Accuser
Interview by Kieran
When you started, did you have a particular style you were aiming for, or weren’t you just aiming to play the fastest and heaviest metal?
When we started out with Accuser, we were influenced by the fast American sound. It was called speed metal back then and later evolved into the so-called thrash metal.
When you released the album “Taken By The Throat”, you definitely strayed away from traditional thrash metal, and took on a harder, and more groove inspired sound. What do you say inspired this new sound change, and what artists were you listening to at the time?
We’ve returned to traditional thrash metal. But we’ve brought some modern elements into our music which separates us from bands that deliberately choose to play old-school thrash metal. We incorporate all the typical parameters while still looking forward and trying to bring this style into the future of metal. Our listening habits haven’t changed that much. When a long-running band we like releases a new album, we obviously check it out.
You split up, in 1996, after numerous line up changes. What prompted that breakup?
That was shortly after our tour with Overkill. We were tired and wanted a creative break. This break then kept going and our focus shifted away from the music and toward totally different things. Because we didn’t hang out or rehearse anymore,the whole thing just kind of faded away without any official statement. Our hiatus happened without mentioning it.
You’ve toured a lot, and have played numerous festivals, which festival/tour had the best crowd?
Wacken 2011 was an amazing experience and will always be a great memory. Many people came to us after Judas Priest and so the whole tent was packed. The atmosphere was incredible. Beastival, Out & Loud, Bang Your Head and Rock Hard were awesome festivals as well. We’ve also supported Death Angel for a few days. That band is unbelievable live.
You signed to Metal Blade Records, in 2016. What is it like, to be signed to that label?
It’s a huge honor being able to work together with Metal Blade Records. They support us greatly and their promotion is fantastic. We’re very grateful for this opportunity.
What are some of your favorite tour stories? Back when we toured with Cancer, we got to know James Murphy. Their guitars were tuned to D and ours to E. We liked their sound so much that we promptly decided to tune our guitars and our bass to D as well without telling our drummer. He just came up to us after the show and said: “something was different.”
What are you listening to now? A wide variety of stuff. Most of it is metal of course but also different genres that can be inspiring as well.
What are your plans for 2018, and anything special planned?
We don’t have any concrete plans. After the album is released, we hope to play some cool festivals and shows and maybe a nice tour.
MHF Magazine/Kieran
