Here we are 20 years after Kurt Cobain’s suicide and Nirvana’s music is still big news. Also with Nirvana’s recent Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction, the band’s status has risen to another level. People still flock to anything associated with the group, everything from the conspiracy murder theories to the music itself. All the long lasting media attention still pales in comparison to the whirlwind of when the Nevermind album conquered the music industry. The mania was everywhere, saturating both radio and television. Complete insanity went amok as sheep-like people jumped on the speeding ship.
I remember being a senior in high school and my thoughts the first time seeing the “Smells like Teen Spirit” video. I could hear a genuine underground punk rock ethos within the music. Did I foresee it exploding in popularity? No not at all. I figured they would be one of those cool bands that would be trapped on MTV’s 120 Minutes time slot. Of course I was quite wrong. Once the momentum grew, every idiot around was listening to Nirvana. That alone left a bad taste in my mouth.
Suddenly I completely despised the band. Anytime someone spoke about them, I countered with a negative rebuttal. Something along the lines of, “fuck that weak shit, listen to Pungent Stench.” I voiced pure venom for all their singles. Looking back, I know now my juvenile hatred was mostly directed towards the majority of Nirvana’s mainstream fans. That section in time was a grand example of how the corporate train picked up on something special and completely crammed it down everyone’s throats with exhaustive promotion.
When Cobain killed himself, I had just graduated Marine Corps boot camp. I was immune to his passing. He was just a pathetic junkie that killed himself. I thought it was moronic how all these people were crying as if they had known him personally. Graduation from boot camp was all that was on my mind.
Upon my arrival home, I was shocked to see punk band Greenday on MTV. They were just a punk band on independent label Lookout Records that had just jumped to the big leagues. No question that Nirvana’s success had opened the door for more “punk” bands to take a stab at the limelight. That is a whole other story.
It’s funny how a person’s tastes and thoughts change with age. All these years later, I now truly appreciate the band’s work. Their discography is filled with artistic brilliance. From the early singles and the Bleach LP to the major label releases, all great material. Their songs have pop hooks but still a rough edge.
They paid their dues early on with touring and living in terrible conditions. Then almost over night the band became immortal. Did the success and fame come too quickly for them to handle? Yes I think so. Were they mentally equipped for the responsibility? No, they were not. In my eyes, they were an honest, underground band that idolized the Melvins. They had a catchy sound and hoped to put out a few records. Unfortunately their ascension to the top left some casualties, but then again that’s standard practice in mainstream music.
Here of late there has been a growing interest in cassettes.
The demand for old tapes on the Internet is surprising. Also, more and more
underground bands are doing cassette only releases. Is it for budgetary reasons
or nostalgia? Will it return to a prominent medium? Absolutely not, however it is
an interesting trend that has taken hold.
The cassette is a unique format that can make it cumbersome
for the listener to skip around searching for their favorite song. This creates
an atmosphere were the listener is almost forced to experience the entire
album. The argument can be made that in the past this method forced bands to
create a great album from beginning to end. From personal experience, yes with
a cassette I would listen to it in that manner. I did so to hear the album as a
whole, but also because I hated fast forwarding.
Another point I’ve heard is the appreciation of the cassette
sound. It is said to have a unique warm sound not found on CD or vinyl. I’ve
talked to some who enjoy the flat tones with the fuzzy, hissing background noise.
In their mind it is said to give character the same way the popping sound does
for vinyl. Yes that sound may bring the listener back to years past, but it
does not enrich the quality of the listening experience.
Honestly, I am not a fan of the cassette. I was glad when its
mainstream format went extinct years ago. It’s not a reliable source to
preserve music. Besides regular degradation, you have to be on guard watching
for your player to “eat” the tape. If you grew up with cassettes you definitely
know the aggravation of an “eaten” tape. Even if you’re able to repair it, the
sound quality will never be the same. With that being said, I don’t think it had
a great sound in the first place. Of course an unworn cassette definitely sounds
better than an Mp3, but that still doesn’t win the favor of being a zenith of
listening.
