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Tag Archives: art
Otep – Generation Doom
Otep has a new album out titled Generation Doom (Napalm Records). As a longtime Otep fan, I’m always well chuffed when they release new music. Music of course being a derivative term as what Otep does is more art for the ears than anything. The first thing I noticed with Otep’s Generation Doom is that it’s heavy! Generation Doom is a heavy metal album. You can head bang and thrash about the living room whilst listening to this album. The album opens with the track ‘Zero’. It doesn’t take long before you are screaming the refrain “I don’t give a fuck!” along with lead singer Otep Shamaya. The guitars are just gobsmackingly amazing. The drumming is heavy and thumptastic.
‘Lords of War’ was one of the first singles released. It is political in nature without beating you over the head. Otep raps above some dark and heavy backing tracks. But again, you end up singing along with her by the chorus. Another song that tugs at your heart-strings is ‘In Cold Blood’. It’s angsty for all the right reasons. ‘Lie’ is another intensely personal song that breaks your heart. All the anger and frustration at having to deal with a love that lies to you is embedded in ‘Lie’. The song strips you bear and says everything you wish you could say. Otep Shamaya’s writing style on Generation Doom is a thing of beauty as she can articulate the feelings and concepts most of us stumble over. In addition, her vocals range from the haunting to the guttural and it’s her vocal range that make the songs on Generation Doom an epic album. For me, the best part of the album is that it’s sing-along-able. In direct opposition to Otep’s last album Hydra, Generation Doom is a musical album. By that I mean that it’s less art and more music in a traditional sense. Each song is a bitchin’ collection of lyrics and metal arrangements. Generation Doom will please strict metal fans and longtime Otep fans alike.
8.5/10
VICTORIA ANDERSON
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The Master’s Voice – Neill Jameson of Krieg
Neill Jameson of Krieg is one of the more fascinating people you will ever come across. Outspoken, articulate, philosophical, funny, and mild-mannered could all describe the man based on meeting him say, if you bumped into him at the bookstore or record shop. However, anyone witnessing him perform or create music, has a very different image in their mind. As one of the most important figures in the USBM scene, he clearly is more about “the work” and not about the accolades. In an exclusive interview with Ghost Cult’s Hillarie Jason, Neill discusses some changes going on in his life, the next Krieg album due in 2016, his thoughts on coping with mental illness, and other topics.
Neill recently moved to Virginia from southern New Jersey, and we opened things up by discussing how that is affecting the creation of a next Krieg album.
“Virginia is a nice change from Jersey in a lot of ways but mostly it’s just been a much needed change in my life that I’m hoping continues to stay positive. Plus I’m fortunate to live in a city that has a good music scene so there’s always something to look forward to.”
“Having a different place to work through ideas always helps. I have a lot of different places I haven’t explored yet but I’m able to take long walks that ease my mind and let me think through the ideas I want to convey with this next record, both sonically and lyrically.”
The forthcoming new Krieg album, entitled Guilt is due in 2016. It promises the progression of Krieg’s growth from Transient (Candlelight), which was definitely a different animal sonically than Isolationist (also Candlelight) was. So should we assume that Guilt will be just as different? “Yeah, we’re going to get together to start putting it together after the new year. There’s been less time between the two so I imagine there’s going to be more similarities between those two than there was between Isolationist and Transient. But I’m more inspired this time around by hardcore and crust than even the last one so there’s probably going to be a strong emphasis on that, without the shitty tough guy posturing.”
Speaking of shitty tough guys, Neill has commentated on the foibles of such men in the metal scene in his occasional op-ed series for Decibel Magazine. He was equally praised and condemned by keyboard warriors regarding his past observations on bigotry, chauvinism, and elitism in metal. We asked how he dealt with the praise and backlash:
“I’m happy to have some kind of platform to speak out about stupidity in general, be it about stupid shit like horse masks and chicken costumes or the heavier stuff I’ve dealt with the last few columns. I’m also very used to people talking shit about me on the internet so this isn’t anything new nor will it be something that goes away. So I don’t particularly care one way or the other. I’m not interested in being a social justice warrior nor do I think censorship in case someone’s fucking feelings get hurt is a good idea. I’m all in favor of freedom of speech and expression but I’m also aware those come with consequences, an idea not a lot of these dry dicks hollering at me while their mothers are upstairs drinking away the memory of having a failure of a child can seem to grasp. But I’ve spent long enough being a shithead myself so now’s my chance to atone a bit I guess.”
