PHINEHAS
PRIEST
Guess Who's Coming To Dinner?
1. WHICH ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT
MOMENTS OF THE BAND'S HISTORY? WHICH IS THE CURRENT LINE UP?
Mick and I have been playing together
for about 10 years, although we've been friends for a long time, an eternity
you might say. The music scene where we live is quite "incestuous"... there
are quite a few quality musicians here but most of them jump on the bandwagon,
as soon as something new comes out they begin to imitate it instead of
staying the course and playing the music that they love. We look at it
in this manner: we play the music that we want to hear. In a sense, we
play to entertain ourselves and can only hope that other people like it,
if they don't like what we are doing it's not a big deal to us because
it was never really for them to begin with. I know that may sound really
egotistical, but you need to play for yourself, that way no matter what
happens, as musicians, you will be satisfied. Think about how many times
great bands that you know of have broken up because they "couldn't get
a record deal"; or if they had a deal, as soon as they were dropped from
their label, they broke up! That is so stupid! To allow some idiot in a
suit to control your destiny as a musician!
The current bandmembers are:
Bass & Inspiration: Mick Carroll
Drums & Vocals: Tim Brown
Guitar: Ryan Ramsey
2. PHINEHAS PRIEST IS A VERY WEIRD
BAND NAME. WHAT DOES PHINEHAS MEAN? HOW DID YOU CHOOSE THIS NAME? DOES
IT HAVE A SPECIAL MEANING TO YOU?
Phinehas was a priest of YHVH in
The Bible. He can be found in Numbers 25 of The Bible. We chose it because
it is different, and it does indeed have a special meaning.
3. GIVE US A DESCRIPTION OF YOUR MUSIC
AND NAME SOME OF THE BAND'S INFLUENCES AND SOME OF YOUR MOST BELOVED ALBUMS.
DO YOU CONSIDER YOURSELVES TO BE WHAT WE CALL A WHITE METAL BAND SUCH AS
STRYPER,
TOURNIQUET, SAVIOUR MACHINE, ETC.
It's hard to describe, because
I can't think of any other bands that we sound like. People keep claiming
we sound like Tool, but I don't think we sound anything like Tool, other
than the fact that I have a deep voice.... by that standard you could claim
we sound like Type O-Negative, Danzig, or any other bands that have deep
voiced singers. Musicially, I think we sound similar to Manowar, but that's
just because I can see some of the similarities from within the band. I'm
sure there has to be some band somewhere that we sound like, but I have
no idea who it is. The Tool comparison keeps coming up though...perhaps
it's because Mick's not a "root note" bass player...his bass parts generally
carry the melody of the song. We have a ton of influences, but one of our
biggest influences is Manowar. Mick and I both have been avid Manowar fans
for 20 years, and just as with Manowar, all of our material is written
on the Bass guitar, which gives us a different sound. Obviously, Mick doesn't
play exactly like Joey DeMaio, especially since DeMaio plays almost exclusively
with a pick while Mick generally uses his fingers for this material. The
first four Manowar releases are my favorite records. There is something
about them ...something so majestic sounding....a sense of power that truly
comes through..We also like bands like Yes, the original Alice Cooper band,
ELP, some newer bands like Tool, and System of a Down, as well as classical
composers such as Bach, Beethoven, Wagner, and Carl Orff. Musicially, we
try to create a mood to go along with the lyrics. I've listened to some
Deathmetal, but most of it is just not what I'm into. Oh, and I also like
"Kryst The Conqueror", which was a late 80's/early 90's side project from
Jerry Only and Doyle of The Misfits with Jeff Scott Soto on vocals. I have
the Demo CD....actually, now that I think about it, that is the closest
band that we sound like! No, we have nothing in common with any of the
"White Metal" bands that you mentioned. There have been a few of those
bands that I liked, but generally, aside from Stryper, they were all second
rate knockoffs of the mainstream acts. This is a METAL band, and we use
the Bible as subject matter. We are Christians, but we're not "Judeo-Christians".
We believe that mainstream "Judeo-Christianity" is a hoax, perpetrated
by the very types of people that Yahshua (Jesus Christ) drove out of the
Temple with a whip.It is bought and paid for by the Sons of the Devil (for
reference John 8:44).
