{"id":43994,"date":"2016-03-20T00:00:34","date_gmt":"2016-03-20T00:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=43994"},"modified":"2016-05-10T02:38:42","modified_gmt":"2016-05-10T02:38:42","slug":"feature-onslaught-03-16","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/feature-onslaught-03-16\/","title":{"rendered":"ONSLAUGHT – Live Forces (March 2016) | Features \/ Interviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

ONSLAUGHT – Live Forces<\/strong><\/span>
\nAnthony Morgan<\/span>
\nMarch 2016<\/span><\/p>\n

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Onslaught\u2019s Live At The Slaughterhouse<\/em> line-up (l-r): Jeff Williams, Leigh Chambers, Sy Keeler, Nige Rockett and Michael Hourihan<\/b><\/em><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
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\nBritish thrash metal outfit Onslaught performed at O2 Academy venues in Bristol and London on the dates of July 19th and 20th of 2014, respectively, the resultant concerts recorded in both audio and visual formats. The aforementioned recordings were culled in making February 2016 jaunt Live At The Slaughterhouse<\/em>, the release a conglomeration of both live performances.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe filmed the shows in Bristol and London on the O2 tour we did the summer before last, and it was going to be a while between albums,\u201d explains Nige Rockett, rhythm guitarist for Onslaught. \u201cWe thought we were playing all of these nice venues, so we came up with the idea of making a new DVD. It was something that we hadn\u2019t done since 2007 (Live Polish Assault 2007<\/em>, recorded in February and released in May of that year). They were nice stages and nice PAs and stuff, so we decided to film a couple of those shows just to keep things ticking over between albums. Yeah, I\u2019ve not really had a chance to watch it properly or anything yet, but I hear that it\u2019s come out quite well.\u201d<\/p>\n

In selecting possible venue locations for recording, Bristol and London seemed obvious choices \u2013 Bristol being Onslaught\u2019s hometown, of course. \u201cObviously, London has always been our second kind of home in England,\u201d the musician reasons. \u201cWe always get good, enthusiastic crowds there, and in Bristol obviously, so they were the two obvious shows that we were gonna film. We took lots of fan film footage from some of the other shows which I believe were cut in as well, which was nice for people who had done a bit of filming and got their clips added in as well. So yeah, it went quite well. The audio disc sounds really nice as well, which is cool. People will have to check that. \u2018Chuck\u2019 (Charlie Creese) who did the mixing on that did a really good job, I think.\u201d<\/p>\n

A major difference in the seven intervening years between the respective recordings of Live Polish Assault 2007<\/em> and Live At The Slaughterhouse<\/em> is the wealth of fresher material being increasingly drawn upon. \u201cWhen we did the first one, the Polish Assault<\/em> one, I think we had only been back around a year or so since reforming in 2005,\u201d Nige remembers. \u201cWe just looked really rough around the edges. The band\u2019s moved on leaps and bounds since that time, especially in terms of live performance. As you say though, there are several songs on both DVDs that are the same but obviously there\u2019s a lot of newer stuff incorporated. We did a real good cross-section of the band\u2019s career on the latest one, taking stuff from the first album right through up until the new one to give it a real good mix for all the generations of fans.\u201d<\/p>\n

