So, tell us a bit about the history of Assaulter until now. I know you were playing in Deströyer 666 before this, but not too much more. Why did you choose Assaulter as monicker of this new band? Hoi - Well, since Assaulter is pretty much a new band, we haven’t got quite the colourful history that I could crap on about and bore people to tears with. It essentially started when I did the ‘Proselytiser’ demo in 05 – that’s when I decided to get something going. I chose “Assaulter”, ‘cos it’s straight forward, to the point, can have multiple interpretations, and at the time, no one had used it. I’m not into the mega obscure names with the indecipherable logo. Stupid. The music of Assaulter is totally in the aussie vein of Black/Thrash Metal just like the previous band where you where playing or even Gospel Of The Horns or Razor Of Occam, for example, although you have a bit more of Heavy Metal aproach in my oppinion. What do you think about that? Aye, you’re right – and you’ll probably hear more of a heavy metal angle in the future. It’s hard to say, we’re not aiming for a ‘specific’ sound you know, but it’s more a result of what I find inspiring musically – I find Mercyful Fate, Judas Priest and Iron Maiden very inspiring, though I wouldn’t say they’re a direct influence, but a Thrash/Death Metal band, particularly Sodom, is a definite influence for me. “Omnipotent” is the second demo you have released, with three great and long songs, and a great production for a demo. Which are the bigger differences between this one and “Proselytiser”, the first one? Have you received any offers to re-release your first two demos or perhaps an upcoming album? You can here more speed on the ‘Omnipotent’ demo, whereas ‘Proselytiser’ had a more mid-paced epic approach. You’re going to pretty much hear a combination of this on future releases, but, as stated earlier, without too much emphasis on a specific form. Metal, I mean, fuck, music, is limitless, so we will work on ideas that work as a whole, and for Assaulter, that means being Metal to the fuckin’ bone, but without being confined to a sub-sub- sub-genre. We have quite a few songs ready to record, like ‘Heavy sits the Crown’ and ‘Path of Majesty’, and we will first release a 7” though Iron Bonehead in Germany – then maybe an LP, but probably a MLP. We’ve had a few offers to do this, but it’s nothing we’re looking to rush into. As far as rereleasing the demos, I don’t see the point in that unless there was an absolute demand. The demo has been released on a pro-done CD with a pro cover too(although it's not a booklet), which is not so usual nowadays, as the majority of underground bands prefer to release a tape demo, and in the case of CD's, they are usually CD-R's. Why did you choose the CD? Aye, the ‘format’ thing. I chose a CD because it’s a more professional approach, you know, I’d prefer to get a CD rather than CDR, which I think is the case for alot of people. We’ve had people ask why we didn’t press it on tape, and even though it might be ‘true’ or whatever, the fact remains, more people have CD players than tape players. I mean fuck, does it really matter? If it can be listened to, does it really matter? Is Assaulter focusing it's lyrics in war and satanism like the majority of aussie bands in that style or you speak about something else? Which are your biggest influences on that side, any book, movie or whatever that had a big impact on them? War, to a degree, yes. It’s the aftermath I’m more interested in – When a people are in ruin and despair and lacking faith from a War that has broken their spine, they are willing to embrace anything that has the semblance of a saviour, and before they know it, they have sold their soul. This aftershock is far more devastating than the War itself. This I find fascinating. Also, the idea of the leaders who take grip with an iron fist in such circumstances. Songs like ‘Proselytiser’ deal with this stuff. The whole concept of power is inspiring as far as Assaulter is concerned. As far as ‘Satanism’ goes, no, we have nothing to do with that terminology, as widely, and differently perceived as it is. While Assaulter is anti-christian, the overused banner of ‘Satanism’ isn’t flown by us. Being only two members, are you having any live activity with the band or still not? Don't you want to make a full line-up or you just still didn't find the right people? Yes, we will play live – just need the right members. As I asked on the previous interview I did to the norwegian band Gjenferdsel, I've seen Assaulter is on myspace and you're using it as a promotional tool. What do you think about all the internet thing? Some people prefer to go back to the paper zines and tapes(which I find still interesting for sure), while others(like you I think) use the CD and myspace for promotional terms. Is all this good or bad for the underground Metal scene, like for example the mp3 downloads? There’s nothing bad about it. If there’s a tool to be used for promotion, why not use it? Things change. I still love getting cut n’ paste ‘zines, ‘cos the people behind them put alot of passion behind them, and it pays off. I was into this stuff well before the internet, but things change, so what’s the big deal? I know it’s easier to write an email than to write out some snail mail. As far as mp3 downloads, yeah, I think it’s good for checking out a new band, but a REAL music fan will hunt down and buy a proper release in the end anyway – these people that horde trillions of mp3s are more into ‘having’ rather than ‘listening’, so it’s their fucken problem, not mine. What about the aussie scene nowadays? I know some great bands like Blood Duster, The Day Everything Became Nothing, Nazxul, Elysian Blaze, The Berzerker, Striborg and Assaulter now, which will become one of my faves I think, and I'm still curious about listening to Stargazer but, can you recommend us some new outfits that surprised you?Why do you think some of your bands moved to Europe? Is it so hard for a band searching for tours and all that to live down there or perhaps the majority of people interested in that style of music is living in Europe?
Well ‘scene’, I don’t know. Melbourne and Adelaide have scenes so to speak, and while they’re small, they’re very healthy- I’m also talking specifically about the Deathrash stuff aswell. There are heaps of different bands here, but ones I like currently are Shackles, Cauldron Black Ram, Nocturnal Graves, Gospel of the Horns, Funerary Pit to name but a few! Some fast choosing ones: Slaughter Lord or Hobb's Angel of Death: Slaughter Lord. Vicious, violent deathrash. People crap on about Necrovore, but for my cash, Slaughter Lord destroyed them. Politics or religion: With a gut full of booze, you can’t argue about one without the other. No choice! Past or future: Future. You can’t work backwards. Satanism or atheism: Atheism. Logical Iconoclasm. War or peace: It’s easy to hark on about war if you live in peace, and if I was in a war my survival instinct would want for peace. Ok then, I finished with it. I just hope to see an Assaulter album as soon as possible. Cheers and keep on thrashing! If you want to add something else, it's your time... To the Death. A beer raised for your support and interview. We will have a 7” out soon through Iron Bonehead. For news that is rarely updated you can go to our more than krieg myspace: www.myspace.com/burningfront The ‘Omnipotent’ demo is still available, so buy it bastards. Metal to the bone!
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About ...Gia Thanatos is a webzine dedicated to music for the apocalyptic times. No matter the scene or genre it comes from, and mainly chosen according to its author's taste. Archives
September 2016
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