Death is, for those who may not know, one of the most important and influential acts in the hard rock and metal communities. From its formation in 1984 to the current age of music, the band remains among the upper echelons of the hard rock and metal communities, revered by audiences, critics and other hard rock and metal acts alike. In 2011, former Death drummer Gene Hogland assembled a group of musicians to form a memorial to the legacy of Death and its equally revered late front man Chuck Schuldiner in the form of Death To All. That organization has since then carried on those legacies while creating a while new generation of fans. The group, in its latest iteration – featuring Steve DiGiorgio (Testament, Sadus) on bass, Hoglan on drums, Max Phelps (Obscura, ex-Cynic) on vocals, and Bobby Koelbe (Death) on guitar – recently continued its mission (of sorts) with a successful South American tour. It will continue that mission next month with a new North American run scheduled to launch May 18 in Columbus, OH.
Hoglan graciously took time out of his already busy schedule (which includes working as a member of Dethklok) – that band is itself out on the road – to talk about Death To All’s upcoming tour, personal health and fitness, balancing multiple projects, and the legacy of Death in an extensive interview with Mayhem Rockstar Magazine head writer Philip Sayblack. Hogland’s interview with the magazine is available to read below.
MRM: Right off the bat, thanks Mr. Hoglan for taking the time to talk with me. I know you are already so busy with your schedule with Dethklok and planning things for Death To All’s upcoming tour, “Scream of Perseverance Tour.” I want to start there, with the upcoming DTA run. The tour is going to be an expansive, career-spanning show. All seven of Death’s albums will be represented and two will be played in full. Did this come about organically or did the group plan this outright?
GH: The most organic thing about the set list was that we wanted to do this, pay honor to Death’s legacy and that of Chuck. It was an all-encompassing thing. The idea to go this route actually came from our booking agent. He came to us and said we should put together a 2-night thing and that we could pick the albums. We bounced ideas off of each other a couple of months ago and I happened to come up with the idea for this in the end. We started planning back in November, and I’ve got 70 songs to work on now, and we’ll play them all on this tour. It’s something we’ve never done before.
MRM: 70 songs is a heck of a lot to prep on top of what you are already doing with Dethklok. Speaking of which, I recently had the pleasure to talk with Brendan Smalls, and knowing how much you both are doing, are you that type, like him, who just loves having so much on your plate?
GH: I wouldn’t say that I love having a lot on my plate. Breandan’s a great guy. I love working with him. I guess when you are in demand, you are just fortunate. This is all I do. It’s all I’ve ever done. I am in a very fortunate position to do what I do. My day starts at 10 a.m. and does not end until 3 a.m. the next morning [laughs]. You just have to keep cooking. You can’t go into stasis to do it all.
MRM: [Laughs] ok, well let’s stay on that for a moment. You keep cooking. You keep going. But either way, you must follow some sort of regimen to keep going. From one drummer to another, we’ve got to keep our bodies healthy, legs, arms, everything.
GH: yeah {laughs] I’m a serial napper. I’m a super health guy these days. I do intend to keep doing this — precise what I’m doing now – for the next 20 years. I’m preparing now. I quit drinking a decade ago. I’m honestly a teetotaler these days. I also take a lot of naps. Naps are great. I don’t need to rely on hard drugs or opioids. I’m on a straight superfoods nutrition thing. When I get to our hotel today, they have a fitness room, so I’ll be using that. I also wear leg weights when I’m on stage for like the first four songs of the set.
MRM: I think that is something that a lot of people need to know, the overall importance of being healthy. Let’s get back to Death To All. You founded Death To All, but you weren’t one of its founding members. Talk to me about that history.
GH: [laughs] Yeah, it is kind of ironic. I didn’t join Death until its…fifth album. The concept of Death To All started in 2011. That was with the re-release of Individual Thought Patterns. The band had gone through its permutations over time, but in 2014, we settled on this current lineup. It was a schedule-based lineup that worked for us all.
GH: What’s really interesting about it all is that it had actually been explained by Chuck’s (Schuldiner) family, the importance of what Death To All is doing. Chuck’s nephew, Chris told us one time, how important Death To All is in keeping alive the legacy of Death and Chuck. Hearing that, I was very touched.
MRM: Staying on that matter of the role that Death To All plays in those legacies, and that you formed this band, do you consider Death To All to be a tribute band or maybe more of something else? There are a lot of “tribute bands” out there but they just play these songs or those, so where do you stand on that?
GH: I honestly wouldn’t know if it would be a tribute band or something else. I don’t pay that much attention to anyone else’s viewpoints. This is only a way to do Death’s music and cover the entirety of Chuck’s albums.
MRM: So the band is really more of a memorial to Chuck and his legacy than a tribute band?
GH: Absolutely! I like that! And honestly, seeing these big metal dudes with tears in their eyes because they never thought they’d be in that situation at concerts, it makes it all the more fitting a tribute.
MRM: Keeping in mind those legacies and everything we’ve discussed I’ll close with one more question regarding the band’s legacy and maybe a future for either Death To All or even Death. Obviously a band like, say, Stattic-X recently released two collections of music that featured the final vocal recordings of Wayne Static in the form of the Project Regeneration collections. Are there any, perhaps, archived vocal recordings from Chuck that could result in any new material? Fans obviously ask this a lot, will there ever be anything new from Death? So what can you say there?
GH: To answer the first part of your question, I am unaware at this time, of any vocals that might be in a can anywhere. At the same time I wouldn’t expect that to exist anywhere. So I doubt there will be anything “new” from Death in the future. I wouldn’t dishonor Chuck’s legacy anyway. It’s kind of the same with Static-X. Static-X was Wayne Static. Same thing, Death was Chuck. We’ve never given this much thought. As for Death To All, there will always be a future.
GH: On another note, if you know who Bear McCreary is, I also worked on his latest album. It is a solo record. It is all loud, heavy, killer stuff. If you’re a fan of Strapping Young Lad, Devin Townsend or stuff like that you’ll enjoy that record. I feel like it’s the coolest drumming I’ve done.
MRM: Duly noted. I’ll definitely check it out. On that note, I know you are very busy, prepping for Dethklok’s next concert. I really appreciate you taking all this time to talk with me. All the best with both of these tours.
GH: You are very welcome and thank YOU. Have a great day.
More information on Death To All’s upcoming North American run is available along with all of the band’s latest news at:
