Mind Assault

Mind Assault – South African extreme metallers hailing from Cape Town joined us to share their inside story on the band’s existence, persistence and future domination in the hard rock and metal industry of our beloved country!

In October 2004 , Mind Assault made their first public appearance, and have not ceased in relentless conquest for greater success ever since.

Their Debut album as well as downloadable MP3′s can be obtained from our ONLINE STORE under the South African metal category!

These dudes are gonna be huge!!

Official Site: www.mindassault.com

Interview By: Scream

Interviewee’s name: Patrick Davidson

Position in band: Rhythm guitarist

HeadbangToday: We raise our fists here at HeadbangToday as a welcome gesture to Mind Assault. Obviously excited as can be to feature and interview the heaviest local band to date here on HeadbangToday.com. Could you give us your opinion on the metal industry and the response you’ve had from fans here in your home country, South Africa?

Mind Assault: Thanks Scream. It’s awesome to be greeted so warmly into your website! Phew! This is a big question to begin with… I’ll try to keep it short! There is much that can be said about the condition of the local industry at present. Recently, I’ve been led to view “metal” as we in Mind Assault understand it to be kind of split into two parts so far as “industry” is concerned. Namely, there is what the general public views as Metal, and then there is the other side just not really known to the general public at all, and that is what we call Extreme Metal. I think it is safe to say that all of Mind Assault and most of our fan base agree that we fall more within the “extreme” category which is much more of an underground movement. With that in mind, I’d like to comment on the industry from the point of view of an extreme metaller.

It would be wrong to say that the industry is non-existent, because by definition, we have services and products to offer, and amounts of money do change hands, and so an industry there is. However, at the level that the underground scene operates, the industry is completely crippled in the sense that there are very few individuals working hard to keep it alive. It is true that in recent years – almost specifically since 2007 – we have seen a major uprising in the underground scene, which has been fantastic! More venues opening their doors to extreme metal because we empty their bar fridges, more promoters creating events because they can afford to put in a little effort and make some pocket money, and legion upon legion of new bands bursting into the scene seeking glory. For us this has been fantastic to witness because the guys in Mind Assault all grew up in an environment where there was a severe depravity of blisteringly hot metal in circulation. Particularly as far as going out and seeing live bands was concerned. But then creeps in the big inevitable “BUT…”

Despite all the growth, we are no better off now than we were back in 2005 which was Mind Assault’s first year of conquest.  In fact, the band has even moved away from the status of a self-sufficient project to the darker waters of a very expensive hobby.  So even though the fans support is HUGE (for example, our first gig in Stellenbosch was to 60 people in the attic of a pub, and 3 years later 800 people at our album launch in a venue only one block away), there is very little financial reward for our efforts.  There is only really one answer to the question of why, and that is: Exploitation.  Because of our side of the industry being in such an infant stage, and even our most pro-active individuals remaining relatively uneducated in the actual business of music, there are a lot of guys now running around unchecked who are milking the suddenly popular extreme metal scene for their own gain.  Sadly, they are the sort of guys that when they have fed their fill and extracted every last drop of life from the scene, they will simply move on to another host to feed off of.  On the other hand, one must always hold onto hope!  There are some among us who are working very hard to try and set up a stronger infrastructure, and to build sustainability into the scene – kind of like the www.metal4africa.com project where the bands collaborate, and guys like Dave Sass, and like Headbang Today.

But in all of this, the fans and supporters come out tops with our respect!  We have great admiration for them and they are the reason why we keep going despite the odds.  These masses of guys and girls are also being exploited by the unscrupulous who churn out over-booked events every other weekend, featuring lame-ass sound and lighting, with the supporting crowd’s favorite bands being presented in a cheap and shabby manner.  Also some venue owners who allow this sort of thing, just in hope of pushing a few extra beer sales, not realizing that their lack of control or intervention is going to cost them later when things go bum.  And in all of this, the majority of bands rarely see a cent of the money that punters paid to come and see them.  We feel in debt to these supporters, and we feel akin to them.  That’s one of the most beautiful things about a scene that is viewed by the outside world as so ugly: we all stand together and face adversity together as equals – there are no pop stars here in South African metal.  And if there are, that’s because they left the spirit of metal behind and turned to pop instead.

HeadbangToday: You emptied their bar fridges? I better be at your next gig! Sounds like a jol! You’ve recorded and released a demo EP, a feature length DVD, “F*k Voort En Suip Baie” (loosley translated it means: F*ck forward and drink a lot – ED) and just last year you released your debut album “Stigma”. What inspires and fuels you to do what you do?

Mind Assault: Again, it’s back to the supporters. In the days when we started jamming together, it was because there were no venues where we could really gather and enjoy heavy music together, so we did it in some warehouse with our own instruments and loads of beer. It was only a matter of time before we had to move out of the warehouse because too many people were coming round to “kuier” with, and the owner of the business was getting nervous. The band room we rented after that was too small for guests, so gigging was the next step. It never even occurred to us to record until one supporter came and offered us two grand as a kick start. His only condition was that we use it toward studio time. As long as there are people out there who want to enjoy life and music along with us, we will be happy to share it with them.

