How long have you been on tour ?
For about a week and a half now.
How long is it gonna last?
For about 4 weeks.
Any plans to tour Europe?
Yeah, in February.
Where is the first place you'll go?
Same place I go every time I go there, Amsterdam.
So tell us about some of the bomb threats you've received over there...
Yeah it was the Animal Militia. They threatened me all the way across Europe. They don't do it anymore though, I haven't had any problems recently.
So what motivated them to do this?
Because I did some interviews and talked about killing animals.
So tell us about your latest release.
On October 20 we released, 'When Satan rules this world'.
Where was this recorded?
The House of Blues in Chicago.
So tell us a little about Amon and the founding of Deicide.
It started 11 years ago. I had an ad in a music magazine, the three of them were together and they found me. And they called me up and I told them what the fuck I'm all about...
You've been on RR through it all, how have your experiences been with them?
Fuck RoadRunner. That's my experience. Lets just say that there ain't no band or a label that have an honest loving relationship. It just isn't out there in the business. There ain't gonna be no band that's happy with their label and no label that's happy with their band. I am a thorn in their ass and they know it, but they gotta deal with me till the contract is up.
So how did the name Deicide come about?
I wrote a song and Brian wrote the music... I had written all the lyrics but I needed a title. So browsing through the dictionary one day I saw the name Deicide in there and it totally fit the song. So I wrote it as Deicide... And one night when we were at the warehouse trying to figure out what we were gonna rename the band... and it came out we named the band Deicide, its actually my ex-old ladies idea.
Well you ended up becoming a very well-known Death Metal band...
Well, we don't like to be called 'Death Metal'. When we started doing the shit, it wasn't even a term that was used. We got together and wrote music that was heavy, we didn't get together and say well 'lets write music to sound like Death or Slayer...', we wrote music that was heavy to us. We didn't have that thing, 'Lets be a death metal band...'
Deicide has stayed true to its roots and still carries its original image... many bands have thrown off what made them who they are once they tasted a bit of record sales...
That's what keeps us going. I grew up learning from other bands mistakes. We do what we do. I've seen bands sell-out, like 'we'll do this and hopefully we'll get some air play...' We're not interested in becoming mainstream, if it happens it happens, but it ain't gonna happen. We're not into being millionaires or being rock stars, if I was I wouldn't be doing this. We do it because we enjoy doing it.
Your thoughts on these sell-out bands?
Like Metallica... they are the biggest bunch of posers... and Slayer too. I hope Slayer hears this, they got an ass kickin' coming.
Any favorite bands?
The last CD I bought was an old Nuclear Assault CD-Handle with Care...
So what bands do you think are good in the scene today?
Well Vader... they're good friends of mine, as far as bands out there that have any credibility as far as heaviness. Vader's up there.
Where does the inspiration for the lyrics come from?
Most of the inspiration comes from a miserable life. Miserable people. Miserable things. My hate for God.
Where did that begin?
When I was a kid.
How old?
I was an evil little bastard my whole life. So I knew pretty much I was walking down a dark road. When I was a teenager I realized I wasn't going to be going back any time soon.
Your thoughts on Christianity?
I think they should keep it to themselves. Its because they're so high on God they get to running their mouths. The two worst things in life is a reborn Christian and someone that has quit smoking cigarettes. The biggest aggravating combination is when you get a Christian that quit smoking. I just wanna stomp their nuts! (laughs)
I can imagine you receive a lot of shit from Christians...
They don't bother me as much as they used to. Once in a while you get some picketers... they've realized it ain't gonna do them any good. They can talk all the shit they want, they don't wanna come up and confront me.
Had many confrontations with them?
I've attacked picketers and shit... In San Diego I attacked a whole youth group.
(laughs)
Any legal repercussions?
No, the band drug me inside before I went to jail.
So where are you headed after the States? South America?
Yeah, we'll do a few shows down south... probably Argentina, Chile, Brazil.
There's a pretty big metal scene down there...
It's huge, but the thing is they spit at you while you're playing. That's how they show their gratitude.
What did you think the first time you got spit at down there?
The first time I got spit at I was in Ireland... they do it in Ireland too... and you know, the first two or three times they spit at you, you think 'man what the fuck am I doing wrong?' (laughs) But after you find out that that's the way they show their appreciation. So you know I spend the whole night dodging lugies...
We haven't read any interviews with you in quite a while.
I don't do them anymore, this is the first one I've done in a long time.
Why is that?
I just don't find in the day to sit down and do them. Not only that, but I just don't feel like talking about the same bullshit over and over...
What's the worst question you've been asked in an interview?
I think that when people ask me about my personal life and shit, like my kid, things like that. That's where I draw the line.
So can we expect any guts to be thrown out into the crowd tonight?
No, I stopped doing that because people get sick... you know they get bacterial infections and stuff.
So did you used to do that alot in past shows?
