IT’S been a long road Down Under for Arizona thrash veterans Flotsam and Jetsam.Â
This year with assistance from our own legends Mortal Sin, the band – frontman Erik AK, guitarists Michael Gilbert and Steve Conley, drummer Ken Mary and bassist Bill Bodily – are making their way to Australian shores at the end of the month for Monsters of Thrash.
There’s an unfortunate bit of traffic noise around when Erik joins the Zoom chat, but he’s fine with it.
HOT METAL: Being noisy is part of your job description, right?
ERIK AK: “That’s right, man. As noisy as I can get!”
HM: Does it feel like achievement unlocked that you’re finally bringing Flotsam and Jetsam down to Australia?
EA: “It’s about time, huh? We’ve had it set up, or tried to set up maybe six or seven times over the last few decades. But for some reason, it’s never happened. Something went wrong. Either the agent dropped the ball, or the promoter dropped the ball. It’s been something every time. This time, we’re actually going to make it.”
HM: It will be great to have you here, and you’re running on a pretty hot streak of album releases. You have to be pretty proud of that.
EA: “I’m pretty sure it’s this line-up I have now of pretty hot musicians. They’re pros, you know. We all like to hang out with each other, we can stand each other on the road! It’s a nice problem to have. These guys are just a writing machine and I’m reaping the benefits of it.”
HM: It seems to be working for you Erik. Like a lot of bands of your vintage, you suffered through some pretty lean years there for a while. How did you get through it and what kept you going?
EA: “It’s changing your perspective on things. Changing what you want out of what you are and who you are. It’s pretty much dealing with the rats in your temple! It’s all about just putting yourself into perspective. You know, when we were young, our first couple of albums, I was pretty sure I’d have a different coloured Lamborghini for every day of the week, eventually. Then you get your dick dragged in the dirt a few times and you learn that’s just not reality. Then you learn after a few more albums and few more failed tours that reality changes constantly, also, and you gotta keep up with it. Our reality now is that, even though the band it getting much bigger, we certainly are not expecting Lamborghinis or anything! We’re expecting to see the world and have a good time and hang out with some really cool people. And for the past ten years, that’s all we’ve been doing. And we really enjoy it.”
HM: You seem to be having the success now that you imagined you’ve have back then with the first couple of albums.
EA: “Everybody would like to have Taylor Swift numbers, but that’s not going to happen. As far as an eighties metal band, we’re right up there at the top with some of the other greats that are still around from that era. It’s kinda nice of a place to be.”
HM: What do you think it is about thrash? As you say, a lot of the bands from your era are still around. Bands like Sacred Reich, Forbidden, and other bands that were coming through at the same time as Flotsam & Jetsam, but didn’t obviously get to be as big as Megadeth or Slayer, stuck to their guns all these years and seem to be gathering more fans now than ever before.
EA: “Metal is a weird little community. Metalheads don’t care what race you are, what religion you are. They just don’t care. Everybody is at a show or buying a record to hear the music, and that is the only common denominator. It’s kind of a neat little neighbourhood of metal fans to be in. We’ve done hundreds and hundreds of festivals, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen a fight in the crowd. It’s just a different animal. If the rest of the world could get along like we all do, it might be a better place.”
HM: We have our opinions about what’s metal and what’s not but when we all get together in the pit, we stop caring so much.
EA: “I‘ve been to country festivals and rap and EDM festivals, and there’s always a fight. There’s always some jackass who can’t hold his liquor or something. Metalheads just don’t do that. You see someone in trouble, there’s five people jumping in there to help them. It’s really a nice, heartwarming place to be, even though everyone’s in leather and spikes and talking about death and Satan. But the people are just amazing.”
HM: It crosses generations too. My kid’s just turned 18 and they probably know as much or more about some of the bands I listen to, than I do. You must see a lot of parents bringing their kids to shows now.
EA: “We see grandparents bringing their grandkids to our shows! It’s pretty cool to see, and another thing I’ve noticed… there’s some cool new bands, 16-17 year olds, coming out with some cool stuff that’s very old eighties sounding metal. It’s coming back around again. That’s encouraging. As soon as it starts to get real popular again, somebody’ll change it and it will go back to Cookie Monster vocals kinda band or they’ll start something new. It’ll shy away from the old eighties metal again, and then eventually it’ll be back.”
MONSTERS OF THRASH feat. MORTAL SIN and FLOTSAM AND JETSAM plus HIDDEN INTENT and LIVE WIRE
SEPTEMBER 30: Crowbar, Brisbane
OCTOBER 1: Lion Arts Factory, Adelaide
OCTOBER 2: Max Watts, Melbourne
OCTOBER 3: Crowbar, Sydney
