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INDEX
INTERVIEWS
GUESTBOOK
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Adam
Conrad isn't a technical death grind band, neither a shredding grindcore
outfit who would have taken the name of a serial killer... He's
a Death metal maniac who has a lot of things
to say about death
metal, Death metal...
And especially DEATH METAL! Since reading
his messages was inspiring and shew he has quite some opinions about
some things, I thought interrogating him was a good idea. I gathered
a bunch of questions and sent the whole bag, to receive these loooong
answers! Prepare your glasses and ocular prosthesis.
1. Could
you introduce yourself to the morbid readers? What should they know
about yourself before keeping on swallowing?
Howdy y’all I’m Adam Conrad, and at some places known as the16th6toothson, I’m a DeathMetal nerd who just lives for this stuff and doesn’t really care about anything else! …well that and my woman haha.
2. When did you discover Metal? When did you discover Death metal? What was your first Death metal album? What did you like in this kind of metal then, and why was it without any doubt better than other genres of music?
I was very
young (pre kindergarten) when my uncle introduced me to KISS, it
just snowballed and skyrocketed from there really, I lived in the
80’s so metal was more “out there” literally and figuratively so
to a degree you almost couldn’t help but to be swept up by it if
you were the least bit curious.
Oh the DeathMetal thing!!! I
remember I was in 7th grade and remarked to a friend that while
Megadeth and Judas Priest were awesome they were not…total gore,
and while The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Dawn of the Dead were
awesome, they’re not… total riffs! He blurted, almost like some
demonic possession instantly occurred and forced him to vomit forth
my destiny- "you want DeathMetal".
We had a mutual
friend who had a cousin who dug the stuff and he gave me a dub tape/compilation
of tracks from Deicide, Altars of Madness and Eaten Back to Life.
The first song I heard was “Carnage in the Temple of the Damned”
and while it was wild, it was still missing the ONE thing I needed...the
elusive emement of total and absolute gore. The Cannibal Corpse
songs had the song titles I wanted to see “Edible Autopsy” …oh yah,
that’s the EXACT thing I was searching for. Not to discredit Deicide
or Morbid Angel but Cannibal Corpse was exactly what my brain wanted.
Weeeeell
the first friend I mentioned took me to Record Alley (the ONE place
to find underground depravity in Northern KY!-it later became Phil’s
Records) where I was going to find Eaten Back to Life (hopefully).
Welp, I didn’t find it. But I DID find the NEW! Release. Butchered
at fucking Birth. I can thank IT for practically, single handedly
changing my life for the better!
It was the best for me because
it transcended my needs. Not only was it literally heavy metal and
horror movies at the same time it was 80 times more awesome than
both could ever hope to be, the songs were so amazingly arranged,
deranged and so infectiously absurd. There was this sense of “far
beyond the norm” that made it so special and intriguing for me,
it was (and still is) exciting and wild!
As time progressed
I found myself alone in my adoration for DEATHMETAL. My friends
were still listening to Gutter Ballet (awful album by the way!)
and I was losing my shit to Utopia Banished and Like An Everflowing
Stream haha.
Its the best because it still gives me what i want.
its not wimpy at all - its still brutal, menacing, aggressive, passionately
barbaric and ruthless, its stubborn ugly music for stubborn ugly
people!
3. Some
of your posts are very opinioned, you have quite strong views about
metal subjects... I can't help but remember some US underground
metal zines from the 90's... Some of them where very impressive
from an European eye, some for their tone and freedom of speech,
some for their metal weight (The amount of items reviewed inside
was... Bigger than many t webzines)... Where you involved in a fanzine
at the time? What was the name, and how many issues were released?
As far as you remember, what were the best underground American
Death metal fanzines from the 80's and 90's?
I wasn’t really
involved with the paper zines until the latter half of the 90’s
because in 91 through 94 I was still a bit starstruck in some ways,
I didn’t realize how small it all really was at that point – it
didn’t seem small yknow?...from the perspective of someone in their
early teens.
I sent some reviews in the form of pen palling to
some people-one woman in Arizona (the name escapes me) and a guy
who had a mag called “Fart Bag” and Pernicious (that was a damn
good one!) I actually never saw copies of what I had written back
then (only 2 or 3 reviews for each) if anyone has anything with
my name on it – get in touch!
my favorite was definitely Esoteric,
it had 2 elements that really stood out to me – the writing was
better than others, there wasn’t questions like “what beer do you
drink to get the drunkest” haha, it was more thought out and provocative,
I appreciated the professionalism – even at a young age. But ALSO!
It was small and fit in your pocket like a readers digest! BIG points
for that novel concept!