In composing a live setlist, Onslaught aims to present a \u2018cross-section of the band\u2019s career\u2019, as stated. \u201cThe more albums we make, the harder it gets,\u201d the axeman concedes. \u201cWe\u2019ve all got our favourite songs from each album but we can only play so much, and obviously fans wanna hear a good cross-section. Not everybody wants to go out and hear the whole of the new album live, especially when it\u2019s a new record that hasn\u2019t really grown on people yet. You\u2019ve gotta be pretty careful to keep the fans a 100% happy with your live stuff. With a new album, we\u2019ll probably go and out and play two or three tracks off of it whenever it comes out and just keep the classics in there, and just mix a few different ones up now and again. Like I said, with the DVD we made it a real good cross-section of stuff from the first album right through to the new one \u2013 across all six albums, basically.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of Onslaught\u2019s career compositions, personal favourites naturally exist. \u201c\u2018Killing Peace\u2019 (from the March 2007 album of the same name) is definitely my favourite one,\u201d Nige cites. \u201c\u2018Rest In Pieces\u2019 (from March 2011\u2019s Sounds Of Violence<\/em><\/a>) I love playing. Just songs where you sort of… \u2018Killing Peace\u2019 is just one of those songs that is really kind of simple to play for us, and obviously the crowd love it and join in on the choruses and stuff. It\u2019s just one of those songs that you can sort of really let rip, and not have to think about too much \u2013 it\u2019s really programmed in there. It\u2019s just a lot of fun to play. It\u2019s kind of got everything. It\u2019s a great crowd-pleaser, so… A good blast.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Certain fanatics would expect older material to have been referenced. \u201c\u2018Let There Be Death\u2019 (from May 1986\u2019s The Force<\/em>), and stuff,\u201d the performer submits. \u201cThat\u2019s always great to play, but definitely \u2018Killing Peace\u2019 is my favourite track to play live. I think 50% of the set is from the first two albums, mainly.\u201d<\/p>\n

In creating setlists, some ensembles only swap out the odd track here and there. \u201cYeah, I know what you mean,\u201d Nige replies. \u201cWe\u2019ve got to keep it fresh for ourselves as well as the fans, so we always change a good 3-5 songs on each tour we do. Obviously you\u2019ve got to keep certain songs in every time like \u2018Power From Hell\u2019 (from February 1985\u2019s Power From Hell<\/em>), \u2018Let There Be Death\u2019, and \u2018Killing Peace\u2019, but the rest is kind of flexible. We\u2019ve got a few mid-tempo songs and a few slower songs that we like to swap around and obviously a lot of fast ones that we mix up as well, so yeah. <\/p>\n

\u201cWith the upcoming tours we\u2019ve got this year, it\u2019s going to be completely different. It\u2019s going to be predominantly an old school set with the whole of The Force<\/em> album, about three tracks off of Power From Hell<\/em> and I think one or two off of Killing Peace<\/em>, so it\u2019s going to be an older style Onslaught on this tour. It\u2019s a set that we\u2019ve never played before, so it\u2019s going to be completely fresh for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Causing freshness is the inclusion of material which hasn\u2019t been performed in quite some time. \u201cI think we\u2019ve just brought the track \u2018Death Metal\u2019 off of the Power From Hell<\/em> album, the first album, into the set for the first time late in 2015,\u201d the composer lists. \u201cThat\u2019s something we\u2019ve not played I think since 1984 maybe, early 1985. It sounded really good; it fitted in with the rest of the material. It\u2019s kind of refreshing to bring something really old into the set, but it sounded really new at the same time. It\u2019s kind of strange, but it has a lot of energy in it and it went down a real storm in South America in particular. <\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know. I think that\u2019s probably the last of the tracks from the early days that we looked at bringing in, because the rest of it isn\u2019t quite suitable to fit in with the way things are nowadays. I think we\u2019re playing four or five tracks off of Power From Hell<\/em>, which is pretty much half the album, and we generally play virtually all of the tracks from The Force<\/em> on different shows. We\u2019ve got it pretty much covered in terms of what we want to do. It\u2019s just a case of finding the right balance between everything now and making it all gel when we actually change the sets around.\u201d<\/p>\n

That freshness includes the performance of material lifted off of September 2013 effort VI<\/em><\/a>. \u201cLike I said, we\u2019ve only been playing sometimes two, maybe three tracks off of the album,\u201d Nige reiterates. \u201cWe\u2019ve been playing \u2018Chaos Is King\u2019, \u2018Children Of The Sand\u2019 \u2013 which has been going down really, really well, and has a little bit of a different feel to the traditional ones \u2013 and obviously \u201866 \u2018Fucking\u2019 6\u2019. <\/p>\n

