The Legend
Danny Lilker
Brutal Truth show at Obscene Extreme 2014 was the latest show of this band in Europe. The close of a chapter in grind, and also in Danny´s Lilker story. How many great bands this man was involved? Nuclear Assault, Brutal Truth, Anthrax, S.O.D., Venomous Concept, to name a few. Hell, I don’t want to forget about even the more experimental Exit-13. Like his friend from Napalm Death, Shane Embury, he plays the bass and has tons of projects. 18th October was the day of the retirement of Dan from Brutal Truth, with a massive BRUTAL BIRTHDAY PARTY celebrating his fifty years. So we couldn’t waste the opportunity to have a relaxed talk with him. Hi Dan, let’s start this interview talking about the future. What are you planning with your other projects (Blurring, Nokturnal Hellstorm, Venomous Concept)? Both of my local bands (Blurring and Nokturnal Hellstorm) have recorded full lengths to be released in the near future, and both bands play out often here in Rochester and sometimes out of town as well. Venomous Concept has also recorded this year and will be playing Japan in November since it’s a tour with Napalm, Brutal and S.O.B., so all members will be there anyway. What are you going to miss more about Brutal Truth? Playing hi-speed fucked-up grindcore all around the world. Blurring also plays pretty freaked-out material but we probably won’t be touring the world too much. What do you think will be the legacy of Brutal Truth to grindcore? We were the band that gave it a good kick in the ass with Extreme Conditions, and then we mutated later in our career to be total controlled chaos at unheard-of speeds. Considering that your retirement will bring you some free time, do you consider to become a producer? Maybe not so much more free time as of yet! Nuclear Assault is coming back for a little while...but I’ve produced bands before and it’s enjoyable, so if the opportunities arise, i would definitely do that again. What are you listening nowadays? Nazxul. (Nazxul is a band from Australia,
Black Metal with some ambient influences in their latest album.) Here comes a difficult question. Thinking about all the bands you were involved, which do you consider the best album you ever recorded? The still-unreleased Nokturnal Hellstorm second album. Here is a taste https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=F0PVY8HcARw Perhaps I say that because it’s very fresh to me, but I think it’s very well done black metal to be totally honest. We really want to know about your birthday! Tell us more about this upcoming major event! Note: this interview was made before the BRUTAL BIRTHDAY, Curby says it was amazing. I’ll be turning 50 on October 18th, and that is on Saturday this year, so near the beginning of this year we planned a show at a local bar withImmolation (no words necessary) Nunslaughter (ditto) Avulsion (classic old-school Buffalo grind) and Controlled By Fear (local Rochester power-violence rotcore noise) We invited friends from around the world, and there will also be “normal fans” attending, and it’s gonna be quite a party!! Thank you very much for your time. Fans everywhere are reading, do you want to add something to this interview? Thanks to everyone out there who has supported extreme music in every form, and don’t worry, my “retirement” is not working out so well haha. Thanks for the interview!!! Cheers dude!!
Wehrmacht and Cryptic Slaughter were among the first bands to combine the speed of thrash metal with the rampant energy of hardcore and punk. Wehrmacht was responsible of two thrashing CLASSICS from the 80’s. Wehrmacht first album,‘Shark Attack’ open a new era of blasting speed and frantic riffs. Their next album, ‘Biermacht’ in 1988 was the definitive party album full of beer hymns. And they show us how to party in Wehrmacht style during Obsceme Extreme… with two amazing performances. So we talk with guitarist John Duffy, about thrash, beer and party! Shark Attack!
