Interview
with Dan Lilker of Nuclear Assault 2012
By
Bradley Smith
I
remember back in 2003 the BIG DEAL was the reunion tour
you guys were doing? How
did you ever
manage to come back together and how was the mood of the band different
then
from when you left Nuclear Assault back in the early 90s? How did that tour go? I caught your London show
in 2005 and it was
great. The energy
and excitement was
still there from when I first saw you guys in Tampa back in 1989.
Well,
it wasn’t
really a tour, we just did some shows here and there. We managed to
come back
together because there was a demand for the band, and it had been 10
years
since I left to pursue Brutal Truth full time. I’d been burnt on thrash
when I
left in ’92, but 10 years later it was fun again. The mood was better
because
we could do things at a relaxed pace and not have the business bullshit
to deal
with- we could call the shots, and we weren’t tied to any label.
I
know it is going back 7 years but tell me about Third
World Genocide. How
was it writing and
recording that album compared to the early NA albums?
I am sure there was a lot more digital
collaboration and such as compared to just jamming together with that
album. Was the
audience receptive or
skeptical regarding it? Can
we expect
any new recordings in the future?
As
ashamed as I am
to say this, I actually think that’s a crappy record in all honesty. It
didn’t
have the aggressive and thrashy feel of the earlier releases. I just
think some
of the guys were not into doing what we were known for enough of the
time on
that record, percentage-wise, which was PLAYING FAST. So, to me, it
sounded
watered-down and anemic. I am fairly certain that at least some of our
fans
agreed, and the inferior quality of this record turned me off to
writing and
recording any more Nuke stuff. Oh well, can’t win ‘em all…
On
a similar note, can you trace for me the developmental
arc of Nuclear Assault across your albums? Does
it some ways coincide with starting off
with more gut feeling and raw intuition and work towards a more thought
out
process and approach to songwriting?
What is your favorite recording of yours in relation to NA
and why?
I
think that the
more thought-out songwriting process on albums lie “Survive” and
“Handle With
Care” was a result of 4 dudes who had gelled a lot over a few years of
playing
a whole bunch of shows and becoming more cohesive as a unit. Sure, the
“Game
Over” material was more savage arrangement-wise, but after a while you
figure
out how to write stuff that’s less trouble to play live 30 nights in a
row.
Hence, more slow parts in-between the faster parts.
My
favoriter
recording was “Handle…”, it had the best production and a great batch
of songs
that benefited from that cohesion I was talking about that comes from
experience.
A
big deal was made of the crossover scene and many people
lump you in with that style. But
for me,
a majority of the big “crossover” bands came from a punk/hardcore
background
and infused it with metal. It
seemed to
me that Nuclear Assault did it in reverse by taking a metal perspective
and
injecting some punk and hardcore.
How do
you see it? And did
you ever view NA as
a crossover band or do you feel you guys were straight thrash?
I’d
say that we
were one of the first metal bands to cross over, but there were bands
from the
hardcore scene like Suicidal, C.O.C., D.R.I., Dr. Know, etc., that had
already
crossed over. I had no problem with being called a “crossover” band or
just
simply thrash metal, at the end of the day, everyone has a different
view of
things.
One
of the things that always struck me about NA was the lyrics
dealt a lot with Social issues from environmental pollution to animal
rights to
invasion of privacy. Do
those lyrics
have more impact than those that pertain to abstract “evil” topics
normally
covered in metal lyrics? And
do you
consider yourself a socially conscious individual?
Were you ever an idealist and are your ideals
just as strong today or do you find yourself having been jaded over the
course
of your life?
John
always
handled the lyrics, and he’s a very intelligent and articulate dude. So
when we
got the influence from hardcore punk to have lyrics that had a message
instead
of generic metal lyrics, we rolled with it. John was a vegetarian for a
while
at that time as well. As for me, I am basically a socially conscious
person,
but I was never an idealist, I’m too cynical by nature for that. I
never
attended protests or got actively involved in any causes, I just
thought it was
cool to have lyrics that made people think.
While
on the topic of socially active lyrics I recently saw
the documentary If A Tree Falls: A Story Of the Earth Liberation Front. Have you seen it? What are your views on
what the government
and the media terms eco-terrorism?
Is it
justified or a naïve expression of frustration and anger?
