THE HOOKERS INTERVIEW WITH ADAM "ROCK 'N' ROLL OUTLAW" NEAL

Back across the pond for this weeks pick. Back in the late 1990s and start of the 00's I really started to get heavily into the whole garage punk/punk rock 'n' roll scene, bands like Gluecifer, Turbonegro, Puffball, Electric Frankenstein etc were on heavy rotation on my stereo, and I had a friend back then who had been into that whole scene way longer then myself and who would hook me up with cassette tapes featuring all kinds of garage punk rock 'n' roll bands, and on one tape he did me some stuff by this band The Hookers who I had never heard of before but as soon as "Satans Highway" (title track of the debut album) came raging out of my stereo speakers I knew that this was going to be a band I would get into big time....I asked him to tape me more stuff by them so he did and I would play those songs from various recordings on repeat, rewinding the tape backwards, playing the songs and rewinding again to get myself another Hookers fix!!. Then a good friend of mine came to my place armed with a Hookers CD I had never heard before which was the 2nd album and this album also blew me away totally, this album had a more old 70's rock/NWOBHM influence running throughout it ( the album in question is called "Black Visions Of Crimson Wisdom") mixed in with the full on gritty garage punk rock 'n' roll, I remember loving it so much I loaned it off my friend and never gave him it back for months..or was it a couple years?! I can't remember but I had it for quite a while and would blast it on a regular basis whilst kicking back with some smokes and beers.

The band have put out a few album and numerous splits with the likes of Electric Frankenstein, ANTiSEEN, Speedwolf since they formed in the late 1990's and have a new full length album which will soon be unleashed upon the world titled "Horror Rises From The Tombs", I was lucky enough to score an advance of the album tracks from vocalist and all round rock 'n' roll outlaw Adam Neal and I can safely say without any hesitation that it is possibly the strongest Hookers album to date, full of catchy hooks, plenty of rockin' riffs and captures all the best elements of The Hookers in one foul swoop, it's a rollercoaster of tempos and the band are definetly firing on all cynlinders and are sounding as mean if not meaner than ever! I sent Adam some questions about the new album and the upcoming European tour and here is what he had to say:-

Hails Adam, ok first of all please give the readers a quick background history on the band and who does what?

Current Line up is

AN:

The Rock n Roll Outlaw (Adam Neal) - Vocals

Doug Walker - Lead Guitar

Juan Badmutha - Bass

Chris Hamilton- Drums

Stoney Tombs and I Formed the band Loosely in 1994, after I quit Nine Pound Hammer, doing a more Johnny Thunders style of punk, but came into the sound we are known for in 1995. After that we released our first couple of singles, then the album "Satan's Highway". That album changed everything for us and allowed us to tour, put out a lot more stuff from big labels like Sub Pop and Man's Ruin to tiny ones like Sack o Shit and Devil Doll. Played tons of U.S. Shows with the likes of Antiseen, Dead Moon, Candy Snatchers, High On Fire. And even did a small euro tour before we split up in 2000. After that I did a couple of other bands, Brothers of Conquest and Blade of the Ripper, before we reunited in 2008 for a Black Lung records Showcase show. That went great sp we decided to do some recording and put out a couple of new single, which brings us up to now.

You guys have been active for a long time now and have a bunch of great albums under your belts, looking back which album or albums are your faves and for what reasons? Is there anything you would like to be able to change on any of the past albums or are your satisfied with those recordings?.

AN:

There are always things you want to change, usually its my vocals. My favorite recording of our is the Zombiemaker 7". Its a raw and rough one, but the energy is what I like about it and the full blown horror motif.

Please tell the readers a little in your own words about each Hookers album and where they can get these albums from? I presume some of them are still available?.

AN:

Actually most of them are out of print at the moment, vinyl is extremely scare of both of our Scooch Pooch records albums. Both are possibley being re-released next year. Satan's Highway-Our first album seems to be the fan favorite, its fast and mean. Drenched in early Venom/Motorhead meets Dead Boys style punk sound. Maybe our rawest sounding album also. We recorded it in 48 hours!

Black Visions of Crimson Wisdom- Also pretty popular with the fans, however when it was released every other person I met told me it was to metal, or two heavy or just not punk enough. now it seems to have found its audiance. The album its self is a slight departure for us, mainly because of the fact that we went to an actual studio as oppossed to a basement, where all the recordng before this album had been made. All we were listening to at the time was Manowar and Deep Purple and it shows. Bigger guitars and weirder song concepts, but its still just a heavy metal rock n roll album! Equinox Beyond Tomorrow-This was our last release and it was really along the lines of "Black Visons" but with more rock n roll attitude, but also songs like "Burn Witch Burn" and "Horse Named Misery", which are some of our heaviest tracks.

You have a new album called "Horror Rises From The Tombs" due for release in early November, I must say this album is a ripper from start to finish and features in my opinion some of the best Hookers songs to date such as "Crypt of The Living Dead" ...please tell the readers abit about this new album in your own words and what they can expect from it. Are you totally satisfied with how it turned out?

AN:

I am pretty happy with actually, and I rarely am. Its really a mix of the two sounds were are known for. Its certainly the  fastest album we have recorded and maybe the meanest, especially lyrically. All the songs are Horror obsessed and the production is stripped down and very raw. Hopefully people will dig it? Weve got another one written and ready to go.

So there was quite a gap inbetween the new album and the previous one...what happened with the band? How does it feel to be back, you sound like you are firing on all cylinders and are definetly kicking ass just as much as ever.

AN:

Thank You! Yeah its been a while, but yeah im glad that we are back doing it again. We broke the first time due to our guitarist and founding member Stoney Tombs had family commitments. Sadley he still cant tour due to his job and family, but it will always be our band, we started it togehter so he will appear on the new records in some compacity.

After listening to the new album a couple of times I must say that I think it is quite possibly the best Hookers album to date! It is just RIPPING from start to finish. What formats will it be available on?

AN:
Vinyl Only with a download code that comes with 3 extra songs not on the album for now. I just dont have faith in any other format at this point. The people who will want to buy it, will want it on vinyl

How did you hook up with the current label initially?

