Those of you that followed my previous blog should be well aware of my love for brutal death metal and slam. Given that I don’t get nearly enough good promos of this stuff, I like to trawl the web every so often in search of all things gory, gross and mosh-worthy. It was during a recent plunge through the depths of that wretched hive of scum and villainy known as Bandcamp that I came across the slamming sensation known as Rendered Helpless.
2013 has already been a hell of a year for metal. Unlike last year, which saw an overwhelming avalanche of stellar releases, 2013 so far has been more akin to 2011, which was all about quality over quantity. Granted, we’re only halfway through, but at this point I’m still finding it very easy to separate the wheat from the chaff, which certainly wasn’t the case at this time last year. I’m not particularly interested in make lists at this point, but I am interested in taking a look back at what’s transpired so far; it’s always good to recap in order to keep things fresh in your mind and fight the urge to fall back on listening to old shit.
I’ve been meaning to check out New Zealand’s Beastwars for quite some time, but I’m ashamed to admit that the band somehow got lost in the disheveled and disorganized avalanche that is my “bands to check out” list when their self-titled debut was released back in 2011. In spite of this grievous error, it would appear the metal gods chose to smile upon me anyway, as my colleague Craig Hayes recently hooked me up with a promo of the band’s second album Blood Becomes Fire on the band’s behalf. Just one spin of the quartet’s sophomore opus had me cursing myself for a goddamn fool for not getting ’round to them sooner, because not only is this bad mama-jama right up my alley, it’s one of the all-around best metal albums I’ve heard so far in 2013.
Had I heard Witchrist’s ultra-gnarly 2010 debut Beheaded Ouroboros a bit sooner, there’s a very good chance it would’ve wound up on my year-end top ten list. The album possesses a filthy, diseased death metal atmosphere, yet it’s also heavy and violent enough to repeatedly bash in your skull. I spoke with guitarist Shawn (aka Abomination) via e-mail…
THKD: Witchrist hails from New Zealand. What can you tell us about the metal scene there and how do your surroundings influence your music, if at all?
Shawn: The underground here is similar to that elsewhere – an abundance of garbage and a few cult bands. New Zealand’s early history has been violent, cunning and ruthless and I believe this has had more influence on our mentality as a band than other metal from our scene.
THKD: Your band’s sound is often referred to as “bestial” metal. Is there such a thing or is the whole concept of bestial black/death metal a falsehood created by the metal media, labels, message boards etc?
S: Our sound is catergorised as many things and yes ‘bestial’ is one of them. I would agree that Witchrist contains bestial and chaotic elements however there is also a sick dirge to our sound which is not common in many ‘extreme’ bands apart from say Antediluvian. I definitely have some bestial bands destroying my ears constantly…right now its the Thorns of Hate demo from Malaysia…..killer and recommended. I don’t agree with these backward thinking anti-bestial scene jumpers. A few years ago they were into this bestial style of music and now they are not…go figure. The fact is they are just insecure about their own music and find it upsetting that someone creating bestial, harsh, deadly music is doing a better job than themselves. Its laughable and the tunnel-vision mentality is a weak trait.
THKD: Regardless of the whole “bestial” label, it can’t be argued that death metal has experienced something of a “return to roots” in the past few years. Why do you think this is and do you consider Witchrist do be a part of it?
S: Different sub genres seem to rise and fall constantly in a repeating cycle, this is how it is with most things in human society. I don’t see Witchrist as part of the ‘return to roots’ category, we have carved our own path that seems to conflict with most listeners who are expecting to hear an old school death metal record.
THKD: With that said, what bands have influenced Witchrist over the years? What bands do you consider to be your peers within the scene?
S: Each cult members influences will vary, however Witchrist has been labeled as sounding like Blasphemy, Beherit, Bolt Thrower, Archgoat, Autopsy and even Celtic Frost …Yes there are traits from all these bands within our music – it just means we have tapped into the same source for inspiration. We are in contact with many maniacs, heathens, cultists and black metal skinheads in different bands throughout Europe, Asia and the Americas. Obviously the Doom Cult is close so Diocletian, Vassafor and Sinistrous Diabolus are our immediate peers within New Zealand.
THKD: Is Witchrist in any way a reaction to modern death metal’s tendency towards masturbatory technicality and lifeless, digital production schemes?
