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BACK
STRAPPING
YOUNG LAD - Madman Loose in the City
By Adrian 'The Energizer' Bromley
If you let mastermind/producer/programmer/singer/madman
Devin Townsend do what he wants when he goes into the studio, the
results are stunning. Just listen to Strapping Young Lad's sophomore
record City or any of his other numerous projects (Ocean Machine
or Punky Brewster) and you'll see what I mean. City will either
give you a heart attack or give you a well-deserved beating. Take
yer pick.
"I don't even think it was a conscious effort on my part when writing
this record," explains Townsend about the heaviness of the new record,
far greater than the debut album Heavy As A Real Heavy Thing (1995)
for Century Media. "When I wrote this record it was a pretty strange
time in my life and all those ideas and emotions just came out and
went into the song writing. When this record got written I was in
the midst of doing the record for my other project Ocean Machine,
a very highly melodic-based music band, and I came to Los Angeles
to record it and all this shit in my life happened within two months
time. I need to write this stuff and get it out. I find the first
record to be silly and light-hearted but still heavy, while this
record didn't end up the same way as the first one just because
of the state I was in when I was writing it. It was pretty crazy
then."
As much as Townsend likes to do the whole 'studio thing,' the process
of establishing song ideas and complete songs is a lengthy process
for him as a songwriter. "I usually start with the basic framework
for a song idea and just let it go. I tend not to do too many demos
because I lose interest in a song when I work on it too much," he
says. "I keep all my notes on the song and lyrics in a book and
once I have ten songs ready to go I bring the ideas out of the closet
and give the skeleton framework to the people (musicians) I am working
with and let them do what they want to do to it, as long as it stays
in the confines of the band's music style. >From there we add the
final touches and add our own experimental ideas to the material
and finish it off." Note: ex-Death/Dark Angel drummer Gene Hoglan
is now the drummer for SYL.
He finishes, "This process of songwriting has a bit of organization
but no real set schedule to follow or organized steps to create
music. It's all what we feel needs to be brought to the music. That's
what's important."
Sonically, SYL have strengthened their approach to making loud,
aggressive music. The ten songs on City rarely approach a slow pace,
choosing to rip and tear at your throat rather than provide ambience
or tranquil settings. About the sound and heaviness on City, Devin
says "I think this record is way heavier than the last one, but
I still have people coming up to me saying that the record isn't
heavy and I say, 'You must be listening to the wrong record because
this one is so intense.'"
On this record Townsend worked with producer Daniel Bergstrand (who
mixed the record), a producer who worked with Stuck Mojo on their
sophomore record Pigwalk and Townsend's other project Ocean Machine.
About Bergstrand he comments, "First off I liked what he did with
the Meshuggah record (1995's Destroy Erase Improve) and when we
started working together we got along quite well. It just snowballed
and we ended up doing all of these projects together. The thing
is we are both almost the same age (24) and we think very much the
same. It ended up being a good convenience to work together, and
not to say he isn't good at what he does, it just seemed to worked
out well for us being in on a project or projects together. He is
great at what he does."
As the music by Townsend has shifted over the years, whether it
be his work with Steve Vai, The Wildhearts or even SYL, when asked
the question about how he has changed as a person Townsend offers
this response: "I got a lot older and things have changed for me
over the last few years. Years ago I wasn't naive, just so happy-go-lucky,
and all of a sudden you have to realize that you change. I realized
that I had a lot of things to say and to get out of my system. You
also have to see and be a part of the industry side of things too
when you are a musician and that gets a bit tedious. It is not really
based on talent or music, rather it is the politics of it all and
the finances. For myself and what I do, all I want to do is get
all of this music out of me. So I said to myself, 'Fuck this! I
am gonna start up my own label and get things going for myself that
I can focus on without being hindered whether it is fashionably
correct.' So I did start up a label, it is called HDR, and Ocean
Machine is coming out on that, as are a bunch of other projects
I am working on." He adds, "It seems a lot easier to bypass it all
and to do it myself and I think that it comes from me becoming a
bit older and realizing that I don't have to impress these (industry)
people anymore. This whole business of impressing people is a crock
of shit and I found out that you don't have to go out of your way
to impress people and that you can focus on creating music and not
having to play up to these bullshit scenarios."
About the whole label/business side to creating and funding SYL's
musical endeavors, Townsend offers this anecdote. "It was funny
when I was going into making this record. Century Media was like,
'We want you to do this sort of a record,' and I was like, 'Yeah...cool!
