1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?
>>> Virulent Depravity is a project I formed in 2015 with the intent to make my "dream sound" for technical death metal. The mission statement is to give the tech death community a new and different sound to sink their teeth into. In 2016 I was approached by my buddy Malcolm Pugh (Inferi / A Loathing Requiem) about joining the group on guitar. We reached out to Svart Crown drummer Kevin Paradis, and a wonderful grouping was born.
2.You have an album coming out in April, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?
>>> Fruit of The Poisoned Tree, out April 7th, is our debut album. It encompasses a huge amount of influences from jazz to classical, and is highly varied in its assault. I focused heavily on delivering catchy but vicious (and soul-crushingly difficult) melodies, jazzy solos, and super angry death metal vocals, all set to relentless blast-beat laden death metal drumming and funky bass. Its sassy.
3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
>>> The lyrical content of "fruit of the Poisoned Tree" is at its core, anti-human. There's songs about religious violence, government violence, satirical devotion, the hypocrisy of moral codes, human greed, drug use, poverty, human self-destruction, and then a few little ditties where I imagine cool ways the world could end. Its mean stuff. I poured almost all the darkness I felt for the world into it.
4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Virulent Depravity'?
>>> Virulent Depravity means a state of irreversible and increasing horror, poverty, and death. I found the term when looking at journals talking about life in war-torn countries. I saw it and was like "That's a band name right there!"
5.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?
>>> We never have and most likely never will play a show. I have 2 children, a wife, and a full time career in finance. I just don't have the time to make a live band :-(
6.Do you have any touring or show plans once the album is released?
>>>See above answer.
7.The album is coming out on 'The Artisan Era', can you tell us a little bit more about this label?
>>> The Artisan Era was formed by Inferi guitarists Mike Low and Malcolm Pugh. Originally it started out as a vehicle for them to release their projects, but in 2016 they began a steady expansion of their lineup. Both Malcolm and Mike are very serious about quality and refuse to put out a release that is not up to their lofty standards. They are an artist focused label and make it a point to treat everyone in their lineup with equal importance, which is awesome. They are awesome dudes for sure. The official lineup currently is A Loathing Requiem, Enfold Darkness, Equipoise, Inferi, Oubliette, and Virulent Depravity.
8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of technical death metal?
>>> We haven't gotten it out to that many people yet but the response so far has been great. I think people enjoy the novelty of the sound. I am so happy to have as many fans as we've already earned. Of special note there are some groups devoted to tech death that have been instrumental in building a following, including: TechDeath Fans United, Fans of Technical Death Metal, and Technical/Progressive/ Melodic/Brutal Death Metal Sharing.
9.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
>>> Now that the debut is done, I will be taking a year long break to fill up the reserves, and then who knows? I definitely plan on releasing at least 3 albums under "Virulent Depravity" in the next 7 years. I want to add more jazz, more classical, more experimentation, and even more technicality.
10.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
>>> I have been influenced by metal bands like Origin, Spawn of Possession, Necrophagist, Deeds of Flesh, Severed Savior, Decrepit Birth, Anata, and Hate Eternal. I've also been influenced by jazz artists like Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Sun Ra, Charles Mingus, Esbjorn Svensson, Tomasz Stanko, Dave Holland, Phronesis, Jaga Jazzist, The Bad Plus, and Louis Sclavis. As for composers I have a soft spot for Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Bartok, Saint-Saenz, Beethoven, Liszt, Brahams, Pandereki, and Debussy.
Lately I've been listening to a lot of tech metal including Deeds of Flesh, Arkaik, Deviant Process, Inferi, First Fragment, Archspire, Dawn of Dementia, Psycroptic, Enigma, and Odious Construct
11.What are some of your non musical interests?
>>>I enjoy finance, photoshop, Pokemon, cats, beer, tasty food, long walks on the beach, and staring longingly into your eyes on a cloudless star-lit night.
12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
>>> Please try to go out and support underground metal! It is an important art form and its our responsibility as fans to keep it going and keep tacos in our favorite musicians tummies. Also you should never give up on art. I am living proof that even a total idiot can make art that people are tricked into enjoying.
\m/ thanks for the interview guys. Rock on!
