The Dead End Experiment
What’s up in SICKENING HORROR?
Everything's cool here, right now we're getting ready for the "Dead Conception Tour" in Russia, we have a new guitarist and we have half the songs for the 3rd album ready.
Why did you choose right Russian tour? Do you have a special relationship with this country?
Actually our label, SFC Records, hails from Russia and arranged the whole thing. It will be an awesome tour, you don't get the chance to get to Russia every day, it will be a once-in-a-life-time experience!
The new album is called "The Dead End Experiment", why just this name? Which experiment is it about?
It is the continuation of "When Landscapes Bled Backwards" but it's not a concept or anything. As we evolve as persons, so does the music and lyrics. Let's say that after you found out that landscapes bleed backwards, you reach a dead end and you have some decisions to make. The choices are very limited and we chose to take this experiment as the only way out of the illusion of landscapes. It has to do with reading between the lines, transcending your mind and drawing a straight line.
How do you remember the recording? Did you learn something new in the studio?
It was very difficult to handle everything by our own, but it was the only way to have plenty of time to do everything as we wanted. We wanted to capture performances both precise and emotional at the same time. We worked in the studio for about 4 months, 8-12 hours per day. It was really exhausting, I remember when I was recording the vocals, at some point my heart started to ache but I kept going to finish the song!
Do you think mirrors can reflect only the dead bodies?
Absolutely! This song has to do with the contrast of mind and matter and the fact that the flesh expires. So, what one observes in the mirror may just be a temporary illusion.
Riffs of the new album are quite dissonant, atonal. Where is the source of your inspiration? Surely it was out of Metal.
No, it was mostly through Metal. We are very influenced by Death Metal bands like Morbid Angel, Cannibal Corpse, Death, experimental black metal acts like Dodheimsgard, Thorns, Arcturus, Ved Buens Ende, and additionally some jazz and industrial stuff. We love artists that add a cosmic element in their music and have a deep and vast layered sound.
Your approach to Death Metal is very original and untypical. Sometimes the melodies have a hallucinated impression. Can they be composed without using drugs?
Haha, we certainly don't use drugs! Personally, I don't even smoke nor drink at all! I just can't stand losing my awareness. After all, the most intense dream is the one where your consciousness is fully aware (lucid.)
Do you think your style can be described as impressionistic Death Metal?
Our music has vast feeling like a never ending landscape, it is multi-layered and the scales we use are quite unusual so yes I think it can described very nice that way!
Something similar in classical music did K. Penderecki, C. Debussy or I. F. Stravinsky. Do you like these classics? Do you know some other classic composers of this style?
We're not that much into classical music but Ilias likes C. Debussy and I love I.F. Stravinsky! "The Rite Of Spring" is probably the most chaotic and abyssal piece of music in history! The scales and the themes he used are beyond innovative, there simply is nothing similar to this and the feeling is totally unearthly. I like M. Mussorgsky as well, his works "Pictures At An exhibition" and especially "Night At The Bare Mountain" sound very Death Metal at times!
It is known that the oldest civilization of Sumer had astronomical knowledge that scientists have discovered only a few years ago. Where do you think Sumerians could get this information?
The mystery with the Sumerians is very fascinating and I have to say that I'm quite a fan of Z. Sitchin's work, so I think they were given this knowledge by much superior beings even older than them. Although there is no crystal clear evidence on the matter, the theory of the Anunnaki makes quite sense to me.
Throughout land of this civilization now lies Iraq. Have you sometimes been there? Do you think there is any metal background?
I haven't been to Iraq, I'm sure it would be very interesting to be there. About the metal scene I've heard of a couple of bands but haven't explored further.
Have you ever been to Egypt? Could be the pyramids built by people?
No, I haven't been there either. It would be awesome to see the pyramids and feel the vibes of ages. The strange thing with the pyramids is that they have found that the age of the mummies held inside doesn't match with the age of the pyramids -the pyramids are much more ancient-, so the purpose of use as tombs sounds strange, after all there are many smaller pyramids of much lesser majesty. The leverage of such monoliths at that time looks impossible as well, so maybe they were built and used by the advanced civilization mentioned before, as observatories.
