BORN OF OSIRIS are all around 18 years old, and they clearly are doing something right. With that said, they seem totally oblivious to their rise to stardom and just out to have a good time. Check out the above interview we shot with them a few weeks ago. These dudes know how to party, although it does get a little weird towards the end. We also just posted 4 live songs from that night, check 'em out:

Brace Legs

Empires Erased

Abstract Art

Rosecrance

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Aeon's Rise to Dominate (reviewed here) did just that as one of last year's best death metal records.  Perhaps that's not saying much; 2007 wasn't exactly a banner year for the genre.  But cut through the hordes of MySpace pretenders, and you'll find quality like Aeon - real songs, real vision, real death metal.  Anyone can do "br00tal"; memorable songs are another matter.  Aeon have them in spades.  On only their second full-length, they found a maturity that eludes bands for entire careers.  Catchy riffs, hooky melodies, blasting only when necessary - these are the ingredients that set this Swedish band apart.  Last year, drummer Nils Fjellström joined Dark Funeral, causing Aeon to drop off Metal Blade's 25th anniversary tour in the US.  After booting him out, and a subsequent period of limbo, Aeon recently announced Fjellström's return.  Guitarist Daniel Dlimi answered some questions about the drummer situation, the artwork for Rise to Dominate, burning churches, and Swedish fish.

What's going on with Nils?

Nils has always been playing in many other bands besides Aeon, so that's nothing new for us.  But the main difference now is that Dark Funeral is a pretty much active and touring band, and that can obviously cause us problems.  He does not want to quit Aeon and we sure as hell do not want to lose a such talented drummer, either.  We will see if he is able to handle Aeon, Dark Funeral, and all the other bands he is in.  One thing is for sure, though, we won't tolerate always coming in second like some fucking side project.  We will have to give this a little time to see how everything evolves.

Alex Webster of Cannibal Corpse seems to be your #1 fan.  In every interview with him, he cannot stop talking about you guys.  How did this happen?

I am not sure, but I think it started with Erik at Unique Leader sending Alex a copy of Bleeding the False and telling him that we really wanted to tour with them if possible.  He really liked the album ,and we got a spot on their tour as well.  I can't even tell how fucked up it feels to hear him and the rest of the Cannibals raving about how good we are.  I mean, I have been listening to Cannibal Corpse since the early '90s and they are one of my favorite Death Metal bands.  I am the one who should be raving about how good they are, not the other way!

Whom do you consider influences and inspirations?

Death metal bands that have given me a great deal of inspiration through the years are Cannibal Corpse, Morbid Angel, and Deicide.  Zeb [Nilsson, other guitarist] might be a little inspired by Suffocation, among others as well, but I am not sure.

"When the War Comes" has a crazy diminished arpeggio passage at 3:00.  Is someone in the band musically schooled?

Nils and Max [Carlberg, bass] are the only ones in the band that are schooled.  However, Zeb is a real guitar masturbator and knows all that shit about scales and whatnot.  He is the one who pulls all the solos off.  I must confess that I am almost completely retarded when it comes to musical theory.  I just create music in a way that I think sounds good and don't give a fuck what scales and shit I've used.

Technical geekout time - favorite guitars, amps, drums, effects?

I really love my Schecter C7 Hellraiser guitar!  I have exchanged the bridge pickup on it from the stock EMG 707 to an EMG 81-7.  The guitar looks awesome, sounds amazing, and feels damn great.  As for the amp, an Engl Powerball with two Engl 4×12 standard cabs…it kicks all kinds of ass.  I am not using any effects otherwise.  As a note, we used my Engl Powerball + cabs when we recorded the guitars on Rise to Dominate.  Hmmm, why the fuck am I raving about this gear, it's not like I am endorsed or anything.  So Engl and Schecter, feel free to send me an endorsement offer if you read this.

Zeb is using an Ibanez RG1527 with EMG 707 pickups that he obviously likes.  He is using a Rocktron Velocity power amp and a Sans-Amp PSA-1 preamp with Marshall 1960 cabs.  But I doubt that it's his favorite amp.  I think he would go for an Engl as well, if he had a chance.

Max uses a Spector bass (I don't know what model it is) and an Ampeg SVT-4 amp.

Nils doesn't want to talk about his gear, since he is kind of looking at endorsement alternatives right now, I think.

Why do you hate Christianity so much?

Why not?  Religion is fucking stupid.  And Christianity is pretty amusing to pick on.

"House of Greed" goes, "Burn the church down / Burn it down".  Have you burned any churches down?  If not, would you?

No, I haven't burned anything down… yet.  But I am seriously thinking of burning down the postal office right after I finish this interview, since they seems to have fucked up the shipment of my new Full-HD LCD TV that I have ordered.  It's not a church, but it will do for now.

You say "There will be no heaven for me".  What comes after death?

A pitch black nothingness.  Simply the end.

"Caressed by the Holy Man" seems to be based on a historical story.  Can you go more into that?

Yes, it is based on facts.  It's all about the founder of the Watchtower [Society]/Jehovah's Witnesses.  Tommy thought that he deserved a song on his own.  And as he was chatting with me on MSN, trying to figure out some good lines, I told Tommy, "I am sure that this fucking bastard was a child molester."  And after some quick Google researching, there of course he was.  I think it was easy for Tommy to write the rest of the lyrics after these facts came along.

So you guys don't like Jesus.  This much is clear.  But are you Satanist?  Atheist?  You can't have it both ways, you know.

I can only speak for me, but I am 100% atheist.

You did the artwork for Rise to Dominate in less than a week.  What was that like?

What a fucking trip it was.  I almost had a fucking heart attack every night for 6 days straight.  After I did the artwork for Bleeding the False, I told the guys that I won't do this shit again, ever.  And when it was time for this album, we did hire an artist who painted the cover and put together a layout for it.  He sure did, and he did a great job  The only thing was that it just didn't feel right for us.  When we were looking at the cover, it felt so wrong and NOT Aeon at all.  I was trying to convince myself that it would work.

But a week before the album was going to print, I totally panicked and realized that I/we couldn't live with this artwork.  So I asked Metal Blade how long a time I would have if I wanted to create a completely new cover, artwork, and layout.  The answer: 6 days.  6 stinking days.  I just had to give it my best shot.  So I was working my ass off for 6 nights.  And since I had to take of my daytime job as well, insomnia was a fact.  But in some strange way, I managed to pull it off, and it turned out pretty cool despite the utterly shitty time frame I had to deal with.