\u201c\u201866 \u2018Fucking\u2019 6\u2019 is actually going amazingly well with the crowds; it\u2019s got the sing-alongs, and stuff. We get lots of requests to play that. We\u2019re off to south east Asia in a few weeks time and it\u2019s an old school set that we\u2019re playing, but we\u2019re getting a lot of mails \u2018Can you please play \u201866 \u2019Fucking\u2019 6\u2019 for us just this once?\u2019 We\u2019re looking at maybe adding that one in as well, just to keep the people happy who want to listen to some new stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Children Of The Sand\u2019 happens to be this interviewer\u2019s favourite off of the VI<\/em> opus. \u201cI think it\u2019s one of my favourites as well, just because it\u2019s a little bit different for us as well,\u201d the axe-slinger seconds. \u201c\u2018Chaos Is King\u2019 or \u2018Children Of The Sand\u2019 is my favourite.\u201d<\/p>\n

The trio of cuts emerged on Live At The Slaughterhouse<\/em>\u2019s track listing, although unused live material recorded from Onslaught\u2019s July 2014 Bristol and London concerts should theoretically exist. \u201cI would say it does, but as far as I know, everything is on there,\u201d Nige muses. \u201cI don\u2019t think we cut anything out. I can\u2019t remember, to be honest. Jeff our bass player was dealing with all of the audio \/ visual sides of things. I can\u2019t remember, but I don\u2019t think we cut any tracks. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe had a few problems, because we lost some footage from one of the shows. That was part of the reason why it took so long, because the guy who was doing the film editing had to sort of chop things up quite heavily to make things work where we had lost some bits and pieces here and there. I think pretty much everything is on there, though. It\u2019d be nice to have something to keep back for other things, but I think pretty much the whole show went out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite the lyricist\u2019s response, given that live audio exists from both performances and each respective track only makes a solitary appearance on Live At The Slaughterhouse<\/em>, a second live rendition of each and every track theoretically lie in the vaults. \u201cI guess they do, actually,\u201d he admits. \u201cOur sound tech recorded everything on his laptop through the console, so I guess there is. Obviously at this stage though, only the actual tracks on the DVD and the live CD were the only ones that were mixed. <\/p>\n

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\u201cSo yeah, there may be some stuff to sort of check out. I don\u2019t know. I\u2019ll have to look into it. It\u2019s not something I\u2019ve really thought about before, but it could be interesting. One of our licensees is looking at doing some special editions of The Force<\/em> this year for the 30th anniversary and they were looking at some bonus stuff, so that could be a good idea. You might\u2019ve raised a good point there, so thanks.\u201d<\/p>\n

A bonus DVD accompanies Live At The Slaughterhouse<\/em>, inaugurated by a 20-minute documentary. \u201cIt\u2019s something I\u2019ve not seen, actually,\u201d Nige chuckles. \u201cI\u2019ve not actually seen the full final edits on the live DVD as yet. I managed to listen to some of the audio just to check out the mixes and all that, but things have been so manic over the past couple of months that I\u2019ve not really had time to sit down and take it all in. I\u2019ve had a few reports back on it. People say they are really enjoying it and stuff, but I\u2019ve actually not had that chance to take a look yet. I think I\u2019ll take it on the tour bus, sit down, and get a look at it (laughs).\u201d<\/p>\n

