The members of SILENCER have been into Metal for a great many years. Do you think it got driven underground in the 90’s because it had ran it’s course, or do you think it was the result of industry suit and tie guys?

KEITH: It was a combination. When MTV got big you saw videos for bands that hadn’t even toured for their first album. The video’s showed them playing these massive arenas with tons of fans. They had huge lighting trusses and walls of Marshals on stage. In a way, Metal needed a rest. It was too excessive. It wasn’t like in the early days of Judas Priest – who I can compare to us. The time when a band is struggling, living in a van. Getting paid nothing. Everyone on MTV was an instant rock star. So Metal began to take a really fake persona in the whole industry. While I didn’t care for Grunge that much, it was really needed. We needed to rethink where we were coming from and what we were trying to portray in Metal. I thank Grunge for that.

Can Metal be valid if it’s mainstream?

KEITH: There always will have to be an underground realm of it. There will always have to be an underground to it to stay valid. I have no problem with the best of the best bridging that mainstream gap. I hope to someday. As long as I don’t compromise what I believe to be true Metal. If people happen to like what I am writing, and it becomes very popular that’s fine.

In the 80’s Metal songs seemed to be primarily about tits and ass. What is current Metal about theme wise?

MAT: In the 80’s it did seem that Metal was pretty much about tits and ass, who could get the best cocaine and who could get the best Aguanet or Rave (laughs). Metal today is very raw emotion. It’s anger and frustration. It’s everybody looking around and saying, “Hey, this shit ain’t right.” That beats the shit out of Poison running around singing “There ain’t nothing but a good time.”

KEITH: You had that album, admit it.

MAT: Actually that’s one I never got. Granted, I’ll admit I have some “Butt-rock.”

KEITH: Metal today is a leaner machine than it was back then. There’s a lot more topics with the advent of Death Metal – which is a huge sub-genre. A lot of Metal songs are about questioning religion and existence. Questioning society’s attempts to dictate what someone should do. There’s like huge questioning themes. You can’t pin it down to one thing. SILENCER has an element of that in our music. We are questioning existence, our place in space and our place on this planet. I also see a lot of self-confidence type of themes – stuff like standing up and being yourself. Doing what you want to do. I see a lot of that in songs too.

JEFF: Well, to me, I never listen to what’s on the radio, but like what Keith said – it’s all about reality. A lot of people being pissed off about things like environmental and humanity issues – stuff like that. That’s what we’re interested in, that’s what I’m interested in.

Some mortals don’t know that there was a previous version of SILENCER. Tell me about it.

KEITH: The first incarnation began in late summer, ’98. It consisted of myself, Woody Sebastian – who you may know from Vox Demonna, Cold Moon and Malgnari. On guitar was Brenton Box and on drums was Sean Roberts. He was a high school kid and a really good drummer. We gigged real heavily around Denver for six or seven months. Sometimes we played two times a week just to get the name pounded in everyone’s head. The sound was much more classic metal than what we now do. It sounded like early ‘Priest and Accept.

Were you vocalist?

KEITH: Yeah, no matter how hard I try to get away from singing, I end up doing it. We had a vocalist, but we fired him a week before we did our first show. At the time, we didn’t even have a practice PA in the studio. These guys had no idea of how the melodies went in the songs. The first time we did the first gig and I sang them, it was the first time the band had heard the vocal melodies. They were shocked afterwards. They were like, “Dude, I had no idea it even sounded like that.” (Laughs) That’s the way we would write music with the first band. I would sing it out loud at the studio, but since we didn’t have a practice PA no one could ever hear it.

How did the first line up end?

KEITH: We culminated the first lineup by doing tour that lasted about two weeks. We went through the southwest in California. We hit Nevada – the kind of places we hit now. I think it opened a lot of eyes (in the band) some of the people didn’t want to do that. They didn’t want to play Metal, per se. Life on the road wasn’t for them. So about three days after we got back, they all called pretty much at the same time and said, “We’re out.”

How did you react?

