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Metal Maverick Sees The Light

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By CURTIS ROSS, The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 5, 2007

When Steve Austin talks about his current tour's 'death toll' and suggests 'bringing dead animals' to his show, there's a temptation to take him at face value.

After all, as the frontman and lone permanent member of experi-metal outfit Today Is the Day, Austin has created extremely malicious, even misanthropic, music.

But the fright factor is mitigated by Austin's chuckles as well as his speaking voice, a Tennessee tenor that seems better suited to high, lonesome bluegrass than metal.

Austin is, in fact, a Tennessee native whose father played guitar in 'sort of a Hank Williams Senior type band' in the '50s.

Austin still calls Nashville home, where, in addition to fronting Today Is the Day, he also runs Austin Enterprises recording studio as well as a new label, Supernova.

Austin is speaking by telephone from, coincidentally, Austin, Texas, on the way to Houston, another stop on the Supernova label tour, featuring his own band as well as Christine, Defcon-4 and Taipan.

Austin says starting his own label was the logical next step given Today Is the Day's do-it-yourself ethos.

'We already produce our own records and make our own artwork,' he says.

It also gives Austin the means to release music by bands he loves.

'I can choose bands on their merit, on the basis of whether they're good or not, not whether or not they're massively marketable,' Austin says.

Today Is the Day's first album for Supernova, 'Axis of Eden,' was released last month. It follows two very different releases by the band: 2004's 'Kiss the Pig' was concise and brutal, while 2002's 'Sadness Will Prevail' sprawled two-and-a-half hours over two discs with plenty of prog-rock experimentalism.

'Axis,' Austin says, is another trip altogether.

'This one is going off on more of an emotional journey, a spiritual explosion,' Austin says. 'It looks within oneself, and defines what kind of feelings someone living in the U.S. in 2007 would have.

'Some of the feelings are extreme anger and hatred, and also love and caring,' Austin says. 'It's our most balanced effort in that respect. It's not just dark or negative. It's about the things that make us keep fighting.'

The things that keep Austin fighting are 'my sons, Hank and Willie, and my wife, Hannah, our best friends and the few people we have that are close to us. That's all we ever truly have.'

Being a parent makes hope a necessity, even for the most pessimistic thinker.

'It does,' Austin agrees. 'In fact, the booklet of 'Axis of Eden' ends on a note of that.

'There's a photo of Hank looking to his right, and on the right side is a picture of a black sky with the sun poking through,' Austin explains. 'It represents how our real and only hope is the future and children we have. These are pretty dark times now.'

ON TOUR
Today Is the Day
WITH: Christine, Defcon-4 and Taipan
WHEN: 8 p.m. today

WHERE: Crowbar, 1812 N. 17th St., Tampa; (813) 241-8600

COST: $10 advance, $12 day of show

Curtis Ross can be reached at (813) 259-7568 or cross@tampatrib.com.

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