At this year’s Eternal Warfare Records Fest you will have the chance to talk to two of the most prolific illustrator/musician/tattooists out there right now. To celebrate their participation at the Salem, OR, fest from March 29th to 31st (aka this weekend), Bryan Proteau of Natvres Mortes Illvstration and Rueben Sawyer of Rainbath Visual agreed to interview each other.
This is Part I of the interview: Rainbath Visual Interviews Natvres Mortes Illvstration

What inspires your current body of work?

This is a difficult question to answer because I’m inspired by so many different things these days. The original concept when I started Natvres Mortes was to tap in to how nature was represented in art in ancient times. I was highly inspired by the time in history when science and magic were seen as almost the same thing, new animals were being discovered and the fear of the unknown and the brutality of nature was sometimes depicted in a manner that was altogether bizarre. I know that’s a really weird specific thing to build my illustration around, and so many more modern influences have crept in since then.

Aaron Edge is many things – a husband, artist, musician and all around awesome dude. When we first started this zine, he believed in us and was always sending us positive vibes. That’s why when I heard he was diagnosed with MS (Multiple Sclerosis) I wanted to get the word out to all of our CVLT Nation readers to rally around his cause. Aaron, stay strong my brother! Read his story below and buy one of his tees to support him and help with his ridiculous medical costs. Aaron has been a part of the underground scene for decades, and now it’s our time to give back to him!

Interview via Furtherfasterforever.com

None of this would exist if it wasn’t for Aaron Edge.

F3 isn’t just a hash tag, it is a way of life.

While riding 100 mile centuries in the Pacific Northwest of the United States, Aaron used to scribble Further Faster Forever on his handle bars to remind himself that he could go that extra mile. Little did Aaron know that one day that mantra would start a global movement to motivate and inspire athletes to go beyond their limits. Aaron, a print designer who now lives in Portland, not only created the mantra but designed the logo that has adorned thousands upon thousands of pictures on Instagram, Facebook & Twitter.

The last few weeks we haven’t featured an athlete of the week because we wanted to dedicate a period of time to share Aaron’s story with all of you. This past week we had the chance to really get to know the man behind the hash tag.

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ALTERED STATES are a new band from Dublin who came out of nowhere towards the end of last year. Sharing a member with fellow Dubliners Crows, there’s still a hardcore element to this young DIY band, but Altered States are primarily more of a sludged-out, doom-driven raucous affair than the straight up fast hardcore of their brother band. I caught up with guitarist/vocalist Dave King to get the story on these fresh faced, volume loving riff mongers.

So Dave let’s start at the start – how did Altered States come into being?

Altered States formed in the back of a mitsubishi colt in August 2012. We were listening to Type O Negative and hot boxing the car when decided that we should start a band. We’ve known each other since we were about 12 and had played in shitty bands together so we knew it would be a laugh. Although we sound absolutely nothing like Type O.

Stream Altered States’ raw two song demo here!:

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October Falls is the project behind Finnish mastermind M. Lehto, who has been creating dark folk and melodic black metal for a decade. Over the years he has been honing his craft and fusing the two genres into a grandiose vision that results in the quintessential soundtrack to the beautiful North. His newest effort, The Plague of a Coming Age, is the most epic of his releases and sees the addition of new ideas, more dynamic sounds and the inclusion of a few other Finnish greats.

Congrats on the new album! Are you happy with the final result?

Thanks a lot! I have to say, that after endless problems and delays, it feels great to overcome them and finally get this out. I’m very happy with the result, it has something new, but there’s still the old elements included. Naturally, as always, you can never be complitely satisfied with the result or if you’d be, there would be no reason to continue anymore.

The early years of October Falls focused heavily on instrumental folk music, but it’s been six years since the last release of that type. How has the focus of the music changed over the years and is that a style you would return to?

I think when Marko joined on The Womb of Primordial Nature, that inspired me to make more music with this direction as I knew he was a perfect drummer for this style and with him on board this could be taken into new dimensions. Yet, the acoustic style is not abandoned, there has been some new acoustic tracks on compilations or split-releases and within few years and I’d really like to write a new album with acoustic material again at some point, maybe next, then again maybe not. It’s all about the current inspiration I have, sometimes I write acoustic material, sometimes the music works better with harsher approach.