AN:

Currently were are dealing with Green Mist Records. We have been friends with them for years, Larry and Leslie did a magazine called Carbon 14 and we did an interview with them. They also used to do a label called Steel Cage record that put out a ton of cool stuff, great people with great taste in music!

You are due to hit Europe for a tour at the end of this year, what are your expectations for that? What can people expect from a HOOKERS live show, what does a regular show for you guys involve? What are your fave things about coming to and playing Europe?

AN:

There isnt anything I dont like about Europe except flying over there. Our shows now are maybe a little better than in the past, the band is tighter and everyone is on the same page. Primarily we play things from the first two albums, the singles and a few new tracks. Were also currently playing a song called "Teenage Blood" that comes out next year on Black Lung Records.

What are the chances of HOOKERS hitting the UK for some shows in support of the new album? Any plans? Have you actually played the UK in the past?

AN:

We have never played the UK, hopefully we will make it there next year at some point, we would certainly love to. We want to go everywhere we can with the new album.

How active are you guys on the live front thesedays? Have you been playing out live a lot in recent times? Throughout the years what are some standout shows and tours you have done? Any funny anecdotes you care to share from the road?!

Nothing that wont get me into trouble at home, haha! But yes we are playing out alot at the moment and plan to do even more next year. The biggest tour for us was the first tour we did with Nashville Pussy. That got us and the name out there and really helped alot.

Where do you plan to play and tour in support of the new album?

AN:
For right now its  Europe in December, Italy, Germany, The Netherlands and Austria and the back to the U.S. for soem Texas dates. We would practically kill to get to Australia and Japan

The lyrical themes on the new album seem very horror movie influenced, please tell us a little about some of the lyrical themes and inspirations on the new album.

AN:
Yeah im a huge horror fan, its my life outside of music, has been since I was a kid. Most of the songs are based around horror movie themes, songs like "Black Past" and "The Lying Witch" are figurative, while some of them like "Dont Go Near the Park" and "Crypt of the Living Dead" are about actual movies, sort of? But we still do satanic stuff to, like "The Devil Is His Name" and some sexploitation type shit in "25 To Life". But for me at this point in my life, I cant imagine writing non horror/satanic themed music.

Who designed the great looking new cover art? 

AN:

Leslie from Green Mist designed this one, the image is from a poster of a movie called EXORCISM, starring one of my favorites, Paul Nashy. I usually try to control the album art or do it myself, but I gotta say Leslie really knocked me out with that cover Idea. I think the rest of the package turned out very good to.

What bands fuel and shape the sound of HOOKERS? Main influences that make you wanna write your own songs and kick some musical ass?

AN:

Well im a big music fan so really it could be pretty broad. But really its still the records we listened to back then,The Devil Dogs, Zacherle, Danzig, Manowar, Dwarves, Antiseen, Didjits, Deep Purple, Roky Erickson and tons of other old school punk, metal and horror movie soundtracks. Me and Stoney have also always been obsessed with 77/Killed by Death style punk and N.W.O.B.H.M., both of those show through on the new album I think.

You had another band going for a while called BLADE OF THE RIPPER, and released two awseome albums with this band which to my ears was some kind of horror punk/thrash metal type hybrid, what happened to that band? Are the albums still available? What do you think of those albums looking back on them?

AN:

Yes horror punk thrash, both are still available I believe. My biggest problem with that band was, I just couldnt get the right guys to do it. To many jobs, girlfriends and pure laziness killed it. I like both of the albums, Probably like the second one best. But both albums are filled with things I wished we would have changed.

Also tell us about the ROCK 'N' ROLL OUTLAW band, you only had one album released on I used to fuck people like you in prison records, I have only ever heard a few tracks from it personally...fucking hard to get hold of!!! What do you think of that album you did looking back on it? What was the main purpose of that project/band/

AN:

Really that album just came about as a what if? What if I went in and recorded an album by myself? So I did and thats what came out. There is a U.S. version to on vinyl. Very limited pressing, so nowadays its more a people talk about but nobody owns. Plenty of fun stuff on it though, my only song that is about Halloween and even a Brady Kids cover.

Describe The Hookers in 5 words only

AN:

Heavy Metal Thunder From Kentucky

What the local scene like where you live? Any cool local bands you would care to recommend to the readers out there?

AN:

No not really. We live in Louisville Kentucky now. Which is known as an indie rock town. Not much of a  real Punk or Metal scene has ever existed here to my knowledge. In the 90's there was a hardcore scene here that spawned a killer band called Kinghorse and a handful of other good bands, but past that its all pretty derivitive. We do better almost anywhere but here. Still appreciate the fans we do have here because of the situation

Back when you guys first formed and hit the scene, the whole scandinavian garage punk rock n roll scene was really starting to take off and make waves, did that whole explosion have a significant impact on you guys and was it even an inspiration to start making such a hardrockin form of music?

AN:

No we werent into most of those bands actually, we always liked older music and were really into classic heavy metal and also bands on the Crypt label at the time at that time. But we did like Turbonegro, who were friends with our friend Steve Bass from The Devil Dogs, he was actually the first person to play them for me, it was the song "Midnight Nambla". I did a bunch of coke with him and the Candy Snatchers and he played a cassette of it, we all loved it. We also dug Glucifer at the time and got to play with them twice. Both of those had some great albums. Otherwise at the time we didnt care for much of it, or were just unaware of it at the time.

What other bands in a similar style to the Hookers do you personally enjoy and would recommend?

AN:

Thats a really hard one. Speedwolf, Mongo Ninja, The White Barons

"Ride the Dragon Into The Crimson Light" is an older Hookers songtitle, I guess you are a big Sleep/Doom fan?! You ever thought about doing a band in that style?

AN:

I do love tons of those records. not so much the stuff like that now, but the older stuff. I would love to do a bluesy Doom band at some point

As a musician what keeps you going and what has kept you going throughout the years and the good times and bad times with the band(s)?! Any advice out there for people who are just starting to form bands and getting actively involved in playing and creating their own music?

