GHOSTRIDER… the Return of the GHOST on FOAD Records!
GHOSTRIDER was one of the first and most primitive incarnations of Italian blackmetal/thrash evil in 1984. Like a shooting star of death, GHOSTRIDER made the Italian metal history back in 1984/85, before disbanding and transforming into an even more famous and influential Italian thrash metal monster…NECRODEATH! We at FOAD Records already unearthed and released the ultrare demos from 1984, “Mayhemic Destruction” on a limited edition 10″ for the joy of fans and metal heads the world over. Luckily, our interest moved some esoteric forces and now, in 2010, GHOSTRIDER is back from the grave to break some eardrums again. The new album “The Return of the Ghost” will be available in January 2011 on FOAD Records, and who else better than founding (and only original) member Mark Peso could tell us something more about this much anticipated comeback? The following is a sneak-preview interview for the return of the one, and only… GHOSTRIDER!!!
Please can you explain what is the force behind the new motivation to bring back to life the evil spirit of GHOSTRIDER over 25 years after the band broke up?
Mark Peso: well…everything started when Giulio from FOAD records asked me to reprint on vinyl the old “mayhemic destruction” demo from 1984…I was very surprised about such a request, but somehow from that event the ghostrdier spirit came back to life…I started to listen madly to those old songs, and something clicked inside, convincing me that I could have reworked that sound for good. In a couple of months the band was back from hell, and ready to rip again!
Which bands inspired you to start GHOSTRIDER back in 1984, and what was the darkest and most extreme metal around those days?
Mark Peso: Back in those days, the most important bands were definitely VENOM and HELLHAMMER…VENOM was particularly influential for me, since I had a chance to saw them live in 1982, and they influenced my musical background so much.
In the short period GHOSTRIDER was active back in 1984/85, how was the Italian metal scene and which other bands in Italy were close to your sound and attitude? In a few words, who were the other pioneers of Italian thrash/black metal in the old early days?
Mark Peso: There were very few bands and few media during that time…I can remember Steel crown, Strana Officina, Shining Blade, Fingernails,and of course Death SS… buthonestly I do not remeber any thrash/black metal or extreme bands besides SCHIZO and BULLDOZER
Even if you are the only member left from the original line-up, the current GHOSTRIDER has two younger guys that are (or were, in the case of Zarathos) involved in NECRODEATH. Is this a case or a specific choice you made to keep this project as close as possible to NECRODEATH musicianship’s elite?
Mark Peso: Helvete and Zarathos are involved in a way or another in Necrodeath…. I don’t want to say I made a specific choice,I’d rather call it a natural choice.We have been knowning each other for many years and we have already shared a lot of musical experiences, therefore this current line-up has been the natural call when the GHOSTRIDER spirit woke up from the grave again!!
GHOSTRIDER Primitive Italian black metal, 1984
Imagine to explain to a metal scene newcomer who’s not that much into your bands yet what are the differences between GHOSTRIDER and NECRODEATH…
Mark Peso: NECRODEATH started one year after GHOSTRIDER split up, and in these 25 years of noise there has been a natural evolution that keeps on growing day by day….on the other hand, GHOSTRIDER just re-started using that raw material we played back in the day as a trademark, and wants to remain as raw and punk sounding, but of course played with the acquired skills of a quarter century of metal involvement. Both bands have different styles, different looks and different attitudes.
What are the main goals for this “return of the GHOST” on the metal scene, and what about your future plans?
Mark Peso: our comeback album “The Return of the Ghost” is out now on FOAD Records, and we want to play as much as possible and anywhere the fans wants us to go… then, we’ll see what will happen to this crazy ol’ GHOST!
GHOSTRIDER “The Return of the Ghost” CD will be available on pre-order through FOAD Records website very soon… meanwhile, bang your head with some feral GHOSTRIDER checking out the Myspace page.
[…] An exclusive interview to Peso The Ghost revealing some interesting news about GHOSTRIDER and their creeping return has just been published on FOAD’s official site.. check it out here! […]
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