Centaurus- A Interview

Centaurus-A

(www.centaurus-a.de)

1. Tell us a history of Centaurus- A for those of us new to the band.

Hello Absolute Zero Media-readers and metal heads out there, we’re CENTAURUS-A from Cologne/Germany and we recently released out debut album SIDE EFFECTS EXPECTED.

Our band history goes back into the year 2000 when CENTAURUS-A was formed by Maik Matanovic (guitar), Patrick Schroeder (drums) and Michael Ahlgrimm (bass/backing vocals). Only a few months later, the demo "Last step Line" containing the band's first songs, was recorded. With the same line-up, we went on to write new songs and recorded our second demo entitled "Nimbus" in 2002, as well as started playing our first live shows supported by a session singer.

In 2003, the band's line-up was completed with the joining of guitarist Hernan Martinez and permanent vocalist Johannes "Jojo" Henke. This was a great leap forward and we continued to develop our unique and advanced mix of technical Death/Thrash Metal. We wrote new songs which were released on the first studio-recorded demo "Narcotic" and got positive feedback and reviews from fans and the metal press. In the following years, we played numerous gigs all over Germany.

We felt ready to take the next step and started to work on our debut album SIDE EFFECTS EXPECTED. The recording of the album took place in several sessions in the HANSEN STUDIOS (Denmark) with producer Jacob Hansen and is now available! Check it out!

2. You have just released you Debut CD on Listenable how did the deal come to be?

After finishing the recording process of SIDE EFFECTS EXPECTED in early 2008 we were spreading our promotional CD’s to a bunch of record labels in order to find the right partner. Beside some interested labels, LISTENABLE RECORDS got in touch with us last summer. We were thrilled when LISTENABLE REC contacted us and are glad to have teamed up with them because we highly appreciate their work and their intuition for promising and unique bands. We really feel well taken care of and Listenable has done a great job so far and support and promote us as much as they can.

3. You sound is a mix of Technical Death metal mixed with Prog and Avant sounds. You have a very modern sound the production is huge. Are you happy with the out come?

Oh yes, we are! In the writing process of SIDE EFFECTS EXPECTED we were already thinking a lot about the sound and the appropriate studio to record. Finally, we decided quite fast to go to Denmark into the HANSEN STUDIOS and the recording with Jacob Hansen was a great experience. Jacobs’s references and experience are huge, he works absolutely professional and knows what is best for the production at any time and we trusted him from the beginning. So in the end, we are more than satisfied with the result and our debut album SIDE EFFECTS EXPECTED got the powerful but clear sound we wanted.

4.The guitar sound has a strong Melodic Swedish sound do you feel this style played a large role in the band sound.

We all listen to different music in both metal music and nonmetal genres. So everybody brings in his own influences and CENTAURUS-A is influenced by various metal genres like Death, Thrash, Melodic, Progressive, Metal and Grindcore and other music we are listening to...but without a doubt, we can’t deny the inspiration of thousands of amazing Swedish bands, but I would not say that this “Melodic Sweden Sound” plays the main role in our music. We much more try to stretch the limits of extreme metal music and combine different elements and influences in our songs. We love to surprise the listener with some unpredictable tunes. But our overall goal is to compose a coherent song that balances technical brutality, weird and sick themes/rhythms with catchy and comprehensible grooves and melody.

5. Is there a running theme on Side Effects Expected?

SIDE EFFECTS EXPECTED is not a concept album or something like that. But the lyrics of the album which deal with the dilemmas and necessities of our everyday life as well as with global nuisance can be concluded with the words SIDE EFFECTS EXPECTED. Some lyrics are very personal while others are kept more abstract but the title SIDE EFFECTS EXPECTED can be understood as a warning: don’t believe and accept everything which is going on our planet and rethink your own daily routine and habits. That was the reason to choose it as the title for the album and also to integrate it into the introduction of the first song.

6. There is a video for Dropped off tell us about that?

Yeah, we shot a small promotional video for the song DROP OFF but there’s not so much to tell about. The video contains some rehearsal room footage and was intended to promote the forthcoming release of SIDE EFFECTS EXPECTED.

Much more interesting is to report about our first official video for THE PRAYING MANTIS. The shooting took place in a hulk of an industrial manufacturing plant. The hall with its raw and fucked up atmosphere was the perfect surroundings for the live footage. Even though the video is not coming up with a story, we can proudly say that we can offer you a varied video that is well worth seeing. Meanwhile, we are done with cutting and editing and the video is now available on our website (www.centaurus-a.de) and our Myspace profile (www.myspace.com/centaurusa).

7. Will the band be touring outside out europe at all or stay on the european shores?

With the release of SIDE EFFECTS EXPECTED in Europe a few days ago, we are looking forward playing and performing as much as possible the coming months. We’re still busy with booking shows and working on possible touring activities later this year. Right now, we’re confirmed for several club shows and summer festivals in Germany and Europe.

Nothing is yet planned regarding shows outside Europe but of course we would love to play all over the world and are ready to go out as soon as we will get the opportunity.

8. Are you fans of t he digital age (Myspace, Blogs, Mp3's Internet radio and press) or do you miss the fanzines, tape trading and radio days of old?