Neill has been candid about his struggles with mental illness publicly and in past interviews. So much so that it may have paved the way for a public discussion in the music community on these topics, since a lot of heavy music imagery and lyrics focuses on madness. We asked what, if anything if the underground music community can do to break the stigmas attached to mental illness, bipolar disorder, etc.?
“Odd you bring that up right now. Yesterday I made the decision after five years off to go back on meds to treat my bi-polar depression and anxiety. I was going to try to use my writing to document the experience and try to follow in a lot of people’s footsteps and keep the dialogue about mental illness in music and art in general open and flowing. There’s less of a stigma to it now than ten years ago, but also everyone’s doctor has them on something for shit they probably don’t even need treatment for and that’s what kept me from being on them for so long, it had stopped making a difference and I felt the whole thing was a fucking sham, I still do for the most part, but I’m also at a place in my life where I know I need help otherwise I’m going to fucking ruin things for myself which I almost did when I did Blue Miasma and again after The Isolationist and I want to see if exploring this will somehow be beneficial to myself and maybe others through sharing the experience.”
Neil is well known for a slew of collaborative projects and split releases. We wondered if it’s easier to run your own band with no interference: “I don’t just have myself to think about anymore, that’s a big part of it. A lot of people who suffer from these conditions aren’t aware how it affects those close to them, I have been aware for a long time and that’s where the “guilt complex” comes in but it’s been recently that I’ve decided it’s not a cycle I want to keep reliving. It doesn’t add to my “creativity” or anything positive.”
“The collaborations I do have each been so entirely different that I focus on them more as a way to learn new methods and techniques from other artists and how to incorporate them into my own music. So they’re entirely different experiences to me so I can’t say if one is necessarily easier than the other.”
On working with working with Thurston Moore (in Twilight):
“One of the most valuable learning experiences I’ve ever had. Plus he’s such an open and excited collaborator that it made what we were doing all the more vivid and dynamic. I would love for the chance to work with him again on something.”
“As opposed to other previous Twilight members, two in particular, who just dialed it in and sat back to collect praise and whatever money was available.”
Krieg recently left Candlelight Records and signed with Profound Lore Records: “Jef Whitehead brought up that we were about to be released from our Candlelight contract to Chris Bruni and it went from there. I’ve had contact with Chris since he wrote for Metal Maniacs and I’m a big fan of some of the bands on his label, and also just how he has built an empire with his own two hands in the image of exactly how he wants it to go. I look forward to causing the label to lose a lot of money and respect worldwide with this next record.”
In general Neill has had a fairly prolific couple of years. What is his regular creative process like or does he prefer to work project to project?
“It’s sporadic. For most of this year I barely picked up a guitar or wrote any lyrics. Other times it’s like I can’t turn it off. I don’t know what causes this to happen, it’s like the seasons change. It’s always been like this.”
“I could sit and force it but you can tell when I do that. I’d rather just let it come naturally.”
Commenting further on the release date: “Sometime next year. Same with the split with Integrity.
The split’s been recorded for about a year and is the best song we’ve ever recorded and the general basis for the next record so they tie in nicely with each other.”
WORDS AND PHOTOS BY HILLARIE JASON
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Incubate Festival Part II: Tilburg, NL
We’re five days into Incubate Festival and still shivering from the impressive performances of The Melvins, Girl Band and Shining. Ready to watch some more of our favorite bands and discover another handful of new ones, we once again throw ourselves into the lively heart of the city of Tilburg.
Lumerians opens our Friday night in one of the smaller rooms of the immense theatre of Tilburg. The audience has taken a comfortable seat on the wooden tribune that opposes the stage while the band plays a hypnotizing, spacey post-punk with a light 60’s sound to it. They are dressed up as monks in robes of a shimmering, glittery material and behind them play such fantastic psychedelic visuals that we’re too mesmerized to even think about dancing along.
