Interview with MURDER ANGELS
!!!NECRO SLEAZE MANIACS FROM MEXICO!!!
We had a conversation with Philthy Lynott (Bass/Vocals) & Bat Benatar (Guitars). Enjoy!
Welcome to the FILTHY DOGS OF METAL Webzine.
Tell us a few things about MURDER ANGELS (Members, Starting Year etc).
PL.- The band was formed by Rotta Bat Rat and me (Philthy Lynott) thanks to party conversations from the previous year in which we shared and expressed our love for punk and glam rock, I started writing the music and lyrics in early 2024 and by mid February Bat Benatar joined the equation as it felt very natural considering we have been bandmates in several other bands for about 13 years.
BB.- Philthy and me share the same flat, so we tend to play a lot of music together, and Rotta is one of the coolest guys I know. We are probably going to recruit another friend to join in the future on guitars soon.
You have recently released your demo ''L.A.M.F. (Like a Mürder Fuckër)''. What is the feedback from your audience as well as from the press?
PL.- The response has been truly amazing since we released our very first song in early July. Friends, artists and bands that I truly admire have been very supportive and that really means the world to me, besides the fact that it seems that somehow the word has been spreading and new people that start following us seem to really like our sound, I'm very grateful for all of this.
Label or DIY and why?
PL.- I personally think that a DIY attitude is very important for any band or musical project related to rock 'n' roll, you should always be your own motivator and that is the key to make things happen, of course a label can help take some things further (even though I must say it's very important that a label truly respects the way in which you want to express artistically), we are not against the idea of being signed as long as there is some congruence with the label and with what we want to do and project.
BB.- DIY forever. In the words of Bon Scott: "You learn to sing, you learn to play. Why don't the businessmen ever learn to pay?".
Is there any funny or weird story from the recordings or from your live shows that you would like to share with us?
PL.- We haven't played live yet, about the recording of the demo, I can say that before recording vocals the producer and I were the only people in the studio and we heard in the next room how the battery snare was playing by "itself" and even making some sound patterns, it was very interesting and kinda creepy more than funny though.
Do you prefer Vinyl, Tape, CD or Digital Format and why is that?
PL.- I love to buy music in physical format (even though I don't consider myself to be a collector), just a passionate rocker who enjoys to listen to music the way it was intended to be played. I own CD's, tapes and vinyl records, I think each of them has its own charm, I like vinyl records a little bit more because of being a very complete piece of art (cover artwork that looks like a frame, lyrics sheet, big pictures and amazing analog sound).
BB.- Philthy and me both own "Young, Loud and Snotty", he has the vinyl and I have a bootleg punk tape so even if we love al three formats we have our own preferences. Analog is the real deal for me.
Which are your main influences (Favourite Artists / Bands etc.)
PL.- We have a lot of different influences, some of the artists/bands I listened to the most during the writing process and before recording were the following: early Death SS, early Mötley Crüe, Hanoi Rocks, Misfits, Dead Boys, Champagne Suicide, Burzum, the Venom demo with Clive Archer on vocals, Ripper (Tx), New York Dolls, Legs-Up, Sledgehammer Ledge, Alice Cooper and Hellhammer. Basically I was looking for a very tight mix of sleaze rock, punk rock, black metal and a little bit of Italian doom metal.
BB.- When Philthy played some glam records at home I remember recognizing covers by Roky Erickson, KISS, AC/DC so I think some of these albums play a huge influence in having better riffs and better influences than most blackmetalpunk or heavyspeed trendies nowadays would ever think to come up with. For me early Pentagram (US), Death SS and Venom would have some of what I consider to have that satanic "glam" vibe. As a guitarist I'd mention the old blues guitars of Albert King, Cream or Bowie's "The Man Who Sold the World" twin lead guitars.
Which things do you think a band should sacrifice in order to succeed? Have you ever sacrificed anything in your life for a better future for your band?
PL.- I personally think that you succeed since the moment in which you feel satisfied and fulfilled with the music you are making and obviously to record it, for that you only need to sacrifice some of your time and maybe some money.
Describe your ideal live show as a performance band. Have you already experienced that?
PL.- The ideal show for Mürder Angëls would be by incorporating some long lost shock rock elements of artists I love like Alice Cooper, Death SS and Paul Chain Violet Theatre, maybe we'll need to commit some graveyard desecration for stage paraphernalia in the future.
