 |
SINCE THE EARLY DAYS I GOT INTO EXTREME MUSIC F.O.G. HAS ALWAYS BEEN MY TOP FAVOURITE BAND.
EVEN TODAY THAT I'M NOT SUCH A HUGE LISTENER OF WHAT'S LABELLED AS GRINDCORE, THRASH, EXTREME HC etc. I STILL FIND A LOT OF INSPIRATION AND FRESHNESS LISTENING TO WHAT THEY DID, OR IN OTHER WORDS I CAN SAY THAT AFTER MANY YEARS THE "GRIND" INFLUENCE ON CB REMAINS FEAR OF GOD, EARLY NAPALM DEATH, PATARENI, REPULSION + FEW MORE, AND THIS MEANS A LOT TO ME. A LOT HAS BEEN SAID ABOUT BRUTALITY AND ANGER IN MUSIC, THERE'S PEOPLE BASING THEIR WHOLE MUSICAL EFFORT ON IT, EVEN DEATH METAL GOT A WHOLE BRANCH 100% FOCUSED ON THE "BRUTAL" FEATURE ITSELF, BUT AT THE END OF ALL, MY OPINION IS THAT NONE HAS EVER BEEN SO BRUTAL AND HATEFUL AS FEAR OF GOD. IT'S A MATTER OF VITALITY AND GENUINENESS - NOT AFINAL RESULT OF PEOPLE STTING BEHIND A TABLE AND SAYING LET'S PLAY LIKE THIS AND THAT. THE FOLLOWING IS AN INTERVIEW WITH ERICH AND DAVE, ORIGINAL MEMBERS OF THE BAND. THE THING I LIKE MOST IS THEIR SENSE OF CRITICISM AND DEPTH OF THOUGHTS. SINCE MY PASSION FOR SUCH A BAND IS ENORMOUS, I PUT ASIDE MY USUAL DEMENTIAL STYLE OF MAKING QUESTIONS AND MY CURIOSITY AS AN ALL TIME FAN HAS TAKEN PLACE. HERE WE GO:
gtb: STARTING WITH A CLICHÉD QUESTION BUT I THINK IT MAKES SOME SENSE... WHAT MOTIVATES/PUSHES YOU TO REFORM FEAR OF GOD AFTER SO MANY YEARS? SHALL WE HOPE IN SOMETHING FIXED AND LONG-LASTING OR JUST A REUNION FOR A FEW SHOWS AND RECORDS?
Dave: the reformation is connected to the personal friendship of dp & ek, that, as friendships go, experienced ups and downs, but was also always fuelled by the same passion for "our" music. the fire to also make this kind of music has always been burning and .... probably just waited for the right moment to be reanimated..... for a longer lasting time.
Erich: It also has to do with the continous interest in the band. In the late 90's, there seemed to be something like an increasing number of not only bootlegs, but also bands covering our songs - i had expected that the interest would disappear in the long run, but I had been proven wrong. labels kept asking me to re-release the material on cd and slowly, i was getting more and more excited about it. after working for more than a year on "Zeitgeist", the discography Double-LP / CD and frequently seeing Dave, and especially after hearing his masterful remixes, we had to do something about the burning fires inside of us - reforming the band was a necessity.
gtb: DO YOU HAVE AN IDEA OF HOW THE CURRENT SCENE LOOKS LIKE, I MEAN - NOT SIMPLY THE MUSICAL ONE MADE OF BANDS/LABELS/TRADERS BUT ALSO THE "ON THE ROAD" SIDE, PLACES WHERE DIY GRINDCORE IS STILL PROMOTED/SUPPORTED (OR "RELEGATED"), THE WHOLE @PUNK THING CONCERNED TO SQUATS AND COLLECTIVES ETC.??