>>> Virulent Depravity is a project I formed in 2015 with the intent to make my "dream sound" for technical death metal. The mission statement is to give the tech death community a new and different sound to sink their teeth into. In 2016 I was approached by my buddy Malcolm Pugh (Inferi / A Loathing Requiem) about joining the group on guitar. We reached out to Svart Crown drummer Kevin Paradis, and a wonderful grouping was born.
2.You have an album coming out in April, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?
>>> Fruit of The Poisoned Tree, out April 7th, is our debut album. It encompasses a huge amount of influences from jazz to classical, and is highly varied in its assault. I focused heavily on delivering catchy but vicious (and soul-crushingly difficult) melodies, jazzy solos, and super angry death metal vocals, all set to relentless blast-beat laden death metal drumming and funky bass. Its sassy.
3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
>>> The lyrical content of "fruit of the Poisoned Tree" is at its core, anti-human. There's songs about religious violence, government violence, satirical devotion, the hypocrisy of moral codes, human greed, drug use, poverty, human self-destruction, and then a few little ditties where I imagine cool ways the world could end. Its mean stuff. I poured almost all the darkness I felt for the world into it.
4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Virulent Depravity'?
>>> Virulent Depravity means a state of irreversible and increasing horror, poverty, and death. I found the term when looking at journals talking about life in war-torn countries. I saw it and was like "That's a band name right there!"
5.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?
>>> We never have and most likely never will play a show. I have 2 children, a wife, and a full time career in finance. I just don't have the time to make a live band :-(
6.Do you have any touring or show plans once the album is released?
>>>See above answer.
7.The album is coming out on 'The Artisan Era', can you tell us a little bit more about this label?
>>> The Artisan Era was formed by Inferi guitarists Mike Low and Malcolm Pugh. Originally it started out as a vehicle for them to release their projects, but in 2016 they began a steady expansion of their lineup. Both Malcolm and Mike are very serious about quality and refuse to put out a release that is not up to their lofty standards. They are an artist focused label and make it a point to treat everyone in their lineup with equal importance, which is awesome. They are awesome dudes for sure. The official lineup currently is A Loathing Requiem, Enfold Darkness, Equipoise, Inferi, Oubliette, and Virulent Depravity.
8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of technical death metal?
>>> We haven't gotten it out to that many people yet but the response so far has been great. I think people enjoy the novelty of the sound. I am so happy to have as many fans as we've already earned. Of special note there are some groups devoted to tech death that have been instrumental in building a following, including: TechDeath Fans United, Fans of Technical Death Metal, and Technical/Progressive/ Melodic/Brutal Death Metal Sharing.
9.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
>>> Now that the debut is done, I will be taking a year long break to fill up the reserves, and then who knows? I definitely plan on releasing at least 3 albums under "Virulent Depravity" in the next 7 years. I want to add more jazz, more classical, more experimentation, and even more technicality.
10.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
>>> I have been influenced by metal bands like Origin, Spawn of Possession, Necrophagist, Deeds of Flesh, Severed Savior, Decrepit Birth, Anata, and Hate Eternal. I've also been influenced by jazz artists like Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Sun Ra, Charles Mingus, Esbjorn Svensson, Tomasz Stanko, Dave Holland, Phronesis, Jaga Jazzist, The Bad Plus, and Louis Sclavis. As for composers I have a soft spot for Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Bartok, Saint-Saenz, Beethoven, Liszt, Brahams, Pandereki, and Debussy.
Lately I've been listening to a lot of tech metal including Deeds of Flesh, Arkaik, Deviant Process, Inferi, First Fragment, Archspire, Dawn of Dementia, Psycroptic, Enigma, and Odious Construct
11.What are some of your non musical interests?
>>>I enjoy finance, photoshop, Pokemon, cats, beer, tasty food, long walks on the beach, and staring longingly into your eyes on a cloudless star-lit night.
12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
>>> Please try to go out and support underground metal! It is an important art form and its our responsibility as fans to keep it going and keep tacos in our favorite musicians tummies. Also you should never give up on art. I am living proof that even a total idiot can make art that people are tricked into enjoying.
\m/ thanks for the interview guys. Rock on!
No comments:
Post a Comment