ANIHILATED
PAUL 'BOD' RODWELL, SIMON COBB & MARK BEUCHET
Anihilated started out as a punk band in the early eigthies but as time passed on the band turned into a regular thrash act. And the influental metal magazine 'Metal Forces' hailed their debut as "The most important UK thrash release to date" in 1988. But the big break never came even if they released three albums in the late eighties in total. The interest for pure thrash metal faded and so did the interest in Anihilated. I have spoken with Si, Bod and Mark about the good old days.
Your homepage is up, but is the band reunited?, or are there any plans of reuniting it, it's kind of unclear to me?
Si: The band is not reunited in a musical sense but we have always remained friends, as for reuniting to play. I would love to but there are obstacles that would make it difficult. I have a spinal injury which means I cannot stand for long, Bod plays in a pretty successful band called Crowroad. Lee no longer plays at all and Mark, like myself, is a busy dad.
Mark: Can't see it happening really. The only thing I would consider would be recording some new stuff. But even then, I don't have the time at the moment and I have hardly picked up a guitar for the last 7 years or so.
Tell us more about the future of Anihilated!
Si: That's up to others really. If there was a good offer on the table then we would think about getting out there again I expect. I have continued writing lyrics and music so who knows. It's really up to the fans to buy the CD's and create the demand!!
About this new CD, will there be any new recordings on it, or is it only old recordings?
Si: Mark deals with the CD side of things, although there have been no new recordings since 1990. You never know though. I may strap Mark to a home studio and force him to record some new stuff with me. When I write something that doesn't turn up on a Slipknot LP which always seems to happen. I write a song and then a few weeks later some bugger has recorded something else so similar that it might as well be the same bloody song...
Si: It was amazing, especially since we were far from happy with the LP. It was poorly recorded and produced, trouble with studio equipment and our own inexperience detracted from what I think could have been a far better end product. Still that review was good. For some reason, someone else got to do the review for Ultimate desecration and totally trashed it. The only reviewer to do so but I am sure it stopped a lot of people from buying it.
On your homepage it says that some live footage might be included in a DVD someday, how far from reality are those plans right now?
Mark: Well, I do have live footage of the band and would like to do a DVD at some point. The thing is that it is only shot with camcorders and we don't have any professionally shot stuff. Die hard Anihilated fans would like it for what it is but it wouldn't sell to a mass market. I wouldn't like to see it butchered and overdubbed, so it would be 'as is '. I also have the master tape from the first EP but I am still looking for the right machine to play it back on so I can put it onto CD.
What about the album 'Carnival of souls', will it be released someday, or was it unfinished?
Si: It was never finished, only one song, "Shattered" was ever recorded and that was live. There were five other songs written with a different bassist and lead guitarist but we never recorded them and drifted apart really. The whole Carnival of Souls thing was what I was wanting to call it and I had it in mind for it to be a concept , telling a story from start to finish, Lyrically it was less restrictive and musically a bit more technical. Bod went on to join Mark in a separate band and I formed Nightbreed with soon to be Cradle of Filth bassist Robyn Graves. Nightbreed went on for a year or so but I could never find a drummer good enough to play for me. When you've worked with the best (Bod ) it is hard to tolerate second rate. I folded the band and concentrated on producing demos for local bands.
How is the interest in Anihilated today compared to back in the late eighties? Are you still receiving fanmail?
Si: We used to get fanmail from all the corners of the world and this is still true today.
Mark : yeah, to be honest we always got more interest from other countries and that is still happening now. We have sold only a small amount of CD's in the UK, but this month I have had sales to Japan, Italy, Czech Republic and Ukraine. We don't get a huge amount of fanmail, just a steady trickle of Emails, but we did pack up 14 years ago so it's surprising that anyone remembers us at all!
What are you most proud of when it comes to Anihilated?
Si: The second album is something I will always be proud of. But what I am more proud of is the fact that we achieved a lot of things without resorting to some of the dirty tricks and nasty tactics used by certain other bands on us. We were like a family, we all got on, we looked out for each other. I never compromised that to get anywhere, and neither did any of the others.
