Live Report: Neurosis, Converge & Amenra
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Unlike most forms of rock and roll, heavy metal is not exclusively a “young person’s game.” While the genre’s lifeblood is its enduring appeal to younger generations learning how to best shock their family and peers, and, while younger acts are more likely to rewrite the rules when making new music, metal is very gracious to its old guard. It’s hard to imagine the equivalent of Neurosis touring with Converge and Amenra being received the same way in another genre. When that trio, each with a debut record a decade older than the act before them, performed at Chicago’s Thalia Hall on July 28th, the crowd didn’t treat the event like a trip down memory lane, but a summit of accomplished innovators.
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Reading a crowd is about as soft a science as it gets in the already loose field of live music reporting, but it’s a fair assumption that the packed hall during Amenra’s set wasn’t just there to pregame for the night’s main attractions. Good thing too, because the Belgian post-metal band do not make it easy to order drinks. The group play at oppressive and bass-heavy volumes almost exclusively, only dropping down to a near whisper long enough to make their eventual return to full force all the more wig-splitting. When I saw them at Roadburn in 2016, this all or nothing approach left me a bit cold, but under the time constraints of an opening set it worked like gangbusters. It also helped draw attention to the band’s understated sense of theater. Halfway through their set singer Colin “CHVE” Van Eeckhout removed his shirt to reveal a thick tattoo running down his spine, a true “don’t fuck with me” signifer if there ever was one. Then, during the final moments of the band’s performance, Eeckhout turned to face the crowd for the first time in the night, right as the band’s projects switched from austere slow motion to a whirl of edits. While Amenra have nowhere near the following of the bands higher on the bill, but this memorable ending proved they had every right to share the stage with certified legends.
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“Inward to Gethsemane” Marks Vastum’s Deepest Descent Into Sacred and Profane Horror (Interview)
Vastum's bleakest death metal record to date arrives November 10. Inward to Gethsemane, an allusion to the garden where Jesus supposedly wept after realizing his fate, is blood-curdling—the album is an exploration of "the limits of purity," and its seven tracks ricochet between anguish and disgust.
"This album was an opportunity for us to take some of the religious or mystical themes to their limit," vocalist Dan Butler says. "I was thinking a lot about different forms of spiritual agony and modern life. One of them was just like being… abused throughout life, and then living a life of misery."
The band has always focused lyrically on the erotic and profane. However, Butler is clear that Vastum isn't gross for grossness's sake. In the case of Inward to Gethsemane, sexual anxiety and piety intertwine in a cocktail of guilt, shame, and decadence that works well over some of the band's most compelling riffs.
"On this latest album, I think there was an intentional desire to move away from this kind of reductive way that sometimes we're portrayed as a band preoccupied with sex," he says. One differentiator is this greater focus on religion, and Christianity in particular, which the band underscores with light touches of synth and haunting chanted vocals. The album also ties closely in with the writings of Georges Bataille, known for exploring the baseness of materialism and the darker corners of human desire.
"[Batailles] thought that mysticism in particular was closely related to eroticism," Butler notes, "but paradoxically, because the two are so incredibly opposed to each other."
…
…
Inward to Gethsemane wallows in this middle ground between the mystical and erotic, and nowhere is this clearer than on closer "Corpus Fractum." The song is one of the band's most gripping compositions in nearly 15 years of songcraft. It's also notable for featuring two samples at the beginning that firmly ground this track in horrific abuse. The band pulled one from an interview with a sadist, while the second draws on the unflinching interviews of YouTuber Mark Laita's channel Soft White Underbelly.
"For me, the second sample made me feel better about using the first sample," guitarist and vocalist Leila Abdul-Rauf says. The band went back and forth on whether and how to use existing recordings, but Butler says their ultimate decision helps channel the intent of "Corpus Fractum."
"[The song] is also about god sadistically abusing his only son to the point of crucifixion," Butler says. "The idea that extreme abuse breaks someone is biblical… I wanted the samples at the beginning to evoke the evil of Christ’s agony and crucifixion, not just the ‘secular’ idea of sadistic abuse or trauma."
Both Butler and Abdul-Rauf have professional experience in mental healthcare, but Vastum allows them ways to plumb the depths of the mind. Butler says Vastum is "sometimes at odds" with his therapeutic work but allows for a fuller review of "the darker side." The two vocalists' dueling approach has always worked, but Inward to Gethsemane sees Butler and Abdul-Rauf evenly exchanging horrors without the veil of reverb that characterized 2015's excellent Hole Below.
The record's lyrics are unflinching. "I’m still here, dead as a toy/Misandrous, no breath to sustain/I can either play dead or be dead/They won’t notice," Abdul-Rauf rasps on "Priapic Chasms." The record is full of such allusions to the horrors humans inflict on one another but, as on spoken-word track "Judas," also grounds said horrors firmly in theological tradition.
Butler has explored these themes further in the record's visual art, and using religion as an ingress point seems to have unlocked even lower levels of despair than the band have previously explored.
The album finds the band at a turning point in multiple ways. Abdul-Rauf, a talented multiinstrumentalist, and Gregory C. Hagan both contribute dark ambience to several tracks on the record. These subtle layers seem to presage shifts in sound. "I'd like to get a little more cinematic with it, but not stray too far," Abdul-Rauf says.
But personnel shifts also mean Vastum will look different moving forward. Guitarist Shelby Lermo (also of Ulthar, who released a double album earlier this year) departed the band after the completion of the record. Abdul-Rauf says the band wishes Lermo the best and has several candidates who may take on his role. In the meantime, she says, "I'm excited about getting this record onto the stage."
Inward to Gethsemane uses a death metal palette to paint a disturbing picture that will translate well to Vastum's pummeling live show in 2024 (Abdul-Rauf, incidentally, will be playing one more solo set at the Golden Bull as that venue's future remains uncertain). Though both band members have kept busy—Abdul-Rauf has done several features and is preparing her next solo release, and Butler continues to work with Acephalix while planning a turn with similarly morbid Decrepisy—both vocalists are looking forward to bringing these new works to the public.
"There's got to be a whole like audience out there who thinks you and I are fucking insane," Abdul-Rauf laughs.
Butler says, "it's like [our music] needs to be something that's unsettling." He reflects on the new album as the latest stop on a journey of darkness.
"What we've tried to do with the band is actually create something that is hard to endure in some way," Butler says, "even if it's also very gratifying aesthetically."
That certainly describes Inward to Gethsemane. The album is out November 10 via 20 Buck Spin.
“Inward to Gethsemane” Marks Vastum’s Deepest Descent Into Sacred and Profane Horror (Interview)
Vastum's bleakest death metal record to date arrives November 10. Inward to Gethsemane, an allusion to the garden where Jesus supposedly wept after realizing his fate, is blood-curdling—the album is an exploration of "the limits of purity," and its seven tracks ricochet between anguish and disgust.
"This album was an opportunity for us to take some of the religious or mystical themes to their limit," vocalist Dan Butler says. "I was thinking a lot about different forms of spiritual agony and modern life. One of them was just like being… abused throughout life, and then living a life of misery."
The band has always focused lyrically on the erotic and profane. However, Butler is clear that Vastum isn't gross for grossness's sake. In the case of Inward to Gethsemane, sexual anxiety and piety intertwine in a cocktail of guilt, shame, and decadence that works well over some of the band's most compelling riffs.
"On this latest album, I think there was an intentional desire to move away from this kind of reductive way that sometimes we're portrayed as a band preoccupied with sex," he says. One differentiator is this greater focus on religion, and Christianity in particular, which the band underscores with light touches of synth and haunting chanted vocals. The album also ties closely in with the writings of Georges Bataille, known for exploring the baseness of materialism and the darker corners of human desire.
"[Batailles] thought that mysticism in particular was closely related to eroticism," Butler notes, "but paradoxically, because the two are so incredibly opposed to each other."
…
…
Inward to Gethsemane wallows in this middle ground between the mystical and erotic, and nowhere is this clearer than on closer "Corpus Fractum." The song is one of the band's most gripping compositions in nearly 15 years of songcraft. It's also notable for featuring two samples at the beginning that firmly ground this track in horrific abuse. The band pulled one from an interview with a sadist, while the second draws on the unflinching interviews of YouTuber Mark Laita's channel Soft White Underbelly.
"For me, the second sample made me feel better about using the first sample," guitarist and vocalist Leila Abdul-Rauf says. The band went back and forth on whether and how to use existing recordings, but Butler says their ultimate decision helps channel the intent of "Corpus Fractum."
"[The song] is also about god sadistically abusing his only son to the point of crucifixion," Butler says. "The idea that extreme abuse breaks someone is biblical… I wanted the samples at the beginning to evoke the evil of Christ’s agony and crucifixion, not just the ‘secular’ idea of sadistic abuse or trauma."
