Summon: How did the band get started?
Manslug: Well it started in the early fresh Autumn of a couple of years back. Originally it was me, The Lunatic Fringe and a mate, Josh, from the Island of Jersey and a drummer – Mat. The other 2 left (former back to Jersey and the latter was in another band called Manifest who started going more full time and couldn’t commit). So anyway that’s where the Battlekath came in on bass, Sgt Stiltz on drums and then Don Love on Trombone. Later on Iron Wrist joined us and that’s when it came complete. We were glad it ended up as this line up as it’s probably the sexist line up in Manchester. Just on girth merit alone! We first gigged as a complete unit in April 2016. Since then we’ve melted 4 faces, made 3 men pregnant, turned a Jehovah’s witness to the ways of Satan, and Sgt Stiltz has grown an inch (although he did get new shoe’s).
Lunatic Fringe: Well Man-slug and i used to jam with a couple of others and we almost started gigging but the line up fell apart. So we decided to start again with Sgt Stiltz as a 3 piece, the Don Love joined in as we had no bass (he added bass via the bone). We played one gig as a foursome then Battlekath joined and soon after Iron Wrist on dual lead. Which is our full line up now and I’m happy with it. We sound so much more aggressive and beefed up then we could have ever been as a threesome. Pretty sure we wouldn’t be where we are like that ha ha.
Iron Wrist: I wasn’t doing anything and i asked whether they needed another guitarist, Manslug said to go check the band out at a gig, I forgot and basically that meant i was perfect!
Battlekath: I technically joined the band as temporary fill in then left and now I’m back again! I couldn’t stay away.
Sgt Stiltz: I was enjoying an ice cold beer when Manslug kidnapped me saying the previous percussionist had left in search of pastures new and a void needed filling. Cant let my troops down!
Summon: What kind of music do you play?
Manslug: It’s hard to explain really. It’s definitely groove/thrash metal inspired but we throw all sorts in there. Probably Nu-metal. I play a 7 string, there’s trombone in there, and Lunatic Fringe does occasionally rap too. So, yeah, probably Nu-metal, or Nu-nu metal. Or what we like to call PARTY METAL. Don’t like it? I’ll stone cold stunner yo ass so quick you won’t be able to say “basic bitches”. And that’s the bottom line.
Iron Wrist: We party. This is party metal.
Don Love: Nu Nu Metal.
Lunatic Fringe: Nerd metal! Or whatever riff is rattling around in Manslug’s head. But must of our songs are about games, films, or drinking so I’d say Nerd metal covers it.
Summon: How has the fan response been?
Lunatic Fringe: So far it’s been great at first i don’t think a lot of people know what to expect but we’ve had some great compliments after a set. We’ve met some great people at gigs so far and want to meet more. We’re only a beer away from party time.
Manslug: Good so far!
Iron Wrist: I like that we can play with other heavy bands and the response is consistently positive! We straddle punk and metal like a sexy colossus.
Don Love: It’s been really good up to now, it’s been good to play to different crowds.
Summon: Where did the band name come from?
Manslug: The Viz comic. It’s the 2 extremes of a males penis. Kringer (a floppy-one) and The Battle Kat (ready to pound).
Don Love: The Viz, He-man, Cocks and Cats, I was just meant to be.
Lunatic Fringe: The hardest decision we had was coming up with a band name and we had some cool ideas and some absolutely stupid ones like Anal Drain for instance. I like the name now because it sounds like some Saturday morning cartoon from the 80’s. So I was sold.
Summon: Introduce the band members and what they do in the band
Manslug: Well I play guitar. I use a 7 string and I like you take you all the way to Brown Town. Because I’m the mayor of Brown Town and we have plenty of real estate available!
Iron Wrist: Also play guitar. I bring the corpse paint too.
Don Love: Trombone and backing vocals.
Battlekath: I play 5 string Bass.
Sgt Stiltz: I bang things .
Lunatic Fringe: I’m Jonny or the Lunatic Fringe. I’d like to say I sing in the band but I’m the noise maker without an instrument. I scream, I shout, I have a nice day and then when the dust settles it’s Miller time.