Erich: Not really. from what i understand, the whole freshness and improvisational character seems to be lost widely. what was once a radical and extreme underground, is now a well established and structured market - in both smaller and larger scales. this also reflects in the squatting scenes. they're just mere places of mass consumption, cliched political sloganeering and shallow PC-hypocrisy. I happen to live very close to such a place and it's such a disgrace, I've sworn to myself to never set a foot inside of it. it also has to do with experience. I mean, when you're getting older, you can't help but noticing how many people, after being loudmouthed with their green hair and pseudo-political slogans, just dissapear after a short period. these squats seems to have a strong function in being a link between trying to escape rich parents' homes and finally blending in in society by getting a decent job etc.
gtb: I CAN HONESTLY SAY THAT A LOT OF THINGS ARE CHANGED COMPARED TO HOW IT WAS IN 1988, HOW DO YOU EXPECT IT TO BE NOWADAYS?
Dave: no expectations. we'll see.
Erich: same goes for me.
gtb: FEAR OF GOD TO ME HAS ALWAYS BEEN ONE OF THE PUREST EXPRESSIONS OF HATE AND BRUTALITY IN GRIND OR CALL IT EXTREME HC, NOISECORE.. WHATEVER.. YOUR FIRST 7" IS PROBABLY MY FAVOURITE THING IN THE WHOLE GENRE. I'VE BEEN ALWAYS FASCINATED BY THE MOOD ON THAT RECORD AND THE FEEL OF NEGATIVITY AND ANNIHILATION COMING OUT FROM EVERY TRACK. COULD YOU SOMEHOW MAKE A PORTRAIT OF THE BACKGROUND ON WHICH SUCH A THING GREW UP AND CAME TO SUCH A DEVASTATING END-RESULT? WITH MY BAND I CAN CLEARLY SAY THAT THE MOST HATEFUL AND VITAL RELEASES ARE THOSE CONNECTED TO SOME PECULIAR PERIODS OF MY LIFE, ABOVE ALL THE MOST NEGATIVE/STRESSING ONES... HOW ABOUT F.O.G., CAN YOU SOMEHOW DESCRIBE THE PRIME MOTIVES BEHIND THE MOOD THE OLD RECORDS REFLECT?
Dave: the background is probably comparable to thousands of similar ones all over. a dissatisfaction resulting from omnipresent stupidity and the emotions it triggered, and the channeling of those emotions into something that makes sense to those involved, celebrated with the love of life.
Erich: ..plus a will to form something new - to try and push ourselves as hard as possible to play the most intense noise there was. besides being frustrated youngsters, we were also huge fans of other extreme bands -
ranging from CYANAMID to SIEGE, from REPULSION to NAPALM DEATH. we just felt the urge to contribute to the underground after being involved with it for so many years.
gtb: HOW DID IT HAPPEN THAT THE GRAPHICS ON THE TEMPLE OF LOVE EP WERE DESIGNED BY STIV VALLI/TVOR RECORDS?? GREAT CHOICE ACCORDING TO ME, IS THERE SOME STORY/DETAIL BEHIND?
Erich: I used to trade rare hc records with stiv for years and somehow, I just asked him to draw something for the cover, which he did. don't remember too much about it, honestly. it's a horrible cover, haha.
gtb: I'M CURIOUS TO HEAR YOUR OPINION ABOUT THE WAY GRINDCORE DEVELOPED THROUGH THE YEARS, EXPECIALLY HOW ABOUT THE LATE '80s AND THE BEFORE & AFTER OF EARACHE RECORDS. HAVE F.O.G. EVER BEEN OFFERED TO RELEASE SOMETHING ON EARACHE? HOW F.O.G. WOULD HAVE PROGRESSED IF YOU WOULDN'T HAVE BROKE UP BACK IN THE DAY? I MEAN... BETTER SPLITTING UP THEN EVOLVING AS SOME BANDS DID?
Dave: i don't endorse the labelling that is supposed to name particular musical forms of expression simply for the limitation of perspective this method brings. what the fuck is grindcore?
fear of god split then and there for it was the right thing at the time.
