Scorpio: How did the idea to create the MANTAS band come about?
Jeff: I was given the opportunity to record a solo album at a time when VENOM was inactive due to various circumstances. I actually thought about it for quite some time before accepting the offer, however once I had decided to do it I went at it full steam — I don't do things by halves. I began putting all the songs and demo ideas together at home until I was happy with the direction in which it was going. I didn't just want to write another VENOM album; this had to be different, otherwise what would be the point in doing it. All the songs were written specifically for the album "Zero Tolerance". I started recording in January 2003, laying down all the guitars, then it came to vocals so I needed to find someone for the job. Bry was recommended to me for the vocal job by a friend of mine with whom I train in Aikido. He had worked with Bry in a previous band and thought he would be perfect for the band... He was right. Bry can be totally aggressive or he can be melodic and you will hear both on the album, though obviously more of the aggressive. His main influence is Max Cavalera and his love of extreme metal makes him an important part of this band. Marsy was originally brought in to design the MANTAS website, which he has done and it looks amazing. It was only later that I found out that he played guitar. I asked him if he would like to try out for the band and he said yes. At this point I only had a couple of tracks recorded, so I gave him a copy of "Rise" and "Original Sin" to learn. A few days later he came back and played them for me... the job was his, no problem. I was really lucky to get him at this point because he was in the process of breaking up his own band and concentrating on his web design. Marsy is into REAL METAL and is dedicated to playing the heaviest music possible!!! The next guy who came in was Tony Dolan. Obviously everyone knows that I have worked with Tony D. before and I was really happy when he stepped in to play bass. I gave him total freedom to interpret the songs as he heard them because I trust his judgement completely and I think he has done an amazing job. Apart from anything else, Tony has been my closest friend for many years and was even my best man at my wedding — it's great to be working with him. Which brings us to Cherisse... what can I say. An 18-year-old female drummer and she is fucking amazing! She was recommended to me by Tony D. who had done some session work with her in London. He took her into the studio and she played to the backing tracks of "Rage" and "Kill It". He then sent me the CD of this along with her playing a solo piece. We then booked a rehearsal studio in London and myself and Bry drove the 300 miles to meet her. Myself, Bry, Tony D., and Cherisse rehearsed for 4 hours and she knew every song inside out — I was totally blown away. She is a perfectionist with a natural ability for her chosen instrument. I think a lot of people are in for a shock when they see her play. It is really good to eventually be in a band with people that I now consider to be true friends. There are no egos, no bullshit — everyone wants the best for everyone else and to make this band the very best it can be, and this shows in our performance. When we are all together there is a definite feeling that this is something special and as soon as we plug in and play. We can't wait to get out and do this live... it's gonna kill!!!
Scorpio: You know, for many people it's strange to see a girl as a drummer.
Jeff: Yeah, it was a little bit strange for me too. I didn't know how it would look in the band. But now everyone can see she's an incredible drummer! She's definitely the best drummer I've worked with. For many who've heard the promo, it's hard to believe that it's a girl playing this great stuff.
Scorpio: Did you want to play thrash or nu metal when you decided to create MANTAS?
Jeff: When I write the music for MANTAS, I have full freedom, and I don't think about what style it should be. When I was in VENOM, there was a stamp of what the band should play. With MANTAS I didn't want to sound anything like VENOM. I wanted to take it away from VENOM; I tried to make heavier music. When you hear the whole album, you'll see it's wide-ranging stuff. You've already heard 3 tracks from the album on the promo...
Scorpio: Aha!
Jeff: So, these songs — "Zero Tolerance", "Rage", and "Kill It" — perfectly describe the album. It is heavy and brutal. "Drill" has industrial elements, brutal guitars, smashing drums and stuff like that. "Stone Cold" is one of the fast tracks on the album. The track where we could say "Yeah, that's quite like VENOM would be" is "Rise". Another fast track is called "Insanity" — also a song that we all like very much. The other two songs on the album, "Look Who Died" and "Original Sin", are very heavy tracks. No one who hears the album can say it's black metal or death or thrash. I think it's just good heavy metal. Many people ask me in interviews what the music on the album will be, what style. And I tell them: "Look! It's just heavy metal."
Scorpio: We can see 666 in your logo and on the cover of the promo. Are your lyrics about Satan?
Jeff: Yes, I mean there are satanic elements in some songs. I think it's mainly in "Zero Tolerance" — just pure aggression. It's about being yourself, taking responsibility for yourself. "Original Sin" and "Look Who Died" have got satanic tendencies. As for 666, I always signed my name as Mantas 666, so it's a part of me. The logo idea is originally by Bry. He's a good artist. And then we decided to combine the MANTAS banner with three sixes in a circle — it looks great. Now we're also working on the artwork for T-shirts. We're going to release some merchandise as well.
Scorpio: And what about performing? What festivals and concerts are you going to play?
