Interview with Humut Tabal

USBMS would like to thank Humut Tabal for their time 
Interview done by Daemon Black 

                                                                                

1. I would like to start the interview by having you introduce the members of Humut Tabal, their roles within the band and how you guys came together?






N: My name is Njord and I play drums. Aed is our bass guitar player, and Grimzaar handles guitars and vocals. He is also the bands main composer and lyricist. Essentially the formation of the Black Order came about in 2009 out of a mutual musical and philosophical appreciation between Grimzaar and Hravan, who supplied rhythm guitar and back up vocals from the years 2009-2013. Out of their desire to freely express the music they had been listening to together and playing together for a short while, I was recruited for the position of drummer, as Hravan and myself had a bit of past experience being in garage bands and the like together. That original formation lasted quite a while with several other musicians coming in and out over the years. In early 2013 Aed, who at the time lived in Houston, joined the band and the rest is history as they say.






2. You guys play an "Aleatoric" style of BM, also known as "chance music" can you explain a little about this form of music for people who might not be familiar with the term, and how has it been interwoven into the sounds of Humut Tabal ?






G: Aleatoric music deliberately employs indeterminacy. Aleatoric pieces differ from other styles of composition because essential elements of the sounds (such as pitch, articulation, etc.) are either left either to chance or to the discretion of the performers. Aleatoric compositions, when written down, typically abandon traditional methods of notation in favor of scores that employ directions written in natural language, graphics that demonstrate the contour of the piece, or both. Currently, Humut Tabal only performs these aleatoric compositions live. "SHIFT IV" is the aleatoric piece we perform most often, but to my knowledge it has only been recorded on the live CD from the Os Moe is True fest. "SHIFT IV" embodies our philosophy of musical chaos very well, and thus serves as a template for understanding our other aleatoric pieces. "SHIFT IV" has a row 4 shifting harmonic groups, but the "roots" of these harmonic collections are left to the discretion of the performer, meaning that the band's overall harmony is different for every iteration of the row. Because of the intervallic content of each chord, each member of the row is still easily identifiable. We play aleatoric music to inspire feelings of terror and chaos within ourselves. We also use it during some interludes between our riff-based pieces.

 

                                                                        
                                                                           

  




3. Lets talk a bit about Humut Tabal's lyrical themes and content, Who is the sole person responsible for the writing and also give us an overview of what message (if any) is HT is trying convey?








G: I write all of the lyrics. The themes vary, but overall the lyrics convey an extreme disgust toward religion and the state of humanity. I wish to draw attention to the futility of moral absolutism. I do this because innumerable paradoxes exist in reality, illustrating that reality transcends the very concept of order. Moral absolutism depends on a self-defeating order that lacks solutions for paradoxical moral situations. These thoughts fuel the emotions and situations presented in the lyrics. Good and evil are beside the point. Hatred is the point. Hatred for its own sake.

 





4. Can you give us some insight on the members musical backgrounds, when each member was first introduced to metal and also what styles and genres of music did each member grow up listening to and did it contribute to creating this form of music?








G: When I was 8 I began playing piano. Studying piano has had a profound impact on the way I perceive music. Loud, fast, minor-key piano music fascinated me most throughout my early years playing piano. I also have always like harsh guitar tones. In my childhood, hearing the distorted guitar was a revelation to me. From then on, I sought music that combined the storm and stress of art music with the timbres of rock and roll. Black Sabbath was the first band that moved me into outright evil sounds. Later, during my teenage years, I was captivated by black metal. Immortal's "At the Heart of Winter" and Satyricon's "Dark Medieval Times" were the first black metal albums to inspire me. Emperor, Leviathan, Behexen, and Deathspell Omega were also influences at this point. I continued my formal musical training in college and completed a BM in composition. My interest in Western art music naturally grew. Bach's polyphonic writing  serves as my chief inspiration for instrumental counterpoint. Many 20th-century composers serve as inspiration for the ideas Humut Tabal is currently exploring. Bartok, Berg, and Webern influence the kinds of harmony we employ. Charles Ives is another important influence.





N: We all grew up listening to a wide variety of music, as we still do, and I'm sure as we always will. That certainly influenced the direction of my musical development, and thus the direction of my playing in Humut Tabal. I first discovered metal around 12 or 13 and from there took off into it all. Obviously Black Metal in particular left a significant impression on me. The weight, the conviction and the essence of the execution combined with the forceful rolling rhythms was an eye opener. Some players who continue to greatly influence my rhythmic contribution to this band include Jan Blomberg, Vinnie Colaiuta, Dobber Beverly, the late Elvin Jones, Max Roach & Tony Williams, and Austin Lunn.

 




5. How would you describe your musical progress over the years and what direction do you see the music heading into on future releases?









G: We are constantly improving as musicians. I anticipate better composition and more satisfying production with future releases. In addition, future releases will likely include more instances of improvisation and chance music. Regardless of the compositional devices we decide to employ, we will continue to spread hatred relentlessly.






                                                                                 

6. The bands discography dates back to 2009 consisting of a two full lengths and three splits with some good bands, looking back in hindsight Were you happy with these releases, and how has you're latest release measured up to your previous works?








