Pete, EQUINOX was put together less than a year after you had joined ACHERON. What exactly happened? Was it because you felt it wasn’t ‘your’ band? I seem to remember it was also a matter of Vincent relocating to Tampa…?
Pete: “It was really a combination of things. The band relocating to Tampa was hard for me. My job and where I lived was about two hours away. I just could not commit driving to Tampa from Central Florida every weekend. I didn’t want to hold up the band from progressing, so I had made the decision to leave. I think it was October of ’92. Obviously, this was before any cell phones and being able to record from home. I felt more cut off at that point. I had a few riffs left over from when I was in ACHERON. I had put some ideas together around that same time. I decided that I would just do my own thing with EQUINOX.”
Is it correct to say that your original drummer Steve was the first one to joining EQUINOX? As a matter of fact, was EQUINOX the ever first name you had thought of? I assume there was also a whole concept attached to it right? Talking of which, was it also important for you to move away from the ‘satanic’ image ACHERON had?
Pete: “Yes, that’s correct. I had met Steve at an ACHERON gig in Orlando actually. One of our first shows at a place called The Sunburst. ACHERON was a three piece at the time. We played our set and Steve and his girlfriend at that time approached me. He said he was into the band, and through conversation we realized we had the same influences as VENOM, BATHORY and CELTIC FROST. Somehow, I had his phone number. Around the time I left ACHERON I called Steve and asked if he wanted to work on some new music with me. I already had the name EQUINOX in my mind at that time. There is a line in the MASSACRE song ‘Dawn Of Eternity’: “Winter ice – terminal frost, closing eyes of equinox”. I had that name in my head for a long time after hearing that song years before. When forming EQUINOX, it was an easy decision for me. Lyrically, I wanted to go the route of mysticism, mythology, folklore. Just really doing something we thought was different. My idea was combining these type lyrics with a sort of MAYHEM / POSSESSED / CELTIC FORST sound. I didn’t want to limit ourselves to one style lyrically.”
How long did this two piece version of the band last? The third member to join was Mark Lavenia wasn’t it?
Pete: “Not long. If memory serves me right I didn’t waste any time getting Mark in the band. Maybe like a month or so after Steve and I started jamming. He was done touring with INCUBUS and since we were / are best friends (and he lived near me) it just made sense. Mark and I had played in other bands previously and I knew he was a great player. I was living with my parents at that time and they traveled frequently. They were never home. We used their house (in the living room) to rehearse what would become our first rehearsal tape very early ’93. From there we asked Matt Wagner aka ‘Darkness’ to join.”
Mark Lavenia played for a couple of years in INCUBUS but after the “Beyond The Unknown” album didn’t he? You also played in INCUBUS too didn’t you? But Mark arrived first and then you joined and then the two of you left at the same time or…?
Pete: “This is interesting how all this went down actually. INCUBUS were advertising their album “Serpent Temptation” in some Metal magazine. This must of been like late ’88.It was like an advertisement. There was information on how to order their album and their address. I wrote to the band asking about the album. They wrote back personally saying they were from Louisiana but moved to Tampa, Florida. They also mentioned they were looking for a second guitar player and a bass player as Francis was taking up vocals and guitar duties. Mark and I, we offered to try out. After INCUBUS relocated to Tampa, Mark and I would drive down on weekends and rehearse at their warehouse. This was prior to their album “Beyond The Unknown” and before they signed to Nuclear Blast. I was only in the band for a few months and I learned most of the material that would be off that album. However, again I was tiring of the drive back and forth to Tampa, and thinking they didn’t have a record deal I left the band. As Metal history goes INCUBUS did get signed. Mark stayed on but didn’t play on the record. But he went on a successful tour of Europe in ’91 with them afterwards. Looking back it was a poor decision to quit. The Howard brothers were good guys and very dedicated. Once the tour was over Mark parted and they went their separate ways.”
When you said you were living in central Florida in 91, where was it exactly? Were you born and raised there? Are you still living there?
Pete: “At that time I was living in a small town called Mount Plymouth. I was living with my parents working and going to college. Mount Plymouth was located in the center of the state less than 30 minutes from Altamonte Springs where MANTAS / DEATH was spawned. I’ve lived in Florida my entire life. I was born in Boynton Beach, a coastal town. When I was the age of ten my parents moved to central Florida. I’m still living near there now in fact. It’s a great area as Orlando is close, the beach is close, and I’m not that far from bigger cities like Tampa and Jacksonville.”
Matt: “Growing up in a nearby town about 30 minutes from Mark and Pete we naturally found each other through our mutual musical interests. We were teenage mall rats and would meetup to get into trouble on the weekends. After living in Orlando for fifteen or so years we wound up returning to my hometown about five years ago with a new found appreciation for the laid-back, slower pace of life. I absolutely love living out here.”
Back to EQUINOX: was it clear from the get-go that you visually speaking you guys would be going for the whole spikes, bullet belts, occult images and so on look? Or maybe it was also a way for you to show how different you were from the rest of the Floridian scene?
Pete: “Our influences came from bands like CELTIC FROST, POSSESSED, NECROVORE, early SLAYER and MAYHEM. From the beginning we didn’t want to mixed in with the all Florida bands. I despised the whole ANTHRAX images at that time too. The imagery with the spikes, bullet belts, the occult and mystical themes was our way of doing something different from what was happening in Florida. By ’93 all the bands were starting to sound and look the same, at least in our view.”