What tools did you use? 

A Canon EOS 350D camera, some royalty free stock photos, and Adobe Photoshop.

Do you do other artwork or graphic design?

I have done a couple of other album artworks before this, like our previous album Bleeding the False, Sanctification's Misanthropic Salvation album, and Souldrainer's First Row in Hell CD.  And some other demo CD artwork as well.  Otherwise, it's just hobby artwork stuff and some web design.

What was it like mixing and mastering with Dan Swanö?

It was the easiest thing I have ever experienced when it comes to getting something mixed/mastered.  He was so damn professional.  We sent him the whole project on DVD-R's and gave him a couple of CD titles that we thought had a killer production, just so he had something to refer to.  He started to mix the damn thing for a couple of days, and then he was mailing us some preview mixes.  We told him what we didn't like and he changed it and sent a new mix and so on.  About 10 days later, he was finished and we had a killer mix/master on our hands.  Completely satisfied!  I hope we will work with him again in the future.

Aeon are from a city called Östersund.  What is your hometown like?  Is there a metal scene there?  All I know is that the city hosts biathlon championships.

It's a small little town in the middle of Sweden.  The metal scene here is pretty good.  There are some quality bands here with really talented musicians.  However, there is a lot of inbreeding in the bands.  But that's a typical small town problem, I guess.  I hate sports… I almost didn't know we were hosting biathlon championships, hahahaha.  Fuck biathlon, they'd better get a guitar or some shit like that instead.

When I visit Sweden, I must eat ____.

Surströmming (a stale fish that reeks really bad that people here eat - I sure as hell don't).

When I visit Sweden, I must drink ____.

Norrlands Guld (Swedish beer that tastes like shit).

Any last words?

Thanks for taking your time reading this interview.  Take care.

Aeon on MySpace
Metal Blade Records

It's wakey, wakey time, kids. For the naysayers who think Erik Rutan was crazy to quit Morbid Angel - look at what they've done since. For the tin-eared who claim he can't produce - you've probably jammed on his records all year. For the haters who think Hate Eternal is about nothing but speed - did you even hear I, Monarch? In the face of adversity that would break most people - physical injury, loss of band members, the death of a best friend, bassist Jared Anderson - Rutan has not only survived but also flourished. He's built Hate Eternal into a death metal juggernaut. His Mana recording studio is in hot demand, having yielded ripping records by Cannibal Corpse, Six Feet Under, and Dim Mak, among many others. On the eve of the release of Hate Eternal's new record, Fury & Flames, Metal Injection caught up with the frontman/guitarist on tour with The Black Dahlia Murder, 3 Inches of Blood, and Decrepit Birth.

How's the tour going?

It's going great, man.

How do you like this tour package?

It's good. In this day and age, having a variety of metal seems to work out. In order to have a successful tour, you almost have to have a mixture. Black Dahlia is awesome. They're super-pro and they're a great band. 3 Inches of Blood is a killer metal band. Decrepit Birth's an awesome death metal band. It's been a huge tour. It's been packed shows every night.

I've noticed that these more diverse shows get more women.

Oh yeah, that's true. A lot of women. I think a lot of 'em are young girls on this tour. It's good to get the young kids - they're hungry.

How is it being on Metal Blade?

Metal Blade is the best label there is, in my opinion, for metal. It starts with the staff, from Brian Slagel down to the end of the line. They're all incredible. I worked with them many times for records I've produced for Metal Blade. So when we were done with our contract with Earache, I knew we were going to Metal Blade. I didn't even entertain anyone else.

You're a well-known football fan. Is your love for football related to your love for metal?

I use football analogies all the time. I was talking the other day about how on this record, everyone worked together. And in the past records, everyone bought into the system. I set up the game plan, and everybody believed in the system. Being in a band is like a team sport. It's like football in a way. Every night, the mission is to destroy. I love football because it's brutal. It's a brutal sport, and death metal obviously is brutal.

You worked with Paul Romano again on the artwork. What was working with him like, and what's the concept behind the artwork?

Paul - he's the best. He's super-detailed, and he's a deep guy. He gets to the grit of the record, and the inspiration behind it. He likes to get a pre-rush advance, and I give him all the lyrics. I talk to him about the concept of the album and what I'm thinking as far as the vision of the album [goes].

When my friend Jared Anderson passed away, my old bass player - that was a huge influence on the whole album for me. That's how the record came about, [as] a tribute to him. For a long time, I was thinking of a title that would represent him. [Romano] came up with the concept of the Furies, which is Greek mythology, with the women on the left, and the man entering into death on the right with his death mask.

In death metal, you probably hear the word "death" constantly, so maybe for you it doesn't have the same impact it has for most people. With your friend's passing, did the word get meaning again?

No, it's separate. I never really looked at it that way. It's just different. It's more irony, I guess, than conjoined.

What I took away from I, Monarch was the whole duality concept. To me, your career has been about turning death into life.

I've had a lot of people die in my life. That's definitely influenced my music over the years.

How does this influence manifest itself?

It's just a different emotion going on. When Jared passed away, it was such a shock. It was tough times for a while. Jared was one of my best friends. He was going to come back to the band. When he was gone, it was just me on my own. I had nobody else in the band. It was just me, dealing with Metal Blade. His death - it consumed me. Through the whole record, I felt like I had that much more reason to do it the best I could. I was feeling all along that he should have been there. I [would] walk into my studio, and [see] the records that we put together. The whole time, his presence was there.

How's Mana coming along?

It's going awesome. I've produced about 40 records now. I'm starting to get a nice resume. I have an A and a B room at the studio, so that I can accommodate smaller and bigger bands. I've got three guys working for me there now. They keep it busy while I'm gone on tour. That was a big [deal] for a while. I'd go on tour and the studio would be dead.

How did Mana get its name?

I just happened to be reading about Rapa Nui, Easter Island. "Mana" represents spiritual power. It seemed like a really powerful name for a studio. Music is a spiritual power. It's magic. Music is magic, especially from the beginning to the end of a record - to see it flourish and become something that lasts forever.

When you produce records, you see every micro-detail of them. Does this get in the way of this magic?

