Cianide - Gods of the Working Class Part I
By: Mike Sloan
Blistering.com: I remember when I first met you guys back in 1996 or so. Even back then Cianide was never really about major tours and becoming stars because you all had jobs/careers to focus on. Not much has changed in that regard. However, when the band first got together in the late 1980’s and you were all young kids, did you envision becoming major metal stars and touring all over the world? If that’s the case, when did those visions change?
Carroll: When we first got together, we were really just teaching each other how to play because we didn’t know how to fucking play. Mike and I taught each other how to play as we were playing. When we got better and better and got our first record out, we were like, “Holy shit, this is kick ass!” Maybe because people back then all said we sucked and it was in our heads [not to become superstars]? I don’t know because we didn’t really care because we were doing what we loved. But at some point when we did A Descent Into Hell, we were thinking that if we could get a [major] tour, this would be awesome. But right around that time, I fell into a really great job. Mike (Perun, bass/vocals) had a shitty job back then but I fell into something really decent, just by luck. And I’m still at the same fucking job; go figure. That’s a whole different story.
So when that happened, I said that if we are going to tour it’s got to be something really awesome and not just some little tour with whatever band and playing for fucking 30 people and driving around in some shitty van all over the country. I was hoping to be the opening band for, say, Entombed or something. We never had the mindset that we had to get out on the road and tour. I don’t know, maybe we just didn’t have the confidence or the thought to be able to do that? We were still totally surprised that we were actually doing a record. But touring? That wasn’t even in our thoughts. It’s never really been a dream of ours to get out on the road and tour. It really hasn’t. We’re just working class fuckers, man. We can’t really afford it, you know?
Blistering.com: It’s similar to Deceased and how they’ve never toured. The members either live in different cities now or have jobs that prevent them from touring and Deceased is a great band.
Carroll: Oh, Deceased are fucking awesome, man. That new album is fucking awesome. They are gods. Even they can’t tour [laughs].
Blistering.com: Personally, I have always enjoyed Cianide’s music and the sound. You’ve always had that unique, raw, dirty sound to your music. In your opinion, why do you think that Cianide never got that “big break” that many other bands – some who aren’t even that good – have gotten?
Carroll: We never really got ourselves into the game, so to speak. We never really put ourselves out there that much where people needed to be talking about us. We never really cared. At one point it seemed you had to be either super gore, or super black metal-y, or super Satan-y; we never had this thing about us where people could pigeon-point us. And when we first got started, we were a much slower band when everybody else was super fast. That’s just what we like doing. We just never really put ourselves out there, really. We never got into the game. We never pushed ourselves to get more widely know. We were just happy being an underground band.
Being able to record an album, play a couple shows a year and have somebody front us some cash to create a record is really about all we need and we’re still kind of the same way. It’s kind of what we do it for because we’re metalheads first. We are fans of metal. Me and Mike, we buy records and try to outdo each other every week. We are always comparing and competing with what we pick up. We’re just fans of metal. We’d much rather sit around and listen to metal than play in a band and try to dominate the world. We never really cared about pushing our band farther; we’d rather sit in a bar and watch a band than be the ones on the stage [laughs]. It’s retarded, but that’s how we are.
Blistering.com: Back in the early-to-mid 90’s, had Cianide been offered a major world tour and given a ton of exposure through a major label, do you think you would have been comfortable in that role?
Carroll: You know what? Just by being around it enough and knowing our music, probably not. We’re just not that kind of band. Being out and about in a van for a month and a half? Ugh... It just sounds like hell to me. Kick ass to the guys who do it; fuckin’ A. But I got rent to pay. That won’t pay my rent and then when I get back, I wouldn’t have a job anyway. What job is going to let you go for a month? Not mine. We all grew up on the South Side and none of us went to college. Whatever good jobs we lucked into, we couldn’t fuck that up, you know? We kind of need our jobs. And even when I was in my 20’s I needed this job and I’ve been here for 20. I’m ready to retire. I’m in my mid 40’s and having a mid-life crisis so now I’m ready [to tour] because I’m just sick of [my job].
Part II of Sloan's chat with Cianide will run Thursday, March 8.
www.myspace.com/cianidekills
 
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