MORTAL SIN Frontman Talks About Touring With METALLICA, Upcoming Album

MORTAL SIN frontman Mat Maurer recently spoke to HailMetal.com about touring with METALLICA and TESTAMENT during the group's early years and their upcoming album, among other topics. A couple of excerpts from the interview follow:

HailMetal.com: If given a chance to tour with METALLICA again would you welcome it?

Mat Maurer: "Absofuckingtallicalutely! What band would knock back an opportunity like that? When GODSMACK were chosen as the support for the first tour for 'St Anger', they were half million sellers on their previous album. By the time they had finished the first leg of the METALLICA tour they had sold nearly four million albums!!"

HailMetal.com: What are your current opinions on today's METALLICA as musicians?

Mat Maurer: "I actually just watched the bonus material on the 'Some Kind of Monster' DVD and the manager said something like, 'After twenty years you have to wonder what makes the band want to get up in the morning.' After selling 100 million records and having shitloads of money in the bank, they really didn't have to get out of bed and make another album. To them it was a challenge. Just as it is for every musician. A challenge to make an album of songs that hopefully your fans will really dig. The movie kind of makes you understand why the 'St Anger' album is what it is. I think the next one they make will have to be killer or their fans might finally give up on them. I'm sure they have it in them, and I look forward to hearing it!"

HailMetal.com: You guys are seeking a major distributor. Anyone interested at this time?

Mat Maurer: "We've had quite a few emails from record companies who have written back to us saying the usual standard letter thing like 'Thanks for your interest in bla bla records, unfortunately we are not signing any bands unless they can sell a gazillion records without us having to spend much money. The recent downturn in record sales because of the downloading phenomenon means we can`t spend our expense account money that we got from the 'Australian Idol' bullshit that we have been flooding the market with. Please try again when you have made a name for yourselves. Lots of love, Billy Boofhead — Head of A&R.' Seriously again though we have had good interest from two or three labels in Italy and Brazil, but these labels want to release our back catalogue, so we`ll see what happens. I'd really love to do what John Butler has done and stick his finger right up the nose of the big record companies and actually did go out there and sell a lot of records, but it is quite difficult to do on your own."

Read Mat Maurer's entire interview with HailMetal.com at this location.