Erich: yes, Dig Pearson was interested in signing up fear of god in 1988. I knew him personally and in 1987, I even hung out a few days at his place in Nottingham, shortly before the ND lp came out. to fear of god, it was not even worth discussing this offer, cause we had seen where the sell-out would lead - and we were proven right, again. I never really got too much into "grindcore" after 1987. I mean, the label alone was always a bit obscure to me and I still fail to understand in detail what it tries to describe. when I heard Genocide (pre-Repulsion) in 1985, i was like, fuck, this is NEW and sooooo great - but the same was, when I heard Venom in 1981 or Motorhead in 1978. After having been into this form of music for such a long time, to me it evolved all naturally - one thing slipping into the next one - very few ruptures it had, I'd say VENOM, SLAYER, HELLHAMMER, POSSESSED, REPULSION being the main ones on the metal side of things, many more yet on the HC side - but overlooking the past 25 years of "our" music, I'd say it went rather smoothly. if you'd ask me where the whole thing started, I'd say BLACK SABBATH were the first in playing something that hadn't been heard before. I wrote an essay about that, being more detailed, called "Zeitgeist", which will be included in the booklet of the Double-LP / CD, by the way.
gtb: F.O.G. IS ONE OF THE MOST BOOTLEGGED BANDS EVER... BEHIND THE RECORDS AROUND YOU CAN EASILY SEE WHAT HAS BEEN DONE WITH PASSION/DEDICATION AND WHAT WAS JUST A MERE TACTIC TO GET SOME EASY CASH. HOW DO YOU SEE THIS MATTER?
Dave: exactly the way you describe it: as those who do it out of a passion/dedication, which is humbling, and those that do it for commercial reasons, which is upsetting.
Erich: I dunno. my feelings about it are so mixed - on the one hand, I remeber how it felt, as a "fan", to buy the first bootlegs (AC/DC, Iron Maiden, Motorhead) in the early 80's - the whole idea was so strong, I was almost addicted to these poor-sounding bootleg lps (and I could kill myself for having sold them!). so I can't help but thinking "hey - wow! another fear of god bootleg" when I see one. but then again: when I have to buy the bootleg, don't even get a handful of referrence copies, I think to myself, how fucked up these guys must be. take that Godstomper/Fear Of God bootleg or the "grind masters" lp .... these two records show, how easy it must be to just put "fear of god" onto it and sell it or just make your band look more important (as un-important
as it is, actually).
gtb: F.O.G. LYRICS. I HAVE ALWAYS APPRECIATED THE FACT THAT YOU WERE GIVING SOME DIRECT + EFFECTIVE VIEWS ON MANY DAILY LIFE'S ISSUES WITHOUT BEING PREACHY OR SOMEHOW STICKED TO "SOCIALLY AWARE" STEREOTYPES. READING THEM I CAN JUST SEE A PERSON EXPRESSING FEELINGS AND HONEST VIEWS FILTERING THROUGH DAILY LIFE'S EXPERIENCES. WOULD YOU CALL F.O.G. A POLITICAL BAND, LYRICSWISE?
Dave: probably a definition of what politics is would need to be made before answering this question... but this would burst the frame of an interview. however, i would say that a person expressing feelings and views within the context of a chosen form of expression is making political point.
Erich: I totally agree with Dave. it was political in the sense of taking political matters serious, but not in means of sloganeering or preaching. I always tried not to preach - we had some lyrics we never used and those we just the preachy types that ended in the dustbin (or in my archives).
gtb: WHAT MADE YOU QUIT THE MIGHTY "OFF THE DISK" RECORDS??
Erich: realizing that I didn't want to be involved in supplying trends for zombies maybe.
