LAIR OF THE MINOTAUR: SWINGING THE AXE

Chicago’s LAIR OF THE MINOTAUR has been bulldozing the bullshit for four albums strong now: Carnage, The Ultimate Destroyer, War Metal Battle Master, and new long player Evil Power. Each one hits with the force of a homicidal brute blindly swing a big ass baseball bat, or as guitarist/vocalist/mastermind Steve Rathbone might put it, “a big fucking axe.” Musically speaking, the mighty trio is one of the very best acts on the planet, kicking out old school inspired, violently primal, mythology based, face melting metal. Evil Power continues that bloody trend, this time adding a few twists to its disfiguring approach. Don’t even start with me; LAIR OF THE MINOTAUR crushes posers like you flatten ants on the sidewalk with your oversized orthopedic shows. Now bow your head, shut your trap, and pay attention!

MAA: You’ve done some significant touring, relatively speaking, and gotten on some bigger shows/tours up through War Metal Battle Master. How about a recap of the highs and lows?

Steve Rathbone: We’ve played in front of a lot of different crowds. I would say some of the shows in Europe would be definite highs. The crowds are very enthusiastic over there. People know the lyrics and scream them back at you. You can’t screw them up. Maryland Deathfest last year was killer. The lows usually come from fucked up situations on tour, like a band member getting really sick. Or showing up for a gig and finding out that the show had been advertised on a different night at a different venue. But we always have fun when we play. We aren’t part of any “scene,” so there are no usual suspects that we tour with. We purposefully don’t sound like what’s popular right now. I’m surprised anyone likes LAIR OF THE MINOTAUR.

MAA: Did the touring in any way shape the writing of Evil Power?

Steve Rathbone: No. I plan way ahead of time. I had all this mapped out in my head for years. The last album, War Metal Battle Master, was about Ares, the God of War and about a peaceful period becoming a very violent one. Evil Power is the victory party after a very bloody battle. And the preparation for the biggest battle yet. I wanted the songs to reflect that. The songs on Evil Power are kick ass to play live though. We actually recorded it to sound super raw, as if we were playing live essentially.

MAA: You’ve also made a bit of splash with some over the top videos, including the rather Cannibal Holocaust-esque “War Metal Battle Master” (complete with buckets of blood and naked chicks) and the new one for “Evil Power,” also one that caused some censoring headaches, as well as again featuring some bloody nakedness. You actually extended the latter to over five minutes.

Steve Rathbone: I’m a huge fan of horror and sci-fi, obviously, so the experience of making the videos has been awesome. It has been a nice change from the music side of things; much more challenging. I think it’s all worth it to have something documented like that. The approach to the videos is the same as the music. Heavy fucking metal! Swords and blood and titties and metal! What else do you need? It’s also a “fuck you” to trends and all this subgenre crap that steals from metal, but is something else entirely. We almost didn’t make the “Evil Power” video. I had started talking about the idea with Ryan Oliver, the director. We were thinking it would cost too much and we didn’t want a crappy looking Minotaur. And I didn’t want to put out a lesser video; I wanted to one up the “War Metal Battle Master” video. Then a gift from the gods came along. Ryan texted me a picture of a custom made taxidermied Spanish bull head’s mask he stumbled upon. And I bought it for a steal. This thing is so awesome (sitting right behind me right now in my office). We had our Minotaur mask! So, we had to make the fucking video. And here we are. I think it worked out great. It was cool to see it in person. With the mask and the hooves he was like eight feet tall. Our special effects artist, Cat Bernier, just blew us away. She is super talented.

MAA: Speaking of the “War Metal Battle Master” video, it was included on the DVD of the same name, along with some behind the scenes stuff and live footage. How was it received and are there any plans for a more comprehensive video documentation of the LAIR?

Steve Rathbone: People dig the DVD It’s funny; we always have people thank us for making these videos. Seems there is an audience out there who appreciate something raw and visceral in a metal video. Not just pretty hair whipping around or some non-cohesive storyline with an old man and crying girls or something. We have a lot of behind the scenes material for the “Evil Power” video shoot. We definitely want to put another DVD out down the road and include more live stuff. We’re just waiting to accrue more material to make it a nice collection of stuff.

MAA: That brings us to a new album and a new label, Evil Power on The Grind-House Records. What was the idea behind the move from Southern Lord (though they still do the distribution I believe) and the creation of the record label?

Steve Rathbone: It’s something we always wanted to do. The label is a partner company to my day job, running The Grind-House.com (www.thegrind-house.com). We sell movie posters and t-shirts. And we host horror film fests here in Chicago. When our contract was up with Southern Lord we approached Greg Anderson about the idea of us releasing this album independently. He was totally into it and offered to distribute for us. We have had a great experience at Southern Lord and have total respect for them. But it has become easier for a band to take the bull by the horns, as they say and release their albums on their own. It’s been nice to have a more hands-on approach to this release.

MAA: You brought in a new bass player too, Nate Olp of the mighty DEMIRICOUS. Why did Barraca leave? I assume Nate is simply doing time in both bands now.

Steve Rathbone: Yeah, Nate’s still in DEMIRICOUS too. DJ, our old bass player, just recently had a kid and didn’t have time for this nonsense. We’ve known Nate for a while. He was the first person we asked to play. He’s been an awesome addition to the band. He kills it every time we play. Got a killer death yell too.

