Interview with 3/4 of the band and some weirdosaurus
Interview conducted by Michel Renaud
Date online: November 30, 2008
Bastardator is a Thrash band that took Ottawa by storm a couple of years ago already, then proceeded to spread its malevolence throughout the Ontario and Quebec live metal scene. With a sought-after EP under their belt, they are now releasing their first full-length Identify the Dead. Let's pick their sick brains... (and yes, they are that insane in real life...)
Alright, you guys are more obscure than most grim Black Metal bands out there and I couldn't find much about you, so we'll go with some genEric stuff to introduce the band... You guys have been around for a couple of years or so. How did Bastardator get started?
Eric (Bass): The band got started when I met Jo and saw a huge "speed metal" logo painted on the back of his jacket.
Jo (Drums): We stared to jam with drum and bass only for a quite a few months with brief stints with different guitarists. It was hard getting motivated without a guitarist hehe! We had a good idea of what we wanted to do. I played drums in ICBM, a band that existed briefly and played crossover/crust-metal stuff. Eric played in several go-nowhere bands throughout the 20th century! Most notably Human Greed, who got popular once they kicked him out! It's like we're his Megadeth.
Eric: Fuck you!!
Patrick (Guitar): I was nagging Jo to jam because I had talked to Eric who I had met through my ex-girlfriend. After a couple of weeks of nagging Jo, we finally started jamming the three of us.
Simon (Weirdo and band's bitch): You had a girlfriend???
Jo: We jammed for a month or so we couldn't think of any singer except for Commander-Cody, who sang in a sweet local band named Abolishment, but they had disbanded. So we got our shit together, bought a tour van, recorded a demo, got two labels to release it, and then started to get more serious. Jeff's the new singer. He's not here right now because he sketched out on another rehearsal!
Who came up with the band's name? It's nice to see not only a name that hasn't been used 20 times already, but is also an eye catcher... I mean..."Bastardator", one cannot be indifferent when they see a name like that!
Eric: I did!; I figured that it"s so close to "Masturbator", that people would remember it. hahaha!
Jo: I wanted to call it "Bastards of Mayhem". It sounds like a nonsensical Japanese band name..
Patrick: I was saying the band should be named "BLOOD BLIZZARD"
Jo: That name sucks. Sounds like a new flavour at Dairy-Queen!
There's some punk influence in Bastardator's brand of Thrash. What are the members' music background, and how does it "affect" the songwriting? Is this a team effort, or are there only one or two main songwriters?
Simon: I was born in Ottawa and raised in West Carleton to a poor family. My dad died when I was 13...
Jo: That has nothing to do with the interview!!
Eric: I grew up in the 80's listening to old school thrash (which wasn't old school back then),and punk and US hardcore like Agnostic Front etc. A lot of Canadian metal really. Slaughter, Razor, Sacrifice, Voivod...(No Exciter)
Patrick: uhhh..C'est quoi la question?... There's definitely a punk influence. Bon-era AC/DC does it for me! Fast music in general. Punk-hardcore-metal...
Jo: Clearly there's a punk rock influence because we come from that background. We're not really musicians, we just wanna make noise! We don't practice scales and Iron Maiden songs .Know what I mean? I'm into all sorts of music really. I might seem like a poseur to the average metal-head cause heavy metal isn't what I live for nor is it my favourite type of music really, but when it comes down to it I'll out-nerd any so called metalhead as far as record collecting and metal-history goes! ahhah... (That's actually true – Ed.) For me the influences in Bastardator go along the lines of metalheads that had next to no talent but wanted to do metal and not punk rock... That started with Venom, then bands like NME, Slaughter, Sodom, Onslaught all followed..
Patrick: Jo likes to prove points. He's the human metal encyclopaedia.
Bastards of Mayhem seems to have had some success - as far as I know both the tape and CD are sold out (I'd like to beat the crap out of the little fucker who bought the last copy of the CD at Vertigo Records last year... fuck!) So sale-wise this is a success I guess, but I was wondering what kind of feedback you've had - be it from reviewers or from "the average Joe" who bought the EP?
Patrick: A lot of people don't like it.
Eric: It's not that they don't like it, it's that they don't like the sound quality! (Posers! Sounds fine to me – Ed.)
Jo: I like the quality, but that's because I'm really into fucked up productions and dirgy demos! Zines all gave good reviews. MRR reviewed it.
Eric: one review said it sounded like lost tracks off of "Morbid Tales".
Jo: Yeah, that was the MRR review...
How many copies of Bastards of Mayhem were pressed? Is a re-issue a possibility?
Jo: There were 300 CDs pressed. Aside from a few that we have left for sale, Tragic Scene records has sold out. 500 tapes were made and I think - Harsh Brutal Cold sold them all.
The EP was released on rather obscure labels. How did you guys come in contact?
Simon: I was at the Dominion Tavern (A somewhat metal-friendly tavern in downtown Ottawa – Ed.) drinking and I was talking to some guy that was going through a mid-life crisis, so I told him that all he had to do was to "stud your jacket and spike your hair, and you'll be happy"
Eric: Simon, shut the fuck up and go get me another beer! (Told you he was their bitch - Ed.)
