Hailing
from The Netherlands and formed in 1996, the tyrants known as
CHAINSAW has since been scything and slicing posers with their very
own brand of malodorous Thrash Metal and spreading the message of
‘Blood, Meat, and Metal’! The following interview was answered by
founding maniacs Don and Aike.
Alcohol-drenched
hails! As far as I know, Chainsaw formed back in 1996. What have been
some of the highlights regarding this whole journey and how do you
reflect on your achievements as an underground Speed/Thrash Metal
band?
Don
- Oh dear. I’m way too sober to answer this question. Let’s drink
some of those hails. Yes. Yes. Better now. Let’s reflect. 1996.
That’s 25 years. That’s a lot of highlights. And lowlights. Well
some of the weirder gigs I remember as being highlights, like the
musical high tea party where we played our full bloodsoaked show in
front of an audience of people with an average age of 75. Some ran,
well strolled out of the venue, but then other oldies cheered us and
at the end of the gig an 80 year old lady came up to us to share that
she enjoyed it thoroughly. Playing at a party in Bonaire where the
theme was ‘The independence of Surinam’ and most people were in
original Surinam attire was quite the highlight too. First everybody
ran again, then they came back and starting dancing to our crazy
thrash metal. We like to take metal where it originally shouldn’t
go. We feel like we are missionaries in that way. We also played
quite a few vegan parties and the more we explained that all of our
songs are basically about meat, the more they loved it.
Aike
- One time we played in a somewhat religious neighbourhood Where we
replaced another band the last minute for an afternoon show. We were
surprised there was no backstage beer and no alcohol at the bar in
the venue, but luckily we brought some ourselves. So we do our show,
and so I was preaching to the audience about fucking your pets,
fucking minced meat, killing people and things like that.. and then
after the show there were some very angry people and it turned out it
was a special heavy metal afternoon for children. Well we did notice
there was an above average amount of kids but what the hell, if you
BOOK Chainsaw you GET Chainsaw. And later we got a message from the
city council that due to our ‘tasteless and amoral act’ had
banned Chainsaw for life haha. Many years later someone in that same
city wanted to book us for a festival but the city council had not
forgotten about us and we were not allowed to play. I think that is
our greatest achievement!
According
to the metal archives, there are 11 bands bearing the moniker
Chainsaw. Did you ever consider opting for a different name or were
you never that fazed about a name that’s shared by others?
Don
- We are generally not easily fazed. Dazed, crazed, yes, but fazed,
no. Our music just fit the style of a Chainsaw and we so aptly named
the band as such.
Actually
at one time we wanted to organize a festival or a small tour with
other Chainsaws, we almost got there with the Polish Chainsaw, but it
didn’t work out.
Aike
- The Polish Chainsaw even changed their name the ‘THE Chainsaw’
and suddenly stopped communication while we tried to plan a tour for
the combined Chainsaw’s
Can
you elaborate a bit on the philosophy behind Chainsaw?
Don
- Yes indeed, we are great philosophers. The philosophy behind
Chainsaw is that thrash should be raw and bloody, like a steak still
on the cow.
Aike
- Straightforward violence without any moral nonsense. And for the
stage part we use all kinds of theatrics to enhance the metal
experience and when you wake up the day after you went to a Chainsaw
show even though you are hungover you still remember.
Who
and what is the meat locker?
Don -
YOU are the meat locker, but so am I.
What’s
some of your favourite albums in the eternal relics of metal?
Don
- Judas Priest – Painkiller, Swampcult – The Festival, Spinal Tap
– Smell the Glove
Aike
- Necro Schizma – Live in Zwolle, Manowar – Black wind fire and
steel, Celtic frost- Morbid tales, Bathory- Blood fire death to name
a few
Which
bands influenced the sound of Chainsaw and what can you tell us about
your themes?
Don
- In the early days bands like Venom, Kreator influenced us. Later on
we made songs and decided if it sounded like Chainsaw, haha, then it
was a Chainsaw song, but that is what happens when you’re in a band
for 25 years.
Aike
- The songs are mostly about meat but also about necrophilia, traffic
jams, bestiality, killing bugs. I just let my mind wander without
restraint about some normal day to day stuff and it gets
automatically drenched in some crazy sauce.
What
can you tell us about your blood-soaked photos and live performances?
Is it part of your aesthetic? And can you share with us any crazy
anecdotes about shows you’ve played?
