|
Blasting Zone Interview with David
Recently, legendary Temple Of Brutality bassist David Ellefson (ex-Megadeth, F5, Soulfly) was kind enough to speak with us regarding, among many other things, the release of the group’s long-overdue full-length debut Lethal Agenda…
Todd: How was Temple Of Brutality formed?
David Ellefson: “I was actually contacted by some mutual friends who put me in touch with Peter. Initially, I was sent the music for the Killing Machine record, which I loved. I thought it was great. When I found out James Rivera was involved…I was happy to strike up a new project with him, which we did. …During the course of that conversation, Peter said ‘…look, I’ve got this new thing I wanna put together…’. I think his originally working title was Enemy Of God. I don’t think anyone would have settled on that name anyway (laughs), then the Kreator album Enemy Of God came out and that pretty much solved that one for us. Then Peter called me, sent me a plane ticket and I went down to Florida and played bass on the record. Thus, Temple Of Brutality was born. It all just kinda fell right into place. …To be honest with you, that was almost two years ago. It was March of 2005 when we did that.”
Todd: Why was there such a long delay?
David: “…We went in and recorded it…and like a lot of records these days, you kinda have to be creative and find your own ways to make the record. We ended up doing the record deal later in November of ‘05. It’s been this long and now the label is finally going to release it in North America. But that’s the way I’ve sorta gotten used to making records, ya know? Sometimes you have to make the leap of faith, find the resources to do it and then just license it. In this day and age, no one has the time to listen to three song demos anymore. And no one has the money, patience or vision to develop projects for bands, ya know? This was great, though. When I walked into the studio, I had never met Pete, Todd or Stet. I walked into the studio and Stet had about half of the drum tracks done. Then I was up. I played bass and within a week, we knocked the whole record out. It was awesome. It was total throw and go Thrash Metal style like yesteryear. It was cool. …It’s definitely very hard edged, very aggressive and just comes right out of your speakers at you. …And I love the name because a lot of life is what’s in the name. When you say Temple Of Brutality, people either laugh, grimace or start nodding and the horns come out (laughs).”
Todd: It’s almost as if this record is a modern representation of your past…
David: “Exactly…as I move forward in life…it’s fun to find ways where the essence of what people know you for comes through in your new music. You always have to be doing something new, ya know? You always have to be planting seeds to new things. I remember being on tour years ago and people would come up to me and be like ‘…bring back the Old School, man…’ and it was like ‘…get over it, man…’ because at some point, life moves on and what once was will never be again. There’s a saying ‘…these are the good old days…’ which means what happens today will be looked upon in the future with fond memories. …For me, it’s more about coming up with something new and cool right now that you can look back on in five or ten years and say ‘…man, you remember when we did that Temple Of Brutality record?’ (laughs).”
Todd: Do you take that same approach in regards to your time with Megadeth?
David: “To be honest with you, I’m pretty far removed and just on to new stuff, quite honestly. I think that was sort of a mental detachment that I made years ago because you either look at your past and learn from it and move forward or you keep yearning for your past and get stuck in it, ya know? For me, it’s really about taking those things, all of the good and the bad times, and moving forward. The only thing you go to your grave with from this lifetime is your experiences, so I just try to take all that and move forward. That’s why when a call comes in for something like Temple Of Brutality, I’m like ‘…awesome, let’s go do it!’”
Todd: At this point, what is the status of F5?
David: “Well, the record came out in late ‘05 and we spent the year on the road through ‘06 and we just released a live DVD in the end of November, which is cool. The live footage was shot at a show in Ithaca at a show this past summer. The footage looks great, sounds great…I wish there was more of it to be honest with you. But we took the footage that we had and wrapped into a DVD and put a bunch of behind the scenes stuff…like the formation of the band and the writing of the record. We really just took the three years that was F5’s formation up through the tour and we sorta put that out as a bibliography, ya know? …In the meantime, we’ve been in the studio writing new material and demoing stuff up that I think sounds just awesome. It has a nice hard edge to it. We’re even going back and grabbing some of the stuff from our early days that maybe didn’t make it onto the record because maybe it was just a little bit more traditional Metal, which is something we’re all fans of. It’s taken on a new style and a new sound, so while we’re creatively working on that, it’s fun to have the Temple Of Brutality record come out because that shows a side of my playing that my fans are used to hearing me do and are probably happy to hear me do again. One of the nice things about F5 was that is was a nice clean slate…a blank canvas for me to draw something new on. And that was refreshing, ya know? It was nice to not have any chains to bind me. And it was a lot of fun and that’s why I look forward to that group hopefully continuing on. But at the same time, it was also nice to go in and do something like the Temple Of Brutality record because it’s a no brainer if you’re a Thrash Metal fan and grew up listening to a lot of the record I made in the past, ya know? With that said, I think it takes it to a whole new extreme and a lot of that has to do with the was Todd Barnes sings. I was listening to the record the other day and was just laughing because…as a person, he’s such a down home dude, but when he gets on the mic, you’d swear he was gonna come over just freakin’ tear your head off, ya know? And in this day and age with everything that’s going on, he’s got some strong political lyrics that I just love."
