Interview by Jason Guest

Jason: Hi guys. Thanks for taking the time to speak to us here at Midlands Rocks. The new “Sounds Of Violence” album is great. Having made an acclaimed comeback with 2007’s “Killing Peace”, did you feel any pressure when writing and preparing for “Sounds Of Violence”?

Nige: No, not at all. I’ve never felt under any pressure during the making of any of our albums really. “S.O.V.” in particular was a really easy one for us to write, and we had a great time doing it; the ideas just seemed to flow and flow, and everything just fell into place! I guess maybe, with this album, we knew exactly the direction we were heading in, so everything was just bubbling on the surface!

Jason: What goals did you set yourself with this album?

Simply, to make the best album Onslaught has ever released, without a doubt! I see no point in making a record if I didn‘t think it was gonna be the best thing we‘ve done! The only real criteria we set ourselves when making this album was that it had to be as ‘Violent’ and ‘Aggressive Sounding’ as we could possibly make it; but all within the boundaries of Onslaught and our history of course!

Jason: What’s the writing process for the band? Is there a main writer or do you jam things out?

Sy: Well, we used a totally different process for writing “S.O.V.” compared to the “Killing Peace” album, so it’s hard to say what’s the norm. Nige and Andy did all the writing in the studio this time around, demoing everything every step of the way…. And, it turned out to be a very efficient and clinical way of writing; producing some fantastic results in such a short space of time… Sometimes, writing in the rehearsal room can be a little chaotic and a lot of things pass by unnoticed. But, this approach is definitely the way forward for Onslaught in the future.

Jason: It’s almost four years since “Killing Peace”, and you’ve been joined by Andy Rosser-Davies and Jeff Williams since that. How has the band evolved during that time?

Sy: Well, I think we’ve moved on a great deal since the release of “Killing Peace”, and Andy has definitely brought a great deal to the table in this period. We work very well together and can bounce ideas off each other really easily; we almost seem to know what each other is thinking when composing and arranging ideas, and you can’t buy that experience! As a band, we are still learning every day, so the evolution process is an ongoing thing. If Onslaught ever ceases to evolve in a positive light like this, then that would be the time to call it a day I think!

Jason: Why choose to do a cover? Motorhead have a whole host of excellent songs, how did you come to choose “Bomber” to cover?

Nige: Well, our relationship with Motorhead goes back a very long way to when we toured with the guys throughout Europe in 1986; it was a great tour for us and really helped break the band to the next level… They were always a big influence on Onslaught, and when we decided it was time for us to do a cover song, we thought, “Why not a Motorhead track?” I think it was Jeff who suggested “Bomber”; its not necessarily the obvious one to cover, but a classic all the same and it was a really tough one to give that ‘Thrashy / Onslaught’ feel to. We’d been jamming the song in rehearsal and it was sounding pretty cool, but not quite there, it was missing that little spark. So I suggested giving Phil Campbell a call, to see if he was up for putting down some guitars on our version? Thankfully, he really loved the idea. And, as soon as Phil came into the studio and laid down that awesome riff, everything fell into place; however much we played that tune, we could not make it sound the way Phil did in those sessions, it really gives it a ‘Motorslaught’ blend.

Jason: How did you get Tom Angelripper involved?

Nige: In regards to Tom… Again, we’ve become good friends with the Sodom guys after playing many festivals with them over the past 4 years, and I thought Tom would sound great sharing the vocals with Sy… I knew Sodom were in the studio making their new record at that point, so we gave him a call and Tom just said, “get me the backing tracks over right now, I wanna to do this!” There it was, made!

Jason: How do you think the metal scene of today compares with the 80s/90s?

There was a bit more technology around, but nothing too dramatic; bands still get ripped off for the most part and Metallica / AC/DC & Iron Maiden are still the biggest bands on the planet. The more things change the more they stay the same, ha! ha!

Jason: What’s your take on the metal scene today Nige? Are there any bands that have had a big impact on you?

Nige: Not too much. I can’t stand a lot of this new crap; scene kids with stupid fucking fringes pretending to be Metal? Its just a modern form of pop music, and has fuck all to do with real metal. I have no room for that shit on my mp3 player, ha! ha! No, we’re old school; there’s nothing new that really does it for me.

