AVAILABLE NOW! : GT ERA LEGEND KAM LEE DESIGNED GLORIOUS TIMES T-SHIRTS OFFICIALLY LICENSED TO ASH MUSIC

 Show your support of the Glorious Times era of extreme metal and hardcore punk by sporting this new shirt, bearing an original design by non-other than GT era legend Kam Lee.

Sizes available on demand, from Small to 5XL - so follow the link below to get yours from Ash Music (international orders, please contact Ash Music for further information regarding shipping costs).

All orders come with free Wehrmacht stickers.

ORDER HERE

KAM LEE: YOU SHALL BE AS DEATH

Kam Lee band, after A Day Of Death 2011 - (photo - Brian Pattison)

Glorious Times returns to the cannibal cookout, and joins Kam Lee to stir the pot and see what delectable tidbits have stuck and simmered since last we spoke.

GT - How did you and Rogga first get the idea of starting up Bone Gnawer?

Kam - Pretty much how it all came together was... Rogga and I started talks back in 2007 about working together. He had something going at the time (which later became his own band REVOLTING) that I was just to appear on a few tracks as guest vocalist on. We did a demo... of a few tracks back then - just to see how it felt, but honestly I don't even know where those tracks are now.

When it rolled around into 2009, that was when things with "the label" that was involved in this project went south pretty fast. Mainly due to the fact that I began to suspect something was a bit "fishy" with the whole deal, and I started to suspect that the reason as to why this particular guy was trying to get me on his label so bad was basically for the publicity. I can usually tell when I'm getting "used" - (Hell... I've been thru it enough times now with a certain opportunistic member of the band Massacre - so I kinda can get the clues pretty fast now when it starts to rear it's ugly head.) - so pretty much after calling this guy out on his "bullshit" and having this narcissistic bastard go all ballistically insane - (like they always do when you call them out on their bullshit.) - he had his cry baby tantrum and 'troll/hater' sessions of bashing me on the internet. And so he decided that he didn't want me involved in the band anymore nor involved any longer on his label.

So basically the whole thing with my involvement fell apart before getting any further.
But then while conversing thru e-mails with Rogga... the idea began to grow to just do a band ourselves with out a label involved from the beginning. We found that we shared a lot of the same musical taste, as well as a love for all things horror. Rogga also admitted to being a real fan of my vocals, and expressed that he would like to have me as the full time vocalist on a project instead of me just being a guest vocalist. I then said I thought that was a great idea.

It was now going into 2008, and I just returned off the tour with DENIAL FIEND/MASSACRE, and I was at that point pretty disgusted with a few personal matters of how that tour went. And the complete opportunistic way certain things where done.

I won't get into it... but let us just say - the "waves" caused from it still ripple out 'til this day.

Anyhow, back to BONE GNAWER. Once I knew what I wanted to do (which was to leave DENIAL FIEND) - I just went right ahead and started working with Rogga on BONE GNAWER. At the time the band didn't have a name. BONE GNAWER was actually a song title I had. I knew I wanted to have this band be based on cannibalism and serial killers, but also have a sort of campy black humor approach to it. We tossed around a few names... but BONE GNAWER stuck, because it is such a ridiculous name.

I knew that from the start that the name would stir controversy. I actually find it hilarious - that the first "trolling" attempts to mock the name where all homophobic in nature. It is comical to me that homophobes find the name to be disturbing... it proves just how closed minded and gay fearing some of these "metal heads" really are. After all, the name is meant to be disturbing in nature. If not from the implications of what it stands for... the gnawing of bone, but for it's cannibalistic implications, to the offbeat silly nature in which it is intended.

But the fact that it does stir up nightmare images of phallus chomping for most homophobes - I do find that funny as well. The band is after all about cannibalism. That is the bands main theme. And when it comes to eating meat... did you know that a steak comes from a male steer and not a female cow. So in essence a cannibal would look at it the same way. Also real life cannibals like Chikatilo admitted to gnawing on the sexual organs of his victims, both male and female. Male - Female... it makes no difference... it's just meat!

I knew what I was doing when I picked the name for the band... I knew just how off it would put people. I knew some would think the name was stupid, while others scratched their heads, while others just "got it". But the fact is... once you've heard the term... you won't ever forget it.

GT - Did you have any input into the music of Bone Gnawer or did you stick with just vocal and lyrical input?

Kam - I trusted Rogga with the music. I knew of his works with PAGANIZER and RIB SPREADER and a few other projects he's done.. So I knew and trusted his writing would be equal to those bands. So I had no worries at all when it came to his music talents. I just stuck to the themes, concepts, vocals, and lyrics.

Kam at A Day Of Death 2012 - (photo - Brian Pattison)

GT - Listening to the album several years later are you still satisfied with it or are there things you would change?


Kam - I think it's a great debut. It was also a perfect thing for me to do just after leaving DENIAL FIEND. I shall always feel that it is a milestone in my music career, because it really was "my return" to doing "proper death metal". As far as DF was concerned to me... that band was never a true real death metal act in the first place.

But back to the FEAST OF FLESH album... yes, I feel BONE GNAWER's debut is a perfect album. Like I said, because it was the first real death metal album I had recorded since back in the MASSACRE "From Beyond" days. Plus I had the honor and thrill to work with Stevo of IMPETIGO, Killjoy of NECROPHAGIA, and Dopi of MACHETAZO on that album... with all of them doing some guest vokills!

So yeah... I'm very satisfied with it. 

GT - You and Rogga made a fairly quick transition from Bone Gnawer into The Grotesquery. What made you two decide to start a whole new band rather than just continue on as Bone Gnawer?

