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DEICIDE - Methods to Benton's Madness
By Adrian 'The Energizer' Bromley
Talking
to Deicide frontman Glen Benton is quite the experience. Not only
does the Floridian metal veteran live in a world of intensity and
anger, spewed in such a righteous way through the blinding assault
of his band for the last 13 years, but he tells it like it is. No
punches pulled. He says what he means and he means what he says.
These are Glen Benton's words.
"Every record that we do as a band signifies a different part of
our lives and the way we were when we recorded them," starts Benton
on the ideas etched into their latest work, Insineratehymn. "This
record is very much a band record, a much closer band effort than,
say, what we had done with the first record. We just went back to
the old way of making music and playing things, and it all worked
out for the better."
Since day one, Deicide has sparked a vast amount of controversy
and interest in the works that they have issued to the metal masses.
The band -- united by guitarist siblings Eric and Brian Hoffman
and drummer Steve Asheim -- have held fast to their beliefs and
their ways with nary a change in sound and direction. They bow to
no one, and those "in the know" know this all too well. With the
same lineup since their inception and the same determination running
through their veins, Deicide know just what keeps them ticking as
we head into the new millennium.
I ask Benton about their ties to the death metal scene, only to
be berated by him with a large intense vocal tone uttering, "We
are not death metal. That is one of the reasons why we are still
around. People know that, our fans know that. What the fuck is death
metal? I've never seen my albums in that section of the record shops.
I don't know what that fucking title means..."
I butt in, "Okay·so where does, or has, Deicide fit in?"
"We've always been metal in regards to our musical style. Just metal,"
notes Benton with directness. "Lyrically I am who I am and I write
from the gut. That is basically where this record is coming. A lot
of things have happened in my personal life that have made me a
different person now. I am more of a heathen now than I have ever
been"
As Benton said, with song titles like "Bible Basher," "Refusal Of
Penance," "The Gift That Keeps On Giving" and "Forever Hate You,"
it isn't hard to really see who is on Benton's hit list. His honest-yet-brutal
songwriting has once again unleashed a beast for us all to devour.
"I wrote all of the lyrics in three months. I had a lot to say.
I left nothing out of this recording. I just got it all down and
on record. I always have something to say, so I guess that is a
good thing about me. I've got a big mouth," he says, chuckling.
Yes he does, but people listen to what he says. There's always a
close following of the Deicide camp (good or bad) when a record
is about to surface and a tour ensues. Why do we listen, Glen? What's
the big deal? What is with all of the fuss? "I love the fact that
people have this love/hate relationship with me. I love it! Everyone
out there can say what they want about me and what I do, but to
be honest, I don't give a fuck. I don't give a fuck about their
worthless opinions. I dealt with assholes 13 years ago and they
are gone now. I guess I'll have to deal with the next bunch of assholes
now."
While things in Deicide have not shifted much over the years, the
music industry has undergone sizable changes since their inception.
Benton's thoughts on the metal scene nowadays? "It is all still
the same shit no matter how you package it and bundle it up, man.
It is still the same fucking thing and all of these bands out there
are now are just leading off where all of the older bands started
and not doing anything different.
"We are still here because we still have the same four members since
we started in 1987," insists Benton regarding the longevity of the
band. "The fact that I don't compromise to sell any records. The
fact that I don't kiss anyone's ass in corporate America. The fact
that I don't give a fuck what people think of me is another reason
why I think we are still around as well. I am who I am and I let
people know that. My honesty keeps me living.
"When I started this band, my goal was to be a recording artist.
I have never been one to go out and want to collect people's souls
and what have you. Let's get realistic, man. I am a spiritual Satanist.
I believe what I believe and I am not asking people to believe what
I do. I am merely here to entertain you with my insanity."
And how have his beliefs in Satanism helped him over the years?
"I am one with myself. I am single now and I am fucking happy, whatever
the definition of happy is, and I am enjoying my life now. I am
very comfortable with myself because for years I was too hidden
by everything. Now I just go out and do whatever the fuck I want
to because I am who I am."
