I Blame You is the debut album from Texans Birth A.D. Playing a style of crossover thrash not really heard since the glory days of the 80’s it pretty much slapped me silly and is an album that I have not been able to get enough of. The group behind it are certainly not new to the scene containing ex members of black metal band Averse Sefira and brutal death metal group Death Of Millions in their ranks. Pausing from jumping off the furniture and causing more injuries by sofa surfing we quizzed them on past, present, future and about just who exactly should be blamed for it all.
AN: Firstly thanks for answering our questions and going back in time it was only when I received this album and did a bit of research that I realised that former band Averse Sefira were actually no more. What happened there exactly and is the band permanently on ice?
Jeff: It’s dead forever, and I’ve already taken up way too much space discussing the old band. Let’s talk about the new one!
AN: I suppose time goes fast as I now see that it was 2008 since the band actually released their last album (Advent Parallax) and played at London’s Purple Turtle on the back of it. What have you been up to since then? I see that you actually released a fair few numbers as Birth A.D. on the Stillbirth Of A Nation EP in 2009.
Jeff: I was basically waiting for Averse to rise and walk or breathe its last before making Birth A.D the mainstay. Now that it’s the primary concern, there will be less gaps between releases.
AN: It’s a bit of a radical departure from occult black metal, complete with what I remember as being quite striking corpse paint to full on old school political thrash. Had you simply had enough of black metal and wanted to do something completely fresh or was it something more deeply rooted than that?
Jeff: I didn’t want to live in my own shadow with another black metal project, and my natural tendency is to write thrash anyway. I like simple and catchy riffs, and that had no place in the other band. Thrash is really where I cut my teeth as a metalhead and a musician, and it has always permeated the way I think about writing music.
AN: What was the reaction to ‘Stillbirth Of A Nation’ at the time, it was an independent release so did many people get to hear it? I was also wondering if the tracks were developed at all before appearing on the actual album or are they the same?
Jeff: It actually sold almost 1000 copies, so a few people got to hear it. Virtually anyone who sat down with it seemed to really like it, and moreover they were excited about it. I had so many people apologetically saying they liked it more than the other band, which is fine with me. The tracks were brand new when we recorded the EP; I taught the guys the songs, we ran through them for about a month, and then I hit “record”. On “I Blame You”, the songs are unchanged in execution, but augmented greatly in attack. They sound as they were always intended.
AN: There was a slight bit of confusion about ‘I Blame You’ itself as the Metal Age release appears to be a reissue of the album which Metal Archives says came out first on Unspeakable Axe Records in 2013. Is this the case and if so I guess the reissue is spreading it further afield and giving the album a new lease of life?
Jeff: It’s actually really simple – Unspeakable Axe released the album in 2013, and Metal Age licensed and released it in Europe this year. And you’re correct, it’s basically like we get to release the album twice, which works out great for us.
AN: With this in mind I can only imagine considering how old some of these tracks are that you must be on the verge of getting some new material out there soon. Is this the case and if so can you tell us a bit about this and when we may hopefully get the chance to hear things?
Jeff: Yes indeed, I have been busy writing new songs for the follow-up. It will be recorded early 2015, released mid-2015. Not much will change in that the sound and attitude will be exactly the same, but there will be plenty of tasty new riffs.
AN: But concentrating on the album and in general, you obviously have a love of bands such as D.R.I. S.O.D. and the like. I also noted a fair bit of punk sensibility in there too from the likes of M.D.C. through to the Dead Kennedy’s and even UK anarchist bands like The Subhumans. Would these be the sort of group’s who inspire Birth A.D.?
Jeff: MDC is a legacy Texas band, and while I’ve never resonated with their politics, the debut album is a classic by any standard. Advocating cop killing in ’80s Texas takes balls of steel. I never liked the Dead Kennedys, mainly because I think Jello Biafra is obnoxious and his vocals suck. I’m much more heavily influenced by stuff like Misfits, Cro-Mags, Excel, early Agnostic Front, and especially Slayer. I’m definitely on the metal side of the crossover pool.
AN: You could have gone down an easier route and done a dumb ass party album about zombies, beer and breasts like so many do but I am guessing with what is happening in the world you wanted to focus on more serious political issues lyrically. In fact your Mission Statement at the beginning of the album makes it very clear that the party thrash ideology was not for you! Would you agree that Birth A.D. are first and foremost a politically driven band?
Jeff: I wouldn’t say my lyrics are particularly political, other than a couple references to how I don’t like politicians. The focus is society on both the macro- and microcosmic level. I could never write a party album because I don’t party. Even if I did, I’d still have a lot more to talk about than that! I hate pandering, I hate the lowest common denominator, and I hate it when people aggrandize stupid shit. That’s what party thrash is all about, and I felt it was important let everyone know that it wasn’t our agenda.
