|
|
|
|
LAZARUS A.D. INTERVIEW
 LAZARUS A.D. - interview with Jeff Paulick, March 2009
|
Who would have thought that the new wave of Thrash Metal might come from another bay, other than San Francisco? And on Lake Michigan even? It just may be true my Metal Horned friends. Lazarus A.D. from Kenosha Wisconsin, not only pay homage to Thrash Metal's roots with crafty hooks and sizzling leads, they have a crisp sound just like all the new schoolers. Check out their debut on Metal Blade, The Onslaught, on tour with Amon Amarth this spring, and read this interview with Bassist/vocalist Jeff Paulick.
Thanks for the time and good luck on the 'new' to the world album. I have thoroughly enjoyed it, so I wonder how does this come from Kenosha Wisconsin? I haven't been in that area of the country for a while now (I double as an occasional over the road truck driver), but as I recall it was all pretty much Skater Punks and Mighty Bosstones fans out there.
You are absolutely right, that is until we came along haha. We pretty much were the only band around here playing this type of thing, as the years went by and we became more popular a scene started to flourish. I’ve never seen so many long haired kids in Kenosha in my life, its great!
The album sounds great. Either James Murphy is a genious, or you guys did a pretty solid job on your own before he tweaked it. What's the difference between the original and the Metal Blade product?
Really only the sound is any different. Nothing was re recorded; it’s all the same takes from the original. James just really did a damn fine job to make this album even more stellar. The drums were a huge step up, but overall everything sounds a lot better.
I must admit to being a bit of a new fanboy now because this is some of the best Thrash Metal to come around in a while. The same old guys are still around, but you guys are definitely a fresh take on straight up fast Thrash Metal. Do you feel as though you're attempting to do that, bring Thrash back a bit? There's a lot of good bands out there that borrow elements of the style, but none as clearly definitive as you.
Well yes and no. This record is obviously thrash, it was what we wanted at the time and this is how it came out. But that’s not to say there isn’t a lot of other elements present, elements that we will develop as we get older in our musical career. We don’t wanna be pigeonholed as simply a thrash band, we feel there is a lot more room creatively to explore on the coming albums.
I'm sure you probably would have liked to record something new for your Metal Blade debut, but as with most labels, it's cheaper for them to do something that's already done. I know you have extensive touring planned for the rest of the year, but what's the plans for a new record?
Hopefully we will get a great response to this disc and can tour on it for as long as possible, but we already have several songs written for the next record. Things are looking great, the sound is progressing and the vocals have come a long way. Maybe next year sometime we will be back in the studio? Can’t say at this point.
How did Metal Blade find out about you guys in Kenosha Wisconsin? Did you barrage them with demos?
We did hit them with demos a couple years back, and actually got a response saying they weren’t interested at the present time, keep us posted. We did the Thrashing like a Maniac thing, word spread, they called us up and we worked on the deal. So far we are very happy with how everything is unfolding.
One thing that Thrash has lost over the years, in my opinion, is the guitar solo and hooks. You guys have taken those elements to the forefront. Maybe that's why you mihgt be hearing things like 'they're old shool'. Your thoughts?
Well, as far as I'm concerned, solos are rock n roll, and hooks are what get stuck in your head. Without these 2 elements, what the fuck do you have? A bunch of songs nobody remembers ahaha. We want our songs to be memorable, songs that people want to go back and listen to again and again. We feel weve done a pretty good job with that, even if the tempos start at 190!
How much live performing have you done prior to this upcoming tour? It must be a dream come true to be able to just hang in the Metal scene every night all over the country.
We have been together for about 4 years, and played in bands before that for a previous 3 years. We have been performing since the 7th grade locally, things just kept building to be bigger and better. Live shows are so important, and we really focus on making sure ours is the best it can possibly be every time we go onstage.
Where can fans get more info about your band/merch/tourdates/etc.?
Our myspace. The best place to find everything, Head over to myspace.com/lazarus1 and get everything you need to know!
- Alan Gilkeson
