ILSA LIVE AT THE SIDEBAR IN BALTIMORE, MD. 3/9/2013
NEW INTERVIEW WITH SERPENT VENOM FROM THE U.K.
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INTERVIEW WITH JONAS STALHAMMAR (GUITARS AND VOCALS) FOR THE BAND BOMBS OF HADES FROM VASTERAS, SWEDEN 1/9/2013
TFM:
What can be said about Bombs of Hades and their fierce sonic assault to the ears? They can continue on their path of sonic destruction as far as I'm concerned. I welcome the pain with pleasure! Every release continues to smash, destroy and mutilate; and I can't but help to head bang to the ferociousness of the riffs that are blasting out through my speakers. The pulverizing rhythm section and the guttural and infernal vocals that Jonas is able to belch out. We were able to have a small chat with Jonas, here's how it went down. The last couple of years, seem to have been very productive for Bombs of Hades. With a number of splits, ep's and a new full length album that came out just a few months back the band seems to be moving forward, full steam ahead with new material. What have the last few years been for you? What are some of the most memorable experiences you have had in the band these last few years?
Jonas:
Well, no sense in resting is there? I’ve been really prolific in the writing process these past years and it’s still going strong. We’ve had some really good stuff going on the past 2 years and it’s great to see the good response the band is getting. The recording of the new album and our first shows abroad has had some great highlights during 2012 at least.
TFM:
Your trajectory as an artist and musician is most certainly very influential and cemented. Most people may seem to relate with you in the legendary God Macabre in the early days, but there were other bands such as Abhoth & Utumno that you were part of. Can you tell us about your early days and your beginings as a musician?
Jonas:
Thanks, but I still have a hard time considering myself as influential to others. I started playing guitar when I was 7 years old when my older brother gave me his acoustic guitar. From that moment, and even earlier, I knew that I was my calling to play and create music. When we formed ABHOTH back in 1988 it was my first “real” band experience. We have all come a long way since then. But I guess I’ve had a really strong musical vision ever since I can remember. In UTUMNO though we had Staffan Johansson (guitarist) as more of the main musical visionary.
TFM:
Can you take us back to the beginning of Bombs of Hades and tell us a bit about the circumstances and how the band is born?
Jonas:
The circumstances are still pretty hazy due to the fact the band was born on a drinking binge me and bass player Anders had back in 2002 haha. We just wanted an excuse to go down to the rehearsal room and bash out some aggressive crust influenced death metal. The first couple of years were more or less just one long drunken rehearsal. Then the songwriting got a little more serious and we decided to take the band into a more serious fashion. And that’s more or less it.
TFM:
Chambers of Abominations was released in 2010. It managed to garner some very good press and was well received by the fans. Can you tell us a little bit about your experiences in the studio during this period?
Jonas:
The first album was recorded and mixed in just 2 days. Very fast and very cheap. And that’s just how the album sounds also, fast and cheap haha. It was recorded in a friends' studio he has in a rehearsal space. Not much to talk about besides the fact that the shortest and by far easiest song “Carnage” needed about 10 takes before we could get it just right. Go figure.
TFM:
Does the band manage to stay active in the live circuit?
Jonas:
Very much so, especially the past year. We want to play live as much as our normal day jobs and personal life will allow us to do you know.
TFM:
I understand you've also managed to do some work as a producer? Would you care to elaborate?
Jonas:
I haven’t produced anything really besides our own records. I would love to produce other bands sometime, but I doubt anyone will ask me to do that haha. I guess producing the Bombs Of Hades records come pretty naturally since I write and arrange all the songs and have a pretty strong vision on how our records are supposed to sound and be like.
TFM:
Continuing on with the production theme, if you were able to handle the production for any band(s) or artist(s), who would you pick and why would you consider working with them?
Jonas:
Oh, that’s a tough one. I don’t know, the bands/artists I really admire I wouldn’t have the guts to work with. I doubt I’d make any impact on any of those artists. It would be great to produce younger bands who still don’t really know much about doing records. Mainly help with song structures and in what order they should be in on an album.