There are a number of films shot by Lovecraft stories. Have you seen any? If yes, which one is best to you?
Yeah, I've seen a couple of them, I liked "Dagon" a lot, it has this creepy atmosphere just like the story "Shadow over Insmouth" being totally implicative. "In The Mouth Of Madness" was also very good although more mainstream.
Have you got some ideas for SICKENING HORROR through the dream?
Yes! Dreams are a never-ending source of inspiration! I don't hear melodies or anything like that in the dream, it is just while dreaming your perception expands in a dramatic way so you can approach things in music in very unique and different ways. Sometimes when I wake-up and have seen an intense dream, I try to re-capture this feeling through music.
Do you know that PESTILENCE wants to make a similar direction as you? Could they be influenced by your band?
I haven't heard anything like that! I think it's quite difficult, they probably won't even know about our band. The last PESTILENCE album was very straight, I don't know if they want to follow a more abstract way.
What brand of guitars you use? Have you chosen them according to their sound, or just by the price?
The last several years I've been using an Ibanez K-7. I like it very much because it's very flexible and has a variety of dynamics. I always choose guitars by the way I feel them in my hands. If the "catch" feels comfortable and smooth I'm in for them. I like guitars with slim fretboard.
What are your forthcoming plans? Thanx for the interview and somehow end it up. Can you add your actual albums top 5?
As I said we're ready to hit the road in Russia and after that we'll finish the songwriting for the 3rd album. Thanks a lot for this great interview and just because I love top 5's I'll give you 2. Here's my all time favorite top 5 (although limiting and changing from time to time):
Dodheimsgard - "666 International"
Morbid Angel - "Gateways To Annihilation"
Cannibal Corpse - "Gallery Of Suicide"
Arcturus - "La Masquerade Infernale"
Queensryche - "Operation: Mindcrime"
And here's for 2009:
Kreator - "Hordes Of Chaos"
Katatonia - "Night Is The New Day"
Slayer - "World Painted Blood"
The Project Hate - "The Lustrate Process"
The Prodigy - "Invaders Must Die"
George Storm 21.11.2009
http://www.sickeninghorror.net/
Everything's cool here, right now we're getting ready for the "Dead Conception Tour" in Russia, we have a new guitarist and we have half the songs for the 3rd album ready.
Why did you choose right Russian tour? Do you have a special relationship with this country?
Actually our label, SFC Records, hails from Russia and arranged the whole thing. It will be an awesome tour, you don't get the chance to get to Russia every day, it will be a once-in-a-life-time experience!
The new album is called "The Dead End Experiment", why just this name? Which experiment is it about?
It is the continuation of "When Landscapes Bled Backwards" but it's not a concept or anything. As we evolve as persons, so does the music and lyrics. Let's say that after you found out that landscapes bleed backwards, you reach a dead end and you have some decisions to make. The choices are very limited and we chose to take this experiment as the only way out of the illusion of landscapes. It has to do with reading between the lines, transcending your mind and drawing a straight line.
How do you remember the recording? Did you learn something new in the studio?
It was very difficult to handle everything by our own, but it was the only way to have plenty of time to do everything as we wanted. We wanted to capture performances both precise and emotional at the same time. We worked in the studio for about 4 months, 8-12 hours per day. It was really exhausting, I remember when I was recording the vocals, at some point my heart started to ache but I kept going to finish the song!
Do you think mirrors can reflect only the dead bodies?
Absolutely! This song has to do with the contrast of mind and matter and the fact that the flesh expires. So, what one observes in the mirror may just be a temporary illusion.
Riffs of the new album are quite dissonant, atonal. Where is the source of your inspiration? Surely it was out of Metal.
No, it was mostly through Metal. We are very influenced by Death Metal bands like Morbid Angel, Cannibal Corpse, Death, experimental black metal acts like Dodheimsgard, Thorns, Arcturus, Ved Buens Ende, and additionally some jazz and industrial stuff. We love artists that add a cosmic element in their music and have a deep and vast layered sound.
Your approach to Death Metal is very original and untypical. Sometimes the melodies have a hallucinated impression. Can they be composed without using drugs?
