LETHAL VENDETTA hail from Sydney Australia and they are ready to stamp their authority on the Metal scene. LETHAL VENDETTA come armed with the ultimate artillery: A precise and highly effective blend of Thrash, Groove and Traditional Metal which pays homage to the great Metal titans that have come before them.
Metal-Roos: First just let me thank you guys for taking the time to answer the questions! Your socials say the timing seemed perfect when Lethal formed in 2013, how did the current line-up form?
Around three years ago, Liam Donelan our lead guitarist joined and Lethal became a twin guitar attack, our original drummer returned after a short hiatus from music and things really picked up from there.
Metal-Roos: Your influences are a who’s who of power-thrash and groove metal, but are there any guilty pleasures in the way of music? Who’s into some random music? there’s always one…haha – and on that do you draw on any influences away from Metal?
I do think all of us have some random non-metal artist we listen to, for example: I enjoy a lot of music from the Dark Country realm like Southern Country i.e. Johnny Cash, Nick Nolan, Blues Saraceno.
Metal-Roos: Is there anything or anyone you would love to incorporate into your music or work with, but haven’t had the opportunity or budget? (Fav Guitarist, Vocalist, producer, any interesting instruments or concepts) etc….
I think it would go as far to say working with the following people would be very good: Matt Barlow (Ex Iced Earth), Alex Skolnick (Testament), and Dave Lombardo (Slayer). Those three guys always come up in conversation when we are just talking about music.
Metal-Roos: You recently released a new video with ‘Salute to the Gods’ (mad vid by the way) was that all filmed at the Stag during a Metal Meetup? Was the aim to portray a unified Sydney Metal scene?
Thanks, we are really glad the clip came out well and that people are enjoying it. The footage where you see us performing live was filmed at the Bald Faced Stag by Arc Media with James Lopes and Tim Grose, the footage at the metal meet up was filmed a month later at the Belvedere Hotel in Sydney, some with filmed by myself, Paul Bourke, and Mick Goddard.
To give you an insight on the Metal Meet Up, it was first organised by Dave Balfour (Metal Evilution) a few years ago just for people to check out Utopia Records and to catch up or meet other people as it can be hard to do that when attending gigs. It has since grown and the footage we shot there was the 9th meet up, the next one will be on Saturday 8th of September if anyone is keen on it.
The song ‘Salute to the gods’ is our way of paying homage to the greats that have come before us and also a way to celebrate our subculture in a positive way. We came up with the idea with filming at the metal meet up because that day is always a good day had by all and it’s a positive representation of not just a unified Sydney Metal Scene but just a metal scene in general. We think all metal heads can relate to this song and feel something good out of it.
Metal-Roos: Did you always plan on releasing three singles and videos from the album? Or were the songs that good?
Who said we are only releasing 3 singles? Hahaha. In the current music climate a lot of people listen/discover music via mediums such as youtube, etc so videos are great way of getting your music out to people. We think all of the songs on the album have their place and stand out in their own way, we wanted to have three singles that standout above the rest, and also show our diversity. Many people may only listen to one song and think ‘well that’s the style they play no need to listen to the rest.’ We wanted to have our singles that shows our diversity and hopefully people will listen to all of the album.
Metal-Roos: I know that your album ‘No Prisoners, No Mercy’ was only released in April, but is there any new material on the horizon?
We all have some idea’s flowing whether its riffs or lyrics etc, we just haven’t put these ideas together as of yet. As the ‘No Prisoners No Mercy’ tour is winding down we will go back to the studio and put our ideas together, so yes new material is on the horizon.
Metal-Roos: Opening for Destruction must have been wicked fun, how was the night? Did you meet or interact with Destruction? How was the crowd? You guys get some peeps in front of you?
That was an absolute honour to open for Destruction, it was an amazing night and getting the chance to play on a bigger stage was also a great experience. Our set went really well, towards the end we did have a good amount of people in front of us which was also a really good feeling, and we also got a lot of good feedback after the show. A few of us got to chat and hang out with Destruction, cool guys.
Metal-Roos: The difference between opener and headliner has always been a chasm in Australia…not many, if any of our bands do anything but make a small splash in the local scene – what do you think it takes to jump from the curtain jerker to the main event?
As you said it is difficult, and it’s really hard to say what it takes to get to that spot as we don’t feel we are close to that, but like anything it takes a lot of hard work, constantly rehearsing, knowing your craft, and how the band comes together on stage because the stage show is just as important as the music itself. Also, what the band is like offstage is very important as you are mingling with your audience.
Metal-Roos: What do you want out of Lethal? Would you be happy to tour the Aussie scene? Are there any plans for international domination?
Playing internationally and getting on the European Festival circuit would be a dream come true for us. We also would love to get the chance to headline an Australian Festival and tour in regional towns around Australia as regional Australia does not get much of a chance to go to a metal show.
Metal-Roos: We have lost many of Metal’s heroes, most recently the mighty Vinnie Paul. This has raised the question about the health tolls of the ‘Metal Lifestyle’. Don’t get me wrong I love riding it till the wheels fall off, but do we over-glorify getting wasted and partying as a scene in your opinion? Is this something that we should be more responsible about, especially when it comes to the young bloods coming through?
I don’t think the partying is over glorified as such. Some people like to indulge, some people don’t drink at all at gigs. Everyone is there for the music, that’s the common bond that people have at metal gigs more than anything else. It’s like anything else, people only focus on the negative on certain things.
Interview Date: 2018-07-27
Interviewer: Jonathan Hurley