N: Gods ov Darkness, Hate and Flame was actually not a full length- it's considered an EP as it was our first pressed release (The Dread Lair), but not more than 200 copies were made.  In any case, yes we're quite pleased with everything we've released. The split with Weoran features some new directions and concepts, and Oaths (Plutonian Shore split) has strong material on it- as did Gods. However, Dark Emperor (our full length) is a cohesive piece in itself that stands entirely on its own. It's our most inspired effort yet and a wonderful example of Grimzaar's style of composition. Each individual track serves as both an experience in itself and a contributing chapter to an overall story and theme. So, in that sense, it surpasses any of our previous works.

 








7. You guys released the two splits on "The Dreads Lair" label and one with "Exalted Woe Records", how was the experience working with these labels and how does it differ from now being a self released band?






                                                                          

N: Both of those labels, Dread Lair in particular, did us an amazing justice in creating a way for the recordings to be distributed, purchased and promoted. Dark Emperor is our first independent release that we created and wrought to life entirely by ourselves. While it's an incredibly rewarding experience, it took more time effort and energy than I think we ever imagined, which just goes to show how hard the underground labels work to continue to bring quality music to the public. With that being said, there is still nothing quite like having complete control over all aspects of our business and I'm predicting this will be the path we take for some time.


 




8. Humut Tabal recently played a couple of live dates in Texas before you guys embark on a west-coast tour, Can you give us a high light of these shows and what expectations to you have from these upcoming dates and the whole tour in general.





                                                                            

N: Well we did the warm up gigs back home to compensate for their being no home date on the tour. They went quite well and afforded us a chance to warm up before almost three straight weeks of playing every night. So far the tour has been an incredible adventure. We've taken this band to Germany and Belgium, had countless mini tours across Texas, but never had we done a full blown domestic jaunt. We've broken into some new markets and really pushed things to the edge on stage which is probably the most fulfilling part. Having the opportunity to stumble upon and try new ideas, particularly in the improvisational pieces, night after night has very much benefited both my personal playing and our synergy on stage.



 
                                                                              



9. How has the overall feedback been about the music of Humut Tabal here is the U.S and Worldwide. Do you think you have created a successful product that interests the European and worldwide Black Metal fan-base as well?









N: For our first record just having been released, the feedbacks quite strong. And yes, absolutely. Our largest fan base is definitely here at home but the Europeans are showing interest as well, as are the Japanese in particular. I ship probably at least a package a week or so over there. With any due luck we're hoping to break some ground in the Latin American and Indonesian-Polynesian scenes in the coming years, as those parts of the world have quite an impressive audience for metal.


 
                                                                                                                                              
                                                                              

10. I'm interested in hearing the bands opinions on the state of Black Metal these days, where its going and how its evolved, also where does Humut Tabal fall in to all the BM sub genres?










N: I can only speak for myself personally but I think the only sure thing to say about the current "state" of Black Metal is that it's really more popular than it's ever been. Thusly there are a lot more active bands, more music being written which in turns leads to stylistic experimentation which springs the many sub genres you mentioned. I think the American scene is experiencing this quite intensely right now. Some folks like the idea of that and some don't. As for HT, I imagine we'll continue to just do what we do. In this band, which is what it is- a band, we put our music before and above any other stylistic associations. So whether that's pushing boundaries or staying traditional, we will do it regardless.

 
        

                                                                                   


11. Before we conclude the interview are there any final words for the our readers about Humut Tabal that you would like to add?






Thanks very much for reading, if you'd like to learn more about us or our music visit humuttabal.com. Cheers.


 
Thanks again for your time


For band info visit
https://www.facebook.com/humuttabal
http://www.reverbnation.com/humuttabal
https://www.youtube.com/user/HumutTabal

                                                                      

Dísablót - Demo review and Interview 
Done By Lvcivs N. Antonivs
Feb. 5, 2014  Rapid City, South Dakota.




("Rapid City, South Dakota.") Seated against "the eastern slope of the Black Hills mountains", this charming little mountain city is host and/or neighbor to a myriad of attractions (That big hill with the heads of those dead dudes carved into the side, about a billion state parks, and those fuckers on the motorcycles who won't go home for an entire week, etc.). With all that traffic it's easy to see how slow driving tourists going to Mount Rushmore, herds of bikers during Sturgis, and all the other out-of-townies using up the oxygen can drive one to misanthropy and so on. It is here in the scenic (and appropriately titled in this instance) "Gateway to the Black Hills" that this disdain for humanity has materialized itself in the form of Dísablót. In a town with at least seven christian radio stations that's in the heart of a land known for the genocide of the native tribes by, shall we say "tourists", all one can say is, "We should have seen this coming." And come it has! Those of the mighty Cult of Grey Light are upon you!!!
      It is with dark hailz and a great honor that this author raises his horns (and pen for the first time) to this new horde of blackened daemons! With a current three song release on Stillborntwins Records that will beat you senseless, leaving you for dead on a frozen mountain full of shitty sight seers, Dísablót is not to be trifled with. Bearing a sound that can be compared to the likes of Dark Throne, Leviathan, and Nargaroth, these South Dakotan natives have tapped in to the unforgiving current of pure raw black metal!
     The opening track "Immolation" wastes no time with introductions, ripping in to a death march of double bass and icy tremolo picking until vocals from the pits of hell are unleashed upon you. It is at this point that excessive headbanging, horns, and hand claws are appropriate (hellish rituals in the dead of night will also suffice.) The onslaught continues with "The Return", an approximately four minute assault on the senses that is almost trance inducing, pulling you in to the sweet, spiraling embrace of bitter darkness. The final track in this sonic journey takes us to the realm of Lord Foul, with a superb cover of "I Burn For You". The slower tempo of this last offering is a perfect end to this diabolical sampling of sounds, leaving the listener begging for more. But let not my words alone do the talking, for it is here and now (and on Facebook) that you can experience the unholy gospel of The Grey Light from the horde themselves. In the words of vocalist/guitarist JFM, I give you Dísablót!!!