Beware of the Shark
We have enough luck to enjoy double WEHRMACHT attack at Obscene Extreme 2014. Even there was some kind of naked fan club of WEHRMACHT, that was crazy! What did you enjoy most about your shows at OEF? Well, of course, the naked club!!! Seriously though, just about everything that was Obsene Extreme was amazing. Truly, the best festival we have played. The people (fans, bands and staff) all, wonderful and life loving folks. The band line-ups were awesome. Got to see groups I never thought I’d ever see like, Last Exit from Japan. Very cool. I loved the most about OEF was the no violence policy and it really seems to work. I never saw any fights or violence. Just a lot of passed out, and drunk people having a great time. Anyone interested in going to the best outdoor, European festival, this is the one!!!! Which bands you like more from the fest? : I think 2014’s line-up was very solid, all the bands went really well together and the specific genres for specific nights was a great touch. I’m
personally in contact with lots of bands (as you can imagine with all the touring we do) and have already suggested your festival to them. Toxic Holocaust and Municipal Waste come to mind. How about D.R.I. and have a huge hardcore, punk night. I think any band in their right mind would play OEF, it’s a win-win situation... You baptized a lot of Shoe Brothers in Europe. As beer experts what’s your favourite brand from the continent? I’m a personal fan of any European bier, even the cheap stuff. While in Trutnov, I really enjoyed (of course) the Pilsner Urquell and the Matuska biers. I was reading an old 1987 interview with you guys, you were like 18 year old! You said in that interview that America society is a bunch of closed minded redneck Nazis, and also you didn´t like Reagan. Do you think there was some positive change or there’s still the same closed minds? A good question. I think a lot has changed. At least in the attitudes about musicians that play that “evil” heavy metal shit. We don’t get the slack we did back then anymore about playing music that will never last. I told them then that metal wasn’t going anywhere and now we have the last laugh. As far as redneck Nazi’s, yeah there is still some idiots out there and there will always be some moron, but for the most part, I think people are becoming more united and sophisticated. Our particular city, Portland, Oregon has improved a ton since 1987. There was an undercurrent of violence and hatred in our town back then that I don’t feel on people anymore. Metal scene has change a lot since those early times. Do you miss something of that 1986 era? The innocence, the intoxicating fear of doing something that you’ve never done before. That youthful excitement of actual touring with your best friend and making TONS of new ones. Even if it meant eating once a day and sleeping on floors. I don’t miss sleeping on floors though. Plus, there wasn’t that many bands playing thrash or crossover at the time and it was just, I don’t know, let’s say, less crowded, more
original. There are SO MANY groups playing extreme music nowadays that it’s hard to keep up. Not putting any of them down though. I love MANY of these groups and the really young guys (like Raptor from Portland and Noisem from Baltimore)) have that spirit that we did (and still do)... that innocence and drive. How did you come to the idea of playing some CRYPTIC SLAUGHTER classics? Cryptic Slaughter and Wehrmacht go WAY WAY back. Our first tour mates and life long best friends. All the stuff we’ve done together could fill a book. Cryptic have not been able to reform as we did and the idea for both bands touring together again is irresistible. But that hasn’t been possible so we’ve done the next best thing. The guys all knew the material and we just learned to play their songs in the closest essence of the original’s as possible. In the future, Scotty is hopeful that a full Cryptic reunion will still happen. We’re keeping up the vigil as well. We would love to see the “real” C.S. as much as everyone. Their songs are so fucking timeless. And catchy as fuck... Tell us about your new projects for the future. Duffy: We have been working on a full length for quite some time. We have 2 new songs (“Impala” and “Want SomeCandy”) that we play from the future album (sorry, no title as of yet) and each of us have a batch of new material, full songs, idea’s and what not, ready to go. We do tour quite a bit( mostly festivals and one off’s) and this has slowed down the actual recording of the album but we are getting there. This is our first OEF Fanzine, so we are happy to have you in this edition. Do you want to say something to the fans and readers? Well thank-you so much for having us in your very first edition and we would love to say to all of your readers that we will be back at OEF. Anytime Curby and his wonderful staff will have us, we will be there. We had a fucking awesome time and CZ fans are the best. Stay naked and “till next time...Drink Bier and Be Free!! Thanks for the interview
King of all Kings
