. One of the reasons is the fact that their music appears to reflect the general con***ion of not only Polish, but also international extreme music scene. When people talk about death metal nowadays, they talk about MORBID ANGEL, DEICIDE, and VADER. What is interesting is that the latter are the only ones in this unholy trinity who release their albums regularly, which is quite a rarity in the world where one often has to wait years for a new outing from their metal heroes."Litany" is VADER''s new release. Will it attain an almost cult status the way its predecessors did? As I am writing these words, I have only heard a tiny part of what will constitute a new album, but at least I have managed to seduce Peter into sharing some facts and trivia concerning VADER''s album to come.
-Peter, greetings from all Thrash''em All readers. You have just finished the first, proper stage of the recording session for the new album, which took place in Red Studio. This is where you mixed you killer sound for "Live in Japan" - is that why you decided to record "Litany" there?I do not think I have to stress how important for a band is the choice of the studio and the engineer when it comes to recording. This time, we have decided to use Red Studio and Adam Toczko and Tomek Bonarowski, who both vastly contributed to "Litany''s" final shape. You''re right about "Live in Japan" - it was a sort of a test of the studio. While mixing the live album there and having in mind the prospective session for a new studio one, we wanted to check its quality and con***ions. Also, this time we had a luxury of unrestricted time. When you know that you do not have to squeeze in two weeks with all stages of recording, you can really concentrate on bringing out the best from your music. It was also important that a month-long accommodation in the studio did not influence the length of time devoted to the recording proper. All in all, the place, the time, the cost, the equipment, and the engineers themselves all affected our decision to choose this and not some other studio. -Would you then be able to pinpoint the differences between Adam Toczko and Andrzej Bomba, who produced your previous releases, more specifically "Black to the Blind" and "Kingdom"?Adam is a man I trust completely and definitely a sizeable amount of what has found its way onto the album is his ideas and suggestions. In a way, the album sounds the way it does not only because of the band''s or my vision, but also his. First of all, Adam thinks about music a bit differently from me. He was also very much involved in the recording and in a way took over a number of aspects of the session, which allowed me to concentrate more on a purely creative side of things. I think he did a great job on "Litany." On the other hand, working with Andrzej, our previous producer, had an entirely different character. In Selani Studio we were both more of co-operators than people whose views created some new quality. In that sense, Adam had much more freedom and independence while producing "Litany." -To finish with the subject of the studio, is the Red just a new name for once-famous Modern Sound?No, it''s a completely new place, but most of the Red''s personnel come from Modern Sound. -Alright, let''s pass on to "Litany" then. Could you first say a few things detail-wise: how many tracks, the total playing time?To start with the last part of the question - yes. As you may know we originally wanted to call the album "Chthonian Gods," but at the moment "Litany" seems to be the final title. We opted for the latter because it seems to resonate with a lot of interesting meanings, some of them quite opposite to what VADER stands for. We recorded 13 tracks altogether, two of which are going to end up on the Japanese e***ion of the album - "The Red Dunes" and "Lord of Desert." Unfortunately, such are terms and con***ions of the contract, which demands the Japanese version to be different from the one for the European or American markets. Obviously, it does not mean that all other listeners will never get to know these two cuts. We will perhaps put them on some later mini-album or EP and spice them up with a couple of brand new tracks. The total time of the album is, in turn, a somewhat complicated matter. We intended to record a full-time effort clocking in at approximately 40 minutes. Things turned out differently, though, mainly due to Doc''s drumming who played the tracks so fast he literally cut a minute off each one! Normally, our compositions were 3-4 minutes long; on "Litany" they''re about 2 minutes long, which is certainly a novelty for VADER. As a result, the whole album will be about 30 minutes long, but given its intensity and speed I think it''s about as much as listeners can take. I can also add that we actually had some problems with selecting bonus tracks for the said Japanese e***ion. Originally, we wanted to use the new version of ''The Final Massacre," but that would make the "basic" album too short. Ultimately, we had to include it on the European/American release as it is still longer than the two Japanese bonuses!
Right decision, to be true to myself, and FOREVER HATE YOU!

