ACCUSER's Frank Thoms: "First and foremost, we want to deliver a record that we're satisfied with. The best promotion is to write great songs and present them live as much as possible. You can't do much more as a band."

ACCUSER has had a long and storied career. They are a thrash metal band that […]

February 11, 2018

ACCUSER has had a long and storied career. They are a thrash metal band that was formed back in 1986. They have released several albums as ACCUSER, but for a while the band semi came to and end and started making music as SCARTRIBE. Coming back under the ACCUSER name in 2008 they began to release more albums. There newest album "The Mastery" was a great album that made me a fan of this band. It was a chorus of melodic thrash that you don't hear much of today. Metal Temple Editor BRADLEY KARRhad a chance to ask the band some questions and this is what transpired.

Please allow me to give you a big welcome from Metal Temple! The band was created in 1986 can you recount for us how you all meet and it all came together?

I played in a band calledEXPECT NO MERCY and another band, BREAKER, were working on a demo on which I was asked to play lead guitar. After I had recorded my parts, I decided to leave my current band and instead joinBREAKER to write new stuff in a speed metal style. We then changed our name toACCUSER and that's how it started.

The band came to an end of sorts in 1996, can you tell us what was the main catalyst for the end?

We had been active for 10 years at that time and just wanted a small creative break. The break kept going and we started to drift apart. Subsequently, we silently decided to go into hiatus. 1996 was a pretty rough year for thrash metal but some bands persevered and can now benefit from going through that period.

Between 1996 and 2008 you guys wrote music and toured under the name SCARTRIBE, what was the reason for the name change, and did the fans know?

We tried to explore a different musical style with SCARTRIBE. But the more songs we wrote, the more the music resembled the style of ACCUSER. After that it was only a small step to revive and continue the original band. I can also add that we played some classicACCUSER tracks live withSCARTRIBE and everything that was close to theACCUSER style just felt right to us.

You guys recently released the album The Mastery, can you tell us what differs between recording this album and recording your first album years ago?

Well, technology has improved immensely since then. We recorded our first album on tape. "The Mastery" was recorded with present day studio technology. Computers are common place in every studio and have been for many years and they're extremely useful. You can save everything and capture the absolute best moments. You're even able to change sounds after the fact and easily get the best possible results out of the stuff you've recorded.

The new album is great I loved the song The Real World in particular. I described it as beautiful chaos, is there a lot of planning that goes into the songs so that you can have the wide range and speed, but also keep them melodic?

The songs were created more by feel. The only thing that was planned was to write songs that are catchy and that each song is different and unique.

You released your first album under Metal Blade records was in 2016, what was the move to the label like and have you seen any differences since joining them?

Actually, we always wanted to get the opportunity to join Metal Blade, as they're our favorite label. Then in 2015 we finally had the chance. Since joining them, our sales and the level of awareness for our band has increased more and more. Their promotion is a huge benefit and we were able to meet many important people. Working with Metal Blade Records has been fantastic from both the professional and also the personal side.

Who were some of your influences growing up and now?

American bands were a huge influence for us. In the beginning, classic thrash bands like SLAYER, METALLICA, MEGADETH, TESTAMENT,and ANTHRAXinspired us. Then in the 90's,PANTERA really shaped our musical style. Nowadays, we don't focus on other bands as much and instead try to evolve and work on our own style which started to emerge over the years.

You guys have toured a lot over the years, is there any crazy stories you could tell us about being on the road over the years?

Our first tour was in winter with MUCKY PUP. One night, we went backstage after playing our set and found that all our stuff had been stolen. IDs, Jackets, Sweaters, everything. The next day, we were sitting in the tour bus wearingMUCKY PUP clothes. We looked totally weird. There are so many ridiculous and hilarious stories from that time that I can't even decide which one to highlight. However, the funniest thing is that we keep experiencing absolutely ludicrous situations to this day.

Are you currently working on doing a tour? If so is there any details you can give us?

We're currently in the planning phase. We don't have anything concrete to announce right now but I believe that we'll have some great shows lined up for 2018.

I must admit before listening to your new album I had never heard your music, but now I'm a fan. What methods do you guys use to spread your music in this social media drenched landscape?

First and foremost, we want to deliver a record that we're satisfied with. The best promotion is to write great songs and present them live as much as possible. You can't do much more as a band. Social media can help to get your stuff out there but the fans have to be ready to receive your music. We get the best promotion with Metal Blade Records and our videos are a great tool to get people interested in our album.

Where would you like to see Accuser as a band in the next coming years?

We'll just wait and see how things will turn out for us. We're quite optimistic for the future.

Thank you for your time and this opportunity. Is there anything else you want to share with us that I might not have asked?

After reading so many positive reviews, we're extremely excited for the fan reactions to "The Mastery."We're very grateful for all the positive opinions so far.