―Thank you for taking your time. Firstly, Could you tell us about the brief history of SUMMONED BY GIANTS?
We started the band in late 2014 when Jordo and Patrick’s 2 Bass Guitar project Entmoot had run its course and Sean was wanting to play drums in a band after playing guitar in a band called Pouch. At that point we were a 3 piece. Later Sean wanted to go back to guitar because he kept destroying his knuckles on the snare. Blood everywhere after every show. We recruited Mel from their other project Lion Pincher and shifted all of those songs into SBG.
――What does the band name mean or refer to?
Jordo is a big Lord of the Rings fan. Has something to do with trees hanging out together. We all just love that name.
――Congrats on your album “Azimuth”! Where was the album recorded and how was the recording process?
Recording happened in May of 2018 at Soundhouse studio in Seattle and was engineered by our good Friend Mikel Perkins. We took about 5 days to record and mix. Most of the first day was just getting 5-6 takes of every song and doing little tweaks and edits here and there. We did a full two days of mixing and over dubbing using Jack Endino’s array amps including one that Kurt Cobain had supposedly used. Once we were done, Mikel spent a few weeks sitting on the mix before calling it done. He really wanted to take his time to make sure it was perfect. Later we got it mastered in the same studio and released it on January 21st 2019 the night of the blood moon.
――SUMMONED BY GIANTS is described, categorized as doom/stoner band but the album has vast variety of musical element. What are your thoughts?
It’s really hard to just tell people what we sound like with a single genre or category. Basically it’s impossible. We are Metal band but we also have groove songs. Some songs are kind of punk and blues or have a kind of Desert Rock feel. Some of our newer stuff that we are playing on this tour is definitely Doom, there is no disputing that. Jordo has some epic stoner riffs up his sleeve as well. Everyone in the band writes songs and we all enjoy a huge amount of different music. Also we all come from different parts of the country. Jordo is from Boston. Sean grew up in Michigan. Mel grew up in Washington DC, and Patrick is from Seattle. The band definitely reflects the influences we grew up around. We never want to become too predictable or forced into a particular way of writing music. That way it’s never boring. If we are constantly reinventing what the band is we can take it where ever we want.
――So you are going to touring Japan with Floaters. Did you know about them? Also do you know any other Japanese band/musician?
Our Friend Matt is running this exchange program called Kaala and asked us if we wanted to do this tour shortly after we recorded. He paired us up with Floaters. After giving them a listen they sound like a perfect match for us to tour with. We all really like the stuff they’ve been playing and are really excited to rock out with them.
Being from the US we of course love Boris. But we also like Sigh, Eternal Elysium, and Nocturnal Bloodlust.
We are hoping to be suprised by all the other bands we are playing with this tour.
――How would you descirbe the live experience of SUMMONED BY GIANTS?
Loud, humongous riffs. Things will seem to get very chaotic and noisy but then stop immediately. Our music goes through a wide range of emotions so you are going to get that delivered to your face. Sean’s guitar sound is constantly changing and morphing into all kinds of different shapes. Patrick tends to throw himself around a lot these days so expect that he might just end up playing from the back of the bar. The band loves big outros that could just go on forever if they wanted to.
――What are you looking forward to the most in Japan?
Leaving the USA is such a relief. A big breath of fresh air away from a land that seems to celebrates the stupidest parts of humanity. Getting out and experiencing a different walk of life is totally what everyone in the band needs. We have been dreaming of going on tour since we started playing together and we are just overwhelmed with the idea that we get to do what we love here in Japan. We really want to check out the guitar stores and try out a bunch of new pedals that we can’t get in the USA.
That being said both Sean and Mel have Japanese family and are excited to be able to see them again.
Patrick used to work for Nintendo and was fired for being such a pain in the ass, so he is hoping to flip off the world headquarters. He is a big nerd and wants to challenge the locals to whatever fighting game is hot right now.
――Finally, Would you like to send a message to Japanese fans?
Q1. Thank you for doing this. Firstly, how did Hexvessel become a band?
Mat McNerney(Vocals, Guitar)
I think it was like falling in love. I was making private songs at home. Love songs and personal spiritual songs that were not really meant to be released.
At some point some good-willing friends persuaded me to put them on to a record, and I recorded the debut album Dawnbearer with the help of some musician friends. But it was more like a solo record of my songs, with a bit of help from session members.
I played some of those songs at my wedding to my wife on acoustic guitar and it was the first time I had played them live. I was very nervous and I don’t play guitar so well on my own. So I was aware that if I was to play the Hexvessel songs live it should be with a band. A proper band. But I wanted a group of people who had some magic in them. Magic the way I had read that Captain Beefheart’s Magic Band were magic.
At our wedding we had a band called Dark Buddha Rising playing for us. I was caught under their spell. They had a magic aura around them. They were just radiating and they were hippies but man were they dark gems. I realised then and there that if anyone was gonna play my songs with me it would have to be them.
After the wedding I asked them if they would like to be my backing band. They were shocked because they were going to ask me to sing on one of their records.
So that’s how it came to be. I sang on their 3rd record and they joined me on my 2nd record. Hexvessel came about with members from Dark Buddha Rising joining as my backing band.
Along the way we met Niini who plays bass and Kimmo who plays the keys and the violin and trumpet and we became a real band. It felt that we have grown into something totally different. Like a real family. Born out of love.
Q2. What does the name Hexvessel mean or refer to?
Mat
To me it means “spiritual journey.” A Hexvessel is a carrier of spells. It is a vehicle for spiritual travel. It’s the embodiment of your life’s magic work that will carry you and bear you into enlightenment. For me it means hope, dreams and a search for meaning in the universe.
Q3. Could you describe Hexvessel’s sound to our readers who haven’t heard you yet?
Mat
The sound is an unearthly amalgamation of folk and cosmic, psychedelic 60s/70s rock music. There is a deep vein of blues and progressive rock spirit within, spurred on by our influences from Beefheart, Bo Hanson, The Doors, Camel, Ultimate Spinach and Mahavishnu Orchestra, Bob Dylan and early Steeleye Span. I would say that if you like delving into real, obscure and rare vintage, deep music, you will understand and appreciate something about us. It’s about alchemy and magic and we believe in the power of music to transform and transport you. We’re all about connections and connecting this world to the other.
Q4. You’re known as black, death metal musician before Hexvessel. What made you to play folk music?
Mat
For me it was about musical purity. Making the dead sing again. Folk music is about pure song. It’s a story. The story and song within us. It’s about getting to the source of what it is to be human and part of a much bigger story, of the nature of our planet. I was on a journey when I started getting into making black metal music. I wanted to continue that journey and what I was searching for. Black metal is good access music when you are young to break on through to the other side. It helps you to understand the concept of music, that music is within us. People talk about the “ black metal feeling” and that feeling is musical enlightenment. It’s reaching the gods. It’s actually inside the core of all good music. But black metal is one way to learn how to get there quickly. Easy access. But I wanted to keep on going. It felt that my internal song was more rooted in folk music where I could get right down to the source of the music in a much purer way, and closer to what I wanted to say and to the spirits of inspiration. Folk instruments are made from the nature itself. Old bones, ancient trees, animal guts etc. They make the dead sing again and tell the stories of our natural history. It’s like the sound of DNA. I think that’s what attracts me to folk music. If it’s death you want, it’s got it all and more. For me it’s both darker but also lighter and more enlightening.
Q5. How were you first exposed to music? Which bands and artists influenced you as musicians?
