Masterful Magazine - Death Metal and Black Metal Magazine

Denial Fiend

Wywiad przeprowadził - Wouter Roemers

He's veritable part of metal history, yet little credit is given to him from the genre he helped innovative in the formative days. Kam Lee has been involved in a number of acts that in one way or the other shaped the genre, be it with the earliest incarnation of the legendary and revered Mantas/Death or later with the rather short-lived Massacre. With the latter the Hawaiian native recorded an inaugural demo and later released the genre defining "From Beyond" album through Earache Records. In April 2006, more than a decade after his work with Massacre, Kam Lee launched Denial Fiend, a retro death/thrash act that besides him has a number of prominent players in its line-up.

Hi Kam! Thanks a lot for granting us this interview. How's everything in the Denial Fiend camp as of late?

Denial Fiend is preparing to enter the studio to record our debut album. "They Rise" - hopefully released early this spring on Ibex Moon Records.

What have you been up to since the split of Massacre? I read in an old interview that you are a comic book artist – is there any truth in that?

In 1996 through 1997 I relocated to Arizona to pursue a comic book artist job... but the comic book business is harder to break into than the music business. So, I gave it up after 2 years of not securing work.

Could you please give us a brief biographical background on Denial Fiend?

Denial Fiend is a Horror/Death Metal... with members of DEATH, MASSACRE, SIX FEET UNDER, NASTY SAVAGE, and DOWN BY LAW. It's Me, Terry Butler, Curtis Beeson, and Sam Williams. We came together when I was approached to work on a project called SHADOWS WITH KNIVES back in 2005. Sam Williams of Down By Law put together this band with the drummer TJ from his other band TRACK THE CURSE, Terry Butler from SIX FEET UNDER, and vocalist Mark Odechuck from old school grind band PAINEATER. SHADOWS WITH KNIVES is like old school British wave of heavy metal sound. To me, it's like the CATHEDRAL sound... very heavy 60s - 70s heavy metal influenced. We discussed the possibility of doing a full-time band... and conceived the idea of DENIAL FIEND. I want to incorporate different styles into this.... not just straight death metal. I am a huge Horror Punk and Psychobilly fan! I like bands like The Misfits, Samhain, Balzac, The Other, Nekromantix, Asmodeus, Demented Are Go, Mad Sin, Rezurex, Horrorpops, American Werewolves, Die Monster Die, The Spook, The Undead, and many others. I wanted to incorporate a different style and sound into Death Metal... not to change it, but to add something to it that has never been done before. Bringing an influence outside of the typical normal metal genre.

Your new band Denial Fiend features a couple of well-known faces, including bassist Terry Butler (ex-Death, ex-Massacre, Six Feet Under) and Nasty Savage's Curt Beeson on drums. Was it difficult getting a steady and reliable line-up together for this project?

Not at all... It was rather easy.

The lyrics are revolving around themes of horror/gore/zombie movies of the 50's, 60's, 70's and 80's. Were you tired of writing the surreal and apocalyptic visions you did with Massacre back in the day?

Massacre's lyrics on "From Beyond" come straight out of gothic-horror writer H.P. Lovecraft's fiction and stuff from the fictional Necronomicon. I only intended for material on "From Beyond to come from this form. If Massacre would have gone in the direction that I had intended... then I feel, lyrically, it would have gone in a very close direction as the lyrics I write now... I have always liked to write in the Horror vein - back in 1983-1985 while in Mantas/Death most song titles and lyrics I wrote were more in the horror style... songs like 'Evil Dead', 'Legion Of Doom', 'Slaughterhouse', 'Summoned To Die', 'Witch Of Hell', 'Zombie'... all indirectly and loosely based on horror films. This time with DENIAL FIEND... I base my lyrics directly from old school horror B- movies!

Which horror movies mainly inspired you to start up Denial Fiend?

Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead (the original), Day of the Dead, Evil Dead trilogy, Dead Alive, Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things, Let Sleeping Corpses Lie, Return of the Living Dead, Cannibal Holocaust, Cannibal Ferox/Make Them Die Slowly, The Hills Have Eyes (the original), Texas Chainsaw Massacre (the original plus part2), Motel Hell, Toolbox Murders (the original) Blood Feast, Gore Gore Girls, Them!, Attack of the Giant Leeches, The Day of the Triffids, The Deadly Mantis, The Giant Behemoth, Gorgo, King Kong, The Beast with 1,000,000 Eyes, It Came From Beneath The Sea, The Thing, Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, Reptilicus, plus all Godzilla and Showa Era Kauju films. The 'classic' Universal monster film series like: Dracula, Frankenstein, Wolf-Man, The Mummy, and my favourite: Creature from the Black Lagoon series. Also, the Hammer Horror films with Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing, plus Vincent Price films, Roger Corman cult films.

Were you a horror movie fan before you were a metal fan?

