Infested Blood
Wywiad przeprowadził Wouter Roemers
Brazil has always been a consistent exporter of the most savage and brutal death metal on the planet. In the tradition of bands like Abhorrence, Krisiun, Mental Horror and Rebaelliun "Interplanar Decimation" by Infested Blood is a highly effective platter of visceral and technically proficient death metal. Masterful Magazine spoke with Diego Do'Urden (guitars) about their latest offering, their deal with Russian label Stygian Crypt Productions and how life in Brazil affects their band.
First of all, congratulations on "Interplanar Decimation" which has been released recently through Russian label Stygian Crypt Records. My first question how is the album doing among press and fans according to the expectations you had before the release?
We would like to thank Masterful Magazine for the great support to our music! "Interplanar Decimation"´s arrival is coming better than we thought, many people that doesn't even like death metal is talking about the level of the work we put into that record. We wanted it to sound as technical and brutal as "Tribute to Apocalypse", but faster and cleaner, so you can actually hear and understand each instrument perfectly. So that's what's calling attention and pleasing many fans that already liked our first and second CD.
"Interplanar Decimation" has an obvious sci-fi/alien concept. Please give us a short summary of what's the story is about?
The story is about the concept of existing other dimensions and the possibility of having gates linking them. Some of those planes of existence having hostile cultures thriving in invading, plundering and conquering other dimensions, or just the occasional individual travel to explore, hunt and feed. Some of the lyrics talks about interplanar travel and others about strange dimensions.
The sci-fi/alien concept isn't exactly new to extreme metal. Nocturnus first did it as far back as 1990-1992 with "The Key" and "Thresholds". Over the last years it has won in popularity with bands as Deeds Of Flesh, The Faceless and Gigan releasing thematically similar albums. What makes Infested Blood different from these other bands, lyrically?
Actually, the only song about aliens is the first one on the play, 'Unearthly Menace'. I choose to create the theme for this new CD based in the concept of interplanar travel and stories in other planes of existence, which is based in the books of the Forgotten Realm series I read so much. It's actually a fantasy style. Crossing between dimensions is a common happening in the Forgotten Realms world, which is the most explored world of the RPG game AD&D. I'm a big fan of this shit since I was a kid, I even infected the other band members with some good books from the series, and so I thought about showing the brutal side of those stories, for me, it's a tribute to those books.
Your first two records "Master Of Grotesque" and "Tribute to Apocalypse" had the usual gore-horror-splatter lyrics. This new album sees you taking a new lyrical direction. Is this a concept you are planning to expand and explore in further albums?
When I joined the band in 2000, the lyrics for the first full length "Masters of Grotesque" were already made, as I had better writing skills I took the job of writing the lyrics, having Eduardo and Cristiano giving good insights. So when I choose to write about our second CD we decided that mankind was about to destroy itself in "Tribute to Apocalypse" and the third CD was going to be a otherworldly theme. So I had the idea of writing about some stories of the Forgotten Realms world. I don't know yet what will be about the next album, the concept of serial killer and splatter is too much in use already by most death metal bands, and we liked the concept of showing the brutal side of the fantasy world, so we might stay that way. The sci-fi/fantasy style is so much more open to creation, and the usual death killing gore theme is always the same.
In my review I compared you to Krisiun, Internal Suffering and Origin. Do you feel this comparison does the material justice?
Krisiun are the kings of extreme Death Metal, but Internal Suffering and Origin are extreme Brutal Death Metal bands. Krisiun explores more the side of classic Death Metal, while Internal Suffering, Origin, Infested Blood, Brain Drill, Deeds of Flesh, Hour of Penance, are exploring a more futuristic Death Metal. I call this the New School Brutal Death Metal which I love so much. We look very much forward to the future of Brutal Death Metal, so we try to create a new step in the story of this violent style. There is too much Old School already.
The only thing lacking were a few leads/solos, bands like Krisiun, Unholy Ghost and Origin prove that you can play inhumanly fast death metal and still integrate blistering leads/solos. Why weren't there any on "Interplanar Decimation"?
Our style is based on the fast and virtuous low tuned riffs, using a lot of palm-muting. This style, gained popularity with Deeds of Flesh and Disgorge USA. This style sounds more serious and devoid of feelings. Krisiun, Unholy Ghost and Origin can surely play fast death metal with leads/solos, but it will never sound as cold and brutal as Disgorge or Decrepit Birth ("And Time Begins"). I think very unlikely that we should experience fitting leads on future CDs as Deeds of Flesh and Decrepit Birth did on their newest albums, but it's also not impossible to happen! Deeds of Flesh surely changed a lot in "Of What's to Come", but they mixed well the brutality of their old albums with the technical death, differently from Decrepit Birth that became a melodic death metal band, and for me, the best songs in those both albums are the re-recordings of the old songs. Here goes a quote from the review of Interplanar Decimation at Teufels Tomb website which explains a little of all that, "This is what brutal sounds like. When bands get too wanky with endless arpeggiation and Necrophagist worship, it loses the darkness and evil that brutal death metal should be." , the full review can be read at:
www.teufelstomb.com/reviews/infestedblood-interplanardecimation/
Early contributors like Sarcofago and Sepultura have put Brazil on the metal map in the late '80s to mid '90s. Have more recent bands like Abhorrence, Krisiun, Mental Horror, Ophiolatry and Rebaelliun opened doors to opportunities for death metal acts that the earlier acts weren't able to open?