Matt: “Tom Araya, Tom G. Warrior and King Diamond were massive influences on me coming up, so a hybrid of all three of those icons is where I was coming from. I sort of looked similar to Araya, wished to be as ‘dark’ and cool as Warrior all with a little bit of theatrics like the King.”
I assume that like most bands, you did first a bunch of covers to get the machine going… If so, what were the bands you covered then? Were they a good indication of where you wanted to go musically speaking?
Pete: “With EQUINOX we just started writing original material for our first few demos right from the beginning. We did a few covers later like CELTIC FROST’s ‘Babylon Fell’ and VENOM’s ‘Countess Bathory’ but we always stuck to our original songs.”
Speaking of which, wasn’t the very first EQUINOX song something you initially came up with for ACHERON?
Pete: “I had guitar parts that I had written for ACHERON that were never used. In fact I didn’t even have time to present them to the band as they were so new. Also, by that time I had just left the band. The first few EQUINOX songs were very much in the ACHERON vein and were made up of those parts. We did a rehearsal demo featuring four of those songs. One of those tracks ‘Valley Of The Kings’ made it to the first EQUINOX album. The others we scrapped as we felt our sound was changing.”
ACHERON was obviously a satanic band. Were you afraid that EQUINOX would be mistaken as a satanic band too? I mean, you were dealing with the occult and stuffs so…
Pete: “No, that was not a concern of mine at all. I knew that by the song titles alone that the listener would figure out and judge for themselves that we were doing something different. We dealt with the occult and mysticism themes but in a different light.”
Matt: “In the beginning, we never gave our religious beliefs a passing thought. We just wanted to write cool songs and play Heavy Metal. Unfortunately, ‘satanism’ was a wildly popular trend in the early ’90s music scene. Therefore, labels, magazines and fans from all over the world would constantly pepper us with uncomfortable questions about our spiritual beliefs. While we intentionally attempted to create an aura of mystery around the band, the bi-product was being lumped into the satanic lifestyle, which was not what we were about. When our first album “Return To Mystery” was released, the record label lumped us in with other bands sharing that same imagery which was something we are still not pleased with.”
You said the very first songs were quite ACHERON like for obvious reasons. When did you feel precisely EQUINOX find its own sound? Maybe it was through a specific song?
Pete: “The early rehearsal material had the ACHERON feel and mood musically, but those were the first three or four songs we ever wrote. Over the next year we recorded our next two demos “Anthem To The Moon” and the “Promo ’94” demo. This is where we really channeling in on our style, faster riffs but with the heavy CELTIC FROST type of riffs with more sick vocals that had more of a Black Metal appeal.”
Matt: “We were very fortunate to have a great songwriter in Pete who had a clear vision of how to pair the music up with his mysterious lyrical content.”
Do you actually remember the very first EQUINOX show? Where did it happen? Who else was on the bill?
Pete: “We played our first gig at the Fern Park Station. It was an old Rock’n’Rroll club that had been there for years hosting all types of well know bands from the ’70s – ’80s. I saw so many killer shows there. It had all these old train cars around the outside of the venue. I think we played with some bands that were a totally different style if memory serves me correctly.”
Matt: “Fern Park Station was the best Rock club in Central Florida at that time. All the touring bands would come through there like DIO, MERCYFUL FATE and VOIVOD. That being the venue for our first show together and as a headliner was a thrill and felt like a huge deal to all of us. Ironically, and very little known fact, is that we were the very last band to play there before the club shut down.”
Did it feel right from the start that you guys stood out like a sore thumb in the Floridian scene?
Pete: “Never really felt we were the sore thumb but more of the step child. We were playing different music that a lot of bands weren’t really doing at that time. It was all DEICIDE and SLAYER clones forming every week it seemed. Don’t get me wrong, I was into all the first wave of Florida bands like AMON (DEICIDE), MORBID ANGEL, NOCTURNUS, MASSACRE, DEATH, MALEVOLENT CREATION, the list goes on and on. After around ’92 there were tons of clone bands forming. We were just over it all.”
Matt: “I personally think we did fit in fairly well. The issue was more of there not being a lot of venues to play that would support heavy music. The misconceptions about heavy music were very prevalent during that time. But it wasn’t all that bad. One of my favorite memories is walking off stage after a show at the old Fairbanks Inn, a legendary Orlando Rock and Metal bar (R.I.P.)… Chuck Schuldiner of DEATH was waiting as we were loading out, handed me a doobie, and said, “Your band is cool.” That’s all the validation I could have ever hoped for. Chuck was my hero and such a humble and cool guy. He took an interest in the band and tried to help us navigate the music business. At the time, we were looking at the contract for “Return To Mystery” and he was kind enough to refer us to his attorney. He even helped connect us with Morrisound Studios, which was another huge thrill for us, as you might imagine.”
The weird part is that back then, as soon as a Death Metal band came out of Florida, it would instantly get signed, considering how popular the scene was back then worldwide. How come that didn’t happen with you? Because you were too ‘different’?
