DIAG: Bear Mace is a great name. Is there a story behind how it came to be?
Crossbow Death: One night, I had a very vivid dream, in which I was attacked by a bear. The bear was swinging a mace, but instead of spikes, the mace had dozens of smaller bears on it. I ran from this bear frantically, wishing I had a way to stop him — perhaps some kind of spray. When I awoke, I suggested “Bear Mace” to our vocalist as a band name. We happened to be in need of a name at the time (see below), and it just stuck.
Lord Devourer: There is a story behind it, originally we were going to call ourselves Blood Eagle, but there were 12 different bands with that name, so we heard about someone getting bear maced from a car window and thought that would be a great name for a death metal band.
DIAG: Did you toy with any other monikers, did you have a name before the title Bear
Mace came to pass?
CD: We had a different name very early on, which turned out to be taken by another band. I won’t mention the name, because I don’t want to give any free press to the band in question. They suck. Much later, we learned there’s another band called “Bear Mace” and they fucking suck too.
Mike Cirrhosis: I originally wanted to call the band “The Hosers,” but I got outvoted.
DIAG: In your most recent release (Butchering the Colossus) I can hear several different influences from across the thrash and death arena. What bands did you grow up listening to?
CD: I was a thrash kid growing up – Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, that sort of thing. My main influences as far as death metal is concerned, would include Death, Carcass, Obituary, and Bolt Thrower.
MC: I’m into The Originals, The New Originals, and The East End Originals (now The Regulars). I also really like Cancer. The disease, not the band.
LD: I listened to mainly classic metal growing up and got into death metal when it came about in the late 80s and I’ve always like thrash metal. Massacre, Death, and Bolt Thrower are three of my biggest influences.
DIAG: Who would you say influences your style the most? Are there any particular albums you can’t get enough of, a CD that’s perhaps stuck in the player in the bands tourbus and no one seems to care.
CD: I like that you think we own a tour bus.
MC: If we did own a tour bus, we definitely couldn’t afford the model with a CD player. One time “Fair Warning” by Van Halen got stuck in my CD player at home for over a year, though. I wasn’t mad at it.
LD: Massacre From Beyond is in my opinion the greatest death metal of all time. We are all fans of Morbid Angel, Carcass, and Obituary. So if anything like that was playing in the “tourbus” no one would object.
DIAG: Chicago is obviously known more for hip hop (and all the related shenanigans) rather than for rock (save for the band called Chicago) or even metal history. How is the scene there?
CD: I think Chicago’s metal scene is strong, and pretty well-known throughout the world. People here seem to really like death metal. There’s also some pretty big or upcoming bands from other metal genres here.
LD: Historically, Chicago has been producing great death metal since the beginning. Early on bands like Death Strike and Devastastion set the bar and it’s been carried on by other bands like Cianide and Cardiac Arrest.
DIAG: Are there any acts that you’ve toured with, who are deserved of more recognition that they are (currently) getting. Feel free to plug away. Talent and the word of Metal is meant to be preached.
CD: I strongly recommend checking out Dysphoria, Professor Black, Sons of Famine, Without Waves, Bones, Black Sites, Wolvhammer, Tenebrism, and probably a few other people.
LD: Yeah, bands like Funeral Nation and Cardiac Arrest should be getting a lot more recognition.
DIAG: Where might new fans be able to catch an upcoming show, and what can they
expect from the live experience.
CD: We’re currently on a short break from live shows, as we are working on some new material.
DIAG: Who if you had the choice would you wish to tour with, are there any (past or present) acts you’ve always wanted to play alongside?
CD: Carcass. Or if time travel is involved, “Symbolic”-era Death.
MC: I don’t think we can time travel. We don’t even have a tour bus.
LD: Cannibal Corpse.
DIAG: Do you have an extensive tour schedule lined up to support the album?
CD: No.
LD: We don’t play a lot of live shows because it’s more of an event if we don’t play every month.
DIAG: What does the future hold for Bear Mace. Any spoilers you wish to share in relation to the direction of the music or any possible collaborations in the future.
CD: We’re currently working on a new record. The “Butchering…” album is still pretty new, but we caught a burst of inspiration and wrote a bunch more songs pretty quickly. They’re awesome. We’re currently working on songs for a 2nd record. I’d be amazed if anyone was willing to collaborate with us, but anything is possible with Jesus.
MC: My future holds a trip to the clinic this Thursday. I have this really itchy rash I need to have looked at. Slightly off topic here.
DIAG: Where can you be found when you aren’t practising/composing or performing. Perhaps I should rephrase that to ward off potential stalkers. (Ha!) Do you have any hobbies that are particularly unusual of perhaps day jobs that aren’t quite what one might imagine those in a band might have.
MC: I’m a frequent patron at Bonkers Bar and Grill. I’ll hang out pretty much anywhere that I can get a Miller High Life for 2 dollars and Hepatitis C is readily available.
LD: I’m usually at home watching Law & Order SVU.
DIAG: Drunkinagraveyard is a rather diverse site, we report on all manner of things. Metal is handled by many of the staff while a greater many still touch upon the genre of horror in film. Do you have any favorite films and/or directors in the cult/horror genres?
CD: I recently re-watched the first two Maniac Cop films, and they are excellent. It’s worth noting that the guy who played Maniac Cop was a real-life Chicago cop.
MC: I once watched almost an entire documentary on Bryan Adams. I don’t know who directed it but it was fucking horrific.
LD: I’m a big fan of anything John Carpenter, particularly The Thing and In the Mouth of Madness. Also a big fan of Jason Voorhees.
DIAG: Alright, let’s try this… Rapid Fire Round! Cannibal Corpse or Cradle of Filth?
MC: Did I just turn 15?
LD: Cannibal Corpse
DIAG: Beer or hard liquor?
MC: Ok.
LD: Hard liqour
DIAG: Baseball or Football?
LD: Football
MC: Which football? Is this a trick question?
DIAG: Dio or Ozzy?
LD: Depends on the band
MC: What about Tony Martin?
CD: Ice-T.
DIAG: An indoor show or an outdoor festival?
MC: An indoor festival.
LD: Small indoor club shows
DIAG: Ass or tits?
CD: Depends if we’re talking about men or women.
MC: I like holes.
LD: both
DIAG: Metallica or AC/DC?
LD: First three Metallica albums are the best albums ever made
MC: Beavis or Butt-head?
DIAG: Horror or comedy?
LD: comedy
MC: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre says you can be both.
DIAG: Winter or summer?
LD: summer
MC: You forgot Spring and Autumn.
DIAG: Books or books on tape?
LD: Books on tape
MC: How do you read a book on tape? Wouldn’t it just get stuck to your fingers?
DIAG: Iron Maiden or Rainbow?
MC: Rainbows are for posers.
CD: “Rising” is better than anything Maiden ever did. Otherwise, Maiden wins.
LD: Iron Maiden
DIAG: I think that’s about it for now, thanks for playing along. If there’s anything you
wish to add please do so. If there’s any pictures you want to share feel free to attach
them also.
MC: We have some tasteful nude shots, let us know if you want those on your
website. I can also take a few pictures of this rash if your readers might be
interested in telling me what they think it could be.
Thanks again guys. All the best for the New year and the future. Huge fan, as you can see in my year end list.
Keep up the great work.
Cult
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