Maniac Monday LV - Epicvs Metallicvs III

That's right, the temple of truth that is Maniac Monday returns with a third instalment in the Epicvs Metallicvs series. I had to open with a track off the new Teitanblood such is its ferocity, and it promptly set the tone for what is surely one of the heaviest shows in a while, albeit with a few lighter moments, hehe.
Thanks again to all who listened in live, and to all the bands I featured for making these great, epic tracks. I will return on April 14th, 2014, with maybe something a little less gargantuan. Maybe...

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Maniac Monday LIV - €UROTHRASH ('N' SPEED METAL)

YES. €urothrash, indeed. Title is pretty self-explanatory, so enjoy this (almost) all-80s European thrash attack, should you have missed it last Monday.
Maniac Monday returns with more insanity on March 31st, 'til then, stay clean.

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(A New) Interview with Victor Whipstriker

Here's the interview I did for Iron Fist last year with Victor Whipstriker that I've been promising to share with you eager maniacs for some time now. I was simply waiting for that issue to be outdated by a newer one before posting it. Enjoy and support REAL METAL!

AFITFOG: First up, can I start with a question I meant to ask the first time I interviewed you—how exactly did you get the name Whipstriker?
Victor Whipstriker: I really don't remember. I only remember that 'Whip' comes from Venom's track "Sadist (Mistress of the Whip)". It was just a nickname I started to use in Diabolic Force in 2001. Then when I decided to start a one-man band I choose Whipstriker because it seems a band name. But there's no a interesting meaning behind that.

Ha, it is a great band name, so well done in keeping it. So, for the readers of Iron Fist magazine, can you give a bit of an introduction to Whipstriker and the new record.
Well, we started in 2008. The first idea was only record some stuff and work like a studio band. But I really love to play live, so we started to play some shows after the first releases. We recorded a lot since 2008—two demos, two albums, and six 7" EP splits. Some more stuff is coming, like the new splits with Apokalyptic Raids, Bulldozing Bastards, Raw Poison, Kriegg, Alcoholic Force, etc.
About the new album, we recorded it very fast. I think there was only four or five sessions. It was released in partnership with four labels—Kill Again, Hell Music, Urubuz, and Fuck the Mainstream, We are the Mainstream. The LP version will be released soon by Evil Spells in Germany and the tape version by Muerte Negra in the USA. Basically, the plan is keep on recording and playing gigs.

You planning any tours to promote the record?
We want to play in the USA next year, 20 or 25 shows would be nice, but we have problems with visas. If some of us are denied, we cannot go. And if that happens we will play another European tour, perhaps playing in some countries we didn't play last time.

So you will only play Europe if you can't guarantee access for everyone to USA?
Yes. We'll go to europe if some of us cannot get the visa for the US. [And this has now been confirmed. European tour begins November 2014]

Alright. Do you play all instruments on the record?
No, I play bass, rhythm guitars and vocals. The guys from Farscape play drums and guitars solos.

Say, last time we spoke you said the next album would be a Farscape one?
Yes, and it is out now. It was released by Kill Again Records on CD. The LP is coming soon from Mutilation Records.

How did it come out, are you happy with it?
Yes, I like the final result. I think it is our best stuff. It could be dirtier, but OK!

 Ah okay, cool. So, hey. What is the track "We Came from the Wild Lands" all about exactly?
It's simple—we really live in the wild lands. Brazil is fucking wild and savage. There's a civil war in my city, Rio de Janeiro. You know, the state against the drug dealers. Many people die everyday here and there are many dangerous areas where you can see children holding guns—is it not wild?

The track "Troopers of Mayhem" is a track about this war we live in our everyday lives—blood, corpses, guns, mutilated children. It's our landscape.

Damn man, that sounds savage alright. Have you ever been a victim of crime in Rio? And aren't things getting better with the World Cup next year and the Olympics in 2016?
Yes. I have been a victim for many times and my friends too. About the World Cup, I am totally against it. They are not solving the problems. The violence has stopped only in tourist areas. The government is wasting money with these things and we don't have good schools and hospitals.

Yeah, that is exactly what is being told on the news here in Europe—nobody wants a World Cup in a country where the infrastructure needs attention more. How bad have the protests been?
People are destroying everything in the downtown. Nobody is happy with the World Cup. Now the city is more expensive to live and we are still without the basic infrastructures. I am going to the protests always I can. 

Shit, sounds crazy. Do you think this is what is the driving force in ways behind your prolific music career?
Yes, for sure. I like to talk about these issues in some lyrics, but I don't think it is a influence for the music career. It's hard to be a headbanger here. Everything is expensive. We usually play in shit places with horrible equipment. The promoters have no money to organise a good underground show and the headbangers have no money to pay for an expensive ticket. The good venues are exclusive for other styles like samba, boss Nova, jazz, etc. Brazil is a big country, so it's hard to play tours because the distances between the cities are so vast. There are many problems. Believe me, we are diehard headbangers.