KEITH: It felt like a kick in the gut. The night before, I went to see Iron Maiden at Fiddler’s Green (an amphitheater in Denver). Bruce Dickinson had just come back. It was the biggest show. It was like the beginning of the comeback for Metal. I was front row and the whole thing was surreal. The next day I got the call from all of the members of my band basically quitting. I never felt farther from my goal – ever. I had just seen the extent of where you could take a Heavy Metal band. I had just seen the largest thing in the world and I had absolutely nothing.

Were you pissed off at the former members?

KEITH: I couldn’t really blame any of the guys for the reasons they left. I mean, to each their own. I glad it happened the way it did in retrospect. The lineup of SILENCER now is twice as good in every extent. It took almost a year in a half to get it back again and debut last November (2000).

Why did you keep the name “SILENCER?”

KEITH: We had gained a decent degree of recognition. We were the only band doing melodic Metal at the time. There were a couple of others that would do an occasional gig, but basically, we were it. We had done a demo tape that actually got over seas and got reviewed by a couple of people. In Germany, they liked it a lot. A couple of small distributors actually bought some copies to sell. So I thought, “Why start over?” I always liked the name itself.

Had you ever thought of joining another band that already been established?

KEITH: Yeah, during the reformation of SILENCER, I threw my name out there. I thought I wouldn’t mind just being a singer or guitarist for a few bands. Some bands that I run into even now at shows across the country at one time or another have asked me if I was interested in singing for their bands. However, I think there was enough a buzz from the first lineup that I decided to just keep it. I think it’s paid off too. We deliver.

So how did the current lineup come together?

KEITH: The first member was Nick. I had been a fan of Drudgery for awhile and I always thought he was tremendous drummer. The first time I had seen Drudgery was at the Blitz Room (former venue in Denver). I was just getting into the (Metal) scene here and didn’t know that much about it. I was just in the process of forming the first SILENCER. Anyway, even though Drudgery weren’t exactly my favorite style, they were so pure and so heavy – so undeniably Metal. I remember watching Nick. When he plays he has this great expression on his face like he’s gonna rip someone’s head off. I was like, “fuck, these guys are intense.” All of them were just after it. Anyway, Nick wanted to get on the road more than the other guys in Drudgery did. Their priorities were changing. I remember meeting Nick and getting him to come to a couple of the old SILENCER shows. He thought where we were coming from was honest. It wasn’t his style though, either, but we became friends.

So you saw Nick and said, “He will be mine, Oh yes, he will be mine.”

(Everybody laughs)

KEITH: (Laughing) Yeah, in a very, “pat on the back, ‘Metal kind of way.’ (Laughs) It was a slow process, cuz he’s a shy guy.

You sound like me trying to pick up a straight guy in a bar.

(Much laughter)

KEITH: When he decided to leave Drudgery, we hung out a few times, but it was almost an instantaneous thing. I said, “You want a night to think about it?” At the time I was jamming with a different drummer. He was good, but not as “Metal” as Nick was. As soon as that drummer was out, Nick was in “like that.” Nick was hardcore from the beginning. He was out of his mind. He still is.

Weren’t you afraid that when Murray found out you stole his boyfriend he would kick your ass?

(Laughter)

KEITH: You know it’s really weird, ‘cuz Murray was one of the few people who was in the heavier band scene. We were definitely on the lighter end of things. There was some speed and technicality to what we did but there was heavier bands around like Rogue and Tread. There was somewhat of a clique to that realm, but they were always really cool to everyone. Drudgery was one of the first bands I connected with. Murray was always really cool to me.

Well if you were Murray’s boyfriend, who would be the top and who would be the bottom?

