Pagan War Machine is Steve Gaines on bass guitars and vocals,Jim Durkin on guitars and i,Marcelo Lima also on guitars and Al(Mayhe)Mendez on drums.Steve and Jim are very well known for their work with two of the greatest Thrash bands from the 80's,ABATTOIR and DARK ANGEL,respectively. Al and i also have been playing for almost 20 years now...we are into into this musis for a long,long time!
*Who put the band together and why the name Pagan War Machine?
Jim has written some tunes that wouldn't quit fit in his main band Dreams Of Damnation...Those songs were a little more melodic than the DoD material and,one day,he played them to Steve,who fell in love with them right away.That's how PWM was born.They soon recorded a four track demo,passes away some copies around the world and the feedback was so awesome that they realized that they had something very special in their hands.,and PWM became a full band shortly after that.As far as the name,i can just say it's a very powerfull name and every single word carries a lot of strength into it
*Jim Durkin and Steve Gaines back together in a Thrash band.Well known metal pioneers and how did they found each other after so many years?
Jim and Steve knows each other since the good old days out but,for a couple years ,they lost any contact.
I think they met each other again at The Hellfest 2000,where Abattoir end DoD were performed.They became great friends since.
*Did you play previously in other bands Marcelo?
yeah,i'm originally from Brazil and played in several bands over there during the 80's.The most important band i played in was called MASTABA.We started back in '84 and were definitely one of the first Thrash bands in Brazil,along with Dorsal Atlantica and Korzus.That was a couple of years before Sepultura start reshaping the scene.Unfortunately,Mastaba never released anything officially and,because of that,it end up becoming a kind of' CULT band in the country!
*I heard some tracks on the PWM website and the results are brilliant to me.Eighties sounded Thrash Metal a bit in the vein of older Dark Angel.Is the intention to play Thrash Metal the eighties way?
We just brought back that sound because we love it and we were missing it.we all knew we could do it because that music would come naturally to us...that's why the old school vibe sounds convincing in our music,because it's for real!
*Can you give a discribtion of the band's style of Metal,influences and who's the songwriter?
I think we efficiently found our way to write old school thrash with a very fresh sound and attitude.
PWM's Metal doesn't sound dated,it's just brings back good memories.Our early influences are all there,simple and clear.Motorhead,Priest,Sabbath,Tank,Venom,Raven and many other NWOBHM bands.But of course,we never stop listening to music and there are just to many other artists
to name it here right now.
Jim composed all the music in the demo and Steve wrote all the lyrics so far.There is just lots of material waiting to be rehearsed and recorded.Even old parts and songs that never made to dark Angel,i'm sure.
Steve recently wrote a song called RAGE AND RETRIBUTION that is awesome and fitted the band perfectly.I also wrote a song that we might start playing real soon.
*Is there some PWM material available so far and what about the future...a first album??
Absolutely,there will be a PWM album sooner than one can expect.We are working on new songs and we even played our first gig already.The respons was great...it was a small club in Hollywood called The Garage and the crowd went crazy.It was very reawarding.We recently launched our official website(www.paganwarmachine.com)and our demo can be downloaded from there.Little by little,more people are getting to know the band
*After playing in a thrash metal band,what do you do for living?
We ll have day jobs to pay the bills and that's why-Unfortunately-we cannot dedicate more time to our music!
I did work in the music industry for a couple of years,though.But not anymore...i saw too much of the Dark Side of the industry and started to get disgusted with it!
What about the US Metal scene of today.those were the days with bands as ... ... Dark Angel,Vio-lence,,Forbidden,Blessed Death,Exodus and many other great thrash bands.What's the difference between then and now?
Back then there was a lot of rivalry between the bands and that's a problem we don't have anymore.
Todat we are all trying to help each other and that's how it should be.The scene never really went away though...it's not as big as it wasbefore,but it has been always here.The underground machine never stopped working.bans like Overkill,Exodus,Nuclear Assault know well that they will always have a loyal following and the younger generation is starting to discover them.The Thrash scene is getting stronger again and the major metal acts are realizing it!Halford played a couple of shows with Testament,Vio-lence and Death Angel...need i say more?!
It was just crushing.he had the balls to do what many (bigger)thrash bands wouldn't care;when was the last time you saw Slayer,for instance,take another Thrash band on the road to support their shows.
*What's your ambition playing in PAGAN WAR MACHINE?
My only ambition with this band is to keep making and playing music that i've always loved and having fun with it.I'm very realistic about it...my dreams are becoming a 'Rock Star'are long gone and the only reason why i'm still doing it is because it is my therapy and it's in my blood.We are close friends in this band and just like we enjoy hanging out together,we enjoy playing together as a band.As long as we like and we like and there is peaople out there to enjoy it...this machine won't stop working
*Can i ask your favorite bands at the moment and why?
I Do like specific albums,not bands.That's because there is no reason to keep buying new stuff from bands that i worshipped 20 years ago but don't put out a single decent album in years.I do play close attention to the newest releases of bands that i respect though;i liked some songs of the new VoiVod,for instance.I am happy that Ministry is bringing the heavy guitars back to their music.I love the female vocals,so The Gathering is always on my CD player.Of course The Haunted,Dew Scented, Raise Hell,...and other newer bands that are keeping the THRASH scene alive and well.Asfar as the old thrash bands that are still around,Death Angel and Vio-lence are on the top of my list.I have to say that Death Angel is the tightest Thrash band i ever saw live...past and present
*Many thanx for taking time answerring these questions and all the best with PAGAN WAR MACHINE!
Hope to see you guys somewhere on tour across Europe..Keep On Thrashin'!!
Thank you so much for the interview Stefan...hopefully the Machine will be landing on the European shores really soon!
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