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Diabolical Conquest Webzine (Kunal N. Choksi): Hey Billy! How are you doing? How are things at the Razorback camp at the moment? Billy: Excellent, man! Thanks for asking. We're kind of going through a "rebirth" period with it right now so it's a very cool and exciting time. We feel even better now with it than when it first began. It's been a lot of work finding cool new people to work with but totally worth the effort. We've always had a simple "rule" which was to always avoid working with rockstar-minded people and to keep things down to earth and FUN. Yes....FUN! I know there isn't supposed to be "fun" in metal, but that is basically a crock of shit if you ask me! haha
Billy: My partner Jill was running a death metal label called Mortal Coil Records at the time, and I was doing a total noise label called Be A Freak Records. Before that I was involved in some noise/grind band/projects and fanzines. I did my first death metal fanzine in 1990 called The Coven zine that lasted til 1992 and did 3 issues with it. I've just always been around in the underground doing SOMETHING I guess. Things didn't start to get "serious" though until 1998 when I met Jill. We wanted to start a more focused record label putting out horror influenced death/grind stuff, sort of like the "IMPETIGO of record labels" since IMPETIGO was (and still is) my all-time favorite underground band ever! The first full length release we put out was the ENGORGED "Death Metal Attack 2" CD that came out in 1999, but actually our first release was a compilation CD called "Gore Is Your Master" that came out a few months before that.
Billy: Razorback has always been just Jill and I. It's always been a 2 person thing since the start, though we do consider Sly from the band FONDLECORPSE to be a 3rd member since he's always been helping us out with layouts and stuff since the beginning. I really don't think there would even be a Razorback without Sly. That guy has done so much for us over the years in so many ways that I can't even explain it. As for the mailorder, it's probably the most difficult and stressful part of doing this label. It's basically ESSENTIAL to our survival. Without a mailorder, we can not do this label since we don't have any kind of "official" distribution (whatever that even means anymore since 99% of those distro deals are rip offs). You can't find our stuff in Best Buy or Wal Mart or shopping malls. You have to get them direct from us or through other DIY underground mailorders. We go to the post office almost every single day and always try to send out every order the next day! It's always been a top priority for us. We're fans of stuff too so we know what it's like to wait for something in the mail, haha!
DC: There's one thing which I have been dying to know more about – the controversy behind one of your ex-bands, Intense Hammer Rage. A good deal of time has passed since then, so I hope now you will be more forthcoming regarding this issue. I know you have tried to distance yourself from it ever since it has flared up and had even removed their release from your catalogue. To inform those of our readers who are/have been unaware of this unfortunate event, well this pertains to the brutal death/gore band Intense Hammer Rage whose offensive lyrical theme got them into deep trouble with the Australian authorities and had to fight against a serious paedophilia charge levelled against them, for several such pictures were found in their apartment and in their PC or something like that. Their image in society had taken quite a beating, obviously, and well the whole affair seemed to be blown out of proportion. Billy, could you tell us what exactly happened back then and ultimately what was the order that was passed against them? Do you think Intense Hammer Rage deserved it or they were just unfairly singled out from a desensitized scene boasting of many such bands, some of them being way
DC: Tell us about your best selling releases and conversely, the ones which for some reason didn't move too many copies. Do you think there are some Razorback releases that deserved to sell more copies but for some reason didn't? Billy: Well, the term "selling" is a difficult concept. Nothing really "sells" since most of this stuff is traded off with other labels and lots of stuff is sold wholesale at discount prices to underground distros. So if you mean how many copies were PRESSED, then I can tell you the most was for the first MACHETAZO album. But that is now passed by the first LORD GORE album after we repressed it again recently. Yeah I really loved the album we did by the band WTN which was this killer oldschool death/grind band from Singapore that sounded like a mix of BOLT THROWER and IMPETIGO! Sadly, nobody seemed to pay much interest to that album and it was hard to sell/trade off the last remaining copies. Also, the 2nd LORD GORE album "Resickened" was probably the most underrated CD we ever put out. That album easily blows away the first album but yet everybody was so in love with that first one they couldn't really appreciate "Resickened" for what it was. But now it's been doing much better ever since we repressed it a few months ago!
