Interview with Dallas Toler-Wade (ex-NILE, NARCOTIC WASTELAND)

Without further ado, I bring to your attention my short conversation with the legendary Dallas Toler-Wade, the former vocalist/guitarist of NILE, who is now engaged in his own band NARCOTIC WASTELAND.

Hello, Dallas! Let me tell you that it’s an honor to make this interview, since I am a long-time fan of your creativity in Nile and Narcotic Wasteland. As usual, I would like to start from the early days. Long before Nile, you’ve been a part of the band Teratosis together with Edwin Rhone, who also became a member of Narcotic Wasteland years later. You had a demo or two recorded in the studio, but the band ceased to exist after a few years. Can you tell me what kind of band Teratosis was, and why it didn’t work out?

Dallas: We were a pretty good Death Metal band!!! As far as what happened to the band pretty much the same sort of things that happen often with bands. People go different directions in life.

Напачатку 90-х death metal-сцэна Флёрыды, несумненна, была наймацнейшай у сьвеце. Але ты пачынаў у Паўночнай Караліне, што амаль у 1000 кілометраў ад Тампы. На што была падобная сцэна Паўночнай Караліны ў той перыяд?

D: In the late 80s early 90s it was pretty cool. Raleigh had and still has a great music scene. I saw many of the now classic Death Metal bands there.

After Teratosis, you’ve had a long pause before joining Nile. What were you doing at that in-between period?

D: I was playing in my band Dukallian. Then that fell apart and later Ed and I were doing a project called DHB. Around the mid 90s there were less places to play in the area and overall it really started to dry up.

Already as a member of Nile, you joined Lecherous Nocturne and even played drums on their debut full-length record. But you weren’t there for long, because, I guess, Nile took all of your time. I’ve read that you started your career as a drummer; why you don’t play any drums no more? Do you still write some drum parts for your new songs?

D: Yea I normally write the drums in my songs. But I am always open to ideas!!! Me and Joe put together a song which will be on the fourth album. He did a stellar job with the ideas.

Lecherous Nocturne seems to be very close to Nile, because as many as five people from this band played in Nile. Their current vocalist Zach Jeter sings and plays guitar in Nile at the moment. How was this connection established?

D: Both bands were from the same area and also rehearsed at the same storage building. We have known each other for quite some. I still talk with Kreishloff often. Cool guys lots of talent there.

Both in Nile and Narcotic Wasteland, you often play lead guitar parts and sing at the same time. It should be extremely hard, so how you do that, is there some trick? :)

D: I have just been doing it a very long time. In my very first band we used to cover songs like Battle Angles from Sanctuary. Man I cannot believe I used to sing that high!!! For me if there ever was a trick It’s just practice practice practice!!!!

Narcotic Wasteland was created in 2011, when you still played in Nile. Considering the fact that NW and Nile sound pretty similar, at least on a basic level, what was your reason to create this project? Also, is this really your project?Because I remember that at the time of its birth, some media wrote that it’s actually Edwin Rhone’s band, but I don’t know if it’s true.

D: It’s my band from the very beginning. But honestly it just started as a project Ed and I would talk about. Over the years we kept in contact mostly messenger. We were always sending and sharing songs with each other.

First two albums of Narcotic Wasteland are dedicated to the dangers of abuse of various substances, like alcohol, drugs, etc. It’s pretty unusual for metal, and I support this message, since I live a clean life without any of this stuff. But why this topic is so important to you, especially considering the fact that you’ve been drinking a lot of beer at the time of the debut album (I’ve seen it myself, haha)?

D: I wanted to touch on some uncomfortable subjects concerning addiction. But also we talk about true crime and the hypocritical religions of the world. I pretty much want to put all of the nasty things in life right in the listeners face. This to me is true Death Metal!!!!

Is there any connection between your departure from Nile and your involvement in Narcotic Wasteland? Also, can you tell me more about why you left Nile? According to what I read at that time, it looked like it wasn’t as smooth as Nile management tried to present it, and you were basically kicked out for some unexplained reason.

D: I was not kicked out. I left the band right after Summer Slaughter for many reasons. But ultimately it was just time to do some different things in life. My departure from Nile has nothing to do with Narcotic Wasteland. Ima have ask you where you are hearing some of this stuff lol. [If only I could remember! - F1sher16].

Are you following Nile after your departure? In my opinion, they’ve lost a lot. On the latest album, they successfully emulated some of your rhythmic writings and vocal traits, but I doubt anyone can emulate your ability to write “hit” songs.

D: Actually the vocal arrangements in Nile are done by Karl. Then we would decide who fit what part best. And as for the songs I wrote it was most of the time with Karl’s lyrics and I would do the vocal arrangements for the songs I put together.

As far as I know, Nile was full-time band. Is it the same with Narcotic Wasteland, or you have some regular job?

D: I had jobs when I was in Nile too. They ain’t that big.

Narcotic Wasteland debut album was self-released, was it conscious or forced decision? I would think such a famous musician as yourself could easily find a label.

D: I just wanted to put it out on my own. Before we got with MRI distribution we had the digital album on distro kid which is actually a pretty killer distro deal!!!