Jo: Kyle from Harsh Brutal Cold productions had done tapes of bands like Fucked Up, Toxic Holocaust, Metalian, Sabbat, etc... I knew him because he played in lots of Montreal bands when he moved from the USA. We played with his band Shelley, who sounded like Mercyful Fate one night here in Ottawa, and he liked our shit and said he'd release a tape... Jo from Tragic Scene is some other guy I knew that wanted to release some CD's - He's a really nice guy!
As I prepare this interview, your first full-length is about to come out. How long was it in the making? Where was it recorded?
Eric: I have no clue! I was drunk during the whole process! haha
Jo: It took way longer than it should of have! Waiting too long for artwork, etc...
Patrick: It was recorded in Montreal at studio Cameleon which is run by Dez from TRIOXIN 245.
Eric: We love you man!
Patrick:...and his buddy Fab. We definitely learned to be more prepared for next time as far as getting artwork, layouts, labels, etc... organized all at once, and not one thing at a time because this recording was done at the beginning of April 2008, and is only coming out now in late 2008!
Can we expect roughly the same style as Bastards of Mayhem, or are you guys "expanding" outside the punk/thrash boundaries?
Jo: No, nothing new! They won't let me do my sweet power electronics, harsh noise and death rock songs!
Eric: Fuck no! It definitely is heavier, and it's well produced.
Simon: My pubic hair is curled in fear! (Somebody, take his beer away! – Ed.)
Patrick: Moi j'dis euhhh ... Roughly the same style... But not so much.
Jo: Yeah... It's not like we went and recorded an "Into the Pandemonium"
Eric: Wow Pat! Great description!
I think this will be released on CD, tape and vinyl? Will this all be done by the same label?
Jo: No, it's separate labels doing each format, with two labels doing two different vinyl versions. The domestic CD release is by Morbid Moon records.
What about distribution? Will this be easy for people to find? Are you considering mp3 distribution through stores like eMusic for example?
Jo: You'd have to be a fucking moron to pay for mp3s! I always see mp3 pay-sites selling unauthorized releases of my other band. It's fucked to think that someone would actually pay for that while you could download for free on Soulseek or something like that. It will be well distributed because it's internationally released. Morbid Moon is a Canadian label, so the CD will be in every shop and distro around Canada.
You guys have been relatively active on the live scene, especially in Ottawa and Montreal (Toronto also?), and mainly as an opening act. What kind of response have you had to your live performances so far? I haven't heard any stories of rotten eggs, so it can't be too bad. :)
Patrick: Today your love, tomorrow the world!
Eric: It's good, but metal heads don't know when to thrash anymore!
Patrick: the local metal bookers don't like us...
Jo: Yeah, we've played Toronto a few times. We've played every damned town in Ontario and Quebec. We're finally going south of the border next month. (For the geographically-challenged, that's in the USA – Ed.)
The standard question for local bands: What do you guys think of the local metal scene?
Eric: the metal scene is purely Death-metal dominated...
Jo: There are good bands: Aggressor, Joe Thrasher. Also Return to Strength and Karnax, but they broke up. Apart from that not much interests us metal -wise. Exciter is one of my favs, but they're too cool to play locals shows..
Eric: They suck!T hey always have and always will! (Hmmm... Flashback of an animated discussion with Eric a while ago! – Ed.)
Jo: No way man! John Riccarround ripps! I've listened to Violence and Force so many times!
Patrick: There's the odd good metal show, but mostly I go to punk shows!
Jo: I only go to raves. (Riiiight... Ed.)
Simon: It's kind of like uhmmm, it's one of those single -serve yogurts that just doesn't quite satisfy. (The beer intake is strong with this one. – Ed.)
Other than your first album, what else is happening in the Bastardator camp?
Eric: We have a split 7" record that in press finally! It's with Cody, our ex-singer.
Patrick: Ex-Boy friend!
Jo: It's a split with a rad band that totally obsessed with Mad-Max from Italy called Children of Technology.
That's all for now, thanks for your time! Anything else you guys would like to add?
Jo: Quit listening to that shitty tech-death and go listen to some unlistenable Sarcofago rehearsal tapes from the mid-80s...
Simon: I dunno...stud your jacket and spike your hair!
Eric: Stuff your pants and spike your pubes, get on the thrash-floor and show some moves. Cheers! Keep it thrash! I'm going for a smoke!
JO: Simon's not even in the band! He's just here with us drunk and passing out on the reclining chair, waking us once in a while and saying random shit!
Patrick: Mangez toutes d'la callisse de marde! (Roughly "eat shit" in French-Canadian slang - Ed.)
Related Links:
Bastardator on Myspace: www.myspace.com/bastardator
Identify the Dead Tape: www.myspace.com/alucardrecords
Identify the Dead CD (Canada): www.morbidmoonrecords.com
Identify the Dead LP (UK): profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewProfile&friendID=5080390
Identify the Dead LP (USA): www.myspace.com/cutthroatrecs
Split 7" with Children of Technology: www.myspace.com/mndpunkkills
Split tape with Barbatos (Chile): www.myspace.com/kuraviluprods
Legion of Tchort compilation CD: www.myspace.com/leo_tchort
Level Uniform Skate Zine CD compilation: www.myspace.com/balancethezine
Other information about Bastardator on this site |
Review: Bastards of Mayhem |
Review: Identify the Dead |
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