It might seem thoroughly pretentious to post one of our interviews in our own blog, but since the original published version is in Ukrainian, I figured I'd post the English version here for everyone to read. So without wasting anymore time:
here's the link to the actual article: http://grind.org.ua/content/view/154/1/
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Not so long ago I discovered a great new band which plays real American grindcore! Not only did their music please me from the first moment I heard it (all persons interested can find a review on their debut album in the proper subsection), but I also found, through conversation, that these boys are not lazy and work their asses off for their exposure. I felt this was important to note, as it's something I don't see that often. Here one evening, a very drunk Scott, gladly answered my not-quite-musical questions... This is what came out
- read...
GRINDZONE: Hello guys, how’s going?
BURN THE MASSES: I'm drunk...
GRINDZONE: I must congratulate you on releasing your new album. Did you conquer new fans with it? Are sells going well?
BTM: Thanks. The album has been well recieved as far as we can tell. We seem to be more well known outside of our hometown area..especially other countries like Ukraine, Russia, the Philippines, France, Spain etc. We've been getting the majority of our feedback from these places.
GRINDZONE: i suppose this is due to mp3 widespread usage there, don't you think?
BTM: That's a valid theory. The internet has made it very easy to get anything you want...I suppose American grindcore is no exception.
GRINDZONE: Who made the funny comic for your album cover art? And who is that fascist dude?
Our good friend Doc Bazuki (Josh Atwell) from cybernoisegrind monster Jet Jaguar KR-3 Kill Spree did the album cover art. You can see tons of his artwork on his myspace - myspace.com/jetjaguarkr3killspree. The main character in the artwork was an idea that our old singer had. It's supposed to be a gestapo-type guy beating the crap out of stereotypical looking metal guys, punks, etc.
GRINDZONE: What inspired you to include that wonderful emotional sample in the last song? To be honest, I’m very fond of it!
It came from an anime porn called Bible Black. I honestly don't know much about it, but I think it's a series of movies. I happened to see it and think that particular part was funny so I sampled it. Porn in broken English is pretty godamn funny to me.
GRINDZONE: Tell us about your label, your conditions on it, how do you like it, what does it do for promoting you etc.
Threaten Mainstream Records is a small fledgling label showing alot of promise. It was started by some guys in our area that got tired of all the really good underground bands being overlooked in our local scene. They are working on expanding past the Memphis area now and are always on the lookout for good bands. Visit them on the web at threatenmainstream.com
GRINDZONE: By the way, I’m suspicious of one thing with your name. Is it Burn The Masses or maybe Burn Them Asses?
Haha! Good observation! That's actually the oldest joke associated with this band I think. Years ago, when I called up Andy (Simmons, drums) and told him I wanted to start a band and call it Burn The Masses, he actually said "Burn Them Asses?" and it's been a recurring joke that never died.
GRINDZONE: Do you wear specific masks at live shows to emphasize your music, or is it something else?
We've probably only worn masks or costumes one time at a show and it was just to fuck off and be wierd. No meaning behind it. We usually do goofy crap at our shows and that was just one instance.
GRINDZONE can you describe the goofy crap you do at live shows?
We just don't take anything seriously and act really silly and retarded. When we play shows with metal bands, alot of people are put off cuz we act so fucking stupid. We are far from serious with this shit.
GRINDZONE: Can you name your Top-5 most luxurious women that you would invite to your harem?
hmm... believe it or not this is a tough one! Offhand, I'd say: Kate Booth, Shay Laren, Megan Fox, Lucy Pinder aaand...Jennifer Love Hewitt for nostalgia's sake. I'm sure I will think of much better ones after this interview is published because I'm dumb
GRINDZONE: How do you entertain yourself in free time outside the band?
I drink alot of beer... We all have our own lives and recreations outside the band. Zac (vocals) and I do most of the drugs out of everyone in the band haha. Shawn (bass) is a pot smoker. Our drummer Andy is married and has a good job and a nice house and shit he has to pay for, but the rest of us pretty much just drink our lives away and only work so we can buy beer and drugs and play grindcore.
GRINDZONE: What would you do with one hour left to live and just one wish to fulfill?
I suck at questions like this haha. I would probably just smoke crack for an hour until I died.
GRINDZONE: Music and cinema became real American landmarks and made the USA worldly known. Why is that so? Or correct me if I am wrong...
The world seems to look to America for influence in music and cinema, but I think it's just because Americans waste more money on crap that doesn't matter so our art/music/movies get more attention and therefore, end up being thought of as important. There is a good bit of American music I listen to I suppose, but most of my favorite films are not American.
GRINDZONE: What Hollywood-produced films do you like? Or anything else…
I'm more into independant film than Hollywood movies, but there is the occassional good Hollywood flick. Offhand I guess I would say that my favorite Hollywood films would include An American Werewolf In London, They Live, Taxi Driver and pretty much everything Stanley Kubrick. The Coen Brothers do fantastic work in my opinion and No Country For Old Men is probably the best Hollywood-produced movie I've seen in the better part of a decade. On the indie side of things, I'm into film makers like Alejandro Jodorowsky, Takashi Miike, David Lynch, Werner Herzog, Harmony Korine, Lucio Fulci, Dario Argento, John McNaughton, the early Peter Jackson stuff (Bad Taste, Meet The Feebles, Dead Alive), Remy Belvaux...the list goes on...
