rattlead.hu
Tommy, before you joined Hellwitch around 1989, you played in Vacant Grave, can you give us any informations regarding this band?
Vacant Grave was a thrash band from the St. Louis area, influenced by bands like Slayer and Possessed. Half of our set was Slayer and Possessed covers, and half was originals. We put out a few demos but the band never got signed. I have the band to thank for one of my proudest memories as a musician, opening for Agnostic Front at Bernard’s pub around 86 or 87.
If I’m corect, you replaced the late Frank Watkins, how did you get in the picture exactly? Were you the first choice of the band or did they audition other bassists as well?
I actually answered an ad in a local musician’s magazine for a metal bassist. At the time I was singing in a band called Nitrous, but the band kind of dissolved after our practice warehouse was broken into and our equipment was stolen. I also wanted to find a band that needed a bass player anyway, I am much better as a bassist than a singer. Pat answered the phone and told me to meet up with him to show me some of their songs. By the end of the jam I had learned a couple of the songs and he was already offering me the position. As far as I know there were no other bassists considered.
Were you as talented and skillful musician, as they (Pat and Joe) were?
Lol. Those guys are pretty damned talented, so I’m going to say no… I’m pretty good but those guys are better, technically. Maybe. Lol.
By the way, were you familiar with Hellwitch’s early materials? I mean, with their demos, rehearsals, bootlegs etc., that were spreaded around in the tapetrading/fanzine circuit…
I was not familiar with Hellwitch before answering the ad, other than having seen them play live once before.
They produced a string of demos and rehearsals of a thrashing nature, gradually swerving towards a more aggressive direction, right?
It’s been a very very long time, I only remember hearing the demos when I first joined the bands, so that I could learn the songs. Yes they were very fast and aggressive. And technical.
At which point did you start to work on Syzygial Miscreancy?
It was 1990. We only had a few days to record… I am not sure of the exact dates… I do remember that I had some college exams coming up as soon as we got back, so I had to study in the hotel room while Pat did some of his tracks. Not very rock and roll, I know! I also missed out on the band getting to hang out with Morbid Angel after that session (which I didn’t know until after the fact.) I was pretty bummed about that. But I love the recording process and it was a thrill to record in such a nice studio, and with Scott Burns in particular. It was great fun.
The album was recorded and mixed from March 11-13th, 1990 at Morrisound Studios, Tampa, Florida, does it mean, that you didn’t have a decent budget to work longer, to spend more time in the studio?
We didn’t have a budget at all, we had to pay for it ourselves. I know I payed a pretty big chunk of it myself. Never got a dime back from it from Wild Rags records. But it was worth it to be on an „official” album.
By the way, were you prepared to cut the material, when you entered the studio?
I’m not sure I understand the question. We were practiced up and in synch as musicians and ready to record. It didn’t take many takes. I think I did most of my stuff in one take.
Would you say, that Syzygial Miscreancy sounds like Atheist’s debut, the mighty Piece of Time; there’s a lot of overlap, stylistically, between the two; both are obviously highly technical, both sit somewhere close to the border between thrash and death metal, both write more concise songs than many of their peers in the realm of more technical metal…
I have heard people make the comparison. Both bands played crazy, highly technical and complicated riffs and songs. Atheist is an excellent band, so it’s an honor to have been compared with them.
Did Hellwitch definitely push the boat out a little further than their fellow Floridians in terms of technicality, especially when it comes to the guitars and the vocals?
Yes, I definitely think Hellwitch pushed the envelope when it came to complicated technical riffs. In fact, it was a little too much for many people who came to shows. The songs were very difficult for people to follow, and I think they got a little confused and frustrated, because sometimes we would just get confused and blank stares from the crowd instead of mosh pits. I think in time people got more used to that style, but back then it went over a lot of people’s heads for sure.
The most obvious example of this is the song on here, Nosferatu…
I think that was the idea, to be crazier, faster, and more technical than everybody else. For a while their thrash metal was all about who could go fastest… faster faster faster…. then blast beats came along and things got a little ridiculous lol
Did Syzygial Miscreancy manage to cover quite a lot of ground in 25 minutes of maniacal absurdity?
I think the album packs a whole lot of insanity in a short time for sure.