Yes, by the age of 6... So yeah, I was into horror first... classic horror!

Will Rahmer, bassist/vocalist for long-standing US death/grind unit Mortician, is an avid collector of horror/splatter flicks, etc. It wouldn't be far from the truth to assume that you're fairly immersed in the genre yourself, given the looks of things with Denial Fiend?

Yes, I collect the films. I have a huge movie collection on DVD and VHS... but not only horror... I also collect a lot of 70's exploitation films (Bruce Lee-plotation films/the Bruce Lee imitators like: Bruce Li, and Dragon Lee), Sonny Chiba films, Hong Kong action films from Kung Fu to Gun Fu flicks... Japanese Kauji films, and Japanese horror and action, Thai horror genre and action, old school Japanese Anime like the original Devil Man series from the 70's and other Japanese giant super hero stuff like original Ultra Man and Giant Robo.

You recently signed to Ibex Moon Records, the label by John McEntee of Incantation. Were there any substantial offers made by other labels? What prompted you to sign with Ibex Moon?

A few labels showed interest... but we went with Ibex Moon because we felt John understood our direction and style, and was also a fan too.

With a lineage in ancestral death metal bands as Massacre, Death and Six Feet Under the expectations towards the band are understandably high - do you feel any pressure whatsoever from the outside from press, the label and fans alike?

No... I'm not making a band for the media or the press... I'm not trying to please the masses of 'close-minded' fans... I'm making a band for the fan that will understand where we are coming from... for the fan that has both respect and is open minded enough to be able to accept innovative thinking. I don't want DENIAL FIEND to be just another 'clone' band... I want us to have our own unique style and direction, as well as having our roots in the death metal genre and sound. John from Ibex Moon totally agrees and understands what we are trying to do with both our style and our image... he is behind us 100%... that is why we signed with him.

Can you tell us something about the full length that's currently in pre-production?

We are currently finishing up writing material and getting ready to record very soon.

Are there other bands that you are a fan or friend of, or both? Also, who, if anyone, do you consider to be your true peers in the genre?

Wow... that's a broad question... I think a lot of bands have their place in the genre... in Florida bands like OBITUARY and MORBID ANGEL are two of the most prominent bands. But you have so many places... all over the globe that spawned their own scene... with their own bands. I like a lot of the old school 80's original stuff, bands like: VENOM & CELTIC FROST & POSSESSED & SODOM. For the second wave in the 90's I like bands like: INCANTATION, VITAL REMAINS, CANNIBAL CORPSE... but also Gore -Core bands like: CARCASS, IMPETIGO, GENERAL SURGERY and DR. SHRINKER.

Tell us a bit about the early Florida death metal scene and how it was that you first got involved with the scene. I understand you were writing a fanzine prior to joining any bands.

No... Not true... I was in the original MANTAS/DEATH line up in 1983-1985. MASSACRE in 1985 thru 1987. I didn't start COMATOSE fanzine till late 1989 at that time I reformed MASSACRE with Rick Rozz (after he left DEATH from "Leprosy" in 1988). The early scene... is pretty much the same as it is now. I think a lot of foreigners get the wrong impression of the scene. It's not like everyone sits around drinking with each other, hanging out, and playing shows together. As a matter of fact, everyone hates each other, everyone stabs each other in the back, and everyone shit talks everyone else. I removed myself from the local scene back in 1995... and I stay neutral... I have no problem with anyone, but still many bands hate each other, many bands do not talk to each other.

Florida was the centre of the early death metal movement at that time. What elements would you say made it that central nucleus of the genre?

The swamp gas and horrid creatures that lurk in our back yards! Alligators, Skunk Ape (that's Florida's Big Foot), poisonous snakes... and those scary ass rednecks! Plus, I think most local Floridians are all spawned from insane psychotic inbreeds that located here back in the 1950s.

You also did backing vocals on the Nocturnus album "The Key", tell us something about that.

Mike Browning ask me if I would do it... I said yes.

Back in the day you also had a project called Soul Skinner, with which you did old school gore-grind in the vein of (early) Carcass, Catasexual Urge Motivation and General Surgery. What's the status on that?

The band never happened... because musicians where I live have no clue as to what Gore-Core music is... I don't live in Tampa... I live in Orlando, it's like 90 miles away from Tampa.

Will Denial Fiend be able to tour much? I reckon Butler's schedule with Six Feet Under is a busy one.

Everyone in DENIAL FIEND has other bands... but we plan on working around our schedules to get out to tour.

What are your plans for the future? Touring Europe and the US in support of the debut as soon as possible?

Yes, touring Europe first... then the US. Maybe a lot of festivals. But for me it's going across the world to fuck as many female sluts that will do me, hahaha!

Site: www.trackthecurse.com/denialfiendmain.htm
Photo credits: Greg "sickboy" Dixon

Denial Fiend

Wywiad przeprowadził - Wouter Roemers

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