AN:

What keeps me going is just releasing new records, thats what I love the most about it. Getting the finished product in my hands and playing live. As far as advice goes I would say. first of all it  certainly isnt easy to do it or  keep doin it, its hard and people need to realize that. The one thing you gotta do is work hard at it and dont stop. If this is what you want to do, then do it and dont give up on it. Find what you like and what you want to sound like and fuck everyone else's opinion. Work hard, it's your dream not theirs.

What bands have current members been involved with or are currently involved with that are worth mentioning?

AN:

Our Bassist Juan Badmutha has killer band called Spreadeagle and our guitarist Doug Walker has a current Prog Punk band called Nixon

Another question, you have also done quite a few cover versions, everything from ANTiSEEN to Pentagram, which covers are your personal faves? Do you play any covers live currently? How many covers have you done overall in the bands history?


We have done so many, I dont have an actual number. My favorites were the Krokus song "Ready to Burn" that we did on the Sub Pop Single and "Two Wheels" by Centurion on the new album

A live and unreleased album called Ripped From The Crypt was released a few years ago, what was the purpose of that release and whos idea was it to put that out? Its a very rough and ready sounding release showing the live energy of the band!

Yeah it was really just stuff we had laying around. There were only a hundred or so made I think. Mainly those were made to sell at our first reunion show. They also feature the last songs we recorded in Germany before the break up

Who are some of your vocal influences? When did you first start singing and when did you find out you could sing like you do in The Hookers? 

What are in your opinion the most vital ingredients to make a band ROCK successfully like The Hookers...I would say plenty of catchy riffs and vocal hooks are important! You guys have those in abundance!! What is the songwriting process usually like for new songs? Is there a lot of jamming in the rehearsal room going on?

Biggest vocal influences were Elvis Presley, Howling Wolf, Glenn Danzig, Jeff Clayton and Stiv Bators. Sometime after the first album I really started to be able to sustain my vocal style. now if I raise my voice at all it sounds like that. Thankfully i dont have kids

 I think people forget how important good songs are! Also cool lyrics are important, it doesnt have to be poppy or comercial, just something that people can remember and rock out to. On stage its all about attitude and action, dont be a statue. If you dont like your own music enough to rock out, then why should anyone else? More than anything get into it and lose yourself in it. thats what its all about right? Escape?

As far as our songs, I usually write all the material alone and bring it into the band. We will jam on the songs and make slight changes here and there, but for the most part it is written outside the band room. Inspiration comes and goes, you just have to jump on it when you feel it and dont forget to write it down.

What are the plans for rest of 2011 and into 2012? Do you have much in the pipeline?

AN:

Tour, tour and more tour!

And another new album next fall!

The last words are yours.....plug available merch and anything else. Thanks for answering my questions!

Hear us and add us here

https://www.facebook.com/hookersvalhalla

http://www.myspace.com/hookersvalhalla

EXHUMATIONS FROM THE CRYPT OF TERROR- REPUKED FEATURE

Here we have another exhumation from my Terrorizer mag website archives, here is a little article I wrote on the band earlier this year.


Just what in the hell are they putting in the water (and beer for that matter!) up there in Sweden? I am convinced some mad scientist is holed up somewhere deep within the suburbs of Stockholm and has extracted DNA swabs from all the members of Autopsy and various members of Entombed and Murder Squad (as well as the rotting corpse of GG Allin in this bands case!) and has been creating mutant bastard death metal offspring and then letting them loose into garages across the east coast of Sweden armed with instruments and an endless supply of strong alcohol, a punk attitude and old Nihilist recordings for inspiration. Yet another killer death metal band has been vomited forth from the sewers of the Swedish underground scene; this week's pick Repuked are a punked up hybrid of all of the bands I have mentioned already with some of Motörhead's rock 'n' roll swagger and some of the punkiness of later DarkThrone as well as nods to Repulsion thrown into this filthy dirty stinking musical mix!

The band started out in 2007 and quickly started making demos, they puked forth their first musical abomination in 2008 titled 'Excremental Funeral', a 5-track affair, which includes an Autopsy cover of 'Fuckdog'. They quickly followed up this with another demo, 'Vomitfilled Baptism', a 6-track affair which includes a Pungent Stench cover.

I want to focus on the band's debut album 'Pervertopia', which was recently unleashed by underground label Soulseller Records (who helped bring Repugnant to the attention of the worldwide underground masses) and which currently seems to be kicking up somewhat of a stink in the underground scene with death metal freaks the world over seemingly lapping up this album like a dog eagerly slurping up the remnants of the dinner it has just ahem... repuked.

This debut album vomits forth 11 tracks of pure filth (with such titled songs as 'I Wanna Puke On You', '...Fucking Something Dead', 'Pervertopia' and 'Orgasmic Death Deliverer'). There is no other word to describe it... it is just dirty, depraved, disgustingly delightful DEATH METAL, from the outrageously tongue-in-cheek, crude songtitles via the killer brutal Chris Reifert-style vocals (A DNA test is definitely required to prove if these guys are actually related or not!!) to the punked-up-as-fuck, old school influenced death metal music that is on display here, just pure stripped-down, punky death, as stripped down as GG Allin onstage at a spoken word show naked and covered in his own faeces hurling abuse at the crowd!.

The band made a very cool and very amusing promo video for the title track as well, which is what first grabbed my attention towards this band. I pressed clicked on that video due to already being very curious about the band and was met with what could only be described as an infectious musical hybrid of Motorhead, GG Allin and DarkThrone having its wicked way in a seedy public toilet in Stockholm with Autopsy, Abscess and Entombed with Death Breath and Murder Squad looking on while drinking beer, laughing deliriously and screaming drunken degrading obscenities in Swedish, with some graphic images added into the visuals, which made me kinda flinch a bit at first, which are mixed into footage of the band playing mostly in what looks like their rehearsal room, but I must have replayed the video 6 times in a row, maybes more actually, you know its kinda like when you drive past a car accident you just can't help looking, then looking again at the carnage that has happened.

So you pretty much know what to expect from this band. The musicians responsible for this killer music go under the amusing monickers of Rob The Slob (vocals and bass), Kinky Stieg (drums and vox), Nicke Piss(guitar and vox) and Richie Rimjob (guitar and vox).