Kam - We had such a great experience doing BONE GNAWER - that we wanted to do something more. However, we knew that BONE GNAWER had a certian vibe, image and direction. And the new ideas we wanted to explore - like doing something with a very dark Gothic horror theme with supernatural, and occult elements - just wouldn't fit with BONE GNAWER's already established gore image.

Remember... we knew BONE GNAWER lyrically was a bit campy and gore related. So we wanted to do something that completely counter balanced those ideas - something that would be lyrically more serious in nature but still have a horror theme. As well a band that musically we could explore and experiment more with.

Both Rogga and myself look at a lot of things a bit different then most bands. I always find a lot of bands... lyrically change direction and themes - without sticking to one specific concept. I always found that a bit annoying about bands. We just didn't want to cross genres and themes, and so we talked about doing another completely new band that would allow us to explore these horror occult themes with out being hampered by any sort of expectations. So THE GROTESQUERY was born.

We took some time choosing the name too. It wasn't just a quick decision. At first - we didn't know what to call the band. We tossed a few names around. But at one point Rogga said something in an e-mail - about how the music was turning into a real "grotesquery". And I thought... wow, that's kinda cool way to describe us. Of cousre I know of the Swedish band GROTESQUE, and as well of a few bands with variations of the name, but none were either active at the time or had broken up. So we just decided to throw a THE before the name... and just use THE GROTESQUERY. 

Kam and Matias Romero at Niagara Falls - (photo - Brian Pattison)

GT - How long did it take you guys to write "Tales of the Coffin Born" and how did that writing process work with Rogga over in Europe and you down in Florida?

Kam - I think it took about a year to do... from late in 2008 thru out most of 2009. It was recorded in late 2009... but the ideas from the planning stages and writing, to the actual putting it all together took about a year.

Of course the lyrics and story had been something I myself had been working on and off for the past 6 years. It was actually going to be a novel, movie script... I really didn't know what I was going to do with it. But once the idea to make it into a concept album for THE GROTESQUERY was decided, it went together rather quickly.

The writing is pretty much easy... I let Rogga do the music, and I work the lyrics around the music. It's always been how I've done things. Going all the way back to the MANTAS/DEATH days... I've always written the lyrics around the music. I have the concept and themes prior to the music, but the actual writing of the lyrics comes after the music is written.

How we do it is - we pretty much utilize the internet. Rogga will send to me WAVE or MP3 files of the music for me to work on, and I basically work the lyrics in from there. The BEST thing... is we both TRUST one another to give the BEST of ourselves. So it's never too much of a back and forth with things. 

Again, I trust Rogga... so it's rather easy when you completely trust someone to do their best and not have to worry about trying to compromise yourself around what they are doing. I trust that he will write riffs and arrange the music to fit into the style we do in each band, and likewise he will trust me to do my best with the lyrical direction and the vocals.

GT - With The Grotesquery's debut being well received did you and Rogga ever talk about or consider playing live either in Europe or North America?

Kam - Yes, but I think Europe is all we would do. The U.S. would be cool, but I just don't see it happening.

The main issue with us not being able to tour is because of our drummer Brynjar. He can NOT tour... due to his obligations at work. We would never think of replacing him... but we would need to find a suitable drummer - who lives in Sweden - and who could work close with Rogga to get the material down tight. As you know your self personally... I don't really need to rehearse too much with a band to be able to perform live.
Also - Brynjar is from Norway, while Rogga lives in Sweden. So it's not like they are even in the same country together themselves.

However, finding a tour replacement for Brynjar has been a bit of a challenge for Rogga. We would also need to have the "touring drummer" understand that he is just the "touring drummer" - and not a permanent member. So basically - it's just that we don't have a drummer lined up that can rehearse with Rogga to get the material down for a "live performance" situation. This has been pretty much our only set back.

  

 Day 1 (July 13 2011) of Kam Lee rehearsals - (photo - Brian Pattison)

GT - It was completely my honor to have you play A Day of Death 2011 and play the album in full that I requested you play. What was that experience like for you for that week? Your opinions of Buffalo, the people here, the musicians you got to jam with and the others that you got to meet.

Kam - The whole over all experience was great.
Everything was good... the people... the musicians... the fans... the food. I would love to do it again sometime. I really had a great time. I would say it's been ONE of the BEST tour experiences I've had. The people up there are REAL and TRUE... and that is rare in this time and day. So many posers infest our scene... so it was good to be in with true real death/black metal fans and bands, and not incrusted within some trendy hipster mall metal core crap crowd. I'm sure it infest there as well... but it was refreshing to be around people who knew what was real. I met a lot of cool people - who have since become friends - and that is always a good thing. 

 Kam checks out the buffaloes at Buffalo Zoo - (photo - Brian Pattison)

GT - When we announced what you would be doing for A Day of Death there were immediate cries from some that you were cashing in on the past and only doing it for the money. 'Til now the facts have been kept from the public so we figure we'll set it straight now... You were paid a grand total of $500 (which covered your plane ticket and part of your girlfriends plane ticket). You reluctantly played that album because we requested it of you, not because you wanted to. In an age when many bands will demand thousands of dollars and have outrageous riders to play fests why did you agree to do A Day of Death 2011 for essentially nothing?


Kam - Basically because I'm not a money grubbing opportunist. And I wanted to do it for the 'real fans' that could make it out to the show. I'm NOT a "rock star" - and so I do not think like some arrogant egomaniac. I'm still rooted... still grounded, and pretty much like to think I'm down to earth. I understand that the scene (the true scene) is not about the hipster trends. I knew overall that this "fest" was going to be attended by "real" fans... with performances by "true real underground" bands, and that it was going to be an intimate small affair, and not some OVER THE TOP - blown out of proportion mega money gathering event like so many of these other fest in the US these days. 

