Nunslaughter is a band that has been around just as long as my zine and the band finally released their debut CD after many demos, 7", etc. I thought it was damn time that I gave the band a interview. Here is a chat I did with Don of this killer band.

MC: OK, for those who don't know you guys have been around a long time. How did the band form? Looking back now did you still think you would be around today? Are you still as much into the band and the underground today as much as you were back when you started out?

Don: NunSlaughter started in or around 1987. There were 3 people in the Pittsburgh metal scene that were into Death Metal. We would always meet at metal shows and discuss why PGH did not have DM. We decided to do something about it. The three of us Jer, Greg and myself came up with the name NunSlaughter and soon after we began to practice. A few months after that we released our first demo "Ritual of Darkness". At the time we just wanted to make a band that everyone we knew would hate. We succeeded. None of our friends dug the metal we attested to. I never expected to see the band in 2000 but here we are and NS is going stronger than ever. I am even more into the band then when we first began. Greg (the first singer) handled the mail and promotions. I don't think he did a very good job but I was traveling a lot so he was the only choice. Today I am involved in every and all aspects of the band. I handle the merchandise manufacturing, distributing, record deals, tours/shows etc. etc.. The music in today's scene does not really interest me. What is excepted as "good sounding" sounds like shit to me. I deal with the aggression in metal. I feel that aggression is diminished the more it is influenced by technical advances such as digital recording and drum triggering. Bands of today are nothing compared to the might of the older metal bands.

MC: What was is like for you growing up? How was the Pittsburgh area as far as metal goes back then? Did you get a lot of crap for the name back then and at all today?

Don: I got into metal very young. I was first attracted by bands like KISS and Black Sabbath. Later great bands like Overkill, Anthrax, Exodus, Venom, Slayer came into the picture. PGH has an excellent metal store called Eides. This is where my underground metal education came from. There was a strong metal crowd in PGH in the mid 80's but that was just metal not Death Metal. We were scoffed at for liking bands like Sodom, Possessed, Destruction, Death. We were all young and none of the more reputable bands paid any attention to us. People do not seem to mind the name. I guess they do not know the true meaning.

MC: How seriously did you take the band back then or was it more of a fun type of thing? What was it like going in the studio to record your 1st tape? How much did it cost you? How did you promote it as it was a lot harder to do that sort of stuff then it is today? Did you have a good knowledge of how the underground worked back then?

Don: The band was a way to express the metal we felt at the time. I do no think it was a matter of fun or not. We were into metal and that was a serious offense. The studio was not what you would expect nowadays. We paired up with a guy who had a few tape decks in his garage with a huge sound board. We told him what we wanted and hoped for the best. We had no idea what we were doing and I think that helped develop the UG sound which we were looking for. I think we bought him a case of beer for payment. I do remember telling him that we had no money and he agreed to do the demo anyway. Promotion was handled by Greg and he did not do a very good job. I was only beginning to understand the workings of the UG. Lots of flyers were sent out and a few promos were sent to select zines. You see back then the UG was just beginning to grow and we did not have that many small labels or distributors. All of that was handled by the individuals in the bands. This was cool because when you wrote a band you got hold of someone in the band. This is how the brotherhood grew and that's why when you get a bunch of old fucks together everybody knows everybody else.

MC: Did you get to play live much? Which bands did you play with? Any funny stories to tell or any bands give you a hard time?

Don: NunSlaughter did not play out live at all. Most of the time the demos or reh's were thrown together just long enough to get something productive out of the meetings and then we disbanded. I had problems with many bands on a personal level. Some would not show up or the bands gave me a difficult time about recording their live shows. Glen Benton was particularly difficult. I never did like his death metal but I wanted to record the show for a friend. He would not allow it. Sicky Wife Beater was another problem. But the best was at an Exmortis show when Brian Werking almost got shot by the club owner. Those were the days.

MC: What were some early bands you were into? Are you still into the today? Any early rare stuff you have in your collection?