Todd: What was the main motivation behind choosing to record a cover of Edie Brickell’s “What I Am”? I have to admit, I didn’t see that one comin’…
David: “That was one of those things…I think every band talks about doing a cover, if for no other reason than to have it in the can so it can be done as an encore. …One day at the F5 rehearsal, we were just jammin’ along to some tunes and writing some stuff and Steve, our guitar player, just started playing this riff. I was like ‘…dude, is that that Edie Brickell song?’ and Eddie laughed and said ‘…hell no, why would I play that?’ And then he started playin’ it, goofin’ around and tryin’ to play it. Steve’s a great guitar player…and then I jump in, and the drums jump in and then Dale jumped in kinda spoofin’ it. Then we hit the chorus and Dale started screamin’ it like he did on the record. …As it went, it ended up being one of those things where we just said ‘…oh, what the hell…’”
Todd: What are you current touring plans in regards to Temple Of Brutality?
David: “Well, the record’s getting ready to be released and offers for shows are coming in here. My people are getting really, really excited about it. …Stet’s fans, too…he’s got a big following with his W.A.S.P. fans being that he was such a long time member of that group. And Stet’s such a genuine guy, I think a lot of people are excited to see him doin’ something new. …It’s lookin’ like some stuff is probably gonna ramp up here for this spring.”
Todd: Any idea what type of set list you’ll be working with? Are you planning on working in material from everyone’s past?
David: “…I could be wrong about this, but my thought has always been that the fans of those bands wanna see you play those songs with that band, ya know? (laughs) And I don’t wanna play in a cover band. I think with respective to the legacies of those songs…they are better off played with those groups. Again, because this is new…new faces and new music…it’s a new day, so to speak…I think we should just go out and kick some ass with the music that we created rather than just trying to relive a moment from our pasts. In fact, we’re writing some new material, so we might even try and run a few of those up the flagpole while we’re out on the road. I’ve always found the road to be the best place to do pre-production for the next record (laughs). It’s not that we’re gung ho on making a new record right away, but this one was made almost two years ago, so we’re all excited about playing new music. A band like Temple Of Brutality is definitely a live band…that’s what that music is all about, so if you’re gonna play some new tunes, you’d might as well play them for you fans and get their read on them right away. …It’s almost instantaneous, ya know? People are either pumping their fists in the air or they’re throwin’ shit at ya (laughs).”
Todd: What inspired the name Temple Of Brutality? The name itself is almost an oxymoron…
David: “One day I called Peter and said ‘…obviously, we’re not gonna call the band Enemy Of God, so what are we gonna call it?’ and he, in his thick German and French accent, said ‘…Temple Of Brutality…’ and then he kinda chuckled (laughs). And I said ‘…perfect…that sounds exactly like the kind of music that we create…totally brutal music. And that was before everyone started calling their music brutal. Now, it’s almost a genre, ya know? (laughs) …It’s kinda funny because when you think of a temple, you think of a nice, peaceful and tranquil building. To me, what I like about it is the political lyrics that Todd wrote, talking about how we’re already dead and down goes the hammer (laughs). These things that he’s signing about I are awesome because I think people get reserved about what they say, thinking they need to be politically correct. It seems like once Grunge music got started, everyone just started whining about their pain… I was just like ‘…kill me now. I’m tired of hearing these lyrics…’”
Todd: What prompted you to become involved with so many projects?