Pete: “It was just a matter of timing. All the labels like Roadrunner, Earache and many others came down here to Florida around ’89 if I remember correctly signing bands left and right. So by ’90 there were all these Floridian bands singed and putting out albums. By the time we got around to forming in late ’92 / early ’93 the rush was coming to a halt. Florida had all produced all these killer Death Metal bands, but there were all these new ‘clone’ bands just saturating the scene and it was getting very stale. Then EQUINOX comes out and people were caught off guard that we were doing our own thing. I believe if the band had been around for a few years prior, we may have been more recognized and gotten a better record deal.”
Matt: “Our first record deal happened in ’92 / ’93 with the same label that put out the first ACHERON record. Everything was going according to plan, but the label folded at the 11th hour as fate would have it. We would have / could have been there with all the other Florida bands at that time if the label hadn’t collapsed. After that, we were left looking for another record deal.”
Talking of which, Matt, when you said that Chuck connected you with Morrisound, what does it mean exactly? Did he help you getting a deal there?
Pete: “As I recall, Chuck had the phone number to the booking manager at Morrisound, so it was super gracious of him to give us a referral in that way. These were pre-internet days, so to go phishing for info like that could be a bit of a daunting task unless you knew the right people.”
When you’re mentioning that potential first label, you’re talking about Lethal Records aren’t you? Did their offer come before or after the first demo?
Pete: “The label we were working with was called JL America, based in Indianapolis. They produced the first ACHERON and KILLING ADDICTION records as well as a few other legendary bands like BEHERIT and SAMAEL. EQUINOX were next on the agenda but the label unfortunately folded without notice, leaving us to search for another label. Inevitably Unisound records from Greece approached us with a pretty terrible offer. We knew in advance we would likely never see a penny, however, they did pay for studio time to mix and master “Return…” as well as some decent distribution of the album.”
I love the fact than on “Anthem…” you guys picked up a song off KISS’ most hated record, “The Elder”. Was it because you were first and foremost fans or was it more about the actual lyrical content of ‘The Oath’ that you saw as more fitting for EQUINOX?
Pete: “When we began looking at songs to cover, most of the super popular ones were taken, so we began looking at songs that fit our sound. ‘The Oath’ was this dark, mysterious, misunderstood song and it checked all the boxes… Hell, I kind of wish it was one of our originals. I’d love to know Gene Simmons opinion of it. LOL”
I know very little about the studio you did record this demo in… What do you remember off that session? Was it a quick one? Why this studio?
Pete: “If you’re referring to the “Anthems To The Moon” ’92 demo, we recorded that at Difference Studios in Orlando, Florida. It was a small studio that some of our band friends had recorded at, so we thought we’d give it a shot. In retrospect, everything about that day was kind of strange, maybe even a bit sketchy. I distinctly remember the engineer showing up late with a beer in his hand, probably still drinking from the night before. Fortunately we had some great songs and our sound was dialed in so the engineer didn’t have to do too much work.”
Matt, can you tell me how exactly you got into the band? How well defined was EQUINOX concept so to speak when you arrived? How so did you help putting it together?
Matt: “Pete and I were already friends prior to my joining. We would hang out and chase girls on the weekends at various parties and shows. Back then there weren’t many opportunities for heavy bands to play at traditional concert venues, so we resorted to making our own. At the time I was in a Death Metal band called MORTEM A.D. and we’d put together house parties so we could play for our friends. Those house parties quickly turned into massive outdoor DIY festivals with tons of people and killer up and coming bands. Pete was no stranger to these events and even performed in least one or two of them. He and Mark had seen me play a few times and knew I had the chops to try out for the band once Kam Lee backed out of the deal. Of course I was totally honored to have the opportunity to join up with Pete and Mark, who were already crafting the sound and style of the band.”
Just out of curiosity you guys tell me more about ABHORRENT EXISTENCE? Did that occur prior to MASSACRE reunion orchestrated by Earache? Was it ‘just’ an idea or did you actually rehearse a couple of times…?
Pete: “ABHORRENT EXISTENCE was a band that formed before MASSACRE got back together to record “From Beyond”. It was myself and Mark LeVenia and we just left a band that was doing like Thrash cover songs. Our old band broke up and we put out an ad looking for a vocalist. It was some local music publication where you could advertise and there was a “wanted section”. Kam and this other person Mark Reed answered. We met up at a fast food joint the first time in Altamonte Springs and we just talked Metal. We had all the same interests like CELTIC FROST, HELLHAMMER, VENOM and tons others. I had actually met Kam before at one of the first DEATH gigs at this old pizza place. He told us that that the MASSACRE guys left the band he was looking to doing something new. Kam came up with the band name. We did quite a few originals and we did some rehearsal tapes but nothing ever came out of it. It was more of a Death / Thrash style. We did one local gig and that was it. It was shortly after that Earache came down to Florida and MASSACRE reformed. It lasted for almost a year if I remember correctly.”
Matt: “Ha Ha Ha, I was at that gig! If I remember correctly it was an all ages venue in my hometown. That was a day that will live in infamy.”
If you ask me, I don’t think from the get-go that there were other bands sharing the same mindset with EQUINOX and that same mystic vibe shall we say… Do you agree? What is a good or a bad thing?
Pete: “I agree completely. At that time there were a lot of SLAYER clones, Death Metal had already blown up and Black Metal bands were popping up all over the place. Looking back, it seemed some people were trying to categorize what we were doing. We were really trying to combine the whole Black / Death Metal sound. I felt like we had more in common with bands at that time like ABSU, USURPER, BLACK FUNERAL, AURORA BOREALIS etc. We were all coming out around the same time but didn’t follow the normal trends.”