TFM:
Are there any producers whose work you admire or of whom you are an avid fan?
Jonas:
I’m a big fan of the “old school” line of producers like Phil Spector, George Martin, Jimmy Miller, Norman Smith, John Anthony, Martin Birch, Tony Visconti, Bob Ezrin, Al Kooper, Todd Rundgren, John Cale, Tom Wilson, Brian Eno but also guys like Flood and Alan Moulder. I truly don’t think there are any really good producers in metal, not in the last 20 years at least. I like the early stuff done by Terry Date, Tomas Skogsberg and Harris Johns and maybe a few others, but that’s it. The problem with the “so called” producers in metal is that they seem to focus more on the generic sound of metal, and not on the songs and the actual structure of the album. A band like Opeth were lucky to be able to work with a guy like Steven Wilson because that’s when they began to make really good albums.
TFM:
Many artists now a days, are fluent with many instruments. Is that your case as well?
Jonas:
Guitar is my main instrument, but I do play the drums (well, not as a good as “real drummers”), but I also play the bass and a variety of keyboards.
TFM:
Are you a gear fanatic? Would you care to further elaborate what your current rig set-up consists of?
Jonas:
Not a fanatic about modern gear anyway, haha. Well, I play mainly a Gibson Flying V and a Gibson SG. Söderback also uses an SG and we both use Marshall JCM 800 heads and Boss HM-2 pedals. I also use a MXR-phaser and Boss Digital Delay Pedal. Ekman’s main bass is Ibanez Iceman and he plays that through an old 70’s Vox guitar head. Forsberg has been beating the shit out of his 70’s Ludwig set for a long time now.
TFM:
With the release of your latest album, are there plans to possibly (hopefully) tour North America?
Jonas:
Hopefully we’ll get to play North America someday soon. That’s certainly a goal anyway. We’ll be working on that for sure.
TFM:
We all tend to have those "influential" albums/artists that we hear when we are growing up, as kids. If you could name 5 influential albums of all time for you, what would they be?
Jonas:
Oh, this a real tough one since I could mention hundreds of records that have been life- changing for me and that I would take with me to my grave. I’ve been a record collecting fanatic for most of my life and stumble upon masterpieces all the time. But to name 5, hmmm: Van Der Graaf Generator “Pawn Hearts” (1971), Rainbow “Rising” (1976), Autopsy “Severed Survival” (1989), Fields Of The Nephilim “The Nephilim” (1988) and Tim Buckley “Goodbye And Hello” (1967). But as I said, hundreds more.
TFM:
What lays ahead for BoH, 2013 is here. What short term/long term plans lay ahead for the band? Any personal goals you'd like to achieve?
Jonas:
For 2013 the plan is mainly to do as many gigs as possible for us supporting “The Serpent’s Redemption”. We have a couple of split releases in the pipeline also and then on to record the next album. Personal goals for the band is to do more albums (I do love being in the studio) and to get to do shows in USA and Japan and other places in the world I haven’t played in.
TFM:
Any last words/thoughts?
Jonas:
Many thanks for the interview Marco and watch out for even more stuff from Bombs Of Hades in 2013!!!
INTERVIEW WITH YUICHI KUDO DRUMMER FOR THE BAND DESECRAVITY FROM TOKYO, JAPAN. 1/4/2013
TFM:
The following interview and band for that matter is not for the faint at heart. Prepare to be crushed beyond the unthinkable realms of brutality. Desecravity comes to us from the wonderful country of Japan. A country that is thriving with not only an abundance of culture, food and history but with an incredible concentration of musical talents as well. Their brutal technical death metal will leave your eardrums bleeding but begging for more at the same time. We were able to have a chat with Yuichi Kudo, who is responsible for punishing the drum kit without any mercy. Here's what he had to say. Thank you for taking the time. What kind of a back ground can you give us about Desecravity?
Yuichi:
First of all, before I started DESECRAVITY, I had lived in the United of States and Canada for several years. After I came back to my hometown Tokyo, Japan, I formed DESECRAVITY in late 2007. The first member is Yujiro who joined as a guitar player and vocals in the same year, and over the next several years, we have changed members dozens of times. Now we have Daisuke on the bass and Shogo on guitars & vocals, both who are really professional and solid members. I am so proud to be with them.
