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Interview with Suffocation
By: J Sherrod
 I had the honor of speaking with
two members of the legendary Death Metal band Suffocation
before witnessing their most recent Nashville show.
Though
their music sounds like hostility personified, vocalist Frank
Mullen and drummer Mike Smith were incredibly nice
guys.
NowOnTour: How's the tour treatin' y'all so far and
how do you like bein' in the Country Music Capital Of The
World?
Frank: The tour's been doin' well. We pretty much only just
started it and doin' a few shows on our own, and then
headed out on the Strhess Tour. Somethin' like that - so it's
been good. I believe this is our first time we've been down
here.
Mike: Two weeks in the states, then home for a day, then
we're off to Germany for two-and-a-half weeks.
You guys have been around for about sixteen
years now. Who are some of the bands that influenced
Suffocation?
Frank: Well, I mean that started back when we were all kids,
so Exodus, Slayer, Kreator and a bunch of that kind of stuff
are the main influences. [Mike agrees.]
Who are some bands of the new generation that
you feel will carry the flag of Heavy Metal for the next
decade? Whether signed or fresh, undiscovered acts, that
are maybe given the first slot at one of your
shows?
Mike: That's tough, man, you know, 'cause all the bands we
all grew up with and started out with are all still here. There
are newer bands out, like Mastodon - that is definitely a
quality band - and they have what it takes to stick around.
And then you have bands like Shadows Fall or...I can't even
think of all these bands now.
Frank: Well, one of the bands that's been doin' it for years,
though they ain't new, is Slayer. I think they are going to
continue to do it for many more years 'cause they stay true
to what they've done. Ya know, those guys have been doin'
it for a while. I mean, there's gotta be 20-25 years and
[they're] just doin' Thrash and stayin' with what they want to
do.
Any bands that are totally unsigned that might
have just blown your mind that you
remember?
Frank: Not necessarily unsigned but there's definitely bands
out there like The Red Chord and Burnt By The Sun that are
really good and seem to have somethin' different to offer.
Nobody I saw unsigned that was just like 'WOW,'
though.
Mike: It's tough man. The newer bands are comin' out and
they're very good, but the Death Metal scene is really strong
right now. No matter how good you are, we're all on the
same level. It really depends on each band and their
lifestyles. Can they really afford to be out here strugglin'?
Regardless of how good you are, it's still a struggle, so can
they really afford to be out here doin' it or are they gonna
have to throw in the towel?
It's almost impossible these days to get rich playin'
Metal music, and I'm sure it's even harder for Death Metal
bands. What is it that truly drives y'all to do
this?
Mike: Our fans are definitely part of that, ya know?
Nevermind the bands that come out and have taken
influence from us, and we've toured with. Just the respect
level that we get in Death Metal is enough to keep us in it,
'cause the scene hasn't broken above ground yet. We're still
young at heart and can do this for however many more
years.
It would be a shame for us to quit and then a new band
comes in that's only been around for one or two years and
then all of a sudden, mainstream notices Death Metal and
they're the ones who are in the news. That's why it's not
worth us giving up. We ain't makin' millions of dollars, but
it's the respect level for sure.
Lately, you've been on Fuse's
Uranium and MTV2's Headbanger's
Ball. How do you feel about those stations and some
of the bands they try to pass for Metal acts - and then
there's you guys who were on the original
Headbanger's?
Mike: Jamie Jasta - who is the VJ for
Headbanger's - he's a big fan of ours. We've
reached that part where everybody in Death Metal is on the
same plane, so that those who are on the highest levels and
get the biggest tours are very close personal friends with us.
They do what they can to get us on these shows so it's not
their fault the Metal [TV] shows are so weak. That's the
programming directors that cause that.
Are there groupies in the death Metal world and
what are they like?
[Both laugh]
Frank: There are some out there, and they pretty much do
[what you want] and you pretty much get whatever you
want.
What are they like though? Are they tattooed all
over, muscular...are they rough as hell in bed or are they
very snuggly and gentle?
Mike: They're not ugly, but they may be a little rough lookin'
and a little more jagged then you would like your women to
be. They're defiantly friendly and take us to their house,
bathe us, feed us and do whatever.
Frank: Yep, they're out there.
Mike: We don't take advantage of them by any
means.
Of course you wouldn't! [All laugh.]
There's so much hype about who the next US
President will be. If you could nominate an artist from the
Metal community who would it be?
Mike: Ted Nugent.
Frank: [Agrees] I think another loud and outspoken
individual would be Henry Rollins, or somebody like
that.
Who are some of your musical guilty pleasures?
Musical acts
nobody would believe you guys are into?
Mike: I like a lot of violin and classical music.
Frank: I love Stevie Ray Vaughan. I also like a lot of the
female artists out there. Some of them...like Fiona Apple has
a strong voice. My daughter tries to put on that pop stuff and
it doesn't last.
[Note that this question was intended to really get
some juicy mind blowin' shit. Maybe one of them was a big
disco fan or dug 80's glam or 90's pop artists. Sadly, this
question bombed for me, but the good news is that these
guys are pretty much full-blown Metalheads and have no
time for that shit.]
What's next for Suffocation?
Frank: We've got this tour we're doin' now and we've got the
Fear Factory tour with Hypocrisy in September through
December. We're gonna shoot a video. Pretty much just
stayin' on the road and promoting the new album.
Mike: We could be booked up three-fourths of the year so
far, but if a band books up too far [in advance] it always
ends up backfiring. We kinda judge it as we go - to make the
best decisions at that time. Once you start to book [out] so
far, just to keep busy, you may miss some really big shows
- and festivals like Waken and Graspop - where we go
overseas and play to thousands and thousands of people.
We don't wanna miss stuff like that.
Well, I wanna thank y'all for lettin' me interview
you. I've never seen Suffocation before so I'm lookin'
forward to it. Have a great show and good luck to y'all in the
future.
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