Both Butler and Abdul-Rauf have professional experience in mental healthcare, but Vastum allows them ways to plumb the depths of the mind. Butler says Vastum is "sometimes at odds" with his therapeutic work but allows for a fuller review of "the darker side." The two vocalists' dueling approach has always worked, but Inward to Gethsemane sees Butler and Abdul-Rauf evenly exchanging horrors without the veil of reverb that characterized 2015's excellent Hole Below.
The record's lyrics are unflinching. "I’m still here, dead as a toy/Misandrous, no breath to sustain/I can either play dead or be dead/They won’t notice," Abdul-Rauf rasps on "Priapic Chasms." The record is full of such allusions to the horrors humans inflict on one another but, as on spoken-word track "Judas," also grounds said horrors firmly in theological tradition.
Butler has explored these themes further in the record's visual art, and using religion as an ingress point seems to have unlocked even lower levels of despair than the band have previously explored.
The album finds the band at a turning point in multiple ways. Abdul-Rauf, a talented multiinstrumentalist, and Gregory C. Hagan both contribute dark ambience to several tracks on the record. These subtle layers seem to presage shifts in sound. "I'd like to get a little more cinematic with it, but not stray too far," Abdul-Rauf says.
But personnel shifts also mean Vastum will look different moving forward. Guitarist Shelby Lermo (also of Ulthar, who released a double album earlier this year) departed the band after the completion of the record. Abdul-Rauf says the band wishes Lermo the best and has several candidates who may take on his role. In the meantime, she says, "I'm excited about getting this record onto the stage."
Inward to Gethsemane uses a death metal palette to paint a disturbing picture that will translate well to Vastum's pummeling live show in 2024 (Abdul-Rauf, incidentally, will be playing one more solo set at the Golden Bull as that venue's future remains uncertain). Though both band members have kept busy—Abdul-Rauf has done several features and is preparing her next solo release, and Butler continues to work with Acephalix while planning a turn with similarly morbid Decrepisy—both vocalists are looking forward to bringing these new works to the public.
"There's got to be a whole like audience out there who thinks you and I are fucking insane," Abdul-Rauf laughs.
Butler says, "it's like [our music] needs to be something that's unsettling." He reflects on the new album as the latest stop on a journey of darkness.
"What we've tried to do with the band is actually create something that is hard to endure in some way," Butler says, "even if it's also very gratifying aesthetically."
That certainly describes Inward to Gethsemane. The album is out November 10 via 20 Buck Spin.
“Inward to Gethsemane” Marks Vastum’s Deepest Descent Into Sacred and Profane Horror (Interview)
Vastum's bleakest death metal record to date arrives November 10. Inward to Gethsemane, an allusion to the garden where Jesus supposedly wept after realizing his fate, is blood-curdling—the album is an exploration of "the limits of purity," and its seven tracks ricochet between anguish and disgust.
"This album was an opportunity for us to take some of the religious or mystical themes to their limit," vocalist Dan Butler says. "I was thinking a lot about different forms of spiritual agony and modern life. One of them was just like being… abused throughout life, and then living a life of misery."
The band has always focused lyrically on the erotic and profane. However, Butler is clear that Vastum isn't gross for grossness's sake. In the case of Inward to Gethsemane, sexual anxiety and piety intertwine in a cocktail of guilt, shame, and decadence that works well over some of the band's most compelling riffs.
"On this latest album, I think there was an intentional desire to move away from this kind of reductive way that sometimes we're portrayed as a band preoccupied with sex," he says. One differentiator is this greater focus on religion, and Christianity in particular, which the band underscores with light touches of synth and haunting chanted vocals. The album also ties closely in with the writings of Georges Bataille, known for exploring the baseness of materialism and the darker corners of human desire.
"[Batailles] thought that mysticism in particular was closely related to eroticism," Butler notes, "but paradoxically, because the two are so incredibly opposed to each other."
…
…
Inward to Gethsemane wallows in this middle ground between the mystical and erotic, and nowhere is this clearer than on closer "Corpus Fractum." The song is one of the band's most gripping compositions in nearly 15 years of songcraft. It's also notable for featuring two samples at the beginning that firmly ground this track in horrific abuse. The band pulled one from an interview with a sadist, while the second draws on the unflinching interviews of YouTuber Mark Laita's channel Soft White Underbelly.
"For me, the second sample made me feel better about using the first sample," guitarist and vocalist Leila Abdul-Rauf says. The band went back and forth on whether and how to use existing recordings, but Butler says their ultimate decision helps channel the intent of "Corpus Fractum."
"[The song] is also about god sadistically abusing his only son to the point of crucifixion," Butler says. "The idea that extreme abuse breaks someone is biblical… I wanted the samples at the beginning to evoke the evil of Christ’s agony and crucifixion, not just the ‘secular’ idea of sadistic abuse or trauma."
Both Butler and Abdul-Rauf have professional experience in mental healthcare, but Vastum allows them ways to plumb the depths of the mind. Butler says Vastum is "sometimes at odds" with his therapeutic work but allows for a fuller review of "the darker side." The two vocalists' dueling approach has always worked, but Inward to Gethsemane sees Butler and Abdul-Rauf evenly exchanging horrors without the veil of reverb that characterized 2015's excellent Hole Below.
The record's lyrics are unflinching. "I’m still here, dead as a toy/Misandrous, no breath to sustain/I can either play dead or be dead/They won’t notice," Abdul-Rauf rasps on "Priapic Chasms." The record is full of such allusions to the horrors humans inflict on one another but, as on spoken-word track "Judas," also grounds said horrors firmly in theological tradition.
Butler has explored these themes further in the record's visual art, and using religion as an ingress point seems to have unlocked even lower levels of despair than the band have previously explored.
The album finds the band at a turning point in multiple ways. Abdul-Rauf, a talented multiinstrumentalist, and Gregory C. Hagan both contribute dark ambience to several tracks on the record. These subtle layers seem to presage shifts in sound. "I'd like to get a little more cinematic with it, but not stray too far," Abdul-Rauf says.
But personnel shifts also mean Vastum will look different moving forward. Guitarist Shelby Lermo (also of Ulthar, who released a double album earlier this year) departed the band after the completion of the record. Abdul-Rauf says the band wishes Lermo the best and has several candidates who may take on his role. In the meantime, she says, "I'm excited about getting this record onto the stage."
Inward to Gethsemane uses a death metal palette to paint a disturbing picture that will translate well to Vastum's pummeling live show in 2024 (Abdul-Rauf, incidentally, will be playing one more solo set at the Golden Bull as that venue's future remains uncertain). Though both band members have kept busy—Abdul-Rauf has done several features and is preparing her next solo release, and Butler continues to work with Acephalix while planning a turn with similarly morbid Decrepisy—both vocalists are looking forward to bringing these new works to the public.
"There's got to be a whole like audience out there who thinks you and I are fucking insane," Abdul-Rauf laughs.
Butler says, "it's like [our music] needs to be something that's unsettling." He reflects on the new album as the latest stop on a journey of darkness.
"What we've tried to do with the band is actually create something that is hard to endure in some way," Butler says, "even if it's also very gratifying aesthetically."
That certainly describes Inward to Gethsemane. The album is out November 10 via 20 Buck Spin.
“Inward to Gethsemane” Marks Vastum’s Deepest Descent Into Sacred and Profane Horror (Interview)
Vastum's bleakest death metal record to date arrives November 10. Inward to Gethsemane, an allusion to the garden where Jesus supposedly wept after realizing his fate, is blood-curdling—the album is an exploration of "the limits of purity," and its seven tracks ricochet between anguish and disgust.
"This album was an opportunity for us to take some of the religious or mystical themes to their limit," vocalist Dan Butler says. "I was thinking a lot about different forms of spiritual agony and modern life. One of them was just like being… abused throughout life, and then living a life of misery."
The band has always focused lyrically on the erotic and profane. However, Butler is clear that Vastum isn't gross for grossness's sake. In the case of Inward to Gethsemane, sexual anxiety and piety intertwine in a cocktail of guilt, shame, and decadence that works well over some of the band's most compelling riffs.
"On this latest album, I think there was an intentional desire to move away from this kind of reductive way that sometimes we're portrayed as a band preoccupied with sex," he says. One differentiator is this greater focus on religion, and Christianity in particular, which the band underscores with light touches of synth and haunting chanted vocals. The album also ties closely in with the writings of Georges Bataille, known for exploring the baseness of materialism and the darker corners of human desire.
"[Batailles] thought that mysticism in particular was closely related to eroticism," Butler notes, "but paradoxically, because the two are so incredibly opposed to each other."
…
…
Inward to Gethsemane wallows in this middle ground between the mystical and erotic, and nowhere is this clearer than on closer "Corpus Fractum." The song is one of the band's most gripping compositions in nearly 15 years of songcraft. It's also notable for featuring two samples at the beginning that firmly ground this track in horrific abuse. The band pulled one from an interview with a sadist, while the second draws on the unflinching interviews of YouTuber Mark Laita's channel Soft White Underbelly.
