Razorwire
"A Bullet Called Pride"
is one of the best releases I had the chance to listen to, both musically
and lyrically, since it bears strong emotions, images and ideas. Razorwire's
music is so catchy that I bet the album will accompany you for a long,
long time! So, below follows a very interesting interview with the man
behind the band, Dan Peach...
1. HELLO! FIRSTLY A BIG BRAVO FOR “A BULLET
CALLED PRIDE”. IT IS A VERY GOOD ALBUM! HOW LONG DID IT TAKE YOU TO COMPLETE
IT? WHICH WAS THE BIGGEST OBSTACLE YOU HAD TO SURPASS DURING THE RECORDINGS?
We recorded Dipole and Lock Down a few months
before the rest of the album. They took about 5 days including mixing.
We then spent about three weeks recording the last eight songs. The biggest
obstacle in recording this album was our lead guitarist leaving the band
less than a fortnight before we were due to record. Chris & Charlie
played quite a lot of guitar on this album, which turned out great in the
end.
2. YOU ARE A NEW BAND AND I THINK IT WOULD BE
A GOOD IDEA TO INTRODUCE YOURSELVES HERE AND GIVE US SOME INFO ABOUT THE
STORY OF THE BAND SO FAR. DID YOU PLAY IN OTHER BANDS BEFORE FORMING RAZORWIRE?
We formed in 1997, and had a couple of line-up
changes. We’ve been gigging and recording regularly ever since. The original
members are myself and Chris (vocals). Charlie joined us as our first full
time drummer in 1998 when he was only fifteen years old. Back then Chris
used to play bass and sing, but decided to switch to vocals only, and concentrate
on his performance as a front man. Andy Pancheri joined as our first full
time bass player in 2000. Our old lead guitarist joined in 1999, and although
he quit just before we went to the studio, he did come down to play three
solos. So although many people will be discovering Razorwire for the first
time, we have been around for a while. Before Razorwire, we were all in
bands that weren’t particularly serious and didn’t accomplish much. We’ve
all grown together musically, which is cool as it makes us more of a band
as opposed to a bunch of musicians forced together.
3. AS A BAND YOU KEEP A PERFECT BALANCE BETWEEN
HEAVY METAL AND HARDCORE/PUNK. SO HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR SOUND TO
SOMEONE THAT HASN’T LISTENED TO YOU? DO YOU THINK THAT YOUR SOUND CAN UNITE
METALHEADS WITH HARDCORE AND PUNK FANS?
We all have diverse tastes in music, especially
when it comes to metal, and we do try to keep things fresh and interesting.
Our main musical trademark is energy and attitude. Someone once said that
if Anthrax were a new band, they’d sound like us, which for me was a huge
compliment as I’m a massive fan. Taking the coolest elements of metal hardcore
and punk and mixing them all up with a few other things to make a contemporary
metallic assault to the senses is always on the agenda.We get loads of
different people at our shows from Nu metal kids, to death metal fans,
punks and traditional metallers. Generally people into rock and metal have
open minds, however in every musical subgenre there is elitism, or music
fascism. How many times have we heard bigoted people ranting about what
is or isn’t “proper metal” or “real punk”? Who gives a fuck? The question
should be, is the band any good? Listening to all kinds of different music
keeps your ideas fresh, and is never a bad thing. I’m a fan of everyone
from Testament to Terrorvision. I’ll give any band a chance. If I like
them I like them. Fashion won’t dictate my music tastes.
4. LET’S TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE LYRICS WHICH
HAVE A SOCIAL/POLITICAL MANNER. WHO DOES THE “DIRTY” WORK AND WRITES THEM?
WHAT IS EASIER, ACCORDING TO YOU, TO COMPOSE MUSIC OR WRITE LYRICS?
Chris writes most of the lyrics, and he writes
a lot of the music too. Both writing music and lyrics are challenging in
their own ways. Chris works on both riffs and lyrics intensely before bring
them to the rest of the band for further work. The ability to judge whether
anything is any good or not is essential for a band who want to make decent
records. That sounds obvious, but there are too many albums out there with
a couple of good tracks and a load of fillers.
