Damien Thorne is back!!! This long gone legendary Metal machine is still alive and well. The band is currently rehearsing the new material, and is hoping to secure a recording contract very soon. DAMIEN THORNE isn't playing any shows (not even in the Chicago area), they're just working hard, and waiting for the right time to hit full force. This legendary band first emerged with the original wave of bands in the early 80's. The band gained respectable following in the underground, and eventually released their cult debut "The Sign of the Jackal". This album is still considered a Heavy Metal classic that stood the test of time. DAMIEN THORNE's founder/guitarist, Ken Mandat, talks about the band's whole history...

When did Damien Thorne form? Who was in the band at that time? Were you in any other bands before?
"Damien Thorne was formed in 1983 by me and Justin Fate. I had seen Justin play in another local band called SEPTRE, and I thought he had great stage presence. He was totally unique compared to the other singers in the area, and I knew he would be the perfect front man for what I wanted to do. I had already hooked up with drummer Brian Horak, (who was later replaced by Tommy Krez). We invited Justin to come down to a rehearsal, and by the end of the night we had a new singer. A few days later we got a call from Barry Stern (ZOETROPE, TROUBLE) saying that he knew of a great bass player who was available, and wanted to audition for our project. That bass player was Sanders Pate. He came in and just blew us away. He was the perfect fit. Shortly after that we hired guitarist George Shelton and the band was set. All we needed was a name."

What were your main goals at that time?
"Right from the start I knew that the chemistry with this group was amazing. Our goals at that time were to get as tight as we could and go out and terrorize the Chicago club scene. And that's exactly what we did. We sold out almost every show right from the start. At this time, Chicago's music scene was great! There was some really great Metal bands like TROUBLE, MASTER, ZOETROPE and many others. While most of these bands were playing the same clubs every week, we decided to play in Chicago about once every three or four months. We figured that would make people look forward to seeing us play, instead of making them tired if us. It worked! And I didn't realize this until one night when we were playing at the Thirsty Whale, which was the popular club for Metal at that time, I got to the club about five hours before the doors were to open, only to find that there was a line of people waiting to get in the club that went all the way down the block and across the street. And it was very cold and snowing outside! I asked some guy what were all the people doing out there and he said they were here to see DAMIEN THORNE!!! I couldn't believe it!!!"

Why did you call yourself DAMIEN THORNE? What is the meaning behind this name? Who's idea was it? Were there any other names you were known under or considered at that time?
"Well we have always been big fans of horror films, and at that time, one of our favorite movies was "The Omen". And Damien Thorne is the name of the main character in that movie. One day Justin approached us with a list of about 50 different possible names for the band, and DAMIEN THORNE was on that list. Basically, we thought that the name "Damien Thorne" represented a specific character who was dark, mysterious and very powerful, and we felt that those specific traits also describe our music. We have never considered any other name for this band."

What were the first recordings of Damien Thorne? Can you name all the songs from your first demo? Would you say that it already clearly outlined your musical style? How do you look back at that period now?
"The first recordings were two early demos, the first one was called "Killing Force", which included the songs "Killing Force", "The Warning" and "Damien's Procession". The second demo was self-titled "Damien Thorne", and was very successful having sold many copies world-wide, and receiving excellent reviews in many of the big Metal magazines including Kerrang and Metal Forces. The songs on that demo were early versions of some of the songs that appeared on our first record, including "The Sign of the Jackal", "Sirens Call" and "Escape or Die". Also on that demo was a song entitled "Phantoms of Fire" which may be included in the reissue of the CD version of "The Sign of the Jackal". As for our musical style, yes I think those demos clearly set the standard for our style of songwriting. Looking back, I think our present day style still reflects the same passion and energy that encompassed our earlier material. Anyone who was a fan of our early music, will definitely appreciate the new songs."

