Daemonlord
Divine Rapture
Hypnos
God Dethroned
Skinless
Xtreem Music
Conquer Records
Metal Blade
The Black Dahlia Murder
--added 9/03
SC: Let's start off with talking some about your latest-'Into the Lungs of Hell'. This double cd includes a Possessed cover & two video clips on disc 2. A. Why did you choose 'Satan's Curse' to do a cover of? How often would you say you whip out a Possessed album now-a-days and listen to it? Which Possessed lp was your favorite? & what's in your cd player now?
GD: We did a Possessed cover because we were to be contributing on a tribute album for Possessed, but that never happened. We still liked it, and this was a great opportunity to put it out. I know that Beef has a cassette for in his car, and it contains 'Seven Churches', which is also probably my favorite one. I listen to all kinds of different music, and it changes by the day. But the records where I always return to are all the Morbid Angel albums. They're timeless and always great to listen to! B. Tell us about your video taping of 'Villa Vampiria' & 'Under the Golden Wings of Death'... GD: Well, it was used for broadcasting on the (Dutch) television, of course, but nowadays metal-video's are just not being broadcasted anymore. And this was a good time to add them to a bonus-cd.
SC: 'Soul Sweeper' is epic!-when your writing what inspires you most-hatred for Christianity & organized religion or your mood?
GD: For the music, it depends on the mood, yes. We felt quite creative and everyone brought ideas to the table. By jamming in the rehearsal room, we created the songs. For the lyrics, we were in the middle of the USA VS Iraq - stuff, and we noticed that that was another example of people starting a war and abuse the name of their religion, to obtain more power, money, territory.... So, we felt like writing about that.
SC: How many albums are you contracted to do with Metal Blade Records? How is your working relationship with Metal Blade? How do you feel about their distribution of lp's? Do you feel they have a wider distribution than say Century Media?
GD: This album is the last one for this contract. We're checking out the new contract, which will probably be for two or three cd's...Metal Blade is doing a fine job! I don't know if their distribution is wider than that from say Century media.
SC: Going back a bit to your 2001 release-'Ravenous'-'The Poison Apple (Eve & The Serpentio in the Garden of Eden)' -I really like how the song is written...how did this song come into being?
GD: I guess the same way it went with the new album... I believe Jens wrote the song.
SC: Cold Blooded Industries is ran by Henri (vox of God Dethroned), can you tell us what made you want to do your own label, and why such a wide variety of bands-why not stick to one genre like: black metal? Tell us about the bands on CBI.
GD: Henri came up with that idea, and it's got nothing to do with the current God Dethroned. I think it's a good matter to not just stick with one label and limit the company by that. This way it stays fresh and maybe more challenging....
SC: What's the best thing about being from Holland? I personally never hear about any crime that happens there-out of mere curosity-is it legal to carry a gun in Holland? Have you ever been in jail or prison there? (of course I need to know why if so) Jails/prisons here (US) are horrendous-I imagine a prisoner in a Hollandjail would spend his time gardening tulips for income for the jail/state? (lol)
GD: I think that in Holland everything is more relaxed. I've never been in jail. I guess the jails in Holland are not as tough as in the US
SC: Some of your favorite books &/or authors?
GD: I'm not that much of a book reader. Maybe I should try and reserve a little patience for that. I get quite bored with reading and my eyes start to dazzle and i fall asleep. That always happened when I was reading books for school....
SC: As a child/youngster did you find yourself being drawn more towards books & movies about witchcraft & satan? Are you currently a member of The Church of Satan (what title/poistion do you hold if so) or A member of the Golden Dawn or any other anti-christian rganization?
GD: When I was sixteen, yeah I liked to shock a bit with those t-shirts on school, but nowadays, no.... not much of that anymore. I still like the shirts, but not to shock. I'm not a religious guy, I don't care that much about that.
SC: Any plans for touring the US in 2003? I have seen you play once here in Cincinnati with Diabolic may I say it was an awesome show-great guitar work.
GD: We're working on it, maybe next year! Thanks for the compliment!
SC: Any last words....
GD: Hope to see you all on tour and enjoy the new album!!!
--added 9/03
SC: 'What You Think' is a kool cd, what is 'Ducktape & Razorblades' about?
(Dale): I've never really thought about what this song is about, but I came up with the title. I don’t remember if we were fucking around at work or in the rehearsal room, but I said something about Ducktape and Razorblades, probably in the form of a crude joke, and Nick was like “Hey, that would be a cool name for a song”. It was the same thing with “All the terror you can eat”.
(Nick): Yeah, Dale is fantastic with song titles. He indirectly gave me all the lyrics through the name. I believe we were talking about things to do after work, because you gotta have a hobby, even if you have to keep it a secret. “Ducktape and Razorblades” is about that maybe I should start telling people who I really am and what I’m capable of. I should explain that there's more than meets the eye. I know a lot of people and they think they know me, but if they had any idea… Every single human being is actually someone or something else deep inside. Lying to yourself is the worst thing you can do.
SC: Once you've recorded-what's the one thing you wish you would have done different during the recording process?
(Dale): I honestly don’t think I would've done anything different with this recording. I’m pretty happy with the way it came out.
(Nick): I wouldn't want to change anything, because I can’t imagine “What you think” being any different from what it is! We had some technical problems, which delayed the whole process and put an enormous strain on our patience, but we learned a great deal about the equipment and ourselves. If I have to come up with something it would be that I'd rather record the whole thing live in the studio! Mainly because it would've been a very cool experience and the result would probably be way more personal. Now, technically that wasn't just possible and besides; we wanted to do it the right way and not the cool way!
