Monday 12 December 2011

Envision Comics Interview

If there’s anyone still alive who read the paper version of LON – hopefully you’ll recall the adventures of one Metal Bastard, the calamity-causing cannibalistic comic hero of chaos, who featured in various issues. Comic creator, Steven McCumaskey, created said Bastard and now runs his own comic imprint, Envision Comics, which is rather badass…



When did you first have the idea to start Envision?

Envision Comics began to take shape around 2005 – I’d previously sent art submissions to established comic book publishers in the hope of starting a career in the industry, but these proved to be unsuccessful.  I’d always been creating my own comics from a young age and in truth, the creator-owned arena was where my heart lay.  It occurred to me that instead of drawing from scripts that weren’t mine or writing for other artists, I could put all my efforts into creating and building something that was my own, as I was writing and drawing everything myself anyway.  Once the seed had been planted, I immediately stopped sending submissions to the big publishers and took the initial steps to building Envision.

How did you go about setting the label up?

Essentially, the moment I decided to self publish was the moment the label was born.  However, it was a few years before I released anything. This was a conscious decision - to ensure longevity I felt it crucial to build a body of work to release rather than publish single titles every few years. This required a great deal of patience, but having a collection of titles available from the start meant that I’d not put myself under pressure to keep releasing a steady stream of comics on a regular basis.  Also, establishing the label in this way allowed me to demonstrate variety from the start.  Envision doesn’t specialise in a specific genre, nor do I write or draw in one specific style.  The current titles available are all different from one another and demonstrate my versatility. I also run a sister label to Envision, EVC Publishing, under which I’ve self-published a children’s book, A Dog Called Max.


(Then: Metal Bastard)


What are your intentions with Envision?


Essentially, Envision is the result of compromise.  As a kid my dream job was to be a professional comic book artist, but just because that didn’t happen it doesn’t mean the dreaming has to stop.  That may sound melodramatic, but I think too many people let go of childhood dreams when they become adults.  Sure, we’ve all got to grow up and get our heads in the ‘real world’, but the whole point of Envision relates to my belief that growing up doesn’t mean you have to stop doing the things you love. As The Undertones questioned: are teenage dreams so hard to beat? Yes! I’ve never grown out of creating my own comics and I don’t believe I ever will.  In terms of success, I never give it much thought as to how far I want Envision to go.  I absolutely love the process of creating a comic book and as long as I want to keep drawing and writing I’ll keep it going.  It’s very tough to find the time due to my demanding day job (not to mention just having a life!), but it’s worth every bit of effort. 


(Now: a much more refined individual)

Can you describe the comics you've released so far?

Envision currently has three titles available – Styx, Metal Bastard Adventures and RainStyx is a short horror nasty written by you and was the first release from EVC.  It has since been reprinted with an updated cover and you can read it free online at MyeBook.com.  Metal Bastard Adventures was born from my years at college and university, where I was fully immersed in the local rock and metal scene.  The character is essentially my alter-ego (our resemblance is no accident!) and I have fond memories of writing the comic and discussing ideas in the pub with my friends.  Metal Bastard consistently proves to be the most popular release and I understand why, as it’s a quick, fun read and everyone likes a good laugh!  I’m glad I created Metal Bastard when I did, as it is very much a product of my youth.  I have toyed with writing more strips in recent years, but in truth I just wouldn’t be able write it as well as I did then.  I was younger and cockier and it would feel very forced to write Metal Bastard now.  I guess I’ve grown up since then!


(Get it)

Your debut graphic novel, Rain, is a great achievement - can you describe the process you went through from conception to completion and any future ideas?

Rain is possibly my single greatest achievement and easily the one thing I’m most proud of.  The timeframe from conception to completion was a period of seven years and it was a mammoth task to complete.  Early sketches from as far back as 2002 styled it as a cyberpunk sci-fi thriller and at one point Rain was almost a western!  Rain demonstrates perfectly why running Envision is such a challenge – I write, draw and edit everything myself and it takes a tremendous amount of time to get from initial idea to finished article.  It’s the biggest project I’ve ever completed and though at times I felt I’d never get it finished, I knew it’d one day see the light of day simply because I believed in it so much.

The creative process was very demanding and I very much learnt my trade as I produced it.  Redrafts of the script were written as the book was being drawn and as a result there are two editions in existence.  The first edition is no longer in print but a small number of copies were sold before I wrote an additional chapter and republished the book in its new, final edition.  I was always slightly unsatisfied with the origin of the Rain character and this extra chapter, for me, adds that extra layer of depth that was missing from the original draft. 



Rain is a very dark, very emotional action thriller that tells the story of Philip Rain, an ordinary young man who’s sucked into the world of organized crime after having his life shattered by a devastating family tragedy. After years in the coils of the underworld, he falls in love with a woman who inspires him to change his ways, but leaving behind the world of crime has severe consequences.  It’s both a tragic love story and sleek action thriller and essentially the end product of almost every idea I’ve ever, with lots of my favourite movies, comics and music playing a part in its creation.

