Despite his own claims of being a "lazy sod", Mike Williams is a hell of a busy guy. Not only is he frontman for the legendary sludge band EYEHATEGOD, he also currently fronts OUTLAW ORDER (which features 4/5 of Eyehategod when Jimmy Bower is on tour with Down), as well as his newest project, an 80s style hardcore band (which also features Phil Anselmo and Hank III) ARSON ANTHEM.

In addition to all this Mike has written and released a book and has plans to release another one soon. Mike actually had to answer these questions twice as the first time it got lost in the mail.

When you started Arson Anthem, you wanted to inspire people to check out the early hardcore bands. Would you say that the people reacted positively to what you intended?

The reality of it all remains to be seen since the record only came out in February 2008. The reaction to A.A. in and of itself has been very fucking positive. A lot of mainstream type metal fans have gravitated to us, most likely because of who's in the band, but that's a good thing in the long run. The ones who understand what we're doing will seek out earlier Punk & Hardcore bands on their own, but others may have to be pushed a little further into the underground to locate what's good. They need to be educated. Some people were just too young to be there and others just don't understand the progression of Rock and Roll. The truth is that Death, Thrash, Black Metal et al, wouldn't exist without late 70's - early 80's Punk angst aggression and speed.

What sets hardcore punk apart from other forms of music before and now?

Like I said the youthful aggressive energy that powered and still powers Hardcore is a thread throughout the entire history of Rock & Blues music. It seems to me that in that time period I mentioned before that the barely contained energy was channeled through real rage, anger and pent up, locked down, raw fucking emotion. We had something to be pissed off and proud about, as do the kids of today. I don't think anything's really changed. I grew up thinking that Russia was gonna drop a nuclear bomb on our head at any moment and Ronald Reagan was going to force us into vicious war and poverty forever. There was a feeling that this was IT. The END. It was all or nothing, we either fight the system now, or die trying. The fucking hippys peace trip wasn't enough for our teenage anti-establishment counterculture. School, society, work, etc, all the usual bullshit drove the drums heavier, the vocals sicker, the guitars more distorted, the words more to the point. Its just R-n-R progressed to this ultimate state of rancor. There are many forms of music driven by sheer all out power but none to compare to the R-A W shit.

What are the five hardcore albums that you would recommend to the new generation of kids to check out?

That's really impossible to say, as there are so many from that era, and even some that have came out in the later-mid 80's like Dwarves - Blood, Guts and Pussy or Rorshach - Remain Sedate and on and on but I'll try to narrow it down to what influenced me.

1) Germs / (GI) - Ignore all the hype and antics of singer Darby Crash (about to be portrayed in the new Hollywood bio-pic 'What We Do is Secret') its not important. What counts here is the high level of tuneful speed punk and genius lyrics encased in the grooves of this brilliant Lp. Darby was ahead of his time as a lyrical master, a massive inspiration for me, showing that Punk could be intellectual and abstract all the while pushing chaos to the edge.

2) Black Flag / Jealous Again and Damaged - Razor sharp and nervous with personal words conveyed manically on a bed of proto-metal dissonant pure A#1 rawness. Greg Ginns guitar work was insane and the beginning appearances of slow and heavy riffs that weren't Sabbaths. The main band to bring violence to the suburbs.

3) Misfits / Bullet and Walk Among Us - A major powerhouse of sing- along toe tapping Horror Punk. Their live shows were stage diving melees with chanted choruses straight out of the most obscure B movies.

4) Bad Brains /ROIR cassette - THE most INTENSE record possibly ever made maybe ever. Reggae and Punk were always symmetrically alligned, and some of the earlier groups like The Ruts, The Slits, The Specials, The Clash delved into the skanking grooves but HR and crew literally mixed the two with ease and militant destruction.