DC: While the quality of Razorback releases has pretty much remained the same – A grade, most of them – what can you tell us about the sales. Have they remained Billy: Well like I said, the term "selling" is a difficult concept for this kinda "business". This stuff is so underground and unknown in the grand scheme of the music "industry". There is no big following for the kind of music we put out. It doesn't fit in with any one "scene" at all. I guess in the earlier days, the CD's sold much more, but now with there being hundreds of other labels, myspace bands, downloading and CDR burning, and just general burnout from the fans...it's been much less these days. People just aren't really BUYING music anymore in general, so naturally it's much harder right now to sell stuff. So yes, there is a huge connection to the downloading thing for sure man. That's why we always try to give people a decent looking package with killer artwork so they get something extra for their money besides just the music.
DC: Yeah, those thieves will miss out on the excellent artwork and packaging of your releases. You have always seemed to take this aspect very seriously. In a time when most of the labels opt for digitalized artworks, you still insist on having old school hand-drawn ones for your releases. Why is that so? Which artists have you worked with and honestly whose work do you like the most? Also, earlier I remember they were criticized for being too cartoon-ish, though later on the same artists were used by many bands and labels. Would you like to comment on that? Billy: I absolutely HATE digital/photoshopped art. It looks like CRAP! Compare the art from the 80's and early 90's to the stuff the big labels are putting out now...it does NOT compare at all. I just can't relate to the music scene anymore. I really don't know why anybody would like "artwork" like that! It boggles my mind! Just compare the 80's IRON MAIDEN covers to the recent ones...how can that shit even compare, right? So the same applies to the death metal and thrash covers from the 80's and early 90's ones to the ones today. There's NO contest at all! So I've worked really hard to make sure almost all our CD's have original, hand drawn art at all costs! I've sometimes spent more money on art than the bands did on production, haha! As for artists, I've had the pleasure of working with great oldschool style artists such as Jake Karns, Putrid, Jeff Zornow, Ed Repka, Nor, Chas Balun, Allen K., and others. Yeah I remember when some people called us a "cartoongore" label, but then bands like GOREROTTED were using our artists for CD's coming out on huge labels like Metal Blade and Relapse. I thought that was pretty funny! As for the cartoonish tag, oh well....to me death metal was always like a comic book come to life through music anyway and most of the albums I grew up with had "cartoonish" album art. Just look at the early albums by DEATH, SLAYER, REPULSION, etc. So it was pretty ignorant for people to say that about our stuff when metal was always like this, or at least, was supposed to be like this!
Billy: I come from an era where everything was done for the pure love of it. I'm more of a DIY punk minded person and always have been. This music is so underground and obscure that I never understood the whole "contract" thing. It's so hypocritical to what the real underground was meant to be, you know? And also, it's so easy for us to just find other cool bands to work with if the others want to become "big" and start doing all that contract stuff. We've never told any band to STAY on this label forever. Every band has always been free to do whatever they want! I actually prefer to just work with bandd for one album only anyway, it's more fun and special and this way no problems will ever rise up and then the band can do what they want if they think they can become "bigger". But really, how much "bigger" can these kinds of bands get anyway? It's underground death/grind for crying out loud, this is NOT some huge industry and never will be. Bands are just being delusional if they think they will become "huge" these days. As for contracts, since I've never dealt with them I have no idea about 'em. From what bands/friends/people have told me, they always get screwed with them and they almost NEVER work out. Most bands end up having to PAY their own record labels money if their album doesn't sell! Yep! Ridiculous, right? Sad but true...but that's how it is. Death/grind bands should stay DIY so they can have FREEDOM to do what they want. I never understood these bands signing away their rights to these fly by night labels and then getting fucked over. Will anybody ever learn? Probably not! Like I said, I've always had a punk rock mentality so that's probably why I am the way I am!