It’s a very personal book and was at times a challenge to write due to the nature of its conception, but the end result is something I’m deeply proud of.  Rain is the driving force behind Envision and is almost the single reason for setting up the label.  The ultimate goal was to create a comic book that I wanted to read and it’s precisely for this reason that I can honestly say Rain is one of my favourite comics.  I love dark stuff such as The Crow and Frank Miller’s work on Batman, but I also wanted to write a story with real heart.  Whilst the plot in itself may not break any new ground, I’m happy that the execution is unique.  If nothing else, Rain is a brutally honest tale that came from a very personal place.  And of course, it features some kick ass action, too!  It’s very cinematic and character-driven and I worked hard to create a cast of characters who were very much my own.  Likewise, setting the story in a fictional environment was a move to help me establish a sense of complete ownership and control of this world I wanted to create (it also meant I didn’t need to worry about geographical accuracy when drawing locations). 



There are lots of visual metaphors throughout the book (the perpetual rain itself being the most obvious) and whilst it’s heavily influenced by action cinema, the emphasis on story and character first and action second was a conscious decision.  I’m certainly an action movie junkie, yet my intention with Rain was to essentially create the comic book version of the anti-action movie.  Whereas so many action films compromise story and plot by loosely stringing a series of impressive, expensive action scenes together, I very much wanted Rain to be driven by character and plot first.  As a result much of the book is dialogue heavy, but the pay-off is a climactic shootout that spans over 25 pages.  It was important to structure the book in this way and the nature of the storytelling means that it only works as a single edition.  It’s very much a graphic novel and not a comic book, as the story would lose most of its impact if it were published as a single issue.  In light of this, my intention was to make the shootout a reward for the reader – you’ve read lots of dialogue; now see some bullets fly!

Rain is the first part of a planned trilogy of graphic novels, but there’s always the chance the other books will never see the light of day.  It was such a huge task to complete book one that I’ve acknowledged that producing the sequels may be too demanding.  For this reason I tried to write book one so that it’s self-contained, but it also sets up the possibility of a sequel.  The script for the second book is almost written and I hope to start drawing it next year.  Having said that, my desire to write and draw has not diminished and the new challenge of completing the entire series is even more inviting than the challenge of simply creating the first book. 



Book two is much grander in scale and very much inspired by Heat, The Dark Knight and the utterly awesome The Wire. Titled Rain: The Burning Season, it’s more of an ensemble piece that exposes the deeper workings of the book’s setting as the authorities begin to investigate the events that ended book one.  Following that will be book three, Rain: Life of Agony.  I knew exactly how the series would end from the very early stages of book one, and having that part of the story already mapped out helps to keep me motivated and have the final goal in mind. 

Big thanks to Ste and I hope he tackles books two & three as Rain is an awesome and mammoth achievement. 

For art previews visit www.facebook.com/envision.comics

Check out samples of all releases at www.myebook.com

You can buy Envision Comics titles at www.lulu.com/spotlight/stevenmccumaskey

A Dog Called Max, released through EVC Publishing, is also available from the above link.  Print copies and ebook editions are available from lulu.com.  All profits from the ebook editions of Rain and Metal Bastard Adventures are donated to the Help for Heroes charity, supporting our wounded in the armed services.

Thursday 8 December 2011

Wall of Sleep Album Trilogy Part 2 of 3

 Guest Writer: Ben Shaw (enjoyer of wizards and ultra-riffage)



The first time I actually heard Wall of Sleep was reviewing Sun Faced Apostles for the archaic paper version of Load of Noise. I instantly fell in love with the jovial tone of the bouncing riffs and the strange melodies of Gabor Holdampf’s vocals. The vocals are a controversial subject with people I have talked to about Wall of Sleep, and the band actually parted ways with Holdampf in 2009. I always loved the dynamics that Holdampf added to the band’s sound - his delivery made me picture a warlock bellowing incantations from a storm swept mountain peak.

Sun Faced Apostles really peaks with the title track, which is a classic doom rock anthem that reminds me of Paradise Lost at their epic best.  The interweaving duel guitar harmonies of the chorus give way to an outro solo to end the world with. There’s a particularly good clip of this on YouTube, with the crowd head banging as one - completely enraptured by the mega-riffs pouring off the stage.




The band get their doom chops out on this album with the track ‘Ship of Stake’, which rumbles and swells like a disturbed ocean. Like a polar bear swinging its head in a zoo confinement, the song bristles with untapped power and flows with riff after riff of pure doom. The supremacy is then unleashed with the magically titled ‘Time of the Goblins’.  I cannot state more categorically that this is the best song title of all time, and the music itself is amazing too. The best things that Wall of Sleep do are all evident here: the romping tempo, the sudden evolution into Thin Lizzy guitar-porn, the endless grooves and the vocals jumping out at you at unexpected angles and pitches. They even reference ‘For Whom The Bell Tolls’ in the solo, which I like to think of as taking it back for the Sabbath fans.

I often wonder how big this band would be if they were American or English. The reason for this wondering is that everyone I’ve forced to listen to Wall of Sleep really likes them, but then somehow discredits them upon learning their origins. The number of bands playing this sort of classic metal inspired doomy rock is great and Wall of Sleep are as good as any of them, or at least were.