The digital age is kind of double-edged sword. The web 2.0 offers a lot of advantages and benefits by making it so easy to spread ones band name and music and to attract more attention via all the different communities and networks. The cost- and time-efficiency is the big pro and allows also small and unknown bands to reach interested listeners all over the world. But beside all these pros we also face some drawbacks. Just keep the unmanageable information and data overload in mind; it’s quite impossible to keep track of all the bands, communities and media. Also the way people consume music changed dramatically. I still have tons of old demo tapes and collecting and esteeming music was different 15 years ago…receiving a parcel with a demo tape is incommensurable with downloading some mp3’s.

Anyways, we don’t want to turn back time and the digital age which enjoys all the advantages.

9. Are your demos very different in sound from the debut CD or just a natural progression?

Our music and sound definitely evolved and matured over the years. Not only the individual capabilities improved but also to play together as a band and writing songs got better and better. So, of course the demos sound different from our debut album SIDE EFFECTS EXPECTED. First of all, the work on and recording of SIDE EFFECTS EXPECTED was completely different from the older demos and is not comparable at all. While the first two demos were recorded and produced by our own in our rehearsal room on an 8-track-recorder, we recorded our third demo “Narcotic” in a small local studio within only 3 days. For the work on our debut album SIDE EFFECTS EXPECTED we first focused on the songwriting process and took our time to arrange the material. As mentioned, the recording of the album took place in the HANSEN STUDIOS in Denmark and for the first time we’ve been in a state-of-the-art studio working with a well-known producer.

Anyway, we see our third demo “Narcotic” as starting point of our current sound but only the various songs of SIDE EFFECTS EXPECTED show what CENTAURUS-A is about today.

10. As a new signed artist do you have any words or thoughts of the Current Independent Extreme music scene. Is it thriving or dying?

I think the independent metal scene is still alive and agile. Despite some coming and leaving trends within the metal scene, the diversity of the metal genre is growing, people become more open-minded and bands mix different styles and sounds.

11. Were do you see the band going for the next release or is that just too early?

Right now the main priority is to promote SIDE EFFECTS EXPECTED and to play as much shows as possible. Meanwhile, we also start writing new songs for the follow-up album and gather ideas that came up during the last months. But it is definitely too early to report what the next album will sound like. Anyway, you can expect us to go onwards with the typical CENTAURUS-A sound and keeping our trademarks.

12. Tell us about your website http://www.centaurus-a.de/ seems to just be a basic portal to myspace and merch to you feel this is the best way to give bands these days are myspace pages ?

Sorry, we don’t understand this question.

13. Do the members of Centaurus-A work in other projects metal or not?

Everbody of the band made his experiences before CENTAURUS-A and the one or the other recorded at times for some projects. Recently Hernan finished an album with Misticia. But CENTAURUS-A is definitely the main band for everbody as there probably not enough time for another full time band.

14. Thank you for your time any closing thoughts here...

Thank you very much for the interview and giving us the chance to introduce CENTAURUS-A to your readers. Please check out our websites www.centaurus-a.de and www.myspace.com/centaurusa.

Goes Cube Interview

http://www.myspace.com/goescube



1. 1st off what the hell does Goes Cube mean?

In a roundabout way, it means "go die." Take those words, translate them into German via the Babelfish online translator, and then translate the German back to English. You'll see what I mean.

2. Your sound is mix of Post Hardcore, Indie rock, Punk and Pop music. where did the interesting sounds come from?

We're always interested and sometimes surprised when folks tell us how they hear our music. We're not a the kind of band who is opposed to labels or categories. But, at the same time, it's also something we've never been concerned with or self-aware of. I suppose the simple answer to your question is that it came from our influences. I can tell you that we listen to death metal, punk, hardcore, thrash, artsy post metal, post rock bands (whatever that means), country music, and classic rock. And more. We strive to play really, really heavy music. But we also are huge riff addicts. And, I (the singer/guitar player) am not much a fan of the so-called cookie monster vocal styles, and prefer the more straight up screaming and singing. At the end of the day, we write songs based on what we're hearing. If we like what we're hearing, we go with it - regardless of whether it sounds like At The Gates, At The Drive In, or any other band or genre. Damn, I wish there was another band that started with "at."

3. How did you hook up with the mighty The End Records?

It involves a ritual that takes place at midnight, some cloaks, goat blood, chanting, a deal with Satan...and really fucking awesome songs.

4. What is the running theme of Another Day Has Passed?

Well, I write all the words, so from a lyrical standpoint, it has something to do with all the hard work we've put in as a band, all the waiting we've done, and it also has a lot to do with getting older, and trying to figure out my life as a person apart from the band. I think, at the end of the day, it's a reflection of this band's entire existence. It also documents my evolving views and opinions about how my life is going and what I'm doing with it.

5. Does Goes Cube prefer to perform live or make madness in the studio?

Can I be boring and say both? I mean, there's nothing in the world like when those magic ingredients come together: good sound, good performance, and good crowd. Then again, for us, we're very focused on songwriting. In my view, our band is our songs, and the studio is where those songs are documented and performed at our absolute best. So, both things---playing live and recording---are great for us. The truth is: When we're on tour, we can't wait to be in the studio. When we're in the studio, we can't wait to be out playing live, where perfect tunings and all that take a back seat to energy.

6. I see there is a new video for Goes Cube Song 30 this this an official video that will be on the video channel outlets???