David: “…In early 2002, I just started going out and doing some co-writing with people. In 2003, F5 was formed here in Phoenix and it really was a labor of love, ya know? We just started throwin’ ideas at each other and the next thing ya know, we had over thirty songs written and figured maybe we should do something with it. It happened fast, it happened quick and it was fun. Along the way…the Avian record happened…Don from Salt Mines studios here in Phoenix got in touch with me and said ‘…hey, there’s a guy down here who’d like to do a track. It’s a Metal thing and you might be the perfect guy for the thing…’ and that led to that record getting made. …A lot of these things happened in like 2003 and 2004 and then in 2005, it was like the floodgates opened and all of them released at once (laughs). It certainly wasn’t intended that way. It looks like I didn’t do anything for three years and then in 2005, I decided to go to work again, and that’s actually the opposite of what happened. It’s actually been fun in this last year, in 2006, to be out giggin’ a lot, ya know? I was out on the road a lot with F5, some dates with Temple Of Brutality, Soulfly…(former Suicidal Tendencies/Megadeth drummer) Jimmy DeGrasso rang me up to do some dates with Montrose…”
Todd: Wow…Montrose…
David: “Yeah…so it was cool to play with a lot of different people and different tunings in everything from tiny little clubs to full-blown outdoor festivals and arenas. Each one of them ended up having their own special place in my life, ya know? It was kinda interesting to morph between all these different worlds and not expect F5 to do what Temple Of Brutality does and obviously not expect Soulfly to do what Montrose does. …To just kinda respect each one and just show up, tune the bass accordingly and let it rip, ya know? It was a different way of doing it because I had been in one setting for many, many years. To do it from the opposite side was challenging, but also very invigorating. I’ve kinda gotten to have to musical careers in one lifetime.”
Todd: Personally, I thick there’s a pretty thick dividing line between your current work and your past…
David: “Exactly…and I think I grew up being somewhat of a schooled player. I studied, I worked hard, got good at playing the instrument, guitar and a bunch of other instruments. I took music as a craft seriously, ya know? So it’s been fun to showcases different parts of who I am. As you grow on in life, you get new life experiences and those life experiences are usually the catalysts for new musical experiences as well, ya know? I enjoy that I don’t have to be a one trick pony. I get to do a lot of different things. And I’m fortunate that my phone rings a lot and I get a lot of E-Mails asking me to play on stuff. Rather than sitting around and being really selective and saying ‘…well, I don’t know if I wanna play on that…’ because I don’t know if it would be comfortable…it was all about jumping out of my comfort zone, really. You can sit around and say that you’ve played with the biggest and the best and now everything else is beneath you or you can go back and roll up your sleeves and just do it for the love of the music. That is what has always been driving me over the last few years, with everyone that I’ve played with. Do I like them as people and do I like their music? If I can answer yes to both of those, then I’m in.”
Todd: Taking all of these projects into consideration, would you rejoin Megadeth if the offer was made?
David: “Well, that’s not a conversation that’s on the table right now, so… To be honest with you, I think we’ve all kinda just blessed each other well with getting on with the rest of our lives and I think everybody’s pretty happy with that, so we’ll just let it roll like that.”
Todd: Do you honestly feel, considering the current trends within the music industry, that a band truly needs to sign a recording contract in order to be successful?
David: “You know it’s funny…MySpace has become the new record company. Anybody who’s anybody has a MySpace account, including (annoying humanitarian U2 vocalist) Bono, ya know? Even the biggest of the big have a MySpace page. I personally don’t have one because honestly, I don’t have the time to sit there and work them. So I’m happy my bands have someone to sit there and facilitate them (laughs). It’s hard to write songs and look at half naked women on MySpace all the time, ya know? But it’s a cool community and it’s just another extension of what the internet can do to help bands do what they need to do. Do you need a record company? Absolutely. At least right now to sorta act as the headquarters from which all things flow, most notably the music…whether you buy it online or at a music store. You also have to have a record company because the record company ultimately acts as a bank and they act like a marketing team, ya know? Otherwise, you’re left to do everything yourself and again, it’s hard to write songs, be in a band and be a performer and try to handle all the other stuff that’s out there. It’s such an insurmountable task, that I find it too much for a band like Temple Of Brutality to handle.”
Select David Ellefson Discography
Temple Of Brutality (2007) *****
Mode Of Alienation (2006) ****
A Drug For All Seasons (2005) ***
Prophecy (2004) **
Still Alive...And Well? (2002) *
Rude Awakening (2002) *
The World Needs A Hero (2001) *
Capitol Punishment (2000) *
Risk (1999) *
Cryptic Writings (1997) *
Hidden Treasures (1995) *
Youthanasia (1994) *
Countdown To Extinction (1992) *
Rust In Peace (1990) *
So Far, So Good…So What (1988) *
Peace Sells…But Who’s Buying (1986) *
Killing Is My Business…And Business Is Good (1985) *
* as a member of Megadeth
** as a member of Soulfly
*** as a member of F5
**** as a member of The Alien Blakk
***** as a member of Temple Of Brutality
templeofbrutality.com
davidellefson.com
METAL-INSIDE GERMANY
Temple Of Brutality
TEMPLE OF BRUTALITY mögen ein leichtes Allstar-Projekt-Gefühl verbreiten, aber die Mannen um Gitarrist Peter Scheihauer sind mit Vollblutmusiker, die mit Leib und Seele hinter der Band stehen. Das wurde im Gespräch mit ihm und Basser David Ellefson deutlich.