                                                                         

1. Enlighten us as to how Dísablót got it's start and where do you hail from?






Dísablót started back in the Fall of 2011. My bassist and I were hanging out and realized we were both into black metal and wanted to start a black metal band since we didn't know of any here in Rapid City, South Dakota.





2. Is there a specific meaning behind the name "Dísablót"?






The word Dísablót is an old Germanic ritual. The "blót" is a holiday or ritual and "dísa" is added to pertain to the winter.






3. Give us a rundown of your current line up. Have there been any member changes since the birth of Dísablót?







The lineup has been relatively stable. The only real difference is that I started doing vocals instead of the bassist. I'm fortunate enough to be friends with dedicated musicians.



                                                                           

4. In terms of influences, who ignited your passions as musicians and what inspired you to start playing black metal?






As far as individual musicians go: Steve Harris, Bruce Dickinson, KK Warslut, Nocturno Culto, and Satanic Tyrant Werewolf. All are either talented frontmen or people who are great at writing music. As for bands, it's definitely Darkthrone, Sargeist, Satanic Warmaster, and Nargaroth.




                                                                          


5. ·I noticed that there aren't very many pictures of the band. Do you aim for as few pics of the band as possible? Also, does Dísablót don corpse paint live? If not, why for?






Corpse paint has never really been on our agenda. Our bassist wears it on occasion but me and the drummer have never really bothered, though that might change. The reasoning is pretty simple: to me, corpse paint only looks good with either long hair or no hair. I don't like how corpse paint looks on shorter hair. We don't really do band pictures mainly because we figured we would just be some local band that wouldn't really go anywhere and the people who went to our shows would already know us. Also, it goes with keeping as little information about us as possible.








6. Are there any ideologies or messages that you aim to express with Dísablót?




                                                                         

Nothing in particular. Each individual song focuses on something that fascinates me, though. Whether it be a story of an author, a historical event, or even just a fucked up movie. (Our song "Immolation" is inspired by a scene from Prometheus, for example.)







7. Wanna go burn a church?!?!







I call dibs on taking pictures and using them as an album cover.



                                                                           

 8. Name some of the bands you have shared the stage with. Any big/well known names?






Well, there's Woman is the Earth from here. The music scene here kinda sucks so we don't get an opportunity to play good shows too often. Another great local band I enjoy playing shows with is Pandemic. Nobody too well known, though, at least not yet.







 9. Now that you have released a three song demo (which is bad ass by the way!), what are your plans for future recordings?







Well, sometime in February we'll be releasing a split with Tower of Nihasa, a band me and all the guys from Dísablót are involved in. After that we have another split with the band Aatsel later this year and sometime next year we plan on recording a good sized EP. Of course, things change and life happens so that's all subject to change. I would really like to record a lo-fi demo in the vein of LLN bands between the second split and the EP or after. We'll see.








10. You have just recently signed to Stillborntwins Records. Congratulations! How did this come to be and do you have any plans to try and sign with a larger label in the future?



                                                                                

I was talking to Jason on his Crowfather page on Facebook and he hit me up with what was an unreleased song at the time. I thought it was pretty cool and sent him one of my own unreleased songs. He thought it was bad ass so he asked us if we wanted to be on Stillborntwins.








11. I see that you're on the bill for Hell Over Iowa 2. Did you play last years HOI fest?




                                                                            

Event link   
   https://www.facebook.com/events/683731988305293/



Unfortunately we did not. I met Chris Hick after the lineup was solidified.






12. On which day will you be performing at HOI 2 and do you plan on playing anywhere else while you're away from home?







We're on for Day 2 I believe. After the festival we have plans to play in Sioux Falls on our way back. Of course some day we want to find our way to Denver. Ya never know.









 13. Will there be any Dísablót merch at HOI 2 that we should save up for?! Shirts, patches, cd's/tapes/vinyls?










Definitely. All of our releases, a few shirts, and shit, maybe even coozies.




                                                                                     

14. Seriously, wannna go incinerate some churches?!?! I'm free on Sundays!!!








Fuck yeah. I'm down. Shit, since Nefirum is playing at HOI, we should get everyone together and have a nice church barbecue.







15. Is there anything else you would like the readers out there to know about Disablot?








There really isn't a whole lot I can say about us. We prefer to stay away from letting too much information out.





-And there ya have it folks! If you haven't checked these dudes out, then you need to. Their demo is available for free download on their Facebook page just in case you didn't know. And for those of you who will be attending Hell Over Iowa 2, give these daemons some support while they're out kicking ass on the road! Its going to be a killer weekend of underground metal and Dísablót will surely be one NOT to miss! See you in the pit fuckers! HAILZ!!! \,,/ -Lvcivs N. Antonivs

USBMS would like to thank Dísablót for their time!!




