interview with Abomination
How was the band formed? The story of Abomination story begins in a rehearsal studio in Chicago owned by a friend of drummer Aaron Nickeas. Aaron was in a band called Abomination already with original members Chaz Baker-guitar, and Mike Pahl-Bass, and vocals. I was in a band called Funeral Bitch, after Master had fallen by the wayside. I went to see an Abomination show at a local establishment, and was quite impressed with Nickeas. Late nights after Abomination and Funeral Bitch rehearsals, Nickeas and I began our own secret rehearsals with a fairly-well-known guitarist, called Mike Schaefer, from another local legend, called," Impulse Manslaughter." It was difficult after our own previous two-hour rehearsals, so Schafer and I would normally use cocaine or happy stick to stay awake late into the evening. Sunday mornings were worst, Schafer and I were nearly always hung-over for practice, although, we did manage to write several songs together. A song I wrote called,
"Social outcast," and also a Schafer track called," Doomed by the living," are included from the first red demo on this CD. After the recording of the red demo, we all decided to quit our previous bands and devote our time exclusively to this project. Nickeas, had a banner already and decided he wanted to keep the name. Therefore, we became Abomination. Original members Mike and Chaz joined (Assault, Funeral Bitch) guitarist Alex Olvera, and formed a band called,” Funeral Nation.” They recorded a demo by themselves called," Nuke'm," under the Funeral Bitch moniker. Just to set the record straight, I had already left Funeral Bitch by this time. In 1988 we realized that Schafer was more interested in his girlfriend and parties, so he was subsequently replaced by Dean Chioles, (RIP), a friend of Mr. Nickeas. We began rehearsals for the black demo as it was called. Two songs appear on this CD called," Over the edge," and," Curses of the deadly sin." We played many local shows, and finally I received a contract in 1989 from Nuclear Blast Records in Germany along with a Master contract. After working all day moving furniture, my friend and I decided to drink a few beers and I actually ran into an old friend called," Joe Caper," from Righteous Pigs in the woods. I gave Joe the red demo, and Joe, Mitch Harris, and Slatko, (RIP) convinced fledgling label NBR to sign us. We went to DKP Studios in Villa Park, Illinois and recorded the CD with engineer, producer Bob Pucci. This was a very commercial sounding studio, and I suppose it can be heard on the CD. One quick note: The lyrics for.” The Choice,” were written by Aaron Nickeas, and I think he did a brilliant job at capturing a horrible situation at the time.
What was the ambitions of the band when you started? We set out to conquer the world and in some ways we did.
Could you explain your music to someone that haven't heard you? Sure, this is music that deals with life at a particular time on the planet, none of this fiction bullshit. Abomination always dealt in reality as with all my bands and recordings,
Where was your first gig? Chicago in 1987 probably at the Iron Rail.
Where was the latest gig? In 2011 there was a short sort of reunion tour in Europe and not many people graced us with their presence!
Who writes your songs?/Who writes the music who writes lyrics? In the beginning Mr.Shafer and I wrote songs apart from one another and when Chioles joined he wrote a few songs as well, but in the long run I wrote 90 percent of all the bands work!
Who has the best since of humor in the band? Probably Dean 'RIP!
What's good/bad with the band?/What genre do you feel you are? They labeled us as Deaththrash!
Why did you pick that particular style?/What are your songs about? When we began their were no lables we always just played Metal period!
Do you write your own material or mainly covers? No covers in Abomination.
Have you made any albums?/If yes what are they?
Abomination debut 1990
Abomination Tragedy Strikes 1992
Abomination The Final War 1998
Do you have any clips on YouTube? Only song clips
How old are you? 50 years old!
What got you started in music? Black Sabbath
At what age did you start playing? 17 years old!
How old were you guys when you first stood on stage? 19
What year was the band started? 1987
Best/worst gig you've played? Cannot remember.
What places will you be playing in in the imediate future? The band Master plays 120 shows across the globe every year.
Witch-hunt European Tour.