One big bonus point that comes with having a festival bang in city center is the abundance of good food. Overpriced hamburgers and soggy fries don’t make it on to our menu during Incubate. On our way to Hall of Fame to see Grave Pleasures, we find out that, what previously had been an abandoned industrial park crossed by rusty old train tracks, suddenly houses an atmospherically lit and freely accessible food truck festival. Dinner this weekend: sorted.
When we manage to tear ourselves away from the smell of freshly ground coffee and char-grilled hamburgers, Grave Pleasures, risen from the ashes of Beastmilk, give us a theatrical and captivating performance. Their sound is edgier than before but still has that recognizable apocalyptic feel to it. For a complete change of sound, we head off to Little Devil, where Belgian Associality shows us the fun side of punk with songs about punk granddads and a man who only drinks Jupiler beer.
We’re still singing along to the chorus of the beer song when we arrive at the biggest name of the day: Converge. In a relentlessly loud performance, the hardcore punk legends live up to their name and put down one of the best shows of the week. A few hundred people are stage-diving and dancing in the pit as if their punk credentials depend on it. Frontman Jacob Bannon radiates a contagious energy as he belts out hit after hit. Sweaty and exhausted, we call it a night.
Saturday brings about a problem of an entirely different caliber. With so many different venues with each their own selection of beers on tap, we have a bit of a heavy head on our way to the first name on our list. Finnish K-X-P’s melodic, electronic sound with a definite hint of krautrock wouldn’t feel misplaced in the vaults of an abandoned Berlin power plant. However, the wooden beams, high ceilings and stained glass windows in Dudok, create a beautiful contrast to the industrial noises and ghostly sounds of the band. They put on a captivating show that calms our heads and prepares us well for the rest of the night.
Extase’s small stage and low ceiling sets the perfect vibe for a loud, no nonsense punk band and this is exactly what we get from Priests. Frontwoman Katie Alice Greer has an incredible stage presence. She parades on stage, screaming, singing and roaring in a skintight, giraffe-patterned suit and manages to give the audience a permanent death stare that would make Courtney Love green with envy. Priests gives us precisely what we go to Incubate for: seeing a relatively unknown act for the first time, who absolutely blows the patches off our jackets.
On the final day of the festival we finally have a sunny day and immediately take advantage of it to watch a show in the Muzentuin, a courtyard of the town’s art academy. We watch Surfer Blood play alternative rock with a lovely summer feel to it, before we decide it’s time to dive back into the loudness and head to Hall of Fame where the hardcore punkers from Jesus Police are tearing the stage to shreds. With so many bands playing at the same time, it’s sometimes tough to decide which ones to go and see and we may have been slightly favorable towards Jesus Police because of their name (it was a tough decision to skip Cocaine Piss later on).
Melodic post-rockers The Black Heart Rebellion whip us up into a Seventies progressive rock infused dream as they close the night in a ram packed Little Devil. With the imprint of the happy, sweaty faces of the crowd still in the back of our minds, we dash back to Midi to catch the second half of Wire, who have called upon about twenty guitarists from other bands at the festival to join them on stage. In a haze of perfectly orchestrated noise, they temporarily form The Pink Flag Orchestra and perform their 1977 debut album song ‘Pink Flag’ in a playful and legendary conclusion of the festival.
We cool off outside, still a little high from Wire’s brilliant performance, and convince ourselves that, yes, we still have enough spirit and adrenaline to make it to the after party in Extase. Chief Developer of Incubate Joost Heijthuijsen is one of the DJ’s, so within an hour of arrival we are part of a long conga line and attempt to dance to German schlager music. What a way to end a festival! The next day we hear that Neneh Cherry, who closed the festival in the Muzentuin on Sunday, was apparently part of that conga line and had a great time at the after party. She’s 51 years old and we had to agree she definitely beat us all at being the coolest person at the festival that night.
