Necrambulant’s second full-length album, Upheaval of Malignant Necrambulance, blends brutal death metal with vivid, cinematic themes, pushing their signature "Inhuman Slam Grind" sound to new, grotesque heights.
1.
"Upheaval of Malignant Necrambulance" marks your second full-length
album. Can you share how the band’s sound has evolved since your 2013 debut
"Infernal Infectious Necro-ambulatory Pandemic"?
Well,
"Upheaval..." is the return to the roots that the band laid with
"Infernal...". So listeners can expect the same vein of guttural
slamming death metal that we were doing back then. Although, I will say that
the new album is a stronger release. Not only is it more songs than the debut,
but we've fine-tuned a lot of things from a songwriting perspective and
spent more time looking at each track through a much more critical lense in
effort to give a true & genuine representation of what Necrambulant is.
2. Your
music video for "Sentenced to a Gluttonous Pit" draws inspiration
from films like Army of Darkness and Return of the Jedi. How do
you approach incorporating cinematic themes into your songwriting?
The theme
of "Sentenced.." really comes more from the lyrics themselves. We
wanted the video to be a more performative piece that focused on capturing the
energy and feeling that we were conveying through the sound of the song itself.
As far as incorporating the themes into the lyrics, being big into film genres
like horror and sci-fi my whole life, it comes pretty naturally to draw
influence from those things and make my own story with them. It really boils
down to how a song sounds instrumentally and what direction it pulls my
imagination in for the lyrics.
3.
"Chunked Pus Chowder" introduced fans to the new album with a
claymation video. What inspired you to use this medium, and how does it reflect
the song's themes?
The idea came from Carlos (owner of Gore House Productions) during a phone call about possible singles to promote the album with. He mentioned he knew an artist, Brad Uyeda, who he believed could create something cool and unique for us. We decided "Chunked Pus Chowder" would be the most fitting track for that kind of artistry and, from there, Brad took the reins with his creative vision and made what is now the music video.
4. You
describe your sound as "Inhuman Slam Grind." How did this term come
to define Necrambulant, and what makes it unique compared to other brutal death
metal subgenres?
The term
came from our original bassist/vocalist, Chad, back when we formed the band. I
think the first song we ever wrote (which was the 2008 demo version of
"Self-Biological Carnivorous Cannibalism" - look it up on YouTube) is
the perfect definition for the term; as that song was a chaotic fury of equal
parts grind & slam. Add the gutturals of "Inhuman Chad" on the
demo and, voila, you got "Inhuman Slam Grind".
5. The
album tracklist reveals a wide range of themes, from zombies and cannibals to
sci-fi and Warhammer. How do you balance such diverse concepts while
maintaining a cohesive musical identity?
Brutal
themes for brutal music. These are all things that we, as a band, all have an
interest in. Ron and I are both big on WH40k lore, Matt collects vintage/retro
horror VHS tapes, Trent is into classic video nasties, and we all just have a
general love for the horror genre at large. The themes really just reflect us
as a band and what we are into.
6.
You’ve mentioned that the album is a "relentless barrage" with no
filler tracks. What was the creative process like when fine-tuning these songs
over the past two years?
We just spent much more time writing these songs and being thoughtful of what we were putting into them musically. I also was more involved in the songwriting & composing this time around than I was on the previous EP. So it was more collaborative with more minds in the melting pot when it came to the music itself.
.jpg)
I'd say
Phoenix is pretty ripe with good death metal, actually. We have brutal death
metal from here going back to bands like Enmity in the 90s, then the more
melodic Metal Blade Records stuff in the 2000s like Vehemence, our own era's
brutal contemporaries Meathook, and now there's a whole slew of newer bands
making their mark on the scene like Nuclear Remains, Eternal, Atoll,
Misanthropic, etc etc. And, of course, Gatecreeper is AZ's big "claim to
fame" currently. Bands out here support one another and, in my experience,
there aren't a lot of challenges being in a supportive scene. Albeit
"slam" isn't the biggest subgenre being created out here; at the end
of the day it's all death metal.
8. Your
lyrics are vivid and gruesome, aligning perfectly with your sound. How do you
approach writing lyrics, and what’s the most bizarre or challenging concept
you’ve tackled so far?
I just
listen to the instrumental demo tracks of the songs being worked on and let my
imagination take off. Conceptually, things come pretty easily. Often times,
I'll keep a list of ideas that come to mind that I think "that would make
for a cool story" so I don't forget it when there's music to put lyrics
to. Sometimes those ideas make it into songs, sometimes they don't - it really
just depends on what the music itself sounds like and where it steers my
imagination. As far as the most bizarre lyrical concept, if I had to pick a
track off the new album to give that award to then it would probably be
"Sentenced to a Gluttonous Pit"... Shit zombies, ya know?
9. With
"Upheaval of Malignant Necrambulance" being released through Gore
House Productions, how has the label supported the band’s vision and growth
over the years?
We couldn't
be happier with Gore House and all that Carlos has been doing for us,
especially for the upcoming "Upheaval..." release. There's more to
come so, without giving away too much, I'll probably leave it there and let
things reveal themselves as they arise.
10. For
fans of Devourment, Kraanium, and Cannibal Corpse, what about Necrambulant do
you think will stand out as fresh and distinct in the brutal death metal scene?
We
definitely aren't trying to reinvent the wheel, but I think we stand out as
having a sound that is distinctively "Necrambulant" while also
wearing our influences on our sleeves. Some might say we have more traditional
death metal elements than most newer slam bands, and some might say we are
still more slam than death metal - it's all very subjective depending on who is
listening. (I've heard at least a dozen different descriptors of our sound from
listeners.) We do try to stick to a more traditional approach when it comes to
the brutal death metal & slam influence in our music. So, rest assured, you
won't be hearing any rap or beatdown parts in any Necrambulant songs.
NECRAMBULANT | Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok | Linktree
Post a Comment