In the wake of the great success of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) bands, there was also a boom in new bands around the world. But most of the bands splitted up a little later. This was not due to poor quality. There was just a surplus of new music. And for many musicians, family and work also had priority. After the turn of the millennium you can see a trend that many of the old bands come together again and dare to start again. So, it was with the US band Incursion. Founded in 1982, the band only existed for four years. And only released a demo with three songs. Only after the reunion in 2018 did the band go back to the studio. The result was the debut EP “The Hunter“. Guitarist Maxx Havick took the time to answer my questions.
MHF: Hello. I’m Rainer and I write for Metalheads Forever Magazine. Thanks for letting me do this interview with you. How are you?
Maxx: I’m doing well and the band is doing great! Buddy our drummer contracted Covid, but has recovered and we’re gearing up for the release of the Hunter EP on No Remorse Records either later this year or the beginning of 2021.
MHF: I came across you by chance. Many Metal fans won’t even know you yet. Please introduce yourself briefly.
Maxx: Incursion is a Traditional Heavy Metal band from Florida. Our influences are Kiss, Ted Nugent, Rush & Iron Maiden. The band consists of myself – Maxx Havick – and Michael Lashinsky on guitars, Buddy Norris on drums, Stone Jamess on bass and Steve Samson on vocals.
MHF: The band was formed in 1982. In Europe the NWOBHM bands were booming. What were your reasons to found Incursion?
Maxx: We were very caught up in that wave. Iron Maiden are a huge influence on what we are doing musically, and we are huge fans of Saxon, Raven, Venom and Anvil (though they’re from Canada)
MHF: In the four years of your existence you only released three songs as a demo. Why did you stay with this one publication?
Maxx: We recorded the demo, and it exposed a lot of the things we thought we could improve as musicians and what we wanted to do as a band. It was all our first time in the studio and while we felt we had the songs, we didn’t have all the parts to our puzzle.
MHF: Why did the band already split up in 1986?
Maxx: It was mainly because we went separate ways with our singer at the time. We just had different ideas of what we wanted to do musically. In our search of a new singer, we just couldn’t find what we were looking for.
MHF: After that, there was no sign of life of Incursion for thirty-two years. What did you do during that time?
Maxx: I went to work in music at a record company, Michael played in a various bands and has played on a lot of non-metal records and Buddy was in various bands but not at the level of making records.
MHF: It wasn’t until 2018 that three of the four founding members dared to start over. Please tell how it came about.
Maxx: Michael reconnected with Buddy on Facebook and kept saying we should all play together again. It all worked out to get together in 2018. When we got together it felt like it did in past so we then were faced with finding the singer we always wanted. I’d known Steve for a long time and finally asked him if he’d be into recording some stuff I’d written. Stone came last to make us complete.
MHF: You went into the studio and recorded the EP “The Hunter”. How was the feeling after so many years to record new songs again?
Maxx: It felt great to play these songs again, but there was also an awareness that we would be judged based on where the metal world is now. These are songs we had written from 82-86. There isn’t much change in the songs from how they were then. Steve’s voice just made them sound like we’d always hoped they would sound.
MHF: Which bands / musicians influenced you in your songwriting?
Maxx: Kiss, Ted Nugent, Rush, Iron Maiden, Scorpions, Judas Priest, Anvil, Raven, Twisted Sister, Nasty Savage, Loudness and Mercyful Fate.
MHF: “The Hunter” is obviously a concept EP. What kind of story do you tell in the songs?
Maxx: It’s a story about a Hunter who is on a quest, from his fight for survival to his quest, to become the king of all the land. Each song is about each stage his has to overcome to be prepared to face the King.
MHF: The EP was mastered by Jörg Uken in Germany. How did this collaboration come about?
Maxx: We’re friends with a band called Dark Hound and their album “The Dawning” was mixed by Jörg. When we found out he produced and mixed the latest Anvil records, we were lucky enough he was available to mix and master “The Hunter”.
MHF: Are you satisfied with the EP?
Maxx: There’s obviously things we all wish we can re-do, but we are all pretty happy with how “The Hunter” turned out.
MHF: How will it go with Incursion? Are further recordings planned?
Maxx: We are planning to record a full length by winter of 2021 that will come out on No Remorse Records.. Let’s hope it is safe to play live in 2021 because we really want to play this live!
MHF: Thank you again for this interview. Finally, would you like to say something to the fans?
Maxx: Thank you for the opportunity to let the fans know about us. To the fans, we are grateful for your support. Thank you for being early believers. Keep spreading the word!!!
