THE ACCUSED & THE GUILTY
“We’re called the Accused,” says Accused guitarist Tom Niemeyer, “since anything that ever happened when we were in high school that was within a 50-mile radius of the hick town in which we lived, usually got blamed on us. We were the only punk rockers around.
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THE ACCUSED & THE GUILTY
Mike Gitter
“We’re called the Accused,” says Accused guitarist Tom Niemeyer, “since anything that ever happened when we were in high school that was within a 50-mile radius of the hick town in which we lived, usually got blamed on us. We were the only punk rockers around. For instance, anytime there was a bomb threat, they would instantly come to us, so the name sounded appropriate.”
From their defiant youth background, Seattle’s Accused have emerged as a high-speed whirlwind; a hyper-sonic barrage. Entitled More Fun Than An Open Casket Funeral (Combat), their latest outing showcases the Accused’s destructive punk/metal crossover. Vocalist Blaine Cook, ex of Seattle’s politico-punks, the Fartz, shrieks and caterwauls as Tom strikes deadly, bottomed out by the rapid fire poundings of bassist Alex B. and drummer Dana Collins.
Dubbing themselves “splatter-core,” the Accused tread a definition-less thin line between hardcore origins and metal influences. Their debut efforts, Martha Splatterhead (only five hundred pressed on Condor Records) and the Return Of Martha Splatterhead (Subcore) established their unique musical approach (as well as the legacy of Martha Splatterhead herself).
“Blaine thought up some lyrics about a woman that carried a big knife,” says Tom, “so we threw a song together about her. She’s kind of like Iron Maiden’s Eddie.”
Self-proclaimed “splatterfreaks,” the Accused pass hours upon hours glued to VCRs watching numerous cinematic bloodbaths. “What can you say?” smirks Blaine. “Evil Dead set the standard and its director Sam Raimi is definitely a punk rocker.”
“Sure,” says Tom. “But now everyone is getting into it so we have to get another favorite.”
“OK,” answers Blaine, “Evil Dead II.” Actually, other favorite Accused splatter-fests include Re-Animator, From Beyond and H.G. Lewis classics such as Blood Feast, 2000 Maniacs and I Dismember Mama.
From their formation in late ’82, the Accused are one of punk/metal crossover’s most seminal outfits, combining speed and heaviness from day one. “It’s incredible how a lot of people, when thinking about the crossover scene, ignore the very earliest efforts and bands like the Bad Brains, China White and the Germs,” says Blaine. “You talk to a lot of the newer metal kids and you name bands that are just so heavy that they never heard of—-but when you mention less original stuff like Kreator, they’ll jump on it immediately.”
“We tend to prove people wrong,” says Tom. "We’re labeled as a speedmetal-type band, which, for a lot of reasons, has pretty negative overtones in its association with ridiculous things like Satanism and other forms of stupidity. Our outlook tends to be a lot more positive.”
“We’ve found that the root of a lot of problems comes down to how people treat other people and that can mean anything from rape to nuclear war,” says Blaine. “Before you address things on a larger level, you’ve got to break them down to their very root. Simply, you’ve got to learn to crawl before you can walk.”
