DELAYED ACTION BOMB Interview conducted by Mocke on 30/07/1998 with the Gaulish Blood Angels. CRUSADER : When was D.A.B formed? D.A.B: D.A.B has been formed by myself in 1990. Yes, 8 years ago, bullshit, I'm a grandfather, haha ! CRUSADER : How were the early days in D.A.B? D.A.B : Hard but enjoyable, we didn't know how to play, it was just the start, we were young and quite mad I would say, we didn't care about anything, we just wanted to play, uh ! CRUSADER : Why did you choose the band name DELAYED ACTION BOMB? D.A.B: You will surely laugh.....I was driving a car with a friend of mine (the first drummer), and I've said him "Look, we don't have any name, I will take this English dictionary and close my eyes, choose a page and put my finger on it, and then we will take the name !!!" He said okay and my finger choose D.A.B, this is the real story. Quite funny, it could have been, shit or dick, haha!! CRUSADER : Where there any line-up changes in the band since you started? D.A.B: Oh yes !! 11 Drummers, 4 Bass players, 3 singers, 3 guitarist, 6 roadies, 4 managers, I'm the only survivor since '90. Everyone ask me how this has been possible, and I reply to that I absolutely wanted four/five guys really serious and involved at 100% in music. 8 Years to do that, very long in fact. CRUSADER : D.A.B just released a CD entitled BEST OF THE BLOOD ANGELS which includes all your older demo's and the tracks from your first two CD's. It is also being reviewed in this issue of the Crusader. How would you describe the changes in the music since the first recording the band did? D.A.B: I would say that first the technical level is a lot higher, there is no comparison. Secondly, I would say that we have had some changes in our private lives, so the music has changed from the 4 first demo tapes and also the 1st CD, so the second is slower. For the third, we go back to the source and will play a brutal, technical death Metal, back to the original ! A band follow the life of the musicians you know, so beware of the next CD because we are back, stronger than ever, and all the actual 4 members of D.A.B are together for 3 years now, the longest time in the band for all musicians, so now we are ready to start a new career. CRUSADER : Are there still things you can laugh about that happened the first time you have recorded? D.A.B: For the first demo tape we did in a garage, I was playing the music (I was guitarist and singer at this period) while I was trying to find the sound; fucking experience. For the second demo, we totally destroyed our Van to go to the studio, for the third, we have nearly destroyed the face of our drummer, for the first CD we have been obliged to record it three times (a lot of $), because no engineer were able to give us the sound we wanted, and we haven't found it, so the sound of the first CD has been bad I think. At the end of the recording of the 1st CD, our drummer has been in hospital for an asthma crisis very important due to the "stress" we had, bullshit !!! For the second CD we were really ready, technically and emotionally speaking, so we have done everything in 6 days in a fantastic studio. CRUSADER : I must admit I enjoyed this best of CD. How was the response in the rest of the world? D.A.B : All the mag's have said that it was a great idea to do for the true Metal fans, and the reviews are good. I to fax Lard recs to know about the sales now. CRUSADER : D.A.B just finished a North American tour with Sinister. Who else took part in this tour and were you happy with it? Can you tell us more about the tour? D.A.B: No we have toured Europe with Sinister, but it was in June '97. We have played in the USA in March '98 as headliners and also in six countries in Central America, still as headliners with TV shows, radios, the fans were great and mad, totally mad, we have been protected (on stage) by the army, with AK47 guns, on stage guys, on stage !!!! I remain only one band that has astonished me, it was KABAK, from Salvador, fucking great band, Central America has got big and great acts, believe me !!!!!! CRUSADER: D.A.B is a very aggressive Death Metal band. Why did you decide to do this style of Metal and not just jump on the Black Metal band wagon? D.A.B: It's funny that you said that, because when our second album came out, some French mags have said that we were trends!!! D.A.B a trendy act, can you imagine that? Everyone in the scene know who we are and how we are true and 100% underground guys, we have refused a Warner offer just because they wanted us to change from Death to Metal rock, and those guys have said we were trends !! We have received tons of