Actually, that video's from back in 2007. An incredibly talented guy named Jacob Hensberry made it. That song is on our full length, but we re-recorded it. So the version that video is attached to is not the same (nor, in our opinion, as good) as the one on our record. As far as what will happen with it, I have no idea. By the way, here's a fun fact: It was filmed at Southpaw in Brooklyn.

7. If Goes Cube were not from NYC area do you feel the band would have a very different sound. There is a very NYC Hardcore element from what I hear on your debut.

Short answer: No. But, I think if Kenny and I had not grown up, learned about music, and played in bands right outside of NYC (Morristown/Morris Plains, NJ), we wouldn't have the same sound. Of course, Matt---our bass player---is from the midwest, but he also is very well versed in NYC hardcore. So, one thing's for sure, the influence you're hearing is probably there.

8. Are you fans of the digital age ( Digital audio, Myspace, webzines, Sat radio) or do you miss the days of old Radio, Print zines and CD or Vinyl releases ?

We miss the old days of zines, tapes, writing letters (with paper and ink), and underground radio. I also miss carburetors, and not having a cell phone. But we also know and appreciate that the digital age aids in the awareness of music; our music, for example. We'd be way too righteous to give the middle finger to technology, and all that. It's been good to us.

9. Will there be any full scale touring going on in North America?

Oh yes. That's the plan. We've done it before, and we'll do it again.

10. Being a newly signed band to a larger Indie label out there do you have any words to newer bands how to do so?

We're astonished and beyond grateful for our good fortune. The End Records is amazing. Our advice is nothing new. But it's old for a reason: it's tried and true. Work hard, be persistent, try your best, and sacrifice. It's like anything else: athletics, business, whatever. Our signing to the End has been the result of good fortune, yes, but also a hell of a lot of hard work and sacrifice.

11. Are there any new bands out there that impress you?

Yes. There are some bands like Mastodon and Isis who really don't need our endorsement. So let me mention Jones Street Station, Constants, Giraffes, Austerity Program, Necropolis, our labelmates, Hull. Those are just a few. And I can tell you that when we see any of those bands, we are not only impressed with them as bands, but we're jealous of their skills as musicians.

12. Does your earlier material sound anything similar to Another Day Has Passed style??

Some of it. In fact, one of the songs ("Goes Cube Song 30") is an early song, and it's actually on the record.


13. I read somewhere that Goes Cube was signing to Warner Bros a while back did anything happen with that or did the The End turn out be be the best home?

We signed a distro deal with a subsidiary of Warner Music Group a few years ago. It was not a good situation. Not that anyone did anything bad or malicious. But it was an ill-advised deal, bad timing, and... well, I'll stop there. That relationship is long past now. We are 100% ecstatic about our signing to The End. They treat us so well, and their roster is incredible. It's humbling.

14. Thank you for your time any closing thoughts place
Sure: If you think this record is good (which it is), wait'll you hear the next one.

Towards Global Holocaust Interview

http://www.myspace.com/towardsglobalholocaust

1. how did Towards Global Holocaust come to be.

B. – TGH was born out of the ashes of a collusion between myself and RF in the mid-90s that never actually came to full fruition to release anything viable. At the time we were rather unbalanced individuals that tended to rant and rave about genocide, life extinction and other rather unhappy and unattainable goals. However, due to various extenuating circumstances, the project was put on hiatus as RF and I went different directions around 97/98… (literally, we both moved).. It was not until 2007/08, almost 10 years later, when we both have settled into jobs that actually allow us to survive that the ideals of TGH were reborn, albeit we are now fueled more by bitterness then outright anger….

2. The members are across the country is it hard to make the project work.

B. – It is definitely not easy… I really, really miss having practice and creation all in the same dumpster … Luckily we both have real jobs (unlike 97) and we have a little more funds for this endeavor. This means that RF can handle guitar/bass/vocal/mixing/mastering on his side, and I have found a studio near my area of residence in Arizona that has a full acoustic (my acoustic kit is in Houston) that I can do basic recording on and forward all the tracks to him so that mixing/mastering can occur… As for practice and initial drum track creation, I have a full electronic kit (Hart Dynamics), that although beat-up does give an initial idea of how the drums are going to sound. We spend a lot of time sending tracks back and forth before RF finalizes them in the East Coast compound.

RF – It can be difficult, but then again if we lived ten minutes away from each other we wouldn’t get much done besides drinking and shit talking. Most of difficulties seem to arise from our inability to work at a faster pace. Technology makes things fairly easy to work on things long-distance.

3. Your working with Scattering to the Winds Productions are you happy with all there doing?

B. – I am hoping that SttW will slowly get in gear and start to copulate with other labels and bands and form a fetid alliance with those that have like-minded unhealthy thoughts. They are just starting out right now, so I realize not a whole lot has been done.

RF – Scattered to the Winds is our own personal record label. So far the plan is to release all of our own projects (we have three or four of them) on the label as well as other bands that we are able to sign. Currently In Death I Become are recording their third full-length album and it should be out this summer. We have a couple of other things that might pan out and be released. Time will tell. It is an expensive and time consuming endeavor.

4. I see that you have a member of Bahimiron in the project has the helped get the name of TGH out there?

B – As the drummer for BAHIMIRON, I can’t really say. My band members (Grimlord, Krag, and JenOside) are all supportive of this project; so much is Grimlord that he asked us to do a split with his solo venture, Christ Dismembered (think NECROS CHRISTOS..).. that’s about as far as I’ve noticed any name association assisting.