I
have not seen
this documentary. In general, I feel that the defense of the earth is
indeed a
noble cause, but I’m not going to chain myself to a tree either. I
admire those
who risk their freedom for a cause, but (whether it’s a cop-out or not)
I usually
just fall back on “I do my part by playing in bands that make people
think”.
And
to keep up with the socially conscious theme, what
about the Occupy movement? Do
you feel
that there is a real economic/class disparity in the United States and
if so,
what if anything can be done about it?
I’m
not positive
how much change the Occupy movement will bring about, it seems somewhat
fractured and unfocused. It’s just preaching to the converted. The
people who
can effect change aren’t going to listen to a bunch of people living in
tents
in the park.
Getting
back to music, I remember when I was growing up and
seeing you wearing all those death metal and grind shirts while playing
in a
thrash band. Do you
ever consider
yourself ahead of the curve when it comes to musical growth?
It
was more like I
seemed to be always searching for the next level of intensity, so when
I got
into death metal and grind, I enjoyed it a lot and supported the bands
by
wearing their shirts in front of big thrash crowds. Eventually, as most
people
know, I moved on from thrash…
Do
you still find that the modern thrash scene is
derivative or has your opinion changed since the 2004 interview you did
for
Metal Rules? How do
you feel about the
black metal/thrash metal hybrid that has surfaced on a large scale
since
then?
I
don’t remember
what I said 8 years ago, ha. Anyway, you can tell who really has the
roots
(Municipal Waste) and who is just going through the motions. The
black/thrash
thing is cool, and ironically it’s one of those “full-circle” things
since
black metal in the 80s was just evil thrash if you think about it. It
wasn’t
until Darkthrone and the 90s that black metal really picked up its pace.
You
recently participated in the debut album from the band NunFuckRitual
which is mainly comprised of Norwegian black metal super heroes. How did your involvement
come about with that
group? And to me it
is pretty different
than almost anything you have ever done before.
As an insider looking outward, how do you view
NunFuckRitual’s music?
Well
NFR is
Teloch’s band, and I met him in NYC some years back when he was playing
with
1349 and they were supporting Celtic Frost. We kept in touch, and then
a couple
of years later he asked if I would play bass for NFR. He just thought
that my
sound and style would be a good fit, and I’m glad to say he was right. I
view the music
as a great mix of black metal and doom, it is unorthodox in the utmost,
and it
is very evocative.
How
has the recording industry changed since when you were
originally recording with NA? Do
you
think there is more freedom today or do you still feel the same
pressures
weighing you down?
It
has changed
rather drastically since the old days due to the whole downloading
thing.
Labels aren’t making the profit they used to make, so they’re a lot
more
skittish and cheap when talking to bands. Then again, home recording
software
and social networking sites have made it much easier for bands to
record
cheaply and promote themselves for free. So, yes, there’s a lot more
freedom,
but bands have to rethink their approach when it comes to getting their
music
out there.
Hypocrisy
in metal.
For instance you mentioned that some people think you
shouldn’t have a
job, while others think if you live off the money from your music you
are a
sellout. How did
you ever deal with
those conflicting expectations? Do
you
find it is still prevalent within the underground?
And where do you stand on making money will
still maintaining artistic integrity?
I
dealt with that
stuff by ignoring it. Half the time it turned out that the people who
thought
you shouldn’t have a job were just fucking trust fund babies who never
worked a
day in their lives. And the people who said you were a “sellout” if you
tried
to live off your music? Well, if I was really a sellout, I would’ve
played pop
music so I could really rake the bucks in. I haven’t run into those
attitudes
in years, but that’s also because I don’t read punk mags like Maximum
Rock’n’Roll anymore, nor do I go on message boards where people who
would say
shit like that reside.
On
artistic
integrity; if you are truly doing what you want to do because you enjoy
it, and
what you do suddenly becomes immensely popular, all the better. I have
no
qualms about making good cash off the music I do, because I play music
from my
heart.
You
stated in a Terrorizer interview that you couldn’t
relate to the youngsters with their nu-metal and pseudo angst and such. And how you finally
connected with the music
of Motley Crue. But
the thing that stuck
with me is that you said we needed to unite against a common enemy. Who is that enemy? And
what exactly are we
gonna do about it? I
want you to leave
us with a plan of action!!! Heh
heh.
Fuck,
I don’t
remember now what I meant. I probably was referring to shitty pop music!