Sometimes you drill a point so hard, you lose the spontaneity of the moment. That's the hardest thing, trying to have a balance of hammering - which I do - and not letting [musicians] get beat down. It's hard, because everybody's different. It's like psychology, dealing with people's personalities, how much I can get out of them before breaking them. You don't want to do that. Unfortunately, sometimes that happens. People get broken down. I would say, "Hey man, it's another day tomorrow." I always try to spin it positive. But recording records is as hard as it gets. I make people work in the studio, rather than just let Pro Tools [do the work].

You're renowned for that.

There's plenty of other guys, engineers and producers, that are fine with letting Pro Tools [take care of things]. To me, that's not music, that's technology. I think it loses the vibe of recording when you just let technology fix everything. I like to make the player work, [to] get the best out of him, and [to] do whatever I have to do to make the record sound solid. I would definitely take the hard work over, "Oh, that's good enough, we'll fix it later." I don't like that mentality. It doesn't build character.

What does it take for a band to work with you?

Just contacting me, you know?

Would it have to be metal?

No, not at all. It does have to be something I like. I listen to all kinds of music, so I'm not jaded or closed-minded to anything. Honestly, I'd like to do other music, no matter what it was - Celtic music, Persian music, anything. I love instrumentation. I've recorded violins, opera singers, acoustic guitars, tablas, timpanis, different instruments. I've been fortunate that I've been able to work with bands I really enjoy. I find good in a lot of things. Just because I don't play [a style] of music doesn't mean I don't feel it.

What are you guys listening to in the van?

We've been listening to a lot of Nile lately.

You guys are driving fast.

Yeah, exactly! That new Nile record is the fastest thing alive. We've been listening to that a lot. We've been listening to some Metallica and Iron Maiden. Power metal is good driving music, man. Iron Maiden is the perfect driving music.

My theory is that the melodies rise above the road noise.

That's true. You can't listen to Hate Eternal and drive. You'd probably crash, you know what I mean? Even Nile, man, we've had some moments like, "Whew!" We were listening to Brain Drill the other night, and I thought I was going to fucking total the van. We had to put something else on. It's just too much. The notes and the brain and the driving and the fucking snow - I was like, "Dude, you gotta take that off, bro, I'm going to fucking crash."

Will you do another Alas record?

Yeah! I've got a lot of music written for it, too. I gotta coordinate it with the rest of the guys.

Will you have the same singer?

I'm not sure. She lives in Austria, and she has kids now. I have another girl who's a friend of mine who sings opera. She has a master's degree in music and teaches voice and she lives in Tampa. So who knows, maybe I'll have both of them sing. But, you know, Hate Eternal, and especially producing - in the last year and a half, I've done double digits' worth of records. I just haven't had enough time. But I want to make time for it. I really enjoyed doing the first one, and I'd like to make [the next] one a lot better.

You've also talked about doing a Hate Eternal tab book.

Yeah! I go online and all the tab's wrong, and nobody knows what the hell we tune to. So I would like to do a tab book. We're a hard band to duplicate.

It's weird shit.

Yeah, it's weird shit. It's hard to figure out. People can barely figure out what we tune to. They think we tune to B, like a 7-string, just 'cause it's dark shit. We tune to C#.

Your soloing style is pretty unique. What are your influences?

The bends, and some of the Indian sitar-like [makes noises] - like [on] "Tombeau" on the new record, there's a step-and-a-half bend. The bends and the slides…

Do you have any blues background?

No, no blues. Classical.

In classical, you wouldn't have those microtones, but blues would.

Right. I listen to Persian music and Indian music, things that have semitones going on. That's what really inspired a lot of that Middle Eastern [sounding] stuff.

Now that Shaune [Kelley, second guitarist] is in the band, how does that change the live dynamic?

It's like if you had stereo, and then you went surround sound. In my opinion, it never sounded thin as a three-piece, because I had proper gear or whatever. But everything I wrote was for two guitars. Shaune plays different from me, but we work well together. In the past, I'd do solos, and it's just one guy, and you [would] know it. On the new record, you can tell there's two guys because they're really different from one another.

That's old-school.

There's a song [in which] he does all the solos, and two songs [in which] I do all the solos. But the rest of the songs [have], like, total Slayer-esque trade-offs. You can really tell there's two guys.

Are you crediting them in the liner notes?

Totally, yeah, man! There's more solo spots on this record. It wasn't on purpose. It just ended up being that way. The music allowed for it - a lot more air.

You've been in the music industry for a while, so you've seen the transition from cassettes to CD's to MP3's. What's your take on downloading?

I think everything's going to end up being downloaded. Records are being downloaded - obviously illegally, too, but legally - people are downloading [them] and printing out the CD covers. I think eventually it might all end up going that way. CD manufacturing won't be as big anymore, which will be curious on the legality and how to keep track of [sales]. Everything's going to an iPod now.

Metal Blade is putting out this band, The Arcane Order [review], and it's going to be a digital-only release.

No shit! Wow, I didn't know that. That's interesting. I love CD's. I want to read it, I want to look at it. But some people - man, everything's just on an iPod now. They're missing a big part of the puzzle. I like the lyrics, I like the artwork, I read everything in there. We grew up with vinyl. I was buying vinyl, looking at it like, "This is the shit!" You'd buy stuff just 'cause the covers looked cool. That's how I found Iron Maiden.

Does downloading hurt Hate Eternal?

Oh, sure, it's hurting every band. I'm not sure how it all works out. Because of the Internet, there's way more awareness and exposure for everyone. But all the illegal downloading's hurting the whole record industry, the sales, which ultimately [leads to] money that bands don't make. And bands barely make shit anyway.

I've heard some fans make this argument: "Metal bands don't make money from CD's anyway, they make it on the road - so let's download the album."

Awww, that's fucked up, man! That's not true. We do make some money if you have a decent [record] deal. It's coming out of the band's mouth, for sure. It's illegal for a reason, right? [But] it's impossible to control.

How do you feel about the state of death metal today?

There's not a ton of pure death metal bands out there these days. There's a ton of hybrid bands. But everything has to evolve, right? Everything can't be the same. We were listening to Altars of Madness the other day, and it was fucking groundbreaking. Nothing's groundbreaking anymore. I don't know how much more brutal it can become, or more technical or more extreme than it already is. It's really all about standing out.

You look at somebody like The Black Dahlia Murder, who obviously have a lot of death metal influence - they're huge, they're blowing up. I think it's great. Music has definitely become heavier and heavier. I think [death metal] now is in a good state. It's just different. You gotta go with the times, you know? But our music will always be what it is. We don't change for anything.