5) Ok, its impossible. I cant narrow it down. The following are some more records that give me chills and make me want to completely destroy everything: Middle Class - out of vogue, Circle Jerks - group sex, Weirdos - destroy all music, Fuck-Ups - FU'82, TSOL - silent majority, Agnostic Front - victim in pain, Dead Boys - young loud and snotty, Adolescents - self titled, Angry Samoans - back to samoa, Void split, GG Allin -freaks,faggots,drunks & junkies, Discharge 7's, Dicks -live at raul's, Cockney Rejects - greatest hits vol.1, plus a million more...Testors, Die Kreuzen, Pagans, Crime, Eater, Menace, Sheer Terror, Antidote ...

Do you believe that nowadays, a band doesn't need a label to survive?

Depends on what your definition of a label is. Bands shouldn't need a major corporation backing them if they can be DIY and self sufficient by promoting themselves and investing their own profits. It also depends on how big of a band you would want to become. If its just a hobby and you still want to work a day job, then of course you can survive forever just for the fun of playing music. If you want to make a living off of it, then you may need distributors and advertising money to further the career. Obviously there is a middle ground to all this though. I've always signed to smaller labels because I've never had the initial cash to invest and to be honest I'm a lazy sod. I've always went for the easy way out and took the advance and worried about the rest later. Its been both good and bad in the long run. You can always make money from touring and t-shirts, make sure you keep the merchandise rights and keep your publishing. Where this new digital download age is going will be interesting, I cant wait to see where it ends up. Actually, I absolutely think vinyl is gonna make a comeback big time and real independent labels will rule the underground once again.

You've kicked a major addiction for some time now. Congratulations on that! How hard is it to stay on track and avoid temptation? Do you have any milder "alternatives" that keep you satisfied? What are your opinions and what would you say to a person who is still hooked?

Avoiding people, places and things is cliche but its true. Its not easy. I stay away from old neighborhoods, old dealers, certain people. Keeping busy is key as well. I get mail all the time asking for help beating this disease and I'm no expert, but I tell people be strong, gain some knowledge on how to live drug free and know that relapse is 90% of recovery. Remembering the long view is death or prison is the best advice I can give. There can be hope ahead and know that after the physical part is over, the psychological aspect begins and there is plenty of help to be found out there.

At what point are you in your art right now as far as singing, composing and writing go? Is the creative process easier nowadays or does it get tougher as you go along?

Creatively this is the most productive part of my life this far and I don't plan on slowing down anytime soon. The inspiration just gets easier with the advent of time.

Do you have any writing projects in the works? Where do you draw inspiration when it comes to this aspect of your art?

I'm putting more things together now than ever. I've got 20,000 words written for two new books I'm putting together, the second edition re-print of my first book 'Cancer as a Social Activity' is gonna be out by the time you read this with added pages and artwork (available at thehousecorerecords.com and southernrootspub.com) , I've got a bunch of spoken word/electronics records coming out on a few different labels, I'm writing pieces here and there for a few rock mags and working for Housecore/Nocturnal records, doing A & R and website text and I'm doing a Southern Nihilism Front internet radio show to be uploaded soon. As for where the inspiration comes from, its always been straight from the heart and the street. Personal experience and imagination, whether hallucinatory or substance fueled or whatever else. Observation and introspection with a great dose of contadiction and nonsensical reality thrown in to confuse matters more.

What can we expect from EYEHATEGOD, Outlaw Order and Arson Anthem in the coming days? What is the major difference between the guys of EHG and A.A? How do you balance your time and attention between the three bands?

00% - we've just finished our full length Lp called 'Dragging Down the Enforcer' coming out in Fall 2008 on Season of Mist. We'll be doing some touring once the Lp is out.

AA - We locked ourselves in the practice room for 10 hours a day for fucking 6 days last month and wrote 17 new songs of completely sick, furious Hardcore Punk Rock. We've almost finished the vocals in the studio now and need to mix the bastard and it'll be out on Housecore records hopefully sometime next year.

EHG - 2008 is our twentieth year as a band and we're doing some shows, mainly the anniversary show on August 29th in New Orleans. We've also got plans to record our newest songs for the mythical next album. No label as of yet.