You were a very visual band, were you always that way? How did you work on your image in those early days?
"We always felt it was important to put on the best possible show we could. And we felt that the subject matter of the material we were playing was complex enough that it needed more than just sound, it needed the visual effect as well. When people pay their hard earned money to see us live, we want to give them their money's worth every night. The image really took care of itself, it wasn't something that we actively worked on, the image is just an extension of our music."

What was the scene like back then in Chicago? How did you promote yourself?
"The Metal scene in Chicago was incredible. There was an abundance of excellent bands and alot of great places to play. You could go out on any given night and see dozens of great shows back then. And Chicago had the best Metal bands around. If you liked Metal, it was definitely the place to be. Actually, promoting ourselves was very difficult because there was so much competition, you either had to stand out or be left out but fortunately for us, we were original enough to be noticed."

What led to the recording deal with Cobra A&M/RoadRunner?
"Actually, former VIRGIN STEELE guitarist Jack Starr, approached us after seeing one of our live shows, and offered to take our demo to Cobra A&M. Cobra immediately made us an offer that we couldn't refuse, even though we had several other label offers under consideration at the time. Unfortunately, the label had problems and went under during the recording of our would be second album. This also put alot of stress on the band itself, causing us to relocate to California in search of a new deal, which ultimately turned out to be a bad decision, and led to the band's temporary break-up."

Where did Jack Starr see the band? Also, why did you pick David DeFeis (also of VIRGIN STEELE) to produce the record?
"I'm not sure but I think Jack seen us at the Thirsty Whale in 1985. I don't really remember all of the details, but Jack approached us one night after a show and asked if it would be ok if he could let the people at Cobra listen to our demo. At the time, Dave DeFeis was producing several albums for Cobra bands including VIRGIN STEELE, PILEDRIVER, EXORCIST and others. We were very impressed with his work and felt that he would be able to capture the sound that we were looking for."

What were the recording sessions like for the album? Were you happy with the finished product?
"Well, as far as the finished product is concerned, I would have to say that even though some people think that the sound quality of the record could have been better, I think it has a great live quality that adds alot of raw power to the sound. And to me, that is what's important. The recording was done in Chicago, and the mixing was done in New York. Since we were on a very tight budget, we had to record very late at night because the rates were cheaper. We had to fire our first engineer because he was so stoned all the time, sometimes he would forget his own name. Other than that, the sessions were great."

How was the album promoted by Cobra A&M? Was the band satisfied with the label?
"Actually, Cobra did very little for us as far as promotion. We pretty much promoted ourselves during that time. We were glad to finally get off that label in the end. But, on the otherhand, RoadRunner did alot for us. They did a great job of promoting us in Europe and we were very happy with them. They are a great label. They were responsible for alot of our success."

Did you tour to promote "The Sign of the Jackal"? If so, what bands did you tour with, and what are the memories of that time?
"Yes, we did do alot of touring to support that record in the U.S., but we were not able to get the funding together to tour in Europe. Most of the U.S. dates were headlining dates in clubs and small auditoriums. We also opened for alot of bigger bands on their tour dates. We have so many memories of that time both good and bad, that it would take me ten years just to list them all. But one thing for sure is that we owe everything to all the people who came out and paid good money to see us play and bought our t-shirts and records. Without the fans, there would be no Metal bands. And that's the bottom line. And as long as there are fans, we will continue to stay alive and make new music."

You've mentioned that Dave DeFeis was also working with PILEDRIVER and EXORCIST. There was a rumor going around that both bands wew in fact VIRGIN STEELE members. Having been close to Dave DeFeis, what can you say about that topic?
"Well, that is something that you would have to ask Dave DeFeis. All I can say is that the EXORCIST album was made by musicians who were signed to Cobra, but I can't say who they were. PILEDRIVER was a real band. In fact, I think PILEDRIVER, VIRIGN STEELE and DAMIEN THORNE were the only "real" bands on that label."

How do you think your songs changed when you began writing material for the follow up?
"I don't think that our music changed at all after the first record. We wrote alot of songs during that time period which all have that same drive and intensity that we had on the Jackal album. But, unless we can find someone that is willing to finance the project, most of that material will never be released to the public."

