In the last 30 years, the thrash metal genre has been born, exploded into the mainstream, suffered a bludgeoning in the 90s, healed itself, and has been steadily growing again for the most recent resurgence as a ‘classic’ the genre of late. It’s something of an intriguing story to be told just as a genre. For those who participated in it since the early days of its growth, the roller coaster ride is an even more interesting story.
As the original guitarist for underground thrash titans Holy Terror, Mike Alvord as seen it all and been there. With the help of ex-Jester Beast drummer Roby Vitari, he’s intent on bringing a bit of the 80s back with his new band Mindwars and their debut record The Enemy Within. The latest musical output from these international thrashers is a unique one that blends style, substance, and a bit of that classic 80s sound into a record that is as refreshing as it is comfortable in its own way, which can be a bit shocking when you consider some of the obstacles they had to overcome.
I had the great pleasure of interviewing Mr. Alvord as he preps the release of Mindwars’ The Enemy Within at the end of October and he shares some great behind the scenes stories with The Metal Observer about the new album, the various obstacles in getting it out to fans, and his influences.
Considering that Mindwars has some pretty big names involved, how did this project come together?
It started from conversations between me and Roby on Facebook. We met in 1989 in Milan, Italy during a Holy Terror tour. My mom’s side of the family and Roby are from the same area of southern Italy (Calabria.) So, we sort of had this connection. It only took 25 years for us to reconnect. I had some material that I had been sitting on for years and Roby asked me to send it to him. Next thing I knew, we had a band. I really liked how the drums sounded with my songs and we just progressed from there. By around December of 2013 we had most of the material ready for what would become TEW. Roby then asked me if I knew any bass players. I had a couple people in mind, but I felt it would be easier for the rhythm section to be closer physically and musically. So Roby mentioned Danny. Danny is a guitarist by training, but his ability to adapt to a solid bass player was pretty seamless. The core of the band was set by January 2014. The only thing we needed now was a singer. That’s when Roby asked me when I would start laying down some vocal tracks. My first response was “What? I don’t sing.” But after some coaxing and encouraging, I decided to give it a try and we settled on a three piece.
With members from various parts of the world, what kind of experience was it writing this album?
It was pretty simple. I never stopped writing music after the demise of Holy Terror. In fact many of the riffs you hear on Mindwars could have possibly been part of the third Holy Terror album. Roby and I would break down each song, section by section until we felt the song was complete. We are both very open to suggestions and criticisms. Most of the songs weren’t changed too much but Retrobution and Lost were pretty much rewritten. Roby would make a couple suggestions and I would go back and rework the structure and guitar parts. It was a very smooth process.
How about recording it?
I have a makeshift home studio set up and Roby has a full studio in Torino. I laid down the rhythm guitar tracks, sent them to Roby and Danny and they laid down the bass and drums. The files were sent back to me for some guitar touch ups, vocals, and solos. It was a lot easier than I ever imagined. We had some “Skype” and “Facetime” sessions mixed in. Roby and I worked closely providing instant feedback on sections. It was quite fun and very productive.
There are a lot of different influences that one can hear on the record (and considering the previous bands of the members) was there an intent on creating something more progressive and dynamic with this band?
Well, we all have similar taste and musical backgrounds. We are all big fans of the NWOBHM movement and 80s speed/thrash metal. We are also fans of early metal bands like Sabbath, Priest, Maiden, etc. However, our musical tastes diverge a bit after that. I didn’t really follow the genre into the 90s and early 2000s. I never have been a big fan of “growl” metal. I can appreciate it, just never got in to it. I think Roby and Danny stayed with the whole scene up until today. This similarity and dissimilarity lends itself to the clear early metal influences and also provides that progressive and aggressive approach to our music.
As a huge thrash fan it’s easy for me to hear a lot of the old school thrash foundations on the record, but it’s always refreshing to hear a record like this that paints in some grander textures and pieces. Did you find trying the balance the difference aspects of the record was hard or did it flow with a decent amount of ease?
I don’t want to sound cliché, but it did come rather easily. The hardest part for me was the singing. I am still not used to hearing my vocals. It’s going to take a while I think. Since I have never been anything more than a background screamer, I found it rather difficult to put vocal melodies to my music. It seems to work on TEW. Only time will tell what the future has in store. As far as the music, I just like playing music I like listening to…nothing less and nothing more.
Speaking of thrash, I always ask this question, what do you feel about the resurgence of the genre? Do you have any favorite bands that are holding the flag up high still?
I don’t really listen to thrash metal too much, but I do love the fact that is still going strong after all these years. Does Motorhead count?
You recently signed on to release your debut record through Punishment 18 Records, a label dedicated to providing the world some of the best thrash bands and albums. How did that come about to that record deal?
Once we had all the material ready, we sent out a few promo packs with some information on the band along with 3 tracks from the album. A few people responded with a polite “It sounds good, but it is not what we are signing at the moment.” Many didn’t even respond. I get it…most labels are focused on “what’s hot” as opposed to trying something a little different. If it’s working and they are making money, why change the business model. However, I think that’s what gets the music industry in trouble from time to time. Listen to some of the current music from the bigger thrash labels. Quite frankly, much of it sounds the same. I am not trying to marginalize any of it, much of it just sounds the same to me…real crunchy guitars with hard stops and grinding tempos…all with the same vocal style. I am not really the one who should be answering this question though. As I said before, I don’t listen to much of it anyway. Perhaps I sound a bit snobbish…that’s not my intent at all. I respect all these bands that are giving their all to the genre and their passion. I am just in a different place. I am a bit older and I am not really focused on the current trends in the genre. I love metal and I will always have a passion for speed, but also have a completely different and full life outside of music.
As far as how and why P18 signed us, we were introduced to them by a friend in Italy and soon after, we signed a contract, they’re a good and very active label in the thrash metal genre. We also think it is much better being a well considered act in a medium sized company than the last in line in a big one….I am thankful that they are taking a chance on us and distributing TEW. If people like it great…if not, that’s ok too.
After listening to The Enemy Within, I immediately went to your site to see if you had an tour dates coming and currently there are not any listed. Any plans to hit up a North American tour to spread the glorious word of Mindwars?
We are hoping to play some shows in the Southern California area this Fall and plan on traveling to Europe in 2015. Anything is possible!
Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions and introduce Mindwars to the world!
Thank you for taking your time to interview us and helping us spread The Enemy Within!
If you want to support Mindwars, you can purchase their debut album The Enemy Within from Punishment 18 Records out now!