Immolation is one of the most respected bands in the Death Metal realm. With many copycats trying to emulate the brutal sound of Death Metal pioneers, Immolation makes their own way with a trademark sound: dissonant guitar harmonies, deep guttural growls and unstoppable drums filled with christbaiting lyrics. After the episodes of september 2001, their traditional anti religion lyrics also add now more political subjects. Their latest album “Kingdom Of Conspiracy” is inspired by George Orwell’s chilling anti-totalitarian text Nineteen Eighty-Four. So we interview Ross Dolan to talk about past,present and future of Immolation. How are you guys, let’s begin talking about your latest album, Kingdom of Conspiracy. It was very well received, could you explains us more about the concept behind it? “Kingdom of Conspiracy” was very well received and both the press and fans seemed to really like the album musically and conceptually. We were very happy with the overall feel of the album and the production was both clear and powerful, so it really allowed the listener to catch all the subtle layers of music that all work together to create the dark feel of the piece. “Kingdom of Conspiracy” was our first concept album. Even though many of our albums in the past have had a common thread throughout, this was the first time we set out intentionally to create an album that had a solid concept that we built upon song by song to create a finished piece that had this common theme. The album takes a hard look at the world today and where things are headed. It has a very Orwellian feel to it because it looks at many of the negative things we see around us in recent years, and the very totalitarian steps the world has taken as of late. It focuses on the many human failures as well as the failing systems we have put in place to hold it all together. It’s a very dark and cynical look at this epoch in our history and the slippery slope the world now finds itself teetering on. It was an album we needed to write and I think our fans really get it and understand what the songs mean in the bigger context. I have spoken to many people on tour who really appreciate the fact that we did decide to write about this, and they certainly understand the weight of what is happening around the world. Kingdom of Conspiracy sounds more clean and massive than previous records. Was the recording process any different than usual?
Thank you, we are happy with the overall sound of the record. Of course, there are always things with every album that we feel like we could have nailed a little better, but overall we are all very happy with the sound and feel of the record. The magic combination of Paul Orofino for all the sounds and tracking and Zack Ohren for the mix/mastering made this album what it is. They both did an amazing job and it certainly is a very powerful and relentless sounding album. The approach was more or less the same. The main difference with this one was the fact that a lot of it came together while on the road, which was an absolute first for us. Technology and the internet allowed Bob to create the leads while on tour in Europe, which gave him the luxury of more time than he normally would have had in the studio. I think the leads came out great and the song writing in general benefitted from the extra time. It was a smooth experience more or less in the studio, and as with each previous album, we learn more and more each go round and learn to apply what we’ve learned the next time we record, so it’s a bit of a learning experience, even at this point in our career. And, as with the “Majesty and Decay” and “Providence” releases, we truly benefitted from a proper pre-production which allowed us to get everything solid before we entered the studio, which is a big help and alleviates a lot of the stress.
Something I always notice about Immolation music is that you can feel it in the guts! In a scene full of copycats, how do you do to differentiate from the rest and still produce great music? We write what we like and I think the almost 27 years together has really helped us fine tune our vision. We know what we want to achieve and we know how to achieve it. We love what we do and want to create the darkest, most sinister and haunting music we can create. It’s really all about the feeling, not speed or heaviness, just the feeling. The heaviness and speed are just the tools we use to bring out the feeling in the songs, along with the multiple guitar layers and embellishments. It all comes together to create something that is powerful and dynamic, yet dark and oppressive. Since we began in early 1988, we have always had this vision, and we have never lost sight of it, trying very hard to move the band forward so we don’t stagnate while never compromising the essence of what Immolation truly is. We try not to really concern ourselves with what’s going on around us. This is our world and that’s all we worry about. Trends come and go, and we have weathered lots of them throughout the years, and would never have been able to make it this far if we cared about the other nonsense! We were so happy to have you at
Obscene Extreme, how was that first experience for you? Obscene Extreme was such a great time for us! We really had a great time and had a great response from all the fans that night. We are so happy Curby invited us to play and it was finally able to become a reality this past summer. It was also cool to be there for Brutal Truth’s last European show. We did two tours with these guys and it was great to be there for that. They are great guys and we are pretty tight with Danny, and he had been telling us how great the fest was and that we would have a blast, and he did not lie! It was certainly a unique fest in a good way, had a very positive vibe and all the fans really seemed to enjoy all the bands. Curby and the whole staff really made it comfortable for us and made us feel really welcome the whole weekend and we truly appreciated their kindness and hospitality. Your sound live is like hell on earth, you can even breathe sulfur at your shows! What’s going on your minds when you are playing such powerful