Infernal Majesty; the interview, the history and the new album.

Infernal Majesty has had a remarkable career. They released their first release "None Shall Defy" in 1987 on RoadRunner Records. That was the last time we heard anything about the band before Displeased Records re- released the "None Shall Defy" in 1996. It says a hell of a lot about the release that the re- release was one of 1996 best releases...
Infernal Majesty will release their second CD in April and we caught up with the band on e- mail.

1. When and where was Infernal Majesty started ? Could you give us a brief biography ?

-The band was formed back in 1986 in Toronto. After about 6 months of song writing we recorded a demo which landed us a deal with Road Runner Records in New York City. The album came out and got good reviews but the label never paid us any money or gave us any direction or support.
Then about a year ago we got together to do a European tour which landed us another deal with Hypnotic Records. The new album "Unholier Than Thou" should be out in the beginning of May.(See History)

2. Your first album "None Shall Defy" was originally released on LP by RoadRunner Records in 1987. Infernal Majesty said in an interview with Metal Hammer back in 1998 that they were about to dethrone Slayer as the most extreme band in the world. Well, it did not happen.....What really happen after the release of the LP ?

-We keep hearing that but we never said that. Our original drummer may have but he hasn't been in the band for about 8 years now. None of us except for Rick would have ever said anything so absurd. We are all big Slayer fans and I personally think they are and have always been the Kings. As far as what happened with Road Runner, they never pushed the album or the band. Had they pushed the band things may have turned out differently.

3. The release was re- released on CD by Displeased Records in 1996. How did this happen ?

- It turns out that Ron, the owner of Displeased Records was a big fan and could not find the album on CD. So he licensed it form Road Runner and put it out in Europe. It will be coming out in Canada through Displeased and Hypnotic Records.

4. Eleven years after it's first release; what is your view on "None Shall Defy" ?

- We like the album and enjoy playing the songs live. It is especially enjoyable to see people in the crowd singing along. We only wish there had put out at least 5 or 6 albums since then.

5. Over to your new release. How would you compare it to "None Shall Defy" ? Could you please give us more details about the new album and the name of the record label it will be released on ?

- The new record entitled "Unholier Than Thou" is really just a continuation of the "None Shall Defy" album. The songs where written over five years ago which really makes them vintage Infernal Majesty. It's like when bands find old recordings that they thought they lost. It reflects how we were writing and feeling at the time. The label is a Canadian label called Hypnotic Records who already have Razor, Voivod, Obliveon and Anvil. The owner is a really great guy and we are very pleased with the new deal. The release date should be the first or second week in April. (See Unholier Than Thou)

6. As veterans in the scene. What is your view on the Death/Black Metal scene ?

- It seems to be picking up again. This obviously makes us very happy. It really sucks when there is no metal scene. Hopefully it will hold for some time.

7. What is your plans for the coming months and year ? Any upcoming tours ?

- First and foremost is to get the albun out. We are currently scheduling our new tour around the release. We had a great time on the road last time. Every single guy in each of the bands were just the coolest people. In fact that in itself made the tour go really well so we are hoping that this will happen again . Playing in Europe has always been our ultimate goal and we found thepeople just amazing. The cities and countries where so interesting and we can't wait to come back hopefully more countries this time.

8. Do you have a merchandise list ??? From what address can the band be contacted ?

- All this info is on our web site www.cgocable.net/~fish

We hope to bring a review of Infernal Majesty's new album in the beginning of April.

In the city of Toronto, in the year 1986, Rick Nemes (drums), Psycopath (bass), Kenny Hallman (guitar), Steve Terror (guitar) and Chris Bailey (Vocals), joined forces and created the thrash band Infernal Majesty. Their main objective was to write an album of complex and exciting thrash tunes, to unleash onto the ever-evolving metal market.
A demo was recorded at Metal Works studios in Toronto, which secured them a record deal with Roadrunner Records in New York City. The amazing thing about the signing was, Infernal Majesty had never sent a copy of the demo to Roadrunner, a Magazine in Europe had sent one to them with a recommendation to sign the band. In September 1987, the worldwide release, of the now, cult classic, None Shall Defy was launched. The album included such cuts as, Overlord which was the code name for the Normandy invasion, Anthology of Death about the notorious Jack the Ripper, Night of the Living Dead which was inspired by the march of the zombies scene in the classic horror film of the same name. The title track, None Shall Defy became the band's first video. They received very promising reviews from leading magazines such as, Metal Hammer, Aardschok and Kerrang. Displeased Records lists Infernal Majesty along with Venom, Bathory, Hellhammer, Kreator and Death as one of the main influences on the Death/Black Metal music scene.
In 1988, the two-song tape Nigrescent Dissolution was completed. It remained unheard by most until Displeased Records added the two tracks, Into the Unknown and Hell on Earth to the CD release of None Shall Defy. Infernal Majesty went on to play select shows with Razor, Kreator, Coroner, Death Angel etc. Infernal Majesty's cult status was solidified with the masterful cover of their ultimate thrash classic Night of the Living Dead by Sweden's Dawn. Other bands such as Christ Denied from Spain and Goddess of Desire have covered Infernal Majesty material on their albums. Rumour has it that a tribute album of Infernal Majesty songs is soon to be released.
In the summer of 1997 with the re-release of None Shall Defy on CD, Infernal Majesty toured Europe with original vocalist Chris Bailey and newly acquired bass player Chay McMullen. The tour, consisting of Malevolent Creation, Infernal Majesty, Vader and Vital Remains, was considered by many as the highlight of the summer.
In January 1998, Infernal Majesty signed a new record deal with Canadian label, Hypnotic Records. Hypnotic, a label that has been signing Canadian bands for some time, already holds Voivod, Razor, Anvil and Obliveon as part of their roster. The new CD entitled Unholier than Thou, was recorded with the help of Scott Burns and Rob Sanzo. The album which is basically a continuation of the None Shall Defy album is another record of old school death metal. With some magazines considering None Shall Defy as the best metal re-release of 1997, Unholier Than Thou is drawing a lot of attention. It is scheduled for worldwide release on April 14th and a European tour is in the works for the middle of May.

Overview

The new album is a continuation of the NONE SHALL DEFY album. The simplest way to describe the CD would be "old school death metal". A lot of time was taken in preparing the record and starting from the CD cover to the over all lyric content, great pains where taken to put together a quality package. The artwork for instance is a 15th century painting of hell by Pol de Limburg. The basic theme of band is "Infernal Majesty from the beginning of time." In other words an entity that has been around as long as the earth itself. The painting displays this kind of thinking.
The lyric content for the most part is about historical events. Take the Roman Song for instance. The song refers to the gladiator fights from around the year 264 BC and tries to portray the scene and political climate at that time. The Art of War is about Napoleon who is considered by many as one of the greatest military minds of all time. Unholier Than Thou refers to the mind set of Rev Jim Jones who in the late 70's killed over 900 people having them drink cyanide laced Kool-aid in what is remembered today as the "Jonestown Massacre". Black Infernal World is a historical study of the origins of the devil and it's various truths and myths. The Hunted reverses the present trend and has the victim hunting and stalking serial killers rather than the other way around. The song Gone The Way Of All Flesh involves the controversial topic of life after death. The chorus, spoken from the viewpoint of the spirit waiting to meet the dead, asks that famous question, "are you prepared to die, show me what have you done with your life?"
The album Unholier Than Thou is just one more step in the history of Infernal Majesty.