How did you first learn about Metal-Rules.com?
Personally, I was told by a friend that there was this webzine which
had a pro-touch in their work and they were committed to what they were
doing. So, I just took the time to check it out. The zine itself was a
pleasant surprise, since the Internet is usually full of those
cheesy-wannabe-zines with idiotic questions... I think you know what I
mean.
Are you a regular visitor to the Metal-Rules.com webzine?
Well, due to my way of life, I can't visit the site on regular basis,
but I think "every now and then" would be appropriate answer
to this one... I guess about once or twice a week.
How important is Metal-Rules.com or the Internet in general for
getting your music out?
As I mentioned earlier, (the) Internet is full of very poor sites
with no other purpose than spreading idiocy and cheesy clichés. Now, as
far as Metal-Rules is concerned, I'm pleased that there is some actual
information, good links, news etc. etc. Well, I guess I prefer
information to show-off-mentality...
In your experience, either as a reader or as a band, what has
Metal-Rules.com meant to you?
As I said, as a reader I enjoy the fact that Metal-Rules is dedicated
to publishing accurate information rather than some cheap
"propaganda" - so to speak. As a band, Metal-Rules provides us
with a medium to let people know what we do and what we stand for.
Do you think webzines like Metal-Rules.com are, or maybe someday
could, replace traditional published magazines?
I hope not! Seriously speaking, I think that webzines have
established a steady platform for themselves, as far as those who use
the net on a daily basis are concerned. However, personally I prefer
holding the actual magazine, be it newspaper or a fanzine, in my hand
and just leaf through it, or really read it thoroughly. I guess it's a
question of being accustomed to something... Anyway, I don't believe
that webzines will replace traditional publications, but I think their
weight as sources of additional information will grow / increase.
Can you please list the members of the band and what they each person
plays?
W.R. - Drums & backing vocals
A. Mayhem - Guitar
G. Orgis - Guitar
Lauri 'Sexual' Hammer - Bass
A. Klemi - Vocals
How long has the band been together and what goals would you like
to achieve in the coming years with the band?
Mental Terror has been together since... err... I can't remember.
Hah. Was it the spring of 2000 or -01? Okay, now I got it: The idea of
establishing a death/thrash-metal band came from A. Klemi in the spring
of 2000. We were spending a national holiday, boozing and listening to
some great d-m records, and then Klemi just told me that he had always
wanted to sing in a d-m-band. At the state of mind we were at the
moment, we quickly made some rough overall plans, but never had the time
to get any further from that state... Everything was more or less calm
until we came to spring of 2001, when we managed to light the fire, so
to speak. We booked a studio and started to rehearse... 2 times, and
that's about it.
The future seems interesting. We did some musical experiments,
drifting into more technical thrash-metal, but we quickly realized that
it lacked the original spirit of Mental-Terror - hellish rocking with a
twist of misanthropy. After learning what was "our thing" it
became a lot easier to come up with songs that satisfied the band, and
at the moment I just can't wait to get to rehearse the new songs and
just let all my energy burst out. So, the tippy-toe-thrashing-days are
more or less over and we'll be heading for more deathlike sounds again.
In your opinion, what style of metal would you say best describes
what you play?
Well, as I said before, our music is a mixture of Death and Thrash
Metal with a twist of Rn'R...
Who have been some of your main influences?
Musically, I think that bands like Slayer, Sodom, Kreator, Morbid
Angel...Early Black-Metal bands, such as Dark Throne... This list will
be endless. But anyway, no matter how long the list might be, the
important thing is that we are not trying to be any of those bands. We
are not interested in picking up ready-made formulas for Mental Terror;
though we derive our ideas from the work that has been done before.
It would quite ridiculous to claim that we were 100% original.
Is your band currently signed to a record label?
Mental Terror is not signed to any label, and naturally we are
interested in signing to one. Anyway, we don't take too much pressure
about it, since we know we will keep on banging our heads with or
without any major deals. Of course it would make things slightly easier,
and possibly allow us to do things that are currently impossible...
Have you contributed work to other compilation CDs?