Sun Faced Apostles reaches another peak with the doom romance of ‘The River’, flowing like its namesake. The closing two tracks ‘From The Bottom of These Days’ and ‘Mother Sand and Father Stone’ couldn’t be more different; the former being a groovy rock romp and the latter being a doom drone with low end orchestration that seems to carry tangible weight.

The main reason I love Wall of Sleep is because they deliver the riffs. Relentlessly. The ever present guitar work of Sandor Fuleki has to be the most underrated body of work in rock and metal history. He solos with a feel and tone reminiscent of Tony Iommi and shits riffs with the consistency of Kirk Windstien. His writing has developed and evolved over the course of the albums I’ve chosen to cover and I believe it actually reaches new heights with the follow up to Sun Faced Apostles; the masterpiece of slow-burning rock that is ‘...And Hell Followed With Him’. But that’s for next time, so in the interim - search 'Wall of Sleep' on YouTube and bask in the riffs...

Wednesday 23 November 2011

Wall of Sleep Album Trilogy Part 1 of 3

Guest Writer: Ben Shaw



I have been to the top of vast mountain ranges. I have been to space. I have travelled across expanses of desert and galloped through medieval Hungary atop of a great mammoth.  I have even seen a wizard control the winds and seas. These wild claims will leave you with a conclusion to draw about my honesty and possibly my mental health. However, when you finish reading this article and seek out the cause of my delusions, then you too will sail to the riff-filled land where images of fantasy and glorious adventure are conjured. I bring you Hungarian Doomanoids, Wall of Sleep.

Wall of Sleep formed in Hungary in 2002 (or 2001 depending on your online source) and released their first EP in 2003; the raw and promising Overlook The All. The recording borrowed heavily from the gods of groovy doom heavy-metal and included a cover of Black Sabbath’s ‘The Wizard’. Between 2004 and 2007, Wall of Sleep released Slow, But Not Dead, Sun Faced Apostles and then ...And Hell Followed With Him – capturing a trilogy of dream inspiring rock music on disc. This three-part article, this act of supplication to the divine forces of the riff, will focus on these three albums. 



Despite its title, Slow, But not Dead (2004) isn’t even that slow! It kicks off with the bouncing riffage of ‘Far Away From Sunrise’ which almost feels like a driving song - full of thrust and purpose. Wall of Sleep excel in being able to straddle genres and styles within a single song, let alone an entire album. This is what I love most about them, as I mentioned earlier, I’ve been to a myriad of imagined landscapes thanks to their varying feel and mood.  True to form, the album takes an immediate change in direction on second track ‘Sysyphus’ Downhill Ride’ which lopes and swings like the arms of a drunken ape. This is the first time we hear hints at the majestic harmonies so prevalent in Wall of Sleep’s sound.



Third track ‘That’s Why’ is almost Soundgarden-esque in its chaotic rhythms.  It’s with the track ‘Soil’ that Wall of Sleep hit their straps and begin to spread their wings. The vocal harmonies of the intro pave the way to a huge poppy chorus that is so addictive, after one listen you’re picking through carpet fluff for signs of more.  ‘The Very Same’ bounces out of the speakers like Volume 4 era Sabbath,  which is followed by a brief interlude of country refrains from delay addled guitars. ‘Ornaments of Heaven” is a classic doom master piece.  'Inside Garden' is a rocky groover with hints of Skynyrd, testament to the band’s ability to produce heavily influenced music that still sounds unique.  I could write an entire piece about album closer ‘I Sleep’ and the relationship I’ve had with the song since I first saw the YouTube video of it being performed live. 




The opening riff conjures images of beached sea monstrosities being clubbed to death by colossal iron titans in slow motion. When the drums and bass kick in we are taken away from the horror of the monsters and transported to the glory and tragedy of brave men on windswept battles fields. The song ebbs and flows through vistas of depression, victory and eventual flight from the mortal world.

I am, of course, making massive assumptions about the meaning of lyrics but this is precisely where my love of Wall of Sleep stems from. They have the ability to fuel my imagination exponentially. The vocals and the guitars interweaving and the meeting of harmonies reduce me to a child hearing Iron Maiden for first time thinking how are they doing this!?!?. It could be that everyone has a particular harmony that will always ring true for them, it may be that I was incredibly stoned when I heard ‘I Sleep’ which enhanced the experience beyond the reality of the situation. Whatever occurred, it was one of those times when you hear a bit of music and the world seems like it was made for you. And this is only Wall of Sleep’s third best album…


Thanks to Ben and be sure to check out the band at:

Saturday 19 November 2011

Evisorax Tour Diary

Here is the only section of Dan's tour diary from Evisorax's tour with Wormrot.



31/08/2011

The night before it all began.

Travelling to to Magor was a complete disaster. After loading into the van at my house, we decided it would be a clever time-saver to make use of the M6 toll....WRONG DECISION!
We missed our turning and the Sat Nav sent us back in a circle - meaning we incurred the toll twice. Besides this, we then had to pay a third time when crossing the Severn Bridge!
With fuel on top of all this, our drummer Brod’s credit card was feeling the heat. After leaving Wigan at three pm we finally arrived at Magor four hours later.



