California-based classic death dealers NECROT unleash the fetid fruits of their Blood Offerings debut full-length. Released on June 9th, 2017 on CD, LP, and digitally via Tankcrimes and on cassette in partnership with Sentient Ruin Laboratories, the eight-tracks comprising Blood Offerings were captured by Greg Wilkinson at Earhammer (Vastum, Graves At Sea), mastered by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege (Nails, Gatecreeper), and will come sheathed in the unholy cover craftings of Marald Van Haasteren (Bolt Thrower, Baroness).
Forged in 2011, NECROT features current and past members of Acephalix, Vastum, Saviours, Watch Them Die, and Atrament. The band unleashed the audio bone-crush of their The Labyrinth full-length last year via Tankcrimes and Sentient Ruin. Spewing forth eight tracks amassed from three hard-to-find and long out-of-print demo tapes, the record reaped critical acclaim from fans and media alike compelled by the band’s unrepentant Autopsy, Bolt Thrower, and Sacrilege worship. Decibel Magazine hailed NECROT’s “classic, bursting-at-the-seams, crawling-from-the-grave-still-decaying sound”, while Invisible Oranges wrote “NECROT are as old-school death metal as old-school death metal gets. Their songs would have been welcome presences on early classics by Master, Bolt Thrower, and Autopsy and yet, NECROT has a punk rock soul that refuses to die”. Last Rites concurred noting that “Death by pitiless decimation is the principle mandate here.”
With Blood Offerings NECROT continue their quest for total aural warfare perhaps at an even more severe and damaging level than before, unleashing upon the listener a concrete-thick wall of total death metal chaos that strides forth with absurd belligerence and reckless aggression.
Formed by the initial duo of Luca Indrio on bass and vocals (Acephalix, Vastum, ex-Lawless), and by Chad Galey on drums (Ex-Vastum, ex-Bruxers, Atrament, Caffa, Rude, Mortuous), and subsequently rounded out by Sonny Reinhardt on guitar (Saviours, ex-Watch Them Die), Necrot are one of the most punishing, savage and treacherous death metal acts to ever tread californian soil. Formed in 2011 initially as a side-project of Acephalix, Necrot have since then built a devoted following in their native Bay Area and beyond, and have become known as a merciless and bloodthirsty death metal killing machine thanks to their bulldozing live sets and their savage and butchering recordings.
Since inception the band has only made their music available as very short and hard to find demo tapes that are now completely sold out, impossible to find and have become something of a cult object or collector’s item, elevating the band’s reputation to that of absolute cult and DYI monument in the Bay Area underground metal scene. Taking queues from legends like Asphyx, Bolt Thrower, Grave, Discharge, early Sepultura, early Morbid Angel, and Entombed, Necrot have thus far existed as a power trio with the build and attitude of a bloodthirsty tank.
Necrot’s music is a literal onslaught of buzz-sawing death metal riffs and bone crushing rhythms – an authentic sonic bludgeoning that can batter the listener’s flesh into complete submission within seconds, and which owes much of its crude heaviness and primitive ferocity to old-school death metal and thrash just as it does to (crust) punk.
To coincide with a full North American tour supporting comrades Blood Incantation starting today, London’s Qrixkuor shall be releasing Incantations From the Abyss via Invictus Productions on June 30th.
Qrixkuor was born of flame and baptised in blood in the year MMXI. Their first utterance was the 19-minute demo Consecration of the Temple, containing the track of the same name and “Morte Datores,” which was recorded in the West Midlands in mid-MMXIII and released unto the world at the debut live ritual, on April 26th MMXIV. The demo was continually self-repressed in small quantities until new music became the primary focus, eventually selling around 400 copies.
As work progressed for MMXVI’s debut MLP Three Devils Dance for Invictus Productions with The Fires of Samhain: Intium festival in Dublin on Halloween MMXV planned as the eventually overly optimistic release date, a rehearsal for the festival was recorded and released at the festival as the Rehearsal 09/15 demo, limited to 50 blood-stained copies, to showcase a rough version of a new track entitled “The Divine Architect,” a cover of Demoncy’s seminal “Winter Bliss,” and a re-interpretation of the title track from Consecration of the Temple by way of exhibiting the progression two years’ worth of rehearsals and shows since the original demo’s release.