5. IN YOUR SONG “D-FENS” YOU HAVE A LINE THAT
SAYS “YA GOTTA WAR COMING YOUR WAY”. DOESN’T SOUND A LITTLE BIT PROPHETIC
AFTER THE TERRORIST ATTACK IN ENGLAND? HOW ARE THE THINGS NOW A FEW DAYS
AFTER THIS TRAGIC INCIDENT?
Well, I spent most of the morning making sure
none of my friends were dead. Such a nice way to spend a morning. Chris
and Andy both work in central London, and I’ve heard things were pretty
chaotic. What some people overlook is that London is a very cosmopolitan
city. There were people of all religions, cultures and nationalities directly
affected by this.
The song D-FENS was inspired by the movie
“Falling Down”, although the lyrics can relate to other issues. When our
first album came out, it was at the same time the invasion of Iraq began.
The lyrics to the title track “League Of The Godless” made more of an impact
due to the events of that time.
6.DON’T YOU THINK THAT INNOCENT PEOPLE PAID THE
PRICE OF THE ENGLISH GOVERNMENT THAT IN A WAY WANTED TO PROVE THAT GREAT
BRITAIN IS STILL A SUPER POWER?
I think it was more to do with England allying
with America at any cost, as opposed to trying to prove anything to other
countries. I’m sure there’s a lot more going on behind the scenes that
the public don’t realize. Very few people were in favour of the war here.
However I have no sympathy for cowardly acts of terrorism which destroy
people’s lives. Personally I despise organized religion with a passion.
There are many people in this world who would quite happily commit genocide
on those who do not share their beliefs. We live in a world fuelled by
ignorance and propaganda, and while there is hatred, bitterness and desire
for revenge, there will always be problems. I believe education and tolerance
are the way forward, not violence.
7. OK, ENOUGH WITH THIS SAD STORY. DAN YOU HAVE
CREATED A LABEL FROM WHICH YOU HAVE RELEASED YOUR CD. WHY DID YOU DO THAT?
IF A BIG LABEL ASKED YOU TO SIGN, WOULD YOU AGREE OR WOULD YOU CONTINUE
RELEASING RAZORWIRE’S ALBUMS THROUGH YOUR LABEL?
I started Psychophonic back in 1999 and began
by releasing compilation albums. As time went on I learnt more and the
label grew. I’ve always loved the “Do it yourself” ethic, so both Razorwire
albums are out on Psychophonic. We would consider licensing them to a bigger
label for release outside of the UK. We’d like to sign to a large label
one day, as we’d like to tour the world and can’t afford to do it by ourselves
with limited promotion.
8. DO YOU PLAN TO RELEASE ANY OTHER BAND’S ALBUMS
FROM YOUR LABEL?
I have released a few albums on Psychophonic
already. They are mainly bands I know and like. I am working with some
amazing bands including Long Time Dead, Head Hung Low, Hudson, Hebephrenic,
and loads more.
9. HOW DID THE PRESS AND FANS RECEIVE YOUR ALBUM
SO FAR? IS THERE A REVIEW THAT WHEN YOU READ IT YOU THOUGHT THAT WAS TOTALLY
UNFAIR TO YOU AND WHY?
Overall, the reaction has been really positive.
We’ve had a couple of bad reviews from people who clearly don’t like or
understand our genre of music.
