Vile
Wywiad przeprowadził Wouter Roemers
Vile is back. After a 6 year hiatus this California death metal combo has unleashed a new record in the form of "Metamorphosis" on Willowtip Records. Where their previous record ("Stench Of the Deceased", "Depopulate", "The New Age Of Chaos") followed in the footsteps of Cannibal Corpse and Suffocation – this new record sees Vile going into a more individual direction. "Metamorphosis" is more technical, more melodic, more lyrically mature and in many ways the band’s most ambitious record to date. Masterful Magazine recently caught up with founder/guitarist Colin Davis to discuss everything new with the band.
Hi there! Thanks for doing this interview with us! An in-depth interview with Vile was long overdue here, as we here at Masterful Magazine have the utmost respect for old ambassadors of the international death – and black metal scene. I hope you’re in the mood to tell us about your musical undertakings - past, present and future...
Of course, and I appreciate it as well.
Colin, you are originally from Austin, Texas. Shed some light on the years leading on to Vile’s formation and what drove you back then. What prompted you to move to Concord, California to start a death metal band with like-minded individuals?
I was born in Austin, spent much of my youth in New York City, then finished school in Austin again and moved out to California in my early 20’s to work in an oil refinery! I was not really doing much, but messing around with friends. My friend’s dad was working out here in a refinery doing maintenance and I was offered a job for 20 an hour (good pay at the time), so that was why I came. Really just for a change and then when I got here, I realized how much music is here and I started playing in bands.
California has an established pedigree in death metal and grindcore with veteran bands as Cattle Decapitation, Deeds Of Flesh, Disgorge, Exhumed, Impaled, Phobia, Possessed, Sadistic Intent, Sepsism, etc. Cali bands had a definite individual sound, comparable to other regions like Florida, Chicago and New York had their own sound. What is it about California that makes it such a fertile breeding ground for extreme metal acts?
Well, California is very, very big so it is natural to have a lot of bands, I think. Actually, Holland has way more bands of this style per capita than California! So I have the same question for the Dutch. But like any scene, the bands influence each other. With Vile though, I think we were more influenced by Florida bands than the other Cali bands.
Vile was formed in Concord, California in 1996. You released two demo tapes "Unearthed" and "Vile-ation" during those two years (1996-1997). Could you give us a brief overview of the highpoints, lowpoints and challenges you faced during these early days? What do you recall from the earlier days of the California scene – were there any events or happenings that stand out in your memory?
Yeah, those were the first two demos. I still like them a lot. It was fun recording because Juan and I were just getting into the field. "Vile-ation" came out really good for us beginners, I think. Actually, Hammerheart Records is going to release a "Rare Tracks" CD with those demos on it this September. Back in 1996, the Bay Area had just been coming out of a low point in the metal scene. The thrash era sort of died about 5 years before and there were not a lot of good extreme bands. Deeds of Flesh and a few others in Southern California were around, but in the Bay Area, it was sparse. After my band Entropy broke up and I started jamming with Juan, and eventually with Mike (Hamilton, drums) and Jim (Tkacz, guitars). We realized that there was not too much competition for good death metal. So it was good for us in the beginning. After 1999, though, it was harder because after our drummer quit, it was hard to find a replacement. Ever since then, Vile has sort of been an international band because there are just not enough musicians who play this style here in the Bay Area to choose from. So these days we have members from all over.
In 1999 Vile released its proper debut independently with "Stench Of the Deceased". It was heavily influenced by Cannibal Corpse and Suffocation in terms of sound. The album was recorded and mixed at Trident Studios, Pacheco, California – the studio complex owned by then-singer Juan Urteaga. Tell us something about the challenges and trials you faced being an independent band in an oversaturated scene, trying to establish a name and reputation for itself? Was it difficult getting booked for shows, etc?