Don
– Yes, but it just gradually happened. We didn’t use any
blood in the beginning. Then 1 time at easter, we thought it was a
good idea to slaugher an easter bunny. It was a stuffed toy with some
blood inside, but it was fun. Then we expanded the idea to do the
same, but to a stuffed pig toy during ‘The Butcher of Bagdad’.
One of our fans, an ancient guy in a wheelchair told us afterwards
that he really enjoyed that, but the pig was way too small. We
decided that he was very right. Aike then created a bigger than life
size pig and since that time when we play ‘The Butcher of Bagdad’,
the pig comes out and gets slaughtered. It is a great bloody mess.
When we first started doing it, people stepped back, but later on,
people got real close and wanted to get splattered. If people are not
already in a fantastic mood during our shows, they become ecstatic
when the pig comes out.
Aike
- We usually start the show with me rushing through the venue
with a running chainsaw, so there was this time I decided to run out
into the crowded street and chase some people shopping. Besides the
chainsaw I also had this huge dagger strapped to my leg for later
during the show were we drag a plastic wrapped body onstage, hoist it
up on a pole and cut it open and blood and entrails come out. There
was an elderly lady who came after me who called out to me: ‘excuse
me mister, but you have dropped your knife.’ and returned it to me.
haha that was awesome.
How
would you respond to someone attending one of your shows that
complained afterwards about getting blood on them?
Don
- It hasn’t happened very often, but sometimes we do hear
afterwards that some people ran out. One unfortunate girl started
crying when some blood was spilled on her neat white blouse. I don’t
think she was paying a lot of attention to us, even though she was
close enough.
Aike
- Some years ago when we opened for Goddess of desire, they
prepared their fireworks for their show before the doors opened so
they could start playing without delay when we would have finished
our set. Only to discover that our blood had ruined most of it.
However they remained calm any said: ‘well, we should have known
better than to play after Chainsaw.’
How
has the overall response been towards Chainsaw and how is your
following in the Netherlands?
Don
– Some people got quite fanatic and followed us around, we
often saw a lot of familiar faces. Especially in Germany people got
absolutely nuts. We’ve got a nice following in the Netherlands, but
we haven’t had many gigs lately, so when we do perform again, we
will have to wake them up with a bang.
What’s
the current status of the members and what do you keep yourself busy
with nowadays?
Don
- We’re all still alive sort off. I mainly keep myself busy
with another thrash band called PPTA.
Aike
- I am active in several other bands, amongst them are a
doom band: Swampcult that turns the short stories of H.P. Lovecraft
into an audio experience, together with Don who does the guitar and
bass, I play the drum and do the vocals. We’re working on the 3rd
album now but we take our sweet time. And SPITZ vile doom rock where
I play bass and vocals.
And
our bass player Leon plays guitar in a death metal band Cacatory and
also in PPTA
Are
there any bands from recent years that you’ve taken a liking to, or
are you mostly jamming old classics? What’s on your playlist
lately?
Don
- I have been listening to a lot of Shining and Gama Bomb lately.
But also classics such as Darkthrone – A Blaze in the Northern Sky
and random songs of Decapitated.
Aike
- I usually play a few albums on over and over for months. at the
moment that is ‘A baneful choir’ by Teitanblood and ‘Latexcult’
by Impaled Nazarene, Not a lot of thrash or speed as someone might
expect from someone in a band like this.
What
are some of your biggest pet peeves with people in the metal scene?
Don
- I used to have A LOT of pet peeves, but I think I’m getting
too old for that shit, haha.
Aike
- Bands promoting themselves as female fronted. Nothing wrong
with women in bands, but if you promote your band like that,
especially when there is no clean singing, you basically say: ‘Hee,
come look at the tits of our front woman!’ And another thing is
bands that have names that do not fit the music. Take Annihilator for
instance, brutal name, but they don’t sound like they are
annihilating anything. very, very annoying.
You
haven’t put out a new album since 2013. Will there be any new
material in the future, and will you resurrect the chainsaw to slay
the posers once more?
Don
- Yes there will be! We basically have enough songs for another
album and we will definitely resurrect the chainsaw when the time
comes to release those upon an unsuspecting world.
Thanks
a lot for your time!!! Long live the Chainsaw!!!
Don
- Thanks for the interview!! Long live Death by Hammer!
