CVLT Nation’s
Artist to Artist Interviews
Black Breath Vs. Samothrace2
Posted In Doom,Features,Interviews,Music
It’s no secret that CVLT Nation digs Samothrace – our first ever band collaboration tee was with these Rain City Doom Wizards! Samothrace is about to embark on a US Winter Tour starting February 15th, and to celebrate we are bringing you an awesome Artist to Artist interview the band did with Jamie from Black Breath. Check their tour dates and flyer after the jump, and this epic interview below!
I guess we will start will the usual horseshit. Who are you and what does everyone play in the band?
Spinks: Samothrace: Bryan Spinks- hookey, Dylan Desmond – angry birds, Renata Castagna – solitaire and Joe Axler – doctor.
You guys all live in Seattle currently, but are originally from different parts of the country. I’m curious if you could shed some light and any good stories of the places and scenes you grew up in. I know Joe, and he has some good stories about growing up in the NYC punk and hardcore scene in the 90′s, and with the rest of you hailing from Lawrence, KS probably have your own stories as well. Tell me about the places that groomed you to be playing the music you do today…
Spinks: I actually grew up in Oklahoma City, OK and while I have a lot of love for the state I came from, it was definitely not as thriving a scene as a lot of cities have. But we had diy spaces, a killer record store called Music D’s that also did shows and punk houses from time to time over the years that kept it all together and made it our own. That place is boring and rough for a kid, though. Don’t get me wrong, there has always been a shit ton of folks that are more than willing to put on shows and attend them, but I feel like it was such a small scene in my heyday there. It actually was amazing and tight-knit. It turned us all onto partying real young, but it also led me and many of my dear friends into playing music. Oklahoma definitely morphed and warped me into the musician I am today. We’ve also got a rich history of C&W there that I could not escape as a child. I think it actually plays a (not so) dormant role in where I am as a player today.
Full interview after the jump!
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A CVLT Nation exclusive interview with ROME
by Oliver Sheppard1
Posted In Features,Interviews,Music,Neo Folk
Rome recently released an official video for the song “Silver Coil” from their new LP, Hell Money. Most folks know that Rome is essentially comprised of one man, Jerome Reuter, and that the band’s name is actually a shortened version or nickname derived from his own first name. Along with Of the Wand and the Moon, Rome are one of the larger contemporary neofolk acts without roots in the original 80s apocalyptic folk scene. Their incredible 2009 Flowers from Exile LP brought them to the attention of audiences outside the narrow confines of the neofolk and martial scenes, leading to a following among goth, postpunk, and other crowds. (In fact, Rome began as a postpunk band.) Jerome Reuter’s expressive and mournful baritone voice is one of the trademark appeals of the band — their secret weapon, if you will — and the band’s take on Rose Clouds of Holocaust-era Death in June type neofolk continues to find new fans to this day.
I’ve wanted to interview Jerome Reuter for quite some time, especially since LPs like Masse Mensch Material grabbed my attention and refused to let go. By the time Flowers from Exile came out, I was fairly obsessed. The new LP, Hell Money, is a slightly more personal, confessional, and stripped down affair compared to the bombastic tours de force one could find in their last few LPs.
Jerome Reuter was interviewed by Oliver in February, 2013.
Oliver: The latest LP is called “Hell Money.” Can you tell readers what gave you the idea for the name of the LP — what the name means? Is there a unifying theme throughout the LP the way there seemed to be, for example, for the “Flowers from Exile” LP?
Jerome Reuter: I don’t want to dissect that title, to be honest, partially because this time around there was no specific concept or theme to the album or its lyrics.
Weekend Nachos:
Proceed with Caution Interview1
Posted In Features,Hardcore,Interviews,Music,Power Violence,Streaming
Hardcore is very important to me. When I found this community in my early teens, it became a full escape from the monotonous and torturous reality of public school, it gave me a sense of belonging, and it gave me an identity that was intrinsic and honest. As the years have passed, the ethics and values of what makes the community so great have become more pronounced than ever to me. I am dumbfounded when I see people take it for granted, or disregard these principles. Hardcore is a medium for everyone, judgement free. If you want to be here, you can be here. Absolutely anyone can start a band, express themselves and go on tour. There isn’t meant to be any exclusion and there is no room for elitism.