Hate Eternal 'Bringer of the Storms' directed by Dave Brodsky

Hate Eternal on MySpace
Metal Blade Records
Mana Recording Studios

Way Too Loud! posted an interview recently with POISON THE WELL, with some of the subject matter dealing with POISON THE WELL hanging out with SUFFOCATION on the Sthress Tour. Here are some excerpts:

Way Too Loud: I’m wondering how well you got to know the guys from Suffocation on the Strhess tour, because every time someone brings up that tour to them, they always mention Poison The Well.

Ryan: They were kind of fast friends on that tour. I have no idea why it happened, I have no idea why it went the way it did, but we just ended up becoming really fast friends. Some of us, and some of them would always be watching each others band, and always chatting, and always trading thoughts on life in general. We both have very similar attitudes towards music. Obviously, you can tell that Suffocation is a band that’s going to do whatever the hell they want, no matter what anybody has to say.

Jeff: They’re really cool dudes! They’re funny! And they’re fun to watch live too! I used to be into a lot of death metal, because I used to play Dungeons & Dragons when I was 13, and I had lots of friends who listened to death metal, so I knew death metal through them, and through my sister. I always remembered that Suffocation was one of the bands that all my friends listened too. It was cool to call them and say “Dude, I’m on tour with Suffocation!”, and they’d say “What? Why are you on tour with Suffocation?”, because they think of my band as like a sissy band, you know, because we sing and stuff. They said “You guys aren’t brutal enough to go on tour with Suffocation!”

Ryan: It’s funny going on a tour like Strhess Tour, and seeing all the kids that are coming to these shows, and knowing that Suffocation is playing, knowing that their first record came out in ‘91, and they were far crazier than any us, far before any of us ever even decided we wanted to something a little bit left of center with music. They were pioneers of the whole idea of that. It’s really cool to know they said stuff like that, because I didn’t know that. It’s pretty awesome.

Jeff: We ended up being friends with those guys more than any of the other bands on that tour, even the bands we had already known.

(more…)

Six years have passed since NahemaH's first album, appropriately named Chrysalis. Since then, the Spanish band has morphed from melodic death/black metal to mature atmospheric metal. Swirling with rich guitars and tasteful electronics, NahemaH's new album, The Second Philosophy, is a journey through many moods. Vocalist Pablo Egido gave Metal Injection some signposts for the trip.

It's been six years since your first album. What took so long?

There were not exactly six years of silence because in 2003, we recorded an unreleased EP called The Last Human. After that, things stopped a little with lineup problems. Between 2003 and late 2005, we were composing The Second Philosophy and restoring the lineup.

It took you some time to find a label for your new album. What reactions did you get from labels initially?

It took us almost a year to find labels' reactions. We received answers by a few small labels, but we decided to wait for a bigger and better one, and in August of 2006, Lifeforce Records showed us their interest in signing a deal with them.

How has the reaction been from fans?

It has been really positive. People's reactions are bigger, as we expected in the beginning. We hope our fans' numbers grow in the future more and more.

The change in sound is so great as to be almost the work of another band. Was this change a conscious decision?

There have passed some years between Chrysalis and The Second Philosophy, and there's a big stylistic change, but the essence is still the same. The change was a mix of conscious decision and the natural evolution of us as persons and musicians.

Albums that sound like The Second Philosophy weren't out six years ago. Did musical sounds or trends in between affect NahemaH?

We are very open-minded people and musicians, so we had time to experiment and to listen to sounds in between all these years. All this influences and affects NahemaH.

I played NahemaH to someone else, and they accused the band of being an Isis clone. What would you say to that?

I think that these people must grow their musical culture, because to say that NahemaH is an Isis clone means that NahemaH is exactly equal to Isis. If you analyze NahemaH's music and Isis' music, you'll hear it's not the same music. Isis is just only one of our big list of influences.

The promo of your CD had no printed lyrics. What's going on lyrically?

This is a very important part in our compositions. We conceive music and lyrics as a perfect couple; lyrics must fit perfectly inside the music. That's why I write the lyrics after the music is composed. I find the inspiration from the feelings the melodies cause inside of me. I sing about experiences and human feelings, always viewed through a poetic and metaphoric glass.

Is "Killing My Architect" a religious reference?

Absolutely not. This song talks about the things that have built your mind, and now they must be destroyed because you have changed and have to build new ones.

There's a cinematic aspect to NahemaH. Is this a conscious decision? If so, what films influence the band?

We like so much cinema and we are great fans of this genre, but there is not an explicit influence of cinema in our songs. But when I listen to the song "Phoenix," I remember the movie Metropolis.

Is that a real B3 organ in "Labyrinthine Straight Ways"?
Yeah! Parts of “Labyrinthine Straight Ways” and “Today Sunshine Ain't The Same” were recorded by a Hammond.

What's the metal scene in Spain like?

The Spanish scene is eminently heavy and power metal. If you play a different kind of metal, you will stay in the underground. That's why we wanted to jump to the international market. Lifeforce Records allowed us to start doing that.

There's not much Spanish in NahemaH's sound…or is there?

NahemaH has not the typical Spanish metal sound, but we want to give the strength and passion of Spanish and Mediterranean people.

What do you want people to get out of The Second Philosophy?

We want people to catch the deeper feelings we expose in our CD. The Second Philosophy is not just a CD to play…it is composed to think and to look inside ourselves.

NahemaH on MySpace
Lifeforce Records

When done right, the death metal power trio can be quite special; Krisiun, Hate Eternal, and Incantation have all found magic in threes.  On its newest album, Insanity of the Obsessed, San Diego's Warface joins these ranks of evil triads.  If blastbeats and death growls are the backs and receivers, Laura Christine is the band's quarterback, firing serrated riffs and fluid leads out of shotgun formation.  The guitarist took some time to answer Metal Injection's questions.

Let's geek out for a bit.  What guitar and equipment setup do you use?

LOL… Okay, great.  Let’s “geek out” on gear!  I use the Triple Mesa Boogie head (run it clean) with Marshall 1960 cabs with the Zoom 505 pedal for distortion, with the white Boss noise suppressor pedal, Monster cables, KxK Warface V Guitars with GHS Strings (.010-.052), EMG Pickups (81 & 85), and Dunlop Picks (1.0 mm).

You have your own custom line of guitars by KxK.  What features make these guitars unique?