The aforementioned documentary contains various content. \u201cWe did an interview on there, quite a long, in-depth interview,\u201d the co-founder describes. \u201cI think there\u2019s some stuff on the tour bus. I think Sy (Keeler, vocals) is doing a guided tour around the bus, introducing people and things like that as well as addressing things that people sometimes don\u2019t see and maybe would find quite interesting. It\u2019s just sort of a bit more down to earth look at the band I guess, but a lot of people I know who\u2019ve seen it have said that it\u2019s quite cool. That works for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Additional bonus DVD content includes the music video for the track \u201866 \u2018Fucking\u2019 6\u2019. \u201cIt is obviously kind of tongue-in-cheek, but at the same time it has got a serious edge as well,\u201d Nige notes of the composition. \u201cIt was all intentional. We deliberately wanted to write another kind of \u2018Metal Forces\u2019-type anthem for Onslaught, really. It had been a long time since \u2018Metal Forces\u2019 was released, and fans always considered that as our main anthem I guess. We felt that it was time to do something new, and yeah, we just wanted to get a lot of hooks in there and a lot of sing-along bits and stuff. It works with the crowd. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe video came out with the live show, and it\u2019s still unbelievable in terms of the power of the video and what it does. We\u2019ve done a few videos and lyric videos and when you play those songs live, everybody knows the words, so the music video still has a lot of power. It\u2019s done incredibly well for us on that particular song. It\u2019s amazing when you\u2019re playing it, and you can actually hear the whole audience right over the top of the band. It\u2019s a great feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n

Live At The Slaughterhouse<\/em> doesn\u2019t feature Andy Rosser-Davies in the lead guitar position, whose departure following a long-term absence was confirmed on September 14th, 2015. \u201cHe\u2019s got a lot of commitments, and was finding it difficult to tour long-term,\u201d the guitarist reveals. \u201cHe runs a music business in Swansea, basically teaching and stuff like that. It was getting increasingly difficult for him to sort of maintain his work while we were away for long tours. He pulled out of one tour, and said \u2018I can\u2019t do this \u2013 it\u2019s too long. Let\u2019s see what happens when you get back.\u2019 <\/p>\n

\u201cWe then did the next one, and it was the same situation. It was a little bit awkward. As much as we wanted Andy there obviously because he was such a great guy and a great guitarist and fitted into the band so well, we couldn\u2019t move ahead with him not doing the tours. So, we got stand-ins for a few tours. <\/p>\n

\u201cLeigh Chambers joined us for a couple of years, but it was only recently when me and Andy sat down and sort of discussed it that he said \u2018We need to draw some closure on it now.\u2019 We decided to announce that he wasn\u2019t going to tour with us any more, and was actually stepping aside as a full-time member of the band. He\u2019s gonna be working with me on new songs though, because we do love working together and we like to think that we make some cool music together. He\u2019s definitely gonna be involved in writing some stuff on the new album, which is nice, along with our new guitarist Iain as well. It\u2019s gonna be kind of the three of us working together on that, which should be quite interesting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Handling lead guitars in the Onslaught fold is the aforementioned Iain GT Davies, whose appointment was announced the same day as Andy\u2019s exit. \u201cIt was quite strange, actually,\u201d Nige recalls. \u201cWe obviously had Leigh Chambers in the band to sort of step in for Andy for a couple of years, but things weren\u2019t really working out. Leigh lived up in Derby, and he had commitments also. Things were kind of getting a bit strained again, so when we came back from South America I think it was \u2013 which was 18 months ago, a year ago, or something like that \u2013 we decided we may need to look a little closer to home for a guitar player. Sy sent me over a link one day. He said \u2018Take a look at this.\u2019 He just came across it on YouTube, and it was Iain playing guitar along to \u201866 \u2018Fuckin\u2019 6\u2019. <\/p>\n

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\u201cIt was incredible. He played it note for note perfect, and absolutely nailed it. I think Sy had gone and seen his band a couple of times. We gave him a call, and said \u2018Would you be interested?\u2019 He said \u2018Yeah, for sure.\u2019 We got him out to rehearsal, and it all went from there really. He had a couple of rehearsals, and off we went. I think he played to something like 20,000 people, and played six shows, so he was sort of thrown in the deep end (laughs). A baptism of fire, if you like. He loved it, and has gone from strength to strength.\u201d<\/p>\n