Summon: Who writes the music? Lyrics?
Don Love: Most of the time the guitar bitches bring something to practice, drums and bass are added and a loose structure is put together, Trombone is then added if it’s needed and JT either has a write at practice or we record it and it’s worked on in time for our next jam.
Lunatic Fringe: I write the lyrics that’s why they’re so beautifully disastrous. I take inspiration from a variety of places and sources but they usually come as the ramblings of a mad man.
Summon: And where do the lyric ideas come from?
Don Love: JT’s beautifully fucked up hyperactive child like mind.
Lunatic Fringe: Games I’ve played, books that I, or we, have read, nights out, the list goes on. If it sounds like i need to write about it then so be it. We recently wrote a new song inspired by a book Iron Wrist has read called Nunslinger so we get ideas from each other too.
Manslug: When I’m stoned I usually throw in stupid shit e.g. a T-Rex lost in space, killing someones Mum, shit like that.
Summon: What is your view in Satanism and Occultism?
Manslug: Ha ha ha ha we love it! If JT doesn’t come to practice then more than likely we just end up screaming SATAN down the microphone. Well Don Love does anyway! We’re not “into” true paganism and Satanism but like the early 80’s thrash metal bands where it was more cheesy and fun! I do respect that Satanism isn’t devil worship; however, my knowledge on the subject is very limited. People can believe in what they want in my opinion as long as it doesn’t infringe on others views. My true knowledge on the subject basically comes from metal. Me and Don Love have for the past 12 months being going to Buddhist Meditation and although I can’t speak on Don’s behalf i can definitely say Buddha’s teachings have had a very positive impact on my life.
Lunatic Fringe: I don’t know enough or care enough about politics or religion but whatever helps people get through day to day life then so be it.
Iron Wrist: I wear corpse paint onstage and while I believe in no deity I find the tenets of satanism to be fundamentally sound. Don’t be a dick.
Don Love: I don’t mind a good old human sacrifice to be honest, just don’t kill the animals. Only bell ends do that.
Sgt Stiltz: Satan??? I thought it said Santa, oh well I’ll make the naughty list for both.
Summon: How many albums/CD’s have you released?
Manslug: None so far as KRINGER AND THE BATTLE KATZ so you have to come to our shows. They’re fun, sticky and energetic. We have our debut E.P. coming out in October.
Don Love: First EP is out at the end of October 2016, it’s all recorded and produced by Battle Kath. DIY.
Battlekath: We’re all about the DIY ethic so we recorded everything ourselves. It takes a lot of effort but I think the result is awesome and the process is always fun.
Lunatic Fringe: We’re about to release our debut EP but we’re currently writing material for an album too to record in early 2017. In the meantime we’ll be releasing music videos, shirts, maybe a Christmas song or just generally show up where we’re not wanted.
Summon: Tell me about some the songs on the latest CD?
Manslug: They’re ded ded good and you should definitely purchase it when it’s out. Drink fight fuck has orgasms and a nu-metal bounce. Lords of Shadow is more rock n roll. Sodomize is just plain dirty. Shoot the wedding guests has a lot going on. A bit of rapping, breakdowns, a funky riff and solo’s too!
Don Love: We have songs about drinking, fighting, fucking, shooting people at weddings, fuckin shamans and 2 others I have no idea what’s going on. Nice selection of songs to show what we’re all about, which isn’t much really haha.
Battlekath: I’ve listened to them about 100 times while mixing and I still like them so they must be okay.
Lunatic Fringe: Drink Fight Fuck is one of my favorites. It’s just a fun and dirty party song designed to get everyone involved. Battle Katz Assemble is like our “intro” song. I always compare it to an 80’s style cartoon intro. Would love to see some animation over that ha ha.
Summon: Do you have any side projects?
Manslug: Well. 4 of us are actually in a ska-punk band called No Decorum. That used to be full time but that’s now become part time. But to be honest, personally speaking, I prefer to play metal anyway. It’s what I grew up playing and listening to. No Decorum have been going for years and we have a couple of albums out. Kringer is now our main focus.