Every KxK Guitar is handmade here in the USA. Their craftsmanship are superb as well, as they deliver incredible tone. They are able to deliver heavy, deep, chunky, killer distortion while still maintaining an excellent clarity of the notes.  In addition to these guitars having amazing tone and craftsmanship, they feel absolutely amazing to play! They are the most comfortable and easiest guitars I’ve ever played. And to top it all off, they look metal!

You've played guitar for 17 years.  What are you working on right now in your practice regimen?

A little bit of this and that. I’m always working on learning and developing new techniques. Right now, I’m working on some new lead techniques which I’ll be incorporating into our next album.

Who are your primary guitar influences?

My biggest influence of all would be Dimebag Darrell (RIP).  Other primary influences would include Marty Friedman, Trey Azagthoth, King and Hanneman, Andreas Kisser, and Jack Owen.  Back in the day it used to be James Hetfield, Kirk Hammett, and Dave Mustaine.

Conversely, what aspects of your playing are unique to you?
 
Probably the number one thing that is most unique is my timing and that I like to put endless amounts of “hooks” into my playing and writing.  Also, I like to maintain some traditional metal feel while also incorporating my own personal feel.

You produced Insanity of the Obsessed.  Technically, what did that involve?  Knob twiddling, coaxing better performances, etc.?

For me, it was literally being completely involved in pretty much every detail and aspect of the recording process of this album, from “knob twiddling” and “coaxing better performances” to making last-minute changes to the music itself to make the songs stronger and more powerful.

Warface has had two killer drummers, Tyson Jupin and Scott Ellis - compare and contrast.

They definitely are very different in their drumming styles and approaches. I love both of their styles for different reasons. Scott is more laidback in his approach to drumming and extremely creative when it comes to adding interesting and unique drum beats and highlights to the music that I find quite amazing. Tyson is very aggressive and balls-out in his approach. His drumming style is more traditional, yet he still manages to add his own unique flavor to everything. He really knows how to bulk up a song, making it ten times more powerful and moving.

In a three-piece, do you ever worry about the density when you stop playing rhythm to play a lead?

No. Dave and Tyson always step up and have my back. We are always able to keep the sound very full in a live setting.

Your tattoo artist, Bill Kieffer, did the album artwork.  How did he make the transition from needle to CD cover, and what was the cover concept?

I must say, Bill is one hell of an artist! The CD art that he did for us is actually a 3 foot by 3 foot painting.  He’s actually been painting on canvas longer than he’s been tattooing, so the transition was an easy one.  The album cover concept is that of an obsessive, unbalanced being who is summoning war and death, literally depicting a face of war coming at you.

San Diego is a military town, and Warface has some anti-war sentiments lyrically.  Does this ever create friction?

Not at all. Even though we have anti-war sentiments, we are extremely supportive and appreciative to the military. We greatly appreciate their service and what they do. We just don’t think they should be put into harm's way unless it’s an absolute last resort.

What's the metal scene in San Diego like?

The San Diego metal scene continues to grow and get stronger. There are constantly more and more metal bands coming out of the woodwork here, which is great.

Do you get tired of the "being a woman in metal" question?

Not at all.  I understand that people are curious and have a lot of questions.

What advice would you offer to up-and-coming female metal guitarists?

Just get out there and start doing it! Join a band as soon as possible. That is the best way to learn. And when it comes to the music, get up there with a “take no prisoners” approach and attitude.  Have one goal in mind, and that is to absolutely destroy and annihilate when it comes to performing on your instrument. Nothing less will do. Practice, practice, practice, and then practice some more!

Any last words?

Thank you very much for your interest.  All of us in Warface greatly appreciate it.  We hope to meet you on the road!  You can get your copy of our new album, Insanity of the Obsessed, right now at AMAZON.com, VH1.com, BESTBUY.com, iTunes, WARFACE.net, etc.

Warface on MySpace
Deathquake Records

What's behind the title and artwork of War of Attrition?

The main idea has to do with being bombarded by the various forms of the media, which are usually trying to sell us something or influence our point of view. The cover images show the patriotic and military aspect of this idea, so obviously there are some conflicting ideas inherent in that - basically, a sense of ambivalence. The cover art was done by Orion [Landau] at Relapse, and we had some concern that people might misinterpret these images, but ultimately we decided this is always a risk, and it shouldn't make us compromise anything.

What's going on lyrically with this record? Anything special or different from before?

A lot of people have noticed less of an emphasis on political lyrics since I joined. I feel the lyrics on this album follow the music - both are more aggressive than the last record. It offers some dark images on subjects like war, the legal system, excess consumerism, and so forth. These are the ideas I like to write about, and the rest of the band seems to enjoy it as well.

Dying Fetus has had a number of logos over time. Do these represent changes in the band's approach?

I think there are just two logos - one old-style logo and one logo in block lettering. For a while we were using both, and we still often incorporate both logos into our T-shirt designs. I suppose the two logos could suggest the two main musical elements we try to balance, namely, the fast technical sections and the slower groove breakdowns, but, really, we didn't approach them with that in mind.

War of Attrition sounds a lot better than Stop at Nothing. What did you do differently production-wise?

A lot of improvements had happened with the recording equipment, which gave us more time to focus on our performances and the sound of each instrument.  We also used a different guitar tone - Stop at Nothing was a bit of a departure in this area. On both albums, we used my guitar rig, and for this one I have recently bought the same guitar head John has always used, the old Ampeg VH140C, plus I also use Marshall 1960 cabinets instead of the Randalls. I think this was a big reason this album sounded so much better than the last. We specifically wanted the album to sound closer to our classic albums, although we wanted a more aggressive tone.

Before recording this album, you put out a call for drummer auditions via video submissions. What was the response like?

Ha ha, personally I thought there would be a stronger response. We even heard later from some drummers who had considered auditioning but were too intimidated. As someone who has also had to experience this, I must say you never know if you don't try.  If you give it a shot, then you have a chance, but if you don't give it a shot, you can be sure that nothing will happen. Duane is a very good drummer and he's also the only drummer who really nailed every aspect of auditioning - from sending us a video of himself playing our songs to flying out and jamming with us, and generally showing a sense of commitment to the band.

Playing with Duane Timlin vs. Erik Sayenga - compare and contrast.

I think there may be small differences in the kinds of parts where they are more comfortable or seem more polished but overall it is a very similar experience to play in a band with either of them.

Dying Fetus goes through members like J Lo goes through husbands. Why?

