Quite possibly one of the funniest releases to emerge
this year has to be 'Total Brutal', the debut offering from Austrian
Death Machine.
While the album is lyrically based around the hilarious
one-liners that have become a trademark of Arnold Schwarzenegger's films,
'Total Brutal' also reveals itself to be an over the top thrash album
that pays tribute to the genre's heyday from the mid to late '80's.
Determined to unravel the mystery behind Austrian Death
Machine, I cornered sole mastermind/member Tim Lambesis (who was on
the road as part of the Vans Warped Tour with his other group As I Lay
Dying) in Birmingham (Alabama) and pried out of him the details behind
the making of the album, the real identity of vocalist Ahhnold and the
inspiration and ideal that brought Austrian Death Machine to life.
"The idea behind Austrian Death Machine actually
came out of a conversation I was having with some friends while out
on tour. We were all goofing around and talking about all the one-liners
from all the Schwarzenegger films. And it was during that conversation
that I started thinking about how great it would be to use those one-liners
as the choruses to brutal metal songs. I distinctly remember thinking
that I could have people singing those great movie quotes. It was kind
of one of those things where everybody involved in that conversation
thought I was joking. But I was serious. I really wanted to do this,
and blow people's minds. Anyway, it was just a passing idea, until a
year later when I made it happen. Now that the album is finished, those
same guys have come back to me and said, 'I remember that conversation.
I thought you were only kidding!' (Laughs)"
The differences between As I Lay Dying and Austrian Death
Machine are evident. And according to Lambesis, so to were the recording
sessions for the two groups.
"Recording 'Total Brutal' was actually a lot of fun.
I have never had so much fun in the recording studio before. I have
a studio at my house (Lambesis Studios), and that's where we recorded
the last As I Lay Dying album (2007's 'An Ocean Between Us'). So I had
all the equipment, and all the knowledge I needed, so I didn't have
to worry about that side of things. So armed with all these songs that
I had been putting together in my head, I just went in there and recorded
them. It was a great time. Most of the time, people/musicians are stressed
out when they're in the studio because you're worried about getting
everything perfect. But this time around, it was just so easy. It was
just me playing everything on the album, and I was laughing most of
the time. Obviously the subject matter was a whole lot more light-hearted
than any of the other albums that I have recorded in the past. But I
think the more you laugh in the studio, the more fun it is."
Of course, while the songs (not to mention the various skits in-between
the songs) on 'Total Brutal' are a light-hearted dig at Schwarzenegger,
they're also a tribute to his films, as Lambesis reveals himself to
be a big fan of the actor's films.
"Austrian Death Machine is a combination of me really
loving all of Schwarzenegger's movies as I was growing up, and me being
able to laugh at the funny Schwarzenegger moments. When you think of
leading actors in some of the biggest action films, Schwarzenegger is
the perfect action film actor. But then sometimes, he's outright funny
without actually meaning to be. I mean you only have to sit down and
watch 'Total Recall' (1990). That film is my favourite. To me, it's
kind of philosophical, like 'The Matrix' (1999) where you couldn't tell
what was real and what was not. But apart from that, there's this hilarious
side where the character Schwarzenegger plays, especially when he's
confused and doesn't know what's going on. He's does these things that
I just find so funny throughout the whole movie. 'Total Recall' is a
good combination of philosophical, action movie and comedy all at the
same time."
Lambesis also ensured that Austrian Death Machine's debut
paid a fitting tribute to Schwarzenegger with the its cover artwork,
which was provided by none other than Ed Repka (whose artwork has also
featured on albums from Death, Megadeth, Municipal Waste, 3 Inches Of
Blood, Toxik).
"I'm so proud of the artwork that Repka did. It really
helped give this album a life. I gave him a rough outline of what I
wanted, and that was this Schwarzenegger like character that had destroyed
a whole city, but only with the use of his microphone. That was my basic
idea. And as you can tell by looking at the album cover, Repka pulled
it off perfectly. There are no weapons in Schwarzenegger's hands. There's
only a microphone there. And yet there's total destruction behind him.
