Gospel Of The Horns wants you never back down

interview with Gospel Of The Horns

Gospel of the Horns formed in Brisbane, Australia, in '93 and in late '94 they released their cult demo The Satanist's Dream. It gathered great responses, which in turn led to a deal with the incompetent Einstand Records [Italy] to press the demo on CD. Not only was the layout incorrect, they also placed a photo of a different band in the booklet... To this day, the band urge no-one to purchase this CD as this label does not warrant your money.
After Gospel of the Horns split in 1996, Howitzer moved to Melbourne where he teamed up with Destroyer 666. During this period, Howitzer was seeking adequate heathens to reform Gospel of the Horns.
They finally emerged in June 1997 with Marauder [who at the time was rehersing with Bestial Warlust] taking over the guitar duties, with Warhammer on drums. Their second demo Sinners was recorded in May '98, once again selling well and gaining extremely positive reviews. After much consideration, the band decided to sign a deal with Damnation Records [Holland], consisting of one mini-LP followed by a full-length CD/LP.
In November '98, B. M. Obliterator replaced Warhammer on drums and Gospel of the Horns did a deal with Morbid Productions [Australia] to release the Monuments of Impurity 7’ EP [limited to 300].
Soon after this, Obliterator was replaced by the blood barrels of Hellcunt [ex-Bestial Warlust, Anatomy] injecting a more solid edge to the band. Gospel of the Horns' debut on Damnation Records was released February 2000. Entitled Eve of the Conqueror.
Since returning from their European tour Gospel of the Horns have introduced a second guitarist Masocist [Anatomy, Hellspawn]. They have rehearsed solidly, writing new material for their upcoming full length.
Due to financial problems, Gospel of the Horns couldn't release the full length through Damnation Records and chose to sign with Invictus Productions in February '02.
Gospel of the Horns' lyrical ideology confronts our most despised and traditional enemy and its conformist religion.

interview with Marader on 25-02-2002

Please give us a short introduction of yourself?
Huh? Ok, Marader here, guitarist for Gospel Of The Horns, 26 yrs old, 6’3, brown hair, hobbies- metal, favorite food- bacon and eggs on toast, favorite drink- tequila, wheatbeer, is that what you meant? Haha!

Existing since 1993. Did the band changed in musical style?
Only when I joined in 97 as I'm a different styled guitarist than Hellbutcher {guitarist on first demo} was, he had a more primitive noisy kinda style (listen to Vomitor!) I guess I'm a little bit more refined you could say.

Why was the band formed? Any historical events that made the decission?
I dunno, why did you start this zine? Why would a historical event have anything to do with forming a band?! We just wanted to play music that we liked.

Any regrets that you started the band? Never wished to be a clergyman?
None really, things are going pretty well as far as I'm concerned, but yes, it is my lifelong dream to become a man of the cloth!

Is it a handicap that you're from Australia? Think people will take you less serious?
The distance is the only handicap, and I couldn't give a fuck what people think.

Do you have fought some prejudice against those thoughts? What was the stupidest one?
Sorry mate, I can't think of any, can you?

Why are Australian band populair in Europe? Like Destroyer666, Bestial Warlust?
I think every country has a uniqe sound or style that sets it apart from other countries, be it Sweden, US, Germany, Greece, Australian bands are usually very aggressive, but in a different way, different environments, produce different attitudes toward music. So the Australian style is bound to be noticed as we live in a very different country from yours

What impact had Europe to you when touring? Looking for chicks, historical buildings, beer?
Yeah, Europe was great, lots of cool people, beautiful architecture, great selection of beer!, and yes in general the women were of a pretty high standard! There's still so much I wanna see! But the thing we noticed the most was how ’normal’ metal was compared to over here, this is mainly a good thing I guess, the metal population is a lot more noticeable over there, over here it is mainly confined to the big cities, but put it this way, over here we have an annual metal fest in Australias capital city, witch attracts at most about 2500 people from all over the country, and its a big fuckin country, so its nothing in comparison to over there huh?

What country made the most impression and why?
They were all good experiences, but getting to Ireland and England and being able to speak English at a normal rate was a releif, same sense of humour too, some of the other countries we went to, you'd make a joke and they'd just stare at you all serious! The countryside in Ireland and parts of Belgium were really nice too.

And why should European bands visit Australia? What can they expect beside desert?
Dunno, our scene is nothing like over there, 200 at a gig tops. More for big bands of course, but if your a smaller band like us, I wouldn't bother coming here! It just wouldN't be worth the money and hassle, but for a holiday you'll have a fuckin great time, rainforests and jungle, harsh bush and desert, untouched beaches, allsorts of wildlife, great place to live, allthough as I sit here its about 35 degrees, fuckin hot!

Your music is brutal with great guitarwork. Do you have some ingredients that has to be in the songs?
Thanx, the songs just have to be catchy and memorable, with no ’filler’ riffs, I want someone who has never heard us, to walk away from one of our shows, and actually remember a song or two! Basically I just write what I want to hear.

