When it comes to Death Metal, REAL Death Metal, played as it once was meant to be played, not many bands can be identified to incorporate that ancient feeling. Equinox is most surely one of them! I can still remember when I first heard their demo and EP stuff, making me bang like a madmen and making me very anxious to get their debut ‘Return from Mystery’. When I bought that album I almost shit my pants, it was even better than I could have hoped! And now, after so many years of silence, Equinox hit back damn hard with their 2nd killer album entitled ‘Journey into Oblivion’. I couldn’t help but spam guitarist Pete Slate with a lot of questions…
Hi Pete, how are you doing today? You must be feeling great now that Equinox’ 2nd album ‘Journey into Oblivion’ is finally released, right? How are the press/fan reactions on it so far?
Man, I’m so pleased that the album is finally out. I know it took a long time but it was worth the wait. Yes, I’m feeling really good these days. Equinox is back again running full steam ahead. It’s also a great feeling to be in touch with so many people all around the world who have always supported us. The reactions have been amazing. We’ve got excellent reviews in Kerrang, Terrorizer, Voices From the Darkside, Legacy, and many others. The fans are going crazy over ‘Journey…’. I’ve been getting so much email I can barely answer it all. As a musician I’ve very proud of this album and I’m finally feeling we are getting the attention we deserve. It’s been a long hard road for us but we are BACK!
Let’s go back in time a bit. After the release of ‘Return to mystery’ nothing seemed to happen. No touring, no new music being released, no news until earlier this year.
Apparently a lot of stuff happened to the band and its members, which led to the huge delay of releasing the new album.
Tell us what were the reasons for the delay in all those years?
First off, ‘Return to Mystery’ was released on Unisound Records. When that album came out we did get some exposure in the metal mags but we had no support after that. By this I mean we had no tours, no nothing. The fans were totally into ‘Return…’ and we did rather well but Unisound was just around to rip off its artists. Sure they wanted us to do a second album but we had to cover the costs. That when we just decided to look for another label. Now after ‘Return’ came out Julius from Still Dead Prod had contacted us. This label was very new at the time but he knew he wanted to sign us. I knew Julius was a true fan so we decided to sign with Still Dead. We recorded most of the album and then our drummer Steve Spillers got into serious trouble. He was sent to prison for about 10 years. This completely destroyed the band. I mean Steve and I are the ones who formed the band. But we were lucky because the drum tracks were already recorded. We finished the album but then Still Dead was having major issues. As I understand it taxes are a real pain in the ass in Poland. So he was dealing with a lot of personal and financial issues. During this time that Still Dead was working out their delays, Darkness and I really had time to sit back and listen to ‘Journey…’. We decided we hated the mix. So when Still Dead came back into the picture, we went back to Morrisound and remixed the whole album. It took about a week to remix the album and get that heavy Black/Death sound we were looking for. So basically we lost our drummer and our second guitar player Tony Blakk left the band during all this.
By the way, there is a large resemblance between Equinox and Immolation. Both bands released their 2nd album years after their debut album! Although Equinox beat Immolation with 2 years. Any intentionality in this or just coincidence?
Total coincidence. If I had it my way we would have released one album a year. Hopefully from now on we will be putting out our albums once a year. In Metal you have to do this. Keep fresh in the people’s minds. Metal bands come and go so we really have to get out there constantly to make a major impact.
You told me that Equinox has a new line-up with Gabe Lewandowski replacing Steven Spillers on drums, while also Tony Blakk isn’t in the band anymore. Why did they leave or were they replaced? Will you continue as a threesome or search for a new 2nd guitarist?
Well, Steve as I mentioned is in prison. It took forever to find a replacement. Just to find a drummer who’s into old style Metal is very hard in this area. Everyone nowadays wants to play nu-metal. It just does not fit our style. We did find Gabe. He used to play with Naphobia (FL) and Hellwitch (FL). He’s a incredible drummer. His style is very intense. We’ve written new material and honestly I can say it will be our best yet. He gives our new music a whole new feel. Tony leaving the band was a mutual decision. He was working so much that he was missing rehearsals and the music suffered. We both decided to go our own way. Currently we are looking for a second guitar player. We’ve tried a few people out and we are hoping to have a replacement by our first show Dec. 6th.
‘Journey into Oblivion’ is released by Still Dead Records. Is this a one album deal or have you signed to them for more albums? By the way, will you get more distribution channels, as for example, the album can only be ordered from Displeased Records in Europe?
