British thrash metal legends ONSLAUGHT are back in action after a 16-year hiatus. Guitarist Nige Rockett spoke to BW&BK; about the band’s forthcoming new album, Killing Peace, and the band’s plans for 2007.

What it’s like to be back in action after so many years?

Nige Rockett (guitar): “There’s a team spirit that was never there before. It was a dictatorship in the old days, but now we all work and write together. Steve and I used to do everything, but now if someone doesn’t like a certain riff or part of a song, then it doesn’t go in. It’s a totally democratic process now, and it’s working better than ever. No arguments. All the old arguments are gone and forgotten. It’s a fresh start for everybody. It’s most enjoyable!”

Have you got any favourite tracks on the album?

NR: “I’ve got a different favourite track every time I listen to it. The other guys are the same. We wanted to make sure that every track on the album stood up to the others. At the moment my favourite is ‘Twisted Jesus’, but next week it’ll be something else. ‘Burn’ is a really good one. When we did the intro for it, I told Andy (Sneap) roughly what we wanted for it, and it came back sounding exactly how I wanted it. I couldn’t have done it any better myself. It just reminded me of the typical English thrash intros, but up to date. It’s perfect for what we wanted. I love the whole album. We’ve got a bonus track that should appear at some point. We re-recorded ‘Power From Hell’. That’ll find its way out somewhere, but not on the album.”

The lyrics on the new album are fantastic. Still angry after all these years?

NR: “The lyrics are great, aren’t they? I’ve had fourteen years of being pissed off, so I had plenty to write about. Jim chipped in with some lyrics, and he’s very intelligent so he comes from a different angle. They’re pretty nasty lyrics, so hopefully they’ll piss a few people off. They’re a very important part of the album. It sets the scene for the music. We’ve consciously try to put things in there that people can remember and join in with at gigs. We kept thinking ‘Can we picture this working live?’, and you can see it when we play. We’ve played three of these songs live so far. When we went to Japan…that was amazing. We played ‘Burn’, and by the time we played the second chorus the whole crowd, 1500 people, were singing along. It was fucking unbelievable. That obviously worked!”

What are your plans for the new year?

NR: “We’re going to record a video for ‘Killing Peace’ at the beginning of the year. Then we’re all off to Greece for a couple of dates with Napalm Death at the end of January. Then we’re going to Poland in February to record a live DVD. That’s going to be good. It’s the first time we’ve played over there. There’s no other definite touring plans, just stuff in the pipeline. We want to get on to as many festivals as possible and play all the places we haven’t been to before. We just want to keep this thing going now.”

‘Killing Peace’ will be released on March 5th in Europe via Candlelight Records. The full track listing is as follows: ‘Burn’, ‘Killing Peace’, ‘Destroyer Of Worlds’, ‘Pain’, ‘A Prayer For The Dead’, ‘Tested To Destruction’, ‘Twisted Jesus’, ‘Planting The Seeds Of Hate’, ‘Shock & Awe’.