On approaching the front door of my mother’s house, it dawned on me just who was waiting beyond and just what was expected of us, starting from tomorrow morning. A mixture of intense nervous excitement began to whirl around as I made my way through to the garden, where the Wormrot crew were already drinking - desperately trying to muster an ice breaker, the following exchange occurred: 'I’ve brought a beer bong!' ’Good one, dickhead!'

                                                 (This is where the real grind happens)

Needless to say, copious amounts of alcohol consumption, smoking and beer bongs went on late into the night. These festivities were followed by a boxer short hot tub session, naturally. I crawled into my bed feeling as if I’d suffered a stroke, the fear of the impending hangover kicked in as I drifted off..............

01/09/2011.

Cardiff – The undertone.

To wake up with a mouth like a desert and your head feeling like it’s in an eternal washing machine spinning motion is bad enough, but knowing the tour began that morning just made it fucking agonising! Thankfully a mega sized breakfast (which Wormrot referred to as ‘steroid food’) and an alarming amount of coffee and smokes sorted me, although unloading the backline from our vehicle then into the tour bus wasn’t a great deal of fun. It was like a giant game of Tetris, although Brod must have played it a great deal seeing as he was able to organise it all with his eyes shut.

The tour bus was driven by Heath Derrig of Fargo tours and he took a great deal of pleasure in informing us that Slayer and Slipknot had used the bus before.......knickers became moist. During the ride to Cardiff, one thing became blindingly obvious, Wormrot fucking smoke heavily. These guys have fucking iron lungs, man - if there was an Olympic event for smoking then these guys would take the gold.



On arrival at the venue, the first of what would become a daily recurring problem began…stairs. Lugging the entire backline, including over-sized bass and guitar cabs up and down multiple flights of narrow staircases soon became a fucking hassle. Although it wasn’t all negative - the first of what would become a certainty for each night began: riders! Free beer, free food......... a guy could get used to this!

I could hardly keep myself from throwing up before we played, not only was this the first time I’d played a show in over two years, it would also be the first time Brod, Chris and I had ever even run through a song together. Never mind in front of an ever increasing crowd whilst on tour with Wormrot. When we hit that stage I was fucking raging. I wanted to rip faces off and ruin people’s lives; my body was full of adrenaline.



From the second Brod hit the snare, we were off, full force fucking rage! Offending everyone, full on confrontation and no holding back. I don’t remember a great deal of the stage time, just that I was convulsing and enjoying every second, ramming into the crowd and knocking people over. Though half way through, cramp set in, I'd forgotten how demanding this could be. The show was a complete success and people raided our merch table and actually wanted things to be signed.

After Evisorax being defunct for so long, the relief was incredible. Wormrot destroyed the place, every person in there went mental.  The amazing reality dawned on me that I would be able to watch this every night for free and get to play as well. It doesn’t get any better.

Sunday 26 June 2011

Privileged To Fail Records



PFT Records has been going for years now and has released a slew of quality underground music in the form of cassette tapes, CDs, CD-Rs and good old vinyl. The label/distro is run by one man, who goes under the obvious pseudonym, 'Shane Ryan'... 

What made you want to set up PTF?

The idea first happened at one of the many local gigs (same bands, same people, different night) I attended when I was at University in Manchester. One of the bands playing that night was Archer. There is bubble over Manchester that many bands inside it never try to break out of, happy to play in bars with barely functional toilets and carpets that were beyond sticky. It felt like the right time to try and give these bands a little more exposure and Archer were the guinea pigs, as it were.

Friends at the time would often talk about self-financed splits or doing low runs of 7”s with DIY covers by these were always pipe dreams that’d never come to fruition. Others being indecisive and lazy grates on me, so I made things happen on my own.

Were any other labels a direct influence on the process?

Originally, no. Setting up the label was something that had to be learnt on the go. It’s still surprising that the first release ever saw the light of day. There were plenty of delays, from bands, financially and getting the artwork correct for printing.

Digging PTF back out of its grave was inspired by another label – At War with False Noise. While playing in They Are Cowards we stayed at the owner's apartment following a gig in Glasgow with Black Sun. Talking about the releases he’d done and the amount of effort, love and money he spills into it definitely inspired me. It wasn’t long after that work began on the most sophisticated release to date, the Fabio Orsi triple CD set.



How close to your initial vision has the label turned out?

Very close. The aim, or mission statement if you will, has always been the same: release independent music and try to break even. The first part has been a success. The second… not so good. 

Is the reality of running a label close to what you predicted?

The reality is much more miserable and downbeat than anyone involved in the industry would like. I’ve lost a lot of money running PTF and it’s disheartening to have boxes of CDs taking up space and no orders coming in. Genres don’t interest me and with the earlier releases I tried to steer clear of the typical (and boring) artwork and logos you see sprawled all over Myspace Deathmetal band pages. The reality is that releasing something that sounds and looks like everything else sells better. There is nothing ‘individualist’ about these underground genres or groups and that’s worrying. This probably explains my lack of interest in heavier music at the moment; not a lot of worth going on. 


What is the label's ethos?