Haha, we certainly don't use drugs! Personally, I don't even smoke nor drink at all! I just can't stand losing my awareness. After all, the most intense dream is the one where your consciousness is fully aware (lucid.)
Do you think your style can be described as impressionistic Death Metal?
Our music has vast feeling like a never ending landscape, it is multi-layered and the scales we use are quite unusual so yes I think it can described very nice that way!
Something similar in classical music did K. Penderecki, C. Debussy or I. F. Stravinsky. Do you like these classics? Do you know some other classic composers of this style?
We're not that much into classical music but Ilias likes C. Debussy and I love I.F. Stravinsky! "The Rite Of Spring" is probably the most chaotic and abyssal piece of music in history! The scales and the themes he used are beyond innovative, there simply is nothing similar to this and the feeling is totally unearthly. I like M. Mussorgsky as well, his works "Pictures At An exhibition" and especially "Night At The Bare Mountain" sound very Death Metal at times!
It is known that the oldest civilization of Sumer had astronomical knowledge that scientists have discovered only a few years ago. Where do you think Sumerians could get this information?
The mystery with the Sumerians is very fascinating and I have to say that I'm quite a fan of Z. Sitchin's work, so I think they were given this knowledge by much superior beings even older than them. Although there is no crystal clear evidence on the matter, the theory of the Anunnaki makes quite sense to me.
Throughout land of this civilization now lies Iraq. Have you sometimes been there? Do you think there is any metal background?
I haven't been to Iraq, I'm sure it would be very interesting to be there. About the metal scene I've heard of a couple of bands but haven't explored further.
Have you ever been to Egypt? Could be the pyramids built by people?
No, I haven't been there either. It would be awesome to see the pyramids and feel the vibes of ages. The strange thing with the pyramids is that they have found that the age of the mummies held inside doesn't match with the age of the pyramids -the pyramids are much more ancient-, so the purpose of use as tombs sounds strange, after all there are many smaller pyramids of much lesser majesty. The leverage of such monoliths at that time looks impossible as well, so maybe they were built and used by the advanced civilization mentioned before, as observatories.
There are a number of films shot by Lovecraft stories. Have you seen any? If yes, which one is best to you?
Yeah, I've seen a couple of them, I liked "Dagon" a lot, it has this creepy atmosphere just like the story "Shadow over Insmouth" being totally implicative. "In The Mouth Of Madness" was also very good although more mainstream.
Have you got some ideas for SICKENING HORROR through the dream?
Yes! Dreams are a never-ending source of inspiration! I don't hear melodies or anything like that in the dream, it is just while dreaming your perception expands in a dramatic way so you can approach things in music in very unique and different ways. Sometimes when I wake-up and have seen an intense dream, I try to re-capture this feeling through music.
Do you know that PESTILENCE wants to make a similar direction as you? Could they be influenced by your band?
I haven't heard anything like that! I think it's quite difficult, they probably won't even know about our band. The last PESTILENCE album was very straight, I don't know if they want to follow a more abstract way.
What brand of guitars you use? Have you chosen them according to their sound, or just by the price?
The last several years I've been using an Ibanez K-7. I like it very much because it's very flexible and has a variety of dynamics. I always choose guitars by the way I feel them in my hands. If the "catch" feels comfortable and smooth I'm in for them. I like guitars with slim fretboard.
What are your forthcoming plans? Thanx for the interview and somehow end it up. Can you add your actual albums top 5?
As I said we're ready to hit the road in Russia and after that we'll finish the songwriting for the 3rd album. Thanks a lot for this great interview and just because I love top 5's I'll give you 2. Here's my all time favorite top 5 (although limiting and changing from time to time):
Dodheimsgard - "666 International"
Morbid Angel - "Gateways To Annihilation"
Cannibal Corpse - "Gallery Of Suicide"
Arcturus - "La Masquerade Infernale"
Queensryche - "Operation: Mindcrime"
And here's for 2009:
Kreator - "Hordes Of Chaos"
Katatonia - "Night Is The New Day"
Slayer - "World Painted Blood"
The Project Hate - "The Lustrate Process"
The Prodigy - "Invaders Must Die"
George Storm 21.11.2009
http://www.sickeninghorror.net/