(Laughs)

KEITH: Well you know, being I have long hair, right away people think I would be the bitch, but you know what? Murray would have a surprise coming

(Laughter)

Yeah, but don’t forget he’s a Marine

KEITH: Yeah, but everybody has pressure points. I could subdue him (Laughs). Anyway, Nick said that Murray was supporting him. He told Nick he needed to join someone like SILENCER. That he needed to do what we were doing. The first time I saw Murray after Nick had decided he wanted to join us I was nervous. But he walked up and said, “Man, I wish you all the luck in the world.” It was a huge pat on the back. So Drudgery had a studio obligation. Murray needed Nick to finish his drum parts on the new Drudgery CD. Nick decided to finish his parts on their CD and on the off nights he planned on jamming with us. One of the first things he did was listen to one of our old demo tapes and went through and rearranged all the drum parts. He brought his kit over here and played our old title track, Silencer.
My jaw was just open by the time he got to the end of it. I was like, “Dude, that was fucking amazing.” Right then and there I knew it was gonna work. He not only plays drums; he plays guitar as well. He’s written probably a good 1/3 of all the riffs that are in our songs. A lot of people don’t know that. Most of the riff in Missing Hope is his. The chorus in Mourning Star is his. The main riff and bridge in The Error of Your Ways. That’s just several examples. There are more.

Tell me about Mat

KEITH: I’ve known Mat for a long time. We used to play in a cover band a long time ago called Paragon. We separated ways for awhile. He had been working up in Steamboat Springs (Colorado) working, saving money and not doing much else. I had the hardest time finding a lead guitar player. So I gave him a call and said, “Dude, your wasting your talent sitting up there not doing anything. Move back to the city.” That’s exactly what he did.

MAT: He wanted me to come over and listen to some new shit. So I went over and listened. It was so fucking loud and I didn’t have earplugs, plus it was a little jumbled. I tried to play along but failed miserably. So I really still didn’t have a good idea of what SILENCER really was. Having a copy of their Sledgehammer Chiropractic, I only knew the previous style of SILENCER. It was very fast, it was very progressive, but it wasn’t at all my style. So I get a demo tape of three to four of SILENCER’s new songs and I almost literally shit myself when I heard them. I was so amazed. I went hauling ass down to my work, put it in the tape deck and asked all my friends what they thought. They thought it was awesome, but asked me why I was so excited about it. I said, “they want me to be their lead guitarist.” They said, “get the fuck out of here, go!” (Laughs) So I learned as much as I could as best I could and went into the studio (with SILENCER) a month later and basically winged it.

KEITH: We had already laid down all the rhythm tracks. I sent Mat a tape of where he needed to put all the solos in. It was still really hard for him to tell, so there was some last minute coaching. With his sixth sense, he went in there and did them. That’s what you hear on the “Kozmos” CD.

MAT: Keith was basically sitting there playing at full volume into this little tape recorder. He would get to the part I was supposed to put the solo in and scream NOW!!! (Laughs) I couldn’t hear the “now,” I couldn’t hear shit, so I just kind of guessed as to where I was supposed to solo. When we got into the studio, the solos weren’t anywhere near where I thought they were supposed to be (laughs). I basically winged it through that album. It turned out a hell of a lot better than I thought it would.

So now we come to mortal Jeff. The only thing I know about you is you are from San Diego?

JEFF: Yeah.

Why would you come all the way from San Diego just to join a band?

JEFF: It was pretty much all Nick. Nick and I had become really good friends before I moved out to California. I lived here in Colorado for 15 years. A few years before I moved, I met Nick. I knew his dedication to music; I knew Drudgery, even went and saw them a few times at The Blitz Room. So I moved to California and he called me one day. I knew he had ventured into SILENCER…

Excuse me, let me interrupt you.

JEFF: Yes, go ahead.

After you saw Drudgery, wasn’t there somewhere inside of you – just a little teeny tiny part of you that for even a split second wished that you were a bitch and Murray was pounding you into a mattress?

(Mat and Keith explode with laughter)

JEFF: That would be a negative (more laughter)

OK, go ahead continue

JEFF: Well now that I’m completely lost and don’t remember what I was talking about. (Laughter)

You met Nick, you moved to California and Nick called you one day…

JEFF: Oh yeah. So Nick joined SILENCER and I knew that something was going on because he wouldn’t just leave this band that I thought was great. When I got the call…actually it was an email, and I still have it today. But basically, it said, “I know this sounds far fetched, but drop everything, quit your job, move out here and join the band. I talked it over with my wife and decided to do it.

