Interview with Evil Pete and Bard Faust of Blood Tsunami 2007

by Bradley Smith

Your new album Thrash Metal has just been starting to circulate in the underground.  What have some of the initial responses to it been?  What are some of the efforts that you guys put into its composition and recording?

PETE: So far the response has been very good. Magazines like Metal Hammer and Kerrang gave some good reviews now lately and that’s nice. Like most other band we put a lot of effort into our band and music. Both rehearsing, composing and promoting takes a lot of time, but this is what we wanna do, so even thou it doesn’t pay the rent or anything, it is absolutely worth it. One thing, and I guess this is usual for most debut albums, is the fact that you have had the songs for a while, so there was no stress with the composing of the songs for this album. For the next album we have less time, but the riffs just flow… For the recording of “Thrash Metal” we had booked three weeks in the studio, but almost two months had passed before we left the studio with the final mix in our hands. I guess we didn’t spend more than a full three weeks with actually recording and mixing, but you see… our engineer was constantly busy with other stuff, so things got delayed all the time. It was very frustrating when we were in the middle of it, but we are very pleased with the final product.

FAUST: Well, the initial response has been good. We had great reviews in mags like Metal Hammer, Metalized and Kerrang! And hopefully there is more to come. At the end of the day it is what the fans think that matters but I have to admit too it helps on the self esteem to get initially good reviews. You become very blind when recording an album and at the end you are not really sure what to think about it.

With the new album how do you feel that your sound, style and writing process has progressed?  Will there be even more growth in the future?

PETE: Compared to the first Blood Tsunami demo from 2004 we have come a very long way. Back then thing’s were very chaotic. The drums and vocals on that demo sucks big time. We more or less settled for our sound and style with the demo from 2005. We will continue down the “thrash metal” path. I don’t think we suddenly will feel like doing something else… ha, ha. Then I would be the one most surprised.

FAUST: Well, I think we have managed to capture our own sound. Ok, it is a debut album and there are errors or things that could have been better and so on, but hey, we feel we have established the band and made an album we are proud of. We will continuously develop the band and the sound but we will keep it within the realm of thrash metal, anything else would be betrayal, hah!

Blood Tsunami is such an odd name for a band. How did you come up with it and what other names did you guys have before settling on Blood Tsunami?

PETE: Yes, it is an unusual name, but I like it a lot… It’s massive!

The story behind it is simple. I used to play in a punk band that had a song called “Sperm Tsunami”. After reading the lyrics for “Drenched In Blood” by Turbonegro, the idea of replacing Sperm with Blood came up… And the name was born. This happened very shortly after we formed so we didn’t have any other name before we settled for Blood Tsunami.

Your band Bio basically says that Blood Tsunami’s style is of Bay Area and German thrash metal but to me there is even more diversity in the sound than that with some death metal and some catchier more melodic stuff.  Can you expand on your own view of Blood Tsunami’s style and why you chose to play this way?

Pete: Yes, we are influenced by the Bay Area and the German thrash scene, but we don’t necessary sound just like those bands… We also add other stuff into the melting pot. Like you say, we got some death stuff going on, at least with the vocals, and there’s a lot of catchier, maybe a little Swedish sounding riffing going on also. The style we play comes naturally. We have never decided to play this way or that way, but what I write tend to have this thrash vibe to it… It gets “tsunamified”.

FAUST: I am not sure if I hear too much death metal in our sound, maybe some of the vocals but the music to me is pure thrash metal. All the music is made by Pete and obviously it is his influences that makes him create the music he creates. You will always hear references to a sound or distinctive genre in a band, but the core of Blood Tsunami is thrash metal.

You guys should be getting ready for the Inferno festival.  What preparations are you guys putting forth?  What can the audience expect from your set and what other bands are you excited top be playing with at that show?

PETE: We are looking forward to play the Inferno Festival. It’s a great event and a good chance to actually play in front of people from all over the world right here in the middle of our hometown. We’re not a band that put on a big stage show with a lot of pyrotechnics, blood and crucifixion of naked ladies or anything like that. Our only preparations are to rehearse. We just go on stage and play loud, hard and fast! We will play most of the songs from the “Thrash Metal” album, and maybe we include a new song too. We’ll see. We haven’t decided yet. I’m looking forward to see Sodom, Sabbat, Brutal Truth and it will also be great to see a reformed Immortal. I’m looking forward to the whole event.

