Los ingleses ONSLAUGHT fueron pioneros en los ochenta por muchas razones: fueron uno de los pocos grupos británicos que alcanzaron cierto renombre, por delante de SLAMMER o ANIHILATED, contribuyeron a establecer toda la temática y la iconografía satánica como parte esencial de la nueva escena con títulos como “Power from Hell”, y publicaron en pleno 1986 un disco de esos que ya era 100% puro y brutal Thrash Metal, de auténtico manual, y del que de hecho han mamado muchas generaciones después: “The Force”. Un clásico quizá no tan popular como otros pero absolutamente imprescindible. Luego tomaron el camino de tantos otros grupos que buscaron un sonido más progresivo, con el cual su historia llegaría a su final, y ya en el nuevo siglo siguieron también por ese camino común y protagonizaron uno de los regresos más sonados y que, hasta el momento, están resultando más potentes. La entrevista que transcribo a continuación llega con unos tres meses de retraso desde que el grupo accedió a responderla. Después de su buena disposición inicial vino el verano, las giras, la falta de tiempo… pero gracias a la paciencia y la amabilidad de su mánager Tommy Morriello finalmente la espera ha merecido la pena!!, aunque algún dato resulta ya anacrónico (sobre todo que en aquel momento iba a ser mi primera entrevista, cosa que a la vuelta de los meses ya no es cierta). Nige Rockett, guitarra, fundador y líder del grupo -y único miembro original desde que el batería Steve Grice abandonara hace unos meses-, contestó por escrito a estas preguntas y despejó algunas dudas sobre el pasado y el futuro de ONSLAUGHT. Transcribo el texto tal cual me fue devuelto con las respuestas, y mantengo el inglés original porque siempre se pierden matices con la traducción.
-Hi, Onslaught guys, and thanks a lot for agreeing to do this interview. Besides, this is the first interview I’m ever doing so it’s an honor for me to get to this first opportunity precisely with such an influential and important band. Sorry in advance in case my English is not so good. So, let’s start.
Hi Pedro, I hope you are well my friend, its my pleasure to be doing the first interview with you… and of course Thank you :)
-It’s been several months now since “The sound of violence” came out, how good are the album reviews being? And how are the sales doing?
Yeah, the reviews have been totally amazing, it has been the best press response to any Onslaught album ever released and equally important the fans are feeling the same way too, so it’s a real win situation… Sales wise it has been a major success in the short time since the album release, we beat the sales figures of our last album ‘Killing Peace’ within the first 5 weeks of the album launch, so the future is looking very cool….
-This is a question concerning many bands nowadays that I’m personally interested in: do you live on music alone or do you have other regular jobs? I mean, there are many great bands today that claim not being able to live only on music, or that they return from long tours in just the same financial situation that before parting.
No, it’s not possible for us to live on music alone in 2011, we have to run other business outside of the band to be able to make a living.. The problem is, is that albums simply to not sell the amounts that we did some years ago, most bands will tell you sales are down around 90% compared to the 80’s & 90’s.. if you sold a million records in 1989 you will sell 100k in 2011.. There’s not much money to be made from album sales these days so Touring & merchandise are the main revenues right now….. Illegal downloaders have a lot to answer for…!!!!!!
-You’re clearly no teenagers anymore, but you seem to be at your plenty of strength: where do you get your energy from? And what does inspire you today to keep on creating violent and aggressive music?
We have never felt stronger and never felt so much energy as a band in all the years we have been together.. We all still have a great drive and ambition to get Onslaught to the highest levels possible and to maintain our reputation as one of the best live bands out there.. There’s a lot of competition in the scene so we have to remain extremely sharp & focused to stay one step ahead of the rest..
That’s a good question, mostly it comes from the heart.. But there’s also a lot of fuel for creating violent music around us in the world today. I love to release my anger and hatred through my music whether its in songwriting or playing live, I’ve always had an aggressive nature, its been in my system since I was a kid and I don’t think my that will ever change…..
-You stated some time ago that maybe someday you’d re-record some of the tracks from “In search of sanity” and let people hear how it should have sounded. Are there any specific plans about that?