Once you started playing with the rest of the guys did it click right away?

JEFF: For the most part it clicked right away. Keith is a very hard worker and I’m a very hard worker. We got together and just started busting out songs. I was ready to get to work, as was everyone else.

What zodiac sign is everyone in the band?

JEFF: I’m a Taurus

KEITH: I’m a Scorpio. I think Nick is an Aries.

MAT: I’m a Gemini.

OK, here’s the run down on your signs. Scorpio’s are great business people. They know more people and have more connections than you can shake a stick at. If they trust you, they are one of the best friends you can have. If you piss them off, they turn to ice and you cease to exist in their world. They are also really intense sexually. Aries are able to do anything any other mere mortal cannot. If you tell them that something is impossible they will work their ass off just to prove you wrong. All an Aries needs is a mountain to climb.

KEITH: That totally sounds like Nick! (Laughs)

Gemini’s have a split personality. They have a wonderful, friendly social side, and another side that’s completely ugly.

MAT: Yep that sounds like me! (Laughter)

And Taurus’ are pragmatic and well grounded. They are an Earth sign. They are fine if you are straight with them, but they have hot, stubborn tempers. You don’t even have to do anything to them. If they think you’ve done something or are full of shit, you won’t change their mind.

MAT: Give me that fucking mic…(Laughter) Trust me, I fucking know! (Laughs) I have pissed off this guy as a matter of fact just recently. Him and I had our head to head. The other side of Mat did come out and it was nothing but “Fuck you!” and he was nothing but “Fuck you!” (Laughs) In fact it was at Ultrasound. The gentlemen from Moore were there and thought we were gonna beat the living shit out of one another. After that it was a handshake and everything was fine.

Well do tell! What happened? I love virile displays of masculinity.

MAT: Oh God! Must I?

YES!

MAT: Do you know the history of our van?

No

MAT: We have a new van because the one we had, Fuck you Serberus, finally blew up. Fuck you again, Serberus (Laughs)

Can I print this?

MAT: Oh yeah you can print whatever I say. TY FURY IS MY BITCH!! (Much laughter)

Oooh, Good! This is juicy!

MAT: Fuck “Famous Dave and the Serberus’s” (Laughter). The van blew up! Before this happened we were in California and I was driving the van to run a couple of errands. I stopped at the liquor store, grabbed some beer, went to start the van, and nothing happened. It wouldn’t start – nothing uncommon with this piece of shit. So I end up getting a ride back from a couple of gang-bangers and their bitch. What basically happened was my gig bag – which had all my straps, cords and foot switch was still in the van. I couldn’t get to it. So I’m running around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to borrow shit from Moore and Danny Masters and a few other people. When homeboy over here (points to Jeff) found out I didn’t have my foot switch, he blew! He blew his top because this is not the first time and probably won’t be the last that I have fucked up. Basically I am air-headed. I’m a goddamn bimbo and I forget shit. I’m a fucking blonde (laughs). So anyway, he got really pissed off. I ended up getting pissed off back at him because it wasn’t the first time I’ve heard it. I thank him overall, but we just ended up going back and forth. (Laughs) Yeah, once you piss off Jeff, man, you know it for a good while. He’s a good man, he’s a fucking awesome musician and I’ve never worked with better people in this band.

OK, Well let me ask you something Jeff. Is makeup sex better than regular sex?

JEFF: Now would this be male or female you’re talking about? (Much laughter) I need to clarify this before I go on record (More laughter) That’s a tough one. I’ve been away from my wife for too long to even comment on that.

Where is she?

JEFF: She’s still in San Diego.

Oh my God! I didn’t know that. Are you jerking off a lot?

JEFF: Oh, quite often. We’ve done pretty good about seeing each other throughout this whole thing. I was just with her for the last month.

I once heard a mortal psychologist say that people are more likely to have anal intercourse when they are having makeup sex. Is that true?

JEFF: I’d have to consult the other half first before I divulge any information

Ok, well let me ask you this. Before you were married, did you ever fuck any female mortal in the ass?