4. Where you involved in webzines in the 00's? What were the names? Tell us more! Webzines were quite a change compared to paper zines, even though I remember the web of the first years was much more relaxed, the underground metal appeal wasn't very different from paper zines... What has fucked the whole affair in your opinion? Was it about the amount of peoples (Too many peoples = Supermarket feeling = Not underground anymore), the diminishing value ANYTHING can have... Or what?
The 00’s is where I started to become VERY involved, I was more confident in my writing, had already built up a large paper mail network, had a wealth of contacts and was ready to take on the faster realm of the cyberworld. I made some missteps because I wasn’t prepared for “trolls” (you guys are major losers by the way) but you’re right it was VERY fun then. I worked for a few ezines: Initium, Unchallenged Hate, Digital Metal, New Flesh, an unmentioned piece of garbage who thinks he’s too cool for DeathMetal, Diabolical Conquest, and some other one I forget the name of! I would also just write reviews for whomever and whenever and would send them to anyone who would accept “what? No FleshGrinder reviews? Damnit!...here, take mine!” haha.
What fucked
it all up? Two answers: people “too cool” for the music (oh just
drop off the planet you asshole!) and downloaders.
The "too
cool" guy who think everything has to suck and be given a bad
review, it just zaps the fun out ENTIRELY.
The downloader is
the WORST thing to happen to metal and is even worse than pantera
and should be punishable via ostracism. If you are reading this
and you download – I hate you and I want you to stop listening to
metal IMMEDIATELY and go ruin something else you selfish, ignorant,
USELESS pile of dog excrement! It ushered in droves and droves (and
plagues) of less than half hearted passionless “fans” who serve
to only SEVERELY damage in a few years what has taken us decades
to build. Make no mistake downloading thief, you are the ultimate
poser the ultimate scum and you are my enemy
5. Even though Metal-archives might become useful for the NSA, to help the authorities and employers track down peoples involved in this or that "Not so clear" metal movement, I didn't find much infos related to "Adam Conrad"... Is this true you didn't play in so many bands? Are you an underground supporter and activist hidden in the shadows, and not giving a little quarter of juicy fuck for fame? So I saw you have written some lyrics for Deranged, Deviant, Sinners Burn, and another one of Rogga Johansson's dysentery (Yes, enough is enough)... Got involved in clandestine rubberless porn. Also drawn a logo for Dislimb... Is it easy to write lyrics for a band when you don't know their music very well? Do you generally write lyrics for yourself, or need someone to send you inner-corporal-sounds to plunge into? And what about the logos, isn't it a bit too boring to "Change this" and then "Change that", and then "Oh, no, change that now"... This might be the worse, or not?
I rehearsed
with some bands and did some studio stuff with friends but YES you
are correct! I played in NO bands J I’m almost entirely talentless
in the form of playing an instrument, I’m so wretchedly bad that
AC/DC might as well be Yngwie Malmsteen.
I can growl – I have
always been fond of my vocals but I never really put them to good
use and *puh* by now in my older years I don’t think they’re what
they used to be haha. Oh well, I have a lyrical legacy that I’ve
left behind and I still have some up my short sleeves!
I wouldn’t
mind having a fraction of an ounce of fame – for someone to say
“your vocals on your 2nd album are phenomenal!” just once would
probably make me giggle all high pitched like when Homer Simpson
notices a squirrel but that will probably never happen and that’s
ok, it feels great and honorable just to help my friends with my
written words!
Deviant was the first band I wrote for, they
had some songs fully assembled with “mrr mrr mrrr muuh mrrr” vocal
patterns that I wrote lyrics for, and others with NO patterns where
I gave them the words and suggestions. And then a few more that
had lyrics given to them first – and the music came after. I was
NOT happy they never printed the lyrics because one in particular
was outstanding…but they also changed its song title to one that
made sense of the context but *shrug* what are you gonna go… it’s
their band not mine haha
For Rogga, he came to me specifically
to write 2 songs for him for an unnamed project – and in literally
the span between waking up and showering I gave him two songs that
turned out so perfect!
instincts prevailed…I had listened to
his music for years already, I had his gravel gargling voice in
my head and they came out naturally, as if that same demon who possessed
my friend many years prior guided my mind and fingers to give him
something unquestionable the first try. He loved them, still loves
them and I feel EXTREMELY honored that on one of those tracks Jonas
from Puteraeon plays lead…I was some sort of “distribution” for
Puteraeon’s demos in America & even made some homemade layouts
for them haha--- so to write the words and have him play a lead
felt extra special for me (MegaScavenger is the band by the way)
since then Rogga asked me to write more and wanted some for one
of his other bands very recently…I dropped the ball because I thought
my lyrics sucked. Sorry Rogga, they just were not good :(
For
Deranged, I wrote lyrics for myself one day and then said “wow…
crazy..these are TOTALLY in the Deranged style! Maybe Rikard will
agree and take them!” Rikard agreed, added in his half and VIOLA!