Here in the Pacific Northwest we refer to your sound as Cascadian Metal – black metal inspired by a folk aesthetic and drawing inspiration from the natural world. Do you have much knowledge of this scene? Why do you think this combination of styles is so effective and intriguing?

Not that much really to be honest. I know some bands that are labeled as Cascadian Metal, but I know there’s a lot more to be heard. I think this combination of styles is quite emotional and also reaches some people who might not be that interested about black metal itself, yet still enjoy the harshness of the music, but also needs it to have melodies and more nature oriented approach.
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Interview by Andy (Leffer)

WARTORN are a whirlwind of thrash punk goodness hailing from Wisconsin. Since 2004, they’ve been hitting the touring and record release circuit with no looking back. Here’s a quick interview I did to assist in the Profane Existence release of their single.

Andy: You know the drill, just give us the basics on who’s who and what’s changed in the past, in regards to any line up changes, etc. Also, give us some insight on where WARTORN is going. We want to know tours, records, riots, protests, arrests….the whole back story on WARTORN’s origins.

Bitty: (Vocals) The band started in 2004, with Ryan, Hart (on drums) and myself as a three-piece. Within half a year I got a call with an offer for our first tour, which was with Municipal Waste. We did a mini tour with them and ever since then we have been able to go on tours with amazing bands each year such as Los Dolares, ATU, CYP, Krang, In Defence, Pyroklast, Hellshock, and up next RAW POWER . We have been to 13 countries and have done lots of releases on many different labels.

Ryan: guitar / low vocals / whiskey enthusiast. Well we started as a 3-piece and over a span of over 8 years, have ended up with 6 members. With 3 of us being guitar players we are able to diversify our songs in ways that we could only do in a studio setting. This obviously makes a difference live as well.

Ela: I’ve been the bass player for over the last 6 years. Recently, we came out with an LP/CD on Southern Lord Records called “Iconic Nightmare” and a 7-inch, “Domestic Terrorist”, released on Profane Existence (which is part of their limited edition singles series).

Toban: (Guitar) I think I might have the most arrests out of anyone in the band. Not like its anything to brag about. I did narrowly avoid another arrest a few weeks ago.

Derek: Guitar as well. I’ve been in the band for a few months and have been on two tours so far.

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Circle Takes the Square came into existence over a decade ago amongst the Spanish Moss and swamps of Savannah, Georgia. Boasting the lyrical depth of a trench and the ability to transverse and transcend the traditional layers of sound and atmosphere, Circle Takes the Square left an emotive and unique path in it’s wake. The band simply irradiated poignancy and life. Since inception,  Circle Takes the Square have released a self titled EP, a split with the irrefutable Pg. 99, the magical and incandescent debut full length, As the Roots Undo and a final pair of songs entitled Ritual of Names.

What followed was a long and mysterious silence, punctuated only by whispers from the band of possible activity, which eventually ramped up to a full fledged revival. This year finally saw the completion and release of Decompositions: Volume 1, the bands second full length record. I was recently able to catch up with Drew Speziale, the lead guitarist and one of the two dominantly heard voices in the band, to talk to him about the recording process, artistic inspiration and being chased by Justin Pearson through the dark.

-Hello Drew! How is life and what have you been reading lately?

Hey Dylan,

Life is great, thanks for asking. I haven’t had much time to devote to reading lately, so right now i’m surrounded by half-read books that don’t require full immersion. I’m slowly working my way through the
compiled essays in “Sync Book 2,” whenever I have a few minutes to spare. It features a handful of authors’ ruminations on synchronicity. A constant on my nightstand, that I check in with from time to time is Dale Pendell’s “Pharmako” Trilogy. I’ve drawn a lot of inspiration from those three books over the last couple of years, but I don’t know how to begin neatly summing them up. Next to them in the stack: a book of Klimt’s artwork, a seed catalog, and a primer on incorporating a small flock of chickens into a home-scale permaculture system. It’s appropriately titled Free Range Chicken Gardens. So, a pretty sizable pile of books, maybe someday I’ll get to the bottom of it.

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Hey Ben, most folks reading this will know who Profane Existence are. But what has been going on for the last few years with PE? Who is running things now between design and distribution there must be a lot and how did you get started at PE?

