GRAVEBANE

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

Hello! This is Andrew and I am the guitar player and main composer of Gravebane. The band consists of two other members, Marios on vocals and SD Tragos on fretless bass.

When/where was your band formed? 

The band actually came up as a side-project in the late 2012. I also play in Alter Self which is my main band and I do session bass work for Mallediction. Marios does vocals for Necrorgasm and Kinetic and SD Tragos also plays in Xaos Egeneto, Lloth and Black Soul Horde. The story is simple. I just wanted to do something different and write pure death metal music close to the bands that inspired the genre at the first place. The other guys happened to hear the already written material and convinced me to make a project. So here we are now, ready to release our first EP ‘Mortify The Grave’.

Why did you choose to play Death Metal?

I simply grew up with death metal and this is something you can’t easily overpass. In Alter Self I try a more sophisticated and artistic extreme metal approach that combines many genres. In Gravebane it was like going back to the roots. A more simple and brutal approach that rises straight from the human extreme instincts. Just like death metal used to be when it first emerged.

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

I write all the music and lyrics and then the other guys just add their parts. Of course that is not the rule. The songs for this EP were written long before I considered the possibility of a project. So if we decide to make an album in the future, I will be glad to accept help from the other guys. Actually we have already talked about Marios taking over the lyrics and vocal lines. He is a great death metal lyricist. Listen to Necrorgasm and you’ll see why.

Tell us about your lyrics, writing, inspiration etc.

Inspiration comes from extreme feelings like tension, sorrow or anger that invade your life and you somehow want to let it all out. At this exact point music comes as a vessel helping you channel out all the bitter feelings and transform them into extreme art. The songs were written in a very short time because I wanted to catch the vibe of the moment. As for the lyrics, they mostly deal with the dark side of human psyche from a brutal point of view. No gore clichés at all, just a raw view of humanity through everyday life’s experiences.

Is there an ideology behind your band?

Not really. We just like to deliver quality music to express ourselves and share it with anyone who might like it. Brutal music of course.

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

Death metal rises up once again. We see bands from the old days returning to action and putting out killer works that prove they still have it and many new bands that push the limits of the genre over the borders. As for Greece, I believe that it has one of the most dedicated death  metal scenes worldwide. We have many quality bands that release excellent works that have nothing to envy from the international scene. I am a huge fan of greek death metal myself and I advise you to dig it. You will find many unknown gems that will blow your mind.

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

No particular plans at the moment because we all have obligations with our main bands. We have discussed the possibility of releasing an album in the future but it’s a bit early for this right now. The main plan is simple. We just want to pay our respects to the genre by putting our own little stone on the huge wall that death metal is.

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

Just one? No way! I will give you a list of the first that come to mind…Dead Congregation, Sickening Horror, Inveracity, Resurgency, Birth Through Gore, Mallediction, Mortal Torment, Head Cleaner…also be sure to check our own main bands Alter Self and Necrorgasm. I could go on forever so if you want more type ‘GREEK DEATH/GRIND SCENE’ on facebook and start digging!

Free word.

Thanks for the interview and the support! Our EP ‘Mortify The Grave’ is now available for free streaming on YouTube and Bandcamp and  in digital download. Of course there will be an actual CD release soon enough. Check out the links below and don’t hesitate to contact us. Support the underground!

Bandcamp: http://gravebane.bandcamp.com/releases

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gravebanegr

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsu4tfoJLgK_YqKXfGhgCBQ

INFECTED CHAOS

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

INFECTED CHAOS consistst of the two guitarist Matthias Mayr and Martin Hartmann, bassman Florian Betz, drummer Christoph Raggl and I am the vocalist, Christian Fischer.

When/where was your band formed? 

Our band in this constellation was formed mid 2013 from the remnants of passed away band “Chaosreign” in Southern Germany, respectively Northern Austria; we´re a multicultural band, so to say. Christoph Raggl and me completed the broken line-up and due to the new situation a new name was needed, so we called ourselves INFECTED CHAOS!

Why did you choose to play Death Metal?

What else should we play??? Death Metal fuckin´ rules!!! Only death is real!

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

Our guitarists Matt and Martin are composing most parts of our songs but fine tuning happens as complete band in our rehearsal room, where Florian and Christoph are adding their patterns and everything is arranged while the lyrics are completely written by me. I add my vocal arrangements when the songs are complete.

The recordings for our album were all done by ourselves, mainly Matt. Christoph Brandes at well known Iguana Studios then finally delivered fantastic work when mixing and mastering the whole stuff. And Martin designed this awesome lyric video for Wolves in thy Pantheon which can be seen on Youtube.

Tell us about your lyrics, writing, inspiration etc.

Our debutalbum mainly deals with suppression by greedy authorities, the downfall of world due to the exploitation of resources and people but also the resistance and fight against it. For completion there are also songs telling of death, the inner struggle that life demands from time to time and also a fucking love song! Yeah, a love song for death metal! Find out for yourself!