Release good music that might otherwise never get a wider audience. Being in bands and getting release offers (where you don’t end up paying loads yourself anyway) is an amazing feeling and giving that to other artists is a gift I can afford to give (for now).
I also don’t want to overcharge. People lapping up £30 cassette releases are idiots, the music you buy doesn’t define you, and it causes issues with pricing releases. A UK label once put its records on eBay and monitored them. There was another seller with one of the same records. Both were new but the other seller was charging much more for it. Unsurprisingly, the copy that was more expensive sold and the correctly priced copy (being sold by the label directly) remained unsold. There is something very wrong at the moment, it goes deeper than this but I can’t identify exactly what it is. 

What's been your proudest moment at the label thus far?

Without any doubts that’d be the Fabio Orsi release. The most ambitious release of PTF’s history and the most expensive, it’s one of the very few to eventually break even. I was able to do this with no paid for advertising, minimum review copies and a very reasonable product price. This is how I wanted every release to work. 

 What inspired you to release them, and what is the appeal of cassette releases?

They're cheap to produce in very small units and they’re currently in demand (i.e. ‘cool’). There’s no other reason for them. They sound worse than CD and vinyl, and the artwork is smaller. Again, they’ve sold better than some of my bigger CD releases. It started up about two years ago with some American bands and labels doing low run tapes for around $10 each. It quickly escalated and people were buying cheap cassette decks again.

A laserdisc collector friend of mine recently told me that a seller he’d been speaking to was doing better selling VHS than anything else. Some sort of analogue, retro revival going on at the moment. The t
rouble is, this post-modern society can shift culturally overnight (well, it appears too). Trends and ‘cool’ products constantly change and it’s becoming harder and harder to keep it with what’s going on. Look at the cassette and black metal scene – it suddenly exploded overnight and yet no one can remember when or why. The next trend could already be underway and you wouldn’t even realise it until you found yourself buying it and thinking ‘wait, when did this become widespread?’. 




Why have you opted for each release to be limited?

The usual answer would be that they can be sold for more than they’re worth. With PTF releases this isn’t the case. All releases are limited to what can realistically be sold. I don’t want boxes of unsold items cluttering up my apartment. In keeping with my original aim, the releases are limited but most often ‘pro’ releases. Finding a pressing plant that can do runs of a 100 has helped a lot.

Where did the PFT name come from?

Miss-hearing lyrics from a Circle Takes the Square song was the inspiration. I toyed with the line and then came up with the label name: Privileged to Fail. It makes senses as the label title too, as I am privileged enough to be able to invest in running a label. By that I don’t mean well off, but that I had the opportunity to use my final terms student loan to release the first record. In other words, I made the opportunities possible, and even if it all fails at least I had the chance to do it.

Has being in bands affected the way you run PFT? 

Yes, without a doubt. I’m very straight about what cut the artist will get and what to expect packaging wise. I make no false promises and do my best to get things released on time. There are delays, as I run this as a hobby, and I’ll always keep everyone involved in the loop. A 20% cut of the press is often what’s agreed.


How did the excellent Fabio Orsi release come about and can you give a brief description of the process from conception to release?

It was a long time in the making. I randomly picked up a CDr release in an order from Mimaroglu Music Sales once and fell in love with it. I collected a few of his releases and then emailed him asking if he’d be interested in doing a collection release. Over the course of a year, and plenty of emails, the project grew into a three CD digipak; two CDs of old material and a brand new record.


What would be your fantasy release of bands both active and gone?

Having involvement in the European release of the last Dystopia LP, releasing a Tim Hecker record or re-releasing all the Catasexual Urge Motivation material on a double LP set. Any of those three would be the pinnacle of the label.

What are you reading/listening to/watching/playing at the moment?

 I’m currently reading The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami. It’s a very good book dealing with an overall feeling of loss and the absurd moments of human life with a very surreal way. He’s one of my favourite authors. The short stories he occasionally writes are free of any clear meaning, following a few characters in a very dream-like way that never even remotely becomes pretentious.

I've just finished Duke Nukem Forever and am glad to have finally played it, no matter how broken or disjointed it is at times. The negative media hype has been interesting to watch too.

I've also recently watched a bunch of films including A Town Called Panic, Chaser, Sparrow, and Departures, all great films in their own unique way.

What are some of your plans for the rest of 2011?

Well, things have recently taken a turn for the worse. The distributor that I had a good relationship with recently went into liquiditation. This meant I lost money and now have no way of getting releases out to a wider audience, or at least it’ll be much more difficult to do it. The next release is by a UK dark-ambience project called Generic that has been in hiatus for a while. It’s a dark, claustrophobic record that really benefits from lights off and headphones on. Whether I’ll continue to run the label will solely depend on how well this record does upon its release. We’ll see.

Big thanks to Shane, and I hope the label is able to continue in the future. Check out PFT and follow Shane on Twitter:

Thursday 23 June 2011

Paul Priest: Man of multitude.

Paul has been a massive inspiration to me over the years with his writing, music and outstanding work ethic. As well as playing in a number of quality bands over the years, he founded the sorely missed Raw Nerve Promotions website and has worked on many other projects...

What happened with Reth, and how did you come to be in Diascorium?

