GLORIOUS TIMES PRESENTS: A DAY OF DEATH 2013

SEE YOU THERE!

GIG SHIRTS AVAILABLE - CONTACT glorioustimesdeathbook@gmail.com

GLORIOUS TIMES PRESENTS: SEPLOPHILE DEBUT ALBUM RELEASE GIG FEB 9 2013

GLORIOUS TIMES, in conjunction with both Butchered and Sevared Records, brings you a celebration to commemorate the release of SEPLOPHILE 'Mesonoxian' debut album. Guest will be GAS CHAMBER and WEAPONEX.

SEE YOU AT THE FUN HOME!

GLORIOUS TIMES PRESENTS: ANOTHER GATHERING OF THE TRIBES - A NIGHT OF METAL AND HARDCORE

JUST LIKE WE USED TO DO IN THE GT ERA - HARDCORE PUNK AND METAL - TOGETHER - A FACT NOT A FACTION!

SEE YOU THERE!

THIS GIG HAS BEEN CANCELLED  - APOLOGIES TO ALL

GLORIOUS TIMES & CLUB INFINITY PRESENTS: SIX FEET UNDER & GUESTS - NOVEMBER 7 2012

GLORIOUS TIMES & CLUB INFINITY PRESENT:

THE AUTUMN APOCALYPSE TOUR
SIX FEET UNDER/CATTLE DECAPITATION/WRETCHED/SEPLOPHILE/VILE VINDICTION

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 7-DOORS AT 6PM-ALL AGES SHOW-TICKETS ARE $15 ADVANCE - $18 DAY OF SHOW - AND CAN BE PURCHASED ONLINE AT

 TICKETWEB.COM

Tickets are also available at the following locations:
The Club Infinity Box Office, 8166 Main Street, Williamsville NY
The After Dark Box Office, 630 Elmwood Avenue, Buffalo NY
The Record Barron, 3048 Delaware Avenue Kenmore NY
Music Matters (248 Meadow Dr, N. Tonawanda and 527 Cayuga Dr., Niagara Falls, NY)

SHOW HAS BEEN CANCELED - APOLOGIES

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. 

 

METAL FOR TONY LORENZO

In early 2011 things were looking up for Glorious Times so I decided to try to organize a fest. I approached Kam Lee and asked him if he'd be up for performing Massacre's "From Beyond" album in its entirety as a one-off special event for death metal fans here in Buffalo. Kam was hesitant but agreed to it, so my next task was to find him a backing band. My thought was to use a local band so I turned to Seplophile, a band compromised of guys who had previously been in bands that had toured. Like Kam, Seplophile was up to the task. Very early on Greg DiPasquale (guitar) contacted me to let me know that their other guitarist (Matt Backlas) would be unable to do the show because of a wedding in his family, but Greg told me not to worry because their friend Tony (Lorenzo) would fill in.

  Tony Lorenzo at A Day of Death

Months passed by and finally the day arrived. A Day of Death, July 16, 2011, the day for Kam Lee's performance. Each band of the fest played and each band played to perfection. As the time neared for Kam's set I grew a little worried on how the backing band would perform...would they live up to the day?  I had seen them in rehearsals with Kam on July 13 and 14 so I knew they had the songs down perfectly, but wasn't sure how they would fare on a large stage.

Tony Lorenzo and Kam Lee at A Day of Death

The lights dim and the intro plays for several minutes, then the band takes their positions on the stage. Allen Malkiewicz (drums) hits a 4 count on the ride and the opening riffs to "Dawn of Eternity" start, the lights come up and almost immediately I knew I had selected the correct band to back Kam. Greg and Shawn (Gomez, bass) commanded their sections of the stage like seasoned pro's but I was even more impressed by Tony.  Tony was banging his head and running all around the stage putting on a show for the ages, showing the younger bands in the crowd that just because you're playing death metal doesn't mean you have to stand like a statue. With people from all over as witness the band and more especially Tony made me proud, they made Buffalo proud.

Shawn, Allen, Greg, Kam and Tony after A Day of Death

Fresh from his performance at A Day of Death Tony had renewed interest in playing death/grind and looked to form a band. It wouldn't take Tony long to form Ritual Quarantine with Derrick Sadkowski, Britt Wagner, Jessika Marvin and Doug Luke. Soon the band had a Facebook page and 4 tracks up for our listening pleasure. The four tracks just made me want more and want to see them live, which they had not yet done. Finally, on Sept 24. Ritual Quarantine made their debut at the Funeral Home in Buffalo. They did not disappoint, it took them a mere 3 songs before I knew I had heard my new favorite Buffalo band. 