We are doing a one album deal with an option for another. Yes the distribution is great this time around. It’s getting everywhere. I just wish we had major distribution here in the USA. I mean you can get it through like Century Media and others but I’d love to see it in the major store chains like Virgin, Best Buy, places that sell Metal here in the USA. So far I’m pleased because when I search the internet I can find ‘Journey…’ for sale in many places and different countries.
What are the plans for Equinox now? Will you start to do some touring to support the new album?
Right now we are planning out live shows here in Florida. Our first show back was December 6th. It was a killer show. Fog, spikes and leather, a total metal show. The fans were great and were very pleased to see Equinox playing live again since 1997. We would love to tour, especially Europe. We’ve had some offers early for early next year but we have to make sure it’s worth it for us. I mean we’re not asking for the world, just our travel covered and some expenses. We are also currently working on new material for the next album. We’d like to be back into the studio by March or April of next year. We are also planning on having more merchandise available like shirts and there is our compilation CD in the works.
You also told me that you’re working on a compilation CD with contains all your demo, EP and cover material, which will also be released by Still Dead Records. Plus you’re working on new stuff! Will you release an album that contains both the old stuff and new stuff or will it be 2 separate releases?
This will actually be two separate releases. The compilation CD will just for the die-hard Equinox fans. It will be released in limited quantity. We want this to be special for the fans and for us. It will have a huge booklet with a history of the band, tons of old live photos and flyers of gigs, and even a couple of old live track of songs that we never recorded. We do plan on recording a new album early next year. We are hoping for March. We’ve got about half the new album finished and all I can say is that, it’s our best material to date. Gabe is such an incredible drummer and his style totally compliments the guitar parts I wrote. Don’t get me wrong it will still be in the old style vein but with an aggressive edge. I’m trying also to implement more classical parts into the music, especially my leads. Again, it’s still total Equinox but we are taking it to the next step. This next album in my opinion will really take Equinox to the next level.
You’ve been in the Metal scenes for ages it seems. How do you perceive the scene nowadays? Can you still find what you want to listen to in the huge stream of releases?
I think we are fortunate that Metal is still alive. Yeah, it’s not like it was in the late 1980’s but nothing stays the same. I think there are some excellent bands out there. Now, since I’ve been listening to Metal for so long, I’m more selective on what I buy. So much music has been rehashed over and over again I can’t really listen to certain bands anymore. I go for bands that have hooks, or convey a certain feeling in the music. Like I’m really into The Chasm’s latest album. Scepter is a killer band and I do like the new Dimmu Borgir’s album. I did buy the latest Morbid Angel CD because I’ve always been a huge fan of Morbid but the ‘Heretic’ album did nothing for me. I know Trey experimented with a lot of new recording techniques and sounds and he’s really into that. I respect him for that but personally I just didn’t get into the music. Of course I still love the old bands, Obituary, Nocturnus, Mayhem, Celtic Frost, Manowar.
What drives you on, to continue making music? Is music a (healthy) addiction for you? What is it that makes one persevering in their conviction of making music?
I think music is the one thing in my life that will always be with me until my final days. Music has got me through the hard times. It’s my passion for music that keeps me going. I love all types from Metal to Classical. I also listen to Jazz, Ambient, 70’s Rock, New Age instrumental and so on. I feel in my heart, even at this point in my life, I need to keep pushing Equinox until we have run out of ideas or the interest has died. It’s been 10 years for the band and I still want that fire to keep going. I also want to experiment with other types of music in the future. I’d love to do some ambient guitar/synth stuff. The types of music that bring real emotions out of people. The classical artists did back in their day like Bach, Beethoven, Liszt, Wagner. I not saying I want to play classical but I want to try to capture the sounds that you can listen to over and over again without getting tired of it.
The Internet is a development that had an explosive growth throughout the years. I remember some underground complaining about the Internet not being underground and that it would kill the feeling and charm of tape trading, writing letters and reading printed magazines. Though I can understand that these old ways of communicating have a certain value and familiar feeling, I think one must use new developments to its fullest use without losing the original intent of it all. Would you agree?
Yes, I agree. Maybe at first I was a little hesitant of the internet but now it’s a part of my everyday life. I love the fact that I can get almost any CD or do research on any type of band or music that I want. Before everything was so time consuming. With the birth of CD’s I noticed a big decline in tape trading years ago. I think this was just going to happen anyway. Yes, it sucks but it’s progression. I think it’s cool that old demos are now being repressed on CD with better quality sound and artwork. I find a lot of this on the internet. I believe if you took this away from the people who complain about it, they would have a very hard time with old way of sending things in the mail and waiting for long periods for mags and interviews to come out.