GRINDZONE: Peter Jackson! wow, dude, i still can't find Bad Taste, maybe you can do a copy for me and sent it to my distant country?
Yeah sure! I have a couple friends with DVD burners. I'll see about getting you a copy or something.
GRINDZONE: Ok, what then is your opinion on:
Skinheads – no opinion.
Gays – I don't care who you have sex with.
Politicians – Politicians are professional liars. It's their job to say shit the masses want to hear and then everyone votes on which liar they like the best. The whole system is pretty retarded to me.
McDonalds and fast food – It's all trash. But they make it hard to resist with super-cheap shit...Kinda like Wal-Mart. I don't like supporting McDonald's or even eating their food but there are times when I have been really hungry and only had a little money and gotten food from McDonald's because I am poor and broke and you can get a whole meal for very cheap. That may sound weak but it's the truth.
GRINDZONE: Are really such symbols as The American Flag, White House, Pentagon, Statue of Liberty etc so truly respected in your country? Or is it a bit exaggerated?
Patriotism in America nowadays is a strange thing. There are still a good majority of people that take loving their country very seriously. It's all mixed in with the religion and moral bullshit they drill into your head from childhood so alot of people go their whole lives being zombies to our system. But there does seem to be an increased awareness now as to the untrustworthy nature of government and politics. Where I live, in the state of Mississippi, traditional values are more strongly respected than other areas of the country so the right-wing conservative patriotism I see where I live is a bit more exaggerrated than what I've seen in other areas of the U.S.
GRINDZONE: What was your reaction to 9-11? What do you think of its consequences?
When that happened, my first reaction was fear because I didn't know if it was about to be the start of some insane nuclear war and I was going to die melting in my chair from a nuclear weapon.... As for the consequences, I honestly don't know what's going on in this war. I don't believe anything I hear on the TV news. It's all bullshit. When people try to talk about it, I don't even bother. The only people that know what's really going on are the people in power.
GRINDZONE: One of my friends returned recently from USA, where he worked for about a year, and told me a curious fact that people there are too dependant on police and psychologists. Why so?
That's an interesting observation. I guess there are police everywhere but I suppose that is because Americans are like sheep and have to be herded around and told what to do and how to do it. People constantly look to some authority figure and it's probably why the majority of Americans still don't think for themselves. Life is alot easier for them if they just do what they're told and don't get out of line. As for psychologists, I can't really explain that one...except maybe to theorize that there are alot of people that either have no real friends to talk to, or maybe they have such horrible problems that they are afraid to tell their friends. I would agree with your friend though, Americans do depend on these things and it's pretty widespread.
GRINDZONE: And what about teenage violence? Is it caused by free access to buy weapons?
I think it would stand to reason that a person will be violent with or without a weapon. However, I don't guess I can deny the impact that having guns so accessable is having. I firmly believe in the right to bear arms, but I do think it's a bit too easy for any moron to get a gun and that's what the real danger is: stupid and/or crazy people with weapons.
GRINDZONE: Ok, fuck it. How did you appear on Dead Infection tribute and why did you choose Incident at Corsica?
I've been in contact with Ed from Ukragh Productions for awhile and Dead Infection is one of our biggest influences so it just kinda fell together. Incident At Corsica is probably my favorite song by Dead Infection. It's just fucking sick.
GRINDZONE: Are you working on a new album? Has your new vocal man adapted? And what happened to Charles?
We are currently working on material for a follow up album to Blast Humanity. Right now, the working title is "The Worst Band In The World". We will probably be putting the material out on a couple of demos before the record comes out so keep a lookout. Charles left the band because he said he didn't want to sing anymore and I think he was just done with the whole Burn The Masses thing in general. There were no hard feelings when he quit. The new vocalist, Zac, is an old friend and fan of the band and we asked him to try out the same day Charles quit and he was hired on the spot. Zac sounds great and will be on some recordings very soon.
GRINDZONE: Well, what can I say, come to play in our country, we’ll have some good beer and "horilka" (vodka). Do you know it is much cheaper here? We are also on first places in the world by teenagers consuming alcohol, that’s the shit…
I would love to come play over there. Beer and vodka? How can we say no? haha. That is a very interesting statistic about the teenage drinking. You probably have alot of hot, drunk, teenage Ukrainian chicks to slap your dick on.
GRINDZONE: Do you know anything about our country or our region?
I understand that Christianity is the predominant belief system there, like it is here in the US. I studied Ukrainian culture along with the rest of the Soviet region in classes years ago but I have long since forgotten all of that.
GRINDZONE: Ok, it is time to say Bye. Thanks alot!…
This was a great interview. Much more thought and work went into this than most interviews I read.. Thank you. Take care.
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