MASTER (Us) www.masterspeckmetal.net
www.facebook.com/Speckmetal
VOMITILE (Cy) www.vomitile.weebly.com
ACID DEATH (Greece) www.aciddeath.net
SCARGOD (A) www.facebook.com/scargodband
+ Support
Th. 02.10. Berlin (Ger) – Blackland
Fr. 03.10. Tilburg (Nl) – Little Devil
Sa. 04.10. La Louviere (B) – La Taverne du Theatre
Su. 05.10. Paris (Fr) – Le Klub
Mo. 06.10. Nantes (Fr) –Le Ferrailleur
Tu. 07.10. Leon (FR) --
We. 08.10. Pratteln (Ch) – Z 7
Th. 09.10. Essen (Ger) – Turock
Fr. 10.10. Rostock (Ger) – Alte Zuckerfabrik
Sa.11.10. Weißenfels (Ger) – Schlosskeller
17.10 (GER) / Kulturschock Remscheid, Nordrhein Westfalen - METAL AGAINST CANCER
18.10. (GER) / Aurich, Schlachtfest 14,
24.10. (GER)/ Reichenbach / CHRONICAL MOSHERS "Days Of Purgatory"
25.10 Saturday Gambrinus klub Lovosice
31.10. Bitterfeld (GER) - Festunger
7.11 Basel (CH)-Hirscheneck
8.11. Bern (CH) -Grafitti
14th November Steenwijk, The Netherlands De Zwester
15th November Kassel, Germany K19
16th November Bordeaux, France TBA
17th November A Coruna, Spain TBA
18th November Lisbon, Portugal RCA Club
19th November Salamanca, Spain Nave Bunker w/ Mind Holocaust (es)
20th November Toulouse, France La Derniere Chance
21st November Switzerland Show needed!
22nd November Reutlingen, Germany Piece of Loin Festival vol. VI
23rd November Rotterdam, The Netherlands 'Rotterdam Deathfest' - Baroeg Club
06.12 Most (CZ)
14-12 RockXmas Festival, Nurenburg,(GER)
29-2 until 13-3 2015 Europe and UK tour
5th-4, 2015 Deathstrike, Neustadt an der Orla in Thuringia, (GER)
24 07 2015 Ragnarock, near Marburg. GER
25 07 2015 Stonehenge Festival Steenwijk. NL
Which band is the best you´ve seen? Ozzy and Motorhead in 1981, Slayer, Metallica. etc all on their first tours in the early 80's
Is it always the same songs live? No
What has been the best/most promising gig so far? Too many to count!
Have you had any bigger tours from start to now? Every few years. mainly we headline our own tours.
How big crowds do you usually play for? A few hundred at single shows, and thousands at fests.
How do you get psyched up for a gig? Drink Jack Daniels.
What are your goals with your music? Spread the message of belief in one self.
When did you decide to go all in for the music? 1984
Is it easier to get your inspiration from older bands or from bands more modern? The world is my inspiration!
What's the first step when making a new song? Picking up the guitar!
How do you feel about the downloading of music instead of buying albums? I buy albums from bands on Wow HD every year and support the music scene.
What would be your dreams for the band? Already reached them!
Besides your own music, what genres and bands do you listen to? Rock, Punk Rock, Blues!
What do you hold most dear? My wife and dogs!
What would be your greatest fears for the future? Death
What songs and what years were they released? You cna find the complete discography on master-speckmetal.net
Have you been part of any other projects? YES
Have you been in any other bands? YES
What would you do if there was no music? Kill people!
How important are your fans? Without the fans there is no band"!
What's the funniest/most memorable thing a fan has done for you? Too many to tell.
How often do you rehearse? Twice a week when the guys are not too busy!
Where do you rehearse? 18 kms from here in Bzenec, Czech Rep
Name 2 of your own songs you like at the moment? The Parable, Pay To Die!
What do you feel is the best live band you've seen? Black Sabbath with Dio in 1987
What drives a band that isn't all that famous and renowned to try to make a living on their music and to keep playing? Hunger!
Do you have any webpages? master-speckmetal.net
Any pearls of wisdom for all other bands out there? Practice.
Describe your show, visually and musically! Real music with image and power.
How would you describe your sound in one sentence! Earth shattering Metal.