1.   Greetings Lee. Let´s start with short intro story. DEATH ON DEMAND was formed just 2 years ago; however I assume you have been previously playing in several other projects. When did you first get involved in metal?

Well I was a late starter when it comes to music I was in a few bands at school but I mainly did vocals like my then hero Lee Dorrian from Napalm Death. I only started playing Guitar in 2001 when I got a Guitar as a Christmas gift, six months later I started my first band Precision and Kaos with 2 close friends Spock on Drums & Alex on Bass. I wanted to sing & play Guitar so this gave me the perfect opportunity; I have not looked back since.

2.   Speaking of your debut EP which has been recently released in CD format under SATANICA Prods., tell us something more about it, where it was recorded, mixed and mastered? Did the final product surpass your expectations?

The recording was done in my home Studio & at Phil’s home Studio with our good friend and Studio Engineer Andy Harper; we spent almost every Sunday during the summer of 2010 getting the Drum’s, Guitar’s & Bass spot on. We had a few issues around vocalists at this time and only managed to complete 1 track: Face of Hate with Graham Cleary. I remember getting that track back from Andy once he had spun his magic and we were all blown away with just how good it sounded. Graham however could not commit to the band on a full time basis so we parted company and are still on excellent terms with him.

Stu is a brilliant Bass player and took his ability to the next level when he decided to take over as Front man, I had my reservations as Stu had not really shown any real interest in being the Front man but holy shit that boy can growl and the way he writes lyrics to me is simply stunning. Phil and I were so shocked when we heard Stu do his first take on Face of Hate it was mind blowing and we knew right there and then that the perfect decision had been made.

By Christmas of 2010 everything was almost ready, we reviewed the 5 tracks sat down as a band and discussed how we could make it more angry more in your face. We ended up making subtle changes to the Drum sounds & Stu’s vocals to get it right. We then all took a copy of the CD away and listened to it in different environments, in the Car on our MP3 players you know however and wherever until we were all happy with what we had produced. Andy was real cool about the changes we made and also had input when it came to the mixing and mastering it took him weeks to balance all the different aspects and he did an amazing job.

We learnt a lot from the EP recording and made some mistakes along the way but for the album we now know what to do and we will try a few new things I am sure. Overall we are very happy with the final product.

3.   What is the hidden message behind the title and the front cover artwork of your “Tree of Woe” EP?

I am glad you mentioned that J we all want our CD covers to tell a story, show the listener that yes our primary goal is to make music but the visuals HAVE to kick you in the face or no one will buy your CD, Iron Maiden back in the early days drew people in with stark artwork that made you simply think WOW when you laid eyes on it. Slayer & Megadeth raised the bar and opened the door for more extreme forms of artwork to dominate album covers……as it should be. In the 90’s Death Metal really came into its own with bands like Morbid Angel, Deicide & Cannibal Corpse going that one step further with more graphic and savage album covers. As a band we love the subliminal idea of all that faces you not being what it seems, a darker more perverse way of doing things is essential to us. All our songs tell a story and Tree of Woe the song & EP is based around the scene from Conan the Barbarian where Thulsa Doom wants to punish Conan for not living up to his standards and has him hung on the Tree of Woe so the desert would kill him. Thulsa Doom failed and paid the price.

4.   Do you have serious opportunities for live shows in UK? How many times per month can you play live?

That’s a tough question, at the moment we are back in the main practice room once a week and we also practice in my Studio 2 or 3 times a week getting everything tight ready to start work on the album, so doing gigs is not a primary goal for us just now. Plus all the band members have had some difficult times doing gigs where you are put in with a bunch of bands that are not of the same Genre and that just  gets you all frustrated when you play your ass off and no one likes what you are doing. We are happy to wait for the right time and gig with the right bands in the right location, I don’t want to sound pretentious at all but it has to be right for Death on Demand or we won’t do it. If doing gigs was primary for us then we would be happy to do a gig once a week, however there are less and less venues that are happy to have Metal bands play and more and more Pubs are closing so restricting the choice any band has of playing live.

5.   How did this interest in films get started for you? And in which way did this acts like a strong inspiration for your music?