There was not much competition for this genre around that time. Regarding the first album. We basically just re-recorded the demos and added two songs but for most of the world, they had not heard the demos before. They do sound a bit different from the albums in their feel, though. Juan and I were into recording, so we recorded "Unearthed" at our band practice studio and then by the time "Vile-ation" came out, we had built a studio in a warehouse called Trident. We didn’t know that was the name of a famous English studio from the 60’s. We both still record and Juan still has Trident. I have Imperial Mastering 4 doors down.
2002 saw the release of "Depopulate" through California label Unique Leader Records, while French label Listenable Records handled the released in Europe. Once more Vile recorded at Trident Studios. In what ways did the help of these two labels assist in getting Vile out to the public in ways that an independent release couldn’t?
At first Relapse signed us in 2000. But then after our drummer left, we had a hard time finding someone until we met Tyson Jupin about a year or more later. In that time a lot happened and the label changed their mind about some things and we never released anything through them. So we went out looking again and Listenable signed us. At that time Listenable didn’t have distribution in North America, so Unique Leader handled that for us. Worked out good, I think.
"The New Age Of Chaos" followed in 2005, once again released by Unique Leader and Listenable Records. It was the last to feature vocalist Juan Urteaga, the sole record with Jack Gibson (Exodus) on bass – but also the first to break away from the typical lyrical themes of the genre. Instead it dealt with the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center, radical Islam and the second Iraq War. Was this a theme that interested you and Juan personally or was it a rebuttal against the backlash that the US was getting globally, for its political choices, the supposed WMDs, etc?
Well, that album concept was basically Juan’s idea - but I liked the fact that the lyrics would be about something other than horror type stuff which I thought was getting a bit tired. Now that I look back, I don’t think I would do that kind of concept again and if you read the lyrics on the new album which I wrote, you can see the difference in our tastes.
This album was a co-production between Trident Studios and your own Imperial Mastering. Tell us a bit about the early days of Imperial Mastering. What was the catalyst to make you want to own your own mixing/mastering facility and to help other genre acts reach their desired sound?
In the beginning, I rented the space for the band to practice at because band practice was disturbing the studio. But then later I build my own suite for mastering. The main reason I decided to get into mastering was because I wanted to do something that complimented the Trident Studio. As I found out in time, mastering is really the perfect job for me. I like working alone and late at night and I like being able to work on many bands and not have to work so long on one band like you have to in recording. Recording is more creative and I love it, but mostly when there is a budget to let become a really good production. Mostly I am doing metal bands with small budgets and I enjoy giving them a great service. I really try to work with the engineer to make the mixes the best they can be. I take pride knowing that I am offering a high quality service at an affordable rate. Honestly though, it has taken a lot time to get good at mastering. It’s been 12 years now.
Under what circumstances did Juan Urteaga decided to leave Vile? Was it a friendly splitting of ways? I understand he left to prioritize his recording studio Trident Studios in California. Was there ever any bad blood between the two of you since both of you are in the same line of business in the same region?
It was a friendly break up. We are still friends. I was just over at Trident tonight hanging out. I understand his situation clearly. He had a lot of business coming into the studio, he had a growing family and was just not in a position to put the band first. He still loves the band though. This is how life goes. Our new singer mike Hrubovcak is really amazing to me though. I hope not to have to find another singer again though.
You have your own mixing/mastering studio with Imperial Mastering. Besides using it for your own projects, have you been able to build up a modest reputation for yourself in the American metal underground. I’m personally very fond of the work you did for Maltese combo Beheaded - are there any projects that you are particularly proud of?
In mastering, the engineer doesn’t have as much influence on the recording and so we have to work with what we get. I do the same thing for everyone. I try to make the recordings the best they can be. I am the most happy with the highest quality recordings that come in I guess. Probably the best sounding bands are ones you would not heard of. Death metal doesn’t always have the best sounding recordings, so it s my job to make them as clean as possible.
In the years running up to "Metamorphosis" there was talk of you starting your own record label/distribution company. I remember at one point it was called Ninth Underworld Records, or something in that vein. Was that project abandoned when you got the recording contract with Willowtip Records?