SC: At a normal gig not a festival, how many people usually show up?
(Dale): The crowds are getting bigger. (da...)
(Nick): We started out with 25 friends and 50 of their friends. We apparently scared our friends away, because nowadays I don’t recognize a single face in the audience. Could have to do with the number of people in it, of course…
SC: How does the Swedish crowd react to extreme metal when it's live?
(Dale): I would definitely say Swedish crowds love extreme metal.
(Nick): The Swedish crowd is pretty much like the continental crowd; they’re stage diving, head banging, banging their heads together, shouting slogans about Satan, fighting with each other, making certain gestures with their fingers, and so on. Naturally, it depends on the place; if everybody’s drunk they just hang around and forget about the show no matter who’s on, but if they’re almost sober they tend to get into it more. We've had gigs where the audience seemed extremely bored and everybody stood along the walls observing us, but when we finished the set we were over run by people buying t-shirts, cds, buttons, everything! Quite a surprise…
SC: What's the wildest concert you've been too?
(Dale): The wildest gig I ever been to was a strange billing of King Diamond and The Cromags at the L’Amours in Brooklyn ’86. It was half metal people and half hardcore people, and nothing but fistfights all night long. I mean, the floor in front of the stage was covered in blood, the bathrooms, the bar. It was like having Pig Destroyer on the same bill as Stratovarius. Just total fucking mayhem.
(Patrik): I think I must mention two gigs, Breach and Meshuggah-1999 at the Hultsfred-festival.
SC: What recent movies have impressed you most? & why?
(Nick): “The Eye” was a masterpiece of a horror movie and every time anybody says: “Why are you sitting in my chair?” I get the shudders real bad! “Kairo” is made out to be quite philosophical, but it's just bizarre. Still I loved it because of a few things, like parts of it scared the check out.
SC: Grates view on organized religion...
(Dale): Organized religion will almost certainly be the downfall of all of us. Muslims, Christians, Jews; go kill yourselves and let the rest of us who don’t give a rats ass get on with our lives!
(Nick): Religion is always organized in order to brainwash people into doing and thinking what the leaders want them to. Religion has always had a bad ring to it; it never really brought anything good worth remembering. It brought forth more evil than good. Most religious people I know misunderstood the bible and one glance at the world and I realize that people everywhere misunderstands the bible! I’m one of very few that actually gets it, but I don’t care anymore. It’s like with smoking: I know it's bad for me, but I don’t care. Religious fanatics should be wiped out in a painful way! Hell on earth for them! Wack’em out! You know what, I’m gonna look them up and deal with them myself! That should keep me occupied for a while! Force them to read “The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy”…
(Patrik): I couldn't care less. It seems we're all fucked anyway.
SC: Grates view on organized crime syndicates...
(Dale): Being from New Jersey, all I ever heard about was the Gambino family, and the other four families. Now, it's the Russians and Albanians. I mean, besides the Yugoslavian gangsters we see hanging around the café down the street from my apartment, it's not really a lifestyle we come into contact with. Not something we would get involved with at all.
(Patrik): The way things are today I think the society needs them somehow. If they didn't exist lots of people would be unemployed and things would just get worse.
(Nick): I'm currently a big fan of the Belgian/Albanian Yakuza! Boy, those guys don't let anybody tell them what to do! What with their brilliant knitting and flower bed arrangements! But seriously, if I knew anything about organized crime I would probably have opinions about it. Right now I just feel that, like anybody else, they’re trying to make a buck while letting their personal problems be their instruments. If I hadn't been a musician I'd probably end up a hit man or a serial killer…hopefully both…
SC: If you could have an everlasting supply of alcohol, weed, or cocaine, which would you choose & why?
(Dale): I guess an everlasting supply of all three would be good to have. You need something to fall back on when you're trying to kick that heroin habit.
(Nick): A six-pack of 3, 5’s a day won't keep the demons at bay. I love my demons; I'd be nothing without them. Sometimes beer enhances them to God/Satan-like proportions and I can hardly leave the house, but I'm lucky to have another recording studio at home though.
(Patrik): Yes! Or maybe neither. My stuff ain't listed.
SC: Are their any drugs that are legal to possess in Sweden (besides prescription drugs)?
(Dale): There aren't any drugs that are legal here, but that don't mean you can't find a bag of reefer, if that’s your thing.
(Nick): Music is still the last legal thing you can use to alter your mind, but even that, as we all know, is about to change: All the fuss about internet and boy/girl/boygirl-bands and designer/manufactured bands like “Limpin’ Park”. I might as well go back to shooting shit, smoking shit, snorting shit, talking shit, shitting shit…
SC: What genre of music in the underground scene do you dislike & why?
(Nick): I dislike most music genres; I have a tendency to enjoy one band in every genre and basically hate the rest! Feels like I’m too young to have found my personal genre, but I’m too tired of it to keep looking. But of course, most punk rock bands really suck, black metal doesn't really speak to me, neo-metal is too fake, I don’t know what noisecore is, rock’n’roll is generally boring, I’m not sure I understand hardcore, doom is too slow, I can’t tell speed/trash/death metal apart, and so on.
(Dale): I would say the whole power metal thing annoys the hell out of me. It’s just so dated and old and boring. And immature. Fucking guys in their 30’s writing songs about swords and magic. What the fuck?...I would've liked when I was 12, but now it's just stupid. And I also don’t like all these bands that claim to be so metal, but are no better than the nu-metal crap that is on MTV. There seem to a lot of those popping up around this town (Gothenburg) lately. Melodic death is like saying “plastic glass” or “army intelligence”. The two terms just don’t fit no more.
