Nailgun Massacre

I myself am from a small country, yet it has a history within Death Metal which every self-respecting disciple of the genre knows of. The Netherlands brought forth great bands like Asphyx, Gorefest, Sinister, Pestilence and many more. And frankly…we still do! Some are releasing their first demo (like Rotting Casket), just released their debut full-length (like Icons of Brutality among others) or got resurrected (Soulburn is a good example of that), but all manage to keep on releasing high quality Death Metal. Which that fuckin’ little country does for so many years now. This time the fine gentleman with exquisite taste and good manners of NAILGUN MASSACRE, and I can only begin with the most important question… (Ricardo)

The opener, “Where is the head?”…Have you found the head yet? It’s not like it gets down the drain…or getting flushed…or a racoon stops by, picks it up and runs with it… How does one lose a head…enlighten me…?
We still don’t know man, still looking. It will always be a mystery; headless bodies, lying around…..where’s the fkn head?! But I heard the Sherriff knows….

Alright, let’s leave the BBQ-meat on the grill for a bit, and let’s talk about the society of gentility called Nailgun Massacre. Besides the fact your moms gave you beautiful first names like Bonesaw, Meataxe and Hairybucks…imagine it was like at the children’s daycare center…your paths crossed each other and it takes a psychopath to know one…there was a bond between you all. After abducting and mutilating your first victim it was time to kick back with a casket of beer and a good movie…it was Corpsechucker turn to pick one out and he chooses “Nailgun Massacre”. The band was born…or the real story is slightly different?
Actually you got it spot on! That is the story of the band name. After a night heavy drinking and watching horror movies, someone put on the Nail Gun Massacre. After watching Hairybucks told the chick who brought the movie that it wasn’t that good and she said: ‘just like your stupid band!” We didn’t have a band name yet so I said “that’s it!…..and Nailgun Massacre was born. We already had some song made and we knew what direction we where heading. Everything had to be in the vain of the old masters, like: Autopsy, Death, Impetigo, Pungent Stench, Sempiternal Deathreign, Asphyx and so on…. including the lyrics and artwork. Before that our paths crossed in some former bands and in our hometown bar Lazarus in Leiden.

After your debut album “Backyard Butchery” got released by Slowrunner Records, which came first…creating the new album or Xtreem Music with a nice contract? How did the contact with Xtreem Music happen, and which words were the convincing ones to sign for them? Were there other labels interested in signing you guys? Was there a possibility Slowrunner Records would also release the second one?
We (Corpsechucker) created Slowrunner Records because we had some issues in the past with former labels. We wanted to do everything our self, so we had control over the whole package. And I think we did a great job! But you can not underestimate the hard work you have to put in being a label and a band…and we did. So with the second album we decided that we were not gonna do that again. Just concentrate on the music, artwork and lyrics and nothing more. During the writing of the album the we let a select group of people listen to the songs and we already had 3 labels who wanted to release the album. We chose Xtreem because Dave is in the scene for so many years and he has a big heart for Death Metal, especially Old School. He was super enthusiastic as well so it was a done deal.

In an interview you guys stated that “Backyard Butchery” is something for you “if you’re into legends from the past like early-Death, Autopsy, Obituary, Master, Impetigo, Pungent Stench, Macabre, Necrophagia, Asphyx, Bolt Thrower and so on.” With the new album “Boned, Boxed and Buried”, musicwise, things have shifted/changed or are those still the main influences for Nailgun Massacre? The promosheet mentioned the Old School SweDeath scene as a reference, and although I’ve read reviews who said the same, I myself can’t really get my finger on it. Tell me more about the SweDeath influence.
We have nothing to do with the Sweden bands. We are a dutch band who bring the US old school death metal sound. We don’t use the Boss HM2 pedal. We like some of the Sweden bands and the well know sound but it is not what we do. And ofcorse we are from Holland, so the Dutch blood will always be present.

In my review I also mentioned the following: “But don’t be surprised if you get a vibe of a certain gory Exhumed (and I don’t mean the Carcass inspiration of Exhumed) or general Razorback Records approach.” Can you relate with that or are you already checkin’ my address to be your next victim and discussing the weapon of choice with the others?
Exhumed?! We have your address buddy…haha! Head on a stick! I wrote all the songs and I do not have one Exhumed record. So if we sound like Exhumed it must be accidental common brain sickness. We do love the old Carcass, but I don’t think there is any Carcass in the Nailgun songs. Except for the rotten we dug up ourselves!!

No, No, no…hold on a minute. Just stay in your perverted hell hole and keep on feasting on the carcass you have dug up last. I didn’t mean that Nailgun Massacre sounds like Exhumed, it’s a certain gory approach which I have heard on albums of Exhumed or Razorback acts like Lord Gore, Ghoul, Blood Freak and ofcourse Impetigo. The ambition to make a musical composition of a cult 1970s horror movie and trying to catch that raunchy vibe if you will…
Okay, yes…if you put it like that, than that’s exactly what we indented to do! The whole album had to reek, taste, sound and look like the 70-80ties horror movies and I think we succeeded!

In general, how are the reactions so far on the new album? Reviews, Fans, your label…Do you get attention from the bigger (web)zines or are the underground and smaller (web)zines the ones who give you promotion?
The attention is much bigger now than with the first record. Dave and Xtreem did a great job. The reactions on the new records are just awesome. Some like em even more than we do!! Nailgun Massacre is an underground band and we now that. We don’t make music to be in the big magazines or venues. Our music is not made for that and our artwork isn’t too. So our biggest friends will always be in the underground be it zines, venues and labels.

You see yourself as veterans within the Old School Death Metal scene, are you the type who grab back to the old days all the time? Or are you still looking for new Old School Death Metal gems? I’m noticing a little trend, new zines/blogs (or resurrected ones) who are focusing more and more on underground and old school Extreme metal and leaving the more established names to the bigger zines in the scene. And I applaud the comeback of the tape labels! What’s your opinion on movements like those?
I like the fact that there is a real (OSDM) underground movement going on including tapes, vinyl and a printed magazines (!). But I am also a little scared about it being a hype. And you know hypes exploded and people move on to the next hype. There are so many OSMD bands right now, and I hope they are here to stay, but I have a gut feeling that it won’t. And just because we make old school doesn’t mean we hate new school. We love the new brutal bands ass well, but that’s just not what Nailgun Massacre is about. Do what you do best, and for us that is blunt heavy death metal….the ancient way!

Are you guys working on new material? Maybe negotiating for a split 7”? Or have any touring plans? How does the near future of Nailgun Massacre look like?
We already have 6 or 7 new songs. And there is indeed some split movement going on!!

Ah come on, spill the beans….you can’t say anything about the forthcoming split or the new songs?
Not a word. I know Corpsechucker is working on it. But nothing is concrete yet, so I can’t say anything about it.

Well, I will leave you alone…I think I can hear a girl screaming from the shed and I’m pretty sure I hear nails scratching from the basement…and I think the bloody hatchet in the corner of the room isn’t meant for slicing some liverwurst during an BBC “Allo’ Allo’”-marathon….If I left something uncovered, feel free to add it here. Let the dismemberment begin!
Thanks for the interview and the support!!! And to you out there; put on the new record, lay your neighbour on the BBQ, butcher his wife and fuck her before you bury her! Nailgun style!
Cheers, Kreft (aka Bonesaw)