It isn't easy to maintain a consistent lineup in a metal band. We tour extensively, but we all still have to maintain day jobs when we are home, so balancing the needs of these two can make things very difficult. Also it can sometimes be due to musical or personal differences. In this aspect, lineup changes can be like earthquakes - you endure the tensions until it becomes too much and there is a slip, and then things tend to get shaken up.

What do Dying Fetus do for day jobs?

I do web development for TIG Global in Washington DC. Sean does construction, and John also does a type of construction or installation. I'm not sure what job Duane does at home, since he still lives in Texas, and I believe he has a side band or two. Our day jobs have changed somewhat over the years.

Evidently, you have some un-metallic musical tastes.  What would surprise your fans the most?

Everyone has been asking about this recently - in particular, John's supposed interest in rap over metal.  To be honest, we spent a lot of time in the tour van listening to 80's rock and metal. Some of it is because we actually like the music and some is just for the nostalgia or humor of it. I can't ever remember rap getting any play with us, actually.  I also enjoy other kinds of 80's music, mostly songs from the GTA: Vice City soundtrack. I listen to some classical and flamenco as well, both of which have some of the same fury that we enjoy [in] playing death metal.

You recently toured with Cannibal Corpse and Necrophagist. How did that go?

The tour went very, very well - we all got along great and apparently some of the shows [had] the highest attendance Cannibal had ever had in those cities. For me, the most memorable nights happened in places like Milwaukee, Hollywood, or Orlando - I hear that the House of Blues was sold out on a Monday night in Hollywood, and it is always kind of amazing to be playing a death metal show at the House of Blues at Disney World.

Any last words?

Thank you so much for the undying support and all the loyalty over the years! We hope you will enjoy our new album and come to see us next time we play near you!

Dying Fetus on MySpace
Relapse Records

I recently spoke with vocalist John Strachan, who is in one of the hottest and unique bands in the underground today, THE FUNERAL PYRE. This band will inspire you as well as awe you. Beware, awesomeness applies. While you are at it, make sure you check out the music on their Myspace Page.

deadspout: Alright, so the typical generic question, what influenced the name THE FUNERAL PYRE. Are you all Jim Morrison or DOORS fans?

John Strachan: It's really funny you ask this. As we just had a discussion about Jim Morrison last night and no. I personally, am nothing near a fan of THE DOORS. But, I can't say that for the other guys in the band.

deadspout: THE FUNERAL PYRE recently signed a distribution deal with Prosthetic Records. Congratulations! How has this transition been for you personally and the band in a whole. Also, will you be releasing new material with this deal?

John Strachan: The transition is good. It will at least help get our latest record into stores. I mean, touring without good distribution is really hard this day in age. We'll keep talking with Prosthetic about future releases and hopefully we can work something out!

deadspout: I recently read the band will be re-issuing your previous release "The Nature of Betrayal". However I didn't see if there would be a re-mastering or extras included with the Prosthetic release.

John Strachan: Not on this release there won't be. They'll basically just take the original version and make it available in stores. (more…)

The term "metalcore" has become practically meaningless. When Killswitch Engage, Full Blown Chaos, and Converge fit into the same category, it might as well be called "short-haired people doing long-haired music." Once in a while, though, an album comes along that taps metalcore's full potential - the epic scope and adventurousness of metal and the physicality of hardcore.

That album is Crimson Falls' The True Face of Human Nature. The breakdowns don't suck, the guitar work is creative, and the lyrics actually mean something. With vivid artwork by Svencho of Aborted (who does guest vocals on one song) and cinematic interludes, the album is a powerfully cohesive listen. Guitarists Kristof and Ringo answered Metal Injection's questions and reasserted Belgium's claim to having invented French fries.

What's the heavy music scene like in Belgium?

RINGO: It [has been] growing a lot for the last 3 or 4 years. Every year new bands are formed, and there is a lot of quality involved. For a small land like Belgium, we can’t complain at all. Every weekend there are numerous gigs throughout the whole country. Sometimes it is even hard to choose which gig you want to go to. And of course there are bands like Aborted, Leng Tch'e, Oceans of Sadness, and In-Quest who are well-known far abroad.

Do you identify with the metal and/or hardcore scenes?

KRISTOF: Crimson Falls identifies with both scenes. We’ve always played on shows in both scenes, and we feel at home and appreciated in the metal and the hardcore scenes. Most of us have our roots in the hardcore scene and started out in hardcore/metalcore bands. We all started listening to metal bands years ago as well, and our musical tastes evolved to death/thrash metal. As a result of this, both styles can be heard in our music.

What is "the true face of human nature"?

KRISTOF: The True Face of Human Nature is good and bad. It has a bright side and a dark side. It’s Heaven and Hell. The title track of the new album goes deeper into this ambiguity, this contradiction between good and bad in mankind.

What's the concept behind the cover art?

KRISTOF: We chose the idea of the person, attached to a lot of computers, showing the dark side of man on their screens. On these computer screens the negative side of human nature's true face is displayed: soldiers, death row, a child rapist. The person attached to the computers can't cope with it anymore and collapses under the input he gets from the computers. The negative side of human nature’s true face is too much for him.

Svencho from Aborted did guest vocals and the album artwork. How did this come about?

RINGO: Of course we knew Sven for some time from his bands Aborted and Leng Tch'e, and we liked his grunting and screaming a lot! We came in touch with him some time ago when we asked him to build our website for his designing agency Dirge Design (now Avernus Studios). We were very happy with the job he did, so we also asked him to design the artwork for our debut MCD Ruins 2K5. To get all these artwork jobs done, we did a lot of email and chat sessions with him, which led to a very good contact between us. So we asked Sven to record some guest vocals for "Controle Alt Delete." And he sure did an awesome job!

The guitar tones on the album are massive. Did they come from any special equipment or recording techniques?

KRISTOF: Well, first of all thank you for the compliment! We always got good comments on our live sound, so we thought it would be stupid not to start from that. From that starting point, we let Kris Belaen from the CCR Studio use and display his knowledge and talent. He added some equipment from his studio (amplifiers, cabs) and used some techniques to make it all come through as brutal and "broad" as possible.

RINGO: We both used two different amplifiers, including our own Powerball in combination with our own custom-made cabs and the cabs Kris owned. And to improve it even more, Kris suggested [that we] record every guitar track twice, which we did. The results were amazing; we were very satisfied.