(Patrik): The bands I really hate is cover-bands. I admire porn-stars more since they do stuff themselves.
SC: Last words of inspiration...
(Nick): Most people say, “Life sucks and then you die”. I disagree. “Life is the coolest kind of torture I've ever encountered and it just goes on and on and on…”
(Dale): Don’t take any shit from anyone ever. And buy our cd.
(Patrik): Fuck everyone, enjoy yourselves.
Grate
C/O Dale Whitaker
Konvaljegatan 1 C
417 18 Gothenburg
SWEDEN
E-mail @: lifes_grate@hotmail.com
--added 9/03
SC: Let's get into your latest release first...You have a new drummer on 'The Call of Megiddo'-Maly, how is he fitting in with you hellish ghouls?
HB: You're mistaking some important facts. The drums parts on "The Call..." were played by Basti (DEVILYN, SPINAL CORD). He did a couple of tours and shows with us, but had to leave the band because of all the projects he's involved with. "Maly" is the nickname of our new drummer, Chris. Conquer put that name by mistake on their web site. They should have written "Chris" instead, 'coz "Maly" is a Polish word, difficult to pronounce by a foreigner, and it means "little one". It will be fixed as soon as possible. Anyway, Chris fits perfect to our style, and it's not only our opinion. He played live with HELL-BORN already, and he recorded our new album, "Legacy of the Nephilim", with us.
SC: 'The Call of Megiddo' is a work of black/death metal art. How long did it take you to write & record your devilish tunez? What's your take on Hertz Recording Studios?
HB: Choosing Hertz was a no-brainer for us, as we've already been there twice, we know the guys pretty well, and I am damn sure it's one of the best fuckin' studios in Poland. The recording itself took about 160 hours. We've written the new songs within a couple of months. I think it's actually the fuckin' HELL-BORN style- we don't waste our fuckin' time, you know. We're so damn loaded with ideas and passion it just goes like that, fast, uncompromising, merciless. There's nothing to wait for as long as you are able to come out with some good, fuckin' songs.
SC: Conquer Records Summer Festival will be soon-July 15th in Poland, who are you most anxious to play out live with?
HB: You mean the fest? Well, I think AZARATH was a perfect match for the show. They friends of ours, and play great, sick, brutal, true fuckin' death metal. As my answers are kinda' delayed, I can tell you that the Conquer fest turned out to be a great experience, the crowds got totally crazy, and we've managed to kick their asses very badly with our malicious performance!
SC: You hit the U.S. for a small tour last year, what was your take on the scene here in comparison to the Polish scene?
HB: There are not so many differences, actually. they seem to be extremely fascinated by the European scene, shocked with our image, with all those nails I'm wearing, with the evil energy emerging from the stage during our shows. Lot of people are black metal devoted fans, and bands like DARK THRONE are treated like gods. People were asking us all the time why great, famous, cult bands from Europe come overseas to play in a country dominated by the fuckin' nu-metal trend, where MORBID ANGEL plays in front of 20 people on major festivals. They consider Europe being something better. Well, damn, let it be!
SC: I hear you'll be touring the U.S. again soon, do you know who else you'll be touring with?
HB: Yeah, that's right, we'll strike the American shores at the end of this year to perform 10 fuckin' infernal shows over there. DARK FUNERAL will headline that. I can't wait to go there once more! I know it would be a great, fuckin' hell of a time!
SC: I guess you guys hang out a lot with members of Behemoth, Damnation, Devilyn, Yattering, & perhaps even Vader...what's some of the crazy shit you like to do when you get together?
HB: Actually we (me and Les) are members of DAMNATION (the only ones left), so we hang out with ourselves all the fuckin' time, ha, ha!(i)-very cute:)(/i) Damn, we've had a very cool time with some of the bands you've mentioned, we've been playing live together, drinking fuckin' lots of alcohol and going fuckin' out of control. There was so much crazy stuff, I could make a book out of it! I think I would need those people permission to write about it, 'coz sometimes we've used to go too fuckin' far with our "fun", ha, ha! It's metal, damn it! It's gotta be dangerous, brutal and unbounded!
SC: Packaging on your albums on Conquer Recs. are awesome. The art work by Michal Grabowy, on 'The Call of Megiddo' is evil as hell-looks like computer graphic work? Does band has a lot of input into the cover art? Which album art work do you like that the best comparing it to your last release 'Hellblast' art work by-Andrzej "Long" Zdrojewski? HB: Well I like'm both. Anrzej Zdrojewski (a.k.a "D", guitarist in AZARATH) was totally free with the project, 'coz there was no basic concept fo the cover. We've just needed a cool cover and lay-out for our release, and we knew he's gonna make it. As a matter of fact, D is actually working on the art work of our new album, but now it's totally my concept, as it was in the case of "The Call..."
SC: Is Hell-Born in the process of creating more evil tunez to unleash upon the masses? If so, tell us about it...
HB: As I already said, all the stuff is recorded, we are now waiting for the art work to be finished. We will strike the mankind in the break of September/October. "The Call..." was like a damn nail bomb, "Legacy of the Nephilim" is a fuckin' nuclear warhead! 9 songs with the playing time of over 40 minutes, something really worth waiting for.
SC: After Hell-Born takes over the world, tell us three laws that the masses would adhere to?
HB: 1. Keep your fuckin' heads bangin'
2. Drink booze
3. Worship Satan
HELL-BORN is: Baal- bass and vox, Les- guitar & backing vox, Jeff- guitar, & Chris- drums
SC: Thanx for the Interview
--added 9/03
SC: Is Dan Swanö kool to work with?-since he's mastered a couple of your lp's to date. What band do you prefer the most that Dan Swano is involved in? & why?
