All Interviews
NunSlaughter
NunSlaughter
Posted on Oct 12, 2005
by Anders
The mighty NunSlaughter, a band that has been going since 1987 and never once looked back, but continued ahead and by now have released much material. Where the 2 full length albums "Hell's Unholy Fire" and "Goat" stands out in between a lot of live releases, split 7"s and 7"s etc... "Goat" was originally released by Revenge Productions, but has just been re-released by Hells Headbangers Records in an awesome looking digipack version. In this connection I got in touch with mainman and vocalist of NunSlaughter Don Of The Dead.
Hails Don Of The Dead! How are things in Ohio?
Greetings, everything is good.
Will you start off by introducing yourself and tell us why you burn for death metal?
I am Don of the Dead, the soul original member of the band. I started NunSlaughter for one reason… because I live for death metal. I do not know why this is true but it is.
How have you kept the flame alive through all these years?
I do not know anything else. Metal is in my veins
When NunSlaughter was formed back in 1987, what did you then want to accomplish?
To make death metal that we liked to listen to.
Why was the band formed?
In our hometown there were lots of punk bands, some doom bands and some heavy metal bands but we wanted more out of music so we put together NunSlaughter.
How far do you feel you have come with the band?
I have done virtually everything I have wanted to do with NunSlaughter. My only real goal was to make music I like and I have done that.
Did you ever imagine you would get the following you have nowadays?
I was unaware of a following. We make metal I am to busy to keep up with what people are saying.
What do the many fans mean to you?
I am appreciative of each and everyone but without them I would still make music for myself. We have had the pleasure of playing with people all over the world and meeting people of like minds. That is a great reward.
When you write music what does inspire you?
The songs are simply stories in my head. Sometime articles that I read or stories I hear but for the most part I write lyrics because I gotta get the words out of my head.
How much of the music do you write, I know Jim Sadist writes most of the guitar riffs…?
In recent years Jim has written most of the music while I help with the arrangements. We use some of my ideas but for the most part Jim has written the majority of the music since 1999.
Do you have to be in a certain mood to write music, or does it just come naturally?
We are always metal so all day everyday I am ready to write and record.
Can you mention 3 bands and 3 songs that have meant a lot to you as a person and for your songwriting?
Sodom 'Blasphemer', Possessed 'Burn In hell' and Bathory 'In conspiracy With Satan'.
What does a song have to contain to be great in your opinion?
Metal songs for the most part must contain lyrics about death or satan but the best contain lyrics about both.
Can you pick out your 5 favorite NunSlaughter songs and tell a bit about them, the story behind them, what influenced you etc…?
'I Am Death' – it was the first song I ever wrote lyrics for. All I wanted to do was tell the story of a reaper.
'Deathlehem' – Solid and offensive lyrics about killing the Christ child when it was born.
'Atheist Ways' – The words mean a lot to me. Mocking all faiths and religions.
'Raid The Convent' – The lyrics are so over the top. Getting together with some warriors and fucking up some nuns.
'Ouija' – I think this may be our best song. Calling the dead through the Ouija portal.
Looking back through your impressive list of releases, which of them are you most proud of and which one is closest to your heart?
I am probably most proud of the split with Slaughter. I have been a fan of that band forever and finally we got to do a split with them. "Hells Unholy Fire" is closest to my heart. It was our first LP and mostly old songs with an excellent sound.
When you write your lyrics, where do you find the inspiration?
Obviously lots of old horror movies are an influence but mainly they are from me head. Just thoughts I have or stories to tell.
It seems like you loathe the church and Christ beyond believe, how come, and how did it all start?
Christ and the Christian church pissed me off very early in life. Religion is for the weak and I am strong,
What do you want to tell with your lyrics and what would you like to accomplish?
I am not political nor do I want to be a preacher. People should just listen to the music/lyrics. I do not aim to change the world with my lyrics.
If a Christian should get to hear your music, do you think it could convince him/her to drop out of the church and leave it behind?
We have a song called 'Leave The Church Behind'. I basically hope to piss some people off. I don't care about selling records or playing shows. Music is my life and nothing can stop us.
Luckily you have always been a band in favour of vinyl, how important is it for you to see your music out on vinyl?
It is the favoured format. CDs are okay but an LP or 7" is the best. We require all of our material to be on vinyl.
What do you like about the black gold?
Bigger art and better sound. There is no substitute.
You must have an impressive collection of vinyl, can you tell a bit about the items you are most fond of?
Bootlegs are the best. I also collect pic discs and lots of 7"s. I quit collecting regular LPs. I have a collecting on Black Sabbath bootleg LPs that is quite stunning. Also some of the early death metal boots like Hellhammer 7"s and Death 7"s are very cool
You are right now ready with a repress/re-release of "Goat" which originally was released in 2003 by Revenge Productions, why isn't they handling the repress/re-release, but Hell Headbangers instead?