I recently quizzed one of the band members about the bands upcoming plans and this is what he puked up in reply:

“Our current plans, at this very moment is to get shitfaced and have a puke-a-mania! But soon, April 30th we are gonna play with Interment here in Stockholm, its gonna be a riot. And we are looking to get out and play as much as possible, spreading the horror and disease! We are also gonna release a split 7" with Haemophagus and we are also releasing an EP also 7" on Singapore label Slap Bet Records. Plus we are featured on two tribute albums, one Regurgitate and one Impetigo.”

What really is left to be said?! If the above comparisons and descriptions sound appealing to you then go and grab yourself a copy of this album, which has also been released on heavy duty vinyl, which someone described as being “heavy as a grave stone”. Sounds very appropriate!

www.repuked.tk

www.myspace.com/repuked

EXHUMATION FROM THE CRYPT OF TERROR:- MIASMAL INTERVIEW

Ok, here is another exhumation from the archives of my Terrorizer Magazine website band of the week blogs, I have chosen to exhume the feature and small interview with old school Swedish death metallers MIASMAL,  there is just so much great music of all different styles pouring out of  Sweden's extreme music scene in recent times that is making a big impression on me! Miasmal is one of the bands that have really blown me away and they are going back to the roots of death metal with their brand of Svensk DödsMetall, but there is also clear crust punk/d-beat influences that rear their ugly heada in places - but that isn't surprising when you know that this band features a member of Swedish blackened käng crustlords, Martyrdöd! Miasmal sit perfectly alongside such bands as Tormented, Bastard Priest and Bombs Of Hades,so if you are familiar with those bands then you know what to expect from Miasmal.


I first became aware of this band's existence when Pontus, their guitarist/vocalist, posted a thread up about them on a punk forum a couple of years ago, prompting people to check out his newly-formed death metal band,  so I was immediately curious and checked out their tracks, and was very impressed with their old school sound and approach. I got hold of the demo via a friend a little while later and played the hell out of it, along with the Bastard Priest demo I had gotten on the same CD!


The band's debut full-length was recently unleashed by Dark Descent on CD in the States, and on vinyl by Detest (Belgium) and Me Saco Un Ojo (UK) in a joint collaboration. The debut is an eight-track affair, with the 2010 EP and 2008 demo material tagged on, so what you are getting is not just eight new songs, but the entire Miasmal recorded discography in one entire package! Also, the album comes packaged in excellent artowrk courtesy of Viral Graphics, which is a great and fitting preview to the evil atmosphere contained within.

This album musically harks back to the days when early Entombed were at their peak and releasing such classics as 'Left Hand Path'; full of evil atmosphere and raw, dirty aggression - just the way death metal was meant to sound! In this modern age of bands focusing too much on virtuosity and technicality, and forsaking writing actual songs and riffs, it is always ,refreshing to hear a modern band that is doing things the old school way - no glossy, polished, pretentious noodling or showing off how technical they can play! All Miasmal care about is playing heads-down, straight-up DEATH FUCKING METAL, with killer riffs and songs in abundance! I am not going to even attempt to pick out any standout tracks from this album, because each song is pure class. There is not a filler track to be found, and each song oozes quality.

1/ Hails Pontus! Please introduce the readers to the members of Miasmal and who does what?! 

Hey Kat! Well, Miasmal was formed in Gothenburg, Sweden in 2007. We started out as a 3-piece and then completed with Ruben on bass in early 2008. Then we recorded the demo and the rest is history, haha. Miasmal is Pontus – guitar/vox, Magnus – guitar, Ruben – bass and Micael – drums. Currently we rehearse with stand-in drummer Björn who is gonna play with us on our upcoming US tour.

2/ What inspired you to form a band playing in such an old school death metal style, what was your mission statement with Miasmal when you formed?!  what bands influenced you to take this musical direction?

I guess we felt that no one really did death metal the way we liked it back in 2007. We wanted to do dirty death metal with a focus on songwriting and groove instead of virtuosity and technicality.
See early Entombed or Autopsy as a good example of that.

3/ You have just had your debut full length album released both on CD and vinyl, by different labels. This is a very strong powerful debut album I must say, what are you thoughts on it, are you happy with how it turned out? Please tell the readers abit about what they can expect from this debut album. There definetly seems to be quite a buzz about the band and this album right now! I must say the artwork for this album is awesome, who designed it?

Yep, we are satisfied with the album and it feel very honest and ”Miasmal”. 8 tracks, no filler all killer. I'm also very happy with the lyrics this time. The whole thing was written as an album with continuity and variation in mind. Combined with the stellar artwork Viral Graphics did for us this makes for a complete package, just the way I want it when I buy records myself. Check out Viral's other artwork at http://myspace.com/viralgraphics

4/ You are also due to cross over the Atlantic soon to do your first tour in the states with Miasmal, what are you looking to most about this tour?any plans to do some UK dates at some point since you are affiliated with a UK based label?

I've been in the US once before with my other band Agrimonia and have nothing but high expectations. US is a nice country to travel in and most people are friendly and supportive. Back then we just did the west coast, now we're going all over the place so it will be great to see all those cities. Also we're playing the Maryland Death Fest and Chaos in Tejas Fest which means we'll get to see a bunch of killer bands there. Personally I'm really looking forward to see Killing Joke at Chaos in Tejas – wow! We've discussed some UK dates later this summer yes – stay tuned.

5/ the Swedish underground death metal scene seems very vibrant now, full of great bands playing in the old school style, it is definetly the most vibrant it has been since the late 80s/early 90s, any up and coming bands from your country you recommend to the readers to check out who they might not be familiar with?

I'm usually always a couple years behind on discovering new bands, but check out Vanhelgd and Maim.

6/You also play in the crust bands Martyrdod and Agrimonia, please introduce the readers to these bands who might not have heard them and also what are the current plans of both bands? You are definetly very busy musically, do you find it hard to prioritise things with your different bands? Do things end up clashing a lot or have you got a good system worked out?