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WORDS BY CÉLINE HUIZER
PHOTOGRAPHY BY SUSANNE A. MAATHUIS
Incubate Festival Part I: Tilburg, NL
The first rainy, windy days of September blow in independent music festival Incubate. But you won’t catch us trotting through muddy fields while drinking beer from plastic cups, because this art, music and theatre festival takes place in the lively heart of Tilburg city. Notoriously home to Roadburn Festival, Tilburg proves there’s more to it than just its large music venue 013. Amongst the venues used during Incubate are a church, an old cinema, a theatre and a skate park, alongside a range of bars scattered throughout the town. Each of the bars stick to their own theme; for instance Paradox has mainly jazz and avant-garde artists while Extase is the place to be for rock and psychedelic. Our home base for the week was Little Devil, the infamous metal and punk den of Tilburg.
Being a seven-day-long marathon of a festival, Incubate offers an impressive program. Every day you can pick from an incredible range of things to do: you can participate in the music quiz, watch a theatre performance, visit an art exhibition, see a film, do a beer brewing masterclass and hopefully you’ll still have time to watch your favorite bands perform. During the week, the music program doesn’t start until six so there’s plenty of time to explore the town and the entire culture Incubate brings with it.
But in the end, music is what we came here for and we didn’t have to wait long for the first excitement to creep in. Punk legends The Melvins played two exclusive shows this week, the first one rolling in on Tuesday. Big Business members Jared Warren and Coady Willis once more joined Dale Crover and King Buzzo for a loud and mesmerizing show at Midi, a former cinema where the comfy red seats are still visible stacked up behind the bar. We wish we could’ve been floating over the stage just so we could constantly watch the drummers captivatingly mirroring each other on a fused double drum set. As Jared Warren leaves the room after ending the last song with a hypnotizing “So long, we’ll never see you again”, Dale Crover pipes up to the microphone, singing “Until tomorrow, tomorrow, there’s another show, tomorrow, it’s only a day-,” Yeah, we were all guilty of singing along.
Trying to ignore the lingering realization it is a Tuesday, we pay a late night visit to Dudok and stumble right into Irish post-punk/noise act Girl Band. On the top floor of a former Catholic school, holy figures watch down on us from the stained glass windows as we try to catch a glimpse of singer Dara Kiely through the haze of legs kicking through the air. He’s suffering from a torn ligament and is determined to make up for his lack of running around, which means we mostly has view of an erratically shaking head of blond hair. Despite the religious feel to the location, Girl Band brings about an almost demonic amount of noise. Had it been up to Kiely, he would’ve crowd-surfed right with us in his wheelchair.
The best things at Incubate always happen when you get sidetracked from your plans because you accidentally run into something else. On our way into town to see Dead Neanderthals, we pass the Hall of Fame. This venue is set in a large old building next to abandoned train tracks, which nowadays houses the town’s indoor skate park. After dragging ourselves away from watching the skaters go on with their day as if Incubate is a film playing in the background, we end up in a backroom where Belgian hardcore punkers Daggers are creating the musical equivalent of a Molotov cocktail. In an explosion of noise and distortion, they took our after-dinner apathy and kicked it right up our ass.
Still experiencing aftershocks from the deafening volume in the Hall of Fame, we ended up at the old cinema again, where Dead Neanderthals were tasked with curating the Thursday. They had invited UK noise rockers Three Trapped Tigers to open the night and Norwegian blackjazzers (is that even a word?) Shining to end with a bang. Their own show is nothing less than a wall of sound. Just layer over layer of noise. We hear dark jazz, some metal, some industrial, and all of it blends neatly into a ball of pure awesomeness. When their set is finished, we overhear a guy saying: “Wow, now there’s noise and there is noise.” Sums it up, really.
Shining shows us exactly how sexy metal can be. Frontman Jørgen Munkeby almost makes you forget there’s an entire band behind him. The rawness in Shining is by now far gone and their music is so rhythmic it’s nearly impossible to stand still and look cool. From the hairstyles and matching black outfits to the technical precision with which all the instruments collide, everything is razor sharp and ever so slick. They put up a theatrical and energetic performance in which Munkeby and his saxophone often take the spotlight. Loud and in your face but, man, so super, super smooth.