About the material on the new record, Deicide's frontman makes it
quite clear that these are his words and ideas, aspects of their
material that should be understood as such. He states, "I write
how and what I want to write. My lyrics and ideas are there for
my purposes. I am not a fucking role model or a teacher. I am not
looking for a congregation to follow me. I write about things that
go on in my life and my experiences and what I have gone through
and where I am going. I don't think about trying to please my fans.
If it sounds good to me, I'm going with it."
He adds, "People are more worried about their pocketbooks than their
integrity, and I don't give a fuck about all of that. All I care
about doing is what makes me happy and the people in my circle happy.
I am not out to sell records or go platinum. I'll never go platinum.
I don't really care. I won't go platinum. I am here to do what I
do. That is our personality. That is our persona. That is who we
are, and I don't give a fuck about all this bullshit that people
care about.
"Nowadays, I don't give a fuck about anybody's opinions. All the
bullshit and rumours going on is all bullshit. I say what I want
and when I want and I don't care if I get in trouble for it. If
I get in trouble for it, then oh, well.
"We are so behind this record and what we did here," says Benton
with confidence on the new release. "I mean, you have to be behind
the music you make on each record. We are honest to ourselves, and
it shows. If you are not comfortable with yourself, it is like putting
a gun to your head. We took a long time to assemble this record,
but we wanted to be pleased with it. If we ain't pleased with it,
we aren't sending it out."
Seeing the way that Benton is, and his full-on angle of not giving
a shit about things in general other than making music, I'm wondering
how Benton handles dealing with labels and promoting material.
"I don't have to do press for this record, but I am," explains Benton.
"I was going through a lot of shit and personal things in my life
when Serpents Of The Light (1997) came out. I blew off all of my
press because I didn't want to talk about anything or having people
pry into my life. Now I am all over that shit and I am a better
person because of it. I am only doing press because the fans want
to know what is going on with the band these days.
"We have dedicated fans," says Benton about the band's loyal fan
base worldwide. "Whenever we have a new record coming out, our fans
know about it and it isn't 'cause Roadrunner Records took out a
full-page ad in a magazine. It is because they have a need for it,
to hear and see us play live. Every time we put out a new record
and play out we pull more in. That is the way the game is played.
We just want people to get into the band and get something out of
it. That's it, plain and simple."
DISCOGRAPHY:
Insineratehymn - 2000
When Satan Lives (live) - 1998
Serpents Of The Light -1997
Once Upon The Cross - 1993
Amon: Feasting The Beast - 1993
Legion - 1992
Deicide - 1990
http://www.insineratehymn.net/
ENSLAVED
Beyond Nightmares, Within Nothingness
By Jessica Hardaway
Enslaved have been known as an integral and important band in the
Norwegian metal community, but I have always suspected them of being
in a world of their own, creating their music from a primal state
of narcissism, which is the only way in my view. Their early split
albums with Emperor and Satyricon also served to set them apart
as a band that doesn't follow rules. Enslaved has put out powerful
material in the past, with such classics as 1994's Frost, and they
will continue to reign with their aggressive style of metal as the
date of their new album's release draws near. So what are we to
expect of Enslaved's next assault? Ivar Bj¿rnson enthusiastically
delved into the matter at hand.
"Mardraum is half of the (album) title. The other half is Beyond
The Within, which was originally intended to be a kind of subtitle,
but kinda ended up like the other half of the main title. So the
complete title is Mardraum (Beyond the Within). Mardraum is a word
from the older part of the Norwegian language. The simplest translation
would be 'nightmare,' but the word has a deeper meaning. It is a
phenomenon from folkloristic traditions. The 'Mare' is a mythic
female figurine that comes to torture men and women in their sleep.
