HOUSE OF ATREUS

Who are you and what do you do in your band?

I call myself Anxietous Nero, and I compose and write songs, lyrics and perform bass and vocals for the Band House of Atreus.

When was your band formed?

House of Atreus formed in 2011 after I had started a solo project called Ashened (2010) in the wake of my disinterest in playing in a group. Aside from dealing with the politics, levels of seriousness, and other issues, I felt it was time to start writing music on my own. After recording the material for the first demo, I found a great group of musicians that i suppose motivated me to start a band, after a musical base had been formed. In hindsight, it would have suited me better to do this process a lot earlier, but I am glad things turned out how they have.  

Why did you choose to play Death Metal?

I’ve listened to metal for a long time, and death metal always stuck out as the toughest, heaviest and most diverse sub-genre of metal. From the moment I heard early swedish death metal (Dismember, Nihilist, Unleashed), and 90’s american death/thrash (Demolition Hammer, Morbid Saint, Cabal) and hardcore influenced death metal (Dying Fetus, Pyrexia,) I saw how vast and permanent it would be. I took a shining to vocals when I was in my mid teens, and probably followed every cliche that decision would bring until my early twenties. It wasn’t until I picked up the guitar and began writing riffs did I truly feel what I wanted to do musically. Even now, I lean in and out of Black and Doom with my other solo projects, but House of Atreus is my main focus at this point.

How do you compose your music? Does only one guy do everything or does everyone contribute?

For the most part I’m composing the songs, and write a good chunk of the music, but things are changing for us at the moment. Typically, I shack up in my music room with a 6 pack of beer and a traveler of whiskey and flick on my computer, plug in my guitar, and record what comes out. I will then use Superior Drummer software to help build chunks of a song, and over a fun period of no sleep and irresponsibility, I will come up with a skeletal version of a song. After I refine it for a time, I present this to the rest of the group and continuously stack their input upon it. I have also had others come over and lay down riffs they wrote to a click and spend considerable time organizing them into songs. I predict Anhedonious (especially after the explosive riffs he came up with for “Trenches of Fortune”) will be writing a lot more integrally, which is a large benefit to the group. My guess is Vespasian will also take the reigns on a few songs when his time allows, as he is almost finished with his higher education.

Tell us about your lyrics, writing, inspiration etc.

House of Atreus is inspired by Aeschylus’ play works, the Oresteia, and other greek literature and poetry. There’s another factor into the lyrics, which is the depiction of abuse toward humanity. The union of art and power inspires me. Empires that have made an impact on history demand notice because of the positive things they have created, even if they came about through violence. The artistic fabrications that still exist today captivate the imagination and command awe; and being able to interpret them from an angle that suits the anger and blood thirst of death metal has been my grand endeavor.  

Is there an ideology behind your band?

If one exists in our band, it is to write the music we want to write with no playpen walls.

How do you see the state of Death Metal music these days in your country and in general?

Death Metal hasn’t really changed a ton. It’s always been either really stupid or it’s been amazing. I find bands that shock the fuck out of me that broke up 20 years ago, and also bands people loved in the 90’s I find to be right bullshit. Death Metal isn’t going anywhere.

What are your long term plans as a band? What do you want to achieve?

I would like House of Atreus keep sharpening it’s musical skills and continue to see improvement from one release to the next. So far, I am happy to see how this project has evolved. Traditionally speaking, I would like to play killer shows and enjoy doing so. This summer may bring some interesting opportunities for us, and we will meet whatever arrangement we can.

Name another Death Metal band from your country that everyone should hear.

Blasphemic Cruelty, Horrendous, Vastum, Funebrarum, Dusk, and Perdition Temple are rotating at the moment. -AN

A new USDM band that shows a lot of promise is Trepanation from Washington.  I shared the stage with them on their last tour and they are the real deal.  Hopefully they release some new material soon.  I would recommend checking out some of the other projects that those members involve themselves with.  Older USDM bands that are worth checking out are:  Deteriorate, Excruciating Pain, Gutted, & Revenant.  -V

Free word.

Back whipping. pyramid. slavery.

#killallmen