Jason: Sy, are there any modern bands that you consider will make the kind of impact on the scene that the big bands of the 80s/90s did?

Sy: No, not in the real metal scene really! I don’t think there’s the originality there, or the industry infrastructure for bands to have the impact that say, Metallica or Guns N’ Roses had back then… There are bands like Lamb of God, who will deservedly achieve a certain level of good success, but I see nobody that will be filling arenas and stadiums in the years to come!

Jason: Thrash has had a revival over the past few years. Why do you think this is?

Sy: Well, you see, I think Thrash has been on a strong upward curve for the past 3 / 4 years in particular. For me there are 2 reasons. 1. The next generation of ‘metal-heads’ have discovered how awesome this genre of music really is and have really bought into it in a big way. And, 2. Many of the ‘original’ bands are still around, very accessible and delivering some great albums and playing some killer live shows… The ‘Big 4’ tours for example have really helped a lot; it’s raising the profile to massive levels once again which can certainly do no harm at all!

Jason: Did this revival play any role in the reunion of your band? Or was there something left ‘unsaid’ that prompted Onslaught’s reunion?

Nige: The latter. I don’t think it mattered to us really, what was happening around us; not at all! We had got back together in 2005 before things really started to kick off once again; but I would like to think that we’ve played a very active role in being part of the resurgence of Thrash metal! One of the main reasons we came back was that Onslaught had a lot of unfinished business to take care of! Things didn’t end in a positive way for us, first time around, and there were a lot of wrongs that needed putting right. “Killing Peace” was the first of many steps in a long term rebuilding process; we’re now at second album in with “S.O.V.”, and the problems of the past are now nothing but a distant memory, so the Onslaught camp is a real good place to be right now …!

Jason: What do you think of the ‘thrash revival’ personally?

Nige: I agree with Sy. It’s awesome and it’s obviously a great situation for us at the current time; so, long may it continue!!

Jason: Are there any of the ‘thrash revival’ bands that stand out for you?

Nige: I guess you mean the new wave of Thrash acts, right??? To be perfectly honest no, not any of the signed ones anyway! The problem I have, is that none of these new bands are trying to do anything different; its all old school styles; and, when all the originals are still around and doing it much better, it all seems a little pointless? There are 2 very good bands in the UK right now in Fallen Fate and Seregon, who are both as yet unsigned, and are actually trying to give Thrash a different take, in their own style, which is very refreshing to see, but that’s the only ones I can think of, off the top off my head!

Jason: What bands inspired you? Are there any modern bands that have had an impact on Onslaught?

Our inspirations remain deep-rooted in our past and for us, will never change… Discharge and Motorhead have always had a major impact on everything we do. Both bands were very raw with lots of energy and attitude, and that’s something we’ve carried with us all the way through our career. There aren’t many modern bands that do it for me, I must admit! Everything that’s created today takes a big look back at Thrash for influences in a big way, so I’m happy to stick with the real deals!

Jason: How are preparations going for the upcoming tour?Pretty good, and we’ll be on the first few dates just as your readers are reading this. We’re really looking forward to it. We’re hitting some new countries on this leg, which is always cool, The hardest part is gonna be trying to sort the set list. What do we or don’t we play?? It’s a nice problem to have I guess? And we have a new drummer in Michael Hourihan helping out right now; our drummer Steve Grice stepped down quite recently, right after Hammerfest, so that’s a new challenge as well!

Jason: Any plans for a UK tour? Will we get to see you in the Midlands?

I certainly hope so! Plans are being made as we speak, so we should be making an announcement very soon! I’m sure we’ll be hitting somewhere around the Midlands, that goes without saying!!

Jason: Thanks again for taking time to speak to us at Midlands Rocks. Anything you want to mention or add?

Nige: I’d just like to take this opportunity to say a huge thank you to all the ‘Slaught fans out there who have supported the band over the years and who’ve helped our return to be such an amazing experience so far. “S.O.V.” has been a long time in the making and we really hope you all massively enjoy this new slab of violence! We’ll be seeing you on the road very, very soon; promise!! It’s a pleasure to speak to you Jason! Hope to see you soon, thanks

Check out Jasons review of the latest Onslaught album "Sounds of Violence" here