As mentioned earlier, lots of independent bands are going
the cassette route. They like the low fidelity feel. Plus it’s way cheaper to
press cassettes versus doing vinyl. I like it in the sense of it being collectible
and nostalgic. These types of releases are a hot commodity to collectors that
must have all the limited edition releases: color vinyl, picture discs, special
booklets, etc. Collectible music items are meant to be just that, collectible.
So I feel the same way about bands doing limited cassette releases. This may
seem hypocritical approving of these types of releases because earlier I
completely belittled the cassette format as a whole.
My final thought is the cassette is a fun novelty for
limited releases but I do not understand the collectors who scour the earth searching
for old tapes. Who am I to judge? If it brings them pleasure, then so be it.
Who knows, maybe next the 8 track will make a comeback…..
June 3rd marked the anniversary of Quorthon’s death. Back in
2004 I was shocked to hear of his passing. It seemed like blasphemy that such an
iconic cult figure had died at such an early age.
As with many, Bathory played an integral in many music enthusiasts.
For me, I still clearly remember when first hearing Bathory’s music. I was
about 16 or somewhere around that age. A friend of mine had a recorded cassette
of Under the Sign of the Black Mark.
Since it was a recorded cassette, I had no artwork to reference and back then
there was no internet to just look it up. So my virgin ears had only the music
itself to feed on. The music was so dark, heavy and atmospheric.
At that point in time I was already into death metal and
hardcore, but Bathory’s sound was much different. My imagination created an
image of the band as something truly evil and mysterious. No other band had
such an impact on me. In my mind I painted a picture of some faceless sinister
force. Of course being younger definitely played a part on creating such
thoughts.
Another interesting way Bathory melded into my life was
Blood, Fire, Death is what I had in the tape deck when having my first wreck. I
took a curve too fast and wound up in a ditch. The situation wasn’t funny, but
I do remember it happening rather quickly then having my car almost on its
side. On impact the engine was immediately killed, but the radio continued
blaring Bathory…… Quorthon’s music is timeless.
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.. PlutonianShore’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.comFor 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.
I know you get asked a million times about the meaning of the band’s name. To set the record straight, can you give us that history? G- Humut Tabal is the grim Boatman of the Underworld in Mesopotamian mythology. He ferries souls to the land of the dead.
N- You would be right, as is Grimzaar. He approached me soon after we began to play music as a trio with the idea for the name, and the second I pronounced the word itself, the feeling it invoked within told me that there could be no other option. As with many of our actions as an entity, we didn’t think twice & the title Humut Tabal became ours. As Grimzaar stated, the word is of Mesopotamian origin. He, being an oarsman, is naturally a wayfarer, however not a vagrant. Humut Tabal does not perform his task for Ereshkigal, ruler of that heinous realm; neither does she condemn him to doing so. It is of his device & accord that his work is done, similar to us I might generally say. It seems your band is one of the rare occasions where all the members are perfect for the line up. Every member seems extremely enthusiastic about the band. How did it all come together and become a working band?G-Hravan, Njord and I were three individuals whose common desire united us in such that drama never occurs. To us, there was HT, and there was everything else. For me in particular, experiences outside of HT never manifested in the group in a negative way. Bullshit never shook us. All we were interested in was perfecting our bleak, terrifying, hateful music. Negativity and hatred became music that we directed at the world outside of us, thus the three of HT remained at peace with each other. We played many shows as a bass-less band, but managed to make enough of an impression to whip up attention in spite of it. We tried one bassist before Prokingu, who, despite her enthusiasm, simply couldn't keep up with us and was a harbinger of negativity. Her parting saw HT as a three-piece once more, but we were unable to unleash greater fury. Together, we three shared many intense and rewarding experiences during this time. During an early 2011 show in San Antonio, Prokingu saw us, interviewed us (he is the San Antonio Heavy Metal Examiner), then offered to play bass for us. I met with him a few times and jammed with him, and after he had learned a set's worth of material, we all started jamming together. Prokingu proved to be an excellent fit. His motivation, enthusiasm, and love for evil misanthropic music is boundless. We played all over Texas during the summer following his joining HT. We were rather satisfied as a 4-piece, but we have always intended for HT's music to have keyboard parts. I have played synth on all of our recordings thus far, but my playing guitar made having synth impossible for live sets. One day put an ad in the Austin Craigslist for a synth player. Bakeneko responded and proved to be rather adept at keyboards, and possessed unparalleled enthusiasm. Musically, she fits in outstandingly. As of now, she has only played one show with us, but I have high expectations for what the future will bring. Prepare yourselves. You will hear what pure hatred sounds like.
