Interview:


Mangler is quite a young band, but you guys are not in your teens anymore, correct? Do you have any previous experience as musicians in Extreme Metal bands?
Tyson: We are not teenagers. Yes we have all been in extreme metal bands before.
Jonathan: Definitely not teenagers, haha. I currently also play in Acid Cross and Gaping Grave. I also played in Regret and Silent Order for several years.

Your initial intention was to create straight-forward Thrash Death Metal, and you definitely succeeded it on your debut album, but how come this intention? What was the main influence on you choosing this specific mix of genres?
Tyson: I never really thought about this before... I guess we wanted the same things as far as what we were interested in playing and the rest came out. We perhaps influenced each other to create Dimensions of Terror.
Jonathan: I don't think we have ever talked about why we sound how we sound before, haha. Thrash and Death just seem to go very well when put together. I think we found a balance between the two and that is what became Mangler. I really enjoy the period from the mid-80's to early 90's where there wasn't such a defined line between death and thrash.

Talking about your debut album, how come you chose to release it on cassette tapes only? Why not on CD and/or vinyl, too? Or maybe that's something that's in your plans?
Jonathan: Everything is done DIY in the band so it's a bit of a financial burden to release on all three formats at once. We are actually releasing CD copies of the album in early 2018. Vinyl will come eventually. Maybe if we get label support it will come faster.
Tyson: Budget. Yes we plan on having CD and vinyl.

The band's logo and the album's cover artwork are fantastic, if you were a band in the '80's both of them would have been iconic for the scene, do you agree? Who did them?
Jonathan: My intentions for the album artwork and the logo were to have it look like the old demo tape covers from the 80's. I love the demo tape covers of bands like Nihilist, Grave, Repulsion, etc. That is why the tape cover is black ink on white, I just love that aesthetic. The artwork was done by Inksonium (@inksonium_artwork) and the logo was actually originally created by our buddy Ricky from the crossover thrash band Dealer (Montreal, Canada) and then our other buddy Cogee from the crossover thrash band Thrashards (Toronto, Ontario) added the spike details and shadow drop to it, so it was a collaboration effort between those two metal maniacs.

How would you describe what's happening on Dimensions of Terror to someone who's not familiar with your band? Are there any major names from the '80's and/or '90's you'd say sound similar to what you do?
Tyson: That ultimately is open to interpretation by the listener. They can listen and hopefully enjoy it. If we sound like a band from the 80s or 90s it's probably because we like bands from that era. As far as the drums on Dimensions of Terror, I was listening to Rob Mills, Paul Mazurkiewicz and Robert Garven drum parts a lot at the time. I tried to emulate these guys. "Tried", haha.
Jonathan: I would describe Dimensions of Terror as having the speed and melody of thrash metal but also the mid-paced doom and gloom of death metal. I don't know if they sound similar or are considered "major names" but when it comes to bands from 80s/90s that I would say are influences would be: Possessed, Demolition Hammer, Dr. Shrinker, Master, Phantasm, Slaughter, Devastation, Merciless, etc.

There's so much music nowadays, it's almost impossible for upcoming bands to make their way. What do you do in order to achieve that? What do you aim for with Mangler? How supportive is the local scene and in particular the local audience?
Jonathan: It really is an over-saturation of bands in all genres currently. Mangler is very DIY oriented. If we can write, record and release music on our own terms and play it live then we are achieving what we want. We have received very positive feedback from the local scene and have had well attended shows so far. We hope to be able to tour in the near future and make it to USA and Europe eventually.

December 2017


manglerband.bandcamp.com
www.facebook.com/mangledbymangler/