Machine Built to Kill and Symphony of Screams were born! Buy the
Morgue Orgy EP via Sevared Records and enjoy!
I have some
more lyrics coming for Sinners Burn …whenever they find a label!
That logo has a funny story, on a sheet of paper I drew
15 or so logos – all terrible. They chose the smallest – quickest
one. It looked not too bad after it was magnified 17 times HAHAHA!!!
6. I noticed you regularly use to post pictures of albums you "modified": Changed the tracks order, deleted some songs, equalized the sound, and sometimes even made a new cover for yourself... Which albums became your favorites once "revisited"? In a way you don't "experience" the albums the way the bands intended you to do... Is that really catholic? Did you already send one of your revisited albums to the band?
HAHA! Oh yah,
I got some crap over that type of behavior. I figured I’m the one
that has to spend all of these years on these albums – if it has
a fixable flaw I’m going to fix it! Too many intros? That gets the
axe, 2 or 3 obviously AWFUL songs (not mediocre mind you, I’m talking
completely unlistenable bad – like that harsh noise track on Ethos
Musick!) that gets the axe and I will re-do the layout if I can!
Tracks out of order OH MAN! That drives me up a freakin wall and
oh yah – if it has a rancid sound, I WILL remaster it haha!!!
I
should start sending them out I suppose, my favorites that I totally
and completely redid would be Malevolent Creation-The Fine Art of
Murder (remastered it and took out 3 songs, then made my own back
layout – looks and sounds fantastic!) Malevolent Creation-StillBorn
(remastered…sounds good!), Suffocation-Breeding the Spawn (remastered,
sounds GREAT!) and Mortal Decay-Forensic (COMPLETELY reordered the
tracks…hard to imagine it any other way now!).
I have a wealth
of albums I “De-MorticiaN-izeD” as well and that’s always fun! Cutting
an album down from 47 minutes with 25% filler to just 32 minutes
of ANNIHILATION! Oooh yah! I’m also not a fan of interludes that
overstay their welcome (lookin’at YOU mid era Krisiun!!!)
my
gal is getting me Photoshop for Xmas ( I haven’t had it in a long
time now…) and I plan on totally redoing Cannibal Corpse-Gallery
of Suicide and turning it into an EP without the lame songs and
remastering the sound…the remaster will be difficult but I am giving
it a shot! i also have loads of layouts i have intended to fix over
the last year!
7. Peoples often complain about the quality of Mp3 sound, but I remember in the beginning 00's, when Mp3 compression was still low quality, some albums got a quite "liquid" sound and for some grind or blasting death demos it could have quite some "charm"... Could we say it's the equivalent of the "special" audio tape sound? Would you laugh if I would say "I miss something" now hearing a demo without the cheap mp3 compression?
Mp3’s sound like how baked dog anus smells and are the bad breath of our enemy. i will never have anything positive to say about them.
8. Ok, ok, old school Death metal is back again, with many bands being influenced and sounding so close to the "creators" from the end 80's/ beginning 90's... but is it always so good to hear in your opinion? With a new "Not so natural" flow of a big quantity of bands, aren’t you afraid we will soon be flooded with mediocritically average music? Aren't you afraid the cult of white excrements might migrate from the black metal scene to the death metal one for too long, every Darkthrone worshippers and copiers trying and claiming to play "genuine oool school death metal" while they will at best reproduce average morbid thrash? What are the best new/ young/ retro death metal bands in your humble rotting (psiosisifed) opinion?
I will take
mediocre over straight up “bad” anyday. As for the influx of “old
is new” – a lot of really good bands came from that but I think
they failed in one EXTREMELY important element: time.
Time is
the greatest test for any album, who cares if it instantly satisfied
or bewildered you? That’s all well and good, but does it stand up
5 years later? 10?...15?...25? these are vital things to consider.
Those bands from 2007 through 2009 who rode the retro waves either
changed their style altogether (WIMPS!!!!) or in general just didn’t
write music that stood well against father time. Nothing too terrible,
and I was unoffended by the “trend” but those bands just didn’t
have the ability to write something timeless, they thought by replicating
history they could somehow repeat it? It’s better to slow down as
a band and make sure you create songs that can’t be dated. This
is where bands like SinisteR have always excelled in my opinion.