"Controle Alt Delete" is about societal addiction to computers and technology. This interview wouldn't have taken place without MySpace and email. Contradiction?

RINGO: It is a contradiction, though there is a big difference. You can use these technologies for a good purpose as well - communication, for example - and that’s not a bad thing at all. It becomes an anti-social addiction when you stop reflecting about the things you do and the consequences it might give. A lot of people are already trapped, and that is frightening, because these people are more vulnerable for addictions, indoctrination, etc., and might become violent, for instance. So by writing this text, I hope someone opens his eyes and realizes he’s going over the edge.

"Martyr Vs. Terrorist" seems to say that martyrs are terrorists. Do you believe there is no legitimate reason for a person to be a suicide bomber?

KRISTOF: Well, actually I’m not really saying that martyrs are terrorists in this song. On the contrary; it deals with the difference in culture, conviction, point of view, and perception that our Western culture and Muslim extremists have on "terrorism." From our Western point of view, these terrorists are nothing more than killers and murderers taking innocent lives. From their own point of view, these suicide terrorists consider themselves to be martyrs, dying for their beliefs. I think there's never a legitimate reason for a person to be a suicide bomber.

Two songs on the album are about World War I. Does someone in the band have this particular historical interest?

KRISTOF: We don’t have real World War freaks in our ranks, no. But the World Wars are of course an important period in history that can’t be forgotten. The idea behind these two songs grew after a visit I paid to the city of Ypres, Belgium. I visited a lot of remnants of the First World War and I got in touch there with the poem "In Flanders Fields." As the entire visit made quite an impression on me, I immediately got the idea to use the poem for the softer song we were working on. As the poem was very inspiring to me, I also wrote the lyrics to "We Are the Dead."

What bands have influenced Crimson Falls or earn its respect?

RINGO: For me, it’s definitely the almighty At the Gates and Morbid Angel, but there are so many bands to mention. I listen to all kinds of metal, but my preference goes out to melodic and brutal death metal. So bands like Amon Amarth, Suffocation, Carcass, Death, old Sepultura, Slayer, etc. earn my respect a lot, and my playing techniques are definitely influenced by these great bands. For the newer generation of bands, I certainly want to mention All Shall Perish, Aborted, In-Quest, Gojira, Nevermore, etc.

KRISTOF: My favorite bands are more or less the same as Ringo's. Currently I'm listening a lot to bands like All Shall Perish, Burning Skies, Despised Icon, Aborted, and Nevermore. Other all-time favorites of mine include metalcore bands like Heaven Shall Burn, Reveal, and Shai Hulud, as well as death metal bands like At the Gates, Suffocation, and Morbid Angel.

What other bands from Belgium should people check out?

KRISTOF: There are a lot of talented bands in Belgium that deserve to be recognized outside Belgium as well. Some kick-ass Belgian bands like Aborted, In-Quest and Leng Tch'e have already achieved this, I guess. Underneath this top of the scene a lot of talent is coming up. The first band that comes to mind is Spoil Engine. Awesome live band, great melodies, metalcore breakdowns, and tight as hell! They’ve got a full CD coming up in May, which they are currently producing together with Jochen from Textures.

RINGO: I think Unleash the Fury is the band to watch out for. With the ex-singer of Hard Resistance, the ex-guitar player of In-Quest, and the ex-bass player of Axamenta, you've got a fine mix of talented musicians.

KRISTOF: Actually, there’s a whole new scene of bands coming up in Belgium over the last year(s) with bands like Rafflesia, Asethry, Omerta, Days of Betrayal, Fatal Recoil, The End of All Reason, and we’re glad to be part of this.

RINGO: And there are more, like Pulverize (my nephew abuses the guitar in this band), Psalm (great guys), and local bands like Upperhand and Ordeal.

What is the one food or drink from your country everyone should try?

RINGO: French fries. I don’t understand why they call it French because it’s definitely Belgian, goddammit!

KRISTOF: Yes, French fries, definitely. And of course some Belgian chocolate and metal!

Crimson Falls on MySpace
Shiver Records

Top photo by Valerie Afschrift; all other photos by Cindy Frey.

I recently conducted an interview with Erick Shute, vocalist of New York death metal masters PYREXIA. You'll learn many things, such as how to use the word fuck no less than 5 times in a sentence. You'll also read about the bitter reality of what its like to be in a small band that does not have a commercially accessible sound. You'll learn I need to do more research. Check it out…

deadspout: Evening Eric, thanks for taking the time out to do this interview. Also thank you for being so patient with my busy life.

Erick: Been waiting a long time. About a year to be semi exact.

deadspout: Today [January 23, 2007] is the day your brand new album, "Age of The Wicked" was released through Unique Leader Records. How does that feel after such a long hiatus and so many changes since "System of the Animal"?

Erick: Well, I would like to say exciting, but really, its just a weight off the shoulders. It took a while to find a label that had half a fucking brain to realize, "oh, lets put out a band with some fucking talent for once". I fucking hate labels.
deadspout: In the time period between the last two albums, Pyrexia changed their name to Catastrophic. Were you in the band at that point?

Erick: (laughs) I would have been like like 16 or 17 at that point. I joined, I think, 4 years ago or so, when [CHRIS BASILE] left to put together Pyrexia.

deadspout: Who did you work with as far as Recording and Engineering? Did you record in New York?

Erick: Sabella Studios. Eric at Unique Leader helped out with getting it mastered. They did a phenomenal job. BUY IT!

deadspout: New York Death Metal has a HUGE history. Obviously when someone says NYDM the first band that sticks out in a fans mind is Suffocation, many other bands have had a hard time keeping it together. What drives Pyrexia to keep it rolling?

