Interview by Kris Peters
It's hard to imagine that a band in its 35th year have never toured Australia. Especially when that band is in the ilk of legendary rockers Slaughter!
But that's precisely the case, with forces conspiring against the band over three and a half decades to keep them out of earshot.
But all that changes this weekend when Slaughter touch down in this country as part of Glamfest 2024, which also features Janet Gardner, H.E.A.T, Lynch Mob, Jetboy and more for two showcase events in Melbourne and Sydney (Brisbane was omitted from the schedule due to reasons explained on Silverback Touring's Facebook page).
HEAVY recently had the pleasure of catching up with guitarist Jeff Blando to find out, among other things, why Slaughter have never made it to this part of the world.
"For myself, my wife has always been 'where do you wanna go on vacation' and I have always wanted to go to Australia," he smiled. "So I, myself, am super stoked about coming, and I know the rest of the guys are stoked as well. The band is playing all the hits from the first two records. We are doing one cover song, which is a Led Zeppelin tune that we put in the set, and we're just looking forward to coming over there. The band, considering our age, we still are moving pretty well and functioning pretty well. There's still a lot of energy there and everyone's gonna dig it - hopefully. It could be 'look at those bunch of old farts up there jumping around like morons' (laughs)."
In the full interview, Jeff talks more about coming out for the first time, whether the band will ask other musicians what to expect, what we can expect from the shows, what Slaughter expect from their crowds, the family vibe back stage at festivals like this, the Australian bands on the bill and if he researches them to know what to expect, the legacy of Slaughter, upcoming new music and more.