Now, to further the momentum established by the critically acclaimed Three Devils Dance and more so as a timely release for Qrixkuor’s impending North American invasion, Invictus Productions collects both long-sold-out demos on one convenient compilation. Set for both CD and vinyl release, both formats have remastered by Vassafor’s VK and feature layout by SeventhBell. Full list of tour dates and venues are as follows:
June 7th – Victoria, British Columbia @ Logan’s Pub
June 9th – Vancouver, British Columbia (Covenant Fest III) @ Rickshaw Theater
June 11th – Seattle, Washington @ Highline (w/ headliners DEMONCY)
June 12th – Olympia, Washington @ Obsidan
June 13th – Portland, Oregon @ High Water Mark
June 14th – Oakland, California @ Golden Bull
June 15th – Los Angeles, California @ Union (w/ headliners SADISTIC INTENT)
June 17th – San Diego, California @ Til Two Club
June 18th – Las Vegas, Nevada @ The Garth
June 19th – Tempe, Arizona @ Yucca Tap Room
June 21st – Denver, Colorado @ Meadowlark Bar
June 22nd – Santa Fe, New Mexico @ Meow Wolf
June 23rd – El Paso, Texas @ The Rockhouse
June 24th – Dallas, Texas @ Reno’s Chop Shop
June 25th – New Orleans, Louisiana @ Siberia
June 27th – Austin, Texas @ The Lost Well
June 29th – Houston, TX (Destroying Texas Festival pre-fest) @ BFE Rock Club
Today, death metal diehards Skelethal premiere the new track “Scaly Smelly Flesh”. The track hails from the band’s highly anticipated debut album, Of the Depths…, set for international release on June 23rd via Hells Headbangers. Hear Skelethal’s “Scaly Smelly Flesh” in its entirety below.
Hailing from the now-fertile French death metal scene, Skelethal comprise two diehard death metal addicts, Gui Haunting and Jon Whiplash, who decided in early 2012 to form a band mainly influenced by the genre’s classics: Entombed, Carnage, Morbid Angel, Pestilence, Autopsy, and Death among others. With that foundation firmly in place, Skelethal unleashed the Morbid Ovation demo in 2012 and then two critically acclaimed EPs in 2014, Deathmanicvs Revelation and Interstellar Knowledge of the Purple Entity, which were later compiled onto CD in 2015 as Morbid Revelations.
Having played many gigs and spread their name in several countries, Skelethal are now about to reveal their first full-length, Of the Depths…, for new label home Hells Headbangers. The duo’s aim is plainly stated – absolute DEATH WORSHIP – and once again, they will wield the Metal of Death like a scythe, an axe, and blunt hammer simultaneously, all in obeisance to occult forces beyond the mien of man. Being diehard death metal addicts themselves, Hells Headbangers couldn’t be more pleased to have Skelethal among its roster, and are anxiously anticipating unleashing the band’s rumbling, roiling tank-tread of a sound.
Indeed, the immediately tangible heft and just utterly CRUSHING weight of Skelethal is felt upon the first few seconds into Of the Depths…. It is familiar, for sure, for the duo proudly wear the aforementioned influences, but just like their opening clutch of EPs, Skelethal manage to authentically extract the essence of said influences rather than ripping them off wholesale (or worse). In that sense, Of the Depths… verily becomes a proud ‘n’ potent entry into the classic death metal canon, being no more but certainly no less than actual DEATH fucking METAL done by two diehards who live (and die) for this form of filth. And yet, with nine tracks spanning a total of 40 minutes, Skelethal here display some subtle twists to their timeless sound, branching out but barely, never betraying themselves or their chosen metal; it simply becomes a longer, stronger display of all that made the band tick and kick before, a deeper and darker plunge into cosmic horrors and boundless morbidity. Will you join them and become Of the Depths…?
Cover art and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Skelethal’s Of the Depths…
1. Sons of Zann
2. Spectral Cemetery
3. Chaotic Deviance
4. Glimpse of the Great Purpose
5. Catharsis
6. Pantheon of the Abyss
7. Scaly Smelly Flesh
8. Outer Conviction
9. Morbid Ovation
10. Soon to be Dead (CD bonus)
11. Macabre Oblivion (CD bonus)
IRON BONEHEAD PRODUCTIONS is proud to present UNAUSSPRECHLICHEN KULTEN’s highly anticipated fourth album, Keziah Lilith Medea (Chapter X). For nearly 20 years now, this Chilean cult has built a commanding canon of eldritch death metal DARKNESS. From their early demos to later splits and especially their preceding three full-lengths – not least of which, 2014’s critically acclaimed Baphomet Pan Shub-Niggurath – UNAUSSPRECHLICHEN KULT have explored the furthest reaches of primordial dread and ancient mysticism, all through pure ‘n’ authentic Metal of Death. But now, they’ve transcended all past accomplishments with the monolithic Keziah Lilith Medea (Chapter X).