It's not some multi-day event... with multi-stages -with a bunch of trendy bands and 'named bands' performing ONLY to draw a large crowd in order to "rape" the crowd for money. It's not at all backed by some corporate record labels, trendy magazines, and funded by greedy promoters. It was "real" and it was "true", - funded by fans and friends... attended by fans and friends... and something I was very very proud to be a part of.
Also - I think it's ironic and fucked up that those same people that pitched a bitch and cried about me "cashing in" - are the same fucking idiots that now support the true "cash in" with FAKEASSACRE.

 GT - Currently you are working on a project (music related, but not music) with Buffalo's Dennis John Glinski (Grave Descent). Could you talk a little about the project and how you became involved with it?

Kam - That would be the comic book DEATH SHRIEK. Dennis is planning to do a horror/death metal anthology book based on songs from different bands. I've actually already completed my section. It's a story (8 pages) based on a track from the band DERKETA. It's for their song WITCHBURNED. I pretty much got involved when Dennis approached me... and asked if I would like to do it.

He said - he was a fan of my art, and would really like to have me on board to do it.
I heard what he had planned, and thought this would be cool thing to do... and so I came on board.

Contact Legacy of Death for further info on the comic's release

GT - Do you think you will continue doing comic book art after the "Death Shriek" project is finished?

Kam - Yes. Already I have started my own comic based on TALES OF THE COFFIN BORN from my band THE GROTESQUERY, as well as I've talked to Dennis about coming back for DEATH SHRIEK 2. I've begun a few ideas as well for a comic about a Zombie Werewolf. I may decide to either do it myself... or perhaps see if LEGACY OF DEATH {Dennis's company} would like to put it out... perhaps, in another anthology horror comic. Gotta see how DEATH SHRIEK goes first. I don't want to burden Dennis with too much, as I know he funds the company all himself out of his own pocket. 

GT - You were approached by Sharon (Bascovsky) to do some guest vocals on Derketa's album "In Death We Meet". Then you got to join them on stage to perform the song at A Day of Death 2011. What was the experience of working with them and then performing the song with them like?

Kam - Yeah... I REGRETTABLY... didn't get the chance to record the vocals for the album. It just was a thing with the timing, and the opportunity didn't arise for me to get them recorded in time. But being able to do it onstage was fun. I love DERKETA's Style of Doom Death Metal... I'm a huge fan of Doom, especially when it has Death Metal undertones.
I would hope to someday work with DERKETA again... and hopefully be able to record some vocals with them.
 
 

Kam Lee band rehearsal day 2 (July 14 2011 ) - (photo - Brian Pattison)
 

 GT - Recently The Grotesquery released their second album. How long did that take to put together and what was the overall writing/recording process like?

Kam - Rather quick actually. Not as long as the first album. I think this time Rogga had all the music already written... and I started to flush out ideas right after the first album was completed. At first though... I didn't plan on doing another concept story album, but because of so much positive fan support and response for the first album. I then decided to go ahead and make this one a concept album as well. It didn't take long... because I had a general idea of what I wanted to do. I heard musically what Rogga was doing... and I knew it would be perfect to write about a character that was in an insane asylum.

Of course... every idea I have gets trimmed and cut and reformed to fit into album format. I have ruff drafts of stories written out. When I finally get the music from Rogga, I then choose what best will fit, and what parts are the most important things to write the lyrics about, and what other details can be left out or altered to make it fit. 

GT - Now that The Grotesquery has 2 great albums under its belt is there any chance of one or more live performances occurring in North America?

Kam - Well... like I said in the above question about touring. It's unlikely that TG or BG will ever perform in the U.S. I'm NOT saying it's impossible, but it's HIGHLY unlikely to ever happen. 

Kam and Francisco Pulido checking out the rapids at Niagara Falls - (photo - Brian Pattison)

GT - In addition to the everything else you also have a show on Brutal Existence Radio. How did that come about?

Kam - I had awhile back thought about doing some sort of radio show. Nothing too fancy... just something where I could showcase some new bands, as well as play some of my own personal favorite bands. As well, as have a sort of HALLOWEEN atmosphere to it. I met Fowler and Metal Mark thru FB- and pretty much just went from there. Fowler and I talked about it a year before it even became a reality... but eventually I got to do "FROM THE CRYPT". 

Right now... I'm on hiatus from the radio show... until later this fall. I'm just so busy with so much going on at the time that I had to take time off from the show. I love doing it... but it does take a lot of time to get pre-recorded and get everything ready on a weekly basis. And with my busy ass schedule at the moment... working two jobs... doing all the bands and recordings... the artwork and other stuff. I had to take a break somewhere.

  

GT - You had a starring role in the low budget horror movie "Deep Seeded", what was that experience like and do you foresee any further acting in your future?

Kam - It was fun to do... although I am a bit pissed that it's being held up in some sort of "red tape". I'm not even sure of the details, but it seems that Troxell has just giving up on it. The entire movie is completed and done. But because of some BULLSHIT with the fucking distribution company or some shit it's sitting in fucking movie limbo. Like I said... seems Troxell just has given up on it altogether, and doesn't even care about it. I have some burnt copies myself... a few I've even sent out to friends for FREE. It's not the best movie... hell it's not even scarey... but it has a few gore scenes in it... and it does have a few fully naked chicks with me cutting them up and tormenting and torturing them. So it has that basic drive-in/grind-house like appeal to it... very exploitative and low budget filth.

