For their first time in Australia – The Filth Hounds of Hades themselves, bring their heavy artillery Downunder alongside New Wave Of British Heavy Metal veterans Girlschool and Raven! Formed in 1980, Tank has often been compared to British brothers Motörhead – both being trios, fronted by singing bassists, with a loose, grinding, punk-metal sound and gravelly vocals. Guitarists Mick Tucker and Cliff Evans are back with a full band including David Readman (Pink Cream 69) on vocals, Randy Van Der Elsen on bass and longterm Tank member and former Sodom drummer Bobby Schottkowski.
Tank also descend Downunder with a new album titled “Re-Ignition”, a tribute to early Tank days, with 11 classic Tank songs re-imagined, and spanning four albums with exclusive guest appearances from Cradle Of Filth frontman Dani Filth, thrash legend Tom Angelripper of Sodom, as well as members of Michael Schenker Group and Dark Angel. We chat to Cliff Evans ahead of the tour to discuss the shows, the lineup, the latest album and much more.
Andrew: So we’re very excited to see you coming down to Australia for the very first time, how are you guys feeling?
Cliff: Oh we’re obviously very excited too, to come to Australia for the very first time and play for fans. It’s a really big deal for us and we feel privileged to be invited down there so it’s going to be a big one for us.
Andrew: Yeah and circumstances kind of played out well on your side obviously as Venom Inc was originally on the bill but it’s good to see you on the bill. Were you guys looking to come down to Australia anyway?
Cliff: Yeah at some point we would have liked to have come down there. We got a good fanbase over there but it’s a long way! At some point it might of been possible, the guys at Hardline Media we spoke to them before and we were looking into it and obviously when the guys in Venom Inc had to pull out which was bad news for them, Doug from Hardline got onto us and we were there ready to go so that was a nice surprise on that day.
Andrew: You have two other great bands on the bill, Girlschool and Raven. Obviously it fits with the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal theme, what’s the history with you guys in the three bands? Have you guys done shows and tours together many times at all?
Cliff: Yeah with Girlschool we used to have the same management as them which also had the same manager as Motorhead as well. So many times we were always on the same bill and we would always see each other at the office and everything. We’ve known the girls for a long time, we’ve played with them many times over the years. So it’s going to be cool to see them and play the shows with them, they’re good fun, nice girls. And Raven we first played with them…we did an American tour in 1985 so quite a long time ago and we’ve been friends ever since. I think we played with them a couple of years ago as well so it’s going to be great to see all these people on the other side of the world.
Andrew: That must be a surreal experience I guess, to be touring with some bands you’ve known for a long time in a country that for many of you guys is the first time.
Cliff: Yeah it’s an exciting thing because it came up out of the blue as well so it’s quite a big thing. I mean obviously it’s a lot of traveling and that but it’s great to play a different audience as well so to bring the Tank show over there and obviously it’s representing the whole British metal scene as well which is really good. To have those three bands on the bill so it’s a certain style of metal there which I guess fans in Australia don’t get to see.
Andrew: No and as you mentioned before its a long way so its difficult for bands to come over here so I think the appreciation factor for bands like yourselves is kind of stepped up a bit and kind of becomes more passionate I suppose.
Cliff: Yeah that’s it I guess, these bands have been around for quite a while now. A lot of history there, a lot of albums with great songs there and with so many bands falling by the wayside right now, we sort of keep on going there and putting on a show, I guess you gotta come see it while we’re still here and that’s it really.
Andrew: [laughs] Speaking of moving on, I believe you just had a new release that came out a couple of months ago right? “Re-Ignition”.
Cliff: Yeah “Re-Ignition” is really more of a promo album and a bit of fun really, just an idea we had when we were out on the road a little while ago where we record some old songs. A lot of those songs from the old albums are still in our live set today but we play them a little bit differently, obviously a lot more energy and updated a little bit. So we thought, ‘Let’s re-record them, give them a bit of a metal makeover, bit more energy and a new lease of life’. Obviously the original recordings are fantastic and they’re always going to be there but we thoughts let’s make them sound a bit better like we play them live now. So it was a low budget recording, real basic production, real simple and it turned out really good. We chose 11 songs off the first four albums, as I said many of these songs are going to be in the live set we’re going to play in Australia and the album has been pretty well received. It’s kind of introducing Tank to people who haven’t really heard much about Tank before, it’s done the job well.
Andrew: Yeah it’s a good vehicle for people to get into the band for the first time and obviously for a band that’s been around for a number of decades now, you’ve obviously got generations of fans coming in to the place so an album like that does play a part in bringing in younger fans I suppose.
