Illinois Entertainer September 2018 | Page 34

By Kelley Simms MAXIMUM WRATH Wrath L ocal thrash metal survivors Wrath exemplify perseverance as the band is proving it's still relevant after three decades. Formed in 1982, Wrath is one of the many bands from the ’80s thrash metal era which unfortunately flew under the radar and never got the mass respect they deserved. Recently signing to revived cult label Combat Records, Wrath will release a long-awaited new album Rage on October 5. Produced by former Wrath guitarist Chris Djuricic, mixed and mastered by the legendary Bill Metoyer (Slayer, Armored Saint, Helstar), and with killer cover art created by Indonesian illustra- tor Ipoet Poetra, Wrath is back better than ever. With the classic nucleus of vocalist Gary Golwitzer, bassist Gary Modica and guitarist Scott Nyquist — joined by guitarist Rob Noon and drummer Jake Fromkin — Wrath is back to take care of some unfinished business. Golwitzer, Modica, and Nyquist spoke to IE about the new album, their upcoming con- certs, and the band's plans for the future. Mosh: How did you come up with the title track for the new album Rage? Gary Golwitzer: I wrote the lyrics right after the Las Vegas shootings. There are just so many mass shootings going on all the time, and my thoughts anyway, are always - there’s a fine line [with wanting to] commit suicide, but why do you have to kill innocent people? The song “Rage,” the whole concept behind it, is a guy who’s planning a mass shooting and he’s playing with himself inside; he knows he’s messed up, he doesn’t want to go through with it. It’s like the devil on one side saying, “Do it! Do it!” and the angel on the other side saying, “No, don’t do it.” That’s what the album cover is, the guy in the middle is in pain, and one side is the "good guy," and the 34 illinoisentertainer.com september 2018 other side is the "bad guy" fighting with [his] inner feelings and he’s struggling through the whole song whether or not to do it. Mosh: You recorded at Belle City Sound in Racine, WI with Chris Djuricic. As Wrath’s former guitarist and now producer, what did he add to the sessions? Scott Nyquist: He joined the band shortly after I left. I left around ’92 or ’93. The whole identity they took on after me and Gary were gone was pretty much in [the] vein of the orig- inal band. Chris knew the origins of the band. He knew what we wanted, and we knew what he was capable of doing. He’s got a pretty good track record at his studio, so it really worked out well. He added a lot [with his] input. Mosh: Some of the songs on *Rage* were writ- ten back in the ’80s. What made you want to reboot these old tracks? S.N.: We went back to some early recordings that weren’t released when we were writing new material. By pure happenstance, we just happened to listen at the right time, and [they] really jumped out at us, and we wanted to have a crack at putting these songs out and giving them their proper due. The overall vibe was there, this many years later, and it still felt like our stuff. G.G: I rewrote all the lyrics; certain parts were changed or brought up to date. They were just killer songs, and we didn’t want to just throw them in the [trash] bin. They’re good songs, so why waste them? Mosh: Do you feel that Wrath was overlooked back in the ’80s, especially during the period when thrash metal was peaking? S.N.: We definitely had our sights set on bigger things than we achieved, which is why we’re still doing it. But you got to remember back then the competition was fierce. It was coming at us from all angles. We kind of fell [through] the cracks like a lot of bands did. We had some level of success, but not past that point of [reaching] the big heights. So I guess we still feel like we have something to prove. G.G.: I think that’s a big part of our continued success, or whatever you want to call it. We stuck to our guns and kept at it. We faithfully stayed at it and not given up like a lot of bands have done. Mosh: “Clearing My Soul” appears on the Combat Records compilation Combat Bullets, Vol 1.0. Talk about this song. S.N.: That was a song that was written proba- bly ’92-’93. It was a different title before. That was one of the songs that had been revisited and twisted around with this lineup. It wasn’t our first choice to put on the compilation; it was the first song that was mixed for the record. There was a deadline, and it was the first one available. It literally just happened that fast. Luckily, we were good to go, and we were prepared. Since that release, it has con- tinued to be remixed because the record was in its earliest stage at that point. We mixed it, we were happy with it, and we continued to improve upon it. It’ll be slightly different on the Rage record. Mosh: You recently opened for Armored Saint at Reggie's. How’d that go? G..G.: Armored Saint at Reggie's was awe- some! It was a packed house, and we always do really well at Reggie's, as far as crowd response. S.N.: The fact that we’re very familiar with Armored Saint as far as playing with them, I think that was the fourth time in the last few months - they're well aware of us, and obvi- ously, we were of them. G.G.: Jeff Duncan, one of the guitar players for Armored Saint, has solos on our album. We do a remake of “Ace of Spades” by Motorhead, which is something we wanted to Continued page Continued on on page 54 47