Andy Burton, Mark Duffy & Steve Todd – Toranaga – Uber Rock Interview Exclusive
Written by Matt Phelps
Sunday, 05 January 2014 03:00
In 1990 Toranaga were on the brink of a massive breakthrough. Signed to a major label, a debut album on record shops’ shelves all over the country and support slots with the likes of Saxon, Manowar and Venom meant things were looking good for the Yorkshire-based thrashers. But unfortunately luck was not to be on their side and the band slid into a decline of label apathy and internal conflict before finally splitting in 1992. But in September of last year, 23 years on from ‘God’s Gift’, the band (now reunited and featuring vocalist Mark Duffy, bassist Andy Burton and drummer Steve Todd from the original line-up) released a long awaited follow up called ‘Righteous Retribution’, a 12 track beast of burgeoning darkness that consumes you further with each successive play. It’s right up there with my favourite albums of 2013 and proves without a shadow of a doubt that the band still have plenty to offer the thrash scene and fans of poseur free metal. So what better time than now for Uber Rock to sit down with these three thrashing amigos and get some inside information about what it’s taken to get Toranaga back on track, and why they derailed in the first place…
Guys, thanks for taking the time to talk with us today, it’s really good to see the name Toranaga back in action with ‘Righteous Retribution’. I would imagine at one point you probably never dreamed you’d get back here, talking about having a new album. So, I guess the big question to start with is how do you feel finally having a follow up to ‘God’s Gift’ come out 23 years on?
Mark Duffy: It feels great to finally get another album out because during the recording of ‘God’s Gift’ it was “the beginning of the end”, so much shit went down with that album and with the unreleased EP the band as it was couldn’t continue. Myself, Andy Burton and Steve Todd do feel we have something to prove and it’s unfinished business. When we originally got the deal with Chrysalis Records everything changed and Andy Mitchell decided he wanted to replace Andy Burton and myself. Now you could understand if people weren’t putting 100% into the band and were fucking it up for everyone else but that wasn’t the case, Mitch thought Andy and I were holding him back and he wanted people on his level of ability so he plotted to replace us. Me and Andy Burton got to find out and it wasn’t great having this hanging over you when you’re touring, etc, wondering when the boot was coming! So with that we left the band, we would have loved to have stayed but not under that situation.
Steve Todd: So a new band has been born with John Rodgers and Shane Haigh joining me, Andy and Mark, NOW we can do what we want to do. This is, for me, the best we have ever been, the new album sounds great and each member puts their own personal touch on each track.
Andy Burton: It’s a great feeling doing an album again and something I really did not think would happen after all this time but we have managed it and it’s our best work to date.
Can you talk us through some of the tracks on the album then and tell us a bit about the story behind them? Can we start with one of my favourites, ‘The Ultimate Act Of Betrayal’…
Mark: ‘The Ultimate Act Of Betrayal’ is about a group of people / comrades who have a connection together but one of them goes against the others and plots their downfall behind their backs for his own gain! ‘Prove Me Wrong’ is a warning to someone who’s going down the wrong path and making choices that will end in tragedy. And ‘Rise From The Flames’ is about a situation where someone’s hit rock bottom by certain events in his life but fights back and doesn’t give in to those who try to destroy him.
Andy: The chorus and idea of the song ‘The Beginning Of The End’ Mark had for about 10 years. The song is based on the doomsday prophecies of 2012, the world didn’t end but maybe it’s the beginning of the end! The music I had from the ‘God’s Gift’ era but it got pushed aside. Johnny and Shane knocked it into shape and it has become epic! ‘Return Of The Gods’ is based on Greek, Roman and Viking mythology and the gods that ruled. I often wonder what if religions of today have got it wrong and these lot were right! It tells of their return to seek revenge on the human race for destroying the earth and forgetting about them.
How do you feel this one stands up alongside ‘God’s Gift’ and your independent debut, ‘Bastard Ballads’?
Mark: When you record an album as a band sometimes you have to except certain situations such as budgets and studio costs, etc. ‘Bastard Ballads’ was recorded within 4 days on a very low budget and all the band were pleased with the result. With ‘God’s Gift’ it’s fair to say that the budget was far greater but the recording experience wasn’t good and the production was a joke. Steve, Andy Burton and I weren’t happy with it, but it was Andy Mitchell who, having never produced anything in his life, decided to produce our debut major label album and did a very poor job of it. Kev Ridley engineered it but Andy Mitchell was in full control of the mix and how it sounded. We think the songs on ‘God’s Gift’ are great songs but let down by the mix and production with other shit going on to add to the whole nightmare. Andy Mitchell went on to produce an album for a metal band called Amnesia and did a decent job of it after using our album to practice on! Now with the new album, again not a massive budget but a great result that we’re really pleased with and we think it’s our best album! We have a great line-up with a chemistry that works well together.
Andy: We feel we have done an album that stands up massively alongside our previous work and with the great production work from Mik Crone it’s an album that has captured the band but brought us sonically into the 21st Century!
It must have been a tough struggle along the way keeping going through the two decades since ‘God’s Gift’. What are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced on the way to ‘Righteous Retribution’?
