Pic courtesy of: Merciless Death "I was raised Catholic but I won't accept that anymore, I am Atheist but I’m open minded about where we could come from and/or go to. I guess you could say music is my religion, because I don’t accept any religion as my own, there are some interesting points to Satanism, but it’s not entirely for me."

HK: Hello Merciless Death, I hope you’re all doing well. What activity were you engaged in before you started on this interview?
Dan Holder: Just rehearsing, getting ready for a couple LA shows coming up soon here, and working on new material. That’s about it right now.

HK: On two successive occasions both your albums have been prominently featured on Blabbermouth and received glowing reviews. How did it make you feel receiving that much exposure?
Dan Holder: It was cool to see some good reviews from some bigger sites and magazines as well. So far we have had pretty good reviews for both records, some bad but that’s okay. Those don’t really matter to me.

HK: But what did it take to create a worthy follow up to your equally cult debut, Evil in the Night? Was the writing and recording process grueling or an orgasmic explosion of creativity?
Dan Holder: The writing process was basically just learning the songs throughout the year and a half before we did the record, as I would write the music we’d learn them and move from there. The recording of Realm of Terror was very fast, but we were focused on doing what we did.

HK: Perhaps a lot cooler than just releasing a CD is having it on Vinyl. Do the band consider themselves members of an exalted minority that still drools over the almighty vinyl? By the way, where did you buy a Vinyl playing machine? (See, I’m so modern I’ve forgotten what it’s called.)
Dan Holder: You call it a record player? Hahaha! Yeah, it’s pretty fucking cool to have the album on vinyl as opposed to only CD. Andy and I really are into vinyl and collecting it. You can buy record players at different places, just gotta look, music stores.

HK: After this year’s Realm of Terror how many more albums does the band have inside them?
Dan Holder: That was our second record so I don't know. I’m sure we have a few more before we'll call it a day.

HK: Let’s delve into a bit more history here. Can you tell the story of how Merciless Death’s love affair with Heavy Artillery records began?
Dan Holder: They contacted us to do the Speed Kills compilation and liked how we got shit done and basically presented us with a contract and after negotiation we signed with them. Now we have both our records out on Heavy Artillery.

HK: Rather than asking who your influences are, to whom do you attribute the music you’re making? Which parts of the thrash/speed metal legacy helped shape the band’s musical identity? Be specific please. Thank you.
Dan Holder: We are into a lot of bands but there are a select few who provide inspiration and from whom we basically create our own sound. You could say we like to mix the styles that each has into our own raw heavy sound. These are old Slayer, Possessed, Venom, Infernal Majesty, Celtic Frost, Mercyful Fate and King Diamond, Death, Dark Angel, Morbid Angel, early Deicide, Nasty Savage and a lot of other bands that had a darker sound to them. We actually list them in Realm of Terror as a kind of tribute.

HK: And where did the Steve “Zetro” Souza vocals come from? Has he ever given you guys a compliment?
Dan Holder: Andy (Torres, vocalist/bassist) only sounds that way on the first record and I really like the way his vocals sound now. I met Souza once but that was before we were really doing anything that people knew about so he obviously didn’t say anything.

HK: Let’s talk about your tours. Kindly guide us through some of the most incredible journeys undertaken by the band. Better yet, when was the band’s first tour and what lessons did you bring home from that experience?

	Pic courtesy of: Merciless Death "You could say we like to mix the styles that each has into our own raw heavy sound. These are old Slayer, Possessed, Venom, Infernal Majesty, Celtic Frost, Mercyful Fate and King Diamond, Death, Dark Angel, Morbid Angel, early Deicide, Nasty Savage and a lot of other bands that had a darker sound to them. We actually list them in Realm of Terror as a kind of tribute"

Dan Holder: First tour was the Evil Curse tour in August and September 2007. We went out on the road for five weeks and went from LA and Arizona across to Texas and then the East Coast; then back across the Northern Parts (Ohio, Michigan); then back through Salt Lake, up to Washington and Portland and back down to San Francisco; then back home to LA. We had a lot of fun on that tour. Smoked a ton of weed and partied pretty hard and learned how to make it on the road. The second time we went on tour was just about two months ago (Thrashing Like A Maniac) and it wasn’t as good. We had a lot of van problems and not very good shows that weren't booked very well so that shit sucked. We had some really wild times on this tour though. Now that I remember them, holy fuck! Hahahahaha!

