Interview with Chris Butera of Zamboni!

For today's interview, I have Zamboni frontman, Chris Butera. Not only is he the frontman of one of the most controversial new bands around, but he will also be contributing to this blog every now and then with some reviews, so keep an eye out for those! Here's what went down...

SFM - Could you give us a little background information about Zamboni for those who have never heard of you guys? Location? Releases? Sound?

Chris - Zamboni is a hardcore/crossover/thrash band that takes nothing seriously and pulls no punches with everyone. We hate everything, we hate everyone, and we don't care. We are mainly from Wantage, New Jersey. Mainly because Rob and Nathan, the other two members are and I travel from Brooklyn every time I can because there's no thrash in Brooklyn. There's really not much. We've got our infamous "Blood on the Ice" demo and our better received EP "Mother of the Resistance" which are both up for free download on Bandcamp.com. The sound comes from a lot of things. Rob's crunchy/grindy/buzzsaw tone comes from his Johnny Ramone style of playing and his love for DRI. His Megadeth and Metallica comes out too  but I'd say He gets it  mostly from the Ramones and DRI. I use a boss metal zone distortion pedal with my bass which gives me a Danny Lilker kind of thing only my tone is awful and his is amazing. My vocals are as close to Carnivore as I can humanly try and the drums come from Nathan's punk rock background. He's actually Ritchie Ramone's newphew if you can believe it. The best way to put it is a cross between Carnivore, DRI and the Ramones with SOD, Motorhead, and bunch of other things mixed in.

SFM -  I've seen first hand the kind of ridicule that the band Zamboni suffers on the internet over your guys' music. Is that discouraging for you guys to continue, or does it serve as a motivator to get better?

Chris - It's completely meaningless. Like I said before, we take nothing including ourselves seriously. A  failed troll is an obvious troll as they say. As far as I'm concerned it adds to the bands personality as well as gives us undeserved publicity. Chris from Insinnerator called us "A very brave band." when we played and hung out with them. I don't think were brave at all, Just realists. We aren't making music to be the best band in the world or please anybody. And we certainly won't get signed or make money. We're making music for people who like our music, including ourselves. Everyone else can eat a box of nails for breakfast without any milk. 

SFM - Well I'm glad you guys' are all great sports about it. Could you explain where the idea to name your band after a piece of hockey equipment came from? What about your mascot?

Chris - When I had the idea for this band in my brain I knew the name had to be something stupid. Plus to be honest I'm tired of every band coming out having a "super serious angry manly heavy as hell ultra cool" name because that's overdone and you don't need a cool name to be considered a good band (although we aren't). I was watching an old wrestling clip from '98 or '99 when Stone Cold drove a zamboni to the ring and started beating up the McMahon's on youtube. That was when wrestling was good and had talent. I was watching the clip and "J.R." goes "ZAMBONI 3:16! STONE COLD STEVE AUSTIN IS DRIVING A ZAMBONI TO THE RING!" or something along those lines and that was it. Jim Ross named the band, not me! Then the logo came and the mascot was Zamboni Pete. It was supposed to be the re-animated corpse of Peter Steele who drives a suped up zamboni over his victims. That didn't work out so well because every time we tried to do a Carnivore cover something weird happened. Either the gear got messed up or our drummer couldn't practice or we couldnt play a show or something. And after we stopped playing everything else would be fine. Or after practice or the cancellation the first thing that would come on in Rob's car was a Carnivore or Type O Negative song. So we believe we were cursed by Lord Petrus and to stop that we changed our mascot recently to "Zamboni Jack," who has not been unveiled to the public yet but he's condemned to ride the devil's zamboni for all eternity!

SFM - What are some future plans for Zamboni? Shows? New material?

Chris - Right now we have a show on August 20th at the Meatlocker in Montclair, New Jersey with our friends Bomb Scare, Condition Critical, Gorematory, Divided Skies and Cerebral Decay which features Sam Agnew, from Midian, which will feature a new song from us and a cover i think the fans (if we have any) will like. We've been writing over the summer so there's a few plans for a few EPs. I'd like to say that well have another one before Christmas but I won't know until you do. I've been making patches in my spare time by hand and Rob's stepdad just got a T-shirt press so hopefully we'll have some shirts to sell soon but we'll see what happens.