Matt: “As Pete mentioned, there were a ton of bands following some (IMO) ridiculous trends. There was some strange contest to be the most ‘evil’. Somehow it was cool to have garbled vocals and record in studios located in a metal trash can inside a metal shed. Image first, music second… All of us had grown up in musical households, so we all had a shared, unspoken intent to produce good, quality music with clean production, understandable vocals within well-crafted compositions.”
Then again, this also means that on the other hand, this mystical approach meant you could have well fit in with Black Metal bands. Except that there were none back in the mid ’90s in Florida right? Talking of which, didn’t even you guys some kind of of proto-corpsepaints at some point?
Pete: “We did have more in common with some of the Black Metal bands at that time. In Florida I really don’t remember there being any. We did one photo shoot with corpsepaints and Tony did wear some during a few shows. Nothing we really stuck with. We felt it had been done and band were ripping off that look so we just wanted to do our own thing.”
Matt: “It’s too hot in Florida to be wearing corpsepaints! We never had the ‘good’ make-up, so once you start to sweat, that junk would start stinging the eyes, it was awful. LOL”
How many of those very first EQUINOX songs remained unreleased / unrecorded?
Pete: “Three songs were on that first rehearsal tape. Those were never professionally recorded. We did have ‘Valley Of The Kings’ back then but that was the one song that did make it to our first album re-recorded.”
Were you guys disappointed of not having Mark taking part in the actual album whereas he was one of your founding member? He did quit playing music altogether after that didn’t he?
Pete: “I mean it would of been cool to have Mark involved with us. He was part of the original EQUINOX. However, he was very determined to go back to school and pursue his education, and he did just that. That was the best decision for him at the time. This gave us the opportunity to have Tony Blakk join on second guitar as we played together in ACHERON. He was doing a band at that time called APOSTASY. Matt then took over bass duties as well as vocals. It all worked itself out in the end. We still were a four piece with but two guitars in the band this really expanded our sound.”
If I’m not mistaken, “Upon The Throne Of Eternity” was your very first recording with Tony wasn’t it?
Pete: “Yes. Tony joined the band before that recording. The 7″ EP version had ‘De Sacrificio Summo’ and ‘The Oath’, a KISS cover. We also made and sold our own cassette EP which had ‘De Sacrificio Summo’ and other track ‘Path To Eternal Ruin’.”
Why a seven inch? I mean whereas they were all the rage in the late ’80s / early ’90s, that medium had already started to lose stream by 1995… Especially when said EP has ‘only’ two songs and one of them is a cover…
Pete: “We were made an offer by the label Silence Like Death Productions out of Germany and we thought why not. We didn’t have any material on vinyl so we thought it would be a good introduction leading into our first album “Return To Mystery”. Also, being based out of Germany we thought we could reach more fans in Europe.”
From which painting is the artwork of the EP taken from?
Pete: “We went looking through a lot of old art books and stumbled upon the artwork and we thought “this is perfect” to fit the mood of the tracks. Years later we discovered the art was used on the first ANGEL WITCH album. Since I really was never into them, I had no idea it was used before. I believe the artist was John Martin and the name of the painting was ‘The Fallen Angels Entering Pandemonium’.”
Were you already feeling back in ‘95 that the then upcoming Black Metal wave was starting to change things?
Pete: “Completely, yes. We saw over the few years before so many bands like BURZUM, IMMORTAL, EMPEROR or DARKTHRONE just exploded. Then all of a sudden you have this wave of newer bands doing the same style and putting out demos. Many US bands were doing their own versions as well like ABSU, BLACK FUNERAL, WINDS OF THE BLACK MOUNTAINS…”
Matt: “The Black Metal style was certainly making an impact prior to ’95, in those tape trading days we were getting loads of demos from bands all around the world taking a stab at that genre. Some were good, others were bad. There was definitely an influence in our writing style, combining those Black Metal influences with our Florida Death Metal roots.”
In 95, there wasn’t too many Floridian Death Metal bands to play gigs with wasn’t it?
Pete: “Correct. I mean a lot of the bigger bands already had albums for a few years and were off touring but locally in Florida it was a different scene. We played with many bands that we didn’t really have a similar style. Many of the Florida bands were ripping off SLAYER and OBITUARY riffs. We were just pleased to play for our friends and fans so we played with any bands that would have us on the same bill.”
Matt: “We began gaining a bit of notoriety towards the end of the Tampa Bay Death Metal scene which saw the likes of MORBID ANGEL, OBITUARY, AMON, NOCTURNUS as well as a few others explode. The result of those bands’ success created a kind of vacuum as it related to emerging bands. I remember the fans in Tampa being some of the most difficult to perform for because of the success of these incredible bands.”
When did you realize there was already a few EQUINOX around in the US alone?
Pete: “Honestly, back then we didn’t have the internet so I wasn’t aware of another EQUINOX. After we’d been together for at least a few years someone contacted EQUINOX from Europe as said “Hey, are you aware of the EQUINOX from Norway”? I really had no idea. This person actually dubbed me one of their tapes and mailed it to me. It was pretty good. It was my understanding the band had broken up so we just kept doing out thing.”
