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OBSCURE DEATH METAL!

1. Hello! This is the first question, so as often there will be no surprise with this first request... But since it might be the first, or one of the very first inties you will answer for this band, I hope it will keep a bit of freshness: Introduce INGNIVOMOUS to our putrid readers, and if possible give us biographical details...

Hails G and thanks for the interview. Ignivomous formed in mid 2006 here in Melbourne, Australia. We had all known each other for quite a long time, and as some of our other projects were in a hiatus stage, we got talking about creating something new…which turned out to be a pretty raw form of old-style Death Metal.

2. The band was formed by musicians who were or still take part of some quite well known formations in Australia. Tell us more about it. Who created the band and who is the creative force? When was the band created, and how long did it take to compose the 3 first tracks that were recorded for your demo? Have you got new songs? How many exactly? Does it all follow the same style?

The band was formed by Chris, Rodney and Myself. We were actually at an underground festival here in Melbourne and were discussing the idea of a new project to work on. So we decided to get together in a rehearsal room and see what sprang forth. I was initially just doing vocals, but the decision was made early on that I’d play bass also. After a couple of weeks of jamming with the 3 of us we decided that the project was something that we would pursue seriously and so thoughts turned to finding a 2nd Guitarist. I’d known Sean for years and worked with him on his black/doom project Exercitus, so we asked him to join and started hammering away with some serious intent.

The process of writing and recording the tracks on the demo took around 3-4 months all up. We recorded all the tracks live in the studio more or less, so we’re pretty happy with the outcome given the limited recourses at our disposal. Since that point (Feb 2007) we’ve been working on new songs and preparing for our first live assault. We will be laying down 4 tracks some time in June and opening for Defiled (JAP) along with Stargazer and Dominaeon.

As far as our writing process goes, it’s fairly collaborative. Rodney writes the majority of the riffs and we all hammer out the arrangement together. So far I’ve written the majority of the lyrics but song titles are often suggested by Chris, and we’re starting to write them together. This kind of process could create a bit of a mess as far as coherent style goes, but I think that as we all have a very clear idea of what we want to create its not such a big issue for us.

3. It seems to me the name IGNIVOMOUS was created from the two words "Ignition" and "Vomit", so it could rely to a vomit that lights some hellish fire! ... Am I right, or is there a totally different meaning?

You’re totally correct. It’s an arcane word which suggests to me belching some sort of corrosive fire upon all and sundry. We thought it was fitting, and certainly more interesting than the usual «dead baby parts» type names at any rate.

4. Most of the musicians' activities occurred in the black metal world, and most of their music was released on black metal labels. What led you to change a bit your vision and choose to practice Death metal the obscure way? Maybe black metal became too repetitive after a while? Maybe Ignivomous is just a subproject to relax from your main black metal activities? (There might eventually be a subproject to Ignivomous one day, some kind of alternative to the alternative, and things keep on moving...;-) )

That’s an interesting question. While you are correct in saying that most of us have had some involvement in the BM scene, BM in Australia has closer ties to Death Metal and Thrash than would be the case elsewhere, so it’s not a total Jump. Abominator, Chris’ long-time project straddles that divide, and Urgrund (which he and Sean play in) is more of a black-thrash sort of thing. Sean and I sporadically work on Exercitus, which is a hybrid of Black and Doom metal, and my pervious band Accursed was Blackened Death metal. So while 3 of the 4 of us have been involved in projects which take some influence from Black Metal, none of them have been in any sense «Traditional» or «Orthodox». Rodney’s previous band was Excarnated, which produced extremely downtuned brutal Death Metal.

As far as boredom with Black Metal goes, I’m certainly not able to speak for everyone on this topic. My personal opinions are that I am a person who appreciates dark brutal metal – and unfortunately there are a lot of bands in both genre’s these days which are neither. My personal tastes are tending towards chaotic war metal these days for the most part, but I always keep my ear to the ground for good acts of either style. It just seems you have to sift through a lot more bullshit these days.

