Following up 2022’s banger S/T EP, Louisiana death metal trio Faustian are back with a soul-searing new single “Primordial Rot”. The group are flowing with creativity like the River Styx flows with hatred, so come sail away with them! In all seriousness, this band is poised to be one of your new favorites. “Primordial Rot” seethes with masterful blunt force and “Morbid” upheaval combining acute skill with caveman mean mugging for a perfect death metal fix. It was a pleasure to speak with Dallas Smith (also of Barghest) about the gestation of the project. 

GCM: I always love when heavy bands are trios-like the first Black Anvil album, Time Insults The Mind, for example. There is something so cool about just three people spewing out a huge sound. Was that be design with you, all or accident? Was this originally a Rush cover band that took a dark, dark turn? 

 

Dallas Smith: While we’d certainly craft a mean cover of “Working Man,” there was no initial thought that went into being a three-piece. In fact, coming up in bands where there was always a second guitarist, the three-piece thing is still new to me.

 

On one hand, three guys creating something so massive is rewarding. It’s impressive and that romanticized view of the “power trio” is definitely appealing. On the other hand, I’m all about riffs and there’s something to be said about having the ability to pull off what’s on the record live in terms of harmonies, and etc without the use of backing tracks or something similar. There’s a balance there. 

GCM: Louisiana Sludge and Death Metal to me always stood out because there was a common surly and pained aspect, but the bands all sounded unique. Mars, Soilent Green (especially), Acid Bath or whoever. What were some things you wanted to accomplish with your sound? I love how the ending of “Primordial Rot” just turns into this sort of hammering agony. 

DS: It’s invaluable to go out of your way to be unique. Especially when coming from a place like Louisiana that has crafted its own signature “sound” throughout heavy music for decades now. We try to set ourselves apart stylistically right out of the gate and things like purposefully hanging on certain notes, changing timing, or adding weird and abrupt transitions are done to create our own unique aesthetic where ideally you’re able to tell it’s Faustian after only hearing a few notes. 

GCM: Man, I was your 668th Instagram follower. I feel like such a late to the party poseur now. I could’ve at least been the neighbor of the beast and now I am just like Satan’s secondary understudy. Sorry, dudes. Anyway, how was it recording at Studio 433 with Alfe DeRouen? Had you worked together prior? It feels like from the single that your sound is getting a bit more elaborate arrangement-wise, but not losing any propulsion. That is a hard balance! 

DS: 666 followers is quite a milestone. You almost cemented your position in death metal history.

Alfe is a fantastic engineer to the point that the production speaks for itself. The thing about using him and Studio 433 was that we knew it was something different for both sides. We got to hear the perspective of someone that obviously has a keen ear for audio production but also wasn’t necessarily “restricted” to what would normally be done in an extreme metal setting. He doesn’t work with heavy bands often so we benefited a great deal from his approach and what he hears and brings to the table. 

 

GCM: This is slightly off topic and slightly fair game, but do you think the black dog that follows the dudes around the Zone in Tarkovsky’s Stalker was really a Barghest, or just a very good boy? 

DS: Dogs > people so he was a good boy. Barghest or not… (*Author’s Note: As Slipknot once said “People = Shit” and if “Dogs > People”, does that also make Dogshit > People?)

GCM: Do you think Glen from Deicide is a gatekeeping ding dong for saying that people that look like Weezer can’t play heavy music? I mean, you guys don’t look like Weezer. Even accountant looking dudes might have a lot of rage! But I sometimes liked when a band is like sort of like casually collegiate looking and you want to copy their homework but they still look hip… like Circle Takes The Square kind of looked cooler than that, but could be like metal adjacent baristas but then they play “Arrowhead As Epilogue” and you fucking die. I guess that is not metal. It also is way more cringe for scene peeps to only dick ride Dying Fetus and wear mandatory shorts, though. I guess I also see the appeal of death metal bands having to look like swamp monsters, hmmm. Like there’s ridiculous photo in my Formulas Fatal To the Flesh CD, where dude was like playing guitar while camouflaged in the swamp? Or was that a dream? 

DS: It’s actually surprising that this has sparked so much conversation considering Benton is a known character and Euronymous said the exact same thing about Glen’s own contemporaries 30 years ago. Imagine being bothered by another man choosing to wear sweatpants? The audacity.

Having said that, I do believe there is value in having an onstage presentation that’s at least somewhat consistent with the mood or overall theme of your music. Though there can be a fine line between being serious about your art and looking like you’ve just raided the local Spirit Halloween. At the end of the day, the idea that there should be some kind of uniform for a genre that prides itself on being nonconformist is laughable. 

GCM: I almost copped some pretty sweet Ragana sweatpants awhile ago. Anyway, do you land on the literal hell side, or metaphorical? Your cover art for the new single reminded me of how I was thinking how Bosch on Earth would be like factory farming or mass murder, if literal. Looking at the Faustian bargain, it sure seems like more people choose to do harm than help…even when or especially when they have knowledge or power. I hate to be defeatist. There are movements for change. 

DS: I mentioned dogs > humans and truly believe that. As humans we can’t help but always want more. We become so obsessed with the unattainable that we bend the moral compass that supposedly sets us apart until it breaks. Eventually, we give in to our darkest thoughts in hopes of satiating that hunger because we’re animals too, afterall. “Hell is other people.” Particularly, when those people are in positions of power. 

GCM: Did you want to move in a slightly less melodic direction than some of the riffing on the EP like “Void Sight” (which I love and reminds me at times of Death)? Also, what is a formative metal memory for you that made you want to destroy your lives doing this? 

DS: Being less melodic wasn’t the intention but there was definitely a conscious effort to give a little more focus to the primitive side of heaviness rather than relying solely on speed and intricacy. There’s still plenty of both, but there’s also a healthy respect for what’s simple but effective. 

Morbid Angel opening for Pantera in March of 2000. Pantera was a bucket list band for me back then and I was familiar with Morbid Angel, but I never expected to be so blown away. The intensity and the catharsis it brought was life-changing to the point that while I had gone for Pantera, I left with the goal of one day being able to create sounds that were similar to what Morbid Angel could conjure. It was otherworldly and felt like discovering a whole new layer of something I already loved. 

 

GCM: I saw that tour as well and injured my neck headbanging. What can you tell us about the full-length you are rumored to have completed? This first taste will def make people want more! 

DS: Only that if you’ve enjoyed what you’ve heard so far, wait until you hear what we’ve been holding back…

 

Buy Faustian music and merch here:
https://faustianpropaganda.bandcamp.com/track/primordial-rot

 

MORGAN Y. EVANS
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