Gospel Of The Horns
Wywiad przeprowadził Bartosz Donarski
No introduction needed, really. Australian Gospel Of The Horns has been reigning supreme for a decade and I don't think there's something that is in power to stop them. The first and enough long-awaited full-length album is eventually out. It's out and it's fucking killer! Sharp yet unpolished, catchy yet not trite and fiendishly blazing as the treacherous scriptures they burn by the inverted thunderbolts they strike. Their hymns indeed incline to evil poetry. "A Call to Arms" converts on war metal all who hesitates. Adore this shit, or get lost! First and foremost, I'm just curious how it is to await the release of own debut full-length album for like 10 years! Is that funny? Ha! Besides and reportedly, the album was recorded two years ago.
Howitzer: "Ha, ha, ha... Ah yes it certainly has been a long time in coming... Let's just hope our next recording doesn't take another decade to release. I suppose other than the break the band had between 1995 to 1997, there are no proper explanations for the delay in this record, we certainly aren't 
a band who get pushed into doing anything which isn't in our time frame... The reason for the delay in releasing the record from the recording period is because we changed record labels, just after "A Call to Arms" was recorded."
To tell the truth I have known your name for years, yet only lately had the opportunity to check you out. You know, I'm not that much into demos which is fake as fuck, but I really hate poor "productions", yours could be good, though. Anyway, at first tell me please why nearly all Australian bands - that I know - release their albums abroad, mainly in Europe? You have your labels, so where's the clue?
"I suppose it's because of the added advantages the labels have in Europe, compared to the labels in Australia. It's more accessible to push sales etc., when you are in that environment... There are far more contacts in Europe, so with this comes the advantage of promoting the product. But there are some labels down here which have signed local acts, such as Modern Invasion, Shock Records, and Venomous Records..."
"A Call to Arms" is fucking awesome material which I had honor to review jerking myself while writing like a teen! This shit is great, no less, no more! This is ancient metal, yet very much like a remedy for contemporary crappy music we are served at a stretch. How did you summon the demons that could be heard on the album?
"Gospel are a group which basically plays music it wants to listen to, when we aren't actually playing it, if that makes sense... We play from the soul, we want to encompass the listener, give them that crushing sensation when our hymns are heard. Sure, we aren't the most technical group going around, but we compensate this with our black thrashing metal attack. When you hear a gospel track it does nothing more than possess the listener to bang his/her head frantically... Lead with an iron will..."
Your band name is not trite one and sort of uncommon. Who is responsible for that? Your
mum? Love it!
"Actually it was my necro grandmother who invoked the band name, ha, ha, ha... It was back in 1993, the old vocalist and myself were watching evil dead three, when we were throwing around names for 
our new band... We also had Bathory, "Blood, Fire, Death", LP on in the back ground to create the right atmosphere... Then before we knew it, we had gospel of the horns... Maybe it was the Bathory gods who helped influence our final decision, ha, ha."
Do you currently contribute to any other bands like it was formerly?
"Actually three of the four members are active in other side projects... Marauder plays bass for a local metal/hatecore band Deathshead, whilst our guitarist Masochist leads the front in his own killer death metal band Hellspawn (a band truly recommend your readers follow up) and finally Hellcunt is going to be reforming the legendary cult war metal demons Bestial Warlust, with Skullfucker, you've been warned, ha, ha..."
How do you remember your European tour in 2000? Any memorable moments, funny
stories to tell?
"Ha, ha, ha, we have many foul tales which have arisen from the 2000 mini tour, but lets just say we shall let sleeping dogs lie... O.K here's a brief summary... Blow jobs in pub alleyways in Hilversum, extreme chaos through the streets of Amsterdam, getting chased by huge Negro security, more blow jobs, 2 guitars getting stolen in Paris, crazy parties in Bladel with the wild Dutch bangers and the mosel hell bangers... Nearly getting stabbed by black drug dealers in Paris because of wearing a S.O.L. shirt, he, he, he... I give out a mighty hail to our European and Irish comrades who showed us a fucking excellent time on our last European assault... We shall see you fuckers soon..."
As far as the production of "A Call to Arms" is concerned, I state that such sound you achieved is the only suitable one for the fiendish dins you create. Raw but superb! Was that your goal to strengthen the spirit by such production-wise?
"Mmmm, I think it would be a combination of the complexity of the trax and the overall advancement of the sound we managed to obtain from the recording studio. The engineer we used was very adept in draining the best possible take from our ranks, he had experience with other metal bands, such as Abominator and Pegasus, so this was a huge bonus once the recording process took place. Also this 
was Masochists first offering in the band (our new guitarist), so this also added some new elements to Gospels creative sound. Personally I believe that "A CALL TO ARMS" is a natural progression from "EVE OF THE CONQUEROR", it has all the true Gospel attributes, whilst still evolving and not becoming stale and stagnant."
Any bothers as far as your native scene? I heard that lots of your kids, likely others worldwide, adore the new-metal shit, which you do not approve, I guess.
"One thing that bothers me about our scene is that not enough people support the local bands as much as when an international group tours the country. Why this is I don't know, maybe they don't know the true quality of bands from their own back yard. But having said that, our fans are the best and most passionate, they are always supporting us, banging their heads and screaming loudly to our tunes, true heathens... As for the nu-metal trend, this will come and go, just like the rap metal, glam metal era, these periods were nothing more than money making trends which weren't into the real core of our scene... Only the mighty will survive."
On "A Call to Arms" we can also find a track entitled "Powers of Darkness" which originally appeared on your demo. In my opinion this song is a glorious anthem of evil, a super hit from battle hymns chart list, a top of the pops in the pits of hell! I just want to thank you that you put in on!
"Ah yes this track is one of the crowd favorites when gospel play live... I suppose the listener can take whatever he/her likes from this track, its about passion, willpower and not being afraid to stand alone in the crowd... Don't become a conformist and more importantly don't follow any religious trend based on blind ignorance..."
Any chances for you to come to Europe in near or further future?
"Gospel of the Horns will be touring Europe in may 2003, this I can promise you... The dates will become known in the following weeks... For more info, contact our label Invictus Productions, Ireland."
Besides, are you familiar with any Polish bands?
"O.K. Polish bands I know include, Graveland, Reinfecton, Vader, Veles and a couple of others which have slipped my mind."
And before we stop chewing the fat, you must promise me that we will be still alive as the sophomore album is out! If it takes another 10 years I'm gonna be fucking angry with you! Beware my wrath!
"Ha, ha, ha, I can assure you it won't take another 10 years for a gospel release to hit the air... Thanks for the interview and the support... We will be looking forward to unleashing our skullfucking metal fury in Europe this year... Stay focused, choose not to be apart of the system and remember to lead with an iron will... Hail the new dawn!"
Bart Donarski