Verily a summation of the UNAUSSPRECHLICHEN KULTEB aesthetic to date – songwriting that slithers through the slime with a preternatural grace, execution that’s barbaric and crusted in mud and blood, production that plumbs the foulest ends of the sonic spectrum – Keziah Lilith Medea (Chapter X) possesses an immediately engaging aura of demonology and witchcraft. In fact, such themes are central to Keziah Lilith Medea (Chapter X), as explored in the album’s 12-page booklet, with liner notes painstakingly crafted by the band. “This Chapter is inspired by women, the persecution against them by the Holy Office Sacred Congregation (The Inquisition), their essential role in the myth and legend, their place at the witches’ Sabbath, and the profound fear they spread – and still do – in mankind under the concept of Witch.” Further, as the band explains, “The ancient pagan cults awarded a leading role to the woman inside the spiritual. However, in medieval Europe, among other things, the exaggeration of the divinity and chastity of the feminine, the exaltation of virginity and motherhood as unique roles for women – the image of the Virgin Mary – create a shadow, a mirror image, an opposite principle. The repression of sexuality and denial of the Soror Mystica incubated a mysterious, dark, and evil female image.”
Across its taut, eight-song/39-minute duration, Keziah Lilith Medea (Chapter X) displays an UNAUSSPRECHLICHEN KULTEN at their most frighteningly feral and also most devilishly nuanced. The songs’ successive slipstreaming surge creates a miasma of blunt-force trauma and hallucinogenic tension; any dynamic and detail the band wish to engage in is delivered with an almost unsettling, paradoxical grace. Keziah Lilith Medea (Chapter X) takes all the urgency ‘n’ ugliness of classic death metal and upends into the realm of high art. That assertion is further elucidated by the aforementioned booklet gracing the album, as well as its ominously striking cover. As if their bounty wasn’t already overflowing, UNAUSSPRECHLICHEN KULTEN here deliver a work for the ages.
Today I spoke with Sam the bass player from one of the better Death metal bands coming out of the NY Scene – Artificial Brain – in case you have not seen these guys before their live show needs to be seen to be believed – always a great night out with these guys – read on and learn
* Most of you guys come from a pretty amazing pedigree of extreme bands – How did the Artificial Brain come together?
Dan (guitars) and I have known each other for our entire lives, basically, and all of the original instrumentalists grew up in the same town on Long Island. I went away to college in Boston after high school, and by the time I returned to New York, all of Dan’s musical projects had dissolved. The two of us quickly started working together on some kind of mellow Virus-inspired instrumental music, and also on some acoustic material with Jonathan (guitars), who was close with Keith (drums). The band formed almost immediately after Dan first heard Keith play, and being that Keith’s strengths are firmly in extreme metal, that’s what we ended up doing. We didn’t become involved with most of our associated acts until after the band had already formed, Buckshot Facelift (Will’s long-running grind/death project) excluded. Since Artificial Brain started, Dan has joined Revocation, I’ve become involved with Gath Smane and Luminous Vault, Will has started singing for Afterbirth, Keith has filled in for Pyrrhon and is playing with a new band called Shredded, and we’ve also started to play with Oleg Zalman, who did some touring with Severed Savior.
He was the only person we tried out, and we offered him the gig at the first rehearsal.
* Will is a pretty unique front man – did you try out other guys before him or was it always a case that Will HAD TO be the singer?
For the first year or so of the band’s life, Dan and I handled the vocal and lyrical duties. This phase of the band never left Long Island, and we realized pretty quickly that we’d be better served with a dedicated vocalist/lyricist – someone with a more commanding/less anxious stage presence. We had a friend sing for us at a couple of local shows, as more of a stop-gap measure than anything else, and we began to post some ads online. Eventually, after sifting through dozens of responses from lunatics on craigslist, our friend Paulo Paguntalan (who fills in for us live on occasion, and has played in Copremesis and Gath Smane) suggested Will. We had been fans of Will’s old band, Biolich, and Dan had a band called Cyanide Breed that performed alongside those guys a couple of times, so we asked him to come out to a practice. He was the only person we tried out, and we offered him the gig at the first rehearsal.
* For some one who has never seen your live show before – how would you try to describe it?
We’re going to play the songs faster than they are on the record, whether or not we intend to. Will is going to be wearing some strange strobe-light eyewear, and he’s going to crack some jokes in between songs. At some point, there will likely be a verbal or visual reference made to fishing. Will is going to conduct the band for a little while, and the rest of us will be engaged in sporadic headbanging. Our show is often described as “high-energy.”
* There is definitely some degree of “theater” to an AB show – was that something you guys planned from the start or did that just come naturally?
I think it’s something that’s developed really naturally. We, the instrumentalists, are just trying to play the songs aggressively and with relative accuracy – the theatrical element is Will’s personality coming out on stage. He moves the way he does because he’s feeling the music, and even the “space goggles” just started out as a practical thing. His vision is really poor, and so he got some big old-man sunglasses to wear on stage, which very quickly became popular with the fans. Before long, he started adding lights and wires and electrical tape, and now he’s even got flashing LEDs in those things.