Among Iain\u2019s initial touring commitments will be live treks organised to commemorate the 30th anniversary of sophomore full-length The Force<\/em>. Originally issued in May 1986, Nige has memories aplenty of making the opus. \u201cQuite a lot actually, because it was quite eventful,\u201d he laughs. \u201cI think we had only been in the studio in London for two days. We had arrived in the morning \u2013 I don\u2019t think we had even put any drum tracks down. The studio had been broken into; everything was smashed up and we had had lots of equipment stolen, so it didn\u2019t really get off to the best of starts. Yeah, there were lots of weird things going in the studio. There was a little bit of possession going on in the studio, we think. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a big learning curve for us. We were working with a young producer who was learning himself, and he was keen to put a lot of ideas in and make a great sounding record. They sort of came out far better than we could have ever imagined. The guy who mixed it \u2013 Roy Rowland \u2013 did a great job on the mix at the time. Yeah, it was just a massive step up from the previous album for us. It was a nice time.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Force<\/em> boasts some notable tracks. \u201cIt\u2019s got some great songs on there, I think,\u201d the musician endorses. \u201cMaybe it\u2019s a little bit overly long in places, as bands did back then I suppose, but you could hear that we were still raw musicians \u2013 kids still learning to play. We had only been actually playing for three years when we made that second album. It\u2019s a bit rough around the edges I guess, but that\u2019s its appeal in some ways. We\u2019ve been listening back to it a lot while we\u2019ve been rehearsing for The Force<\/em> set, and yeah, I\u2019m really enjoying playing all of the songs. It\u2019s nice. It\u2019s giving me some inspiration for some new material. You go back, and say \u2018Wow, that\u2019s cool.\u2019 There are some ideas we can work on, and make ideas from for the next record. So yeah, it\u2019s been good.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Force<\/em> was arguably a breakthrough record for Onslaught. \u201cYeah, definitely, because there were a couple of things that happened with it,\u201d Nige shares. \u201cWe obviously signed to a new label, which was Music For Nations. They were a massive label at the time in Europe, obviously with Metallica, Anthrax, and stuff like that, so that was a massive step up from the first album straight away. Obviously using better studios and having better people to work with made it a better sounding record. I think the record had only been out six to eight weeks, and we were getting lots of press, and lots of people are saying good things about us. Then we landed a full European tour with Mot\u00f6rhead for a month in Europe, and things just snowballed from there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sadly, Mot\u00f6rhead frontman \u2018Lemmy\u2019 Kilmister died on December 28th, 2015 at the age of 70 following a short battle with an extremely aggressive cancer. The axeman has memories of Lemmy from that early 1987 European tour. \u201c(Laughs) Yeah, there\u2019s lots,\u201d he begins. \u201cHe was such a funny, great guy. I remember one night we were sat in a bar, in Copenhagen I think it was. There was me and a couple other of the Onslaught guys. Phil and Wurzel (Michael Burston, guitars) I think were down in the bar \u2013 I think it was about four in the morning. The lift door opens, and out comes Lemmy in a pair of Paisley pyjamas and a dressing gown, but I don\u2019t think he realised anybody would still be up at this time of night (laughs). Everybody was a bit drunk, and started giggling away and that. He gives us a dirty look, muttered something, and off he disappeared again. <\/p>\n

