Artillery - A Thrash Metal delight!!!

London, Islington o2 Academy, UK

Artillery are firing up the Thrash Metal scene!!!

Currently on tour with Onslaught and ahead of their London show Joe Denby caught up with Artillery's two newest members Michael Bastholm Dahl and Josua Madsen and chatted about....well Metal! what else?

Music Trespass: How are you today?
Michael: I'm really good. I'm thrilled to be here. Finally in London we've had quite a few UK gigs so...

Music Trespass: Hows the tour been going so far?

Michael: Great, it's got better and better every day you get further into a tour you find out more and get used to things and everyone gets more comfortable with each other so yeah it's really good.

Music Trespass: There's a real buzz about this tour, a sense of an event.

Michael: That's great!

Music Trespass: It seems at the moment the lesser obvious Thrash Metal band's are coming to the forefront.

Michael: Yeah!!! I think when the Big 4 thing happened it jogged people's memories and younger fans started digging deeper and looking for other bands like Testament and Exodus and ourselves were plating Thrash in an old school way but I think we are all playing new material in a fresh and modern way. There's a buzz going on and people are interested in our music and that's a cool thing.

Music Trespass: Lets talk about your new album 'Legions'!!!

Michael: It's the first album I did with the band and the drummer Josua. It was a challenge and was quite daunting but I think it turned out great. It was a big task, we didn't really have much mapped out I remember going to the studio and writing lyrics and fumbling about with vocal lines and stuff and I think Josua had the same thing he just went in there and thought "Wow what am I going to do here" and we just wanted to pay homage to the old stuff but also come up with something fresh and new.

Music Trespass: So there was a lot of trust and you were given free reign?

Michael: Absolutley!!! yes... We were free to do what we wanted to do and there were very few things we corrected and deleted and when we got into the mind frame things really flowed.

Music Trespass: How are you both settling into the band?

Josua: We've had a great time in the band there's no hierachy in the band everyone is cool with each other and we've got free reign on the album, of course we went back and forth with ideas and such but it was all equal on opinions it was really cool.

Michael: It's great because it does feel like we are all equal and it's great to feel like that because we feel dedicated and not like lackeys because we are part of Artillery and we want to keep it going and make it the best it can be.

Music Trespass: Artillery and Onslaught are two bands that have split up and reformed and have gone from strength to strength. We're always being told how bad the industry is but older bands seem to be enjoying a new lease of life? What' your opinion?

Michael: There is certainly a financial decline, there isn't that much money left in the music business anymore as it were. so I think the reason the older bands are able to thrive is because you have a name you can rely on and play more gigs. That's the way to go now.

Josua: That's just it and I don't think a lot of the older band's went away, they still played.

Music Trespass: What advice would you give to bands that are starting out?

Michael: Don't be afraid to make mistakes and just keep going - Stay strong that' the most important thing.
Josua: And keep doing what your doing don't try to be something else, because if you just do what you do that's the best you have.

Music Trespass: What future plans do Artillery have?

Michael: We have a US and Canada tour coming up which runs through October, November and December and we have a show in France in September and in the new year we want to start planning a new recording.

Music Trespass: Are there any plans to re-release any of Artillery's older albums? you only have to go onto eBay or Amazon to see they are selling for an extortionate price.

Josua: Actually as we speak there are negotiations going on about how can get the old albums out there especially since the flow is going really well for Artillery right now.

Michael: It's horrible because if you want them you should be able to get them even if it' on iTunes but they are just not there! But we are working hard to get them back out.

Music Trespass: What have you been listening to lately?

Michael: I've listening to a lot of Dark Fortress. Devin Townsend he is so diverse.

Josua: I'm really into Opeth I'm excited to hear their new album. Nevermore all that good stuff. We see a lot of good stuff being out on the road.

Slayer 'Divine Intervention' cover (Pictured Above)

Music Trespass: Top five Albums?

Michael: Oh that's a hard one but I think AC/DC 'Highway to Hell', Iron Maiden 'Seventh son of a seventh Sun', Slayer 'Divine Intervention' ... because it was the first Slayer album I got. Dimmu Borgir 'Enthrone darkness Triumphant' and Warrel Dane 'Praises to the war Machine'.

Josua: Metallica 'Master of Puppets', Opeth 'Black water Park'.

Michael: All Motorhead albums!