* How did you guys get a deal with Profound Lore and how it been so far to work with Chris?
We paid for the recording of “Labyrinth Constellation” out of pocket, because we really wanted a polished product to hand to a record label. Profound Lore was our first choice, and actually the only label we sent the record to, because we’ve loved so many of the records Chris has put out. In addition to feeling a connection with that roster, we have some friends who had worked with the label and had positive things to say, so it seemed like a natural fit. Thankfully, Chris was really into the record. Our working relationship has been great – he’s extremely supportive and communicative, and the amount he gets done as an essentially one-man operation is pretty staggering.
* I try to catch you guys most times you play in NYC – what’s the furthest you have played away from NY to date? Europe? The West Coast ?
We’ve played all over the United States, and we’ve played in a few cities in Canada so far. I think the farthest we’ve been has been Vancouver, BC, which is about 3,000 miles from where we live. We would love to play in Europe (or on any other continent that would have us) but we haven’t yet had the opportunity.
* How much touring has the band done so far and do you guys have aspirations of living on the road (going full time so to speak) with the band?
We’ve done two major North American tours to date. One of them was with Pyrrhon and Gigan, and the other was with The Black Dahlia Murder, Goatwhore, Iron Reagan, and Entheos. Aside from those, we’ve done some short regional tours with Cognitive, Pyrrhon, and Die Choking. We love touring, but realistically we’re only able to do about one serious tour a year – we don’t have aspirations of going full time, because some of us have careers outside of this band, or are on career paths, at least. Making a living off of music is extraordinarily difficult, particularly when you’re based in a part of the country as expensive as Long Island, and we recognize that we’re probably also limited, to a degree, by the weirdness of our music. Even a lot of the more accessible bands who are regularly a part of huge package tours really struggle to make ends meet, and while we think that’s amazing, it doesn’t seem feasible for us at this stage in our lives. That said, we’re incredibly thankful to be able to do the amount of touring that we do.
I think the hardest part of playing extreme music in 2017 is really just trying to find something new to say
* What would you say is the toughest adversary facing extreme bands in 2017?
The lack of money can be tough, especially with record sales continuing to sink and underground concert ticket sales having stagnated so long ago…but as long as you don’t go into extreme metal performance expecting to do much more than break even, and you’re willing to accept the very low standard of living that comes along with touring for any extended period of time, this stuff should be fine. I think the hardest part of playing extreme music in 2017 is really just trying to find something new to say, and trying to get noticed in an internet over saturated with music.
This idea of trans-humanism is actually something that frightens me for a number of reasons
* The bands name is Artificial Brain – what are your thoughts on the “Transhuman” movement the belief that Humans can evolve beyond their bodies limitations with science and technology?
To an extent, this is all very exciting. I keep up on the news about CRISPR, and on a personal level, it would be amazing to live in a world that’s unconcerned with alzheimers, cancer, infection, etc. This idea of transhumanism is actually something that frightens me for a number of reasons, though. I don’t see as likely the cheery Ray Kurzweil view of the future, in which nano-machines wipe out all human disease in the blink of an eye, and make sure that we consistently perform at peak levels. Even if I were able to take this view, though, the idea that the human life-span would then dramatically increase doesn’t necessarily seem like a positive. Over-population isn’t just an issue because of the tremendous amount of waste that humans create, or because of crumbling food supplies – problems which Kurzweil sees being solved through nano-machines and radical farming techniques; it’s an issue because we don’t have the global infrastructure to support twenty billion people, nor would economies be able to handle this kind of burden. On top of those concerns, a world where people can address their perceived flaws by strengthening their memory or improving their jumping ability, surgically, would be spooky. Like a woman with an aquiline nose getting rhinoplasty in order to closer resemble a stereotypical Hollywood actress, the removal of traits that we’ve been convinced by society to see as imperfect would destroy individuality, rather than affirm it (as the transhumanist ideal is complete individual customization). We would all love to be geniuses, or to have extraordinary skills, but these things are made monumental by their rarity, to a degree.
* Do you think Hollywood has an agenda in pushing Transhuman topics as some people believe – A.I. features prominently in movies like Prometheus,Terminator, Alien Covenant, Blade Runner etc
I don’t. We chose to tackle these kinds of ideas on “Infrared Horizon” because investigation into the existential implications of A.I seems to be fertile (if already tilled) ground, and because it also has the benefit of being exciting/attractive in an immediate way. It’s my assumption that these films are produced and have success for much the same reasons. I’d also argue that all of the films you’ve listed function more as cautionary tales than as romanticizations of transhumanism (or related topics), for one thing. The Ridley Scott films, specifically, seem to be stories in the Frankenstein mold, about the hubris and potentially the immorality of this kind of creation. Transhumanism seems to come from a similar kind of hubris – and actually, the movie I can think of that most nearly tackles that issue is probably Gattaca, the 1997 film about eugenics and genetic discrimination – again, a dystopian slippery-slope kind of story.