Obviously it’s got an impressive volume of super fast and choppy thrash riffing which makes up the bulk of the album…
Again, that’s what we were going for. Tamed chaos… lots of notes and melodies and riffs.
How do you view, that it’s not a surprise that most of the songs here were taken from a few of the previous demos, but despite their separate points of origin, they flow with a crass consistency?
Well we were very disciplined as a band when it came to practice. We were very dedicated to our instruments and being tight as a band. We practiced a lot. So I think it makes sense that a band that spends a lot of time getting to know each other musicially through writing and practice can make older material sound as good as newer material, and maybe even keep it updated.
Did the new songs have more tense, better harmonies, cool riffs, actually tons of riffs and definitely better sound?
I did like where we were going with the songs we were writing after the recording of syzygial. By this time I had been in the band for a while and I was able to start getting my riffs into the songs as well. I do wonder how the newer material would have sounded had I stayed in the band, but I left before that material was finished.
Do you agree with, that alongside your technical brand of thrashy death metal, Patrick Ranieri’s partly-yelled, partly-shouted and entirely rabid vocal delivery bears a striking resemblance to Kelly Shaefer’s of Atheist?
Yes I think they did have similar styles.
Are the riffs contorted and there is a non-stop emphasis on the technical side of things?
Yes. lol
Did songs like Sentient Trangsmography have all the energy, aggression of Demolition Hammer, and all the technical wizardry of Watchtower?
I think so. I think the producution could have been better if we had more time so that the sound could have been more aggressive.
Do you think, that Hellwitch’s similarity to early Atheist is as much a product of coincidence as it is demographic?
I would say pure coincidence. We were just two heavy fast technical bands from Florida.
Is this album fairly smooth and clear? Do the instruments have a thick sound, a benefit of Morrisound production?
Again I wish we had money and time to get a better, heavier, more aggressive production. Scott Burns did a great job with the time he had. But overall I think the album sounds good for it’s time.
Did you play quite fast and had this morbid on your sound?
We loved to play fast. That pushed us. It also made it fun to thrash and headbang on stage while playing the songs.
Would you mind, that Syzygial Miscreancy is a twisted and outstanding collection of songs created and developed since the band’s 1984 Nosferatu demo tape?
I would say it’s their greatest album, because I was on it Lol. No really, I do sometimes get feedback about it, and I think it is a classic for it’s place and time.
The album was released in December 1990 by Wild Rags Records, what did cause the long delay of the album’s release compared to its recordings?
I was not involved on the business end of things, so I am not sure what happened there. I know Pat had issues with dealing with the owner of Wild Rags.
If Combat, Earache, Nuclear Blast or even Roadrunner would have made it, would it have been a tremendous success, in terms of extreme metal standards?
I think the album would have done much better, sold much better, with those labels. I think the band could have more easily found it’s niche audience. I think with the right promotion and distribution, we could have really had some success with it.
Are Hellwitch one of those bands who flew very much under the radar in their original incarnation?
I was not in the original band. When I was in the band I think the band was under appreciated because the songs were so fast and technical, and now looking back there is more of an audience that can appreciate it (and find it due to the internet)
Is Hellwitch a band who relegated themselves to the annals of obscurity as a result of bad timing and an unpronounceable album title?
Maybe bad timing. There was more of a groove metal thing starting to go on, and we were balls out fast and technical. Also, album production got a lot better not too long after this time. The complication of the song names and album name was fun, but yes I think added to the difficulty for the average person to get it.
How do you think, if it had been released three years earlier, there’s no reason to doubt Hellwitch would have made a bigger name for themselves?
That’s hard to say. Maybe the scene would have been more receptive at that time.
Were there any shows/tours in support of the record?
I honestly don’t remember there being much out of the ordinary. As it was we played shows weekly if not more often. There were no tours… again Wild Rags didn’t even pay for the studio time much less put us on tour. We just kept doing our thing.
Tommy, thanks a lot for your answers, what are closing words for our readers?
Hey thank you so much for contacting me. I do miss those days, and it was fun to answer the questions! Just a shameless plug and a fun fact, I drew the comics that came on the inner sleeve of the album. I still can play the hell out of the bass, so if any really good heavy bands are in the orlando area need a bassist, hit me up haha! I also write stuff and would love to get a killer original project going. Anyone interested, email me at tom_buckley@att.net. Thanks again! metallllllll!!!!! \m/