Jeff: At the moment, all the concerts will start in June. We're also playing at the Athens open air festival in Greece. We're going to go everywhere. I don't want it to be like it was in VENOM, where we selected where to go. With MANTAS we will play in the smallest clubs as well as on the biggest stages. And it doesn't matter where we are on the festival playlist. We can open the fest, headline, or be in the middle. We don't care. I love being on stage, I love being in the studio. At the end of the day, I'm just a musician. We will play anywhere you invite us. No problem.
Scorpio: I've also read that you'll play some VENOM stuff.
Jeff: Yeah, a couple of songs. VENOM is a big part of my life — I was one of the members of that group. It seems logical to play a couple of songs. It's not gonna be a lot of VENOM songs, because I don't want anyone saying "Oh, Mantas wants to rely on old VENOM songs." There will be 4 tracks in the set, I think. Right now we play 4 VENOM songs and we play them really well.
Scorpio: And do these songs have different arrangements?
Jeff: No, no. The arrangement is basically the same; we haven't changed anything. All the songs we play are written by myself.
Scorpio: Is it now, at the beginning of the 21st century, easier to promote a metal band than it was in the '80s?
Jeff: Oh, yes. When we first started playing this kind of extreme metal, it was very difficult to get promoted. Getting on the radio — impossible. Nobody wanted to know about it. And now, I think, the extreme forms of heavy metal have come more to the forefront, and it's a lot easier. Obviously, with the help of the Internet. Everybody has a computer at home. You can find so many metal bands — hundreds of heavy metal bands. Now if you're a young band and you have a good computer setup at home, you can record your own album in your bedroom, burn the CD, and promote yourself. Now it's pretty easy to do. But when it comes to performing and gigs, it's still difficult to get the chance to play on a big stage.
Scorpio: And what can you tell us about the label that will publish your album — Demolition?
Jeff: I've known the guys who run Demolition for about 25 years. We hope to push the album as far as we can. They're good guys, and our relationship is good.
Scorpio: And will your album be distributed in russia and Ukraine?
Jeff: I sincerely hope so. Even if we don't find a distributor in your countries, I want to make the album available on the website, which will be launched soon. It's almost finished now. There will also be clips of all the songs, merchandise, and all the information about MANTAS, of course.
Scorpio: Do you know anything about Ukraine, russia, Belarus?
Jeff: I've already been to russia, when VENOM played in st. petersburg. It was in 1991, I think. We played at the White Night Festival. That was my only experience of russia. Are there many metal clubs there?
Scorpio: No, not that many. The most well-known bands go to moscow: DIMMU BORGIR, CRADLE OF FILTH, for example. In Ukraine the situation isn't as good; an active metal scene is only just beginning. Last year Kyiv was visited by PUNGENT STENCH from Austria.
Jeff: I see. If somebody is interested in bringing MANTAS to play over there, feel free to contact me at [email protected].
Scorpio: And now a game for your imagination. I'll say an invented band name, and you say what music a group with that name should play.
Jeff: Ha-ha-ha, cool!
Scorpio: MORTAL SCREAM.
Jeff: Death metal — four guys, long straight hair, doomy stuff.
Scorpio: KNIFE IN YOUR HEAD.
Jeff: KNIFE IN YOUR HEAD, he-he, good! Like hardcore punk. A skinhead hardcore punk band, yeah.
Scorpio: 13th SATAN'S DAUGHTER.
Jeff: Oh, it's gonna be black metal like CRADLE OF FILTH. Screaming vocals, they look like vampires.
Scorpio: HER FANTASIA.
Jeff: Gothic. Something like MY DYING BRIDE, maybe.
Scorpio: MARS SWORD.
Jeff: The first thought in my head is industrial. A lot of samples and stuff like that.
Scorpio: DROPS OF VENUS.
Jeff: A band for girls — a girly rock band, yeah.
Scorpio: BRAIN VENTILATION.
Jeff: Ha-ha-ha! Surgical metal.
Scorpio: BOOGER BOYS.
Jeff: BOOGER BOYS! Ha-ha! Oh, good! An American toilet rock band.
Scorpio: And the last one — CUCUMBER IN YOUR ASS.
Jeff: Ha-ha-ha-ha! Have you ever seen the band called ROCKBITCH? They do hardcore pornography on stage. It's a rock band full of girls and they do unbelievable things on stage, ha-ha.
Scorpio: You live in Newcastle...
Jeff: Yes, yes.
Scorpio: And all the others except Tony.
Jeff: Yes. And Cherisse too. Cherisse also lives in London, two streets away from Tony. Myself, Bry, and Marsy live in Newcastle.
Scorpio: It must be very inconvenient to play in a band and live in different cities.