5. You desire to "see a resurgence of a dissonant, heavy style of Death Metal devoid of influences from grind, slam, gore etc but leaning towards the claustrophobic style of such albums as "onward to Golgotha", "Dawn of possession", "Ritual of infinity" etc - a time when Death Metal had not sunk into self-parody, gore-obsessed retardation and cretinous gimmicks. A time when Death Metal meant DEATH".
It seems you want to make many friends! Ah Ah! Do you honestly think such kind of wide come back to an obscure and really morbid Death metal is currently possible, and we could stop the curse of time to influence many youngers (or not) to choose the morbid way and form many (more or less) killer bands? That's kinda an utopic dream in my opinion, since newer influences can hardly be totally avoided and peoples listen to so many various things nowadays... And we might need to embrace a not too 'retro' nor too strict approach, so that peoples don't get too dubitative at first sight... It would taste as some kind of politician's job...

Let me put it this way – the number one reason we have chosen this path is for our own satisfaction and completion. But if you were to ask me if I get annoyed with the state of Death Metal, I would have to answer yes. I do agree with your statement that wholesale change is unlikely, and we’re the last people to waste too much time on the thoughts and opinions of people we will never meet, but I am of the opinion that there should be a feeling of fear and unease surrounding true dark music. Most of what passes these days for Death Metal certainly does little to inspire that feeling for me. It may be «Brutal», in the sense of fast and loud, but without the feeling of dread and creeping evil to me it becomes just another product which can be packaged and sold with little or no real challenge or danger to the listener.

6. Since you talk about the influence of Grind into death metal, how would you characterize this influence? For many peoples grindcore = blast, and we all know death metal had blasts, before grindcore really existed (Or became popular, to avoid the word "trend")... And by the way isn’t real Death metal supposed to be free from any black metal influence? (Ah Ah)

It’s really a comment aimed at discouraging people from confusing us with the proliferation of Death/Grind bands – a scene I have little patience with I have to say. To my mind that style is about being «Heavy» with little attention paid to atmosphere or meaning. For the record, I enjoy quite a few of the original Grindcore bands – Amebix, Discharge, Doom etc – just not so much its cross-pollination with DM. Many of those acts have sunk into stupid humour music (pornogrind, etc etc) which in my view is contrary to the true spirit of metal as dark violent music.

As for your second comment, you’re right to a degree, although Death and Black metal are closer in both spirit and expression than many sub-genre’s. If anything, I think the explosion of BM bands in the mid-90’s served as a timely wake up call to the death metal scene that it had to an extent compromised its earlier ideals. It’s pleasing to note that these days there are an increasing number of DM bands playing True DM but taking inspiration from the extremity and ideological purity of the Black Metal aesthetic – at least not wearing boardshorts and singing goofy songs about gore!

7. I didn't notice the "Old school" words combinations on your site. Would you eventually avoid to take part in some 'trends' of revivalism, or do these words simply sound too much like school/ studies when we talk about extreme music? The problem lies in the fact quite a bunch of 'retro' or 'old school' bands are really too close from the original records, and sometime almost steal riffs (And some really steal riffs, without shame!). It's clear composing really new riffs isn't easy... So have you got some tips to be more personal than the average? During the composition process do you avoid listening to specific albums that have a too emotional echo inside, and so would be too influential?

Very good point. While we are certainly not ashamed of showing our influences, we don’t have any desire to be interpreted as a tribute band. I would say that if a band used one of their major influences as a starting point and then progressed from there, adding their own spirit and personality, then that would be valid. But if the only reason to exist is to mimic something that was done earlier (and almost inevitably better, if only for being original) then that would be pretty empty. So for that reason we chose not to use that particular phrase – simply because it conjures images of slavish imitation rather than genuine appreciation.
When writing, there are not any rules about what we can and can’t listen to. For my part, when writing lyrics I mostly listen to dark ambient and industrial anyway, so it’s not really an issue.