The "Goat" CD did not move very well for Revenge so he was unwilling to do a re-press. Hells Headbangers have been doing lots of great releases for NunSlaughter so when the opportunity arose they were into it. I think it turned out better than the original release because I had more to do with the sound and less to do with the layout.
There is a single bonus track on the release, your killer version of Running Wild's 'Preacher' from the split 7" with Centinex "Hail Germania", why was that exact track chosen?
That was one of the few songs we recorded with the same line up. That line on the LP, although it existed for 2 years we did not record very many songs. We decided it was a good choice a bonus track.
How do you feel about the release today?
I still don't think that recording is very good. The guitar is weak and the over all recording is not heavy. I had little to do with the recording and the people involved with it went for a more thrash metal sound. Most thrash metal has weak sound. Death metal is much heavier. I will never let that happen again.
What do you expect from the repress/re-release?
It has exceeded my expectations already. It looks and sounds better.
You have chosen Hells Headbangers Records to handle most of your releases and merchandise, how did that happen?
We basically choose each other. They have the ability to work with the ideas that I have and we bounce ideas off each other. They are excited about metal music and NunSlaughter. We have a fine relationship with them.
Are you satisfied with their work?
All the ideas we have come from many meeting and discussions. Both sides put in time and effort in each release.
What do you like about the label?
They do not skimp on anything and they are all about quality.
The promo material says that you expect to get 6 releases more out this year, what can you tell us about them?
We have some splits planned with Toxic Holocaust and Deceased. We are also doing a record called "Fuck The God In Heaven" that will be released as a shape record and a shape CD. Hells Headbangers will also be finishing releasing the demo 7"s. So there might be more than 6 releases. It is all about the vinyl.
It also says that next year, will be NunSlaughter's record-release year, how many releases to you have in the melting pot and what can we look forward to?
Shit it is difficult to say. We gotta do at least 12 releases. Once month is not that much for an active band. I don't understand why bands don't record more.
Any plans of touring Europe/Scandinavia sometime soon?
None, but I am always up for any suggestions.
How do you look upon the future of NunSlaughter?
I will keep NunSlaughter going until out 20th year anniversary. After that I don't know.
Will you share your 5 all time favourite albums with us?
Possessed - Seven Churches
Venom – Welcome To Hell
Hellhammer – All
Sodom – In The Sign Of Evil
Mercyful Fate - Don't Break The Oath
Thanks a ton for answering my questions, if you have anything to add, feel free to do it now!
METAL IS DEATH DEATH IS METAL NUNSLAUGHTER DEATH METAL
Greetings, everything is good.
Will you start off by introducing yourself and tell us why you burn for death metal?
I am Don of the Dead, the soul original member of the band. I started NunSlaughter for one reason… because I live for death metal. I do not know why this is true but it is.
How have you kept the flame alive through all these years?
I do not know anything else. Metal is in my veins
When NunSlaughter was formed back in 1987, what did you then want to accomplish?
To make death metal that we liked to listen to.
Why was the band formed?
In our hometown there were lots of punk bands, some doom bands and some heavy metal bands but we wanted more out of music so we put together NunSlaughter.
How far do you feel you have come with the band?
I have done virtually everything I have wanted to do with NunSlaughter. My only real goal was to make music I like and I have done that.
Did you ever imagine you would get the following you have nowadays?
I was unaware of a following. We make metal I am to busy to keep up with what people are saying.
What do the many fans mean to you?
I am appreciative of each and everyone but without them I would still make music for myself. We have had the pleasure of playing with people all over the world and meeting people of like minds. That is a great reward.
When you write music what does inspire you?
The songs are simply stories in my head. Sometime articles that I read or stories I hear but for the most part I write lyrics because I gotta get the words out of my head.
How much of the music do you write, I know Jim Sadist writes most of the guitar riffs…?
In recent years Jim has written most of the music while I help with the arrangements. We use some of my ideas but for the most part Jim has written the majority of the music since 1999.
Do you have to be in a certain mood to write music, or does it just come naturally?
We are always metal so all day everyday I am ready to write and record.
Can you mention 3 bands and 3 songs that have meant a lot to you as a person and for your songwriting?
Sodom 'Blasphemer', Possessed 'Burn In hell' and Bathory 'In conspiracy With Satan'.
What does a song have to contain to be great in your opinion?
Metal songs for the most part must contain lyrics about death or satan but the best contain lyrics about both.
Can you pick out your 5 favorite NunSlaughter songs and tell a bit about them, the story behind them, what influenced you etc…?
'I Am Death' – it was the first song I ever wrote lyrics for. All I wanted to do was tell the story of a reaper.
