ANDY: I have known Joe my whole life and as he started to get older and develope an interest in Heavy Metal, he would come to my house just to look through my tape collection and dub stuff. Joe bought a guitar and started teaching himself to play. After a couple of years he started getting better and we formed a band called Sempiternal. As the style of the music changed Sempiternal dissolved and re-emerged as Hammerwhore. Eric was playing in local Death metal band called Brutal Fate. One night Joe and I went to see his band play and recruited him to play drums for Hammerwhore on the spot. Hammerwhore played a few gigs as a trio and at one out of town gig we met of up with young guitarist named Carlos. Carlos was one of the few musicians in our area who understood what we were doing so a few weeks went by and we told Carlos we were looking for a second guitarist. He happiliy agreed to try out and a week later he played his first show with us. Eric has recently left the band and has been replaced with our new drummer Rick. We met Rick through his son who was working the door at a local venue. Rick has tons of experience playing metal of all kinds and is a welcome addition to the band. We can't wait to see what he will add to the new songs once we start writing.

3. DARK RECOLLECTIONS: Who came up with the name HAMMERWHORE , and why was it chosen?

ANDY: Joe came up with the name Hammerwhore during one of our late night chats. We were throwing around name ideas for a few weeks and nothing was really sticking. Hammerwhore just popped out of nowhere. Joe said, "thats it" and came up with a logo. I didn't like the name at first. I didn't see its meaning, but some songs had already been recorded and when we attached the name to the music it just clicked and we realized it was the perfect name. It has no other meaning except to describe four fucking maniacs who love their METAL loud fast and heavy. their BEER cold strong and dark, and their GIRLS hot, young and slutty.

4.DARK RECOLLECTIONS: Talk about your debut Cd "Hammerwhore" on Witches Brew Records...

ANDY: The debut was recorded at Precision Studios in Corpus Christi TX in September/Ocotber of 2004. It contains 11 tracks in a variety of Metal styles. The first song (Victim of Psycho-Toxin) was the last song written for the record. It is the mandatory fast opener to set the pace for the album. When we finished recording it and played it, it took me back to hearing ENDLESS PAIN by Kreator. The unrelenting beat, gruff vocals and wild solo just screamed German Thrash to me. The next two tracks (Devotion to Violence and Heavy Metal Destroyers) are re-recordings of old songs from the Mercyless Brutality demo. These were two of our favorite older tracks and have become a staple of every live set. For the next three songs ( Possessed by the Mosh, Long Live Metal, Evil Command) we adopt a more crossover sound with snarling punk rock attitude. If you came to Mosh this is your section of the record, if not, then get the fuck out of the pit because you are going to get an elbow in your ass and a pair of hi-top Reeboks shoved down your throat. The next song (Onward to Oblivion) is the longest song we have written. Clocking in at a whopping 5 minutes! That may not sound like a lot, but by Hammerwhore standards its an EPIC. Its starts off with an intro and is full of false stops, build ups, and breakdowns culminating and ending in a really melodic solo section that ties the whole thing together. The next song (Outlet of Lust) was also one of the last songs wrtten. The entire song except for the short break in the middle is double bass madness. The next songs (Mercy to None, Scream Bloody Rock and Roll) are far more melodic than anything we have ever done. Mercy to None has more a Judas Priest/Running Wild vibe and is a sing-a-long anthem. Scream Bloody Rock and Roll is dedicated to dirty Rock N Roll bands like Motorhead and WASP! Beer, Broads, and Motorcycle Metal!!! The closer (Hammerwhore) is our theme song. A thrash Metal anthem to shout along to that always leaves the crowd asking for more at live shows. After this song Witches brew has tacked on some unlisted demo tracks from the Mercyless Brutality demo to give the listeners a little more "bang" for their buck.

5. DARK RECOLLECTIONS: What is the scene like where you live.... any bands worth checking out?

ANDY: The Texas Metal scene right now is growing at a huge pace and is full of so many diverse acts. A lot of the bands seem to help each other out. Putting shows together are a breeze with promotion companies like ExtremeTexasMetal, The Adversary, and SouthTexasMetalProductions. There are bands like Panteon from Brownsville that play black metal in a Bathory/Possessed style with a little old Burzum thrown in. Then you have a band like Vex in Austin that are so diverse and such great musicians tha you can't really lock them into one genre of metal. Belligerency are a Thrash/Death band from the valley. Their WAR themed songs are sure to get you bangin'. The other band I play with ,Abythos, is also one to look out for. Abythos is a dark hybrid of Black/Death and Doom Metal with alot of dynamics in sound. Some melodies have a Mediterannian vibe that link us spritually to the Greek and Egyptian mythologies and the true gods of death.