N: It has indeed been an unbelievably progressive journey with some massive highlights and relatively few disastrous occasions, luckily. We became a working band really before we even knew exactly what we wanted to do with this collective. After a meager amount of time performing together, it only seemed natural to formally recognize our journey and begin aiming as high as we could in as many different avenues as possible. This natural inclination was further solidified in my mind when we first gathered, as I was recruited by Hravan, who was an old band mate of several previous, deceased groups. As we went on, our experiences were considerably beneficent which generated a productive air to our operations. I believe that can be chalked up to our possessing a specific mindset of how we manage Humut Tabal both in the outside world & within our own. An artistic medium such as this, first of all, does not become fettered or burdened from any outside turbulence, be it of a foreign or domestic origin. When we gather as a group with a mission, we leave our own personal distractions behind. We have always put faith into acting for the general benefit of the group, and as that has not failed us so far, we have continued to do so. That is not to say that individual interests are cast aside in this group, quite the contrary in fact, we’ve just never had any predicaments about individual benefit. If HT grows stronger, I & all of my band mates feel the surge in pulse, and so we have quite naturally always worked towards that general end. I, personally, am extremely honored to have worked with & continue to be working with the artists in this band who truly understand this concept. We will not cease our advancement. P- First, thanks for your kind words! I can only speak of mine and B's entry into the band. I assume Njord will take Bakeneko's story, so I will just present my own. I had witnessed Humut Tabal live back in February of 2011, and I was simply astounded by their performance, along with the performances of PlutonianShore and Emperial Massacre. About a month later, I decided to see about auditioning for a bass position for their June 3rd show with Woods of Ypres. Njord was interested in having me come down, so I drove from SA to the Humut Tabal rehearsal space in order to give it a shot. After a brief jam and tutelage under Grimzaar, the first song we played was "Frozen Death" (currently renamed "Through the Forest and Twisting Shadow") and the next thing I knew, I was in the band. I rehearsed with Grimzaar constantly in order to get the remaining songs down before the Ypres show. We played the Ypres show, and the rest is history. The band has grown through leaps and bounds since that show, especially with the addition of B., who serves the intended sound of Humut Tabal better than we could have imagined. Humut Tabal is extremely busy on the live circuit. Tell about your travels and any interesting adventures you have had. G- Our travels have been enjoyable, rewarding experiences. Our most recent journey, our playing at the Gathering of Bestial Vengeance II in Dallas, revealed to us the most ideal black metal venue I have yet seen in Texas. If Satan has ever attended one of our sets, it is that one. The festival was aptly titled; everyone in attendance became a beast. Praise Satan for such a gathering of his brethren.