Yeah, every show. I would go to the butcher store and buy like whole beef livers and then chop them up... cow stomachs, intestines, whatever I could get. I used to buy mannequins and pack the mannequins full of guts and then let the crowd beat them up like piņatas. I used to take five gallon buckets of the shit, chill it on ice for a day... but first I would leave it out in the sun and let it rot, then I would ice it all down and get it completely ice cold. Then half way through the set when everyone in the front row was ready to pass out from the heat I would splash them with a big bucket of ice cold guts and they would all start passing out...
What would the places you played at say about this?
Don't come back. It took me a long time to fix some of those gigs...
What did you think about the Milwaukee Metal Fest?
I'll never do it again.
What didn't you like about it?
The promoter is a fuckin dick. Last time we played there he tried ripping me off for half my money. So I was getting ready to choke him to death. And the guy from Restless Records came and paid me the balance for the gig so that's the last time I'll ever play it... I have no desire to play at the Milwaukee Metal Fest, to me its a fuckin unorganized waste of two days. So that's why Deicide doesn't do that anymore.
Anywhere you prefer to play?
I've got a bunch of cities that I like to play in...there's alot of them.
What's the scene like in your hometown these days?
There really isn't much of a scene there. We played there a month ago, we did a couple of shows in Florida. I mean its good turn-outs... metal is picking up everywhere. Its coming back, every ten years you get a little drain... rap and grunge had its day. And we're still here.
So what are you gonna open with tonight?
Probably with 'When Satan rules this world...'
Trifixion on the list?
No, we cut Trifixion from the set list. What we're gonna do next record is, we've been talking about this, we're gonna go back to our old catalogue and pull out a bunch of the songs we haven't played in years and bring them to the set for the next tour. We've been playing these songs forever and wanna put them on the rest. We'll leave a few of them on the set, but we'll have a different format for the next tour.
I hear you sometimes come out on stage with masks...
Yeah I got masks that I wear... I got a new one man, Its all spikes, it matches my armor with all the spikes... its pretty sinister. I make it all myself.
Bring it tonight?
No not tonight, I'll fuckin stab these guys on the stage.
(referring to the other band, which was playing downstairs at the time of the interview.) I didn't bring the mask with me on tour because I still have some modifications to do...
So what can we expect for the next release?
You can expect not to be disappointed. You can expect this: We will not do ballads, we will not have pianos, and we will not get soft in any way shape or form. It will be Deicide til Deicide is no more. If the shit was gonna be compromised in any way shape or form I would leave the band. I wouldn't stay, I would just leave and do my own thing.
Talk of change ever come up?
Nope. We've kicked over the idea of doing a cover song and we pretty much all at the same time go 'Fuck that.' (laughs) I mean it would be cool to do one just for laughs and to have fun doing it. But it ain't us. We like writing all our own songs.
So is everyone good friends?
Yeah, we've been together for eleven years, we've been through every fuckin thing you can imagine. Its like a marriage.
Does everyone else share your beliefs?
Everyone fuckin' follows me. As far as the Satanism and all that stuff goes everyone pretty much follows the philosophies of that. They're all pretty much into the same thing as me. I'm just the one who's a little more in tune with what he believes in, 'cuz I write the lyrics... so you get to hear my side of the story. Them guys knew from the beginning what the shit was all about. They were told I am a Satanist, and I write music about Satan... I mean, the first song we ever wrote, 'Sacrificial,' that right there laid in the groundwork to everything. So they knew, they know, they get paid the same...
Your thoughts on your first release?
Well, its one of the best sellers on the RR catalogue... that record hasn't even had cut-out yet. It's a good thing when you go into used record shops and you don't see your shit in there. I never see my shit sitting in a used section.
So if the Christian God is listening tonight, your words to him?
I'd say... Bite my ass. (laughs)
So with the millennial year approaching, your thoughts on the world and in your view do you see hope?
I'm hoping something is gonna go down. There's never been a society that's existed as long as we have. I think we're like a candle burning at both ends. So when the year 2000 comes around there's a good possibility that we could just fizzle out because of all the things we do to this world. Not only that but there are too many people toting nuclear weapons these days. So you never know what could happen.
Do you foresee a war in the near future?