Matt: “That name really did fit the music, so I don’t think we were too concerned. We felt the strength of our sound and songwriting would set us apart from the others who followed suit after us using the same name. I think we inevitably ran into difficulties with trademarks only after we realized there was a little known STYX album by the same name released in 1975.”
What was the usual response you would get from labels back in ‘95. What would have been your dream label to get signed to?
Pete: “Man, we tried so many labels. I think I sent demos to at least twenty labels. Most where cool enough to acknowledge us back via a decline letter hand written and signed. Most labels today won’t do that but back then it was a different scene. I personally reached out to Peaceville, Relapse, Candlelight, Osmose, Nuclear Blast, Century Media. Too many to remember now. Most said they really liked our sound but were not signing a lot of bands at that point. mid ’90s. Maybe it’s because we didn’t play the traditional Death Metal blasting 1000 beats per minute but who knows. I really admired Peaceville a lot and the rest mentioned.”
Matt: “We essentially had a bit of an assembly line set up to dub cassette tapes and package them with hand-written letters, bios and photos for labels, ‘zines and tape-traders from around the planet. For me, Roadrunner was the crown-jewel since they had the likes of OBITUARY and DEICIDE. Without question, we could have fit into that group as well.”
By the time you were about to do the album at long last, weren’t you a bit afraid to have miss the boat so to speak?
Pete: “I think Matt and I realized we missed the big explosion when all the bands got signed from Florida. However, that didn’t stop us from writing the type of music we wanted. I figured at some point we’d be recognized for busting our asses and writing some Black / Death Metal in our own style. I was just happy I found dudes that wanted to play Metal and not sound like every clone band out of Florida at that time. I just wanted to be out there touring and putting out albums but things just worked out the way they did.”
Matt: “We attended a lot of those early shows by the early Florida Death Metal bands as fans and as a networking opportunity. We would always have tapes to hand out and trade with other like-minded bands. I’ll never forget the first time I saw AMON, OBITUARY, NOCTURNUS and MORBID ANGEL just before those bands were set to release their albums. With that said, we had maybe missed that gravy train, but other opportunities revealed themselves as we entered an agreement with JL America to record and release “Return To Mystery” but as fate would have it, things didn’t quite work out as we would have liked. If things would have come together, we might be having a very different conversation right now.”
On the other hand, did you say yes to Unisound because by that time they already had put out few cult releases, mostly Black Metal stuff like ROTTING CHRIST’s “Non Serviam”?
Pete: “The boss Panos actually contacted me by telephone to work out some of details and mailed out the contracts. We knew the label was busted out of Greece and we’d probably not see a dime but the exposure is what we needed and they were spending some cash on getting their brand out there as well as the bands. VARATHRON, MORTUARY DRAPE, THOU ART LORD, UNCANNY and NECROMANTIA, were on there as well as a lot of some really good Black Metal bands.”
Matt: “Unisound had some excellent distribution and packaging offerings which we felt would benefit the band back when people shopped at record and CD stores. Having a slick gatefold CD package was something not many labels were willing to spend the extra money on. We were also fans of ROTTING CHRIST and INSATANITY from Philadelphia, both seemed to have decent success with Unisound at the time.”
You had four years so to speak to get ready for this album… I assume everything was planned and double-checked before you entered the studio?
Pete: “We knew the material like the back of our hand. We had some demo material, new songs and everything was well rehearsed. Hell back then all we did was jam a few times a week, write and respond to band mail, and just promote ourselves the old school way.”
Matt: “Without question. We had a small warehouse on the edge of cemetery that we spent endless hours at rehearsing. Who was going to complain? All of our neighbors were deceased.”
From what I gathered, this was done in between two studios. Why wasn’t everything done at Morrisound? A question of budget maybe? Didn’t that make your life a bit more difficult?
Pete: “From what I remember it was more financial and convenience as to why we didn’t record the whole album at Morrisound. Our good friend Gregg Mandigo was working a studio in Orlando called Shock Lizard. He offered for us to come out and record the album there. It was a smooth process when it came to the recording. I think we knocked it out in like one or two days. However, when it came down to the final mixes were weren’t too pleased. It was good but didn’t have that ‘heavy’ vibe I was looking for. We discussed it as a band and agreed we needed to go to Morrisound for the mixing and mastering. The recording went fine from what I remembered but just going to Morrisound gave the album a different feel that we needed. Tom Morris was super cool and that started our relationship with the studio moving forward.”
Matt: “Oh man, that ’studio’ was an experience and a half. It might be considered the ‘Ultimate Metal Experience’ in terms of four sweaty dudes within a small enclosed room with no air conditioning, no windows, and no ventilation grinding away in the Florida heat. I don’t know how none of us didn’t have a heat stroke! I think my headphones were leftovers from some elementary school library too. Luckily, we were very well rehearsed, so we made it through the tracking, then recorded the remainder, mixed and mastered at what I like to call ‘more-of-sound’. Tom Morris did an incredible job bringing those songs to life.”
Who came up with the strange sounds / noise effects we can hear at the very beginning of the record? Was it done in order to set up a special, unsettling vibe?
Pete: “We knew at that time we wanted some kind of intro to really start things off. Something just bizarre. Howard Helm worked at Morrisound and had these syhths and vintage things. We asked him to come up with some ideas. We basically just put that together one afternoon with his guidance.”
