In this interview, Decayed Existence discusses their new album The Beginning of Sorrows, reflecting on its production, standout tracks, and the evolution of their sound over 30 years in death metal.
1.
Congratulations on the upcoming release of The Beginning of Sorrows! With over
30 years in the game, what makes this album stand out as a defining moment in
your career?
Harry Rocco
- Thank you! I don't know if it's a defining moment but I do like the
production and I think the producer finally hit the bull's eyes as far as the music.
The way I hear it when I'm writing it he managed to capture it perfectly.
Jeffrey Ke
- For me this album is a defining moment in my career as it being the first
album I've been on that has been released on an established music label, had
promotional support and with our music being available on major streaming
platforms like Spotify. Its really cool and something I’ve wanted since I was a
teenager.
2. The
opening track “Escape The Dead” immediately plunges listeners into intense
riffs and tempo changes. Can you talk about how this song sets the tone for the
rest of the album?
Harry Rocco
- Escape The Dead is a great song, it's the epitome of old school death metal
and it was a great starter to the album as we were trying to create an old
school death metal album.
Jeffrey Ke
- When I was writing Escape the Dead I wanted something fast and heavy,
something along the lines of Deicide riff wise.
3.
You’ve been praised for your lead guitar work on this album, with comparisons
to legends like Chuck Schuldiner and James Murphy. How did you approach the
guitar composition to bring that level of depth and melody to these songs?
Jeffrey Ke - It's an honor to be compared to such legends as Chuck Schuldiner and James Murphy even though I don't believe I'm in the same realm as them. But it is an honor for sure! But I can't say there's really any approach I took outside of just the melodies that come natural to me. I might start off with just kind of improvising a solo to the song and then just see what I come up with on the spot. Once I get an idea in my head then I'll start building off of it by playing it over and over again until I get something I’m truly satisfied with.
4.
“Beheading The Colossus” has been called the epitome of what Decayed Existence
offers. What was the inspiration behind this track, and how do you see it
representing your sound?
Harry Rocco
- Beheading The Colossus were lyrics I had for a few ideas and when Jeff came
to me with these riffs and this idea it just fit The lyric pattern and
everything it was perfect, and yeah so I think it was a good collaboration.
Jeffrey Ke - Harry did all the lyrics for this song but I just played around and really liked that starting rift with the harmonic in there. That seemed to click with Harry so we just collaborated on that and got the song that is on the album now.
5. The
album includes three live tracks that are described as monstrous, especially
“Detonation.” What was the process like capturing these live performances, and
how do they differ from your studio recordings?
Harry Rocco
- The process was Spontaneous one, I just got together with some older
musicians. They can't really do music full time anymore but they had some time
off due to the COVID crisis so we just had one really good jam session and
recorded it. We had a local producer named Jake come in and handle it and we
just jammed out and outcame what came out you know.
6.
You’ve worked with Andrew Giordanengo for the studio recordings and Jake
Ottinger for the live tracks. How did these collaborations influence the final
sound of The Beginning of Sorrows?
Harry Rocco
- Yeah we found Andrew through another local band called Hellametal and I like
to demo and I was wondering who produced it and if he would happen to be a
local guy so I figured you know I'll check it out. Wasn't really putting too
much thought into it but then I kept getting tapped on the shoulder by other
people “Check this guy out” and so I hired him to do three songs And it worked
out really well.
7. With
additional guitars by Jason Davis and Richard Nash, and guest vocals from Keith
Thompson, how did these contributions shape the dynamics of the album?
Harry Rocco
- These are just old members of Decayed Existence, there's been many faces in
Decayed and so I picked each one from each different era and got us together
and it turned out a good live session as the rest the album was with the main
members Jeffrey Ke, Kyle Balsiger and Ryan Brown
8. As a
band that has been around for decades, how have you seen the death metal scene
evolve, and where do you think Decayed Existence fits into today’s underground
metal landscape?
Harry Rocco
- Well I've seen the Death Metal scene evolve from just old school death metal,
to brutal death metal, to genre after genre of death metal or black metal. You
know it all involves which is good, music should be evolving. Yeah and as far
as Decayed Existence fitting in we've always been an underground metal band at
heart but yeah we just do what we do and hopefully someone likes it.
9. For
long-time fans, how does The Beginning of Sorrows compare to your earlier
releases in terms of style and thematic content?
Harry Rocco
- Well I had a few guys listen to it before it was released and I got you know
“Thumbs up” that this is a good album that “way to go high five” so it kind of
went with that. So I'm assuming that everybody was waiting for this album or at
least I'd like to think so.
10. What
are some of the lyrical themes you explore on this album, and how do they tie
into the title The Beginning of Sorrows?
Harry Rocco
- This album is mainly testimonial, knowing oneself and in one way shape or
form. You know self-discipline is definitely a factor in when it comes to
perseverance and motivation and everybody's got their story you know, and this
is just ours.
11.
Finally, as you prepare for the album’s release on October 11th, do you have
any touring plans or other projects lined up to support The Beginning of
Sorrows?
Harry Rocco
- Just a couple festivals, I'm sure we'll get on the road soon!
Post a Comment