\u201cMy greatest memory is the first time actually when we joined them in Switzerland, though. We met up for the first show, and we arrived just as they were about to soundcheck. I had never seen Mot\u00f6rhead live before. We walked into the hall, and all of the guys were onstage \u2013 Lemmy was nowhere to be seen. After a couple of minutes, he walked out across the stage, stamped on the floor four times, and then they just burst into \u2018Iron Fist\u2019 (from the April 1982 album of the same name). It was like \u2018Wow, this is the most incredible thing I\u2019ve ever heard.\u2019 It just fucking blew you away. Amazing. They were just fantastic guys all tour. Like I said, we were only young kids, and they just took us under their wing. They gave us everything we wanted, just gave us full use, and were such great, helpful guys all the time. It was an absolutely amazing tour.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mot\u00f6rhead seemed to enjoy taking out younger bands and breaking them to their audience. \u201cYeah,\u201d Nige agrees. \u201cIt was fantastic. The record had just sold, and flown out. Everywhere we were going, everybody knew the songs and stuff, and we just learnt so much. Every night, Phil Taylor would come out and introduce the band, which was a really nice touch. Obviously then, it immediately got their fans to warm to us a little bit because Phil was coming out and introducing us. We just couldn\u2019t ask for more. They were so helpful. It was just incredible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many would be shocked if the Onslaught fold had been able to rival Mot\u00f6rhead\u2019s alcohol consumption. \u201c(Laughs) I don\u2019t know about that,\u201d the performer wonders. \u201cWe had a good go, but they were drinking a bit harder stuff than we were used to.\u201d<\/p>\n

Touring with Mot\u00f6rhead among others in support of The Force<\/em>, there were both similarities and contrasts in comparison to touring nowadays. \u201cIt\u2019s not really much different to what it is now, to be honest,\u201d the songwriter judges. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t say it was really different in any way. I guess looking back, things were a little bit more rock \u2019n\u2019 roll in that respect \u2013 if you want to use that term. With the stories that people hear about tours and stuff, I guess it was a little bit more that way inclined, especially with Mot\u00f6rhead of course. There were a lot of excesses and that, but apart from that, it was the same systems of touring on buses with trucks, trailers and stuff. We still play the same venues nowadays. A great deal hasn\u2019t changed, to be honest, which is nice in a way. It reminds you of all that, and brings it all back.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Onslaught 2013 (l-r): Nige Rockett, Sy Keeler, Jeff Williams, Michael Hourihan
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August 1989 successor In Search Of Sanity<\/em> boasted a markedly different line-up to that of The Force<\/em>, suggesting strained relationships within the Onslaught band. \u201cIt was kind of a bit of a weird period, because again, things were sort of snowballing,\u201d Nige divulges. \u201cThe band was getting bigger, and obviously major labels wanted to get involved in the thrash scene. I think we had about four or five labels in the UK wanting to sign the band, but unfortunately we chose the wrong one (laughs). I think we kind of got swayed. The label were basically a pop label, were London Records, but they had just released a Faith No More album (The Real Thing<\/em>, June 1989) and Reign In Blood<\/em> by Slayer<\/a> (October 1986). I think we kind of got swayed by that, that they appeared to be doing a good job with those two albums. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen it came to us though, they wanted a lot more control over what we were doing. They were trying to make us look a certain way and sound a certain way, and it really took our character away a bit if you like. Then were was all the stuff with the singers and what you have you, and it just… I don\u2019t know. It kind of diluted what we were all about and the overall attitude in the camp had changed, so things went downhill from there really. I think the day we signed to them was the beginning of the end, and it should have been the beginning of a much brighter future.\u201d<\/p>\n

In retrospect, jettisoning vocalist Sy Keeler in favour of Grim Reaper frontman Steve Grimmett was an erroneous decision. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t a very popular decision, but I think what the label were intending to do was they were looking at us and immediately wanting to try to make us sell a million albums straight away without giving us time to build steadily,\u201d the songwriter figures. \u201cI think they wanted us to be the next Metallica, but without giving us time to be the next whatever. They wanted a quick fit. They signed us as a thrash band \u2013 a hardcore thrash band \u2013 and then they wanted to get rid of the singer, which I find rather strange, to change the identity of the band that dramatically straight away. Also, I think there was some kind of scheme going on between our management and the label at the time. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe next thing, Steve Grimmett appeared on the scene, and it was like \u2018We want this guy to be your singer, basically. We\u2019re holding all the purse strings. You basically have to do what we say, or it goes no farther.\u2019 We were kind of in a catch-22 situation, basically. Admittedly the album sold very, very well, but the old school fans really didn\u2019t take to Steve Grimmett, and I think his style of vocals changed the sound of Onslaught too drastically. Needless to say, within a year he quit and had gone his own way (laughs). That kind of tells the story that it wasn\u2019t working, and that was all part of the demise really.\u201d<\/p>\n

