TERRORHAMMER INTERVIEW

When I listened to TERRORHAMMER for the first time, I was really shocked. It was the first time since Speedwolf –Ride With Death or Rotting – Troopers of Midnight that I was so fucking amazed at this music`s lethal strength. What is more, this band comes from Serbia, and, frankly, not too often here in Poland, we get to learn about metal bands from that country. OK, this 2015 album knocked me down so, in result, I decided to learn more about this band. Enough of this too lengthy introduction! Lads and ladies, TERRORHAMMER!


Hail Pentagramator!

1. A couple of weeks ago, I got a TERRORHAMMER cd from your label. I won’t deny this stuff is amazingly impressive. Man, this material just kills! Well done!

Hails! Thank you for your words, glad you liked it!

2. It is just beyond me how you managed to create such an old-school atmosphere (Speed metal mixed with Hell itself and MOTORHEAD, of course!) on this Under the Unholy Command. Dude, this stuff is just dangerous, I am just amazed at its strength! You formed just six years ago but I am pretty sure this stuff could`ve as well been recorded 30 years ago and boldly put on the shelf with other albums from back then! I am sure you listen to a lot of classic metal, don’t you?

Once again, thank you! Sure, as a huge musicophile myself and an admirer of this art I am attached to many of it's forms with classic metal being one of my big opsessions!

3. The last decade will undoubtedly be characterised by the return to classic music, oh yes. Just listen to TOXIC HOLOCAUST, SPEEDWOLF, MIDNIGHT, TRENCH HELL, ROTTEN or AGGESSIVE MUTILATOR to understand what I am talking about. How do you see your band in this very context?

I would furthermore emphasize that this return to a classical metal is evidently a trend that has it's good and bad effects. Like with every trend especially within the underground music, great amount of people don't even listen to the music of the bands whose t-shirts they wear, some goes with many of these having or playing in numerous bands for who knows what aims. On the other side this trend is throwing the light on some talented minority of bands and people who previously wouldn't have an opportunity to present themselves, now having a chance to show their works and devotion to the underground worldwise. Among these group of bands both young or older, such as those you mentioned, TERRORHAMMER claims it's place.


4. Most of the above mentioned bands say they are mainly influenced by these two tycoons of NWOBHM: MOTORHEAD I VENOM. How about your band? What bands formed you as musicians, and further inspired us to play old school music?

Although the legacy, quality and significance of MOTORHEAD and VENOM will forever be indisputably praised for the formation and development of the underground metal scene, I can't say that TERRORHAMMER have been influenced by those two acts, at least not directly. I say not directly, 'cause they influenced a later generation of bands which we found as our own influence, those being proto-black metal and underground thrash cults from the 80's such as early phases of SEPULTURA, BATHORY, SODOM, KREATOR, MAYHEM and so.

5. The recent death of Lemmy Kilmister says a lot about one thing. Old timers are slowly dying out and there is no noble replacement for these guys, is there. Don’t you think a certain era comes, inevitably, to its end? Surely, there are plenty of bands to glorify the music played 30-40 years ago such as, MOTORHEAD, BLACK SABBATH, VENOM, CELTIC FROST or BATHORY; but still, it is a far cry from what these bands truly were in the past, huh? Does it mean “the twilight of the gods” is really taking place, so to speak, just now?

The change of epoch is evident, Lemmy's death could be one symptom of this process. BLACK SABBATH are also about to quit once and for all, a thing that privately saddens me since I was and still am a big admirer of all their phases, with Tony Iommy leaving an enormous influence on me forming as a guitarist. Old timers are either dying, quitting or just not being able anymore to deliver the quality they had before, so what the scene needs now is the new blood, we'll see how much the new generation will be able to cope with it.


6. According to all indications, the present underground is doing pretty ok, there are plenty of good bands around. I would like to know how the Serbian scene looks like. The reason I am asking is there isn’t too much music coming from your country, but, obviously it don’t matter nothing is going on in there, right?

Serbian underground scene is not so big and developed compared to the rest of those in Europe with a stronger metal tradition, but even like that it has some quality among many acts coming from here. Many bands tour and release records on yearly basis, but somehow, whether due to the sign that Serbia has as a country or something else, these bands rarely get some wider attention. To understand better what am I speaking about, check out: INFEST, THE STONE, SPACE EATER, ALITOR, VEHEMENTER, PAIMONIA, SAMRT and so to name a few.

7. You`d been active for five years before you released your debut album. No hurry as we can see. Didn’t you feel like releasing a full length at all? I do hope we`ll not be waiting for the new album for another 5 years? Tell us, do you work on any new stuff at all? Any plans as for new stuff?

Honestly, after “Vintage Black Mass” EP was out we already started working on our future release, but we're not feeling like neither planning to make it a full-lenght one. This was mainly driven by the fact that an album as a format in our age is disappearing or rather radically transforming and therefore it becomes more and more difficult to release it properly with all the pack that should go with it. Of course, you can always record everything on digital lo-fi equipment and upload yourself on internet, but that was never our aim. Fortunately later on Deathrune Records appeared as someone seriously interested to release our full-lenght with all the necessary things following a complete release policy. We didn't spent 5 years in the studio, but it took us some time to compose it the way we want to be - a completely rounded release that will fully represent what TERRORHAMMER is all about. I guess the fans will wait less than 5 years for the next one since we are already working on it as well with some material for splits planned for the second half of this year.


8. Apart from Under the Unholy Command you have released a demo and 2 eps. Do you plan to release these archaic materials as a compilation cd? That`d be a good idea, I think. Your album`s only 35 minute long and fits best a vinyl type of release. So, has it been released on (noble as it surely is) vinyl too?

Apart from full-lenght we have promo, EP and single released. So far such plans for compilation hasn't been made, but never say never. Vinyl version of “Under the Unholy Command” is currently in the works, it should include some bonus material and is scheduled for a release by Deathrune Records later on in 2016.

9. It’s been a year now since this stuff has been released. I am pretty sure you`ve read pretty many reviews of your album. Any negative reviews there?

Well it's more like closer to half a year since the album is out, but still we got many reviews with majority of them praising the release. As for the negative feedback I don't remember getting some of those particulary, but rather one situation where reviewer didn't use to listen this kind of music, a thing he emphasized in the beginning.

10. TERRORHAMMER is a duo, right. It is you and B.B.K Necro Doctor (bass). Does it imply you guys don’t play any live shows, huh? Or maybe Butcher (who recorded your drums as a session musician) plays live shows with you, eh?

Together with B.B.K we represent the very core of this band often joined by various friends on drums who help us for shows whenever we play live. For our upcoming shows we plan to utilize other drummer than Butcher (AVENGER,ex-MASTER'S HAMMER, etc), but would really like to have the opportunity one day to play live with him since he is surely one of the most gifted drummers among the whole underground scene and it was really amazing experience to record an album with him.


11. Well, all the best to TERRORHAMMER – May you spread Black/Speed/ Thrash pestilence around. Thanks a lot for your interview. Any last statement to Oldschhol Metal Maniac readers? Feel free to say anything.

Thank you for this interview and the interest in TERRORHAMMER.

BANISH TO DEATH THE LAST VESTIGE OF LIGHT! 666!

NecronosferatuS

 

Poprawiony (piątek, 29 stycznia 2016 12:38)