N- The tales are, even at this young point in our existence as a band, nearly countless. Grimzaar does not exaggerate when he describes the bestial energy present at our last performance. A hoard of berserk, enthusiastic fans is almost a tale in itself. Our second performance ever, in mid 2009, caused a musical outfit to request of the venue owner that he make sure they never play with us again, because they were “very frightened”. Our most daunting, epic tale is one that cannot be revealed at the current moment, but the medium through which the story is told will shake & stir the hearts and spirits of all. I await theday. P-Interesting adventures? Hmm...good question. Since my entrance into Humut Tabal, we have played in San Antonio, Austin, Houston, Dallas and Corpus Christi, and all cities have yielded excellent times. It is difficult to pick an absolute favorite, although I will admit that currently Dallas is in the running with an intense show with the Black Moriah and Spectral Manifest on November 12th. Massive pits all night with an audience that "got it" in a venue that contained a perfect ambiance for a disgusting black metal show - simply perfect. In terms of interesting aspects of these shows, there have been multiple times where I've gashed my head open against Rex's headstock while colliding into it due to headbanging - two scars each on the right side of my head, with one near the eye and the other on my forehead. I can only consider it a great honor to have shed blood for metal. I will wear these "skarz" with pride. What else...forgive me, I've been up for approximately 42 hours straight so I'm having a bit of a difficult time recalling more, hehe...There was the headlining show at Walter's that was amazing for me (since I was standing in the same spot where Wrath of Averse Sefira stood when I saw them with Inquisition and Ares Kingdom in 2010), with a dedicated crowd, and there was the time opening up for Absu, which enabled me to complete a lifelong goal, as Absu are my favorite metal band. All in all, we've had quite a few superb experiences in the last few months, and it seems fair to suggest that there will be more in the future. I see that your group is actively searching for a keyboard player. That addition would definitely add a welcome extra dimension to your mood altering music. Have you had any luck in finding someone to fit that billet?G-Bakeneko is now our synth player.
N- Mood altering? I rather like that. Also, billet? Bakeneko has already risen above & beyond very high expectations and the texture ow finally audible within our completed music, I believe, will continue to amaze and astound, particularly those more familiar with our live performance in the past and less with our recorded music. P-Her performance was impeccable and we look forward to working with her in the future. Austin is known as a live music town, but not so much on the black metal scene. So I found it surprising that a good black metal such as HT would originate from the area. Locally are you in contact with many like minded individuals?
G-I personally am in contact with very few people. Of the few with which I maintain a sparse amount of contact, I feel the greatest respect for and allegiance to PlutonianShore, particularly Zvs. Note that PlutonianShore are a San Antonio band.
N- Thank you and I would agree that for one who is not entirely educated on the origins of black metal bands in the United States, Austin seems like one of the last places worthwhile music of this style would be produced. However, as all stereotypes have usually groundbreaking exceptions, this is could not be farther from the truth. When speaking of quality Black Metal bands from the States, the first two examples that pop into my mind are Averse Sefira & Absu, both hailing from Texas. Averse will, in my opinion, always be considered Austin’s Black Metal band, and that is a title I think the denizens of this city should very much embrace and be proud of, for the music created by those three has breached & infiltrated, lovingly, the hearts and minds of metal fans across the world. The same goes with the aforementioned Mythological Occult Metal masters Absu, Plano should hand out keys to the city if you ask me. My point is, none of us even live in Austin proper, so you can never expect a certain area to be too devoid of something worthwhile. It’s out there, just waiting to be discovered…In terms of maintaining contact with like minded people, my job as unofficial manager of HT has afforded me many opportunities to meet many wonderful people, and our network of associates, friends and colleagues only continues to grow by the day, be it Austin or Houston or out of state individuals. Locally, I’ve had great experiences working with Tim Corken of The Blood Royale, DJ Laura of Equilibria Radio KVRX, Gravedigger & her underground radio crew, Dustin & Sara with the Metal Fuckin’ Mondays weekly over at Headhunters, Jeff Tandy- The Austin Metal Music Examiner-PARASITES DIE!!! and all of the good folks doing independent photography, graphic design work, or anything useful to local metal that goes unnoticed and unappreciated most of the time.