Mat
I was first exposed to music as a boy, laying on the floor of our family library and my father was playing Paul Simon’s Graceland album. For me Simon and Garfunkel were one of the first things that I truly fell in love with in music, along with Nat King Cole, Sam Cooke and Roy Orbison. My father was a big Elvis fan and so I grew up on a heavy diet of Elvis and also John Lennon. He wasn’t really a Beatles fan, but more of a Lennon fan and that’s something I think I carried on from him in. I really love John Lennon but it’s only in later life that I discovered the Beatles. I didn’t grow up with them. The Beach Boys was a band that as a kid I listened to a lot. I think I had a hidden stash of porno mags and I used to flick through and look at these retro girls while the Beach Boys played on my stereo ha ha. I think the first 7” I bought was The Beastie Boys and the first LP was Michael Jackson’s BAD.
Later, as a teenager I think it was The Cure and The Doors that were the two most important bands for me and that’s when I kind of changed from being a listener to a music lover. It was like falling down Alice’s rabbit hole. I was lost forever in a new and insane world! 🙂
Q6.You moved to Finland from UK. Does living in Finland have influence on your creativity?
Mat
Yes absolutely. Finland has a very beautiful landscape. I love the nature and people’s connection to nature. It’s one of the biggest land-masses in Europe but a very small population. It’s an isolated place surrounded by vast forests. I have always been very into nature and the forests and the countryside. From being a boy-scout, camping in the English countryside, to spending long summers on my uncle’s farm in Ireland. I found the natural world to be closer to my imaginary world. It was and still is a place where my dreams and reality meet. I read a book by Terry Brooks when I was a kid called Magic Kingdom For Sale Sold. I found the story of this book to somehow mirror my life. My life in the UK was reality and the real world and Finland was/is the magic kingdom of Brooks story.
Q7. How would you describe the music scene of Finland?
Mat
Psychedelic! He he. I think that the psych rock scene right now is very strong. It’s ruled by a band called Circle and then there’s bands like Pharaoh Overlord, Death Hawks, Oranssi Pazuzu, Dark Buddha Rising, Domovoyd. The Finnish music scene is very open. People of all kinds of music genres go to each other’s shows. It’s not segregated like in other countries. I like that at a Hexvessel show you can find goths, hippies, blackmetallers, folk people and weirdos. All kinds of freaks co-existing.
Q8. I can find the paganism, occult, shamanism from the lyrics and music video. What is these culture for you?
Mat
It’s spiritual questing. I think it’s about exploring the culture of spiritual adventure. I like how the old occultists, shamans and pagans were finding mysticism within nature and the fabric of the universe rather than some made-up stories in the bible. I enjoy the idea that magic is out there and I really love connecting that with my music. I read a lot about the occult and people like Crowley. I am also very into my pagan ancestry, being of celtic heritage and my roots in the UK and Ireland. I think what it all means to me is the idea that there is something more to life. I like the idea of breaking our reality tunnels and delving into the abyss to see what we might find.
Q9.Rosie from Purson and Alia from Blood Ceremony was participated to “Iron Marsh”. How did that go? Both of the band are known as modern-retro, psych doom band. What are your thoughts on these bands?
Mat
I love and support both bands. That’s why I asked them to participate on our record too. I think we have some things in common with both bands. I also love the idea of strong talented women taking control of their music and writing and leading bands. I think it’s a nice shift in our scene and since we also have 2 girls in our band I feel we’re all helping to
Q10.You recorded Yoko Ono cover “Women of Salem” for “Iron Marsh”. I think it surprised everyone. What made you to play this song?
Mat
I’ve always admired Yoko Ono. I think she’s a really under-rated artist as a musician. I think she helped produce a lot of John Lennon’s greatest songs and albums and was a far greater influence on his music and music in general than anyone gives her credit for. I loved the song when I started to delve into her back-catalogue and it’s from an album called Feeling The Space which I think is excellent. I just felt that the song could be finished up and done in a different way. That’s always the sign of a good cover, if you can take it in a different direction and let the song take a new life-form. I felt that we did that.
It’s interesting because after that the South Bank had a big event celebrating her influence in music and it kind of solidified my opinion and also helped to reinforce the idea that she has been a massive part in the avatgarde music movement. She has also be a provocateur and an agent for good, changing people’s views about women in art and music and about Japanese people too. I think she opened a lot of doors and inspired a lot of people around the world to create and to work for peace.
Q11. Do you know any other Japanese band/artist?
Mat
I love Flower Travelling Band. Joe Yamanaka was one of my favourite singers. I also really love Acid Mothers Temple and then composers like Ryuichi Sakamoto have been a massive influence on my music. I loved the music by electronic artist Susumu Yokota. I loved the minimalism. I am a big fan of the directors Kurosawa and Miyazaki. I like the band Mono. I think I like a lot of Japanese music actually! When I visited Japan I went up Takaosan (Mount Takao) and it was my favourite place that I visited. It was beautiful. I have very fond memories of Japan.
Q12. You have a new EP and full length album coming out soon. The latest biography mentioned that “Moving into the next phase”. Care to share any details? Previewed track “Earth Over Us” reminds me of 60s psychedelic surf rock stuff.
Mat
Yes the new album is called When We Are Death. It’s another step for us. There’s a bit of 60s pop, some psychedelic rock, some folk and then also some doom rock and progressive rock in there. It’s heavy and deep, slow and hard, beautiful and sad, but ultimately uplifting. The message of the album is one of happiness and enlightenment. I think it’s our deepest, greatest and most honest record. We worked harder on this record than any other before. It’s an ambitious work and I think it shows that we love it as a band. I could die now, happy that this record would be my testament.
“When We Are Death”(2016)
Q13.Which bands and musicians albums are you currently enjoying? Any recommendations you can give to our readers for bands to check out.
Mat
I haven’t been able to delve too deeply into releases as I would have liked this year, so I missed out on a ton of cool stuff I bet – but I traded it for recording two of the best albums of my life – one with Hexvessel and the other with my other band Grave Pleasures, touring like mad and together with Marja brought a beautiful little boy into this world.
But anyway here’s my year list so far of what I had time to check out:
DØDHEIMSGARD – A Umbra Omega (their best album and easily my #1 of the year)
UNCLE ACID – The Nightcreeper (fuzzy Beatles worship – can’t get enough – still really enjoy this band)
FUZZ – II (The best Sabbathian fuzz rock since Witch)
SATURNALIA TEMPLE – To The Other (Deep drone worship! Love the sound on this album)
DEATH HAWKS – Sun Future Moon (Finnish kraut-rock – a really laid-back and trippy record)
WAND – 1000 Days (Garage rock with some kraut – great songs and riffs)
JOHN KRAUTNER – Fun With Gum Vol1 (amazingly catchy songs – dangerously so – been my summer ear-worm)
DARK BUDDHA RISING – Inversum (Finland’s heaviest band – an audio drug)
SEXWITCH – Sexwitch (like Goat making out with Portishead at an ethnic party)
ABYSSION – Luonnon Harmonia Ja Vihreä Liekki (the first release from my Secret Trees label. Top notch far-out Finnish psychedelic blackmetal)
SECRETS OF THE MOON – Hole (next level stuff!)
If I could tell your readers to check out Finnish bands then I would say listen to Circle and then also Domovoyd and Oranssi Pazuzu.
Q14. Finally, Would you like to send a message to Japanese fans?
Mat
As Miyazaki says in Castle In The Sky:
“The Earth speaks to all of us, and if we listen, we can understand.”
We hope that you like our new record and that you can hear the earth speaking through it. We hope that we can travel to Japan and play for you all some day soon.
Q1. Thanks for doing this. Firstly could you tell us about the history of Salem’s Pot?
Salem’s Pot
It started out with two friends and hopelessness, in a town where no one wants to know you.
We decided to do something together and that was the birth of the concept.
The direction came pretty naturally with both of us being huge fans of sleazy old horror movies and Black Sabbath.
We asked a couple of friends to play bass and drums and recorded a demo called “Sweeden”.
We have been through different drummers since then and still haven’t found one.
The Eagle, who played drums on our album, is really a guitar player and has now switched to a second guitar.