TFM:
Implicit Obedience was released earlier last year. How has the overall response been towards the LP? Are you surprised and satisfied with these results?
Yuichi:
Absolutely satisfied! We've gotten so many positive results more than expected, especially in the United States and Europe. We have been getting visibility in the global metal scene day by day. Also, when I gave our demo to Erik for mixing & mastering the first time, I got a good reaction from him. Accordingly I have confidence from getting a positive result.
TFM:
I believe Willowtip handled the release of Implicit Obedience. How did you manage to gain the attention from the label? Did you have other labels that offered to release your LP?
Yuichi:
It was very simple, I did nothing special other than send the demo to labels, fortunately we got some offers , especially from European labels. One day, I got the opportunity to talk with Jason, who is the president of Willowtip, he was interested in our music and I decided to sign a deal with Willowtip which I had hoped for. I was so happy at the time.
TFM:
With the release of the album, I managed to see that some Japanese tour dates are posted on your official site. Have you had the opportunity to venture off into other countries to promote the album?
Yuichi:
Yes, after the album was released, we toured around South-Eastern Asia first before touring Japan. It was a short tour though, but it was really successful. The Japan tour in 2012 was also very successful and we had a great time with all the fans and everyone who supported us. If we could have more time, we would've wanted to tour other cities as well. However, we had already planned a follow up Japan tour in early 2013 and will be playing with ABORTED, SYSTEM DIVIDE, DEVOUR THE MARTYR and EMPIRE. This hasn't been announced yet though we have been planning another tour in Europe spring 2013.
TFM:
Your drumming is unrelenting. How long have you been playing the drums and what is a typical drum practice session for you like?
Yuichi:
I have played the drums since I was 15 or 16 years old. Well, I usually start stretching muscles and warming up with some basic strokes, then play DESECRAVITY's songs and have a jam session with fusion and latin music for fun. I like playing other kinds of music. I am also the main song writer in this band, I wrote new riffs and played the drums with them, it makes me more creative for song writing while playing the drums.
TFM:
Would you care to elaborate on the kit that you're presently using?
Yuichi:
I have two drum kits, one of them is for recording, which is a Pearl drum set with Sabian cymbals. My other kit is an acrylic drum set and Zildjian cymbals for live sessions. All hardware is Pearl, heads are Remo, sticks are VicFirth and kick pedals are Trick drums. And I use triggers only for the kick drums. The module I use for the triggers is Alesis.
TFM:
Are there any particular drummers that you look up to?
Yuichi:
I have a bunch of favorite drummers, it's so difficult to pick particular drummers, but off the top of my head, Virgil Donati, Marco Minneman, Horacio Hernandez, Flo Mounier, Ray Luzier, Dave Dicenso, Akira Jimbo, Billy Cobham and so on. I usually listen to lots of different kinds of music, so the drummers I mentioned above are not only metal, but also Latin, Fusion, Jazz, Funk and so on, there's no need to explain who the are, they are big artists.
TFM:
For your upcoming European tour that you're planning for 2013, if you could hand pick some of the bands that could embark with you on the tour, who would they be?
Yuichi:
As a matter of fact, I haven't heard all the bands who will tour with us, the tour agency has already selected some European bands for the tour. It will be the first tour in Europe for us, and we are really excited. There are so many great bands in Europe, I cannot pick any bands in particular.
TFM:
Describe the scene in Japan, it's always been known for producing an incredible amount of music from every genre of music out there. Some of my favorite bands are from Japan.
Yuichi:
Well, I think entire metal scene in Japan has been growing everyday and in these later years, there is a gradual increase in the number of bands who play out of Japan. Not so long ago, only a handful of bands would have been able to do. But now, I believe the Japanese metal scene is getting bigger on the international scale.
TFM:
What lies ahead for you? What future plans are there for the band?
TFM:
Any last words?
Yuichi:
Thank you Marco, I enjoyed interview very much!
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