4. YOU DEAL WITH SUBJECTS SUCH AS THE
QUEST FOR THE HOLY GRAIL OR ARTHURIAN TALES. HOWEVER, WITH SUCH THINGS
DEAL PEOPLE WITH FASCISTIC OR RASCISTIC IDEOLOGIES. WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO
SAY ON THAT?
I also like coffee, and I'm sure
a lot of fascists and racists like coffee as well. I personally do not
have a problem with nationalism, per se, but I do have a problem with "blind"
nationalism. Nationalism is simply the modern form of tribalism, it's a
very real aspect of human nature that has a basis in the way the world
actually is, versus how people wish it to be. No matter what you do there
is always an "Us versus Them" scenario, because in all things there truly
are an "Us" and a "Them." The Arthurian Legends are a very interesting
subject for us because, contrary to the lies that are told that this was
all a myth, King Arthur was indeed a real king in the British Isles during
the Fifth Century. Since we are all of Celtic stock and into our heritage,
we have an interest in it. Plus, it all depends upon how you define "racism",
if you twist the definition enough, anyone can be labeled a racist. In
America, Black on White crime is a daily happening but White on Black crime
is so rare that when it does happen, it's all over the news and they attempt
to always get it tried in court as a "hate crime". For example,(this happened
locally about a year or so ago) four Black men beat a retarded White man
to death; they said they did it simply because they wanted to kill a White
man, and they admitted that they chose to kill him because he was the next
White to come along - yet it wasn't tried as a "hate crime". Worse yet,
they all knew him and had previously been friendly to him, so he came up
to them thinking that they were his friends and they beat him to death!
There is a very real form of persecution against White people in America,
but nobody is willing to stand up and say anything for fear of being labeled
a "racist". The media generally ignores it, and the liberalistic would-be
social engineers come out slinging mud if anyone mentions it. I've done
some research on this. Anytime a skinhead gets in trouble it's all over
the news, they contact the SPLC("Southern Poverty Law Center") and the
ADL (Anti-Defamation League) and will have them on the news to defame some
kid as a "hate monger", but the truth of the matter is the FBI reported
that there were roughly 1,500 active skinheads nationwide in America...
think about that, that is only 1,500 PEOPLE, not groups, people. There
are over 150,000 Hispanic Gangmembers in Los Angeles alone, and I will
assure you that they are racists - they even have an organization there
called La Raza which has proclaimed that they are essentially going to
drive the Whites out of America. There is a race war going on in America
but nobody wants to talk about it or admit it; most people just stick their
heads in the ground and pretend it's not happening while hoping that it
will go away, but it won't.
5. YOU ARE PLANNING TO RELEASE SOMEWHERE
AROUND SPRING TIME NEXT YEAR A 6 SONG EP. TELL US A FEW THINGS ABOUT IT.
WHERE WILL IT BE RECORDED, ABOUT
ITS MUSIC, WHO WILL BE THE PRODUCER,
ETC.
It is being recorded as I do this
interview. I caught the flu in November, so obviously no vocals were being
recorded, but I have been playing with the mixes. Mick will be re-laying
basstracks...simply because I wasn't happy with the sound that we got when
we initally recorded the tracks, I know we can achieve exactly what we
want, so why settle for less? We are recording this material ourselves.
I've been recording bands since 1986; that's how Mick and I became friends,
I recorded a demotape for a band he was in. Most of the musicians in this
town had no idea that I actually played music, they all knew me as the
guy who recorded bands, or ran sound.(I used to have a fairly large soundsystem.)
So, hopefully, we'll be able to have this thing out there within the next
2 months or so.
6. YOU FACED QUITE MANY PROBLEMS AS
A BAND. WAS THERE A TIME THAT YOU LOST YOUR "FAITH" IN THE BAND AND YOU
WANTED TO QUIT? HOW DID YOU MANAGE TO OVERCOME THESE PROBLEMS?