P-While Humut Tabal is an Austin-area-based band, I am fortunate enough to reside in San Antonio, a city whose metal pedigree should not be questioned, although I have many allies and comrades in Austin as well. In particular, I would like to thank Jeff of Birth A.D. for providing constant guidance in various realms, as well as Zvs, Devastation, Waar, and Amethyst Moon of Plutonian Shore, who are some of my most valued comrades, and to Erika of Morgengrau and HOD, who along with the aforementioned Jeff would play a vital role in my current standing in metal. I am also eternally indebted to Averse Sefira, who have played a most significant role in the discovery of many philosophies; musically and ideologically. Hexlust from Killeen are great friends with great riffs, as is the case with VBT from San Antonio. (Off-topic: A few of them play in Grieved, an excellent black metal band that I would recommend.) I am lucky enough to attend many SA or Austin death metal shows where I have many allies, and the few occasions that I have ventured into Houston, Corpus Christi or Dallas have been filled with friends, such as Cryptos, Depravis, and Ulfr of Spectral Manifest, although this is hardly a comprehensive list. There are so many individuals that I have had the privilege of knowing, and each show seems to bring in more compatriots. Ultimately, while it is impossible to name every contact, it has to be stated that I owe these great musicians an insurmountable debt. May our horns never lower.
Do you have any intention of traveling outside the boundaries of Texas for a live setting? If so, what can the masses expect?P: I would absolutely say that we intend to play outside of Texas eventually, although it may not be for some time due to the logistics involved, as well as the massive amount of preparation necessary to allow for an apropos experience. Off the top of my head, I would like to share the stage with Immolith, Barghest, and Cemetary Desekrator, and we would definitely play with Severed Faith and Shadow of Creation from Georgia again, although as previously stated, out-of-state touring and playing requires an immense amount of planning, so it may be some time before we "grace" other states with our presence. If a promoter wants to get in contact with us about a possible deal, the official Humut Tabal email address is: humut_tabal@yahoo.com
What can the masses expect? The same thing that Humut Tabal always delivers in the live setting: Epic, technical, thrashing black metal. You will not find swoop-haired hipsters preaching from their "manifestos", but a celebration of all things unholy and visceral; black metal without irony. These "post-metal" artsy types attempting to co-opt black metal for their own agendas can look elsewhere (ideally at the bottom of a cliff). G- If it becomes logistically possible, I would not hesitate to bring Humut Tabal's ritual blasphemy outside of Texas. The masses may expect raw, satanic, misanthropic scathing black metal and horrific displays of hatred andanguish. N: Expansion in all avenues of existence has been a mantra since day one for this band. It is, in my mind, similar to Prokingu’s declaration- the conquest of other regions is absolute & lays only within the capable hands of time itself. We find ourselves, however, as those hands of time slowly release their sands, in a beneficial environment in regard to traveling for live performance. One particular benefit of claiming origin to a state as geographically boundless as the one we operate in is that any one band can satisfy, at the very least, a thriving thirst for sojourn to relatively foreign regions with relatively foreign practices, music scenes, etc. all without metaphoricallyleaving the comfort of their own home. Things are done a slight bit differently in say El Paso then Dallas, Austin then Nacogdoches, so on, so forth, and these differences allow an up & coming group to attain that experience of traveling outside your city as a band and making new connections or fans to areas that have yet to experience your music. Yet as one large operating grid, word easily spreads & those endeavors are made even easier in a considerably short amount of time. The masses must be commanded to attention before they can expect anything at all, yet once that flame is lit within the public, what can be guaranteed will be wretchedness & wonder through music and art until our shells cease to function. This may be a premature question, especially since the PlutonianShore split is still relatively new, but do you have any plans for future releases? G- We do. Stay tuned. Humut Tabal is always in a state of flux musically. What you hear next may bear little to no resemblance to our previous material or your expectations. N: Literally, little to none. We are a shifting organism, something alive & engaging in constant flux, as Grimzaar stated. What can be relied upon, again & again, will be quality and sincerity within the seemingly boundless potential map of musical endeavors we plan to progress, manipulate and explore. Our morale has been in ascending for a very long time now & all of the haze regarding this matter will soon be cleared in the new year. Your band is black metal through and through but does have ties to the death metal scene. What are your thoughts of the old way of thinking that those two music genres should remain separate?G- Such thought is ludicrous and is akin to an octogenarian's insisting that distortion ought not ever be applied to electric guitar. Back in the days of the First Wave, black metal and death metal were often indistinguishable. The two split and evolved separately. It stands to reason that, given their mutual origin, the two genres should meet again at times. What matters most is that people make good music, not that people remain conservative (in the traditional sense of the word, not in the political sense). If good music is created via conservatism, it is good music. Non-conservative music should also be recognized for its merits.