Andy: I quit playing after the break up of the band as I was so despondent! Steve carried on playing for a long time in various line-ups including Mark rejoining for a spell again as well as doing a number of other projects. But we always felt it was unfinished, that there was more to be done, it took a while but here we are!
I wrote in the album review that Toranaga were from the golden age of British Thrash. It was a time that was really exciting for heavy music in this country. How did it feel at the time being involved in a scene like that?
Andy: I was a big fan of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement and went to see bands locally and up and down the country. Everywhere was full of fans who were all on the same wavelength and just buzzing off the scene full of bands like Diamond Head, Angelwitch, Limelight and even Iron Maiden. The Golden Age of British Thrash was just like that only this time we were an active part of the music’s creation – it doesn’t get any more exciting than that and it felt exhilarating. I remember watching Sabbat from the side of the stage on our first tour with them and marveling at the chaos they were whipping up as the crowd went nuts and thinking we are really doing something here. Within a couple of months we were back on the road with Sabbat again only this time supporting Manowar! It was a real rollercoaster ride and the gigs were tremendous, I have great memories of those days – good lads too Sabbat, as all the bands were from those times.
That golden age didn’t last though unfortunately and it all turned dark rather quickly not long after ‘God’s Gift’ came out. Can you remember when you first got the feeling that things weren’t going to end well, when Chrysalis started losing interest in supporting the band?
Andy: It was turning dark almost as soon as it had begun for some of us and maybe the whole thing went ahead of itself in some ways. Major record labels came with deals but with expectations that the genre could not deliver overnight.
The music scene seemed to change overnight back then with the advent of Grunge, so many bands that seemed to have bright futures were suddenly sidelined and dropped by the bucket load. But bands like Sepultura managed to ride through the storm and came out to be much bigger and extremely influential on the other side. Do you think if Chrysalis had had a little more faith you could have been there with them?
Mark: The band splitting wasn’t anything to do with losing the record deal: we actually had other labels interested and it wasn’t about the grunge scene taking over, we split because Andy Burton and I were pushed out! Andy Mitchell is a great guitarist but he didn’t appreciate what the others brought to the band that made it work and come together. So doing this album is also saying this is what we can do and it was about the rest of us as well not just one person. I think Chrysalis were another major label jumping on the Thrash/Metal bandwagon but didn’t really have a clue how to market or push a metal/thrash band. Our A&R guy was great and believed in us but he was fighting with Chrysalis to get a budget for tour support and to let the band grow and generate a following over time but like most majors they want instant returns and results. As a band we would have been better off with a good indie label who knew how to deal with the metal market.
Andy: We were often mentioned alongside Sepultura and our paths seemed very similar, but I think their advantage was down to a label with much more experience of the genre and their country seemed to provide a much bigger base. We were musically in a good position to ride the dramatic changes in the metal scene but other internal events negated it.
Steve: Back in the day I didn’t think of any so called scene, I just played in a band like most other guys trying to get on and make a go of it.
The thing is I think ‘Righteous Retribution’ is definitely an album that any thrash band would be happy to call their own. It just goes to show what could have been I guess, had you guys been given a little more support and had the chance to follow up ‘God’s Gift’ at the time…
Andy: Blimey there’s a thought and one that haunts me at times. Its a massive dream come true to be playing in band and adding to the music you love so much. To get to the stage we did – doing albums, doing tours – as a job just for it all to come grinding to a halt was devastating and I was bereft for a long time.
I guess like most people you look back on those days with a certain amount of fondness, despite the bad times. You toured with some real big names back in the day. Could you share some of your favourite memories from the road with some of those bands?
Steve: We had very good times (mostly off stage), played in Berlin when the wall was opened, even brought some back home, and playing Hammersmith Odeon with Manowar. However, this is the best bunch of guys I’ve ever played with and would be quite happy to tour the world with, who knows I might get to like this heavy metal shyte… well you did ask!!!!!!
Andy: Playing Hammersmith Odeon where so many rock greats had played is a major highlight for me, as are the many nights we blitzed the old Marquee in London too. As I have mentioned we had some great times with Sabbat as we did with our Yorkshire bros Saxon. Metal Church were great too with a couple of them able to drink a few ales, unlike their fellow yanks Love/Hate who we got totally pissed up on a couple of bottles of Newcastle Brown. They could not fathom the level of intoxication out of one bottle of Newkie was greater than 25 bottles of bud! And their heads the day after, ha ha!! Our first tour of Europe with Venom was a riot too, as you would expect with those guys – a crash course in going out on the road!
Finally, bringing it back up to date, what are the chances of us catching some live Toranaga in the not too distant future? Do you have any plans for taking ‘Righteous Retribution’ out on tour?
Andy: We fully plan to gig as much as possible for the album though this is proving a little more difficult than we thought, the obvious UK festivals in particular are a tough nut to crack! However we are working away at getting dates sorted and can’t wait to get out playing these new songs live!
Pick up your copy of ‘Righteous Retribution’ (and maybe a deluxe reissue of ‘God’s Gift’ complete with three bonus tracks) straight from the band: http://www.toranagauk.com/merchandise
https://www.facebook.com/ToranagaUK
Read Andy Burton’s entry in Uber Rock’s Midnite Mixtape Massacre here!