In a haze of sweat and with our hearts still beating in Shining tunes, we stumble outside, only to land in the middle of a gathering. An unplanned gathering, that is. It happens a lot at Incubate. In front of every venue, people meet in the streets. Not only is the entire Tilburg music scene present at the festival, so are a lot of people who only see each other every year at Incubate (and maybe Roadburn). Meeting new people is easy, as “wow, what a show” seems to elicit reactions from pretty much everyone present outside, regardless of the show. It’s hard to think it’s only Thursday and the main part of the festival hasn’t even begun yet. But sleep is for the weak, and the Little Devil doesn’t plan on closing at midnight.
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WORDS BY CÉLINE HUIZER
Inside The Chapel Of Sacred Mirrors
Many people may know visionary artist Alex Grey from his contributions to Tool’s use of his artwork from such albums as Lateralus and 10,000 Days (both Volcano Entertainment). Alex and his wife Allyson have much of their life’s work on display at the Chapel of Sacred Mirrors, now located in Wappingers Falls, NY. However, there is so much more to the environment and artwork at CoSM that must be experienced and felt that makes a trip to Dutchess County, New York definitely worthwhile.
On August 1st, 2015, Alex and Allyson held their “164th Full Moon Ceremony” at the Chapel of Sacred Mirrors. With their intricate artwork lining the walls of the house, the beautiful ceremony commenced at 7:30p.m. as the Greys appeared from behind a doorway adorned with a tapestry of Psychic Energy System. They began the ceremony by playing a rhythm on gongs set on opposite sides of the stage.
Alex Grey at CoSM, by Melina D Photography
Allyson Grey at CoSM, by Melina D Photography
Allyson spoke briefly at the beginning of the ceremony, bringing to stage two poets in order, Brett Bevell and Fun Yung Moon. Following their appearance was Joness Jones, who gave her Astrological weather forecast in disguise, discussing Leo and Aquarius as well as Venus being in retrograde. To conclude the ceremony, that had been primarily a reminder of love, Alex read a passage from his book, Art Psalms. The Ceremony left a clear impression on those who attended and set the stage for the evening’s festivities to follow.
Full Moon Ceremony, at CoSM, by Melina D Photography
As the night continued, inside, there was live painting by artists Caren Charles and Alexia Velez; a Sand Mandala was created by guests in another room, as well as Tarot Readings by Marcy. All the while Alex and Allyson sat in the main room speaking with guests and signing books and posters. Outside there was a gorgeous laser light show, and music ensued. In addition, there was everything from Reiki therapy on the patio, a fire spinner, acrobatics, and a bonfire to entertain the onlookers.
Alex and Allyson Grey at CoSM, by Melina D Photography
Full Moon Ceremony, at CoSM, by Melina D Photography
Full Moon Ceremony, at CoSM, by Melina D Photography
Full Moon Ceremony, at CoSM, by Melina D Photography
Later in the evening, Alex painted a Supportrait of one of the attendees. The proceeds of the Supportrait go to helping build Entheon. Entheon is their latest project on the property, a building to house the Greys CoSM Art Collection.
Full Moon Ceremony, at CoSM, by Melina D Photography
More information about the Greys, The Chapel of Sacred Mirrors, and the Entheon project can be found at their website here:
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WORDS AND PHOTOS BY MELINA DELLAMARRGIO
Stray From The Plan- Reece from STEAK
“We just want to have fun and play live to as many people as possible. Keeping it fun when things get a bit serious can be a challenge but I think you need to just focus on the original brief. Play music, get pissed and have a laugh. As long as that happens then we have a long future ahead.”
It’s a straightforward idea, but then again this is hardly the most complex of bands. The music industry may be a hard place to get by these days but stoner band STEAK seem to be stronger than ever. With a recent signing to Napalm records and a slot this year at Desertfest Belgium, the band are quickly establishing themselves as one of the biggest rising acts on the UK scene. Perhaps it’s this attitude that helps them survive where so many bands fail as guitarist Reece reveals.
They’re not just living the attitude when they play, it can really be heard pulsing throughout the music.
