Please introduce yourself and tell us briefly about the band

I'm Noah, guitarist for Skinless. I started the band back in 1992. We are brutal death metal with a groove. In 2000 we signed to Relapse Records and we have 2 cds.

Can you tell us the main reason about forming Skinless ? Do you have special mission or messages ? What are you trying to express with your music ?

I just enjoy creating music and the energy of a live performance. There is no real message that we're trying to get across, we just want to have fun playing, traveling, writing, drinking and we hope the fans have a great time along with us. I think that our energy really comes across in our music especially live. I think the fans can tell that we love what we do and are just up there because we love it, not to make money (but that is always good too).

Who picked the name Skinless & why use the name "Skinless" ?

It came from a grocery store add for boneless skinless chicken. We thought the name Skinless would work to replace our original name "Gorebag".

Inform us about your upcoming album that you said will be out on 2003?

The title will be "From Sacrifice To Survival". We'll be in the studio in Feb. 2003 to record it and it's due to be released in May/June 2003. John Longstreth(Angelcorpse, Origin) is our new skinbeater.

Who write the songs & the lyrics ? and what are the lyrical inspirations ?

Sherwood(vocals) has been writing most of the lyrics for the past few years. I can't really speak about his influences but I have contributed some titles and lyrical ideas to the new album. I'm very interested in World War 2 and war in general. Much of the new album deals with warfare.

Tell us your complete discography so far?

We have 2 full length cds already released. Our first cd "Progression Towards Evil" was self-released in 1998. "Foreshadowing Our Demise" came out in 2001 on Relapse Records. "From Sacrifice To Survival" will be out Spring 2003.

Please explain how'd you be able to get signed with Relapse rec.

Our self-released cd "Progression Towards Evil" was selling very well and we were a hard working band playing almost all the major metalfests in the USA and tons of shows.  We had the opportunity to tour with Mortician and then Incantation. Several Relapse employees really liked Skinless and pushed for us to be signed. The president of Relapse watched us play at Milwaukee metal fest 2000 and liked what he saw and that sealed the deal.

Can you inform us how Relapse support you ?

Our record is now available in major record stores around the world and their magazine promotion is excellent. We can now get on better tours and festivals and get paid more money. They provide tour support and extra help when we really need it on the road. Being on Relapse helps with instument endorsements and just provides us with tons more exposure overall.

Please tell us the your influences and Skinless musical influences.

Noooooo, not this question. We just take in a little of everything we hear, the influences are far to many to name. Most are found within the various forms of metal.

Please tell us your fav. top 10 metal bands of all time and please list your last 5 albums you bought

Damn man, I listen to too much metal to be able to choose 10 bands and then be able to rank them. My two favorite bands ever are Iron Maiden and Black Sabbath. Other great include old Metallica, Queensryche, judas Priest, Suffocation, Obituary, Slayer, Iced Earth, Obsession and a half a million others. I bought Halford's "The Crucible' album recently but beyond that I don't remember.

Haven't bought many cds lately.

Dp you into the Nu metal trend thesedays ? What is your personal opinion about this Nu metal genre ? Do consider you bands like Slipknot, Static X, Mushroom Head, Korn, Limp bizkit, Coal Chamber, Deftones, Marilyn Manson, Adema, etc are metal bands ? Please explain?

It's mostly garbage and I dread the thought of that crap being called metal. I guess the "Nu" in front of metal  just means it sucks. Just as long as it's not called metal. All those bands should be classified as Korny metal.

What do you & other members do beside the band ?

We work and play on our computers and there is not much else because Skinlees takes up much of our time.

Tell us your fav. songs that you really like to do the cover song ?

I never liked to do cover songs. To me, half the fun of playing is creating your own music and seeing people respond to it. I don't want people to go crazy to someone else's song, it's a better feeling when you wrote it yourself.

What does death metal means to you ? ideology ? fashion ? trend ? just a music ? or what ?

Metal is a lifestyle and Death Metal is a subgroup. It's a way for us to express ourselves and travel the world. This band has given me opportunities that i never would have had otherwise. We're just out having fun. Death metal is something that very few people really understand but those of us who do can appreciate the energy and the release that comes from this extreme music.

Do you know something about the Indonesian extreme metal scene ?

Not too much really, would be great if we could play there sometime.

Please inform us short term & long terms plans for Skinless ?

Our new album will be out in spring 2003. We'll kick off our touring cycle in Europe and then USA and beyond. 2003 will be a very busy year for Skinless.

Longterm plans are to kick some more fucking ass.

Do you have some merchandise ? Where can we get & buy'em ?

www.4skinless.com for all your merch needs. We have several t-shirt designs, hats, sweatshirts, longsleeves, stickers and more stuff coming soon. Please go to our site for info, pics, mp3's and more.

Anything else you wanna say / add ? Last words, please?

We hope to see you all on tour. Spread the brutality of Skinless to all your friends and help us conquer.