RF – It is still early going yet so I am not sure about name association helping out. Ever Onwards… is for sale at Moribund and I seriously doubt it would be there without the name association. Other than that there isn’t much tangible evidence of it.

5. Your sound is filled with so much chaos and raw sounds. Is it hard to keep the production they way you want it?

B – The production has definitely been … difficult… RF will address this more, as he is the one that has spent the many hours trying to come up with our sound…

RF – We did all of the mixing and mastering ourselves and a good deal of the actual recording. I am learning as I go through trial and error (mostly error) so mistakes were made with Ever Onwards… . Still we are pleased with overall results and it is better than we thought we would be able to achieve. The basic elements of our sound and style are fairly easy to recognize and I think that it is relatively effective.

6. Do you call Towards Global Holocaust at Black metal project or is it more than that to the members?

B – For me personally I consider it Death Metal because we lyrically deal with mass elimination, genocide, murder and whole sale butchery heavily sprinkled napalm and other such fire born attacks assaults – mind you now, neither RF or myself are actively participating in any of these activities… And to this point, neither religion nor politics has ventured, or at least from me, will not venture into this project. RF has final say in the matter, as he is the Kommandant of this assault, but we’ve known each other 10+ years and have settled on the lyrical content as such.

That being said, there are no “hail Satan’s” etc in our assault; our musical approach, so I’m told, seems to be akin to black metal in sound – that’s fine, as long as there’s a realization we are not satanic, nor do we deal with satanic themes, something I believe Black Metal should deal with – we are metaphorically engaged in mass-elimination of humanity; if that fits the satanic credo, then perhaps we can work in tandem; though from what I know of the Laveyians and others, they want to rid themselves of ‘religion’ and those who are ‘religious’. Unfortunately that may still leave undesirables on the planet… Which (the planet), by the way has to go as well...

RF – I do not consider towards global holocaust to be a black metal band. There are so many genres and sub-genres around these days that I have no idea where we fit in. I guess that we are a metal band that is content to shriek about the destruction of all life by means of War and Fire. Genocide world wide as it were.

7. Are there any Religious or Political agenda's to Towards Global Holocaust?

B. – think I answered that one above…

RF - RF – The destruction of all religions including but not limited to : monotheism, polytheism and various pagan/nature religions, believers in any form of reincarnation or afterlife, humanism taken to such extremes that man is a regarded as a god himself, the religion of science and assorted other religions such as Satanism in all of its guises and forms.

Destroying all life will take care of all political institutions and systems as well as getting rid of religion wholesale as it is rather difficult to have religions with no followers/believers.

8. Will there be any videos coming I think the music suits the video format?

RF - RF – I think that the video format would definitely suit some of our songs. I certainly want to have a video or two made, but I don’t know enough about cinematography and computer animation to do it yet. If we had money to burn we would have videos made for several of our songs and possibly a complete film where the videos for each song combine to tell a visual and musical story. If you know of a good animator that works cheap let or that wants to be the Minister of Propaganda in our movement let us know.

B. – Unknown – we briefly discussed this, but have yet to come up with any viable ideas as of this moment.

9. Is there a running theme on ever onwards?

B. – TGH has been a concept we’ve both been part of for 10 years; during that time we’ve run into hundreds of hindrances, personal failures, and a variety of other unmentionable and deplorable activities that have prevented us from still creating this vile abomination of this EP. what we’ve always stated though is ‘ever onwards’... more akin to perhaps those who are slogging through tough times in the trenches, when they get their feet blown off, shattered with shrapnel, and doused in napalm; though these are definitely difficult times, the standing order is attack until death, and thus moving ‘ever onwards’.. just the creation process of this EP ran into a lot of problems due to living in different states, recording, mixing and mastering issues; not to mention capability with instruments, lyrics, and then just working a regular job and not going on random shooting sprees when somebody pisses you off...

RF - RF – Yes there is. It is meant to be a brief (18-19 minutes or so) chronicle of the end of all life on the planet through a final war and massive amounts of fire. The song titles are supposed to illustrate this concept in conjunction with the music. Not sure if it succeeds or not.

10. Do you miss the old days of Print Fanzines, Demo tape trading or are you for the digital age (Myspace, Mp3s, Webzines etc)

B. – I personally miss tape trading a lot... Since I do a print fanzine, of which I am working on Wheresmyskin (Terror) Issue (9-) 11.. I don’t think I miss it… heh. It’s taken me more then 1 year to finish up issue 11, but very soon it will see the light of day… I do also like some facets of technology for music; getting to listen to a demo right away, or a track from a band, definitely fulfills that ‘need to have’ about music; but it also makes it a conduit for horrible shitty ignorant personnel who know nothing about anything to ‘create’ their shit and ‘spread it’, thus causing a large amount of hysterical laughter from the norms out there.

But I have ceased thinking about all the ‘orrible shit bands out there, and concentrate on the ones I like...

RF – I don’t really care, but then again I never was connected enough to trade tapes. There will always be those that are insincere regardless of what technology is available to disseminate information.

11. Will Towards Global Holocaust ever perform live or is it just a recording project?

B. – Again, we have discussed this as well; but we are currently limited on members... just the two of us... and pulling off the vocals would need one of us to do it full time... which means we’d need further recruits..

RF – We want to play shows and plan to eventually. We need to get another member or we will need to change elements of songs so that we can perform them as a two man unit. Maybe next year we will be able to play some shows in Texas or on the East Coast, schedules permitting of course.