S: No, we just do what we do. I can imagine Witchrist’s sound is a lot more organic, considering the way we play, the way we record and the equipment we use – Ironbirds, old school Holden valves and will power to create the darkest, filthiest fucking death metal on the planet…….
THKD: How has the band progressed between the demos collected on Curses of Annihilation and your debut album, Beheaded Ouroboros?
S: Our line up was an issue for the Ancient Tombs demo, that was corrected for the Curses.. and Beheaded Ouroboros releases. Once again we have made changes, as Imprecator was a session vocalist, our line up now consists of a permanent vocalist who will unleash his wrath on the upcoming album; The Grand Tormentor. The demos were just that – a demonstration, obviously things change over time and fresh ideas will be incorporated. However, we will never stray from the path of ugly death and doom. Its in our blood.
THKD: Unfortunately my promo copy of Beheaded Ouroborus did not include lyrics. Can you touch on some of the lyrical themes addressed by Witchrist? How have these themes developed progressed since the early demos?
S: For Ancient Tombs the lyrics were in the hands of the vocalist at the time, I can’t remember what he wrote about. Members of the band took over lyric writing from
Curses… onwards. Our focus is, as always, on the left hand path, the correlation between eastern and western cults of death and transcendence through ancient means. The Grand Tormentor is heavily influenced by the eastern myth known as The Ramayana or Ramakien…. the Tormentor being the antagonist. There has not been much progression in our lyric writing, we still incorporate the same concepts and are still influenced by the same spiritual elements.
THKD: What was your mindset going into the process of writing and recording Beheaded Ouroboros? What were you looking to achieve with your debut full length? Do you think you succeeded?
S: It was our first album so as a band we were anticipating the outcome – there was always a plan though. We were looking to crush as many skulls as we could with Beheaded Ouroboros… leaving people devastated and eagerly awaiting the second album which is set to do an even deadlier job. We succeeded on all accounts.
THKD: When/where was Behead Ouroborus recorded? What can you tell us about the sessions? What was running through your mind as the album started to take shape?
S: The album as recorded at Black Door Studio and took roughly two days to lay the drums and guitars..A lot of nicotine, coffee and listening was done…. Our recording ritual is always a great process and listening to the destruction unfold is an unholy experience…
THKD: Talk a little about the cover art for Beheaded Ourorborus. How does the artwork tie in with the concepts being expressed lyrically/musically?
S: It is the end of the cycle of life and death, the escape from Samsara. It was drawn by Bad News Brown and of course seeps of unholy death…Each song in the booklet has corresponding lyrics and artwork portraying the song. The meaning behind these portraits I leave to the individual listener. Artwork was must always be strong and infect peoples mental state, as you know many times before a record is heard artwork is viewed… its that first impression that must really hypnotize (for lack of better word) the listener before the oncoming oppression of doom.
THKD: Is Witchrist a Satanic band? If so, what does Satan mean to you on a personal level, and how is that concept manifested in the music of Witchrist?
S: The Satanic Path is of course a part of Witchrist and should always be a part of Black and Death metal, however the term is not used in our lyrics or seen in our artwork in that particular form. We prefer the Asiatic counterparts as one may be able to derive from our releases. On a personal level Satan is power, physical-mental-spiritual. Controlling and developing these three elements is the key in my opinion.
THKD: Witchrist recently signed a deal with with Osmose. How did this come about? Why did you leave Invictus Productions?
S: Atrociter had contact with Herve and it unfolded from there….. The deal that Osmose proposed was what we were looking for.
THKD: What does the rest of 2011 have in store for Witchrist? Are you already working on new material? Will you be doing any touring?
S: Currently 2 split’s are about to unleashed – a split with Morbosidad through Hells Headbangers and a split with Antideluvian through Bird of Ill Omen/Nuclear Winter Records. They are a teaser to what will be unleashed later in the year and will feature four songs in total that will appear on The Grand Tormentor, which will really be a vicious, barbaric album.. twice as heavy as Beheaded Ouroboros so beware…… Merchandise is another aspect we will work on this year through Goat Gear; patches, shirts and perhaps a live DVD will be available soon. Touring is definitely a possibility, we have our targets set on USA, Asia and Europe… death and doom awaits…..
THKD: Are there any final thoughts you’d like to add?
THKD 