For the last six to nine months of Reth, everyone had other concerns really. It got so difficult to even get us all in a practice room all at the same time, I think we managed it a couple of times, and had a handful of gigs. It was a massive shame really, no fallings out particularly, only at the frustration of things not happening, we had loads of songs written and were gearing up for the next album, but just never made it. We had 'the chat' and decided it was for the best to play the last gig we had booked and call it a day (a fantastic all dayer in Bradford where we headlined, and had 2 guest vocalists on the final song 'Decathexis', it got messy!). There's talk of a million pound Re(th)union Tour on Twitter don't you know.




Video for 'Shibboleths' - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dx80eEkBigk

As far as the setting up of Diascorium, as Reth was folding, I asked around for any guitarists up for doing another band, as, well, it's in my blood, after playing in bands for more than half my life already (started at 16, now 34). Bond, the guitarist of Morkret got in touch first, and we started jamming and writing and putting together riffs we had laying about into coherent songs. We soon had a good collection and thought about filling up the rest of the band. An original intention with the band, under that name was for it to be a big 7 or 8 piece entity, I first thought up the name quite a few years ago, but it never came to fruition, but once Gaz (drums, also in A Forest Of Stars) and Bernard (vocals, also in Revokation) returned interest in the band once hearing about it, and once we started jamming, it just seemed natural to keep it as a 4 piece. Something worked pretty well right at the start, as within just under 3 months of starting jamming we'd recorded the first EP, had a small feature in Terrorizer and got our first set ready for the first gig supporting Desecration.
http://www.diascorium.webs.com

How is Diascorium going at the moment?

Very well thank you. The 5 way SPLIT ROAST cd has just come out on Condate Records, and has been getting some fantastic reviews around the place. Playing a decent amount of gigs with a few more goodies lined up. The free first EP is approaching 55,000 downloads (that we know about) worldwide, and we're still having tons of fun playing ludicrous songs. We're writing for the full length album, hopefully done around the start of next year realistically. Got a few epics finished and a few more in various states of existence.
We've had a great time of it in our first year and a little bit. Some cracking support slots to Man Must Die (twice), Prostitute Disfigurement, Magrudergrind, Wodensthrone, Winterfylleth, The Ocean, Keelhaul, Knut and many more, and played alongside some of the best bands in the UK to boot. We got on Damnation Festival and have played some other awesome all dayers, as well as general nonsense wittering at people, getting various zine and mag coverage, and having a good laugh generally.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQ2aVjvQDJk
Link for video of 'Triptych', in our rehearsal room, a song that will be on the upcoming album.


How would you sum up your experience of running Raw Nerve?

Raw Nerve, in its many guises, lasted for about 12 years, and, whilst there were many ups and downs, stresses and strains, frustrations and such, it was an immense time. Even though all trace of the site, club night and gig bookings have all but gone, there is still chatter about it going on on the interweb, and many groups of friends were made through it, its community and the gatherings that ensued. Whilst it's a shame that it's gone, and one of those things that could have been so much more, there are plenty of proud times to take from it, involvement in some HUGE gigs (and in total around 300 gigs either put on or co-promoted), some cracking and messy club nights (a rough guess of around 200 nights), putting on a couple of tours, a double page feature in Kerrang! of all places, and seeing things on the site grow from an idea on scraps of paper to a site with thousands of reviews and forum members, plenty of interviews, profiles, and in total, over the years, approximately 5 million hits.




Over the years you’ve played in bands, promoted gigs, written music journalism and run websites – can you pinpoint what drives you to do all this?

Insanity most probably. I guess a tiny bit of background can go in here, just so some folks aren't sat there reading this over their tea and toast wondering who the hell I am... Previous bands (gigging / recording bands anyway) are Canvas, Tangaroa, Narcosis, Reth and now in Diascorium, also done quite a few projects on my own, mainly Incandescence and Cerebral Constriction, and am also playing in a weird doom / noise project called Sloth Hammer. I ran Raw Nerve Promotions, and also put on a load of gigs and clubs under the Lovely Time Promotions, Devastator and Arise Metal Nights names. All the promotion outlets are RIPped now with no plans to resurrect. I also did a music blog called The Knowledge Of Sound which is unfortunately laid to rest as well. I contributed reviews and articles to the first dozen or so issues of the awesome Zero Tolerance magazine too.

I could be all romantic about it and say 'Metal saved my life when I was a kid, so I feel I owe it that in return', I don't consciously think that way about it, I just like to stay pro-active and productive. It keeps me relatively sane. Being so involved has let me always hear all the latest sounds, no matter how obscure the origin or style.

I find your dedication to music very inspirational – where do you get the energy and drive from?

Insanity Level Two! I want to get to the end of my life and feel like I've been involved in something good, somewhere along the way. I'm not going to be happy with having just been there, I want to have done it, designed the t-shirt, and told thousands of people about it. I still don't feel like I've done as much as I COULD have done, but life has its restrictions and impossibilities here and there as well, I do have a few 'what if' moments, but I have to learn not to dwell on them really. Easier said than done I guess.

Do you know what, I can dress it all up in any various fashion or superlatives, but when it comes down to it, it's as simple as this. I absolutely fucking love music. It's immense. So many amazing styles, incredible musicians, great people involved. Some of it comes from being frustrated at various times when something that should have been done to aide the scene wasn't done, so I just thought 'Sod it, I'll do it'.