FAUST: Preparations? Well, basically just rehearse and get it as tight as possible. The audience can expect a thrash metal revival and a good old metal-gig. I am excited about playing with (in particular) Sodom, Sabbat, Sigh, Suffocation and Brutal Truth. Can`t wait to see them. Oh yes, also Anaal Nathrakh.

Do people make too big of a deal about Bard Faust being in the band?  How has his inclusion benefited the band?

PETE: It has of course given us a lot of attention from people that normally wouldn’t check out a small thrash metal band from Oslo, but that is just a positive thing. People in the metal world will always pay attention to what a former Emperor member is up to, and I’m sure some black metal maniacs out there don’t like the fact that he now play this kind of metal, but I don’t really think Faust gives a shit about this… When Faust joined Blood Tsunami back in the spring of 2005 he really boosted up the quality of the band. It was essential for us to get some fresh blood and some serious talent behind the drums. We really lacked that on our first demo. The addition of Faust made us the lethal machine we are today. We simply became a better band all in all.

Thrash Metal has some awesome cover art to it.  It sort of reminds me of something I might see on a Manowar cover.  Heh heh.  Anyways, who did it and why did you choose it?  Do you feel that the cover art on an album is a really important aspect when it comes to the aesthetics of the whole project?

PETE: The artwork is by a guy named Alex Horley. He is a great Italian painter and has this Frazetta-style that I really like. Of course it has something in common with many of the Manowar sleeves since they also operate with the same style of images. Manowar use the artist that also painted the “Destroyer” album for Kiss, don’t they? Kelly something? I think so… I had previously seen some of Alex’ work in magazines like Heavy Metal and on the net and decided to contact him. He was delighted to do it and it turns out that he really like our music as well. That is cool. I was also in touch with artists like the mighty Derek Riggs and Dan Seagrave . Derek wanted to do it, but he became too expensive. Dan Seagrave is not into the warriors, blood and guts stuff so he said no thanks. We wanted a cover that would bring back the memories from the eighties and the vibe from the early Kreator albums like “Endless Pain” and especially the “Pleasure To Kill” cover. That is one of my all time fave album covers.

FAUST: The cover art is killer in my opinion and reflects the type of cover the “Pleasure to Kill”-era represented. I enjoy the metal-aesthetics but obviously, the alarm clocks will ring if we are (visually) too often compared to Manowar, haha! But it is not a problem I think. We wanted to re-invent the 80ties thrash cover art.

Everybody in newer thrash bands seems to enjoy referencing the German scene.  The Best Bay Area sound is less popular. Why do you think that is and how do you feel their style compares to the other scenes?  What are some of the best bands/albums from the Bay area scene?

PETE: Hm, I really don’t know. I know Norwegian bands like Aura Noir and Nekromatheon and Audiopain has much more in common with the German scene than the Bay Area Scene… I really like both scenes equally, but the German scene has more in common with black metal …with a sort of Venom approach to metal…  Early stuff by German bands like Kreator and Sodom is way more brutal than early stuff by Bay Area bands like Testament and Death Angel. It is more brutal and less technical. The Germans became technical too, they just spend some more time learning how to play. He, he.

I love ‘em both…

Here’s my top 5 Bay Area thrash albums…

1 - Testament – The Legacy

2 - Exodus – Bonded By Blood

3 - Death Angel – The Ultra Violence.

4 - Forbidden – Forbidden Evil

5 - Testament – The New Order

FAUST: Really? A lot of my friends really enjoy Testament, Exodus, Vio-lence, Forbidden, Dark Angel and all those classic bands. Sure, I love bands like Sodom, Destruction, Kreator, Holy Moses, Assassin etc, from the classic German scene but there is an equal space for the Bay Area bands as well, they sounded somewhat fresher and somewhat “American” if you know what I mean.

What do you think was the event or band(s) that brought back Thrash metal’s popularity?  What are some worthy bands these days playing this style and what do you think of the old bands like Onslaught, Nuclear Assault, and Assassin reuniting and recording new albums?