Were there any new influences in your music at the time?
"Yes, I think we were being influenced by alot of new things. The Metal scene was developing at a very fast pace, and there was alot of different styles starting to emerge. And we were influenced by all of it. But, I still think that even with all the different influences we still have, and will always sound like DAMIEN THORNE."

Your bio says that during the recording sessions for the second album you were forced to leave the label. How much material was completed at that time? Was it ever released in any form? What are your thoughts on that time?
"The second album was 90% complete. It was never released. We only made a limited amount of cassettes that were passed out to our close friends. Hopefully, we will release some of that material real soon. In my opinion, that is some of out best material."

Why were you forced to leave Cobra?
"We really had no choice. Cobra was stealing almost all of our money! And we were not getting any promotion"

Also, you've mentiuoned being really happy with RoadRunner Europe, did you ever try getting signed to them directly?
"Yes we did, but Cobra gave us a bad name. Labels tend to stick by each other in times of trouble. At that time the two labels were in business together. We are still having a hard time getting labels to deal with us!"

At that time you also left Chicago for Los Angeles, what motivated that decision?
"We moved to L.A. because we felt that was the place to be if we wanted to find a new record deal. The music scene was alot bigger in L.A. than it was in Chicago."

How were you accepted in Los Angeles? Did anything positive happen there for the band? Do you think it was a good decision to go to Los Angeles?
"I think we were accepted in L.A., but we were MUCH heavier that the Glam Rock bands that were big in L.A. at that time like GUNS AND ROSES, POISON, RATT and others. In the end it was a bad decision to move to L.A. Our timing was all wrong. Maybe if we would have moved there five years earlier things would have been different."

What happened next?
"Well, we decided to all go our separate ways for a little while. Some of us went back to Chicago, and some stayed in L.A. We all have done alot of different things between now and then. And unfortunately we lost our great guitarist and friend Michael Monroe to a tragic motorcycle accident in 1993. We will never be the same without him. But, now we are back together in Chicago where we belong, we have a couple of new members and alot of great new material. Now all we need is a new record deal and we will be ready to take on the world!"

What were the members of the band up to when DAMIEN THORNE wasn't together?
"Well, we all did alot of different things. I was playing in a hardcore band called BUG for a little while. We had a 4 song demo that was released on Super 800 Records, as well as a couple of songs on some compilation records. But, I always continued to write DAMIEN THORNE music, and I always intended to reform the band."

When did you decide to regroup?
"Actually, one day I ran into Justin and he told me that he was rehearsing with Tom Krez and I should come down and hear what they were doing. So I did, and they were playing an old DAMIEN song and I was like, "Wow!" Hearing that song just instantly convinced me that we had to reform the band and start playing immediately!"

You have just released a new demo titled "Former Life", what can you tell me about it?
"I think the new demo totally kicks ass! But, the full-length album is going to be much better. The four songs on the demo were chosen not because they are our heaviest songs or our fastest songs, but because they represent our new style of song writing and a fresh approach to the classic Metal sound that represents our first release."

Are you getting any offers from the record labels?
"Well we are getting alot of rejections, does that count? Actually, after getting turned down by every Metal label on the planet, we are finally starting to get some interest. I can't say right now who these labels are, but we will let you know as soon as we finish a deal."
(True Metal labels, where the fuck are you?- Laurent)

Will your first record ever be re-released in a CD format or in any format?
"Absolutely! We can't wait to re-release the first record on CD. We are also planning on adding a few extra tracks as well. Tracks that were recorded at the same time as that album but were never released before. We will probably release that immediately following the new LP."

You told me about large archives of DAMIEN THORNE recordings, will any of it ever get released?
"Yes, some of those old recordings will be released. I would like to release a group of about nine or ten songs that were recorded in 1986 that featured the same line-up as the first LP, that was originally going to be our second record, that I think is our best work. It's really great stuff, and I think that fans of our older material will love this stuff!"

Mark Kadzielawa