music? Hahahaha, that’s great, I never heard it described like that, awesome! We strive for that. The live show for us is where it really counts. That is when a band really shines, on the stage, and it’s your one and only chance to connect with the fans on a very intimate level. It’s really hard to articulate, but any true fan of music understands this. The live performance really takes things to a new level, and we work really hard at recreating that same feeling you find on the albums. It took us many years to get to the point where we felt comfortable up on the stage. And, since we never rehearse together as a band, it takes extra hard work and dedication to get it right. We all practice on our own at home before a tour or record. Since we all live in different parts of the country, it just makes the most sense and has seemed to work well for us for the last 7 or so years. While we are on that stage performing, the only thing going through our minds is the music. We are living those songs for that time we are on that stage. It’s almost like time stands still and all that matters is playing those songs to the people in front of you. It’s very hard for me to articulate exactly what it’s like, but it is truly one of the best feelings ever. You were invited to play on Danny’s Lilker Brutal Birthday. What are your thoughts about Danny’s retirement? Are you planning a special set or something? Danny’s 50th birthday/ book release/semiretirement party was one of the coolest things
we have ever done. I can’t exactly describe to you what it felt like when he asked us to perform at his party, but to put it into context, Danny is larger than life to us. We are all proud to say Danny is a close friend and someone we have tremendous respect for not only for his musical accomplishments, but also for the gentle and humble person he is. He was there at the very beginning, playing in some of the most classic bands that inspired us all and started us all heading down the path we all eventually chose to go down. It’s very hard to put in to words, but all I can say is that it was an absolute honor and pleasure to have been asked to be part of this milestone in his life. We joke around and call him “Thrash Legend”, but that’s what he is to us and to everyone else, a legend, and it will always be one of the highlights of our time in Immolation, and I can speak for all the guys when I say that. The party was great, everyone had lots of fun and I think Danny was truly touched by all the people who wanted to be there to celebrate with him. Can’t wait until his 60th!!!!!! Immolation has stayed together for so long, what’s the secret to remain active after all these years? It will be 27 years this coming February for Immolation and I think it simply is our love for what we do that has kept this thing together for all these years. It never became a job or an obligation for us, just a passion. We love creating and performing music, and we love travelling all over the world and getting to meet so many great likeminded people from all corners of the earth. We are very fortunate and never take this for granted, and as long as that passion burns strong, we will continue to do what we do. What will the future bring for Immolation? We have just begun the writing for album number 10. We plan to get this wrapped up and out by mid- year 2015 and then tour like mad. We are confirmed for next year’s Neurotic fest in April, so this will be the official start to the new touring cycle. Until then, we look forward to getting back on the road and seeing everyone again. Do you want to add something, for the readers and fans? Just a big thank you to everyone for their die hard support throughout the years. You are all the reason why we are still here! See you all in 2015! Thanks for the interview!!!
Fast. Short. Loud.
Australia has a great extreme scene, we enjoyed the music of many aussie bands at OEF. But when we think of grindcore in its purest form, one name that undoubtly comes to our mind is The Kill. Borned in 2000 these psychos keep playing as fast as a human can be. There are releasing a new album Kill Them All, so it was the perfect time to interview them. Fast interview for fast grindcore. THE KILL Tell us about the new upcoming album KILL THEM ALL. The title says everything! The new album consists of 18 new “Abusive Aussie Anthems” and one Regurgitate cover. We say fuck Metallica… as no other words could describe this new KILL onslaught! I imagine the new album as an unstoppable barrage of blast beats and furious riffing. How was the recording process? This album has much more of a punk approach! Personally I think it’s faster & nowhere near as clean as MAKE ‘EM SUFFER. With still a handful of single pedal thrash metal & shit loads of blasts!!!!!! As they describe in their facebook, “KILL THEM ALL is ...another lethal dose of typical relentless KILL style grind! With just over 28 minutes of destructive musical violence.” What a great way to describe themselves. Violence Over Europe was the first time of THE KILL in the old continent, right? How good were those intense weeks of touring and drinking? Yes… & the best tour we’ve done & the best beer/Pivo! Fucking crazy wogs!!! Note: in Australia, the term ‘wog’ refers to residents of Mediterranean ethnicity or appearance, obviously as a term of friendship in this case. The stupid question of the day. Have you ever thought to incorporate a bass in THE KILL? Never. THE KILL has his baptism of fire in Trutnov, what did you enjoy most of this first time at Obscene Extreme? Just about everything! Thanks for the interview! Thank you!
