Spectral Manifest Interview

***Originally printed in Feral Noise #1***

So when was the almighty Spectral Manifest created? 
According to Depravis, before time existed and after reality faded…  Depravis and I have known each other since ’85 and jammed together as kids back then with several working names before settling on Bloodshed back in the late 80s, early nineties. (Laughs) But the concept and music of Spectral Manifest with the name, logo and whatnot probably started to really brew in 2005.  

Although in the music I hear elements of black, death and doom, your style is still somewhat hard to classify. Could you give the readers some background on your self-described Wraith Metal? Your statement before your question signals that we are accomplishing our goal, thank you. (Laughs) We grew up in the early days of thrash, doom, death and black metal, experienced the natural progressions of extremity and this is a blend of all of that. Yet, like you said, we feel it manages to not really fall entirely into any of those categories. A lot of the feel of the music and lyrics tends to be of an otherworldly nature... and really, that’s all that will be discussed to protect the pure brew of wraith metal.   

We are aware that you are working on a debut full length. What kind of brutality should we expect? When do you foresee it becoming available to the masses? 
Yes sir, we are wrapping up the composing of the last two tracks for the untitled debut. As far as what to expect, if you have witnessed us live, we are aiming to capture that essence of uncompromising brutality in the studio. It will be a joint release between the Lair and our good friends at Ossuary Industries in the second or third quarter of 2012. We cannot state enough how pleased we are by this alliance.

It seems that you really have been taking your time in perfecting the songs for the full length. How does your song writing process come about? 
Yeah, we want the debut to make an impact. Let’s face it, when you have the nerve to call your music by a name no one was using before you, in this case wraith metal, it better be good. But for us, it’s not quite full on death metal, not quite black metal, but a concoction that we create with the different influences coming to the plate. Often the songs start with a riff Depravis has come up with and then depending on what beat I throw over it, the riff may morph several times before we settle on what becomes the song. One of our newer songs we decided to challenge ourselves a bit and Depravis wrote the music to an already existing set of lyrics I had written. So, that was an interesting approach and the results are pretty intense. We are quite pleased with the batch of songs that we have for this release. 

This is a somewhat generic question, but this topic interests me. What elements do your lyrics cover?

Ha! Well, let me give you a somewhat generic answer… they run the gamut, but to explain them would be to steal meaning from those who get their own interpretations from them. We like to leave it a bit open ended in that regard. 

I find it interesting that the two of you have practiced together for so many years, even before Spectral. Your persistence really is an accomplishment. Would you say it is due to a great chemistry or some supernatural element? 
(Laughing) Perhaps a little of both.., the ability to tolerate one another definitely comes into play. But even after all of these years, when we sit down and jam, there’s just a certain magic in the air. We’ve played shows where we couldn’t even hear one another and somehow pulled it off. 

After being a two piece for a time, you have finally added a bass player to the fold. How did that come about and how has the union worked out so far? 
Well, we had tried out several people and it never worked out. Mainly it was guitar players trying to play bass, but playing it like a guitar... So, for the longest we just opted to say fuck it, we carry on as a two piece. Then, along came Ulfr, who had split with his previous band and was exactly what we were looking for. We have a few shows under our belts now as a trio, including appearances at the Building Temples From Death Fest here in Houston, which was put together by Ossuary Industries and The Adversary as well as the second Gathering of Bestial Vengeance Fest in Dallas. A lot of the material for the debut full length was already written before he joined, but the embellishments he has added are the icing on the low end of the cake. And I do like icing on every layer of my cake. (Laughs)  
Aside from Spectral Manifest, you also handle the duties behind the Dread Lair. For those who are unaware, please give some history behind the label. In what year did it originate? So far, how many releases are on the discography? Early on did you have any challenges getting it started? 
I started the Dread Lair back in 2008. The idea was to build an underground infrastructure for bands that were at a demo level to get their music distributed. Over the years, I have built relationships with labels, promoters, zines, mom and pop stores, etc. and thought what better way to put all of this to use? And how can I do this internationally? So, as a coalition, we have been able to really visualize this idea, and it’s a work in constant progress. We cover area from all over the US to places in the Middle East, Europe, the Ukraine, South America.. it truly is global and I couldn’t be more proud. We have 49 releases at the moment, plus 11 volumes of The Legion of Tchort compilations based out of Peru, so make that 60. The challenges getting started have really only been financial, but over the course of time with smart planning and execution, this has lessened and things are looking great for the future.  

With 2012 upon us, what new releases do you have planned for the Dread Lair? 
Oh man, there is a lot in the works… we are starting off the year with a band from Mexico called Aspergar, then we will follow with the Mantus’ EP, a compilation from Funeral Rites, a sort of best of.. Plutonian Shore’s next release… let’s see, we have some new additions to the family, both from Houston. Brimwylf, bringing crusty black metal with a raw punkish edge to it and Human Chunks, sick old school style death metal. Plus a few surprises that are still at the “in the works” stage.

Please provide your contact details and any final words. 
You can find us as a band on Facebook, Reverbnation, Myspace… Both Ulfr and I have our own personal pages on Facebook, but Depravis does not. Our email address is SpectralManifest@hotmail.com  For any Dread Lair business, I can be reached at thedreadlair@yahoo.com and found on the above mentioned websites as well. No final words, for there is a long road yet to be travelled. Thanks to all for their support.