The cover embodied everything I wanted Austrian Death Machine to be."
Humour, like music, is subjective. But what makes 'Total
Brutal' different from a lot of other parody albums is its thrash backbone,
with guest guitar solo contributions from the likes of Jason Suecof
(Trivium), Mark MacDonald (Mercury Switch), Dan Fitzgerald (Dan Fitzgerald
& The Unknown Comets), Adam Dutkiewicz (Killswitch Engage), Nick
Hipa (As I Lay Dying), Eyal Levi/Emil Werstler (Dååth) and
Jason Barnes (Haste The Day).
"So far, the response to 'Total Brutal' has been
great, especially from other musicians. I was able to use a lot of the
elements within metal that are kind of cliché, but using them
in a way where I'm almost poking fun at it, and yet make it sound fun
for other musicians. There's a guitar solo in every song no matter what.
I think that's something that guitar players love. Every guitar player
wants to hear a solo in a song, and I had some great solo players play
on this album. It's kind of funny, because I had this prerequisite that
if I was to have any guests on the album, they had to be my friend,
had to be a great guitar player and be a diehard Schwarzenegger fan.
That sounds like a pretty tough prerequisite to fill, but it really
wasn't. Most of my friends are great guitar players, and they're all
huge Schwarzenegger fans. I really can't play guitar solos, so I did
all the other work and let them do their own thing. I also let the guitarists
choose the songs they wanted to play on based on their own favourite
movie. Most of the time it was just one guy playing a guitar solo per
song. But in the case of Suecof, he did a couple of solos on the album
because he loves all of Schwarzenegger's movies. I think the drummers
will love this album too because it's so ridiculously mechanical. Obviously
the band is called Austrian Death Machine, so the drums had to be mechanical
sounding. Drummers seem to love it because it is so over the top. But
in regards to the humorous side of the album, it depends on the listener's
sense of humour. European's have a very different sense of humour. They
grow up hearing an Austrian accent all the time, so it's not really
funny to them! (Laughs) So I've had them make comments like, 'I don't
think the album is very funny, but the music is good. So why don't you
just make a good thrash album?' Obviously they don't think it's that
funny. But over here in the U.S. and over in Australia, people who don't
grow up around that accent all the time think it's funny. And that's
what makes it all more enjoyable. I hope that the music itself stands
out on its own, because I would like to think that it's enjoyable to
a thrash metal fan as well."
Obviously Metal Blade Records' owner Brian Slagel was
sold on the thrash component on 'Total Brutal'.
"There was no real overhead cost to me, because I
have my own recording studio set up here at home. So I just started
recording it. If I had to release it independently, I really wouldn't
have minded. I wasn't really worried about who was going to release
'Total Brutal' until I finished the album. In fact, I wanted to keep
Austrian Death Machine a secret until I had some music to play somebody.
When you explain the idea to somebody, they'll think it's all funny
and cool, but at the same time without understanding exactly what I
was really talking about. So when the music was all finished, the first
person I played it to was Slagel. He's a huge thrash fan. Some of the
earliest bands on Metal Blade Records were thrash bands. I mean this
is the guy that released the first Slayer album (1983's 'Show No Mercy'),
and released the first Metallica recording ('Hit The Lights' on 1982's
'Metal Massacre' compilation). He just loved 'Total Brutal', because
it's so thrash influenced. He really wanted to release it, and that
was before any of the vocals were recorded. Once he heard the vocals,
and understood the whole concept of the album, he really wanted to do
it. I was kind of scared that the vocals would scare him off, but they
only made him love it even more. It's really cool to work with a record
label where everyone is getting as much enjoyment and having fun with
the album as much as I am."
And in regards to those funny moments, I just had to ask
just which track on the album stood out as Lambesis' favourite.
