Terrorizer: interview with Anthony "Wolf" Rezhawk

Pessoal, essa é a entrevista em inglês, sem edição, que está publicada na Hell Divine nº 10 (em português). A intenção é que os gringos leiam o material.

Terrorizer: interview with Anthony "Wolf" Rezhawk (WITHOUT EDITION)

Credits: Isabel Avila

HELL DIVINE: How do you see the evolution between “Darker Days Ahead” and “Hordes of Zombies”? 

ANTHONY "WOLF" REZHAWK: Darker Days Ahead" is definitely a historical release by Terrorizer, as it was the last recording that our brother Jesse Pintado (RIP) would leave his adoring fans globally. Besides that, "Hordes of Zombies" is definitely an evolution, not only of "Darker Days Ahead" but also from "World Downfall". 

Terrorizer, as a band, is more of a spirit than a physical being, and as such its evolution is natural, neither forced nor premeditated. It's just something that flows and flies at its own pace. 

HELL DIVINE: By the way, “Darker Days Ahead” seems to be more obscure and dark than “Hordes of Zombies”, which is more direct. Do you agree with that? 

ANTHONY "WOLF" REZHAWK: I never looked at it from that perspective, but in a way you may be right. Personally I feel that "Hordes of Zombies" is more brutal and devastating. It delivers a quick kick and punch, not only to the brain but to the spirit. I would say that "Darker Days Ahead" has a more death metal/hardcore vibe to it, and "Hordes of Zombies" embodies a more grind/death nature. 

Credits: Raven

HELL DIVINE: Pete Sandoval said that “Hordes of Zombies” is like a “part II” of “World Downfall”. Do you agree with him? 

ANTHONY "WOLF" REZHAWK: Most definitely! The difference being that "Hordes of Zombies" embodies the issues influencing or affecting us today. By applying the old school method, we were able to utilize/mix the anxieties and frictions, not only philosophical but also musically, to a whole new generation of extreme metal fans. As time passes, true metal warriors keep crossing the line into the Terrorizer ranks. This new release is surely to become another extreme metal classic of its time, not doubt about that!! 

HELL DIVINE: Some months after the release of the new album, how do you feel about that? Is there any thing you would change nowadays? 

ANTHONY "WOLF" REZHAWK: I wouldn't change anything, it's perfect! We all love the delivery, performance, and the awesome production by Dan Swano at Unisound Studios. When I listen to this recording I can truly say that it moves me in a good way. Again, this album was not written in a premeditated manner, it was actually written in a ceremonial way, where we were conduits of the Terrorizer spirit. We didn't think about writing something to be liked or accepted, but rather translating what came to us naturally at that time. 

HELL DIVINE: In your oppinion, what song is the strongest in the album? Why? 

ANTHONY "WOLF" REZHAWK: That's a hard question to answer, I like all the songs. However, I think I will choose "Hordes of Zombies", because it was the first song we wrote, and with it we opened the Terrorizer arsenal. It was with that song that we felt we had entered a sacred space, and we knew that the rest would be equally intense and brutal. 

Credits: Raven

HELL DIVINE: Your voice is more guttural in “Hordes of Zombies” than in “Darker Days Ahead” album. Why did you chose to do that? 

ANTHONY "WOLF" REZHAWK: To start with, "Darker Days Ahead" was produced by Juan "Punchy" Gonzales, and "Hordes of Zombies" was produced by me. That in itself makes a big difference. 

Punchy had his own vision of what a new Terrorizer album should sound like (it seemed to me that he wanted to incorporate the hardcore metal sound popular at that time). If I would've had anything to do with the production of that record, I would have made my vocals sound like the way they are on "Hordes of Zombies". To be honest, I didn't like the production of "Darker Days Ahead", and I wanted to change a few things (mostly guitars and vocals), but I was the new guy in the band, and even though Jesse wanted my ideas to be heard, we were outnumbered by the decision makers at that time. I was told, "you'll be able to try your ideas on the next album", and so it was. My vocals on "Hordes of Zombies" are exactly the way I like them to be. 

