Fatality (Thrash Metal from Toronto, Canada)

Official Facebook Page- http://www.facebook.com/fatalitythrash

Biography :- FATALITY is the thrash metal quartet hailing from Toronto Canada. FATALITY brings an explosive form of high-energy thrash to its fans and a relentlessly untiring beer-drenched live show. FATALITY is uncompromising in its endeavors and unwavering in its determination.

Founding members Spencer LeVon (Singer/Guitarist), Eytan Gordon (Lead Guitarist) and Adam Zlotnik (Bassist) enlisted Andrew Suarez (Drummer) in the summer of 2008 to fill out the FATALITY roster. This led to the independent release of the bands debut album Beers From The Grave, and an impressive year to follow packed full of successful shows.

Departure of Andrew brough Mason as the New Drummer for Fatality.

Sharing the stage with acts such as Municipal Waste, Bonded By Blood, Evile, Holy Grail, Exodus, Razor, DBC, and headlining many of their own shows, FATALITY have demonstrated dedication to their passion for decimating audiences with their high voltage performances, and above everything else, having a damn good time.

Jonathan - What makes a good Thrash Metal band? Spencer  - I am not really the kind of dude that looks at bands as “good” or “bad”. All a band is really doing when they perform or record is to do the best they can at representing themselves. So I would have to say any thrash band that is comfortable with each other, and have put the time into becoming a machine that is greater then the sum of its parts is fine by me!

Jonathan - What's your opinion of the DIY movement?
Spencer - Knowledge is power. The more you can do on your own the better off you are. Luckily for me, I play in a band where we have members who are good with business, recording arts, tour booking, Photoshop, networking, as well as many other important skills. The beautiful thing is, the longer you do things, the more information you pick up and the better you get. That’s why we try to keep our eyes and ears open! The hard part is deciding when to outsource to someone else so that your product doesn’t suck because you wanted to save a few bucks. It’s a fine line.

Jonathan - I really believe the only passionate way to do music is with your heart. Occasionally hard times and trouble can get in the way. Why is it so important for you to be in a band and do you have any funny stories to tell?Spencer - Being in a band is sometimes hard work. The making of our upcoming album has been one of the more difficult things we have done. Plus, when you’re working on the same project with 3 other dudes, it’s impossible not to contemplate murdering every one of them and then yourself at times. But at the end of the day, it’s worth all the pain because I have the peace of mind of being in a dope-ass metal band! Still, I’m not completely ruling out a murder/suicide. 

Jonathan - What's the origin of the band name, Fatality?Spencer - We stole it from Mortal Kombat, you happy now!?

Jonathan - Have you changed the band's name before?Spencer - I think for about 2 weeks we called ourselves “Recapitation” which we thought was a real metal way to say “getting head”. Didn’t last though.

Jonathan - Who are your major influences? Or do you just write what you like and that is the result?
Spencer - That’s a really hard question to answer because we all love different music styles. I can’t speak for the rest of the band, but as for myself I get inspired mostly by things I see and hear walking around day to day. Musically, I am all over the map. I can literally find something redeemable in every music style out there. We are obviously influenced by great heavy metal bands, but it is our outside influences that make us who we are. I get inspired all god damn day.

Jonathan - How long have you all known each other?Spencer - Well my brother is in the band, so I’ve known him the longest. I’ve known that prick for about 23 years by now. Eytan and I met when I was in grade 1, and Adam I met when he joined the band in grade 7.

Jonathan - How did you meet?Spencer - I met Eytan at school when we were really young. Even when I was 5 I was a weirdo and could not find any friends. I would do strange things like get into trouble for pulling my penis out in class, so I guess I kind of had that social stigma attached to me already. So there I was one day, sitting alone on a teeter-totter like a loser – with my butt on the ground because I was so busy teetering, I had no friends to help me totter. My older sister Lindsay approached Eytan who was in my grade and asked him politely if he would be my friend. I guess he felt bad for me and we played tag for the rest of recess. You know, I never really realized it before, but my entire musical career is based entirely in pity. HA!

Jonathan - When did you form your band?
Spencer - Me, Mason and Eytan started making music together in the early 2000’s and performed live for our first time in 2004.

Jonathan - What inspired you to make music together?Spencer - The whole thing seemed really fuckin’ attractive to us I think. I look back at old school assignments where they ask “what do you want to be when you grow up?” and it wasn’t even ever up for debate: I was going to be a musician. Or a basketball-playing astronaut. 

Jonathan - I'm sure some countries or crowds are more enthusiastic than others, do you have any particular anecdotes to tell us? Any funny moments? Disappointments?Spencer - Dog, if you want disappointments, you came to the right guy! One of the biggest lessons I have learned playing live music, is that even if the audience isn’t stage diving or moshing, or screaming, doesn’t mean they aren’t enjoying themselves. As metal musicians, we get spoiled because the music we play is so intense that you will usually get a reaction whether it’s great or it’s dogshit. I love enthusiastic crowds, but I will still play my heart out for a group of people who are chilling by the bar just taking in the atmosphere. Like I said, all I can do is try my best to represent my group and myself.

