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| Interview by Burt Wolf with Don of the Dead, singer & filth hound of NUN SLAUGHTER. Interview done February 17th, 2006. |
| I CAN'T BELIEVE IN 9 YEARS OF ME DOING MY ZINE IT HAS TAKING ME TIL NOW TO INTERVIEW YOU. ANYWAY, I HAVE FOLLOWED YOU GUYS THROUGH THE UNDERGROUND FOR THE MAJORITY OF YOUR EXISTANCE. CAN YOU PLEASE TELL US HOW NUN SLAUGHTER FORMED BACK IN 1987 & LITTLE BIT OF THE BANDS HISTORY? ANY PREVIOUS BANDS MEMBERS WERE IN BEFORE? NUN SLAUGHTER formed in 86/87 because there were no Death Metal bands in Pittsburgh, Pa. at that time. We released our first demo "RITUAL OF DARKNESS" in 1987. The band periodically released demos through out the 80's & early 90's, but really did not start releasing lots of material until about 95/96. This is about when Jim Sadist joined. Some of the past bands that we were in are DEATH SENTENCE, BIRD OF PREY, LEK, SCHNAUZER & about 40 others. WHY WAS THE NAME NUN SLAUGHTER CHOSEN AS THE BANDS NAME? As kids we wanted something shocking & memorable. The name is virtually unforgettable & a bit offensive. That is why it was chosen. I KNOW YOU GUYS HAVE INFLUENCED A LOT OF THE BANDS IN THE UNDERGROUND SCENE, BUT WHO OR WHAT HAS HELPED INFLUENCE YOU IN YOUR MUSIC & IN LIFE? The band was influenced by BATHORY, early MORBID ANGEL, SLAUGHTER, VENOM. The influence in life for me has been BLACK SABBATH. HOW WOULD YOU BEST DESCRIBE THE STYLE & SOUND OF NUN SLAUGHTER TO THE 1 OR 2 PEOPLE LEFT THAT HAVEN'T HEARD YOU GUYS? NUN SLAUGHTER is a mix of American Death Metal & 80's Euro Thrash. I guess the term DEVIL METAL best describes us. The lyrics deal with death & Satan. Occasionally I change it up, but after about 100 songs those are the main themes. YOU GUYS HAVE PUT OUT SO MANY RELEASES IN THE PAST. HOW MANY DO YOU HAVE OUT ALL TOGETHER & WHAT FORMATS ARE THESE RELEASES? HOW MANY ARE STILL AVAILABLE? I think we have released 40 7"s & maybe 9 LP's/CD's. Most of the releases are pressed in small quanities, so almost none are available. Currently HELLS HEADBANGERS has the split 7" with THRONEUM, split 7" with HEAMORRHAGE, GUTS OF CHRIST 7" & HELL ON FRANCE. I think they still have some "GOAT" LP's as well. We have a few records planned for this year. 10 I believe, so there will be lots to collect & listen to. |
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| YOUR BIO STATES THAT YOU PUT OUT 7"S, PICTURE EP'S & 12" VINYL RELEASES. WHY HAVE YOU RELEASED SO MANY RECORDS? I KNOW I HAVE A HARD TIME FINDING ANYONE LEFT WITH A RECORD PLAYER. ARE THERE STILL MANY OUT THERE? Owning a record player is essential. There are many great albums that have not been released on CD format. Lets not forget all the great NWOBHM 7"s out there. I guess it all depends on how much music means to you. If you don't care about researching Metal music throughout the many years then you will not have a record player or tape deck (for the demos). If your main Metal purchases come from CENTURY MEDIA & RELAPSE websites then yes you will probably only own a CD player. |