Don: I have not forgotten about all the bands that gave me so much. Early, mainly demo bands I was into are UG legends now. Massacre, Mantas/Death, Pentagram, Sepultura, Matricide, Devastation (Chicago), Sindrome, Mutilated, Necrodeath, Slaughter, Iron Angel, Hatred, Rigor Mortis, Atrocity (Connecticut), Hellwitch, Incubus (Florida), Morbid Angel, Nausea, Dead Conspiracy, Dream Death, Genocide, Sathanas, Morsure, Rotting Corpse, Hellhammer, Whiplash, etc.. The list goes on and on but the names become more and more obscure. Rare music is what I am all about. I have unreleased LP's the best is from the great Armoros (Canada). I also have very early reh or live sessions of bands like Carcass doing Judas Priest covers in 85 or 86. Morbid Angel with their first singer Kenny Bamber and Dallas Ward. Goatlord Reh's, Mantas Reh's, unreleased Massacre tunes, Necrophagia reh's. Lots of metal that I keep for myself. Lets face it nothing good comes out now. Al I ever needed came out on tape. As for still being into the bands today. Not that much. I still like their demos but most bands only put out 1 really good LP or MLP. After that they all go downhill. Like Sodom, I only like the first EP and LP. By the time "Persecution Mania" came along they got weak and gave up on satanic lyrics. Hellhammer was great but the first Celtic Frost was only OK and by the time "To Mega Therion" came out with the timpani drums and female vocals.... How metal is that? Destruction had one really good EP. Sepultura began to suck after Morbid Visions. Evil Chuck put out Scream Bloody Gore LP, the Leprosy was well... less than Death Metal. Morbid Angel fucked up with Dave Vincent and they should have never gotten rid of Mike Browning. Possessed had 1 fucking killer LP but "Beyond the GAYtes" and the horrible "Eyes of Horror" lacked aggression. Plus they took a great song Swing of the Ax and butchered it with Joe Satriani producing it. My complaints go on and on.

MC: I know you released a series of demos one after another. Was their any record label interest or were you happy just making demos? As you were putting out demo after demo did you want to have some record label interest?

Don: After our second demo "Rotting Christ" that was released in 1989 we did a 7" entitled "Killed by the Cross" on Whisper in Darkness Records. I thought that was going to turn into something but he only wanted the 7" from us. In 1991 or so I began speaking to a few labels that were interested in what we were doing but with the weak release of our next demo "Impale the soul of Christ on the Inverted Cross of Death" they became disinterested. The demo really sounds bad and the drumming is horrendous. The songs are good but the labels could not get past the sound of the demo so the offers were rescinded and NS went back to doing what we do best...Demos. At that time I really did not mind not having label interest. I was not prepared to give the band 100% because I was still in college. Recording demo tapes was a way that I could keep the band going without giving a commitment to a label. I believe this experience is why NS still sounds they way we do today. I had the time to figure out what I was doing with NS and now it is nearly perfect.

MC: How did the scene change in your eyes? What did you think of the big death metal explosion in the early 90's? Did that help or hurt the band? At this point did you go through many member changes? How had the Pittsburgh scene changed over the years?

Don: The 90's were a time of huge growth in the UG. This is what destroyed it in my eyes. In came digital recording and money became involved that is what changed great demo bands into shit CD bands. People began to have a different view of UG metal and many interlopers began to infiltrate the metal scene. These people churned out metal without feeling and used the UG metal scene to quickly gain acceptance. I think places like Morrissound and Sunlight studios ruined metal for me. It was not about plugging in and playing anymore. It was about guitar tone and complex metal riffs. This was not for me. Old UG metal is derived from punk and punk riffs and the early punk attitude. Just listen to Venom or the first Onslaught LP. This is punk except for the lyrical content. Metal people are to concerned with sound and image and complex song structure. This bores me. I want fury in my music. You cant get that if you toil over the music. It begins to sound to cohesive and planned. This is not UG this is poser metal. This type of music is what we fought so hard against in the beginnings of the metal UG and now it is being thrown back in my face. Kids of today and even some older folks have fallen into this rut of a well manicured very sterile sound. If you are gonna do that why even be a UG metal band. Its like jumping into a fire with both feet but wearing an asbestos suit. You wanna say you went into the fire but you are really afraid of the flames. The member changes came after almost all NS recordings. People dropped out and lost interest. The PGH music scene suffered greatly. Fewer and fewer bands came through the city and fewer bands were forming. The hard-core / punk scene was still going on but even that suffered through the early 90's. It has begun to recover but it will never be what it once was.

MC: I had read in numerous zines about the Electric Banana Club and how much of a rip off they were. What is your take on all that? Is much or what I read true and that the owner was a total prick?