"For me, the second sample made me feel better about using the first sample," guitarist and vocalist Leila Abdul-Rauf says. The band went back and forth on whether and how to use existing recordings, but Butler says their ultimate decision helps channel the intent of "Corpus Fractum."
"[The song] is also about god sadistically abusing his only son to the point of crucifixion," Butler says. "The idea that extreme abuse breaks someone is biblical… I wanted the samples at the beginning to evoke the evil of Christ’s agony and crucifixion, not just the ‘secular’ idea of sadistic abuse or trauma."
Both Butler and Abdul-Rauf have professional experience in mental healthcare, but Vastum allows them ways to plumb the depths of the mind. Butler says Vastum is "sometimes at odds" with his therapeutic work but allows for a fuller review of "the darker side." The two vocalists' dueling approach has always worked, but Inward to Gethsemane sees Butler and Abdul-Rauf evenly exchanging horrors without the veil of reverb that characterized 2015's excellent Hole Below.
The record's lyrics are unflinching. "I’m still here, dead as a toy/Misandrous, no breath to sustain/I can either play dead or be dead/They won’t notice," Abdul-Rauf rasps on "Priapic Chasms." The record is full of such allusions to the horrors humans inflict on one another but, as on spoken-word track "Judas," also grounds said horrors firmly in theological tradition.
Butler has explored these themes further in the record's visual art, and using religion as an ingress point seems to have unlocked even lower levels of despair than the band have previously explored.
The album finds the band at a turning point in multiple ways. Abdul-Rauf, a talented multiinstrumentalist, and Gregory C. Hagan both contribute dark ambience to several tracks on the record. These subtle layers seem to presage shifts in sound. "I'd like to get a little more cinematic with it, but not stray too far," Abdul-Rauf says.
But personnel shifts also mean Vastum will look different moving forward. Guitarist Shelby Lermo (also of Ulthar, who released a double album earlier this year) departed the band after the completion of the record. Abdul-Rauf says the band wishes Lermo the best and has several candidates who may take on his role. In the meantime, she says, "I'm excited about getting this record onto the stage."
Inward to Gethsemane uses a death metal palette to paint a disturbing picture that will translate well to Vastum's pummeling live show in 2024 (Abdul-Rauf, incidentally, will be playing one more solo set at the Golden Bull as that venue's future remains uncertain). Though both band members have kept busy—Abdul-Rauf has done several features and is preparing her next solo release, and Butler continues to work with Acephalix while planning a turn with similarly morbid Decrepisy—both vocalists are looking forward to bringing these new works to the public.
"There's got to be a whole like audience out there who thinks you and I are fucking insane," Abdul-Rauf laughs.
Butler says, "it's like [our music] needs to be something that's unsettling." He reflects on the new album as the latest stop on a journey of darkness.
"What we've tried to do with the band is actually create something that is hard to endure in some way," Butler says, "even if it's also very gratifying aesthetically."
That certainly describes Inward to Gethsemane. The album is out November 10 via 20 Buck Spin.
“Inward to Gethsemane” Marks Vastum’s Deepest Descent Into Sacred and Profane Horror (Interview)
Vastum's bleakest death metal record to date arrives November 10. Inward to Gethsemane, an allusion to the garden where Jesus supposedly wept after realizing his fate, is blood-curdling—the album is an exploration of "the limits of purity," and its seven tracks ricochet between anguish and disgust.
"This album was an opportunity for us to take some of the religious or mystical themes to their limit," vocalist Dan Butler says. "I was thinking a lot about different forms of spiritual agony and modern life. One of them was just like being… abused throughout life, and then living a life of misery."
The band has always focused lyrically on the erotic and profane. However, Butler is clear that Vastum isn't gross for grossness's sake. In the case of Inward to Gethsemane, sexual anxiety and piety intertwine in a cocktail of guilt, shame, and decadence that works well over some of the band's most compelling riffs.
"On this latest album, I think there was an intentional desire to move away from this kind of reductive way that sometimes we're portrayed as a band preoccupied with sex," he says. One differentiator is this greater focus on religion, and Christianity in particular, which the band underscores with light touches of synth and haunting chanted vocals. The album also ties closely in with the writings of Georges Bataille, known for exploring the baseness of materialism and the darker corners of human desire.
"[Batailles] thought that mysticism in particular was closely related to eroticism," Butler notes, "but paradoxically, because the two are so incredibly opposed to each other."
…
…
Inward to Gethsemane wallows in this middle ground between the mystical and erotic, and nowhere is this clearer than on closer "Corpus Fractum." The song is one of the band's most gripping compositions in nearly 15 years of songcraft. It's also notable for featuring two samples at the beginning that firmly ground this track in horrific abuse. The band pulled one from an interview with a sadist, while the second draws on the unflinching interviews of YouTuber Mark Laita's channel Soft White Underbelly.
"For me, the second sample made me feel better about using the first sample," guitarist and vocalist Leila Abdul-Rauf says. The band went back and forth on whether and how to use existing recordings, but Butler says their ultimate decision helps channel the intent of "Corpus Fractum."
"[The song] is also about god sadistically abusing his only son to the point of crucifixion," Butler says. "The idea that extreme abuse breaks someone is biblical… I wanted the samples at the beginning to evoke the evil of Christ’s agony and crucifixion, not just the ‘secular’ idea of sadistic abuse or trauma."
Both Butler and Abdul-Rauf have professional experience in mental healthcare, but Vastum allows them ways to plumb the depths of the mind. Butler says Vastum is "sometimes at odds" with his therapeutic work but allows for a fuller review of "the darker side." The two vocalists' dueling approach has always worked, but Inward to Gethsemane sees Butler and Abdul-Rauf evenly exchanging horrors without the veil of reverb that characterized 2015's excellent Hole Below.
The record's lyrics are unflinching. "I’m still here, dead as a toy/Misandrous, no breath to sustain/I can either play dead or be dead/They won’t notice," Abdul-Rauf rasps on "Priapic Chasms." The record is full of such allusions to the horrors humans inflict on one another but, as on spoken-word track "Judas," also grounds said horrors firmly in theological tradition.
Butler has explored these themes further in the record's visual art, and using religion as an ingress point seems to have unlocked even lower levels of despair than the band have previously explored.
The album finds the band at a turning point in multiple ways. Abdul-Rauf, a talented multiinstrumentalist, and Gregory C. Hagan both contribute dark ambience to several tracks on the record. These subtle layers seem to presage shifts in sound. "I'd like to get a little more cinematic with it, but not stray too far," Abdul-Rauf says.
But personnel shifts also mean Vastum will look different moving forward. Guitarist Shelby Lermo (also of Ulthar, who released a double album earlier this year) departed the band after the completion of the record. Abdul-Rauf says the band wishes Lermo the best and has several candidates who may take on his role. In the meantime, she says, "I'm excited about getting this record onto the stage."
Inward to Gethsemane uses a death metal palette to paint a disturbing picture that will translate well to Vastum's pummeling live show in 2024 (Abdul-Rauf, incidentally, will be playing one more solo set at the Golden Bull as that venue's future remains uncertain). Though both band members have kept busy—Abdul-Rauf has done several features and is preparing her next solo release, and Butler continues to work with Acephalix while planning a turn with similarly morbid Decrepisy—both vocalists are looking forward to bringing these new works to the public.
"There's got to be a whole like audience out there who thinks you and I are fucking insane," Abdul-Rauf laughs.
Butler says, "it's like [our music] needs to be something that's unsettling." He reflects on the new album as the latest stop on a journey of darkness.
"What we've tried to do with the band is actually create something that is hard to endure in some way," Butler says, "even if it's also very gratifying aesthetically."
That certainly describes Inward to Gethsemane. The album is out November 10 via 20 Buck Spin.
“Inward to Gethsemane” Marks Vastum’s Deepest Descent Into Sacred and Profane Horror (Interview)
Vastum's bleakest death metal record to date arrives November 10. Inward to Gethsemane, an allusion to the garden where Jesus supposedly wept after realizing his fate, is blood-curdling—the album is an exploration of "the limits of purity," and its seven tracks ricochet between anguish and disgust.
"This album was an opportunity for us to take some of the religious or mystical themes to their limit," vocalist Dan Butler says. "I was thinking a lot about different forms of spiritual agony and modern life. One of them was just like being… abused throughout life, and then living a life of misery."
The band has always focused lyrically on the erotic and profane. However, Butler is clear that Vastum isn't gross for grossness's sake. In the case of Inward to Gethsemane, sexual anxiety and piety intertwine in a cocktail of guilt, shame, and decadence that works well over some of the band's most compelling riffs.
