Bulldozer
We Still Like the Early 80s

09.11.2010

Back in the 80s they were often discarded as “Italian clones of Venom”, the leading metal publications rarely rated their releases higher than “unsatisfactory”, and people outside the scene went even further than that, perceiving them as Satanists and barbarians. Times have changed, and at present Bulldozer are rightfully considered one of the founders of the metal scene on the Apennines. With the release of a new album called “Unexpected Fate” in 2009, the band fully smashed all the preconceptions about their narrow-mindedness and inability for creative growth. Vocalist (and previously also bass player) AC Wild spoke to us about the contemporary metal scene, Bulldozer’s connections with terrorists and newfound acknowledgement in the metal circles.

Please, tell us a few words about the band’s reunion – why did you decide to reunite once again? Was it just for fun, or do you have something important to say to the new generation?

There are two reasons . Some time ago (in 2007) I saw an artwork made by a famous terrorist organization (message to Europe by Bin Laden) and I realized that it had the same concept as the cover of our album “IX”. Then I looked at the “IX” cover and I realized that there was a prediction in it (the south tower explosion in the center). I meditated a lot about that, so I decided to propose new messages creating a new album - this is the main reason. The second reason is the request of several fans which started years before Metal Mind released the box set “Regenerated In The Grave” (2006). A fan created two Bulldozer websites and the interest grew step by step.
 
Is it easy to work together after 20 years of break-up? Please, tell us, how did you work together this time on recording “Unexpected Fate”.

I and Andy (Panigada, guitar) sometimes happened to see each other during the “stop” period: basically none of us liked the metal of the 90s. We still like the late 70s and the early 80s. Bulldozer kept that taste. Fortunatly we did not get corrupted by the 90s trends, and we kept our original identity and sound. After a few weeks of serious work we felt 20 years younger and we could start our project with no problem.

What kind of responses did you hope for when you decided to reunite?

We made this album for us and our fans. We gave our best and we were satisfied with what we did. The metal scene was so saturated that we did not hope for anything from it. We have never been a “trendy” band and we never looked for the “response”. In the 80s we were not succesful in northern  Europe and the USA, so we did not hope for anything special with our return.

How much is the present-day music business different? In your opinion, would it be easy for a band like Bulldozer to regain popularity?

The business of all music is basically dead. It’s still good only for the big icons. Bulldozer had several fans all around the world too before our reunion but we are not a big icon: the fans were satisfied with our new album. Probably our popularity at the moment is the biggest ever. But I think we are not very famous anyway.

Why didn’t you ask “Don” Andras or Rob Cabrini  join the band this time? And how did you get to know Manu from Death Mechanism? Are you satisfied with his performances?

Don stopped playing in 1986 and Rob in 1990. None of them are in the physical conditions to be the “engine” of Bulldozer, and they did not even try. We noticed Manu’s playing during a concert of Death Mechanism. He was a big fan of Bulldozer . He was exactly the kind of drummer we were looking for. He joined our band and still plays with Death Mechanism. We contacted him in the beginning of 2008, when we decided to reform. He’s a great drummer, live is excellent.
 
Please, introduce the newest members of the band - Ghiulz Borroni (guitar) and Simone (bass). Do they share the spirit of the old Bulldozer?

Of course. They are all Bulldozer great fans. Simone plays in Death Mechanism with Manu and Pozza, while Ghiulz is playing in Faust. He’s also a music teacher.
 
Why did you decide only to sing and not to play bass after the release of “Unexpected Fate”?

I had to make this choice because I wanted to be 100% with vocals during live concerts. If I also play bass I do not have the same energy for vocals. The new songs are more difficult than the old ones. I think I can sing better now than 20 years ago because I can concentrate better on vocals.
 
You wear a robe and use a rostrum during the shows. I guess it’s kind of irony, but don’t you think that you look and act like a preacher? What are the differences between you and Christian preachers in these moments?

Yes, I make a parody of the preachers, from a pulpit. My lyrics are full of irony. Making the parody of preachers I invite the listeners to use their brain and not trust the preachers, and not only the priests, but also politicians, leaders, fashion makers etc.
 
You invited many acclaimed guests for “Unexpected Fate” – Kiko Loureiro, Jennifer Batten and Billy Sheehan. Please, tell us about your collaboration with them.

I knew personally all of them before inviting them. I knew they are great musicians and I thought they could do something great with our music. I really liked their contributions. If you think about Jennifer Batten, you connect her to Michael Jackson, and you know there’s nothing in common between his music and our. The same thing can be said about the other guests: none of them plays music similar to ours. But this is the challenge: fuck any prejudice and let them play free, following our extreme music… I think the result is excellent. Honestly I like much more Jennifer on “Unexpected Fate” than many thrash superstars in the recent times. Beside that Kiko was buying our records when he was very young.

“Unexpected Fate” sounds very good and shows the most professional songwriting in the band’s entire history, in my opinion. And what do you think about it?