What makes a song complete? Do you think you can write the ultimate metal song?
Theres no totally correct answer to this, every band has there own formula for writing songs, it's structuring the riffs so that they complement each other that I find challenging I guess, also sometimes you can go overboard, and what started out to be a simple thrasher, can turn in to a song with ten riffs and goes for eight minutes! I try to keep the songs simple and flowing if you know what I mean, all my alltime favorites did this, and that's why I think they have stood the test of time, but at the same time I like a lot of bands that do the opposite. Anyway, it's not for me to say weather I can write the ultimate metal song is it? I could go on all day about this subject, and give you a million different examples, but one song that springs to mind is Bathorys ’A Fine Day To Die’ for me this song comes pretty close!

What are your fav bands? Do you remember how you came in contact with them?
Ok, new and old, here goes, WASP, Maiden, Bathory, all Darkthrone up until ’Total Death’ they should have stopped after ’Panzerfaust’, Carpathian Forest, early Crypt Of Kerberos, if any one has a copy of their ’Visions Beyond Darkness’7’ i'll do a good trade!, Gotham City (same with their 7’), 1st Grave and Unleashed albums, Burzum, Beherit, Blasphemy, Coroner, Zyklon B, the last few Judas Iscariot albums, Abhorrence, Krisiun ’Ageless Venomous’, Centurion ’Liber Zar Zax’, Incantation, Gorgoroth, Silencer, Funeral Mist, Conqueror, Revenge, Blizzard (Ger), Angel Corpse, Turbonegro, Immortal, Sleep, Ildjarn, Metalucifer, Gehennah (Swe), Whiplash (1st 2), Malmsteen (1st 3), Nocturnal Rites, Fortress, Destroyer666, Long Voyage Back, Dungeon, Dark Funeral, Setherial, Razor, Demilich, Luciferion, Infernal War, Gontyna Kry, Strid, Dissection, Tank, Axis Of Advance, Disgorge (Mex), Kohort, as you can see my tastes are pretty broad but it's all metal, I could have gone on forever, but I really haven't been able to give a definite list of favorites since I was a kid, and I coulden't come even close now.

How did you get involved in the metal scene? Older brother? Fascinated for the leather and spikes?
I was 9 yrs old, we had this TV show on Saturday mornings called ’Beat Box’ one day they played clips from WASP, Iron Maiden, Motley Crue and some others, from then on I was hooked!, I lived in a small country town with about 40 people, and I knew this older kid that lived in a house in a feild behind me, that listened to metal, so I just walked up to his door and told him that I saw this show and that I was interested in hearing more, so he layed out all these cassettes on his desk and said ’take your pick’ I picked WASPs ’The Last Command’, after that I borrowed, Maiden, Motorhead, Priest, Metallica, ACDC, even stuff like RATT and Cinderella, ha ha! But to this day that WASP album is still my alltime favorite. When I was about 13 I moved to Melbourne, by that time I was in to Celtic Frost and Slayer, early Napalm Death, Morbid Angel, Kreator, Sodom, Bathory etc.and there was a couple of metal shops in the city, this of course was fuckin heaven ha ha! The rest is history...

You're signed to an Irish label? Did you wanted an European label? Or did they payed the most?
We met Darragh from Invictus when we played in Ireland, and got along very well, we were having problems with Damnation Records a while later regarding the ’Call To Arms’ album, so we went with Invictus, no contracts, no problems, all promises kept on both sides, we believe him to be a trustworthy, dedicated, proffesional bloke,and he hasn't proven us wrong yet. We got offers from other labels including labels such as Osmose, but knocked them back, as we already had a verbal agreement with Darragh, we hope to continue with him, but if not Gospel will never sign to a ’big’ label. Underground forever!

If you could live from the music, would you make more commercial songs?
Nah!, I dont think I could play anything that just didn't feel right, love us or hate us, we will never change our style. Although we are going to experiment with keyboards, hip hop vocals, and maybe a brass section on our next album, what do you think! Ha ha!

What do you think of the nu metal kids? What will they experience when listening to you?
They don't bother me, I don't bother them, maybe some of them would like us, maybe they couldn't relate, a lot of that nu metal stuff is rap/hip hop influenced, and also influenced by basketball/skateboard/gang culture, which is alien to us, and I guess us to them. Musically I don't think there's a lot of skill involved in nu metal. And their baggy pants look silly.

Describe the feeling a deaf person will have after visiting your gig?
Sore from headbanging and drunk from drinking, sorry for being deaf. And maybe feelin good later on if he takes home some metal slut!

Do disabled people get discount when buying your stuff or visting the shows?
No, but we can autograph their wheelchairs!

Last rites?
Give’A Call To arms’ a listen, I like it, so you will too ha ha! But seriously thanks for the cool interview and your support, keep the flame burning and never back down.
Band:
Interviewer: twansibon
Feb 25, 2002

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