| YOUR NEWEST RELEASE THAT I HAVE IS THE "GOAT" CD. HOW WELL HAS THIS CD DONE FOR YOU GUYS? WHAT HAS THE RESPONSE BEEN LIKE? The "GOAT" CD has sold well & the response to it has been good. It has been promoted fairly well & people have easy access to get it. THIS WAS PUT OUT BY HELLS HEADBANGERS RECORDS. HOW DID YOU GET HOOKED UP WITH THEM? HOW HAS IT BEEN WORKING WITH THEM? Originally the pressing was made in Germany on REVENGE RECORDS but Dani did not have very good distribution in the USA, so we licenced it in the USA to METAL WAR PRODUCTIONS. They hel the licencing for 2 years & after that it reverted back to NUN SLAUGHTER. Then we hooked up with HELLS HEADBANGERS & repressed it with a different cover & a bonus track. They put out a few NUN SLAUGHTER records in the past & it only seems right to go with HELLS HEADBANGERS. NUN SLAUGHTER & HELLS HEADBANGERS work extremely well together. They do what they say they will do & since they live about 1 hour from me I drive down & we work out designs & layouts together. They are the best underground label anywhere. CAN YOU EXPLAIN THE CD COVER FOR "GOAT" & WHO DID IT? I am guessing you are referring to the newest version... It is a sculpture. I am unsure of the artist, but it is a statue of Pan. I thought it fit the LP much better than the original cover. Eric / HELLS HEADBANGERS designed all of it with me pitching in where I could with suggestions & small changes. WHAT IS SOME OF THELYRICAL CONTENT IN YOUR SONGS? Mainly Death & Satan are the themse I deal with. I also like zombies & the dead. A few of the songs refer to serial killers or topics other than death & Satan. |
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| WHO DOES THE MAJORITY OF THE WRITING OR IS IT A WHOLE BAND COLLABORATION? Currently the majority of riff writing is done by Jim Sadist. I have suggestions as to the arrangements & I write about 95% of the lyrics with Jim adding in a few here & there. We have not had many band members that have contributed to song writing & I think that is because Jim does not need any help. JEFF BECERRA OF POSSESSED WROTE THE LYRICS FOR "THOU ART IN THE KINGDOM OF HELL". HOW DID THIS COME ABOUT? I mentioned to Jeff that we had a song that we wrote & I had the title but no lyrics. I asked if he would be interested in contributing his words. In about a week he sent me the lyrics & they were perfect POSSESSED words. Written in the 80's style they fit the song with ease |
| CAN YOU GIVE US SOME INFORMATION ON YOUR "DAMNED IN JAPAN" BOX SET THAT WILL BE COMING OUT SOON? The box set is about 95% ready to go. I finished mastering the live material & I did the layout a few months ago. Being that this is such a huge undertaking there are some factors to get straightened out. We are working with 3 Japanese labels, so we are figuring out shipping, quantities, financing, etc. The box set will contain 4 7"s in covers with some bonus stuff that we have not figured out yet. Rest assured it will be a quality release. IS THERE ANY OTHER NEW RELEASES OR MUSIC IN THE WORKS? We just got out of the studio about 5 weeks ago. I am not fond of the recording so I hope to re-record the guitars or re-do the entire recording. We have (I think) 10 or 11 records planned for this year. Our first release this year was NUN SLAUGHTER / NOCTURNAL split 7" then we release "FUCK THAT CUNT" 7" this month. Next month we should have "FUCK THE GOD IN HEAVEN" shape Picture LP / shape CD out. We will also finally have a record out that we have been working on for 3+ years. It will astound you. HOW DO YOU FEEL THAT NUN SLAUGHTER HAS PROGRESSED AFTER ALL THESE YEARS? Unfortunately I think we have gotten away from Death Metal & moved more towards a Death Thrash & that just about sickens me. NUN SLAUGHTER should be a Death Metal band, but we are loosing our way. YOU GUYS HAVE PLAYED ALL OVER NORTH AMERICA & OVER SEAS TOO. WHERE ARE SOME OF THE PLACES YOU'VE PLAYED? WHO ARE SOME OF THE BANDS YOU'VE SHARED THE STAGE WITH? Most recently on our Japan tour we got to play with SABBAT & SHADOW. In Australia we played with STARGAZER, G.O.T.H. & I got to me Hobbs. In Holland we played with DESASTER & DEAD HEAD & here in the USA we did a tour with ANAL CUNT & played many shows with DECEASED, MACABRE, EXHUMED, SADISTIC INTENT, DESTROYER 666 & KREIG. |
