Horrendous Interview

. Can you tell usli a little bit about the band for those that have never heard of you before?
Horrendous is an American three-piece Swedish-influenced old-school death metal band. Matt and I (Damian) play guitar and do vocals, while Jamie plays drums. Jamie and Matt are brothers, and I met them at college in Columbia, South Carolina. We began jamming simply as friends, but things clicked musically. We soon formed as Horrendous in early 2009 with the goal of creating the music we enjoy most—old metal. Our formation was in an area where there are practically no metal bands, and certainly none of our style. We started writing raunchy hymns in our rehearsal space, and have been shredding eardrums ever since. A 5-song demo was written and recorded by the summer of 2009.



2. How would you describe your musical sound?
Like I mentioned, we have strong old-school death metal influences (a lot of it being the old Swedish Stockholm sound). We like to play death metal in the old vein, but we don't like to be a rip-off. We consider our influences, and add our own twist and personality to the sound. We just try to write music that we enjoy listening to. Though we listen to a lot of death metal, we also listen to thrash, old black metal, doom, traditional heavy metal, etc., all sorts of metal. As far as we're concerned, our music is a swirling miasma of decaying riffs with that classic Swedish tone.


3. What is the meaning behind the band's name?

We wanted a band name that referred to our sound, was grotesque in nature, but was also original (aka unused). So, we picked Horrendous—pretty self-explanatory.


4. How would you describe the lyrical content of the music?
The demo covers a vast array of topics, ranging from death and reanimation, to putrid philosophies and the darker areas of human nature.



5. What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and how would you describe your stage performance?
Our performances are fun and intense, and tend to involve blood haha. We just like to have fun while we play, and make sure everyone has a good time. Our most recent show in Columbia, South Carolina, was our favorite so far. We had a good-sized crowd and it was basically a big party! It was a good mix of thrashing metal heads and terrified newcomers, who had never previously witnessed a death metal band.



6. Do you have any plans to tour Europe?
Not currently. We would love to, though—we hope it becomes a reality in the future. Contact us if you want us to play haha


7. Do any of the band members have any side projects, if so who are they and what kind of music do they play?
No, not at the moment. We're a fairly new group. We've all been in bands in the past, but currently it is just Horrendous for us.


8. How has the music been received so far by death metal fans worldwide?
Our demo has gotten great reviews, so far, and we couldn't be happier with the positive reaction! We've gotten contacted by people from around the world asking for a demo. We're really excited about it, and hope to keep spreading our music to true fans of death metal.



9. What direction do you see the music heading into on future releases?
We plan to stay true to our goal of making rotting death metal the old way, while still uncovering new territory and writing original, morbid manifestations. We will keep writing the type of music we like to listen to. We keep what we like, regardless of whether it fits any preconceived molds, and incorporate influences outside of death metal to keep it fresh.


10. What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced the music and what are you listening to nowadays?
We are influenced by all the music we listen to, but most directly old-school death metal, and lots of old Swedish bands. We couldn't possibly list them all, but some examples are: Gorement, Eternal Darkness, Sarcasm, Internal Decay, Wombbath, Autopsy, Entombed, Dismember, Nihilist, Carnage, Nirvana 2002, Unleashed, Demigod, Darkthrone, Asphyx, Utumno, At the Gates, Eucharist, old Arch Enemy, Atheist, Cynic, Ripping Corpse, Crematory, Death, Morbid Angel, Rottrevore, God Macabre, Necrophobic, Crypt of Kerberos, Mordicus, Dissection, Cianide, and Katatonia. We are also influenced by other types of bands, like Kreator, Slayer, Forbidden, Celtic Frost, Megadeth, Pentragram, Iron Maiden, Manilla Road, Candlemass, and Mercyful Fate. Currently we're listening to all this stuff and more, some non-metal, plus some newer bands, like Bastard Priest, Swallowed, Trench Hell, Morbider, Tribulation, Miasmal, and Stench of Decay. Personally, I've been delving really deep into obscure, old death metal demos looking for some lost gems (occasionally wasting my time, but sometimes successful). Basically, we're obsessed with good, old metal and bands that sound like old metal.


11. What are some of your interests outside of music?
Music is by far the biggest interest for all three of us. Besides making it, we also listen to tons and tons of it. In addition, I'm very interested in audio production. I recorded and mixed all of Horrendous' material at my studio (Subterranean Watchtower). I have also done mixing and mastering for bands like Decrepitaph and Father Befouled. Outside of music, we spend a good amount of time watching sports, playing video games, suffering from ebay addiction (slaves to the timeless quest of acquiring first pressings), living on the internet, and beer, of course.


12. Any final words or thoughts?

Our demo tape was recently released by Dark Descent and Skeleton Plague Records. It's currently on sale from the labels and will be from a few different distributors (including Blood Harvest, Detest, Nuclear Winter, Iron Bonehead, Nuclear War Now, etc...). We also have some copies available for anyone interested. We're working on new material for a full length. If you haven't checked us out before, we hope you will—our myspace is www.myspace.com/horrendousdeathmetal. Thanks a lot for the interview!




-Damian, Matt, and Jamie

This is death...

This is real...