DC: I am aware of the some of the famous bands, many of which who were synonymous with Razorback Records, abandoning their “hive” to seek greener pastures. I know as a fact that this has made you resentful because after working your ass off to promote them and make them a household name almost, they have in a way, as you put it, used your label as a “stepping stone.” What is your take on the whole thing? Looking back, do you think you could have avoided it by having some contractual agreement with your bands? Did you really expect them to leave your label? Do you honestly think they were morally obliged to stay with Razorback Records for establishing them in the scene? Billy: Well first of all, the word "famous" kind of makes me laugh a bit man. haha! I doubt any Razorback band has ever been famous. Are you talking famous like CARCASS and AT THE GATES, or semi-known like IMPETIGO? I don't even see any of our bands having been as known as IMPETIGO who I consider to be a true cult underground band that actually has a decent following. 99% of the Razorback bands have never sold as many CD's as IMPETIGO, and IMPETIGO themselves never really sold that many CD's anyway! So that just shows you how unknown our bands really are. As for the steppipng stone thing, it's kind of true really. Some bands had Jill and I do all the promotion for them, just so they could go to some other label that would offer them more money for stuff and tours and things like that. But really, we were the ones who laid all the ground work. Lots of our bands NEVER did any mail at all, never wrote any of the fans back, etc. We even had to run lots of the band's myspace pages and answer comments for them! That's how lazy some of our older bands were. We worked with bands who cared more about drinking beer and going to bars than doing any mail or promotion. Of course the bands did all the great music...no doubt about that...but Jill and I did 95% of the promotion and in the end were treated like crap and are now forgotten and ignored. As for being morally obliged....that's a difficult concept man. Our bands could do whatever they wanted to...BUT, some of them should have known better. One band in particular was created FOR Razorback exclusively, but then changed their minds when they realized they could become "bigger" by not being with us anymore. It doesn't bother me at all really, but it IS very hypocritical and hilarious to me to see how some bands act sometimes.
DC: Naturally, their unexpected departure has created a rather huge void in your roster. After suffering this loss, I know many would shut up shop and call it quits. Though admittedly disillusioned, you have somehow managed to carry on with your work. What has kept you going despite the series of setbacks? What surety do you have that this thing won't repeat itself? No doubt wiser from the experience, have you taken any measures to prevent the same from happening again? What attitude do you have towards all this now? Billy: Well you gotta know that lots of those bands never really "left", we actually wanted them GONE! Yep! Lots of these bands started to think they were bigger than they actually were and felt like they deserved more, so we'd said "ok bye, find a label that will make you HUGE then!". Has that happened for some of those bands? Nope, I don't think so. Most of those bands haven't even recorded ONE new song since not working with us anymore and some broke up. I'd rather work with easy going, down to earth bands than ones that think they're big time rock stars or whatever. I just have no patience for that kinda crap. So actually Razorback was better off without many of those bands. The big egos were gone, and Jill and I could once again focus on doing what we always did, put out fun metal albums that we enjoyed ourselves as fans! The thought of quitting this label NEVER crossed my mind because I knew I could always find other killer bands to work with. That's what is so great about the underground, man. There's always cool people to work with! The thing that keeps me going? Simple...I'm STILL a total horror and metal fan and always will be. I'm in this for life and for the pure fun of it. I'm not one of those guys that will quit if I can't "make money" doing this or get some kind of "major deal". Nope. I do this for the pure love of it and because I'm a lifetime horror and metal freak! There will always be cool bands to work with. Like I said, no band has to stay on this label. If they wanna go, they can! I'll just find someone else to keep doing stuff with. It works out great really. If the bands I have now wanna go, they can too! I'll just find more bands to do stuff with, haha. Pretty simple concept, no? I've taken no measures at all man, like I said, this is DIY underground death/grind. We're not a huge corporate business or something so none of that stuff means shit to us. We move on and keep doing what we always do.