HeadbangToday: You’ve smashed your way into the metal scene since 2004 and you’re planning to release more material at the end of 2009. Tell us more about your dreams and goals as a band. What can we expect from Mind Assault this year?

Mind Assault: This is a very subjective topic. At least as far as the next release is concerned. We’d love to spend more time in studio, as we feel that after almost five years of gigging, there is not much left that we can learn from playing live in this country. We believe that the only way our music can progress to the next level is by focusing on recording, and then adapting ourselves to be able to pull it off live. Unfortunately, recording requires vast amounts of money, and with times being harder than any of us have ever experienced before, it becomes impossible to make promises on future release dates, even though band members like to take stabs at it.

As a band, we would obviously like to ride this monster to the height of its potential.  To be honest, we feel that we have only really just scraped the surface of what we can do.  We all work day jobs – some of us really long hours.  Time available to play is scarce.  Some of us have family obligations too, so we often wonder what we would be able to actually achieve if we had more resources. Ie: time and money.  We would love to travel widely.  Mind Assault has already covered a good chunk of Southern Africa, but the world awaits.  Sadly, our bank managers are also waiting.  Patiently so.

HeadbangToday: We know what it’s like, some of us here are still in college, some of us also have day jobs… Life’s tough, but, you’re headlining for Metal 4 Africa’s WinterFest’09 for the 5^th year in a row. Can you describe your shows visually and musically?

Mind Assault: Actually, it’s the annual Whiplash which is reaching number 5.  That is a track record we are very proud of and grateful for, as we are the only ones who have done it, and Whiplash has become something of an institution in Cape Town.  It is true that we will also be headlining WinterFest’09, which is the bi-annual festival that has been running since 2007 and usually sports the biggest crowd.

Hmmmmm… a description? Visually is always a challenge. Our band is a real mixture of “Boer seun” country boys versus the “city slicker” sort, which makes uniformity a real challenge. Uniformity is what makes Slipknot or some black metal bands look so impressive on stage, but we are a lot more casual. Usually it’s a combo of cargo shorts and sandals along with some band T-shirt, or Flapper in his 80’s hair metal outfit. No, not too much thought involved, but true to self. Every now and again, though, we pull a rabbit out of the hat for which we have received great acclaim. But we don’t like to give people too much forewarning. That’s what makes certain shows so special – kind of a reward to the more dedicated fans.

As for musically, it gets even more simple. No, really, the music is simple. We tend to get very good crowd reaction because the music is mostly written with headbanging in mind. Basic riffs with plenty of catchy hooks. We keep the fancy bits to a minimum, otherwise we notice the crowd starts losing attention. We never began playing metal because we wanted to be top musicians, we just wanted to have a good time with our friends and play music that still sounds great when you have a few too many beers in. Don’t be fooled though, because the key songwriters in Mind Assault have a really good instinct for music and Flapper pulls off some really killer solo’s – even if he sometimes doesn’t remember after.

HeadbangToday: Dammit Flapper! Oh well, if it’s beer, metal, friends and an awesome time, I suppose award-winning solo’s are worth forgetting the next day. Who writes your songs and what subjects do they cover in general?

Mind Assault: Musically, it has become a lot more of a team effort since the first EP. In the beginning it was just Flapper and Jacques really, with a little input here and there from others. Nowadays, Flapper might arrive at practice with a whole thing almost finished, but just requiring a bit of polish from the team, or myself and Andries jam out loads and loads of killer sounding riffs on guitar and drums, then call on help from the original songwriters to help piece them together. I’m a lousy songwriter, but manage to spew forth riffs like there’s no tomorrow. Ultimately it remains a team effort.

Lyrically, most of the stuff is obviously written by our vocalist, Jacques. Sometimes Donovan will chip in, and I have even plucked up the courage to contribute just lately. Most of the subjects are about stuff like flying in the face of adversity and the joys of brotherhood and metal – our more positive, outward side, and then there is the darker side of inward explorations. Issues with self, issues with abuses of more psychological nature and all things bad. It’s kind of like a therapy, or a method of coping and our fans seem to relate. Also, one thing that makes Mind Assault very unique is that we have always performed a variety of English and Afrikaans songs. Afrikaans is a great language for metal because it’s got that brutal edge to it with the articulation of ‘r’ and ‘g’ and some other sounds. Also, being his first language, Jacques’ lyrics are at their best when written in Afrikaans. We never really thought about the language thing too hard, though – it just happened and nobody resisted it. Nowadays it works really well for us.

HeadbangToday: According to your biography, your album ‘Stigma’ was “recorded and produced independently on extremely limited resources, provided by the band members themselves”. You’ve done nearly the impossible. Not many bands can pull this off and this is also an excellent way of cutting out the middle man. So, what’s your outlook on the record industry today and what advice would you give to fellow bands?

Mind Assault: On this side of Heaven so close to Hell, nobody comes knockin’ so we know by now that if you expect help from the industry, don’t hold your breath.  When you are on the artistic “verge” of all things acceptable, you need to take matters into your own hands.  Although we were lucky with some financial grants with the demo EP, which was a considerably cheaper project, we had no such luck with Stigma.  No doubt, there is a LOT we would have liked to polish up in more detail, but at the end of the day you need to draw the line with how much energy you are prepared to pump into a project.  Considering the limited resources available, we are actually very pleased with the results and extremely happy with the people we worked with.