He did come from the progressive realm didn’t he? Was he somehow ‘attached’ to the Morrisound studio? Did he come onboard because of what he had just done with ICED EARTH and was he given free rein or…? I’m not sure he was that familiar with extreme Metal was he?
Pete: “Right. I think he was a member of a progressive ’70s type Rock band. He worked at Morrisound and bands would pay him to add keyboard or synth parts or even help arrange music. For EQUINOX he did an intro or two. He even had an old Moog synth that we used on certain parts on the “Journey Into Oblivion” album. From what I remember we wasn’t really into extreme Metal but was very willing to lend his services if we needed some cool effects or intros.”
What about the actual artwork? Was it important to have the inverted pentagram as the central figure for instance, knowing that probably lump you guys in the ‘satanic’ category?
Pete: “That was the label controlling every aspect and ignoring our ideas. We actually were going use art that Juha Vuorma gave us permission to use. We sent over the artwork for the cover and Unisound Records decided to make up their own cover art. That pissed us off right from the get go. As artists we had the right to use or own artwork but the label just did what they wanted.”
Was it hard to pick the right track to start the album? This being said, to me, ‘Rites Of Red Giving’ is the perfect candidate as it’s quite doomy and atmospheric with some brutal parts in its second half…
Pete: “We all agreed that ‘Rites Of Red Giving’ was the perfect song to start the album. It had the fast intro and double bass going on leading into some cool doom parts. It’s one of my favorite tracks off of “Return To Mystery”.”
A song like ‘Valley Of The Kings’ is pure doom and was strategically placed midway. I assume this kind of material came pretty handy in the live situation, allowing you to have something different to perform? Now with a step back, can we say it kind of set off the tone for what would be achieved much later on with DRUID LORD?
Pete: “‘Valley Of The Kings’ was one of our early songs that I wrote. I always felt it had an old ACHERON ‘slower’ vibe to it. I’ve always had that doom style in my veins and we would use parts like that to enhance the music. ‘Valley…’ and ‘Come Forth The Haunting’, off our “Promo ’94”, were slower tracks. Agreed, you could say that older EQUINOX has similarities to what DRUID LORD would write years later.”
On the back cover of the CD, we can see live pictures of the band in action. Do you remember were those photos were taken exactly?
Pete: “I believe most of the live shots were taken at a live gig at this club called the FBI (Fairbands Inn). This club was in Orlando and was a staple for Rock and Metal bands since the ’70s. We played there a lot back in the day. I saw many bands play there like INCANTATION, MORBID ANGEL, SIX FEET UNDER, OVERKILL… And tons more.”
Do you remember your past experiences being used as ‘selling points’, especially your past experience in ACHERON, probably the band EQUINOX sounded the closest to in places?
Pete: “To some degrees yes. We did get attention as I just came out of ACHERON and “Rites Of The Black Mass” album was very popular at that time. ACHERON came up a lot in zine interviews and the fans would ask about it.”
When did you realize things were going south with Unisound? As soon as the album was out?
Matt: “By the time Unisound released “Return To Mystery”, the band had already gone through a big letdown with the first record deal with JL America having fallen apart. We really wanted to get the record done and released, so we gave Unisound a chance. They were working with some excellent bands, and they were spending the extra money to have excellent packaging for their releases. Our attorney told us in advance that we likely would never see a dime, and if we were to collect any royalties we would have to hire attorney’s overseas plus domestic fees. So the expectations were that we would get decent distribution and a cool CD package.”
Pete: “It was also after “Return To Mystery” came out we were already getting the feeling things were not working out. The communication was becoming less and less. If I remember correctly we talked about doing a second album with Unisound but we weren’t seeing a dime from them from our sales. Just made sense not to work any further.”
It looks like those were dark times for all you guys on a personal level. Was it caused by EQUINOX lack of progress or was it something else? Also I assume that the chance in the musical climate didn’t help either did it?
Matt: “It was a frustrating time in that despite being there during the Florida Death Metal ‘wave’ we simply experienced one bad break after another. Despite any obstacles, Pete and I kept EQUINOX going determined to persevere.”
Pete: “The scene was really strange for Metal at that time. Not to mention some of the members of the band were going through personal issues and that took its toll on the band. We just kept rolling on trying to progress.”
It was around that time you also did few covers for few tribute albums on Dwell Records. Was it your way of keeping the band’s name alive? Or maybe because you were not in position to come up with fresh original material at the time?
Matt: “We were approached by a label called Twilight Records. They asked us to be a part of an IRON MAIDEN tribute called “Maiden America: Iron Maiden Tribute” and “American Metal Compilation” in which we covered ‘Wrathchild’. I’m a huge MAIDEN fan, so it was a great thrill for me. The release of that tribute album opened the door for Still Dead Records who approached us about doing a MERCYFUL FATE Tribute called “The Unholy Sounds Of The Demon Bells – A Tribute To Mercyful Fate”. We recorded ‘Gypsy’ and there couldn’t have been a bigger influence on me than King Diamond. Aside from Ronnie James Dio, King is still my favorite vocalist to this day. All of that lead to us recording several songs for Dwell Records (a subdivision of Columbia Records). KISS, SABBATH, SLAYER but my favorite cover is ‘The Ripper’ by JUDAS PRIEST.”
