WASTED – They Only Come Out At Night
Ken Anthony
Metal Forces, Issue 16 (1986)
 Wasted (l-r): Tommy Kromann, X-Mas, Mick Sonne, Morten Barth and Al Sørensen |
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While Pretty Maids and King Diamond continue to claim all the glory at international level for Danish metal, there remains a handful of bands waiting in the wings to be recognised by the outside world. Artillery of course are already causing waves on the underground scene following the release of their excellent debut, Fear Of Tomorrow (1985), on Neat Records. While Maltese Falcon – having released one album, Metal Rush, back in 1984 – look set to burst back more powerful and heavier than ever before. Evil too should be releasing a new album soon.
But what about Wasted? Avid readers will remember that the band appeared in the very first issue of Metal Forces three years ago, and they also have a debut album to their name, Halloween… The Night Of, released by the Danish label Midas Records in 1984.
Wasted were formed in August 1982 by Al Sørensen (lead guitar), Tommy Kromann (bass) and Morten Barth (drums), who were joined some months later by guitarist X-Mas and vocalist Mick Sonne. It was Mick that I recently met up with in a freezing Copenhagen.
Mick, Wasted started out as a pop band and since then you’ve been playing different kinds of metal. First commercial and now much more heavier. Why do you keep changing your style? “Yes, it’s true we started out playing pop rock. Then we started to progress, playing heavy metal, and will continue to progress for as long as we are together as a band.”
Tell me about your deal with Midas Records? “We signed to Midas in 1983 and they released about 1,000 copies of our debut album Halloween… The Night Of. The cost for studio time, hiring the studio and pressing of the record, was 55,000 Danish Krone (DKK) which we paid for ourselves and were promised we would get the money back.
“ZYX Records in Germany brought the master tape for licensing the album in Germany, Switzerland and Austria. All we got out of that deal was 2,100 DKK, and five men had to share all of that money.
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“Unfortunately, we had signed for one more record before we realised that they were such a poor company. I think we’ve been fools and I’m not sure we’re gonna release our new album Ought To Be Bad with them. Okay, there’s a contract… but we’ll see.”
Were you satisfied with the last album? “We all think Halloween… The Night Of is a great debut album, but of course there’s always things that we could have done better. Ought To Be Bad is much better though, I promise.”
When will the new album be released? “It should hopefully be out in late March / early April.”
I’ve been told it will be like Trouble and early Black Sabbath. Is that true? “Yeah, I guess it is a little like Trouble and Sabbath, but it’s still Wasted.”
What do you think of the Danish heavy metal scene at the moment? “The scene is really weak, but what can you expect from Denmark? Our company and others just don’t dare compete with the real heavy metal experts like Music For Nations in England or Roadrunner in Holland. Luckily we have great guys here in Denmark who put on really great concerts. My favourite Danish bands are Maltese Falcon and King Diamond.”
What are your plans for the future? “Well, once we’ve got the next album out we’re hoping to get a deal with another record company. Our aim is to become one of Europe’s major live bands and we’ve certainly got the energy and enthusiasm to do it.”
Finally Mick, have you got anything to say to the readers of Metal Forces? “Yeah, we salute bangers all over the world and hope they will get Wasted someday and join the club.”
Well, the latest news on Wasted is that Tommy Kromann has been replaced by bassist Johnny, and the band are currently shopping a tape of the new finished album around the record companies looking for a new deal.
Interview taken from Metal Forces, Issue 16 (1986)
