August Feature Band: Slaughterchrist

The first time I saw Slaughterchrist was at The Word opening for Sub Pop giant Tad. When Slaughterchrist started playing, I was floored. Only about eight people were listening, but those motherfuckers rocked anyway. My head was just a-banging. It was a crazy little band called Slaughterchrist who became my favorite local band. These guys deserve national recognition more than any other band in the city.

These boys are heavy. They make Metallica look like little old ladies driving to church, and they make Slayer look like Bon Jovi. Their music is like speedmetal, but their songs are arranged in a sort of way that gives them a special flavor. What really separates them from other speedmetal bands is their vocals. The sound of their vocals is bass-heavy screams, and they are just plain scary. The shit they are singing about is pretty goddamn disturbing as well. One song they all seem particularly proud of is “The Last Supper,”—the blasphemous title refers to cannibalism—“I shall forever feast on the meat of the human / For it is savage to raise a beast for the slaughter. / The human is abundant about the world. / Mass produced meat for the consumer.”

These beasts spawned from Biohazard and Baphomet and Pestilence. The original Slaughterchrist had that Ian dude on vocals. Another ex-member of Slaughterchrist is a guitarist by the name of Mark Earl. Apparently, this guy lacked the vision to continue on with the crucifiction. His reason for leaving the band was that he “wanted to be in a band that has a name he can tell his grandmother.” I personally think he’s afraid of going to hell. Remaining members are Mike and Greg Mulhollond on guitar and drums, respectively, and Mike Mayo on bass and vocals.

The band studio where I conducted the following interview is painted mostly black and has no furniture but a couch.

SLUG: Have you submitted any tapes to any local record labels?

SC: Yes, Earache, In-Effect, Metal Blade and Peaceville, that all turned us down.

SLUG: What are some of your influences?

SC: A German band called Necronomicon (which means book of the dead, reflecting Sumerian beliefs).

SLUG: Why name the band Slaughterchrist?

SC: We feel strongly about the wrongs of organized religion. Probably because of growing up around all these Mormons. We’re also against the idea of man putting religion before himself and we also came up with that name to piss people off. You should see some of the reactions we get. Slaughter who? Also it has something to do with the one known as the anti-Christ, the one who causes the end of the earth. We are totally against the idea of a God.

SLUG: Are you Satanists?

SC: No, but we believe in our own selves which is an idea of Satanism. We don’t really believe at all. We are strong atheists.

SLUG: Do you take any unified political stand as a band?

SC: We hate humans and all of the things they have done to the world. We are an anti-human band. We are sub-political.

SLUG: Has the Dead City by a Lake compilation helped at all in increasing your popularity? (by the way, the Dead City by a Lake is a tape available at Raunch and Heavy Metal Shop. It features a kickass Slaughterchrist tune as well as songs by a lot of other local bands).

SC: We don’t know. We didn’t do it for the publicity but to support the scene.

SLUG: How long are you going to stay in Salt Lake?

SC: Until our debts are paid. Salt Lake isn’t bad except for all of the Mormon laws; we pretty much hate Mormonism. I never met a staunch Mormon I liked.

SLUG: What would Elvis think of you guys?

SC: He wouldn’t, or he’d just pass us off as a bad joke.

SLUG: Do you mind being classified as a metal band?

SC: We could actually support the scene more than they do. In fact, all bands should support the scene more and stop cutting each other down.

SLUG: If you could travel back in time to talk to Jesus Christ, what would you say to him?

SC: That’s interesting. I don’t know if I’d congratulate him or knock him out. We really can’t hate him, but his followers. He taught peace, but through time his ideas have been distorted.

SLUG: Have any of you read the Bible?

SC: Yes, both Mike and myself (Greg) studied it extensively in our youth. We were raised Catholic.

SLUG: Do you consider your music to be a branch of punk rock?

SC: A different branch. We’re trying to start a branch all of our own.

SLUG: Do you want to be rock stars?

SC: No, we would like to be able to make a living at it. We don’t want other bands to copy our style like with what happened to Metallica. (The band goes on to explain that they want to influence people, but they would never want their sound to be imitated totally.)

SLUG: Are you as good as Napalm Death?

SC: What does as good mean? We are different, we offer more variety than they do but they are probably superior musicians.

Well, that is it, girls. Check these guys out at Sabbathon on August 26. Be at peace, brothers! 

Here are some more archived interviews:
Victims Willing: A Band You Can Count On
The Mission UK Review/Interview