Article By: Pat ‘Riot’ Whitaker ‡ Edited By: Leanne Ridgeway
Thane Farace is a wild man! I said it before and I will say it again, despite never having personally met the man, he is a dynamo of creative talent. Whether it is within his traditional metal-inspired band Rabid Assassin or his outlaw country / southern rock one with Dave Sherman (Earthride, Weed Is Weed), Pillbilly, Thane creates. He’s also got a Ronnie James Dio tribute band, Kill The King, underway, as well.
He recently launched his own independent film company, Toxic Rabid Films and it’s from that project and Rabid Assassin that we get the “All Rise” official video/film short premiere below. Rabid Assassin is sponsored by Coldcock Whiskey, while Thane himself has an endorsement deal with Epiphone. Together, they’re prepping to issue their new album, ‘Army Of The Damned’, via HighVol Music soon.
Knowing what I know of Thane, that we share the love of Appalachian living and culture, aka ‘Hillbilly-ism’, it was a no-brainer to reach out to him and nail down an exchange with the man himself. This is that discussion, so settle in as I invite you to read on into the interview with Rabid Assassin’s Thane Farace!
Riff Relevant [Pat]: Thane, let’s jump right in with Rabid Assassin and go from there… I understand we’re close to the latest album, ‘Army Of The Damned’ materializing soon… what can fans expect with this upcoming offering? The ‘All Rise’ Single is kick-ass… how soon can we expect the Official Video to surface? (As of press time, it now has, you can view it below.)
Thane: We will be releasing the CD around September 2017, through the awesome record label that we are signed to “HighVolMusic Records”. The record will be distributed in the USA by SONY and over seas by CARGO and VALLEY ARM. It is an epic new album that follows that traditional Rabid Assassin sound, BUT also ventures into a more heavier attitude. Since we replaced our old drummer with my long time drummer Todd Stansfield, we now have more of that killer old school drum sound to work with. We are still recording some tracks on the album, but we have released the track “ALL RISE”, that is coming out on HighVolMusic records compilation disc soon.
The video for the song was just filmed. We had big surprises in store for everyone with this video. It is not just a music video, but more in the “short movie music video” realm. So the filming of the video was completed within the last few weeks, then edited and post-production was wrapped. We’ve been doing big promos and dropped the video through our label and here ya go…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcYzRbHyN7k&t=25s
Riff Relevant [Pat]: How did Rabid Assassin come about or originally first get formed?
Thane: Our bassist Dan Delaney hit me up about doing a side project and I called my then-guitar tech Chad Bedsaul and invited him to jam with us. Chad and I write so well together, so we hit the ground running back in 2013.
Riff Relevant [Pat]: Rabid Assassin recently trekked out to NAMM… how was that undertaking? Was it your first trip there and – yay or nay – what’s one of your most memorable NAMM experiences?
Thane: It was actually Rabid Assassin’s second trip out there playing shows and we had a blast at NAMM. I am now the official coordinator for Neil And Michael’s Metal Jam (Neil Turbin and Michael Angelo Batio), featuring the “NAMMTHRAX METALLIC ALLSTARS”, so it was amazing to have Rabid Assassin playing with so many great artists!
Riff Relevant [Pat]: Tell us a little about Toxic Rabid Films and what projects are underway in connection to it?
Thane: Well Toxic Rabid Films is an independent film company I started because of my love for the theatrical side of music and horror films. I acted in a few horror films with Creepy Crawl Entertainment, and when the producer/editor decided to go to college and get out of the industry, I decided to form my own company.
Many of the actors I worked with are part of this great company and many new faces came on board… we have great mask makers, prop makers and makeup artists, we have killer 4K cameras, several 4K go-pro action cameras, and a killer 4K video smart drone. We just filmed and premiered the new Rabid Assassin video for the song “ALL RISE”. We have several horror movies we will be starting this year and will be filming several other music videos, too.
Riff Relevant [Pat]: I guess you’re a fan of horror films then… what are some of your all-time favorites and why are they such?
Thane: Yes I am, love the classics, Frankenstein, Dracula, Phantom Of The Opera, love the Poltergeist movies, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Clockwork Orange, Natural Born Killers… all that stuff. Love me some violent movies!!!
Riff Relevant [Pat]: Speaking of influences and similar type things… what are some of your own personal musical influences? What is your first memory connected to music i.e. what got you started? (For me it was buying KISS ‘Hotter Than Hell’ in ’74 at age 5, ha!)
Thane: My dad got me a guitar when I was 4 years old. I grew up listening to country music and remember learning all the guitar parts to his “The Ventures Greatest Hits” album. Then in 1976, my brother got Queen’s news of the world and my rock and roll days started. I also remember my cousin calling me way back and playing “Iron Man” over the phone to me, I loved it! Brian May from Queen was an early influence, then I got into Eddie Van Halen, Yngwie Malmsteen, Steve Vai and Michael Angelo Baito… all awesome players.
Riff Relevant [Pat]: Pillbilly! You are involved in this outlaw country/southern rock-ish band with Dave Sherman. What’s currently going on with it? Can we expect a full album or an official release at some point?
Thane: Yes we are currently writing and recording, gonna release an EP at some point this year, and will be recording some more videos soon with my film company.
Riff Relevant [Pat]: I love the clearly DIY Pillbilly video ‘Shaking Hands With The Devil’. Do you enjoy making videos? When it comes to them, how involved with getting them made are you? (clearly a no-brainer what with Toxic Rabid Films, etc.)
Thane: Yes, I love the acting and production side of films and videos. I do all the editing, directing and production of them.
Riff Relevant [Pat]: You recently informed me about a solo album you’re also working on. How is that going and what is its status at this time?
Thane: That will be released through our label HighVol Music when it is complete. Looking at a mid to late summer release for that one, and of course some badass videos to accompany it. It will be titled “Meet Your Maker “.
Riff Relevant [Pat]: Are you planning to, or will you be, doing shows or larger scale touring with any of these projects in the foreseeable future?
Thane: Rabid Assassin is playing out regularly and will be doing a 14-day tour of the East Coast/Midwest September into October 2017, after the record drops. We are also planning on going to Europe in 2018.
Riff Relevant [Pat]: What, if any, types of non-musical related things do you enjoy doing (i.e. hobbies, cars/motorcycles, etc.)?
Thane: I love riding motorcycles and ATVs, going to dirt track racing, shooting high-powered weapons and camping. Definitely a hillbilly at heart!
Riff Relevant [Pat]: Thane, I traditionally close my interviews with an open floor for the interviewees, so anything you want to say, state, share, rant about or what have you, the floor is yours. Brother, have at it:
Thane: Just wanna thank you all for the killer support you show for us artists, keep on keeping on brother!
That is exactly what I am doing! In some circles, all a man or person has is their word, their standing, and making good on what they are all about. Thane Farace is one of those types of artists. He goes full-on into something, sees it through, and then delivers it to us, the fans. Be it heavy metal music, hard southern rock, or visual presentations in cinematic projects, Thane delivers the goods time and time again.
You’ve seen and heard a glimpse of that fact here in our exchange and from the sound of it, there is a whole hell of a lot more headed our way. I know I am excited for its arrival, too! Keep your eyes and ears open and thank you to Rabid Assassin and Thane Farace for keeping it real, and fantastically unreal!