JEFF: No.

KEITH: Makeup sex is acrobatic, that’s all I can say, man.

MAT: That psychologist was right. I’ve got to tell you, makeup sex is vicious, violent and wonderful. After Jeff and I had our fight he was squealing like a little pig (Everybody laughs) Actually, I’m expecting some makeup sex when I get home. My girlfriend and I have been going at it all day!

Will you call and tell me if you end up having anal intercourse?

MAT: I will fucking get on your website and send you an email if I fuck her ass (Laughs)

OK, back to the music! Keith! You have mentioned before that one of your influences is Angus Young. I find that interesting being Angus is a rather sloppy guitarist.

KEITH: Angus Young was probably one of the first guitarists I admired because he can talk through his guitar. He can say more in one note than most guitarists can running up and down the fret board. I’d take an Angus Young over a Steve Vai any day. When you watch an early video, like “Let There Be Rock” and watch him perform, he is the ultimate showman. That’s what I strive to be as well. I could play just as well standing still, but that’s not who I am. People like Angus Young become a part of their instrument. He says more with less and that’s why he’s such a big influence on me.

Who are some of your other influences in Metal?

KEITH: K.K. Downing is one of my biggest influences. He started in a similar role like me – playing primarily rhythm. But if you listen to something like the solos in the song, “Ram it Down,” you can’t tell who is the better guitarist. Glenn did the majority of the solos on the earlier albums so K.K. worked his way up.

What do you think of the new Priest Album, “Demolition?”

KEITH: It’s pretty hit or miss. I’m not sure what they were trying to accomplish.

Do you like “Ram it Down” or “Painkiller” more?

KEITH: “Painkiller” is probably the most Metal album ever written, period. It’s a flawless album. It’s one of the few albums that has no bad songs.

What other guitarists do you admire?

KEITH: Dave Murray, just for his off the hilt soloing style. He plays what he feels much like Angus Young. From the new school, Bjorn Gelotte of In Flames. I think he plays with a lot of finesse.

What about you guys?

(Turns to Jeff and Mat)

JEFF: My influences are all over the board -everything from U2 to Pantera. I try to be as open-minded as possible. There are a few places I draw the line but I try to stay open. Old ‘Maiden is definitely something I’ve been into for a long time.

MAT: I love ‘Mustaine. He’s one of my biggest fucking idols. Dimebag Darrel’s style is still incredible but these guys have opened my eyes to some of the new stuff, which is great. Stuff like Opeth, who I’ve fallen in love with. Nevermore – Jeff Loomis is probably one of the best technical thrash players I’ve ever heard in my life. And of course, Keith Spargo ‘cuz he’s just the fucking bomb (laughs).

Lets talk about making it on a larger level.

KEITH: What pisses me off is people who tell me I can’t do something. When I was starting this band and telling family and friends, to an extent they would say, “well don’t quit your day job. You know how hard it is to make it?” There was the small core that believed in me. They’d say, “You know what dude? You can do it.” Steve Harris was once a little kid in England, who thought, “wouldn’t it cool to be like Wishbone Ash or Jethro Tull?” He just made up his mind that he was gonna do it. He didn’t even start playing bass until well into his teens. He was gonna be a pro soccer player. Everybody who ever became somebody at one time said, “wouldn’t it be cool if some day…” When people say I can’t do it are just fuel for the fire. The one’s who said I could, I’m gonna reward them with everything I get as a result of my work.

Well since we’re on the topic, let’s talk about some of the other stuff that pisses you off.

KEITH: The one theme that I don’t like is the “fuck the system” type of theme. I think it’s stupid. Yeah, we have our problems, but we live in one of the best societies in the world. Bands that sing about stuff like that are either doing it to be cool or controversial but I think it’s a really weak way to sell records and get attention. “Fuck the system, fuck the cops.” Yeah, where would you be if there were no police? We take it all for granted. I don’t mind people disagreeing with me and having there own opinions but if you have nothing to back up your opinion, it’s fucked. Ignorance pisses me off. Environmental apathy pisses me off too. That’s stuff we are gonna expand on in some of are new songs.

