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Let’s start
off with the ’86 debut demo tape, where was it recorded? How many copies
were made???.
The first demo was made after being together for 6 months. It
was recorded at “The Metal Works”; in
Toronto. We self financed
it and released 2,000 copies of which we sent out 200-300 out to fanzines,
magazines, and record companies. After we sold out, we pressed 1,000 more
(shit 3,000 copies of the demo!) and shortly after, signed with Roadrunner
Records.
During the
‘85/86 time line, were you in contact with many bands from within the
country (i.e. - Aggression, Slaughter, Razor, Sacrifice, Exciter ect…)?. Who
was involved with ‘The Council Of Canadian Metal Kings’??. I have heard this
was a figment of ex-drummer Rick Nemes imagination, is that true!??.
 We
knew Sacrifice and Slaughter, but knew Razor the best because Sheepdog
(Stacey) was a real close friend of Steve and I, before he joined Razor. All
3 of us grew up in
Kingston, Ontario, Canada and had jammed many times in the past. The whole
“Council Of Kings” thing was Rick’s doing. Instead of just listing our names
as members, he used “Council Of Kings” as if sort of tied into the name
Infernal Majesty.
How did you get signed to
Roadrunner intially?. I have a show you guys played in Detroit, Michigan
10/14/88 on video. At this show you played the bonus trax from the
Displeased “None…” re-release. Chris said at this show, that these were new
trax due out on your 2nd LP on Roadrunner. From this point on,
what happened to sour things with Roadrunner!??.
Roadrunner had received a copy of our demo tape and had
contacted us. We had several other offers at the time and really didn’t know
who to sign with. We hired the lawyer that was handling Triumph; and we had
him handle all the negotiations for us and we all decided Roadrunner was the
best label to handle us. The relationship with Roadrunner could have been a
lot better. They never really supported us in any major way. We had to book
and finance all our own tours and a total lack of communication form them so
we decided that we would go it alone.
I also have
on video, an appearance by Infernal Majesty on Muchmusic’s Power Hour from
’88. You were being interviewed by Erica Ehm, afterward they played the
video for “None Shall Defy”; and it was the guys first time to see time to
see the finished product, what did you think of it (I love that video it
rules!)!??.
I have hosted Power Hour a couple of times and it helps to
promoted us in Canada.
The video for “None Shall Defy” was paid for by us
and not Roadrunner. So when we did the video, we went to
Muchmusic and asked them if they would play it and they agreed. A couple of
days before they were to air it they asked if Rick and I, if we would like
to go on air and of course we said sure. When we got to the studio we were
suprised to find out that we were going to be hosting the show, which was
fun. Shortly after they asked us to come back with the “Name the mascot”
contest and we agreed, but I don’t remember the name that won, but we just
called him “Bob” (The name that won was “Deadlus” -Dale).
What was
your reaction, when you found out that Displeased Records from Holland, had
bought the rights to the debut from Roadrunner and was re-releasing it for
the first time ever on CD!?. At what point, did you find out cause I heard
Displeased was trying to find you to tell you guys about it!??.
We were really surprised when we found out. The timing
couldn’t have been better because at
the time we were looking for a new deal. We thought that “None Shall Defy”
had had it’s day. We were even more surprised to find out that Displeased
had included 2 songs that were never released to the public. I had heard
about it in January of 1996, Ron had given me a call and told me that his
label was re-releasing the album because he thought the album deserved to be
available on CD (How right he is too! -Dale).
What was
happening with the band, at the time of the 1991 demo “Creation Of Chaos”?.
How come you guys seemed to just dissapear after that!?. I have heard rumors
that the vocalist, Vince from that demo was arrested for attacking his
girlfriend kind of Vampiric assault, any truth to that!??.
After Chris Bailey left, we auditioned a whole bunch of guys
and out of that we hired Vince. At that time he seemed like the right guy
for the band but it never worked out that way. Sure we played a lot of shows
and recorded “Creation Of Chaos” together but things just never felt right.
Then Vince got into trouble with a girl he had met and ended up going to
jail. So we were without a singer until we got Chris Bailey back last year
and we couldn’t be more happier.
Did you have
any clue, the profound effect I.M. has had on the underground scene of the
late 80’s/early ‘90’s? I have heard many death metal bands (i.e.- Seance ect…)
claim you as an influence, do you listen to any death metal stuff from the
‘90’s on!??.
Well we had some idea because we would read about it but not
to the extent that it’s at now. Dawn (Swe) have recorded “Night Of The
Living Dead”, and Christ Denied (U.K.
I believe?-Dale) have recorded “Overlord” it’s kind of weird hearing your
songs being played
by other bands but we were glad that bands say that we
influence them, we think it is a great honor. I try to stay on top of what’s
going on but it’s really hard to keep up with all the latest releases, I
still stick to the early stuff like Slayer, Mercyful Fate, Kreator and
Exodus.
None Shall
Defy <lyrics>
Hear us oh forces of darkness,we summon thee from the ebony abyss of
hell
Black is the night though the candles burn bright as this young virgins'
blood we shall spill
Gaze into the crystal see the swirling mist we are servants of the powers
that be
Chanting invocations drinking from the skulls of the souls that were
slaughtered for thee
Kneeling at the altar calling out to satan we pledge our allegiance with our
lives
Demonic power signals now is the hour and the bitch of christ shall die
Raise high the sacrificial dagger gleaming instrument of death!
Burn the devil's cross into her flesh plunge the blade into her terror
stricken heart!
