HOLY TERROR

MIKE ALVORD

Kurt Colfelt was originally a member of Agent Steel and he recorded the legendary Skeptics Apocalypse album with them back in 1985. But he had a dispute with their charismatic vocalist John Cyriis and Kurt left the band and formed Holy Terror instead. He recruited drummer Jack Schwartz that recently left Dark Angel. Kurt's friend bassist Floyd Flanery joined and Jack's friend Mike Alvord did the same. They found vocalist Keith Deen through an ad in the Recycler Magazine.

The band released two albums, the first one called Terror and Submission and it was released in 1987. The second a year later called Mind wars. The band is now defunct but back in the days Holy Terror toured with bands like Nuclear Assault, Exodus, Kreator, Dirty Rotten Imbeciles and they opened up for Motörhead. I've spoken with Holy Terror's guitarist Mike Alvord.

We can begin with a small presentation of you and Holy Terror...

In the summer of 1985 I had just quit a band I was in called Black Widow. We actually appeared on Metal Massacre III a few years earlier when I was 16 years old. However, after a few years I didn’t really like the direction the band was headed so I quit. I had been jamming with Jack Schwartz and we were discussing putting something together. He had recently left Dark Angel. I actually rehearsed with Dark Angel a few times the year before when Jack was in the band, but I wasn’t really ready at that time to be in another band.

During the time Jack and I were jamming, Kurt had reached out to Jack as well. Kurt had left Agent Steel and he had a bass player (Floyd Flannary) and the three of them started to jam together.

Mind Wars

You guys tried to recruit Juan Garcia from Agent Steel to join?

During the time Kurt, Floyd, and Jack were rehearsing, Kurt was talking with Juan Garcia about joining the three of them. I think Juan was interested, but he decided to stay with Agent Steel. Jack mentioned me to Kurt and they decided to give me a shot. After a few sessions, Kurt felt that I would be a good fit for what would become Holy Terror.

Lets start from the beginning, Your 1986 demo spread quite well?

Yes it did. It was a pleasant surprise. It was recorded in a small studio with no budget in a very short amount of time. The interesting thing about it is that I was supposed to play half the solos on the demo, but at the time I just wasn’t ready.

Although it bruised my ego, I was young and not as experienced as the other members of the band. It actually worked out for the better. I focused on playing the fastest and tightest rhythms I could and it fit just right with Holy Terror.

Jack Schwartz signed a deal for the band but he didn't talk to the band about it first?

This was a very touchy subject. Unfortunately there was some lack of trust within the band. At the time I wasn’t too concerned with “band business”. Kurt was running the band and I was ok with that. However, Jack wanted to run things too. When Kurt told all of us that we received interest from a label, Jack took it upon himself to make the first contact and had the contracts sent to him. This obviously upset Kurt and Jack was removed from the band.

Was that the reason he got kicked out?

Yep!

The album wasn't supposed to be called Terror and Submission? That was imposed by the record label? What was it supposed to be named?

You know, I am not really sure. As I mentioned above, Kurt was pretty much running things. Kurt had all the material written for Terror and Submission except for Tomorrow’s End, which I wrote. He had the concept, artwork, etc all planned out. I am not sure what the “working” title was at the time.

Terror and Submission

After releasing Terror and Submission you toured Europe with D.R.I. in '87? How was that tour?

The 1987 tour was amazing! It was everyone’s first time touring Europe and we loved it. The reception was fantastic. It was a blistering tour, something like 28 shows in 32 days. By the end of the tour we were ready to record our second album. We became much tighter and faster as a band. We even debuted a couple songs from Mind Wars on the tour. We played Debt of Pain and Judas Reward. D.R.I. was great to tour with too. They were well established as a punk band and their Crossover album really worked well with their sound. I have many fond memories of that tour.

And in '88 you toured the United States with D.R.I. and Kreator?

When we arrived home after the 1987 tour we immediately started rehearsing four nights a week. We went in the studio that winter to record Mind Wars. After that, it was back on the road…this time in the U.S. with D.R.I. and Kreator. This was a much longer tour. We were on the road for over two and a half months, came back home for a month and then went back out again for another five weeks. The reception was good, but not like Europe. There were some large shows such as Montreal where we played in front of about 2,500 people. Don’t get me wrong, the people in the U.S. were great, but I think at the time there was so much saturation that they didn’t get as amped as people in Europe. We did have some great shows on the east coast and mid west.

The guys in Kreator were great too. I wasn’t into thrash metal too much, but I soon came to enjoy Kreator very much. They are a great bunch of guys. I spoke with Mille a couple years ago. I tried to hook up with him when they came through Los Angeles, but we weren’t able to.

You got the chance to open up for Motörhead, tell us more about that.

This may have been the highlight of my time with Holy Terror. I have always been a big Motorhead fan. In high school I had a license frame that said “I’m a Motorheadbanger” We played four shows with them. Two in the San Francisco area and two in the Los Angeles area. Lemmy gave us all a couple t-shirts and dedicated a song to us at the Santa Monica Civic show. They were all very personable and great people.