They don’t sound like a time frame, they sound like well written
DEATHMETAL…
I’m getting a little off subject, DarkThrone clones?
Which anti-trend-trendy era do you speak of? Wanna be EntombeD?
(great album by the way haha), the static screechy black stupidity,
or the pseudo punkthrash? Or the Viking whatever? If anyone is reading
this 8 years from now, how many times has that troupe of VERY INSINCERE
anti-fad chasing “spearheaders” changed their sound again? Fuck
you Fenriz, you’re a nice guy but you’re totally dishonest – just
be in a KISS cover band because we ALL KNOW that’s the REAL you!!!
I could go on an even deeper tirade about the guy and his opinions
and reasons but i think i really can cover it all with the one word
"insincere".
I totally skipped the "which
bands are good" and i am awful because i keep thinking bands
that arent even new! OR young haha... Repuked, Revel in Flesh, Vanhelgd,
Verminous, Dead Congregation, Mandatory, Graveyard, Horrendous,
Undergang...though none of these have "young" members---and
everyone seemingly knows about them haha
The unfortunately expired
Ascended were very gifted song writers. SlugathoR were too...again
i am getting off track because i keep mentioning bands that are
not exactly "new" haha! ...if there is a band that is
new that is full of members who are actually young - the award goes
to SKELETAL REMAINS who sound like every album ever recorded at
Morrisound HAHA!
9. Tell us more about your hate for black metal! Why does it suck so much? What should we replace it with?
Oh ho ho ho
wow, here it comes.
well first of all the music totally sucks
and they can’t write a strong song to save their fashionable wimp
lives!!!! The fans are all so wrapped up in the do’s and don’ts
that it’s sad and …aggravating. It was always based on fashion,
stupid political or …dorky pseudointellectual mumbojumbo and “atmosphere”
first and the actual music was practically forgotten about, I’m
a fan of true compositions – even if simple, please give me a “song”
not a “mood” I think it’s a copout!
next we get into this bullshit
of magazines in the mid 90’s proclaiming DeathMetal as dead while
riding high on the coattails of church burnings and court trials
and playing in the woods buffoonery – meanwhile DeathMetal is just
too plain jane, the band dudes look too much like…dudes in bands
and not enough like Halloween… you can’t market sweatpants and astonishing
riffs, but you sure can market spikes and GARBAGE MUSIC…because
ooooh look at all of the leather and panda paint! It’s for people
who don’t care about the music at all – it’s for people who care
about the bells and whistles, not the actual meat. You don’t get
songs like “Sense of Demise” or “Cries of the Forsaken” from BlackMetal,
you get some retard going BLLLEEEEIIIAAAAIIIGH over the same repetitious
static nonsense, it’s tiring and bland-the dynamics are all but
gone and the extremism isn’t that extreme. …and what do they fall
back on if they’re not burning a church? Radical political beliefs
to take the attention away from their pitiful and useless songs.
Fuck blackmetal. DEATHMETAL explodes it.
If blackmetal never
had the image, no one would like it.
10. In another
interview, you were asked a list of 10 Death metal albums everyone
should own... Let's talk about some of your choices... It can be
good to exchange opinions.
Cannibal Corpse - "Butchered
at Birth". Why do you prefer this album in particular? I have
problems to say if Butchered is better than "Tomb of the mutilated",
or even maybe "The bleeding" under some angles (Even if
this last one didn't get a too good grade when I was younger).
Because it’s exactly what I wanted and needed to hear. it still is, EVERYTHING i need. Tomb of the Mutilated is a great album, and the drum works has so many cool fills and drum riffs...its catchy as hell and a timeless, interesting ride, but not as rotten or as horrific. its has a humor that Butchered didn't have (same can be said for Eaten Back to Life; their comic book gore tour de force) so in many ways its not as dangerous or as evil. The Bleeding is a bit poppy. its a good album, i won't poop on it but compared to Butchered at Birth, it might as well be top 40 ...to a degree!
Dismember - "Like An Everflowing Stream". Did they really record another very good album? What's your opinion about Carnage? It was more or less the same band, Carnage being a bit darker and less melodic...
I love all DismembeR albums but this one was simply the best. Pieces is also incredible!! All of their albums I hold close to my heart. Yah that Carnage album is kind of weird… just a few actual Carnage songs and then DismembeR demo songs played slightly slower and…MUCH darker. Very cool album, quite mesmerizing. Hey blackmetal wimps: HERE is your atmosphere!!!!
Monstrosity - "Imperial Doom". I was a bit surprised since I expected an album they recorded later... In my humble rotting opinion their second one "Millennium" is an improvement of the first one... More technical, more efficient.