Billy: Haha yeah I remember those days. But now look at it, all those goregrind-style bands get signed to much bigger labels than Razorback now! Pretty funny and hypocritical, right? Our bands today are even less "commercial" than our earlier ones, and that's saying a lot since our stuff was always very underground. Yeah I do admit that CATASEXUAL re-issue did get fucked up. I would like to fix that one day, but right now I don't have the money to. I still love that album! Hmmm, actually GIGANTIC BRAIN is pretty popular now man. I remember everybody really loved that CD when we put it out. I still think it rules actually. The "goregrind" scene today is not the same anymore. It's totally out of control with like 500000000 bands all doing the same thing. I can't even keep up with that stuff anymore. The best "goregrind" band today is still HAEMORRHAGE, in my opinion. But to me they're basically just a death metal/grind band! That term "goregrind" has always been pretty stupid honestly. It's just death metal in the end really, at least to me it is? I'm a very outdated kinda guy!
DC: I remember some people were jealous about your success and said your record label was doing so well, you were probably making thousands if not millions off it. Billy: haha!! Thousands? NO! Millions? DEFINITELY NO! haha! More like we made 5 bucks!! Seriously, we've still never made a "profit" doing this label. Any money we got went right back into the label to keep it alive! We live in a small one bedroom apartment, man. We don't even own a house. The label was kept alive by working full-time and part-time jobs. There's no way we could make a "living" just doing Razorback. It's impossible. I think the reason why people thought we were a "big" label was because our bands were getting featured in bigger mags like Terrorizer, Metal Maniacs, etc. But honestly those interviews/features never did much for us or our bands at all. I was always shocked those mags liked our stuff, but was always appreciative of it. It was never my goal to get into mags like that. I just wanted underground fanzines to dig our stuff, but sadly fanzines don't even exist anymore! We hardly send any promos out now, who are we going to send them to? What zines exist? Do people even read reviews anymore? People check out music NOT from reviews, but from the music being GOOD and from word of mouth. Reviews mean nothing these days. And that's no disrespect to your webzine, man. I know you work hard to make yours quality and I do appreciate that a lot! You're writers are doing this for the love of music, not to get "paid" or whatever. But that is so RARE today, man. Things have gotten so bad that even webzines don't exist anymore! It's insane. The underground is headed towards a dark time, indeed.
DC: Then there are accusations of Razorback Records being trendy. According to your detractors, first there was a goregrind/brutal trend, after which came Razorback's retro/thrash trend and most recently, the old school death metal trend. Here is a chance to justify yourself, Billy. Billy: I've made it no secret that I've always liked all kinds of underground metal. My collection includes death metal, grindcore, thrash metal, black metal, doom, hardcore, punk, etc. When we first started Razorback, I was really into IMPETIGO-worship kinda bands. That was all I was content to do for a long time. But then after awhile some of the bands started to incorporate a lot of thrash into their sound like GHOUL, ENGORGED, FRIGHTMARE, etc. And I loved that! It kept the music fresh and exciting. Some of the bands did the thrash/death-grind hybrid thing really well like FRIGHTMARE, and then some turned it into a total joke and a wimpy version of it like GHOUL did on the shitty "Splatterthrash" album. Our bands were never on any "retro thrash" trend at that time, only later on they jumped on it but it was when they were no longer on Razorback (wonder why? haha). We did do one "retro" kinda album, the FKU re-issue. But that band was doing the thrash thing YEARS before this new trend. They started in 1998 which pre-dates this whole retro-thrash thing going on now. And they sang about horror movies and cool shit, not just beer and "nuclear waste" or whatever all these millions of bands sing about now. Honestly, it was the band FKU that influenced most of the early Razorback bands to start playing more thrashy stuff. That's why I put that FKU re-issue out, we all loved that album and it was a nice way to pay respect to them and to sort of put some kind of closure to that era for us, to sort of come full circle a bit. As for the "oldschool death metal" thing...Razorback has always been an oldschool death metal label basically! Our 2nd full CD release from 2000 was from the band MACHETAZO. Their first album was a pure AUTOPSY/DEATH/MASSACRE style death metal album. We did albums from LORD GORE, MAUSOLEUM, FRIGHTMARE, BLOOD FREAK, WTN, FONDLECORPSE, COFFINS, CRYPTICUS, ZOMBIE RITUAL, etc. ALL of those bands were basically "oldschool" death metal in my opinion. So really, nothing has changed man. Hell, our first album from ENGORGED was called "Death Metal Attack 2", haha! So we were always a death metal label really. All those stupid sub-names aside, we were just a death metal label in the end.