“A thunderous bass line and fuzzy guitar is the core of our sound. Not over complicating things and letting the riff flow without trying to be too clever. It’s rock n roll, it needs to flow. Sammy joined the band on drums in 2012 just before the Corned Beef Colossus EP and he added a new dimension to the band and brought the whole thing to life and Kip’s vocals just seem to get better and better. Whether you like us or not the Steak sound is unmistakable I would say.”
It seems there’s very little about this band that wants to be taken seriously, and when your playing fuzzed out stoner rock music, that’s definitely not a bad thing. The name STEAK may seem unusual, but the meaning behind it couldn’t be simpler.
“Because meats meat and girls have gotta eat”
This simple philosophy carries through to their attitude towards the band itself. Not straying too far from the usual story: friends get together and form a band, play a few shows and eventually things begin to flow. This band is however pioneering in one crucial area; practice makes perfect even with heavy amounts of alcohol involved!
“We have been close group of friends for years and Kip the singer is my (Reece) cousin. We talked about starting a band for a good while before we actually got our act together and done it. Kip and I went to a music store and picked up some really shitty drums, then called a friend and basically told him he’s our drummer! We were really terrible! In fact I still can’t work out how we stayed together through some disastrous gigs, but in fact it makes you a stronger unit and a little more tougher as a band. Man it was hard work back in the early days, we liked the beer more than playing tight. Some things don’t change but we are a much better band now when pissed!”
Whereas their releases in the past had all been EPs, latest album Slab City saw a departing from the usual shorter format into a full-length album. Commenting on the decision to stray from the original plan, Reece reveals it was getting signed that made the transition possible.“Mostly due to the support from Napalm after getting signed. We honestly wasn’t too fussed about being signed and had a plan to release 4 E.P’s all connected by the comic. At the end we was going to release a comic book that linked them all. After ‘Corned Beef Colossus’ e.p we was signed to Napalm and they wanted us to release a full length. It made total sense to do that if we had their support as we could spend time on the recording and have the back up to get it out to as many people as possible.”
The STEAK guys are just as passionate about music on the stage as off it, and the partying continues as Reece reveals his favorite concert memory.
“For me personally it has to be seeing a reformed Unida, Lowrider and Dozer share a stage at Desertfest London in 2013. Man that was an awesome thing to witness and really never thought it would happen. It felt like it was like 1996 or something.”
Although they may not be letting their current success go to their heads, it seems there are exiting opportunities on the horizon for this band still. Just weeks away from a full European tour on the horizon it seems this band wont be buried in the UK underground for too much longer.
“We are just about to be announced as support for John Garcia on a 5 week tour around Europe. That will be awesome as it means playing bigger venues and good crowds. Hopefully Garcia fans will dig what we do and we will sell lots of records! Hopefully he gets up and sings on the track ‘Pisser’ form the new album as he does on the record. Maybe it will happen!”
CAITLIN SMITH
Search for Truth: Colin H Van Eeckhout of Amenra
While Belgium may have a reputation for delicious chocolates and quaint cobbled streets (Bruges anyway), one thing they aren’t short of is bands that matter. One such Flemish favourite is the mighty Amenra, a collective of individuals who use all the means at their disposal, be that audio and visual to put on a show that you can’t tear your eyes away from. Their highly anticipated performance at Temples will be one to remember, especially if they have to dish out some punishment to talkative audience members who won’t shut up during the quiet bits. Ghost Cult’s James Conway caught up with Colin H Van Eeckhout to discuss the festival and other happenings with the band.
Like several bands you are sharing the Temples bill with, you are careful about what gigs you choose to play. What was it about Temples that attracted you?
Everything. As soon as the first names were announced I fucking felt we had to be a part of this. It just felt right. I immediately mailed our booker.
It’s been a few months since the release of your last album. What has the reaction been like and how have the songs fitted into your live show?