Obviously, Equinox has no trouble with the Internet as you’re working on a new website (www.equinoxmetal.com) which will hopefully reach more and more Metal fans. What stuff will be featured on it? Perhaps you could add some live or rehearsal sound clips in the future, that would be cool!
Yes we have some sound clips. We now have new photos on there and soon we will have new live photos. We have a forum for people to chat about Equinox, metal shows, or whatever interests they have. We really want to keep it updated and keep it fresh so the fans can keep coming back for all the latest info. We will also be selling new merchandise on there soon. It will definitely have any info on Equinox that a person would want to know. We also have links to other sites of our interest. It’s true to the Black/Death form.
If you were given the opportunity to tour with whatever band (dead or alive) in whatever place you want, with what bands would you play and where?
Now this is a tough question. I’d love to play with a band that has been around for a long time like Morbid Angel, Immortal (if they got back together), Usurper, Absu, Sadistic Intent, Mayhem. Honestly, we’d play with about anyone in our musical style just to get out there and get our music to people that have never heard of Equinox. Anywhere in Europe is where I’d like to do these shows…Don’t get me wrong I want to play around the US but I’ve had a desire to play in Europe. Countries like Germany, Poland, Holland, Austria, Czech Republic I feel that’s where we are the most accepted. The people are great, the women are beautiful, and beer is fucking awesome. I have to make this happen!
It seems that each decade a sub genre pops up its head and stirs the music scene quite a bit. In the late 1980-ties and early 1990-ties there was grunge. This genre got mixed reactions from the metal scene.
From 1994 on a new genre popped up, the nu metal genre. Again, a lot of mixed reactions on this style. Do you follow these developments and what’s your opinion on them?
You’re right…I remember what it was like when grunge was popular. I hated that style of music, and I think it killed a lot of different styles of Metal. Not Black or Death Metal but those hard rock and hair bands of the 80’s. As far as nu metal, I think it could be a lot worse. Again at least it’s not grunge rock. I notice that a lot of nu metal fans are crossing over to the heavier, faster, and darker music and that’s a great thing. Even though I’m not a huge fan of nu metal I do listen to all types of music and bands. To be a true musician you have to be open to new ideas but that doesn’t mean I have to listen to these new bands that I don’t enjoy. I don’t listen to nu metal but if fans of that type of music come to our shows and are getting into our style of music then I’m cool with that.
A release that has recently stirred and split the Metal scene is the new album of Metallica. Have you heard it, if so, what’s your opinion on it?
I actually hate the new Metallica. I’ve been into Metallica since I was in high school and I bought ‘Ride the lightning’. I thought that was the coolest music of that time. Fast riffing, cutting solos and great vocals. But sadly those days are gone. I actually got out of Metallica after the Black Album. I have no problem if a band wants to expand its sound and try something new but Metallica’s new material is total shit. I hate the production and they’ve totally abandoned their thrash roots.
Metallica has also made a name in suing various corporations as well as people who download music. What’s your opinion on the whole downloading and burning of music debate? Isn’t this just a new form of tape trading and won’t the fans buy the album anyway if they like the music?
That’s exactly what I think. If I like what I hear, I’ll go out and buy the CD. With the CD you get the cool artwork, lyrics, and I’ll support the band. So I do think it’s similar to tape trading but it has got out of hand. I can see where bands get frustrated when they have an album to sell but fans get cheap and just download the music. I’m torn between the two because I know I like to download music. hehehe
If you were banned to a desert island and were allowed to take 10 albums with you, which ones would these be?
Damn man, this is a hard one. OK: 1. Celtic Frosts ‘To Mega Therion’, 2. Obituary’s ‘Slowly We Rot’ 3. Mayhem ‘De Mysterious Dom Sathanas’ 4. Immortal ‘Sons of Northern Darkness’ 5. Black Sabbath ‘Sabbath Bloody Sabbath’, 6. Uriah Heep’s ‘Return to Fantasy’ 7. Rush’s ‘All the World’s a Stage’ 8. Black Oak Arkansas ‘Ain’t Life Grand. 9. Klause Schulze’s ‘Timewind’ and 10. Genesis’s ‘Selling England By the Pound’. You see if I was going to be on an island for a long time, I would have to have a diverse music collection.