PG: Swanö is a very cool guy indeed, and what he doesn't know when it comes to music is just not worth knowing. To have him master our latest two albums means a great deal for us as we're sure to get out the best possible sound from our recordings. Of his own bands I think I like the older Edge Of Sanity albums best but the Bloodbath stuff is also simply amazing. I also fucking love the more doom/progressive metal he plays in Oddessy, as it mixes both his heavier songwriting with his clean vocals.
SC: 'Murder Death Kill' is your latest release on Xtreem Music. How do you like working with Xtreem Music in comparison to Forever Underground?
PG: For us the situation still is pretty much the same, both labels are based abroad from us and neither provides us with any tours/gigs. Considering releasing the albums we haven't really got the chance yet to evaluate Xtreem´s work for us as the new album is fresh on the market. However we have received many more interviews so far on this new album than on the previous which has been out for just about a year this month.
SC: Tell us about the cover art for 'Murder Death Kill'...
PG: The artwork was done by a friend of the band named Krituan Kaunissaar, who´s also the main man in Swedish death/viking band Portal. We decided to go with his stuff this time both to save some money as his very cheap and also of course because the cover looks really cool. I think the whole aspect with the malformed Jesus head fits our music and concept great and I'm pretty sure we'll use his stuff next time as well. If anyone would be interested in getting in touch with him they can do so at; come.to/darksource where I think he has more stuff on display.
SC: What's the koolest thing about working in Soundlab Studios?
PG: That it's a fucking good studio I would say! Mieszko/Nasum is also a very easy going person to work with. We recorded the whole album in just six days which is kind of a rush but using Soundlab really made it easier for us. I'm pretty sure we'll be going there again for the next album and late June we'll be going there again to record Ribspreader which is our crust/grind side project.
SC: Your inspiration for 'Crawl to the Cross'?
PG: Musically I couldn't answer that even if I wanted to as we just write what comes to us... Lyrically speaking it's easier as it deals with the subject I mostly write about; the perpetual sickness we all know as religion. I'm still amazed every time I face people, live or televised, that put their whole existence into the hands of a being they never met or got any proof of. People that devour their lives to following a belief simply made to make them conform deserves all bad ...shit that happens to them.
SC: How do you feel about having Paganizer compared to Grave? Your favorite Grave lp is?
PG: It feels really good actually, as we haven't heard it in any negative way yet. Of course it would suck if people called us a clone or rip-off but people who´ve listened to our music just seem to feel the Grave is the closest comparison to do. I adore their debut album "Into the Grave" but also think the follow up "You´ll never see..." is equally great. I actually like all their stuff even if the "Hating Life" suffers immensely from the terrible vocals and lack of enjoyable lyrics...
SC: If you were an executioner which way would you prefer to kill the condemned & why?
a. electrician
b. hanging
c. firing squad
d. lethal injection
e. sewing up live, hungry rodents in the individual (eaten from the inside)
PG: That´s some gruesome way to die...haha! Especially that last option! If the condemned didn't repulse me personally and I actually liked the guy I would be humane and shoot him, preferably straight in the head to spare him prolonged agony. If I didn't like the guy on the other hand...haha! Then I´d surely go for option e, as I'm pretty sure that´s a fucking horrendous way to go.
SC: Does Paganizer plan on touring the U.S. soon? Any touring plans for the future?
PG: I wish! But unfortunately we have no touring plans whatsoever yet. There has been talk during the last years that we would play the US but I think that the sales for Forever Underground will have to pick up a bit before they will be motivated to bring us over. After 911 I´m also pretty sure it's harder to get accepted to enter the US if you have been convicted for any crimes which is my case. Anyway, if the opportunity occurs in any form we will do all we can to come over to the US and play some fucking old school Swedish death metal the way it was meant to be!
Xtreem Music
P.O. Box 1195
28080 Madrid
SPAIN
--added 9/03
SC: 'From Sacrifice to Survival' is a most brutal release...it seems your lyrical content has gotten more serious-since 'Progression Towards Evil' & 'Foreshadowing Our Demise', could you tell us the reasoning behind this?
SL: Well, the lyrics have actually been serious since 1998. "Progression" was released in 1998 but was basically a collection of rerecorded demo songs that were written in the early to mid 90's. The first two songs on that album were the last to be written for the release and the lyrics were more serious. Same with "Foreshadowing", the lyrics on the album are mostly serious with the exception of two songs. Those two songs were written in 1994 and we just decided to rerecord them to finish of the album. With "Sacrifice", it's all brand new material for the first time, no old demo tracks on this one.
SC: Will Skinless bring back their intense perverted intros on future releases, I was surprised that there wasn't one nasty intro-it was almost becoming a trademark?
SL: Problem is, it was becoming a trademark for several bands. We really didn't want to be predictable with this album. We may use samples again in the future but certainly not to the extent that we did before.
SC: Excellent design & art work on 'From Sacrifice to Survival'-your vocalist did the graphics-did any of the other band put in their two cents?
SL: Sherwood (vocals) did the album layout but not the artwork. The cover art is the work of Mike Sutfin. He also did the cover of our "Miscreant" EP the we put out last year. All the members of Skinless and Mike Sutfin had ideas for the cover and the end result is the culmination of those ideas.
SC: How do you like Max Trax Studios-NY?
SL: We like it because it's close to home and we feel comfortable there since it's our third album in that studio, plus some demo stuff was recorded there too. We've worked with the same engineer on all 3 albums so he has a good feel for what we are looking for.
