Metal Shock Finland (World Assault )

DEF-CON-ONE are on a mission, to spread their sound and infect the world. Songs such as WARFACE and STEEPED IN PAIN offer up huge slabs of aggressive, groove laden riffs, beats and vocals that will be hard to better… Def-Con-One are: DAVEY – vocals, ANTTON – drums, JOHNNY – guitar, STEVE – bass. MSFinland’s Kostya had a chance to chat with band’s drummer, Antton, please join the conversation…

1.Hey Antton, welcome to Metal Shock Finland

HELL YEAH! THANKS FOR HAVING ME.

2. Let’s begin our interview with a question what did you eat today?

IVE JUST FINISHED A NICE CHINESE MEAL THANKS. AND IT WAS INDEED VERY DELICIOUS.

3. Now talk about the music you were the drummer in the “Venom” between 1999-2009 and recorded three albums with them. What can you tell about this period of your life?

MOST OF IT WAS GREAT, GOT TO PLAY SOME BIG FESTIVALS AND MET A LOT OF GREAT DIE HARD FANS. BEING ABLE TO PLAY IN A BAND WITH LEGENDERY STATUS WAS A KILLER, MY FIRST GIG WAS HEADLINING WACKEN AND THE WHOLE CROWD WAS CHANTING MY NAME IT WAS A BIT SUREAL, LOL …AND WHEN PHIL ANSELMO GOT UP WITH US IN ITALY TO SING DIE HARD IT WAS LIKE A DREAM COME TRUE.

4. You are also brother of Conrad Lant, the vocalist and bass player of the “Venom”. The black-trash style is really in the roots of your family. How do you and your brother came into this style?

I THINK THE VENOM SOUND CAME FROM ALL THREE ORIGINAL MEMBERS, NONE OF THEM SHOULD TRY AND TAKE CREDIT FOR IT BY THEM SELVES BECAUSE IT WOULD NOT SOUND LIKE THAT WITH ANYONE ELSE IN THE BAND. THE INFLUENCES DEFINATLY CAME FROM A FEW DIFFERENT BANDS WITH EACH MEMBER LISTENING TO DIFFERENT MUSIC AND IT ALL JUST FELL INTO PLACES. I WAS LISTENING TO VERY DIFFERENT TYPES OF METAL WHEN I JOINED IN 1999 AND IT SHOWS IN THE MUSIC, AS THE DRUMMING WAS QUITE DIFFERENT. I TRIED TO KEEP THE FERROCITY OF ABADDON BUT ALSO WANTED TO ADD A BIT OF ME INTO THE DRUMMING TOO.

5. I must say that the album “Metal Black” is one of my favorite albums. Do you remember the days when you were in the studio working on this album? What can you tell us about its writing process?

METAL BLACK WAS GREAT FUN; I GOT TO WRITE WITH MIKE HICKEY OR “MYKVS” AS HE WAS KNOWN ON THAT ALBUM. ME AND MIKE PUT A LOT OF TIME AND MONEY INTO THE RECORDING OF THAT ALBUM TOO. MIKE FLEW OVER A FEW TIMES FROM THE STATES AND BOUGHT A PRO TOOLS SYSTEM SO WE COULD TRY AND RECORD THE ALBUM OUR SELVES IN DEF-CON-ONE’S REHEARSAL ROOM. WE REHEARSED A LOT OF THE TRACKS AND LAYED DOWN ROUGH DEMO TRACKS BUT ALL THE FINAL RECORDINGS WERE DONE WITH MIKE BACK IN THE STATES. ALL THE GUITARS WERE SENT OVER AND I HAD TO PUT MY DRUMMS DOWN FOLLOWING THEM. THEN EVERYTHING ELSE WAS BUILT UP OVER THE TOP, ALL THE GUITARS WERE RECORDED IN MIKES HOME STUDIO AND SENT OVER VIA INTERNET. WE DID ALL GET TOGETHER FOR THE MASTERING IN LONDON THOU. THE TRACKS TURNED OUT OK I GUESS, THE SONGS MUST HAVE BEEN OK BECAUSE SOME OF THE TRACKS THAT DID NOT MAKE IT ON “METAL BLACK” HAVE BEEN USED ON THEIR NEW RECORD.