HK: How many friends has the band made since the band started appearing in stages?
Dan Holder: I don't know. I think we have gotten to know a lot of people that like what we do and I know we have met a ton of cool people along the way in all different places. It has been quite a trip.

HK: Can you name some of the dives and other colorful places Merciless Death has had the pleasure of performing in?
Dan Holder: Just in LA alone we’ve done numbers of shows at the Black Castle, Knitting Factory, Whisky A Go-Go, Safari Sam’s, and lots of gigs at smaller places around LA. Out on the road we've played places like Billy Milano’s Headhunter’s in Austin, Texas, and we played at a club called Europa in New York with At War, that was fucking wild. And we’ve played the Satyricon in Portland on the first tour, which was a kick ass show.

HK: What usually goes down during band practice? In the first place, where does Merciless Death practice?
Dan Holder: We practice in my house. We jam out in the living room and smoke weed and jam out. Our friends kick it and smoke out and drink while we play. It’s pretty cool.

HK: How much beer does it take to get the band shit faced? In relation to this, how much partying occurs in your lives?
Dan Holder: Beer- not too much, I'll be wasted with 10 beers. We don’t drink as much as we do other stuff because there are some fun drugs out there, haha! I think everyday has a good deal of partying involved at my place. It’s pretty funny.

HK: Has the aforementioned partying jeopardized quality practice and rehearsing time?
Dan Holder: Not at all. I get fucked up and go practice and write new material and then on Saturdays we jam for a few hours and work on music. Works out fine, has for the last five years.

HK: How do you balance your dedication to the band and its music with all the other shit happening in your life? Is there a perfect balance being maintained or did something have to give?
Dan Holder: Yeah something has to give like having a regular life, always working shitty jobs, and being poor a lot. But it’s worth it with some of the times we’ve had.

HK: Do you believe in God or the Devil? Where is your spirituality located? Is music your religion?
Dan Holder: I was raised Catholic but I won't accept that anymore, I am Atheist but I’m open minded about where we could come from and/or go to. I guess you could say music is my religion, because I don’t accept any religion as my own, there are some interesting points to Satanism, but it’s not entirely for me.

		Pic courtesy of: Merciless Death "We practice in my house. We jam out in the living room and smoke weed and jam out. Our friends kick it and smoke out and drink while we play. It’s pretty cool"

HK: How do the members of the band keep in touch with the 1980’s almost 20 years after the era drew to a close? More specifically, where do you buy your 80’s thrash metal clothes like tight jeans and those fat sneakers?
Dan Holder: Man, I don’t know. We really don't think about this much. I buy regular jeans and sew them up because I like them that way. I just wear band shirts everyday, we look the way we do because that’s how we like to look and for no other reason really.

HK: If you had a time machine, which concerts or tours from that bygone era would you visit?
Dan Holder: Ultimate Revenge 1 with Slayer, Venom and Exodus; World War 3 Festival with Possessed and Celtic Frost would be insane! Katowice Poland Metal Battle 88 with Nasty Savage and Exhumer; and at least one Mercyful Fate and King Diamond show from back then. That would kick ass.

HK: What albums or releases from other artists, whether new or old, are you digging right now?
Dan Holder: Right now I’m listening to the first Nasty Savage, Pestilence Maleus Maleficarum, King Diamond’s Abigail, and Spiritual Healing by Death.

HK: Thank you so much for this opportunity Merciless Death. Can you name which parts of the world you want to play in so bad?
Dan Holder: Thanks for the interview! We have played all over the U.S. so far, so I’d like to go back to Germany and other parts of Europe as well as Mexico and South America and Canada someday.