Erick: Well, we actually have a goal, dreams, work ethic, and a desire to succeed. Unlike alot of other bands I know, who get lucky and get signed and don't do a single fucking thing and don't fucking promote their own fucking band and sound like a bunch of fucking morons whens you put em in front of a fucking microphone and try to have a interesting conver-fucking-sation (Editors Note: Fuck, that's a lot of fucks!). The only thing that keeps Pyrexia going is… Pyrexia. We don't give a fuck about other bands anymore. We tried. The whole brotherly thing was more like a figment of the imagination, and then one day, we woke up and realized: Fuck these other assholes, fuck the labels, fuck the world. Not a single mother fucker will ever reach down to help you out and put you on a good tour, or anything. So many fucking assholes wanna rip you off, take your money, or just not pay you. It's a head ache, a fucking migraine. I constantly wanna go out and murder somebody when your offered something and then some other mother fucker takes it from you or says "oh we made a mistake". We have been dicked around so many times, we honestly don't know why or how we continue to do this. We haven't made a fucking cent. It's not even about the money. It's not even about the fans. The fans are a major bonus. It's about proving a fucking point. Whether its today, tomorrow, or next year. This band will become a headliner. I personally think Pyrexia is the most under-rated metal band in the world and I recognize the song writing is the best I've ever heard in so many spectrums, that's one thing that helps keep me going. Besides that, I wanna kill people 99.99% of the time. Especially when I go to a bigger concert where I wanna see the headliner, and I gotta sit through two sessions of fucking straight up garbage and know in my mind, if Pyrexia was playing, there would be people being taken out in stretchers because of the lethal slams that comes with the Pyrexia style.

(more…)

I recently had the pleasure to speak with one of my all-time favorite frontmen, Jesse Leach. You can currently hear Jesse on the latest SEEMLESS record, What Have We Become. Jesse is no stranger to the scene, previously being a part of such bands as Killswitch Engage, Corrin and Nothing Stays Gold. Here is our interview:

deadspout: Hello, Jesse, how goes it? Seemless seems to be doing very well! You worked with Jason Suecof of Audiohammer Studios on "What We Have Become." How was that? Did you work with Mark too?

Jesse Leach: Yeah Jason is crazy and a brilliant mind at the same time. He helped tie in some vocal melodies and had me experiment with different stuff, some of it was great & others a bit too over the top. That guy should be producing prog-rock or something. He has crazy harmony ideas. It was an experience, to say the least. Mark is great he helped behind the sound board with technical stuff on the whole album actually.

deadspout: "What Have We Become" is similar instrumentally to the previous release "Seemless"; however, the vocals are different in structure as well as your range. Who inspired you for your lyrics as well as vocally on "What Have We Become"?

Jesse: I just wanted to push myself for this album and I plan on continuing to do so. I have even reworked old stuff with new melodies and bit parts to make it interesting live. I don't look to anyone to inspire my style. Although I am a fan of blues and (old) R&B singers in general. My goal is to bring passion and dynamics into Seemless.

deadspout: What are the plans with Seemless in the near future? On your next release I would love to hear you get either Dave Grohl or Chris Cornell as a guest, can you do that?

Jesse: Not real interested in guests, I really dig standing on our own as far as recording Seemless stuff. I got to tell you though, I get the whole "you sound like Chris Cornell" all the time. First of all, I don't hear it. Second, that guy has a better range than I do. I think we are completely different singers. Dave Grohl is my hero though, I really dig everything he has done!

deadspout: This time around, has being on the road been a little more comfortable and the right time for you? I saw pictures of you on your Myspace enjoying the desert cactus.

Jesse: I love touring with Seemless and I LOVE the west coast. My only set back is missing my wife, other than that it is great!

deadspout: You're sporting a pretty damn respectable beard there, Mister Leach.

Jesse: Yes, have some…

deadspout: Being a religious man, do you incorporate a lot of your beliefs into your lyrics? You are one of the many few in the metal and rock world that has positive lyrics about believing in yourself.

Jesse: All of my lyrics are written from my perspective and I am a Christian. However, Seemless is not a Christian band.

deadspout: I am personally a fan boy of your work, I have followed you from Corrin, Nothing Stays Gold, Killswitch Engage, and now Seemless. You have grown so much as a vocalist since your earlier work. Your melodic singing impresses the hell out of me, however hearing your gut wrenching screams still gives me the chills. Will we ever hear you dedicating yourself to a band with such a demand?

Jesse: Thanks for the love. However, no, I don't think so. I am quite comfortable with where I am. I feel like I am moving forward as a singer, I feel if anything I will continue to expand my voice and style. I love to scream but I would have a hard time doing a band where that is all I do. To me for the most part screamed vocals get boring after a while.

deadspout: Did you get a chance to hear my one hour dedication to your work in our METAL Injection Radio Archive, the Dead Zone (you can hear that here)?

Jesse: Yes, again thanks for the love, bro.
deadspout: In my opinion, your song "Blood and Flames" on Roadrunner United is the best track on the whole release. Do you think you'd collaborate with them as a band, for a whole album?

Jesse: Not unless I get an offer and it helps pay some bills [laughs]. I am quite sure that was a one time thing though.

deadspout: "Endless" is my favorite track you have done with Seemless. Can you elaborate as to the emotion and symbolism of the lyrics to me?

Jesse: I wrote that song for my wife. It has a deep meaning though and really it is all about what you as the listener gets out of it.

deadspout: Simon, from Hesperia, CA wanted to know if you have ever considered going into the management or the talent seeking part of the business, helping talented bands get noticed.

Jesse: I would Love to be an A&R or get into the whole "helping out bands etc." Music is such a HUGE part of my life I know I would be good at helping bands and recognizing talent, the directions music moves, and flows. I don't think I could handle managing a band though, too much stuff to deal with.

deadspout: I read somewhere that you did some hip/hop and reggae. Where can I hear that?

Jesse: It is more like trip hop ambient reggae dub stuff. Real mellow stuff. I have been doing this kind of music on the side for 7 years. I am actually recording tracks with my new project while I am off tour with my good friend Nick who is the other half of the project. We should have a track up on myspace in the next few weeks. I will link it to the Seemless page.

deadspout: What metal bands do you listen to now, for instance, are you a fan of Abigail Williams, Gojira, He Is Legend, etc.

Jesse: Uh, well, Metal is not the first kind of music I would listen to these days but if I were to pop in a metal CD, it would be Entombed, At the Gates, Iron Maiden, God Forbid, Carcass etc. I am a bit old school with my metal.

deadspout: Jesse, thank you so much for taking the time out of your busy schedule to do this interview. It means a lot to me personally. Is there anything you would like to add that I haven't brought up in this?

Jesse: Sounds good thanks bro. Everyone out there open your mind, look out side of the box. Step out of you music routine, step out of the trends. Be a leader not a follower. Do what you love in life no matter what anyone says! and dig Seemless' new album we are bring music back to the roots: Soul & Blues with heavy metal rock n roll all mixed in. Peace & Blessings.

Make sure you check out Seemless "What Have We Become" out through Equal Vision Records now! To hear songs off that release go to the bands official Myspace Page.