San Francisco Bay Area thrash metal veterans VIO-LENCE recently kicked off their “Oppressing The Masses” European tour during which they are performing the entire “Oppressing The Masses” album, as well as songs from the band’s back catalog. Joining singer Sean Killian in VIO-LENCE’s current touring lineup are Nick Souza (HATRIOT) on drums, Jeff Salgado (PSYCHOSOMATIC) on bass, Ira Black (LIZZY BORDEN, METAL CHURCH) on guitar, and Claudeous Creamer (POSSESSED) on guitar.Asked in an interview with Oran O’Beirne of Overdrive.ie if there are plans for VIO-LENCE to work on new music as a follow-up to 2022’s “Let The World Burn” EP, Sean said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “So, we’re just doing this tour this year, and then, once we get home — we’ll be back here May 10th or 11th — we’ll start working on new music. Ira’s got some stuff written, and I’ve talked to a couple other musicians that I’ve worked with in the past, live on stage, that are interested in contributing.”Regarding the musical direction of the new VIO-LENCE material, Sean said: “I kind of wanna have something a little bit more broad than what VIO-LENCE has been in the past, where it’s just straight thrash metal and it’s constantly in your face. And I wanna have parts of that, but a lot of my influences back [in the day], and still today, were punk rock. I really don’t listen to metal much. I do listen to a lot of dark wave music and post-punk and stuff like that.”Asked if the next VIO-LENCE release will be a full-length album or another EP, Sean said: “I wanna do a full-length album — at least eight songs. I know full-length albums these days are 15, 20 songs, but I’m not writing that many songs for one record. That’s a lot. And plus I think too many songs — I’d rather release two records than one and have people just… That’s a lot of music on one piece of vinyl.”Bassist Christian Olde Wolbers announced his departure from VIO-LENCE in February. He explained in a social media statement at the time that he wanted “to pursue my own new solo band and producing career.”VIO-LENCE released three studio albums between 1988 and 1993. The group reformed soon after founding VIO-LENCE guitarist Phil Demmel acrimoniously left MACHINE HEAD more than six years ago.Formed in 1985, VIO-LENCE helped define and refine what came to be known as the Bay Area sound, dropping three seminal albums before splitting in 1993. Leaving behind a heady legacy, they reformed briefly a couple of times in the intervening years before becoming a full-time going concern once more in 2019. After playing a string of successful shows, the quintet started to think about new music and delivered “Let The World Burn”, showcasing their first new material in 29 years.Filling out the band’s ranks on “Let The World Burn” alongside Killian and Demmel were drummer Perry Strickland, Olde Wolbers and former OVERKILL guitarist Bobby Gustafson.Killian is the only VIO-LENCE member from the “Let The World Burn” recording lineup who is still touring with the band.”Let The World Burn” was recorded with Juan Urteaga at Trident Studios (TESTAMENT, MACHINE HEAD, EXODUS),with mixing handled by Tue Madsen (THE HAUNTED, MESHUGGAH) and Grammy Award-winning engineer Ted Jensen (ALICE IN CHAINS, DEFTONES, PANTERA).Demmel left MACHINE HEAD at the end of the band’s fall 2018 North American tour. He was in MACHINE HEAD for nearly 16 years, during which time he played on five of the group’s studio albums: “Through The Ashes Of Empires” (2003),”The Blackening” (2007),”Unto The Locust” (2011),”Bloodstone & Diamonds” (2014) and “Catharsis” (2018).Demmel’s final concert with VIO-LENCE took place on February 11, 2024 at Carioca Club in São Paulo, Brazil. The gig also marked the last show of VIO-LENCE’s Latin American tour with EXHORDER.VIO-LENCE played the São Paulo concert as a four-piece after an alleged altercation between Black and Olde Wolbers resulted in Ira being sent home from the tour a few days early.Although MACHINE HEAD frontman Robb Flynn was part of VIO-LENCE’s classic incarnation and played on the band’s debut album, “Eternal Nightmare”, he wasn’t approached about taking part in the band’s reunion.[embedded content][embedded content][embedded content]