So a Mardraum is a dream induced by the Mare. This is some of the
atmosphere mirrored on Mardraum... We went into the studio with
no idea whatsoever concerning the title for the album. As we worked
with the recording and lyrics on the album, we discovered patterns
of dreamlike and often 'psychedelic' (a worn-out word, but in a
strange way it still bears some meaning for me) elements in music
[and] arrangements. These fragments of dreams most often have a
somewhat hostile, dark and strange, yet ambient and surprisingly
familiar edge to them -- and that's what nightmares are all about.
Scaring yet comforting. Panic and calm at the same time -- absurdity
and logic perfectly intertwined. True existence -- existing without
truth."
Listening closely and analyzing the hell out of some of Mardraum's
songs, I arrived at the conclusion that the melodies on the album
appear to be less dramatic than their previous works. I stand to
be corrected:
"Less melodramatic, yes. Less dramatic, no. Personally I find this
album the most dramatic album we have done to date. The melodrama
seems to be gone from most of the material. At least I feel that
this is somewhat true speaking of the music I myself am responsible
for on the album (65-70% of the material). The drama is not so obvious
these days. The total absence of keyboards may be a factor. And
yes, we are 'flirting' with other genres of music. But this isn't
something we do consciously or have any opinions about. I think
the whole genre deal is a waste of words and time. It's all music,
and I prefer to navigate in the musical world with criteria like
'good' or 'bad' music. If it's 'good,' I like it; if it's not, it's
'bad,' and I despise it, meaning I don't care."
Good and bad music aren't simply defined as nice sounding and atrocious
sounding. To Ivar it means more: "This is such a subjective thing
that I even find 'good' music bad for reasons of childish annoyances
with the artists. Like Dimmu Borgir and those clowns. Music-wise
it's 'good' -- I can clearly hear skills and clever arrangements;
I even suspect them of being clever musicians, composers and people
in general. But the whole deal with blowing the last remains of
a scene of extreme music with integrity and actual opinions to pieces
for the sake of 'fame' (it's really only 15 minutes in the spotlight
-- like people will remember them for being the best choreographed
and painted black metal band early in the 21st century), and 'money'
(it's not really money, it's nickels and dimes). The only real money
in the black metal scene is safely lying in the pockets of label
managers and promotion agencies."
As much as a band may change, some elements will remain. Expect
some of the chanting and atmosphere of 1997's Eld to reoccur: "I
definitely feel that we have progressed a lot from album to album,
even though I'm not sure if the Eld-to-Blodhemn (1998) sequence
was really a step ahead. Maybe it was more like a step to the side?
I know that we are better at playing, but I find it impossible to
determine if we have progressed in all areas. I think so; I like
most of the new songs on Mardraum· better than all our older stuff,
including Eld. I am not totally convinced about the Mardraum-Eld
comparison, but you might have a point there. I myself think the
Eld album is totally great! The melodic thing is quite dominating
on Eld and this new one, so I think I'll just join your conclusion
there. On the other hand, you might just be imagining things. Who
knows? I am imagining a lot of things. Life.
"We are definitely doing some stuff in the technical area, but I
don't know if this is something that will continue, or if it is
just something for Mardraum· I enjoy technical stuff, but I have
to admit that I am really a fanatic supporter of simplicity. I suspect
our next album will be quite different."
With so many changes going on with Enslaved, I wondered about the
concept of their new album. With their past work being self-described
as Viking Metal, it was refreshing to find out their simple-yet-sharp
thesis: "The concept has to do with our views on the worlds -- inner
and outer. As most people could guess from our appearance we don't
think much of the outer worlds. This album acts as an outlet for
our hostility towards stupid mass movements, authorities who don't
deserve their authority, stupidity, and a lot of crazy shit that
is going on at an enormous rate all around the vermin-infested world
-- or 'hive' as I call it. The lyrics on Mardraum (Beyond the Within)
are in Enslaved's tradition of the 'Viking Way,' meaning that there
are a lot of links to the mythology and magic beliefs of our ancestors.
But they are much more personal than they have been ever before,
and therefore more difficult to logically discuss than ever before.
I like them."