MAT: I’m generally a pissed off individual. Ignorant people piss me off. Religion is probably one of the biggest things that pisses me off. I hate seeing these grab-ass wannabe’s driving around in their cars with their “Jesus loves you” stickers blowing sunshine up my ass when I’m not interested. Cramming God down people’s throat when I just don’t want to hear it. “Real men love Jesus.” Fuck, good for you – I don’t need it blown up my ass. I don’t need to hear it. I believe in the big bang theory but I’m not gonna tell you about it because it’s my fucking opinion. You probably have religious people all over you being you are a gay zombie.

Oh God! They don’t even know which sin to begin with first when dealing with me (laughter) Just going to my site and clicking on my wee wee is a whole sermon right there (more laughter). What pisses you off, Jeff?

JEFF: A number of things piss me off. One thing is when people don’t care about anything but themselves. Obviously with the terrorist attacks, you see people giving to each other and stuff like that. But for the most part, people don’t give a fuck about anything but themselves. Environmental issues are huge on my list. It’s a big thing for me. I do everything I can to make it better myself. There are two of my pet peeves.

Tell me Jeff, have you been to my website and clicked on my wee wee?

(Much laughter)

JEFF: Uh no, I can’t say that I have.

OK well you need to do that. The next time I see you I’ll ask if you’ve clicked on my wee wee.

(More laughter)

JEFF: Uh, Ok (Laughter)

Let’s talk about your album “Kozmos” Give me a summary after the fact

KEITH: I can honestly say that for what it is, I probably couldn’t have asked for anything better. It got really good reviews around the world in a lot of respected Metal magazines. It’s allowed us to build up a nice resume. Those songs, however, are now over a year and a half old. It’s a good stamp of where we were at that time. A couple of songs hold up, in my opinion, as still very strong. A couple of them could use a rehash. I can see our sound slightly changing. There are elements of “Kozmos” I’d like to expand upon. Just the brute force of it I’m in love with. “Kozmos” was written in general to try and quantify a lot of looks at the universe. Mourning Star being told from the perspective of someone who saw a comet crossing the sky and thought it was the end of the world a long time ago. Industrial Command is a song that will be expanded upon in a future release. I don’t know, maybe some type of series. It’s kind of talking about where machines and industry has become so much a part of this world in the name of progress, that we are watching an environmental holocaust. At the end it kind of gives a glimpse that we are kind of looking at the stars because we’ve already trashed this planet, we have to look elsewhere and hopefully not screw up again. Concept-wise I am in love with the album. Music-wise it’s young. It was in a very young period of this band. In later compositions that aren’t on the CD I can say we’ve topped Kozmos at least musically. What we are writing now is vastly superior.

The album cover is beautiful. Did Cory Poole do it?

KEITH: Absolutely. We decided to do everything top-notch. There are a million divisions of 100% of what it takes to make a band. There’s so many little things you’ve got to nail if you want to make it work. We decided we wanted an incredible album cover design. I had an idea and I ran it by Cory. I kind of thought we were gonna get together and I was gonna watch him do some of this stuff, but when I went over to his place, he had like, 90% of what you see on the cover already done. My jaw hit the floor.

Is there anything I’ve forgotten to talk about?

JEFF: Our live performances are over the top. We go all out. If there’s 5 people, 50 people or 5000 people -whatever. If you come see us live you will know that we are into this music…

Oh wait!

JEFF: Yes

I’ve got the solution to you having to be away from your wife for such extended periods. Get some latex and make a mold of her pussy. That way you can have a pocket pussy of your wife with you at all times! (Everybody laughs) Better yet, make a latex mold of your cock so that she can have a Jeff dildo with her while you’re away.

JEFF: (Laughs) Well that’s a project that maybe we will work on the next time I see her (more laughter) Um…where was I?

Your live shows.

JEFF: We are really into our music and if you see us live we show it. I think it spills over into the audience. It’s contagious. People get into it because they know that we are so into it. It’s a big thing for us.