AN: I guess it’s fair to say that this is not something as easy to express in a black or death metal band, the lyrics for a start are so much harder to decipher. Would you agree and consider that Birth A.D. have provided you with the first real opportunity to get your views out there?
Jeff: Absolutely. It’s nice to have a platform where the message can be a proper 1:1 ratio, where what you see is what you get. I always had a lot of opinions and ideas that weren’t germane to the black metal concern, so Birth AD is a very satisfying outlet.
AN: It’s obvious what has inspired some songs such as Burn L.A. but on a more personal level songs like ‘No Jobs (Don’t Work)’ ‘Equal Opportunity’ and ‘No Man’ are all very observational numbers highlighting inequality and the fact that surviving is very difficult for many on a day to day basis. They strike as from the heart and very much like you have personal axes to grind, would you agree and like to expand upon this or am I reading too much into things?
Jeff: These songs, among others, are descriptions of my overall experience in the workaday world. Most jobs are worthless wastes of time, and even the decent ones require far more hours than necessary to do the work, or more manpower than needed simply because nobody is bothering to streamline the processes. I’ve always hated structured environments, scheduled breaks, performance evaluations, and all the other soul-killing rituals that dominate the modern world. So in effect, I hate working and I do as little of it as possible in a traditional manner. I don’t have trouble surviving, but I feel bad for people who do, because it means they don’t have many options except to punch the clock every day and then wait to die.
AN: I particularly enjoyed ‘This Scene Sucks’ but it’s the same everywhere in every genre too really isn’t it? What can be done to make it less ‘sucky’?
Jeff: It is the same everywhere with every genre, absolutely. I wrote that song as a universal truism, and it seems to resonate wherever it goes. As for making things less sucky, I’d say we need a few more dedicated fans and a lot less weekenders who are there to be seen. We also need less bands, and the remaining ones all need to be reasonably good at worst It’s possible! We toured Japan and every band that opened for us was great, regardless of their sound. The bar is set so high for musicianship and presentation over there. Fat chance of any sort of standard like that becoming the norm on these shores.
AN: The artwork should not be overlooked it’s incredibly striking. Birth A.D. meets 2000 AD. How did you go about getting the Cliff Robinson cover art and I am guessing he did the excellent back cover and CD art too turning you into cartoon caricatures yourself?
Jeff: Cliff did all the artwork, and I don’t think I could have made a better choice in working with him. 2000AD was always a favorite of mine, particularly Judge Dredd, and originally I wanted to hire Brian Bolland for the job. In searching for his information I discovered that Cliff, who in my estimation is every bit as good as Bolland, was already doing regular commission work. I immediately switched gears and pitched my offer to him, and he agreed to do it. I can’t say enough about what a fantastic job he did on it. For the record, it was my wife who actually colored the whole thing, which was no small feat.
AN: There’s also another special guest I did not pick up on until I read it in the liner notes ‘Kill Everybody’ features Sakis from Rotting Christ on guest vocals. Guess you have pretty good ties with him stemming back to Averse Sefira and he was more than happy to contribute to a song about mass slaughter?
Jeff: You’re correct, in that Rotting Christ and Averse Sefira toured together in the past, though he discovered Birth AD while I was working for RC as their stage manager. When I told him we were about to record our first album, he asked if he could appear on it somewhere, which was a huge surprise and flattering to say the least. So yes, he’s yelling along with us on “Kill Everybody”, which is really one of the cooler things that has happened with this band thus far. I like having my friends guest on my albums, so I can’t imagine it is the last time we’ll do something like that.
AN: Have you had much chance for live shows. I can imagine they are pretty full on and that you are not a band to discourage stage diving (surely its obligatory)? Here’s the “what chance is there of shows outside the US and through Europe and England” question?
Jeff: We’ve played plenty, though it has been slower recently because our drummer has been in semi-retirement due to starting a family. We’re going to remedy that soon, however. New blood into the fold, all that. As for the shows themselves, they do get pretty crazy and we’re all for stage diving and any other madness. I have a penchant for jumping into the crowd as well, bass and all. It was even like that with Averse Sefira, which other black metal bands thought was weird. Blame our speed metal roots.
Since the album is now available in Europe through Metal Age, I expect we’ll be appearing over there before long. If we come back to England it will likely be London only, so keep an eye out for that!
That’s about all I have to ask but certainly hope to hear some new material soon. Anything you want to say in parting, the platform’s all yours?
Jeff: I just plotted out another new song tonight, so rest assured a second beating is coming soon enough! Cause problems! Hail Hanneman!
(Interview Pete Woods)
Leave a Reply