I would like to do some more acting for sure... but I'm picky as to what roles I'll play. I just won't pick any sort of role. It has to be something horror and something that fits "me".
I've had a few other offers come my way... a few I just didn't take because they weren't roles I wanted to do... or roles I felt would fit "me".

Francisco, Mat, Kam and Alayna at Niagara Falls - (photo - Brian Pattison)

GT - Bands, comic books, art, radio and acting...is there any other avenue you hope to approach in the future?

Kam - I would like to try once more at writing a horror novel. 

GT - Any last words, people you want to shout out to or projects you want to push?

Kam - I'll be recording the full length for the band GRAVE WAX coming up the next few weeks. GRAVE WAX is a band I do with underground artist Mark Riddick. It's going to be something unique... it's really cool death metal... with some unique twist in both music and the vocals for sure. So we hope to have that out by the late fall/early winter time. 

Also - we will have a split for THE GROTESQUERY coming out with the band INTESTINAL by the end of the year. And keep a look out for the cannibal maniacs to return sometime in the new year.... buzz is that a new BG album maybe in the making. Thanks for all the support and the friendship!

 

   

BUFFALO DEATH RETURNS

Seplophile at the Funeral Home (photo - Brian Pattison)

A side effect of releasing our book, GT was quite hopeful, would be a shot of adrenalin to the system of a once great underground scene. A couple years on from the dust of the book's publishing having settled, it would appear that the medicine is working with the Buffalo NY scene starting to bubble again with more people becoming active, more shows happening (many of them standing outside the now set parameters of other gigs) and more bands stepping up to the plate with genuine quality music. GT brings you another interview which was destined for the return of Chainsaw Abortions zine, this time with Buffalo death band SEPLOPHILE!

GT: Seplophile formed in 2010 by veteran members of various Buffalo based bands. Give us a brief background of what went into Seplophile and what brought you all together?

    Greg: The band was formed in early January 2010 initially by Al and myself, a few weeks later we added Shawn to the mix on bass, then about a month after that Matt joined the band on second guitar, and then Colin joined up in June of that year of vocals. Al and myself had been in a band years before (From This Day, Shawn was in that band as well but after I was long gone) after I had left in 2004 they continued until the summer of 2009. By that time I (as well as Matt) were in our second stints in Herod, after I had done a couple years in Sons of Azrael. We (Herod) had some downtime planned as the other guitarist, and lead vocalist, Jesse entered fatherhood for the first time, during that downtime Al and I decided to start a death metal band. We had been in bands in the past that had definite death metal elements, but we had wanted to start a band with the dominant influence/sound being death metal. The initial songs pretty much wrote themselves, even if they were a bit one dimensional, but I think if the desire to create is there, writing is never a problem. One demo, a bunch of shows and songs later, and a full length in the works, and that about brings us up to speed.

    GT:  The band burst onto the Buffalo scene with a choice slot opening for Malevolent Creation. Did  you expect the gigs to come so fast and furious during the bands infancy?

Greg:  Absolutely not. There had been a drought in extreme metal in Buffalo for quite sometime, and even the bands that were around and killing it, were mostly overlooked or lumped in with the local hardcore scene, as that was the dominant scene in Buffalo for a very long time. Shows for really any type of metal were sparse, and we had initially anticipated playing maybe 2-4 times a year locally, getting out of town if the opportunity was right as well. Very low expectations. After that Malevolent Creation show, all of a sudden, shows started appearing out of nowhere. The quality of the local bands, the Funeral Home, and yourself are a big reason for that. Needless to say, we eclipsed our 2-4 show max about 2 months after that Malevolent show.

Seplophile at Club Infinity (photo - Brian Pattison)

   GT: I once overheard you tell someone that you write most of your riffs on an acoustic guitar. What     made you go with that unusual route for writing death metal riffs?

Greg: I have an acoustic guitar at home, I love playing it, and with most of my gear at our rehearsal space, the acoustic is the best, most convenient option. Not to mention, if a death metal riff sounds killer on an acoustic, it'll sound even better ripping through my amp full blast with proper distortion.

  GT:  Does the band write songs as a collective unit or do you tend to write songs individually then bring them to rehearsal and do any tweaking there?

 

Greg:  A lot of the initial Seplophile material was kinda prepared either by Matt or myself individually with Al. There was some collaboration obviously between Matt and myself, but I think it was good for Matt and I to prepare material on our own with our first batch of songs, just to kind of get an idea as to how each of us would interperet death metal. Because of that, I feel collaboration is more apt to happen for the next batch of songs, as we know kinda how each other writes this type of music. It helps sometimes to have a few different cooks in the kitchen so to speak, if i had written all the material, we'd be a very one dimensional, fast death metal band. With Matt and myself writing, we're a very three dimensional, multi-speed death metal band, haha.

Shawn

    GT:  You have a deep love for power metal acts such as Helloween. How much do those power metal  acts influence the riffs you write for Seplophile?

Greg:  In a way, anything I, or we, listen to influences Seplophile, even if it's a sign of where not to go. But yeah, I'd say that style of metal influences us. Matt and myself are huge fans of classic heavy metal, and if you dissect a lot of our material you'll see it's (for the most part) very traditionally arranged, a la verse/chorus/verse/bridge/chorus, that's definitely derived from our classic metal sensibilities. I think that's important to have, i love music that has strong structure and meat on the bone to sink your teeth into. There's nothing wrong with having simple, or "catchy" song structures in death metal. That being said, we're also not afraid to riff it up and use the abilities we've attained over the years as musicians. We will never be technical just to be techincal, nor will we be simple just to be "old school". Everything we play has a purpose and we follow no codes or rules that aren't self imposed. We are a death metal band, plain and simple, and if you listen to us it's my opinion that you'll hear bits and pieces of everything that's created the death metal "sound" from 1985 (or whenever someone else thinks it started) until today.