12. What will the newer material sound like does it have the same feeling as I see a full length coming later in 2009??

B. – Newer material will definitely be in the same vein as the EP... be prepared for more maniacal vocals intermeshed with harmonic dissident dirges/spliced rather awkwardly with blasting snare attacks… Same lyrical approach to an extent, but we’ll definitely expand a bit more when it comes to the songs... RF has a lot of ideas concerning guitar work…

RF – The plan for new songs is to keep elements that work and expand on them as well as getting rid of things that are not as effective and broadening the scope of our fairly limited musical repertoire. The production and song writing should improve considerably while still maintain the raw, chaotic, and hate filled feel that we have now. We have a split with Christ Dismembered up next followed by a full-length by the end of the year. If we ever deviate too far from our stated purpose and sound with towards global holocaust, then we will come up with a new band name for that divergent material.

13. Any closing thoughts place here.

B. – Hails for the interview.

RF – Thanks for the review and the interview. Evers Onwards…Towards Global Holocaust. Genocide

Locrian Interview

http://www.myspace.com/thelocrian

1. How did Locrian come to be?

André: I was in a band about four years ago that was offered a show and we couldn’t do it; I didn’t want to turn the show down; and I called up Terence to do something. The show was about one week after we were asked to play, so we practiced once, played the show, had fun, and we’ve been playing ever since. The show is documented on our first CDR “Setting Your Jetta On Fire.”

Terence: Around the same time André and I were playing with our wives in Unlucky Atlas and his other band, Hexacron, had broken up and they had a show to play that they couldn’t so we decided to work together on a louder and more noisey project. It was kind of an experiment that worked.

2. Your black occult noise drone sound is very much in spirit of artists like Mr Nordvargr (MZ412) , SunnO))) even Earth at times. Do you feel that drone doom and black noise sounds work well together?

André: All of those artists are great, and I’m definitely honored if you’re lumping us in with them to any extent, though I wouldn’t cite any of them as our direct influences. If you think we sound like we sound like drone doom mixed with black noise, then I think that’s a good description of a lot of our stuff. When we play, I don’t think that we think about particular styles much. Rather, we’ll talk about specific moods and emotions that we’re going for if we even talk about what we’re going to play before we do.

Terence: I think we don’t exactly sound like either of those people but thank you and our influences are much different. We think of things maybe more from a prog standpoint I guess, like Brian Eno and Robert Fripp’s work together was really important to both of us. Though we like things pretty dark and pessimistic so I guess the territory you mentioned is a fine bleak place to be.

3. Is there a running ideal of meaning behind the “Drenched Lands” release?

André: There are a lot of ideas packed into the release. The cultural critique present in a lot of our music is something that must be stated indirectly. Perhaps, I’m more interested in hearing what you think the meaning behind the release is?

There are certain contradictions that our music and artwork deals with. The cover photo of “Drenched Lands” (taken by Kelly Rix) is both beautiful and horrific at the same time. It’s an image of a dead highway, part of the old Route 66.

The same contradiction is present in the artwork on our “Greyfield Shrines” LP from Diophantine Discs, as well as our releases on Bloodlust! Greyfields are essentially outdated, failing, or failed real estate. Often, there’s no environmental rational for disuse of this land. Dead malls are great examples of this phenomenon. Brownfields, on the other hand, are contaminated cites and some of our themes deal with brownfields as well. The meaning of these images, our lyrics, and our music is something that’s best interpreted indirectly. Perhaps our message is something that can’t be stated directly, but must be evoked, or summoned, because there are so many imbrications to our work.

Our messages our more than environmental though, they are also a critique of the culture of “buying and selling stuff” that we live in, but it’s also more than that. It’s something that’s painful for us as well as joyful.

Terence: Drenched Lands comes from this William S. Burroughs novel The Soft Machine that was really influential to me. It is a line I really enjoyed from one of the cut up sections that I felt described best the dystopian dreamscape in the novel but also could apply to the decay I was envisioning with the record that I felt was like a projection to the future. Especially with the whole economic collapse in the US right now. To me the whole record, and its postscript “Greyfield Shrines”, was trying to evoke a distressed landscape that has purged most human life from it. Some post-ecological trauma and the protagonist or disembodied viewer is drifting across this wasteland transmitting this loss back to a distant station.

4. You’re working with two labels (Small-Doses & At War With False Noise) on your new CD. How did that come about?

Terence: We had met Joe from Small-Doses at a show we played in Minneapolis and really got along with him. Al was a pal from a message board; they were two guys we liked who around the same time had said they would like to work with us, we had this new record. Al and Joe are pals and they started talking about bands they would be working with and it just all came together and we could not be more happy.

André: It’s been great working with Joe at Small Doses and Al at At War With False Noise. We both really like the stuff that they put out and we really respect both of their labels.

5. Do you prefer performing live or recording your madness in the studio?

Terence: They’re both so different and unique. I really like both, but keep in mind we’ve only been in the studio three times and only two of those sessions have been released. The live experience is very freeform and loose, we try and let the ritual guide us around a certain set of parameters. However in the studio we definitely have the live conjuring in mind but tend to try and distill it even further and isolate certain movements to fit together in a more comprehensive way the engages the recorded object more.

André: I very much enjoy playing in both settings, but each should be taken on their own terms.

