Integrity interview

There is no need to introduce you to Integrity. Almost twenty five years after their inception, Integrity are still here, more active than ever, to influence, to be hated, to be adored, and definitely to stand like a monument in the history of the extreme sound. We contacted the band' s voice, this special and mystical personality called Dwid Hellion. His words is yours.

Hello Dwid. Before I start I would like to thank you for this interview. I have been passionately listening to Integrity for years and it really seems crazy to me discussing with you. Thanx again.
My pleasure.

Your band probably lives one of the most active periods of its career. What is it that still leads you to produce amazing music and play killer live shows? Endless inspiration and passion? The eternal quest in life and death? Something else?
I still enjoy making and playing music. Integrity has afforded me the luxury to perform all over the world and the ability to release our recordings. The concept of the band is more fully realized now, it took a long time to finally get everything in place.

I am sure that the guitarist, Rob Orr, played a leading role in Integrity's resurrection. The guitar leads are epic and the solos can easily make me shiver. They are definitely the element of your collaboration. How is it to play music with such a great musician? I think he records all the instruments in the studio.
Yes, I agree. Orr is a phenomenal musician and a great friend. It is great to be able to make music with him. Orr plays and records all of the music himself (with the exception of harmonica) and then I add my vocals and sometimes also some additional noisy elements to the songs.

He is really young and I remember from the closing interview of "The DestroyORR", that he had been listening to the band from his adolescence and never had obviously thought of being a part of it. Same for your current live line-up I think. Weren't you afraid of asking these youngsters to join the band. The may be younger, but I think they are taking it seriously.
Orr is 27 years old. Yes, compared to me he is definitely younger. I am very glad to be able to make music with these guys.

You are about to release a brand new full length called "Suicide Black Snake" in A389 Recordings / Magic Bullet Records. I had the chance to listen to this album two months before its official release and I would like to ask, why you decided to include already known songs in it? In my opinion, four new Integrity tracks can definitely make the difference, but I was just wondering.
The limited album, "Detonate World's Plague" was more of a demo for us. We were not entirely happy with how it turned out. So we re-recorded the songs that we liked and added them to the new album. The demo versions were released by our own label, Holy Terror records. Holy Terror is a very small label and we only reach a small amount of people. A389 and Magic Bullet can reach much further and the music can be heard the way it was meant to sound, by people who did not have the chance to acquire the super limited demo version.

I have seen that you started exploring your skills in film making and stage directing. The results are great and the videos you made for Integrity and Amenra were really haunting. Will you make any official clip for your upcoming release? Something bigger and non musical in the future?
I am not certain if I will be making a video for the new album. However, a couple friends of mine are discussing of making a video for the title track, "Suicide Black Snake". Yes, I still make film work and have plans for a longer film that would not be a music video. Silent horror film.

Would you like to tell us something about your collaboration with A389 Recordings? If I am right, there was also a celebration in January where bands like you, Catharsis, and Left For Dead played on stage. Was it like the old good days?
A389 is a label owned and operated by one of my best friends, DomeNICK Romeo. Each year he has an A389 festival and we have played almost all of his fests. Yes, it was great to play with Catharsis, Gehenna, Left For Dead and the many other bands that performed 2012 A389 FANfest.

You have been constantly on the road lately and you are planning also to tour in summer. Last year you also visited Greece for a great show despite that the attendance wasn't really big enough. Greece lives one of its darkest ever eras. Oppression, repression and exploitation compose our daily routine. The day you played there was a strike on the means of transport. What is your opinion about this situation and the global crisis overall?
We played the night of the revolution. The people in attendance were getting ready to revolt and I hope that our music helped strengthen the fire in their hearts.

You once said, that US military forces used to play your music in tortures and terrible things like that. Do you believe that hardcore, your music, our music, can also be used as our weapon to make our oppressors feel fear? I am sure that the social changes some of us dream can make them feel fear.
We created our music as a weapon, so it only makes sense that it has been appropriated in a military application. I am not interested in the agenda of the military. It was surprising when I was contacted about the use of my music in war.

Do you believe in such social changes? Is there any future? Is there any possibility to escape from this decay? Have you ever thought of any solution?
No, I do not believe in this. I believe that the extermination of the entire human race is our only salvation.

If humanity still is and always will be the devil, hot will its end be? Can you imagine?
We are in hell. This is hell. there is no hope.

Dwid, I really thank you for all these things I gained from your music. Last words yours.
The pleasure is all mine. Thank you for your interview.