Interview- Nunslaughter

Nunslaughter.  For those that know the name, they know what this band is about. For those that don't, Nunslaugher is real death metal the way it's supposed to be played. It's not about amazing production and blast beats with 100 guitar solos a song, it's raw and ugly and satanic. Since 1987, NS has amazingly pumped out close to 100 splits, demos and full lengths. They recently returned from their Nordic Nightmare tour and I had the chance to talk with vocalist and only remaining original member of the band, Don of the Dead. 

Hails Don! I'm glad to have this opportunity! How is everything?
Things are going well for me and NunSlaughter.

You've just returned from your Nordic Nightmare tour. How did the tour go? How do European tours differ from American tours and how do the fans of the U.S. rate compared to other countries?
Our tour went very well. Loads of metallists came out for the shows. Many came to see more than one. Plus we finally got to visit Norway, Finland and Sweden.
The people actually seem to be excited about the shows. People wear their denim and leather. The spikes and chains and the entire night it is all about music…oh and beer.

Bands like Nunslaughter, Master, Sathanas and many others carry the torch for old school death metal. Are there any other bands out there that you would say keep that flame alive? What bands do you listen to when you aren't working with Nunslaughter?
I am inundated with demos and CD’s of new bands to listen to. I am fortunate to be on the receiving end of many newer bands. I listen to everything I get and that takes up most of my listening time.
For me the bands keeping real music alive are Deceased, Sabbat, Hirax and Sadistic Intent. They all are playing great metal music.

What do you think of the state of death metal today compared to when Nunslaughter first started?
The underground is larger and most of the music is more accessible than ever. It is easier to get just about anything you want from around the world. I would say that is the biggest difference.

I asked King from Deceased if he had any crazy stories about playing in Pittsburgh, and he said to ask you. Do you have any? What was your favorite place to play around here?
I have none. Nunslaughter has only played Pittsburgh 3 times. The shows were ok but unremarkable. We are not a popular band.
The best place to see shows was the Electric Banana in the 80’s and the Odyssey in the 90’s.

Metal is starting to make a comeback of sorts in Pittsburgh. Do you think Nunslaughter will ever play here again? That would be a killer show!
At this time we have no plans to play in PGH. But you never know things change and if we feel the need then it will be done. 

One thing it seems you can always count on is that there will be no shortage of Nunslaughter releases. It seems as though when one sells out, don't worry there will be another one soon haha. Do you ever think of slowing down? Do you see yourself doing this for many more years?
That is our plan...to keep metal flowing 100% of the time. I have run into people that say they are into the UG music scene and then they tell me they have never heard of NunSlaughter. How the hell can you miss us?
Of course in recent times we have not released as many as I wanted to but there were some big projects that we needed to get done. Now that we are past that, NS will release a plethora of metal.
I do not know how many more years I will do this. I guess it is up to my heart. If my heart is in it then I will continue. I would not be doing this if music wasn’t such a big part of my life.

"Hex" was just released and is available through Hell's Headbangers. I apologize but I haven't been able to check it out yet, but I've been hearing a lot of good things about it. Is there any particular way you go about recording a Nunslaughter release? Do you write the lyrics before or after the music is written?
We went for a bit heavier and thicker sound this time. I stayed involved in the process from beginning to end unlike GOAT where I walked away after hearing the rough mixes. The recording studio where we did the initial tracking dicked us and we spent hours correcting his mistakes. We finished it in familiar territory with our friend Beaker. He has been doing records with us for about 10 years now.
I occasionally write lyrics before the music but the norm is to write the music then the words.

Did you make any changes at all on the new album? I don't see Nunslaughter as a band into change. Just straight forward, neck breaking death metal is what you guys seem to be all about. That's fine with me though, that's what I love and what makes Nunslaughter such a great band to me!
As far as I can tell we have not changed. Some of the songs are rerecorded from our 5th demo but the majority are all new and vicious. We attack the Christian faith and Jesus Christ more than ever. I think it is our darkest LP to date.

Who did the cover artwork for "Hex"? It's definitely sick as always! I'm a big fan of art and I do it in my spare time. To me the album covers are a big part as well as the music.  Who has been your favorite artist to work with designing your covers?
George Higam www.poepuppet.com He is really amazing he makes the puppets himself and then he takes their photos. Most of the artists we have had just showed me the art and we picked it but one of our old guitarists, Shaun, is a killer artist. We have worked with him on a few projects. Most recently he did the art for the NS/ Brodys Militia split 7”. He also did the NS/Gravewurm split 7” art that is due out on Halloween. He would be my favorite.

Well I guess that's it for now Don! I know you're a busy guy just getting back from your tour and all so I won't keep you. Thanks for your time bro! Any final words for your fans, or anything else you'd like to say? Stay sick brother!
METAL IS DEATH DEATH IS METAL NUNSLAUGHTER DEATH METAL