Onslaught. Interview with Wayne Dorman

Interview by Richard Keenahan

Today’s Interview is with guitarist Wayne Dorman of one of the UKs, if not the world’s best thrash bands Onslaught. Wayne played in the band’s latest release Generation Antichrist which was released in 2020 on AFM records. Wayne joined the band in 2018 as the lead guitarists whose skills are evident across the albums 9 tracks.

- Hi Wayne, would you like to give our readers the low down in how you came to join to Onslaught?

Joining Onslaught was a bit of a surprise to me as it sort of came out of the blue. I’d not been active on the music scene for several years at the time (I hadn’t even really played guitar during this time either). I just woke up one day to a message on Facebook Messenger from Nige one morning saying that he’d checked out my music on my social media like SoundCloud and inviting me to audition.

- What was it like to join such a legendary band and what were the expectations on you?

To be honest, at the time I didn’t really know what to expect but the guys were pretty easy going and helpful in helping me settle in and as I said previous ly, I’d not played guitar properly for about 5 years so not only had I sold most of my gear off, but my playing was also very rusty so I had to rebuild my abilities and confidence with the instrument from scratch.

I’d say that the hardest part for me was adapting my style to suit the band’s sound as I’m not a natural thrash player and my riffs and licks tended to be “too pretty” for the sound Nige had in mind.

- You joined back in 2018 was it straight into writing or did you have live dates to fill to see if you were the right fit for the band?

When I was offered the position in band, I was told that my debut would be on the mainstage of Bloodstock (no pressure!), but also that the band was needing to get right into the studio to write and record Generation Antichrist. It took me a while to find my feet, but I got there in the end.

- When and where did you record the album Generation Antichrist?

The bulk of the album was mixed and produced by Daniel Bergstrand, but Generation Antichrist was recorded in a variety of places. I recorded most of my guitar parts in my home studio and sent the raw files to Daniel for reamping. Dave’s lead vocals and my backing vocals were recorded with Karl Groom at Thin Ice Studios (which was a great experience for me as I’m a huge Threshold and Dragonforce fan).

- The album came out mid pandemic was there any thought of postponing the release?

Covid took its toll on everyone, it turned everyone’s world upside down overnight. We were fortunate in as much as we’d finished the album by the time lockdown restrictions came into place, and the album deadline had already been put back due to lineup changes so we decided to press on with the release, which was a bit of a leap of faith as we knew we’d be unable to do a supporting tour but on the other hand we figured that people may find a new album might help distract them from the chaos in the world at the time.

- How did the release go down with the fans?

Overall, the album was very well received and has opened new doors for us. The single “A Perfect Day to Die” is by far our most popular track.

- I’ve seen that you played the US earlier this year, how was it and how has the touring been on this release?

As any touring musician will tell you, touring is a strange thing right now.

For example: rather than going over to the US for a couple of weeks and doing a dozen back-to-back shows, we’re finding that we’re playing catch up on the postponed shows with dates seemingly scattered randomly about the diary and it will probably be like this until everyone catches up. On the flip side, we’re finding that opportunities have come our way in the UK where overseas bands have pulled out of shows citing Covid related reasons and we’ve been asked to step in or get bumped up to a more favourable spot on the lineup, so it’s not all doom and gloom!

- What are the future plans for Onslaught now that the world is opening up?

Like I say, all of us bands are in the same boat with shows right now. We’re starting to see things get back on track, but this will inevitably take time. We have a full dairy this year with many of the major festivals this summer, our stage show has had a major upgrade and we’ve got the band’s 40th anniversary coming up this year and we’ve got something big planned for this (I can’t say any more than this just yet but stay tuned).

History

- Can you tell us when you first got into metal and what was the bands or albums that really got you hooked?

I come from a long line of musicians, my mother is a very talented composer and pianist who taught me a lot in my younger days and my father, whereas he doesn’t play an instrument himself, he has impeccable taste in music and used to have a legendary vinyl record collection that he introduced me to all the greats like Jimi Hendrix, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin and Gary Moore.

- Who were those early heroes?

There’ s so many but I’d say the most influential was Gary Moore. Anyone who knew me during my time at college (where incidentally I intended to study to become either a Forensic Scientist or Volcanologist/Geologist) will tell you that I always had my CD player on with various Gary Moore records.

- What was your first band?

My first band was a very short-lived group with some guys I went to college with (we didn’t even had a name and we only did 2 shows), since then I’ve been in various bands or varying levels of success but Onslaught is definitely the biggest project I’ve been a part of to date.

- Did you have a local scene where you grew up?

Yes, I grew up in Birmingham which has a quite the heavy metal lineage with legends like Black Sabbath and Judas Priest coming from the area. Birmingham arguably has one of the best heavy metal scenes in the UK to, so the opportunities to see or join bands were many.

- Apart from Onslaught do you play in any other bands?