gtb: A LOT OF BANDS THROUGH THE YEARS HAVE BEEN TRYING TO IMITATE/RECREATE F.O.G.'S SOUND.. CRIPPLE BASTARDS TOOK A LOT OF INFLUENCE SO FAR AS IT CONCERNS THE GROWLING VOCALS' APPROACH >> MANY PEOPLE FOUND IN SOME EARLY SINGLES WE DID A VERY SIMILAR SINGING LINE. LISTENING TO YOUR STUFF (EXPECIALLY THE 1ST 7") I ALWAYS GOT FASCINATED BY THE WAY THE VOCALS RAGE OUT, AND I TRIED TONS OF STUFF TO MAKE IT SOMEHOW SIMILAR. IT SOUNDS LIKE YOUR VOCALS WERE PASSED THROUGH A DISTORTION PEDAL... I TRIED DIFFERENT KINDS, EXPECIALLY THOSE USED FOR GUITAR DISTORTION, BUT MOST OF THEM (ABOVE ALL THE NEWEST TYPES) WERE KINDA TOO NOISY AND UNNATURAL. THE ONE THAT WORKED BETTER AND GAVE ME AN ALMOST EQUAL RESULT WAS A 70s GUITAR-PEDAL CALLED "TURBO RAT" GIVING JUST A LITTLE PITCH OF VOLUME AND DIRTYING THE VOICE THE RIGHT % TO MAKE GROWLS SO MONSTRUOUS AND ELEPHANT-LIKE AS YOURS. THIS IS NOT WORSHIPPING, LET'S SAY JUST PASSION FOR SCREAMING! SO NOW IT'S THE TIME: SINGER TO SINGER, DELIGHT ME ON THE EXACT TRICKS YOU USED ON THE TEMPLE OF LOVE EP!! (GTB goes fanatic, hehe!)
Dave: fear of god used NO effects on the vocals - never!
(GTB: fuck, this was a shocking revelation.. I've been listening to FOG since '88 and always thought the voice was filtered thru a pedal. Gotta see'em live to realize how's the tecnique behind. Though, it's just the TOL 7" having that amazing vocal approach, the rest of the FOG releases I heard are equally awesome/brutal but the singing sounds kinda more "human". I'm curious if it's a matter of loud gain on the mike, hands closing the mouth in - instead of screaming from distance as it's often done in professional studios etc.. Anyway, simply AMAZING!!)
Erich: yes, I can tell you, I never used vocal effects. I really have no idea why they sound so distorted on the ep - I often ask myself, fuck, how did you do this, erich?! one difference, maybe, could be that i was actually screaming very loud, not only making my voice sound as low as possible, using a more talking but "singing" technique most gruff singers seems to use - but just screaming my fucking lungs out. after every fear of god session, i was totally destroyed because of my vocals-style - it takes a lot of energy and i'm sure every vocalist of the genre will agree with me saying that it's the 2nd hardest job in the band, after the drumming (GTB: sometimes even harder I think) I just hope, I'm not too old to do that shit again, hahaha.
gtb: WHY DID YOU CHOSE IPECAC RECORDS AS THE LABEL TO PUT OUT THE DEFINITIVE COMPLETE & OFFICIAL DISCOGRAPHY CD OF FEAR OF GOD? WOULD YOU HAVE DONE IT WITH RELAPSE IF THEY WOULD HAVE OFFERED THAT BEFORE??
Dave: ipecac chose us. relapse is out of the question.
Erich: hmmmm. originally I wanted to ask bigger metal-labels such as Relapse too (Nuclear Blast offered to release the CD in 2004, for instance). but as the new Fear Of God became reality, it seemed obvious that the label choice was a matter of more importance. if we hadn't reformed the band, I think, I wouldn't have given a shit if "Zeitgeist" had ended up on Relapse or whatever metal label - but when Mike Patton from Ipecac sent me his enthusiastic emails, plus the before mentioned reforming thing, it seemed evident that Ipecac would be the best choice - it's a fantastic label, diverse, extreme, professional yet not part of the mainstream - we couldn't ask for a better label, honestly.
gtb: FOR WHAT I COULD UNDERSTAND, YOU'RE NO BIG FAN OF GORE/PATHOLOGICAL GRIND.. HAVE YOU EVER HEARD BANDS OF TODAY LIKE COCK AND BALL TORTURE, LAST DAYS OF HUMANITY, DISGORGE AND SIMILAR?? PERSONALLY, I'M BORED BY THE MAJORITY OF THE STUFF AROUND, BUT SOME THINGS ARE A GOOD LISTENING ONCE IN A WHILE, EXPECIALLY LAST DAYS OF HUMANITY AND A FEW MORE. ARE YOU RADICALLY SICK OF THE WHOLE THING OR THERE'S SOME % YOU WOULD SAVE?