Mike Alvord

After that you toured Europe with Nuclear Assault and Exodus but you got kicked off the tour, tell us a little bit about that.

This was our second time to tour Europe. We really felt that things were starting to take off. All the reviews of Mind Wars were extremely positive and we were really hitting our stride. Unfortunately as with many bands bad management and drugs started tearing the band apart. The tour was going great…we were about six shows in and we were being received very well. During one of the shows in Germany a big issue came up. While we were on tour, our manager received a phone call from Roadrunner Records, our European label. They were inquiring about our third album and beyond. When we originally signed with Roadrunner Records, we only signed for two records for European release.

Later on, we signed with an American label and we sign Terror and Submission and Mind Wars for US distribution and we sign for three more albums, but in both the US and Europe. When Roadrunner Records heard that we signed away our third, fourth, and fifth records in Europe to another company they were pissed. They attempted to pull us off the tour. You see, some of the shows we were only booked as “Special Guest” and not Holy Terror. Therefore they felt they could pull the plug on us. We tried to muscle our way on stage and Kurt ended up punching out the Road Manager. That was it. We hopped in our van and took off. Because of some various drug issues that were going on early that year and then this blow up, I decided to leave the tour. Kurt told me if I left the tour I was leaving the band. I said ok, and took a cab to the Munich airport.

Why did Holy Terror disband?

The rest of the band stayed in Europe for a while after I left to try and get back on the tour, but was unsuccessful. When they returned I met with them, but it was decided that I was out. They tried to keep things going. I think they may have even played a show or two in Los Angeles after that, but within a couple weeks Kurt decided to move back to Seattle where he grew up. Floyd and Joe joined him, but Keith stayed behind. I think they might have tried to keep Holy Terror going, but soon they formed a punk band called Shark Chum and Holy Terror was finished.

Vocalist Keith Deen died of cancer in 2012. What type of cancer and was it quick? May he rest in peace.

Yeah, this is really sad. Keith was an amazing singer, but he was also a great person. We lost touch soon after I left Holy Terror, but reconnected around 2002. We spoke on the phone a few times and through email, but we never managed to hook up in person. We discussed the old times and that was about it. We kept in contact a little over the next few years, but not much. I had heard that he was suffering from cancer, but I didn’t know how serious it was until I tried reaching out to him in 2012 before he passed. I am not sure the type of cancer he had, but I know he left behind a loving wife and two daughters. He will be missed. May he rest in peace.

Kurt Colfelt reformed Holy Terror in 2005 but without any of the original members joining him. Why didn't you join him?

Kurt and I talked a little through email around this time, but I was living in Los Angeles, Floyd moved to Denver, and Ketih lived in Las Vegas. So there was really no chance for us to reunite. Joe was actually the drummer during the reunion, but Kurt hired another guitarist, bassist, and singer. They played a couple shows I think, but Holy Terror without Keith’s vocals is not Holy Terror.

So another reunion of Holy Terror is not to hope for then?

Without Keith there is no chance of an Holy Terror reunion.

What bands had the biggest influence on Holy Terror's sound?

Most of our influences stemmed from early heavy bands like Sabbath, Zeppelin, The Who, and Deep Purple. But we also were into a variety of music. Kurt and I both loved Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and a lot of the NWOBHM bands. I was a huge Motorhead fan and we all appreciated what Metallica was doing at the time. I can honestly say we were not influenced by thrash metal at all.

What's the highlight of your career?

The entire adventure was a highlight. The tours were amazing and recording was a blast. I think the highlight would have to be playing those four shows with Motorhead.

What's your plans for the near future?

Well, I am resurfacing musically. I have formed a band with a couple guys out of Italy. The band is appropriately titled MINDWARS (one word though). We are focusing on playing music in the style of 80s thrash/speed, with hints of NWOBHM and Sabbath. It seems that most bands now have focused on the “growling” style of singing. I have never been a big fan of it. Musically some of these bands are amazing, but there is not much after that. We have ten full length tracks completed and slated to be released the summer of 2014. You can find information about the band at www.mindwarsofficial.com or www.facebook.com/mindwarsband

Have you got any funny story to tell, if anything weird has happened while touring or so?

It was so long ago, much of the past is a bit blurred. However, there are a couple things that still stick out in my mind. In Chicago, we were playing a show and there was this guy on crutches right in front. He was head banging away with everyone. He eventually managed to make it up on stage. He had a crutch in one hand and was pumping his fist with the other. He kept trying to stage dive, but the crowd kept pushing him back on stage. He must have tried five or six times and the crowd kept pushing him back up. Finally he sort of just rolled off the side of the stage. It was hilarious. Something not so funny was a deadly car crash we witnessed driving from Florida to Georgia. As we pulled up on the freeway, there was a car completely engulfed in flames in front of us. We saw one of the passengers burn up before our eyes. It was horrific! The drive to Atlanta, Georgia was somber and quiet drive.

Any last words for our readers?

I would just like to thank all the Holy Terror fans that have supported us and kept our music alive after all these years. I truly believe we had something very special and it is sad that it ended so soon. Keep metal alive and remember SPEED KILLS!

By/ Ruthless

(07-04-2014)