For sure! Sarcofago and Sepultura have only introduced our country to the world as a good producer of underground metal bands. Those bands you just called above, have proven that Brazil is now one of the top producers of extreme Death Metal bands in the world. Those bands have called attention of the world´s prime underground labels, zines, magazines and most importantly the headbangers. When Brazil is quoted anywhere in the world you can expect a true fucking underground band.
You are a Brazilian band on a Russian label. How's that working out for you?
It's fulfilling all our expectations and more! Stygian Crypt has done a excellent promotional job, sending our CDs to the four corners of the planet. Besides the good distribution, the label works real fast, as soon as it receives the material for pressing the CD at the plant, it's done in less than a month! We are truly pleased that we have found such a good partner. We are a world's length apart, but it´s nothing. That's why they created the Internet for!
Over the last decade Brazil has carved its place in the international metal scene thanks to its utterly relentless and fast death metal bands. Although, Brazil has the ninth biggest economy in the world; bureaucracy, corruption, poverty and illiteracy still are its biggest problems. Do you think these social problems result in bands playing incredibly fierce and technical death metal?
Most of Brazil´s population are having problems to survive in this world crisis, and not just now, it´s a very old problem in our economy. Brazil has a culture of corruption in the ranks of government since its founding. The politics steal the money that is collected from the taxes that should be invested in school, health and city maintenance. As most of the headbangers are from the suburbs, they feel it directly in their lives, resulting in a inner hate that is expressed through music, making this perhaps, the only solution to have a better life, putting all their efforts into blasting music.
You are based in Pernambuco, Recife - 9th most violent city in Brazil. Despite being one of Brazil's prime business and logistics centres, thanks to the Information Technology industry with Porto Digital and a well-established medical pool, there is a large urban concentration of unskilled people in the peripheral suburbs which combined with high unemployment rates, social exclusion, poverty; generates violence. Has this shaped Infested Blood or its members in any way or form, you think?
Sure, it has some influence. As I said before, most underground headbangers are from the suburbs, and here in my state, I would say that 95% of the Death Metalllers are from the suburbs and have a difficult life. So it is with Infested Blood members, we all have a difficult time here to survive and we were always fans of the most extreme bands. So, the hardships of life have made Infested Blood into the dedicated and professional band that we are today. We all have jobs to survive and pay for the bands expenses, like studio renting for practice and instruments. But our goal is to live for the band, spreading our music across the planet. Thanks to our new label, Stygian Crypt, it has already begun.
What would you regard as the primary challenges faced by an extreme metal band in Brazil as far as getting international recognition and exposure?
The main challenge is having the money to pay for the band´s expenses. As most underground headbangers are from the suburbs and have a difficult life, no one has a home studio to practice for free. Imported instruments here are too expensive, especially drums and amps. Besides that, it is really hard to find professional musicians, dedicated to spending the off-job time practicing with the band and spending the so-hard-to-get money in good instruments and studio rental. After you beat those challenges, we have to battle for a place on the internet, for it is the only way to call the attention of some label that might get interested in releasing your stuff. Just the way it happened to Infested Blood, after some members changes, defining the actual line-up, we worked a lot on our songs then battled for a place on MySpace, where Stygian Crypt found us.
Brazil has the largest Roman Catholic population in the world, 74% are Roman Catholic (about 139 million). A lot of Brazilian death metal acts are strong and vocal in their condemnation of religion. Is religion one of the ills of modern society, where people lack to ability to believe in themselves and need a deity to fill that void?
You said it all exactly as I think. But I think the worse is not the need to believe in a deity, but the church's that brain-wash and erase a lot of peoples life, taking their money in the process. My parents believe that exist some kind of god behind all that, but they are not stupid to believe that they need to go to church every week and give their money away to some rich mother fucker that doesn't help anyone but fill their minds with fear of the divine.
Thanks for the interview! Good luck with all your future endeavours. I would like to extend my praise for your persistence in keeping the ancient flame burning. The last words are yours.
We thank you so much for your support to the Brazilian Extreme Brutal Death Metal! The work we do here is for all fans of true extreme music, and your work help us greatly in reaching them! Stay brutal!
Info/booking: www.stygiancrypt.com