A robot apocalypse sounds far more appealing to me than whatever potential doomsday scenarios we’re looking at right now
* Even scientists like Steven Hawking are concerned about artificial intelligence soon becoming self aware, are you concerned at all for the future ??
Not particularly. We’ve got enough to worry about in the present, and I’m being absolutely honest when I say that a robot apocalypse sounds far more appealing to me than whatever potential doomsday scenarios we’re looking at right now. There’s also the chance that living with machines exponentially more intelligent than we are might not be all bad, which is to say that I, for one, welcome our new robot overlords.
* What more can we expect from Artificial Brain in 2017?
We’re taking it easy for most of the summer, mostly writing – although we’re going to be back up in Montreal with our label-mates in Chthe’ilist on August 12th. We’ll also be performing at Louisville Deathfest in September. Aside from that, we’ve got some big tour plans that we can’t discuss just yet!
Any final words?
Thanks so much for the thoughtful questions! And thanks to everyone who’s been so supportive of our new record, “Infrared Horizon,” which is out now on Profound Lore Records. Stay tuned for announcements about our touring plans, coming soon!
Season of Mist are proud to announce the signing of FESTERDAY. Not counting the compilation of earlier material, the Finnish death metal cult act will release its debut studio album on Season of Mist.
Regarding their signing, FESTERDAY comment: “It is now close to 25 years, following our decision to split up. It has taken as many years after writing any songs for this band that we got our shit together again and came up with new material to see where this might take us. Six new songs later, we sent them to various labels and magazines. Much to our surprise, the feedback was overwhelming. After negotiating with different labels and pondering over their offers, we decided to take action and double the excitement by joining a familiar and globally established label: Season of Mist. It feels like coming full circle to return to the label, where it all started with …AND OCEANS over 20 years ago. Like in this old proverb, it goes without saying: the frost will drive a pig back home.”
FESTERDAY were formed in Pietarsaari, Finland in the year 1989. In the following years, the band released three demos, in truly laconic Finnish style simply entitled ‘Demo I’ (1991). ‘Demo II’ (1992), and ‘Demo III’ (1992) that gained cult status. ‘Demo II’ was also released on a split with CARNIFEX. In 1993, the group split-up.
This could have been the end, but FESTERDAY got together again in 2013, remastered all their previous material with Sami “Jämy” Jämsen at Studio Perkele in November 2014, and released everything on ‘…the Four Stages of Decomposition…’ (2015).
Featuring members of …AND OCEANS, MAGENTA HARVEST, HAVOC UNIT, and KHAOS NIHIL, FESTERDAY are back together and will finally release their debut full-length on Season of Mist later this year.
Line-up
Antti Räisälä: bass
Kena Strömsholm: vocals
Timo Kontio: guitar
Teemu Saari: guitar
Jani Kuoppamaa: drums
The second album of Italian horror death metallers Gravesite is ready! Entitled Neverending Trail of Skulls, the album is set for international release on August 1st via Xtreem Music. The album was recorded by Umberto Furlan at Black Sun Studio between October 2016 and February 2017, with a later mastering by Daniel Lowndes at Resonance Sound Studio and topped off by the artwork of Matteo Zanella.
Gravesite was formed back in 2014 by members from other bands like Haemophagus, Undeed Creep, and Cancer Spreading among others, and released a demo entitled Obsessed by the Macabre. This led to their signing with Xtreem Music, who released their debut album Horrifying Nightmares… in July 2015, which was formed by nine tracks of old-fashioned death metal in the best tradition of bands like Autopsy, Grave, Death, and Carcass.
In the meantime, check out the title track to Neverending Trail of Skulls
Bay Area Death metal band Extremity has made one of the best DM releases of 2017, This week I spoke with guitarist Marissa on what it takes to create one of the most essential albums of the year – read on
* First off congrats on the new release “extremely fucking dead” It sounds like you guys had a lot of fun making this album – what was the writing process like for this one?
Marissa: Thanks! It was a lot of fun. Recording is my favorite part of the whole process. It’s really neat to hear everything coming together as the recording progresses.
Shelby and Aesop worked out the song writing over the last 8 years or so. When Erika and I came on-board, things were more or less written. We contributed some small tweaks here and there. But, the music was pretty much ready to record.
* How about recording – you guys have nailed that old school sound – Was everything recorded digitally or analog?
Marissa: Everything was recorded digitally. It’s just how you do it these days.
Aesop wanted to do something way more primitive and ignorant, so they parted ways.
