THORAZINE INTERVIEW

Interviewed by:

Chris Jachym

Answered by:

Shane Hawco

Spewed on:

January 2001

Could you present the history of the group in the beginning, for THORAZINE is not well known yet among metal fans?

We started back in 1996 and recorded our first demo/c.d. in 1997 (who we signed to polish record label immortal) But for some reason it never got released, and the band went through a few changes we got a new drummer and 2nd Guitarist (Scott,& Jeff). Then we recorded "Seed the Black Sky" releasing it independantly and did some touring in Canada opening for bands like Napalm Death, Incantation, and Morbid Angel. But differences of opinion with the new members of the band lead to us having to find a new drummer and go back to playing as a four peice, so the touring got cut short. Now we are working on our new material and are getting ready to record our next C.D. and are talking with a few labels about the release.

Ok, "Seed the Black Sky" is gonna be the most talked about during our chat. For the start tell where and when was it composed?

"Seed the Black Sky" is a damn good record. Every song is just perfect and the listener hasn’t got time to get bored. How did you manage to do that?

Well it's been a while since I have thought about the songs on "Seed..." mainly due to the focus on the new material. The next album is a little faster and more intense. But I still feel that "Seed..." was definitely a good independent release, and we seem to be getting lots of recognition for it. It was fun to write and record, and I think that's what we try for when we write. We write what we like and we try to challenge ourselves, I think that people appreciate that, and it shows when we get comments like "Seed the Black Sky" is a damn good record".

When I listen to "Seed the Black Sky" then I’m just enchanted by your skills. Perfect riffs, amazing drums and aggressive vocals. You’re very good instrumentalists. How much time do you spend on practicing?

Lots, we like to make sure all the material is down tight. So we are rehearsing 3-4 times a week. More when we have upcoming shows.

Your cover doesn’t show that you sing about love or antic warriors. Who do you aim the music at? what does the name of the group mean?

Well the lyrical content comes from what interests us, and what interpret in the world. The name Thorazine comes for the drug of the same name, it is given to psychotics as a means of controlling them, awaking them from the coma that there lives have become. So we use that in the same way. We are here to waken people from there cryonic states with in your face music and content.

Well, we were on a very tight budget, so the recording went as quickly as we could take it. We had to cut many corners, so we focused on a short release so that we could try to give each song the time it deserved.

One can not find any fault with "Seed the Black Sky", except of short total time of the record. Why didn’t you put few more songs on the album?

Just simply money. We wish that we could have added more. But we plan on taking a lot more time with the next release, and have more songs. (so far 11 at least).

I’m sure our readers would like to find out a bit more about the lyrics from your album? What are they about?

Hmmm, well I would really like people to take the lyrics and interpret them for themselves. Some songs like C.L.A.B.T. (Cunt Like a Bear Trap) are self explanatory, but others like are our take of the world and it's history, the Romans, the nazis, the corporate powers of today, the corruption that they all brought.

You’re well established on the Canadian metal market. Do you think of conquering Europe?

Of course! But until we get support from one of the European labels, it's a long way from home.

Canada is a vast country. What do you think of giving concerts where cities lie far away from each other?

We hate it. Long drives, high costs, no profits, it's hard but it keeps us real.

Tell me how does your publisher fulfill the conditions of the contract?

So far we are the only publisher that Thorazine has, and I think we have done our best with our limited budget.

I assume that your debut album has been warm accepted by the critics. How did they judge it? Do many of them line up to interview you?

We have done quite a few interview like this one online, there has also been interview over the phone as well as in person. We have been received very well and the reviews of "Seed..." have all been positive!

Do you have any favorites in metal music. To me you play as good as they do. From the first moment you can feel that you come from Canada because of the specific style and climate…

Well being from Canada, our main influence is Cryptopsy, but we also love Nile, Dying Fetus, Suffocation, Cannibal Corpse, and others. But we are also highly influenced by some Black metal, Power metal, and of course the classics like Iron Maiden, and Black Sabbath.

Your site is pretty good. What do you think of this kind of advertising your group?

The site has helped us spread the word about Thorazine, and we will be doing a major update on it very shortly.

Is there any person in the metal scene whom you would like to hear few warm words about your music from?

Anyone, it's all good.

There were several new releases lately. What attached your attention?

BLACK SEEDS OF VENGEANCE. Man that thing is mind numbing!

Which group do you dream to accompany in a concert?

The new release and touring.

We’re about to finish right here. Thanks for everything.