It's tiresome to deal with the flood of mediocre neo-pagan bands
who suddenly think they are Viking Metal and run around spouting
stupidity, and this irritation is certainly shared by Ivar. "A lot
of the meaning and 'messages' in our lyrics are nested in the tradition
of the ancient Northern beliefs, and the way of the Viking is our
way. Not meaning that we spend a lot of time dressing up like they
did in the year 790 -- like most other Viking Metal bands do. We
try to connect with our ancestors on a non-material level -- thoughts,
dreams, runes, and the inner worlds. The term 'Viking Metal' has
been turned into a bad joke today by dozens of worthless 'musicians'
running around in potato sacks grunting about "Hey! Ho! Give me
mug of ale! I am Viking and want to fight. Hey! Ho! I am Oden's
son, and give me a mug of ale!" So I guess they can keep the Viking
Metal title to themselves. We'll settle with 'extreme metal' or
just 'metal.' Even 'good music' would do it for me.
It's a bit of a hassle for a band to have lineup changes, but Enslaved
have kept their membership consistent for this new album. They also
returned to the scene of Blodhemn's creation, Peter Tagtgren's Abyss
Studio, having worked with Pytten at Grieghallen for Frost and Eld.
Says Ivar, "The lineup is the same: myself, guitars and electric
blasts; Grutle Kjellson, bass and war cries; R. Kronheim, guitars
and backing voice; Dirge Rep, drums and violence. This is the collective.
I honestly don't think the change from Pytten to Abyss has had any
effect on the musical approach. Maybe the way we record stuff, and
maybe the musical approach is slightly coloured by the soundscape,
which is very different from Pytten's Grieghallen and Abyss, but
there's no direct connection. The song remains the same."
Ivar reminisces a bit about Enslaved's past releases: "We'll do
a split album again if a good enough band shows up. I like our old
albums a lot, but I prefer the latest. I'm not a heavy nostalgic,
which seems to be a common defect in the music scene today. I love
the Yggdrasill demo, but the split CD with Satyricon wasn't the
best idea. It should have been released as a demo of its own, or
maybe along with another band. Enslaved and Satyricon are worlds
apart. Different style, different lyrics, different views, different
appearance. I would consider basically everything; nothing is dismissed
without consideration."
A lot of the BM musicians of the early '90s have matured, exploring
different genres and interests, and have few remaining ties to their
earlier beliefs. "I agree, and I think we have a fairly interesting
music scene. People like Garm, Fenriz, M-Eternal (formerly Malignant
Eternal), and Mayhem -- the album is crazy and very good -- have
all gone 'new ways,' and have contributed heavily to the evolution
of Norwegian metal. The interests have definitely turned back to
the music (with some exceptions, who seem to prefer the role of
the circus artist). Excellent music is still popping out of the
dark Norwegian forests, both new innovative and experimental music
as mentioned above, and more traditional extremely high-quality
black metal like Immortal, Darkthrone, Gorgoroth, Aeternus (dark
metal), Hades Almighty and so on. It is positive for us, yes. There
is still a metal community here; the Bergen scene is stronger than
ever!"
"There is a strong sense of community among a lot of bands. There
is a particular stronghold here in Bergen: Enslaved, Immortal, Gorgoroth,
Hades Almighty, Cult of Katharsis, Obtained Enslavement, Taake,
Aeternus, M-Eternal. We are also proud to share the flag with other
Norwegian acts like Emperor, Zyklon, Mayhem, Darkthrone, Aura Noir,
Keeper of Kalessin, Perished and so on."
I watched Enslaved's performance at Wacken Open Air '99 and found
it ultra-intense, as if they sped their material up three-fold.
"We used to 'up the notch' a lot, but these days we're going back
to playing them more as they were. It is a circular kind of thing,
and we've reached some kind of point were we take the old songs
for what they are. We want to re-animate them more than to reinvent
or improve them. We really enjoy playing live. It is of the highest
importance for us to go out there and ravage. We enjoy playing,
getting feedback, meeting old and new fans, and can even enjoy criticism
from time to time -- not very often, of course. I don't believe
in the misanthropic mumbo-jumbo. We're in the process of planning
tours for the new album, but nothing is ready yet. We're going to
the US to do a one-week tour as co-headliners with Destruction from
the 27th of July to the 6th of August (hail Schmier!)."