In my experience, no one has really hit that home for me more so than John Caution. John has been singing for the band Weekend Nachos since 2004 and the band has released a slew of crushing and lyrically intense (albeit sometimes hilarious and tongue in cheek) albums. The band has been consistently berated by genre snobs and internet warriors, whom insist on categorizing the band and judging the direction of the material. They have defied and ignored expectations set for the band time and time again, and have simply continued to write what they enjoy. More recently, John has also been playing drums for the Kansas City based SPINE, a crushing and classic example of good, fast hardcore and has been working on getting his fledgling label, Bad Teeth Recordings off the ground. If anyone has a genuine love for hardcore, it’s John. I was able to pull John away from his newly instated job as CEO of IBM, and he humored me by answering some questions that had been nagging at my mind.
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SOUTHERN LORDVideo Interviews feat. Black Breath.Pelican.Martyrdod+More0
Posted In Art,Avant Garde,Blackened Crust,Death Metal,Features,Interviews,Mixed Media,Music
Last year our comrades in heavy Southern Lord joined forces with Scion AV and held an unreal showcase featuring Martyrdod, Black Breath, Burning Love, Pelican and Enabler. Not only was some superdelic live footage taken, some interesting interviews were also created. What I dig about these conversations is that you get to know things about the bands that you maybe would never find out. CVLT Nation is stoked to be premiering these Southern Lord//Scion AV visuals featuring some of our favorite bands! So after the jump, let’s get down to the nitty gritty!
Interview by Andy (Leffer) Lefton
The Shame play straight up, unapologetic, in your face anti-fascist Oi! with lyrics about BEER and FOOTBALL (the international kind). This record is filled with anthems that the whole scene can drink-a-long to. So grab a pint with your mates, turn on the game and play this record as loud as you can. After all “The World Is Ours!” This was the first release in the 2013 Profane Existence limited edition singles series.
Andy: Hey Guys, thanks for taking the time to chat. Just a quick run through on who’s who and when The Shame started. Also, can you elaborate on how long you’ve been around and what the future holds for the band?
Well, the Shame has been around for 2 years now, but really it took about a year of just meeting up at the bar and talking about how fun it would be to do a “football hooligan” Oi! band. Josh and I are old friends and were in a band together in 1986, and while I have been doing music wherever I could, he was into sports journalism and really hadn’t played much music since. Kevin and I played together in 1989 and he too, really hadn’t played much in about 20 years. So, it was kind of a plan of getting these two out of “musical retirement” for a good laugh, and now, we’re two years in, and we’re releasing our second record… so I’m pretty fucking happy about how it’s all turning out to be honest.
CVLT Nation Television Interviews
GAZA, Code Orange Kids and Full of Hell0
Posted In CVLT Nation TV,Features,Film,Interviews
CVLT Nation Television presents the premiere episode of our Artist to Artist Interviews featuring GAZA, Code Orange Kids and Full of Hell. We’re excited to bring this awesome interview feature to video, and this episode won’t disappoint! Our comrade Tim Hix was on hand to film at the recent show at Aladdin Jr. 2 in Pomona, CA on December 10th, 2012. In addition to some epic live footage of all three bands (thanks to South Florida Hardcore for GAZA footage!), this episode features Jon (GAZA), Dylan (FOH) and Jami (COK) having an interesting discussion that gives us some insight into their creative spirits. Check out this episode below and stay tuned for more CVLT Nation Television!