I´m mostly inspired by daily life. You just have to watch the news for example. Of course there are great authors in horror/fantasy-genre and also great poets within the metal scene that have an influence on the words i choose.

Is there an ideology behind your band?

We do not follow any entities, political tendencies or religious crap. So maybe our ideology is just to be true to oneself and always be critical and recalcitrant.

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

Especially the German Death Metal scene is just exploding these days. Great new albums of every colour you can imagine seem to be released every single day. It´s great to see a pulsating and creative underground where financial aspects don´t matter and talented musicians are just into it for the sake of death metal. It feels awesome to be a part of it. Must be kinda like in the 80´s when metal had its golden decade.

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

Seriously, how big can an extreme metal act become? We are writing music we like, we need to express ourselves and have fun doing this! The next step is the release of “The Wake of Ares” on March 27th by our label Metalmusic Austria.  At the moment we´re working on our second album, which hopefully can be released in summer 2016. Of course we hope to have a lot of gigs, maybe also some festivals. So, bookers, if you read this and like what you hear, contact us!

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

Tough one... There are too many that deserve to be mentioned. But from Germany definitelly Deserted Fear, Necros Christos and Revel in Flesh. For Austria I would pick our labelmates Void Creation, In Slumber and of course the mighty Pungent Stench!

Free word.

The metal scene lives from loyalty, so get your asses up, go to the concerts and support the underground!

KLEPTOCRACY

Who are you and what do you do in your band? 
I’m Henkka, the guitarist / backing vocalist of Kleptocracy.
When was your band formed?
The project itself has been around since 2009, but the first EP/demo was recorded in 2013 and released in 2014 due to logistic problems. We managed to recruit permanent bassist and drummer in January, so the year 2015 will be a lot more active.
Why did you choose to play Death Metal? 
We didn’t, actually. We identify ourselves as a grindcore act, but we can’t deny death metal influences in our music. We try to combine traditional grindcore, powerviolence, death metal and crust punk.

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

At the moment, I‘m the main songwriter but this will probably change since we try to compose together in future . 

Tell us about your lyrics, writing, inspiration etc. 
Our lyrics don’t follow a particular path, as we mostly write about things and events that piss us off. Some of our lyrics are about politics, some are about the plain stupidity of human race and some are about something else. We try to avoid writing lyrics without meaning, since it’s more pleasant to play the songs when you have put some thought into the lyrics.

Is there an ideology behind your band? 
Not a clear one I’d say. We oppose conservativeness quite much and have opinions that are mostly quite liberal. 
How do you see the state of Death Metal music these days in your country and in general? 
In Finland we seem to have things in order. Finnish death metal maniacs – fest is a marvelous example of this. A whole festival dedicated to Finnish old school death metal bands and its tickets are already sold out. Old bands are touring again and Demilich is one of the main acts at the Maryland Deathfest. Some people say that death metal isn't doing quite well these days, but in my opinion that’s false information. Yes, we still have the same old death metal acts headlining festivals, but you have to look deeper. New promising acts are found every day and some of them have actually succeeded internationally, like Dead Congregation.
What are your long term plans as a band? What do you want to achieve? 
Our main goal is to play at Obscene Extreme Fest in Czech Republic. Our plan is to keep writing new stuff and to start playing gigs.
Name other Death Metal band from your country that everyone should hear. 
Oh damn. We have quite a few here. Maveth, Corpsessed, Vorum, Swallowed, Mörbid Vomit, Church of the Dead, Lie in Ruins.

Free word. 
Support your local scene. Attend gigs, buy merchandise and buy beer for the bands if they are cool. Local scene is almost the most important thing to smaller acts, so if dig a band, support it in any way you can!

CHAPEL OF DISEASE

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

Hello, Laurent here, guitar and vocals for Chapel Of Disease are my part.

When was your band formed? 

We formed in early 2008, should’ve been around february or so. First it was just me, Ced and David as a three piece. About half a year later, Christian joined as our bass player so Ced could take over the second guitar.

Why did you choose to play Death Metal?

Hard to tell. We listened to all sorts of ancient sounding metal back then. Since we were already involved in a black/thrash project, we then had the idea to go into the death metal direction. But there is nothing much more to it to be honest. Sometimes I feel like people think death metal is our main music, but it’s just one of many and back then, when we formed, it wasn’t that important what sort of style it is, it just had to sound raw, like our heroes back then. Now, it’s about a bunch of other ambitions again…

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

Usually it will start with a riff that me or Ced come up with and then takes off from there. Sometimes me and Ced sit together to work a structure out and we then take the song to the rehearsal room so we can all work on it together. From there everything can completely change, sometimes we drop the whole song in general again and start to work on something else. Me and David like to meet as a two piece as well, as soon as the general structure of a song is set, to work on details you could say.  

