Lich King

Lich King
March On Mongolia

29.12.2009

Архив интервью | Русская версия

It’s no secret that thrash metal is witnessing a true renaissance at the moment. Scarred and grey-haired veterans such as Slayer, Megadeth and Kreator have all released very solid records this year. The young have also been on their toes, and over the past few years an entire old/new movement, a new wave of thrash metal, has emerged in the underground and started making its headway towards the listeners who are tired of all the music novelties. Moreover, some of the bands have jumped out of the underground directly into the international spotlights – you can look at such acts as Mantic Ritual and Warbringer as examples, as they have concluded record deals with Nuclear Blast and Century Media respectively. But if there are more than enough materials on thrash metal cornerstones all over the Internet, many young bands find themselves in a sort of information vacuum, which does them absolutely no justice. One of such bands is Lich King from the U.S., which released an absolutely killer record called “Toxic Zombie Onslaught” last year. We contacted the band’s singer Tony Martin (he is credited on the record as A Fucking Tyrannosaur) to shed some light on all things around Lich King.

As Lich King is still a new name to the Russian audience, can you say a few words about the band – some history, the meaning of the name, do musicians have side projects, etc.? In other words, all the information that you think people need to get to know you.

Uhh... well, we do 80's style Bay Area thrash metal. The name is based off of an idea for a Dungens & Dragons villain I came up with years ago, and we're incredible. That's pretty much all people really need to know.

Who in the creative force of the band? Who is responsible for writing lyrics, riffs and melodies?

That's MEEE, Tom. I write the music, I write the lyrics, I paint the album covers, I design the CD booklet... everything but play the actual music. On the albums I just do vocals.

Can you say how you ended up on Stormspell Records and what is the reason for such a choice?


We originally pressed 100 CDs and thought we'd sell maybe half of those. They all sold out and Stormspell approached us about possibly doing more. We were delighted and it was one of the best choices we've ever made, Stormspell's been very good to us.

According to the announcement on the label’s official website, your new album called “World Gone Dead” is coming out in 2010. What shall the listeners expect from your new release?


Better production. Finally. The third album will have production done by someone who's NOT me, and I think it's going to make everything heavier. The writing is going to be about the same as the material on “Toxic Zombie Onslaught”, and that's not a bad thing at all. You can also expect “Act Of War”, which is quite possibly our best song yet, “ED-209”, which is a song about Robocop's nemesis from the first movie, and the third and final song in the "Lich King Trilogy." That's the story of our mascot going from place to place and disposing of things that are bad or he dislikes.

Let's talk about your latest album to date, "Toxic Zombie Onslaught" - which, in my opinion, is much stronger than the debut album "Necromantic Maelstrom". And what kind of feedback are you getting from other media outlets?


It's generally been positive, although the black metal kids really didn't take “Black Metal Sucks” all that well. There's been so much hate mail from offended corpsepaint kiddies. Mostly people dig the album and we dig that people dig the album.

Who is that nice child in "Thrash Resurgence", who is so fond of "fast metal"?

That's my niece. She was 3 at the time. She was actually saying "thrash metal" but pronouncing it as "frash metal." She's 5 now and still thinks it's pronounced "frash."

My next question is about the rather provocative song "Black Metal Sucks", which you already mentioned – do you seriously hate black metal, or is it rather a friendly gag directed at this style?

Mmm, neither really. I genuinely think black metal is a valueless genre, but I don't really want black metal fans to get hit by a bus. We have black metal friends, we play with black metal bands, our lead guitarist loves black metal. I'm cool with black metal people, I just don't understand how people listen to this stuff and pretend you can headbang to it. Yuck.

How did you come up with the idea to make a real thrash metal soundtrack to the movie "Predator" – I am speaking about your song "Predator"? Have you played this to the Governor of California?

We got the idea just by copying other new wave of thrash bands... every established band out there's doing songs about 80's action movies. We did “Predator” and now “ED-209”, trying to key into that fun 80's nostalgia thing. It's a hack move, writing a song like this, but it's a lot of fun.

What song from "Toxic Zombie Onslaught" would you recommend to the listener as an introduction to the band, which is supposed to make him/her rush to a store and grab a copy of the CD?