Yes but it’s not as raw or as bold, it’s still that wondrous balance of catchy and technical but Imperial Doom just has a sound I adore, the bass sound is the best ever! Mark Van Erp is the man!!!! I wish Millennium had a rawer sound… like the Slaves and Masters demo. It’s an AWESOME album, not slagging it all but-Imperial Doom is “more perfect” for my brain haha
Entombed - "Left Hand Path" ( & everything else they did under Earache). I was going to bite you, thinking about "To ride, shoot straight..." but it wasn't released on Earache... Anyway, do you still regularly listen to "Wolverine blues"? It's quite a long time for me... I prefer the "Hollowman" EP also released in 1993: It contains more Death metal, it's a bit faster, and easily to ingurgitate
Oh! FINALLY someone praises Hallowman, that’s one of my favorite EP’s of all time and HellRaiser is a spinechiller! (more atmosphere than any pandaclown could create!) yah I love Wolverine Blues, fuck anyone who doesn’t-it’s a total kick in the teeth! i think that they wrote music that was ahead of the curve, and ahead of the time and its pretty painful to see an outlandish number of people who just write that era off STILL!
Pungent Stench - "Been Caught Buttering". I have never been a big fan... I like some songs from here and there, the artworks are great... But that's all... Always felt it sounded more like a 2nd/3rd grade Death metal band, and doesn't really fit in the list of absolute top 10 Death metal albums! Please, please, help us to feel the stench and explain what is so good in their fukked reekordings!
Hmmm, there is no way they could be considered 2nd or 3rd grade since they were so original and full of their own distinct, unique charm. i can't compare them to anyone except the Mentors, Autopsy and Napalm Death... but that's just because they used some Mentoriffings and implented a blast style like Napalm' and when they went slow it got SUPER sick ala...Autopsy! but honestly - Pungent Stench were a league of their own and still are (maybe Repuked is somewhat close?). They kinda oozed sex appeal and were practically smothered in perversity - and that appeals to me a great deal. For me, Pungent Stench were ladies men...well, how i think ladies men should be, suave and riddled with charm but mostly, just a cochino haha! Listen to em again, maybe think outside of the box a lil and let their personality & style permeate and penetrate!
Brutality - "Screams Of Anguish" Did you hear their new Ep "Ruins of humans"? It is really cool and close to their first two albums... They are in the right way to record a really cool and good album! (Much better than their half-assed demo from 2003). Go and check it out now... Corporal embalming guaranteed!
Oh yah, its
phenomenal - two perfect songs that teach the world how to write
strong compositions, how to truly compose DeathMetal. Orchestrated
with actual builds, bridges and climaxes with no gimmicks. these
days people write "technical" music and ALL of the human
emotions and feelings are sacrificed...never with Brutality, who
use their skills to create a story - not just trying to just be
flashy or showy! i would rank this new material above In Mourning
and if the whole full length is of this caliber it will top When
The Sky Turns Black with relative ease. Good on them for getting
their best lineup all on the same page, firing on all cylindars
and being once again - one of the best bands on earth. THANKFULLY
this time they have a built in fan base and there should be more
noteriety for their outstanding music - not like the first time
around when they were the planets best keep secret - which would
be a HIDEOUS fate if they had never escaped it.
11. What are the most overrated Death metal bands in your opinion?*
Overrated?
odd question because overrated careers like Morbid Angel and Deicide
still have overlooked brilliance (Formulas Fatal to the Flesh, the
post Hoffman era excepting one really amazingly AWFUL album respectfully).
but - strangely enough i will say DEATH and CARCASS...because
their popularity, while warranted - renders far too many bands way
WAY too low in the totem poll.
My advice to DeathMetal fans:
stop listening to the same 8 bands for a few years, take the time
to go underground for a while. if you like Death and Carcass take
the time to discover Kabbal and (early) FleshGrinder!
Cannibal
Corpse however, deserves everything since no DeathMetal band has
ever came CLOSE to *that* kind of work ethic. There has never been
and will never be a harder working DeathMetal band - they earned
every half penny of fame and respect the old fashioned way. MAJOR
respect to that name!
12. What are the most overrated Brutal death metal bands in your opinion?
Hmmm-Devourment are craptacular garbage, who in the blue hell made them so popular? color me confused! plus it ushered in a whole gawdamn tidal wave of utterly insipid bands...i can't picture Devourment without picturing a neandertard in a football jersey bellowing pantera's song "walk". gross...