Her body writhes in ecstasy.Her mind screams out in agony.Causht within the
sensation of death's embrace!
Consumnated in the fires of hell the demons' seed is sown
In ravaged flesh neither live nor dead the incubus make it's home
Like an evil parasite,feeding on her undefiled soul,the unholy embryo
takes form divine intervention bonding mortal man to the dark lord...
Lord of evil,Prince of darkness we await the birth-the sign-your black
salvation
Unborn child,devil spawn amidst the sound of rending flesh we gaze upon thy
visage
Writhe and lament;hear the gnashing of teeth and the wailing of souls
Black heaven sent;shepherd of the flock with a musical staff and the
multitudes sing
None shall defy. NONE SHALL DEFY!
Courtenance personifying immortal degradation,eyes enlightened senses
heightened the hidden truth revealed
So called saviours of this world self-proclaimed messiahs,the remnant seed
made to
bless as they laugh and cry aloud... Satan...... Master....Lead us....into
hell!
Child of darkness bringer of fear,feeding on the madness end of time is near
Hiding in the shadows waiting for the ambush giving no warning showing no
mercy
evil and vicious warm blooded flesh is what we must have he drink his fill
Bearer of light your time has come,die at the hand of the vile unholy one
Beckoning from the depths of hell tortured souls begin to cry I.M. evil I.M.
god believe in me eternal life!
Writhe and lament;hear the gnashing of teeth and the wailing of souls
Black heaven sent;shepherd of the flock with a musical staff and the
multitudes sing
None shall defy. [5x]
To take
another trip to the rumor mill, I have heard the forthcoming 2nd
LP was recorded some time ago with Scott Burns in Toronto and is now just
having the finishing touches put on it!?. How was working with Scott
Burns!??.
The album was being recorded in 1994 with Scott Burns but
only the bed tracks were completed. Again, we paid for that ourselves and
that’s when the trouble with Vince began. Working with Scott was a great
experience as we have always liked his work but now that we have Chris back
we will release the album early this year.
What does
the new album sound like? Is it in the “None Shall Defy” style or the less
interesting ’91 demo style, or neither?. Will the second album also be
released on Displeased Records!??.
The new album sounds like Infernal Majesty, what I mean is
that once you hear it you will know who it is. We played most of the new
songs on our European tour which we just completed and the response was
great. We recorded 2 of them as samplers and released them on the “Kanada
Conpilation” (info on our web page) they are not the same versions that will
appear on the new album. We have just signed with Hypnotic Records (killer
Canadian label, with Voivod, Mundane, Anvil, Mundane, Razor ect… -Dale) and
the album will be out in mid-March 1998.
Who is
handling the lyric writing now?. I mean Psychopath (the old bassist) did the
lion’s share of lyrics and was responsible for gems like “ Marching defiant,
the legions bear witness, to stand against evil, means you stand alone!”. Is
the lyrical content on the new one similar in vein to the old stuff!??.
Steve Terror is writing most of the lyrics and has been for
some time. The lyrical content is a bit different, we have branched out a
bit more, songs like “The Art Of War”, “Where Is Your God”, “Death Roll” and
“White Knight” should say it all, it’s not just satan…
satan…satan. But musically it’s in the same vein as our
earlier stuff.
What were
some of your musical influences when you formed Infernal Majesty?. Have
those changed drastically?. Would I be way off in saying I hear a
slight old Alice Cooper influence in the instrumental “R.I.P.” off the first
full-length!??.
Steve and I have been playing together for so long that we
even have the same taste and influences in music. Judas Priest, Mercyful
Fate, and early Slayer. To this day we still listen to it because it was
great music. “R.I.P.” was a thing I was screwing around with just before we
went into the studio to do “None Shall Defy” the others said “hey why don’t
we use that as an intro to Night Of The Living Dead” I thought, why not, but
as far as Alice Cooper influence, I don’t know.
You were
scheduled a short time back to do a European tour, did it happen!?. How were
the reactions and crowd sizes over there?. Will you ever be touring out in
the western Canadian provinces!??.
 We
just completed a 32 city/11 country tour in Europe with Malevolent Creation,
Vader and Vital Remains (Damn that bill kicks ass! -Dale). The tour went
extremely well and all the bands got along great. All but 3 shows sold-out
and we were really happy with the fan support that Infernal Majesty
received, totally amazing to see people remember us after all of this time.
The tour promoter wanted us to stay another 6 weeks and hook up with
Unleashed but we decided to turn it down beacause we were getting a lot of
interest from record companies and we wanted to sign something now and get
the new album finished. Right now our label wants to have the new album out
in March, then straight back to Europe and promote it after that, who knows.
We would love to tour Canada (Hey Cryptopsy did it twice and Disciples Of
Power have done it 3 times, so it must not be that horrible ha ha -Dale) if
it was feasible but we would have to hook up with a big band to do it.
Last
comments to the readers of Canadian Assault!?. Future plans and merchandise
available!?. Thanks for the interview Kenny, you rule brother!!!.
Thanks for all of the support that has been given to Infernal
Majesty over the years. We are proud to be a Canadian band and always will
be. Our new album “Unholier Than Thou” will be released in March 1998, and
you can also get the re-rlease of “None Shall Defy” in Canada as our new
label has also agreed to market it in Canada, if you need any further info
check out our current web site at :
http://www.infernalmajesty.ca/index1.html.
Write the Infernal ones
at:
2678 West Broadway, BOX 306, Vancouver B.C. Canada
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