Was mir bei TEMPLE OF BRUTALITY als Erstes auffiel, war natürlich der Name: ich hatte eine brutale Death Metal-Band oder viellecht eine Metalcore-Combo erwartet, aber keine Thrash-Band. Wer hatte denn bei euch die Idee, den Namen zu verwenden?
Peter: Ich hatte die Idee. Es ist eher eine Reflexion von dem, was gerade in der Welt passiert. Temple Of Brutality kann der Sitz einer Macht sein, wie das Weiße Haus oder jede andere Regierung der Welt. Es ist auch ein wenig eine Hinweis auf die Geheimgesellschaften und die Macher hinter den Kulissen, die unsere Welt am Laufen halten – oder auch nicht *lacht*
Dave: Peter kam mit dem Namen und ich mochte ihn sofort. Es bringt jeden zum Lächeln, der ihn hört, denn man weiß, dass es nur verrückt sein kann!
Wie ist die Band denn entstanden? Kanntet ihr euch vorher schon länger?
Peter: Es fing vor ein paar Jahren an, wenn ich mit Todd (voc.) ein paar Demos aufgenommen habe. Wir hatten diesen Vibe und schrieben ein paar Songs, suchten ein paar Leute, bis wir die passenden hatten. Stet (dr.) kenne ich seit 14 Jahren oder so. Wir haben schon einige Sachen gemeinsam aufgenommen, aber in erster Linie sind wie enge Freunde. Todd kenne ich auch schon seit 10 Jahren, den Bastard *lacht*. David kam etwas später dazu.
Dave: Ich hatte vorher noch niemanden von der Band getroffen, bevor ich ins Studio nach Fort Myers, Florida, flog. Aber durch die Telefonate mit Peter wußte ich, dass wir gut zusammenarbeiten würden und als wir uns im Studio trafen, machte es sofort „klick“.
Jeder von euch hat einen Background als Mitglied einer bekannten Band. Hilft euch das bei TOB? Und steigert vielleicht auch die Erwartungen der Fans?
Peter: Es hilft sicherlich. Die Kehrseite ist, dass die Leute erst begreifen müssen, dass TOB eine neue Band ist und wir das genauso sehen. Wir wollen die frische Energie einer neuen Band nutzen. Deshalb haben wir „Lethal Agenda“ in nur einer Woche aufgenommen, damit sie frisch und unverbraucht klingt und wir genug Raum für Verbesserungen bei späteren Alben haben.
Das Gute ist, dass Leute eher bereit sind, uns eine Chance zu geben und uns zu helfen, als das bei einer unbekannteren Mannschaft der Fall wäre. Wir wollen uns darauf aber nicht ausruhen,
Dave: Einige sehr bekannte Spieler im Team zu haben hilft auf jeden Fall sofort. Aber die Erwartungen sind auch höher, was durch unsere Erfahrung aber ausgeglichen wird. Ein bestimmter Level von Professionalität kann man nur mit erfahrenen Musikern erreichen und die haben wir bei TOB.
Ihr habt gerade eine kurze Tour mit CHIMAIRA und ARCH ENEMY gespielt. Wie war’s?
Peter: Es war großartig und sehr spaßíg. Sicherlich eine der besten Touren meines Lebens und ich glaube, alle von uns denken das. CHIMAIRA und ARCH ENEMY sind tolle Band und sehr sehr cool.
Dave: Wir spielten in Clubs vor 600-1200 Leuten. Die Reaktionen waren toll, besonders für unsere kurze Spielzeit von 30 Minuten und der Tatsache, dass niemand vorher TOB gehört hatte.
Werdet ihr auch in Europa touren?
