Drawn and Quartered
Wywiad przeprowadził Wouter Roemers
Seattle occult death metallers Drawn and Quartered have been honing their craft since the early '90s. "Merciless Hammer Of Lucifer" - the band's most recent offering on Moribund Records – they are ready to claim their throne in the upper echelons of the genre. Drawn and Quartered have given a twist all their own to their classic US death metal, inspired by the classic works of monuments such as Incantation, Immolation and Morbid Angel. Masterful Magazine recently had the chance to talk to vocalist/lyricist Herb Burke about the band's impressive new album "Merciless Hammer Of Lucifer", their deal with Moribund Records and the state of death metal in general.
Hi! Thanks for answering our interview. What is presently going on with the band? What new things are happening for Drawn and Quartered right now?
Hails! Drawn And Quartered is currently performing live massacres throughout our local area, and gearing up for some touring in support of our latest and greatest work of malevolence, "Merciless Hammer of Lucifer"! We are planning a small tour of the U.S. West coast in October. We have also recently been working with a second guitarist, John, which has been going pretty well so far. It is something we have needed, especially in the live setting, for some time now. Particularly on the last couple releases, a lot of songs really need the second guitar parts. It really makes a huge difference to have that extra crunch, and be able to better express some of the harmonies and layering on the recordings.
Congratulations with your new record "Merciless Hammer Of Lucifer" - this is definitely the best we have heard from Drawn and Quartered to date. How have the reactions from the specialized press and fans been so far?
Thanks for the kudos! We've gotten a lot of strongly positive reactions and reviews so far, with of course the handful of negatives so far -- I've seen a few opinions that previous album(s) are better, which I can't really fathom at all! But everyone has a different opinion, so that sort of thing hardly bothers me. And I am particularly fond of most of the "Hail Infernal Darkness" material...! But "Merciless Hammer..." eclipses even that, in my opinion.
Moribund told us that the pre-release interest, as far as fans asking about the release and then ordering it, was as good as any of the biggest sellers like Leviathan or Xasthur, so that is certainly encouraging!
Tell me about the making of the new album, the writing, the music etc.
Not so much to tell, really. Once "Hail Infernal Darkness" was released, we played a few local gigs, but weren't able to make any tour plans happen. So, we kind of looked at each other and went, 'what now?' 'Guess we write another album!' The guys started writing some riffs, putting together some ideas, and a few months later, nine new compositions were completed.
What were some of the intentions the band strived for when crafting the new record?
Well... not a lot beyond simply outdoing our previous efforts, and producing a work that was not identical to its predecessor. That has actually been something of a focus for the past few releases -- to make records that sound a little different from one another, but that still sound like Drawn and Quartered, of course. I think a lot of people who haven't been in band situations really overestimate the amount of 'intention' that goes into songwriting. I'm speaking from my own perspective, of course. Most times, it's really just a matter of what comes out of your guitar, or mouth or whatever. The additional contribution of other band members and the creative process as a whole is more what governs the end result, rather than a meticulous plan of 'we're going to make an album/song that sounds like such and such.' That's not to say one couldn't plan out every miniscule aspect of a composition, but that's not really how we work.
Your previous albums 2004's "Return Of the Black Death" and 2006's "Hail Infernal Darkness" was a great artistic success by critics and fans. Did this put some pressure on you when writing/recording for this new album?
Not really. I think we put the most pressure on ourselves to outdo what we've already done. It's always gratifying to see and hear positive feedback, but at the end of the day, every single review or remark by a fan or a critic is just one person's opinion. The only opinions that should have any bearing on songwriting are those few in the rehearsal room, otherwise you aren't being true to yourself any longer.
Is there an overall theme to this album, or how would you say "Merciless Hammer Of Lucifer" is different from your other albums?
There actually is a theme running through the lyrics on this album, although it is virtually unstated in some songs. This is the first album on which I've tried to do that. That said, it is not any particular departure from previous DAQ lyrical themes either, with the possible exception of some more direct Satanic content which I have tended to avoid in the past, since to me, that sort of validates the bullshit concept of religion.
Unfortunately I do not have any lyrics in front of me, so I would like you to tell us a few words about the themes you treat in "Merciless Hammer Of Lucifer".