PETE: I think that people like myself, who grew up listening to bands like Slayer, Metallica, Onslaught, Kreator and so on will always support the scene. What has happened now is probably that the kids have understood that bands like Slayer and old stuff by bands like Metallica and Anthrax is fucking great music. Metal don’t have to be like Bullet For My Valentine, Slipknot or Killswitch Engage…

Of newer thrash bands I must have to mention some great Norwegian bands like Nekromatheon, Vesen and Audiopian. I like Battered too… There’s plenty more of course. I really like Municipal Waste! They are awesome! I also like Rammer from Canada and Hatesphere from Denmark. Great bands. When it comes to reunited bands I must admit that I still haven’t checked out “Third World Genocide” by Nuclear Assault. I’m a huge fan of the “Handle With Care” album, but that album is without a doubt the best they ever did and I really can’t imagine that they will ever top that one...

I like the “Killing Peace” album by Onslaught even thou’ it’s nothing compared to “The Force”. I haven’t heard the new Assassin stuff yet either, but I think the comeback of both Exodus and Death Angel a few years ago were great… Holy Terror is back together too? Aren’t they? I’m looking forward to see reunited Sabbat at this years Inferno… Gonna be interesting.

FAUST: Thrash metal always lurked in the shadows and thanks to giants like Metallica, Megadeth, Exodus and Anthrax the genre will always be supported. Also, somewhat smaller bands, like the ones you mentioned, will always ensure an ongoing interest and whereas I am not too impressed by the new Onslaught, the fact that they actually brought up the banner again, shows that the scene is strong. Great newer bands like Legions of the Damned, Hatesphere, Manifest, Dew-Scented and so on makes it liable as well of course.

With a name involving the word Tsunami what sorts of imagery does that conjure for you?  Do you think the guys in Nasum will get mad?  (Just kidding.)  How do you feel about natural disasters and like Hurricanes, earthquakes, and of course Tsunamis?

PETE: First off, we already had this band name when the disaster struck down in South East Asia…So it has nothing to do with that. Of course,… all such disasters are terrible for the ones involved and their friends and families. And we don’t want to be disrespectful or anything, but what this words means to me is, POWER! Nothing can stop a tsunami, an earthquake or a hurricane. Everything will get crushed! All you can do is just to run like hell and try to save your sorry ass… That’s why such names and images go hand in hand with brutal music.

FAUST: I don`t think people put too much in a band name, unless you call your band something unbelievable provocative, haha! Anyway, in my ears the sound of the name sounds good but it is nothing more than a band name really. Just a name representing the four of us playing music together.

It would seem that a lot of the lyrics deal with forms of violence.  Do you feel that metal in itself is a violent musical form?  Does the violence in the music let out the aggression normally felt by the musicians but in a much more constructive manner or is it something else?

PETE: Yes, the lyrics deal with a lot of violence and death. To me the lyrics are just there to add even more aggression to the music. Metal is a unique way to get rid of anger and frustrations. It’s like therapy. If I’m in a shitty mood, pissed off and feel like killing everything I see, well, then it’s just to crank it up to 10 and scream my lungs out for an hour or two. Then you get pretty calm afterwards. He, he.

FAUST: Metal music in general always was a good outlet for aggression and letting out steam. Sure, the lyrics are somewhat brutal. I will contribute partly for the next album and probably reduce the most brutal aspects of our lyrics. It can still be dark without being too graphical I think.

What’s up next for you guys?  Any new music or tours coming along?  Any other projects you guys will be contributing to?

PETE: We are constantly making new music… I have no other band than Blood Tsunami now. I have skipped everything else. I don’t want to play in more bands and I don’t really have the time either. We will go on a short UK tour with Zyklon in May. That’s gonna be great. Now there you have two disasters at once! Maybe we should play a cover of “Rock You Like A Hurricane” together at the end of each show? Ha, ha… we will play around Norway and hopefully do some festivals this summer and then we will focus on the rest of Europe during the fall before it’s time to record a new album again.

FAUST: We will do a tour with Zyklon in England in May an also a few shows in Norway. We have just started on making new music but it surely takes time. I am still in Aborym of course, but that is more of a studio band. Blood Tsunamis is my main priority.

Any final words before we are Torn Apart?

PETE: Cheers! Thrash on! Burp!

FAUST: Enjoy our debut and keep rocking. Thanks for the interview. May the force be with you…