For band contact and info visit
https://www.facebook.com/Disablot
http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/D%C3%ADsabl%C3%B3t/3540348195

                                                                                   

Interview with Minenwerfer

                                                                  

Interview done by:
Daemon Black



USBMS would like to thank Minenwefer for this interview.

1.Can we start off by having you introduce our readers to the members of the band and there roles within Minenwerfer?

Generalfeldmarschall Kriegshammer - Bass/Vocals
Wachtmeister Verwüstung - Guitars
Oberst Gemetzel - Drums

 

2. Give us a bit of  history on when and how the band got started and the meaning behind the band name?

 

The band started as a solo project of Kriegshammer's in 2007, eventually it just evolved into a real band. 'Minenwerfer' means 'mine thrower' in German. Essentially it was a trench mortar used extensively in the First World War.

 

 

                                                                          

3.The WW1 concept is not as widely focused on in the metal genre as opposed to WW2 themes, explain to us how the band choose this particular war theme as a backdrop for the music of Minenwerfer? 

 

The decision for a WWI theme was due to WWII being represented enough already. WWI seems more or less forgotten, and so we decided to focus on this era. It was a time of emperors and empires, new technology, and is just as interesting and important as the war following it.

 

 

4.You guys have an excellent forum up about WW1 history topics and discussions, Tell us who is the War buff within the band or do all members share the same enthusiasm about this era of war?

 

 The forum has been dead for a few years, and didn't really lead to any insightful discussion. Then again, our fanbase is made up of black metal fans, so I suppose that's the reason why. Kriegshammer is responsible for the themes of the band. He has a BA in History.

 

 

                                                                                 



5. What are some of the bands you guys grew up listening to, did they at all influence your decisions to play music, also do you draw any inspirations for your music outside of the Metal genre at all?

                                                                 



We all grew up listening to different things, but eventually found our way to Black and Death metal. We all have different influences though, Oberst Gemetzel's influences are mainly Death Metal for instance, while the other guys are pretty well rooted in Black Metal and Thrash. There are plenty of influences besides metal that can be found in Minenwerfer's music. Neo-folk, martial industrial, and classical musical all have left their mark on Kriegshammer, leading to it being incorporated into our sound.

 

 

                                                                         

6. Lets talk a bit about the creation of your music are the lyrics written first or is the music composed prior to writing lyrics? 








Music is composed first with the general idea of what topics the lyrics will reflect.

 

 

7.You guys have a pretty extensive discograpghy dating back to 2007 consisting of a few demos, a single, an EP and a copule of full lengths, Can you tell how has the music changed over the years and has it evolved the way you guys had envisioned when first starting the band?

 

 The early demos were recorded before Minenwerfer could be considered a serious project. The early stuff was just for fun, with a lot of poorly written German, until Volkslieder when the band became serious. Stylistically the music has changed a bit from the early demos. A lot more effort and time is put into the songwriting, and of course with the entrance of new members into the band, more changes became welcome. 

 

 

 

8. How has the feed back from people been about Minenwerfer's most recent release "Nihilistischen", and how did the relationship with Christian Annihilation come about and were you satisfied with the distribution of the release?

 

Most people seem to have enjoyed the album. To us, there is a lot wrong with it, as it could have been much better. It suffers from weak production, and some German that could have been translated better, but we think the songs hold up pretty well. Christian Annihilation kind of just promoted our self-release. At this time, there is no true official release of Nihilistischen through any label, and is the album is currently out of print.  Those people that got the self-release are pretty lucky to have even got one of those.

 

 

                                                                           

9.Is there any interest in you guys by any labels at this time or are there any current deals in the works?

 

No label seems to want to pick us up. Much of our material ends up being released in very limited quantities though various small labels that have been willing to do so, but we haven't had any luck securing any label support. We figure that most labels think our subject matter is questionable or too dangerous or something, so they distance themselves from us. At the moment we have a release of Nihilistischen coming out on cassette through Satanik Wolfchamber Productions. We have two different splits with possible label backing that have yet to be negotiated. Our new EP that we are in the midst of finishing up recording has no backing of any kind though, and will most likely end up being a self-release due to that, but we'll see what happens.

 

10. A lot of times bands who choose to use WW2 or WW1 topics and themes in their music often get labeled racist, fascist or an NSBM band. I read somewhere that you guys have had to deal with this issue and at times have been labeled NSBM. My question is, how has Minenwerfer handled this issue, also do you guys have an opinion on whether or not NSBM should be associated with the BM music genre?

 

 Most people are ignorant and jump to conclusions, especially if the see an iron cross, eagles, etc. in the imagery of a band. In the past, various allegations have led Kriegshammer writing various blogs and postings defending the band and the imagery, and usually some sort of background on the symbols or flags being used. It isn't our fault that most people don't know history, and are (especially in America) uneducated or undereducated. Then again, if our subject matter did have to do with WWII, that doesn't mean we condone the actions of the past. Why does a band like Hail of Bullets or Marduk get to write song after song about Rommel and panzer divisions, yet no one thinks anything of it? As far as NSBM goes, we're not a part of it, but believe that whatever a band wants to say in their music is their own prerogative.