Just gimme some money to do it,' and I went off and did what I wanted
to do," he chuckles. "It was funny the way it turned out. People
wanted me to do this certain SYL sound over and over and what I
did instead was what I wanted to do on City. That is why I find
City satisfying."
On the subject of the album title City, Townsend states that it
comes from the situations he was facing and his life experiences
while making the record and living in La-La land. "I spent some
time in Tokyo and Los Angeles and just found that as I've grown
up I see things differently now. The whole feeling of being anonymous
in a big city is a really cool feeling. To be able to walk around
and look at things, to be like a voyeur, without having to involve
yourself to any extent. I just liked that. The cover artwork features
the layout/blueprints of an engine and that is a metaphor of how
a city works or even how the mind works. I also brought into the
record the dirty feelings and bad experiences I got while being
here in Los Angeles. There seems to be this whole cynical feeling
going throughout the whole record. Playing back the record now I
can hear it quite clearly."
And does this impression of life and a big city carry into his views
of the music industry too? "Of course," juts in Townsend, "No one
gives a shit, bud. You can be the best guitar player in the world
and no one gives a shit cuz there are ten more of you ready to come
into the industry when you fail. That is why I am happy being able
to start up my own record label and be able to do what I want to
do. I know there is an audience of people who are into what I do.
Those are the people I will be making these records for. I feel
more for those people, to have contact with them, more than someone
who listens to the record and doesn't like it because it doesn't
sound like Korn. I do what I do. Either you like it or you don't.
End of story."
Avernus - Mid-West's Newest Metal Sensation
By Adam Wasylyk
Ever since I saw this band at last year's Milwaukee
Metal Fest I knew this band was going places. Upon listening to
their demo "Farewell To Eden" I became a big fan of their brand
of melancholic doom. After every listen to that demo I always asked
myself why they were still unsigned. After learning that Avernus
(consisting of vocalist/guitar syth Rick McCoy, guitarist Erick
Kikke, guitarist Robert Franco, bassist Tony Volpe, drums/percussionist
Rick Yifrach and keyboarist Chris Predkiewicz) had signed to MIA
records I knew I must talk to the band myself. Having had previous
correspondence with vocalist Rick McCoy, he would be the man I ended
up talking to. Having a pleasant chat, this is what Rick had to
say.
U!: Let's start off with the band's history, prior recordings and
any other important information.
RM: We started in November of 1992. Back then it was me and our
drummer Rick, who is now not in the band any more, and this other
guy. We tried to do something different in the beginning. We actually
released a demo, it pretty much was really bad death metal (laughs).
Really cheesy (and) no direction. The guy we were working with was
impossible to work with. About two weeks after we released the demo
we pretty much decided we didn't want to work with him anymore and
we wanted to go the route that we did, adding keyboards and whatnot.
In the beginning of '94 we started writing for the Sadness demo.
It took almost a year to write all the songs and put it out but
we got some good responses from it. About a year later we decided
that we were getting burned out and we felt limited, songwriting-wise.
So we decided we were gonna try a different route. I started singing
normally, and that was when the labels started talking to us but
nothing really happened with them because a lot of them didn't understand
what we were doing and how to market it. The only one that really
came after us and presented us with a really good deal was MIA and
that was pretty much what we did.
U!: Your ex-female vocalist Kim Goss left to join the black metal
band Ancient. What led up to her leaving?
RM: That was about a year ago, in January of '96. She had been writing
to all of these black metal bands and sending them copies of the
Sadness demo so they could hear what she sounded like. They invited
her out to sing on their album and she pretty much left and we haven't
really seen her or talked to her for at least a year now. I don't
know what she's doing or where she's at.
U!: You mentioned in one of our correspondences that your sound
will become more darker and heavier while retaining an experimental
edge. With your drummer and one of your guitarists now gone, are
they the reason for this sound-change?
RM: Definitely, as they weren't into the heavy guitars that much.
If you listen to the new album the guitars aren't that heavy, the
tone at least is kind of weak. They weren't really into the heavy
stuff and I don't think they wanted to get into the darker stuff
for some reason and we wanted to do the opposite, to kinda go back
to where we came from and that's definitely the direction we're
going into.
U!: Tell me about the new disk ...Of the Fallen, I noticed there's
also a couple of tracks from your Farewell to Eden demo....
RM: Actually we recorded the majority of the songs in March of 1996
because we were planning on releasing it ourselves or trying to
find some small company that might put it out. At that point we
were fed up and frustrated because we came close to signing to a
decent label and we jumped the gun recording it. A lot of the songs
are pretty old. I think they're an okay representation of the band
(a year ago). It won't be until the second album that people will
understand what we're about to do.