MAA: While we’re at, how did the guest appearance from General Diabolical Slaughter (former USURPER) come about and what was his contribution?

Steve Rathbone: He’s a bro of mine. He was actually supposed to do some backup vocals on War Metal Battle Master, but we had some scheduling conflicts. This time it worked out. He does back ups on like four or five of the songs on Evil Power. Speaking of death yells, Dave (the General), has one of the best. Totally stoked to have him be a part of the record.

MAA: It seems totally appropriate for a USURPER veteran to be performing on a LAIR OF THE MINOTAUR album, as both bands represent (and represented) the primal side of Chicago metal.

Steve Rathbone: I’m a big fan of USURPER. Those guys fucking rule. Chicago has some great metal. CIANIDE are my bros as well. It’s too bad Metal Haven is closing, a local all metal record store. That was the last of its kind that I know of. This city deserves a good solid metal venue. There’s no ‘go to’ place for shows. Shows are always scattered at random venues. Sometimes the city and suburbs seem like two different planets.

MAA: Do many of the lyrical concepts still revolve around “solving conflicts with a big fucking axe?”

Steve Rathbone: Yep, like I was saying. The last two records are about the beginning of a very violent period; mankind becoming evil and greedy. I was intrigued by the tale of Ares. Some writings described him as a spirit or a voice in your head. A warrior would proclaim that “Ares was with me on the battle field today!” He was overcome with fearlessness, aggression and bloodlust, a mind frame attributed to the God of War.

MAA: Evil Power still features that raw LOTM sound and style, but there are some distinct differences, one of which is that a handful of the songs are shorter, two minutes or less. Anything to it or just the way they came out?

Steve Rathbone: All part of the concept of the album. The lyrics follow bands of warriors, celebrating and getting into battles on the way to a giant battle in Crete. Kind of like a car full of metal heads getting drunk and getting into trouble. So I wanted to the album to be like a soundtrack for drunk driving. A Cocaine rager! Unrelenting, upbeat and to the point. No filler, no mercy. The is the kind of album you just put on and listen to the whole thing.

MAA: Your vocals are clearer, maybe more enunciated, and less distorted on some of the tracks too. Was that a conscious decision?

Steve Rathbone: Yeah, it was part of the sound of the record; adding a little melody to the yelling. It was very much inspired by Kill ‘Em All and the MISFITS. The goal was to make it sound huge and anthemic, heavy and catchy as fuck. I grew up in an area of Detroit where punks and metal heads got along. So I listened to a lot of old punk growing up too.

MAA: You do a bit of guitar harmonizing too, like on “We are Hades,” which also happens to have a little Bronze-era MOTORHEAD vibe to it.

Steve Rathbone: That song is one of my favorites on the album. It’s just simple, balls out, and straight forward. And hell yes, MOTORHEAD is one of my favorite bands. They’re one of the only bands that have been consistently bad ass and uncompromising. But I don’t think we rip anyone off. We pay homage to the old, but still create something new. I think “worship” bands should just be cover bands.

MAA: Am I the only one that heard a guitar line in “Blood from the Witch’s Vein” that sounds an awful lot like John Christ’s DANZIG work (ala “Snakes of Christ”)? It gets my attention every time.

Steve Rathbone: I’m a big fan of John Christ’s guitar work with DANZIG. I’ve always played using harmonic squeals though. It’s super metal. So are pick slides. I’m guilty of over the top pick slides and harmonics. But I think people expect it at this point. That song is a fun one to play live. It even has an old man mosh part.

MAA: “Let’s Kill these Motherfuckers” is about as overt as it gets and quintessential LAIR OF THE MINOTAUR. I’m thinking it’s a defining song for the band now.

Steve Rathbone: Back to the MISFITS, that song is in the spirit of “Last Caress,” a really catchy song about something horrible. The lyrics are about a group of soldiers that were born into slavery. They are sent out on their own for the first time and end up raping and killing everything in their path. After being at the end of the whip for so many years, they are drunk with power for once and are anxious to dole out some pain of their own.

MAA: And a line like “These fucking cunts fight like Women” on “Death March of the Conquerors” is certainly one of the most politically correct statements you’ve ever made.

Steve Rathbone: The lyrics are about Ares speaking to a large group of soldiers before a big battle. Not only was he the God of war, but he was also the god of manly courage. So, yeah, this is the big Braveheart speech, basically a lot of chest beating. People seem to get pumped by it though. I was recently told a story of someone pounding the dashboard in his car until it broke while listening to it.

MAA: Are you pleased with the work of producer Sanford Parker on the album? What does he bring to LAIR OF THE MINOTAUR’s sound?

Steve Rathbone: Yeah, totally. I think this is our best sounding album yet. Sanford has a great ear and he has gotten only better over the years. He’s one of the few people I trust to handle our stuff. We are like an abomination to most “metal” producers. We don’t use drum triggers. Our guitars are loud and meaty. Most of the songs are first or second takes. I don’t like clean, perfect sounding metal, with the same recording principals of pop music. We want it to sound raw, like we’re fucking playing in your living room. Sanford understands what we’re trying to do. He just accentuates it, never holds us back.

MAA: What does the remainder of 2010 hold for LAIR OF THE MINOTAUR?

Steve Rathbone: We are releasing a custom vinyl LP version of Evil Power later this summer, which will include a bonus track not on the CD. We’re making tour plans right now, but it’s too early to spill the blood yet! And planning to get back to Europe this fall!

Scott Alisoglu