There are positive plans for this to happen. We have re-recorded bonus tracks from the ‘Power From Hell’ album on our last 2 releases, so the next obvious step is to work on songs from the ‘In Search of Sanity’ album, these will act as bonuses on the next Onslaught studio album.. We are not sure which songs to record right now but there are definitely 2 that will be included…
-Going back in time, let me ask you: why do you think there never was a strong Thrash Metal scene in the UK at the time the movement was created? Did that circumstance make it especially difficult for you to get noticed?
I honestly don’t know the answer to that question… it’s a very strange thing because there was a huge UK fan scene in the 80’s for Thrash Metal but the fans never went on to create bands as they did in Germany or the US.. There were just not enough musicians who had the drive or skill to play this style of music…
It was great for Onslaught, we received all the attention from the press and the fans, there were only a couple of British bands who could compete with the rest of the world, so it really put us in a very strong position to move on to the next level…
-Related to that, how do you see the current “revival” of Thrash Metal? Do you incline to think of it as a whole new creative breed or more like a stagnated repetition of things done in the same exact way that bands like you invented three decades ago?
There are 2 reasons behind the recent Thrash revival…. A) There is a whole new generation of Metalheads discovering how good this amazing style of music really is… B) 90% of the original bands are still here for the new generation to witness and most of the bands are still releasing great music and playing great shows….
I really don’t see any of the new breed of Thrash bands doing anything new or credible for the Scene.. They all seem too happy to repeat everything that has come before, by the bands who are still very much alive and doing it far better in 2011…
-Well, let’s return to the present: there’s been a clear evolution in your lyric concept from the initial satanic themes to a more complex vision of the current world. Am I right about that? Are your views and lyrical interests still expanding?
That’s very true.. I think it would have been boring for everyone, (including myself) if Onslaught had continued to tread the satanic path across every album release.. My lyrics are still extremely dark and evil, but very much portray the reality of horrors that this world of ours has delivered throughout time…. There is so much violence and brutality to write about that I will never be short of themes, I am always looking for the new way to die.. hahaha
-Tell me something: did the lyrics from the track “Suicideology” come from some actual event? What was the last intention or meaning behind those lyrics?
All the lyrics on the SOV album are based around real life events and in particular ‘Suicideology’ because I have had 3 close friends commit suicide over the years. I have always tried to imagine what was going through their minds when they finally gave up their lives.. I am convinced there has to be 2 voices in the head, one voice saying ‘kill yourself’ and one voice saying ‘No‘……. ‘Suicideology’ is about how I see the battle of the mind in someone who takes their own life.
-Please let me tell you that when I saw the cover for “The sound of violence” I was not at all impressed. Whose idea was to make a cover partially reminiscent of “The force”? I mean, the one selected for “Killing peace” was way more daring, and also visually more attractive, I think. Do you agree?
Nooo… I love the SOV cover…:) Its Powerful / Dark / Iconic and very Controversial.. Have you seen the dig pack cover..? Its so cool and far far better than the standard cd…
The sleeve concept was thought out by myself and Jeff, it combines 2 images that represent immense power and evil, we wanted something that would 100% compliment the music that was contained within the sleeve, while also retaining some of our old school vibe..
-I’m not sure if you’ve done more concerts in Spain apart from the Lorca Rock Festival in 2006, have you? Are there plans for coming again and play live in Spain?
Wooooaahhh, where have you been my friend haha..? We have played 4 or 5 shows in Spain since Lorca Rock Festival and every time it was fucking awesome..!! Onslaught loves your country, it is one of our favourite places in the world and I come to Spain on vacation every year without fail… Beautiful..!!
Yes of course…. we will be returning to Spain later in 2011 for some more shows, we just cant stay away, its gonna rock as always :)
-Hi, Onslaught guys, and thanks a lot for agreeing to do this interview. Besides, this is the first interview I’m ever doing so it’s an honor for me to get to this first opportunity precisely with such an influential and important band. Sorry in advance in case my English is not so good. So, let’s start.
Hi Pedro, I hope you are well my friend, its my pleasure to be doing the first interview with you… and of course Thank you :)
-It’s been several months now since “The sound of violence” came out, how good are the album reviews being? And how are the sales doing?
