Phil Rind, Sacred Reich

Thrash metal means never having to slow down and grow up. We meet the mighty Phil Rind of Sacred Reich, whose new album Awakening is a bona fide monster

Thrash metal requires a very steady hand; fortunately the great Phil Rind has one

How was the recording process for you this time, Phil?

We were just trying to get the right take. By the time I got done recording, I was finally happy with the process! I wound up playing a ’64 Jazz bass that I’d never played before. It sounded so killer, although I’m used to a 10”-radius neck which is super flat, and this one was 7.5”, and it had side position markers that I couldn’t see and 20 frets instead of 21, so sometimes I was overshooting. It was a bit of an adjustment, but I was digging it. In the end I liked it so much I wound up getting a signature Flea bass from Fender, and I love it.

Why go for a Jazz?

I just like the sound – that Jazz sound had an edge to it and it really cuts through. The sound is more rounded and naturally scooped. Years ago I went for a much clearer

sound, so I always played P-J basses with Hartke cabs and a Gallien Krueger head, because that gave me such a clear tone. I even had a brass nut, because it was so chimey, but now I’m going for a way thicker, deeper, overdriven tone. I use an Orange head with 4x12 cabs and a little overdrive pedal, so the Jazz has so much tone. That Flea bass is made in Mexico, but the pickups sound unique. I played every Jazz they had at Sam Ash and Guitar Center, but the Flea bass was my bass. You just pick something up, and that’s your thing.

Dave McClain, who was your drummer from 1991 to ’95 before joining Machine Head, has recently rejoined Sacred Reich. I love playing with Dave, so when we’re playing live I go back to see him a lot – I always try to get him to smile. He’s such a pro and he works so hard to do what he does right. His drumming is so rock solid, it’s great. He told me, ‘I don’t want any triggers or sound replacement’, and I said ‘What’s that?’ and he laughed and said ‘We’re gonna get along great!’ I think a lot of bands do that these days.

“WE WERE JUST TRYING TO GET THE RIGHT TAKE. BY THE TIME I GOT DONE RECORDING, I WAS FINALLY HAPPY WITH THE PROCESS!”

You’re not a fan of drum triggers? Someone was talking to me about recording the other day, and he said ‘Every snare hit needs to sound the same’ and I said ‘Why? Bullshit!’ People don’t need every snare hit to sound the same, and they don’t even know if they sound the same. People just know if something sounds natural or not. We wanted to sound like a real band, playing real instruments.

What basses have you played over the years?

Really early on, I had a red G&L, which I played for years. After that I bought a ’74 P-Bass from a pawnshop. It was Les Paul gold with a mirrored pickguard, and then I had one custom-made out of Warmoth parts and Seymour Duncan Basslines pickups. I played those two basses for the longest time.

Are you strictly a four-string bassist? Yeah, four strings is good enough. I’m not that good of a bass player, I don’t need more strings. We tune to E flat, so we don’t need to worry about it. Four strings were good enough for Steve Harris, Geddy Lee, Geezer Butler and John Entwistle, so they’re goddamn good enough for me!

How did you get into bass?

When I was a kid, growing up in New York, the first time I ever really noticed the bass in a song was with ‘Roundabout’ by Yes. I was like ‘That is killer!’ I remember loving that song, and Chris Squire’s bass really drove it.

Which other bass players did you admire when you were starting out?

Geddy Lee was an influence, although I can’t play like him at all – there’s no way. I don’t even know how he does it, he’s amazing. Steve Harris, too, because back in the day I used to play a lot of Iron Maiden songs with my fingers. I didn’t play with a pick until I joined this band. Geezer Butler is still my bass hero – his sound, and the way he plays, and the fact that he wrote the lyrics too. That’s the dude I want to meet, and give him a hug!

Were your fellow thrash metal bass players also an influence?

We got together in 1986, and Cliff Burton was huge at the time. I saw Metallica on the Ride The Lightning tour and it was so interesting, because all these dudes were in black and then there was Cliff, who looked like a hippie in denim and bellbottoms, and he played with his fingers even though so many thrash bassists used a pick. And he did a bass solo on their first record – that is next level, man. Who does that? Live, sure, but not on a record, all fuzzed-up like that. I was also a big fan of the first two Megadeth records, because David Ellefson’s tone was so killer.

It’s been 23 years since the last Sacred Reich album.

Twenty-three years, yep. We started playing again in 2007, but we didn’t have any new songs, so here we are. Before that my bass was in the closet. I didn’t play bass professionally for 20 years and I thought that part of my life was over, but I realised that the thing I love most is playing bass. My wife was like ‘You need to play music’ and you know what, she was right.

So what was it like getting back together after so long?

It was weird: at the first rehearsal we ended up playing 14 songs, because our muscle memory still knew the songs. We had to stop asking each other how the songs went and just let the muscles take over.

Do you take an amp on tour?

I use an Orange Four Stroke 300 head with a parametric EQ. Steve Harris likes it so I’m not gonna argue, haha! It’s incredibly loud. I have an EHX Glove distortion too.

And will the Flea bass be your main live instrument?

Yes it will be, although it’s shell pink, which isn’t the first colour I would pick. I took it out for our last four-week tour and it was fine. Still, I love a three-tone sunburst because it feels so natural and beautiful, so I sent it to them for an aged finish – not overly done, but so it doesn’t look brand new. Just a bit loved around the edges...