letters from true fans worldwide saying to keep on the job, that was a real pleasure to get, believe me !! We could have played a black style, but that is not our way of life, we are death freaks and not black fans, even we like some bands (no fascist one's, no racists even Nazi pigs !!!), we are in Death Metal !!! CRUSADER: What is D.A.B.'s influences and who's your favourite band? D.A.B: We like Gloomy Grimm, Samael, Kreator, Carcass, Morbid Angel, Mike Oldfield, Sepultura (old), Steve Vai, Deeds of Flesh, Massacra (old), Crematory, Opressor, Incantation, and tons of others. More on the underground we like Sadium, Oblivion, Thalibomide. CRUSADER: I have noticed on your last flyer that you have send me that a new release, GURKHAS, is coming up under your distribution label DEADSUN RECORDS. The band will include members of D.A.B and SINISTER. Can you tell us more about it and will this be only a one of thing or can we expect more CD's from GURKHAS? D.A.B: Gurkhas is composed by two members of D.A.B (Me and Rivh, I sing and he ruin guitars) and two members of Sinister (Aad and Barth, drum and bass). It will be a killer brutal Death CD. I hope to produce it in '99 under my DEADSUN name. We would record in Holland where Sinister has already recorded it's albums. If the band sells well and have some success, a tour should follow. CRUSADER: D.A.B is also releasing a new CD and you are going to tour U.S.A., Central America and Europe. When is the CD coming out and can we expect to here the same style Death from D.A.B on this CD? D.A.B: I think the CD would be out in February/ March '99, we are really taking our time to put it out. Yes we will tour across Europe, USA, and Canada. The style will be a kind of fast, brutal, technical Death Metal, really in the first vein of the style but we will try to put our "touch", hehe !! I think it would kill (not an objective opinion, haha) and will be out, this time, on a serious label, we have five offers at this day, we'll see, as I said, we are taking our time to do it. CRUSADER: I know the band is very interested in touring South Africa. Why do you want to tour our country? When can we expect this to happen? D.A.B: D.A.B is interested to tour worldwide, we have played nearly in all the countries from Europe, in USA and six lands from Central America, next tour we'll discover also South America and hopefully Canada. We have never played in Africa, so why not? D.A.B is ready to go everywhere where Death Maniacs are ready to come to our gig's, just that !!! We don't mind the place and the colour of the guys, we would play in front of a Papou's Horde if it would be possible. I think this could happen in 2 000 year if we find a manager to make us come. CRUSADER: Coming from France the land of Fashion, is there any fashion under the Metalheads in France and do you actually enjoy this fashion shit? Can we expect a Metal fashion show in Paris with some sexy French woman on the Metalwalk and D.A.B playing? Now that would be cool!! D.A.B: The fashion is actually, like in Europe, in Black attitude, I mean Black Metal attitude. I think this is good and bad, because I know some Black Metallers who are great guys, and 100% honest and involved in what they do, but there are 95% stupid young Black Metallers who cry when they see a lake of Blood, hahaha!!!! A sexy Metal show in Paris while D.A.B is playing. Our drummer is a French lover, a woman's maniac, a sexual bomb, hahaha!!!!! You should ask the Central American girls, they could say you that better than me, because they were really really near to our bollocks on this tour (I don't want to hear about it - Mocke), haha not for me but for the other it was really cool. At Paris, I don't know but who knows. D.A.B has got the reputation to be a "cold" band on stage, and a "hot" band after, haha, so maniacs wait for us to be cold on stage, so I don't know really. CRUSADER: I would like to say thanks to JF REY and the rest of D.A.B for this opportunity to interview them. Any last growls from the Death Metal warriors from France? D.A.B: That's my turn to thank you in the D.A.B's name, because it is the first time we appear on to a South African Mag, so thanks again for the opportunity my good and true African friend ! I've just answered to a Egyptian mag, so the scene is growing and that is pretty cool. A last Growl?... Hear our best of and discover our other CD's, thanks ! ....and....be honest with yourself, then you will be cool with the others, follow your own way, keep your attitude, Bye !!! Please send me some photo's on the band and a list of all the stuff you have recorded. Thanks again. Back to Scripture 4