I think there's gonna be a war... I think there's gonna be a civil war in this country. The common citizen is gonna take up arms against the Federal government. And there's gonna be one big fuckin hoe-down. I go all around the world and I see it. Our government is so fucked , they stick their noses in everyone else's business. One thing our country is, we are the world's police, we are the world's pocket book. We go out and destroy your country and then we come back and fix it all up nice for you, 'brand new'. And we give countries like Israel money, we give Israel money to spy on us and to steal our secrets... what it is is states like Nebraska...Wyoming... states out here in the midwest... they are like totally anti-Federal government. And you don't blame 'em...they just want to be left alone out here, that's all everybody ever wants is to be left alone. You know who wants the thought of the fuckin' ATF kickin' your door down and shit 'cuz you got a few extra guns in your house. Big Brother... pretty soon we're gonna have a computer chip in us, instead of having that strip on the back of your driver's license you're gonna have a chip in your arm...that's how its gonna be. Your social security number, it's just like a Jewish stamp on your arm, that fuckin' thing keeps track of you, what money you make, where you go... I speak to alot of people, I watch the news... I see all the uprising, what's gonna happen is the Federal government is gonna get too powerful and that's when it's gonna happen. I mean look at California, the people out there are ready to throw down over the immigration thing... Which granted, it's the United States, and people have a right to come and make a new life for themselves, but there's got to be some control on the borders. Our borders are like fuckin' wide open doors. They come across our borders, they spit out a fuckin' kid, that kid automatically becomes a US citizen and my tax dollars pay for that fuckin' kid to live off of welfare... you know what I mean?... I'm a tax payer, and I don't mind paying my share... I'm for the flat tax, pay it with every purchase, leave me the fuck alone every year... they fuckin rape me every year, I get punished for making money. It's like anymore I don't wanna go out and work, because I know I gotta pay them fuckin' cocksuckers their ten grand, it's like I gotta go out on a tour just to pay my IRS bill. It's like this, I have no health insurance for me or my kid, if anything happens to me I'm fucked I gotta pay for it out of my pocket.
Yeah, we pay for other people's health insurance when we don't even have our own...
Our country is the best country in the world to live in, and I've been everywhere, but our government needs to be overhauled. It's not for the people anymore, it's for the rich. The government is nothing but bribing one person, promising another person a favor... I think politicians win on promises... on a world scale looking at our government their laughing at us. I mean, we gotta a president that's a fuckin'...you know... I mean I'm all for a blowjob... But we're all fuckin' slaves to the Man...
Back to the music, do you produce all your music?
Yeah, we produce all our own music. We know what we want our shit to sound like, we don't need anyone to do that for us. That's why you always see Scott Burns co-produce... we give Scott that credit because here and there he'd throw an idea at us and we'd use it. Scott's out of the business , he's a computer programmer now... so we're probably gonna do our next record with Jim at Morrisound...
Any idea what the next release will be called?
Oh yeah, but I can't tell... I'll give you the initials: R.of. P. ...
When is this due for release ?
Late summer, we're gonna take our time.
Ok... so if the world collapses tomorrow, what's your plan?
I'm gonna load up all my guns and I'm gonna be like Mad Max... and I'm gonna go around fuckin people up. That's what I hope for the future. I hope it all just crumbles and we can all just be barbarians.
So if this Christian band gets up there and starts talking all their propaganda are you gonna pull the plug?
Oh for sure. I think he's gonna be an obedient little bastard tonight... If he gets stupid he's gonna find out the hard way that Deicide don't fuck around. Now if it was a band like Believer, or one of those gay Christian bands then definitely they would be off. The fact that he denies it is good enough for me (The singer of the Christian band denied the fact that he was a Christian to Glen before the show when Glen confronted him.)
I was like listen man I don't care what the fuck you are, if you come up here and you preach to my crowd then I'll pull your plug. If he was a real Christian why would he even be here...
What are your religious beliefs?
Everything that has nothing to do with God and Christianity. The opposite of everything they believe.
Your thoughts on the death of Anton Lavey?
I think it was way overdue...
Heard anything about how Aquino and Zeena are saying they placed a curse on him? (laughs)
No... Lavey was a Hollywood Satanist. And Aquino is working his way into being one. I mean there's Satanism the philosophy and there's Satanism the money. I live my life by the philosophies of anti-Christianity... I'm a Satanist by their definition, not by my own. They define me as a Satanist. I don't define myself as a Satanist.
So what would you consider yourself then?
I would consider myself a free-thinker. I don't deny what I believe in, I believe in the Devil, I don't believe in God. I know God exists, but who runs this world? The Devil. Who tells me what to do? The Devil. And that's just being honest. I'm not gonna sugar coat it and say I hear voices...
OK, let's ask you about your cross now...
What cross? (laughs) It just separates me from the rest of them. When you look at me you know where I'm coming from, you don't have to try to give me your pamphlet.
So do many Jehovah Witnesses come knocking on your door then?
Oh yeah... some of my brother's wives in-laws are Jehovah's... when I wrote 'Satan Rules this world' I went up to the Falls where I'm from and got into a big argument with them all. They don't like me very much, and I don't like them at all either. They always like to confront me and when they do I always shut them up. So the last conversation we had I shut them all up, and that's how I came up with the song. The lyrics are all about Jehovah Witnesses. I've had them come to the house and I'll open up the door and ask "You selling God?" And they'll look and I'll be like, " Get the fuck down the road!" On the front of my car I've got a plate that says "Satanic," so when they come up the yard they see my car sitting there with the plate saying Satanic... we'll confront 'em once and if they come back I'll get the garden hose out and spray them down.
Final comments to the Christians who might be reading this?
Bite my ass.

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