 

 

 

11. How is the black metal community in Sacramento are there decent venues to play, and how is support for metals of all genres in your area all around ?

 

                                                                                    

 The black metal community in Sacramento is pretty pathetic honestly. There are a handful of bands of varying quality, and about the same 8 to 14 people that come out to every show. We don't really play hometown shows anymore, because we feel it's not worth the effort, especially when we have to work all day. We have about 3 venues that we can play here, and that's about it. Metal in general is not really Sacramento's strong point. Sac is kind of a cesspit, if you started here, you're lucky if you make it out.

 

 

 

12. How would you guys best explain a live performance by Minenwerfer for someone who has never seen you live before?

 

 We play pretty raw as a power trio. Usually flags, bullet belts, and helmets are around the stage. We try to be as loud and dirty as we can, coming from the Motorhead school of thought.

 

 

13. Were there any goals set by the band when you guys started out, have you reached those goals yet and give us idea of what Minenwerfer would like to be best known for in the long history of Black Metal?

 

                                                                           

There weren't really any goals when we've started out. As time has progressed we've set out to do more, but have had various obstacles in our way hindering us from our true potential. Despite this, we've managed to continually keep on going.

We don't really care if we're remembered for anything. Hopefully we'll inspire some people to open up a book about the First World War and try to understand what this period of time has done in the scope of our history.

 

 

 

14. What can people expect from Minenwerfer in 2014? 

 

 Hopefully two splits, an EP, and a cassette rerelease. We have a couple of shows booked for the Spring so far. We'll continue to work on more new material as well. Hopefully our other band, Chronaexus will also be working on the material for our 3rd full-length album also.

 

 

 

15. Are there any final words that you guys would to say to our readers before we finish up this interview?

Thanks to USBMS. All updates and contact info can be found at http://minenwerfer.blogspot.com/


Minenwerfer's FB and Bandcamp links
https://www.facebook.com/minenwerfer
http://minenwerfer.bandcamp.com/

                                                                       

Interview with Ancient Wind

                                                                                        

USBMS would like to thank Ancient Wind for their time
Interview done by
Daemon Black

1. Id like to start the interview by having you introduce the members of Ancient Wind and their roles within the band?

Duuie Diamond - Lead guitar and backing vocals.
Girth Brooks - Drums.
Jizzy Jake - Guitar.
Gavtron - Bass
Roberto Inferno - Vocals and lyricist

 

2.  When was the band created and how did the concept for Ancient Wind come about?

Girth and Diamond had been playing music together already for years, most notably in their thrash band Dessekrator. Girth Brooks played guitar and was the main vocalist for that band, but after two drummers came and went only the two of them were left, so he hopped on a drum kit and started teaching himself how to play, eventually changing instruments altogether. We come from such a small mountain town that the number of metal music fans is horribly few, with the number of metal musicians being even fewer still. It wasn't till late 2011 that old friend of the duo Jizzy Jake came on as second guitar and Inferno was recruited for vocal duties. We actually stayed a four piece until very recently, and we caught endless flak for our lack of bassist. Though two years worth of concerts and a critically acclaimed EP and music video proved the joke was on them. Despite popular opinion, we actually wanted a bass player, yet due to the location the band is based out of were unable to find one until the summer of this year.

As for the band name, it was originally a tossup between 'White Fire' from a favorite song of ours from the band Rankelson, or 'PowerStrip' because well...that's metal. Eventually we decided to call the band Forn Vindir, which is Old Norse for 'Ancient Wind', but after deciding that bands who's names are hard to pronounce are annoying we just settled with the 'Merican version Ancient Wind. It's interesting to note that while the Ancient Wind name was picked from more of a tribute to the memory of the old Gods and ancestors, we at first we didn't realize how cheesy it actually sounded, and also that its a clever way of saying grandma fart. Now that's it's all said and done and we've come so far with the name it actually fits us rather perfect in every aspect of the name so in a way it was fate. 

                                                                                 

3. What inspired the members to be involved in a band that makes this extreme style of music, and is what your playing now the original sound intended for the band or has it evolved that way up to this point?

Before Jizzy and Inferno joined the band and it was just Duuie on guitar and Girth on drums, they had switched from a more aggressive thrash sound to more classic speed metal in the vain of old Blind Guardian, X Japan and Riot. When they brought Inferno in to do vocals, it was with the intent of him singing power metal style vocals to compliment the new speed metal sound. It wasn't until Inferno tried his Black/Death style vocals on some of their more aggressive speed and thrash songs, and Jizzy bringing his black metal guitar influence that our signature sound started to form. 

As to what inspired us to play extreme music, there's a war going on in metal right now, and we were all eager to join the front lines and fight for true metal. We're all so passionate about the music that formed who we are, all the Thrash, Death, Black, Speed, NWOBHM, and even pornogrind, noiscore and everything in between. Being an extreme metal musician in today's musical landscape you can just go with the flow, play nice and feed from the scraps of the scene faggots table that are dominating the scene right now, even if you are against everything they stand for both musically and ideologically. Or you can take the hard road, stand up for what you believe in; fuck their god, fuck their positive love everyone energy and fuck them too. We prefer the road less traveled, the road of honor.   

 

4. Tell us what are some of the lyrical concepts that you cover within the music, and do they coincide with the Blackened Battle Metal theme?