SFM - Sounds like you all have your hand's full. What is the metal scene like in New York? What bands should I keep my eye on?

Chris - The scene in New York is pretty dead. Most of the bands are deathcore/ NOTcore bands whom I don't pay attention to but there are a few bands that aren't bad. I usually only see them if a good thrash band gets booked without realizing they ever existed. It's mostly dead, the scene. That's why I've been traveling to New Jersey to play this music. They have a really cool one. The only good bands from New York I know of are our friends Bomb Scare, Carcinogen. Vermefug and Brohammer are also from New York. They're great live. They're the same band with different singers. I just started listening to Cerebral Ballzy, theyre a hardcore punk band from Brooklyn that Adult Swim is pushing for some reason, but they're awesome. Some band Earache signed recently is supposed to be from around here but I'm not sure and I haven't checked them out yet so I can't tell you if they're good or not. I think Egokill and Orion are from some part of New York but they usually play in New Jersey so I put them in with the Jersey bands but for the most part, there's not many good bands in New York. You're better off upstate or New Jersey if you want a good scene. 

SFM - Have you ever opened up for any bigger bands? If you could open for any band, who would it be?

Chris - I've opened up for Hexen, Mantic Ritual and Rattlehead with my old band (the one before Zamboni) before we split. As Zamboni, Insinnerator and Terrorist was our first show but that show we were with Midian also and that was their first show in 15 years so it was great to be a part of that I think their singer just left so I have no idea what's going on with them now. I booked it and worked the door and everything for that show so It was a good experience and a thrill to play with them. Bomb Scare and Condition Critical also made their live debuts at that show and they were awesome. We were supposed to have our first show with Witchaven and Coffin Dust but that fell through due to our drummer's work schedule. Skull Hammer from Massachusetts was supposed to headline the show on the 20th but their drummer Dan has a busted thumb or half a thumb as of last week and their bass player quit. Those would have been fun but oh well. If we could open for any band, I would say Carnivore but that won't happen for obvious reasons, but I think it would be a blast to open up for DRI. I think them Overkill or Exodus would be a great time for us. GWAR would be great too or the Misfits on a Halloween. There's too many good bands to pick just one. 

SFM - Hopefully you guys' get some more awesome gigs. Are you involved in any other projects outside of Zamboni?

Chris - I am currently not. Zamboni is the fifth band I've been in and its already been the biggest due to shameless self promotion and self degradation, but there's a few projects floating around in my brain that I'd like to see the light of day.

SFM - Well thank you for your time, do you have any words for your fans?

Chris - Why do you like this band?

There you have it folks. Be on the look out for any reviews that are posted by Chris and check out his band Zamboni on Facebook if you have the guts!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Zamboni/129807240416938

Terrorist - Demo Review... "Terrorist Terrorize Again"

Here is the first review for this site to be done by Chris Butera. He's a very talented writer and an avid metal fan, so he'll be contributing every now and then. His first review will be on Terrorist, a band who plays some wicked good black/thrash. Be sure to check them out on Facebook! (Link at the bottom).


There are bands that claim to be evil and dark, and then there's Terrorist. This black-thrash band from El Paso, Texas is truly a cut above the rest. They have one album out entitled “Blessed By the Beast” and a new Demo called “And Then Life Was Death” filled with the hellfire and fury that will cut your ears off and feed them to the three headed dogs of hell. They have been independantly touring with fellow Texans, Insinnerator for quite some time now and their name is becoming pretty known in the underground.

The new demo is filled with the raw intensity of Hellhammer with the morbid power of Malevolent Creation. The opener “Sadistic Necrophile” has a really groovy bassline worthy of early Morbid Angel and Freddy Terrorizer delivers haunting shrieks throughout the track.


“Metal Till Death” has the anger of early Emperor and Mayhem and an awesome intensity by their guitarist “Alien”. The driving force of the track is the pounding drums of “Void”. A great tune with horns in the air and heads banging everywhere.

“Decimate the Inferior God” is probably the best song on the demo as it has the fury and force of Kreator's “Pleasure to Kill.” It is driven by the anger of the band as a whole and truly showcases their talents at their finest. A huge nod to Nile and Sacrcofago on the main riff. Venom would be Proud.