Bod: We always stayed true to ourselves and did what we thought was the best. We went through the mill together and came out the other side with a mutual respect for each other and are still friends today.
Mark: I agree with Bod and Si, being in a band is not just about the music, it's a way of life. We had bad times as well as good but it was all a real adventure that I wouldn't swap for anything. We we're all good friends and always will be, how many other bands can say that? We had some brilliant times and some really good laughs and that is more important than the music for me. ( there is a whole load of stories on the website, take a look. ) www.anihilated.tk
How was it to be on the label Metalworks? You were label mates with bands like Virus, Deliverance and Deathwish.
Si : Metalworks...ahh the sweet sound of that name. How I would dearly love to get my hands around the necks of the owners...but that aside. I met Virus a few times, they were ok, friendly enough and definitely Metalworks main project. I met Deathwish once, the others I never met. It seems that all the bands on the label suffered the same fate as us and never got paid or promoted.
Mark: We we're promised the earth and got nothing. We we're promised a tour to promote 'The Ultimate Desecration ' and it never happened. There was a problem with the release date too. This all combined to seal our fate. At a time when we needed to be pushed forwards to really break through we were badly let down by Metalworks. I guess it was the same for the other bands.
Name five favourite albums!
Of all gigs you have done, which one is your favourite?
Si : That's a question.............I loved the gig we did in Ipswich just after we released Ultimate desecration, it was us coming home and really showing what we could do and it was excellent, but my favourite has to be the first time we played in Milton Keynes with Sabbat. No other metal bands had played there before and this place was packed. The stage was about 7ft high and these little kids about 11 years old some of them, were diving off into the pit!! It was mad, we were pretty much mobbed the whole day, signing t shirts, arms, tits posters, beer mats etc. One guy even had my signature tattooed over the next day!! I got two marriage proposals and more free food and beer than I could handle. all in all a good day..oh and the gig was cracking too!!
Mark : I think the marriage proposals Si got were from a couple of bearded roadies !
It must have been special to be part of the thrash metal movement in the eighties.
Si: I would like to think that we will never totally fade, I am not so much proud of myself but am really proud of the guys around me, Bod, Lee, mark and Ray our manager for putting up with my rather forceful personality and distinct insanity. I have never been as talented a musician as the others but they would always help me by showing me which way up to hold the guitar and which bits to hit.
Mark: He's being modest, his lyrics were excellent and meaningful which set us aside from the grunting brigade. I am amazed that there is still interest in us after all this time, the internet has opened our music up to a whole new generation, so hopefully it will be remembered for a while longer.
How is the thrash metal scene in England these days?
Si: There are a few bands from the eighties who have reformed like Sabbat and Onslaught knocking about but nothing really new. Mostly it's Numetal or death metal.
Back then there where lots of British bands around but they never got the attention they deserved compared to German and American bands, what do you think about that?
Si: My own theory is that the few record labels who were signing thrash bands were so intent on killing off competition for their bands that they didn't cooperate like the German and USA labels. Plus it was cheaper for them to promote a product that was already released elsewhere than to take a British band and promote them worldwide.
Bod: That's what happens if your record label hasn't got the balls, brains or interest to push you ahead. Ours hadn't
Have you got any funny metal story to tell?
Si : Many!! Lee and I were about to be beaten to death by a gang of skinheads once when he suddenly turned round and told the biggest, meanest looking one that he looked like Freddy Mercury (Queen). The thug then declared us as his best mates and got us some beer hurray!! The website has a list of several amusing moments
www.anihilated.tk
Have you got any last words for our readers?
Si: Thanks for reading, buy the CD's Listen to the music and read the words, then, declare your undying love for us and send us lots of money.......no really, I hope you enjoy our noise, we truly enjoyed writing it and I feel honoured that it is still thought of so well!
Thrash till deaf
Bod : It's nice to know that our hard work is still being appreciated. Thanks very much for your interest.
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