Billy: Well, who hates us man? Do you mean shit talking types on message boards, fans who think GHOUL was our only good band, etc.? If that's who you mean, then that's fine! It means nothing to us really. Message forums are always filled with people bashing everything. I mean, look at Relapse...I only see nothing but hatred towards that label on the internet and yet they're still one of the biggest labels around. There's always gonna be jealous and bitter type of people for whatever reasons, that's something nobody can stop. With any kind of "success" comes people who will NOT like it, you know? Not that I'm saying we're some kind of big "success" or whatever, because we're not...but still, we do have some kind of "name" I guess, and you just gotta take the good with the band with that! And yes...I have and always will speak the truth, man. I've hated that broooootal/slam/rap death metal shit since 1993 when the band INTERNAL BLEEDING entered the scene. To me, the true underground died that year when IMPETIGO broke up and INTERNAL BLEEDING was born, haha! Oh yeah for sure man, I know I've pissed people off who like that kinda music. But who cares, that music is not even real death metal to me. Death Metal is and always will be bands like ENTOMBED, MASSACRE, DEATH, AUTOPSY, REPULSION, ASPHYX, GRAVE, DISMEMBER, CARNAGE, ROTTREVORE, SLAUGHTER(Canada), PESTILENCE, INCANTATION, IMPETIGO, BOLT THROWER, etc. That's what real death metal is and is the ONLY style of death metal I will ever like or acknowledge!
DC: Yeah, you seem have poor luck with forums too – been a victim of trolling, sabotaging, etc. The old official Razorback Forum was pulled down (I vaguely remember it was because some people were ill-mouthing Razorback releases on Razorback's own board!). Then like a like-minded group of gypsies, the few known Razorback guys moved from forum to forum and until recently settled for Exploited Filth. Some nasty shit seems to have happened there too - what was it really? Touchy matter I know, but since you have agreed to a no-holds-barred interview, let's have it. Billy: Message boards on the internet exist for only ONE reason: to talk shit. That's it! Every forum I ever checked out was full of hatred, fighting, etc. It's been like that since I first came online. We killed off every forum we did because it would always lead to bullshit and drama, and yes, even the Razorback bands themselves used to fight with each other on them! That was when we pulled the plug on it all. People just love to fight on them, there's no stopping it. Even moderators and secret forums can't stop it. I hate forums with a passion and do all I can to avoid them! The Exploited Filth forum was just a horror forum at first and also a place to joke around. It was NEVER a music forum or a Razorback forum at all. The owner of that forum created it to troll and make fun of things in the beginning. It was just a big goof, really. That place was really fun for about a year, but then the owner started having this stuck up attitude and was always making fun of all the low budget movies everybody liked and everybody got sick of his attitude and left it becase the guy was such a stupid little prick. Then, a week later he blamed ME for all the trolling when in reality it was HIM! He was a pathological myspace troll and still is probably. It was pretty retarded, but that's what Exploited Filth was basically...a retarded forum! Good riddance to it.
