Interview with Don of the Dead by NOX
DON: NUNSLAUGHTER recorded our first demo before MORTICIAN or even CANNIBAL CORPSE was even formed. MORBID ANGEL began quite a few years before NS but the thing to remember is that all of those bands signed record deals early in their career. NUNSLAUGHTER never wanted that or rather I never wanted that for NUNSLAUGHTER. This band is DIY. We have not had to become slaves to the record industry. Signing to a label like Century Media or Relapse is like giving up. NUNSLAUGHTER was established to fight the music industry not join in.
REAVER: Since day one NUNSLAUGHTER has used a controversial satanic old school image. Looking at song titles like "Guts of Christ" I get the opinion that you guys don't like god or his only begotten son much! Song titles like "Satanic Slut" speak volumes. I wonder are you guys occultists or LaVeyans or is it all more horror movie inspired. You guys seem to come from the cut yourself & worship satan school, not the philosophical LaVeyan elitist intellectual one. It seems more about blasphemy than elitism, explain.
DON: Death Metal is all about Death & Satan. Those are the concepts that interested me & got me further into metal. This is a constant & will never change> My beliefs are more against Christendom rather than for satan, but my writings are different. I write about concepts or stories that interest me. Satanism... that is true Satanism, is not about being "evil" or doing the wrong thing. The concepts in Satanism are more about ones own strength. Not being a follower but being a leader. Doing what is best for yourself rather than others that don't deserve it. Satanism is a very DIY way to live your life. I have not room in my life for Christ. Forgiving those that do not deserve to be forgiven or turning the other cheek is weak & a cop out. Somethings & some people deserve all your hate. It is unnatural to suppress feelings of hate just because a book written by fools for fools tells you so.
REAVER: I noticed one of your cds had images of wiccan high priest, Alex Sanders. Are any of your members wiccans or practicing pagans? I always like asking this question of satanic bands, most always seem split amongst the two camps. Either blasphemous rebels or genuine occultic practicioners with more than a solid respect for LaVey. What are your opinions on Anton LaVey & its off shoot, The Temple of Set? I am an ordained satanic priest & a ceremonial magician myself so I'm always interested in whether satanic bands are occultists themselves? Do you consider yourself a true satanic band even in the religious sense?
DON: Some of the members in the past were practicing wicca, but as of now, no one in the band practices any religion. I personally am more atheist than anything. I do not look for spiritual guidance from anywhere. I am one against many & that is how I view life. It is my belief that organized religions are still dictating what you can or can't do. This to me is unacceptable. NUNSLAUGHTER has no religious or political agenda. We play metal it is that simple. If people want to read into more than that then it is up to them but we are nothing more or less than a death metal band.
REAVER: Your lyrics are brutal & crude, once again not
really LaVeyan but more a brutal black metal assault against
Christianity. Its been like that from day one & I wonder
were you ever afraid of scaring away casual new listeners
with your hardcore stance?
DON: This is the big difference in NUNSLAUGHTER & other
bands. We/I do not make music for other people, I make it
for myself. If others like it, great, if they don't, so what. We
don't sell many records. We do not have record contracts. We
don't sell very much merchandise. We don't even break even
when we tour, but that is not my concern. This is my way of
life & I am not looking to live off a band because once your
liveleyhood depends on your music then you begin to make
compromises to sell more albums. NUNSLAUGHTER listens
to no one. We have the ultimate freedom. We write what we
want, we release records when we want, we tour when we
want... no one or no label owns us.
REAVER: Wigger metal rules the roost in the 21st century. Linkin suck, limp bizshit, korny & the oh so scary slipknot (aren't those masks spooky!) sell millions while true metal goes largely unnoticed. Have you ever been tempted to approach one of these nu metal dorks & at least try to turn him onto real underground music or do you feel there hardly worth the time?
DON: All those don't concern me. I do not want to sell millions of records nor do I care if those bands do. They have nothing to do with my scene & I have nothing to do with theirs. The thing to remember is that when their record sales decline they will be out of music. It is that simple...you can even see it in some bands that try to get into the underground or think they are in the underground. They will release an album & if it is not a "big seller" they break up & everybody gets out of music.
REAVER: I saw NUNSLAUGHTER play a few years back with DECEASED at Pittsburgh's The Upstage & I have two questions about it. First off, you guys raged, it was an amazing show but I've been wanting to ask you this, what the hell is up with that stuffed rat you kept playing with & handing to audience members? It was kind of gross! Don't you feel dead animals even stuffed ones are unhygienic? Number two, I recently read in Metal Maniacs about King Fowleys failing health. Did NUNSLAUGHTER & DECEASED become close on that tour & if so how has Fowley been doing lately. He seemed badly off in the interview.
DON: First off, thanks for coming to the show. Second, I am insulted that you would think I would provide a stuffed rat at a live show. You gotta be out of your fucking mind. I have NEVER used anything fake at a live show EVER. Although I did chop up a mannequin dressed like a nun but it was a real mannequin. Those were 100% DEAD RATS. Not stuffed. I ain't up there playing games, I am there to offend. Our live shows have contained gallons of blood, pigs heads, ram/goat skulls, cattle/deer/dog & human bones, maggots, cow organs/entrails & many other visceral tissue but none of it I repeat NONE of it was ever fake, stuffed or generic. Now with that said...yes it is not hygienic at all to provide dead items at a live show. King is doing much better now & DECEASED just finished their new album. Kingy & I go way back. I first wrote him in 86 & I think I met him that year or maybe 1987. I have been a fan of DECEASED ever since I heard their first demo.
REAVER: Many of us consider the bible not good enough even for toilet paper & I was wondering other than your music, how do you feel one can fight the Christian lie. Groups like ex-BLACK FUNERAL's singer Mike Ford's luciferian youth are known to hand out & place anti-christian flyers near churches & schools as well as approach christian or catholic school students & speak to or hand out satanic pamphlets to them. Do you have any methods or ideas on how to alleviate or end the mental enslavement that is in essence christianity?
DON: This is the first I have heard of a group handing out anti-christian flyers around churches. That is wonderful & I applaud all of them for such a staunch stance against Christianity. I think that would just piss people off rather than turn them or open their minds but what do I know. At least they are doing something. I think the key is to educate people & make them aware that there are other ways to lead your life. Christ dominates everything that is done in the United States. It sickens me to think most of the laws were created from a Christian mind set. Our lives in the United States are ruled by Christian laws. The problem is that the lines are grayed between morality & being Christian. So even if something benefits mankind if it is not Christian or "ok'ed" by the church then it will not come to pass.
REAVER: And finally. Don, you're a free spirit, you move frequently & relocate. How much has it affected NUNSLAUGHTERs ability to keep a steady line up?
DON: I am nomadic. I always have been, but in recent times, I have settled. I will probably move one more time back to Hawaii but I am not sure when that will be. It has had little impact on what NUNSLAUGHTER has been able to accomplish. A short rundown on what NUNSLAUGHTER has done is we have released 6 cds, about 40 7"s, toured Australia, Europe, & the U.S. That is impressive considering we did it all on our own. There are many more entries to be made in the NUNSLAUGHTER journal so we won't go away anytime soon. METAL IS DEATH, DEATH IS METAL, NUNSLAUGHTER DEATH METAL!