Q2. “…Lurar ut dig pa prarien” was released in April. Was it a hard or easy album to record for?
Salem’s Pot
Both actually. We weren’t really that rehearsed and there was some tension in the air from time to time, but that’s only natural. All in all it went pretty well.
“Lurar ut dig pa prarien” (2014)
Q3. What gear did you use and where did you record it?
Salem’s Pot
We basically used what we had at the moment. Ribbon microphones for the drums and broken percussions. A girlfriend’s shruti-box and my grandmother’s old accordion.
It was recorded at the same place where we rehearse, an old asylum actually. Don’t think we are alone up there..
Q4. The artwork and music video has a lot of B-horror, grindhouse stuff.
Does literature or film influence your music? What is your favorite?
The promo pics which you wearing creepy mask were remind me “Last House on Dead End Street” by the way.
Salem’s Pot
Yes, a lot actually. When we started out only one of us did play an instrument (guitar) and the other took care of the visual parts,
so film is definitely half of the concept. There are too many to mention one, but a lot of giallo and spaghetti-western.
When it comes to literature we should mention Hunter S. Thompson and Bukowski.
“Last House on Dead End Street” is great, so is Alice sweet Alice.
“Alice, Sweet Alice” (1976)
Q5. The album was released via Riding Easy Records. How did that go?
Salem’s Pot
(WMKY) was released on cassette by Ljudkassett and Daniel Hall bought an ex.
He then e-mailed us and asked if we wanted to release it on vinyl, which we of course did.
So he went on to form Easy Rider Records and the rest is history!
Q6.Also “Ego Trip/Yer Doom” was released in September. That’s short period and both songs are different style from “…Lurar ut dig pa prarien”. Does this style reflect to the next album?
Salem’s Pot
Yes and no. We have never wanted to stick to a certain genre or style of music, we just wanted to release a 7″ and to do that we had to shorten the songs.
We’re also getting to know eachother better and can do more than just play the same riff for 20 minutes.
Also we have more riffs now and are trying to get better at putting them together.
“Ego Trip/Yer Doom” (2014)
Q7. Which bands and artists influenced you as musicians?
Salem’s Pot
Musically anything from Merle Haggard to Ngozi Family, Howlin’ Wolf to Dead Moon, Woody Guthrie to Hawkwind.
But also giallos, exploitation, spaghetti-westerns and weird horror movies or weird movies overall.
A lot of Goblin and Morricone of course.
Q8. I’d like to ask you about some your old stuff. I read that “Sweeden” was recorded at old mental hospital. Is that true? How did that go?
Salem’s Pot
Yes. The building where we rehearse used to be an asylum until 1969.
“Sweeden” (2012)
Q9. Wicked Lady cover ”Run the Night” was recorded to “Watch Me Kill You”. Do you digging obscure 70s music? If so what you find so special in the 70’s music?
Salem’s Pot
Very much so. There was so much frustration and honesty, both in the lyrics and the raw productions.
Like “Enough with the flowers, my friends are dying from overdoses and there’s a war going on.”
“Watch Me Kill You” (2013)
Q10. I’m sure about that you guys love to be stoned. What is your favorite bland and way to smoke?
Salem’s Pot
I love waking up in the middle of the night to find a half-finished joint in the ashtray, smoke it and watch Russ Meyer-movies before falling asleep again.
Q11. Do you know any Japanese band or film?
Salem’s Pot
Far Out, Blues Creation, Gedo and Flower Travellin’ Band of course.
Some of us grew up watching Ginga nagareboshi gin, Starzinger and Space Adventure Cobra as kids and are still watching it.
Shion Sono is an awesome director nowadays and some old movies we like are Tetsuo, The Man who stole the sun, Jigoku and Hausu just to name a handful.
We love japanese movies!
Q12. You are going to play on Roadburn 2015. How would you describe the live experience of Salem’s Pot?
Salem’s Pot
Probably like the old movies we love. Blurry, shaky, missing parts and with an ending that no one really get.
Q13. Finally, would you like to send a message to Japanese fans?
Salem’s Pot
We have fans now? In Japan? Domo arigato!! Hope to see you soon, just let us know when you want us in Japan and the circus might arrive. Thanks again!
Q1. Thanks for doing this. Firstly could you tell us about the history of Salem’s Pot?
Salem’s Pot
It started out with two friends and hopelessness, in a town where no one wants to know you.
We decided to do something together and that was the birth of the concept.
The direction came pretty naturally with both of us being huge fans of sleazy old horror movies and Black Sabbath.
We asked a couple of friends to play bass and drums and recorded a demo called “Sweeden”.
We have been through different drummers since then and still haven’t found one.
The Eagle, who played drums on our album, is really a guitar player and has now switched to a second guitar.
Q2. “…Lurar ut dig pa prarien” was released in April. Was it a hard or easy album to record for?
Salem’s Pot
Both actually. We weren’t really that rehearsed and there was some tension in the air from time to time, but that’s only natural. All in all it went pretty well.
“Lurar ut dig pa prarien” (2014)
Q3. What gear did you use and where did you record it?
Salem’s Pot
We basically used what we had at the moment. Ribbon microphones for the drums and broken percussions. A girlfriend’s shruti-box and my grandmother’s old accordion.
It was recorded at the same place where we rehearse, an old asylum actually. Don’t think we are alone up there..
Q4. The artwork and music video has a lot of B-horror, grindhouse stuff.
Does literature or film influence your music? What is your favorite?
The promo pics which you wearing creepy mask were remind me “Last House on Dead End Street” by the way.
Salem’s Pot
Yes, a lot actually. When we started out only one of us did play an instrument (guitar) and the other took care of the visual parts,
so film is definitely half of the concept. There are too many to mention one, but a lot of giallo and spaghetti-western.
When it comes to literature we should mention Hunter S. Thompson and Bukowski.
“Last House on Dead End Street” is great, so is Alice sweet Alice.
“Alice, Sweet Alice” (1976)
Q5. The album was released via Riding Easy Records. How did that go?
Salem’s Pot
(WMKY) was released on cassette by Ljudkassett and Daniel Hall bought an ex.
He then e-mailed us and asked if we wanted to release it on vinyl, which we of course did.
So he went on to form Easy Rider Records and the rest is history!
Q6.Also “Ego Trip/Yer Doom” was released in September. That’s short period and both songs are different style from “…Lurar ut dig pa prarien”. Does this style reflect to the next album?
Salem’s Pot
Yes and no. We have never wanted to stick to a certain genre or style of music, we just wanted to release a 7″ and to do that we had to shorten the songs.
We’re also getting to know eachother better and can do more than just play the same riff for 20 minutes.
Also we have more riffs now and are trying to get better at putting them together.
“Ego Trip/Yer Doom” (2014)
Q7. Which bands and artists influenced you as musicians?
Salem’s Pot
Musically anything from Merle Haggard to Ngozi Family, Howlin’ Wolf to Dead Moon, Woody Guthrie to Hawkwind.
But also giallos, exploitation, spaghetti-westerns and weird horror movies or weird movies overall.
A lot of Goblin and Morricone of course.
Q8. I’d like to ask you about some your old stuff. I read that “Sweeden” was recorded at old mental hospital. Is that true? How did that go?
Salem’s Pot
Yes. The building where we rehearse used to be an asylum until 1969.
“Sweeden” (2012)
Q9. Wicked Lady cover ”Run the Night” was recorded to “Watch Me Kill You”. Do you digging obscure 70s music? If so what you find so special in the 70’s music?
Salem’s Pot
Very much so. There was so much frustration and honesty, both in the lyrics and the raw productions.
Like “Enough with the flowers, my friends are dying from overdoses and there’s a war going on.”
“Watch Me Kill You” (2013)
Q10. I’m sure about that you guys love to be stoned. What is your favorite bland and way to smoke?
