Joel Grind, the frontman of Portland thrashers Toxic Holocaust, has come under fire from a lot of idiotic underground metal troglodytes recently. Their complaint – wait for it – is that he SOLD OUT by going on tour with party thrash knuckleheads Municipal Waste. I’m sure that seems as dumb to you as it does to me, but if not, let me ask you this: If Joel Grind really had started swimming in gargantuan bank vaults with supermodels made out of gold, would he still be hanging around outside the Camden Underworld in the rain talking to me? Probs not. I can assure you that he’s still the same, down-to-earth guy who loves old Bathory and Hellhammer and thrashing as much as the next, erm, thrasher, so stop crying!
Toxic Holocaust – Damned to Fire
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VICE: Hey Joel. How was the recent European tour?
Joel Grind: Great. There were ups and downs, but the UK was really good to us.
Where did you start?
Norway. We did four shows there and those were the roughest ones, I think because Kvelertak, who we played with, are so big there, and their crowd aren’t really into the most underground of music. They’re bringing out people who aren’t necessarily the biggest metal fans, so they totally don’t get what we’re doing, haha.
A lot of people are saying that you’ve sold out. Do you still consider yourself and Toxic Holocaust to be part of the underground?
Yeah, I do. I mean, I’m still in contact with almost all the people I was when I started the band, it never changed for me. We got a little more coverage because we put a lot of fucking work into it, not because it was handed to us. We just kept playing, because I love touring. Touring is the reason I started the band, making records is secondary to me. I think that’s why the name spread, maybe further than it has for other bands.
But are you happy with how your new record turned out?
Yeah, I’m actually very happy with the record.
When you sit down to write riffs, how much of the song’s already written in your head?
I use the scale of ‘What would I like to hear?’, which might not make it the most original stuff in the world, but I always try to bring something new to the table. I’ve heard bands from the ‘retro-thrash’ era that literally sound just like Exodus or exactly like Kreator. What’s the point? They’re copying the songs, they’re not copying the skill of songwriting those bands had. I’m not saying we’re the most original band in the world, but I don’t wanna be a clone of another band. I’m not pretending like it is 1986, I’m doing this now. I am definitely drawing influences from the 80s, but I’m doing it now.
Cool. Tell us about this Japan relief fund split you did with Midnight, was it your idea?
Yes, we presented the idea to Relapse Records. We went to them because we knew that they would definitely get the money to the Red Cross. They’re a legit label that has to file taxes and not some underground label that say they’re gonna give the money to charity and you never know whether or not they did.
Are you still doing Tiger Junkies?
Yeah, we just came out with a new record, a picture disc thing, but we’re actually working on another full-length. It’s fun to write sleazy lyrics about beer, sex and shit like that.
You’re a Portland native, is there a scene there?
Yeah, not the hugest metal scene, though, it’s more crust and underground punk – bands like Hellshock, Tragedy, From Ashes Rise, Dog Soldier, etc. A lot of the bands have metal influences.
So what’s next after this tour?
After the tour of south-east Asia and Australia we’re doing a US tour with English Dogs. Supposedly for this tour they’re doing To The Ends Of The Earth and Forward Into Battle all the way through.
Do you often get to play with bands that you’ve been a fan of for a while?
Yeah. We did two tours with Danzig, which was pretty cool for me, ’cause I have always been a Danzig fan. On one of those tours it was us, Possessed and Danzig.
Wow, killer line-up. What did you get into first, metal or punk?
Heavy metal. It was kinda through circumstance. I was skating with some kids my own age, but they had older brothers who were into thrash, so I kinda got into it through them, trying to emulate the older kids. Actually, they were cool, they made me a mixtape with Megadeth and Slayer on them.
Wait, you like Megadeth?
I love Megadeth.
I think it’s weird that people say Megadeth suck.
Megadeth rules, man.
They’re not ‘cool’, though.
That’s the thing with the internet – you see kids now, 15, 16 years old, and they’ll have the most obscure patches by bands, like demo bands, that had, like, two songs and they’ll be quizzing me on this shit and I’m like “I don’t spend all day on the internet, I’m doing shit. If they’re good, let me know.” There’s a lot of obscure bands that are good, but most of the obscure bands are obscure for a reason.
Exactly. And, a lot of those bands are bigger now than they ever were.
That’s why it bums me out when people talk shit about Megadeth or Metallica.
But nobody ever talks shit on Slayer.
Ha ha, no, they don’t.
Previously: A Fist in the Face of God Meets… Victor Whipstriker