Martyrdöd has been going since 2001, I joined in 2003. Heavy epic käng with 3 full-lengths out. We're very sporadically active but last months has seen us doing a couple gigs, and new songs are written too. Agrimonia has been going since 2005, it's more dare I say ”progressive” still heavy and dirty. My love for melodies and lush arrangements finds it way out in Agrimonia, but there's still a metallic heavy crust feel seeping through it all. Two full-lengths out and currently writing on a new one. Anyone interested more in those bands check out http://agrimonia.info andhttp://myspace.com/martyrdod. No, it has never been any major problems to make time for it all. I try to stay away from steady jobs and Martyrdöd's acitivity goes in cycles. But now we're gonna do a 10-day Martyrdöd US west coast tour right after I'm done with Miasmal. First time Martyrdöd goes outside of Europe.

7/ Lyrically what subjects do you tend to touch upon, what are some subjects the lyrics on the new album deal with?

I didn't think of it too much when writing, but afterwards I realize several of the songs are about apocalypse. I think it's hard not to feel the impending doom around us. Which got me thinking on ways to survive it, mutation, alchemy etc. Twisted, inhuman ideas mostly, which connects to the apocalypse being strongly related to human failure and the human condition.

8/ Any last words /things you want to plug to the readers out there?

Thanks for reading, and thank you Kat for the interview! We just launched an good old web page at www.miasmal.netas an alternative to the cluttered mess of Myspace. Here you can read all of the lyrics, new and old, as well. Hope to see any of you US citizens reading this on the tour. Cheers!

RAVENS CREED INTERVIEW WITH STEVE WATSON SEPTEMBER 2011.

Ravens Creed are a bulldozing thrash metal assault from England who recently unleashed a new EP called "Nestless And Wild" via Doomentia Records,  their heads down no nonsense approach to metal comes with the 100% Fenriz seal of approval as he was won over by their latest recording and then they were made a band of the week by the infamous and influential Dark Throne drummer earlier this year, they also recently played the Fenriz curated Live Evil Festival in London and before that event I was asked by Marek one of the organisers/promoters of Live Evil if I would be interested in doing an interview with Ravens Creed for the Live Evil zine and since I really like the debut Ravens Creed EP and album and also because Jay the drummer is an old friend of mine who actually comes from the same town in North East England as myself (Spennymoor) and Steve Watson the guitarist is also an old friend in the scene I gladly obliged and sent some questions to the Ravens Creed axeman about their latest addition to the band, wild eyed possessed man mountain of a frontman Al Osta (who replaced equally big ex frontman Ben Ward who quit the band some time ago to focus on fronting his main band Orange Goblin) aswell as asking some questions about their appearance at Live Evil and other things and this is what he had to say:-

 Hails Steve! Can you give me a quick background history about the band and who currently does what? 

Formed 2006,  known Frazer for years, met Jay through him, we had a jam and got Ben and Martyn involved, that lasted a while until Martyn left as he had enough his plate with OG, Frazer replaced him, this lasted through a few more EPs and our debut album, shortly after this we reached a mutual decision with Ben that it would be best for all if he  stood down as he was having same problems that halted Martyn , for over a year now Ravens Creed are - Al Osta-vocals/Jay Graham-drums/Frazer Craske-bass/Steve Watson-guitar

Some of you are very experienced musicians and have been active in the heavy music scene for many years and have been involved in some well known bands such as Sabbat, Cerebral Fix, Skyclad, Iron Monkey etc...what was your sole intention when you decided to form Ravens Creed? How easy was it to get the first line up together?

To form a band that wasn't stressful ie: no members with egos/hidden agendas, and to do it just for the love of doing it with like-minded gents(!) I asked Ben, sent him a cdr and he said yes, Ben played it to Martyn and he liked it too, so that was that for a while..........

I know you went through a major line up change not so long ago when you lost your original vocalist Ben (who a lot of people know as the frontman of Orange Goblin), that is some BIG vocal boots to fill so how did you end up coming across your new vocalist Al Osta and what made you decide to choose him to replace Ben? Did you have many people audition/ enquire about the vocal position?

Ben is a great frontman and a top chap, so it was a blow of course, but like losing a limb, one has to adapt and maybe adopt a new walking style that was as good (if not better?) than before. Al sent me an email saying "I don't sound like a ten year old girl" and I admired his spunk, he sent me a rough recording of him shouting in his garage to Negative Approach and we knew we had our man.

How have things been working out with Al? I know you recorded a new EP with him "Nestless and Wild" what has the response been like to the first recording without Ben at the mic and also towards Al and his vocals? I must say he seems to fit perfectly into the band and has a strong commanding vocal presence. I guess it must have been kinda daunting having to live up to and fill the presence of such a frontman as Ben Ward.

Everything is coming up roses with Al, his style is harsher to Bens, I think......he lives closer too, which was the major hurdle with Ben, as for ''filling shoes'' and whatnots, anyone who see's us live can judge for themselves.

What bands would you say shape and fuel the sound of Ravens Creed overall? 

VENOM/MASTER/OLD SLAYER/DISCHARGE/OLD EXODUS/AGENT STEEL/SACRILEGE (UK) REPULSION/BLACK SABBATH/SCROUNGERS/NEGATIVE APPROACH/HELLHAMMER/CELTIC FROST

Describe Ravens Creed in 5 words!

THE CLUNKING FIST OF METAL

You guys were made a band of the week by Fenriz, what did you think about that? Are you a Dark Throne fan? It is an honour for any band to have that "Fenriz approved" blog with him being such an influential musical figure so I guess you were very happy!?

Chuffed of course, I have been under Darkthrones' filthy spell since inception, well maybe not so much the first lp, it's okay of course, but didn't stick a pitchfork in me like the others did.

You are also playing this years Live Evil festival, what are your thoughts about that? What can people expect from a Ravens Creed live show?

Honoured to be playing such a respected festival to be honest, cosy venue with some of the greatest bands in the world playing loud? 10/10 YOUTH!, you can expect thirty minutes of downtuned cossack thrash from us.

Any fellow Fenriz approved bands that you are really looking forward to seeing at Live Evil in particular?

Jaguar, never thought I would see them, proper old school Neat Records action, Aura Noir too, but I think they are on a different day? looking forward to seeing all the bands (which is a first for me!)

What are your plans for rest of 2011 and into 2012, do you have much new material what can people expect from the next recording, I take it you will be aiming for another full length?