The 2nd track, “Attach Of The Wrath Of The War Of The Death Of The Strike Of The Sword Of The Blood Of The Beast”. The title gets people laughing and we show a lot of our range throughout the song. My personal favorite moment comes at 2:14, where the guitars do this nutty harmony speed thing. That's probably my favorite moment out of all my songs.

My next question is about the sound – did you want a unique sound from the outset, or did you have any milestones which you used for finding your own path?


I don't think we HAVE a unique sound... well, maybe a little. I always thought we were ripping Exodus off wholesale, and after “Toxic Zombie Onslaught” came out I realized that Lich King doesn't entirely have an Exodus flavor. I've tried to fold in some influence from Municipal Waste, Gamma Ray, Hatebreed (yes, Hatebreed) and Metallica (yes, Metallica). I'm not sure if the result is all that unique but I'm glad if people think it might be.

Your lyrics are not political, unlike those of many thrashers, - instead, you're singing about all sorts of zombies, undead, etc. What do the band members think about politics?

Our rhythm guitarist is quite political. Me, I don't care. I tried getting into politics once and the ugliness and vitriol laid out by both sides sickened me. Also, I was so sick of each side pretending we were in some epic conflict and that unless they defeated the OTHER side, everything that's good in America is doomed. It's so much nicer here, being apathetic in the middle. I just like monsters and silliness. “Act Of War” is the closest thing we have to a political song, as it's about the politics of assholes on the Internet... flamewars and such.

What is your opinion about the mp3 format and the fact that everybody nowadays seems to be downloading music for free and not buying CDs? I did buy your album, but in Russia it’s quite problematic due to very limited distribution ...

I'm not too cool with it, but you can't bitch too much or people start calling you Lars. So many metal fans don't think beyond themselves and about how it feels to see people ripping off something you worked hard to produce. I'm trying to get past it but I fucking hate when downloaders justify their actions by saying they're carrying on the legacy of tape trading or some bullshit like that. I don't mind people that download and then buy the album if they like it, I think that's a fine practice.

Do you personally download music or still buy CDs? Or maybe you are a vinyl collector?

I used to download. I stopped when I put out “Necromantic Maelstrom” and experienced how it feels to have people upload your stuff for people to just take. It SUCKS. So yeah, I buy all my stuff now.

My next question is about the musical tastes of Lich King: what do you prefer to listen to at parties, or, say, alone in your walkman? Is it old school from the 80's or a new wave of thrash - if that is thrash at all? Is there anything you would recommend out of your personal favorites?

I'm in my 30's so there's never metal playing at the parties I go to, all my friends have kids. On my Ipod I've got a big thrash playlist with a lot of the new wave bands and my favorites of the old. My favorites are Exodus of course, Vio-lence, Sepultura, Violator... all the usual stuff, except without the teutonic thrash. For some reason I just can't get into that.

What is the situation with live shows in the States at the moment? Do a lot of people attend them, or does the financial crisis mercilessly eats out all the cash?

As of today we've only had two shows. One of them was a pop-rock show at a youth center and one was a redneck metal show in the deep woods. Neither were really well-attended. I can't say the financial crisis is to blame, we haven't done enough shows yet. Most shows don't charge too much.

What do you do outside music? Or maybe thrash metal is enough to earn your living?

Noooo, we're not big enough to live on this stuff yet. I do graphic design and illustration for a living. My URL for that is www.TomMartinArt.com.

What is the situation with Lich King’s merchandizing? What should a regular guy from Russia's heartland do, if he wishes to buy your T-shirts, badges or whatever merchandize items you have on sale?

Well my good man, he should go to http://lichking.bigcartel.com and order some shirts and stickers and buttons and such. He should also go to http://stormspell.com/store and order CDs for everyone he knows, then go to paypal and send me a ton of money just because he likes us.

Thank you very much for this conversation! And as usually, can you say a few final words to your Russian listeners?


Russian listeners, heed my words. I want you to rise up and march on Mongolia, destroying everything in your path. Stop only for quick bathroom breaks.

Lich King on the Internet: http://www.myspace.com/lichkingmetal

Alexei “Panzer” Arbuzov
December 28, 2009
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