Profane Existence has “existed” as a zine, record label, distro, collective, message board, blog and force for the anarcho-crust / hc punk scene since the late 80′s. It has seen a variety of incarnations over the years. Different projects and events. Different people coming and going. Each contributing what they could and leaving their mark as time, energy and passion allowed. Currently the Profane Existence posse consists of Dan Siskind, myself, the bands and handful of diehard contributors who post on the PE blog. Dan has been the main force behind Profane since the start and has kept things going through the ups and downs. In my opinion he is Profane Existence. When he’s not thinking up new projects for PE he’s also running BRICKMANIA, a very successful lego toy company that specializes in custom made Lego war themed kits. He designs and makes lego tanks, fighter planes, weaponry and the like. It’s pretty brutal. In Defence even wrote a song about it. It also requires a lot of his time and focus. I guess that’s where I come in. I coordinate the record label and related projects. I correspond with the bands, get things into production, assemble records, pack orders, update the web store, send out mailings, make flyers, book shows etc. If you got a record from Profane in the last year chances are good my finger print is on there. I’m either sorry or you’re welcome. lol. I also have another job and a band and I tour so I kind of do this in my spare time but I love it. It’s really cool being a part of Profane. I started helping out at early 2011 shortly after PE released a record for my band, In Defence. Prior to joining Profane I played in various bands, put out our own records and local comps, booked shows and did a small zines. I enjoy that side of diy punk. I figured this was my opportunity to get involved and do those same kind of activities on a bigger scale.

Before TV, the radio was king and families would gather around to listen to their favorite shows. Well, last night I heard a really interesting radio documentary entitled Sangre Y Tierra: What Blood What Earth that was thought-provoking and should be heard by all…Check out the full stream below, and read the description!

“What Blood, What Earth”, is a documentary on the life of Puerto Rican black metal artist Marvin Quinones. His story leads the listener on a journey from pre-colonial Puerto Rican history to the struggles of race and class in the urban landscape of the twenty-first century. Quinones is a talented multi-instrumentalist, utilizing distorted guitars with as much mastery as the four-stringed cuatro. His music, like his life, is dense, layered, and complex. Beneath intense and raw black metal- a genre defined by abrasive production, relentless drumming, and shrieked vocals- lies a story of a man who escaped a home shattered by drugs, gangs, and mental illness to become a valued and respected member of his community The piece follows Quinones to his job in a public high school where he counsels delinquent students with positive re-enforcement and teaches an after-school classical guitar course. His honest candor in detailing a traumatic upbringing underscores the strength of his character and the importance of music as a force of transformation and discovery…Josh Landes

DESPISE are a four piece punk/crust/metal unit from the depths of the Minneapolis underground. Their 7″ release is a line of single’s being released by Profane Existence this year.

Interview by Andy (Leffer) of War//Plague

Let’s get this party started. First off…like most all interviews let’s start with who you are, what you do and what DESPISE is up to? What does the future hold after this PE single release? Also, expand on some each of your backgrounds, and what you were involved with prior to the band.

I’m Hannah, I do vocals and write the lyrics. I moved to Minneapolis from Chicago in 2010. I played bass and did vocals in Securicor from Chicago, and also vocals in Krang.

Zach: Hopefully we can put out some full length records seeing as we have a lot of material. As for before despise. I started going to shows at age 13 or 14. Played in a band called EZ Bleeders. We were rock/metal/funk/punk so everyone hated us but we just wanted to play. Grew up in uptown Mpls around a lot of older punks.

Hi. My name is Mike. I play bass real loud. Moved to Minneapolis in 2009. It’s rad here.

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I’m always looking for unique and quality vintage, antique, and handmade items to add to my wardrobe. So, it should be obvious that I’m an extreme Etsy fiend. I was lurking through the site when I first noticed Fila Arcana -let me tell you, if you’re into the film “The Craft”, you’ll love what Fila Arcana from Toronto, Ontario, has got going. The style is eerie yet delicate, mysterious and pure, like a witches student, or black magic lolita. Mina Sewell Mancuso, the High Priestess of Fila Arcana, hand-embroiders beautiful works onto pinback buttons, wall hangings, and peter pan-style detachable collars. All the designs she offers are inspired by “alchemy, the occult, and all things esoteric.” Items adorned with symbols, moon phases, beasts, palmistry, and more. All conjured by hand, the details in each piece are skillfully intricate, classical, and bewitching.

“I render secret things in colored threads.”

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