“Municipal Waste” INTERVIEW by Dillon Collins
Unleashing their grimy, sludge-ridden tour de force Slime and Punishment on June 23rd, crossover thrash stalwarts Municipal Waste firmly reaffirm their position as one of the most unstoppable working metal bands today. Clocking in five years after the release of their fifth studio album, Slime and Punishment looks to build on the cult status of a band who achieved new levels of blistering, skull-splitting brilliance with 2007’s game-changing record The Art of Partying and subsequent followups Massive Aggressive and 2012’s The Fatal Feast. Calling from Mount Rushmore of all places, longtime vocalist Tony Foresta caught up with Metalheads Forever to talk their highly anticipated new album, trekking across America on the Warped Tour and of course, Donald Trump.
You guys are heading out on the Warped Tour this year, which has a much heavier lineup than I can ever recall. The tour is always a grind I’ve been told, but I’d imagine it’s a hell of a time for a band like yourselves who love performing live. What led to you guys coming on-board?
Tony: It’s pretty different. I think it will be pretty cool to be a part of it. I’m excited. I’ve always been keeping track of Warped Tour over the years. The last 10 or 15 years it has been a lot different. It seems like this lineup this year is pretty awesome. It’s something we had to be a part of.
This is obviously a huge month for you guys, with your new record Slime and Punishment being released on June 23rd.
Tony: We’re really excited about that. We busted our ass on that last summer to get that record done. To have that finally come out, it’s been long overdue. Five years, five long ass years.
What do you think led to that five year gap in between records?
Tony: It’s funny I actually shouldn’t say long years because they went by pretty fast. We were so busy doing our other projects. There’s been a lot of stuff going on.
What has the fan response been so far for the material on Slime and Punishment? Personally I think it’s some your strongest since The Art of Partying.
Tony: We were just talking about it as a band. It seems like the response has been better than we thought it was going to be. That’s cool to hear people say that. After you write so many records you never really know what people are going to think about it. It seems we kind of worked extra hard on this one to make it better and it seems to be paying off. The reviews I’ve read have been extremely positive. I try not to read a lot of reviews either because a lot of people won’t know what they’re talking about. I don’t take it for granted. It means a lot to me that people dig it. It’s cool, especially after doing it for so long. It’s hard to keep writing records that people think are good.
The thing that has always personally drawn me to Municipal Waste is that when so many bands are so serious and grim you guys really find the humor and the entertainment in metal. You guys want to have a party and have a good time and if that pisses anyone off so be it. Do you think that’s part of what has helped to set you guys apart?
Tony: I think so. We dabble on socialist issues a little it, but in the long run we are just trying to have a good time. If we do have a point to get across that’s semi-serious we’ll try to do it with a little bit of humor, make it maybe more accessible to those people who don’t want to take things too seriously all the time.
Speaking of socialist issues, you guys recently (alongside Gwar) had your names pop up in the media thanks to the Kathy Griffin/Trump ‘scandal’. What was your take on that whole situation?
Tony: It’s sad. I think everyone wants to come down on her and I almost think it’s because she’s a female and everyone is out to get her. It’s a very strange way to put it but it seems she got it a little bit harder. If it was a male comedian do you think it would have been that crazy? I don’t think it would, and I think it’s a little bit f***ed up. I feel like everyone in the world – men, women, people of all nationalities, whatever – everyone should have the right to defile a bloody corpse of Donald Trump, you know?
Take me back to when you guys first released that infamous Trump shirt. Did you guys get much heat in the media or from Trump supporters?
Tony: Oh yeah. That was right in the beginning when he first just started running for office. We just did that as a limited shirt because we didn’t think America would be stupid enough to humor this guy, much less have him as the front-runner of the f****ng Republican Party and then actually win the Presidency. At the time we thought we’d try to sell as many of these shirts as possible. We only made 50 shirts and we thought that by next week this asshole would be out of here. Two months later happened and then six months later happened and then a year happens and we still have the f****ng t-shirts and are selling them and he’s still around. It’s crazy and it’s sad and weird, but that’s the world we live in. You never know what you can expect and you have to stay on your toes. I’ll take a different president over selling those f****ng t-shirts any day.
So talk me through the remainder of the year for Municipal Waste. What’s the blueprint?
Tony: We’re going to try to get a headliner tour out after the Warped Tour. We were born on the road and we’ll be on the road until this band crashes. Not in an accident, an actual vehicle accident. Knock on wood, please. Everyone.
Municipal Waste releases Slime and Punishment online and in physical formats on June 23rd. Visit https://www.municipalwaste.net for tour dates and much more.
Dillon Collins / MHF Magazine