There is very little that the record industry can offer our lot and kin today. Putting out studio material is expensive and financially unrewarding, but it is the nature of the beast that every band needs to undertake this pilgrimage if they are ever to reach a higher state of being. It certainly won’t generate an income that can sustain 5 or 6 human beings, even if you are relatively big across the world. You have to be a global giant to achieve that! Sell merchandise. It’s hard to copy and people want it. Often, they want it more than your recorded work! Sell LOADS of merchandise. Use sites like Headbang Today…

HeadbangToday: We’ll be publishing an article soon on the impact that illegal downloading and file-sharing has on the music industry today. Although it’s been embraced by bands such as Radio Head, Slipknot and NIN there seem to be a large majority of bands that still disagree with this. What are your views on illegal downloading of albums?

Mind Assault: With the expense of producing large enough volumes of actual CD stock being so high, downloading serves us very well – legal or not. It increases the reach in getting our music out there and brings attention to our merchandise. We regard the CD market these days as the “follower” rather than the “fan”. There will be loads of fans who like what you do, but followers are the rare breed who will buy all your stuff and show it off to their friends. For those guys, it would be a crime if we did not cater for them, so again, it’s a necessary evil. This does not mean we are discouraging people from buying the CD or paying for their download from a legitimate site – God knows, we need the cash – but we understand that we live in a brave new world.

Creating large stocks of CD’s are a great risk and liability for an underground band. For pop music it may be different… who knows?

HeadbangToday: Your music is intense, and I mean that in a good way! How often do you guys get together for rehearsals and sound checks?

Mind Assault: From October 2004 till about the time of releasing Stigma in 2008 we religiously spent three nights a week in the band room.  That really did the job in letting us grow together.  As of last year, financial pressure (meaning work) has grown and some of the band members are now supporting family members.  We are lucky to get in two nights a week these days.  Getting prepped for a gig is fast work, however, so don’t fear that we will be slipping up.  There are very few metal bands remaining in Africa nowadays who have out-gigged Mind Assault and we’ve learned that there is no substitute for hard earned experience.

HeadbangToday: Tell us about your next shows and why we should be there… also, we’d like to know which international bands you would love to play with one day.

Mind Assault: We’re taking shows slow this year. As said a bit before, we don’t feel there is much more we can gain from endlessly gigging the SA circuit, so there is more interest on getting some new material sorted and exploring new avenues. This will also be rewarding for our supporters in that we will not be regurgitating old sets the whole time. At the moment, all of our attention is on metal4africa’s WinterFest’09 on August 1^st, but after that our only confirmation is Whiplash in December. If the right opportunities crop up between now and then we may take them.

As for why you should be there: let’s just say that scarcity raises value. These two high-profile shows are going to be big highlights for us as individuals, and we will ensure that we share every bit of that with those who attend!

International artists? There are too many bands to list. Obviously each member would like to play with their own personal favorites, so a good compromise would be to list the only two bands that every member of Mind Assault actually agrees on liking: Mors Principium Est, and Amon Amarth.

HeadbangToday: If there had to be a ‘Big Brother Bands’ reality show and you guys as band members had to live among each other, which band member would you evict first and why?

Mind Assault: Sheeeesh! Probably me! I’m way too diplomatic – the guys would find that incredibly boring and the least likely to result in a shoot-out, which is what the public wants, right? At the end of the day, our instinct for entertaining runs too deep to allow a bore like me to stick around.

HeadbangToday: Give us your opinions on:

The recession…

Mind Assault: It’s a real ball breaker. It’s placed insurmountable obstacles in our path at a time when we felt that the fruits of our labor have become ripe for the plucking. I’m sure we are not the only band to feel this way.

Zuma…

Mind Assault: Not much to say about Zuma. We find Julius Malema much more entertaining.

Future manned missions to Mars…

Mind Assault: Sign us up. We will bring metal to the Martians.

A dead frog…

Mind Assault: I s something we’d like to place in Jacques’ underwear drawer – as payback for that horrible green and purple frog shirt that he has worn at gigs where he wanted to get under our skin. Where did he get that thing anyway?

Slipknot…

Mind Assault: The new album is pretty cool. It seems to be headed in a much more traditional metal direction with the introduction of soloing and more groove orientated riffage. The older stuff was a bit too fresh for our old-school tastes. Except for Donovan – he tried to get me into Slipknot back in 2001 already, way before Mind Assault was even a blip on the radar.

Cape Town …

Mind Assault: Home, Sweet Home. The ocean, the mountains, the sunsets in Winter. We have a life here, with friends beyond count and the metal scene treats us well. If only it were a little bigger.

HeadbangToday.com…

Mind Assault: We’re looking forward to seeing where the site goes with growth and development. As always, it is a pleasure to see any initiative which will build towards sustainability for the alternative to mainstream. Well done!

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INTERVIEW BY:

scream@headbangtoday.com