Salem’s Pot
I love waking up in the middle of the night to find a half-finished joint in the ashtray, smoke it and watch Russ Meyer-movies before falling asleep again.
Q11. Do you know any Japanese band or film?
Salem’s Pot
Far Out, Blues Creation, Gedo and Flower Travellin’ Band of course.
Some of us grew up watching Ginga nagareboshi gin, Starzinger and Space Adventure Cobra as kids and are still watching it.
Shion Sono is an awesome director nowadays and some old movies we like are Tetsuo, The Man who stole the sun, Jigoku and Hausu just to name a handful.
We love japanese movies!
Q12. You are going to play on Roadburn 2015. How would you describe the live experience of Salem’s Pot?
Salem’s Pot
Probably like the old movies we love. Blurry, shaky, missing parts and with an ending that no one really get.
Q13. Finally, would you like to send a message to Japanese fans?
Salem’s Pot
We have fans now? In Japan? Domo arigato!! Hope to see you soon, just let us know when you want us in Japan and the circus might arrive. Thanks again!
Q1.
Thank you for taking time. I’d like to ask you about Acrimony before Sigiriya.
Acrimony split up in 2001. What happened at that time?
Stu
Hey, thanks for showing some interest bro. Yeah as I’ve said many times I think the band had reached the end of the road for what we wanted to do at the time. We were young stubborn bastards as well to deal with, so this never helped with the music industry types. Plus I think some us just wanted to move on and experience other things in life.
Mead
Yeah, it was an entity that was destined to implode. It was born, lived and then died! We’re not really Career minded types. I can’t imagine anything worse than churning out album after album, with one original Member left.
Q2.
“Tumuli Shroomaroom” and “Bong On – Live Long!” was released from Leaf Hound Records in 2007. How did that go?
Stu
Well as I can remember it was Torino at the time who got it touch with Dorian (vocals-Acrimony) about doing a vinyl release of “Tumuli”, which we were stoked about. It was something like ten years since we r
ecorded it, so it was a nice gesture from him. Naturally we accepted. It then went on that he wanted to do a cd re-press of the said album also, plus a rare odds’n sods cd that became “Bong On”, which was cool too.
All these re-releases, had reworked art, photos and lyrics etc. The packaging art was handled by the Legend that is now Jimbob Isaac ( Drunken Marksman illustration, Taint/Hark front man ).
Dor dealt a lot with him via email and he never mentioned much of what was going down. I know he was a real big fan, he sent like boxes of shit to Dorian also.
I met him once at Roadburn briefly and he seemed like a real nice guy. After this I dunno, Copies of the record went out to like Plastic Head uk distro and some to Church Within (Ger). Last I heard years back that he became real sick. Hope the dude pulled through.
Mead
it was cool to see tumuli on vinyl at last.
Q3.
So Sigiriya formed in 2009. Almost 10years since Acrimony’s split up.
Did you keep in touch with each member?
Stu
I really didn’t see Dar or Mead for a few years after we broke. After doing a small stint in Iron Monkey, then on to doing the Dukes. My self, Dorian, Leeroy did Blackeyeriot for a few years with a coupla other mates.
Mead
I was off playing dub and psytrance, following a shamanic path. I saw blackeyeriot in a local shithole And was physically upside-down half way through the first track!
Q4.
The first lineup of Sigiriya was 4/5 members of Acrimony.
Why did you start the new band not reunion?
Mead
Acrimony was a certain part and time of our lives, I wouldn’t change it for the world but at the same time I couldn’t reconstruct it either. It’s much more interesting to do something new.
Q5.
What does the name Sigiriya mean or refer to?
Stu
Sigiriya roughly translates to the meaning ? “the throat of the lion”. I visited this monolithic rock whilst in Sri Lanka on my wedding and was well taken a back my it’s majesty and the stories that surrounded it.
On my return home, we still had not settled on a suitable name for the band? I mentioned it to the guys
and I just seemed like a decent a name as any, with a cool meaning behind it.
Q6.
Dorian Walters left the band in last year. What happened?
Stu
Dor left in 2012, due to family stuff.
Q7.
Would you introduce us brilliant new singer?
Mead
Yeah, man. Matt is the new singer, a true gentleman, shaman and lunatic. He fits like a glove musically and on a personal level. He definitely made us up our game!
Stu
The legend that is Matt “PIPES” Williams, yep I thank that is fitting..
Q8
Congrats on your album, Are you satisfied with the responses so far?
Stu
Why thank you sir. I think it’ll be more of a grower personally. It’s more of a good Heavy rock record, rather than a Stoner, Doom or whatever thing..
Darkness Died Today（2014）
Q9.
When I heard “Return to Earth” , I felt like that this is Acrimony’s sequel.
But “Darkness Died Today” is different, more heavy and metallic … what are your thoughts?
Stu It’s definitely a more Heavy bird and a more coherent effort.
Mead it’s more grounded than psychedelic. The influences are still there but interpreted differently.
Return to Earth（2011）
Q10.
Which bands and artists influenced you as musicians?
Stu
It’s all the old staples of like Sabbath, Purple, ZZ top, Hawkwind, Quo and so on, mashed up with some totally off the cuff stuff like Entombed, Tragedy, Agolloch, Early Metallica, Discharge, Cro-mags. The Obsessed, Victor Griffin.
Mead
I suppose dub influences what I play and I listen to a lot of pagan BM stuff – wolves in the throne room, Dordeduh, negura bunget etc.
Q11.
What are your thoughts on the current doom/stoner scene?
Stu
It’s now a monster compared to like back in say the 90’s, There’s just a fuck load of bands out there doing their thing, which is all good. I don’t know who half of them are mind you, but least a lot of people seem chuffed with it.
Mead
there’s god and bad, true and false as with every other scene I suppose. Stoner rock isn’t really my thing, though, give me Goatess above every other band in that scene.
Stu
Yeah Goatess fuckin rule.
Q12.
What are the next plans for Sigiriya?
Mead
writing the new album and playing some shows.
Q13.
Finally, Would you like to send a message to Japanese fans?
Mead
Somewhere in wales there’s a one-eyed buzzard that sits on a mountain top and shrieks at the skies, those shrieks are the sounds sigiriya makes and sigiriya loves you!!!
Stu
I couldn’t have put that better myself Mead man. We’d love the chance to get out there someday and play some club dates for you all. If your keen get in touch. Cheers Trip Thru records again dude and thanks to all of you who dig the band and spread the word, it means the world to us
Q1.
Thank you for taking time. I’d like to ask you about Acrimony before Sigiriya.
Acrimony split up in 2001. What happened at that time?
Stu
Hey, thanks for showing some interest bro. Yeah as I’ve said many times I think the band had reached the end of the road for what we wanted to do at the time. We were young stubborn bastards as well to deal with, so this never helped with the music industry types. Plus I think some us just wanted to move on and experience other things in life.
Mead
Yeah, it was an entity that was destined to implode. It was born, lived and then died! We’re not really Career minded types. I can’t imagine anything worse than churning out album after album, with one original Member left.
Q2.
“Tumuli Shroomaroom” and “Bong On – Live Long!” was released from Leaf Hound Records in 2007. How did that go?
Stu
Well as I can remember it was Torino at the time who got it touch with Dorian (vocals-Acrimony) about doing a vinyl release of “Tumuli”, which we were stoked about. It was something like ten years since we r
ecorded it, so it was a nice gesture from him. Naturally we accepted. It then went on that he wanted to do a cd re-press of the said album also, plus a rare odds’n sods cd that became “Bong On”, which was cool too.
All these re-releases, had reworked art, photos and lyrics etc. The packaging art was handled by the Legend that is now Jimbob Isaac ( Drunken Marksman illustration, Taint/Hark front man ).
Dor dealt a lot with him via email and he never mentioned much of what was going down. I know he was a real big fan, he sent like boxes of shit to Dorian also.