Peter: Ja, wir werden im Herbst kommen. Es sind Gespräche am Laufen über andere Bands, aber bisher ist noch nichts bestätigt. Mein Traum wäre ja mit SLAYER eine Europa-Tour zu machen! Aber es gibt so viele andere coole Bands, mit denen wir sofort touren würden. CHIMAIRA und ARCH ENEMY natürlich, oder DISTURBED. Mit denen haben wir ein paar Shows in Florda gespielt und sie waren klasse, auch wenn sie nicht den gleichen Metal wie wir spielen. MACHINE HEAD oder CHILDREN OF BODOM wären andere Killer-Partner!
Dave: Wir sollten erstmal das Album veröffentlichen. Das sollte genug Aufmerksamkeit wecken und uns auf die Reise schicken.
Gutes Stichwort, euer Album. Stimmt ihr zu, dass es ein modernes Thrash Album ist?
Peter: Halb und halb. Ich denke, es hat einige frische Elemente, aber wir haben einen bestimmten Groove beibehalten, der eher wie PANTERA klingt. Wir versuchen nicht, die schnellste Double Bass oder sowas zu spielen, der Groove ist viel entscheidender. Die Songs müssen simpel und direkt sein, straight to your face metal.
Dave: Du bist zwar der Erste, der uns modern nennt, aber ich denke, das paßt. Ich mag die Bezeichnung Thrash-Core, da wir auch Hardcore-Elemente haben.
Worum geht’s denn in den Texten? Sicherlich auch um politische/ soziale Themen, wenn man den Bandnamen und seine Bedeutung sieht.
Peter: Ich denke Todd würde hier besser antworten können, aber es sind Reflexionen über unsere Gesellschaft, Politik und die Medien. Und einige persönliche Dinge, die jeder schon einmal erlebt hat, was die Texte sehr wichtig für uns macht.
Dave: Ja, Todd schreibt die Texte und “Lethal Agenda” handelt hauptsächlich von der Regierung, die versucht ihre Agenda vor den Leuten zu verbergen. Ich finde, dass Todd einen großartigen Job gemacht hat, sein Missfallen zum Ausdruck zu bringen und gleichzeitig einen gewissen Humor zu bewahren.
Bekommt Thrash Metal heute die gleiche Aufmerksamkeit wie Ender der 80er, Anfang der 90er Jahre? Scheint so, als würden heutzutage nicht mehr viele junge Bands nachkommen.
Peter: Thrash Metal kommt langsam wieder zurück, Schritt für Schritt. SLAYER sind größer als jemals zuvor, das kann man hier in den USA sehen. Es gibt mehr Metal-Bands hier und viele, die Groove haben. Man, ich vermisse PANTERA (RIP, Dimebag).
Dave: Es stimmt, wir haben hier so eine Art Thrash-Revival, mit Bands wie LAMB OF GOD oder CHIMAIRA. Der Unterschied zu uns ist die Tatsache, dass wir wirklich aus der Original-Ära kommen und so eine längere Geschichte in diesem Genre haben und es nicht einfach nur interpretieren.
Wie oft probt ihr eigentlich?
Peter: Nicht so viel. Einige Male vor einer Tor. Und jetzt ein paar Tage, bevor wir neue Songs aufnahmen. Ja, wir tun es schon wieder *lacht*. Wir wollen die Spontanität beibehalten. Es war einfach ein frischer Wind und frisches Blut bei TOB und es dreht sich alles um gemeinsamen Spass und eine gute Beziehung. Etwas, das wir nicht immer in unseren früheren Bands hatten *lacht*.
Dave: Wir proben nur wenig, um spontan zu bleiben und uns nicht gegenseitig das Leben auszusaugen, wenn wir uns über Kleinigkeiten streiten.
Was sind die weiteren Pläne von TOB?
Peter: Wir werden den Sommer über touren, bis Ende November. Wir haben auch schon die neue CD geplant und begonnen, Songs aufzunehmen. Ein Video ist auch noch geplant. TOB ist meine absolute Top-Priorität, Punkt. Ich werde aber auch beschäftigt genug sein in den nächsten Monaten, da habe ich gar keine Zeit für etwas anderes *lacht* .
Dave: TOB ist eine unglaubliche, starke und lustige Band und bekommt deshalb von uns alles große Aufmerksamkeit. Wir sind sehr gespannt auf die Veröffentlichung des Albums und bereiten uns schon mal auf die Touren vor.
Peter, Dave, danke für eure Zeit. Noch ein paar letzte Worte?
Peter: thanks for the interview ....and for all the support ....can´t wait to come and play in europe ....well everywhere for that matter TOB is a live band .....let´s kick some ass , have fun and hope to see ya all for a good time party !
Dave: Get in and hang on because it’s a brutal ride! |