Goatlord (United States) 25/05/2011

Those who do not know the cult Death/Doom band Goatlord, try to find their material, while those who already know them, you have surely understood the history and the contribution of the band to the extreme metal. I talked with Jef, one of the founding members of Goatlord, about their journey until they split up, his views about music and about his new project, Spun of Darkness. Enjoy…

1. Hi Goatlord thank you very much for this interview. Do you want to give me some information about the group?

Jeff Nardone: The band formed in 1985. I met a guy in school his name was Hal and he played bass. We decided to get together and jam one day. We played a few times and he told me that a friend of his who played guitar was moving to Las Vegas from Milwaukee named Joe Frankulin. So when Joe showed up we all got together. After a few practices Joe and I decided that Hal didn’t really fit in with what we were trying to do so we got rid of him. I knew Ace for a while and we asked him if he wanted to sing for us and he said yes. We found Jeff our new bass player from a friend and so the line up was complete.

2. You were one of the pioneer bands in the doom/death sound. Why the band split up?

Jeff Nardone: It was very strange the way it ended. We just stopped playing and no one cared. We came back to Vegas from a show in Tucson AZ and that was it. I think losing Ace hurt us but it was more than that. I think we were just burnt out. Everybody just went there own way and did there own thing. Next thing I new it had been years since I had even talked to anyone from the band. There was no fight or anything like. That just goes to show you how we viewed ourselves. We had no idea what the fuck we were doing back then. We could have killed it if we would have stayed together.

3. What inspired you in the year 1985 when the us power was at its best, to play a totally different sound?

Jeff Nardone: We just wanted to combine the sounds of the bands that we were all in to. We listened to Bathory, Hellhammer, Saint Vitus, Voi Vod, and Sodom, so we just tried to combine a little of them all to come up with our sound.

4. What inspires you in general to write music and lyrics?

Jeff Nardone: Joe, Jeff and I wrote all the music and Ace came up with all of the lyrics. I guess what inspired us was just to be the most disgusting band that we could. We didn’t care about song structure or how the lyrics fit. We just went for it.

5. Your lyrics are about devil worship and horror stories. Are you a Satanist? What kind of Satanism do you practice?

Jeff Nardone: No we were not Satanist. Again we just felt that some satanic references had to be in our music. We were trying to be as brutal as we could…. even lyrically.

6. What is your occupation except of Goatlord? Do you play in other projects?

Jeff Nardone: My new project is “Spun In darkness”. Tom our guitar player and I started the band in 2005. We have put out a few releases under various labels and are playing shows mostly in Vegas and the west coast. I am an exterminator during the day.

7. What is your occupation except of music? I have read that you have a website. What is it about?

Jeff Nardone: Joe had a website called bloodshows.com. Not sure if he still operates it.

8. What kind of music do you listen to?

Jeff Nardone: I listen to all forms of metal. New and old. I also listen to some old punk.

9. What do you think about the underground scene of the U.S.A.? Are there any bands that you would like to suggest me?

Jeff Nardone: Most new death metal bands don’t interest me because of the technicality of the music. I like the more simple stuff. Gravehill is a good band out of Los Angeles, CA. They play a mix of old school death metal and thrash. They are a great live act. Check them out.

10. Are there any bands that you respect for music and/or attitude?

Jeff Nardone: I can’t think of one band that I have worshiped throughout their whole career. They all seem to disappoint after a while. I do however worship certain albums from artists. Bathory’s “The Return” Celtic frost “Morbid Tales” are a couple that I love to this day.

11. Have you ever played live? Which is the live show that is unforgettable?

Jeff Nardone: Goatlord only played a hand full of shows live. The project Im in now has played about 60 shows over the past 3 years.

12. Have you ever visited Greece for a live or vacation? Did you like it?

Jeff Nardone: No I have not been to Greece. Would love to go there though.

13. Do you like any Greek bands? With which Greek band would you like to share the stage?

Jeff Nardone: The only bands from Greece that come to mind are Dead Congregation and Rotting Christ. Both whom I would love to play with.

14. Are there any thoughts of reuniting Goatlord?

Jeff Nardone: No. We have all move on to other things. We all still talk now and then but that’s it.

15. Are you writing any new material at the moment?

Jeff Nardone: We are in the process of writing the 3rd Spun In Darkness album. It should be finished some time late this year.

16. Do you want to tell me your near future plans and anything for conclusion?

Jeff Nardone: Just to keep making the making the sickest music we can. Thanks man for the killer interview it was a pleasure.

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