I do not know very much about the ideology of the members of Enslaved.
Though it's not a question that's directly related to the music,
what are the important things to the members of Enslaved? "What
is important to us is everything and nothing, especially the latter.
We believe in chaos, laughter, creation, alcohol, metal, music,
extremity. We believe in no absolute truths, but live by the honour
codes of our ancestors. We believe in free will and the destruction
of all illusions, especially the illusion of normality, which has
infested a formerly healthy globe...be it Christianity, mainstream,
authorities or fucking chart-dance music. We also believe in the
god-state of the individual and the abandonment of the guilt, suppression
and stupidity the religious/political world has to offer its citizens.
We believe in nothingness, where true existence can be spawned."
KATAKLYSM
Escape From The Fallen World
By Adrian 'The Energizer' Bromley
"·First there was darkness. Then came the strangers. They were a
race as old as time itself. They had mastered the ultimate technology,
the ability to alter physical reality by will alone. They called
this ability tuning. But they were dying. Their civilization was
in decline, and so they abandoned their world seeking a cure for
their own mortality. Their endless journey brought them to a small
blue world in the corner of the galaxy. Our world. Here they thought
they had finally found what they had been searching for·" - spoken
dialogue from the movie 'Dark City'
And so begins Kataklysm's deafening assault of vicious guitar riffs,
unbearable blast beats that beat our bodies black and blue, and
rough vocals pounding away at our skulls. The band's latest album
for Nuclear Blast, The Prophecy (Stigmata Of The Immaculate), is
a truly powerful dose of death metal music for the year 2000.
The intro to the album, as you read above, best describes the band's
rise to the occasion, which we will get to later. It sums up the
band's searching out the need for intensity that they thrived on
to keep the band's name going, despite what many had thought was
the outcome with their ill-fated last release, Victims Of The Fallen
World (on Hypnotic Records). A return to form? You be the judge.
"I think that any band in their careers has had some low points,
and I think Victims... was a low point for Kataklysm," begins Maurizio
Iacono about the band's previous record. "We (the band is rounded
out by guitarist Jean-Francois Dagenais, bassist Stephane Barbe
and drummer Max Duhamel) really wanted to experiment with the recording,
and there was a lot of shit going on at the time. I think our judgement
was clouded. I'm not making excuses for that album. I'm still proud
of what we did with that album. It was a record that had a lot going
on with Sylvain (ex-singer) leaving, me taking over vocals, something
I had never done before, a new bass player, and Max (drummer) coming
back into the band after two years of being out of it. We were trying
to make it all work. We were trying to put all of that together
and desperately trying to put a record out and keep the name out.
As you know, this metal scene regenerates every three years or so,
and we just wanted to keep up with things and let the kids know
we hadn't gone away."
Regarding Victims... itself, he says, "I think the only thing wrong
with that record was the cover art and the production. I think had
we focused more on the production and the artwork, the results would
have been better. We chose all of the decisions that went along
with that record, and we just didn't want to have the same ideas
and artwork and Sylvain's vocal style. We wanted to present to people
a Kataklysm that they had not really known. We just had so much
going on, and in all honesty, we thought this was going to be our
last record. We just did it for fun.
"It is difficult to explain why we did it, but it had to be done.
We really needed to reach a low point in our careers to have the
ability to come back stronger than before. And we did."
And return they have. The new disc is a solid piece of work, etching
the brutality of their former style, meshed with a kinetic groove
and strengthened musicianship. How did they get to this point once
again? What was their plan of attack?
"We really didn't know how we were going to approach it. When we
went out on tour with Vader for that record, there were a lot of
mixed emotions about it. But our fans were there during the European
tour and supporting the new material and us. And you know what is
fucked? The stuff we played live sounded three times as heavy than
on disc. The record had a hardcore root to it and I think we went
overboard a bit too much. But when we started to get into the tour
we were realizing a lot of the fans liked the stuff but told us
we should go back to what we were doing. And so we did. We knew
we had to get more extreme."