* Off the top of my head a bunch of you guys have a rich history of playing in metal bands around the bay area, so how did Extremity come about – give me the brief history of the band
Marissa: About 8 years ago, Shelby had some songs written, and was looking for a drummer to do something with. He met up with Aesop, who was looking to put together an old school death metal band. They jammed, but the material was pretty busy and grindy. Aesop wanted to do something way more primitive and ignorant, so they parted ways. That project eventually became Shelby’s old band Apocryphon.
Once Apocryphon started gigging, Shelby had the realization that he wanted to start a second band that was a lot simpler. So he reached out to Aesop and they started putting something together. Eventually they got to the point where they wanted another guitarist and bass player. Erika jams with Necrosic directly across the hallway from us at our practice space, and she’s fucking awesome in everyway. So she was their first choice on bass.
Erika made a post on facebook about jamming with a new band, and I half-jokingly replied asking if they needed a guitar player. It turned out they did, and my name had come up on the list of candidates. Shelby started showing me the riffs, and we all just hit it off. So, here we are…
I know he has a wah pedal on there, so he can really rock those “Dad solos”.
* For those of you who don’t know your previous bands, you want to give us a run down of you and Marissa’s gear, What guitars you favor (for writing, recording and live work) amps etc. I know a lot of metal dudes these days prefer to travel with a rack as opposed to tube amps and just dial in their sound.
Marissa: Shelby uses a Mesa Boogie Triple Rectifier. He’s also got a pedalboard full of little do-dads that I don’t know much about. I know he has a wah pedal on there, so he can really rock those “Dad solos”. He plays a Jackson Kelly as his main guitar.
I use a Marshall Valvestate 2000 which I’ve had for over a decade. It gives me a tone similar to a JCM 800, without having to worry about changing any tubes. Even though the amp is digital, it actually sounds really close to an analog amp. The only pedal I have is a tuner. I’m traditionally a grindcore musician. So, I like to have as little gear as possible.
Live, I use a B.C. Rich Warlock, mostly because I need the locking trem system. In the studio I used a black Gibson Flying V, with Lace “Drop n Gain” pickups. I love that guitar! It has tone for days! I wish I could use it live.
it was really Cannibal Corpse’s “Eaten Back to Life” that really grabbed a hold of me
* I know Aesop is an old man (actually I just checked he’s younger than me!) but the rest of Extremity have a pretty extensive knowledge of old school Death metal – what was the one DM band growing up that sold you on the genre?
Marissa: I had started to warm up to death metal with Obituary’s “Cause of Death”. But it was really Cannibal Corpse’s “Eaten Back to Life” that really grabbed a hold of me, and gave me that “fuck yeah!” moment that catapulted me into a ravenous death metal fan. Everything about that album is so awesome. I love the tone, the speed, just the right amount of complexity, and Chris Barnes’ vocals on that album are a lot of fun.
* I just saw Obituary on tour with Kreator a few weeks back and in my mind Obituary stole the show – I am sure if you told the Tardy brothers (Or Trevor Perez) that you guys would still be killing it 25+ years later – they wouldn’t believe you. Why do you think old school DM has come back into vogue with the younger generation?
Marissa: It’s kind of part of the culture, isn’t it? It seems to me that fans of metal not only like the music, but we want to know everything we can about the bands. When you get into a metal band, you want to know their whole back catalog, what bands inspired them, and what other bands exist in their genre? That seems like it’s always been a part of it. To really know metal, you need to know its history as well.
But, you know… Those early death metal albums are the best! The genre was learning about itself, it was primitive, simplistic, and energetic. Those old records have just the right amount of extremity and experimentation, without being completely overwhelming. There’s a lot to grab onto there.
* How did the deal with 20 buck spin come about?
Marissa: I think Shelby hooked that up. He has a relationship with Dave (of 20 Buck Spin) through Vastum. So, they spoke to each other, and Dave liked the material and wanted to release it.
* List your top 5 favorite DM records of all time and have you seen the said bands live?
Marissa:
Carcass – Symphonies of Sickness
Cannibal Corpse – Tomb of the Mutilated
Obituary – Cause of Death
Dismember – Like an Everflowing Stream
Bolt Thrower – Warmaster
I’ve seen all of these bands live.
The Bay Area has a pretty long musical history, especially when it comes to metal
* Yet again another great band comes out of the Bay Area – I have spoke to a bunch of Bay Area bands in the last year (Atrament, Palace of Worms, Ails, Hammers of Misfortune, Cardinal Wyrm etc) why do you think so much talent comes from this part of the world? Something in the water?
Marissa: The Bay Area has a pretty long musical history, especially when it comes to metal. Even when the metal scene had pretty much died here in the mid ‘90s, there were a few bands kicking around, trying their damndest to keep metal alive. In the last decade the scene has really grown, and there’s a great local scene happening here right now. It’s really cool to get to be a part of it.
