Interview with Gavin Ward, UPDATED 12/14/98
AN INTERVIEW WITH BOLT THROWER
Bolt Thrower is a British Death Metal Band who have a new album out entitled MERCENARY from Metal Blade Records.
We recently interviewed Gavin Ward, the rhythm guitarist, and here is what he had to say.
HD: First of all, where is Bolt Thrower from and what is the music scene like there?
Gavin Ward: There's not a lot of music scene in England. What you
see in England is quite a trend-scene where things come in and out and
people go into different styles as the music scene changes. We're
basically based in Leamington Spa Coventry -- it's a Midlands area
-- dead center of England.
HD: If you could describe Bolt Thrower's music to someone who has never heard it before, what would you say?
Gavin: Chaotic!
HD: It's been a while since your last record. What have you guys been up to?
Gavin: Over the four years? Mostly we took about a year and a half
to write, but over the four we toured Europe twice! And we were also
trying to get off Earache in the mean time. And that took quite a
while. We had to really guarantee that we were completely out of that
contract before we signed to Metal Blade.
HD: What made Metal Blade look good to sign up with?
Gavin: We basically, to start with, had a pretty good reputation.
We wanted something that had been around for a long time. We didn't
want some label that started up six months ago or something like that.
We wanted someone that has been metal music for a long time and an
American label -- plus the boss of Europe is a personal friend that use
to come to the gigs, so we knew he had his sh*t together in Europe --
and America was good as well. At first, we'd been looking to come to
America for quite a long time -- personally we thought it would be
obvious to have an American label -- a professional one.
HD: What are some of the new songs on MERCENARY about?
Gavin: I think most of them are pretty self explanatory. I don't
really like to go too much in depth of what they are about. We let
people make up their own minds. It's about free thought to us -- we
write it, people make up their minds and then later we'll probably talk
to those people (regarding) what they are about. But I think the songs
are self explanatory, although we see them as slightly multi-leveled --
you can see them as everyday life as well.
HD: What do you think sets Bolt Thrower apart from other metal bands?
Gavin: Probably purity. Where a lot of bands try and move around
too much to what is happening at that time -- it's a trend if you want
to look at it like that -- where as Gothic or Black Metal comes in,
bands sort of edge more towards that direction because they think
they're gonna sell more records or get bigger. But for us, it's really
the purity of the music and sort of playing what we are into. We're not
really bothered with what's happening left, right, or behind us. We
sort of just concentrate on what we're doing. We always have.
HD: Your album was recorded over a year ago. Are there any other new recordings we don't know about?
Gavin: Nope. What happened with MERCENARY is we recorded it and
then it took a while to find an artist for the cover. We went through
four artists by the time we gave them the idea -- we commissioned him
to do it --he did the roughs, we'd get them back, we'd refuse them and
then we'd have to look for another artist. So that put us back five or
six months without even thinking about it. Then eventually we went on
to the fourth artist -- and then there were four other artists involved
in the layout on the cover. So we'd get bits and pieces in -- we'd get
the cover done but the inside graphics of the booklet weren't done. And
then the sort of "chaos symbol" was done. It was like a jigsaw -- we
had to get all of the bits and then put it together. Plus we remastered
MERCENARY four times as well. We really didn't like the sound on the
first remastering.
HD: What current bands do you listen to now?
Gavin: I don't listen to a lot of new stuff personally. I probably
still listen to old stuff -- Venom, Discharge, King Diamond, Judas
Priest. I'm always looking for the same that everyone else is looking
for -- you're looking for something that will blow you away. And over a
long period of time I haven't really heard that. But you also have to
imagine that we're in England now -- and I wouldn't buy an English
magazine because they are all crap, except for Terrorizer. We don't
really keep track with what's out. The only way we get to hear
reasonable bands is either out on tour or if someone says something
about a band while we are out on tour. In England, you don't hear a lot
about what's going on.
HD: It's kind of like that here. There's a lot of crappy bands here in L.A.!!!
Gavin: There's a lot all over the world!!!
HD: We need you guys to play here in the States to blow away the crap! Have you ever played here in the States before?
Gavin: Yeah, twice. We played all over in '91 and in '94 we came
over to New York and New Jersey -- but that was a bit of a nightmare
one -- it got pulled while we were over there. It was when the band
split up the first time. So that became the reason for Metal Blade as
well -- we'd be with an American label so it would be easier for us to
come back over there.
HD: Describe what we can expect from a live Bolt Thrower show?
Gavin: Chaos, chaos, plenty of bum notes, unprofessionalism -- always a pleasure!
HD: Are there any scheduled dates for Southern California?
Gavin: No, but we definitely will be there. For us, we are
concentrating on America. We know that Europe is basically sewn up at
this point for Bolt Thrower, so we can relax. We'll tour out in Europe
through January and in the first part of next year, we'll want to be
touring in America all over. We might even come out in a support tour
first. We're not really bothered with how we get there as long as we
get there, whether it's support or headlining. We just want to come out
and have a look. We haven't properly been there for almost seven years!
HD: If there was one thing you'd like to leave someone with after hearing MERCENARY, what would it be?
Gavin: Just that it's pure and it won't change -- and that there
won't be no more styles mixed in. It'll always be what it is. It's only
important that it's pure.
HD: How would you like Bolt Thrower to be remembered 20 years from now?
Gavin: Not part of the music business. Just a band that was into
the music they were playing and they lived for that -- and nothing else
really mattered. Money is not a consideration -- we classify it always
as secondary. Obviously money is nice -- it's nice to have money to
live on, but it's not why we do stuff. So just that people remember
that it was there for them. And when it's gone -- it's gone!
HD: Any messages for metal fans here in the States?
Gavin: Of course -- the same I'd say to anyone. Thanks for your
support over the years. We do appreciate it. And as for touring
America, we'll be there as humanly possible!