The demo ends with the speedy title track. Freddy's vocals are spot on as well as Voids lethal drumming and Aliens speedy guitarwork. A great solo section fills this one nicely. It sounds like a bonus track from Death's classic album “Scream Bloody Gore.” There is also a big presence of Obituary here in the grooves.

Terrorist's new demo shows a great deal of skill from this three piece from El Paso. The raw quality is incredibly brutal and helps the band gain a signiture sound. The attack delivered is powerful and crushing with every riff. Terrorist knows what they want and they know how to get it. If their next album sounds anything like this, they might wake the beast they love so much.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Terrorist/164218303639409 - Terrorist Facebook

Dismemberment - The Condemned Review

Black/Death/Thrash metal. That's quite a broad spectrum of music, but its one that Dismemberment has seemingly conquered on their debut EP, The Condemned. This 6 song EP features tunes that range from vicious thrashers, to tracks that absolutely scream black/death metal, as well as an epic instrumental that features all of the above.


Since this is Dismemberment's debut EP, they were in dire need to write great material and leave a lasting first impression on metalheads across the globe, and I will say they accomplished that. The Condemned is a breath of fresh air in today's metal scene in America, as America has been mass producing hundreds of retro thrash bands, but Dismemberment does not follow that path, instead they sound like a band that you would expect was from Australia. Dismemberment would fit in perfectly with bands like Destroyer 666, Gospel of the Horns, Stormbane and all of those great black/thrash masters down under.


Dismemberment's greatest strength on this EP, is definitely their ability to structure their music in a catchy and aggressive fashion. One minute there will be a blazing fast thrash riff that suddenly turns into a riff that is damn-near impossible to not headbang to. The title track does exactly this and its probably the best track here for that reason. There is also a nice variety to the style of riffs, ranging from black and death metal riffs that create a dark aura while simultaneously mixing heavy and fast thrash riffs that remind the listener of Kreator and Morbid Saint.


The lead work here isn't anything short of great either, which is displayed tremendously by the solos and melodies found on every track. The marvelous instrumental track "No Peace on Earth, No Rest in Hell" and "Cryptic Isolation" both feature the best lead work on the EP. The vocals and rhythm section aren't really anything worth bragging about too much, but they do their jobs well enough and contribute to overall sound nicely.


There aren't many issues with this EP, but the couple that were most noticeable also happen to stem from the attributes that made this EP so good. The structuring at times tended to take the song nowhere at points and left me lost and bored. Some of the riffs also seemed to lack any inspiration and seemed bland. These flaws were only a problem in a couple on instances and don't really hurt the quality of The Condemned overall, but had these problems been remedied, this recording could have went from great to phenomenal.


Dismemberment is a band that needs to be noticed and they have made some noise with this release, but I know that their next outing will build upon this and be something truly special. I recommend this EP to anyone who wants to bang their head and have a great time doing it. The best tracks to do that to, would definitely be "The Condemned" and "Cryptic Isolation." 


Be sure to check out Dismemberment on Facebook and like their page to stay updated with everything happening in the band!
http://www.facebook.com/DISMEMBERMENTohio

Final Rating - 4.3/5 or 86%.

Interview with Matt Drake of EVILE!

Hey all you Evile fans! Evile has their 3rd album, Five Serpent's Teeth scheduled for release later this year in September so I figured it was necessary for me to get in touch with Evile's frontman, and he was nice enough to let me talk with him. Here's what went down!


SFM -  I figured the best start for this would be to talk about the new album. Are there any overall themes to this album? Would you say this album more closely resembles Enter the Grave or Infected Nations? How is it different?

Matt - I would say it resembles both and neither, it feels like a mixture of the
best things of both albums yet something entirely new. We are definitely
most proud of this new one, we feel like we've done justice to the song
writing for a change and not just smashed a few riffs together, shouted over
them and seen what happens. Although we have done that a bit haha. It has
everything we love about classic heavy metal- riffs, singing, solos, songs,
and a soul. It has a great energy to it which we were looking for from the
very start of the process. This album felt so natural to write and record it
just sums up best what Evile can do.


SFM - That sounds fantastic and I can't wait to hear it. Do you have any plans to tour for this new record? Possibly a headlining tour?

