BEZERKER
KEITH STEVENS
Bezerker was a technical thrash metal band from Adelaide, Australia. They released one LP in 1989 titled Lost. The album made a small buzz in the underground metal scene in Australia before the band decided to re-locate to England. Unfortunately Bezerker disbanded soon afterwards and not much has been heard from the band since. I have talked to Keith about the Lost-album, what happened to the band and their big gig with Faith no more. Now over to Keith Stevens, bassist in Bezerker.
We can begin with a small presentation of Bezerker, So tell me a little about the band and who you are?
Bezerker was effectively formed in Adelaide, South Australia, during January 1988, when vocalist Pat Cummins auditioned for the band. Then, I was asked to join Bezerker in September 1988, as dissatisfaction with its then existing bass player came to a crisis point.
Bezerker - the good 'ol days
Your debut album Lost was released twenty-five years ago, what do you think about it in retrospect?
The Bezerker "Lost" album is a fine recording, especially in its remastered form, which is plenty rawer. Given a choice, we would have preferred this rawer version from the outset.
It's a highly sought-after item on eBay, have you seen the prices on your old album?
Yes, I've seen the prices that the Bezerker "Lost" LP attracts on Ebay, etc. I've two mint-condition original test-pressings which are perhaps worth three or four times the price of standard "Lost" LPs.
Will you re-release Lost again?
I've remastered the Bezerker "Lost" LP to CD with added bonus tracks -- available through Into The Pit Records. The original sound-studio master tapes where used -- incidentally, those tapes were almost left behind in London during 1991 when Bezerker split up. I was performing a final clean-up of the house we'd been renting and found them in the closet under the staircase.
Lost was remastered, tell us more about the remastering of the album and why did you change the artwork?
When the "Lost" recording was eventually returned to us (nearly a year later, in October 1990, as processes moved somewhat more slowly a couple of decades ago), we immediately noticed the tracks had been a tad dampened. With the remaster their full edge has been restored, to noticeable effect. The artwork from a previous October 1988 demo tape was used because this was the preferred illustration, according to a survey undertaken.
It was released on the "Extremely Fine" label, I haven't found any information about that label, tell us about how you got in contact with them and if they promoted you and if there were any other bands on the label?
Extremely Fine Records was purely our invention; only Bezerker was ever on the "label" -- which was amusing, as when I travelled to London ahead of the band, so as to find a house for us to rent in 1991, I used the Extremely Fine Record label as a reference, telling the rental agent EFR was a "big label back in Australia". As for promoting the album, we did it ourselves through a few music publications. We probably could have done a better job in its promotion, but by the time it was released all our attention was taken up by the huge logistical task of moving to London.
Did you record any demotapes? Or are there any known bootlegs floating around?
Three demo tapes were recorded: the first was recorded in mid-1988 and sounds awful. The second demo, named "Laugh at the Light", was recorded in October 1988, and sounds acceptable. The third demo tape, was recorded in March 1991, and these three tracks are included as bonus material on the remaster CD. As for bootlegs, I know some "Lost" CD bootlegs were being circulated in Brazil, a long time before the remaster.
Are you still involved in the music business?
Apart from remastering the Bezerker recordings, I've remained totally distanced from any music-business activity. After Bezerker split in London, I figured that any future activity would pale in comparison to the journey that Bezerker experienced.
Are you still in contact with the other band members?
Yes, we speak, on various terms. Although I haven't physically seen any member in over a dozen years -- and since December 1991 in London in one particular case.
How was the metal scene back in Australia? Did you gig with Mortal Sin? Hobbs Angel of Death or any other thrash bands?
Mortal Sin and Hobbs would play Adelaide from time to time, but we never appeared on the same bill as them. The Sydney and Melbourne metal scenes were more vibrant in those more populated cities. However, making an exclusive living as a metal-band in Australia was an impossibility. Europe or the U.S. always beckoned.
The band re-located to England. Was it because the music scene was more vibrant there?
For sure. We could have played a different venue in England every weekend for years, and over the channel.
Why did you split up?
The Bezerker split-up began when Michael decided to return to Adelaide due to personal reasons after three months. The whole operation then truly fell apart when Pat followed suit. We relocated to London without management, and therefore attempted to do too much by ourselves. Events needed to happen and fall into place quicker than they did in order for us to survive.
If our favourable and fortunate dealings with Metal Hammer magazine had happened a month sooner, everything could have been a completely different story. Still, it all makes a great story . . . a cautionary tale, perhaps.
Bezerker opened up for Faith no more, How was that gig?
The Faith No More support was sensational. Quite an experience to rub shoulders with a group on a rapid global upward rise. The location was a nightclub, when really a much larger venue was needed. Still, the atmosphere was electric.
What's the highlight of your career?
Well, it wasn't and hasn't been a career -- more a kind of reborn experience. And I suppose the highlight is now . . . what with being able to celebrate Bezerker's story after many years -- after the relative anonymity and untruths that shrouded the actual facts of our London finale.
Bezerker live
Is a reunion possible?
There's more chance of Richard Dawkins hosting "Songs of Praise" than a Bezerker reunion. There was talk about a reunion back in 2010, but there would have had to have been too many compromises within the re-grouped actual line-up, and certainly nothing has changed to this day.
Have you got any funny story to tell, if anything weird has happened while touring or so?
Weird: Back when Bezerker was living in the UK, we did a couple of Liverpool gigs. We went over very well with the audiences, and got requests for "Lost" albums to be sent. I sent a couple of albums and posters and a letter to one of our Liverpool fans, and 22 years later in 2013, one of the albums and a poster and my letter appears on Ebay.
Another weird moment was in 1994, three years after the Bezerker split, when I was with a bunch of friends watching the "Clerks" movie. As the movie's "Olaf, Berserker" scene happened, all my friends gradually turned their heads towards me and started pissing themselves laughing. Then on the way home, I had that song sung at me, over, and over, and over, by my companions. Still get that "Clerks Berserker" song bellowed at me, to this day.
Any last words for our readers?
Any last words for the readers? Well, I'm not feeling wise today. In fact, I rarely feel wise. But, perhaps the best piece of advice I've ever heard offered is this: Always maintain a sense of humour, because you're going to need it."
Thank you!
By/Ruthless
(22-08-2014)
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