Do you think people look down on metalheads in Brazil?
Yes, there are many preconception in Brazil. Everybody looks down when you pass. Brazil is totally conservative and people think you are a drug junkie if you have long hair, tattoos, leather jackets, etc. But we don't give a shit about them, it keeps us strong!

That's pretty much how it is here in Ireland and England pretty much too, even though that's where heavy metal COMES FROM. 
So you still watching football or totally boycotting it altogether now?
No man, I don't give a shit for football now.

This interview was done over Skype, and while I was waiting for his answers to come I was looking on his Facebook page when I came across this lady:

STOOOPPPP!!! Who is this girl in the picture???

HA! I saw her on your Facebook page, followed some links, and got to there basically. Her name is Laure Rosenoire? She is posted on your page in some bunny suit or something, haha [and, having just checked, is now half-wearing a Whipstriker shirt on his page, ugh!].
Oh yeah! Laure! I love her, haha! I have composed a song for her for the next album... She is a Whip' fan. Her boyfriend organized our gig in Belgium. Good girl and metalhead.

Bonus! Alright, back to the music. How come some Whipstriker stuff has a way more d-beat/Swedish punk Anti-Cimex-vibe and some not at all? Like, the demos seem to have almost a totally different sound to albums and one or two splits.

I always try to mix all my influences, that's why each release has a different identity. The demos are more Swedish  crust like Anti-Cimex and Crude SS. On the other hand, the albums and EPs are more in the UK vibe—Venom, Motorhead, Warfare. I like many different styles from rock 'n' roll to death metal. At the same time, I'm a big fan of Thin Lizzy and Sarcófago. Indeed I don't want to be trapped in only one style. You can see these different influences on "Troopers of Mayhem". You can find Venom, Tank, Thin Lizzy, Celtic Frost, Black Sabbath, Bathory, and Discharge.

Alright, killer. You love the true 80s sound and it tells! Who is doing your artwork these days?
Each release was done by a different guy. The artwork for the new album was made by Jeferson Pizoni. He is a punk friend and I really like his work. He is a punk guy so his price is fucking good for me. He asked me around €25 for this art. There are other guys like Marcio Blasfemador, Umberto, and others.

Wow, amazing price—I want one! I thought maybe he did the artwork for Worshippers Of Death and Brazilian Bestial Attack also?
Kill me, but I forgot the name of the guy who made both of these arts.

Haha okay, fair enough. So thanks again for another killer interview, I had a blast listening to it all.

Great man!!! THANX FOR THE SUPPORT!
As mentioned in the article, Whipstriker will be touring Europe, November 2014. Keep an eye on his page for more info. If you missed the first interview with Victor, click here. If you missed the mix he did for me last year, click here.

Maniac Monday LII - BOTW—The New Flesh

 ALRIGHT, another 2000s-only show, this time playing only BOTW-inductees. It is also a semi-best of Maniac Monday show to some degree, so apologies to regular maniacs if this one comes off a little lazy. But, these are all great tracks from some of today's best acts, so to some it may be a goldmine, hehe.
So a BIG THANKS to Fenriz and Arjan for all their hard work to keep like-metal-minded maniacs in the know. I, for one, have found tonnes of killer bands on the page. Sure, there have been almost as many that didn't do it for me, but hey, you can't like 'em all.
Maniac Monday returns on March 17th, St. Patrick's Day, so expect some sort of Irish feature then. SLÁINTE.

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Maniac Monday LII - DARKTHRONE—Lust for Hell (The Next 978 Years Are Still Theirs)

 YES. At last, it has arrived—the Darkthrone show. As mentioned at the top of the show, this is not a definitive guide to Darkthrone or anything like it, just me playing 22 Darkthrone tracks I haven't played on the show before (I have already played 22 tracks—a whole 'nother show's worth—over the past 52 shows), with one track appearing off each official release. Sure, I skipped the singles and anything retrospective pretty much, but you get the gist.

Nothing more to say here really except enjoy the show and here's hoping for more classic Darkthrone releases in the future!

Maniac Monday returns on March 3rd for more metal madness (I have no idea what exactly yet because I can't stop listening to Juju, Catastrophe Ballet, and Closer, haha. Maybe a deathrock show :P), so be sure to tune in then. Or wait and get it here afterwards. The choices are yours, motrals...

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Maniac Monday LI - Total Death II

It's been some time coming, but here's a fresh death metal show for your brain to devour. In classic MM form, hour one is 80s and 90s gems, with hour two covering post-00s bands.