Yeah, the reviews have been totally amazing, it has been the best press response to any Onslaught album ever released and equally important the fans are feeling the same way too, so it’s a real win situation… Sales wise it has been a major success in the short time since the album release, we beat the sales figures of our last album ‘Killing Peace’ within the first 5 weeks of the album launch, so the future is looking very cool….
-This is a question concerning many bands nowadays that I’m personally interested in: do you live on music alone or do you have other regular jobs? I mean, there are many great bands today that claim not being able to live only on music, or that they return from long tours in just the same financial situation that before parting.
No, it’s not possible for us to live on music alone in 2011, we have to run other business outside of the band to be able to make a living.. The problem is, is that albums simply to not sell the amounts that we did some years ago, most bands will tell you sales are down around 90% compared to the 80’s & 90’s.. if you sold a million records in 1989 you will sell 100k in 2011.. There’s not much money to be made from album sales these days so Touring & merchandise are the main revenues right now….. Illegal downloaders have a lot to answer for…!!!!!!
-You’re clearly no teenagers anymore, but you seem to be at your plenty of strength: where do you get your energy from? And what does inspire you today to keep on creating violent and aggressive music?
We have never felt stronger and never felt so much energy as a band in all the years we have been together.. We all still have a great drive and ambition to get Onslaught to the highest levels possible and to maintain our reputation as one of the best live bands out there.. There’s a lot of competition in the scene so we have to remain extremely sharp & focused to stay one step ahead of the rest..
That’s a good question, mostly it comes from the heart.. But there’s also a lot of fuel for creating violent music around us in the world today. I love to release my anger and hatred through my music whether its in songwriting or playing live, I’ve always had an aggressive nature, its been in my system since I was a kid and I don’t think my that will ever change…..
-You stated some time ago that maybe someday you’d re-record some of the tracks from “In search of sanity” and let people hear how it should have sounded. Are there any specific plans about that?
There are positive plans for this to happen. We have re-recorded bonus tracks from the ‘Power From Hell’ album on our last 2 releases, so the next obvious step is to work on songs from the ‘In Search of Sanity’ album, these will act as bonuses on the next Onslaught studio album.. We are not sure which songs to record right now but there are definitely 2 that will be included…
-Going back in time, let me ask you: why do you think there never was a strong Thrash Metal scene in the UK at the time the movement was created? Did that circumstance make it especially difficult for you to get noticed?
I honestly don’t know the answer to that question… it’s a very strange thing because there was a huge UK fan scene in the 80’s for Thrash Metal but the fans never went on to create bands as they did in Germany or the US.. There were just not enough musicians who had the drive or skill to play this style of music…
It was great for Onslaught, we received all the attention from the press and the fans, there were only a couple of British bands who could compete with the rest of the world, so it really put us in a very strong position to move on to the next level…
-Related to that, how do you see the current “revival” of Thrash Metal? Do you incline to think of it as a whole new creative breed or more like a stagnated repetition of things done in the same exact way that bands like you invented three decades ago?
There are 2 reasons behind the recent Thrash revival…. A) There is a whole new generation of Metalheads discovering how good this amazing style of music really is… B) 90% of the original bands are still here for the new generation to witness and most of the bands are still releasing great music and playing great shows….
I really don’t see any of the new breed of Thrash bands doing anything new or credible for the Scene.. They all seem too happy to repeat everything that has come before, by the bands who are still very much alive and doing it far better in 2011…
-Well, let’s return to the present: there’s been a clear evolution in your lyric concept from the initial satanic themes to a more complex vision of the current world. Am I right about that? Are your views and lyrical interests still expanding?
That’s very true.. I think it would have been boring for everyone, (including myself) if Onslaught had continued to tread the satanic path across every album release.. My lyrics are still extremely dark and evil, but very much portray the reality of horrors that this world of ours has delivered throughout time…. There is so much violence and brutality to write about that I will never be short of themes, I am always looking for the new way to die.. hahaha
-Tell me something: did the lyrics from the track “Suicideology” come from some actual event? What was the last intention or meaning behind those lyrics?