* Something I ask all Bay Area bands – do you think a time will come when you guys will have to move to either LA or Portland to keep playing music? As much as I love that neck of the woods – it’s even more expensive to live there than NYC!
Marissa: I can’t really see that happening. At least, not for me. But, playing music isn’t my primary source of income. So, I’m probably not the best person to ask in this case.
* I know you guys have done a handful of shows so far – any plans for a National tour or you guys just want to keep it local?
Marissa: We want to play some shows up and down the East and West coasts.
* Have you done much touring before (in your old bands?) if so any funny tour stories you can share?
Marissa: I haven’t done a lot of touring. I did a West Coast run with my other band Cretin a few years ago. But there aren’t any stories from that tour that would be funny to anyone who wasn’t there. I’m kind of boring really…
* What can we expect from Extremity for the rest of 2017?
Marissa: We’re currently working on writing new material for a full length we hope to release next year.
* Any final words?
Marissa: Thanks so much for the interview!
Pyrrhon (pronounced Peer-on) are one of the best bands coming out of the New York metal scene these days – this week I spoke with vocalist Doug on tour life, keeping your vocal chords in peak condition and much more – read on!
* So did Mike and Dylan really meet on a subway platform or is that just folklore?
Yes, our guitarist Dylan met our original bassist Mike while waiting for the train after a show.
* How did you join the band?
Dylan is from the next town over from where I grew up in suburban Philadelphia, and I eventually met him while still in high school because his sister had become a friend of mine. We got to talking about music at some party or something and found that we had a lot in common, so we stayed in touch during college. A couple of years later he was putting a lineup together for the band that would become Pyrrhon and hit me up about auditioning on vocals, since he knew I had a background as a vocalist in some other bands. This all transpired between 2006 and 2008, I think.
* You have a pretty powerful voice – when did you find it? In Pyrrhon or one of your earlier bands? How does it hold out on long tours? I remember back in the early 90s Kevin Sharp telling me the key to “finding his voice” was the sound coming from his chest and not his throat
Thank you. I first started trying to do vocals in Seputus, a studio project I started with Pyrrhon’s current drummer Steve Schwegler way back in 2005, but I don’t think I really achieved anything approaching mastery until 2012 or 2013, when Pyrrhon had been going for a few years. There was a lot of trial and error in the years between.
I tend to push my voice pretty hard, and since I don’t naturally have a very loud or resilient voice, it’s taken some learning to figure out how to sustain it on the road. I’ve found that the most important factors for keeping my voice healthy while touring are: practicing good form while performing, reserving my voice when I’m not onstage, going easy on the partying, and getting as much sleep every night as possible. I’m an insomniac, so the last part can be difficult for me under tour conditions.
* If I am not mistaken the Greek philosopher Pyrrho was one of the first skeptics – do you consider the band skeptics? or?
Not in the strict philosophical sense, if that’s what you mean. The band name came out of a very long selection-by-committee process in the project’s early days, long before even Erik had joined. We didn’t really know what the band was going to be “about” thematically, so we weren’t really thinking too much about that side of the name — it was more about finding something distinctive and cool-sounding. None of us were even all that familiar with Pyrrho’s ideas at the time, though I started reading up on him when the name was floated. So Pyrrho’s specific teachings really never had much to do with the band per se, but the name fits well enough with our current iteration’s reflective and (colloquially) skeptical worldview.
* How did the band name come about?
See above.
We have lots of in-band jokes about this subject based on stuff people have called us at shows, such as “rollercoaster-core” and “hate shred.”
* For those of our readers who have not heard your sound before how do you guys describe it to people “technical death metal”, “progressive death metal” or “mathcore” or? What’s your preferred way to tell the uninitiated?
Hah, I generally try to avoid this conversation because our music is so hard to conveniently summarize this way. We have lots of in-band jokes about this subject based on stuff people have called us at shows, such as “rollercoaster-core” and “hate shred.” But when push comes to shove, I usually say “experimental death metal” if I have to do the genre tag thing.
* Have you guys done much touring to date? Who’s been your favorite band to tour with?
We haven’t toured a ton for a band that’s been around for close to a decade, but we became much more active that way in 2013 and have done something like 6 extended tours since then.
The longest of those tours was in 2014, when we did a 6-week North American run with Artificial Brain. As you can probably imagine, sharing a van with another band for that long will result in either loving each other or hating each other, and fortunately it was the former. We’re still good pals with them and are very proud of the success they’ve had with their new album so far.
* What would you say is the best city that you guys have played so far and why?
Broadly speaking, the most rewarding tour experience we’ve had was our European tour in 2015. We only hit a handful of countries, but since we never really expected to even get outside of the New York area with the band, playing our music on a different continent was an emotional experience for us.