Dave: as stated further up, the labelling of styles is a limitiation. within the same so-called genre there are bands who do something really well and others that don't. it's stupid to be radically against a whole certain thing, as some of these bands that are labelled with this monicker have very different driving forces that lead them to do what they do (for better or worse)
Erich: I can only say that generally, I'm not really interested in "modern" music. I mean, of course there are certain bands that i like, but in most cases, i like them because they remind of something older or then because i
have a personal relation to the band. sometimes i get really excited about new extreme bands, but after a short period, I can't help to listen to the same records again, that i've ever been listening to. (GTB : I totally share this feeling/habit) Be they judas priest or deep wound, trouble or celtic frost, discharge or ac/dc. i have an enormous collection of music - it's the soundtrack of the times that enjoyed the most - i'd say from 1978 (when i was 10 actually, haha, but a dedicated heavy metal - maniac) to 1988 more or less. few exceptions.
gtb: WHAT'S THE MAIN THINGS YOU'VE BEEN DOING SINCE F.O.G. BROKE UP BACK IN '88?? I MEAN, COULD YOU SAY SOME WORDS ABOUT YOUR JOB(s) AND LIFE IN GENERAL, HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT WHERE YOU LIVE.. TO ME SWTIZERLAND HAS ALWAYS LOOKED QUITE AS A RIGID/DISCIPLINED COUNTRY COMPARED TO ITALY'S "TAKE IT EASY" AND EXCESS IN DISORGANIZATION WAY OF LIFE. I'M ASKING THIS BECOZ I FEEL THERE'S A LINK WITH MANY THINGS YOU SAID THROUGH F.O.G. EXPECIALLY TALKING OF RIGORISM, CONFORMITY etc...
Erich: after fear of god's dismiss in 1988, i got heavily involved in the left-radical scene. I had been occupied 200% with squatting, demonstrating, writing, beating up nazis, discussing, researching, etc. etc. - allforms of
socalled "resistance". in retrospective, these years were totally lost. never before and never after, i met so many assholes, backstabbers and cowards like in the autonomous scene. it's a fucking tragedy i lost nearly 10 years for a nothing but shit - broken bones, jail, gossip, false friends. when I started to realize that, it was like getting deprogrammed for a year or so. i had to re-think much of what i had been saying before, re-organize my personal life (by stepping out of line, i had lost 99% of my socalled friends at once!) etc. since i never really had a job for longer than a year (most jobs lasted 2 days), nor rich parents, i decided that i wanted to go to university and study all the things that interested me - thus also getting scholarships which would help to survive financially. so first off, I went to a high-school for adults, made my degrees and then went to university to study history, philosophy and literature. I'm still studying basically, even though i had offers to teach and to publish - but now the fear of god thing keeps me from doing so. I guess my life isn't too typical by european standards, not only by swiss standards. I still consider myself a militant and refuse to ake place in this fucked up society.
gtb: I LAUGH ON THE FACT THAT MOST PEOPLE IN TODAY'S PUNK/HC SCENE DO THIS RIDICULOUS WITCH-HUNT AGAINST THE DARK MANACE OF SEXISM AND HOMOPHOBIA. SINCE I'M A BASTARD, MY SPECIALITY HAS ALWAYS BEEN TO MAKE A LOT OF SARCASM AND PROVOCATIONS ON SEXUALS ISSUES TO GET THESE PEOPLE TO THE NERVE AND ENTER THEIR BLACK LIST. DON'T YOU THINK THAT THE REAL TRICK TO BE RELAXED AND AWAY FROM FALLING IN REAL DISCRIMINATIONS IS SOMETIMES TO MAKE A GOOD USE OF IRONY AND HAVING SOME SENSE OF HUMOUR (WELL, I'D AGREE TO SAY THAT MINE IS OFTEN BROUGHT TO THE XCESS)?? ANYWAY, HOW WOULD YOU COMMENT THIS THEORY I HAVE THAT MOST OF THESE KIDS FIGHT AGAINST SEX RATHER THAN SEXISM MAINLY BECOZ THEY NEVER GOT ENOUGH OF IT IN THEIR LIVES?? IF YOU LOOK AT HUMAN HISTORY, BEHIND THE LINES OF MANY PERSECUTIONS AND MORALISTIC CRUSADES THERE'S ALWAYS BEEN A HUGE DOSE OF FRUSTRATION AND IMPOTENCE...