"I guess I would say that my favourite skit is 'What
It's Like To Be A Singer At Band Practice'. That's my favourite because
it's so absolutely true. When you listen to that piece, you think there's
no way that band practice could be so annoying. But it is! Every time
I try to say something when I'm rehearsing with As I Lay Dying, somebody
is always screwing around on their guitar, or playing a stupid drum
beat. Of course, putting Ahhnold in that position, and finding out that
he's the one getting frustrated instead of me, is just so funny. I just
think that it's so hilarious just hearing somebody else deal with my
frustrations. The other cool one is 'Broo-Tall Song Idea'. That one
was really spontaneous, and we kind of did that at the very last minute
at the tail end of the recording sessions. It seems that when everyone
is laughing, one idea leads into another. And that kind of came out
of that method of doing things. That was just me and my friend Chad
Ackerman (Destroy The Runner lead vocalist). Ackerman did all of the
Schwarzenegger impersonations. We wanted them to sound like movie clips,
but without using the actual movie clips, or getting sued for it. Ackerman
did all the movie type clips, and the stuff that goes back and forwards
between the two of us in-between the songs."
Given that 'Total Brutal' is solely based around Schwarzenegger's
larger than life characters, I asked Lambesis if he was expecting Schwarzenegger
or any of his people to react to the album.
"We sent him a copy of the album, but I'm sure it's
sitting in a big pile of other stuff on his desk. I'm sure he's a pretty
busy guy. Hopefully he'll hear it. The more the word spreads, the more
likely he is to hear about it. Look, even if he gets upset, I think
it would be cool to hear him acknowledge that. But I don't think he'll
get upset. I'm hoping that he'll endorse it in some way. I think he
has a sense of humour. I mean this is the same guy that did 'Kindergarten
Cop' (1990) and 'Junior' (1994). So I really do believe that he has
a sense of humour, and I think that he would enjoy hearing the album."
Despite 'Total Brutal' recalling some of Schwarzenegger's
best one-liners, there are some glaring omissions by the way of 'Conan
Thew Barbarian' (1982) and 'Commando' (1985). But as Lambesis explains,
they're not there for a very good reason.
"Neither of those films are represented, because
I'm saving those for the next album. Both of those films are full of
great quotes. A lot of people think that 'Total Brutal' is just this
one album deal, and something that I recorded purely because I had too
much free time on my hands. But that's not the case at all. I really
have a bigger vision and a lot of ideas coming together for a second
album. That's definite too. I already have ideas. I definitely want
to make it a real band, and record multiple records. This is just the
first one, and I think it kind of sets the standard in what the rest
are going to sound like in the future. Like any good band, I think Austrian
Death Machine will get better with time."
And part of being in a band is playing live, with Lambesis
planning to take Austrian Death Machine out on the road in the near
future.
"I've been talking to some of the people that made
a guest appearance on the album. In fact, they were the ones that approached
me first, and said that if I ever wanted to do this live, I should call
them. They're more than willing to be a part of it. So it's just a matter
of everyone's schedules matching up. With me touring with As I Lay Dying,
it might be another six months before we can really make this happen.
But I think that's good timing anyway, because at that point, everyone
will have heard the album. Part of the idea is to play these songs and
get people singing along. I mean it doesn't take long for people to
figure what the words are. Even if people have never heard the songs,
all I would have to do is announce the name of the songs, and they would
pick up the chorus straight away. I mean 'Get To The Choppa' is the
perfect example of a sing along type of song. I'm actually working on
a video for that song too. Of course, with As I Lay Dying being so busy,
I don't want to push things too crazy. But it'll be about a month, and
that video will be done. The concept is just about worked out. I don't
want to give away too much, because it might change before then. But
what I wanted to do was create characters using claymation. There will
all be these robotic band member characters made out of claymation,
and that their heads would constantly change. Sometimes it would be
my head, and then it would switch to Ahhnold. It's a hard and crazy
concept to explain, but once you see it, it will be really entertaining."
I would like to thank Tim Lambesis for his generous
time, and Jeanna Sims at Stomp Records Distribution for making the interview
possible.
For more information on Austrian Death Machine, check
out - http://www.myspace.com/austriandeathmachine
© Justin Donnelly - justindonnelly@ozemail.com.au