The In Search Of Sanity<\/em> saga is one of many tales Nige could recount in a potential autobiography, the man seeming to have plenty to tell. \u201cPeople are always saying that,\u201d he observes. \u201cMaybe one day it would be quite interesting to do. Without being egotistical about it, there are a lot of stories to tell. It would be quite fun I think, but at the moment, it\u2019s just too busy to concentrate on doing something like that. I think you\u2019d need a lot of time to do it justice, but at the moment, we\u2019re so heavily involved with touring and writing the next record that there\u2019s really not time at the moment. Yeah though, I think it\u2019d be quite nice to do something like that some day, one day.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition, the creation of The Force<\/em> could be explained in greater detail in a potential tome, its 30th anniversary reissue impending. \u201cOur old label, which is Candlelight, are gonna do something in America, and we\u2019re still discussing what it is at the moment,\u201d the axe-slinger discloses. \u201cAs you mentioned earlier, we\u2019re looking for extras and bonus stuff for what\u2019s gonna go out on that. That\u2019s something we\u2019re working on pretty quickly, because we\u2019ve got a lot of touring coming up. We\u2019ve not really get anything a 100% definite on that, but we know that there\u2019s gonna be something coming up special. Hopefully the sooner, the better.\u201d<\/p>\n

Onslaught fans will inevitably be interested in potential bonus material. \u201cThat\u2019s what we\u2019re trying to find out, to see if we have any demos or anything, or live stuff that we\u2019ve got recorded,\u201d Nige acknowledges. \u201cWe\u2019re just scouting about at the moment. Sy tends to stock a lot of stuff like that, so he\u2019s having a look to see what we can find, and see who else has got stuff lying about \u2013 pictures, and live tracks, and stuff. I think we\u2019ve got a recording from Bristol\u2019s Colston Hall maybe, so we\u2019re gonna check that out, and see what we\u2019ve got from the Dynamo festival recordings as well maybe.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The Force<\/em>\u2019s 30th anniversary reissue will arrive through different labels in different territories. \u201cCandlelight have been sold now,\u201d the wordsmith augments. \u201cThe guys who ran Candlelight have started up a new label in the US and the UK, so it\u2019s going to be going out through that in the US and Canada I think. We\u2019ve got different licensees in Europe, but we\u2019ve yet to discuss this with them. They did a special edition of The Force<\/em> a few years back, when they reissued it. I think it\u2019d be nice if they could put that out again as an anniversary thing, because they did a really good job. The tracks were remastered, and it sounded really, really cool. They did some nice, special digipak sleeves, so it\u2019d be nice if they could put out some kind of limited edition of that again this year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Originally surfacing on a November 2012 AFM reissue of The Force<\/em>, Jacob Hansen\u2019s remaster will likely be used once more. \u201cOn the US ones, I think it\u2019ll be Jacob\u2019s remaster because I really like what he did on that,\u201d Nige commends. \u201cIt sounded really cool.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to a forthcoming reissue of The Force<\/em>, also in the works is a seventh full-length studio album. \u201cWe\u2019re just putting the skeletons together, really,\u201d the co-founder reports. \u201cWe\u2019ve had a couple of meetings, discussing ideas. I\u2019ve got all of the track titles in place, which is how I like to work. I like to get all of the titles, and sort of paint the pictures of the songs from the titles. I think for me, the title kind of gives it the attitude of the song. \u2018Chaos Is King\u2019, you know that it\u2019s gonna be a fast song, or \u2018Killing Peace\u2019, or something like that. You can tell the vibe of the song by the title. <\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018Children Of The Sand\u2019 maybe sounds like something a little bit more intricate and interesting. That\u2019s the way we like to work, to get all of the pieces together and then start putting the jigsaw together. Yeah, we\u2019ve got a lot of little bits recorded, but nothing actually strung together as a complete song yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