Don: They were a couple of tough characters. Johnny and Judy Banana. That was the bar that Exmortis had a gun pulled on them. Someone in their entourage insulted the club and Johnny pulled a gun. He threatened to shot them if they insulted him again. The Electric Banana is now a restaurant and they do not have shows there anymore but for a long time it was infamous.

MC: All your demos had a very raw sound. Why didn't you go into any 24 track studio to do a demo or you just wanted a raw underground sound. Are you happy with the way your demos all turned out? Did you do things differently each time you went into the studio?

Don: Thank you for the compliment on our demos. Yes this was/is the idea of UG metal. To have a raw sound to sound unpolished. This is what I wanted. My favorite demo is "The Guts of Christ" demo. It was recorded live in our living room. The sound is fucking sick and it fills me full of pride to listen to it. There were 2 demos I was not completely satisfied with. The first being "Rotting Christ" our 2nd demo. We recorded it in a garage and the original sound was aggro but after Greg mixed it the sound was muffled. The other was "Impale the Soul..." demo. We had an extremely weak drummer and he was unable to ply what I wanted but in the true nature of NS I said fuck it and recorded with him anyway. NS goes to record about every 3 months. Most things are different every time because I don't give a fuck. This is metal and that is the attitude you need. Plug in, shut up and play.

MC: After the death metal thing died out black metal became the in thing. Did many people think you were just hoping on that train not knowing you had been around for years and years? What did you think of these black metal bands coming out and saying how "true" they were? Did you get more label interest at any time when black metal was a the big thing?

Don: NunSlaughter is not anything like a black metal band. We never tried or professed to be black metal. To me Bathory is the end all be all for Black Metal. Less interest was paid to NS in the 90's. People do not know how to categorize us. Although we adhere strictly to what Death Metal used to be most people think DM is crap like At the Gates or Iced Earth. This is like glam metal. There is no aggression no Satan and very little Death. There are a few people or bands that can stand up with NunSlaughter. A few have come close but most falter in the long run. Most bands play more technical metal than NS but that is not what the UG is about. Just because a band only sells a few hundred records or demos that does not mean they are an UG band. For some reason bands are critiqued on how difficult the music is to play rather than the feeling of the metal. From top to bottom, left to right NS is UG. It is about building a camaraderie with other metal bands.

MC: I know you moved to Hawaii at one point. Why was this and what did the rest of the band do at this time? I know you also put a couple of 7" out. How did these come about and who were the split 7" with. Also you now live in Ohio, what was it like living in Hawaii? How does it compare to Ohio and PA?

Don: I moved to Hawaii to see what life was like out there. NunSlaughter at that time was just me and Sadist so moving was not a problem. I have always been a traveler and this was just another place to check out. NunSlaughter is one of the most prolific bands in the UG today. We released a split 7" with the Cleveland based band Bloodsick in 1997. Then we teamed up with the band Dekapitator to release our Glow-in -the-Dark 7" also in 1997. In 1998 we called upon Crucifier and they delivered our "Red" 7". Since then we have had many other 7"s. One with Derketa. Our "Blood Devil" 7" and pic 7", the "Trifurcate" 7" and pic 7", and we have begun to re-release our demos on 7" format.. Currently only the "Face of Evil" and "The Guts of Christ" are available. Hawaii was very laid back and an easy life. The problem was that there are not many metal bands form there. I was fortunate enough to work with the engineer that recorded Hawaii, Rat Attack, Sacred Rite and compiled a few metal comps. That was some excellent Heavy Metal. PGH is terrible and I do not wish living there on anyone. Cleveland is OK but I am becoming bored with it. I may move again.

MC:: You at one point signed with repulse. Was their any other labels interested? After all this time without a recording contract what made you decide to sign with them? Did you think it was a fair deal? I know things didn't work out with them. Explain your side of the story. 

Don: This is a long and complicated story but the gist of it goes...... In 1996 I agreed to record the full length for another label. Half way through the recording the label stopped sending $ and I was unable to get in touch with them to find out what they expected from me. I had the LP recorded but no cash to mix and master. I tried for over a year and finally gave up on them. It was about this time I was talking with Still Dead Productions, Repulse Records and Pagan Records. Repulse gave us the best deal so I went with them. Plus I knew Dave Rotten form his work with Drowned Productions and he was a genuine fan of the band. After going back and forth for over another year with Repulse the LP was still not released. This was due to financial problems with his label. Now keep in mind the recording has been sitting on the shelf for over two years at this time. I was pissed.