Inferno writes all the lyrics, except Eaters of the Dead which was written by Girth inspired by the Michael Crichton novel of the same name. Most of the lyrics cover themes such as Norse mythology, Viking conquests and the heroes of Northern European tribal culture. Breaking from normality he also like to delve into some of the more darker themes of the culture, not all our songs are about victories and Valhalla. Being a heathen and keeping to the old ways, Germanic mythology and culture is Inferno's life passion, and it really shows in his lyrics. It's interesting to note however that the rest of the members of the band are Atheists, and Jizzy cares more for Satan and hate than ancient warrior culture. This is why at our core Ancient Wind is not a Viking Metal band and have never had an interest in heading down the local larp convention to play viking dress up. The lyrics are used mainly as a medium to get across themes we can all get behind and are passionate about, such as honor, violence, death and war. 

                                                                                  

  

 

                                  

5. The music of Ancient Wind is loaded with lots of guitar thrashiness but I found a lot of the riffs and solos had more of a Heavy Metal vibe to them,  can you tell us what are the musical backgrounds of Ancient Winds member's and what bands have influenced them?

                                                    

                                                                         

The five of us come from for the most part wildly different musical backgrounds and tastes. Instead of working against us, this has actually helped us achieve our unique sound, bringing the best of 80's heavy metal and modern extreme metal together seamlessly. Duuie Diamond is definitely the main songwriter from the guitar side of things, and his main influences range from KK Downing and Dimebag to more obscure artists such as speed metal greats X Japan. He's always been interested in writing solos that flow best with the song instead of just adding in sweeps and technicality needlessly to be showy. As a general rule, you've probably never heard of Jizzy Jake's favorite bands. Anal Cunt, GG Allin, and Immortal is a good place to start. His more black metal style of approach to melodic guitar is a nice counterbalance to Duuie's style, breathing some grimness and evil into the music. Gavtron's main influences are punk and thrash, while Roberto Inferno brings the most modern metal influence into the band. Listening to mostly Melodic Death and Black Metal. Girth Brooks drumming is as classic thrash and speed metal as it gets, but is also influenced by Horg from Immortal and Fredrick of Amon Amarth. The drumming comes as a result of wanting to keep things straightforward and simple. being a guitar riff centered band we've always thought that for our particular approach blast beats and jack hammers muddy up the riffs too much, and the thrash style is our way of maintaining the speed we wished to achieve. A personal note; all of us are big fans of outlaw country such as Waylon, Jennings, David Allan Coe and Hellbound Glory, and listen to it just as much as we do metal. 

 

6. Your last release Blackened Battle Metal was released in 2012, you guys recently have been in the studio recording and are set to release a new CD, can you give us a date and is the new release titled yet?

We have actually run into some funding issues and have not been able to record anything as of yet. Currently we are on track to record by the end of the year and are shooting for a spring 2014 release. Our debut full length isn't title yet, but we are eager to show our fans how much we have grown and evolved as a band since recording our EP last year. 

 

 7. The bands tongue in cheek style is evident everywhere down to the names of your members, but you guys back it up with some solid song writing, vocals, guitar work as well as brutal drumming and bass, my question to the band is, what are your opinions about bands that might take there image to seriously and then produce less inspired music in the end?

In a weird way, it's kind of our way to just say fuck you to everyone. We love the preconceptions people have going to one of our shows, they've seen the video and the band's demeanor and assume we're just some joke band, then we fucking shred their tits off with a straightforward and intense live show. There is no limit to the passion we put into our music, but we also like to celebrate the individuality of our band members. Our front man really is just an obese shit talking asshole, and our drummer is a damn redneck that plays in cowboy boots for fucks sake. Why would we all take a bunch of pictures in an abandoned warehouse, arms crossed and grim faced? That's not who we are. Lets drink gratuitous amounts of whiskey, fuck some sluts and kill each other instead. At our core that's really what Ancient Wind is all about. 

 

                                                                                 

8. There are a lot of good local bands that come out of Colorado, can you tell us what Ancient Wind does to separate themselves from the rest of the other acts, also how has the feed back about the band been by people in other states and worldwide?

There are indeed a lot of really great local acts here, and it can be tough to stand out at times. The main thing for us is to always keep our live shows over the top with energy and professionalism. We work very hard to keep our songs tight and accurate, which allows us more freedom to go nuts on stage and throw a good performance. We've seen some just plain flat out phenomenal bands that are like statues on stage and actually look kind of bored. That may be OK for some, but we think the majority of people come to a show to see a fucking show, and we deliver. A great compliment we've gotten a few times is that no matter if we're playing in a bar for 5 drunks or a theater for hundreds our live show never wavers, it's consistently good. For us it also helps that our music can appeal to so many different fans of metal's sub-genres. Thrashers, Black and Death metal fans, Heavy Metal die hards and speed metal freaks can all take something away from our music. This has resulted in an extremely positive response to fans not only here in the states, but Europe and Asia as well.

 

9. You guys have played a decent amount of live shows, how are the turnouts and support from your fanbase, and can you recall a highlight of one of your performances?