SC: When playing out live what are some things you want to see from your crowd to get you more into your stage act?
SL: I personally like the whole front row to be head banging and pumping their fists. Behind them there needs to be a crazy pit and lots of stage divers. There is nothing like a crazy crowd to get me pumped up, that adrenaline rush is one of the best feelings there is.
SC: So, your getting ready to go on your Japanese tour-who will you be playing out with? anything special you'd like to see while your in Japan?
SL: Yeah, we head out tomorrow morning so I'm rushing to try to get stuff done at the last minute. We'll be playing with Nile and Naglfar so it should be sick. I'd like to see more of the Japanese countryside and traditional buildings, houses etc... Last time over there we really only got to see cities like Yokohama and Tokyo but it was a blast.
SC: Are you looking forward to your upcoming tour with, Dying Fetus & Misery Index?
SL: Hell yeah, we toured with Fetus 2 years ago and it was insane so things should be really nuts this time around since both bands have made progress. We are great pals with Misery Index too and it's just gonna be a big brutal party.
SC: What's the one thing you want every metal head that listens to 'From Sacrifice to Survival' to understand about Skinless?
SL: I'd like people to see that Skinless is a brutal, heavy band but a band that stands out from the masses of stagnant death metal bands. We are music fans too, and we are just out there giving it our all and having fun. We want people to see that as we get bigger we are still representing underground music, not sellouts. Some people will hate us just because we've gained popularity and that's just not right. Thanks for the interview Angela. See ya'll on tour.
--added 9/03
SC: Just to clarify did you derive your bands name from the infamous Black Dahlia Murder on Jan. 15th, 1947 of Elizabeth Short? Tell us how you choose the name....
BDM: This is absolutely true. In relation to our lyrical content, the name is pretty perfect. We're five guys who are really into the genre of horror whether it be film, literature, or [as in our case] music. When you lyrically try to tell a horror story, you really have to dig down into the key elements of horror. These things are usually spawned from what society invasions as disturbing, morbid, and occasionally obscene. I doubt there are many out there that would argue whether or not the murder of Elizabeth Short was obscene or disturbing.
SC: Your currently touring with The Red Chord/Premonitions of War/& Dead Water Drowning...How do you like the tour being mostly hard-core/metal-core type bands? Which of the bands is your favorite to watch live & why?
BDM: We had a total blast on that tour. All the guys from all the aforementioned bands are really cool and it created the right environment for a lot of good times. Although they may have some "moshy" elements it doesn't change the fact that they are each quite unique. As far as favorites and live goes, The really isn't too much of a basis for comparison. they're all really entertaining and each has their own attitude.
SC: Speaking of touring...you'll be playing the Milwaukee Metalfest this year-how excited are you about that? admit the truth...The Black Dahlia Murder has wanted to add Body Count to their list of 'bands that we've most secretly wanted to play out with', and now you can chek that off your list of things-The Black Dahlia Murder has to do...just fuckin with you...But seriously what do you think about Body Count as one of the headliners of The Milwaukee Metalfest 2003?
BDM: We are totally stoked for the fest. It's always exciting to play to larger than normal crowds. We're also really excited to get to see some of our favorite bands such as Suffocation, who none of us have been able to see since their resurrection. As far as Body Count is concerned, We're all very interested in seeing Ice T, but even beyond that, Trevor used to jam out to that shit in his youthful days.
SC: This being your debut album release on Metal Blade Records-did you expect such a great response from the press & radio-especially since this is your first full-length release?
BDM: Not really, we knew we had a small following after the release of our EP, but we really didn't expect Unhallowed to be pushed as hard as it has been, and we certainly didn't expect this kind of response to it. Just goes to show that not all surprises suck as much as a flat tire.
SC: What are your highest expectations from being signed to Metal Blade? How many lp's have are you contracted to do with Metal Blade?
BDM: I really wanna meet some of the dudes from Gwar, that's really my highest expectation. We're definitely going to be doing more albums with them than the Goo Goo Dolls. We'll leave it at that.
SC: Being from Detroit, Michigan's to have it let downs-what are a few of the things you loath about Detroit? What are some of the things Detroit has to offer the underground metalscene (besides The Black Dahlia Murder)?
BDM: Detroit is kinda a big pile of shit, but recently people around town have been paying a little more attention to us so we haven't totally written off the area as of yet. As far as what detroit has to offer, Saprogenic is the first band that comes to mind. Extremely catchy brutal death metal with a hint of Texan furry. They'll be playing at the Metalfest this year too, they're really good.
SC: When you get shitfaced-your preferred beverage is? What makes you want to get shitfaced the most?
BDM: hahahaha, this question rules. We are all pretty happy with Jaigermiester, the mean deer has never let us down before. As for what makes us want to get shit faced, the usual key inspiration is getting ourselves in a proper state of mind for sleeping in weird places, ie strangers' floors, the benches in the van, etc.
SC: Your highest expectations of 'Unhallowed' is?
BDM: The highest expectations we have are simply to sell tons of these and hopefully make enough money to pay back everyone we owe money to.
Interview with Kepa founder & guitarist
SC: "The Sign (Key of the Underworld-Regained) Pt. 1: The Towers of Griefdoom" is your debut release on Medusa Productions (Germany). Comparing this to your demo, 'Unscarred Soul'-2000, what has improved with Daemonlord's sound during this two year period? DL: The sound didn't change too much. The compositions maybe yes, 'cause you are in constant progress you know? and of course, the first demo sounds a bit monotone, the similar structure for the songs, and with the time you are improving this kind of things. The album sounds more complete. We are proud for all the stuff we had released. I think it was a normal progression, the new stuff sounds a bit different, with new ideas.