I met him once at Roadburn briefly and he seemed like a real nice guy. After this I dunno, Copies of the record went out to like Plastic Head uk distro and some to Church Within (Ger). Last I heard years back that he became real sick. Hope the dude pulled through.
Mead
it was cool to see tumuli on vinyl at last.
Q3.
So Sigiriya formed in 2009. Almost 10years since Acrimony’s split up.
Did you keep in touch with each member?
Stu
I really didn’t see Dar or Mead for a few years after we broke. After doing a small stint in Iron Monkey, then on to doing the Dukes. My self, Dorian, Leeroy did Blackeyeriot for a few years with a coupla other mates.
Mead
I was off playing dub and psytrance, following a shamanic path. I saw blackeyeriot in a local shithole And was physically upside-down half way through the first track!
Q4.
The first lineup of Sigiriya was 4/5 members of Acrimony.
Why did you start the new band not reunion?
Mead
Acrimony was a certain part and time of our lives, I wouldn’t change it for the world but at the same time I couldn’t reconstruct it either. It’s much more interesting to do something new.
Q5.
What does the name Sigiriya mean or refer to?
Stu
Sigiriya roughly translates to the meaning ? “the throat of the lion”. I visited this monolithic rock whilst in Sri Lanka on my wedding and was well taken a back my it’s majesty and the stories that surrounded it.
On my return home, we still had not settled on a suitable name for the band? I mentioned it to the guys
and I just seemed like a decent a name as any, with a cool meaning behind it.
Q6.
Dorian Walters left the band in last year. What happened?
Stu
Dor left in 2012, due to family stuff.
Q7.
Would you introduce us brilliant new singer?
Mead
Yeah, man. Matt is the new singer, a true gentleman, shaman and lunatic. He fits like a glove musically and on a personal level. He definitely made us up our game!
Stu
The legend that is Matt “PIPES” Williams, yep I thank that is fitting..
Q8
Congrats on your album, Are you satisfied with the responses so far?
Stu
Why thank you sir. I think it’ll be more of a grower personally. It’s more of a good Heavy rock record, rather than a Stoner, Doom or whatever thing..
Darkness Died Today（2014）
Q9.
When I heard “Return to Earth” , I felt like that this is Acrimony’s sequel.
But “Darkness Died Today” is different, more heavy and metallic … what are your thoughts?
Stu It’s definitely a more Heavy bird and a more coherent effort.
Mead it’s more grounded than psychedelic. The influences are still there but interpreted differently.
Return to Earth（2011）
Q10.
Which bands and artists influenced you as musicians?
Stu
It’s all the old staples of like Sabbath, Purple, ZZ top, Hawkwind, Quo and so on, mashed up with some totally off the cuff stuff like Entombed, Tragedy, Agolloch, Early Metallica, Discharge, Cro-mags. The Obsessed, Victor Griffin.
Mead
I suppose dub influences what I play and I listen to a lot of pagan BM stuff – wolves in the throne room, Dordeduh, negura bunget etc.
Q11.
What are your thoughts on the current doom/stoner scene?
Stu
It’s now a monster compared to like back in say the 90’s, There’s just a fuck load of bands out there doing their thing, which is all good. I don’t know who half of them are mind you, but least a lot of people seem chuffed with it.
Mead
there’s god and bad, true and false as with every other scene I suppose. Stoner rock isn’t really my thing, though, give me Goatess above every other band in that scene.
Stu
Yeah Goatess fuckin rule.
Q12.
What are the next plans for Sigiriya?
Mead
writing the new album and playing some shows.
Q13.
Finally, Would you like to send a message to Japanese fans?
Mead
Somewhere in wales there’s a one-eyed buzzard that sits on a mountain top and shrieks at the skies, those shrieks are the sounds sigiriya makes and sigiriya loves you!!!
Stu
I couldn’t have put that better myself Mead man. We’d love the chance to get out there someday and play some club dates for you all. If your keen get in touch. Cheers Trip Thru records again dude and thanks to all of you who dig the band and spread the word, it means the world to us
――The Blood Farmers are back, with six deadly pitchforks.
We cannot run or hide.
We’re all just blood sacrifice to the last queen of Sangroids…
Q1. Firstly, Thanks for doing this. and congrats on your album “Headless Eyes” . It has been 19 years from “Blood Farmers” . How do you feeling now?
ELI
Honestly it’s a relief that it’s finally done! I’m really glad that so many people are enjoying it and accepting it. It was a tremendous amount of work, and it means a lot to hear from people that they like it. When you’re very close to a project it’s hard to tell how people will react, but everyone has really liked it.
Dave
I feel good that the album has been well received, and very grateful for the interest in our band after so many years!
Q2. The albums sound is horror-obsessed, blood disgusting doom rock…Nothing but Blood Farmers! You seems still have clear vision for Blood Farmers. Do you think that you should start the new band if you change your style?
ELI
We had this vision for what Blood Farmers would be since we first started it in 1989, before we even started doing originals. It was really Dave’s concept of joining the horror films and the Black Sabbath sound together to create that kind of creepy experience. I think if we were to change the sound it wouldn’t be called Blood Farmers. At the same time, there is a really wide landscape of what you can do musically and sonically within the genre and within our vision. I’d like to think that we proved that with this record. You can pretty much go anywhere as long as you come back to the doom. It’s not all bloody and disgusting! I mean, I guess you could go too far, like if we started doing disco music in Blood Farmers it wouldn’t work. For me, I’ve been in other bands and of course it’s different. I like a lot of other kinds of music and if I had more time I’d make more music in other genres, including disco!
Q3. Where the album recorded and how was the recording process?
ELI
We started recording at Studio 584 in New York City. We did the drums there and basic guitars. Everything else was done at a friend’s studio where we basically had the weekends to ourselves for recording. We didn’t have the money to get a big studio but we were able to use a lot of vintage equipment. We even had real reverb units, which is very rare in studios these days. That really helped give it a more vintage sound. I wanted us to have the chance to explore anything we could think of, and really give Dave the chance to create with an unlimited amount of tracks. We definitely pushed as far as we could and tried pretty much anything we could think of while recording and mixing. It was difficult keeping track of everything in mixing! The downside of this is that it took too long, which is mostly my fault. I’m a perfectionist and so is Dave and if something wasn’t right it had to be remixed or re-recorded. I am really glad we had the opportunity to put in all the work that we did, though. Most bands never get that kind of an open-ended situation for making a record. I am still amazed that we were able to create a new album 19 years later.
“Headless Eyes”“Blood Farmers”
Q4. David Hess cover “The Road Leads to Nowhere” is surprise in the album. What made you to play this song? This song showed us another side of Blood Farmers.
DAVE
I always wanted to cover the song. It’s the theme from my favorite film! I got to know David Hess when I had wrote a book about the making of Last House on the Left, and we later worked together on producing a CD of his soundtrack music from Last House on The Left. So it’s my tribute to David Hess, I wish he had lived to hear it. The Blood Farmers version of the song is adapted from the opening credits of the movie, but we arranged everything differently. There are specific references to the original but it does not sound the same….I wanted to make it more morose and psychedelic. I had a longer arrangement which brings in some other musical moments from the film & more guitar freak-outs which I would like to do someday.
The Making of a Cult Classic (2000) – David A. Szutkin
Q5. Would you give us comment for other songs?
Gut Shot ELI
In late 2009, Dave called me and told me he was coming to NY and wanted to record some riffs. At this point I had no thought that there would ever be a new Blood Farmers record. I figured that after we toured Japan in 2008 that was it. I was just engineering and Dave played bass and brought Tad in to play drums. As soon as he played this song, though I knew that there would be a new Blood Farmers record. I just love that opening, the mid-tempo riff and the fast part at the end. It showed me that Dave can write riffs just as well as ever, maybe even better than before.