What attributes do you think that a new Heavy Metal Band should have in order to gain identity and be unique?
PL.- Dare to experiment, to avoid the current trends that even affect what is considered "true metal" nowadays, I see a lot of new bands being highly inspired by modern acts like Skull Fist, Cauldron, Midnight, etc. That doesn't feels right to me, in my book I'd better try to figure out what bands influenced those modern artists and I'd inject my own personality and perspective as well, also to me is very important to always respect and consider the roots of a genre or musical style.
Do you believe that Digital Platforms help the new Heavy Metal Bands? Which, do you think, is the ideal way for a band to promote its work?
PL.- I do think that digital platforms can be of help for sure, it's good to adapt to our times and it's a fact they can bring positive results. It all depends on the projection you want to give to your band, Bat Benatar and I also have a thrash metal band called Poison Angel in which we don't count with any kind of social media and avoid digital platforms, in that band we only promote our music through fanzines, live shows and through our demo tape (which is not even complete on YouTube).
Do you see any differences between the Mexican Metal Market & the EU Metal Market (Labels, Bands, Fans etc)?
PL.- Of course the European metal market and scene are way bigger and much more structured than what we live in Mexico, metal is not really big here, the underground is strong though but it's constantly being affected in a negative way by several factors. Metal fans are very passionate here but also there's a lot of people that only follow trends (even within what is considered to be true metal) and they only stick to that, don't dig deeper and there's not much of a healthy rock 'n' roll or heavy metal culture here.
Tell us a few things about the New Underground Metal Scene in Mexico (Bands, Fanzines, Webzines, Metal Clubs etc.)
PL.- There are very few metal clubs here, Revolver Bar is a cool one in which you can bring your own vinyls and they play it (no matter the genre or band, you can bring a Def Leppard record or a Blasphemy record and they will play it). About bands, I love a lot of 80s and 90s Mexican bands like Luzbel, Khafra, Megaton, Vixit, Apocalipsis, Shub Niggurath, Cenotaph, Xibalba Itzaes, early Funereal Moon, etc. Also some more modern bands, Voltax is absolutely amazing, Freeroad, Black Mask, Ahvawe, Violent Hex, Grave Cross and Stone Demons are truly great bands as well. Regarding fanzines, the legendary Mutilador Fanzine from the late 80s and early 90s, Rock Pop Magazine from the 80s and Heavy Metal Subterraneo from the 80s as well, also Evil Metal and Lucifer's Mirror who Bat Benatar is the editor for both of them.
BB.- Malaidea is also a favorite hangout and underground gig-spot, although mostly associated with the punk scene. We are currently planning a vinyl DJ set there on Halloween as a party organized by our record label, Occult Metal Records. Skeletorn is also a great new act of shock rockers and hopefully we can play together in both of our cities soon.
Do you know anything about the Hellenic Metal Scene?
PL.- I know about truly great classic bands like Aphrodite's Child, Rotting Christ, Necromantia, Uranus, Varathron and Flames.
BB.- All the Molon Lave Records bands and associated circles, Necromantia being my favorite of all. Aphrodite's Child of course, Northwind's "Northcomin'" among many more in between bands, zines and labels both dead and alive.
The last 4 years, worldwide in the world, we have faced many dark, strange & new situations in our everyday life (covid, lock-down etc.) Did all of this affect you positively or negatively?
PL.- In my personal experience it was both, very negative in an economical way but very positive talking in a human level as I was able to reconnect with myself in a very deep personal and also artistic way, also I really enjoyed having a lot of free time to listen to music, read a lot and watch movies.
What are your future plans?
PL.- Right now we are looking for a label to release our songs on a 7" and also record new songs, maybe a couple of splits with some bands we admire and to play live in a near future.
Thank you very much for your time & keep up the good work! The closure is yours.
PL.- Thanks a lot for the interest and support and a big thank you as well to all the people reading this and to the ones who have supported us in any way.
By Steve the Filthy Dog.
MURDER ANGELS CONTACT:
https://www.facebook.com/necrosleaze666/
https://www.instagram.com/murderangels666/
https://murderangels666.bandcamp.com/album/l-a-m-f-like-a-m-rder-fuck-r