'Deathlehem' – Solid and offensive lyrics about killing the Christ child when it was born.
'Atheist Ways' – The words mean a lot to me. Mocking all faiths and religions.
'Raid The Convent' – The lyrics are so over the top. Getting together with some warriors and fucking up some nuns.
'Ouija' – I think this may be our best song. Calling the dead through the Ouija portal.
Looking back through your impressive list of releases, which of them are you most proud of and which one is closest to your heart?
I am probably most proud of the split with Slaughter. I have been a fan of that band forever and finally we got to do a split with them. "Hells Unholy Fire" is closest to my heart. It was our first LP and mostly old songs with an excellent sound.
When you write your lyrics, where do you find the inspiration?
Obviously lots of old horror movies are an influence but mainly they are from me head. Just thoughts I have or stories to tell.
It seems like you loathe the church and Christ beyond believe, how come, and how did it all start?
Christ and the Christian church pissed me off very early in life. Religion is for the weak and I am strong,
What do you want to tell with your lyrics and what would you like to accomplish?
I am not political nor do I want to be a preacher. People should just listen to the music/lyrics. I do not aim to change the world with my lyrics.
If a Christian should get to hear your music, do you think it could convince him/her to drop out of the church and leave it behind?
We have a song called 'Leave The Church Behind'. I basically hope to piss some people off. I don't care about selling records or playing shows. Music is my life and nothing can stop us.
Luckily you have always been a band in favour of vinyl, how important is it for you to see your music out on vinyl?
It is the favoured format. CDs are okay but an LP or 7" is the best. We require all of our material to be on vinyl.
What do you like about the black gold?
Bigger art and better sound. There is no substitute.
You must have an impressive collection of vinyl, can you tell a bit about the items you are most fond of?
Bootlegs are the best. I also collect pic discs and lots of 7"s. I quit collecting regular LPs. I have a collecting on Black Sabbath bootleg LPs that is quite stunning. Also some of the early death metal boots like Hellhammer 7"s and Death 7"s are very cool
You are right now ready with a repress/re-release of "Goat" which originally was released in 2003 by Revenge Productions, why isn't they handling the repress/re-release, but Hell Headbangers instead?
The "Goat" CD did not move very well for Revenge so he was unwilling to do a re-press. Hells Headbangers have been doing lots of great releases for NunSlaughter so when the opportunity arose they were into it. I think it turned out better than the original release because I had more to do with the sound and less to do with the layout.
There is a single bonus track on the release, your killer version of Running Wild's 'Preacher' from the split 7" with Centinex "Hail Germania", why was that exact track chosen?
That was one of the few songs we recorded with the same line up. That line on the LP, although it existed for 2 years we did not record very many songs. We decided it was a good choice a bonus track.
How do you feel about the release today?
I still don't think that recording is very good. The guitar is weak and the over all recording is not heavy. I had little to do with the recording and the people involved with it went for a more thrash metal sound. Most thrash metal has weak sound. Death metal is much heavier. I will never let that happen again.
What do you expect from the repress/re-release?
It has exceeded my expectations already. It looks and sounds better.
You have chosen Hells Headbangers Records to handle most of your releases and merchandise, how did that happen?
We basically choose each other. They have the ability to work with the ideas that I have and we bounce ideas off each other. They are excited about metal music and NunSlaughter. We have a fine relationship with them.
Are you satisfied with their work?
All the ideas we have come from many meeting and discussions. Both sides put in time and effort in each release.
What do you like about the label?
They do not skimp on anything and they are all about quality.
The promo material says that you expect to get 6 releases more out this year, what can you tell us about them?
We have some splits planned with Toxic Holocaust and Deceased. We are also doing a record called "Fuck The God In Heaven" that will be released as a shape record and a shape CD. Hells Headbangers will also be finishing releasing the demo 7"s. So there might be more than 6 releases. It is all about the vinyl.
It also says that next year, will be NunSlaughter's record-release year, how many releases to you have in the melting pot and what can we look forward to?
Shit it is difficult to say. We gotta do at least 12 releases. Once month is not that much for an active band. I don't understand why bands don't record more.
Any plans of touring Europe/Scandinavia sometime soon?
None, but I am always up for any suggestions.
How do you look upon the future of NunSlaughter?
I will keep NunSlaughter going until out 20th year anniversary. After that I don't know.
Will you share your 5 all time favourite albums with us?
Possessed - Seven Churches
Venom – Welcome To Hell
Hellhammer – All
Sodom – In The Sign Of Evil
Mercyful Fate - Don't Break The Oath
Thanks a ton for answering my questions, if you have anything to add, feel free to do it now!
METAL IS DEATH DEATH IS METAL NUNSLAUGHTER DEATH METAL
NunSlaughter website
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