No we haven't. We weren't that interested in contributing our work to
some crappy low-budget compilation with no other purpose than to cash
in. This doesn't mean that we are not interested in what happens in the
underground, we just think that we have seen enough crap. What happens
in the real underground has nothing to do with some idiot trying to cash
out. Since this wasn't the case with Metal-Rules, we were happy to
participate.
Where did they hear about this compilation?
We spotted the ad on Metal-Rules.com. Simple as that.
Why did you choose this compilation to get your music to potential
fans?
Mainly it was because we felt comfortable enough with the people
behind this compilation. And all in all, we thought that it might be a
good idea to try it out...
Besides your song, what is the best feature of the Metal-Rules
compilation and why?
Well, in general compilations give people a nice overview of what is
going on in the world of metal and they may result to something nice for
some bands. Otherwise, compilations may come in handy i.e. while driving
a car - it's nice to listen to different kinds of bands without having
to mess around with the CDs all the time.
Why did you choose this particular song for the compilation?
Well, we just gave You guys a bunch of different songs, and it was
actually one of You, who chose the song. I'd say - however - that
"Baptized by Napalm Rain" is a pretty good example of our
music, and hence a natural choice.
Where did you record the song & who wrote it and produced
it?
All music, arrangements and lyrics: Mental Terror.
Produced by Mental Terror and Arto Mäki-Kuusela.
Recorded at Studio Digibone, Ylämaa, Finland / August 8-10. 2001.
Engineered and mixed by Arto Mäki-Kuusela and Mental Terror.
Would you say that your song on this compilation representative of
all your material?
If you leave out the experiments we did last summer - yes, pretty
well actually.
What is your song on this compilation about and what was the
inspiration behind it?
It is about how we see certain things in the world today, and what we
think about them. It's about the choices people make and the values that
drive them to make those choices. It's about extending one's middle
finger to certain ways of life and pointing out some things that need to
be changed. However blunt it may be, it is not to be seen as a manifesto
or anything like that. It's just a glimpse of what's going on in our
minds... hah hah.
What about this song made you select it for this compilation OR if
your band wrote or recorded a new song specifically for this CD, what
things did you have in mind when writing the song for use this
compilation?
We didn't actually record the song for this compilation. We recorded
it a lot earlier, but as I said before, we felt comfortable with this
one, so there was no reason for us to skip this.
What kind of expectations do you have towards this particular
compilation? What do you hope to gain by being featured?
Nothing special actually. We're just glad to make an effort and let
people know that things can be done this way too. Of course, the
possibility of future co-operation with some other bands or maybe a
label is always interesting.
Are you hoping this might help you in some way gain the kind of
exposure that may lead to a label picking you up?
Why not? Anyway, we don't have any grand expectations. We know the
song is great and if someone is interested in working with us, that's
great, if not, we are not too concerned about it. We'll keep on
thrashing anyhow.
What do you think of compilation CD's overall?
As I said before, compilations give people a nice overview of what is
going on, further more they can come in handy if one wants to listen to
more than just one artist, but doesn't have the energy or the time to
change the CDs all the time.
What kinds of things should a compilation feature in order to make
it worth purchasing and what makes a compilation worthwhile?
Altogether, a good compilation gives a clear picture of what is going
on at the moment. They are also a great way to capture a small portion
of musical history of that certain time.
If you had a chance to put together this type of compilation, what
would be some of the unsigned bands you'd like to feature?
Well, Khert-Neter would be one for sure. They really know what
they're doing! There are loads of good bands... I don't know...
Ravening, Steel Tormentor (not the one from USA. - those guys really
suck! I'd take the one from Finland).
Would you be interested in sacrificing another song for
"Metal-Rules.com - Vol. II" if the opportunity presented
itself?
Sure, absolutely.
Where can people order your other recorded material?
Write e-mail to mentalterror@hotmail.com
and tell us what you want... We'll see if we can be bothered to
answer... hah...No, seriously, just write to us, and we'll answer in
time.
What are your band's upcoming battle plans?
Well, personally I can't wait to get my hands into the new material,
which means rehearsing and arranging, and hopefully recording. I'm not
making any promises about further live-shows, due to some reasons that
are none of anyone else's concern.