13. I sometimes don't really understand peoples who despise all brutal death so radically... I began with Death metal in 93/ 94 and saw it slowly get faster, heavier, more technical, more "masculine" to see a new genre "emerge" few years later... Ok, since a "couple" of years brutal death metal and technical death have gone really too far in the ultra-gore-noise-brutallization and 10 fingers crisis of epileptic wankery ways of morbidifying things, but something inside of me still tells me you can't really deeply and totally understand death metal as a whole if you despise anything that seems to be brutal death (Or "old school brutal death" if you prefer, let's be a bit more picky so that it's easier to swallow with the mind). Brutal death hasn't always been boring and impossible to digest... What are your opinions and feelings about this burning meat topic?
Uuuh...hmm.
good music is good music, bad music is bad music. but then we have
the case of good vocals/bad vocals.
its hard to screw up pure
DeathMetal but REALLY easy to screw up ultra-mega-excessively-brutal.
some
of these "knuckles dragging so low that out of nowhere China
is 3 meters higher" bands are onto something cool or at least
inoffensive - then aluvusudden "Reet reet" PASS!!!!
but
i think other than a misstep like that, as long as they avoid slamming
into oblivion while dressing and talking like wiggers; the Brute
Squad have tons of great ideas to offer willing brains.
As far
as the wankery, ever seen that South Park episode with the peeing
in the pool and at one point is it all pee?
moderation is key.
...or don't do it (too much wank) at all and just sound like the
first Obituary album! - not a bad thing!
14. Sometimes I feel many of the energy we could find in the new brutal death metal, or death grind, or even "grindcore" bands from few years ago, have vanished, and a part of the younger energy has been sucked out by Deathcore... And how lucky I am, I don't get much into this new kind of music called "Deathcore" (Years before, wasn't this meant to be an older genre of "metal" melting together Death metal and hardcore in a very different manner? Wasn't there an OBITUARY album containing "Deathcore"? Weren't BAPHOMET some kind of deathcore by moments?). The production isn't good for my hears, and... the... style... is... FUCK... Boring.... But since I'm wiser than a few years before, it seemed pointless to check out every new single bands claiming to play deathcore to find something good... So, please: Help, help, help... Did you find some good Deathcore bands? (I mean REALLY good, with feelings and atmospheres from the inside... Not the modern plastic-test-tubes-babies-cinematic-blast)... Can you really HHHEEEELLLLPPP?
No good deathcore
bands exist. its just a trend (that is almost dead now) all kinds
of trends came n went, right now the big in thing (at least in the
USA) is Slam, white kids trying to thug which never EVER works (Vanilla
Ice, ICP, etc) Slam to me sounds like poorly performed hip hop with
rock n roll instruments and some retard going "RRNT *burp*
BLET BLEEGGGHHht Ree reet" over it...yknow "gutterals
bro"
just goofs who have no idea what metal actually is.
that kinda stuff will always be around - false metal has many flavors,
all of which are bad.
15. How could the music of a band enter your Death metal collection? Would this be something easy to achieve for a new underground Death metal band? How big is your Death metal collection, and how do you sort out these releases (By alphabetical order, by genre (Floridian Death metal rack on the left, Swedish death rack on the right, doom death shelf in there...)). Do you collect only CDs, also tapes, vinyls... Or something else?
You don't have
to reinvent the wheel, just know how to drive the tank.
I love
many types of DeathMetal from Autopsy to Yattering, from Blood Freak
to Monstrosity, from something brand new to golden oldies to even
the stuff that was popping up in the Czech Republic in 1998. I even
like the EntombeD albums after Nicke left haha!
i just don't
like bands that are either straight up bad, are a bunch of wiggers
(slam), are WAY too technical (Rings of Saturn is one...) or are
too boring to recall (even as its playing haha).
...Just, yknow,
sound like chainsaws, vomiting dogs, swarms of bees, machine guns
- its good to have screaming solos too.
and Dutch, just be Dutch
- if you're Dutch you can pretty much do anything and you'll rule.
i LOVE "generic" DeathMetal too - if you paint inside
the lines, its a pretty picture everytime! so yah, it would be pretty
easy to win me over!
Its sorted alphabetically and chronologically,
but its also sorted left handed, or "backwards" as i have
been told by those who follow the Right Hand Path (which ironically
is the Incorrect Hand Path)
Only CD's - the story of my turn
table and double cassette deck and why i no longer have that is
a painful memory i would rather not recollect...so CD's out the
wahzoo!
the collection is approximate 2000, and i am very aware
that - that number is not that large at all! i need another 1,500
or so before i am in the big boys league haha!!!