Promoting bands and gigs and clubs, or running a website, doing a few reviews, all that stuff, it isn't really THAT difficult, so long as you have the right frame of mind about it, and a passion for what you are doing. You don't need to have that much technical ability, you just need to be able to take pointers from a few folk when you need it, realise what you want to achieve, be realistic, and then crack on, using all the awesome outlets there are. It only takes a bit of nouse and some get up and go, and anyone can do wonders to promote their local scene, to push their friend's band, to be pro-active.

I've got to be honest, I'm seeing it more and more again, even just in the last six months, where people who aren't in bands (or not in the bands playing specific gigs), just who like going to gigs, are re-posting event pages, or bands music pages as their Facebook statuses, or texting friends to build up excitement about gigs or releases or bands, and it's encouraging to see. One of the reasons I got out of putting on gigs and being more hands on, was the lack of support for great things happening. People got really blasé and apathetic about things going on in their local area. Because of it, a lot of promoters stopped, a lot of venues closed, a lot of damage was done, especially in Leeds, but I saw effects of it all over the country.

There is something of a rebuilding going on I feel, and, I'll be honest, I don't have AS MUCH energy and drive as I did, say, ten years ago, but I still like to get involved with word spreading wherever I can on a more relaxed basis, and it's great to see that there are other people coming through that have that youthful energy required to make the difference.
That said, I have something of a new project on the boil, not so much dedicated to music particularly, but that's one of the strings to the bow of it. This is pretty much the mother of all 'projects' really for me, the biggest undertaking in my life, putting together everything I've learnt from all aspects of promotion, music, and my day job (which is in newspaper advertising, and has been for 10 years).




Can you tell me about your blog, Cathartic Purging of The Self?

NO! NEVER! Okay. It's something I wanted to do for a long time. It's more of an editorial type setting really. I'll happily admit it, it's inspired by the rantings of people like George Carlin, Bill Hicks, the column of Danny Wallace in Shortlist, the mighty genius of Charlie Brooker, and is just me having a rant, having a clearout of all the nonsense cluttering up my brain, and something that will hopefully help me get my life in some kind of order. To be honest, after getting off to a good start with it, and having some good feedback as well, I've let it slip, but have re-started posting on it, and am looking for it to be one of the few projects I have in the stripped down version of my life.

I was doing a music blog for a little while as well, but that requires a lot more time than I have available to me, and, as much as I would love to be able to get back into doing reviews en mass how I have in the past, I know that if I start again, it'll take over my life, at one point I was getting 40-50 CDs a week, and keeping on top of it, but then it got a little more and Raw Nerve was going through a bit of a change about, and I never got back into the routine of doing the write ups.

The 'Cathartic' blog is something that I can do as and when required, I'm not tied to a daily column, or have to do x amount of posts or comments per month to keep on top of it, and, if it just becomes me rambling incoherently at 3 in the morning when I'm in the grips of another crippling bout of insomnia then so be it. It will hopefully be something that help keeps my mind focused and active, helps me continue the learning spree that I seem to be on, and be something that keeps me vaguely holding hands with sanity.

http://www.catharticpurgingofself.blogspot.co.uk/


Do you set yourself goals or just let things happen organically?

Well, in hindsight, looking back over my life, I really SHOULD have been setting goals, and sticking to them, but I haven't. The blog though was originally intended as something to help me purge and finalise and put to rest everything that needed to dissolve out of my brain, drop any projects that were left unfinished, in bits, almost complete but not quite etc., and then that became one of those things that suffered in the same way, but, I am currently on a productive spree once again, trying to get things all in order, fixed, and then, with the incoming force of the huge project on the cards, I can be fresh and ready to tackle it fully.

In the past though, yes, as you say, things have happened organically, or, being more precise, 'haphazardly'. Ideas fall into my brain, either from out of nowhere, or as a process of evolution from other projects or situations around me, and I grab them and see what happens from there. Sometimes it's worked and spiralled into awesome things, sometimes it's failed and left me wanting to give up everything and bury my head in the sand a million miles from everything, but, at least I'm having a go I suppose. That's just how things go I suppose. I definitely should have been more 'plan' orientated though for some things I think, but hindsight is both a killer and a teacher. It's whether you then choose to listen to the lessons, and way more importantly is if you are able to remember the lessons at the times you need to.

Thanks to Paul for the interview and all his hard work over the years.

Tuesday 31 May 2011

Evisorax: Deathgrind destroyers return from hiatus

Evisorax are on the brink of bouncing back from some downtime after their critically acclaimed EP, Enclave and a lineup shift. I caught up with founding member and guitarist, Dan Lynch, about overcoming label trouble, their new album and the band's future plans. 




What changes has the band undergone since Enclave was released back in 2008?

Massive changes, it’s much faster, nastier and violent than it was previously. Both you and Keith jumped ship after various internal friction. I think you found Jesus or something (It was Eckhart Tolle – ed) and Keith wanted to do hair modelling or something like that. Things have been incredibly strenuous for the last 18 months, having to find new members, rehearse, jam and write the new material. There were some really depressing parts where it came close to hang up the axe and calling it a day but I manned the fuck up. In place of Keith I now have Simon Brotherton formerly of the late Narcosis and currently also in The Ergon Carousel and in your place we’ve got Christopher Grenfell who was in Carmen and currently vocalist of The Ergon Carousel.