All the lyrics on the SOV album are based around real life events and in particular ‘Suicideology’ because I have had 3 close friends commit suicide over the years. I have always tried to imagine what was going through their minds when they finally gave up their lives.. I am convinced there has to be 2 voices in the head, one voice saying ‘kill yourself’ and one voice saying ‘No‘……. ‘Suicideology’ is about how I see the battle of the mind in someone who takes their own life.
-Please let me tell you that when I saw the cover for “The sound of violence” I was not at all impressed. Whose idea was to make a cover partially reminiscent of “The force”? I mean, the one selected for “Killing peace” was way more daring, and also visually more attractive, I think. Do you agree?
Nooo… I love the SOV cover…:) Its Powerful / Dark / Iconic and very Controversial.. Have you seen the dig pack cover..? Its so cool and far far better than the standard cd…
The sleeve concept was thought out by myself and Jeff, it combines 2 images that represent immense power and evil, we wanted something that would 100% compliment the music that was contained within the sleeve, while also retaining some of our old school vibe..
-I’m not sure if you’ve done more concerts in Spain apart from the Lorca Rock Festival in 2006, have you? Are there plans for coming again and play live in Spain?
Wooooaahhh, where have you been my friend haha..? We have played 4 or 5 shows in Spain since Lorca Rock Festival and every time it was fucking awesome..!! Onslaught loves your country, it is one of our favourite places in the world and I come to Spain on vacation every year without fail… Beautiful..!!
Yes of course…. we will be returning to Spain later in 2011 for some more shows, we just cant stay away, its gonna rock as always :)
-If I’m not wrong, you were contracted to AFM for two records, so there’s still one to come out with them in the future. Is it going to take you four years since the previous album as it did last time? How are things going with AFM and the promotion for the album? Are you still “not very trusting of record labels”?
Yeah we are signed to AFM for 2 albums and no its not gonna take another 4 years to release the next album hahaha, I think they would be extremely pissed with us if we took that long to deliver.. We are actually writing new songs as we speak and its progressing real well, so we are planning to release the next record within 2 years of SOV…
Things are going great with AFM right now, its like being back with Music For Nations (The Force) once again, the label is like a big family with no attitudes or egos.. Yeah we have had problems with some labels in the past but I am actually regaining some trust and respect once again, these guys know their job and are doing real good for Onslaught.. The promo has been cool and they are planning a much much bigger campaign next time round due to the success of ‘Sound of Violence ‘around the world…. So we couldn’t be happier.. :)
Things are going great with AFM right now, its like being back with Music For Nations (The Force) once again, the label is like a big family with no attitudes or egos.. Yeah we have had problems with some labels in the past but I am actually regaining some trust and respect once again, these guys know their job and are doing real good for Onslaught.. The promo has been cool and they are planning a much much bigger campaign next time round due to the success of ‘Sound of Violence ‘around the world…. So we couldn’t be happier.. :)
-And last, let me know about your plans for the future, or how far do you expect to go with Onslaught.
The future is busy busy busy, we have some more European Festivals coming up soon and then we tour the UK in September, South America in October / Europe in November / December & Asia in January while also trying to write new songs along the way.. Its total chaos but its great…
We’re taking this all the way, we’re having a fucking great time right now, so why not push the boundaries..!!!
We’re taking this all the way, we’re having a fucking great time right now, so why not push the boundaries..!!!
-Well, I think that’s all. If you want to add anything that comes to your mind, please feel free to do it or to say whatever else you want to. I hope it hasn’t been tough or boring. For me it’s been a great pleasure to have had Onslaught as the first band I’ve interviewed. So, thanks a real lot and best luck for you.
Thank you Pedro, its been a pleasure to be the subject of your first interview and its been very interesting for me….
I would just like to say a huge Thank you to all our fantastic fans in Spain for the great support you have given Onslaught throughout our career.. It really does mean so much to us all… we cannot wait to return very soon…. Adios..!!!
I would just like to say a huge Thank you to all our fantastic fans in Spain for the great support you have given Onslaught throughout our career.. It really does mean so much to us all… we cannot wait to return very soon…. Adios..!!!
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