This is true. I knew the album was coming out and I needed some distribution so Ninth Underworld was created. I was talking to some folks about helping out and talking with Twilight distribution and some others. In the end, I realized that I was just not interested in running a label. I had too many other things going on, so I sort of dropped it and started looking for a label for the album. Eventually Willowtip grabbed it and they partnered with Hammerheart Records in Holland to do the release.
"Metamorphosis" was released in 2011 through the earlier mentioned Willowtip Records. Like "The New Age Of Chaos" it (thankfully) abandoned the subjects of gore, horror and mutilation. Instead it deals with New World Order conspiracies and more astral/cosmic themes. Besides that these lyrics are far more interesting than the usual blood-horror-gore and inane anti-religious ramblings of most extreme metal acts, I understand these subjects are a personal interest of yourself. Do tell...
It’s true. Those are subjects of interest of mine. Our previous singer Juan preferred the classic blood, guts and war themes but after he left in 2005, I decided that I should take over that job and write about what I felt were more relevant themes. They were written to compliment the sound of concept of the album so I think people will find them interesting. The main concept of the album is that of life and death cycles and the period that humanity is at now where our actions will determine the fate of the species. I don’t believe that humanity is separate from the planet and cosmos but that it is part of much larger system or you could say organism. So the themes go into human struggles and conspiracies and also those that you might consider more spiritual, but they all play into the concept that all of this is happening under a grander order of life and organization that we are a part of. The lyrics also deal with some ideas that give clues as to how to think and perceive our world that helps to empower people.
Since 2008 a lot of California death metal acts that sounded very traditional before, started to get more melodic, progressive and technical. Bands like Decrepit Birth, Deeds Of Flesh, Odious Mortem, Severed Savior undergoing radical transformation in terms of sound and lyrical concepts. What prompted this sudden mass change in the California scene and sound, do you think?
Maybe it is happening in the entire extreme metal scene. You have to go somewhere after you have gone as fast as you can go and as technical as you can go. Extreme metal was always a rhythmically dominant music and was never overly melodic, although melody is inside of every smog of every style. I think it’s a natural progression to make extreme metal more melodic.
Compared to other long-running American death metal acts like Cannibal Corpse, Immolation, Incantation, Malevolent Creation, Suffocation or Vital Remains – Vile has always been considerably more underground and not nearly as visible in the press and such. You’ve been touring steadily in North America and Europe for a number of years now. To what would you contribute Vile’s general lack of attention in the specialized metal press?
It is mainly due to the fact that the band members and myself have each had other priorities, like businesses and family that we have had to deal with in addition to the band - especially me. I have been running Imperial Mastering for the last 10 years and I have also been involved in other projects such as a legal research business that focuses on foreclosure prevention. I have been content to have the band take more of a back seat in life, but that is changing these days. A lot of my own personal projects have lived out their lives and we have some new band members who are more available, so you will see this band out there a lot more in the coming period.
You went through quite a lot of line-up changes since the band’s origin back in 1996, with you, Mike Hrubovcak (vocals) and Tyson Jupin (drums) being the only remaining long-term members nowadays... How do you manage to keep yourself motivated all the time? Has there never been a time of frustration and hardship, when you were almost ready to quit as well?
This is part of the reason why it has taken so long to release the new album. It was hard to get motivated sitting here writing and producing the album alone. Now that we have a new line up that we are touring with, that really helps my energy level. I feel quite energetic about Vile right now.
Well, I’m running out of questions, so feel free to end this interview in any way you like. If there’s anything of importance we might have forgotten to mention or anything you’d like to add, just go ahead. Thanks a lot for your time and all the best to all of you!
Thanks for the great discussion! Very much appreciated. Hope to see everyone on the next tour. Just keep in touch with us via our website or FaceBook pages.
Website: vilemetal.com/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/thenewvile
Imperial Mastering: www.imperialmastering.com/ (Colin Davis)
Trident Studio: www.tridentstudios.net/ (Juan Urteaga)
Visual Darkness Design: www.visualdarkness.com/ (Mike Hrubovcak)