Devil Metal Blasphemy
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ounded in 1987, Cleveland, Ohio’s NUNSLAUGHTER have put out nearly 120 blasphemous releases in over two decades without compromising their harsh, old school death/ thrash sound or Christ-butchering image. We interviewed their singer, Don Of The Dead, who nicely opened for us the gates of Hell. So grab your spikes and leather and enjoy this heretic interview.
experience for you? This was one of the best shows/fests that have every played or attended. Everything was taken care of both on stage and off. We would not hesitate to be on another OEF. What do you miss more about the 80’s and the underground metal? The ability to keep track of bands and the comrades that I made through writing letters to them. We had a tight knit bunch of people and that for me meant everything. Do you consider that file sharing sites or Youtube helped Nunslaughter to be more well knowned? Yes I think it has helped just about every band that lacks proper promotion. Hell I have discovered many a band for myself from youtube. Do you like some modern Death Metal, or you just stick with classic underground bands? I stick to early death metal from 1983 till about 1987. After that the underground seem to explode with money and “produced” sounding metal bands. The glory was gone.
How was this European tour? Have you ever imagined to reach that far, being practically a DIY band? HELLo..... “The “Deathcharge” tour was our fourth or fifth time to Europe and it was a blast. We always have a great time with the bands we tour with. It is always surprising and humbling when we get to travel to these amazing places and get to perform for metallist Nunslaughter shows are a lesson in raw & furious Christbaiting metal, what do you like more of live shows? We try to bring a high energy to the show and our music. I like having people sing along and participate in the live shows. How was this Obscene Extreme
You were invited to play on Danny’s Lilker Brutal Birthday. What are your thoughts about Danny’s retirement? Are you planning a special set? No special list for us. Danny is an icon in metal music and he is not fully retiring he is just stepping down from many of the laborious tasks an underground has to put up. I believe he is still willing to do the occasional fest and I a m sure he will not put down the bass forever. It is in his blood. Do you want to say something to the fans? Life is short so listen to metal. So you heard this wise words, now grab your Nunslaugther favourite record and headbang like there`s no tomorrow. Thanks for the interview.
Matraque! Matraque!
This insanely fast Frenchmen are one of the spearheads of grindcore in their country, with bands like Chiens, Filthy Charity, Doomsisters, etc. This guys has the insane number of 150 gigs in 4 years, a noisy and fast assault to Europe. Grindcore without frills. Harshness and power. Aggression and rage. And always with lyrics that do make sense. Grind is protest! You did a great Europe tour with your comrades from Chiens. Which you consider the best shows on the tour? Yeah we went for a 8 shows tour with the dudes from Chiens, it’s hard to pick one highlight show in particular since all of them were awesome. First we got to see Chiens shredding everynight, we’re some lucky bastards, then we met tons of friends everywhere and we got to discover some amazing bands such as Halitosis or Captain
Caveman. Also we had super promoters on that tour and we had tons of weed in cz, so … the whole thing was great. If I really had to pick one I would say that the show in Krakow was amazing, we played with Final Exit, The Kill, Livstid … It was crowded, weed, booze, Andy everyday hate killed on that one! What’s your stake on modern grindcore bands? Where do you see the future of this music? According to me the scene is quite in a good shape actually, tons of great bands all arround the show, people seem also more interested in Grindcore these last years. I think we can observed some wave in the grindcore scene, new bands appear other disaspear, the scene is pretty alive. I remember the first I went to OEF in 2006 many great young band played,