"On this latest album, I think there was an intentional desire to move away from this kind of reductive way that sometimes we're portrayed as a band preoccupied with sex," he says. One differentiator is this greater focus on religion, and Christianity in particular, which the band underscores with light touches of synth and haunting chanted vocals. The album also ties closely in with the writings of Georges Bataille, known for exploring the baseness of materialism and the darker corners of human desire.
"[Batailles] thought that mysticism in particular was closely related to eroticism," Butler notes, "but paradoxically, because the two are so incredibly opposed to each other."
…
…
Inward to Gethsemane wallows in this middle ground between the mystical and erotic, and nowhere is this clearer than on closer "Corpus Fractum." The song is one of the band's most gripping compositions in nearly 15 years of songcraft. It's also notable for featuring two samples at the beginning that firmly ground this track in horrific abuse. The band pulled one from an interview with a sadist, while the second draws on the unflinching interviews of YouTuber Mark Laita's channel Soft White Underbelly.
"For me, the second sample made me feel better about using the first sample," guitarist and vocalist Leila Abdul-Rauf says. The band went back and forth on whether and how to use existing recordings, but Butler says their ultimate decision helps channel the intent of "Corpus Fractum."
"[The song] is also about god sadistically abusing his only son to the point of crucifixion," Butler says. "The idea that extreme abuse breaks someone is biblical… I wanted the samples at the beginning to evoke the evil of Christ’s agony and crucifixion, not just the ‘secular’ idea of sadistic abuse or trauma."
Both Butler and Abdul-Rauf have professional experience in mental healthcare, but Vastum allows them ways to plumb the depths of the mind. Butler says Vastum is "sometimes at odds" with his therapeutic work but allows for a fuller review of "the darker side." The two vocalists' dueling approach has always worked, but Inward to Gethsemane sees Butler and Abdul-Rauf evenly exchanging horrors without the veil of reverb that characterized 2015's excellent Hole Below.
The record's lyrics are unflinching. "I’m still here, dead as a toy/Misandrous, no breath to sustain/I can either play dead or be dead/They won’t notice," Abdul-Rauf rasps on "Priapic Chasms." The record is full of such allusions to the horrors humans inflict on one another but, as on spoken-word track "Judas," also grounds said horrors firmly in theological tradition.
Butler has explored these themes further in the record's visual art, and using religion as an ingress point seems to have unlocked even lower levels of despair than the band have previously explored.
The album finds the band at a turning point in multiple ways. Abdul-Rauf, a talented multiinstrumentalist, and Gregory C. Hagan both contribute dark ambience to several tracks on the record. These subtle layers seem to presage shifts in sound. "I'd like to get a little more cinematic with it, but not stray too far," Abdul-Rauf says.
But personnel shifts also mean Vastum will look different moving forward. Guitarist Shelby Lermo (also of Ulthar, who released a double album earlier this year) departed the band after the completion of the record. Abdul-Rauf says the band wishes Lermo the best and has several candidates who may take on his role. In the meantime, she says, "I'm excited about getting this record onto the stage."
Inward to Gethsemane uses a death metal palette to paint a disturbing picture that will translate well to Vastum's pummeling live show in 2024 (Abdul-Rauf, incidentally, will be playing one more solo set at the Golden Bull as that venue's future remains uncertain). Though both band members have kept busy—Abdul-Rauf has done several features and is preparing her next solo release, and Butler continues to work with Acephalix while planning a turn with similarly morbid Decrepisy—both vocalists are looking forward to bringing these new works to the public.
"There's got to be a whole like audience out there who thinks you and I are fucking insane," Abdul-Rauf laughs.
Butler says, "it's like [our music] needs to be something that's unsettling." He reflects on the new album as the latest stop on a journey of darkness.
"What we've tried to do with the band is actually create something that is hard to endure in some way," Butler says, "even if it's also very gratifying aesthetically."
That certainly describes Inward to Gethsemane. The album is out November 10 via 20 Buck Spin.
“Inward to Gethsemane” Marks Vastum’s Deepest Descent Into Sacred and Profane Horror (Interview)
Vastum's bleakest death metal record to date arrives November 10. Inward to Gethsemane, an allusion to the garden where Jesus supposedly wept after realizing his fate, is blood-curdling—the album is an exploration of "the limits of purity," and its seven tracks ricochet between anguish and disgust.
"This album was an opportunity for us to take some of the religious or mystical themes to their limit," vocalist Dan Butler says. "I was thinking a lot about different forms of spiritual agony and modern life. One of them was just like being… abused throughout life, and then living a life of misery."
The band has always focused lyrically on the erotic and profane. However, Butler is clear that Vastum isn't gross for grossness's sake. In the case of Inward to Gethsemane, sexual anxiety and piety intertwine in a cocktail of guilt, shame, and decadence that works well over some of the band's most compelling riffs.
"On this latest album, I think there was an intentional desire to move away from this kind of reductive way that sometimes we're portrayed as a band preoccupied with sex," he says. One differentiator is this greater focus on religion, and Christianity in particular, which the band underscores with light touches of synth and haunting chanted vocals. The album also ties closely in with the writings of Georges Bataille, known for exploring the baseness of materialism and the darker corners of human desire.
"[Batailles] thought that mysticism in particular was closely related to eroticism," Butler notes, "but paradoxically, because the two are so incredibly opposed to each other."
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…
Inward to Gethsemane wallows in this middle ground between the mystical and erotic, and nowhere is this clearer than on closer "Corpus Fractum." The song is one of the band's most gripping compositions in nearly 15 years of songcraft. It's also notable for featuring two samples at the beginning that firmly ground this track in horrific abuse. The band pulled one from an interview with a sadist, while the second draws on the unflinching interviews of YouTuber Mark Laita's channel Soft White Underbelly.
"For me, the second sample made me feel better about using the first sample," guitarist and vocalist Leila Abdul-Rauf says. The band went back and forth on whether and how to use existing recordings, but Butler says their ultimate decision helps channel the intent of "Corpus Fractum."
"[The song] is also about god sadistically abusing his only son to the point of crucifixion," Butler says. "The idea that extreme abuse breaks someone is biblical… I wanted the samples at the beginning to evoke the evil of Christ’s agony and crucifixion, not just the ‘secular’ idea of sadistic abuse or trauma."
Both Butler and Abdul-Rauf have professional experience in mental healthcare, but Vastum allows them ways to plumb the depths of the mind. Butler says Vastum is "sometimes at odds" with his therapeutic work but allows for a fuller review of "the darker side." The two vocalists' dueling approach has always worked, but Inward to Gethsemane sees Butler and Abdul-Rauf evenly exchanging horrors without the veil of reverb that characterized 2015's excellent Hole Below.
The record's lyrics are unflinching. "I’m still here, dead as a toy/Misandrous, no breath to sustain/I can either play dead or be dead/They won’t notice," Abdul-Rauf rasps on "Priapic Chasms." The record is full of such allusions to the horrors humans inflict on one another but, as on spoken-word track "Judas," also grounds said horrors firmly in theological tradition.
Butler has explored these themes further in the record's visual art, and using religion as an ingress point seems to have unlocked even lower levels of despair than the band have previously explored.
The album finds the band at a turning point in multiple ways. Abdul-Rauf, a talented multiinstrumentalist, and Gregory C. Hagan both contribute dark ambience to several tracks on the record. These subtle layers seem to presage shifts in sound. "I'd like to get a little more cinematic with it, but not stray too far," Abdul-Rauf says.
But personnel shifts also mean Vastum will look different moving forward. Guitarist Shelby Lermo (also of Ulthar, who released a double album earlier this year) departed the band after the completion of the record. Abdul-Rauf says the band wishes Lermo the best and has several candidates who may take on his role. In the meantime, she says, "I'm excited about getting this record onto the stage."
Inward to Gethsemane uses a death metal palette to paint a disturbing picture that will translate well to Vastum's pummeling live show in 2024 (Abdul-Rauf, incidentally, will be playing one more solo set at the Golden Bull as that venue's future remains uncertain). Though both band members have kept busy—Abdul-Rauf has done several features and is preparing her next solo release, and Butler continues to work with Acephalix while planning a turn with similarly morbid Decrepisy—both vocalists are looking forward to bringing these new works to the public.
"There's got to be a whole like audience out there who thinks you and I are fucking insane," Abdul-Rauf laughs.
Butler says, "it's like [our music] needs to be something that's unsettling." He reflects on the new album as the latest stop on a journey of darkness.
"What we've tried to do with the band is actually create something that is hard to endure in some way," Butler says, "even if it's also very gratifying aesthetically."
That certainly describes Inward to Gethsemane. The album is out November 10 via 20 Buck Spin.