    Colin

GT:  This summer Seplophile will finally begin venturing outside of WNY for shows. Why has it taken so long for you to begin doing out of town shows?

Greg: Well we had played a show in Rochester in October of 2011 with Decrepit Birth and Decapitated, but other than that the reason why we haven't gone out so much is because of scheduling. Lame as it may be, we ain't kids anymore, and job and family scheduling does make going out of town a little more complicated and difficult. We've all done our time in the past as far as road slavery is concerned, (we all spent the majority of our 20's broke haha) and family and paying bills are a higher priority at this point in our lives. In order to tour "right", you gotta hit it hard and for a long time, time which we don't really have anymore. The number of shows I've played in the last 9 years outweighs my recorded output by a lot and I'd rather stay home, and practice our craft and improve ourselves as a band, and get some more recordings out there. At this point in my life the creation of the music is more important than the performing of it live, but we will continue to play out when we can, because we enjoy it, not because we have to.

Al

    GT:  When I offered you the chance to be Kam Lee's backing band for A Day of Death 2011 you quickly jumped on it, but just as quickly learned that Matt would be unable to play the show. How hard was it for Seplophile as a band to learn all of "From Beyond", teach Tony Lorenzo the Seplophile set list and still fit in normal rehearsals with Matt during the first half of 2011?

   

Greg: Very. Life's a journey and a lesson, and if I had that over again, in retrospect, I can see what could've been done differently to make that an easier process. It's was probably most unfair to Tony, who had to learn 18 songs he either had never really heard before, or was only vaguely familiar with. He was a champ though, stepped up big time for us, and played the shit out of those songs. I definitely think the Seplophile set suffered as a result of my insistence of placing more emphasis on learning the Massacre material, because let's face it, there was no one there strictly to see lil' old Seplophile play 3rd on a fest full of underground metal legends like Deceased, Insanity, Rottrevore, and Kam Lee. As a headliner, we had an obligation to learn the Massacre tunes as best as we can to make sure we didn't make Kam look shitty, or you look stupid for picking us as his backing band. I think we succeeded in not letting either of those happen.

    GT:  When I gave you the call on July 13 (2011) to let you know Kam was with me and we were on our way to rehearsal did you feel any apprehension/nerves?

 Greg: Some nerves, no apprehension. Apprehension leads to doubt, doubt kills confidence, and no confidence leads to shitty performances.

Day 2 of Kam Lee rehearsals (photo - Brian Pattison)

   GT:  Those two rehearsals with Kam seemed to go pretty well. He seemed to fit right in with the band like he belonged there and not at all like an outsider. Were you happy with those rehearsals?

Greg: Absolutely, I looked at it like this: We were a band for 3 days, we had 2 days to be a tight for the 3rd day, we had little time to fuck around, but like a true band, we did find some time to have some fun amongst the business. We cleared through a couple cases of beer, shot some shit and got to know Kam a little, which was cool. We wanted Kam to be comfortable and at ease with this room full of strangers that he was going to headline a fest with in 2 days. Us being fairly easy going dudes I think Kam was able to drop his guard quick, hang out, drink a few beers, and rattle our walls with "wipe-outs". It was a great time and Kam's a cool guy. You saw me smiling, it was total genuine fun.

    GT:  When the time came for you guys and Kam to take the stage, did you feel any added pressure of  knowing that the old schoolers in the crowd who had seen Massacre in '91 would be watching you with a very critical eye? Despite a minor flub or two were you happy with the bands performance that night?

  

Greg: Actually I wasn't worried about old schoolers watching us. I knew that as long as we did our job, they would get into it. Billing be damned, I went out there with the attitude of: "I'm in Massacre for one night, I have to perform these songs as if I've written them". Shawn, Tony, and myself were not gonna stand up there like scared kids in the shadow of an underground legend. We are dudes who've spent a lot of time on stages, we know what it takes to put on a good show, and we acted accordingly. Any flubs we had I thought were like you said, minor, and more of a result of either over enthusiasm or monitor troubles. Except for "Skulls", that was just lack of preparation as we had just learned it the last rehearsal before the show, haha.

Kam and Greg at A Day of Death 2011 (photo - Brian Pattison)

    GT:  Seplophile has been known to cover Cannibal Corpse's "Skull Full of Maggots" live, yet when given the opportunity to play the song in the presence of two original Cannibal Corpse members you chose not to, even though Alex was hoping you would. You had an opportunity to play it and perhaps even get one or both of them to join you for it, yet you declined, why did you chose to pass on playing it especially knowing you may never be given another chance to play it in their presence?

   

   Greg: Well we hadn't played the song in like 7 months, and we didn't think it was the right place for something like that, would've felt crass. It was a charity event, and to me it would've seemed like we were trying to get a "Cannibal seal of approval" by either playing that song or having those dudes play it with us. I wouldn't want anyone to think we were playing this show for any other reason than for the reason everyone else was playing it, to help out our friend. I'll take a seal of approval from Cannibal Corpse any other day of the week, just not that day. As you know, we did a Voivod cover instead (Tribal Convictions) as that's a band that we love and Tony loves too.

 GT: You are currently in the studio recording your debut full length. How has the recording gone so far?

Greg: Recording has gone well, all we have left to do is record bass, vocals, and lead guitars and we'll be done. It's been 2 and half years in the making and we're pretty excited to finish it up. The vocals, rhythm guitars and drums were recorded by Scott Nadolinski, bass and leads are being recorded by our other guitarist Matt.