Pete: “It’s really funny that I actually despise playing cover songs at this point in my career. I think it’s because we did so many with EQUINOX. At the time it was the right thing to do. We just wanted to keep the band name alive and Dwell had really good distribution. We had a great time in the studio recording all these songs too. SABBATH, SLAYER and IRON MAIDEN are some of my favorite bands. We covered SLAYER’s ‘Haunting The Chapel’ and we did a kick ass version of it. That song was of the first SLAYER songs I ever heard and to this day still one of the greats.”
When exactly did the work on your second album “Journey Into Oblivion” begin?
Matt: “We started developing the songs shortly after the release of our first album. We never quit pushing ourselves to create new music you know? The landscape of the music scene changed dramatically between the release of the two albums, but we never stopped writing and rehearsing.”
Had you specific goals for this album? Mistakes you had done with the first album you wanted to correct?
Matt: “We definitely wanted to record, mix and master everything at Morrisound this time around. When we tracked “Return To Mystery” the situation was a bit rudimentary, to say the least. Our goal was to make sure we had top-notch production and for the time, I think we succeeded.”
Pete: “We wanted to have a heavy production but still our own EQUINOX sound and feel. These songs were some of the best we had written up to that point and we were really excited to record them. As Matt stated, we wanted to do the entire album at Morrisound and have control over everything: the artwork, the layout, even the band photos. Things we really didn’t have much control with Unisound Records.”
The songs were a bit more epic and more complex. Was it a conscious decision to turn “Journey…” into a more, for lack of better terms, mature album? Or at least a more ambitious one maybe?
Pete: “Yes, at this point I feel we finally hit our stride. I think it took the demos and the first album to really figure out what direction we were going. My songwriting, as far as the music, was more aggressive and flowed better overall. All the songs, both lyrically and musically, just fit together. I personally feel it had the Black / Death vibe we were striving for.”
How did you get in touch with Still Dead Productions? Did you get in touch after you were already done with the actual recording of your second full-length, meaning you had to self-finance it first, or…?
Pete: “It was Still Dead Productions owner Julius that approached us before the recordings. He seemed to be a fan of the band and, at the time, was working on his new label out of Poland and really wanted to finance and sign the band. It was a one-album deal. It was a strange relationship. In the beginning, he was writing the band, making promises, and sending us free stuff from his distro. He and his girlfriend (at the time) would call me from Poland, and we’d have discussions about the album. I will say he gave us total freedom with the artwork, layout, photos, and music style so there was no issue there. Then he eventually sent us by Western Union the money to start recording. The problem was Morrisound Recordings wasn’t cheap so at one point, once we were done recording the songs, we ran out of money to properly mix and master the whole thing. Then all of a sudden, we lost contact. He wasn’t writing back, no phone call, nothing. We were wondering what the happened to him. Did he pass away, go to jail, or something worse? We had no idea. I think we even owed the studio money. Then I believe after a year or two he came back into the picture to finish the album and paid the remaining funds.”
Matt: “There was an arrangement to provide half the funds to get started, then send over the remainder, which unfortunately took much longer than expected. During that ‘delay’, there was a giant leap in recording technology as we entered the digital age. We recorded all the tracks using old school 2″ reels and ADAT machines, which essentially became obsolete when we made it to the mixing phase. Working with old tech took a bit longer than it would now with the advancement of Pro Tools. I still have the reels just in case anyone wants to remix or remaster the album by the way.”
Considering your bad experience with Unisound, how come you didn’t see it coming with Still Dead?
Pete: “Unisound was a brand new label, and Julius was talking with bands like DECEASED, EVISCIUM, BURNING INSIDE and was doing a MERCYFUL FATE tribute album with some well-known Death Metal bands. We figured we had nothing to lose, and in the beginning, he was 100% on board, and things were going well. But then something happened. Not sure if it was just being inexperienced or legal trouble, but we never really figured out what happened. After the album was released, he just disappeared again. That was probably around 2003. From what I understood, none of his bands heard anything from him to this day! That was it for us even if it had re-appeared again.”
I believe I’ve seen somewhere that your then guitar-player Tony Blakk did contribute to the songwriting, but in the end, couldn’t or didn’t take part in the actual recording…?
Pete: “Tony had a lot going on in his life. He was running his own business and had started a family. He just didn’t have enough time to put into the band when the recordings started even if I believe he was in the studio with us at first… I don’t blame him, as it’s a lot to juggle. He did help out with the songwriting, and we were jamming, but when it came time for the studio, he had a lot going on. Then when the label ran out of money, Matt and I had to go back and finish everything ourselves. That was over a year and a half later, or maybe even longer. It took Matt and I a lot of time to finish the album. I had to re-record some of my guitar solos, we had to mix then master everything. It proved to be quite an undertaking.”
Matt: “Pete is being modest. The man literally saved the recording with his incredible improvisation skills. Once Tony got rolling, it became obvious to everyone, including himself, that his parts needed work, so he graciously stepped aside. Pete stepped in like a champ and laid down some truly organic and ad-libbed beautiful solos that I can’t imagine these songs being without.”
Did it change anything to record for the first time as a three-piece? Did it actually make things easier, logistically speaking?
Pete: “Everything went fine and smooth when it came to recording. We went into the studio, recorded our parts for the tribute albums. We weren’t doing any live shows at that time so it wasn’t a big issue.”