Iron Flames’ Trilogy Closes With Nuclear Strength (EP Stream)
Before the phrase "death metal" really started catching on, we used different, more expressive terms to explain the burgeoning extreme metal scenes around the globe. "Nuclear Metal." "Ultra Metal." The already extreme idea of death was simply not enough, and the defining language used reflected that. Using this logic, Italian metal duo Iron Flames are not "death metal," but something more superlative, like the "nuclear" and "ultra" metal that came before them. Inspired by the very same bands described in such a way throughout the '80s (think Sarcófago, early Reencarnación, and Mefisto more than Mantas, Death, and Possessed), Iron Flames' primitive, lizard-brained metal finds a perfect, moshable center to which the listener could physically react accordingly, and their new EP Immortal Hero of Eternal Time is music made to be headbanged to, even if you're alone. Closing out a trio of tapes–all released by Stygian Black Hand–with their strongest and most explosive material to date, the "Iron Flames Trilogy" cements itself as some of recent metal's most ridiculous and energetic music. Iron Flames' absolutely nuclear ultra metal can be heard in full below. Don't be a poser–grab a tape, too.
…
…
Immortal Hero of Eternal Time is out today via Stygian Black Hand.
Iron Flames’ Trilogy Closes With Nuclear Strength (EP Stream)
Before the phrase "death metal" really started catching on, we used different, more expressive terms to explain the burgeoning extreme metal scenes around the globe. "Nuclear Metal." "Ultra Metal." The already extreme idea of death was simply not enough, and the defining language used reflected that. Using this logic, Italian metal duo Iron Flames are not "death metal," but something more superlative, like the "nuclear" and "ultra" metal that came before them. Inspired by the very same bands described in such a way throughout the '80s (think Sarcófago, early Reencarnación, and Mefisto more than Mantas, Death, and Possessed), Iron Flames' primitive, lizard-brained metal finds a perfect, moshable center to which the listener could physically react accordingly, and their new EP Immortal Hero of Eternal Time is music made to be headbanged to, even if you're alone. Closing out a trio of tapes–all released by Stygian Black Hand–with their strongest and most explosive material to date, the "Iron Flames Trilogy" cements itself as some of recent metal's most ridiculous and energetic music. Iron Flames' absolutely nuclear ultra metal can be heard in full below. Don't be a poser–grab a tape, too.
…
…
Immortal Hero of Eternal Time is out today via Stygian Black Hand.
Iron Flames’ Trilogy Closes With Nuclear Strength (EP Stream)
Before the phrase "death metal" really started catching on, we used different, more expressive terms to explain the burgeoning extreme metal scenes around the globe. "Nuclear Metal." "Ultra Metal." The already extreme idea of death was simply not enough, and the defining language used reflected that. Using this logic, Italian metal duo Iron Flames are not "death metal," but something more superlative, like the "nuclear" and "ultra" metal that came before them. Inspired by the very same bands described in such a way throughout the '80s (think Sarcófago, early Reencarnación, and Mefisto more than Mantas, Death, and Possessed), Iron Flames' primitive, lizard-brained metal finds a perfect, moshable center to which the listener could physically react accordingly, and their new EP Immortal Hero of Eternal Time is music made to be headbanged to, even if you're alone. Closing out a trio of tapes–all released by Stygian Black Hand–with their strongest and most explosive material to date, the "Iron Flames Trilogy" cements itself as some of recent metal's most ridiculous and energetic music. Iron Flames' absolutely nuclear ultra metal can be heard in full below. Don't be a poser–grab a tape, too.
…
…
Immortal Hero of Eternal Time is out today via Stygian Black Hand.
…
“Hello. We’re Converge, we’ve been a band for 6,000 years”. A slight exaggeration from singer Jacob Bannon, but one that provided an important reminder; for a band that sounds like two velociraptors getting into a heated argument over a malfunctioning woodchipper, Converge do have a sense of humor. In between songs about betrayal, loss, and desperation, Bannon was quick to crack jokes at overly enthusiastic members of the crowd and deflated the tension while guitarist Kurt Ballou dealt with technical issues. With those minor hiccups out of the way, Converge tore through a set that was balanced slower numbers likely to appeal to Neurosis fans (“You Fail Me”, “Worms Will Feed/Rats Will Feast”, “Predatory Glow”, “Jane Doe”) with the blisteringly fast songs that they’ve built their career off of (“Eagles Become Vultures”, “Concubine”). As is often the case, drummer Ben Koller stole the show. Koller, fresh off a stint with Mutoid Man[link] was in full hair metal mode, grinning like a loon and swinging his sticks behind his back to hit his hi-hat and Neurosis drummer Jason Roeder’s kit.
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“As Gomorrah Burns,” Death Metal Royalty Cryptopsy Return (Interview)
With an 11-year gap between full-length albums, French Canadian technical death metal band Cryptopsy are bursting with relentless ferocity on their eighth full-length album As Gomorrah Burns. On As Gomorrah Burns—the band’s first for Nuclear Blast—Cryptopsy have managed to balance their sound between a good mix of the band’s early era and their current modern/contemporary aesthetic.
Since their 1992 formation, the Quebecers have created a worthy but somewhat unbalanced oeuvre. The band’s first two albums—1994’s Blasphemy Made Flesh and 1996’s None So Vile—are deemed absolute death metal classics.
Featuring founding member/drummer Flo Mounier, guitarist Christian Donaldson, vocalist Matt McGachy, and bassist Olivier “Oli” Pinard, Cryptopsy have been plowing their path of destruction for 30-plus years. During a recent Zoom chat, Mounier spoke with writer Kelley Simms about the band’s early days, its enduring legacy, its new album, and more.
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…
What was it like to be involved in the burgeoning death metal scene of early ’90s? Did you feel isolated in Montreal, and were you already aware of the Floridian or Scandinavian scene?
The only reason we'd be kind of isolated is that it took a little bit for people to realize that there was an actual huge scene out here in Quebec. We were aware of all the things that were going on. We had a few local record stores that specified in metal, so we had all the imports coming in and all the Norwegian stuff, the Swedish stuff, the Florida stuff, the Bay Area. You name it, we had it all. We were pretty in tune to what was going on, for sure.
Although As Gomorrah Burns is your first full-length in many years, you did release two EPs and two compilations in between your 2011 self-titled album and now. What was the thinking process for those releases compared to finally releasing this full-length album?
We just decided to do EPs to concentrate on four songs per release, just to make it quick, in-your-face, and leaving people wanting more. The whole point of the EPs is a trilogy, so there will be another one coming out. We thought we'd release them a lot sooner than we did.
People's attention span has changed drastically over the last decade, if not a little bit more. So sometimes having a full-length with too many songs is, in my opinion, a little bit futile. Because chances are, when we were younger, we'd listen to a full album from beginning to end and read all the lyrics and read all the thank you lists and all that stuff. It seems that people don't do that anymore. So, we're just trying to go with what we thought was going to represent Cryptopsy very quick, very well, with new sounds and new ideas and stuff. It wasn't a huge thought process. It's just something that we wanted to try.
The album was crafted over two years during the pandemic, and the initial sessions took place in a cabin in the forests of Quebec. How did that affect the writing process as far as mood or atmosphere?
It's hard to say exactly how it did, but we just wanted to be the four guys, and nothing really affected us around us, just to see what we could do. It was the initial writing that started there, and then we finished it off with Chris at his studio.
It's just something that we tried, and I think this whole pandemic thing was coming on, so we were getting wind of it, and we were talking about it throughout the few days that we were there. (It was) this feeling of the unknown of what's going on, this whole crap thing, maybe influenced it. It's a little bit darker for Cryptopsy. It's sort of more emotional. So, it might have something to do with it. We'll see on the next writings, I guess.
I think the record has a good mix of early era Cryptopsy with a modern/contemporary feel. Once again, the production was handled by bandmate Chris Donaldson. What were you going for sound-wise with this album?
We just want things to come out nice and audible, but having that meanness to it. And there's a lot of energy in the Cryptopsy music from the guitars, from the vocals, from the bass lines, and from the drums. Chris wants to make it as clear as possible, but loud as well. And really aggressive, at the same time keeping it a little bit more organic with natural sounds, natural snare sounds, not over edited. I guess you're right in saying that, there is definitely vibes of older stuff mixed in with the new stuff. And I think that's the right path right now for Cryptopsy.
Lyrically and conceptually, I think there's a dichotomy between the Biblical story of Sodom and Gomorrah but with relatable stories based on the present day.
Matt's the one who wrote everything. I think he wanted to relate ancient history to modern times. Because as much as we think we've evolved and learned from our past, it seems that we tend to make the same mistakes over and over and over again. With the internet and stuff like that, you can compare it to a whole bunch of different things from the past, biblical things.
But it totally relates to what's happening right now. You just look at fires everywhere and look at the wars going on; we just don't learn from our mistakes, man. There's a very few that make a lot of money from creating this turmoil and destruction and division. And they have the money, so they'll keep on doing it. We don't learn; we just follow like a bunch of aimless sheep.