Recording the second album at TENKO studios, it's called The Power and will be out early next year on Doomentia records.

Any other British bands you would recommend to Fenriz to check out and maybes discover a new band of the week?!

I got no idea!  Al would tell you better

Thanks for taking the time out to answer this interview. last words are yours...whats your final words to those who will be attending live evil this year?

Cheers Kat, and our message to Live Evil punters is-HEADS DOWN SEE YOU AT THE END

MORGOTH INTERVIEW WITH MARC GREWE OCTOBER 2011

MORGOTH are an old favourite of mine and a band I listened to A LOT over the years ever since I was a young teenage death metalhead, they are a band who had a profound influence on me all those years ago when I was just starting to get heavily involved in the death metal scene and the underground and getting into the more extreme side of music and then a little while later with forming my own death metal band. Morgoth have remained a constant favourite with me ever since I first heard them back at the end of 1990 on the John Peel show, I was blown away by the track he played by them which was from "The Eternal Fall" mini album if memory serves me right(can't remember exactly which song it was now though), I taped it and had it blasting through my walkman speakers at school for days afterwards, I remember showing one of my fellow metalhead schoolfriends that Morgoth song I taped from John Peels radio one show and excitedly pointing out it was one of the most brutal things I had ever heard, which at that time it most definetly was!!

About 21 years have passed since that night I first heard Morgoth and I still get the same feeling when listening to the first few Morgoth recordings tpday as I did back when I was 14/15/16 years old, musically they always came across like the younger European cousin of early Death, Autopsy and Obituary whilst still remaining to have their own unique style, there is something about Morgoth that is just inherently European, a certain mystique and dark aura shrouds the bands music and lyrics which take you into a fantastical netherworld of horrific, nightmareish entitys like the ones depicted on the covers of the "Resurrection Absurd"  and "The Eternal Fall" EPs. and the bands name itself was lifted from Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. The bands debut full length album "Cursed" took the band up a level in every possible way and still remains one of the most darkest sounding death metal albums ever swathed in a gloomy, sinister and sullen atmosphere which oozes out of the speakers through every tortured vocal line and riff. 

When I first found out Morgoth were reforming and going to be playing a lot of early material again I got very excited, so far they have only done a few warm up club shows in Germany and some European festivals but the reformation seems to be gathering more steam with the announcement that they will play the Maryland Death Fest next year and some other notable festivals so I am hoping that they will finally make a return to the UK in 2012 so I can finally witness the band live in person as I was too young to see them when they toured the UK in 1991 with Massacre and Immolation in support of the classic "Cursed" album and since Morgoth have had such a huge influence on me I just had to make them a band of the week and I also sent some questions to vocalist Marc Grewe about the "Cursed" album, the initial split, the reformation and their future plans as an active band again and here is what he had to say:-

 so 20 years ago since "Cursed" was released, how time flies! That album was an integral part of my listening when growing up as a young teenage death metalhead who was still at school, what are your thoughts looking back on this album all those years later and what it did for the band? I think it was definetly the release that took Morgoth up to another level and is now widely regarded as a death metal classic by many!

Well, before we talked about the reunion, I haven´t  listened to "Cursed" for a couple of years, but immediatly thought that it is kind of timeless, when I heard it. It still carries this autumn-like atmosphere. Of course it was our best selling album, but I always thought, that was because of the "good old times"....but looking back now I realized that it has something special about it...it was great to see that even younger kids come up to me after the show and wanna talk about that album and what it means to them...thats very honouring to hear and fantastic to know that "Cursed" hasn´t lost its "charme" for even younger fans.

 When you were writing "Cursed" did you have an idea you were penning a very special album that would have a huge influence on many people at the time of its release and also have a long running and significant influence 20 years later?!

Well we never thought about that while writing the album. Actually we created our own atmosphere by renting out an old hunters barn during the fall/winter of 1990/91 in the woods where as our hometown Meschede is surrounded by hills and trees, so that might had an impact on the songwriting. Listening to it nowadays, it certainly had.

 What were the general musical and lyrical inspirations behind that album?
 musically we wanted to create an album that had a absolute dark and nihilistic atmosphere. Combining doomy parts with ultra brutal but catchy riffs. Lyrically we always tried to deal with "real life matters" that were disguised in metaphoric layers and coats...more like a dark novel by Kafka or so...

 What are your personal fave songs from that album and why?
I personally like the last two songs very much..Opportunity is Gone and Darkness...both are very different from each other but carry the whole feeling of the record and how what it was meant...dark, heavy, mysterious..

 Is there anything looking back that you would have liked to have done differently or are you satisfied with how that album turned out even all these years later?
Well, actually there is not really much I would change..Randy Burns did a great job on that album...maybe I would feature the bass a little more, but thats it.

 You supported that album with an extensive European tour with Massacre and Immolation which included a bunch of UK dates (that I was sadly too young to attend!), do you have any anecdotes or fond memories you would like to share from that tour? What were the personal highlights for you?
Were you guys already fans of the other bands music?

Well of course we really enjoyed touring with Massacre and Immolation. I am still in good contact with Rick Rozz and Kam Lee...also met the Immolation guys last year when they supported Napalm Death.
The whole tour went absolutely great, so we had always a reason to party on the bus! A funny thing during the UK tour was the one night after the in Birmingham we all got invited by an indian guy to join a traditional Indian Family Party...that was kind of bizarre, having like 20 metal guys parying with a huge indian community in traditional cloths in an old "Tudor Style" villa...later they even played our albums on their PA haha..crazy.

 After that album you went in more of an experiemental direction shall we
 say with the two albums "Odium" and "Feel Sorry For The Fanatic" what
 are your thoughts on those albums and the experimentation you did on those looking back?

