1. Hello! How are you? How do you feel now that your new album “Welcome to the Night” is released? 

ECSTATIC! 

We’ve really received a wide array of responses! From words of genuine praise from fans, all the way down to the complaints of a handful of critics who are so utterly stupid that I can’t believe they’ve even been capable of learning how to use a spoon! Their total inability to comprehend the idea that this record is a STORY is absolutely beyond me, and affords me THE MOST humor I’ve experienced in years! I’ve spent more than one night with a shot of bourbon, laughing my ass off, reading through their absurd misgivings. Ha!

NO! Absolutely not! We were able to achieve, PRECISELY, what we originally set out to do.

This album IS a horror movie! Essentially, the entire record is a “movie-on-CD”. One single 3-dimensional idea presented in a linear musical format. I’ve always been inspired by nightmare-element movies like “Phantasm”.

Haha! Pick a disaster. We’ve probably lived through it. Economic difficulties to deaths. We’ve seen the ENTIRE range of troubles that can delay, inhibit, and entirely kill a project. If I hadn’t witnessed it myself, I doubt I’d even believe some of them could actually happen! 

I don’t believe our overall “sound” has changed much since “Iron Tiger”. If anything, it’s just more focused.

At the present time, that will depend, entirely, on INFERNO. We would like to see it re-issued, so we’ll see.

Hahaha! Who’s the fool making up THOSE kinds of silly rules? ONLY a death-metal band can have this kind of cover? Or ONLY a speed-metal band can have that cover? Or ONLY a black-metal band can have a whatever-kind-of cover? We find ALL “sub-genre” labeling, restrictions, and/or ideology EXTREMELY ridiculous and creatively limiting! TRUE METAL DOESN'T FOLLOW RULES! You’ve heard the expression: You can’t judge a book by its cover? The same applies to an album. Besides, if you already know what you’re getting, where’s the surprise? It kind of takes the fun out of things! The mystery makes it magical. 

WE LOVE IT! We had it shot exclusively for “Welcome to the Night”. It’s so reminiscent of the old-style “exploitation” horror-flick posters that we grew up with in the ‘70s and’80s, and that is EXACTLY the effect we were looking for. It’s got that whole “poster” vibe that signals the type of story that’s on the inside. You don’t know if our cover-model is a psycho killer, or a victim! She could be your mom, your girlfriend, your teacher, your sister… anybody! Bathed in blood, she’s beautiful AND repulsive ALL AT THE SAME TIME! Erotic, yet disturbing. Some narrow-minded individuals may regard our cover as rather distasteful, BUT once you’ve seen it, you’ll never forget it! You can love it or hate it, but either way, I guarantee that you WILL REMEMBER IT!

Only the first “chapter” contains the dramatization (the album is in 3 distinct “chapters”). Primarily because it is ESSENTIAL to our story. We wanted to make an “entertaining” record to listen to, but also, one that makes you think, and that has something to say. One that was an “experience”, not just the same old “one-song-after-another” type of thing, but the kind of record that a listener could submerge himself in. One you can put on, and just allow yourself to become involved in the story being presented. Much like reading a good book. There are far too many “instant gratification” records out there already. We wanted a different approach. Something separate. A little more unique. Our dramatization really sets the stage for the entire rest of the album. (Besides being an extremely creative way to actually USE our “bonus tracks” rather than simply tacking-them-on at the end.) That’s why it all comes back in the epilogue. The listener learns that the nuclear holocaust was NOT just-a-dream. Any listener or critic that ignores the dramatization, or simply “blows-through-it” because of their ignorance or impatience, is actually shortchanging themselves by missing out on HALF the experience that we worked to create. This is something we did especially for the listener to ENJOY. It’s a shame that some metal fans are so accustomed to the “same-old” kind-of-album done the same-old-way that they can’t accept anything beyond what they already know. We believed they deserved something more.

“King of the Hill”, and “Battleaxe” are actually “bonus tracks” for the fans. We’ve been asked MANY times over the years about our origin. So we thought the inclusion of the tracks would be a fun slice of our history for the fans that were interested. We originally began as a group called COVEN formed in 1982 and lasting until mid-1987. BUTCHER is actually only an evolutionary derivative of that idea. 

NO! Those songs are the original recordings from August, 1986. The only thing done, really, was to have the tapes “restored”, as there was a fairly extensive amount of deterioration that had taken place over the years. Then, of course, they were simply re-mastered.

YES! I played with two bands before BUTCHER. Back in the ‘90s, I played drums in a thrash-band called COMPOUND FRACTURE And when we lost a guitarist, we renamed the trio SLAG. 

We played the local shithole bars, and even worked ourselves up a demo-tape. (They were cassettes back then). Sadly, we never released an album. We had a lot of fucking fun though! My influences are many, as I enjoy LOTS of different types of music. The TOP of the rock/metal list would include Joan Jett, King Diamond, Wendy O. Williams, Chris Cornell, Layne Staley, and L-7. 

It’s actually quite normal for me! I’ve ALWAYS hung out with the guys. I’ve never been in a band with other females! (I can’t imagine a bus full of p.m.s.! Sure, we occasionally have issues, but I’ll just throw maxi-pads and tampons at them if they piss me off! I’m not a “girly-girl”, QUITE-THE-CONTRARY! I’m one of the biggest non-lesbian tomboys you’ll ever meet. Needless to say, I’m quite comfortable with the boys, ESPECIALLY the ones who are assholes like me! Hahaha!

There are efforts currently being made in that direction. We’ll know more once our replacement drummer, Zakk Reitgarde, and our additional rhythm guitarist, C.T. Fritts (also formerly of COVEN), are up-to-speed on all the material. 

A European tour has been my dream ever since I was in high school. That is something I would truly love to see happen! 

BUTCHER would love to play Greece, and get to meet some seriously rockin’ fuckers in your country! Greece is one of the countries that is VERY HIGH on our priority list!

Fucking “Shockwave”!!! Hands down!! Expensive? Hell yes! I bet it would cost MILLIONS!! We’ve always envisioned it with a ton of first-rate, Terminator II style, Hollywood special effects! From the nuclear blast to the band playing amidst the fires and ruins before an audience of radiation-burned children crawling out from beneath the rubble! With an American general pitted against a Russian general on a “Monopoly-style” board-game called “Shockwave” (where all the play-pieces are missiles) in the background! I actually had the visuals down before I ever even wrote the song! If you read the lyrics, you’ll see it’s pretty intense.

ANYTIME!! Thank YOU for asking them! 

THANK YOU! 

Set aside a cold beer, and throw a steak on the fire! Hopefully we’ll be seeing you SOON!