HELL DIVINE: Katina Culture is an excellent musician. Do you think she felt the responsibility of “replacing” Jesse Pintado? 

ANTHONY "WOLF" REZHAWK: Kat is a very level-headed individual who leads a low stress level life. I don't think she thought about the concept of "replacing" Jesse Pintado, she was more concerned with playing brutal and devastating in a precise manner. Maybe the fact that she and Jesse had already played together in Resistant Culture (Jesse recorded rhythm guitars in "Welcome to Reality" before his untimely passing), gave her a perspective of Jesse as a guitarist and a human being. Kat is a confident classically trained guitar player/musician who knows her way around the fretboard better than a lot of guitarists I know. 

Credits: Isabel Avila

HELL DIVINE: Who is the bass player in the videoclip “Hordes of Zombies”? By the way, did you already find a new one? 

ANTHONY "WOLF" REZHAWK: The person playing the bass in the video clip is our friend "Zero". He is a Resistant Culture/Terrorizer friend who lent his services for the video only. We are actually not looking for a bass player per se. For us Terrorizer is actually a three piece band. The way we will manage this situation will be to hire bass players as we need them. We have a pretty good chemistry between Kat, Pete, and me, it's magical and we want to keep it this way. If for some reason we find someone that fits within our infrastructure (chemistry and attitude) we will consider it, but as of now we're fine the way we are. 

HELL DIVINE: Do you think about recording a DVD or another videoclip? 

ANTHONY "WOLF" REZHAWK: Most definitely! We're already exploring our options for a new video clip, etc. We'll see what happens in the near future. We'll keep you posted on that. 

HELL DIVINE: David Vincent is an original member, but he just recorded the bass in the new album. You are more involved with Terrorizer than him. What is your opinion about Vincent’s contribution to “Hordes of Zombies”? Do you think it was really necessary? Why did you call him? 

ANTHONY "WOLF" REZHAWK: To start with, based on what Pete has told me, David Vincent's contribution to "World Downfall" was as a studio musician, not as a band member. Using David to record the bass on "Hordes of Zombies" wasn't our idea. We actually already had someone else in mind for the bass playing duties and were ready to move forward with him, but our label, Season of Mist, asked us to consider David instead. They thought that bringing him on board would increase visibility and interest in the band, and since Morbid Angel is also on the same label, it made it easier to get him involved, despite the fact that he was extremely busy with the release of their long awaited new Morbid Angel album. As a band we didn't think it was necessary to have him on this recording, especially since we have musical differences, and also the fact that by the time he came on board as a session bass player, all the music was already written by Kat and me. 

Credits: Isabel Avila

HELL DIVINE: Pete Sandoval made a promise: Terrorizer will come to Brazil soon. Well, when is this “soon” (laughs)? 

ANTHONY "WOLF" REZHAWK: As soon as possible! ;) 

HELL DIVINE: Nowadays, which is your priority: Resistant Culture or Terrorizer? 

ANTHONY "WOLF" REZHAWK: They are both major priorities in my life, and gladly, as long as there is life, there will be time to make it all happen. As a matter of fact Resistant Culture just finished a demo from a new recording we've been working on. This new recording will be produced by me and mixed and mastered by Dan Swano. The demo sounds killer, we're looking for a label to put it out. Can't wait for the world to hear it! And also we're already working on a new Terrorizer album, more news on that coming soon. 

HELL DIVINE: Thank you so much for the interview, Wolf! Please, leave a message for the brazilian fans. 

ANTHONY "WOLF" REZHAWK: First off, I'd like to thank you for giving me the opportunity to express myself to your readers, I appreciate it! Hell Divine is an awesome virtual magazine, keep up the great work!! Much respect and appreciation to all those people who support Terrorizer! And to those who have not checked out our new release, we urge you to do so and to enlist in the Terrorizer ranks. To everyone reading this interview, I'd like to wish you the best in these dark and uncertain times.