Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Abhorrent Decimation Interview

1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording and release of the new album?

So since releasing Miasmic Mutation, we worked on a press campaign to push some more sales out, couple of cool bits of editorial and things of that ilk. We just went out on a UK & EU tour and have played a few fantastic one off's in between. The press campaign was very successful, sales and the public response has been incredible pre and post release. Just recently I begun collaborating with a media director to work with me on directing 2 new music videos to further support the album, we plan on releasing both of these before the summer, so this is keeping us busy. We are in the early stages of ordering Miasmic Mutation in on vinyl too! This thing will look stunning if the mock ups are anything to go by! Apart from that, I'm just booking as many shows around the country as I can to spread the name and keeping my ear to the ground for tour supports.

2. In September you had released a new album, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording and also how does it differ from the ep you had released in 2013?

The album is just relentless in my opinion. Filled with super catchy, memorable moments. We took a bunch of influence from some our favourite Death, Thrash and Black releases while writing this as well as some fancy literature (The Divine Comedy). The album sounds totally different to the EP. More refined I guess. On the full length we had a sense of direction and vision while writing. Whereas the EP was our first attempt at writing something together. So on that EP we just tried a bunch of different things, recorded and released it. Then we toured it to get an understanding of what we wanted to elaborate on further for the full length. While we was touring the EP we established that we liked to keep it relentless but catchy, as the more classically formulated tunes would not only feel better to play but would also go down much better live in terms of crowd participation and interaction.

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the newer music?

On this record, I took a lot more time to develop a chain of stories. A few of the tracks are based on total fantasy but the vast majority of the songs are actually based on personal reflections on subjects or matters I was dealing with at the time of writing. To sum up the records lyrical content as briefly as possible, I'd say its essentially a series of musings of life, written by a person who is simply trying to understand the world around him and the feelings within him.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Abhorrent Decimation'?

I guess on the surface, the name conjures up ideas of horrible, gruesome destruction. But really it's more calculated than that, the word 'decimation' is derived from latin - meaning "removal of a tenth", a term used in the Roman Army when punishing large groups guilty of  mutiny or abandonment. These days, it's used as another word for annihilation OR more to the point - is used to refer to an extreme reduction in the number of a population or force. A huge part of our message is about the eradication of faith and the belief in false idols.

5.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?

We love all the shows really, touring is great fun for us BUT we really love the festivals, we played Bloodstock Open Air in 2014, we hope to return soon. We was also privileged enough to be invited to play the last ever Neurotic Deathfest in 2015. That was a really great fest and a huge honour. We like the festivals as we like to get going live, we prefer the larger stages so we can go bonkers and do our thing. I guess we all have our own style, we're not one of these bands that just pins their ears back and gets on with it, we enjoy the music we play and I think that comes off live. I'm a huge advocate for crowd participation when I'm up there, I want to hear you chanting with me, I like to see you having a good time at our shows, we're there to entertain. Walls of death and circle pits, these things just make the show complete. 

6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?

Yes! We are getting out there a fair bit over the next 6 months, mainly weekend warrior stuff, we will take a larger tour in the summer. We've a lot of demand to get up north and also to go back into the mainland again, so I'm working hard on getting us booked out. We have a few shows that we have announced at the moment but there is a lot more to be dropped in the next few weeks...

27/02 Guildford | The Star Inn | w/Omnipotent Hysteria
05/03 Brighton | The Green Door | Store w/Meta-Stasis
28/05 Southampton | The Firehouse | Annihilation Fest

7.According to the Metal Archives page the band is signed to Cold Birth Records, can you tell us a little bit more about this label?

Sure, I actually set that label up with a friend of mine shortly before we put out the first Abhorrent Decimation EP. Having the label there has proved very useful with regards to getting the CD into retail outlets and listed with distributors across EU. Our intention was to run a full on label and put out releases from other artists but my time became so heavily soaked up by the band and a few of the other businesses I work with that it has not become possible yet. One day my partner and I will develop on the roster and release a bunch of stuff, I'm sure of it. We have learnt with the Abhorrent Decimation releases about how to make something work at retail. The labels first release, for example "Infected Celestial Utopia - CB001" is now totally SOLD OUT, Miasmic Mutation keeps going out of stock over at Amazon and our distributors are regularly ordering, so things are going well with that!  

8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of death metal?

We haven't heard much bad. Press from around the world has been awesome, lots of 8's and 9's out of 10 and some really strong, constructive feedback. Response from a sales perspective have been far beyond our expectation and it seems people get exactly what we are trying to do. I am very proud of what we have achieved as an "independent" band with our releases, so can't wait to see what can happen, should we team up with a label...

9.Are any of the band members also involved with any other bands or musical projects these days?

I'm actually the only one writing with a new project at the moment. I've been lucky enough to have the opportunity to write and sing with a totally new band, we hope to have the first record out at the end of 2016. The guys I am collaborating with currently perform at a much higher level than me, so it is a fantastic opportunity for me as a vocalist and a total honour, I could not say no. Sadly I can't divulge any more information than that at this stage.

10.Where do you see the band heading int musically during the future?

We've had some really exciting developments within the band these last few weeks, so we've been forced to split off into a few little writing groups and begin some primary writing sessions to try and get a gauge on what evolution we would like to make on the sound, so we can create the follow up to Miasmic. This time we will be working much more as a unit, so i expect this will change the sound a reasonable amount, we will be drawing on influence from all the members and their interests, whilst trying to maintain that Abhorrent Decimation sound. You can most likely expect something darker and theatrical. We want to take it to a darker place generally, that's for sure. We've also begun shooting some actual music videos as a follow up on the Miasmic Mutation album we put out last September. We did a cool enough lyric video for the first single but I was very keen to get the guys out and shoot something deeper and more developed to put out to the fans and drive the release a little more. So keep an eye out for those too!

11.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your newer music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

I don't think we really feel influenced in that way when it comes to our writing. Sure, we must get it from somewhere but it just doesn't feel like a direct comparison can be made when you compare what we are influenced by against our output as a band. We all listen to such different music in this band that I think we just found our sound. I mean, when I first started this band, I wanted us to draw influence from some of the older gear; Suffocation, Deicide, Cannibal Corpse, Morbid Angel etc. and then spice it up with some more modern influence like Inveracity, Decapitated and Gorod, bands like this. But really, that didn't happen at all, ha.

12.What are some of your non musical interests?
Me personally, I mean my life pretty much revolves around my family and music. If I'm not writing, I'm listening. I kind of have a split personality when it comes to music though. I'm always trying to find exciting new metal to listen to, I spend hours a day doing it. And then there is this other side of me that is really into my old school, 70's/80's Rare groove, Funk and Soul music, I love a bit of Disco too. And for me, it is the perfect juxtapose. In fact, I feel this genre of music influenced me more in the vocal writing of Miasmic Mutation than any metal influence. There is an art to story telling in these generes, that I really want to master myself and some of the really juicy funk and soul cuts do a great job of that. Anyway, I'm rambling now. My main non musical interests would have to be reading and art. I try to keep my imagination ignited with a book, I always have a few on me, or something that excites me visually. It does wonders for my writing. I dabble with drawing and painting too but I seldom have time for that these days.

13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Just a big HI to all our fans and a huge thank you from all of us in the band for your support with our last record. We really appreciate you!
If you haven't heard us yet, can I encourage you to listen to us via BandCamp or Spotify. Links are below...

https://abhorrentdecimation.bandcamp.com/
spotify:album:4iNBAvrk5ihHzrNpZBHLyT

ERADICATE FAITH |  OBLITERATE BELIEF

Thanks
Ashley; Abhorrent Decimation

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