Of course, Matt's vocals are a bit more guttural compared to original vocalist Lord Worm’s on Cryptopsy’s earlier albums. But I think it's been a good match for these later-era Cryptopsy albums.
Yeah, I think Matt's been doing a lot of work on different techniques to make things easier for some more gutturals. He doesn't cup the mic at all; he pulls off stuff that sounds just amazing. He's very powerful. He's got a very powerful voice, so that helps a lot. He's got a lot of control as well. I let him go because I know it's going to be great. And I think he did an amazing job on this album. And as guttural as it is, there's actual articulation. As I’m listening to him sing, I can sing along to this. I know what he's saying. It's pretty impressive. He's just been a trooper, a hard worker, and he always makes it sound good and live. He's a beast. He impresses a lot of people.
As a drummer myself, your drumming has always been impressive and monstrous. What were you wanting to achieve on these tracks, what did you focus on most? Do you come up with patterns based on the riffs or vice-versa?
I usually base myself on the riff. And thank you for the props! I'll try to play to the riff, and then I'll see what fits better. And with Cryptopsy, usually if there's one riff, there'll probably be, like, five different beats for that single riff. It has to do with the song’s structure. It has to be musical, and I really want it to be musical. So I want to focus on the groove. I want to focus on appropriate fill transitions for the next parts. If a beat fits the riff, well then I'll probably go with it. But sometimes I'll do the opposite and do something that doesn't fit at all, just to create that tension. But most of the time it would be a riff-oriented beat kind of thing.
The album cover art from Paulo Girardi is absolutely amazing. You can spot his style from a mile away! Did you have to give him much direction for this piece?
It was Matt that communicated with him, and he had the title, and he had the concept of what it was. And it's just a city and people burning and what happens is that the old Cryptopsy Whisper Supremacy era bat comes out (with) a little bit more detail, a little bit more refined. It was just clever. It came out really nice. And I do like the different color schemes because it's very playable for merch and backdrops and all that stuff. His artwork is quite impressive. We were happy with the final result.
You actually created the original band logo. Are you heavily involved with the image and the look of the band's merch?
I am, but we usually have different artists throw ideas at us, and sometimes we'll throw concepts at them as well. It surely has grown over the years because we've had some horrible merch in the past and we're trying to avoid that for the present and the future. So, the logo fits pretty well with a bunch of different things. My involvement is basically at this point throwing ideas or vetoing things. There's some great artwork. So, other than the conceptual side with that, Matt had to deal with the album cover, and the rest is pretty much artists throwing (around) ideas.
With 30-plus years of activity, what will the band be focusing on for the rest of this year and into next year, including touring plans?
We have the Mexico Metal Fest coming up in mid-November. It's just one off, a big festival with some big names on it. Then right after we come back from that we're going to hit Asia, Dubai, China, Japan, Vietnam, all that kinds of stuff. Then, of course, we take a little break for the holidays. Then we're trying to get something at the end of February into March in Europe. We haven't confirmed it yet, but it could be a European tour. Then afterwards, in May, we have the Maryland DeathFest, and we're going to book a tour around that because it's going to mark the 30 years of Blasphemy Made Flesh. We're going to do a Blasphemy Made Flesh set entirely for that festival and then book a tour in the States around that. And then hopefully we hit as many European festivals over the summer as possible. That's the plan for now.
…
As Gomorrah Burns was released on September 8 via Nuclear Blast.
“As Gomorrah Burns,” Death Metal Royalty Cryptopsy Return (Interview)
With an 11-year gap between full-length albums, French Canadian technical death metal band Cryptopsy are bursting with relentless ferocity on their eighth full-length album As Gomorrah Burns. On As Gomorrah Burns—the band’s first for Nuclear Blast—Cryptopsy have managed to balance their sound between a good mix of the band’s early era and their current modern/contemporary aesthetic.
Since their 1992 formation, the Quebecers have created a worthy but somewhat unbalanced oeuvre. The band’s first two albums—1994’s Blasphemy Made Flesh and 1996’s None So Vile—are deemed absolute death metal classics.
Featuring founding member/drummer Flo Mounier, guitarist Christian Donaldson, vocalist Matt McGachy, and bassist Olivier “Oli” Pinard, Cryptopsy have been plowing their path of destruction for 30-plus years. During a recent Zoom chat, Mounier spoke with writer Kelley Simms about the band’s early days, its enduring legacy, its new album, and more.
…
…
What was it like to be involved in the burgeoning death metal scene of early ’90s? Did you feel isolated in Montreal, and were you already aware of the Floridian or Scandinavian scene?
The only reason we'd be kind of isolated is that it took a little bit for people to realize that there was an actual huge scene out here in Quebec. We were aware of all the things that were going on. We had a few local record stores that specified in metal, so we had all the imports coming in and all the Norwegian stuff, the Swedish stuff, the Florida stuff, the Bay Area. You name it, we had it all. We were pretty in tune to what was going on, for sure.
Although As Gomorrah Burns is your first full-length in many years, you did release two EPs and two compilations in between your 2011 self-titled album and now. What was the thinking process for those releases compared to finally releasing this full-length album?
We just decided to do EPs to concentrate on four songs per release, just to make it quick, in-your-face, and leaving people wanting more. The whole point of the EPs is a trilogy, so there will be another one coming out. We thought we'd release them a lot sooner than we did.
People's attention span has changed drastically over the last decade, if not a little bit more. So sometimes having a full-length with too many songs is, in my opinion, a little bit futile. Because chances are, when we were younger, we'd listen to a full album from beginning to end and read all the lyrics and read all the thank you lists and all that stuff. It seems that people don't do that anymore. So, we're just trying to go with what we thought was going to represent Cryptopsy very quick, very well, with new sounds and new ideas and stuff. It wasn't a huge thought process. It's just something that we wanted to try.
The album was crafted over two years during the pandemic, and the initial sessions took place in a cabin in the forests of Quebec. How did that affect the writing process as far as mood or atmosphere?
It's hard to say exactly how it did, but we just wanted to be the four guys, and nothing really affected us around us, just to see what we could do. It was the initial writing that started there, and then we finished it off with Chris at his studio.
It's just something that we tried, and I think this whole pandemic thing was coming on, so we were getting wind of it, and we were talking about it throughout the few days that we were there. (It was) this feeling of the unknown of what's going on, this whole crap thing, maybe influenced it. It's a little bit darker for Cryptopsy. It's sort of more emotional. So, it might have something to do with it. We'll see on the next writings, I guess.
I think the record has a good mix of early era Cryptopsy with a modern/contemporary feel. Once again, the production was handled by bandmate Chris Donaldson. What were you going for sound-wise with this album?
We just want things to come out nice and audible, but having that meanness to it. And there's a lot of energy in the Cryptopsy music from the guitars, from the vocals, from the bass lines, and from the drums. Chris wants to make it as clear as possible, but loud as well. And really aggressive, at the same time keeping it a little bit more organic with natural sounds, natural snare sounds, not over edited. I guess you're right in saying that, there is definitely vibes of older stuff mixed in with the new stuff. And I think that's the right path right now for Cryptopsy.
Lyrically and conceptually, I think there's a dichotomy between the Biblical story of Sodom and Gomorrah but with relatable stories based on the present day.
Matt's the one who wrote everything. I think he wanted to relate ancient history to modern times. Because as much as we think we've evolved and learned from our past, it seems that we tend to make the same mistakes over and over and over again. With the internet and stuff like that, you can compare it to a whole bunch of different things from the past, biblical things.
But it totally relates to what's happening right now. You just look at fires everywhere and look at the wars going on; we just don't learn from our mistakes, man. There's a very few that make a lot of money from creating this turmoil and destruction and division. And they have the money, so they'll keep on doing it. We don't learn; we just follow like a bunch of aimless sheep.
Of course, Matt's vocals are a bit more guttural compared to original vocalist Lord Worm’s on Cryptopsy’s earlier albums. But I think it's been a good match for these later-era Cryptopsy albums.
Yeah, I think Matt's been doing a lot of work on different techniques to make things easier for some more gutturals. He doesn't cup the mic at all; he pulls off stuff that sounds just amazing. He's very powerful. He's got a very powerful voice, so that helps a lot. He's got a lot of control as well. I let him go because I know it's going to be great. And I think he did an amazing job on this album. And as guttural as it is, there's actual articulation. As I’m listening to him sing, I can sing along to this. I know what he's saying. It's pretty impressive. He's just been a trooper, a hard worker, and he always makes it sound good and live. He's a beast. He impresses a lot of people.
As a drummer myself, your drumming has always been impressive and monstrous. What were you wanting to achieve on these tracks, what did you focus on most? Do you come up with patterns based on the riffs or vice-versa?
