Alex Erian: This one time this dude kept telling me to f--- off between our songs. It got really annoying and I lost it and emptied my water bottle on him. He was trying to climb on stage to beat me up. Another time it was our first U.S. tour with Deicide and Immolation. It was in San Francisco and there were a lot of old school fans there. In between every song this guy kept saying “Play some Slayer!” After about ten times, I said “(screw) Slayer, we’re going to play our own songs.” But all anybody heard was (screw) Slayer, which I didn’t mean, and everybody started booing. So basically I said (screw) Slayer in their own hometown. But I didn’t mean it that way.
One more story. Yesterday we went to leave and our drummer was missing. He showed up an hour and a half late. He got hit by a car. After that we drove to the border to get into the U.S. We had our work permits, everything was legit. We had invoices saying our merchandise was from the U.S. and it was going back to the U.S. so we don’t have to pay taxes, but the shirts had El Salvador on the tag. So they said they didn’t have any proof that the company paid import taxes. So we couldn’t get our merchandise into your country. So we had to drive all the way back to Montreal, drop off our stuff, and then come back here. When we got back to customs the guard let us right through without asking any questions. Then today we woke up and found out there was a big crack in our trailer and it had rained, so our stuff was all wet. And even though we only played four songs today, the kids went crazy, so it was all worth it even though we left home at 1pm and got to Boston at 1am. It should only take 5 hours, but it took 12. But I’m pumped to be here. I get to see all these bands that I love, bands we’ve toured with and played with. Good times.
What’s your all time favorite metal album?
My all time favorite and probably one of the first death metal albums I bought was Suffocation – Pierced From Within. Dying Fetus - Killing On Adrenaline is another. Those are the top ones for me. I also like Dillinger Escape Plan. To me, the future of death metal is Decapitated and Aborted. We’ve got to play with both of those bands. I also love Animosity and hope to tour with them.
It seems like there are a ton of French Canadian metal bands. Why is the scene so strong there?
When I started out in this scene, it was hard just to get out of Quebec and play in the English part of Canada. That seemed impossible. And now as time goes by there are so many bands from home getting signed to good labels: Beneath The Massacre, Ion Dissonance and a lot more. Our scene is doing very well in Montreal and French Canada. There are pioneers like Gorguts, Cryptopsy and Kataklysm. They paved the way and recently all these bands are getting signed and touring the U.S.