We are whores for hire, and have traveled far and wide to sometimes only play for 7 people and the other bands. That's the life though, and playing live is our absolute favorite thing about being in a band. Big or small we always make new fans and have a blast. It took us a couple of years, but we finally have a good following in our small hometown, and play bigger and bigger shows around Colorado. So many highlights from so many shows; whores, tits, whiskey, pigeons, crazy cafes and redneck shenanigans. A couple major highlights would have to be opening for Iced Earth and playing for a packed house, and having some kid smash avocados on his face in the pit. 

                                                                          

10. Ancient Wind is currently searching for a label, have you guys received any interest from any notable labels thus far, and whats the bands take on self releasing Ancient Wind's material, is that a consideration at all?

We are currently going over a couple of indie label options to help us release our upcoming album, but self releasing in definitely not out of the question either. We've done everything ourselves so far and have done reasonably well, but if we can find the right partners to help spread the hate far and wide we're all for it. 

 

11. Can you give the readers a hint of what the band has coming up in 2014?

A new full length album chalk full of more brutality, grimness and face shredding gnarlyness then every before. A new music video, countless live shows and numerous trips to the abortion clinic are all on the slate for 2014. Should be a great year for us.

 

           

12. Before we conclude the interview are there any final words that you would like to say about Ancient Wind?

Much love to the fans and everyone who's been with us since the beginning, keep the black flame burning and fuck the others. Ride The Wind You Fucking Faggots! 



You can download Ancient's Winds Blackened Battle Metal EP for free at their bandcamp link!!
http://ancientwind.bandcamp.com/

For band info contact
https://www.facebook.com/AncientWind
http://www.reverbnation.com/ancientwind
http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Ancient_Wind/3540350496 

                                                                               

Interview with Aybsmal Depths

                                                                                      

USBMS would like to thank Abysmal Depths for their time.


Interview done by: Daemon Black




1. Can we start off by introducing our readers to the members of Abysmal Depths and get a little history on when and how the band got started?






-At first started as "Du Temps Perdu", in 2010 in Irapuato city (Irapuato, Guanajuato, México). In these days we were four members (Gonzalo Gb, Aquer, Necromancer and Abraham (as session drummer). We Composed five songs, which three of them were released in the split titled "Humo, cenizas y niebla"  (smoke, fog and ashes in Spanish) the main concept was focused to anti-Semitism and history...just after that split we signed with Metallic Media to get support for the next releases. After that, I (Gonzalo Gb) decided to re-structure the ideology and the main concept of the band, so the former vocalist left the project (And with him the old name and lyrics), so Abysmal Depths was born at the end of 2011.

The ideology and the lyrics are inspired by nature, misanthropy, death, anti-life, etc. Then the search for new members started, just like that came Oliver (drums), Mon (guitar), and Tortured (vocals) and like that we take to compose and record under our limited resources/economy.
"The Pain Shows in Dead Woods" was the name of our debut album with the stuff that we recorded between 2011 and 2012.
Later we started with a few live shows and in April 2013 we recruited Custos Lupus as the current bass player.






2. Lets talk about how the band name change that occurred in 2012 , has it affected the musical and lyrical style of Abysmal Depths?










-The name change was due to the departure of the former vocalist, he owns the rights of the old logo and the title of the very first three tracks. The lyrics changed completely, and got to talk about the nature, misanthropy, death, anti-life, negativity and suicide.

-The musical style didn´t change, the former vocalist wasn't involved in the music composition. Most tracks were composed by Gonzalo GB, Abraham (as session drummer) and Oliver Drums.










3. Who came up with the new band logo artwork, concept and design for it?











-The band logo was designed by Alemsahim, that guy has privileged hands! (Find him on facebook, myspace, metallum, etc, he is a beast!).
We gave him liberty to the design, just under the setpoint that it must be an original and very different concept, not just a logo but a seal, a “seal that leave a mark”,  under the main idea of an abomination of the abyss (You can see it upside down).










4. For new listeners of Abysmal Depths from the U.S, how would you describe your sound? and how does it compare to other depressive BM bands from around the world?




                                                                                  

-In the encyclopedia Metallum we appear as a Depressive Black metal band, but we think that the sound isn't just pure depressive, we have always considered the sound more like Ambient/Black-Doom, anyway the exact genre is something irrelevant (or it can be very relevant, maybe if you buy the album expecting to hear a classic DBM like Nocturnal Depression you can get very angry hehe).

-Our style can't be compared to classic depressive black metal (Nocturnal Depression, Abyssic Hate, etc) the sound is a little bit influenced by classic black metal (like the track Visions) and not just focused on make Depressive (Track Within the negativity) we like to work on the atmospheres and ambients, we think that a good and hypnotic atmosphere it's more significant.




                                                                               





5. Lets talk about your 2013 release "The Pain Shows in Dead Woods". what was the concept behind the release, who did the artwork how did the recording process go?








-In "The Pain Shows in Dead Woods" we integrated the songs recorded between 2010 and 2012, in this release debut we were focused on the anti-life, suicide, and misanthropy, the recording process was with two different drummers, Abraham (Tracks 3, 5, 8-10) and Oliver (tracks 2, 4, 6), everything was home recorded at Gonzalo's home studio.

-The artwork was created by Bahrull Marta ("Abomination Imagery", find him on facebook, encyclopedia metallum, etc) The concept was inspired on a forest full of corpses and "Death's attendees" to take the souls to the Stygian lake, the inlay artwork is an edited version of "La Barca de Caronte", a painting by Spanish artist José Benlliure y Gil.