16. What do you think about these albums? (This contains some of the most disappointing "Death metal" albums according to the common death metal "knowledge", or personal tastes, but this doesn't mean I hate all these albums, nor these all suck... So tell us about your OWN opinion)
MORBID ANGEL
- Illud divinum insanus
Hahaha, HILARIOUS album. i hate davey
vincent and trey has no good ideas left. PASS -600/10
CARCASS
- Surgical steel
I think that - its unfortunate Carcass came
back because now people will pay too much attention to them again
and not enough of more deserving bands (SINISTER) but its a good
album - but what do i know, i also liked HeartWork (except the song
No Love Lost) -7/10
MORGOTH
- Feel sorry for the fanatics
Truth be told, i have NEVER
heard this one haha!
AUTOPSY
- Shitfun
Oh man oh MAN OHHH MAAAANN!!! this one has one
of my greatest atmosphere's of all time! Its like you're being locked
in a moldy, dark, humid (but cold) basement for weeks, covered in
your own blood, feces and urine...and the ground is covered in the
blood, feces and urine of others - you can smell the stench, in
fact you can't breath without it slightly burning your nose hairs
and later throat, then you feel its weight inside your lungs. the
weight of death and horror, it weighs you down emotionally-spiritually...physically!
you sink lower and lower until your face is resting upon the heinous
muck, you begin to appreciate and subsequently adore your morose
and putrid surroundings, arms chained behind you, face down, ass
up in the filth, you stick out your tongue and taste the depravity!
you lap it up...your smile: sardonically aroused. 10/10 !!!!
COMECON
- Fable frolic
Hahah i listen to this all the time! i have
no clue what the lyrics are about - but i love the songs, acoustic
breaks and all! i think over all its a stronger offering than the
one with Van Drunen. some read that and cry foul but - thats how
i feel. 8.5/10
MORBID ANGEL
- Heretic
Its ok, yknow - not terrible, not awesome - just
"not bad". the production is slow baked anus then put
in a tupperware container to cool, then reheated to consume--but
not microwaved long enough and there is ALOT of filler - but i just
cut the filler out and put all of the DeathMetal tracks on a CDR
haha... but even so it falls short, maybe i outta remaster it too
- but its hard to care enough about this one to do that. 5.75/10
CARCASS
- Swansong
I NEVER listen to this, but i would never sell
or trade it ever. the best songs from the session were released
on Wake Up etc. and those are damned good. its ok, not a shit pile
like some think! but here i am defending an album i haven't played
in probably 7 or 8 years. 6/10
GRAVE -
Hating life
If Ola had better vocals on this (stronger/heavier...like
how he sounded later), we would have a far stronger release, also
some obvious filler on a rather brief album. But the strong songs
are quite well done, and if you had never heard a Grave album before
it would be an enjoyable ride! 6.75/10
DEATH -
Symbolic
Very good, strong and dymanic production, better
solos than the previous one (well...Chuck's solos were better),
more interesting songs than Human and HEAPS more cohesive than his
last work under the name Death. there are people that don't like
this? (i know Rob Matlick doesn't this, so YES Rob i AM acknowledging
you!) 8/10...maybe 9 if i am feeling generous.
PESTILENCE
- Spheres
Oh man, lots to type here; Ok so i can understand
how this album is theoretically good but its loaded with problems.
For starters Patrick should have released it under a different name
- i don't care what name but i feel Pestilence as a name brand did
what it needed to do its its original trilogy. After that i feel
creatively there was no need to take the name anywhere else. I know
he saw the name as his job title and i know he was pretty much blinded
by financial game but he was in a position at that point to do such
a drastic measure.
The production on this is just too thin and
doesn't give the "spacey" vibe its full deserving soundscape.
To me this should have been the demo material sent to the label
as if to say "this is the direction we are going now, under
this new name and would like a budget of $xxxxx.xx to complete the
recording and mixing" - that would have saved a wealth of problems
that arose. People shit all over this "back then" and
i know while one reason was because it was so different - i think
the MAIN culprit is it was executed "not all that well"
it sounds flat, it feels awkward, the transitions are often too
abrupt and it just feels incomplete and at worse totally hackneyed.
