Total Blur was a fanzine from Belgium, written in Dutch. But here is an interview translated to English.
CROSSFIRE (BEL)
On February 11th, a Heavy Metal Night was held at the Perfa venue in Burst, featuring Belgian pride Crossfire and the opening act Axel, originally from "Hekelgem." Both performed for an audience of approximately 800 people. After Crossfire's recently released debut LP, we had a chat with singer Peter De Wint.
WHERE DID THE NAME CROSSFIRE COME FROM AND WHO FOUNDED THE GROUP?
The name comes from a Dedringer LP, found by our former singer/guitarist Nero Neerinckx. The group was formed after Nero Neerinckx and Marc Van Caelenberge (lead guitar) left the punk band "The Onion Dolls" (with whom they had recorded a single that flopped).
The group was reinforced by bassist Patrick Van Londerzelen and myself, so Peter De Wint (then still the drummer).
WERE ANY DEMOS EVER MADE?
Yes, there must be some out there. Aardschok made a demo during the recording of the Metal Clogs LP. There must even be live tapes in circulation, but none of them were officially released by us. We did, however, record good demos for a year, which we then approached Mausoleum, who signed us to a contract. (For three LPs.)
SIX MONTHS AGO YOU WERE ALREADY TALKING ABOUT RELEASING AN LP. NOW IT'S FINALLY OUT. HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?
First, we had Nero, who left. After that, we needed a singer and a guitarist, whom we couldn't find right away. We couldn't find a singer, but we did find a drummer, Chris De Brauwer.
Because it wasn't great to hear a singer live but not see him because he's behind a drum kit, I gave up my spot, so now I just sing. We added a second guitarist (Rudy Van der Sype) to give the whole thing a more solid sound. The two of them still had to get used to us, and that took about four to five months for the guitarist, and a bit longer for the drummer because that's also more difficult. Incidentally, he'd never performed on stage before.
WHAT ARE THE INITIAL REACTIONS TO THE LP?
We've already received many reactions from Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, and of course, from our own country, Belgium. In just three weeks, 8,500 LPs have already been sold, which is promising. We certainly hope this continues.
YOU WANTED PRODUCER JACK HUSTINX FOR THE "SEE YOU IN HELL" LP, BUT NOW IT'S LEO ROCKSTONE. TELL US MORE ABOUT THAT. WERE ANY "MISFORTUNES" MADE DURING THE RECORDING OF THE LP THAT YOU WOULD CHANGE IF IT WERE RECORDED?
Yes, a lot! Among other things, adding a bit more power and making it a bit louder. But the first LP can't be too great either, because if the second one isn't as good, some might think the band is musically exhausted. Just look at "Accept, Breaker" and "Restless and Wild"—they're fine, while "Balls To The Wall" is more of a disappointment compared to the previous two LPs, which are said to be exhausted, and we don't want that.
Jack Hustinx had already produced us on Metal Clogs. We already had some experience with him, so we were going to get him for our LP as well. But when the time came, we couldn't get him because he was working on H-Bomb and Sortilège. Normally, we'd have to wait two months for these, and that wasn't possible because we were already quite behind. The LP was recorded in one week, which was a bit fast for a good LP, at Ace Studios in Antwerp and mixed at Rainbow Studios in Heist-op-den-Bergh.
WHERE DID YOU GET YOUR INSPIRATION FOR THE NECESSARY LYRICS? ARE THEY AVAILABLE?
The lyrics aren't available, but normally they would have been included with the LP. However, due to unforeseen circumstances, this didn't happen, as did the names of the members. That was more for personal reasons. I write the lyrics myself, and my inspiration comes from everyday life, while Mark focuses on the music.