I saw Brutal Truth play the other day and they are putting out a new album, but it’s not out yet. They played the entire new album before playing any of their older stuff and it was funny for me to listen to their older fans during the first part of their set. These people were so mad that they had to wait for Brutal Truth to play their new stuff (which is awesome) before they played any of their old stuff. These fans essentially just wanted to hear the band regurgitate their old albums in a setting where they could bump into other people in the crowd. On top of this, Mark Solotroff from Bloodyminded and Bruce Lamont from Yakuza contributed synth and saxophone to many of their new songs. Everything sounded great over the sound system in the place. These different elements for a grind band were also too much for some of the fans. Anyway, it was an amazing show to be at and something exactly the same won’t happen ever again, and I expect that something similar won’t happen at another Brutal Truth show. I totally enjoyed it and I got a kick out of listening to these pissed off fans. I just kept thinking, “why would you even come to this show if you just want to listen to your records?”

This relates to us because if we were ever to play something from one of our studio recordings, then I would never come out the same twice. If someone shows up to our shows expecting to hear us regurgitate “Drenched Lands” then they’re going to be disappointed.

6. The Chicago scene is mixed with so many indie legends. What is the scene like today? I really think if you could get Steve Albini to produce you next title you could be legendary in you own right? Ever thought of working with the master of Big Black???

André: The Chicago noise and experimental scene is great. There are a ton of people doing interesting things: Jason Soliday; Mark Soltroff; Bruce Lamont; and great groups like The Golden Sores, Oakeater, White/Light and a bunch of others.

Terence: I think Chicago has so many great people in bands and those who are in bands who sit behind the boards or run mastering studios. The scene is all over the place, there is a ton of boring indie rock, bad hardcore, shitty punk with a ton of hype and a few bright lights. The metal and experimental scenes are really vibrant around a handful of bands, labels, record shops, etc. I think Chicago is a great music city, there are too many shows sometimes you can’t even go to all of them in the same night.

André: It’d be great to work with Albini at some point. I think that his rates are relatively cheap for him being such a superstar. We have a couple dates booked in Semaphore studios in June with Jeremy Lemos from White/Light. We worked with him for our “Plague Journal” 7” (our first studio recording) and he did a great job. We also recently worked with him with our other band, Unlucky Atlas, and he did an amazing job. We’re not sure if that will turn into a full-length, but we’re really excited about it.

Terence: Specifically the work he’s done with Whitehouse and iconic sounds he drew from The Jesus Lizard, Low, Om and Uzeda definitely put him in this interesting orbit. Though I would never want to slight the guys who have stepped up to the plate like Jeremy Lemos (from White/Light) to record us or Jason Ward or Jason Soliday to master our material. I think it is the unique experience these guys have with playing live that informs their engineering, and it is a good town as well for recording.

7. Not that you haven't been asked before but why the name Locrian?

André: As we said, we came up with the project on the spur-of-the-moment about four years ago. Soon after we were offered the show, my wife heard me talking about scales and she told me that Locrian sounded cool. Terence and I briefly discussed it and we ended up keeping it.

Terence: I liked it because no one would know what it meant and they would have to look it up. Then get confused if we wanted to talk about Greek history or obscure modes of music.

8. Will we see Locrian touring the U.S. any time soon?

André: We’re working on booking about a 10 day tour of mainly the east coast. Hopefully, that will go well. We’ll entertain show offers from other parts of the U.S., but we’re working on making this July tour solid before making any other plans.

Terence: Definitely our next show is June 6^th as a part of the two-day Matichetehew Assembly here in Chicago and then a ten-day tour in July to the south and northeast.

9. “Drenched Lands” is all I’ve heard from the project. Are the other releases or material very different from this?

André: Each release is unique, and I think that every format (tape, CD, vinyl, or whatever) are unique in certain ways as well. This is our second studio recording. Our first recording resulted in the two tracks for our “Plague Journal” 7” on Bloodlust! and on track, Visible/Invisible, that we put on a split tape with Daleth. This stuff is a lot different from our new CD, but it’s some of my favorite stuff that we’ve recorded. We sold out of the tape a long time ago, but I think that Bloodlust! has a few copies of the 7” left.

Our recent CD “Rhetoric of Surfaces”, which is also on Bloodlust!, compiles some of our out-of-print CDRs, tracks that we’ve had on limited tapes, and some unreleased stuff. A few of the tracks we recorded for this were live tracks that we did for the “Something Else” experimental radio show on WLUW that’s coordinated by Phil Von Zweck. We really like this CD. We thought out every track that we put on it and got it mastered by Jason Soliday so that it sounds like a very coherent album.

Terence: However Drenched Lands is the fruition of a lot of ideas we had been exploring. I think it stands out but if you listen to our other material you can see that all of it lead to this point, though it has more defined vocals with actual lyrics. It took me four years to write any lyrics to what we’re doing.

10. Why is the vinyl release of “Drenched Lands” coming on a third label (Bloodlust!)?

André: Everything just turned out that way. We’ve worked with Bloodlust! in the past. It’s run by Mark Solotroff, and we know him well and we really trust him with our release. Since we feel that every format is unique, we’re going to make the vinyl version different than the CD version of “Drenched Lands” in some way. We still need to figure out what we’re going to do with this, but we’re planning to include some kind of bonus material. “Greyfield Shrines” is the bonus track on the “Drenched Lands” CD. This track will not be included on the vinyl version. I think that the vinyl edition will be completed later in the year.