8. It seems some of the band members played in industrial/ neo classical projects... Would you ever consider an industrial remix of IGNIVOMOUS? Do you think it could turn out an interesting way (Totally abstract and putrid maybe?) or should the industrial aspect remain away from metal in your opinion? After all, some peoples might be interested in hearing some schizophrenic SKINNY PUPPY tunes mixed with extremely down-tuned abstract guitars and death metal growls of agony, and I wouldn't dislike it! Maybe the IGNIVOTRONIX moniker might fit? (Ahah… Just joking)

I’m actually getting ready for the first performance of NOTHINGHUNGER, my industrial project, in about 5 years this weekend. Its certainly not beat-based stuff, more akin to projects like PUISSANCE, DER BLUTHARSCH, ARTITI, NON etc etc.
With a few exceptions, I’m not a fan of mixing the two as for most people industrial = dance beats, which should not be let anywhere near metal. There have been some good mixtures of Black Metal and Dark Ambient, but by and large it seems you can often get the worst of both worlds that way.

9. Is the Australian scene in a good health? Are there a lot of fanzines, distros, bands, gigs?... And are there more or less supported bands you could advice us, readers of the forgotten? "Death metal" wize, I couldn't quote so many bands that play music the way I like it... Apart from CRUCIFIRE, DARKLORD, SADISTIK EXEKUTION, CRUCIFIRE, DARKLORD, SADISTIK EXEKUTION, CRUCIFIRE, DARKLORD, SADISTIK EXEKUTION and few others...

The Australian Scene seems to be in pretty robust health at the moment – lots of gigs (seeing both Sodom and Celtic Frost in the next few weeks!!) both local and international and a good solid fanbase of local maniacs flying the flag.
Bands we hail locally include PORTAL, CAULDRON BLACK RAM, NOCTURNAL GRAVES, INTERNICINE EXCORIATION, SANGUINIUS, GOSPEL OF THE HORNS, DOMINAEON, STARGAZER, URGRUND and probably a few I’ve forgotten.

10. What makes the difference between IGNIVOMOUS and another Death metal band? Are you more obscure, more technical, faster, or simply better in bed?

I’d say that the difference is that in a scene infested with semi-ironic bands and crude one-dimensional caricatures, we offer a combination of brutality with true menace and darkness.

11. What do you know about France? You can answer concerning music or something else…

As far as music goes, France has currently some extremely good projects. I’d nominate ARKHON INFAUSTUS, ANTEUS, and DEATHSPELL OMEGA as some of the best metal acts of any national scene.

In other respects, I studied philosophy at university, so I’m very familiar with a lot of French writers and thinkers. The Decadent movement of the18th /19th centuries is a big favorite of mine – De Sade, Lautremont, Baudillaire etc.

As a student of military history it’s also been a long-standing desire to do a tour of the battlefields of France – so if we ever make it to Europe on tour that will be high on my list of priorities for sure.

12. You've just signed with NUCLEAR WAR NOW Records for future collaborations. Tell us about what should be released in the future: Will he press a CD, or also a vinyl and eventually some tape releases? Aren't you a bit afraid Death metal fans will kinda unconsciously avoid your music since it will be released on a basically black metal label?

We’re currently working on getting a Vinyl version of Path of Attrition organized and there is a 7»in the works as well. Beyond that, I guess time will tell. They are certainly a dedicated and «No-Bullshit» label and we are very honoured to get the offer.
I don’t really see it as a concern that their background leans more heavily towards Black Metal, although even that is somewhat debatable – I’d say more bestial war/death metal is their staple. Those who will appreciate our work will no doubt hear about it.

13. It seems you're all busy, so many things should occur in the future of the band! What are your projects, and would you promise something to the remaining legions of obscure Death metallers, so that they will never feel betrayed or something? Thanx for the answers.

Keep an eye out for the re-issue of the demo and the 7» before the end of the year. For those in Australia, expect to see some extremely brutal live appearances. As far as betraying the metal underground – NEVER!!!!!

WEBSITE: http://www.myspace.com/ignivomousmetal