DC: Whew! Moving on to cheerful questions, people ought to know that you have been breaking your back to resurrect your label after losing quite a few, big bands. Tell Billy: Were those bands really "big", though? I still don't see it that way, man, but then again I don't pay attention to stuff like that. If those older bands think they're "big" now, then more power to 'em! I live in reality, though. And the reality is that this stuff is still underground and always will be. The bands I'm working with now all seem to be on the same page and everybody is having fun making cool music, which is what Razorback was always about in the first place. I do feel like a kid in a candy store these days. It's all about the creative process these days and I love it! No drama, no rock star "dreams", no mindless bullshit "tours", just making killer music and albums that hopefully some die hard freaks will remember years from now! As for Dead Beat, that was a fun little project we tried to do on the side. It hasn't worked out very well since it's so hard to get interest in that kind of music from people. Horror soundtrack stuff is a very "niche" thing and only certain people will enjoy it. But it was never meant to be more than what it is so we're happy with it. Razorback is still our #1 priority and always will be! We have new albums coming out soon from bands such as HOODED MENACE, VACANT COFFIN, REVOLTING, DECREPITAPH, TOMBSTONES, and of course new albums from FONDLECORPSE and BLOOD FREAK, as well as some surprises!
DC: An interview with Billy Nocera is never really complete without having him gushing over his hobbies which, in addition to metal, include movies, action figures, etc. Tell us about some of your favourites. Billy: Ahhhhhhhhhh this is actually the most DIFFICULT question than all your others, man!! ha! Lately I have a hard time listing stuff as it gets boring really fast. I just love old 80's slasher films, 70's drive in movies, 60's Euro gothic horror, Hammer Films, Paul Naschy films, Asian category 3 films, kung fu, Godzilla movies, 80's gore films, etc. I have a DVD collection of almost 2000 films and counting. I just love 'em! I also collect old horror comics and books as well. It's just my favorite stuff to collect ever and has the biggest influence on Razorback always!
DC: While I have been sweating profusely during the preparation of these personal questions, I hope they have served their purpose. For the record, you are fucking cool, Billy. Cheers man! All the best! Billy: haha, no sweat man! Thanks for the interview and for all the support you've always shown man. Thanks for "getting" what the underground is meant to be, it's very rare to find people like that nowadays. Keep up the great work with your webzine and to anybody reading this, check out our web site for news and updates on our next CD's and releases! Thanks! oh and STAY SICK AND STAY FUCKING BRUTAL!!! ;) www.razorbackrecords.com
- Interview conducted in tight wet pants by Kunal N. Choksi
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more offensive than them? Were you contacted by the authorities? Are you still in touch with the band? 
the same or have they, as a whole, decreased? The reason why I am asking you this is because I'm trying to establish any connection with the prevalent downloading trend. 
DC: What do you look for in a band before signing them? Who decides whether they are good enough and how do you go about the process? I have heard that Razorback Records signs no “contracts” with its bands. Is that really true? What is the reason behind it? I guess it has more to it than just avoiding legal paperwork and other hassles. While we are at it, would you be considerate enough to explain to our readers the various types of contracts that are used and some of their pros and cons? 
That was when I guess your releases were most accessible and you were sending out promos to the mainstream press and media. I know you have cut down considerably on that, but anyway just to touch upon an interesting question, how important do you think it is for your releases to be accepted by the mainstream press and audience? 
DC:And finally, it leaves us with personal hatred against you by some sections of the metal public. Why do so many people like to hate you? Is it fashionable to do so? If that's the case, even I'll feign hatred towards you – maybe my webzine will get more hits haha. Is it because you are vocal about your opinions, most notably, your dislike towards other genres such as Brutal Death Metal? You have openly mocked that style of music and perhaps while doing so, do you think you may have offended some? 
us with the excitement of a little boy building his first Lego monument about the hordes of new bands that you have signed and what we should expect from them. While you are at it, also tell us about your new label, Dead Beat Media, and your reasons for starting a sub-label.