SC: What are three of your favorite tracks, from any of your releases? & why?
DL: I didn't know! It's a difficult question to answer. When you are playing or recording a new track, you are thinking that this is the most fuckings brutal sound that you ever recorded, but with the next song you have the same sensation, so, fuck off! I can't remember all the tracks. But I can assure you that the new stuff sounds with full of aggrssion, it's a fucking punch striking your face, you will be able to confirm this, sure!.
SC: "The Ancient Lost Knowledge (By the Words of Gods)" is an awesome track, what was the inspiration for this track? Guitar riffs kill on this tune, full of melody.
DL: This track, yeah, maybe, but i think we had some other track with more melody. This track starts with a cool riff, that I played in 2 different styles, so the sound is more melodic i think. I think that the whole album we demostrated that we know how to play our instruments, the people didn't see this with our previous demos. Listen to "THROUGH THE PORTAL OF TIME", it's more melodic I think.
SC: How do you like doing split lp's? I noticed you already have done one-"As Bastard As God" on Downfall Records with Nocturn, & you currently are waiting for the release of your latest split endeavor-with Nocturn, Perditor, & Goat Semen.
DL: You are confused, yeah, we release a split-CD with NOCTURN on Downfall Records, but the new will be with NECROCULT, PERDITOR & GOAT SEMEN. The idea was from the label, so they contacted us to ask if we were interested in release this piece on vinyl, as a Double-Split-LP, so of course we accept! I thin that the splits are a cool idea to check more than one band for normal price no? In our split with NOCTURN we include our second dmeo, and maybe this wasn't a good ida, 'cause we were in constant progression, and we release the demo one year before, so, I don't know if we take the right decission, but is the same, we were very happy releasing this Split, the problem was with the discography, 'cause I didn't see any fucking review or anything, so the promotion isn't the best.
SC: I don't hear of many black metal bands from Spain, Is black metal popular in Spain? Is there any other black metal bands from Spain I should know of?
DL: Popular? I don't think so. There are some bands, and are starting new ones everytime. You can check AKERBELTZ, pure norwegian BM, PRIMIGENIUM fucking cool stuff!, MYDGARD, ADHUR, OMINOUS... there are a lot of ones yes. you can check http://www.bloodyzine.cjb.net, it's a site for the spanish underground so there you have a couple of bands.
SC: Your favorite Possessed track is:
DL: Possessed? I think all the "SEVEN CHURCHES'" is a fucking great release, but I can choose "THE EXORCIST" this kick ass!!!
SC: What do you think about organized religions?
DL: FUKK OF! i'm not interested in these fucking stupid minds, only $$$ is behind this.
SC: The underground is an awesome power, what do you think are some of the positive things about the underground? Negative?
DL: I don't know, maybe the internet access was a great thing to promote and contact bands. I live for the underground, so, I didn't need any fucking full colored mail order for check some band, I prefer to contact the band personally. Is a big difference in the market and Underground. The market the big distributors labels only work for money, if they see that they can make money they will release a release, if not fuck off, in the underground I think that all the releases are made 'cause the guy who release it likes your stuff you know? it's not a way to take money, 'cause you know that the Underground didn't give you a fucking $. The negative things? I can see a fucking trend those days, it's the trend of calling your band NS hahahahah., fukk off!
SC: Are you currently creating a new line-up since the departure of Sixto?
DL: I was helped by a friend of mine to record the stuff for the EP, but I didn't know the future, so I can't tell you anything. The band will continue with the same idea, only a guy composing all the music, and maybe another for the vocals, but maybe I can put the vocals in the next recording, I don't know.
SC: The future looks bloody good for Daemonlord...what other plans do you have in store for your followers?
DL: The next release will be the 7"EP with 3 new tracks and a cover, and them the Double Split LP. I hope all will be fine with those releases and them we have to work hard to put new stuff out, so keep the eye on it!
SC: Thanx for the interview.
DL: Thanks to you for this interview, and your support. If anyone is interested in get a copy of our releases, please contact us ok? We have some shirts available too. Our address:
DAEMONLORD
P.O. BOX 1
20550 ARETXBALETA
GIPUZKOA
SPAIN
E-Mail @: kepademonlord@hotmail.com
Site Address: http://www.daemonlord.xrs.net
DL: Ok, See you in hell!!!
J.J. Hrubovcak, Guitarist/Drummer/Co-Founder
SC: How was working with Erik Rutan @ Dimensional Sound Studios?
DR: It was killer for one very big reason…. He REALLY cares about the projects he works on. That's the difference between pro and unpro and he's totally pro. It's a rarity in any business, not just music. He not only puts in the effort that's needed to complete with a proper sound - good separation between all instruments, a thick guitar sound with natural harmonics sparkling through even though we didn't double up - but he'll go the extra mile. And he'll spend all hours of the day working incessantly and basically cutting off all contact with the outside world to really dig into the project and put his all into tones at every step of the way from tracking to mixing. The care makes all the difference in the world on any project in any business. Getting clear, thick tones is important in any style of music, but needs more effort and emphasis in death metal where there's so much going on and you're basically dealing with a wall of sound and where some people are so used to underground mixes that are just slapped together that mushiness has become the norm and actually sounds to them to be more "brutal".
SC: "Divine Rapture"-promo sampler 2000, includes a cover of Death's "Pull The Plug", how did the passing/death of Chuck Schnidler effect you?