6. DARK RECOLLECTIONS: What is the song "Evil Command " about, and what inspired it?
ANDY: Evil Command is about a fictional para-military organization that is taking over the world through its mastery of Technology and the Occult. A mixing of science and magic to create an unstoppable army. Armed with powerful weapons and protected by spells. Instilling their will upon others and enforcing the rule of "the strong crush the weak".

7. DARK RECOLLECTIONS: Talk about demos you released...and how where they received in the underground metal scene?

ANDY: The Devotion to Violence promo was a 3 song sampler of songs we were recording for the Mercyless Brutality Demo. We wanted to get something out quick while we were still finishing the recording of Mercyless so we put a CDr together of the songs "Curse of the Living Dead", "Devotion to Violence", and "Mercyless Brutality" and send it out to mostly friends and people that were interested in hearing it. It was sent in officially for review to only one zine, Music Extreme (Sept. 2002). Then when we finished writing and recording the songs "Slave to Hell", "Loyal to War", "Raise Hell", and "Heavy Metal Destroyers", we put them together with the 3 songs from the Devotion to Violence Promo and released it as Mercyless Brutality Demo 2003. This demo was sent to many friends, traded, and sold at shows. It was also shared alot through MP3s and Soulseek. This spread the word fast and caught the attention of Witches Brew records who offered Hammerwhore a deal to release a full length CD.

8. DARK RECOLLECTIONS: If you could pick the perfect tour... what bands would you choose to play with?

ANDY: Present day, it seems like I am already getting the dream tours that I want. We will be playing a show with Rigor Mortis in February and summer tours with Deceased in June and Toxic Holocaust in August. What more could I ask for? If I could go back in time, I would go to 1986 and tour Canada with Voivod, Kreator, Razor, and Sacrifice!!! As long as we're dreaming we might as well dream big!!

9. DARK RECOLLECTIONS: What was your first metal album you bought... and at what age did you start getting into metal?

ANDY: Metal first caught my attention at an early age when MTV was playing videos by Quite Riot, Twisted Sister, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Dio, and Accept during the daytime in between Duran Duran and The Police videos. This was before Headbangers Ball or any of that shit. I could go into the grocery store and see albums by Ozzy and the album covers really had me intrigued. My grandmaother bought me "Stay Hungry" at age 9 and that was probably my first Metal album and I still have it! After that I started buying magazines and collecting posters from the carnivals. I was into Ratt, Dokken, and Motley Crue when I started noticing articles of bands like Slayer, Metallica, and Megadeth. I bought "Reign in Blood" the day it was released and after that I was hooked on Thrash forever. I remember when my tape collection only consisted of "Reign in Blood", "Among the Living", "The Legacy", "Black Metal", and "Survive". After that it led me towards crossover stuff like S.O.D. and then that led to Dead Kennedys and Misfits.

10. DARK RECOLLECTIONS: Any merchandise available from the band, and how can people order it?

ANDY: We have been sold out on shirts for months now and have been needing to reorder and make some new designs. We have printed tons of buttons and stickers but you basically have to order a CD or come to our shows to get any. We have our CDs for sale and they can be ordered by contacting me at [email protected] or through www.myspace.com/hammerwhore The versions of the CDs that came with a patch are sold out on our end but Witches Brew may still have a few copies left if you contact them.

11. DARK RECOLLECTIONS: Can we expect any new releases on the near future... perhaps a vinyl release of Cd?

ANDY: As a matter of fact, Witches Brew is looking into prices right now to release a vinyl version of the album later this year. It would be limited to something like 300 copies so its definatly something to get. I have been wanting to release anything by Hammerwhore on vinyl for a very long time just for the chance to see "SIDE HAMMER"/"SIDE WHORE" on the LP!!! As for a new release we are currently working on lots of new songs and putting together ideas for the next LP.

12. DARK RECOLLECTIONS: When was the last time that you attended a concert... who did you see, and how often do you get bands from overseas to come play where ya live?

ANDY: The last concert I attended was Mindcrime, Drifter, and Judas Rising. These were tribute bands to Queensryche, Iron Maiden, and Priest. The bands were really talented and it was great to see the old favorites pulled out and played with tons of energy. Mindcrime did "Queen of the Ryche" and my throat still hurts from singing along to that. We get monthly shows of bands coming from overseas but its usually bands that I have no real interest in like Opeth, Hypocrisy, Vader, etc. Kreator come back to Texas every so often and I try to make it out to that.

13. DARK RECOLLECTIONS: Any last words? Comments? Thanks for the interview...

ANDY: I just wanna say thanks for the interview and thanks to all the people that have either bought or downloaded the album and enjoyed it. We wanna do a west coast or east coast Tour so anyone that can book us a string of paying gigs get in contact A.S.A.P.

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