Interview to Doug Palmer Of Radiation Sickness

Interview by Luis Landeo
Welcome to Arsenal Del Metalero, Doug, is a pleasure have this interview with you, how are you? before to start this interview tell me say sorry for the death of your partner Tom Ball (r.i.p.) how this death affected the band? and have the band a new member to replace him? 
The death of a band mate from suicide is always tragic, this is the second suicide in Radiation Sickness the first being Ryan Rollins in 1989. It has had a major impact on the band, it put me in Valle Vista mental health hospital for six weeks. I suffer from major depressive disorder any way. It has torn everyone to shreds not just in Radiation Sickness but everyone who knew Tom Ball. Most suicides you can see coming, this was out of the blue, no warning signs nothing. Life is so full of pain and misery, seems like you would get used to it, but you can’t. No we did not replace Tom Ball, you can not replace a person like Tom, I was ready to split the band up. I thought long and hard about it, but what would I do dwell in melancholy. There was one guy I wanted to play guitar for us if he said no Radiation Sickness was done. He said yes. He did not replace Tom Ball he took over an open spot to lead us in a new direction. His name is Scott Bronner from Mercy Kill and Demiricous.

The last full length of the band was released in 2012 with the title of: "Reflections of a Psychotic Past" are you thinking in work and release a new album?
Yes we will put out a new full length in 2015. Right now we have just released a split 12 inch and cassette with Fistula from Cleveland Ohio, We also released a complete discography called “The Madness Begins 87-89”. We are in the final works of putting out a split seven with Cardiac Arrest. We are also doing a seven inch (still shopping a label for it) for Tom Ball and Ryan Rollins. It will have a new song we wrote about Tom on it plus “The End” a song I wrote about Ryan in 1989 and a couple of covers on the b side.

Last year your band released an split album with the band Fistula, and this work have practically the 90% tracks of Radiation Sickness, why the other band just send 3 tracks? and how born the idea of make a split album with them? 
They are great friends of ours, just something both of us wanted to do. It was only going to be on tape, but then the LP came out. There songs are a lot longer then ours. I love every member of that band, They just rule.

Returning about the first full length of the band, how was work in this production? and in what are focus the lyrics of your band? or what is the concept behind this lyrics? 
That is easy. How bad life sucks and is full of suffering pain and misery. We do not sing about Satan (we do hate Christians and the Catholic Church) My lyrics are about real life things I have seen or read. Depression, Addiction, Suicide, Domestic Violence, Bi-polar disorder, The evil side of life.

The band played with some important bands like: DRI, Master and the brazilians: Nervo Chaos, how was play with them? 
Well we never made the Master show Tom killed himself two days before. We have played with every other Speckman band. Any band we play with is amazing, do I like some better them others yes. I love playing with The Lurking Corpses, The Dockers, I am grateful to share the stage with anyone. I just hate getting caught up in the ego shit. I have no time or room for that.

Have you thinked in the chance of a new tour? and maybe tour out of the USA?
It is hard for us to tour we do Friday Saturday night out of town stuff. Just we are not kids anymore. So many fests around the country I would love to play but they would have to fly us out. We can not tour are way out there. Look for radiation Sickness in Europe in 2015.

Reading the bio of the band, Radiation Sickness started in 1987, and the readers of this interview will want to know how the band started?
Fours young 17 year olds into punk rock , cross over and death metal that all had addictions of one kind or another. Drop outs from society that did not fit in with depression issues, said let’s start a band. It was a lot harder to do back then. No cell phones internet. Just booze, barbiturates, and Cryptic Slaughter.

Well to finish this interview do you have a message to the readers and fans of your band?
Thanks for reading this, look for us one day we will be there. Stay off heroin. I am fucking serious, Here is our Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/RadiationDoug. Here is our on line store: http://sickness666.storenvy.com/ Take care of yourself R.I.P Tom Ball and Jason Mccash from “The Gates of Slumber.

To know more about Radiation Sickness:
https://www.facebook.com/RadiationDoug