Actually, we did quit! We quit
several times. We had what Mick and I termed "PMS", that is "Post-Metallica
Syndrome". We could not seem to find a guiatrist interested in playing
metal, who had been playing prior to Metallica breaking. I'm 34 years old,
and I've been playing drums for 20+ years (we won't go there because now
I'm feeling really old. Hahaha) The point is, we wanted someone who had
as much experience as we had, and was not influenced by Metallica. I would
have preferred to have someone who had listened to a lot of the 70's players
and early 80's players. I didn't want an "Yngwie clone", but I wanted someone
who was capable of doing it, if it was ever called for.....going back to
Manowar for a minute.....Ross the Boss is one of my favorite guitarists,
but you can't pin down his style because it is unique to him.Another great,
but underrated, player is Neil Geraldo - Pat Benatar's husband. I know,
it's not metal, but if you listen to the leadwork he did on "Fire &
Ice" and "Promises in the Dark" (around 1982 or so), the guy was simply
an incredible player, and his solo's were just what the songs needed.
7. HAVE YOU DONE ANY LIVE SHOWS? DO
YOU LIKE TO PERFORM LIVE? WHICH ARE YOUR PLAN'S FOR THE FUTURE?
No, we have not perfomed live in
this current lineup, even though we could have played in December if we
had wanted to.. Currently, we all do not live in the same area, but that
is going to change within the next month or so. I love to perform live.
Mick became burnt on playing live because he was in a band that was literally
playing 6 to 7 nights a week, so I think that lugging all the gear around
got old for him - really quickly. Right now we're taking this one step
at a time. Once the CD is available, then we shall see where we go from
there.
8. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO ACHIEVE WITH
THIS BAND? WHICH IS YOUR WILDEST DREAM?
I would like to build a loyal following
of people who like our music. It's happening already, we've been getting
E-mail from people all over the world who are interested in us. I recieved
an E-mail from a very well known musician, although he is in a different
genre, and he thought that we were quite original and stated that he thought
that if we polished up our material, that we could be one of the most influential
bands of the 21st. Century, which I felt was quite a compliment. In all
honesty, we will probably not "get signed", we're almost not even interested
in it, other than the distribution aspect of it, because we aren't willing
to give up any control of the band to someone else. I don't want a moneychanger
in a suit telling me, "...well, you can't say THAT in a song!" We'll say
whatever we are led to say, and nobody will stop us. So, from that perspective,
the odds of us being signed are quite slim. I would love to be able to
make a living playing music, but if I can't, that doesn't mean I'm going
to quit writing, playing, or recording music.
9. TELL US A FEW THINGS REGARDING YOUR
LYRICS. DO YOU DEAL WITH REAL LIFE SITUATIONS OR DO YOU USE METAPHORES
AND PASSAGES FROM THE HOLY BIBLE? WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO DO WITH YOUR LYRICS?
STATE THE PROBLEMS, OFFER SOME ADVICE OR JUST TELL US YOUR OPINION?
Currently, we use The Bible and
history as sources for our lyrics. They are simply telling a tale, if you
get something else out of it, great! In a sense, each song is a Bible Study
dealing with specific subject matter. Many people are turned off to the
concept of The Bible, without ever having read it....they see some "preacher"
(I like to refer to them as Baalpriests) on TV begging for money, or they
see some sick child-molesting pervert from the Catholic Church, and then
they see how the Catholic Church is handling this whole issue.... and they
are completely turned off to the whole concept of Christianity, because
all that they have ever seen is what the mainstream "state religion" version
of Christianity has to offer; so, from my perspective, they know nothing
about Christianity. I've told this numerous times; when I began researching
The Bible, I was an Odinist, and prior to that I had been a Luciferian....not
one of those "satanists" who follows that atheistic kenite Anton La Vey,
I had believed that there was a devil and I worshipped him. Initially,
I began my research of The Word to be able to use it against Christians,
but what I found was that the mainstream churches do not follow The Bible
at all. I found a faith in The Word that was very strong, and in many ways
was diametrically opposed to what I had been told The Bible stated, instead
of what the Bible actually stated. Mick and I are fairly avid readers.
I never watch television. It's literally a form of mental poison.... a
form of brainwashing....it is information that someone else has chosen
that will numb the minds of the masses so that they no longer think for
themselves. It's properly called Consensus Programming.