MC: The CD ended up on another label. What is the name of the label and how did you end up on this label? What kind of studio did you go into to record this CD and also how much did it cost and how long were you in the studio and who paid for the recording?

Don: I continued to complain and eventually we were sold to Revenge Productions. Dani was already a friend and he was doing the LP version so it seemed like a good choice to have him release the CD as well. We went into an analog 24 trk 2" reel to reel studio. This gave us the girth in the recording and kept it sounding warm. No digital bullshit. I think we achieved what we wanted. The LP has mistakes on it and things could have been better but true to our nature we released it. The record sounds like it was recorded in 1987. We spent about $4000 on the recording but we really did not know what we were doing. It is hard to say how long it would have taken if we did not have to put up with all the bullshit. Most of the $ came from me. Sadist kicked in about $1000 and the reset was from the other label that gave up on us.

MC: How much longer to do you see the band going on for? When can we expect a new CD? Will it be on the same label? So far how have they been doing for you?

Don: I am not sure how long I will continue to do NunSlaughter. I would like to say forever but that might be unrealistic. I have no plans to quit recording but we may stop playing live. Revenge Prod. would like to see another LP from us by May but I really disliked the way our last LP was handled. Plus I would rather just put out 7"s. LP's have a way of also being released as CD's and I dislike this format. We are obligated to release another LP with them but who knows.

MC: What do you think of this whole internet and stuff? Do you have a web site or plan on getting one made soon?

Don: I dig the internet and computers. NunSlaughter has 2 sites. One is www.NunSlaughter.com and the other is www.mp3.com/nunslaughter Both sites have songs to download and all the information on NS you can stand.

MC: What do you think in your whole career was the worst thing that the band did? What was your proudest moment?

Don: One of the worst things was not being able to release a 7" on the now defunct Seraphic Decay Records. Thing did not work out for us and talks fell through. That was in 1991. I would have to say the proudest time was when I held the "Hells Unholy Fire" LP or the NunSlaughter European tour. Europe was amazing and I plan to tour again in 2002.

MC: Do you get to play many live shows out in Ohio? I know you played or at least were on the bill at the Ohio death fest. How did that go cause it seemed looking at the band line-up that the style of music you play would not fit in.

Don: We do not play many shows in Ohio. The metal crowd is not receptive to us. Most of the shows are done out of state or as the case with this year out of the country. Yes we did play the fest in 1999. Lets just say we have not been invited back. I do not think people were into our metal. Most of the band that play the fest are 90's grind metal. The year NS played was torture for me. I had to sit through terrible band after terrible band until we played.

MC: At your job do people know you play in a band called NunSlaughter and have you had any problems with your mail and stuff or with picking up mail? What was the funniest piece of mail you ever got?

Don: Yes they know I am in the band but it rarely comes up in conversation. They seemed confused when I requested a month off to tour. They could not understand that a band that they do not know can tour. Mail is no problem. My mailman is very cool and he helps me out with pkgs all the time. I would have to say Joe Frankulin from Goatlord sent me an inverted cross letter that was burned. I still have it somewhere.

MC: What do you see in the future for the band? Do you think you will just keep improving as a band? What do some new songs sound like?

Don: NunSlaughter has many releases planned for 2001. There is a split 7" with GBK, a split 7" with Dr. Shrinker, a split 7" with BK49 and plans are being made for a split 7" with Cianide. We also have a Live Radio Release and a live MLP and a few live 7"s in the works. I hope we are not improving the band. I would rather like to think of it as refining it. I have begun to write less and less of the music. Sadist writes the music. I work on the lyrics and managing the rest of the band. I wish someone else would do it but for now I am the only one I trust. The newer songs are more along the lines of early Sodom and Venom. Simple song structure and rhythms you can band your head to. We have recently changed line-ups again and the new guitar player is a veteran of the metal scene. Topics deal with witches, Satan, Hell, zombies, spirits and the Devil. Your typical NS.

MC: What stuff is still for sale? Any last words?

Don: NunSlaughter has 2 tee shirt designs and an few 7"s. We also have the LP/CD, patches, stickers, buttons etc.. I can be contacted via email nun666slaughter@hotmail.com Thanks for the lengthy interview Chris. Metal is Death, Death is Metal, NunSlaughter is Death Metal.