Don Love: I play in No Decorum, 2 bands is more than enough and way more than enough people anyone should have to deal with.
Iron Wrist: Kringer is all I have in life.
Battlekath: I’m in No Decorum too. I also do my own Dubstep/Drum & Bass/Synthwave tunes under the name Tektrix.
Summon: Who are some of your musical influences?
Lunatic Fringe: I have a whole variety such as Joe Strummer and Everytime I Die for instance. But musically I’d say bands like Raging Speedhorn, Soulfly, The Haunted, Refused. We all have a lot of different influences and combine them all to form this mash up.
Manslug: For me there’s so many. So I’ll say bands that probably more influence me for the Battle Katz style. So shall I just say Black Sabbath? Yeah. Black Sabbath. Then Pantera, Slayer, The Clash, Rage Against the Machine, Limp Bizkit (credentials out the window ha ha), Raging Speedhorn, Send more Paramedics, Spiritual Beggars, Alestorm, Fucked Up, King Parrot, Sick of it all, Naplam Death, Agnostic Front, Judas Priest, Skindred, Carcass and At The Gates (Slaughter of the soul being one of the best albums released in metal in my humble opinion).
Iron Wrist: The rest of the band joke about my “unintentional slayer moments”. I have a vestigial Metallica influence as well.
Don Love: Voodoo glow skulls, Faintest Idea, Random Hand, The Filaments, Zen Baseballbat (Wiiiiiidnes) and many other ska/punk bands.
Battlekath: A bit of everything really film soundtracks, funk, blues, punk, metal. Band wise Dead Kennedys, The Who, Rancid, The Clash, Rage Against The Machine, Black Sabbath, Pantera are just a few.
Summon: Which current bands?
Manslug: We play with so many awesome bands and our peers are great with so many bands I want to play with! We influence each other and bounce off each other too. Impavidius, Forged in the Furnace of the Sun, Pulverise, Footprints in the Custard, Riggots, Eye Licker, Dischord, PIST, Ten Foot Wizard, God Shaped Devil, A Victory At Sea. Although i must say I’m loving Latino/polka style ska at the moment such as Los Duenos, Los Calzones, Itziarren Semeak.
Lunatic Fringe: Ten Foot Wizard, Forged in the Furnace of the Sun, Everytime I Die, Raging Speedhorn. I could go on for ages but I think you get the jist.
Summon: What is the band like when you play live?
Lunatic Fringe: In a word? Loud! In 2 words? Maniacally fun ha ha. Everyone is great at what they do. Iron Wrist gets all corpse painted up, Don Loves blows hard . . . . on his Trombone. Battlekath gets on with the mission at hand and Sgt Stiltz keeps the beat. Manslug and I argue like an old married couple. Together we all have a great dynamic that I think comes across well.
Manslug: I’d say pretty mental. Definitely a feast on the eyes.
Iron Wrist: Fuckin fantastic scenes.
Don Love: Pissed and very stoned.
Battlekath: We don’t stay still that’s for sure.
Summon: Have you guys ever played in another country?
Manslug: We’re playing Scotland in December with aims to play Germany and Poland in 2017. We don’t fuck about bae. We’re bringing the Brown Town to you baby!
Summon: How big of crowd shows up at shows usually?
Manslug: Depends whether the promoter does their job and actually promotes the event. Some seriously lazy fuckers out there – but there’s also some truly great people out there too. But mostly it varies between 10 and a hundred in all honesty.
Don Love: On average about 17, minus the 6 of us, the bar staff and the sound guy … what’s that about 7 ish? Plenty of room to stand with a cup of tea and not spill any if there’s no jumping bell ends about. The crowd when we supported Psychostick in Manchester was belting, sadly didn’t get a chance to count them.
Battlekath: If we’re lucky one man and his dog. If we’re very lucky enough people to make the venue look a bit less empty.
Summon: How is the crowd response when you play?
