Arnold Schwarzenegger fans and death metal fans rarely find mutual ground on which to celebrate their loves. Lucky for them, there actually are Schwarzenegger-themed death metal bands that bring new and interesting meaning to the word “brutal.” Austrian Death Machine (ADM) is one such band, one of the most well-known in this niche genre. With songs titled “Get to the Choppa”, “Come With me if you Want to Live” and “Come on Cohaagen, Give Deez People Ehyar”, being serious is not even on the radar. With blazing riffs, manic shredding and hilarious vocals, ADM has definitely attracted a devoted following of metalheads.
After releasing two albums (“Total Brutal” and “Double Brutal”), ADM went to Indiegogo to crowdfund a third album. Fans who donated large amounts of money were also given special perks for their contribution. Three people donated $500 to have the lead singer, Tim Lambesis (of As I Lay Dying), be their personal trainer for a month; one individual donated $1,500 to record some lyrics on the album; but surprisingly, nobody paid $5,000 for Lambesis to get their initials tattooed on his rear. The campaign easily reached their $63,000 goal and the new album, titled “Triple Brutal”, was announced.
Fans of ADM and As I Lay Dying alike received a colossal shock on May 7, 2013, when Lambesis was arrested and charged with soliciting an undercover detective to murder his estranged wife. The media furor was mercifully subdued and faded fast, but fans were left wondering when, or even if, “Triple Brutal” was going to be released. Information was slow coming at first, until ADM’s Facebook page started updating their fans They confirmed that the new album was in fact going to be released, since all of Lambesis’ contributions to it had been completed before his arrest. After another drought of information, the announcement finally came that “Triple Brutal” is set to be released on April 1. The implication wasn’t lost on the fans, many claiming to not get their hopes up, but so far the announcement seems legitimate.
On Feb. 25, 2014, Lambesis pled guilty to solicitation of murder and as of press time is facing a nine-year sentence. How the perks for donors are going to work out, nobody knows. The logistics of personal training when your trainer is in prison are intimidating, to say the least. Time will only tell if “Triple Brutal” will in fact be released, but on Feb. 6, Artery Recordings released a track on their YouTube account, titled “I’ll Be Back”. Without reading too much into the title, the track itself is face-meltingly awesome, full of riffs, shredding and Ahhnold. After months of no information, things are looking up for fans of ADM and metalheads everywhere.