Can you give a brief summary of what happened with Anticulture Records?

Brief summary? Erm, signed, elated and thought the world was the proverbial oyster, tour, smash, grind and intoxicants. Shortly leading to communication silence between us and them, resulting in no progression - end. It's the past, which is where it will stay.

Did you consider giving up or starting a new band from scratch?

As mentioned previously, I seriously considered giving up at several points, the fact being is that Evisorax is not my first try at music and after so many years of being kicked in the teeth you kinda become down trodden and disheartened. But after a few whiskeys and cigarettes you realise that you don’t become more down trodden but more of the under dog and rabid beast that you convey throughout your musical direction.



Narcosis were a major influence on your playing style, what's it been like incorporating some of its members into Evis?

Shit fucking scary dude, seriously. I would always attempt to incorporate Narcosis’ ethics into my writing. So to be working with the drummer of that band at first was like 'fuck I hope he likes this' and on the flipside 'shit I hope he doesn’t think that I’ve ripped a Narc riff here. But Brod is all about the music, a demon behind the kit and a solid dude who I couldn’t ask anymore from and if anything has only helped push Evisorax to the next level and beyond.

Has your approach to songwriting changed much over the years?

I wouldn't say that it has changed but it has developed in the sense that the goal has always been to play as fast as inhumanly possible. However these days I can push it further than I used to and my mind has developed more in aspects where I can fully body out songs and structures I hear in my head and obviously my playing has improved so the concept of playing crust/grind of an old school era thrown in with modern sounds and technical blasts such as sweeps have become easier to plan and write.

Can you explain how you went about writing the album?

I would get drunk, think how much I despised you and Keith for leaving me and shred it out on the guitar! Basically I hear the sounds in my head, and I try to find where those sounds are located in on the fret board. No theory, just practical. Then throw in elements of musical composition at the time I’m not capable of and make myself capable, add a hell of a lot of venom and violence with incredible drumming and disgusting vocals and that’s the formula.

What are some of the things you wanted to musically achieve on the album?

To do some vocals - definitely. For years with you I would always scream whilst onstage without a mic and you always encouraged me so whilst in the studio I wanted to test it out. I'll await the answer. Other than that the goal was simple, to create a complete and utter mind fuck of rabid album! I obviously wanted to step it up a notch, i.e. sweeps and speed as well as the drums and have louder vocals this time in the mix!





What was the recording process like?

Incredible mate, a young chap called Gavin Collett did it. Best guy I have worked with, hands down - totally switched on, knew his shit and we would work from 10 am to 5/6 am at times. You couldn’t ask more from him. Dobber Beverly of Insect Warfare also helped set up and had some input on the first day also, great guy.

How will the album compare to Enclave?

I don’t think it will as it's more of a progression. I believe the last two tracks of Enclave were the prequel to this however I believe the new tracks surpass both of them. As yet there is no title, working titles have been, P.W and K.M, Rest In Pieces.......jokes.

Who are some of the bands you're currently listening to?

Assuck, Siege, Pig destroyer, Napalm death, Kill the client, Wormrot, Circle of dead children, Agorophobic nosebleed, Insect warfare, Brutal truth, The Ergon Carousel, Magrudergrind, Lock up, The Atrocity Exhibit, Discordance axis, Maruta, See You Next Tuesday, Diskreet, Army of Flying Robots, Johnny Truant, Raging Speedhorn, Iron Monkey, The Red Chord, Converge, Noisear.

You're a big fan of sweeps and have always sought to incorporate them into your music, can you go into detail about why you're such a fan of them?

Because sweeps bring a cleanliness, a sterile wipe of the dirge perhaps before the open wound pulsates and gushes blood out again! Plus, it’s a way to show control over the craft, to play stupidly fast parts and then execute a clean sweep thrown in randomly before launching back into it shows discipline and control as well as contracts within the composition.
I’m not a fan of sweeps for the sake of them, nor over kill, more when they’re thrown in for a millisecond or a couple of seconds to throw you off balance. Plus they sound shit hot and I never used to be able to do them properly so it became an obsession haha.


You're one of the fastest axemen I've seen, how do you achieve such speeds?

Haha, dude I seriously doubt I’m anywhere near the fastest axemen but I appreciate the comment all the same. And as for how I get up to and maintain speed...... I never grew out my adolescent years... you know what I'm saying?

You're touring with Wormrot, this is a great combination of bands - what are some of your goals for the tour?

To shred the stage, get smashed and be a dick! I really want to show the audience that the wait was worth it for our return, there’s not a month goes by where I still receive gig offers, merchandise orders or someone checking in on our progress so really I want to give everything back. Really prove why Evisorax are a force to be noted!

What are your plans for the rest of the year?

To continue writing, making everything tight as possible, destroy the UK with Wormrot and see what happens if the world hasn’t exploded by that point.


http://www.myspace.com/evisorax

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Evisorax/208518175353