A 2017 issue seems likely. \u201cThat\u2019s the plan,\u201d Nige confirms. \u201cIt\u2019s whether we can get it done in time, because we\u2019ve got so much touring coming up this year. That\u2019s the only thing that\u2019s gonna get in our way. I think we\u2019ve got about four tours coming up, so it\u2019s a pretty hectic schedule. We\u2019re sort of back and forth writing, and then live, and then writing again. So yeah, a bit of a mix and match year this year.\u201d<\/p>\n

It isn\u2019t every year a key effort such as The Force<\/em> reaches its 30th anniversary. \u201cWe\u2019ve had so much interest that we could\u2019ve booked a year\u2019s touring,\u201d the guitarist enthuses. \u201cYeah, it\u2019s nice that we\u2019ve got that interest there. It\u2019s really great that people wanna pay their respects towards that album \u2013 it\u2019s nice.\u201d<\/p>\n

As referenced, Nige, Iain and Andy will all contribute towards the songwriting process for album number seven. \u201cLike I said, we had a meeting a few weeks ago where we just went through ideas for songs and the direction of the songs,\u201d he repeats. \u201cIain\u2019s got loads of stuff recorded already \u2013 just riffs and ideas \u2013 as has Andy as well. Yeah, once we get it all put together, it should be good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Andy will also likely make a recording appearance. \u201cI think he will do something on the record, for sure,\u201d the musician ponders. \u201cHe\u2019s gonna wanna play a little bit, I guess (laughs). Naturally, which is only fair. Iain\u2019s gonna be predominantly doing all of the solos and stuff, but I think Andy will be making a little guest appearance on there. It\u2019d be nice to have him on there, of course, with his own unique style which I really love. I think he\u2019s gonna be a big part of writing, so I think he\u2019s gonna at least play something on the album.\u201d<\/p>\n

A more familiar musical style might be apparent on future material. \u201cI think we\u2019re gonna go a little more old school maybe on this next one,\u201d Nige considers. \u201cThat\u2019s the direction Andy\u2019s sort of nudging at, taking some ideas back to the early days. Obviously with Iain coming in from his background though, there\u2019s gonna be a little bit more technical stuff too, so it\u2019s definitely gonna be a different direction to the VI<\/em> album for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

What \u2018old school\u2019 entails in the context of Onslaught might be pondered by those less familiar with the catalogue. \u201cI think what Andy is sort of hinting at is we should get some of the more punkier vibes back into some of the stuff, and try to mix that up a little bit with the more modern slant of Onslaught,\u201d the axeman clarifies. \u201cI can kind of see where he\u2019s coming from. I think it\u2019s quite interesting \u2013 it could be quite good. We never wanna make the same album twice; I think if you look at the whole catalogue of Onslaught, every album\u2019s been sort of radically different to the next one, and that\u2019s something I\u2019d like to continue with this one really. We don\u2019t wanna make VI Two<\/em>, or Sounds Of Violence Two<\/em>. It just needs to be totally unique again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Live At The Slaughterhouse<\/em> was released on February 26th, 2016 via AFM Records.<\/p>\n

Interview published in March 2016.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ONSLAUGHT – Live Forces Anthony Morgan March 2016 Onslaught\u2019s Live At The Slaughterhouse line-up (l-r): Jeff Williams, Leigh Chambers, Sy Keeler, Nige Rockett and Michael Hourihan British thrash metal outfit Onslaught performed at O2 Academy venues in Bristol and London on the dates of July 19th and 20th of 2014, respectively, the resultant concerts recorded […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,33],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43994","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-features","category-onslaught"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43994","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43994"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43994\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44071,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43994\/revisions\/44071"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43994"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43994"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43994"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}