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It takes a certain kind of twisted humor to appreciate what Villainizer delivers. The thrash metal outfit led by Rob the Arab Villain (RAV), was formed in 2009, and tackles a lot of current issues that most of America is afraid of, namely terrorism and Arabs.They do it in a way that’s tongue-in-cheek, but they don’t hide behind that; they have balls big enough to title their debut full-length I Bomb New York, and then to release it on 9/11 2011, the 10 year anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.
To date, Villainizer has two EPs and two full-length albums with a split on the way. I had the chance to chat with RAV about the upcoming project, Dunerunner, controversy in general, theatrics, hummus, and more. Here’s how it went down.
Can you briefly introduce Villainizer for anyone who has not heard of you before ?
Villainizer is a controversial and ironic Thrash Metal band deeply rooted in satire to help combat Middle Eastern stereotypes in an unconventional way.
Who makes up Villainizer? Can you tell us a bit about the members?
Josh “The Irish Villain” – Drums, Trent “The Quantum Villain” – Guitars, Drew “The Druciferian Villain” – Guitars (Also from Death Toll Rising), and I am Rob “The Arab Villain” – Bass/Vocals, and the creator of Villainizer.
Villainizer is extremely political and you draw a lot of your inspiration from world events, can you tell us a bit about why that is?
We do as much as we can to ridicule world events, such as the Boston Marathon Bombings, where many Americans instantly jumped to the bomber being “Arab,” and so for a few shows we changed the words of our sound “I Bomb New York” to “I Bomb Boston,” and ironically ended up touring through the states and played Boston anyway, and they loved us!
We do it do draw out the fact that everyone instantly jumps to associating Arabs with terrorism, and we’re here to help combat that stereotype, but in our own way.
When fans go to a Villainizer show they see that you are all about theatrics and causing a reaction; why is big energy and going over-the-top so important to the band?
Big energy should be important to every band. Without it your live show is no different than listening to the record in a bar.
What would you say has been your strongest album to date and why?
Our strongest release to date is our upcoming split EP with Black Pestilence, entitled Dunerunner, it is the first album that we completely wrote, recorded, mixed, and mastered ourselves, and it is a true testament to thrash metal, and what can be achieved when great minds collaborate.
You are just about to release some new content, can you tell me a bit about what we can expect?
Dunerunner, set to be released in May at www.villainizer.com, is a 4-track split limited to 100 copies on 12″ Infidel Blood Red vinyl. It features the track “Dunerunner,” our favorite and fastest song to date, as well as a parody of the S.O.D. song “Speak English or Die,” appropriately entitled “Speak Arab or Die,” and on side B are the tracks “Cyber Disarray” and a heavy thrashing cover of “Die, Die My Darling” by the Misfits. We wanted something rare for our true fans and we figured this would be it.
Villainizer regularly brings on tons of other bands to perform with at your shows, if you had to choose, who would you say has been the most fun to play alongside of?
Every band that we have played with has been great to work with, but Black Pestilence takes the cake, that’s why we’re doing a split with them! But sharing the stage with Disciples of Power was cool, as well as Revenge, Blasphemy, and Cauldron, to name a few…
Are there any bands you would like to play alongside?
We would kill 1,000,000 infidels to share the stage with Slayer, Nile, Fearless Iranians From Hell, and Melechesh (All on the same bill).
What does 2014 look like as far as travel for Villainizer?
2014 brings on another year of struggling to fund plans of mass destruction and terror, while trying to afford the rent on our jam space, paying for the albums and merch, and trying to have money for food. We suffer every day of every year to bring our music to our fans, and all we want in return is for them to spread the terror!
Anything else you’d like to say to your fans?
Don’t use Hummus as lube, it is a waste of hummus.
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