Terence: Mark (Bloodlust!) is a very good friend and has supported practically since we started and released two of our other releases; the “Plague Journal” 7” and the CD “Rhetoric of Surfaces”. We are firm believers in having our material on multiple formats, we are big fans of vinyl and I know having it on vinyl will dredge certain frequencies that are lost on CD plus be an object more listeners can be engaged with. I think CDs are problematic, not many people listen to them. Sure they rip it on to the computer but the actual disc is such an afterthought. It is just a vessel to grab information from.

11. Are Locrian fans of the digital age (Myspace, Webzines, Digital Audio etc)? Do you miss the day of old print zines, tape trading and FM/college radio??

André: I’m not sure what the people that listen to us think. I definitely like print zines and they are still around, but perhaps they are different now. We just received the new Oaken Throne which looks awesome and everything about it is high quality. Perhaps a zine like that would have been more difficult for people to put together ten of fifteen years ago. I think that the digital age presents people with the possibility of making really nice looking stuff for cheaper.

People trade stuff with us all of the time, which is often something that we like a lot. And, we listen to the “Something Else” program on the radio frequently, so I don’t think that the days of interesting radio stations are over. I’d certainly like to get a website up for us so that we can delete our Myspace account. I get irritated whenever I have to be subjugated to all of the irrelevant adds in order to get to our account. Someday, Myspace will be a virtual greyfield.

Terence: Then MySpace will contain a certain nostalgia, like 8-bit or something. To continue from the last question, we’re not some luddites but we certainly appreciate print zines over web materials, and the sound of a cassette or vinyl over a super compressed mp3. I miss having radio I actually enjoy listening to, though I guess Chicago is better then most towns. The web is a wonderful way to find out about music and discover bands that were maybe looked over by the hegemony of history but it is not a good spot to find quality samples. That is fine and perhaps the internet is now what college radio once was. Though I would say that I am way more interested in zines and magazines now that deal with music and art and kind of put their money where their mouth is. I agree that a good example would be the great black metal zine Oaken Throne that is really well produced with good art, great articles, thoughtful reviews, it comes with a CD and is totally DIY and focuses on really underground groups. The quality is very high, or magazines like Rock-A-Rolla.

12. What can we expect from future releases as it looks like you have several unreleased pieces of material ready??

André: We just recorded some new stuff and most of it doesn’t have a home yet. We’ve been collaborating with Andrew from Velnias for a while. We recorded a track with him that will be on our upcoming split 7” with Harpoon on the HeWhoCorrupts Inc. label.

We also recorded a track with Mark Solotroff that’s apparently going to be on the new Bloodyminded album, “Within The Walls.” That track turned out really well and I can’t wait to hear a mastered version of it.

We also collaborated with Bruce Lamont and Blake Judd from Nachtmystium. We did an organ heavy piece with Bruce that we’ve already mixed which turned out great and we recorded two other tracks with those two that we still need to mix. Other than that stuff, which to my ears is still unfinished, we don’t have much unreleased material that is of high enough quality in order to be released.

We’d like to do a split LP with The Golden Sores, a great Chicago drone band. We’re not sure what material we’re going to use for that, but we’re looking for someone who wants to put that out.

Terence: We are also self-releasing a VHS + 3” CD called “Land of Decay” that will feature a few live sets on video and a previously unreleased live set on the 3” CD in a limited edition.

13. Thank you for your time any closing thoughts here?

André: Thanks for speaking with us!

Terence: Thank you for caring about what we’re doing.

New Reviews 3/21/2009 @ Absolute Zero Media

Gollum-The Core- CD (Rotten Records)

Rotten records loves the sludge bass sound in there metallic acts. Gollum come from a Thrash/ Hardcore crossover vibe there is a strong Leeway and Cromags vibe to all things that go into Gollums sound. The vocals are very raw and is that throaty style that fit well with the very thrash guitars at time have a very good harmony going on other times I'm waiting for John Joesph to come just the band as there vocalist at time has a very early cromags hardcore sound. This album in 1992 would have been huge in the US crossover scene. Though now it sounds a bit retro. This isn't a slag but more of a love of there musical past which is very clear. Gollum at time even remind me of the very underated Mucky Pup. If you miss a more experimental Hardcore element in your music then Gollum is your cure. Enough said...

http://www.rottenrecords.com/




Leprous- Tall Poppy Syndrome-CD (Sensory Records)

Well this band has come out of left field for me by good God Damn does it impress me. Sensory is known for its Avant Prog Metal bands but with Leprous your getting Pop, Jazz, Melody, Death Metal, Prog Rock and More. Leprous remind me alot of Opeth and Katatonia current day. SO the more electronic, epic less Death but still very metal.The Majestic guitars, clean vocals interwined with the Grim/ Growled vocals and the very Bluesy/ Jazzy guitar / bass movements is all the more to love this 5 piece from Norway. The Piano and Synth work just elevates the band to another level too. The Drums are complex and laid back all in the same song and these track are Epic to say the least. There from the Same home town as Emperor and the Synth player toured with Emperor on US reunion tour. Tall Poppy Syndrome is a CD that must be experienced not just heard live this must be simply amazing. Another notch in the belt of the best Prog Metal label in the world Sensory....