6. In 2009 you left Venom and now you’re one of the formers of the new band DEF-CON-ONE. How did you got the idea to create this band?

DEF-CON-ONE HAS ACTUALY BEEN GOING ALONG TIME, SINCE BEFORE I WAS IN VENOM. ME AND THE GUITARIST JOHNNY HAVE KEPT THIS PROJECT GOING THROUGH THE YEARS WITH A FEW DIFFERENT MEMBERS DEF-CON-ONE HAS AND ALWAYS WILL BE MY BABY, IM NOT INTERESTED IN BEING IN SOMEONE ELSES BAND PLAYING THEIR SONGS, AND I DO LOVE DEF-CON-ONE BECAUSE IT’S IN MY HEART. SOME BANDS OUT THERE TODAY ARE ALL ABOUT THE MONEY OR JUMPING ONTO A BANDWAGGON, OR TRYING TO LIVE ON THE PAST. IM NOT INTERESTED IN THAT. WE PLAY MUSIC THAT WE WANT TO HEAR. I NOW FEEL THAT THIS IS THE BEST LINE UP, THIS IS DEF-CON-ONE. WE HAVE THE PERFECT PEOPLE FOR THE JOB, STEVE IS A POWERHOUSE BASS PLAYING, NO MESSING ABOUT WITH HIM HE LAYS IT DOWN SOLID AS A ROCK AND DAVEY IS THE BEST METAL SINGER OUT THERE TODAY, HE CAN COVER IT ALL.

7. How would you describe the style of DEF-CON-ONE?

WE HAVE HAD A FEW PEOPLE TRYING TO SUM US UP AND WE JUST THINK IT’S POWERFULL AGGRESSIVE METAL, BLOODSTOCK FESTIVAL SAID WE SOUNDED LIKE A BAR FIGHT BETWEEN MACHINE HEAD, PANTERA AND SLAYER, I LOVE TO BE MENTIONED IN THE SAME SENTENCE, AS THOSE BANDS ARE AWESOME…

8. Which band had the greatest influence on your style?

PANTERA, DEFINATLY, WE ARE ALL MASSIVE PANTERA FANS, WE ALL LOVE POWERFULL METAL LIKE TESTAMENT, MACHINEHEAD, SLIPKNOT, SEPULTURA, ETC.

9. Now that this supergroup is born, what plans do you have for the future?

WE JUST WANNA GET TO AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE, AND HOPE WE CAN GET OUT AND PLAY TO AS MANY PEOPLE TOO, MAYBE GET ON MORE FESTIVALS OR A COOL SUPPORT SLOT.

10. I must say that your song “WARFACE” is really powerful and aggressive. This one is really atracked me to your band!!

YEAH, A LOT OF PEOPLE LIKE THAT TRACK, IT’S GREAT TO PLAY, WE PLAYED A CHRISTMAS GIG IN DECEMBER AND WE CAME ON WITH WARFACE AND THE PLACE WENT CRAZY, IT WAS GREAT.

11. I really hope to hear you guys soon in the future. Thanks for the interview!! Any last words for our readers and your fans?

WE ARE JUST PUTTING THE FINAL TRACKS THROUGH THE MIXER AND WE HOPEFULLY WILL HAVE A FULL LENGTH ALBUM OUT THIS YEAR, SOME COMPANIES ARE INTERESTED SO LET’S SEE, THANKS VERY MUCH FOR THE INTERVIEW, IT’S BEEN GREAT.

Interview by Kostya Aronberg

For more information, please visit: https://www.facebook.com/defcononehq