Interview and photos by Metaloath
The Secret (IT) have just put out their latest album Agnus Dei on Southern Lord Records, and if you have heard it, you’ll know that it is a truly kick-ass album with lightning fast blastbeats alongside slow and eerie monster-riffs. Greg Anderson of Southern Lord signed these guys in early 2010 based on a demo that, according the Anderson, was both relentless and uncompromising. Their first Southern Lord album, Solve et Coagula, was received well by fans and reviewers, and the band has again teamed up with Kurt Ballou for the Agnus Dei album.
They recently toured all corners of Europe together with Converge, and I got the chance to talk to guitarist Micheal Bertoldini after their show in Oslo in early December.
So, first of all, congratulations with the new album Agnus Dei out on Southern Lord Records! It’s truly a kick ass album!
Thank you very much!
How has the response to the album been so far?
So far, we’re very happy. Surprisingly, we got pretty good press and a lot more attention than we actually expected. It’s been cool. Since we signed with Southern Lord, a lot more people started to get interested in our music, and with this album we are starting to see some results from of working hard with this band for the past years. We really aimed to improve from the last album, and I think we got thing right this time.
How is it going in your world of musical productivity?
It’s going very well! I’m on tour right now with Twitching Tongues. We’re out on a pretty odd tour for us right now with Veil of Maya, Volumes and Upon a Burning Body. Tonight is a headlining show in Ann Arbor so it’ll be a little better for us. As soon as I get home, NAILS begins recording our second LP.
The fact that you are so prolific, I must ask this question: did you grow up in a musical household?
Yes. My father is a drummer/engineer and my mother plays piano. I grew up with all instruments laying around so I just picked them all up a little bit.
At what age did you realize that heavy music was what you wanted to create? Can you let the CVLT Nation readers know what bands you are a part of right now?
At a very young age. I liked Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath before I could read. I remember going to a record store with my dad in maybe 3rd or 4th grade. I told him I wanted something that went “jun jun jun”. I picked up Metallica – Ride the Lightning but he said no and bought me Soundgarden – Down on the Upside instead. Not a terrible substitute, but not what I was looking for. I soon found Pantera and Sepultura. Those were the gateway bands for me and they led to me finding other things. After that I came upon Hatebreed, Grimlock and Sick of it All. Those bands opened the door to hardcore for me. I started my first band with friends in 5th grade. I played drums and we were called The Sk8ters but we never finished writing one song.
Currently I play in Twitching Tongues, NAILS and Disgrace. I also play in Ruckus, who is fairly inactive.
A PLEASANT DROWNING – SWALLOWED BY THE WAVES OF GLOGA0
Posted In Avant Garde,Features,Interviews,Music
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Your first demo was put out by France’s Aural Offerings. You’ve previously stated your music draws inspiration from the French metal scene so that seems like a good fit for your first release. How did you end up working with them?
We were introduced to Aural Offerings by Christosphe Szpajdel. He had been a big fan of Aaron’s solo ambient black metal project Apparitia (circa 2007) and the original Chasma demo and drew several early logos for us. John (Aural Offerings) heard the demo and asked to release it on cassette.
From your first recordings until now, it’s obvious that Chasma has a specific sonic offering in mind, and this project was created for a purpose and not just to be another band in the gaping chasm (sorry) of the metal world. How was the idea born and what are you trying to accomplish with your sound?
We had been long time fans of black metal but were unhappy with where many bands of late had been taking it. We wanted to create a sound that would never portray any kind of false emotion. Our music reflects the entire span of emotional states that we experience in this life.
he Northwest black metal scene is known for its unique, hypnotic sound. Do you feel a part of the whole “Cascadian” movement? What do you think it is about this area that provides an almost mystical quality to the music?
That’s a strange question for us to answer, we do and don’t. Obviously, we live here in Portland. We are inspired by our natural surroundings and the spectrum of natural life cycles we are surrounded by. But as far as being part of a movement? I don’t know. We have never called ourselves Cascadian Black Metal. Other people have put that label on us in the past but we don’t tend to get included by other self proclaimed Cascadian bands for reasons I’m not exactly sure of. We feel more connected to the European metal movement than most of what’s going on here in North America.
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