Jeff: It can be quite difficult, but one week we go to rehearse in London, and the other week they travel to Newcastle. It's not too bad. Sometimes there are some problems, of course. A few weeks ago we had really bad snowstorms over here. Myself, Marsy, and Bry went with great difficulty to London. It's about 300 miles, but it felt like we'd travelled 700 miles. It's OK — we're always in touch by phone. It would be nice to live closer to each other.
Scorpio: And where do the band members work?
Jeff: Tony does a lot of acting as well...
Scorpio: Master and Commander, heh.
Jeff: Yeah, yeah. Cherisse is actually still in college; her studies finish at the beginning of June, and then we'll start touring. The other guitarist, Marsy, makes websites — he's doing the MANTAS website, obviously. Bry does whatever he can. He works at different agencies and stuff like that. He works when he needs to; he doesn't work all the time. Hopefully, I want the band to be the main thing for everybody. That's my aim for this year.
Scorpio: And now, the Jeff Mantas Awards. The first nominee is "The best metal band of last year."
Jeff: For me it's SLIPKNOT. I like SLIPKNOT and I'm waiting for their new stuff. Another band I love is MUDVAYNE. It's difficult to choose a favourite band. My favourite band of all time is JUDAS PRIEST. But for last year — SLIPKNOT, MUDVAYNE, SOULFLY. I hate nu metal, stuff like LINKIN PARK...
Scorpio: LIMP BIZKIT.
Jeff: Oh, fuckin' Fred Durst. No, no LIMP BIZKIT for me, please. I like the hard side of metal. I like the new DAMAGEPLAN stuff, PANTERA.
Scorpio: And the best album?
Jeff: It would be SLIPKNOT "Iowa" or MUDVAYNE "The End Of All Things To Come".
Scorpio: Best non-metal musician.
Jeff: Uh, difficult. Er...
Scorpio: Britney Spears, heh.
Jeff: Ho-ho-ho, no! Have you seen her last video?
Scorpio: Toxic?
Jeff: Aha, terrible! Er... best non-metal, it's very difficult. I'd say the fusion project of John Petrucci from DREAM THEATER.
Scorpio: Best politician.
Jeff: Absolutely none of them. Nobody! They're all liars.
Scorpio: Best sportsman.
Jeff: Somebody from a combat sport. Mike Tyson, maybe. But, you know, there's a guy right here in Newcastle — Ian Freeman. He's fought in russia, Japan, the USA. Yeah, he's a great sportsman.
Scorpio: And have you heard about the Ukrainian boxers — the Klitschko brothers?
Jeff: Yes, I've heard — they're two really big guys. But I've never seen them fight.
Scorpio: Most beautiful woman.
Jeff: I'll say my wife, because she'll kill me if I don't. Ha-ha-ha! Uh, it's so difficult to answer — there are so many beautiful women!
Scorpio: Oh, you know, there's a joke: there are no ugly women, there's just not enough vodka.
Jeff: Ha-ha!
Scorpio: Next nominee — the smartest person.
Jeff: It's Gene Simmons from KISS. He's a very clever guy, a good businessman.
Scorpio: And who's the most stupid one?
Jeff: He-he, too many to name.
Scorpio: So, I think there are no more nominees. What are your hobbies? How do you spend your free time?
Jeff: My hobby is PlayStation 2. I'm playing a game at the moment called "Manhunt". My other thing outside of music is Aikido — a traditional Japanese martial art. I like Japanese culture. Of course, I also spend a lot of time with my family.
Scorpio: And have you ever been to Japan?
Jeff: No. I like Japanese culture, traditions, food — I train Aikido. It's not only a fighting art but also a spiritual experience. I have a lot of DVDs of masters from Japan. It's one of my dreams to go to Japan.
Scorpio: And do you listen to young metal bands? Anything interesting for you?
Jeff: I'm open to everything, really. I mean metal-based stuff and all that. I'm sure, right at this very moment as we speak, there are a lot of young bands out there. They're very, very good, you know. They're gonna be the next generation. Maybe there's a new VENOM somewhere, and maybe a new METALLICA somewhere. Someone is gonna be the next big band. Every band that's playing metal — for me, they're doing a good job. Everyone who promotes metal music is doing a good job. There are a lot of fuckin' boy bands, "Britney Spears" types and all that, who make manufactured music. Rock and metal — that's real music, made by real people.
Scorpio: Honest music.
Jeff: Yes, exactly, my friend — it's honest music.
Scorpio: Thank you for your answers. It was a great pleasure for me to talk with you!
Jeff: I want to say to all the fans out there and all the readers out there: I really hope you'll enjoy "Zero Tolerance" when you get it. Hopefully the band and I will be over there as soon as we possibly can to play for you. So, promoters from Ukraine and russia are welcome to invite us. Let's keep metal alive! It's all for the fans — the ones who buy the albums, who come to the gigs, and who help promote the band. Without you guys, metal wouldn't exist. Because without fans there would be no bands. So just remember, you guys are the most important people!