It was really incredible. We didn’t expect the reactions to be so overwhelmingly positive. In all honesty we didn’t feel like we had accomplished a great thing with this record. We wanted it to be better. We really felt we had more inside of us. We never feel too sure or certain about ourselves or what we do. Right now we play 3/4 of our mass V album. I’m stoked the new songs have their part in the live set now. It always takes awhile for new material to find its way into our bodies. We have to be really confident, and almost lay it on autopilot before we can really lose ourselves in there. We know we have to give it the time it needs.
Can you explain what exactly the Church of Ra is and how it relates to your live show?
The church of Ra is an assembly of kindred artistic spirits. We each seek answers to questions that haunt us, in our own specific ways; we try to lift each other upwards in any way possible. Our live show, that would be the live visuals done by our guitar player Mathieu Vandekerckhove. As for our entire ‘graphic’ world a lot of us entwine and create something bigger.
Your recent video for ‘A Mon Ame’ is certainly different from most music videos. How does the video represent the song and what was it like working with Willy Vanderperre?
It was mind-blowing, to be a part of such a professional project. Normally we do everything ourselves, from filming to editing, writing and so forth. It was Willy who approached us, and at first we got to know each other a little better. I soon realised that Willy and Nicolas would be the perfect match, that we could trust. We obliged ourselves to let go for the first time. We had to let go to make this happen. It was just to confronting for us to only work with our physical selves. We would’ve never dared to keep it so pure and honest. We had kept hidden in shadows and live visuals for all these years. And now we were alone in the open at night. Under a watchtower of punishing light.
Are you ever worried about crowd noise and hecklers during the quieter parts of your songs when you play live?
I’m never worried, only irritated when it happens and it happens sometimes yes then we have to go offstage to set them straight.
Can you tell us about your upcoming split release with VVovnds?
Right now we’re focussing on writing new acoustic material and most of our new releases are built around that. I’m happy that we are able to do this split with VVovnds. It’s KJMs band, one of the founding fathers of Amenra, now ex-member. It’s a part of a series of splits with all different bands, Hessian, Mathieu Vandekerckhove, Scott Kelly etc.
How important is photography and art in relation to Amenra and do you have any future plans in regard to this?
We have been blessed with the presence of Stefaan Temmerman, a photographer, and friend, who has been following us since 2010. During this period he joined us and now is our stage tech on every live show. He has become a big part of what we do. June 2014 will harvest a new COR book featuring more photographs by his hand taken throughout the period. Art has a very big role in everything we do; we want to attack all senses. Every medium possible will be used in our search for truth.
Do you have any news on a forthcoming full-length release?
It most likely will be an acoustic album, following up our 2009 Afterlife acoustic EP. We never set deadlines. It’ll be there when it’s ready.
You are playing directly before Neurosis at Temples. Is it intimidating or exciting to play before such a big influence on your band? Do you aim to upstage them?
It is still one of the most exciting things to do. They have indeed been one of the biggest influences on us, as a band. I remember the first time we ever played together, one of the highlights of our existence. It’s one of the most beautiful things ever to get the recognition of the artists who went before you, inspired you, who led the way. We don’t care about upstaging anyone; we just do what we do. Everytime.
What can we expect from your performance at Temples?
It will be honest, true and profound, above anything.
JAMES CONWAY
Your Daily Inspiration: An Interview With GWAR
What is identity? What happens the entire world knows your alter-ego, but for the most part only real fans know who you are? Would you even care, or perhaps even prefer it to be this way? Are you more free to be as crazy as possible under a mask? These questions that have surely come across the brilliant, twisted mind of Dave Brockie from time to time. Dave is better known by his gregarious alter-ego, mutant from another world, Oderus Urungus of the mighty GWAR. Hellbent on sex, blood, mass destruction, murdering celebrities, calling out hypocrisy, and spewing mass quantities fluids on crowds at shows for over thirty years, it’s nice work if you can get it. Along the way Oderus has become an icon, appearing on cable news shows, TV shows (Holliston), and other turns in pop culture. Ghost Cult’s Omar Cordy was treated to a very different personality backstage in New York City recently, when Brockie as Brockie waxed on about his long career, the ups and downs of a being in a constantly working band, GWAR’s recent album Battle Maximus (Metal Blade), paying attention to your fans, and more.