http://www.lasercd.com/




Towards global holocaust- Ever onwards- CD (Scattered to the Winds Productions)

Chaos, Madness, Suffering fucking Black Metal these are the 1st words that come to my mind when hearing this ep from Towards global holocaust. The vomit vocal and blast beats, raw blistering guitar, bass rumble and just the noise and whirlwind of sounds coming from the first few tracks makes me goto bands like Bahimiron this is an all out war on the world. A more perfect home would not be Moribund Cult or Drakkar in France. If you like your Metal for the end of days then look no further . There are some slow almost harmonic moments but they just add to the over all atmosphere to a world on the brink of extinction. The vocal just keep taking me to the edge of madness. Ever onwards is a Black metal release like very few other. Well worth checking out...

www.myspace.com/scatteredtothewinds





Locrian- Drenched Lands-CD ( Small Doses/ At war with false noise)

I received this and I'm going for broke as I've never heard of Locrian before. Drenched Lands is a lot to take in at just one sitting it's over an hour in length and it mixes many styles, ideals and sounds. If there is Ambient Post Black metal drone then I'm going to say Locrian are the kings this duo from chicago are mixing bands like Earth, MZ412, Lustmord, SunnO))), Ten Horned Beast and making it all there own. There is a bleak and desolationist over tone going on and some of the tones and noises going on here are just out of shear pain and emotion. Black Drone is very hard to do well and Drenched Lands is throbbing and oozing with a level of success and mastery most don't achive in several releases. There are a few project out there I think Locrian would call brothers in arms. Kerovnian (RIP), Sleep Research Facility two name a few. Small Doses you need to send me more material to review this was total enjoyment to hear a drone band take sounds and make them into this!!!!! The fuck up vocal cries are just beauty to my ears!!!!

http://www.small-doses.com/



Dead Sea Surfers-S/T-CD ( Dead Phish Records)

Why did i get this Goth Rock or Death Rock is just weak at best and this band is just a total rip of of Sisters of Mercy and Peter Murphy right down to the guitar tones and vocal effects. The Cult with electric even did a better just of ripping of Sisters of Mercy. I'm sorry but the one dimensional synth arrangements are just too much for me to go any further. Major Pass....

http://www.myspace.com/deadseasurfers





Mothra- Dyes- CD (SelfMadeGod)

So I will be the 1st to say I have not been a fan of a lot of the titles SelfMadeGod have put out but Mothra is the exception to the rule as this CD is kicking my ass. Mixing all the elements of Post Hardcore, Death Metal and Grindcore I love to make its one balls out attack to the aural area. If you could put the best parts of Entombed, Godflesh, Neurosis, Isis and Sick of it all into one package you will come close to what Mothra have unleashed with Dyes. The edgy tone to the manic guitars, stop on drum/ bass stop/ start movements. The love of the old school Death/Grind vocals is the icing on the top of this amazing metallic cake. Mothra are a band on the rise enjoy!!!!

http://www.selfmadegod.com/




Egoist-Ultra Selfish Revolution-CD (SelfMadeGod)

Wow has SMG made a change for the better no more 3rd rate gore or grind bands on this round of Cd's sent out . Egoist reminds me of Strapping Young Lads meets Voivod in a electronic haze and Prog metal assault. This is one of the coolest/ hippest Avant Metal records I've heard in a long time. There is a Jazz element but its more in the controled chaos of it all. There are break and drum and bass elements going on that add sounds familar to newer Ulver, Massive Attack, Tricky etc. There is a strong love of Industrial metal here as well I mean more in the Thought Industry/ Screw/ Revolting Cocks Industrial metal side too. Egoist is just something that came out of left field for me. SelfMadeGod may have one of the releases of 2009 with Egoist for this review.....

http://www.selfmadegod.com/




BLACK SEAS OF INFINITY - Hieros-Gamos-CD (Autumn Wind Productions)

Ritualistic Ambient, Occult Industrial. Black Seas of Infinity are just want a band with this name should sound like . Unnerving, Spacial, Drifting with heavy chanting and dark sounding drones and chimes. It does get almost Neo Classic in a minimalist way at times with the percussive blasts. This is music to open the door ways to other realms and to the days of Heathen Past gone by. If you want to speak to the God's of old look no further as Heiros-Gamos will take you there. The invokations are being spoken very clear. This is 4 track over 70 minutes of chilling soundtrack material. Housed in a beautiful digipak with a huge booklet of amazing full color artwork. All should check out Black Seas of Infinity as this is a true labor of love.

http://autumnwp.com/




A Minority of one- bathe in fiery answer- CD (Autumn Wind Productions)

All I know is The main man behind the almost perfect (At the head of the woods) is a member of this project his name is James Woodhead and this should be listened to just for that. I will say the 1st 3 minutes is not winning me over its a vocal layered piece of a Bass and Alto and it is getting very long winded at this point. There both talented vocalist just seems to be even to minimalist for me. I never thought I would say this but maybe this is just way over my head and way to avant for my understanding. There doesnt seem to be any focus at all . Its mixs Tribal, Ritualistic, Chanting, Industrial and Percussion that is never ending. Its like a field recording gone wrong. I've never disliked a AWP release. I think there needs to be a 1st time for everything. A Minority of one is just not something I can love or even like. I can respect what there doing at an art just not needed to be put on CD. I bet live in the right setting this could be very cool.

http://autumnwp.com/