Q&A: Anton Patzner of Judgement Day

What does the name Judgment Day mean to you as a group and how does it reflect upon your goals as musicians?

Basically, it’s the end of the world. It’s the most epic thing we could think of. We started the band halfway as a joke. Every song on our first album has joking references to the end of the world or hell. I never really realized we would make multiple records. I just thought we’d be always making ridiculous metal albums as a novelty, but when time came to make the next record we wanted to escape that novelty.

In some ways I wonder if we should have created a new name, but it’s who we are and there’s an upside to the name because whenever there’s a predicted apocalypse we get thousands of new followers on Facebook. The downside is that one can’t find us on Google. And yes, we are huge Terminator 2 fans. We’ve busted into the theme song a few times at our shows.

Where do you see Judgement Day going from here?

We don’t have any plans for a new record. I just need to take a break from trying to make “strings-only” records. I really cannot stand some of the pop string stuff that has come out in the last few years, like 2Cellos, who do metal covers of pop songs and Linzi Stoppard, who dances a jig while she plays violin solos over techno beats. I just think that stuff is wrong and I don’t want to be a part of it.

There’s definitely a way to make good music with strings. Andrew Bird is an example of a good violin player who is also an artist. His records aren’t just violin all the time, they’re legit and worth listening to. I even still think it’s possible to make a great record with just violin, cello and percussion. But goddamn, it’s difficult.

Every Judgement Day album experiments with a new approach to “strings only” and I think they’re all worth listening to just to hear that experiment, but I still don’t feel like we’ve made that great record, up there with the vinyl on my kitchen shelf. Maybe some day we will, but after 10 years of trying, I need to try something else for a while.

I’m really excited about arranging and producing for other bands, where I get to use all kinds of different instruments. It’s fun approaching a record without any limitations. I like playing as many instruments as I can get my hands on and making beats and getting nerdy with filters, so I think I want to do that for a while. And don’t expect Judgement Day to stop playing live any time soon. I still think our live show is awesome and I’m excited to put on a great show every night on tour.

What are your thoughts on an actual Judgement Day?

Well, since the Mayans were wrong, I guess we’ll have to find some other ancient calendar to look at and figure out when it will be. At the very latest it will be in 5 billion years when the sun swells into a red giant and swallows the earth.

Judgement Day opens for Pinback at Bimbo’s on January 19. More info.