And so the trek began
"Yeah.it was a bit hard at the start, but we got all of our ideas
going and realized that this record had to put Kataklysm back on
track. Once we entered the studio it was really smooth once things
got going, having only taken three months to do. We worked hard
on this record and I personally think this is the best stuff we
have offered so far as Kataklysm.
"We really poured our guts and emotions into this record," states
Iacono. "This is a real depressing record; very honest, but depressing.
The ideas here are hard hitting, and that is what makes the music
work so well, I think. I think we could have done a lot more for
this record, but we didn't want to push the limits too much with
the band. I really wanted to make sure first and foremost that we
reestablished the band and restructure everything. I think that
was the mission of the album and I think we'll be able to do that.
I think this will bring us back to the level where we need to be.
I think the next record will be the one that we have to put out
to break out into the whole music scene, and we'll do it. We'll
be putting 150% into that one. This record allowed us to put the
elements of the band into it. The extreme sounds, the melody, the
groove and just fix it up real nice to put us back on the map. We're
going to come back in 2002 with a strong release."
One thing Maurizio is happy with is label support. He is just happy
to see Nuclear Blast really pushing the new disc. "It just makes
me feel real good, 'cause I can tell by the way things are looking
that they want to make this record work," he says. "We have a great
tour, great press and it is going fine. But some bands don't understand
the importance of checking up on things and knowing what is going
on with the label. There are so many bands that want things, but
it is difficult to have it your way if you don't have a good album.
I think there is so much competition. We as a band are not afraid
to go out there and put a record out and compete with the rest,
but mediocre doesn't cut it anymore. Reaction to records is everything,
and in this day and age you need to know where you are going. This
is a business, unfortunately, but that doesn't mean you have to
cater to the people out there -- just make sure you release a worthy
record for people to grab onto and enjoy."
Moving on, I corner Iacono about the spoken passage that starts
the album. The passage, spoken, ironically, by fellow Canuck Keifer
Sutherland in his role as Doctor Schreber in Alex Proya's brilliant
film "Dark City," seems to fit nicely with the theme of the record.
Was this planned? How did they choose that specific intro?
"I totally dig that movie and there was just something about that
movie," notes Iacono. "I had written the lyrics to '1999:6661:2000'
before I had seen that movie. I was like, 'Holy fuck! That movie
is so close to the concept of this record.' It was too bizarre,
as the movie kind of seemed to fit the record as each track went
along. When I heard the intro as the movie started, I knew we had
to use it. Nuclear Blast got the rights to the sample and I just
think it really helps the record get started. I fucking love it!"
Determination and honesty have been the saving grace of Kataklysm.
Their paths of metal exploration have brought a lot of respect and
notoriety to the Canadian metal scene (a healthy one that has also
produced Cryptopsy, Gorguts, Solus, Voivod, and Jaww) and from their
hard work and inevitable ups and downs over the years, they can
honestly say that it's all been worthwhile.
"I think the fact that we have never been a huge band has been our
saving grace. I look at us like a band like At The Gates, who were
big, but not huge. I mean, those guys really put a lot of effort
into what they did. I mean, when did they get huge? The Slaughter
Of The Soul album? That was their third or fourth release. They
made it from all the hard work and people taking note of them and
following them. When we started out we were very young, and while
Temple Of Knowledge (1996) may have been a great record and real
technical, I think this is our best record 'cause it is very mature
sounding. We explored a lot of ideas. I think we are just now developing
where we want to go with the band. It is a lot more focused in the
songwriting for us now than it has been in the past."
He ends, "I think (there's) a lot more to come for this band. I'm
the oldest guy in the band at age 26. We're young, and I know we
have a lot more ideas to explore with Kataklysm. We are on the right
path for sure, and I'm glad to see that once again everyone else
agrees too."
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