N:It is exactly as you said- an old way of thinking. I believe I speak for all of us when I say music transcends those lines drawn in the sand. Black Metal answers to no one, is not fettered or enslaved to any restrictions in itself, no matter the opinion of those who practice or support it. It is an indefinable pillar of self assertion, expression & fortitude, which easily rises above those who try to pin I down and contain it. Even if it did or was, I would work with my companions to tear down those forces which restrict the music in any sense. Some groups claim that their utmost desire in their work is to “push the envelope” or “break the barriers” of the style of music they play. I’m not sure if anyone in Humut Tabal even recognizes those boundaries to be crossed. There exists yet so utterly much mass, ground & surface to be chartered and travelled within the music that it would take, I believe, a passing of many ages before we ever achieved even a relatively comprehensive view of this entire practice. It is our path to wander those unknown places & bring to the public what we find, as it has always been. This experience is ever c hanging & I personally desire to engage in as many different forms of it as coherently & musically possible. P: An excellent question and the simplest answer from my ideology is that death and black metal are two sides of the same coin in my view. There are many musicians that have proved that the realms of death and black metal can coexist; examples include Adorior, Hod, Morbodisad, Dissection, Abhorer, Blasphemy (hell, the entire "war metal" genre) and plenty of other excellent bands that draw from the well of both genres. I owe a tremendous sonic debt to death metal and black metal, and the discography of Immolation and Asphyx nicely fits alongside bands like Antaeus and Watain in my collective. The forces of death metal, black metal, doom metal, and thrash metal should always be hailed as pillars of extreme music, and I find that mixing genres leads to excellent results in many cases. One could draw from black and thrash and wind up with Absu, or one could go the opposite route and mix death and doom and get Divine Eve or Winter. Ultimately, it all boils down to what the artist feels is telling them to play. If playing black metal in one band and death metal in another is one's musical calling (as is the case with Chris Gamble/Mezzadurus of Goreaphobia/Blood Storm), one must follow it to the best of their ability. Metal is my driving force in life, so exploring all its realms is something that I see as essential. For those looking into studying similar philosophies, I recommend starting with Sakis Tolis of Rotting Christ, an individual who serves as an inspiration to myself. Bathory and Dissection are also mandatory listens, naturally, although if I were to list every band worthy of examination we would be here all day. You may take this spot to give any final words or possible contact details for those wanting to educate themselves about your band. P: Thank you for your interview. Eternal thanks to the Dread Lair and to our various comrades, named and unnamed. To our supporters: You will see us onstage soon enough. N: Vomits & hails. To those who wish to view our back catalogue of available releases, or those of any other bands associated with The Dread Lair, you may visit our online store at thedreadlair.vstore.ca. Enjoy the DVD, meticulous hours I know were spent on it. Cheers to Feral Noise production team!