There are a few different ideas which recur throughout the lyrics. I started with a few familiar DAQ concepts, such as the Black Plague, and genocide -- I had researched some less well-publicized historical genocides, such as of the Armenians, or the Khmer Rouge/Cambodia ('Bloodbath of Renewal.') I also was kicking around a couple serial-killer topics, which is a very common DAQ theme. The problem was that none of it really seemed to inspire me -- it just seemed like I was retreading my own path. K.S. (guitar) will sometimes suggest lyrical themes to me as well, many of which end up being incorporated. One of the ideas he had this time was 'Lucifer's Hammer,' which is a great image but is also already well-used... I gave it a twist to 'Merciless Hammer of Lucifer,' put that together with a few other blasphemous and violent images I came up with, and suddenly, not only did I have a song lyric, but an entire theme for the album -- the extinction of Christianity and all religious idiocy. I generalized a couple of the genocide ideas to tie into this, and it easily fit to other lyric concepts such as 'Sickness Redeemer,' which deals with the failure of faith in the face of the Black Death. Once I came up with the album theme, it was much easier to work in ideas about Gilles de Rais ('Sodomy and Heresy') and Jim Jones ('Cyanide Sacrament') using this same slant.
When working on this new album, were there any elements from your previous records that you wanted to keep and were there any particular things you were looking to improve?
Not really so specifically, with the notable exception of aiming for a better-sounding recording, which mainly meant going elsewhere to have it mastered. We've always been relatively satisfied (at the time) with the sounds we got out of Autopsy Room, but he lacks the ideal set-up for mastering. "Merciless Hammer of Lucifer" was mastered at Nettleingham Audio, which has mastered a number of Moribund releases, and the result is an absolutely superior sound quality. You can really crank it up and offend your neighbors! This record is also much tighter thanks to rehearsing and recording with a click-track, which we hadn't attempted before. Some more minor differences are to be found in the guitar sounds and lead work, which was consciously planned to be different from the swarm of soloing found on "Hail Infernal Darkness". But otherwise, we don't exactly spend time dissecting and evaluating our previous works. There are plenty of others out there more than happy to do it for us!
Your new record is a pretty brutal effort that leaves little to the imagination and yet it does manage to surprise here and there. Do you use a lot of time on trying to vary the music or is it something that just comes naturally?
It is just the natural manifestation of our musical tastes and abilities. Our style is of course based in early 90's Death Metal, but we listened to Metal well before (and after!) that time, so we get ideas and influence from a broader base. It's just basic songwriting that a piece is going to be more interesting with some variety. And as a musician, you don't want to do the exact same thing every time. Spice of life and all that.
What's your take on the album now that it is completed and released? Anything specific that you guys picked up in retrospect and are using to put together and improve the new material?
Fucking relief...! It was a long and sometimes difficult process to complete this album. Speaking for myself, it was the most difficult recording experience I've ever had. I wrote a lot of challenging vocal parts, I was under massive deadline pressure, and was actually a bit out of practice at the time of recording. There were some extremely frustrating moments, and I even had to take an extra day to finish my tracks. I hardly even wanted to listen to the finished product until I actually had the cd in my hand, and could hear that it actually turned out sounding good! So I plan to take some steps to ensure I don't end up in the same situation next time. Compositionally, though, we're just continuing to do what we do, and try to do it better. Every recording is a learning experience, certainly, but I think we're past the point of 'learning lessons' from them. I hope so anyway!
When listening to the album it becomes clear that it is very coherent; it sounds like a massive piece, did you use a special way of writing to accomplish that?
Yes and no. There was no special songwriting technique or anything. But this was probably the first time we have actually written 'an album' as opposed to a collection of songs (not to suggest that one or the other is superior, just different.) All the songs were composed in relatively close succession, rather than over months or even years. Even "Hail Infernal Darkness", though not written over a particularly long period of time, feels a little more 'collected' since some songs were put together under different mindsets -- the earliest written sometime after "Return..." and the last written practically as an afterthought, put together right before the studio. The other factor on "Merciless Hammer of Lucifer" is that you hear the album in the exact order it was written, first song to last. We didn't change it up at all, as it seemed to carry a very natural flow.
You have been with Moribund Records for quite some time now. How has the label been accommodating the band's needs?
We can't really complain. Moribund promotes better than many underground labels -- more in line with the 'majors' as far as advertising and distribution. What they lack, to date anyway, is the resources to get us onto those killer tours and shove some real Metal down the throats of the masses. But Moribund has always been a good home for us, in part because of their uncompromising attitude -- we know we won't get back-burned for some pack of pierced trendfags -- and also as we've known Odin since before Moribund's existence, so we have a very comfortable relationship.
I think you've succeed in giving the music an identity, an individual sound and style that people will recognize as Drawn and Quartered. Quite a feat in a scene as overpopulated as the current US death metal scene Do you feel you've found the right style and image for the band?