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| HOW WOULD YOU COMPARE PLAYING OVER SEAS TO HERE IN THE STATES? There is no comparison...anywhere is better than the USA. AFTER ALL THESE YEARS THERE HAS TO BE SOME GOOD BAND STORIES YOU COULD SHARE WITH US? Most of my stories are about grief with band members & the grand contempt that I have for past members. I SAW ON YOUR WEBSITE SOMETHING ABOUT NUN SLAUGHTER RECORDS. CAN YOU TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT THIS? Actually the label has been around a few years, but I did not make it official until recently. NUN SLAUGHTER released a few records on our own without putting the name NUN SLAUGHTER RECORDS on it. When I mentioned to SLAUGHTER that I wanted to release their rehearsal with Evil Chuck I decided to make the label official. I have another release ready to go. It will be the first GRAVEWURM album on LP. I am not going full force with it yet & maybe I never will, but this way I can put my stamp of approval on a few bits of history. |
| WHAT DO YOU FEEL IS THE BEST & WORST THING ABOUT BEING IN A BAND? The best thing would be traveling & meeting friends from all over the world. The worst is having to deal with band members that do not appreciate being in NUN SLAUGHTER. HOW DO YOU FEEL THE UNDERGROUND HAS CHANGED SINCE YOU FIRST BECAME A PART OF IT? More & more it has become a competition between bands to get a record deal or a tour with some band. It is less exclusive than it used to be. We have forgotten how to shun. I could go on & on, but then I would just be an old bitter guy. WHAT IS ONE THING PEOPLE WOULD BE SURPRISED TO FIND OUT ABOUT YOU? I am a soft spoken, well educated, married & gainfully employed Technical Support Analyst. WHAT WAS THE FIRST ALBUM YOU REMEMBER BUYING? WHAT WAS THE FIRST CONCERT YOU EVER WENT TO? The first LP I ever purchased was KISS - "DOUBLE PLATINUM". The first big show I went to was OZZY - "BARK AT THE MOON" with MOTLEY CRUE supporting in 1983. The first underground show I went to see was BLACK FLAG with HALF LIFE in 1984. ARE YOU INTO ANY OTHER STYLES OF MUSIC BESIDES WHAT YOU PLAY? WHO ARE AOME OF THE BANDS YOU HAVE CURRENTLY BEEN LISTENING TO? |
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| Yes of course I am into lots of different music. Some of my favorite music is ZAPPA or CAPTAIN BEEFHEART. I like old PINK FLOYD, JANIS JOPLIN, HENDRIX. I dig BLUE OYSTER CULT & lots of NWOBHM, but don't worry I would not let that music interfere with making Devil Metal. WHAT DO THE MEMBERS OF NUN SLAUGHTER DO WHEN NOT DOING ANY WORK FOR THE BAND? JOBS, HOBBIES, ETC? I do not know, we are not friends & I do not really talk to or speak to anyone in a social situation. |
| WHAT CAN WE EXPECT TO SEE NEXT FROM NUN SLAUGHTER? A few more tours to places I have not been & a few more records. I have done just about everything that I want to with NUN SLAUGHTER. WHAT WERE YOU DOING BEFORE ANSWERING THIS INTERVIEW? WHAT WILL YOU DO NOW THAT IT'S DONE? I was at work installing some servers for a large bank. Now, eat & then work on the NUN SLAUGHTER Japan tour DVD. THANX A LOT FOR ANSWERING MY LONG LIST OF QUESTIONS. FEEL FREE TO ADD ANYTHING YOU'D LIKE TO CLOSE OUT! METAL IS DEATH. DEATH IS METAL. NUN SLAUGHTER DEATH METAL. |
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| ALL PHOTOS & GRAPHICS COURTESY OF NUN SLAUGHTER INTERVIEWS MAIN PAGE |