DR: It was definitely a sad day for all of us, especially the way he passed. He was so influential in so many different types of bands. Probably the greatest honor for anyone in music is to be imitated and covered and this tribute was fitting. We really adapted it with the DR style to show the initial core, but expand on the concept. It actually sounds very different from the original and that's what tributes are meant to do…take the original concept, adapt to your style and expand upon it.
SC: "Funeral Mist" is an excellent tune, tell us what inspired it...
DR: Well about the lyrics, you'd have to ask my brother. He writes all of them. But to me the lyrics are about viewing a passing as entering into a state of nothingness and having a jealousy of the people who have been in that state because they have been made free of the tortures, shallowness and hypocrisy of this existence. Actually for me it's not so much the existence, as the cultivation of a shallow, selfish culture in some circles and social hierarchies in the U.S. As far as the music, it came from that spark of the living mass that we've been able to tap into, so it actually conveys theme and speaks in a memorable way.
SC: Divine Rapture's line-up is currently being overhauled...any luck with finding new members yet? What is the hardest thing about finding a new member?
DR: We're auditioning a few people, but the hardest things to find are the technical ability and the drive to want to actually do anything. Most people we've auditioned so far haven't had the technical ability to play the material. As far as drive, most people are content with playing a few local shows and not disrupting their routine. After they join, they realize that we work pretty hard, I think harder than a lot of bands and they have to put in alot more effort than they thought including playing all over the place and facing touring, etc. That's probably the biggest problem. I suppose we could allow leeway on technical ability as long as it sounded smooth live, but if they don't want do anything with their musical career, that causes ALOT of friction, more than you could believe, because we want to do EVERYTHING.
I think the biggest thing that this album will prove to everyone is that losing a member is not the end of the world for us. We may be looking for other members, but we are still able to accomplish a career in all aspects including on the recording and live front. At the time I spoke to you last, there were some problems, but this past Milwaukee and other shows proved that we have the live front covered. It would just be a convenience to have every member doing 1 thing and I would like to get back on guitar live. That's for sure. Myself and Bob's complimentary solo styles and rhythm harmonies are the basis for our sound. Ryan though has done a good job taking up my guitar parts. The lineup live has recently been: Mike-vocals, J.J.-drums, Bob-guitar/guitar synth, Ryan-guitar. The lineup for this record is: J.J. - Lead and All Rhythm Guitars, Drums, Keys/Guitar Synth; Bob- Lead guitar, keys; Mike- vocals; Ryan-bass. So just because we're looking for members doesn’t mean we're down and out or that we can't play live or anything like that by a long shot. We are still the same band, doing the same things. We can still record and we can still perform live. This year has attempted to destroy us and put obstacles in our path in every way possible at every step of the process, but this record will prove our endurance to everyone. It kicks ass and is extremely technical and brutal at the same time with melodies and harmonies on all levels. Also I think the orchestrated pieces will surely impress. It's a great piece of art. All tracking is done. It's in mix-down right now.
SC: How do you like playing the Milwaukee Metalfest? Best experience? Worst experience?
DR: It's definitely a great springboard for getting your music out to as many people as possible at one time. We've been able to reach a lot of people through the fest and, even though overall fest attendance has dropped, it's great to see more and more people come out and see us over the years and really support by singing the lyrics and creating pits and just filling the place. Most unique experience was playing 2001 without a drummer. When he didn't show, we made the decision to keep going and were still able to create the intensity and stay on the mark in the tempos and hit all the stops. We got great support for that and thank all of the Sons of the Harvest who really believed in that show and created pits and packed that theatre. Worst experience was probably this year even though we had a killer slot (10:20 pm Saturday opposite Susperia). The stage manager pulled the plug during our set and never hooked up Bob's lead channel (so leads were all stage volume) and never hooked up the guitar synth so we didn't have our normal atmosphere. We've had unique experiences every year that maybe we'll have to put on the forum page on the site sometime. The best experience was at a different Koshick fest at the Meltdown in Asbury Park. There was a lot of support from the audience for that one and the energy exchange between band and audience really made for a killer show.
SC: "Tyrants from the Abyss: A Tribute to Morbid Angel"-Necropolis Records in the U.S. and Hellspawn Records of Sweden, tell us how it came about that Divine Rapture got on this awesome tribute lp?
DR: We actually found out about the tribute through someone else here in the states and we got in contact with BlackMoon at Hellspawn. We were barely getting in before the deadline for submission so it was done quickly in a short amount of time. Luckily, Mike had already done some artwork (www.productivethought.com/html/metalmike.html) for Ron Vento and Aurora Borealis (www.auroraborealis.org) and got in contact with him quickly about recording at his studio. At the time, U.S. distribution was up in the air and we didn't know who would carry it here, so it was great news when the deal with Necropolis was finalized later.
SC: If I was to come over to your house to check out your cd collection, which ones would you want to hide before I got there?
DR: HAHAHAHAHAA. I don't know I guess there isn't anything to hide per say but there is a lot of non-death metal in the collection that some would consider wild. I listen to a shitload of different styles. I love all music that challenges me and is built on thought and feeling. Some older r&b, jazz, european classical, indian classical, rap, new age, other ethnic music, blues, instrumental rock, fusion, etc, etc…I don't know about anybody else, but I still think Winger and Skid Row's second albums were killer! I also have an old Hulk Hogan theme song cd that one of my friends gave to me. Hulk plays bass HAHAHA ….and get this… you won't believe it was actually recorded at Morrisound in Tampa by Jim and Tom Morris!!
SC: Tell us about "The Burning Passion"...
DR: This album is going to really impress people I think and blow them away with the melodic brutality. The entire album is built around a theme and the packaging is completely pro and eye-catching and reflects the theme. My brother, Mike, designed the entire layout. There are little things across the entire album that reflect the theme that you may not notice initially but on later listens or views. There will also be a video for Spirit Storm Serenade directed by Aaron Cobbet on the cd. That's in the editing stage right now. Actually Aaron directed the scenes and helped give birth to the concept, but we are directing the editing and the final outcome according to the script and our feel of the song. The music is unreal. There are "wrapper" pieces that fit the entire album into a nice package and we open with something so extremely brutal, yet so catchy. There are some speeds on this album we've haven't touched before either. If you thought the Promo 2001 was fast… watch out!! There are also some more progressive metal pieces and actually composed orchestral pieces. The solos are very open and the vocal layering has its own inflections that make it an instrument in itself. It's also a great triumph for us not only because of all the obstacles we went through, but because we managed to be self-sufficient in a lot of ways and keep a lot of the work contained within the band. It's in mix-down so it should be ready soon…
SC: Any upcoming shows, etc...
DR: We're not going to book more shows until this album is completely finished. There have been so many distractions and so many obstacles that we just have to focus and keep our eye on the end goal.
That Death Tribute should be released later this year on Mondongo Canibale out of Spain. And "The Burning Passion" will be released later this year / early next year. Keep checking www.divinerapture.net for details. There's going to be some bigger changes to the website later also!
Divine Rapture
P.O. Box 159
Chester Heights, PA 19017 USA
E-mail: Info@divinerapture.net
Interview with Bruno, bassist & vox
SC: Did you find it hard to leave Krabathor to form Hypnos? Even though it's been about three years, do you miss being in Krabathor?
HP: When I was a member of Krabathor, I would never want and think to leave this band (except one time back in 1996 when I wanted to change my life not to be poor musician forever). My decision went on my mind within a few seconds, the cup was fulfilled and I said not anymore. It was really easy, I would never expect....I still miss Krabathor, my friends, the great times spent together, but knowing contemporary situation....it would not work anymore. I am honestly happy with HYPNOS.
SC: Replacing David M. on guitars is now, Mills-how's he fitting into the Hypnos horde?
HP: I mean he is finally used to be a HYPNOS guitarist and we used for him. He is true death metal maniac wanting to be a member of band that is in....He deserves to be with us, he is devoted to HYPNOS. I needed to give him a time and now I guess we will start to write new songs soon. It´s time.
SC: All the songs on 'The Revenge Ride' Shred, but tell us some about, how you came up with my four favorite trax off this lp; 'Evil Awaken','Endorsed by Satan', 'Spider-Werk', & 'I Am the Wind'...
HP: As usually, I prepare some riffs at home and construction of song, some lyrical and philosophical background, some riffs are also from David M. (guitarist) here. Then on rehearsal we create final look of the songs together with Pegas (drummer).
SC: Have you gotten any new stuff written yet for your follow-up to "The Revenge Ride"?
HP: Not yet, we will open new "season" at Sept. 13-th with first 2 rehearsals for new album (normally we do not rehearse at all). Some titles that could be possible songs at new CD are: THE CLEANSING EXTREMA, DROWNED IN A BURIAL MUD, SUPERNATURAL RACE DISHARMONY, AT DEATH´S DOOR... etc.
SC: What has been your best live experience?
HP: Many of the shows we have done so far. Definitely the best ones have been X-MASS FESTIVALS with MORBID ANGEL etc. in December 2000, Czechoslovakian tour with BEHEMOTH in Oct. 2001, WITH FULL FORCE FEST. 2001(GER), this summer open airs as CORGON ROCK POP(SVK), OPEN HELL(CZE), PARTY-SAN(GER) etc. We enjoy live playing a lot. In October we suppose to do 1 show in Dortmund with Fleshcrawl and Bolt Thrower, so we are very looking forward.
SC: Doing gigs you meet some different people-what's been the strangest person you've met and what made them odd?
HP: Wow, I don´t remember...maybe...there was one serious politic affair in Czechoslovakia back in 1970 year when a couple of young people abducted personal airplane with cca 30 people to west Germany, they shot down one pilot.....It was is deep communism. Really bad. Once we played in Kassel with Krabathor and one Czech immigrant startedto talk to me...after a while he said me that he is one of those persons (not a killer one but anyway)...I had a strange feeling.
SC: This is your second release on Morbid Records-'The Revenge Ride', how many lp's have you signed for with Morbid Records, and how do you like working with them?
HP: 3-rd already (MCD in April 2000 was first)...At the moment we are dealing with MORBID RECS. to sign new contract for 2 more full length CD´s and I guess it will happen.
SC: What is your version of your own personal hell?
HP: My world is a hell and I am the ruler of that! I love to live in my hell and I love to fight against all religious assholes.
SC: How was the Dracula Festival?-I haven't heard much about this festival, who else played? Any bands that you especially took an interest in?
HP: Mostly Czech bands (PANDEMIA, BORON, ROOT...) headliner was TANKARD from Germany, they showed up in a really good mood and state. They still have a lot of fun and energy. We like those guys.
SC: The Morbid Festival is coming up in September, are you excited about playing this Fest.? What's the best part of doing live shows for you?
HP: MORBID FEST is one of the smaller festivals we do this summer, but we really like to be together with our record label mates, to talk with them and to meet a lot of friends there. I hope that people will enjoy HYPNOS live set as well.
SC: Last comments...
HP: More info you can find at: http://www.hypnos.cz, watch out for new album supposed to be out in September 2003!!! DO NOT SUPPORT RELIGIONS!!!! WE DON´T NEED THEM!!!
Band Site @: http://www.hypnos.cz/
E-mail @: bruno.hypnos.@post.cz