AR: I guess in reality it was a longer process, we did one track and then moved onto the next one. It was a process of refinement from those demos, working on the production ideas, arrangements. There was a lot of hard work and adjustment involved. Do you have anything to add to that Jeff?

JW: No!!! Laughs

AR: Myself and Nige would come up with the basic tracks, the band would put it together to get the best elements for the release. We have stepped up to the plate on this release.

How do you think ‘Sounds of Violence’ stacks up against your previous releases, your first two albums are certified classics, the third one (‘In Search of Sanity’) we don’t talk much about even though it was a great release, ‘Killing Peace’ saw Onslaught introducing a heavier sound after a 14 year break, but for me ‘Sounds of Violence’ is a natural progression, would you agree? (Andy and Jeff asked me what I thought before giving me an answer!). I like the fact that they have developed an almost American sound, brutality heavy, lots of riffs and guitar parts but have retained the melody in some parts, something I like from my music.

AR: We were weary not to be contrived/artificial even though we thought we want to make the best album that we can, we were aware that if we made it sound like this or like that then that would take away our own style. I think what you said about the album being the next logical step in context, we took everything to the best of our ability, the writing, the arrangements the performance and we come out with what we have, I guess it’s not really European influenced really (PM: in terms of breakneck speed) but if that’s the case then I think it is simply that we pushed ourselves to make a better release than previously. It was about riffs and songs, not really about being too progressive or a certain style.

PM: It is certainly an album that makes you listen to everything that is going on, if you like a musician’s album?

AD/JF: Yeah!

PM: Out of the tracks I had just heard (at the Listening party where this interview took place), I picked out ‘Hatebox’ and ‘Godhead’ as being outstanding. Obviously in this situation I have not had time to absorb the lyrical content of the album but it is fair to say that the whole package is something special, and vibrant.

Why did you choose to re-record ‘Angel of Death’ from Power from Hell ahead of the other tracks on that album for the digipack release?

JW: It is the easiest one to play!!

AR: I don’t think it is the easiest to be fair!

JW: we have played it live; it is a stable song in the set list I guess.

AR: We wanted to revisit these songs with this line up, as Jeff said, this one has been in our live set and we wanted our (Andy and particularly Jeff’s) influence on the track. We have re-recorded other tracks from ‘Power from Hell’ in the past but not with this line up. And for the record I think it is really hard to play no matter what Jeff says!

Proceeds for the ‘Bomber’ single, featured on the album as a bonus track, will go to ‘Help for Heroes’ charities, a very generous act, you obviously feel strongly about what our troops are doing and you initially got involved through our armed services being fans of the band, explain! (go to www.play.com to buy and donate!)

AR: Steve (Grice – drums) originally got involved through contact with a soldier, we kept the contact through this really and we thought it would be a good thing to do for the troops through our association with them

How did you get Phil Campbell involved in the recording of ‘Bomber’?

JW: We had prior association with Onslaught and Motorhead, I contacted Phil and things moved on from there really.

Tom from Sodom was in the next studio, how did he become involved also?

AR: A very good question

JW: It was all a matter of timing, we played some shows with Sodom last year and it seemed like a cool thing to do.

What about the artwork? It is very much a simpler but darker imagery of the band?

AR: It was kept understated, the music does the talking! But it does give impact being a simpler design. ‘Sounds of Violence’ the whole theme is heaviness; the artwork reflects the music really.

You recently played at the Royal Standard in London to celebrate your Dean Guitars sponsorship, how did that come about and what do you think gives Dean Guitars the edge compared to other manufacturers (I apologised to Jeff as he is the bass player for going on about the guitars!)?

AR: Dean Guitars are awesome! I also think the association with metal goes hand in hand with these guitars too. If you look at the more metal guitars on the market, pointy headstocks pointy bodies…

PM: they are rather large (in terms of overall size) models too

AR: Yeah well that is a big help to me!!! It’s basically the whole metal shape thing I guess.

Out of the shows you have played since releasing ‘Killing Peace’ are there any that stand out?

AR: some of the smaller club shows have been mental, Bloodstock was really good too and we played in Istanbul a few days ago that was good, they were going absolutely crazy!

Do you have any touring plans in the pipeline you can talk about?

AR: there is talk of a UK Tour, but nothing confirmed, we are however playing Hammerfest in the early part of the year, everything else is at the planning stage, and hopefully we can get some more shows around that date.

Will you re-record ‘In Search of Sanity’? Do the demos of Sy singing still exist and available for release? Or is this a chapter you prefer to stay in the past forever?

AR: They exist, but they won’t see the light of day

JW: They won’t see the light of day, but it would not surprise me if we do a lot of those songs in the new live set list, a newer version.

You re-emerged on the scene when the younger generation were giving Thrash a go. Did this prove an influential co-incidence and are there any bands in particular you take note of or would recommend, say Seregon whom are from your part of the country?

AR: They are a brilliant band but what a bunch of wankers! (PM: this is very much a joke people, not serious – they are good friends with Seregon!). Despite my statement, they are a great band in truth and nice chaps.

JW: great at what they do, as for any influence or bands of the younger generation in general, hmm, not sure.

AR: there is no wrong or right, or way of doing things, bands have to do what they do to make their music, you gotta do what you gotta do!

JW: A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush!

So with those words of wisdom from these wonderful chaps, my time had come to an end. The ‘Sounds of Violence’ is released in late January 2011 on AFM Records in Europe, release dates differ for the rest of the world, but Onslaught have upped their game and you need to listen to this album to appreciate their work without relying solely on their back catalogue to make judgement.

Thanks for Mike Exley for arranging this interview and to Jeff and Andy for giving me their thoughts and time. The ‘sounds of violence’ is coming, strap your rear down and prepare for a heavy “Onslaught”.

For more on the band check out http://www.xdeadlockx.com

Paul Maddison

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