That's very nice to hear. Of course, we have had quite some time to work into a sound of our own! But that's really what it's all about, in my opinion -- you start out by imitating your idols, and with time and effort, you develop into your own style. I think it helps us that there are not so many bands playing the style we do, outside of the original masters, of course. So many more bands, from the US anyway, seem to either fall into the busy, technical style or Carcass-influenced goregrind. Both of those styles tend to bore me pretty quickly. We've really got no choice to play the style we do, it's who we are. We don't overly concern ourselves with image, but that tends again to draw from the late 80's/early 90's material with which we are most at home....
Musically, Drawn and Quartered has always been the kind of band with a lot of diversity, with this new release being no exception. I like the balance that the band has between violent intensity and relentless aggression but with an emphasis on gloomy doom sections and eerie skin crawling melodies. How difficult is it to find that balance?
I guess not that difficult, since again this is something that more or less just comes naturally when we write. Most of us are fans of Black Sabbath, K.S. particularly, so that's where a lot of the darkness and doominess in our music originates. Most of the death metal that substantially influenced us, such as the first Morbid Angel and Immolation records, are fairly diverse in terms of feel and mood alongside vicious aggression.
Death metal is on the rise again and there are plenty of talented bands to confirm that. Drawn and Quartered stands out due to their more "old school" songwriting approach, in my opinion. You actually manage to write actual songs, not a mere pile of riffs; whereas many bands today fall victim to senseless blasting without a concrete direction or purpose. Would you agree?
I'd agree 100%. I'm not dumping on anyone in particular, but I definitely feel that a very distinct minority of newer bands have a real grip on songwriting. It doesn't matter what style of music you play, good songs are the foundation, and without them you have very little. Brutality and speed don't mean much if you can't even remember a song or a riff once it's done. I'm getting to dislike using the term "old school" -- it's starting to become as overused and meaningless as "extreme" -- but I would say that that's really the story here. We have a background beyond death metal. We grew up listening to heavy metal and even some old hard rock. We listened to how bands like Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden and Judas Priest, Motorhead, Slayer, built riffs and ideas in a way that they stuck in your head, and simply worked to emulate that. It's not really rocket science....
What's your view on the current state of death metal? How much do you identify with the rest of the underground scene? Is the Internet both a curse and a blessing to underground music?
Hmmm, I think I already went over a lot of it...! I feel like very few DM bands work to create atmosphere and memorable material, more commonly trying to impress with technical abilities and empty extremity. I hate the sound of a lot of productions today -- processed, sterile, sanitized and flat as a fucking pancake. I would love for DAQ to do another analog recording (only our debut "To Kill Is Human" was recorded to tape) because there's no equal to that rich, real sound. Even recording digitally, we've always strived for a darker, slightly dirty sound. I do still follow the underground pretty closely, though it has changed radically over time. Primarily it is exponentially bigger -- it's almost hard to imagine now how there were once only a handful of bands even playing fast. Harder still for most now to imagine handwriting letters to underground bands, ordering their demo tapes through the mail, searching for underground 'zines to find out about new bands. Now it is all a computer-click away, which kind of makes it seem a lot less special, less of a brotherhood than it once was. The 'nets can be a boon, in that most everyone now has the opportunity to say or play what they want; the problem is that most people should really just shut up! For every two or three worthwhile projects, it now seems like there are two or three hundred which are not worthwhile....
What current death metal bands do you feel are worthy of being listened to?
Drawn and Quartered! Immolation, Dismember, Incantation, Morbid Angel. There are others, of course. The new Cephalic Carnage is pretty damn deathly. Most 'current' death metal I listen to is actually new albums of old bands. I'm sure there are some good new bands that I don't know about...! But also, I live death metal through Drawn And Quartered, and since we produce something close to my personal DM ideal, much other DM doesn't match up! I tend to listen to a fair amount of aggressive black metal, actually. Things currently contaminating my turntable include the new Watain (which is so brilliant words fail), the last Katharsis LP, the last three Dismember releases, any old Sodom, Iron Maiden "A Matter of Life and Death" (amazing), lots of Finnish BM.
Alright. That sums it up pretty much. Thanks for talking to us. Last words are yours.
All right, thanks for the interview and support!! I'll close with a call to arms to all who are METAL: Stand up and fight! Support the underground, buy albums of bands you like, go to shows, buy their merch. Don't settle for the mass-market pablum that the media is force-feeding the mindless and is being mistaken as Metal. True Metal is never ironic or too 'cool'. The vegan emo-deathcore will be forgotten tomorrow as the masses move on to their next distraction, and the True Metalheads will continue to stand proud! DEATH TO FALSE METAL!!!
Thanks to Nathan Birk for making this interview happen!
Booking: www.moribundcult.com
Site: www.drawnandquarteredonline.com