Tell us about your lyrics, writing, inspiration etc.

Ced writes most of the lyrics by now. We mainly focus on old horror or phantastic literature. So each song has a literary source it is based upon. While the first album still had a few lovecraftian lyrics on it, Ced chose to leave those alone for the second album and took his inspiration from authors like Meyrink, Lord Dunsany or Poe, just to name a few. It is always important for us to try to capture the atmosphere of the lyrics through the music. I do think that we have gotten better at this aspect with the second album. Lyrics and music do have to harmonize together and make sense as a whole.

Is there an ideology behind your band?

Just to make good sounding music, which I think should be every bands number one ideology.

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

It surely is oversaturated by now, which is normal I guess. That may lead to a lot of bands that I personally find to always sound the same, or even boring, which of course is a quite subjective thing to say. Yet there are bands that really peak out and have managed to create an own sound for themselves, which I think is always the most important thing. In Germany we have a lot of those swedish clone bands, which I can’t relate to in any sort of sense. To be honest, I can’t relate to the thought at all anymore, to just sound exactly like a certain era. This may have been interesting for us as well, while being younger. But I do think that at some point you should have to start making up your own mind and trying to define your own sound as a band. Of course it is nearly impossible to really create something new, yet it still is manageable to create something own.

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

We barely talk about stuff like that to be honest. We like to take it step by step and see where things take us. Our main goal has always been to keep getting better at what we do. So it is pretty much about proofing something to ourselves this whole time. We want to keep evolving on a musical level, in whatever sense that may be, it just has to stay interesting for ourselves. If we then end up on live billings that we as fans would very much enjoy, then we’re pretty much satisfied.

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

There are a few, but I’m gonna pick the one that recorded one of the best death metal albums after the turn of the millenium but before this giant wave of „old school“ death metal came up again: Excoriate  

Free word.

Up the irons!

GRAVEYARD GHOUL

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

I´m Tyrantor the Drummer and Vocalist in GRAVEYARD GHOUL

When was your band formed? 

GG formed in 2011/2012 from Disgracer (the guitar player & vocalist too) 

Why did you choose to play Death Metal?

It´s the best way to fuck with hate

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

No, we create together the songs. the idea comes from one guy but we working on the song and thats it!

Tell us about your lyrics, writing, inspiration etc.

Our lyrics is about death,fun and horror. a big influence are old horror movies from the 50´s to the 80´s.

Is there an ideology behind your band?

No, just Death.

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

Better...but for 3-4 years it was horrible. some guys want to play the "new" shit.

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

New records and play some shows!

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

Cryptic Brood & Slaughterday...good bands!

Free word.

jooooooinn usssss...!!!

LECTERN

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

Fabio “I am vocals and bass in Lectern”.

Marco “I am Marco and I’m the drummer”.

When was your band formed?

Fabio “ Lectern was born in 1999 but with a different line up. We count fifteen different members, in seventeen years of life”.

Why did you choose to play death metal?

Fabio “Because it’s my lifestyle! Death metal is catchy! You become slave of it in any form! I lived the first years of this music, in the early 90’s when all the bands tried to play faster than the thrash outfits. Now many of them, got lost to follow useless technical skills. I hate all those bands, like djent combos, which believe that technique is everything and the first and only thing! I grew up with early Iron Maiden ya know what I mean! But to tell you all the truth, I appreciate every kind of music. From the pop of the Eighties like Inxs or Spandau Ballet, hard rock dinosaurs as Whitesnake, classical and orchestras. Or industrial, electronic and particular stuff like the first album from Enigma that unites Gregorian chants to atmosphere, I also love rock myths like Pink Floyd or Queen as you can see, my tastes are so various. I think that for an artist, it’s quiet important to know everything about the music that sorrounds him”.

Marco “I think this is the best way to express anger in music, even if I belong to other genres”.

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

Fabio “The guitarists come with riffs, and whole songs almost complete. Together, we manage the best structures and final arrangements, guitar solos, bass and the lyrics. We try to enrich everything, until it satisfies us”.

Marco “We all contribute in some way, to the creation of a song. I usually take care of

the structures and of course, of the drums parts”.

Tell us about your lyrics, writing, inspiration.

Fabio “The main and only topic is Satan. The rejection of Catholicism and of all its symbols through the oppressive haze this religion represents unto the masses. Being blasphemous yes, being childish not! Every word is studied, every title thought until it becomes definitive. Read my lyrics, and you will understand”.

Is there an ideology behind your band?

Fabio “The Devil himself!”.