A good question J when I was a kid you had all these feel good films where good always conquered evil, then when I became a teen I got interested in horror films by George A Romero and feature films like George Orwell’s 1984 & Stanley Kubrick’s Clockwork Orange. Visions of a possible future with nasty and twisted outcomes that made you consider your own fate. Then I got interested in a lot of movies that are adaptations of Graphic Novels that carried cult status like Watchmen, 300 & Constantine to name just a few. Films with strong themes and unusual circumstances are what the band love to see, there are always  arguments  when we get together to watch a movie as we all have different tastes.

6.   When you sit down to write a new album how do you compose it? Are the songs written in a way that all members come with ideas and put them together? Or do you have a main writer and the others come with additional ideas and comments to the "finished" songs from him?

We compose all the songs together; we have creative sessions and work very well bringing riffs together. As a band we all bounce of each other and ideas are always on the table.

7.   How important do you think the cover artwork is for an album? Should it in some way tell the buyer what they can expect from the music and do you think your cover manages to do that well?

Album art is vital it should act as a hand shake for the band, a good representation of the contents. A badly conceived album cover can kill a fantastic sequence of music. Like Death’s Scream Bloody Gore album before you even play it you know that it’s gonna rip your head off. Slayer’s Diabolus in Musica has a very weak cover not the usual Slayer style and this in my opinion killed the album before it is played, the sad thing is this, it is a fantastic album but only Slayer fans bought this, was it because the cover was not what you would expect?

8.   How is the bands relationship with the record-label? Are you satisfied with SATANICA Prods? Why and how did you decided to sign with them?

Xan from Satanica Productions and Death on Demand have a great relationship, Satanica do not get involved with the creative process and don’t tell us what to do they really believe that what the band deems acceptable is fine. We are super impressed with their level of communication & professionalism. The reason we signed with them and no one else is simple, they are honest and give respect to all the bands on their roster.

9.   What can you tell us about your personal life besides being a musician? How many years old are you? Some words about your family, your daily job, girlfriend and hobbies.

I am an Electrical Network Engineer for a Major Utility Company, 37 years old, I am married with a child due to be born in October, Hobbies collecting Metal CD’s & memorabilia.

Phil is a Senior Process Controls Instrument Design Engineer for a Major Engineering Company is 36 years old, married with a child due to be born in June, Hobbies photography & digital designs, collecting Metal CD’s.

Stu is a Technical Mechanic for a Major Car Part fitting Company is 20 years old, has a girlfriend, Hobbies include collecting ancient weapons & Metal CD’s

Locker is a Trainee Locomotive Mechanic for a Major Rail Network is 18 years old has a girlfriend, hobbies include making Suits of Armor, metal manufacturing & collecting Metal CD’s.

10. What would you consider the hardest part about playing in an Underground band?

For us there is no hardship with the exceptions of being booked to play gigs with the wrong genre of bands, we love being in an Underground band.

11.  Will Death on Demand ever produce a film clip / video? I'm very sure you could pull this off extremely well... has any thought ever gone into an idea like this?

Yea we have a few ideas and we have the equipment required, we are waiting for this particular venue to give us permission to film and then we will be doing at least 2 music videos. We keep a small book of ideas and virals to use in the videos, some are funny and some are vicious but all will reflect what Death on Demand is all about. 

12.  The death metal underground is constantly changing. How do you think the underground will be in the..hmmmm..let’s see, five years to come?

Savage, with CD sales on a constant decline we as a planet are relying more and more on Internet. In 5 year’s time we will be seeing more and more single artists creating music at home and thanks to governments we will be seeing less venues that will be prepared to put on shows with non-main stream bands. The other thing to consider is that we as a band feel there are far too many genres at the moment with certain bands giving the impression that they don’t fit into a genre so they form their own. In reality you’re either in a Metal Band or an Emo Band end of conversation.

13.  Ok man, we are at the end. I wish you good luck in the future and say "thank you" for this... Now, you can say a few things that weren´t said before.

Well we would like to thank you for taking the time to chat with us and we would like to thank the following people for their support.

The D.o.D WAGS, Gort from The Pain Fucktory, Andy Harper, Xan at Satanica Productions, Craig at Dovetail Strings, all our friends  and all the True Underground Metal bands for keeping Metal alive.