Warface Interview

Interview
Laura Christine
Warface

Warface Promo

Lineup:
Laura Christine - Guitar
Tyson Jupin - Drums
Dave Smith - Bass, Vocals

12/18/06
Interviewer: Josh Thorne
Additional Questions: Karma E. Omowale

"Our commitment is to the music and the scene and doing what we can to support it and add to it."

Warface is one of the most ferocious up and coming death metal bands on the planet. Karma and I were thrilled to be speaking with the band’s charismatic guitarist, Laura Christine, about their amazing new album, touring plans, and much more. I’m not even going to try and present a witty introduction…I’m just going to sit back and let Laura do the talking.

Laura: Fucking killer! We’re getting a lot of excellent support and feedback on the new album. We are stoked with our label. Everything is going well.

Laura: Getting on the road and meeting and partying with the fans. We’re also looking forward to working on a new album.

Laura: No! I used to make resolutions, but I would always make them a little too ambitious and lofty where I could never uphold and keep any of them, which always led to disappointment. No resolution. No disappointment. I just keep my focus on today and doing my best right now.

Josh: For those who don't know a lot about Warface, give us a little info on how you got started.

Laura: Back in the summer of 2000, Dave and I decided to form a band together, specifically a three piece. Six months later we found drummer Scott Ellis and the band lineup was complete. Another six months after that we recorded a four-song demo, and began playing out and things started snowballing from there.

Laura: My very first guitar influence before I discovered metal was Cat Stevens…then once I became enlightened with Metal my earliest Metal influences starting out were James Hetfield, Kirk Hammet, Dave Mustaine, Marty Friedman, Kerry King, Jeff Hanneman and eventually Dime surfaced onto the radar who ended up having the biggest influence.

Laura: That I am extremely determined as well as a bit obsessive when it comes to the music. I’ve learned enough about my bandmates to know and feel extremely fortunate to be creating and performing music with them. We share a chemistry together that is electric.

Josh: A lot of people would not believe this, but the role of females in death metal is actually very prominent. I've met dozens of female death metal fans over the years and many of them are more devoted than male death metal fans. As a female yourself, what attracted you to this brutal music to begin with?

Laura: Two things attracted me the most. First off, it was the absolutely most powerful music I’d ever heard. Secondly, I was blown away by level of musicianship and intelligence that this music required. It’s challenging music to play and therefore never a dull moment.

Karma: And do you also agree that females are somewhat undermined in the general perception of the genre?

Laura: Sure, but I believe that to be temporary as this perception stems partly from the fact that there have been so few females performing in this genre. However this is changing.

Karma: What’s a common misconception that surrounds you/the band that you'd like to dispel or debunk?

Laura: Right now we don’t have any common misconceptions to debunk that I’m aware of. We’re straight up, no bullshit, what you see/hear is what you get. Our commitment is to the music and the scene and doing what we can to support it and add to it. When we were first starting out though, the biggest misconception was when we’d show up somewhere for whatever everyone always assumed I was someone’s girlfriend in the band and that I wasn’t in the band.

Josh: Congratulations on the new album. As I stated in my review, this is one of the best death metal CD's that I've had the pleasure of hearing this year. How has the response been for the CD from other reviewers and your fans?

Laura: Thank you very much. We are stoked to hear it and we greatly appreciate it. The response overall has been incredible. Mostly all over the top positive feedback from the fans, reviewers/mags/ezines. (Some of which has been posted on our website).

Josh: I'm curious to know what kind of rig you used on this recording, as the guitar sound is one of the most punishing sounds I've ever heard on a Death Metal release.

Laura: Thank you very much. I’ve been working on trying to perfect my guitar tone for what has felt like forever. It’s the best I’ve been able to come up with so far. It’s been a constant trial and error thing. That’s one thing with us guitarists…we’re always on the quest for finding and bringing to life a very specific guitar tone that we hear in our heads. I used a Triple Rectifier head with Marshall 1960 cabs with a Zoom 505 pedal for distortion and the Boss Noise Suppressor with Monster cables. Also, the KxK Guitar and EMG pickups (81 & 85) contributed a great deal to that tone as well.

Josh: Speaking of guitar equipment, congratulations on your custom line that's currently being built by KxK guitars! Tell us a little about how that came about.

Laura: KxK Guitars contacted me out of the blue one day indicating they were fans of the music and that they would like to offer an endorsement. I tried out their guitars to see whether or not they’d work for me and in doing so, I immediately discovered that they were truly the best guitars I’d ever played. To say I was completely stoked and grateful at that moment would be an understatement. I then placed my higher end BC Rich and Jackson guitars in the closet and began working with KxK on the custom line.

Josh: As far as the next release for Warface, do you have anything written? If so, how is that material comparing to the material on the new album?

Laura: No new material just yet. I’m itchin’ to get writing again. I’ve been feeling inspired. As far as new material goes… it just keep improving and we will maintain our usual vibe and intention of creating music that is powerful, aggressive and unrelenting.

Laura: I would hope that we would be able to create and offer many Ass kicking albums that ourselves and other metalheads could thoroughly enjoy.

Karma: Now it is time for our infamous Speed Round Questions… Spiritual or religious?

Laura: I’m pretty sure I’m on the naughty list this year. But just in case, …I always want music and music related items… and also some weird shit like this cool little clock I came across online that comes with a Grimreaper and hourglass attached to it.

Laura: I thought there were a lot of great albums this year and I can’t narrow it down to just one. A few of the tops on my list for 2006 were new albums from Krisiun, Suffocation, Deicide, Slayer, and Gwar.

If _______ disappeared off the face of the earth, metal would never be the same.

Laura: Let’s go with “Distortion.” Distortion really gives the sound of metal a huge set of balls. Metal would never sound or be the same with out it.

If not music then what? What do you think the rest of your bandmates would do if it were not for Warface/music in general?

Laura: That’s a tough one because it’s hard to imagine not being involved in music in some way. I like helping others, so I would maybe get into being a motivational speaker or personal coach. Dave would be good at hosting on the radio (he’s extremely funny and entertaining behind the mike) and Tyson would be good in the ring… he’s very physical and into martial arts and fighting.

If you could commission a band to do a Warface cover, who would do it and which song would it be?

Laura: I’d commission Slayer to cover ‘Suppression of Heresy.’ They’ve been one of my favorites from way back and that song definitely has some Slayer invoked influences coursing through it.

Laura: Thanks for your interest. All of us in Warface greatly appreciate it. Hope to meet you on the road. You can get your copy of our new album ‘Insanity of the Obsessed’ right now at AMAZON.com, VH1.com, BESTBUY.com, WARFACE.net, etc.

We’d love to thank Laura for the killer interview and urge every one of you to check out Warface as soon as possible!