It was great to finally play a few things I've wanted to for a while—like Excoriate and Deathcult—yet I still managed to forget Possession and some other stuff. Oh well, there will something similarly evil again soon, faithful maniacs.

Maybe the next show will be this Darkthrone one I have mentioned more than once in the past, who knows (I certainly don't). Tune in to NTS on February 16th to find out...

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A Fist in the Face of God presents... Full Speed Ahead - A Mix by Hades

ALRIGHT. Here we have the first mix of the year, compiled by none other than Hades of Greek speed metal band, Omega. I met Hades at a recent metal festival where we talked about our shared love for fast heavy metal with shrieking vocals and naturally we spoke about a mix. He wanted to make a kind of Best Of mix, and he did not disappoint, taking in sounds from 1971 right up until today. Hell, he even managed to squeeze in some Queen (on a speed metal compilation?!).

He also mimicked my usual style of mix covers (this is the first one I did not make of all the mixes to feature on here) and sent over a few different edits of the comp before settling on a 30-track, nigh two-hour long opus. I make one of these every two weeks for my radio show, so it was nice to see what bangers a fellow speed freak would concoct.

And, he even had the good sense to include a ripper off his own band's latest offering The Hell Patrol (that I included on my end of year show), in the midst of action. I will let him tell his tale now…

I came across this heavy metal sub-genre when I was looking for bands playing stuff like the fast songs of Judas Priest, Saxon and Iron Maiden.  I had to find more, so I asked an old friend of mine (who has a killer vinyl collection) in my town and he told me about this Speed Metal genre. A week later he gave me a tape compilation with Exciter, Agent Steel, first Anthrax, Warrant (from Germany, of course), Violent Force, and a few more obscure bands from the 80s on it. I was beyond impressed, because I could hear the heavy metal riffs and solo melodies, but in a more THRASHY way and with faster tempo then the usual NWOBHM bands I'd heard previously. This gave me a fascinating mania to DIG deeper and deeper in the 80s underground scene and find more bands playing this so called Speed Metal genre. 

Many of you may ask WHY there is a song from Queen and Deep Purple in the compilation—do they play Speed Metal? The answer is "no, they don’t", because there wasn’t a genre called Speed Metal back in the 70s.  The reason I HAD to include these specific songs is because they gave the inspiration to bands like Metallica, Exciter, and Anvil to create this heavy metal sub genre in the early 80s. So it’s more or less for history reasons and it’s for those who are interested to learn how all this craze started.

A very important factor was also the Canadian label, Banzai Records, which gave birth of the so-called “Speed Metal Swirl”, which they used for many of their releases, some of which were not even Speed Metal by definition, but they had this mark or symbol for all the extreme and fast metal bands coming out then. I hope people will enjoy this compilation as much as I do and I want to thank all the NEW bands which are still keeping this way of playing metal ALIVE, even after 30 years of existence. Bang your head and raise the dead!
HADES

1. Judas Priest (England) - "Exciter" [1978]
2. Riot (USA) - "Warrior" [1977]
3. Queen (England) - "Stone Cold Crazy" [1974]
4. Whiplash (USA) - "The Burning of Atlanta" [1985]
5. ADX (France) - "Caligula" [1985]
6. Darkthrone (Norway) - "Circle the Wagons" [2010]
7. Violent Force (Germany) - "Sign of Evil" [1987]
8. Deep Purple (England) - "Fireball" [1971]
9. Phantom Lord (USA) - "Speed Demons" [1986]
10. Agent Steel (USA) - "Mad Locust Rising" [1986]
11. Ranger (Finland) - "Touch of Death" [2013]
12. Motörhead (England) - "Speedfreak" [1982]
13. Exciter (Canada) - "Stand Up and Fight" [1983]
14. Tank (England) - "Turn Your Head Around" [1982]
15. Tröjan (England) - "Hypnotized" [1985]
16. Megadeth (USA) - "Rattlehead" [1985]
17. Savage Grace (USA) - "Sins of the Damned" [1985]
18. Omega (Greece) - "Speed Metal Force" [2013]
19. Razor (Canada) - "Take This Torch" [1985]
20. Enforcer (Sweden) - "Live for the Night" [2010]
21. Iron Maiden (England) - "Aces High" [1984]
22. Flotsam And Jetsam (USA) - "Hammerhead" [1986]
23. Warrant (Germany) - "The Enforcer" [1985]
24. Saxon (England) - "Set Me Free [Sweet cover]" [1984]
25. Exorcist (USA) - "Riding to Hell" [1986]
26. Bitches Sin (England) - "Hold On to Love" [1980]
27. Diamond Head (England) - "The Prince" [1980]
28. Griffin (USA) - "Hunger" [1986]
29. Hallows Eve (USA) - "Outer Limits" [1985]
30. Metallica (USA) - "Metal Militia" [1983]

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