Psychomancer Interview

1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording of the new ep?
Duston: Oh man work work work...we have a good handful of shows coming up to fill up the summer we have been preparing for starting April 4th in Chicago IL, and have added a second guitar player Bradley Heidorn who is filling the spot in really well.  Other than that we have been writing material for a full length album hopefully to start recording by the end of the year or early next year so in between writing we practice our live set, design our merchandise, shirts ect… mail promos and get ideas for new things to come, and we are having a blast doing it! We are making a lot of progress.

2.In April you have a new ep, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording and also how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?
Duston: Well with the new line up change; introducing Corey Blackstad on Drums, Curt Hutchison Guitar, and recently added a second guitarist Bradley Heidorn, and I would say it’s a lot more diverse, and full sounding then the stuff from the past.  See I only used to do back up vocals but since our original vocalist stepped out I decided to take on the vocal duties so the vocal sound is different. Corey Blackstad is also a classical acoustic guitar player and wrote and composed the classical acoustic piece in the opening of Abhorrent Wings of Decay…so with new members comes new influences on the whole sound. I myself got to use some old riffs and ideas that I had wrote along time ago and never got a chance to incorporate them until now so it all came together pretty well especially for me, being that it’s my first run at full on vocals so it turned out really good. As far as the new stuff we are currently working on is a lot more structured, really than what’s on the ep, so next album will be way more deep and we are going to put a lot more work into it and make a complete epic mind melting nightmare ride to a lot of dark places.


3.The band has been around since 1997 but so far has only released a demo, 2 full lengths and an ep, can you tell us a little bit more about the gap between releases?
Duston: Oh man, I know it is a sorry track record for a band that has been around that long. But you know time and money really, and constantly hiring and firing guitar players...ha ha ha We have had a lot of people come and go...I mean a list well into the 20s close to 30 ya know? We always wanted that two guitar sound so people coming and going like that takes up time, you have to spend the time to teach them everything and then they quit or do something stupid and get booted out and all that going on and before you know it, 5 to 10 years blow by. Ha ha ha Hell I even said FUCK YA'LL and quit a couple times myself and was replaced but ended up coming back...ha ha...but ya know then you have to start all over again and it is a very exhausting set back when that shit happens all the time...ha ha ha But things now are going great, the guys I’m working with are great dudes and hard working, so the productivity is right on spot and we are getting shit done. We right now are almost five songs into the new material and this next album will have a lot of really good stuff. We are totally stoked and can’t wait to get back to the studio.

4.The band was broken up from 2011-13 what was the cause of the split and also the decision to reform?
Duston: Well there were disagreements of course, and some of us all had personal things going on outside of the band. Truthfully, I really contemplated changing the name cause I’m the only original member it has reformed with a totally new line up. But the new guys said that they were proud to be in the band and since I founded the name, I should keep it, so I was like yeah why not it’s a perfectly good name. So ya know, it was what it was then, and it is what is now, but we do not and never will perform any of the past material. So anyone looking to here old stuff, forget it...lol
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5.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the newer music?
Duston: Well to go song by song:
In Shackles Insane: was inspired by American Horry Story Asylum.
Just Another Victim: was inspired by the one and only Dexter.
Inject The Worms: was inspired by my personal encounters with heroin addicts. I have seen a few good people fall to the stuff and one recently was my cousin and we were real close, but I don’t aim at them I aim at the ones who have influenced them, and I know people do make their own choices. Sadly though you can’t always be there to save them before it cost them their lives...I’m no angel I have done my fair share of drugs but I never touched that shit and over the years seeing what it does to people has really put a very bad taste in my mouth. I will have nothing to do with heroin users, but I do give credit to the ones who do the right thing and stop. Ya know I have just seen it do a lot bad things...so that song is from my personal experiences.
Bastards Burn: To be honest with you, I hate this song...ha ha ha That song title, and lyrics was changed three times...but primarily it’s just about the assholes causing all the problems in the world and how we all would love to see them burn.
Abhorrent Wings Of Decay: The word Abhorrent is another word for disgusted, Repugnance, the song is about feeling disgusted with yourself by what you are or, have become, or are forced to be; so you do whatever drastic measure to get away from it, or change to the opposite, or rebel.
Chant Of The War Demons: Is inspired by the Vikings TV series, though I don’t use any words describing Vikings in any sentence, but evidently when some people first encountered them they thought they were demons from hell, their war prayer was chanting like and they had no fear of death, and their appearances themselves were terrifying they slaughtered, and took all their riches and distorted their creed.

6.I know that the name 'Psychomancer' has 3 different meanings, how does this name fit in with the musical style that you play?
Duston: Well PSYCHOMANCER is a very interesting name and I always knew that there was more to what it actually is and we have looked more into what a PSYCHOMANCER really is. A PSYCHOMANCER is someone who has mastered the art of concentration and the inner workings of the mind, who can manipulate psychic energy whether it’s human animal or supernatural, or in a lucid state, and they can use this power for good or evil, and also divination purposes. So basically a PSYCHOMANCER is a bad ass!! Now how it fits with what we do today, I know the past lyrical writing from the past stuff from our original front man was mostly killing, guts, blood, my knife and blood and more guts and having intercourse with dead things. A PSYCHOMANCER does not need a knife it can kill you just by thinking about it. It can make you slit your own throat with your knife…ha ha ha…all that has changed for the most part. As for me writing lyrics, I like to try to do more of a story and explore different topics to keep it interesting, and I also work with the others on song topics and their input as well, if they come up with something good I will use it, they look over what I write and I am always open to suggestions if needed.

7.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?
Duston: There have been a lot. Milwaukee Metal Fest 2000 was a great one, we’ve done shows with Six Feet Under, Mortician, and more recently Vital Remains, just to name a few…we had a lot of fun with those bands very cool dudes indeed.

8.Do you have any touring or show plans once the new ep is released?
We have shows coming up yes, getting to touring is something we are very much wanting to do we are just taking things as they come.

9.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of death metal?
Duston: So far very good, better than ever.

10.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
Duston: Keeping it metal and doing bigger and better things

11.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your newer music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
Duston: Well I grew up listing to the golden oldies, classic rock, and classic metal bands. I like Elvis, B.O.C. Bad Company, Fog Hat, Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath, Motorhead, Rush, Iron Maiden, “OLD’’ Metallica, The Misfits, Danzig, Pentagram, High On Fire, Deicide, Obituary, Grave, Hypocrisy, Distroyer666, Vader, Lamented Souls, Borknagar, Arcturus, ICS Vortex, and Emperor just to name a few favorites.

12.What are some of your non musical interests?
Duston: Video games, knife throwing, cooking, fishing, demolition derby, beer by the camp fire, hanging with my two sons, and fiancé soon to be wife, and cartoons...

13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Duston: Yes, I hope I cleared up some history and future of this band and hope to talk to ya again on the next release,,. Thank you \m/
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