It may be a continuation of the previous question, but I’ve noticed that you try to be as independent and active as possible. Narcotic Wasteland plays a lot of small gigs, you work at your own studio, produce music on your own, drive the band’s van by yourself, and so on. I know that some older bands like Deicide also use this approach to save some money, but they still rely on their label and booking agencies, while with Narcotic Wasteland it looks very DIY on every level. Again, is this a choice or a necessity?

D: We actually have an agent. I would say overall I don’t really think too much about these things. I love my band and what we do. I have always been a very hard working person for everything I have ever achieved. I love driving too!!! I have seen this country 1000s of times over the years and it’s always therapeutic to hit the open road. But I mean this is just how it is for many bands in the underground. I consider myself to be a barbarian pretty much. I like to live not just exist. And anyone who wants to stay relevant in this industry NEEDS to be able to record themselves. I have a small setup but it has a LOT of firepower.

Have you played anywhere except US with Narcotic Wasteland?

D: We have played Canada several times, and we are headed to Europe in June.

Unlike most of the musicians of your age, you are very active in social media, managing a few pages, constantly posting various ads, announcement and video messages. Do you like this direct communication with the fans?

D: I am getting the hang of it I think!!! My wife also is a tremendous help with my socials and my scheduling. We are each others biggest fans!!! I try to stay active on there when I can. And yes!! It is fun to interact with everyone commenting and liking.

Around second album, you signed a contract with the legendary Megaforce Records. How did that happen?

D: My agent was helping me shop NW around and while we had interest from a few different labels it made the most sense at the time. Super cool peeps!!!

Narcotic Wasteland already had a lot of changes in the line-up. Your long-time comrade Ed Rhone stepped down after the second album. What is the reason for such frequent changes?

D: Ed is actually still in the band but is unable to tour due to health reasons. As far as the others the only thing I can say is that most musicians are flaky and unreliable assholes. I am super proud of our current lineup. THIS is the real Narcotic Wasteland. Kenji is an amazing bassist!!! It is the first time I don’t have to “cover” for the bassist because normally they can’t get their homework done in time. Joe Howard has been in the band longer at this point than any of those other drummers. Joe is also WAAAAAY better at drums and more creative overall. He is also a fantastic lyricist! And We also work with Erik Schultek as his drums and production will be showcased on our third album. Erik is brilliant as he ever was and we have put some badass songs together over the years.

I’ve noticed that the CD “Delirium Tremens” released by Megaforce has a bonus track “Anthem For The Mentally Scarred (1994 Version - Bonus Track)”. Is this something from Teratosis era, or Narcotic Wasteland roots are just way older than we thought?

D: The song is something I wrote around 1995 for my band Dukallian. The lyrics mean a lot to me so I had rebooted it in 2011 with totally new music. Then I decided to put that old version out for fun as a bonus track.

After two albums, you developed a new scheme of work. Since 2022, you released 5 singles. Two of them were accompanied by lyric videos, the latter three – with full-fledged video clips. Do you like making video clips? I mean, it’s a lot of work, and, amusingly, Nile (obviously having much bigger budgets) released video clips very rarely.

D: Don’t assume Nile has a bigger budget. or a budget at all for that matter. I cannot really comment on what goes on in the Nile camp since my departure as I have been totally focused on being as prolific as possible with my band. We very much enjoy making videos!! It’s normally lots of laughs and off color jokes. Kenji does a really killer job and has the equipment. So we just produce this ourselves. I love that we are so self sufficient and can do so much just the four of us.

I’ve noticed that lyrics for these singles are different. They are more social and personal now. Is there a plan for a new album? If so, will it be much different lyrically from the previous two?

D: es!!! New album is long overdue but is coming out 2025. And yea I don’t want to be in a band that talks about the same things all of the time. There will always be some references to the original idea. But like I always say in interviews Iron Maiden doesn't just write songs about Iron Maidens right? I have had many many compliments at this point from fans telling me I helped them through something in their life and that has to be one of the best compliments ever!!

You’ve been here in Belarus for two time at least. First time, in 2012, during Nile / Kreator / Morbid Angel tour. That night was totally crazy, since the bands arrived very late, because Polish border guard have gone on strike. The show started at 1:00 AM and ended around 5:00 AM, and Nile played only for 15 minutes without any warm-up and soundcheck, while most people were still outside. I came for Nile, and I was very disappointed, although I managed to witness your performance. I remember Karl accidentally pushed me while going away from the scene, and I was very happy, haha. Your second visit was in 2016, where you toured these parts with Belphegor (later, you had trouble with certain imbecile “activists” in Russia). This time, you had a great 90-minute gig. I worked there at merch booth for Talent Tours / The Flaming Arts agency, with a condition that I will go and bang my head under your set. Good memories. Do you remember these concerts?

D: Yes I do remember those gigs!!!! Crazy times I thought we were going to jail that last time lol. We were glad to get the opportunity to play for you.

Do you know any Belarusian bands?

D: Not really off the top of my head but always open to hear some new music!!! I don’t really get to check out much since I am so busy all the time.

And the most important question: what happened to your unique haircut that you had until 2010?

D: Well for the second time in my life I shaved my head. I had done this early 90s as well. Life is much easier without hair. I call it the 90s combover!!

That will be all. Thank you for your time and your music! If you want to add something, anything to this interview, be my guest!

D: Thanks so much for interviewing me and thanks to everyone that keeps metal alive, for I feel it’s the best music ever invented!!! Cheers!!! HAILS!!!!

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