The first “real” death metal band I ever heard was Morbid Angel. I was 14
* What was the first band that got you into Death Metal – your gateway band so to speak and do you still listen to them?
The first “real” death metal band I ever heard was Morbid Angel. I was 14. They’re still one of my favorites.
* What you would say is the biggest downfall in the underground metal scene today? What if any changes would you make to better the scene?
There’s quite a lot of dumdum behavior in metal, obviously, so it’s a bit hard to choose what to change. If I had to, though, I’d probably increase the ratio of distinctive bands to generic ones. A lot of really gifted musicians in metal end up slaving away in bands that really don’t have much personality, and I think everyone would benefit if talented players were more inclined to develop their own voices, instead of imitating someone else’s.
New York tends to exert an especially intense power over creative types for some reason
* New York is unlike any other city – would you say you guys have a “NYC” type sound or that NYC plays some part in inspiring your music?
Definitely. I wouldn’t say that the city is the band’s “theme” or anything like that. But everyone’s influenced by their surroundings to some extent, and New York tends to exert an especially intense power over creative types for some reason. Urban life was an explicit lyrical subject for us early on, especially on the first album. A lot of the sounds and bands that have influenced us deeply have strong traditions in New York too — free improvisation, noise rock, and obviously death metal. New York also has one of the most vibrant music communities in the world, in part because it’s so tough to establish a sustainable life as a creative person making totally non-commercial music here. Being around the sort of people who are both talented and driven enough to put up with such conditions certainly lights a fire under your ass and encourages you to push yourself too.
* What goals does the band have that you would like to see realized one day?
I’d say that our foremost goals as a band are to stay true to our instincts and to never make the same album twice. We’d also like to tour outside of the United States more – it would be nuts to play at least one show on every (habitable) continent eventually. But frankly, if we just manage to keep releasing albums that we’re proud of for a while longer, I’ll consider the affair a success.
* Does everyone in the band still live in the city? If so what side gigs does everybody do to make ends meet? (NYC ain’t cheap!)
Three of us live in New York – me, Erik, and Dylan. Dylan’s a server, Erik works for a boutique bass amp manufacturer, and I make a living doing research and writing for a small nonprofit. Steve lives in the Philly suburbs, where he’s currently a student.
* Have the band ever considered relocating to another city so that you guys can spend more time on your music? I have always believed that great scenes come out of towns like Richmond VA where the cost of living is relatively cheap – you don’t have to work 60 hrs a week just to make rent (let alone paying for a rehearsal space) I know a ton of bands from the Bay Area that are moving to LA just because it is so much cheaper.
Yes, we’ve talked about that kind of thing. Everyone but Erik has roots in Philly, which isn’t that cheap but would be an improvement. We’ve occasionally toyed with the idea of relocating there, but it’s difficult to coordinate multiple people relocating their lives to a new city at the same time. It’s tough enough for us to balance all of our various creative projects with our day-to-day labors as it is.
* What more can we expect from Pyrrhon in 2017?
We have a new album called What Passes For Survival coming out on August 11th. You can preorder the CD / digital via Willowtip Records here and the vinyl via Throatruiner Records here. We’ll be playing out regionally as much as possible in the fall in support of the record, with more extended tour plans to follow.
DUNKELHEIT PRODUKTIONEN is proud to present HORRID’s highly anticipated fifth album, Beyond the Dark Border. Italy’s longest-running death metal band, HORRID have built an enviously dependable, unyielding body of work since 1989. Taking initial inspiration from the dual gods of Celtic Frost and Hellhammer, the band spent the 1990s solidifying their sound over a clutch of demos and EPs. Eventually, come 2002, their debut album manifested itself as Reborn in Sin. From there, the name HORRID has continued to stand for the timeless upholding of classic death metal values.
But now, with the imminent release of Beyond the Dark Border, HORRID are set to stake their claim for death metal supremacy. Truly a summation of everything that makes the Metal of Death so enduring and engrossing, Beyond the Dark Border possesses pretty much every element one would want in a pure ‘n’ authentic death metal record: immediately memorable songwriting, crushing-yet-clear songwriting, breathless execution, interesting twists of texture, and just enough melody to remain rooted in foundational heavy metal. More than that, HORRID render the album a rollercoaster of dynamic darkness, leading the listener down nine separate-yet-linked corridors of nameless horror and eldritch dread. And, at a stout 50 minutes, Beyond the Dark Border remains compact and concise and yet fully satisfying – whoever said meat & potatoes death metal wasn’t the best meal? Go Beyond the Dark Border with Italy’s HORRID!
HORRID lineup 2017
Davide “Dagon” Ariostini – vocals/bass
Mario “Belfagor” Plumari – guitars
Simone “Eligor” Della Chiesa – drums