Manslug: Truthfully it’s been great. People show up, dance, enjoy themselves. In the UK there’s a tendency for people to turn up to gigs but to spend the entire night outside talking to their mates and smoking rather than actually watching. But we’re pulling those people in! We sound a bit different and we’re loud so they kind of have no choice.
Don Love: Good vibes.
Lunatic Fringe: Either confused or intimidated but either way they seem to like it. We’ve had people dancing like Brock Lesnar to Suplex City. People pretending to be dinosaurs in space for Space T-Rex and even Deadpool sang Drink Fight Fuck with us on stage once. So I think we must be doing something right. We encourage participation both on and off the stage. We’re there to have fun and you better be too.
Summon: What do you think of the US Black Metal/Death Metal scene?
Manslug: I really like the classic stuff (Morbid Angel, Death, Exodus, Slayer, Machine Head) to be honest the newer stuff I haven’t fully delved into but what I do hear is pretty damn good. Black metal I really have to be in the mood for but I usually binge for about 2 months and listen to nothing but when I am in the mood. I love the newer symphonic stuff. But that mostly comes from Europe, traditionally anyway. Though not to disregard the American scene, we’re European so we can only comment on what comes our way over the big blue, I think a lot of the older bands are releasing the best material they’ve ever done. The more exciting new stuff is coming from Europe and Eurasia with an exciting mix of different styles outside of metal being thrown in – but then again we’re European so we’re going to hear that more.
Iron Wrist: Word to Black Dahlia Murder. Those guys are the kings.
Don Love: Never been to a gig in America.
Lunatic Fringe: Hopefully we’ll get to experience it and from a personal point of view a lot of our favorite bands come from the States and we’d love to play with some. Luckily we recently got the chance and opened for Psychostick in Manchester.
Summon: What do you think of the Overseas scenes?
Manslug: The stuff from mainland Europe, for me, is where it’s at. Especially power metal which Battlekath, who I live with, has really turned me onto. Bands such as Sabaton and Powerwolf. When I go to Berlin the scene, Punk and metal, is thriving. A very unified scene. Obviously there’s the bitching but that’s everywhere regardless! We even went to Krakow in Poland a couple of years ago for a holiday and every night there was a metal band on and we were there for 4 days. From bigger touring acts to local metal heads having a party in a small rock bar.
Summon: What are some of new favorite metal bands?
Iron Wrist: The North West of England have some fuckin bangers going round. Impavidus, forged in the furnace of the sun (BUT THEYRE NOT METAL), Deified, Boss Keloid, Barbarian Hermit, so many.
Don Love: King Parrot, Pulverise.
Manslug: Fucking hell! I can mention loads just who we gig with! But I think the others have pretty much beat me to it. Footprints in the Custard blew me away when we played with them at Psychostick. But they’re from Manchester too. But my favorite new band has to be Gloryhammer. So funny and musically great. Punk wise check out WONK UNIT. They’re from London and are currently on tour in the states.
Summon: When do you guys plan on writing any new material?
Manslug: We are always writing! That’s the beauty of it. We’re all very creative and throwing in different styles depending what we’ve been listening to or playing. Whether it’s funk, reggae, metal, punk, dance etc etc. We throw it in.
Battlekath: We started writing for album material before the EP was finished. It’s something you should constantly be doing as a band.
Summon: What does the future hold for the band??
Manslug: Well hopefully more albums and more different styles getting thrown into the mix. We plan to start playing the mainland Europe and eventually get over to America and Japan too! All I can say is watch this space as it’s about to get exciting!
Battlekath: More CD’s and more gigs, we want to be constantly busy destroying ears and melting.
Sgt Stiltz: I just want to keep this party going for as long as possible, its going well so far and we’re only getting started.
Lunatic Fringe: To play here, there and everywhere. Drink every type of beer and party till we puke. But more gigs, making music and meeting people will be nice too ha ha.
Contact them at:
https://www.facebook.com/Kringer.and.the.battle.katz
http://www.kringerandthebattlekatz.bigcartel.com/
hollingworth1988@hotmail.co.uk