Tony at Ritual Quarantine's debut gig

A month later disaster would strike. On Oct. 26 Tony was out walking with a friend when some coward came up behind them and shot Tony in the back. The bullet was lodged in his spine. For many of us older folk that are into death metal it was a story eerily similar to when we heard about 20 years earlier when Jeff Becerra (Possessed) was mugged and shot in the back. Word spread quickly throughout the Buffalo scene and then around the metal world about what had happened to Tony. Almost immediately I began planning a benefit concert.....a truly great benefit concert for the guitarist that brought back my feeling of pride in Buffalo bands.

tony interviewed after the shooting

Local bands immediately started contacting me and offering their help and services. I thought to make the benefit special and to draw the most people we would need a national head liner so I started asking around. Several potentially head liners were asked but each couldn't do it for various reasons so at that point I settled on just using local bands. On a whim I decided to take a stab at a long shot and sent a message to Alex Webster asking him if there is any way he would come up for a Beyond Death reunion - Tony is Frank from Beyond Death's nephew. Alex was completely open to the idea but only if the other 3 would also do it. So, next I asked Frank Lombardi (guitar/vox) and he was up for it as well. Next up was Darrin Pfeiffer (drums). It took Darrin about 1 min to respond to my message with "I'm 10,000% in".  It was looking like a reunion could take place. All that remained was Jack Owen. I send Jack an email, not even knowing if the email address was still active so I wasn't sure if I'd even get any response. In short time I got a response from Jack and it was a go. On January 7, 2012 the original line up of Beyond Death would perform for the first time since Dec of 1988. Now, we had a head liner for the benefit. 

Beyond Death 1988

(L-R): Jack Owen, Alex Webster, Darrin Pfeiffer and Frank Lombardi

Dennis John Glinski (Grave Descent) was set to perform with special guests a one-off performance by his old band Mayhemesis. Dennis John realised there was a brief window of opportunity for something special to happen and that it was for a great and noble cause so he set about calling another old friend to perhaps bring another old Buffalo band to life one last time. A few phone calls and emails were exchanged and then I got the message. "well, it's official.... TIRANT SIN!" Another of Buffalo's old school would be back to show Tony support. This time it wouldn't be a full fledged reunion, but still would be something quite special. Tirant Sin 2012 would be Dennis John Glinski, Rich Ziegler and Paul Mazurkiewicz from the classic 1987 line up joined by Rob Barrett (Dark Deception) and Jim Nickles (Leviathan, Malevolent Creation) on guitar.

Tirant Sin live 1987

Thus, Day 1 (Jan. 7, 2012) of the benefit for Tony was set - Beyond Death, Tirant Sin, Avulsion, Abdicate, Demented Dream States and Seplophile. A show for the ages, a likely last chance to see Tirant Sin and to see the original line up of Beyond Death. Day 2 (Jan. 8, 2012) of the benefit for Tony was also set with Long Island legends Suffocation headlining a show with guests Embalmer, Seplophile and Cain. Both events will be held at Club Infinity, 8166 Main St., Williamsville, NY. Raffles and auctions of donated items from bands/companies from around the world will also be held at both shows. Day 1 is $15, Day 2 is $15 (advance), $20 (day of show). Tickets can be purchased through Glorious Times (paypal to glorioustimesdeathbook@gmail.com), www.ticketweb.com, at the Club Infinity box office, Spiral Scratch Records in Buffalo and through any of the performing bands. 

Donations to aid Tony can be made via paypal to helpingtony@gmail.com all monies will go directly to Tony and his family.

Don't miss out on this historic event and much more importantly come and show your support for a talent guitarist and our metal brother in his time of need.

Download the special radio public service announcement mp3 made by Brutal Existence Radio's Metal Mark (host of Audio Aggression/MMV) right here:



 METAL FOR TONY LORENZO BENEFIT WEEKEND PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT MP3 - PLEASE DOWNLOAD AND SPREAD

GLORIOUS TIMES PRESENTS: SUFFOCATION

Suffocation at A Day of Death 1990 (photo - Ed Farshtey)

The death metal scene had continually grown in numbers during the 1980's.  Florida had become known as the death metal capital by 1989, but those of us in the northeast knew the scene in NY State was just as strong if not stronger. New York had acts like Cannibal Corpse, Baphomet, Immolation, Mortician, Apparition (who would later become Sorrow) and many more. While the scene in Florida was really limited to Florida, the scene in NY reached beyond the boundaries of the state. In the northeast there were strong connections between bands and 'zine editors from Buffalo to Pittsburgh to NYC to NJ to Philadelphia.  It was not uncommon for a band in the northeast to release a demo in their home city and have it spread throughout the northeast in mere days....and remember this was the time before downloads, before the internet, when word of mouth and personal communication ruled the scene.