Matt: “We were used to the routine of recording drums. Then Pete would lay down the rhythm tracks. After that, the bass and vocals were thrown down, with the solos and keyboards coming in before mixing and mastering. We were also super fortunate to work with the Morris brothers, who were instrumental in efficiently maximizing our studio time. Not to say we didn’t have a few late, late nights, but their time-management skills helped us immensely.”
How is the cover, done by Craig Simpson, linked with the album actual concept?
Pete: “I had given a good friend of mine Craig Simpson – who did art for USURPER, SATHANAS, HALLOWEEN, BURNING INSIDE etc. – the idea for the album cover. This was based on our lyrics for ‘Journey Into Oblivion’, not the entire album but that song in particular. Craig had sent us many sketches and we finally agreed on the version that’s was used. If you read into the lyrics you’ll get an idea of how the lyrics intertwine with the cover images.”
There’s an overall very mystical, almost D&D like vibe on this album lyrically speaking. It’s full of sword and sorcery, echoes of battles and so on… Why?
Matt: “That’s what EQUINOX was all about since day one. Pete and I both share an affinity for the unexplained, ancient mysteries, mystic arts and horror films. Therefore, our lyrical subject matters followed suit naturally. On this album we cover everything from zombie films, to ancient rites and even an ex: ‘The Enchantress’ was actually inspired by a toxic girlfriend I was dating at the time – Pete knows ah!”
Pete: “Mysticism, folklore, mythology, all played a part in what EQUINOX was about. Just a continuation of all those ideas put into a lyrical form.”
Talking of which, one of the last songs on the album is the epic ‘Sword Of Sirsir’. What was the exact inspiration for that one?
Matt: “‘Sword Of Sirsir’ was inspired by a few religious texts and occult resources mashed up. The point of view in the song is that of a wizard fighting against the evil hordes of the Babylonian God Tiamat. It’s either kill or be killed but what Tiamat doesn’t know is the wizard possesses a magical sword enchanted to strike down the god and the hordes of demons sent to kill.”
Why another cover (POSSESSED ‘Séance’) at the tailor-end of the album? Hadn’t you done by then enough covers already?
Matt: “POSSESSED are (obviously) big influences on us both, but Pete especially. Playing live, we covered the song ‘Swing Of The Axe’ many times, so when Pete brought ‘Séance’ to the table, it was an immediate yes!”
Pete: “From day one, POSSESSED was one of my favorite bands. As Matt mentioned we did ‘Swing Of The Axe’ live. However, ‘Séance’ was just one of those songs that was always stuck in my head. “Beyond The Gates” is still one of my top Death Metal albums so to record one of their songs just made sense. This was actually prior to this tribute songs we did for Dwell Records.”
From a Death Metal point of view, “Journey Into Oblivion” is quite long, 54 minutes. Why such an epic album? Weren’t you afraid of potentially ‘losing’ some listeners along the way?
Matt: “To be honest, I wish we could have made “Journey…” a double album!”
Pete: “No, never crossed our minds. We just wrote the songs and let creativity take over. We’ve always written music for us first. I don’t think a 54 minute versus, let’s say, a 40 minute album would make a difference with our listeners.”
So if I got that right, it basically took you about two years to complete the album and have it released. So this means the album could have been put out, say, in 2001 if everything had happened as it was supposed to? Would you say that loooooong delay somehow planted the seed that soon would destroy EQUINOX from the inside?
Matt: “At times we had to wonder if the band was somehow cursed? We had a difficult time with label support but still managed to make a great run at it. The ‘demise’ of EQUINOX would happen several years later after the release of “The Immortal Kind” EP in 2006. Pete and I held out as long as we could with our drummer at the time, essentially flaking out on rehearsals and the commitment. Thus our progress stalled for a spell.”
Pete: “Many issues caused the release of “Journey…” to be delayed: financial problems with the label, owing the studio money, band members going through personal issues etc. The band was just at a cross roads. Somehow we managed to finish the album after many studio sessions. I remember the last night we mixed and mastered the album Matt and I went to the legendary original Brass Mug in Tampa to have a few beers and celebrate.”
Looking back at the legacy of the band, what stand out for you?
Pete: “Looking back I can say I’m very proud of what we accomplished with those two albums. When writing “Return To Mystery” musically I still had that bit of ACHERON influence within some of the guitar parts but also mixing in the CELTIC FROST feel. I think with “Journey Into Oblivion” we really hit our stride. That was the album we had locked in our sound. Yes, the recording process was a nightmare but overall it’s a great album and one that I’m very proud of. After “Journey…” came out I think we were continuing in that same direction but going more aggressive. You can hear that on our third album / EP “The Immortal Kind”. The line-up changed and that had a lot to do with it, but we still were keeping that atmosphere of the Black / Death style. My only regret is that we didn’t record another album. We had a lot of ideas that we were working with but at that point I think we were just all burned out trying to keep it together.”
Matt: “I’m in absolute agreement with Pete. We have a lot to be proud of during the course of EQUINOX’s musical journey, we were able to put together two incredible collections of music with these two albums. Both were incredible achievements considering all the obstacles and challenges we overcame to produce those two records. What I am most proud of is these songs still stand the test of time and if released today for the first time they would still stand on their own. That’s really a testament to how meticulous we were with our songwriting approach. I believe we’d love the opportunity to put together another record with today’s production tools. Thy will be done.”
Intro: Frank Stöver
Interview: Olivier “Zoltar” Badin