LAIR OF THE MINOTAUR – Interview with singer, guitarist Steve Rathbone

Forming in 2003, LAIR OF THE MINOTAUR quickly became one of the groups to talk about in the Chicago-area metal scene. The groups sludge-encrusted sound seemed destined for the doom metal stand out label, Southern Lord Records, which LOTM signed to and released their debut full-length, Carnage in 2004. Their mixture of thrash, heavy metal, punk and death metal has placed a toxic yellow highlighter on the group, making the band near-impossible to mistake for another.

With a style as raw and bloody as a cannibal cookout, the Greek Mythology-named band puts the power into the term power trio. Producing such a massive sound with only three members is nothing short of fantastic. Those still moved by the attitude, antics and head-banging delight of the mid-eighties bullet belt bands such as SLAYER, POSSESSED and CELTIC FROST will jiz their draws upon hearing LOTM.

LOTM doesnt just assault ears with tales of bloodlust and primal battle, the group also represents these ideas, in gratuitous details, through video. The title track for LOTMs last record, War Metal Battle Master included graphic scenes of nudity, dismemberment and cannibalism. Their latest album Evil Power follows suite with satanic imagery, boobs, blood and guts and a person wearing a real bull head-and-horns.

Read onward and learn more about this American metal phenom.

LAIR OF THE MINOTAUR is set to release your new album Evil Power. In a comparison to the last one, you said, If War Metal Battle Master was the war, Evil Power is the party after the bloody victory. Can you elaborate on that statement?

The storyline is a continuation from War Metal Battle Master, which was a concept album about Ares, the God of war. Evil Power is about the end of a peaceful period and the beginning of a very violent one. Its also about celebration after a major battle, in which evil wins. So I wanted the songs to reflect that. I also wanted to make a great soundtrack for drinking and driving.

Sanford Parker recorded the album at Chicago Volume Studios. Scott Hull (PIG DESTROYER) mastered the album. How do you feel about their work on the album?

I think its our best sounding album yet. Its definitely my personal favorite. So far, all of our releases recording and mastering have been handled by those guys (except I mastered Carnage, the first album). Sanford is super easy to work with. He knows what were trying to do. We dont use triggers or tricks. We want it to sound raw. Hes got a great ear for metal, and all about loud guitars. Scott is an old friend. Met him way back in 95 when 7000 DYING RATS was touring with ANAL CUNT, before he joined the band. Hes a great at making our stuff loud and listenable at the same time.

Evil Power will see release through The Grindhouse-Recordsa label started by you, band mate Chris Wozniak and Josh Diebel. Why did you decide to release it through this label and only use Southern Lord as a distributor?

Its something we always wanted to do, in the original spirit of the band. Our contract was up and we proposed the idea to Greg [Anderson] and he was into it. They have been super cool with us over the years. I have major respect for Greg and the label. We were signed to Southern Lord three months after our first self released demo came out. Things happened very quickly. So now, we just want to take the bull by horns, as they say.

What bands have you signed to this label? What releases can we expect from The Grind-House Records?

No other bands beside LOTM yet. Were planning on releasing other artists. Were in talks with a few bands, but nothing to announce yet. The labels focus will be metal, but well do whatever we want. Id be into releasing some hard to find movie soundtracks. The label is a brother company of The Grind-House (thegrind-house.com), my day job. We sell cult movie posters and t-shirts.

Evil Power has more of an old school feel compared to your prior albums. Do you agree with this statement? If so, was this a conscious effort to pay homage to early death metal such as CELTIC FROST?

Overall, yes. Our albums have always had songs with choruses in them. But this album is chocked full them. Evil Powers sound is about getting fucked up, getting into trouble and listening to: SLAYER, CELTIC FROST, JUDAS PRIEST, MISFITS, IRON MAIDEN, MOTORHEAD, ENTOMBED, NAPALM DEATH, Kill Em All, OBITUARY, MINISTRY and BLACK SABBTH. But we dont just rip off old bands. No interest in being a worship band. LOTM is definitely something new, with the wisdom of the old.

What do you feel the mid-eighties death/thrash/black sound made by CELTIC FROST, SODOM, SLAYER, etc. has held such sway over bands like yours for twenty-five years and more?

Trends come and go. Sub-genres come and go. But hardcore, bad ass, heavy fucking metal, will always have an audience. Its just raw and honest music. People recognize that and respond to it.

Speaking of CELTIC FROST, General Diabolical Slaughter of Chicago Frost worshippers, USURPER provided guest vocals. Please tell our readers about bringing him in for the recording.

The General is a metal bro, doesnt live too far from me. He was actually supposed to do back ups on the War Metal Battle Master session but the scheduling got screwed up. Hes got a great voice. Super triumphant! He came in and killed it. Stoked to have him be a part of this record.

Lets Kill These Motherfuckers includes a bad ass sounding guitar immersed in fuzz. How did you get the guitar so sludgy?

Its actually the same guitar sound as the rest of the album. My guitar sound has one dynamic. I never use weird effects on the main guitar tracks. I think I know what you mean though, its the way Im playing that part, its being picked single note. I think the bass guitar might have been boosted in the mix a bit on that one too. The reaction to that song has been crazy, people seem to really dig it.

Following in the footsteps of the last album, you once again made a vicious, gory video for the title track. Horror film special effects expert Ryan Oliver directed the video. Horror fiends know him for his work on The Toolbox Murders and Among the Dead. How do you feel about working with him?

Ive known Ryan for a while. He was an extra in a 7000 DYING RATS video we made about 12 years ago. He likes a lot of the same horror Im into. We go to nerdy horror conventions together. He loves metal and hes super demented and talented. Who better to direct the video? Actually, I wrote the treatment, but he came up with the idea of the sacrificial slave girls being chained by the neck and dragged underneath the throne. Good idea.

Do you have plans to put out this video as a DVD like the last album?

Yes, we want to include some live footage and make a bit of a package out of it. Include behind the scenes stuff and interviews. Who knows we might make another video for this album too.

Local burger joint, Kumas serves hamburgers named after metal bands. They even named one after you. What are your thoughts on the Lair of the Minotaur burger?

Its delicious. I hear that its the best selling burger there. Thats great. I still cringe when Im there and I hear someone near me ordering one. I used to get treated like a king there, now they have all new staff. They could care less. The host will be like, The wait is 3 hours. And I say, Hey, Im in LAIR OF THE MINOTAUR And then she says, Yeah, the wait is 4 hours.

LOTM has a tour scheduled for April of this year. What are the details of this tour?

Were headlining a tour of the Midwest and East Coast, coinciding with the album release. (Check Metal Centre's TOUR DATES section for more information).

What do you have planned after this tour?

After the CD and digital download of Evil Power comes out in April, we plan to release a deluxe vinyl LP version later this summer. It will feature a bonus track not available on the CD or digital download. We also plan on touring the west coast later in the summer. Were making plans to return to Europe this fall. Other tour plans are in the works, but too early to let the demon out of the bag.