Decaying Interview

1. Can you give us an update on what is going on with the band these days?

The album has now been out for a month and after a period of total laziness, we're back on track and rehearsing the material finally. So, looking good.

2. How would you describe the musical sound of the new album and how it differs from previous releases?

The material is basically continuing on the same path as our previous albums did. Perhaps the approach leans now a bit more to the death/doom side. All in all very little has changed. The songs are perhaps better structured in my opinion. The production is killer too.

3. What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the new release explores?

"The Last Days Of War" is a concept album. All of the songs tell about the last stages of war, mostly covering subjects from the both world wars. The title track and Firestorm are more universal and could relate even to the conflicts we witness the present day, but all of the rest are about certain battles. Lyrics are a crucial part of our music without a doubt.

4. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the bands name?

Heh, good question actually... Well, first of all it took like a month or two to figure out this band name in 2010. Obviously I and Otu (now ex-member, guitars) wanted a name that was hard hitting and straight to the point. Not anything too complicated, so it could be remembered and spread everywhere easily. I searched for lots of cool death metal band names, and found out that nearly every of them were in use. Decaying was a great pick, and in my opinion it relates well to our (mostly) war-related themes... Basically that word means lots of things, but as we have taken this death/doomish approach, I could imagine it means a scene after a battle or so - when the bodies start to decay and everything is devastated, you know. Also it makes a statement and refers to reality, not anything supernatural or satanic.

5. What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and how would you describe your stage performance?

Unfortunately we have had full line-up only for 9 months now, and the band itself is a very new one. There was Finnish army service last year and it messed up a lot of things - we couldn't support Encirclement by performing live back then. Now we're finally preparing to hit the stages. I didn't want to do any half-assed shows, and we have had a pretty long break from rehearsing earlier this year. You know the amount of material we have needs to be properly rehearsed first, we're not a demo band anymore. Everything needs to look as "professional" as possible - if it can be put that way, hehe.

6. Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?

Definitely. We are rehearsing now and getting into a deadly live-shape! Of course the priority is to play shows with other (signed) UG bands here in Finland first, but I could see us going abroad very soon. We're all really looking forward to some shows.

7. On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your newer album by fans of old school death metal?

Well this far the feedback has been very positive. Maybe some people haven't quite liked our production. It doesn't matter - this is how Decaying sounds like - raw and heavy, to the point. Most of the listeners anyway have praised the album's sound and material, and liked the fact that we cut the lenght of the CD to a more reasonable number. Now it's 46 minutes, instead of 65 we had on Encirclement. Of course there are plenty of reviewers and listens to come, and looking foward to those! Most of our fans live outside of Finland , which is great.

8. What is going on with the other musical projects these days?

My other band, Altar Of Betelgeuze, is going to release debut full-length late 2013. We got a deal from Spanish death/doom label Memento Mori. Nearly a hour worth of death/stoner/doom coming up. The mix is somewhat unique, as there aren't lots of bands who have both clean and growling vocals in that type of music. I'm very excited of that! I'm playing bass and doing the more death metal stuff on AOB. Also there's some little projects but they're nothing big to tell about.

9. What direction do you see your music heading into on future releases?

As of now, I've already written a new track for Decaying, and I'm totally proud of it. It tells about the Vietnam War and sounds very much like Bolt Thrower, once again. The direction will probably remain kind of the same... Mid-paced death metal with clear doom influences, nothing modern. I'm sure the writing style won't change much. There may be a new twist or two, but it's certainly us again.

10. What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your newer music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

Well, that's a hard one. Judas Priest is definitely my favourite band, and I listen lots of heavy metal. I'm nowadays listening to lot of new UG death metal bands as well, especially the Finnish ones. The main inspiration for Decaying is Bolt Thrower, Candlemass, King Diamond and Asphyx. Death also plays a big role... Of course I like lots of other bands but I'm too lazy to make a list - it would be long! Our guitarist Henri is a true death metal maniac - I and our bassist Sebastian are maybe more of "heavy metal guys" and our drummer listens to fucken Finnish rap most of the time! So varied influences, yes..

11.Outside of music what are some of your interests?

I don't actually have much time for any other hobbies than music. I read some books, drink beer and hang around in internet as one would expect already, haha. Basically I'm going to school and working now at summer.... For instance I will start mixing that new Altar Of Betelgeuze release early July and it'll take nearly all of my free time away, for a month or so. :)

12.Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview?

Well, thanks a ton for the questions! I would encourage everybody intersted in old school death/doom to check us out. We have all songs listenable on our bandcamp site, so there's no need of downloading it illegally to get the picture... On top of that, buy the CD and support the scene! Cheers, -Matias