Dave: humour is of essence but provocation as a means is an easy way out, since, even though it demands the listener/consumer to take a standpoint, it offers none itself, but only depicts. but even this can be legitimate if done in the right way. sure, a lot of people are sexually frustrated and compensate either through advertisement or through showing off. but sex also sells and thus provocation in this realm is just cheap tactics.
Erich: I dunno. a certain degree of humor helps, and I'm not only sarcastic but to the bone cynic myself. yet I think there are subjects that deserve the greatest of seriousity. I often have like two points of view: first off the personal point of view on subject, which i mainly keep to myself or to a small circle of friends or so. there, i can be, as i said, extremely cynical. but when speaking publicly, i'm very serious about critical subjects cause i don't want to push reactionary tendencies any further. the fight against sexism is one example. i hate sexism as a structure of power, but I hate those pc-cops too which seem to rather use it for their own purposes the same.
if you're having that abc no rio story in mnd: i understand you totally for freaking out about these pc-cops which seem to be really really stupid - but i also think that cd-cover was not very clever. whatever your intention was or your association is to that picture - as a matter of fact it spreads sexist stereotypes rather than it helps to break them - just take a look at the extremely ignorant "grindcore" scene of today - it's become a racist, homophobic and sexist trendy little shit scene which doesn't differ from any other oppressive mass cultural phenomenas. I don't think sexual satisfaction or - frustration has anything to do with it.
gtb: AND WHAT'S YOUR MAIN VIEWS ABOUT ITALY?? I SEE YOU'RE VERY MUCH INTO OUR EARLY '80S PUNK/HC, ANYTHING TO SAY ABOUT IT? AND AFTER THIS... IT'S THE END MY FRIENDS. ADD SOMETHING TO CLOSE + DON'T FORGET TO SAY "FEAR OF GOD + CRIPPLE BASTARDS IN ITALY, YO!"
Erich & Dave: we just happen to love old italian hc and punk bands and the political radicality behind most of them! some of these bands (wretched, peggio punx, 5th braccio, impact, eu's arse, raw power etc. etc.) remain to be the most aggressive bands I ever heard - they make all these grindcore bands sound like lullabies (GTB: I totally agree!). we're looking forward to seeing you guys in italy and the new cripple bastards cd is a real smasher!!!!
INFOS:
erich keller
p.o.box 9053
8036 zürich
switzerland
http://www.megawimp.ch UPDATED NOW!
infos and stuff about hardcore and punk from 1976 - 1988 and more. get
ready for some nostalgia from the days before postmodernist consumerism and
blatant stupidity had taken over!
REANIMATED BY LIFE Volume 2 is downloadable now! over 60 minutes of hc from
Italy, 1982-85! Get the rare stuff now!
out early 2004: Fear Of God: Zeitgeist CD (100 tracks from 1987-1988) on
Ipecac (check www.ipecac.com for details).
***** and out by april 2003 on Absurd Records from Brazil:
Special Double-LP vinyl-version, very limited edition including free
T-Shirt, huge poster, sticker & badge; comes in a silk-screened box! SOLD
OUT ******
For further infos and news about FEAR OF GOD, subscribe to the newsletter
by dropping a mail to: FEAROFGOD@MEGAWIMP.CH
No War but Class War!
Powered by  | | English | | Albanian | | Arabic | | Bulgarian | | Catalan | | Chinese | | Croatian | | Czech | | Danish | | Dutch | | Estonian | | Filipino | | Finnish | | French | | Galician | | German | | Greek | | Hebrew | | Hindi | | Hungarian | | Indonesian | | Italian | | Japanese | | Korean | | Latvian | | Lithuanian | | Maltese | | Norwegian | | Polish | | Portuguese | | Romanian | | Russian | | Serbian | | Slovak | | Slovenian | | Spanish | | Swedish | | Thai | | Turkish | | Ukrainian | | Vietnamese |
|