I agree. I think we gave our best after 20 years of stop. This means we really love this music. We don’t care about popularity but music. When we listen to our music we must be really satisfied with it, otherwise it is better avoid recording. Probably this is the difference between Bulldozer and many other bands.

The lyrics also changed a little bit. Now you don’t sing about girls and sex anymore. In general, how much has your approach to lyric-writing changed, and how much have you personally changed over the years?

On every album I talk about different things, I give different messages, according to my personal opinions and experiences. I never talk about something that I have read in books or seen in the cinema. This approach has never changed. I feel that I am the same person, of course older… If I don’t talk about sex and porn anymore, this is because the actual porn scene is like a “mega-store”… everything is known, pre-selected and totally predictable, very different from the time of Ilona Staller (aka Cicciolina, porn star, singer and founder of the Love Party; Bulldozer dedicated to her the song “Ilona The Very Best” from the album “IX” (1987) – ed.). I wrote about her because she was different, interesting, amazing for that time. Now no pornstar deserves a song.

The main theme of your lyrics is your negative attitude towards religion. Why are you so concerned with this theme?

This time, “Salvation For Sale” talks about modern religions, and not the traditional religion. “Unexpected Fate”, “The Counter Crusade” and “In the Name” do not talk about Сhristian religions, but specific events. “Unexpected Fate” regards the future. The negative attitude this time is mainly towards politicians and the modern forms of slavery, many created in the Web.
 
Your lyrics have always contained a lot of provocative words. Have you ever had problems with police or bad attitude from metal fans because of that?

Never in Italy. “IX” received 0 in the German edition of “Metal Hammer” and “Kerrang” in the UK. With police I have had no problems.
 
Let’s speak about your history, if you don’t mind. The band’s name was an idea of your former member Dario Carria. How substantial was his contribution to the band’s development in the early days? And what drove him to commit suicide?

Dario was the bassist of Bulldozer. He is the real founder of the band. I dedicated to him two songs on the album “Neurodeliri” (they are called “Neurodeliri” and “Willful Death/You’ll Be Recalled” – ed.) . The lyrics of those song explain how real his passion for this music was when he was young. He had to leave the band when he was 16 (parents) but he could participate at the recording of “The Day of Wrath” (1985), then he formed Neurodeliri. Neurodeliri and Bulldozer have the same approach: give the best for our music regardless success. His final choice is a personal choice: I respect it.
 
How did you get signed to Roadrunner Records? I guess it was a big success for an Italian band at that time.

We sent them the 7” single “Fallen Angel” and its review (bad but good at the same time) in “Kerrang”. They asked us for a demo and we sent it later. They proposed us a deal and we signed. We were the only Italian metal band signed by a big international label in the 80s.

When you started to play you were basically the only extreme metal band in Italy together with Necrodeath. Didn’t you have any competition with Necrodeath? And what you can say about your early shows?

Necrodeath were always our friends. We played once at the same festival in these early days. At the end the police made us stop the show. They were afraid. Fortunatly there were not riots. Just madness!
 
Your first album was produced by Algy Ward from Tank. What are your memories about working with him? Do you have any contact with him now?

I have had no more contacts, but I have good memories. Dario was a big fan of him, so I invited him to the studio and to the pub. He’s a great person, very friendly and funny. We had a very good time. On the first evening he drunk six bottles of Italian red wine, alone!!!
 
The most unusual Bulldozer release is “Dance Got Sick!” (1992) which combined thrash metal and rap. Was it just a joke or did you decide to try something new at that time? What you can say about your collaboration with Dr. D.O.P.E. on this release?

It was a joke, about the decay of the whole music world. I did not like the metal of that period - fashions, trends and most of all “fake” controlled and powered sounds. Dr. D.O.P.E. is a very great man from Brooklyn and I think he did a great job. After that he became a very famous rapper in Japan. He performed at the Tokyo Dome in 1994 in front of 50,000 people, on that occasion The Prodigy (at the same event) took inspiration from his aggressive way to perform, and they changed drastically their style.

It seems that the true recognition came to the band only a few years ago. In your opinion, why so late?

The fans created the websites: they realized that Bulldozer was an honest band and not a “trendy band” or a “clone band”. Many people realized it. Moreover, with our return we confirmed our personal identity and our way to concept our music. After almost 20 years… When we ended our performance at the Rock Hard Festival, many people came to us and said: we came for Bulldozer and not for the festival in general. They appreciated our fair performance. Some of them made an additional offer to UNICEF, invited at the festival by us.
 
What do you know about your Russian fans? Did you have any responses from Russia with regards to your music?

We have some fans but we had not yet the possibility to play in Russia. I’ve never been there. Maybe and hopefully in the future…

Thank you very much for you answers!

All the best to you and the readers of Headbanger.

Special thanks to Enzo Mazzeo and Davide Romagnoli (Scarlet Records) for arranging this interview

Konstantin “Hirax” Chilikin
October 30, 2010
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