U!: Can you tell me what your lyrics are about, are they personal
experiences of yours?
RM: I guess you could say personal experiences led to creating some
of the lyrics because some of them don't have concrete ideas as
they were more stream of consciousness. They deal with personal
feelings and my outlook on life.
U!: So what is the band doing now, are you preparing to tour or
are you doing any writing for the new album?
RM: We're going to be touring next month with Sunshine Blind who
are from San Francisco. That's going to be a couple of weeks and
after that I believe we're going to go out again with another band.
Between then we're going to be writing, actually we just started
working on a new song and I'm quite happy about it. I think it's
(the next record) is definitely gonna blow this disk away!
U!: What do you see Avernus accomplishing in 1997 and the years
ahead?
RM: Hopefully doing some more tours and putting out more material
and just getting our name out. We want to go out there and to get
our own little crowd going. And to keep putting stuff out and writing,
that's the most important thing.
Mortician - Horrific Tales Told
By Adrian 'The Energizer' Bromley
Mortician. The band's name and music brings to mind
putrid visions, obscene lyrics, brutal music, eerie samples from
horror films and total mayhem. The band's latest release Hacked
Up For Barbecue (Relapse) is a vast collection of the horror-filled
and horror-inspired ideas of it's frontman/bassist Will Rahmer -
a devoted horror film aficionado.
The 24 tracks on the latest LP (a follow-up to 1995's House By The
Cemetery EP) ravages at your psyche and creates not only disturbing
images, but images that are not for the feign of heart. Songs like
"Morbid Butchery," "Blood Craving" or "Cannibal Feast" prove to
be deafening blows of brutal carnage.
Over the phone from Relapse offices in Pennsylvania, Rahmer gives
us the low-down about the sick and demented world of Mortician and
what his music means to him and fellow band mate Roger Beaujard
(guitar/drum programming).
"We tried to get a clearer sound with this record because we discovered
that with past records when you wanted to crank up our music you
had to turn the bass down. This time we got the levels cranked and
cleaned up the production but still kept it heavy," says Rahmer
about the recording. "We did this record in Roger's basement which
is what we like to do. We like to record in a basement on a recording
device (DAT) because it is easier for us to take our time and not
be rushed into what we do."
I have always been intrigued about Rahmer's horror samples that
he finds and uses so effectively in his music and have always wanted
to find out where or how he decides what will be used. "We try to
base the music and all the samples we find on a whole horror atmosphere,"
says Rahmer answering my question, "The samples we search out and
use are the ones that'll help bring about a violent atmosphere to
the music." He adds, "We are just looking to making our music brutal.
To have a lot of brutality like in the old days with bands such
as Terrorizer or Napalm Death. We wanted a more updated version
of that."
Also to mention, Rahmer has a huge collection of horror movies at
his home, acting as a definite source for his music. About horror
movies and his collection he says, "I like a lot of the Italian
horror films where they show a lot of gore. I also like American
films like The Shining. I have a huge collection, close to 500 movies.
Too many to name but I love'em all."
The thing that has been probably the most beneficial factor for
Mortician, other than releasing records, is the band's truly diverse
and underground following. People love the carnage and brutality
spewed forth by Mortician. They love this shit. "I think it is great
that our fan base is so different and spread out. Mortician draws
a wide variety of music fans," notes Rahmer, "Skinheads. Gothic
people. Death metal fans. All of these types of people buy our music
and come out to see us play. It's great." And about their live shows?
"It is great for people to come see Mortician live. Not only are
you getting the music but you get to see us on stage playing with
a cool 'graveyard-like' atmosphere."
In closing, Rahmer and I discuss people's perception of him as a
person. I'm sure a lot of people who may sample some of the band's
music or view any of their artwork might see the members of Mortician
as 'disturbed' individuals. Rahmer agrees. "People actually think
I am a rape maniac or something like that. But that isn't the case.
I am into making the music. That is what I fuckin' do. I don't care
what people say. I'm not a serial killer. I think people blow this
way out of proportion sometimes."
He finishes the interview answering the question, 'Do you think
musicians are a different breed of people - the way they view life
and vision things?' He answers, "I'm not an average person and neither
are musicians. Musicians have a different way of looking at things
and the things that they see or feel (is what) they write about.
It's very expressive, what we do. I look at being a musician this
way: I like horror, so I create horror though my music and doing
that helps me get out of living in a normal world."
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