To me, Brimwylf has gone through three stages. First, it was a two-man recording only project. Then it graduated to a fully operational band. Lastly to the band’s current form with a new member and a current one switching roles. Each stage has its own unique sound. Could you please walk us through the stages and provide the details that surrounded each one? Brimwylf really began with Brent recording riffs and song ideas at his house, just recording on the computer. He had a ton of ideas but no real outlet, so the first incarnation was born called Agahnim. He played all of his short songs for me and we decided maybe I could do some vocals to fill out the sound. This worked out well and we began to write more and more. Short 20 second blasting songs transformed into 3 minute black metal blitzes. As we kept making new songs, we talked about the idea of forming a band. At this stage though it was just Brent programming the drums on the computer then recording all the guitar tracks, and me doing vocals. Jason would come by sometimes to hang out and hear what we had been up to. One night he grabbed the guitar and wrote a whole new lead riff over one of our songs, it fit great adding new layers to the aural texture. After about 6 songs, we knew we wanted to really wanted to find some more members and create a fully functioning band. After some trial and error, and a few different band members we decided I would take care of the vocals, Jason would play guitar and Brent would play drums. We put out an ad for a new guitarist and met Parham. He was able to add an entirely different song writing approach, and it fit perfectly. It's been us 4 ever sense. We are Brimwylf. Your band has an interesting ensemble of individuals coming from many different musical backgrounds. Give us some insight on that and how everything came together. We've all been into various forms of metal for a long time. Jason and Brent played in punk related bands for the most part in the past. Parham comes from a mostly experimental and improvisational musical background. But we are united in metal. I know some of your members were in other bands in the past. Could you provide a rundown of them all and any touring experiences? Brent has toured with a couple of bands called Burned Out Bright and The Walls You've Built. Each band lasted a couple of years and put out a few releases. Jason has played in a myriad of punk and rock and roll bands: Tom Hanks, Pathetic Subsistence, All At Sea, and others. Parham's musical background is chronicled on feltanelephant.com You recently hit the studio and recorded a few tracks. Please give the readers some insight on your debut recording. Also, will the songs be released as a self titled demo or do you have a specific name?We just recorded 5 songs at the Feral Noise studio. 4 tracks will be used for our demo, right now called Under The Sign of The Tridents. 1 track for a split 7" with Mhinotahn coming out mid 2012. Brimwylf has a nice, raw 1st wave black metal sound amalgamated with some crisp melodies. A sound that I feel will be quite popular on the live circuit. So when can we expect the next step into that arena? Soon, though we don't currently have a bass player. If anyone would like to try out feel free to contact us.
On an earlier occasion you stated that lots of your lyrics are fictional. In your writing, does this consist of fantasy created on your own or do you have some other foundation that is drawn upon?The lyrics are imagery and mythology we create. Mostly metaphorical allusions derived form personal experiences.
In the vocal department, your voice is quite powerful. Is this your first time singing for a band? I've only ever worked on recording projects in the past, this is my first full functioning band. For those who do not know, your band was formerly known as Iapetus. Why was the decision made to change the band’s name?We wanted a totally original name that suited us, our lyrics, and our music. Speaking of band names, please provide some details on the Brimwylf name. Why did you choose it and what is its meaning?Brimwylf is derived from Old English and means "water wolf" or "wolf of the lake". In the epic poem Beowulf, these mythological wolves were haunters and guardians of burial mounds in marshlands. The idea of wolves and hounds as guardians/watchdogs of the underworld shows up in many cultures and mythologies. In Greek mythology there is a three headed dog, Kerberos, who watches Hades. In Scandinavia, "Baldrs draumar" speaks of Odin encountering a hell hound, protector of Hel, on his way to Niflheim. Brimwylf is the name we chose to express this idea. When hearing your music, I hear a Bathory influence (both early and from the Viking era) mixed with traditional rock. What is your take on that? From where do you draw your influences?Bathory is certainly a band we all like and probably influences us musically to some degree. Really our influences come from and amalgamation of 4 separate styles. We don't attempt to sound like any particular band or genre. We just hash out ideas and riffs we like, it all comes together very organically. Any final words? Also, how can one find more info about the band? We will try and keep everyone updated on Brimwylf through facebook or via The Dread Lair. Our plan is just to keep writing, playing, and creating.
Here we are 20 years after Kurt Cobain’s suicide and Nirvana’s music is still big news. Also with Nirvana’s recent Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction, the band’s status has risen to another level. People still flock to anything associated with the group, everything from the conspiracy murder theories to the music itself. All the long lasting media attention still pales in comparison to the whirlwind of when the Nevermind album conquered the music industry. The mania was everywhere, saturating both radio and television. Complete insanity went amok as sheep-like people jumped on the speeding ship.