it’s an endless renewal, that’s why I’m not afraid for the future of Grindcore. Plus I mainly listen to old sleazy mincecore and grindcore, that style will never disapear, nothing really new will come up but blast beat will last forever. In France we have a lot going right now with bands such as Chiens, Warfuck, Doomsisters, Satan and so on. : I’m curious about the name of the band, what do you consider an example of Whoresnation? Everybody is curious about that name haha … well first of all it’s kind of a mistranslation, it means fucking nation or wicked nation, but it’s open to interpretation and has several meaning, Mumia Abu Jamal wrote a text entitled whore nation that could offer other leads on the meaning for exemple. I guess every nations stands in the category «whoresnation » as far as we’re concerned. Of course you can set an order but every nations are shit, with their political and economical interest, this name stands against all kinds of government. Your latest effort, “Scum Will Reign” sounds more polished than your selftitled record. How was the recording process? We’ll we had less songs and more time for this one so we apply to make the best we could, maturity must have also played some rôle in the polishing of our music I guess. The process was pretty usual, Lop (guitar) and Chech (bass) came with riffs, Tonio (drums) brought the blast beat, I wrote most of the lyrics last minute as the other were recording. Michol from Chiens recorded us, we always worked with him so he kind of knows us now, he also really improved with years and we love the way he does his job. We recorded at Tonio’s with one of our best friend, it’s diy and full of love, what can I say ? Where is your next goal with the band? Are you planning new records or splits? We don’t have particular goals, just touring and play. We’ll be on tour in october together with Retardnation (Canada) for two weeks, that’s the longest we ever did so looking forward to this ! Our next release will be a 3 ways split with Chiens and Dead Instrument (Danemark), then more wax until the end ! This is your space to express what you want to the readers and fans Hey ! Oï ! Oï ! Listen to Grind, chill, think about the world, people. Peace, love and total fucking destruction. Thanks for the interview!
Turning people into dust
It seems like every band in Czech Republic has its own personality, especially in grindcore. No human could define what is “Czech Grind �thanks to the wide variety of freakery in this scene. Twisted Truth was one of the first acts in the nineties that represented the genre, but these guys add their own dose of strange humor, catchy songs and weird lyrics. After a long time inactive they returned and they seem to be even in a better condition than they were during the last active period. If you dig into the freak vibe please don’t miss this guys, you are about to enter a new level of madness.
TWISTED TRUTH is kind of a misterious band, please guys, tell us more about the band members. How do you get together to play fast grind?
Regards to faraway Argentina… (Note: I, the interviewer I`m from Argentina) well, we are not that mysterious : ) but let me introduce us. For some time, our line-up has been settled on three members, which means: Vana- guitar, Kanabass, vocals and Bella-drums and vocals. We’ve played grindcore together according to our conviction and because we just love this unique underground style of music and we’ve had a whale of a time doing so…. You were very active in the nineties, what do you remember of these early times? How Czech scene has evolved?
Yeah, that’s true. Things were going on pretty well for us in the 90’s because there were just a few bands like us, so we played gigs everywhere and also recorded and released a lot of material. But then, the band just went to a standstill which was our fault and the scene continued to evolve quite well, unfortunately without us… We’ve been trying hard to catch up again since then and we hope it was not in vain and that we’ve managed to succeed in this at least a bit.
Republic has a great grind scene, which are your favourite bands from the country?
I’d say that we’d all agree on the best band and that would be a
long-standing act called Ingrowing…then also But and other such bands from South Bohemia that really rule, together with stylistically different but not less great bands like Gride or Lahar. I’d say that we generally prefer grindcore in its pristine form…TWISTED TRUTH music is sometimes really strange, the titles of songs, music and art are shocking in a strange way. Generally speaking, what are the lyrics about?
Yes, we really have fun making all that mess and it is also a great way for us to unwind. We don’t take ourselves too seriously and we don’t really fight against anything or something like that… That’s why the titles of the songs are for example about why they display soups in supermarkets at eye level and other things like that, ha ha …. You enjoy a lot playing live, for you what’s the best thing about live shows?
Of course the best thing is when there are some mad fans staggering below or jumping around and going crazy and when the sound engineer makes some effort to get the sound clear. Then the bliss reaches its climax…
There was a lot of people waiting you to close Obscene Extreme 2014 (including myself). Tell us about this crazy experience!