Kam Lee band after A Day of Death 2011 (photo - Brian Pattison)

    GT:  Besides the show June 23 show in Cleveland, do you have any other out of town shows lined up or in the process of being lined up?

 Greg:  We're also playing the Sevared Records "Brutality Reigns 2" fest in Rochester on June 22nd, besides that and Cleveland the next day, we have nothing planned for out of town until at least the fall. I'm getting hitched and need some time to lock down the family aspect of my life for a bit before I can worry about hitting the highway again.

    GT: Any final comments?

 Greg: Thanks for the support now, in the past, and hopefully in the future Brian. You're one of the reason's Buffalo's had a bit of a resurgence for metal, and it's appreciated by all of it's practitioners who know what's up. Also, readers, keep an eye out for our debut album "Mesonoxian", it should be finished by the end of May, stay tuned to our Facebook page for updates. 

 

DEATH CULT OF THE DRUID LORD

Pete Slate at  A Day of Death 2011 - (photo - Brian Pattison)

Several months ago by now, Glorious Times entertained the idea of bringing co-creator Brian Pattison's GT era zine 'Chainsaw Abortions' back from antiquity. With the sheer number of gigs GT has been putting on this year, plus the various benefit activities we've been holding (and something coming soon sure to make heads turn yet again!),  the idea has pretty much fizzled out. However, rather than scrap the work that's already been done, we've decided to post the interviews (and at a later date, even some reviews) just as we did with our last post "Derketa: Witchburned" which was also originally meant for the return of Chainsaw Abortions.

GT favorite Druid Lord is prolific. And we bring this piece to you to coincide with their latest release on Doomentia Records. One has to work VERY HARD to find an all around kick ass band these days, even rarer when everyone involved is a gentleman, we've done the hard work, the rest is up to YOU!

GT - Druid Lord come about and was it a conscious decision for Druid Lord to have a

completely different sound from Equinox?

Pete - Yes totally. Equinox was formed primarily to be a Black/Death metal band. Druid Lord is all  about Doom and old school Death Metal. I've been a huge fan of Doom and heavy music since Black Sabbath back when I was a kid. I had been wanting to form a Doom band for years but never found  guys to jam with. I had the Idea for Druid Lord for many years but it took up until 2010 to become  active. Lyrically Equinox was more about mysticism, magic, mythology lyrically. Druid Lord is  writing about Horror, Occult type subjects like taken from an old 70's cult move.

GT - You started out as a 3-piece, but it didn't take you long to add a 4th. Did you

always want to have 2 guitarists?

Pete - We did. We decided that we needed a 2nd guitarist for live shows especially as the music had to  be heavy as hell. Ben Ross also from FL, had heard a few samples of music on Myspace and contacted our vocalist Tony. At this point we had not even started looking for anyone. So Ben came over to  rehearsal, learned all the songs. He fit's the band 100% with his attitude, skill, and drive. Killer  musician. We didn't want a typical Death Metal shredder. We had to find a guy that was willing to  play with more feel and keep it slow and heavy. He's been in the band for a year now.

Druid Lord at A Day of Death 2011 - (photo - Brian Pattison)

GT - What bands inspired the sound of Druid Lord?

Pete - Celtic Frost, Hellhammer, Pentagram, Cirith Ungol, Dream Death, Autopsy, Candlemass.  Man, there are tons of great bands. We just take our influences and mix them into our own brand of   music.

GT - How did the deal with HPGD come about for your full-length debut?

Pete - I believe it was Alan Moses who mentioned in conversation that Mike from HPGD was a really  cool dude. I think....haha....Anyway, I sent Mike some recording from the album that were already  finished and  he seemed to like what Druid Lord was doing. So he made us an offer and we finished  "Hymns for the Wicked." We are very pleased with the way Mike handles his business and label. It  was good decision for the band.

Stephen Spillers at A Day of Death 2011 - (photo - Brian Pattison)

GT - Since the release of the full length Druid Lord has been fairly active releasing 7"'s

on a fairly regular basis. Have the ep's sold well? Are you planning another full-

length?

Pete - Yeah, the ep's are selling very well. We made a decision to release some special ep's on vinyl and  splits. So there was no full length in 2011. Now for 2012 we will do another full length. Maybe no  splits at all. We had a lot of material written and we got a lot of killer offers. Each split is special due  to the songs/artwork.

GT - You were able to get your long-time friend Kam Lee to record guest vocals on

your song "All Hallow's Evil". What was it like to work with Kam? Did he or Druid

Lord have any reservations about doing the track together?

Pete - Kam and I have been friends for a very, very long time. I've always respected his work with  Death and Massacre. He's a total pro musician and has a killer voice. They guy also writes lyrics like a madman. So, he and I had wanted something around a Halloween theme. We already had the music  finished. So, I sent Kam the tracks and he came over to Tony Blakk's home studio and laid down the  vocals. It was his concept for "All Hallows Evil." I think the song come out damn great. We've even  played it live with him a few times. In FL and NY. The song is featured on a split cd with the band  Kaiju. Check it out. 

Pete Slate and Kam Lee at A Day of Death 2011 - (photo - Brian Pattison)

GT - Druid Lord made the long ass drive from Florida to New York State to play A

Day of Death in July 2011. How was the experience?