Headless Eyes ELI
The idea of having a song called Headless Eyes went back years before. I think it was around the time that we re-issued Permanent Brain Damage that Dave told me I should check out the movie Headless Eyes. It totally had that weird creepy vibe I love, and we both knew it was perfect for a Blood Farmers song. When we finally started recording years later we knew that would be the title track. We would write it, put it together, listen to it, then throw it out and maybe keep one riff. The whole song was written like four different times! I think this is the one of the best things we’ve ever done. It totally captures what the band is about.
The Creeper ELI
This was actually recorded in that first session when we got together in 2009, so I recorded the drums on this one too. It had such a great vibe and great bass playing. I was kind of intimidated by it because I knew that if I played bass on the rest of the record it would never sound this good, because Dave is just a much better musician than me. Since I was recording it anyway, I convinced him he should play bass on the rest of the record, even though I play bass for live appearances. I also really liked what Tad did on this song, and he wanted to join the band so it became natural that he would become the next drummer. We’d never had someone in the band that was as into horror movies as Dave, so that’s a big plus!
Dave Like Eli said, this started as a live jam…it’s my favorite piece on the record.
Thousand Yard Stare ELI Dave came up with the title and the descending riff in the middle first. I wrote the lyrics thinking about what it would be like to have the condition of just being mentally withdrawn from trauma. I thought a lot about that depression, and the lyrics reflected a very depressed person.
Dave
All of our songs reflect a very depressed person!
Night of the Sorcerers ELI It’s kind of funny to think that we actually played this song live when we toured Europe in 2011, before we had conceived of what it actually became. We wanted it to have more of a soundtrack kind of feel than an actual song. I’m really proud of the production on this one too, because there was just so much going on. We got our friend Theo to do the keyboards on it. He really added a lot to it, and Dave put in some good keyboard melodies and effects as well. This one is really different for us, but I’d like to think there is still enough doom in there to keep it in step with the rest of the record. We don’t have any kind of formula for writing songs, and this certainly proves it.
Dave
I like the collaboration between all of us on this song, it’s a real epic! Tad wrote the middle part of it.
Q7. I read that David is working for Grindhouse releasing. Do you still digging the obscure horror, exploitation films?
DAVE Yes, I have been working with Grindhouse Releasing since 1999 and still love the movies. Some of the films I have been involved with releasing to theaters: I DRINK YOUR BLOOD, CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST, CANNIBAL FEROX, PIECES, EVIL DEAD, MANIAC, GONE WITH THE POPE, MANIAC COP, MANIAC COP 2, THE MANSON FAMILY, ZOMBIE and AN AMERICAN HIPPIE IN ISRAEL. I’ve also worked on the home video releases of some of those and produced the special features for the LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT DVD for MGM Studios. Right now I am promoting the Blu-ray release of CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST and continuing to present theatrical screenings at independent movie theaters all over the country. The most recent Grindhouse Releasing Blu-ray titles include CORRUPTION, THE BIG GUNDOWN and the haunting ‘60s movie THE SWIMMER.
Q8. Which bands and artists influenced you as musicians? And what made you start the band?
ELI
When we first met, the common ground for us were Rush and Sabbath. I had a pretty decent collection of what were then kind of obscure albums- like Cactus, Dust, Spooky Tooth, things like that. Dave had Vincebus Eruptum. In 1989, this was all really not considered cool by anyone in the metal world. Dave got some Saint Vitus albums and we were smoking a lot of pot. Dave came up with the idea of playing Sabbath covers with horror movies projected behind the band. I offered to sing. Dave’s cousin Phil was living in NY at the time, and he was already playing bass in bands. One of those bands covered Sabbath, so we kind of had an instant rhythm section. Phil and Eric, the guys who played on Permanent Brain Damage, had played together for a few years. They also had their own band Hordes of Mungo, so we sort of became the little brother side project band for them. It was cool just to instantly have a band. After a few gigs of doing only Sabbath covers, Dave started writing original material. The first song we wrote was Veil of Blood (Scream Bloody Murder). The second one was Bullet In My Head. Once that started happening, I was kind of like, ‘wait a second, this is really good music’. I started to take the whole thing a little more seriously. When we first started it just seemed like a good way to piss people off and let out frustration. I really enjoyed being part of that powerful sound, and was kind of amazed at how cool Dave’s riffs were. I still am, 25 years later.
DAVE
Black Sabbath, Saint Vitus, those were the big ones that sparked us and had the direct influence on the writing/playing. Also a lot of the 60s and 70s rock, listening to Hendrix, Blue Cheer, Cactus, BOC, Mountain, Hawkwind, Dust, Grand Funk, Bloodrock, James Gang, Johnny Winter, ZZ Top, Buffalo ? not that we sound like any of them but they were and are our favorites.
Q9. Which bands/ musician albums are you currently enjoying?
ELI
I’m sort of stuck in a perpetual cycle of listening to sixties and seventies music. There’s always new stuff to find from that era. I’m just getting back into Damnation of Adam Blessing. I think the last new album that I thought was amazing was the Gates Of Slumber, The Wretch. The new Ogre album is great too.
Dave
Agreed, Gates of Slumber “The Wretch” is a great album, and love the new OGRE “The Last Neanderthal”. I hang out a lot with Robert Williams from SIEGE and Nightstick so I have been getting into his recordings like “Blotter” and “Death To Music”. Grindhouse Releasing just put out the re-mastered soundtrack from the film “Cannibal Holocaust” so I’ve been listening to that great music by Riz Ortolani.
Any recommendations you can give to our readers for bands to check out.
ELI
At this point there isn’t much that I can add. It’s so different today, where everything is instantly accessible. It used to be a really big deal to meet with other people into the old heavy stuff, and find out about bands you never heard of. Now you can download or stream pretty much everything there is. I meet 20-year-old kids that know as many bands as I know, so I doubt I can offer much that’s unheard.
DAVE
If Blood Farmers fans want to hear some other recordings I did, I made two records with a band called The Disease Concept ? an EP called “Liquor Bottles and Broken Steel” and a full-length LP, “Your Destroyer”. I also wanted to mention the Blowfly record “Black in the Sack” on PATAC Records (patacrecords.com) where I had the privilege of playing on a recording of “Black Sabbath” with Blowfly, Tesco Vee of the Meatmen & my friends in the great sludge-doom band Fistula.
Q10. “Blood Farmers” and “Permanent Brain Damage” was re-released by Leaf hound Records. How did it go? I read that David hates “Bullet in My Head”, so he wants to remove it.
DAVE
No, I don’t hate the song ? I wrote it! Where did you read that? ※
Since we recorded it three times and it appeared on two previous CDS, a demo, and a compilation, I probably just said we didn’t need to keep re-doing it!
ELI
Toreno Kobayashi first got in touch with us in like 2001 and said he wanted to start a label so he could release the Blood Farmers album in Japan. I had been working on fixing up Permanent Brain Damage for a few years while working in recording studios. It was sort of my project that I used to learn mixing. It was really awesome to bring that material back to life, and finally have people hear it other than on some crappy cassette dub. After that I went and re-mastered the Hellhound album from the original tapes. I didn’t know anything about recording when we made it and digital audio was kind of new. I didn’t realize that what we delivered to Hellhound was like 4 th generation audio. It was so cool seeing those CD editions come out with the obi strips and bonus tracks and everything. Being on Leaf Hound records was really great. I feel like Toreno is the person that brought our name out of obscurity and helped get the music heard all over the world. I wish him the best and hope that he is doing well, wherever he is. It was very sad that the label ceased operations just as it was starting to take off.. He had just gotten the Rise Above catalog for Japan, and I was helping him negotiate a deal with Relapse for Leafhound in the US.