However, and this is where some of my fellow "old schoolers"
will probably really cringe - the best song is the wimpiest, "Personal
Energy" is the most confidently composed track and didn't feel
forced or awkward, it feels very natural and the completely testicle-less
general aura of the song works for the performers and for the intentions
of this new direction. I think if they (he) had changed his name
HERE, used the "album" as the demo and forced the label
to help put some finances into this - he would have never stopped,
he would have never bitched out and cried about Sepultura's popularity
or scoffed at DeathMetal dudes not appreciating musicality. but
history is what history is and he changed the name at a point where
the care has all but shriveled and died. ...shoulda struck while
the iron was hot
Concept: 8/10
Execution: 4/10
MASSACRA
- Humanize human
This is one where i definitely agree with
the ones who do not like it - at this point they completely castrated
themselves and should have changed the band name. too many bands
around this time frame thought they had to evolve or... in most
cases completely DROP the DeathMetal from their veins and spines
- AWFUL mistake. either be DeathMetal or do not be at all! 2/10
NAPALM DEATH
- Diatribes
The music on this is ok at times, i can see detect
some good concept and ideas - but the execution was a failure. never
before was Napalm Death a lean and clean soundscape - why did they
think that doing this (over and over) was a wise investment? the
music was no longer as harsh, so to compensate it would be smart
to at least *sound* heavy. Nah... just far to sterile at this point.
but i DEEPLY appreciate that they realized the mistake and turned
themselves around - and have successfully maintained a harsher more
extreme sound for MANY years and albums later. 4/10
17. If I told you there was a bear in your beer, would you keep on drinking? How would you replace the bear in your beer, to avoid being devoured from the inside? Should you keep the beer super cold, so that the bear falls asleep, or on the contrary the super warm beer might have interesting effects?
I prefer soda. i would finish that soda with anything "extra" in the can as long as it was in a can cuz... "outta sight, outta mind!"
18. Do you still read paper zines, or unfortunately the web has won in your world? Perhaps you read only old paper zines from the 90's and spend loooaaads of cash on ebay to lay your hands on a few items of embalming love?
Yah the web
won because when people say they are gonna do a paper zine these
days - they DON'T or there is only 25 or 50 copies and they gave
12 away to friends and then since i am asleep at the wheel 80% of
the time i send them a message saying i want a copy and then they
tell me "oh sorry, i ran out like a month ago"
plus
i am also at this point right now, deciding i want to go back to
interviewing people again so ... "if you can't buy em - JOIN
EM!"
.... wait thats WAY off.
19. You currently live in Kentucky. Is there something interesting on a metal point of view? Good bands? Cool gig organizers? Maybe some survivors of the past such as underground music shops? Is this easy to find a cool metal gig in your state? How long do you have to drive to see gigs?
Well now i
live in Los Angeles again. but the answer to the KY question is
"Ash Thomas and Abominant" Abominant is in central(ish)
KY and are currently signed to Deathgasm Records and are simply
4 old diehards making semi-old style diehard PURE DeathMetal that
is 100% based on potent song writing and power. their live shows
are strong and passionate and sincere and if there is one band in
KY everyone in the world needs to embrace - its them!
South
Western OH (close to where i lived in Kentucky) has ASH THOMAS!!!!!
the man responsible for Thorns of the Carrion, Estuary of Calamity,
Estuary, FaithXtractoR, Machinations of Fate (sorta haha) - the
man is THE MAN and is the most dedicated person in that whole gawd
forsaken dried up area. FaithXtractoR is a full live line up now
and it playing shows constantly as of this answer - please check
out that band! they RULE! Ash is the nicest, most generous and downright
coolest dudes in the entire underground and i miss him! He was my
road trip buddy to places like Cleveland where people from my home
area have to go to see a good show ...
Cleveland OH, Chicago
IL, Pittsburgh PA all HOURS away - but if you love the music....
also would go to shows in Tennessee, Central KY and a few times
even to central Indiana or Illinois - kind of a hassle haha.
These
days here in Los Angeles, everything is a stone throw away! lemme
put it this way - in KY i would never have the option of WALKING
to a Solstice gig which is not an impossibility 3 weeks from me
typing this hahaha! (except for the fact that i am just now sending
you this, 3 weeks AFTER the gig happened)
20. This is the free question: Tell us something we wouldn't expect to read
I really REALLY
like The Spice Girls and saw them live - was AWESOME.
also -
disco is freakin'GREAT! and i like Arch Enemy, they are a good band.
21. Well, during interview I usually conclude with "Tell us more about your forthcoming projects", but I'm not sure if this is totally accurate with you... So I might wish you to bang your skull again and again to your burning Death metal collection. Conclude the way you wish to, insert the body parts, and push the GRIND button! 667!
Actually i
DO have some upcoming stuff - i decided to get back into interviewing
bands and will be giving those interviews over to Kunal Choksi who
used to do Diabolical Conquest zine!
Transcending Obscurity is
the name of the place and i recommend everyone to check it out!
I will also be writing something special for a very special
occasion for the people who are the most special to me. Special
i tell you! Thanks for all of the fun questions!!!
