Interview with

JIM DURKIN...a name most old-school metal fans know from the legendary thrash band DARK ANGEL. After four albums (plus a live one) DARK ANGEL disolved. Now,after years of silence,Jim talks to our newest writer WILL JORDAN about DARK ANGEL as well as his new band DREAMS OF DAMNATION.

Interview by - Will Jordan

U.F.-Ok, ready to begin?

J.D.-Yes, and thank you for waiting

U.F.-Sure, no problem man.If you would, give us an introduction to your band Dreams of Damnation. What should any fan of Dark Angel or metal in general expect to hear on your latest release"Let the Violence Begin"?

J.D.-Violent, fast, brutal thrash metal

U.F.-Sounds good! So how did you hook up with Charlie Silva and Al Mendez,and what do they bring to the table for D.O.D?

J.D.-Charlie Silva has been a long time friend and thrash fan, so it was natural that I would hook up with him and start up a band and Al we found through some ads.

U.F.-D.O.D is on Necropolis Records. I understand you are good friends with Jensen from Witchery and the guys in Sadistic Intent, who are also on Necropolis Records. Did they play any part in D.O.D signing with Necropolis?

J.D.-Pretty much just hooking me up with Paul and I took it from there.

U.F.-So D.O.D performed at November to Dismember?

J.D.-No, we missed our time slot andd unable to get a new one. So it just didn't work out. Hopefully we will get the next one.

U.F.-Are there any plans for a tour in support of the new album?

J.D.-Not at this point. We just hope to play as many festivals as possible and as many shows that come our way at this point.

U.F.-Thats good to hear. After leaving Dark Angel, you kinda disapeared for quite some time. What gave you the kick in the ass to start making music again?

J.D.-I went to a few shows and got e-mails from different people and when the Dark Angel reunion fell through I really had the urge to play. And so here I am. It's just in my system.

U.F.-Well, were all glad your back. So I understand your into martial arts. Has this had any effect on your music or guitar playing, or is it just a hobby outside of music?

J.D.-Just a hobby outside of music. Charlie is a big martial arts nut too. We're mainly into no hold barred U.F.C. style. No effect on the music other than the agressiveness.

U.F.-So whats your gear setup these days?

J.D.-I use Flex Tone Line 6 head, Marshall 4x12 cabs, and my Jackson guitar and that's all I use. I just got the Line 6 a couple months ago. It rules!!

U.F.-Yeah, i love the Jacksons, I've played my King V through a Line 6 when i first got it, and it had some killer tone! While were on the subject of guitars, who influenced you to be a musician in the first place?

J.D.-Angus Young and Randy Roads. Thin Lizzy, then later on all the normal bands.

U.F.-What bands are you listening to nowadays?

J.D.-Defleshed, The Haunted, Witchery, Nocternal Rites, Yngwie Malmsteen. All the Swedes, He He.That's where alot of the good music is coming from right now.

U.F.-Hehe, your right, especially a lot of the Gothenburg bands.

J.D.-I love all that stuff.

U.F.-Yeah, same here. I got "Fast Forward" by Defleshed not too long ago and was quite impressed. How about In Flames?

J.D.-Yes I like them too, Arch Enemy as well. It must be in the drinking water. Lars from Defleshed is an amazing guitarist.

U.F.-I just had to ask this.Were you ever into any of the NWOBHM bands? If so, which ones?

J.D.-Tank, Angel Witch, Tytan, Venom, Saxon, Jaguar, Diamond Head, Tigars of Pan Tang.

U.F.-Kick ass! I've always been a big fan of guys like Heybourne from Angel Witch and Brian Tatler from Diamond Head myself.You have great taste in music!

J.D.-Thanks, must mention U.F.O Michael Schenker and Gary Moore, John Sykes as my biggest influences. Heyborne was sadly over looked. It's a crime.

U.F.-I agree. A lot of those bands were overlooked for the most part. Especially Jaguar and so forth.

J.D.-I heard that they got back together

U.F.-Cool!! I'd love to see Diamond Head come back, but Collin is a scientist now or something and he's " glad the metal years are over".

J.D.-That's to bad. Correction oops....That's too bad, He He

U.F.-So did you hear about Dave Mustaine and Brian Tatler?

J.D.-No what? I know Tatler was his hero.

U.F.-Dave ,while he was in Eruope a while back,a month or so, visited him to talk about some"stuff" as posted at their web-site.Their co-writing some material last I heard.

J.D.-That's cool.

U.F.-So what are your hopes for D.O.D in the future?

J.D.-To write some of the best thrash albums that I can possibly write and to be remembered for making some good music.

U.F.-Well, considering the work you've done with Dark Angel, and the new D.O.D album, you've already accomplished that for the most part. Now, a quick Dark Angel question. I noticed you were the main songwriter on "We Have Arrived", but when Gene Hoglan came along on "Darkness Descends" he wrote most of the songs,why is this?

J.D.-No, I wrote most of the riffs and a couple of the songs were written before he was in the band. However I liked his lyrics and some of the riffs he came up with so why not try and us the best of both worlds. I don't care to write lyrics. I prefer to write riffs which I did for Darkness.

U.F.-So what lead to you leaving Dark Angel in the first place?Any plans to hook up with Gene again?

J.D.-I just needed a change. I needed to get my personal life in order. I 'd liked to write some songs with Gene again.Right now I'm just really busy with this band. But I have a few projects on the horizon with some different people. But nothing worth talking about at this point.

U.F.-Cool! What do you think about all these new "metal" bands like korn,slipknot,limp bizkit,etc?

J.D.-I don't care for it. I'm sure that it's good for the kids out there right not but it's just not my thing. I'm too old school.I don't konw if you want to call it "Metal" HeHe

U.F.-Im about the only 17 year old I know, and I cant stand it myself. It's like 5,000 people got together and said" lets all play in drop d tuning,wear baggy clothes, and not play any guitar solos!"

J.D.-I agree.Your 17? And you know about all the old stuff that's cool.

U.F.-Yeah, i was into some metal for a while, but as soon as I started playing guitar and listening to all my dad's Sweet Savage records, thats when I prety much dove straight into metal. The old stuff was just better,period,better songwriting,better musicianship, better everything.

J.D.-That is very cool.

U.F.-Thanks! Speaking of the aforementioned, when and how old were you when you first discovered metal?

J.D.-I was about 15 years old and started out on 70's hard rock and moved on into metal. I only have a Sweet Savage demo, well got to get rolling now and I'm glad to have talked to you and wish you luck with your guitar.

U.F.-Thanks man! Any last words or advice for any aspiring musicians?

J.D.-Practice, practice, practice. Keep a positive attitude and listen to as many different players as possible, I still do.

Thanks and take care,

Jim Durkin

DISCOGRAPHY

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