※ Toreno Kobayashi mentioned it in the interview on “DOOM STONER HEAVY ROCK DISC GUIDE 2008” published by DISK UNION. “Dave hates 1 st album especially “Bullet In My Head.”
Q11. You came to Japan for Doom Age festival with Ogre in 2008. I watched it at Tokyo. Do you have any memories that you would like to share with our readers?
ELI
Coming to Japan was like the ultimate fulfillment of what we wanted for Blood Farmers. I never would have dreamed that 20 years after we started the band that we would be touring in Japan and playing those songs we had written to people half our age. I loved being in Japan so much. It is one of my happiest memories of the band. I still am amazed that it happened at all. It made me feel that all the work we put in over the years, all the disappointments we had were really worth it because seeing those people in Japan meant that on some small level we had some impact. I wish we could come back some day.
DAVE
Great memories of hanging out with Toreno from Leafhound, Church of Misery, Eternal Elysium and Ogre on that tour! I wish I remembered more about the trip but it is a blur! Ross and Will from Ogre were working overtime on that tour playing in Blood Farmers as well as their own band, so I must give thanks and credit to them! That made it a family trip for me since Ross is my cousin. It was amazing just to be there; I was awed to behold a view of Mount Fuji. I loved playing in Tokyo, that’s the one I remember the most for the great crowd and feeling. I was pretty intoxicated! I wish I could go back and do it over again so that I can actually remember more of what happened next time!
Q12. What are the next plans for Blood Farmers? Fans are definitely anticipating a new tour!
ELI
I’d love to return to Japan some day! I’m starting a small reissue label with Resurrection Productions and will be releasing some of my favorite early heavy music, starting with a remaster of Randy Holden’s Population II, reissued in a deluxe package with rare photos. There are a number of other things coming after that, some really great classic and even unreleased material.
Q13. Finally, Would you like to send a message to Japanese fans?
ELI
Thanks to everyone there that came to see us or bought a CD. We appreciate every one of you so much. I’m really thankful that people across the world care to listen to us.
DAVE
Thank you for supporting our band! We hope to play in Japan again someday!
――The Blood Farmers are back, with six deadly pitchforks.
We cannot run or hide.
We’re all just blood sacrifice to the last queen of Sangroids…
Q1. Firstly, Thanks for doing this. and congrats on your album “Headless Eyes” . It has been 19 years from “Blood Farmers” . How do you feeling now?
ELI
Honestly it’s a relief that it’s finally done! I’m really glad that so many people are enjoying it and accepting it. It was a tremendous amount of work, and it means a lot to hear from people that they like it. When you’re very close to a project it’s hard to tell how people will react, but everyone has really liked it.
Dave
I feel good that the album has been well received, and very grateful for the interest in our band after so many years!
Q2. The albums sound is horror-obsessed, blood disgusting doom rock…Nothing but Blood Farmers! You seems still have clear vision for Blood Farmers. Do you think that you should start the new band if you change your style?
ELI
We had this vision for what Blood Farmers would be since we first started it in 1989, before we even started doing originals. It was really Dave’s concept of joining the horror films and the Black Sabbath sound together to create that kind of creepy experience. I think if we were to change the sound it wouldn’t be called Blood Farmers. At the same time, there is a really wide landscape of what you can do musically and sonically within the genre and within our vision. I’d like to think that we proved that with this record. You can pretty much go anywhere as long as you come back to the doom. It’s not all bloody and disgusting! I mean, I guess you could go too far, like if we started doing disco music in Blood Farmers it wouldn’t work. For me, I’ve been in other bands and of course it’s different. I like a lot of other kinds of music and if I had more time I’d make more music in other genres, including disco!
Q3. Where the album recorded and how was the recording process?
ELI
We started recording at Studio 584 in New York City. We did the drums there and basic guitars. Everything else was done at a friend’s studio where we basically had the weekends to ourselves for recording. We didn’t have the money to get a big studio but we were able to use a lot of vintage equipment. We even had real reverb units, which is very rare in studios these days. That really helped give it a more vintage sound. I wanted us to have the chance to explore anything we could think of, and really give Dave the chance to create with an unlimited amount of tracks. We definitely pushed as far as we could and tried pretty much anything we could think of while recording and mixing. It was difficult keeping track of everything in mixing! The downside of this is that it took too long, which is mostly my fault. I’m a perfectionist and so is Dave and if something wasn’t right it had to be remixed or re-recorded. I am really glad we had the opportunity to put in all the work that we did, though. Most bands never get that kind of an open-ended situation for making a record. I am still amazed that we were able to create a new album 19 years later.
“Headless Eyes”“Blood Farmers”
Q4. David Hess cover “The Road Leads to Nowhere” is surprise in the album. What made you to play this song? This song showed us another side of Blood Farmers.
DAVE
I always wanted to cover the song. It’s the theme from my favorite film! I got to know David Hess when I had wrote a book about the making of Last House on the Left, and we later worked together on producing a CD of his soundtrack music from Last House on The Left. So it’s my tribute to David Hess, I wish he had lived to hear it. The Blood Farmers version of the song is adapted from the opening credits of the movie, but we arranged everything differently. There are specific references to the original but it does not sound the same….I wanted to make it more morose and psychedelic. I had a longer arrangement which brings in some other musical moments from the film & more guitar freak-outs which I would like to do someday.
The Making of a Cult Classic (2000) – David A. Szutkin
Q5. Would you give us comment for other songs?
Gut Shot ELI
In late 2009, Dave called me and told me he was coming to NY and wanted to record some riffs. At this point I had no thought that there would ever be a new Blood Farmers record. I figured that after we toured Japan in 2008 that was it. I was just engineering and Dave played bass and brought Tad in to play drums. As soon as he played this song, though I knew that there would be a new Blood Farmers record. I just love that opening, the mid-tempo riff and the fast part at the end. It showed me that Dave can write riffs just as well as ever, maybe even better than before.
Headless Eyes ELI
The idea of having a song called Headless Eyes went back years before. I think it was around the time that we re-issued Permanent Brain Damage that Dave told me I should check out the movie Headless Eyes. It totally had that weird creepy vibe I love, and we both knew it was perfect for a Blood Farmers song. When we finally started recording years later we knew that would be the title track. We would write it, put it together, listen to it, then throw it out and maybe keep one riff. The whole song was written like four different times! I think this is the one of the best things we’ve ever done. It totally captures what the band is about.
The Creeper ELI
This was actually recorded in that first session when we got together in 2009, so I recorded the drums on this one too. It had such a great vibe and great bass playing. I was kind of intimidated by it because I knew that if I played bass on the rest of the record it would never sound this good, because Dave is just a much better musician than me. Since I was recording it anyway, I convinced him he should play bass on the rest of the record, even though I play bass for live appearances. I also really liked what Tad did on this song, and he wanted to join the band so it became natural that he would become the next drummer. We’d never had someone in the band that was as into horror movies as Dave, so that’s a big plus!
Dave Like Eli said, this started as a live jam…it’s my favorite piece on the record.
Thousand Yard Stare ELI Dave came up with the title and the descending riff in the middle first. I wrote the lyrics thinking about what it would be like to have the condition of just being mentally withdrawn from trauma. I thought a lot about that depression, and the lyrics reflected a very depressed person.
Dave
All of our songs reflect a very depressed person!
Night of the Sorcerers ELI It’s kind of funny to think that we actually played this song live when we toured Europe in 2011, before we had conceived of what it actually became. We wanted it to have more of a soundtrack kind of feel than an actual song. I’m really proud of the production on this one too, because there was just so much going on. We got our friend Theo to do the keyboards on it. He really added a lot to it, and Dave put in some good keyboard melodies and effects as well. This one is really different for us, but I’d like to think there is still enough doom in there to keep it in step with the rest of the record. We don’t have any kind of formula for writing songs, and this certainly proves it.
Dave
I like the collaboration between all of us on this song, it’s a real epic! Tad wrote the middle part of it.
