Few questions – interview with Brutal Death/Black Metal band from USA - WHORE OF BETHLEHEM.
Answered Philip King.
Ave, can you introduce your bad to our readers? - When was it founded and what style do you play, etc?
Whore of Bethlehem is from Austin TX in the US and was formed in 2009 as a side project of Ryan Sylvie and our original drummer Rene Martinez. We play what we feel has best been described by a fan as brutal blackened death metal. We have a lot of different influences ranging from Morbid Angel to Arch Goat, Amon Amarth to Suffocation, and many others. We grew up playing along with those styles and in Whore of Bethlehem we've combined them in our way to make something that hopefully stands out among the large number of awesome metal bands.
Where and under what conditions were you recording the new album? Who was in charge of sound, production and mastering?
Extinguish the Light was recorded at AMP studios in our hometown of Austin, TX. The process took about a month to record and an additional few weeks to master and tweak into its current form and we're really pleased with how it came out! Our friend Michael Day handled all of the sound production from start to finish on this album at AMP studios ni Austin, TX. We recorded with him for Upon Judas' Throne our debut release, and he approached us about wanting to record our new album when we were ready and we're very glad he did. He did an amazing job working on it and getting the sound we were looking for. He handled the mastering and all the rest of production, and in general is an awesome guy to work with.
How many copies were released and which medium was used for the new edition? (CD, digital, vinyl, cassette)?
The new album is available on CD through our website and digitally through whoreofbethlehem.bandcamp.com. Copy wise we did something special as a part of pre-order for a green version of the album cover which went over really well. It was limited to 100 copies. We still have a handful of these left but we are only selling them at our live shows.
Who is the author of the lyrics and how were they created and about what do the lyrics deal with?
James writes all the lyrics for Whore of Bethlehem, and they typically deal with blasphemy, butchery, the necromantic arts and similar. I think his process is really to write something brutal and blasphemous that resonates with the songs, and he does a hell of a job.
Who created the logo of the band, and who took care of the graphics and the website? What about you and social networks? Do you consider these things important?
The logo was made by Christophe Szpajdel of Lord of Logos fame. He was very friendly and did an awesome job giving us a logo that really works for the sound we're trying to convey. As for the website Phil handles most of the website stuff through a hosting website.
Social media is very important to us, it's a major cornerstone of keeping in touch with fans across the globe and are fairly diligent about keeping up with messages sent to the band. It has its issues, namely the censorship of our name having Whore in it. This prevents us from doing sponsored ads and the like to target audiences because it violates their terms. Overall though it's definitely a major asset and has helped us with our success for sure.
Which label did you choose for releasing your album and why this label? Are you satisfied by how your label represents you and takes care of you?
We went with Black Market Metal Label, and we're very happy with the arrangement we agreed upon. They're handling a lot of the PR for us which has been really awesome and helped us get out there more.
Which bands do you idolize and where do you get your inspiration?
Collectively we have a very large pool of idolized bands, and we're fortunate enough to say that we've had the privilege of sharing the stage with a large number of them. The list, in no particular order and off the top of my head is Suffocation, Arch Goat, Immortal, Morbid Angel, Disgorge, Inquisition, Nile, Exhumed, Amon Amarth, Behemoth, and Cannibal Corpse to name a few.
Did you send the record to some labels - which are the labels? How was the response?
We did not send the entire album, but we did earlier on send a previously recorded version of Invocation and Rebirth off of Extinguish the Light to a number of labels that we felt would be a good fit. All the usual suspects of course, but the market is very saturated nowadays and standing out among the crowd is difficult to do. Ultimately we did not hear back from any of them in a timely manner and were prepared to self release the second album because we were already moving forward with tour dates to support the album which we did in the first week of July of 2017. It all worked out nicely though, as Black Market Metal is the perfect fit for this release and we are thankful for their support.
How many gigs have you played? Which type of gigs do you prefer, whether it's (clubs or festivals) and which of your performances do you consider as the best?
I'm wildly guessing but we've likely played a good couple hundred shows or more collectively over the passed years since the bands inception. We prefer a very packed moderate sized bar with a couple hundred people. That's the perfect sweet spot of killer sound and fan participation that feels really intimate, and not surprisingly the way we like to see shows as well.
What about your plans for the future? What do you want to achieve with the band?
Moving forward we're looking to do more tours and fests, and work on new material for sure. There will be more from us in the future!
How and where can your fans contact you? Can you provide some contact information?
The best way fans can contact us is through our FB official page. https://www.facebook.com/wobethlehem/, we also can be contacted through our website at www.whoreofbethlehem.com.
Thanks for the interview.
Thanks for your time! Enjoy the album!