6. How has the relationship been the band and Metallic Media been? Have they helped you guys to reach new listeners?








-We signed when the split "Humo, cenizas y niebla" was released (under the name "Du temps perdu").  Without doubt, Tim (Metallic Media's Owner) has given us all the support and has been a very important part to us. He drives himself very well at the distribution all over the world, Thanks to him a lot of people in the world’s most remote places have given us feedback ( we have received feedback from Indonesia, South America, USA, Germany, etc!) without doubt we are eternally grateful to him, and we think it will be a well and long relationship.











7. What are some bands, or musical styles that have influenced you guys? do you draw any inspiration outside of the Metal genre?









-Yes, we listen and enjoy a wide variety of musical genres, but obviously the most influences are from Ambient, Atmospheric, Depressive, Doom and classic Black metal.

-Bands that have influenced us... to mention a few: Xasthur, Cryfemal, Make a change...Kill Yourself, Celestia, Mortifera (France), Near, Troglodyct, Godkiller, Nocturnal Depression, Shining, Austere, Alcest, Wedard, Strid, Agalloch, Inquisition, Estatic Fear... etc.










8. Your band bio states that "Depression and nature" play a part in the lyrical theme of Abysmal Depths, Can you explain a bit about what the lyrics mean to the band what they represent?











-Abysmal Depths profile on metallum is a little bit mistaken... or misinformed hehehe... Our lyrics aren't just about depression and nature, the lyrics as well talk about Negativity, anti-life and suicide, in fact we are more focused in the music, the lyrics play the part of a complement, but of course it still being a very important part, we try to reflect in the lyrics what the music "say to us"... a message under all the noise?
…Kill yourself!!









9. Give us a bit of insight about the creation of the music? are the lyrics written first or is the music composed prior to writing lyrics?










-In the case of the Abysmal Depths debut album the music was created at first; after the departure of the former vocalist, we used the same music (It was ours) but with new lyrics and a new performer; the tracks "Inner moment", and “He’s Dead"  were released as "Jezabel" and "Juda", respectively, when Du Temps Perdu existed.
In the rehearsal, we usually start playing ideas/riffs and suddenly we have one or two new songs.




                                                                                    

10. Abysmal Depths is based out of Irapuato, Gto México. How do you view the Black Metal scene in México as opposed to the U.S. and other parts of the world? Also what are some of your guys personal views on Black Metal?









-In Irapuato city, the scene about Black metal has grown a lot after 2012 (Before it was practically inexistent) for now the black metal scene still being underground and very poorly understood and supported.

In this city the Death metal is priority, and the public is customary to see a gig with more "show" than music, more interested in bashing against each other than the music it self, the black metal have no future...( we hope in the future the things change for black metal in the city)

Without doubt we can't compare the Mexican metal scene to USA or the European scene.

-Labels: There are a few that actually support the underground scene ... a lot of them are more interested on be known by release works of foreign bands; and still boast of supporting the  Mexican scene.

-Music: The most bands want to be a "Trve Kult Black Metal" band, and just being the copy of the copy...

-Production: Although USA is through an "economic recession", In México we have been on it all the time, the musicians have to make too many sacrifices to reach the payment of a professional studio.

-Feedback: Most of the public is braggart, when they go to a gig, just go to support their friends's band; They claim to support the scene, just by "supporting" ( they want the albums as gift, they want to get in a gig for free, etc) their friends’s band, they just want to be "groupies". Of course there is a few people who have a real interest in the scene and support by buying the bands's, stuff but these are the very few.








11. Abysmal Depths has played a decent amount of shows.can you tell us which one has been the most memorable for the band thus far?








-Actually we have had a few live shows, unfortunately it hasn't been very well or at least like we would like...
We are working on it, we have too much to learn in how to give a satisfactory show for the public, and (specially) for us.

The most memorable show so far, to mention some, would be the one that we played in León City, go out to play in another city always represents something new to discover and learn, we think it was the best show.









12. To people who have never seen Abysmal Depths live, what could one expect from one of your shows? What kind of crowd reaction do you get from the fans?









-We are a band without scenic presence... if they are looking for a good visual show, they will be completely disappointed. To us, the most important thing is and will be ever the execution and the atmosphere of the gig.

If the public expect to rocking, headbanging and slamming, better to look for another kind of band.
-In the live shows we have played,haven’t been really crowded, so they don't react enthusiastically ( And it’s ok, after all we play a Depressive/ambient Black metal).










13. Before we conclude this interview, what does Abysmal Depths have in store for the future and are there any final words you would like to say about the band?









-On this moment we are working on a couple of splits, and on some bonus tracks for the tape format of  "The Pain Shows in Dead Woods", we hope it can be released in the in the remainder of 2013.
We expect to have ready an EP or even if it is possible, the second full length (And we hope it can be recorded at a professional studio) by the second half of 2014.

-Thanks to U.S.B.M.S for this nice interview and thank for your taking the time on these great questions! Expect some new releases soon!

Hails!


For band info and contact visit
https://www.facebook.com/abysmaldepths
http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Abysmal_Depths/3540360376
http://abysmaldepths.bandcamp.com/