rough as guts...
...With two full-length albums and an ever-increasing amount of live performances under their bulletbelts, Melbourne-based Destroyer 666 have their sights set squarely on the future... or is it the past? I recently spoke to vocalist/guitarist/ founding member K.K. Warslut about his unholy lust for leather, denim, and spikes...
K.K. Warslut is an interesting name. Was Judas Priest a major influence, musically or otherwise?
K.K. was purely a spur of the moment act. I came up with it while I was designing the Bestial Warlust 'Vengeance, War 'til Death' vinyl cover. I thought it would be a laugh and it has been. As for the vinyl, well that never appeared though it is in contract that one day Modern Invasion are actually obliged to come through with it, but don't hold your breath unless you've got enough oxygen tanks to last from now until you die.
How about the other Heathens who make up D666?
Well, Howitzer has now left, and has relit the 'Gospel of the Horns' flame. It now exists in Melbourne as a three piece, as they're writing some great fuckin' Metal. Beware!!! Bullet-eater is the invisible member of D666. He continues writing the songs and lyrics, but only plays live with us on occasion. He is mostly busy with Long Voyage Back. Look for a CD in the future, probably through Modern Invasion. I must say, I think 'Long Voyage Back' is definitely some of the best music to come out of Australia... ever!! Not at all like anything he's ever played with before. Very trance like, very 'eavy and very 'umble. Shrapnel is the good lookin' bloke in D666. We figured, seeing as we're so damn ugly, no chicks would come to our gigs, so we got the Shrapper in. But it didn't work, 'cause all the girls said I was better lookin' than him. HA HA! No, but seriously folks, I met Shrapper in '95. He showed me a song that he had (Satan's Hammer) which I loved. He could play lead and was a good bloke, so I got him in... and he's got a XB coupe.
Your second album, 'Unchain The Wolves', appears to have several corresponding themes, the prophecising of doom, the rallying of the masses, with overall feelings of loneliness and ultimate despair...
The charm of knowledge would be small if so much shame did not have to be overcome on the road to it. I have learnt that if you want people to feel, you have to express a feeling. The despair expressed is something most people harbour within them. Most, undoubtedly, do not wish to confront it, let alone think about it. It was my aim to let it have its own voice, and then have you ask why.
Now that 'Unchain The Wolves' is released, is your first album, 'Violence is the Prince of the World', still avaiable or any other older material?
'Violence...' is still avaiable on CD, but as for vinyl, I don't know. I'm sure if ya looked for it, you'd find it somewhere. The demo is no longer available, but if anyone wants it, go to the next gig, find the most Metal bastard ya can find there, and ask him to tape it for ya!
'Unchain The Wolves' bridges many different styles, Nationalistic anthems, fist shakin' thrash, even trance ambience. Did you see this approach of encompassing a myriad of formats, in one band let alone one album, as lacking in today's modern Metal scene?
On the whole, yes. The better bands, the ones I like, do I think. Although some bands don't need to. I think it's important for a band to try and fill a void, find your niche so to speak, as opposed to flooding the market with more of the same shit, but that means taking a chance.
The same approach is apparent with a band like Burzum, a particular favourite of yours I understand. The use of narration is also used throughout 'Unchain...', buried deep in the mix, much like many Burzum material.
Yeah, that's something I picked up from Boyd Rice. Adds an atmosphere and communicates without having to sing.
It is widely known that D666 actually record all their material live, and then put down the vocals in the studio. Why does D666 decide to use this method?
'Cause we're Metalheads, and we're rough as guts!!!
Concerning D666 live shows, many have been performed on special days/dates (Friday the 13th, Xmas ever, et cetera) Any special reason?
Not really, we just don't play live that much.
D666 seem to have a strong philosophy concerning how a band should interact with their audience, playing 'for' an audience, rather than 'at' an aufience.
Fuck yeah!! Total participation. A show is 25% the band, 75% the crowd.
With hails to bands like Spear of Longinus, Fortress, and Squadron, how important are the racial aspects off D666's lyrics, live shows, and everyday lives?
I am a Satanist, first and foremost before any politics. Satanism being the philosphy which contends survival as the highest law. That is the religion for me. From this, you can chose to live in any fashion you want, without considering the deeper implications of just who and what you are. This is what my experience has taught me. Your decisions should be based on what your experience teaches you.
D666 appear to be a very pro-Australian band. Any comments on the current Republic debate.
Turn off your TV's
You are in contact with many other Aussie bands, as in any Euro scene, but with one major difference, Australia is about 5000kms across. Can you explain this? 'True Aussie mateship' perhaps?
I guess being so far and few between, you're bound to run into each other one day. Australians have a long-standing reputation for 'mateship'. Vietnamese soldiers from that shambles of a war talk of the great risks Aussie soldiers took trying to help a mate, often making themselves a dead man also. Not too good from a Satanic point of view, but from what I've gathered, war and conflict bring out the true worth of a man, not rhetoric.
That brings me to another point. I have read that you compare the spirit of a Heavy Metal demon to that of a warrior.
I was talking about war in terms of the arms race. The comparison being, that music that goes to the point of being fast and chaotic, whatever that may mean to you, tends to be like weapons of mass destruction. Alienate the participants. There's no glory in being bombed by an atom bomb. But this is just a theory that I jotted down one night doing a zine interview. Not a concrete belief, just an idea.
A lot of the bands you are in contact with are from the East Coast primarily. Have you been in contact with bands who are not on the Australian East Coast, such as Martire, Stargazer, Tyrant, Enforce, et cetera.
Yes, those blokes have written a few times, but I have too much mail to contend with, without getting into long letters with people, so I can't say I know them. I've said it before and I'll say it again, get your shit together and leave those backwaters. Melbourne is the place to be. All Metal brothers are united.
From the band photos I've seen, it would appear that (now ex-member) Howitzer is able to play both drums and bass. Was this a one-of thing, and does anyone else in D666 have similar skills?
No, Howitzer was only on drums for the recording of 'Unchain the Wolves', but he never played drums live once. No one has similar abilities, but I think a lot of bands can play guitar and wipe their arses at the same time, 'cause their music's total shit!
Also, Howitzer's Venom/'Black Metal' tatoo is very good. Does any other D666er have any distiguishing marks their particularly proud of?
I'm not circumcised, does that count!?! I'm proud of that!! Deceiver has scars on his neck where he had a fight with an alligator and Bullet-eater has holes in his stomach, 'cause not content with slug gun pellets on toast, he over ate on M-16 hotdogs. It just blew him to pieces man!
Thanks a lot for the interview Warslut, the mandatory last words...
EXTERMINATE!!! RESISTANCE IS FUTILE, YOU WILL TELL ME DOCTOR, YOU WILL TELL ME!!! D666 WILL CRUSH YOUR SOULS!!!!