Cliff: Yeah it seems to have done the job. It’s getting out there and people are listening to those tracks and then they’ll go back and listen to the older albums, it’s just a way of people to discover what Tank is all about if they never heard of us before. So it’s got it out there which is really good and the more people that listen to it, the better. We’ve had some good feedback from everyone, people are saying it’s just straight down the line proper rock n roll metal stuff and that makes them appreciate it so that album was a good idea to do it.
Andrew: What’s your perspective on those old songs? You mentioned how they’ve changed a little bit with the way you play it and stuff, but looking back on those songs when they first came out and were recorded and stuff like that, has your view on those songs changed at all or the fact that you play them so regularly means you’ve always had the same perspective on those old classics?
Cliff: We don’t really change the arrangements or anything, we keep them exactly as they were. No point changing them as they were great first off. But they’ve obviously changed now with the lineup we have, we have different musicians that add a certain something there and obviously different vocalists we’ve been using that changes them quite a bit. Our vocalist right now, David Readman, I mean he sings the old songs really well. He’s got a really raunchy voice there, he enjoys singing those old songs. Before we had Doogie White from Rainbow and Michael Schenker Group and we had ZP Theart who is now in Skid Row, they were great on the newer albums when we were writing stuff together but they weren’t so into the old songs so we didn’t do so many of those songs in the set then but now we can put them back with David Readman. He really puts those songs across how they should be sung now so it’s working pretty well there.
Andrew: So David Readman is fitting in well with you guys, it’s been a postive experience so far? What’s it been like?
Cliff: It’s great, we’re having a really good time on the road. The lineup is great, we got Bobby Schottkowski from Sodom on drums who is a phenomenal drummer so he holds it all together. We got the young guy, Randy van der Elsen on bass who is like a monster bass player and also a fantastic vocalist so that adds another sort of dimension to the band as well, so you got 2 really good vocalists in the band. So it’s a much bigger sound now, it’s pretty full on and then obviously Mick (Tucker) and me on guitars there, the Les Paul straight through the Marshalls giving it the beef and it’s just a good sort of straight down the line metal band there and right in your face so it’s working really well.
Andrew: Looking forward to it, gonna be exciting stuff and as I said before just a great bill and really a throwback to the old classics which I know a lot of fans love. Speaking of history I do like to ask some questions to people we interview about some of their own musical history and how they got into music. So take us back to the very beginning for you and how you got into music and why this kind of music?
Cliff: When I was a kid I was exposed to a lot of it, my sister was older than me and she used to go out and buy all the records so as soon as Zeppelin I came out, that was on non-stop in our house. So it was kind of blasted into my brain from then on and then it all went in the 70’s and glam stuff and everything, it’s always been about guitars for me. I listen to all sorts of music but it’s always been the rock side of things so that inspired me to learn how to play the guitar, I was about 12 or 13 when I started and it just carried on from there. Many different bands, I think I joined Tank in 1984 and obviously still here now. A few bands after that as well so it’s just been great kinda almost making a living out of playing guitar.
Andrew: Was there a particular guitar player that kind of helped shape your sound at all or was a major influence on you early on?
Cliff: Yeah Jimmy Page was always the main man for me, he’s number one and still is. I just think the guy is a genius so I always listened to Jimmy Page but I also love Kossoff’s sound and his style, people like Leslie West. All the old school players but I listen to everything, I keep an open mind but that’s where my influences come from.
Andrew: Do you listen to any new music at all or do you stick to what you grew up with?
Cliff: I listen to anything, I don’t care what it is or who it is. If I like it, I like it. I mean I have music on all the time and I really don’t care what year it’s from or whatever, if it’s good it’s good, it’s as simple as that really.
Andrew: OK so current or modern bands at the moment, who is sparking your interest currently?
Cliff: I like Rival Sons, I think they have a really good sound. Really good production, great songs. Doyle Bramhall, love his stuff, he’s really cool. Again just whatever is out there really.
Andrew: Rival Sons is a great band, we love them down here, fantastic. So it’s going to be a great tour here with you guys, we are looking forward to it. Before you come down here and I know you have already thrown a few messages to the Aussie fans but just for us, but do you have any last words or messages for the fans before you come down?
Cliff: We are so excited to be able to come down to Australia. We’ve got a good fanbase down there so to actually come down there and meet you guys and actually play our music for you is a real privilege and hopefully we’ll go and have a few beers with all of you as well after the show.
AUSTRALIAN TOUR DATES
w/ Girlschool & Raven
WED 26 JUNE – THE BASEMENT – CANBERRA
THUR 27 JUNE – THE ZOO – BRISBANE
FRI 28 JUNE – THE MANNING – SYDNEY
SAT 29 JUNE – CROXTON BANDROOM – MELBOURNE
TICKETS FROM: WWW.HARDLINEMEDIA.NET
