This is NOT the Official myspace Speed Kill Hate site.
This site is a tribute to the SKH 2004
Original Lineup ONLY and will NOT keep current with SKH in the future. All current SKH questions or comments should be made to the SKH Official site.
Engraved over the band’s logo are the words “East Coast Thrash,” and that’s a good and substantial starting point with this band of brash brothers, brothers who are pros and have picked their instruments of violence wisely. Speed Kill Hate is the brainchild of Dave Linsk. With the aid of life long friend, Mario Frasca together have latched upon an infectious strain of time-straddled death thrash metal that improves upon the work they had done together under the Anger On Anger banner.
But the core of the band’s debut, Acts Of Insanity, begins with guitarist Linsk’s drive to make songs come alive that could not be accepted under the auspices of his other band Overkill (of note, Overkill drummer Tim Mallare and Overkill bassist Derek Tailer play on the album as well). There have always been some problems in breaking into that band’s songwriting circle, but one must also surmise that the blasted Acts Of Insanity tracks were almost too potent and aggressive for that band’s current musical direction. Indeed, Speed Kill Hate churn an earthy, no-nonsense fastback thrash that enigmatically grabs the best from the old school while adding production edge from the new.
Speed Kill Hate’s style definitely fits in with the thrash community, but at the same time trying to do something a little different. Bridging the old with the new and adding in some death elements into the mix. Some people actually say, ‘You guys have started up something new called thrashcore. Linsk replies, well, that's OK. Mario is into some hardcore stuff and has a bit of that in his vocal style, and he brings that to the thrash thing that is going on in the music.”
But one of the most impressive elements concerning Acts Of Insanity is its tight but evident versatility, the album sequenced for maximum headbanging blood-rushed playability, the band’s obvious wealth of experience serving to make the record ebb and flow while still remaining uncompromising and harsh.
Turns out that fan reaction has affirmed this stated sentiment, that a profusion of compositions spill forth when folks are surveyed for their faves. “Absolutely, everybody has a different opinion,” says Dave. “It depends on what style of music you really like best. If you're the straight-up old school thrash metal kind of guy, something like ‘Walls Of Hate’ seems to hit home with a lot of people. If you are more of a Slayer kind of guy, more up-tempo, maybe something like ‘Face The Pain.’ I personally like the song ‘Setting Me Off,’ which is kind of a hybrid of both. There’s something different going on in each one that would have someone focus in on what they think is the best one. But then again you do hear that people like the ‘Violence Breeds’ quite often. Still, it's kind of strange to not hear the same song come out every time.”
Indeed, “Face The Pain” itself is a microcosm of the album as a whole – the band’s grooves are there, as well as the technicality and a cogent hardcore punk vibe. “Setting Me Off” chugs briskly like classic mosh-mad Anthrax, while “Won’t See Fear” mixes powerful militaristic half-time beats with chord washes and locked-down rhythm guitar thunder. “Violence Breeds” again stomps the sweet spot between hardcore and old school thrash, with a killer collapse into the album’s most anthemic moment, Mario barking “Hey, are you ready?” to a merciless machine gun riff ‘n’ rhythm from Dave.
“’Walls Of Hate’ is definitely a good tune,” adds Mario. “The idea of that title… it could relate to a relationship with a girl - you've got a wall between you and it takes years of being together to get that wall to finally break down. Every one of those songs definitely has meaning to them. ‘Enemy’ - that song is about the war. I mean, there was just so much craziness. While tracking, we were watching TV in our breaks, doing lunch, and we’d incorporate stuff that was just going on right that day in Iraq, information the news was beaming out. Lyrically, things just rub in my mind, and that’s where they come out – in our lyrics.”
At the vocal end of things, one instantly notices the depth and purity of Mario’s hardcore sensibility. “I've always liked Max from Sepultura, and of course Slayer. Not that I really sing that way, but Slayer was definitely an influence. I just try to go for what comes naturally. People always ask me, ‘How the hell do you do that shit all the time?’ I just tell them, ‘It's my yelling voice’ (laughs). In other words, when I get angry, that's what I sound like. I like anything that's got drive to it. I like music from death to thrash to hardcore. I'm into anything that you could say has power and believability to it; I'm not into the phony stuff. If I can feel it, I know a good. In a live setting, man, ‘Setting Me Off’ is a hard one to sing, because it's pretty quick, quicker than on the record. Other than that, all of them are a blast to do; I have fun with all of them. I'm just totally into the vibe of what we've got going on. It's just angry all the time.”
Mario’s razor lined bark serves as the perfect adjunct – even an anchor – to the noticeably spontaneous and fired-up performance boiling and roiling behind him. Dave agrees that there was a certain magic to the mayhem enclosed. “We actually did this record rather fast, and at one point even thought of going back and re-doing it again. But there was some kind of… let's just call it hunger, in what went down. We wanted to leave that as it was rather than going for generic and stale cut-and-paste recording ideas. It was all done straight-up on-the-fly.”
