Old school Metal runs in the blood, is runs through the bones, and it inhales the spirit. Being one with the time of the golden era of the music is surely a treat, yet to actually play it and revamp it, that is another story, especially in times like these. Steinmetal had a nice chat with Daniel Shaw of the up and running Aggressive Perfector, which recently unleashed their new "Havoc at the Midnight Hour", a flashback to the past. Expect it to be dirty, rough and traditional.
Hello Daniel, I am very pleased to have you for this interview for Metal Temple online Magazine, what have you been up to lately mate?
Hey it's a pleasure to do this interview, it's been a little tough as of late, as we come to terms with the passing of Mike Woods, the guitarist of Heavy Sentence, his death has been a huge shock within our metal community, so the last 3 month or so has been pretty hard, however we've kept busy playing live and jamming Aggressive Perfector as well as our other bands. It's the only way forward
It was like this. As if I just plugged in my old VCR, inserted a video tape of an old horror b-movie. Beyond the screams I could listen to the music playing, and it was Aggressive Perfector's debut "Havoc at the Midnight Hour". Let's just hang on to the 80s for just a minute. Other than the 80s Metal, and I am positive that the horror of it all as well, what else draws you to the 80s decade? How does that period of time fill your passion?
Haha cheers, that's definitely our aim. Well I was born in 1980 so I'm of that time, I grew up with nostalgia of it and I'm drawn to movies of that era, Back to the Future, Raiders of the lost Arc, The lost Boys etc, the first horror movie I saw was Halloween at the age of 7 and the intro music and pumpkin terrified the shit out of me
When it comes to 80s Metal, even without reading the dossier, I knew right from the start who are your main influences, and I have to tell you that it is pretty neat. However, what would you say energized you, while listening to these bands, to create this cohesion?
The energy and savagery of the music, the lyrics, riffs and songwriting, Simple as Metal is a broad church, we are influenced from Judas Priest right through to Napalm Death and Paradise Lost
Aggressive Perfector created in the graveyard five years ago, you three have been molesting your local scene with the ancient sounds that partially created it, along with exquisite taste that shares some of the old Metal gods in play. How did it all start?
I really wanted to front a band, write heavy metal songs, record a demo and play live. I'd become frustrated with the bands I was involved in at the time. Tim was up for it, with Mike on bass joining, it turned into the metal disgrace it is now
How did you come together to fulfill your vision?
Tim and I started jamming, at first 2 guitars, then he went to drums. It took a year to get our sound. When mike joined on bass, the vision of metal morbidity became clear
Signing with Dying Victims Productions was a right move to feature your beastly old school sound, and of course your vigorous music. Would you say it was a mutual interest by both parties to get into this interesting relationship?
Yea, definitely. We had a few offers that we declined, or talks faded. Florian gets it, we are an underground band, and Dying Victims is a killer label
How do you see Dying Victims Productions as part of your vision going forward?
They have put our album and Ep out, and hopefully some more releases
Going back to your celebrated debut, "Havoc at the Midnight Hour", I just have to ask first, as I usually don't do it at the beginning of the interview, who engineered the sound of this album?
We actually recorded the album a year earlier, and scrapped it and did it all again. So our vision was clear, production of the album was done by our friend in Manchester, Joe Clayton. Myself and Tim had a big say on the mix
It sounds so nostalgic, attractive and heavenly rich due to its distorted putridness, unlike the polished modernity. What is your appreciation of the sound?
We just like it raw and natural, we appreciate that in old school metal
For one thing, the songwriting and arrangements unveil two sets of pictures. The first of simplicity, yet the other a somewhat constructive view, of the NWOBHM nature that is closer to Iron Maiden, in the form of the catchy devilishness of Mercyful Fate, rather than to the gruffness of Tank or Venom for that matter. Was this sort of crossroads intended throughout "Havoc at the Midnight Hour" or are these first signs of development in the music going forward?
Well we didn't want to go down a typical thrash route, Metal is very diverse, and there's a lot of different styles incorporated on our record. Also there was a bit of a gap between this release and Satan's Heavy Metal, and also a leap in progression with regards to our sound and playing
How would you describe the songwriting process on "Havoc at the Midnight Hour"? It is a joint venture by all of you three or there is a kind of commander in chief bringing to the table the ideas from there on as crew to develop them?
All three of us contribute, to the riffs and arrangements, we are all tough and critical in that department. I write all the lyrics
Generally, one could assess the lyrical contents on this album, yet it is quite interesting to truly know, without the guessing game, what are the themes that you focused on within this release?
Well, the theme of horror runs throughout, but in many guises, from post-apocalyptic society, the occult, violence, vengeance and Alienation
Which of these themes intrigues you the most that would go further on and write additional songs about?
All of them, I'm always reading, thinking and writing lyrics and ideas
Which of the album's songs do you find as the most influential for you? That one track that is so massive in its magnitude that you just can't leave well enough alone?
Tough one, probably "Turbo Evil", and lyrically I'm very proud of the lyrics on "Devils Bastard"
Velio Josto created an astounding artwork for you guys, and undoubtedly fit the music like a glove of spikes. It is like a fine linkage between the horror end of that era, in a great quality painting. What is your take on Josto's work?
Totally agree. He's amazing and did wonders for us, we gave him a concept, but his own warped creativity certainly played a part
Though there has been a rise in old school Metal, when it comes to the new music featured nowadays, the vast majority of the Metal scene turned its gaze into the contemporary form of the music. Do you believe, going years later, that bands such as yourselves would still be relevant?
I think so, but only if we keep releasing material to a high standard, and following it up with a savage live show.
Does old school Metal have a chance to survive the test of time and even to become great again or will complexity and breakdowns would prevent it from unleashing its power once more?
Well I think true metal has always been great, and thrives the world over. As long as we have killer labels and bands releasing records and touring it will always be in demand
How do you intend to support the new album in the rest of the year? Anything already scheduled for 2020?
Yeah, we are going to be touring mainland Europe in April, and have some Euro Metal Festivals lined up before and after then. But I think some new material will start to surface at some point
I bet that a graphic band such as yourselves must have a cool live show, therefore I ask, what is the experience of an Aggressive Perfector show?
Well, we are a 3 piece, so we got to work pretty hard on stage, it's pretty raw and very powerful, we put a lot of energy into it
What are the next challenges of Aggressive Perfector, passing "Havoc at the Midnight Hour"? Are there already thoughts, or ideas, for the next release? Any moves that you are considering to boost up your career as band?
Yea, we've got lots of lyric ideas and riffs for new material, so hopefully an EP or mini album at some point in 2020
Daniel, it was a pleasure having you for this interview. Your time is highly appreciated. Aggressive Perfector caught me tight in its grasp, I just became a fan. All the best mate.
Thank you very much
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