-The two tracks you have selected for the promo are considerably varied. In the light of what you have just said "North" seems to be typical of the rest of the album - a short, violent outburst of energy. "Xeper" [pronounced "Khefer"], in turn, appears to be ideal for live situations with its catchy riffing ... I am glad that you have noticed that as apart from the general conception of the album, while writing the material we indeed thought primarily about live situations. What''s more, the majority of tracks that comprise ''Litany" were written having in mind concerts and stage appearances. Also, their relative shortness of is in a way concert-friendly - we can simply play more of these within a fixed time frame. -Following your older contract with Earache, you again signed with a major Western label - Metal Blade, that is. Did you feel any special pressure connected with satisfying "a new employer"? Or perhaps work in a studio has already become more of a routine than a challenge?It''s true that we have recorded in a studio quite a few times, but I would never allow it to become a routine. That would smell more of a business enterprise or a factory than a creative act. I always write what I feel best and in the form that I like best. I do not see "Litany" as any kind of indication for the future or a quintessence of our style. It''s just a new album, a different one from all previous - that''s for sure, but it''s still VADER. Our music is born spontaneously out of our emotions and feelings. One can even feel the influence of a season or a particular day. What I am saying is that all these and a lot of other things do affect our creative process each time. Which means that each album IS different and one of the kind. As far as the pressure from our new label goes I must say we have not registered any so far. It''s not the first time that our albums have been available worldwide and so it''s not a new situation for us - we know what to do and what we owe our label and our fans. Having said that, if I perceived my music from the angle of its distributor, I would be more of a wedding player than a musician. -So are you 100% satisfied with the way the album has turned out? No and I have never been 100% satisfied with any other. The creative process is long and it''s only the perspective of time that allows you to look back at what you did and evaluate the final result of your efforts. For me and the band, it''s usually the live situation that tests how well a given track has come out - you cannot improve things then. On the other hand, if you spend a month in a studio you can change things any minute and any way you want. Most of these alterations are dictated by the desire to bring out a perfect album, but later it turns out that this urge to change and tinker is not always good or positive. In fact, it''s often the first, original idea that proves to be the most lasting. We definitely don''t want to be perceived as a computer band playing for the sake of perfection. We are all live people and we play for such. On the other hand, perfect musicianship is something you acquire with time and long hours spent on stage, in front of the people. -I heard that originally you also intended to record a cover for the album, but it doesn''t seem to have happened ... No. I was considering the idea but then I decided that "Future of the Past" had exhausted our pool of covers for a long time. Of course, it''s different if we play one of these live, but the albums themselves for the time being are going to be pure and unadulterated VADER! -You have mentioned that the recording session for "Litany" took more than a month. Did any of the band members surprise you in any way?Yeah. Doc was definitely the one and as I said his is a big influence on the final shape of the material and its .. er .. "conciseness". I was also positively struck by Mauser''s performance. He contributed a few good and effective solos, which is definitely something we''ll need during concerts. I hope we''ll be able to have little solo duels on stage and that should make gigs more interesting. However, I would like to stress again that we are a band and that whatever you hear on the album is always the result of four people''s work. -Do you think you could perhaps point out your favourite tracks on "Litany"?Well, don''t get me wrong, but I''d rather not do it as it might suggest certain priorities or selections, which would disadvantage other tracks, and I still think it''s a very tight and even album. "Litany" is like a strike of an axe - cuts deep in every place. From the commercial point of view I may suspect that such tracks as "Xeper," "The Calling" or "Wings" will turn out particularly well in live situations, but that does not obviously mean that all others are mere time fillers. Several "Litany" cuts will definitely become part of our basic live set. Speaking of which, I also plan to incorporate several older ones in the vein of "Revolt," "One Step to Salvation" and others. In fact, determining our live set is becoming an increasingly difficult task as we usually play for about an hour while it''s getting harder and harder to satisfy all fans who demand a variety of songs. -So what are your wishes for the upcoming premiere of "Litany"? I would like this album to get across to as many people as possible. People who need this music. I would like death metal which we have always been faithful to not to be a dead music, but to emanate powerful energy. If you feel its flow while listening to "Litany", it''ll be our greatest reward!
Right decision, to be true to myself, and FOREVER HATE YOU!