Man, I wish every musician could have that experience. I still can’t get it out of my head. It’s just such a special occasion and Obscene Extreme 2014 will stay engraved in gold in the history of our live performances. At first, we were a bit afraid because of the late time we were supposed to play, but now we like to claim that it could not have been better …The people responsible for the quality of the sound were just amazing, so were the stage staff. They all did such a great job at 3 o’clock in the morning??!! We really had not expected that. We just had thought that we would be once again just another last band but the team around Curby just did great … And then the reaction of the fans! The fact that so many of them stayed up- it was just a genuine orgasm… Thanks a lot Curby!!! Do you want to add something?
Thanks so much for your interest and if you like our music I can just add that we’ve been to a studio recently to record some new stuff which will be hopefully out soon… We still hope to frequently play live gigs and we might go on tours to England and Poland etc.-it’s still being negotiated. Thanks again for your questions! Kana and Twisted Truth Thanks for the interview!
”Nothing Left”
D
iploid is a three piece band from Melbourne, Australia. It’s a small new band full of anger and energy. The first time I`ve heard about these guys was on Obscene Extreme Australia 2014 line up and I was catched by their name. But the music was a big surprise, a bitter, misanthropic fusion of Black Metal, Grindcore, and old school screamo. So I decide to interview their bassist Reece Prain to know more about them. If you like depressive music check them out! Please tell us more about Diploid members. How did the band started? We all went to high school together and were all friends. Scott (drummer) and I were in a band together, and our guitarist quit, so Mariam (guitar) joined. But then we pretty much ditched everything about that band and started Diploid in about 2010/2011. At the time Mariam was in her final year of high school, and Scott and I had just finished. Mariam wanted to focus on school a bit, so we really didn’t do much the first year as a band, we were also pretty bad at the time, I could hardly play a bass haha. I’m curious about Diploid, it has a mix of Black Metal, Grind and Hardcore with real heart in it. It can be depressing but also incredibly aggressive. Who are your influences? The influences have changed over time, and sometimes change per song, it’s usually whatever I’m listening to that month. Bands like Infest, Indian Summer, Darkthrone, Napalm Death, Neil Perry, The Locust, Extortion and the Pixies have all influenced the music at some point. But reoccurring influences are: Discordance Axis, F-Minus, In/ Humanity and Witch Hunt. The lyrics are just about humans and what we are, how we act, and what horrible things humanity is capable of. Also some of the lyrics are personal. You’ve got your discography available in bandcamp, but we want more! When we can expect a full length? We started writing for an LP earlier this year. We got to about 11-12 songs into it, but then we decided to do a few splits instead. But I think after that we will try for an LP again, so I guess maybe sometime in 2015 we should have an album out, in the meantime though we have a split with Canine coming out, and a split with Coma Regalia coming out as well. We will have another release coming out hopefully before the end of the year, but we are not too sure what it will be. Your latest EP Human is short but at the same time is
really intense. How was the composition process for Human? When we wrote the tracks for Human I would pretty much write the track and then show it to the other members. But then they would add their own feel to the songs by adding bits and suggesting ideas and things like that. Mariam and I would trade off writing the lyrics for the songs. I think I wrote the lyrics to 4 of them and she wrote the lyrics for 2 of them.know sometimes metal scene rejects “emotional” elements in the music. How is Australia to play, have you ever feel rejected in the scene? The metal scene has actually been really accepting and very nice to us, which is awesome. I haven’t really felt like we have been rejected due to our emotional elements, but I’m sure there are bands and people who are just not into it, and that’s fair, it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. But all in all, everyone has been pretty accepting of us. We already know Australia has an amazing extreme scene. Which are in your opinion the top 5 extreme bands of Australia? My favourite Australian band at the moment is a band called Manhunt. They are from Brisbane and they play really fast, aggressive, Powerviolence. I sometimes feel that they also play borderline Grindcore, it’s so awesome. Some other cool Australian bands are: Whitehorse, Canine, Extortion, and Split Teeth. What are your plans for the future? We are currently booking a tour of New Zealand, which we will be going on at the end of 2014. We also plan on touring Australia, either late this year, or early next. As I mentioned earlier, hopefully we will have an LP out in 2015, and I guess we will try and tour a bit more, hopefully somewhere overseas again. Your final space to say what you wish… Thanks for interviewing us. I’m glad you like the tunes! Thanks for this interview