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Rip It Up, Issue 168, 1 July 1991, Page 14

When Shihad played their debut Auckland show last year they were speed metal prodigies sprinkling a set of blistering originals with note perfect Metallica covers. They went on to score the support slot on the Angels tour along with Auckland rockers Nine Livez, as well as appearing on the B-side of the New Zealand release of the Angels' last single..

One year later Shihad's musical horizons have expanded and, according to vocalist/rhythm guitarist John Toogood, they're no longer in permanent speed metal overdrive. Mind you, seeing them play support to Motorhead recently they impressed with the same conspicuous display of virtuosity and volume rather than newfound artistic vision, but perhaps they were sticking to their old material for the

sake of that particular audience. In conversation, John reveals that the past year has been fraught with changes. Events like going flatting for the first time and being made redundant from his job at Wellington's Chelsea Records have affected his social perspective, he's been doing some soul searching ancf reflecting on things a lot and varying his musical diet accordingly. Now his taste is leaning towards industrial/noise/alternative bands like Skinny Puppy and Einstuerzende Neubauten along with Coil, Ministry, cyber punk and Flying Nun output from the likes of Skeptics, Bailter Space, 3Ds, Headless Chickens and NRA. Naturally Shihad's newer material reflects these sort of influences. "Shihad was full on fun when we started but my lyrics have changed substantially. I've become quite a cynic, actually, more realistic. I consider the first half of Shihad a fun time but now it's time to get serious. Tom's the same." With the addition of a keyboard sampler to their two guitars, bass and drums line-up, Shihad are aiming for a sparser sound, just as heavy but with subtleties. John says his guitar style has loosened up, he

no longer strains to fill every second with a new note, and he's concentrating more on singing his lyrics. "They tend to be quite lonely and anonymous, not self-indulgent but trying to fit myself into what's happening around me. Like I said, I'm a bit cynical about the workings of everything. I'm not a political writer, I'm more interested in the emotions involved with what's happening." Shihad recorded their debut EP Devolve (out now on Pagan) previous to reaching the creative crossroads. For their next recording they're planning on involving Brent McLaughlin from Bailter Space, who took tapes of the group with him to Europe recently.

"If we were to record now it would definitely be different", says John, "but we're still really pleased with the sound. Malcolm Wellsford, the producer, had never done a metal band before and he's really polished the sound but kept it loud and big. Our past has to be documented, anyway." One thing that has remained a constant with Shihad is their intense focus and committment. John and drummer Tom Larkin formed the

band while they were still at Wellington High School (joined by Phil Knight on lead guitar and Hamish Laing on bass). Two years later they're starting to think about it as a serious career option. Does this mean they'll be striving for the Holy Grail of a hit single like certain other young bands? "Definitely not! In fact, we'll be going the other way. Our new stuff is far less commercial than speed metal — more sparse, harder to get into but high energy as ever." When they come to Auckland on their current national tour will they be performing in front of the same spooky fantasy backdrop that graced the stage last time they played the Gluepot? "Shit no — that was horrible! The new one is based on a photo of us taken outside a meatworks, where the cages they had for the animals were disgusting." Spoken like a true vegetarian, for just as John's musical tastes have shifted base so have his eating habits — he's a meat eating metaller no more.

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