One ignorant fuckwitt spent most of his review
saying how rap and metal should never be mixed. He then went on to say
our album has no redeeming features, and how the drumming was barely adequate,
even for a Nu-Metal band. This was annoying as our drummer is a graduate
from Leeds college of music, and also does session work for all genres
including jazz. He’s awesome. He doesn’t use triggers either. His comment
was based purely on the fact that he wasn’t into the music we play. That’s
fair enough, but to criticize the bands musical ability, when he clearly
doesn’t know what he’s talking about isn’t constructive. I then visited
his profile page on the website. He is fourteen years old. That says it
all. One other thing, “Nu-Metal” is a scene, not a genre of music. The
term “Nu-Metal” came into use in the UK in 1999 when Papa Roach and Linkin
Park came on the scene. Razorwire was around before this. Our influences
are much more old school. The rapping influence comes more from bands like
Stuck Mojo, Downset, Senser, RATM, Shootyz Groove and Biohazard. This “journalist”
was about three years old back then. Now I’ve had my little rant, I’d like
to concentrate on the good reviews. It’s easy to focus on the bad ones,
as when you’ve worked so hard on something, and someone unfairly criticizes
it, it is hard not to take it personally. For every bad review we have,
we have several good ones, which we really appreciate. Regardless of what
type of music a band plays, there will always be people you cannot please.
The trick is to concentrate on the people who enjoy your music and genuinely
care about your band. They’re the real fans, and this album is for them.
10. THIS IS A QUESTION THAT I LIKE TO ASK OFTEN.
IF YOU HAD THE MONEY TO DO AN EXPENSIVE VIDEO CLIP WHICH SONG WOULD YOU
CHOOSE AND WHY? HOW DO YOU IMAGINE YOUR CLIP TO BE? WOULD YOU LIKE TO COOPERATE
WITH A SPECIFIC DIRECTOR?
We have a video for “Dipole” which is being
edited at the moment. It was done on a tight budget, but hopefully the
end product will look cool.
If we could do a video on a large budget,
we’d have to have as many explosions, supermodels, crashing sports cars,
space ships and as many special effects as possible so that we could achieve
ultimate rock star status. We’d have to burn as much of the major label’s
money in the video as Motley Crue burnt in ten years. Perhaps we could
do a video for “Good Times” where our video crew follow a group of English
monkey’s around a Mediterranean tourist resort, and film them binge drinking,
upsetting women, fighting, smashing shops windows, being sick etc.. then
at the end of the video we can show footage of the police beating them
half to death in the street? The other guys in the band tend to frown upon
my amazing video ideas. I have no idea why…
11. IS THERE ANY ARTIST THAT YOU ADMIRE AND YOU’D
LIKE TO COOPERATE WITH HIM IN THE FUTURE AND WHY?
I’m not sure to be honest. Maybe someone from
a totally different area of music who can bring new ideas to the table
and help us explore a different way of writing. I’d love to get Rob Halford
or Tim Owens screaming on one of our records, if the rest of Razorwire
were cool with that.
12. I KNOW THAT IT’S A LITTLE BIT EARLY TO ASK,
BUT DO YOU HAVE ANY NEW SONGS READY? WHEN DO YOU PLAN TO RELEASE YOUR NEXT
ALBUM?
We have a few ideas for songs, but we’ll start
work on new material as soon as we have found a new lead guitarist and
they have settled into the band. I’d like to put out an album every year
or two, but financial restraints make that goal difficult to achieve. If
we’re back in the studio by next spring, I’ll be very happy.
13. IF I ASKED YOU TO DESCRIBE YOUR MUSIC AS EMOTION(S),
WHICH ONES WOULD YOU SAY?
I think the emotions depend on the song. I’d
like to think there’s more too us than anger. We try to write music and
lyrics that are positive and empowering.
14. THANKS FOR THE INTERVIEW AND I AM SURE THAT
YOUR ALBUM WILL KICK MANY ASSES ?!!! WRITE THE EPILOGUE OF THIS INTERVIEW
AND LEAVE A MESSAGE TO THE READERS OF BEHIND THE VEIL WEBZINE…
OK, thanks for the interview Nikos, it has
been a pleasure. Cheers to everyone out there for reading this! If you’ve
never heard any of our music before you can check us out at http://www.razorwire.info
Don’t be a stranger, feel free to say “Hi” to us on our guestbook! I hope
all is well in Greece. Hopefully Razorwire will come and visit you one
day for some full on heavy metal action!!!!! Rock on!!!!
Nick "William_Kidd"
Parastatidis
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