Pete - We had the best damn time. I mean the drive sucked but we got to get a break from reality at  home. We drove straight through. I think it took like 20 hours. We crammed the van and took off.  We did a bit of site seeing. Saw Niagara falls, Buffalo Insane Ayslum, and the Day of Death Fest.  Getting to play with bands like Deceased, Rottrovore, Derketa, Goatcraft was awesome. Making new fans and hanging out and meeting new people was the highlight for us. We got to play our brand of   DOOM in NY. Great, great time. There were some amazing bands at the fest.

GT - Can Druid Lord fans outside of Florida expect to see the band live any time soon?

Pete - No plans yet but we'd love to get over to TX and play more gigs in the south. Hell, we'd play  about anywhere if it worked out. Spread the plague!!!! I would like us to also get over to Europe.  Killer scene for Doom/Death Metal.

Kam Lee joining Druid Lord on stage at A Day of Death 2011 - (photo - Brian Pattison)

GT - Now that Druid Lord seems to be going fairly strong and Gabe has Serpent Son

going, does that mean Equinox is done or is it just on hiatus?

Pete - Honestly, I can't say right now. I don't want to say it's over for good but we are all busy doing  other things. Druid Lord is my main priority right now and we have a lot more work ahead of us.

GT - Would you like to impart on final bit of wisdom?

Pete - Mega thanx for the interview Brian. We have merch still available so people should contact us.  Also, keep a look out for new music in 2012. The "Druid Death Cult" is coming!!!!!!

http://druidlord.bandcamp.com/album/hymns-for-the-wicked

WITCHBURNED

Derketa at their first ever gig, January 15, 2011 - (photo - Brian Pattison)

Glorious Times recently caught up with long time friend Sharon Bascovsky from Pittsburgh death metal legends Derketa. In Death We Meet.

GT - How did Derketa come to be?

Sharon - I started playing guitar when I was 15 and enjoyed writing my own stuff versus playing covers.  I met Terri at a party and she mentioned she’d like to be in a band so I asked her if she wanted to start one.   She bought a drum set, took some drum lessons and we started rehearsing.

 GT - In '90/'91 Derketa seemed to be on the path to be signed but lineup turmoil prevented you from playing live and your eventual decision to end the band. Do you have any regrets about not playing live in those early days or not sticking out for a little longer?

Sharon - Yeah, I wish things didn’t go down the way they did especially when the tension with Terri and I started right when we finally had a full lineup to play shows.   But everything happens for a reason and honestly I didn’t have the confidence to play shows back then.  We didn’t have enough rehearsals for me to gain that confidence so it’s something that I’ll never know if it would have happened.   I didn’t attempt to sing and play until about 5 years ago, which wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be.   I never had a PA back then so I never even tried until I finally bought one.

GT - Back in those days Pittsburgh had a really great scene with bands like Hideous Mangleus, Chaotic Plague, Rottrevore, Acheron, Eviction and many more. What do you think made Pittsburgh such a hotbed for the formation of great death metal bands back then?

Sharon - I don’t know, I really love the Pittsburgh scene and think we have something special here.  It still exists today actually.  Maybe it’s all of the fumes we inhaled growing up from the Steel Mills we had that polluted our air.  It’s a very honest and dedicated music scene, and everybody supports each other no matter what metal genre you’re in.   The metal people enjoy punk and hardcore, and vice versa.   Everybody that was around 20+ years ago is still around and involved in one way or another.   We have a lot of great bands and I think it’s simply the fact that we all play an instrument and it’s only natural to want to create music and play with friends.  And of course there were quite a few of us that have the morbid in us to create death metal;  we all grew up watching the old horror movies which aired on regular TV, before cable TV came out, it must have all factored in somehow.

Sharon after Derketa's set, with Robin Mazen and John McEntee in the background - (photo - Brian Pattison)

GT - In '97 you attempted to bring the band back to life with Terri. In the interim between disbanding and the '97 reformation were you involved in any bands? Did you miss the creative output of Derketa?

Sharon - No, I wasn’t playing in any bands back then. I went back to school and was focused on getting a career going for myself. I wasn’t really into the changes that were going on in the death metal scene so I didn’t think Derketa would have been received well. It was such a short lived band and it seemed like Derketa was forgotten. I did miss creating music for Derketa.  I always have ideas going on in my head for it; a riff would pop in my head and id record it onto cassette, then just move on to the ordinary life.  Same with lyrics, I have scraps of lyrics that id write in hopes that one day id be able to put them to fruition because writing is such a big part of me and it’s something that I truly enjoy doing.

GT - The reformation with Terri was short-lived, but a short while later you were able to recruit Jim Sadist (Nunslaughter) on drums to continue with Derketa. How did Jim end up becoming involved with Derketa?

Sharon - Don from Nun Slaughter really wanted me to continue with Derketa.   He was the one that talked me into contacting Terri to record again because he felt that people would appreciate what we were doing based on the fact that people wanted to hear the older style of death metal.   When things didn’t work out with Terri, he said Jim would play drums for Derketa to keep it going. I started driving to Cleveland to rehearse with Jim, and Jim took care of finding a studio for us to record in. Anyone that knows Jim knows that he is 100% into metal and creating music.  If it weren’t for Don and Jim, I don’t know if Derketa would have ever have resurfaced.

Terri during Derketa's debut gig - (photo - Brian Pattison)

GT - Next up for you was Eviscium with Mark Mastro of Rottrevore fame. What made you and Mark decide to start a band together?

Sharon - Mark called me up and asked me, and of course I said yes.  Mark had already started Eviscium, they just needed a bass player and for whatever reason he asked me to fill the spot.  He helped me find the bass equipment and it took me a few painful rehearsals to get used to the thick bass strings but after that point, it was a lot of fun.

GT - After Eviscium ended there was a gap of a few years and then you brought Derketa back from the grave. What made you decide to carry the Derketa once again after all those years?