Matt - We start a UK headline tour at the end of September which takes us
through to the end of October. I think that's it for this year though,
there's just too many bigger bands out on tour or touring together that we
just couldn't compete so we are going to wait until next year to start
covering more of the world with touring this album. But we can't wait to do
so because every song on this album needs to be played live, we are insanely
proud and happy with these songs that we're itching to get out and play them
for whoever is willing to listen.


SFM - I hope you guys come back to LA! Who are your biggest influences when it comes to writing for Evile? How does the band as a whole go about writing material? Does one person write a whole song and the band learns it, or do you all collaborate for the songs?

Matt - I think with this new one we've been influenced by a lot of Classic Rock,
Queen influence me a lot with the bits I write. You can hear our influences
in the music but we don't necessarily sound like our influences, people get
that wrong sometimes, you don't have to sound like your influences. Vocally
I was inspired to sing more by freddie mercury, people like that make me
want to learn how to use my voice more effectively so this is what's
happened, it just came so naturally. We don't really have a set method for
writing, anyone can throw anything into the mix and if its good it gets used
and elaborated on and if its shit it gets thrown out. Mostly though Ol will
start with a few riffs and I will "produce" for him and suggest things or
add things or tell him its rubbish haha, then we argue for a while and
someone gives in and the song foundation is done. I will then write vocal
ideas to what's written and find the best way to fit in what needs fitting
in vocal wise. Then the same applies, they tell me if its good or shite, if
its shite I re-do it until it works. But then in some cases one of us might
bring in a complete song, for example I've written a complete song for each
album, which for this new album is the closing track, I'm like the heavy
metal Ringo.


SFM - What kind of gear do you use? Is there any difference between your live and studio setup?

Matt - No different at all for me, I use a Jackson Double Rhoads custom shop
guitar, through an EVH 5150III head and cab with no effects just an ISP
decimator noise gate. What you hear on the album is what we use live,
although with the appropriate delays and reverbs and double trackings on the
album haha. Ol has such a bewildering array of pedals and switches I have no
idea how he makes them all work for solos. I can't be arsed with all that, I
like guitars straight through amps. Done.


SFM - Speaking of your gear, you recently lost some of it due to problems with an airline service. I know you were able to get some back but is there anything still missing? 

Matt - Haha yeah we did, we lost our guitars and Ben's cymbals. We've been flying
to festivals at least 15 times a year for the past 3 years and its the first
time its happened so it had to happen some time. Ol didn't take it too well
though, he got a bit stressed out by it. My guitar and Ben's cymbals arrived
at the airport the day after so we got those back ok, then Ol and Joel's
guitars turned up on joels doorstep the night after that, the night before
we were due to fly out for another festival so it was a happy ending. Worse
things have happened.


SFM - Well I'm glad to hear everything was returned safely after all. How have the fans received the new bassist Joel Graham?

Matt - Amazingly well, getting Joel in felt so natural, well, as natural as it
could be under the circumstances! I think that if anyone would have had a
problem with the person we chose to carry on the band with then they would
be a person worth not paying attention to, or in other words, a thoughtless
arse. We have really supportive fans behind us who were with us all the way
and they took to joel just like we have, he's one of us.


SFM - Who are some of your favorite newer metal bands?

Matt - I will be honest there aren't many, Mastodon stand out for me, Opeth
although I guess they aren't new really they've been going aaaages. I've
been spending my music absorbing time listening to old stuff like Creedence,
Free, Beatles, Wishbone Ash, Uriah Heap etc, I like singing in music more so
now than ever which is why I've been teaching myself to sing, modern metal
seems to lean towards someone growling over breakdowns or blast beats and
that's just not my thing really, I'm not saying that's all of it, some of it
is done amazingly well but most of it just doesn't excite me like the old
stuff does, that stuff will live forever. I sound old haha.


SFM - What would be your reaction if you were called up to open for the Big 4?

Matt - My first reaction would be a yes and a thanks and disappear several
bottles of red wine into my face. Then I would maybe listen to Among the
Living, then Peace Sells, then Seasons in the Abyss, then Master of Puppets and
realise yet again how bloody good those bands are and what an honour it
would be to see our name with theirs. I said in an interview when we first
got signed that my goal for Evile is to be spoken of among those bands we
look up to so much.