Currently Onslaught is my only actual band, though I’m always open to working with other projects. Before joining Onslaught, I was the lead vocalist and guitarist of a NWOBHM type band called “Wrath of the Gods”. I offer my services as a session musician I have done several guest guitar and vocal slots for people. I have also recently started up a YouTube channel called “The Metal Emporium” where I post my own stuff (which is more power and symphonic metal influenced), it’s early days for the channel yet but if you’re interested in hearing what my natural playing style is like, check it out!

- Any bands you would like to recommend to our readers?

Go check out DeathCollector! These are a bit of a super group and if you like your death metal crushingly heavy, you’re going to love these guys!

Gear

- When did you decide to pick up the guitar?

I first started playing guitar about 25 years ago after first hearing Gary Moore’s album “The Wild Frontier”. It really sparked something off in me that made me think “I want to do that!”. I got into metal when a good friend gave me a copy of Metallica’s “Black Album” and the rest is history.

- What was your first guitar?

Like many, I started with the humble beginnings of those entry level Argos classical acoustic guitars. After a year or so of playing this my parents bought me a Blue Westfield Strat Copy that I picked out from a shop called “The Music Makers” in Tamworth, that guitar served me very well until about 2003 where I bought my first “pro guitar” which was a Gibson Les Paul Ebony Standard.

- I was and still am a big Adrian Smith and Andrea’s Kisser fan which Is why I play. Jackson’s, did your first guitar heroes influence the guitars you played?

I most definitely wear my influences on my sleeve (or more accurately; my guitar strap). One of my biggest heroes currently is the French virtuoso Stéphan Forté who was endorsing Lâg Guitars so naturally I checked this brand out and ended up using the brand for some time. I’m also a huge power metal fan and love bands like Dragonforce, the white Iceman I often use is one of Sam Totman’s Ibanez LA Custom Shops that I managed to get while recording Generation Antichrist.

- What guitars do you play now and why the love for Iceman?

I’ve used many brands over the years but lately I’ve moved over to Ibanez as I find their necks just fit me. I collect Iceman, I love the look of them, they have a kind of retro chic to them but also look incredibly “metal” at the same time, plus you don’t see too many Icemen around and I like things that are a little off the beaten track.

- What about amps and fx pedals?

I’ve never really used much in the way of effects throughout my career, just a good tube amp and some delay is usually enough for me, and I travel as light as I can on the road. My current touring rig is a Line 6 Helix LT into a Seymour Duncan Powerstage 700 into Marshall 1960a Cab, it’s a simple and dependable rig that can be set up quickly and I don’t need to worry about breaking down. When it comes to amps, I really like the Randall stuff, my favourite model being the V2.

- Any dream guitars out there you would love to have?

I am lucky to own some real special and one-of-akind guitars, but you know you always need “one more” right? I would love to add a vintage 70s Iceman to the collection. Though one I’m really after is an Ibanez Destroyer DT400. I’d love another high end Lâg Arkane too, for old times’ sake. I am checking an item off my bucket list and working with Mark at Hilditch Handmade Guitars to build me a complete custom build, I should be seeing this guitar for the summer. I plan on another of my own designs to be realised with Mark too.

- As you’ve progressed as a player who are the players you look up to?

There’s so many to mention as I listen to and draw influence from pretty much every genre of music out there but if we’re talking strictly about metal, I’d have to say that some of my biggest influences are players like George Lynch, Stéphan Forté, Jeff Loomis and lately I’ve really gotten into Gus G from Firewind. I like players who have serious technical ability but also a great sense of melody.

- Any advice you would like to pass on?

The music industry is a very competitive place to work, especially when you’re just starting out. you’ve got to be resilient; you’ve got to work hard and you have to understand that you will taste disappointment far more often than you will success.

This is just the nature of the game and you’ve got to learn to take this in your stride and not let it deter you from your goals. Put your best foot forward and make yourself visible to people as much as you actively seek out opportunities. Most of all; remember to enjoy your journey, it’s very easy to lose sight of what made you want to play music in the first place.

Future

- What does the future hold for you and Onslaught?

There’s a lot going on. We’ve got plenty of shows lined up. We’ve got the band’s 40th anniversary coming up. Plenty of shows coming up all over, more recording dates, it’s a busy time!

- I’ve seen you are part of the Metal4hire website, would you like to explain what it is how you got involved with it?

I’ve always been keen on supporting the music scene at all levels and I’ve always offered my services as a session musician and ghost writer, even before joining Onslaught. Doing this sort of work gives me a chance to try something different to my normal work, which is always fun. Metal4Hire is a great platform where anyone can hire the services of professional musicians (I’ve even seen some of my heroes on there). Though anyone looking to hire me for recording or live work can contact me directly via my social media too.

Thank you for taking the time to do this interview, good luck for the future and I hope that Generation Antichrist gets the support it deserves as it’s a killer album.