10. WHICH IS MAN'S BIGGEST TEMPTATION?
Besides Satan (yes, we believe
him to be very real, and he has literal children - a bloodline - upon this
planet; they control it.)? From my perspective, man's biggest temptation
is to "play God." I was always bombared with people telling me,"You're
going to go to hell!" for doing this, that, and the other thing. It's not
their place to decide where a man goes at death. Man likes to unjustly
point the finger at others, while covering his own inadequacies. I'm not
perfect, and make no claims to be. For example, I heard someone make the
statement that Hitler was in Hell. Contrary to popular belief, Hitler is
not "in Hell", no one is in Hell, because Hell does not technically exist
yet, it will not come into being until after Judgement Day. On top of that,
Hitler did what he believed to be right. So, which is worse - to do that
which you believe to be right, and perhaps be wrong, or to know what you
believe to be right, and sit by and do nothing? I would rather have to
face God for being wrong/mistaken, than to face God for being apathetic!
11. IF YOU COULD TRAVEL BACK IN TIME,
WHERE WOULD YOU LIKE TO GO AND WHY?
I would like to be able to film
what took place from the moment Adam & Eve, and the serpent were in
the garden, up through Cain being driven off. Just so I could reveal to
people, that there was no Apple in the garden It wasn't a "talking snake
and an apple on a tree", it was a "pair" on the ground.
12. IF YOUR MUSIC WAS A PAINTING, WHAT
WOULD IT BE? IF IT WAS AN EMOTION, WHAT WOULD IT SHOW?
Hmmm....That's a good question.
It would have to be something very vivid and bold. Something that would
draw you in, to make you want to pay attention to the details.
13. IF YOU HAD THE CHANCE TO MEET THE
CREATURE THAT CREATED THE UNIVERSE, WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO ASK HIM?
I ask YHVH whatever I wish now,
sometimes I get an answer during my studies, and sometimes I don't. Sometimes
the "understanding" (it's hard to describe this any other way) hits you
at the strangest of places....when YHVH revealed what the Mark of Cain
was to me, I was walking down the aisle of a bookstore to buy
a magazine,and as I passed an intersecting aisle, I saw this man out of
the corner of my eye...and I had to step back steps to look down his aisle.
Instantly, I knew what the mark of Cain was. I was completely drawn to
look at him, in the sense that I couldn't quit looking at him, yet I had
seen people that looked like this my entire life - yet when it hit me that
I was looking at a child of the devil, I was bergasted! So, you could definitely
say that we are believers in Divine Revelation...I don't claim to hear
any "voices", and if I did I would probably check myself into a nuthouse
for an evalution! But, we do believe that YHVH gibves you what can best
be described as a different "understanding", if that makes sense. As the
saying goes, "Seek and Ye Shall Find." The problem is that most people
don't know how to "Seek", and they are not familiar enough with the Word
to put the pieces of the puzzle together, because they have been misled
by false "Judeo-Christian" doctrines; things like the "talking snake and
the apple", or "the rapture" (we're not going anywhere. If anything, the
Nephilim will soon arrive here.). That's a false doctrine that is nowhere
in The Word. It is our belief that the Anti-Christ, Satan -in his own body
-( not possessing a "man's body") will arrrive in Israel, and proclaim himself
to be God. We shall all live to see it take place, and when it happens,
the masses of "Judeo-Christians" and the Baalpriests that they call preachers,
will all whore after him, because they have already been following him.
14. WHAT TITLE WOULD YOU LIKE THIS
INTERVIEW TO HAVE?
How about, "Guess Who's Coming
To Dinner?"
15. THANK YOU! HAVE I FORGOTTEN TO
ASK YOU ANYTHING AND YOU'D LIKE TO MENTION?
Thank you for taking the time to
conduct this interview, and for giving us the chance to be heard. I would
like to mention, and thank, Mick's wife, Mary, because without her none
of this would have come together at all. She was the one who pushed Mick
to call me and see if I wanted to start this band. If anyone has any questions,
we can be contacted online at [email protected]
, and if we can answer them, we'll be more than happy to. When the CD becomes
available, we will have information upon how to obtain it upon our website.
If anyone would like to hear the original demo recordings, they can be
heard at http://www.mp3.com/Phinehas_Priest
. Tim
Nick "William_Kidd"
Parastatidis
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