Throughout the years, Death Metal has changed quite a bit. I can remember a discussion between old style bands like Autopsy and Incantations who made critical remarks about the style of then new bands like Cannibal Corpse and Suffocation. The critique was that those bands mostly focussed on blasting instead of writing a good song. Do you remember this as well?
It’s kind of ironic that nowadays many Death Metal bands sound a lot like Suffocation or Cannibal Corpse, while the ‘old style’ isn’t being played by that many bands anymore, or so it seems.
What are your viewpoints on this?
I agree with this fact. The true old style bands are breaking up and the newer bands seem to copy modern Black Metal or the Cannibal Corpse type of bands. I feel it’s hard to find a band that has that true old style. Some have pulled it off like Usurper, Absu, Scepter, Sadistic Intent and others. In a way it’s kind of a good thing because that way we appreciate it more when a band stays true to the old style and has that classic sound. I know that Equinox will always stay true to the old style music we believe in.
A related question is the fact that Death Metal has become a lot more technical. Bands like Morbid Angel, Cryptopsy, Dying Fetus, Nile or Hate Eternal have really pushed the envelope in musicality and technicality. Do you also listen to this newer forms of Death Metal or does it just doesn’t give you the same itch as the more old style bands do?
Don’t get me wrong I love technical bands. I was a huge fan of Watchtower, Nocturnus, Cynic, and Atheist but you have to be creative when writing music. I hate it when a technical bands just blasts all the way through the album. What the hell is the point to all that. I want to hear feeling, emotion, hatred, anger, and pain in a song, not just noise. That’s what the old style bands did. They may have had simple songs but damn they were good catchy songs. Just listen to Death’s ‘Scream Bloody Gore’ and Massacre’s ‘From Beyond’. Perfect examples.
Something that I encounter regularly is the fact that many new albums do sound more than good but they don’t give me the same feeling or impression as those bands I grew up with. Probably I’m just spoiled but I really have to look harder to find new releases that manage to impress me. Does this sound familiar or am I loosing my mind?
This is all too familiar. My feelings exactly. When I buy a CD I want to feel those feelings of excitement of listening to something new not just the same of style of music rehashed over and over again.
During the last few years, another trend has popped up: bands reuniting everywhere! From old thrash acts like Nuclear Assault to Death Metal acts like Brutality and Suffocation? Do we really need these reunions or are these bands better left dead?
Well, I don’t mind these reunions. It brings back some glory from the old days. It will never be like it was but at least the bands still support the scene and are staying true to what they believe in.
Also many old metal bands are reforming in their old classic line-up: Slayer with Lombardo, Maiden with Bruce and most recently, Rob Halford with Judas Priest. Sure it’s cool that one gets the chance to see these bands in their most classic line-up! However, do these bands still have something new to offer? I mean, they mostly play old stuff at their gigs and only a few newer songs. What’s the point in releasing new albums if you don’t promote them properly at your shows??
Yeah, I would love Slayer to put out an album of new tracks that are comparable to ‘Reign in Blood’. Their latest album is good and the Tour was very cool . I saw them here in FL and they still kick ass. I guess many of these bands just don’t want to hang it up. Hopefully I’ll be jamming metal when I’m older.
I’d also be interesting in to what music you guys listen to besides metal? Perhaps you’re really into Eminem or Kylie Minogue??
-What the Hell dude, are you on drugs? (Saldiac : haha, just wanted to get you going) I hate Eminem. I listen to many styles of music, Classical, Jazz, Hard Rock, Ambient and progressive, You would have a fit if you saw my CD collection. But like I said before, I need to have other musical interests, otherwise music would get so boring. Many of my favourite bands and musicians are from Rock bands of the 70’s, Richie Blackmore, Ace Frehley, Steve Hackett, and others.
You’ve been in the music scene for years, at what point will you call it a day? Or are you planning to become to be the Rolling Stones of the Death Metal genre? And do you have any plans on what you will do when Equinox has been buried (hopefully not soon!)?
No, when we are done we will be done. I feel this is our last big attempt at making a name for ourselves in the underground. We’ve been around for 10 years man and it’s been hard. Now we have families, professional jobs but we keep doing this for the love of the music. We’ll take this as far as we can man and hopefully it will be a successful ride!
Your final words (for now that is)….
I just wanted to say thanks Ron for the interview and all should support VM. We have new shirts now so visit our website http://www.equinoxmetal.com/ to order or just to find out the latest happenings of Equinox. Stay true to all classic forms of metal…