Q7. I read that David is working for Grindhouse releasing. Do you still digging the obscure horror, exploitation films?
DAVE Yes, I have been working with Grindhouse Releasing since 1999 and still love the movies. Some of the films I have been involved with releasing to theaters: I DRINK YOUR BLOOD, CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST, CANNIBAL FEROX, PIECES, EVIL DEAD, MANIAC, GONE WITH THE POPE, MANIAC COP, MANIAC COP 2, THE MANSON FAMILY, ZOMBIE and AN AMERICAN HIPPIE IN ISRAEL. I’ve also worked on the home video releases of some of those and produced the special features for the LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT DVD for MGM Studios. Right now I am promoting the Blu-ray release of CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST and continuing to present theatrical screenings at independent movie theaters all over the country. The most recent Grindhouse Releasing Blu-ray titles include CORRUPTION, THE BIG GUNDOWN and the haunting ‘60s movie THE SWIMMER.
Q8. Which bands and artists influenced you as musicians? And what made you start the band?
ELI
When we first met, the common ground for us were Rush and Sabbath. I had a pretty decent collection of what were then kind of obscure albums- like Cactus, Dust, Spooky Tooth, things like that. Dave had Vincebus Eruptum. In 1989, this was all really not considered cool by anyone in the metal world. Dave got some Saint Vitus albums and we were smoking a lot of pot. Dave came up with the idea of playing Sabbath covers with horror movies projected behind the band. I offered to sing. Dave’s cousin Phil was living in NY at the time, and he was already playing bass in bands. One of those bands covered Sabbath, so we kind of had an instant rhythm section. Phil and Eric, the guys who played on Permanent Brain Damage, had played together for a few years. They also had their own band Hordes of Mungo, so we sort of became the little brother side project band for them. It was cool just to instantly have a band. After a few gigs of doing only Sabbath covers, Dave started writing original material. The first song we wrote was Veil of Blood (Scream Bloody Murder). The second one was Bullet In My Head. Once that started happening, I was kind of like, ‘wait a second, this is really good music’. I started to take the whole thing a little more seriously. When we first started it just seemed like a good way to piss people off and let out frustration. I really enjoyed being part of that powerful sound, and was kind of amazed at how cool Dave’s riffs were. I still am, 25 years later.
DAVE
Black Sabbath, Saint Vitus, those were the big ones that sparked us and had the direct influence on the writing/playing. Also a lot of the 60s and 70s rock, listening to Hendrix, Blue Cheer, Cactus, BOC, Mountain, Hawkwind, Dust, Grand Funk, Bloodrock, James Gang, Johnny Winter, ZZ Top, Buffalo ? not that we sound like any of them but they were and are our favorites.
Q9. Which bands/ musician albums are you currently enjoying?
ELI
I’m sort of stuck in a perpetual cycle of listening to sixties and seventies music. There’s always new stuff to find from that era. I’m just getting back into Damnation of Adam Blessing. I think the last new album that I thought was amazing was the Gates Of Slumber, The Wretch. The new Ogre album is great too.
Dave
Agreed, Gates of Slumber “The Wretch” is a great album, and love the new OGRE “The Last Neanderthal”. I hang out a lot with Robert Williams from SIEGE and Nightstick so I have been getting into his recordings like “Blotter” and “Death To Music”. Grindhouse Releasing just put out the re-mastered soundtrack from the film “Cannibal Holocaust” so I’ve been listening to that great music by Riz Ortolani.
Any recommendations you can give to our readers for bands to check out.
ELI
At this point there isn’t much that I can add. It’s so different today, where everything is instantly accessible. It used to be a really big deal to meet with other people into the old heavy stuff, and find out about bands you never heard of. Now you can download or stream pretty much everything there is. I meet 20-year-old kids that know as many bands as I know, so I doubt I can offer much that’s unheard.
DAVE
If Blood Farmers fans want to hear some other recordings I did, I made two records with a band called The Disease Concept ? an EP called “Liquor Bottles and Broken Steel” and a full-length LP, “Your Destroyer”. I also wanted to mention the Blowfly record “Black in the Sack” on PATAC Records (patacrecords.com) where I had the privilege of playing on a recording of “Black Sabbath” with Blowfly, Tesco Vee of the Meatmen & my friends in the great sludge-doom band Fistula.
Q10. “Blood Farmers” and “Permanent Brain Damage” was re-released by Leaf hound Records. How did it go? I read that David hates “Bullet in My Head”, so he wants to remove it.
DAVE
No, I don’t hate the song ? I wrote it! Where did you read that? ※
Since we recorded it three times and it appeared on two previous CDS, a demo, and a compilation, I probably just said we didn’t need to keep re-doing it!
ELI
Toreno Kobayashi first got in touch with us in like 2001 and said he wanted to start a label so he could release the Blood Farmers album in Japan. I had been working on fixing up Permanent Brain Damage for a few years while working in recording studios. It was sort of my project that I used to learn mixing. It was really awesome to bring that material back to life, and finally have people hear it other than on some crappy cassette dub. After that I went and re-mastered the Hellhound album from the original tapes. I didn’t know anything about recording when we made it and digital audio was kind of new. I didn’t realize that what we delivered to Hellhound was like 4 th generation audio. It was so cool seeing those CD editions come out with the obi strips and bonus tracks and everything. Being on Leaf Hound records was really great. I feel like Toreno is the person that brought our name out of obscurity and helped get the music heard all over the world. I wish him the best and hope that he is doing well, wherever he is. It was very sad that the label ceased operations just as it was starting to take off.. He had just gotten the Rise Above catalog for Japan, and I was helping him negotiate a deal with Relapse for Leafhound in the US.
※ Toreno Kobayashi mentioned it in the interview on “DOOM STONER HEAVY ROCK DISC GUIDE 2008” published by DISK UNION. “Dave hates 1 st album especially “Bullet In My Head.”
Q11. You came to Japan for Doom Age festival with Ogre in 2008. I watched it at Tokyo. Do you have any memories that you would like to share with our readers?
ELI
Coming to Japan was like the ultimate fulfillment of what we wanted for Blood Farmers. I never would have dreamed that 20 years after we started the band that we would be touring in Japan and playing those songs we had written to people half our age. I loved being in Japan so much. It is one of my happiest memories of the band. I still am amazed that it happened at all. It made me feel that all the work we put in over the years, all the disappointments we had were really worth it because seeing those people in Japan meant that on some small level we had some impact. I wish we could come back some day.
DAVE
Great memories of hanging out with Toreno from Leafhound, Church of Misery, Eternal Elysium and Ogre on that tour! I wish I remembered more about the trip but it is a blur! Ross and Will from Ogre were working overtime on that tour playing in Blood Farmers as well as their own band, so I must give thanks and credit to them! That made it a family trip for me since Ross is my cousin. It was amazing just to be there; I was awed to behold a view of Mount Fuji. I loved playing in Tokyo, that’s the one I remember the most for the great crowd and feeling. I was pretty intoxicated! I wish I could go back and do it over again so that I can actually remember more of what happened next time!
Q12. What are the next plans for Blood Farmers? Fans are definitely anticipating a new tour!
ELI
I’d love to return to Japan some day! I’m starting a small reissue label with Resurrection Productions and will be releasing some of my favorite early heavy music, starting with a remaster of Randy Holden’s Population II, reissued in a deluxe package with rare photos. There are a number of other things coming after that, some really great classic and even unreleased material.
Q13. Finally, Would you like to send a message to Japanese fans?
ELI
Thanks to everyone there that came to see us or bought a CD. We appreciate every one of you so much. I’m really thankful that people across the world care to listen to us.
DAVE
Thank you for supporting our band! We hope to play in Japan again someday!
Q12. What are the next plans for Blood Farmers? Fans are definitely anticipating a new tour!