Jonathan - Which songs do you perform most frequently?Spencer - Over the last year we have been using gigs as a way to inform our new material, so rehashing old tunes hasn’t really been our bag as of late. But now that I think of it, we play T.F.E.S at pretty much every gig because it is kind of our theme song and motto. Thrash, Fuck, Eat, Sleep: to me it means to live every day with passion and persistence and you will live an awesome life. That’s how we operate as a band, plus fart jokes.

Jonathan - Do you ever play any covers?Spencer - We have a few cover tunes in the chamber just incase we are hammered drunk at the end of the night and we want to get a bit silly and have fun with however much of the audience hasn’t yet decided to fuck off. We do a really dope Kool and the Gang cover as well as some Sabbath, Steppenwolf and Pantera.

Jonathan - Who writes your songs?Spencer - I am proud to say that we all have a hand in the song writing process and that’s what makes ‘em so colorful.

Jonathan - What are the main themes or topics for most of your songs?
Spencer - The theme of our new record revolves primarily around mind exploration. We have always thought that perhaps the most important part of a happy life is to understand your mind. You should have the courage to go into your own head and poke your demons with a stick. Our lyrical themes in our up coming album examine the trials and tribulations of confronting, or being confronted by your own mind. Self-examination is good for you folks! But it is terrifying, isn’t it?

Jonathan - Do you think these topics will change over time?
Spencer - I sure hope so. I pray that we as a group will be continuously evolving and changing. It keeps us engaged, and makes it more interesting for our audience.

Jonathan - Could you briefly describe the music-making process?Spencer - Eytan is the main riff writer. He also has a tremendous grasp on arrangement. Adam also plays a big role in arrangement and has great ideas as to how a song should flow. Once they have an idea, they bring it to rehearsal and all 4 of us basically put it all in a bag and bash it with a shovel. It is all pretty organic because we just play what we feel in the moment, and if it works, we write that shit down! I usually write lyrics after we have a solid instrumental already written.

Jonathan - What are your rehearsals generally like? Do you have a set time each week in which you practice or are rehearsals more spontaneous?
Spencer - We rehearse and write at least twice a week at a set time each week. And when we are at our rehearsal spot we usually spend half the session going over songs and spend the next half writing new material. We don’t spend too much time goofing around, we are usually very focused on whatever task we are tackling. Something we learned from another musician friend is to not fill your jam room with distractions like couches and TVs/video games. When we show up, we get to work right away and save the dicking around for when we’re on our own time.

Jonathan - How has your music evolved since you first began playing music together?Spencer - Man, it’s like night and day. The one thing I love about our band is that we are never keeping still. Our material is always changing, maturing and mutating. But the cool part is, we still have the same aesthetic and it stays true to our vision. Our old material was complete snot-nosed thrash head party music. And we looooved it! I listen to our album Beers From the Grave and I picture us recording it in our old dilapidated house when we were 18 and 19 getting plowed, having parties and air guitaring all night long. We wrote that kind of music because that is what we knew, and that was literally how we were living. Now that we are a few years older, we have a fresh perspective on life and have a bigger well of experience to draw from. Our new sound is still fast, aggressive and intense, but it also has a progressive, articulate sound and a darker perspective that came organically from just playing with the same guys and growing together as a team.

Jonathan - What has been your biggest challenge as a band? Have you been able to overcome that challenge? If so, how?Spencer - Writing and recording music is almost like idea farming. We have been laying seeds, tending the fields and preparing for harvest. You gotta know that being a farmer sucks, right up until harvest, and then its time for some corn on the cob, son! Hard work followed by prosperity. Creating any kind of art, especially with a group of people is absolutely painstaking. When I start to feel bummed out about all the sacrifice and hard work I have put into this project, I look forward to the harvest: a new album and a new tour. That’s what makes it all worthwhile. Then, it’s BACK TO THE FIELDS!

Jonathan - What advice do you have for people who want to form their own bands?Spencer - It’s all about finding the right people to play with. If you want to be serious about playing music, make sure you have a great team that is dedicated and competent as you are, or it will be a nightmare.

Jonathan - For those who don’t know you, How can fans-to-be gain access to your music? Do you have a website with sample songs or a demo CD?
Spencer - You can head to http://fatality.bandcamp.com/ and check out all of our music. Including the free T.F.E.S demo we released for free last year. ENJOY! Or you can go tohttps://www.facebook.com/fatalitythrash and there are links to music, pictures, merch, blogs and other awesome shit.

Fatality with their Manager.