10 Questions with…Macka from Xentrix
13th March 2013
Interview with: Macka from Xentrix
Interviewed by: Craig
Xentrix are a British thrash metal band of the 1980s hailing from Preston, Lancashire. Xentrix were one of the leading lights of the British Thrash movement. They had music videos for their cover of Ray Parker, Jr's Ghostbusters, For Whose Advantage and for their track The Order of Chaos which had regular air time on Headbangers Ball. Xentrix's biggest show was at Wembley in 1991, opening for Slayer. Xentrix never gained global notoriety, but had many underground performances with audiences of over 2,000 to 5,000 people in attendance.
Can you please introduce yourself and what you do in the band
Hi my name is Macka and I’m the bass player in Xentrix.
For our readers that might not have been around when Xentrix were active in the Thrash Metal scene in the late 80s / early 90s, can you provide a bit of history of Xentrix?
Formed in the summer of 1988 we went on to sign to the roadrunner label and released three full albums (Shattered existence, For whose advantage and kin. A mini album (Dilute to taste) and two singles (ghost busters and the order of chaos) The last album released was "scourge"(heavy metal records) with Simon Gordon (vocals) and Andy Rudd (guitar).
Xentrix are back! The band is the original lineup, was this a conscience decision?
It started with a phone call from Chris asking to play some metal before we all get too old and things start to fall off! But this band was all about the four of us, you couldn’t have Xentrix without the first four simple as that.
You guys are set to go on tour with Kreator! How is everyone feeling about going back on tour and playing live again?
We can’t wait to be honest. We are as excited now as much as we were twenty five years ago when we played our first gig.
What is your favourite Xentrix album and why?
Probably Shattered Existence, because everything was a first. First album, first time in a studio etc. And it’s stood the test of time.
How are rehearsals coming along?
Really good, at first we we’re worried that all those songs would be lost in the deep recesses of our worn out minds but they’re still there, they just needed waking up. Back in the day we rehearsed at least five days a week for six to eight hours or more. Now we can get away with rehearsing once a week, as all the songs are still locked away in our heads.
Going back to the late 80s / early 90s, you guys gained a big following, do you have any fond memories you can share with us from that time?
We have been to some fantastic places and met a host of great people (both home and abroad) over the years. One of the best memories for us was hearing the crowd roar after our fist song opening for testament at Hammersmith Odeon, and then the same thing happening again opening for Sepultura, two great gigs.
What was the funniest thing that happened whilst on tour?
Our head guitar tech/tour manager/top bloke Chris Rimmer was tricked into thinking he was asking the nice German barmaid out for a meal when in fact he was asking to give him oral sex!!!! The moral of the story is don’t ask the support acts for translation advice.
What can people expect when they see Xentrix live?
Pretty much the same as twenty five years ago but with less hair. We haven’t slowed down or missed anything out of the songs, what was in a song back then, is in it now.
I know it's early days yet but what are the future plans for Xentrix? Will you be looking for a new recording contract?
Its an open book at the moment, there are a few festival dates coming in and we all have some new riffs ready to go. At this moment in time we need to go and play live and see how that goes… but who knows what the future will bring.
I would personally like to thank Macka and the rest of Xentrix for agreeing to do this interview. I personally have been a fan of theirs for over 20 years! It's been a honour and a privilege!
As mentioned earlier, Xentrix are on tour with Kreator next month – check out the tour poster below for details.
Xentrix can be found:
http://www.xentrix.co.uk/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Xentrix/354617581311808