SFM - Well Matt, I'd like to thank you again for your time, do you have any words for your fans?


Matt - You bring me fame and fortune and everything that goes with it I thank
you all. Seriously though, as always a big thankyou for being part of this
thing called Evile, we have no idea where its heading so thanks for sticking
with us through ace times and shit times. Enjoy the new album, I can't put
into words how proud I am of it, its the best thing we've done so let's so
let's see where it takes us! Maybe the bargain bin? Haha cheers and heavy
metal salutes.

Interview with King Fowley of Deceased!

For today's interview, I was fortunate enough to get in contact and interview Deceased frontman, King Fowley! After hearing the amazing Surreal Overdose, I knew I had to get in touch with this man. This is what went down!

SFM - Your newest album, Surreal Overdose, has been out for a few months now. How has this album been received by the fans? 

King - It's getting a lot of good response. We first try to please ourselves as song writers and anything else is just extra added fun. We thank everyone for the kind words on the internet and in mags about the record/band etc. We really appreciate your support.

SFM - I'm glad the fans dig it because it's great! Now looking back at the album, is there anything that you would change about it? 

King - No record is ever perfect. Little quirks in mixing on this one. Maybe an idea that comes to me after it's recorded, that's natural. I'm very happy with the sound and playing on the record. The band all did a great job and it came out very nicely.

SFM - Surreal Overdose was a fantastic album and definitely one of the best of the year and it lives up to your guys' reputation for being one of the most consistent bands around. How do you guys manage to top yourself everytime and does it become more difficult to try and release something better than before? 

King - We just write songs that catch our attention and put smiles on our faces. It's all our influences rolled into one. It's all written and crafted from the heart. We wouldn't waste our time or anyone's time throwing together a batch of new songs just to call 'em 'new songs'! We take our time and I can tell you as the arranger of the songs I devote a lot of time, effort and dedication into getting it the best it can be. I know the other guys do as well. Mike write's riffs that he enjoys and we all take em in and build off them. If something doesn't workout we don't panic. We move on from it and work on the next idea. In the end we have a new batch of songs we are all comfortable with and proud of.  

SFM - I can tell you that all of that hard work paid off! Are there any plans for Deceased to tour at all this year? Possibly any festival dates? 

King - We are doing "the 13 frightened shows!" We've done one as of this interview in Buffalo. Only fests we are doing or did are Buffalo New York's Day of Death and Goregrowlers Ball in Texas. The rest are just weekend gigs with local bands as support on the east coast. We did tons of gigs last year to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the band so this year we've gotten the record out and have a little bit of weekend time to gig out. 2012 will see a lot more!

SFM - Speaking of playing live, has it been difficult to transition from vocals to playing drums and singing at the same time? 

King - I did the singing and drumming togehter live for 15 years. I stopped due to health issues in the early 2000's. I love just singing live. Being out front and not trapped on that damn drum stool. On this new record I went back to playing drums to see what I still had in the tank. I won't be doing this live. We have a great live drummer in Eric Mayes and I'll stay out front and scream and have fun!

SFM - What is your favorite song to play live? 

King - Night of the Deceased! To me it's the perfect live song from us.

SFM - Are you involved in any other projects outside of Deceased?

King -  I have October 31 a traditional heavy metal band I've been a part of for 16 years now. We don't do much right now but we will work on a new record sometime in the near future as well as play a fest in Baltimore, Maryland in November. Other then that not really anything worth mentioning.

SFM - What was the reason for going separate ways with Relapse after being the first band to ever sign with them? 

King - Their bullshit lies and deceit! We are straight up guys and we expect the same from anyone we work with! There's no way we will work with bullshitters! We told them we're done with you and we left!!!! 

SFM - That sucks... Are you fan of any of the newer bands out today? Do you have any advice to lend them? 

King - I've heard hits of stuff but nothing I can really brag about. I wish anyone doing it for the right reasons good fortunes. My advice is do it from the heart and keep your integrity at all costs.

SFM - And lastly, do you have any words for the fans reading this?

King - Thanks for the support! Thanks for the interview brother! Up the tombstones! Arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh