Band line-up (2015): Andreas (drums), Karsten
(guitar), Philip (bass/ vox), and Ivar (lead guitar).
The band released the ten-track studio album States of Decay independently on 10 October 2016.
Kieran James (Busuk Chronicles)1:
Hi, can you tell me the early history from the formation of the band up to now?
Philip:
Three-quarters of us play together since 2003. Back then Andreas (drums),
Karsten (guitar) and me, Philip (bass/ vox) played together in a band called
Exposed Guts. We did kind of US-styled Death Metal and had one self-release
called “The Way of All Flesh”. We had
a lot of gigs and did support slots for bands like Monstrosity, Deicide,
Prostitute Disfigurement, God Dethroned and others. The band was put on hold in
the late-2000s and we started jamming on new material. Finding the right
lead-guitarist took way longer than we wanted. But finally we found Ivar in
2013/14. He’s also playing in a Death Metal band called Immortal Scorn. We
immediately recorded a 4-Track rehearsal demo called “World Keeps Falling”. It’s just a rough piece of Music(k) on CD-R
that we use to have a free give-away at shows. By the way we continue working
on new material to get our first full-length album together. Recordings are in progress.
And to have some kind of appetizer and introduction to the Death Metal Web
Community we did our video-single called “Palace Revolution”. A new song called
“Truth Be Told” will be online within the next few weeks hopefully. The album
will contain 10 to 12 songs. As I said: work is in progress.
KJ2:
How is the response of people to your demo?
ANSWER: We
did not really promote “World Keeps
Falling” besides giving it to the people we met at shows so far. But the
reactions were very good. And the video-single still does pretty well. We
really caught some interest out there which is really great!
KJ3:
What is the most influential band for you guys in playing music?
ANSWER: If
you asked this question to each one of us separately you’d get a bunch of
different answers and each one of us would not just mention one band for there
is so much great stuff out there hahaha. But bands like Gorefest, Vader, Dying
Fetus, Terrorizer, Pestilence and Monstrosity for example surely left a mark.
KJ4:
What are your future plans for the band?
ANSWER: With
the upcoming album we are working on our future right now, hahaha. Well we
definitely need to play shows and we are working on that as well. Playing Death
Metal is a hell of a pleasure and we want to as long as possible. ... Anything
else time will bring.
KJ5:
Are the songs you create using English or German lyrics?
ANSWER: Anything
we did so far was in English. There are a few really nice bands doing it in German
like Godhatecode or Japanese Kampfhörspiele. I can imagine having a song in
German some day. But we didn’t try that so far.
KJ6:
What are the lyrical themes?
ANSWER: When
it comes to lyrics we have two sides of a coin somehow. On the one hand, the lyrics
deal with reality and the society of today...freedom versus the different kinds
of oppression one can find almost everywhere. “Palace Revolution” is a good
example: The lyrics are inspired by the activist group Femen. Two girls from a
Russian punk band were sent to a Siberian prison in 2013 for provocation and
vandalism against the Russian authority. In fact they were sentenced for being
critical and free-thinking. They kept up to their ideals and did not stop to
speak out their criticism.
“Basics
in Brutality” for example is an anti-war song about childhood-soldiers. By the
way we use “Death-Metal-Language” on topics like that.
On
the other hand, we also stand in line with the lyrical traditions of Death
Metal in general. “Scumrise” for example deals with the classic horror of dead
people walking around.
KJ7:
Why do you like to play old-school death-metal / grind instead of deathcore or
other modern styles?
ANSWER: Playing
the style we do was (and is) no decision against deathcore or any other modern
style of brutal music. We try to create the most intense music we can and death
metal is a passion we share. Calling the sound a mixture of Brutal Death, Old
School Death and Grindcore came up after the first songs were ready and we
listened to them. And these styles also are important to all of us as fans and
listeners as well.
KJ8:
When did you first become fans of metal bands?
ANSWER: All
of us got in touch with metal when we were kids. I for example started being 13
years old. My very first bands were AC/DC and W.A.S.P. But it didn’t take long
until I found Kreator, Nuclear Assault, S.O.D., Morbid Angel and stuff like
that.
KJ9:
Have you heard any Indonesian death metal or grindcore bands? I can recommend
Jasad, Jihad, Bleeding Corpse, Turbidity, and Death Vomit among others for DM
and Deadly Weapon and G.A.S for grindcore.
ANSWER: I
must admit that I do not really know too much about the Indonesian scene. But
thanks for the crash course. I really enjoy your recommendations. Great
taste!!! All I knew until now was that there are a lot of really brutal bands
coming from Indonesia. I heard Jasad, “Rebirth
of Jatisunda” before, for example. But it’s not easy to get your music here
in Germany besides a few clips via youtube and stuff like that...You caught my
attention to dig a little more.
KJ10:
There was a Christian death-metal band in Germany called Sacrificium a while
back. I thought they were pretty good. Have you heard of them and do you know
whether they are still active?
ANSWER: Yep,
they are still alive and playing. In 2013/2014 they came up with an album
called “Prey for Your Gods”. See http://facebook.com/SacrificiumOfficial
KJ11:
What is the metal scene like in your town or city and what are the best bands
from there (any genre)?
ANSWER: The
scene is healthy and growing. But our city itself is not too famous for Death
Metal. If you ask for local bands I can recommend it’s Orphalis – http://facebook.com/orphalisband We
are gonna share the stage with those guys in the very near future. And if you
look into the more or less close neighbourhood it’s Phobiatic for Death Metal
and Keitzer as well as Depression for Grindcore.
KJ12:
What are your most memorable shows or experiences on stage?
ANSWER: The
most memorable show on a death metal stage was back with Exposed Guts here in
Dortmund. We played with God Dethroned. And during our set all lights went out.
But we just got on and the crowd got really mad in a very positive way that
evening. With Symmetric Organ we once in a while have after-show parties that
are truly memorable hahaha.
KJ13:
Have you got any message for the fans?
ANSWER: Keep
it up! Stay true to your ideals, stay brutal and thanks for the support.
KJ14:
OK, thank-you very much.
ANSWER: Thanks
to you! It was a pleasure!
 |
| The 10-track debut album States of Decay was released independently on 10 October 2016. |
No comments:
Post a Comment