Suffocation at A Day of Death 1990 (photo - Ed Farshtey)

In 1990, Sean Panek (Psychoslaughter 'zine from Pittsburgh) was touting a new demo by a band from Long Island that he was sending me. The band played this fast technical style of death metal and the vocalist had a slightly unique sound which was catching the ear of many 'zine editors. The demo was "Reincremation" by Long Island's Suffocation. Suffocation's popularity quickly spread beyond the northeast as the 'zine editors and tape traders of the northeast pushed the demo on our fellow underground fanatics throughout the world much the same way that a label A&R rep would push a newly signed band.

Goreaphobia at A Day of Death Oct 20 1990 (photo - Ed Farshtey)

The peak of the early death metal scene can be pinpointed to an exact date, location and event. Oct. 20, 1990 The Skyroom in Buffalo, NY and the event was A Day of Death. The event had a couple of bigger bands - Autopsy, Repulsion and Disharmonic Orchestra, but largely it consisted of demo or newly signed bands - Cannibal Corpse, Baphomet, Immolation, Mortician, Lucifer's Hammer, Radiation Sickness, Deceased, Incantation (who were scheduled to appear, but made a surprise appearance), Suffocation and Goreaphobia. People from as far away as France and Australia made it to Buffalo for the show...again, remember this is pre-internet so word of the show was spread by flyers and word of mouth alone. A Day of Death was a huge success and in the eyes of many still stands as the benchmark to which all other fests are compared.

Goreaphobia at A Day of Death 1990 (photo - Ed Farshtey)

The strong connections in the northeast led to strong friendships and it was inevitable that bands, 'zine editors and promoters from various regions would begin to work together. Brian Pattison (Chainsaw Abortions 'zine from Buffalo) and Ed Farshtey (Book of Armageddon 'zine from NYC) began to plan a show together shortly after A Day of Death. Both of us being big supporters of the underground scene it was a no brainer for us to want completely underground bands. Our proposed lineup came together fairly quickly as we both liked many of the same bands....Deceased, Abominog, Suffocation, Maelstrom, Nokturnel, Beyond Death, Morpheus (who would later become Morpheus Descends), Goreaphobia and Apparition (who by the time of the show had signed to Roadrunner Records and changed their name to Sorrow). The date was Sunday December 16, 1990.

 
It is now 21 years later and almost to the day it is with pleasure that Glorious Times (in association with Club Infinity) is able to bring both Suffocation and Goreaphobia back to Buffalo on Sunday December 18, 2011. It is surreal to look back and know that these 2 bands that we booked on the strengths of their demo's in 1990 have continued on and become legends, titans within the death metal scene.

If you're in the northeast this December be sure to make your way to Club Infinity on December 18 to witness what will surely be an unforgettable show by two old school stalwarts.

GIG UPDATE

The show has been moved to January 8th 2012, and EMBALMER takes the place of GOREAPHOBIA.

GOREAPHOBIA will still be playing the original December 18th date, but the full band line up is TBA.

HERE'S THE NEW FLYER:

GLORIOUS TIMES PRESENTS: NUNSLAUGHTER & GUESTS MARCH 25 AT THE FUNERAL HOME, BUFFALO NY

GLORIOUS TIMES PRESENTS:

Friday March 25 at The Funeral Home

366 Ontario Street

BUFFALO

NEW YORK

NUNSLAUGHTER

BEYOND DEATH

SEPLOPHILE

SARCOUS

CAIN

$8 advance

$10 at the door

 ALL AGES

door opens at 7pm

WE'LL SEE YOU THERE! 

Advance tickets are available from any of the performing bands, or direct through PayPal from Glorious Times!

glorioustimesdeathbook@gmail.com 

 

GLORIOUS TIMES PRESENTS: KAM LEE / A DAY OF DEATH 2011

A Day of Death

Saturday, July 16 at 4:00pm - July 17 at 1:00am

Club Infinity, Williamsville, NY

Former Mantas/Death/Massacre member Kam Lee to perform Massacre's legendary debut "From Beyond" in it's entirety for one night only.

PLUS

AVULSION
DECEASED
DERKETA
DRUID LORD
GOATCRAFT
HUBRIS
INSANITY
NOKTURNEL
RESIST CONTROL
ROTTREVORE
SAM BILES
SEPLOPHILE

$25 advance, $30 at the door

tickets available through the bands or via paypal to glorioustimesdeathbook@gmail.com

DON'T GET TURNED AWAY - GET YOUR TICKETS ASAP