As a band we were always looking to discover new things and always kept curious and "open minded".Musical tastes among the members diversed and we tried to get everybodys influence into the records...We just didn´t want to do something like be safe and go for a "Cursed Pt.2" thing..
I still like "Odium" a lot! FSFTF is very very experimental and I totally understand that traditional DM maniacs did not like that album haha...but fuck it, it´s just the weird stuff that came out of us to that certain time :-)

> Why did the band break up in the first place?
Well, we knew after the tour we did with Die Krupps, that we wouldn´t continue anymore. It just felt strange.The personal directions all of us were taking didn´t cross anymore. We never called it quits...it was more like an endless 14 year sleep haha

 I know inbetween the band going silent and this 20 years reformation you were involved in various musical projects such as Power of Expression and Insidious Disease...any other projects you have been involved with that you would like to tell us about?!

Insidious Disease is the project/band I am doing now. We released "Shadowcast" last year and we will definately do another album in the future...Power of Expression (album was called: X-Territorial) was a project I did with some friends I know from the German HC scene. Great fun too. The guy who is doing the live sound for Slipknot (Hi Shirt!) produced it. It was always great fun to play that stuff live on stage. Another project was the Swedish band Comecon - Fable Frolic came out in 1996. It was a great experience to work with Thomas Skogsberg at the legendary Sunlight for that...kind of weird/experimental Death Metal stuff aswell.

 So onto the reformation, whos idea was it to initially do this to celebrate 20 years since "Cursed"'s release? Please introduce the reformation line up.

I got asked quite often about Morgoth, while I did the interviews for Insidious Disease last year. So I asked around and after a while got two of the original and songwriting members of the band going for it. They were head over heals on that and we thought about getting Morgoth together at least for some shows. I knew that Carsten Otterbach and Rudiger Hennecke wouldn´t be able to do it, as they are too busy in the actual jobs. So we found drummer Marc Reign (ex-Destruction) who was introduced to me by Mille of Kreator during their tour last year. The guy who is playing bass is called Soti Kelekidis (Sinew/Arms To Amen). An absolutely amazing bass player and the funniest lad ever!
 

How have the shows been going so far? Any highlights? I guess Party San must have been special?!A And of course playing Wacken this year?! Your thoughts on these shows?! How has the overall response been from fans both old and new?!

Well, all the shows went fantastic! I even wouldn´t point out a certain show so far, as all of them were special in their own way.

You guys used to be seen wearing demo shirts by Unleashed and such bands, do you all still listen to much death metal all these years later? What is your opinion on the current death metal scene and also the more recent material by other older classic bands such as Unleashed, Obituary etc.. the scene seems stronger than ever right now with a lot of great new young death metal bands playing in the old school style.

Yeah, I listen to anything that is good...wheather it´s called Death Metal, Black Metal, Grindcore, Doom ...whatever. My musical taste has spread over the years. So I wouldn´t say I just listen to Extreme stuff. I still like to discover, explore be open minded and learn...thats the best thing to do if you´re a music lover I guess.
And, yes! I think it´s great to see how the scene developed after the years of depression at the end of the 90ies...Its beautyful to see that even the younger kids buy all the old classic Death Metal albums...Wicked!!

 Do you plan to just make it a short term reformation or do you think it might develop into a more longer lasting one? Would it be too hopeful to expect any new material even from the band or are just going to concentrate on the old classic material?

So far we have decided to continue. We will be playing Neurotic Death Fest, Maryland Deathfest and some other shows. We are having absolutely fun on stage and as long as we have that, we will continue. We even have talked about some new stuff, but we ´ll give it all the time it needs. It has to be quality, thats the most important point for all of us!

Any plans to bring the band to UK in 2012? Like Bloodstock festival for example? Have you had any offers to play London or anywhere? Are you just going to be mainly keeping it to festival appearances?

Well nothing fixed for the UK yet. But It would be great to come back. I heared many good things about Bloodstock, so that would be an amzing festival to be part of, I guess!

 I must say your vocals are still sounding great after all these years! Were you surprised at how well your voice has held up? What was it like to start growling over the old classics again?!

Wow, thanx a lot! It´s like riding a bike...once you´ve done it, it won´t go aways haha...it just feels great to perform the old shit again.

 You are playing Maryland Death Fest next year, what are your expectations for that? Did Morgoth ever get to tour/play the states first time around? What other shows for 2012 are confirmed right now?

We toured the states before, but we never played a festival in the US..,so thats a premier. I just heard good thing about MDF aswell. Good organization and a dedicated audience, that likes to get hammered into the concrete of a parking lot...sounds good to me :-)

 What is the plans for Morgoth in 2012?

Gonna play some more shows...and we´ll tell you about a new album later on I guess ;-)

 Anything you would like to add, the last words are yours Marc thanks for
 answering this short interview!

 Thanx to all of those who keept track with MORGOTH and gave us such an unexpected great welcome back! shout all over the world: See ya in the Pits Of Utumno!!

  

CRUCIAMENTUM INTERVIEW

I have often made my opinions very clear on the modern UK death metal scene and the lack of bands that uphold and stay true to the "old school" sound and attitude in my opinion, too much emphasis on technicality instead of just good old fashioned heads down scathing morbid death metal nastiness but there are some old school style gems to be unearthed within the UK death metal scene if you dig deep enough...Cruciamentum are one such band that I have came across in recent times who sound like everything a death metal band SHOULD sound like to these ears, evil, morbid, brutal, heavy, grotesque with a musical atmosphere that is the musical equivalent of a darkened stinking crypt that has had bodies rotting away in it for centuries...that is the kind of things I want death metal bands to evoke personally, but hey that is just my opinion...some people prefer sterile technicality , I prefer a filthy evil atmosphere and riffs and Cruciamentum have both in abundance but that is not surprising as this band also shares members with the equally awesome Grave Miasma, another UK death metal band who have been creating abit of a buzz and a name for themselves over the past year or so.

Cruciamentum have built up quite an impressive following over recent years via 2 self released demos "Rotten Flesh Crucifix"   "Convocation of Crawling Chaos" One of these demos was recently re-released on CD and 10" vinyl by Nuclear Winter Records. If I had to make comparisons musically then I would say that Cruciamentum are equal parts Incantation, early Morbid Angel, old Finnish-Swedish death metal with some strong nods to the crushing stomp of Bolt Thrower and Asphyx and would also sit perfectly alongside albums by the likes of  Funebrarum in your collection, they mix up slower doomed passages with bursts of blasting speed just perfectly and each song is swathed in an oppressive aura of darkness and impending doom, the vocals are mostly of the deep death growled variety and could be compared to the likes of Craig Pillard and Karl Willets. This bands sound is HUGE...talk about sonic density...this bands music is like a whirlwind of choking black dust swirling around you, ripping your senses apart with it's power in the process...Nice and clean death metal this band are most definetly not...but that is just what my ears want to hear!