I usually base myself on the riff. And thank you for the props! I'll try to play to the riff, and then I'll see what fits better. And with Cryptopsy, usually if there's one riff, there'll probably be, like, five different beats for that single riff. It has to do with the song’s structure. It has to be musical, and I really want it to be musical. So I want to focus on the groove. I want to focus on appropriate fill transitions for the next parts. If a beat fits the riff, well then I'll probably go with it. But sometimes I'll do the opposite and do something that doesn't fit at all, just to create that tension. But most of the time it would be a riff-oriented beat kind of thing.
The album cover art from Paulo Girardi is absolutely amazing. You can spot his style from a mile away! Did you have to give him much direction for this piece?
It was Matt that communicated with him, and he had the title, and he had the concept of what it was. And it's just a city and people burning and what happens is that the old Cryptopsy Whisper Supremacy era bat comes out (with) a little bit more detail, a little bit more refined. It was just clever. It came out really nice. And I do like the different color schemes because it's very playable for merch and backdrops and all that stuff. His artwork is quite impressive. We were happy with the final result.
You actually created the original band logo. Are you heavily involved with the image and the look of the band's merch?
I am, but we usually have different artists throw ideas at us, and sometimes we'll throw concepts at them as well. It surely has grown over the years because we've had some horrible merch in the past and we're trying to avoid that for the present and the future. So, the logo fits pretty well with a bunch of different things. My involvement is basically at this point throwing ideas or vetoing things. There's some great artwork. So, other than the conceptual side with that, Matt had to deal with the album cover, and the rest is pretty much artists throwing (around) ideas.
With 30-plus years of activity, what will the band be focusing on for the rest of this year and into next year, including touring plans?
We have the Mexico Metal Fest coming up in mid-November. It's just one off, a big festival with some big names on it. Then right after we come back from that we're going to hit Asia, Dubai, China, Japan, Vietnam, all that kinds of stuff. Then, of course, we take a little break for the holidays. Then we're trying to get something at the end of February into March in Europe. We haven't confirmed it yet, but it could be a European tour. Then afterwards, in May, we have the Maryland DeathFest, and we're going to book a tour around that because it's going to mark the 30 years of Blasphemy Made Flesh. We're going to do a Blasphemy Made Flesh set entirely for that festival and then book a tour in the States around that. And then hopefully we hit as many European festivals over the summer as possible. That's the plan for now.
…
As Gomorrah Burns was released on September 8 via Nuclear Blast.
Cryptopsy – As Gomorrah Burns
“As Gomorrah Burns,” Death Metal Royalty Cryptopsy Return (Interview)
With an 11-year gap between full-length albums, French Canadian technical death metal band Cryptopsy are bursting with relentless ferocity on their eighth full-length album As Gomorrah Burns. On As Gomorrah Burns—the band’s first for Nuclear Blast—Cryptopsy have managed to balance their sound between a good mix of the band’s early era and their current modern/contemporary aesthetic.
Since their 1992 formation, the Quebecers have created a worthy but somewhat unbalanced oeuvre. The band’s first two albums—1994’s Blasphemy Made Flesh and 1996’s None So Vile—are deemed absolute death metal classics.
Featuring founding member/drummer Flo Mounier, guitarist Christian Donaldson, vocalist Matt McGachy, and bassist Olivier “Oli” Pinard, Cryptopsy have been plowing their path of destruction for 30-plus years. During a recent Zoom chat, Mounier spoke with writer Kelley Simms about the band’s early days, its enduring legacy, its new album, and more.
…
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What was it like to be involved in the burgeoning death metal scene of early ’90s? Did you feel isolated in Montreal, and were you already aware of the Floridian or Scandinavian scene?
The only reason we'd be kind of isolated is that it took a little bit for people to realize that there was an actual huge scene out here in Quebec. We were aware of all the things that were going on. We had a few local record stores that specified in metal, so we had all the imports coming in and all the Norwegian stuff, the Swedish stuff, the Florida stuff, the Bay Area. You name it, we had it all. We were pretty in tune to what was going on, for sure.
Although As Gomorrah Burns is your first full-length in many years, you did release two EPs and two compilations in between your 2011 self-titled album and now. What was the thinking process for those releases compared to finally releasing this full-length album?
We just decided to do EPs to concentrate on four songs per release, just to make it quick, in-your-face, and leaving people wanting more. The whole point of the EPs is a trilogy, so there will be another one coming out. We thought we'd release them a lot sooner than we did.
People's attention span has changed drastically over the last decade, if not a little bit more. So sometimes having a full-length with too many songs is, in my opinion, a little bit futile. Because chances are, when we were younger, we'd listen to a full album from beginning to end and read all the lyrics and read all the thank you lists and all that stuff. It seems that people don't do that anymore. So, we're just trying to go with what we thought was going to represent Cryptopsy very quick, very well, with new sounds and new ideas and stuff. It wasn't a huge thought process. It's just something that we wanted to try.
The album was crafted over two years during the pandemic, and the initial sessions took place in a cabin in the forests of Quebec. How did that affect the writing process as far as mood or atmosphere?
It's hard to say exactly how it did, but we just wanted to be the four guys, and nothing really affected us around us, just to see what we could do. It was the initial writing that started there, and then we finished it off with Chris at his studio.
It's just something that we tried, and I think this whole pandemic thing was coming on, so we were getting wind of it, and we were talking about it throughout the few days that we were there. (It was) this feeling of the unknown of what's going on, this whole crap thing, maybe influenced it. It's a little bit darker for Cryptopsy. It's sort of more emotional. So, it might have something to do with it. We'll see on the next writings, I guess.
I think the record has a good mix of early era Cryptopsy with a modern/contemporary feel. Once again, the production was handled by bandmate Chris Donaldson. What were you going for sound-wise with this album?
We just want things to come out nice and audible, but having that meanness to it. And there's a lot of energy in the Cryptopsy music from the guitars, from the vocals, from the bass lines, and from the drums. Chris wants to make it as clear as possible, but loud as well. And really aggressive, at the same time keeping it a little bit more organic with natural sounds, natural snare sounds, not over edited. I guess you're right in saying that, there is definitely vibes of older stuff mixed in with the new stuff. And I think that's the right path right now for Cryptopsy.
Lyrically and conceptually, I think there's a dichotomy between the Biblical story of Sodom and Gomorrah but with relatable stories based on the present day.
Matt's the one who wrote everything. I think he wanted to relate ancient history to modern times. Because as much as we think we've evolved and learned from our past, it seems that we tend to make the same mistakes over and over and over again. With the internet and stuff like that, you can compare it to a whole bunch of different things from the past, biblical things.
But it totally relates to what's happening right now. You just look at fires everywhere and look at the wars going on; we just don't learn from our mistakes, man. There's a very few that make a lot of money from creating this turmoil and destruction and division. And they have the money, so they'll keep on doing it. We don't learn; we just follow like a bunch of aimless sheep.
Of course, Matt's vocals are a bit more guttural compared to original vocalist Lord Worm’s on Cryptopsy’s earlier albums. But I think it's been a good match for these later-era Cryptopsy albums.
Yeah, I think Matt's been doing a lot of work on different techniques to make things easier for some more gutturals. He doesn't cup the mic at all; he pulls off stuff that sounds just amazing. He's very powerful. He's got a very powerful voice, so that helps a lot. He's got a lot of control as well. I let him go because I know it's going to be great. And I think he did an amazing job on this album. And as guttural as it is, there's actual articulation. As I’m listening to him sing, I can sing along to this. I know what he's saying. It's pretty impressive. He's just been a trooper, a hard worker, and he always makes it sound good and live. He's a beast. He impresses a lot of people.
As a drummer myself, your drumming has always been impressive and monstrous. What were you wanting to achieve on these tracks, what did you focus on most? Do you come up with patterns based on the riffs or vice-versa?
I usually base myself on the riff. And thank you for the props! I'll try to play to the riff, and then I'll see what fits better. And with Cryptopsy, usually if there's one riff, there'll probably be, like, five different beats for that single riff. It has to do with the song’s structure. It has to be musical, and I really want it to be musical. So I want to focus on the groove. I want to focus on appropriate fill transitions for the next parts. If a beat fits the riff, well then I'll probably go with it. But sometimes I'll do the opposite and do something that doesn't fit at all, just to create that tension. But most of the time it would be a riff-oriented beat kind of thing.
The album cover art from Paulo Girardi is absolutely amazing. You can spot his style from a mile away! Did you have to give him much direction for this piece?
It was Matt that communicated with him, and he had the title, and he had the concept of what it was. And it's just a city and people burning and what happens is that the old Cryptopsy Whisper Supremacy era bat comes out (with) a little bit more detail, a little bit more refined. It was just clever. It came out really nice. And I do like the different color schemes because it's very playable for merch and backdrops and all that stuff. His artwork is quite impressive. We were happy with the final result.
You actually created the original band logo. Are you heavily involved with the image and the look of the band's merch?