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

Fabio “Tough! After the setback and all the crunchy years of the middle Nineties, many bands remained coherent to their language of the very beginnings and new acts such as Nile or early Hate Eternal helped the scene to become alive. Malevolent Creation and many other stayed afloat and other important monsters went adrift, also think about Morbid Angel and to some disputable records they made instead of breaking up, they grasped. Suffocation or Immolation cut off their careers for so much time, Incantation became anonymous under microscopic labels, Autopsy and Sadus disappeared, Sepultura and Obituary totally changed sound and approach, Death went into progressive creating a new wave of death metal with Pestilence, Cynic, Atheist and all their followers. In my opinion we affected about Slayer absence between 1990 and 1992 with another album between “Seasons In The Abyss” and “Divine Intervention”. They much worried about hardcore than extreme. We suffered that Metallica became shit, and that nu metal was approaching. Look at the situation now, for example in thrash. Exodus kicks ass with the new record “Blood In Blood Out” and Gary Holt plays with Slayer in exchange of Jeff Hanneman who passed away. But they understood that they were made to thrash and not to be alternative! So, which kind of sense could have a new Megadeth record with the line-up of Rust In peace if it won’t sound… like Rust In Peace? The scene was saved by new realities like Devourment and others, that believed and played in the old school vein. Many people is now talking about a sort of an Italian death metal scene. Well, we ever had one, but in 2015 it seems to be important and heavier than before!”.

Marco” Not very good in my opinion. There are too many, and only a few are really worthy. Too much bands in Italy are still in the depths of the underground with not so many chances to do

something”.

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

Fabio “New songs, tons of riffs and rehearsals, gigs, festivals and tours. We recorded our new album quickly, in less than twenty days last October at The Outer Sound Studios, but we are all focused on new stuff. The promotion is started, we have our label Sliptrick Records by our side, but we are those who go on stage to play what we wrote, and that’s the first need we must achieve. We need also other forms of support like merchandise, you know! The spreading of the new record must pass in many forms, through advertisements, banners, interviews and reviews. We are also thinking about a videoclip for the next future”.

Marco “Live stage shows as much as we can. A tour with some very awesome bands and

composing new material for our second album”.

Name a death metal band from your country that everyone should hear.

Fabio “The band is Electrocution and the album is called “Inside The Unreal” find it! It’s terrific for the times it was issued in 1993! Incredible production, and low tuned killer guitars”.

Marco “Ade, Stormlord, Screaming Banshee, The Archetype and Plugs Of Apocalypse”.

Free word.

Fabio “The lecternfixion is going to nail Christ once again!”.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWcRXUc2mrY

LINE UP

Fabio Bava: vocals, bass

Pietro Sabato: guitar

Enrico Romano: guitar

Marco Valentine: drums

INTERNET

www.lectern.in

www.facebook.com/lectern666

www.reverbnation.com/lectern

www.myspace.com/lecternband

www.metal-archives.com/bands/lectern

www.twitter.com/lectern666

lectern@mail.com

DISCOGRAPHY

Bisbetical (1999)

Salvific Of Perhaps Lambent (2010)

Lectern (2013)

Fratricidal Concelebration (2015)

CEMETERY FILTH

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

My name is Neal and I'm the bassist.

When was your band formed?

We first got together as a band in January of 2014. 

Why did you choose to play Death Metal?

That was just the plan from the start. I have another death metal band (Manic Scum), and thought it'd be interesting to try another, simpler, approach with a different band.

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

We've always been collaborative when it comes to the music, though it really just depends on the song. The only song that had been completely written musically beforehand was "Gateway Among The Graves." I had written it a few months prior to Cemetery Filth forming, and once it was brought to the band there were still slight structural changes made. What usually happens is we'll have a couple riffs in mind for a new song, which we'll then jam at practice and see if any new ideas develop. From there, we elaborate on it some more in our own time and bring those ideas to the next practice until it's done.

Tell us about your lyrics, writing, inspiration etc.

Matt (ex-vocalist/guitarist) wrote all of the lyrics for the EP and the songs on our upcoming split. Lovecraft's mythos was a big influence, lyrically, on most of those songs. You'll likely see a different and varied approach for our new material, though.

Is there an ideology behind your band?

That's something we'd like to leave to the imaginations of the listeners. Our goal is to write the best death metal we possibly can and to constantly improve.

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

I think death metal as a genre is going strong at the moment, in terms of the amount of fans. There could be more up-and-coming bands with distinct/memorable sounds, but of course there are a number of bands that do stand out. It could definitely be worse.

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

We just plan to be as active as possible and see where it takes us. Being able to tour is a big priority for us, so you'll hopefully see us on the road soon. Right now, we're taking our time to ensure that the newest songs we're writing are as good as they can be.

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

As far as up-and-coming bands, it's hard to pick one in particular that stands above the rest. Bands like Ectovoid, Haunting, Trench Rot, Skeletal Remains, and Act of Impalement are some worth checking out, though.

Free word.

Thanks for the interview. You'll be seeing a lot more from us soon.