Sharon - I had a bunch of unrecorded songs but I wanted to record them with Terri. She and I were friends again and I thought it would be fun for us to do, sort of reliving a fun time we had in our youth. I wasn’t in any hurry to get them recorded as they’ve been sitting for over a decade so I waited until she finally had the desire to do it again. I could have recorded them with Jim but I just wanted to play with Terri again since we were getting along and realistically we’re getting older so it’s hard to say how long I'd be able to continue writing. The older I get, the more I see that life can end at any point, without warning. I’ve lost a lot of friends my age; it’s a fact of life. Why not make the most of it while we’re still here.

GT - In January of 2011 Derketa finally made their live debut, 23 years after you initially formed the band. The Smiling Moose was packed with people from all over the country. Were you at all nervous that you'd fail to live up to the expectations the crowd had for Derketa?

Sharon - Yeah, I was nervous about a lot of things.   Forgetting songs, lyrics, my vocals not being where they should be, the pressure of what to say in between the songs 'cause I actually didn’t want to say anything. I don’t have the personality to get a crowd all wound up. I’d never be the person leading a revolution. I'd be the person in the back thinking why bother. Once I saw how many people actually showed up for it, I was just thinking to myself “gulp…..now what do I do”. I don’t know if we lived up to the expectations, but I was glad we all got through it OK.

Mary during Derketa's debut gig - (photo - Brian Pattison)

GT - The day after Derketa's live debut you joined Ghost Story TV on a tour of a "haunted" facility. How did that go? How did you become involved with Ghost Story TV?

Sharon - Yeah, we went on an investigation at Hill View Manor which is in New Castle, PA. It’s an abandoned home for the poor with claims of paranormal activity. The investigation went as best as it could have gone despite the circumstances of it being winter and the place had no heat.  The temperature inside the building was about 30 degrees Fahrenheit; it was so uncomfortable and unbearable. Mary and I were on the same team, we didn’t experience anything paranormal. Robin and Terri were on another team and they did run into unexplained occurrences. 

 I became involved with Ghost Story TV from a mutual friend who was in town visiting. I had mentioned to him that it would be cool to have bands go on investigation, kind of like the “underground meets the underworld”, he pitched it to Jim Pitulski who is the creator/producer of Ghost Story TV and he liked the idea.  After meeting with them a few times, they asked if I'd like to join in with them as an investigator. Of course I said yes as I’m interested in the paranormal, and their approach of using science to try and explain these occurrences is right up my alley. You can follow us either Facebook or go to www.GhostStoryTV.com. There are lots of good things happening with Ghost Story TV, including video segments to promote the Pittsburgh local music scene.

When Mary and I got the case of the giggles which led to cold coffee coming out of my nose! Totally unrelated to the paranormal but it was definitely most memorable. I’ve only been on two investigations with Ghost Story TV, so far I haven’t had any paranormal experiences myself but the others have.

GT - It was completely my honor to have Derketa perform at A Day of Death 2011 in Buffalo. What was the experience like for you?

Sharon - It was a great experience and it was an honor for you to ask us to play, especially since I attended the original Day of Death fest back in 1990. The crowd was great and I think that was our most comfortable live show so far. We had a lot of fun!

GT - When Kam Lee joined you on stage it seemed to catch most of the crowd by surprise. The song seemed to go reasonably well considering you had never rehearsed with him. Were you happy with the songs performance?

Sharon - Yeah, it was incredible to perform with Kam after all of these years. I had emailed him the song and lyrics and he had figured out what would work the best so he emailed me which lines he would sing and we just went for it. It turned out really well.

Kam Lee joining Derketa on stage at A Day of Death 2011 - (photo - Brian Pattison)

GT - In recent days Derketa has been busy in the recording studio. How have things gone?

Sharon - We’re just working on a final mix, its sounding really good. I’m really pleased with the timing of the songs; I think the mood of the songs was captured with this recording. Everyone has done a great job and it’s been a lot of fun, despite the pressures of being in the studio.

GT - Are you recording new versions of old standards like "The Unholy Ground" and "Premature Burial" or will the album be entirely new songs?

Sharon - It’s entirely unreleased songs, although 3 of the songs on the album have been played live.  Song titles are “Goddess of Death”, “Obscurities of Darkness”, “Until our Death”, “Last Rites”, “Rest in Peace”, “Shadows of the Past”, “Witchburned”, and “In Death We Meet” which is the title of the album.

 GT - When can fans expect to be able to purchase the album?

Sharon - I wish I knew. It’s been hard with studio availability and everyone’s work schedules for all of us to meet at the studio to finish mixing. And trying to get everyone to agree on a cover hasn’t been easy. We’re waiting for another idea to be drawn up. I’m at a point that I’m considering just uploading the songs for free, not having any cover, and taking the loss for the studio cost. I just want to get this out there, there’s been so many delays with this recording and I’m just tired. I’ve never experienced anything like this before. It’s like fighting a losing battle with everyone not being on the same page when it matters. I have more song ideas and I want to focus back on writing and playing more shows. I think it’s safe to say people will either purchase it or hear it in 2012!

GT - Would you like to share any final thoughts?

Sharon - Thanks for taking the time to send me this interview. You’ve always been a top supporter of Derketa and that local Pittsburgh scene, that doesn’t go unnoticed! If anyone is interested in Derketa, you can check out our website www.Derketa.com, or find us on Facebook.  And if you’re traveling through Pittsburgh, be sure to check out the Pittsburgh music scene as there is always some sort of a show going on.

Sharon at A Day of Death 2011 - (photo - Brian Pattison)