I am, but we usually have different artists throw ideas at us, and sometimes we'll throw concepts at them as well. It surely has grown over the years because we've had some horrible merch in the past and we're trying to avoid that for the present and the future. So, the logo fits pretty well with a bunch of different things. My involvement is basically at this point throwing ideas or vetoing things. There's some great artwork. So, other than the conceptual side with that, Matt had to deal with the album cover, and the rest is pretty much artists throwing (around) ideas.
With 30-plus years of activity, what will the band be focusing on for the rest of this year and into next year, including touring plans?
We have the Mexico Metal Fest coming up in mid-November. It's just one off, a big festival with some big names on it. Then right after we come back from that we're going to hit Asia, Dubai, China, Japan, Vietnam, all that kinds of stuff. Then, of course, we take a little break for the holidays. Then we're trying to get something at the end of February into March in Europe. We haven't confirmed it yet, but it could be a European tour. Then afterwards, in May, we have the Maryland DeathFest, and we're going to book a tour around that because it's going to mark the 30 years of Blasphemy Made Flesh. We're going to do a Blasphemy Made Flesh set entirely for that festival and then book a tour in the States around that. And then hopefully we hit as many European festivals over the summer as possible. That's the plan for now.
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As Gomorrah Burns was released on September 8 via Nuclear Blast.
Iron Flames’ Trilogy Closes With Nuclear Strength (EP Stream)
Before the phrase "death metal" really started catching on, we used different, more expressive terms to explain the burgeoning extreme metal scenes around the globe. "Nuclear Metal." "Ultra Metal." The already extreme idea of death was simply not enough, and the defining language used reflected that. Using this logic, Italian metal duo Iron Flames are not "death metal," but something more superlative, like the "nuclear" and "ultra" metal that came before them. Inspired by the very same bands described in such a way throughout the '80s (think Sarcófago, early Reencarnación, and Mefisto more than Mantas, Death, and Possessed), Iron Flames' primitive, lizard-brained metal finds a perfect, moshable center to which the listener could physically react accordingly, and their new EP Immortal Hero of Eternal Time is music made to be headbanged to, even if you're alone. Closing out a trio of tapes–all released by Stygian Black Hand–with their strongest and most explosive material to date, the "Iron Flames Trilogy" cements itself as some of recent metal's most ridiculous and energetic music. Iron Flames' absolutely nuclear ultra metal can be heard in full below. Don't be a poser–grab a tape, too.
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Immortal Hero of Eternal Time is out today via Stygian Black Hand.
Iron Flames’ Trilogy Closes With Nuclear Strength (EP Stream)
Before the phrase "death metal" really started catching on, we used different, more expressive terms to explain the burgeoning extreme metal scenes around the globe. "Nuclear Metal." "Ultra Metal." The already extreme idea of death was simply not enough, and the defining language used reflected that. Using this logic, Italian metal duo Iron Flames are not "death metal," but something more superlative, like the "nuclear" and "ultra" metal that came before them. Inspired by the very same bands described in such a way throughout the '80s (think Sarcófago, early Reencarnación, and Mefisto more than Mantas, Death, and Possessed), Iron Flames' primitive, lizard-brained metal finds a perfect, moshable center to which the listener could physically react accordingly, and their new EP Immortal Hero of Eternal Time is music made to be headbanged to, even if you're alone. Closing out a trio of tapes–all released by Stygian Black Hand–with their strongest and most explosive material to date, the "Iron Flames Trilogy" cements itself as some of recent metal's most ridiculous and energetic music. Iron Flames' absolutely nuclear ultra metal can be heard in full below. Don't be a poser–grab a tape, too.
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Immortal Hero of Eternal Time is out today via Stygian Black Hand.
Iron Flames’ Trilogy Closes With Nuclear Strength (EP Stream)
Before the phrase "death metal" really started catching on, we used different, more expressive terms to explain the burgeoning extreme metal scenes around the globe. "Nuclear Metal." "Ultra Metal." The already extreme idea of death was simply not enough, and the defining language used reflected that. Using this logic, Italian metal duo Iron Flames are not "death metal," but something more superlative, like the "nuclear" and "ultra" metal that came before them. Inspired by the very same bands described in such a way throughout the '80s (think Sarcófago, early Reencarnación, and Mefisto more than Mantas, Death, and Possessed), Iron Flames' primitive, lizard-brained metal finds a perfect, moshable center to which the listener could physically react accordingly, and their new EP Immortal Hero of Eternal Time is music made to be headbanged to, even if you're alone. Closing out a trio of tapes–all released by Stygian Black Hand–with their strongest and most explosive material to date, the "Iron Flames Trilogy" cements itself as some of recent metal's most ridiculous and energetic music. Iron Flames' absolutely nuclear ultra metal can be heard in full below. Don't be a poser–grab a tape, too.
…
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Immortal Hero of Eternal Time is out today via Stygian Black Hand.
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Iron Flames’ Trilogy Closes With Nuclear Strength (EP Stream)
Before the phrase "death metal" really started catching on, we used different, more expressive terms to explain the burgeoning extreme metal scenes around the globe. "Nuclear Metal." "Ultra Metal." The already extreme idea of death was simply not enough, and the defining language used reflected that. Using this logic, Italian metal duo Iron Flames are not "death metal," but something more superlative, like the "nuclear" and "ultra" metal that came before them. Inspired by the very same bands described in such a way throughout the '80s (think Sarcófago, early Reencarnación, and Mefisto more than Mantas, Death, and Possessed), Iron Flames' primitive, lizard-brained metal finds a perfect, moshable center to which the listener could physically react accordingly, and their new EP Immortal Hero of Eternal Time is music made to be headbanged to, even if you're alone. Closing out a trio of tapes–all released by Stygian Black Hand–with their strongest and most explosive material to date, the "Iron Flames Trilogy" cements itself as some of recent metal's most ridiculous and energetic music. Iron Flames' absolutely nuclear ultra metal can be heard in full below. Don't be a poser–grab a tape, too.
…
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Immortal Hero of Eternal Time is out today via Stygian Black Hand.
Iron Flames’ Trilogy Closes With Nuclear Strength (EP Stream)
Before the phrase "death metal" really started catching on, we used different, more expressive terms to explain the burgeoning extreme metal scenes around the globe. "Nuclear Metal." "Ultra Metal." The already extreme idea of death was simply not enough, and the defining language used reflected that. Using this logic, Italian metal duo Iron Flames are not "death metal," but something more superlative, like the "nuclear" and "ultra" metal that came before them. Inspired by the very same bands described in such a way throughout the '80s (think Sarcófago, early Reencarnación, and Mefisto more than Mantas, Death, and Possessed), Iron Flames' primitive, lizard-brained metal finds a perfect, moshable center to which the listener could physically react accordingly, and their new EP Immortal Hero of Eternal Time is music made to be headbanged to, even if you're alone. Closing out a trio of tapes–all released by Stygian Black Hand–with their strongest and most explosive material to date, the "Iron Flames Trilogy" cements itself as some of recent metal's most ridiculous and energetic music. Iron Flames' absolutely nuclear ultra metal can be heard in full below. Don't be a poser–grab a tape, too.
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Immortal Hero of Eternal Time is out today via Stygian Black Hand.
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Some things in this world are born old. Looking at the face of Morgan Freeman or Harry Dean Stanton, it is difficult to imagine them as young men. By the time a mountain is visible to the naked eye, the tectonic plates that pushed the earth skyward have been rubbing against each other for a staggering number of years.
Ever since turning heavy music on it’s head in the early 90’s, Neurosis have felt very much the same way. At its best, their music feels older than it could possibly be, as if through the alchemy of electric instruments and digital sampling, the Oakland quintet have tapped into the vein of some primal tradition older than time. This is why even 30 years after the release their debut album Pain of Mind, Neurosis concerts have remained must see attractions in the metal world. If anything, age has clarified their sound. The older they get, the more like Neurosis they become, and the more viciously present their music sounds.
Their set was understandably focused on material from last year’s Fires Within Fires. Those tracks, while not Neurosis’s best on record, soared in a live setting, their deep, rumbling riffs bouncing off Thalia Hall’s high ceilings. The rest of their set was less predictable. Neurosis leapt across their vast discography to give fans a broadened perspective on their evolution. Fan favorites like “Locust Star” and “The Doorway” sat comfortably next to deep cuts like “Takeahnase”. Outside of “At The End Of The Road” from 2007’s Given To The Rising, a tune that Neurosis seem to hold in high regard but doesn’t quite work live, it was remarkable how well these songs complimented each other. The techniques used may differ from decade to decade, but the goal was the same; each track pushed the listener beyond their state of comfort and shook the air around them.
Despite being from different generations, and, despite superficially sounding very little like each other, Amenra, Converge, and Neurosis presented a path for how to perform daring heavy music long after the hype had worn off. The two bands are spiritual companions, walking separate paths on the road to constant improvement and self expression.
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