The band have also recently just played the 2nd annual edition of Kill Town Fest and toured mainland Europe with Israeli Death metallers Sonne Adam and will soon by hitting the USA for the 2nd time and playing Rites Of Darkness II festival.

I sent some questions to D.L. the vocalist/guitarist before they set off on tour and here is what he had to say in response to some question I fired at him about influences, their upcoming American shows amongst other things :-

1)      Hails please give me a quick background on the band and who does what.

The details of our origins are insignificant but to sum ourselves up quickly to the uninitiated, Cruciamentum is a four piece death metal band from England consisting of: D.L. – Vocals / Guitars, B.C. – Bass / Vocals, D.B-H. – Drums and R.C. – Guitars.

2)      You currently only have 2 demos tapes under your belt but have already seemingly and impressively amassed a cult following when can we expect an EP or full length from you guys? I understand an EP is on the horizon via Nuclear Winter? Are the demos still available?

The first demo is unavailable, it’s only song was re-worked and re-recorded for the second “Convocation of Crawling Chaos” demo. The original cassette version is entirely sold out, but it has just been re-released on CD and 10” vinyl via Nuclear Winter who will also be releasing the new MLP in the coming months. That will feature four new songs spanning around 25 minutes. September will also see the release of a split 7” with Vasaeleth on Hell’s Headbangers.

3)      How did that deal come about?

I had been in touch with A.V. for a while so I sent him a tape, and he instantly signed us. His work and support are second to none, and we hope to continue our collaboration with him into the future.

4)      You do not seem to play too often in the UK and have already hit the states for last year’s Rites of Darkness, how did that slot come about and did you play any other shows over in the states whilst you were over there? What was that experience like?

I find it much more preferable for us to wait to be offered a place on an excellent line-up and make the gig a special event. Playing too often to local crowds can only be detrimental to the band in the end.
Rites of Darkness was a great experience, though we didn’t have enough time to arrange more dates. There is no exciting story behind our playing the festival, we simply received an email offering us a slot on the line-up, and we gladly accepted it. We plan to do a few extra dates with Anhedonist and Aldebaran when we return this year.

5)      You are also due to play Kill town Death Fest in Copenhagen, what are your expectations for that? A Euro tour is planned around that time too, please tell us about that, where you will be playing?

I’ve been informed on good authority that KTDF is an exceptionally organised festival and I’m personally looking forwards to seeing Funebrarum, Sonne Adam, Embrace of Thorns and Burial Invocation.
We are also doing a tour with Sonne Adam after the festival, not all the dates are confirmed yet, but we should be playing some gigs through Holland, Belgium, France England and Germany. This should be an interesting experience as it will be our first time playing more than two gigs in succession.

6)      Members of the band are based in different parts of the country and also have some other bands that are active, how do you manage to juggle schedules, prioritise things aswell as keeping the band going effectively when some members are based so far apart from each other? Has it ever caused a problem or have you got things worked out pretty well?

I handle the majority of the writing, so I record demos of new material, send them to the other members, who come up with their own ideas, riffs etc. We then rehearse together and finish the writing process as a full band. As you say, we are spread across three cities and around 200 miles, so writing is a slow process, but I believe that the difficulties caused are insignificant compared to the positive aspects of having all the right musicians in the band.

7)      Why the name Cruciamentum?

Cruciamentum translates from latin to “torture”. The translation and the choice of an antiquated language, at least to me evokes the aura of obscure horror which lies at the heart of our music.

8)      Your sound is very much rooted in the old school of death metal, what bands and influences fuel and shape the sound of Cruciamentum?

The diversity of Cruciamentum’s sound is due to our influences extending beyond simply copying bands that we are fans of. Many of the different moods are inspired by trying to musically arouse the aura of certain dreams, artworks, books or places that inspire me. That said, bands such as Disembowelment, Incantation, Demigod, Absu, Immolation, Morbid Angel and Sadistic Intent have certainly left their marks upon our subconscious over the years.

9)      Lyrically what themes do you touch upon?

So far death and damnation have been ever present spectres over Cruciamentum’s work. Should these endings be physical or spiritual, destruction has always obsessed me. I prefer to write in an open ended way, to retain a personal element for myself, and so that the listener can draw their own conclusions.

10)  Whats your opinion on the current British death metal-extreme music scene? Any bands you feel an affiliation or bond with? What UK bands would you recommend to the readers out there to check out?

I’ve no particular interest in the British scene, I feel no need to praise bands that I feel to be uninspiring simply because we are from the same country or drink together sometimes. If that damages any fragile egos then you can fuck off. There are a few excellent bands however Indesinence, The One, Wodensthrone, Isenscur and Adorior all frequent my stereo. I’ve not heard any interesting new bands for a while though…

11)  What is your opinion on the current worldwide death metal scene, old school death metal seems to have became more popular again in recent years, why do you think that has happened after such a style seemed to disappear back underground for a while.

My cynicism would blame the cyclic trends of metal, but I think also the fact that brutal/slam death (or whatever you want to call it) which preceded the “old school” boom hit its evolutionary dead end. People had to eventually get bored of it and move to something with a little more creativity in it. There certainly is more support for the older sound than there used to be, but as always, there are great bands and there are terrible, uninspired bands. Time will separate the wheat from the chaff.

12)  What are your plans for rest of 2011 and into 2012?

Well, as I’ve previously mentioned the MLP and split 7” will be out in the coming months, there are the tours with Sonne Adam and Anhedonist, and then I suppose we’ll start concentrating on writing for a full length. I wouldn’t expect that to happen too soon though.

13)  The last words are yours, plug available merch and anything else you would like to add. thanks.

We’ve got shirts, 10”s, CDs in stock at the moment, so anyone interested can feel free to drop an email to cruciamentum.uk@googlemail.com