Answered William, thank you!
Translated by Petra, thank you!
Questions prepared Jakub Asphyx.
Recenze/review - CREEPING FLESH - Into the Meat Grinder (2019):
Ave CREEPING FLESH! Greetings to Sweden. How are you guys? Since I started to follow you on the social networks, I noticed you are having a great time as a band. Until now, I read only positive reviews on your new record. It is a really great album. Your hard work and enthusiasm bear fruit. How do you feel now as a band?
We feel great! We are all friends in the band and we have a lot of fun hanging out together, and of course a lot of fun writing and playing death metal together. Hopefully it shows in our music as well as at our gigs.
Let’s move to your new record „Into the Meat Grinder“. I am sure; our readers are interested the most about it. How was the new album creating? How long did take it to record it? How exactly does CREEPING FLESH compose new material?
We wrote the album during 2017-2018, with most of it being written in maybe the six months leading up to the album recording in October of 2018. Usually me (William, guitars) or Sofus (guitars) or Korp (bass) has some riffs or a basic idea for a song, which we then bring to the rehearsal space and try to make a cool, interesting song out of it by adding drums and vocals into the mix. After the riffs and structure for a song is somewhat done, we try to write the lyrics to fit the atmosphere of the song.
The new album also possesses a nice front cover. Who is an author, and how did you select the resulting motif?
It is actually me, William, who painted the cover artwork, inspired by a piece of art by the German painter Otto Dix, who was a machine gunner in the German army in World War 1. The piece is called “Flanders”, look it up! He is a great artist with some truly horrifying themes in his art, very inspirational. And if you like our artwork, make sure to pick up the vinyl gatefold release of our album when it comes out.
The sound is also great. It is dark, cold, and sharp at the same time. In which studio did you record it? Did you have the last word concerning the final sound, mastering?
We recorded it Big Balls Studioin Karlstad, with engineer/producer Dennis Eriksson, and it was mastered by Jonny Pettersson, who also does guest vocals on “Tank Corps Unleashed”. We had a pretty solid idea for the overall sound when we went in to the studio, and Dennis really nailed it with creating a harsh old school death metal sound, without being an exact replica of any other bands sound.
The lyrics are an essential part of your record. Could you reveal to us who is the author of lyrics, what is their background, and how were they create? Do the lyrics a significant value for you?
Usually it is I (William) or Martin(drums) who write the first drafts of the lyrics but everyone in the band contributes to the final versions of the lyrics. Basically we just enjoy reading and learning about the horrors of war, so when we find something specific we feel inspired by, we trywriting some lyrics about it. So I guess it’s nothing especially different from what other bands do.
I am sure; you will agree with me that your band is strongly influenced by groups from the eighties and nineties. It looks that we grew up with the same bands. For sure, there was the first band that inspired you to start play music actively. Which band was it? Tell me how it was to grow up in metal Sweden.
I think it was different for all of us. In between us in the band we have some very different musical tastes, even though we all have a joined interest and passion for old school death metal. I think the diversity of our tastes and preferences in music outside of death metal really help when creating songs that are well rounded and sound good to all of us. What finally drove me to start the band was when I started listening to band like Bolt Thrower, Obituary, Asphyx. I kind of missed that style in other new wave of OSDM-bands, and I thought that maybe we can try to complement the scene with a different style, rather than those that sound pretty much exactly like Entombed, Dismember, Death, Cannibal Corpse etc.
Nowadays, most people download new albums from the internet and use their digital form. How do you perceive this problematic? I am interested in the opinion of a musician.
As both a musician and a fan I feel that it is just a natural progression from CD’s into digital streaming services. I also stream most of the music I listen to, but always try to buy vinyls or other merch from the bands I am really into, just to make sure they get at least some money for all of their efforts, and of course try to go see as many live shows as I am able to. In the end I do think that playing live, being a good live band, should be encouraged and supported. If I enjoyed a live performance of the band, as well as the music being played, I am much more likely to buy merch and support the band.
Recently, a lot of young bands started to play an „old school death metal“. Mostly, they are not doing this well, but we can find a few new groups, which understand this style. Do you have some favorite one, about whose you think that succeeds in resurrecting the old times?
When it comes to newer OSDM band I personally always look for bands and music that feel at home in the late 80’s/early 90’s but still doesn’t feel like a carbon copy of any of the bigger bands, but more like they still do their own thing, and I probably am far from alone in thinking that way. As for some bands I enjoy, I would mention our friends in Crawl, Feral, and Gods Forsaken, as well as Sentient Horror, Tomb Mold and Curchburn as some personal favourites.
What about CREEPING FLESH and concerts? How difficult is to organize the tour for you? Do you hold only to Sweden, or would you like to play outside your country? I know everything is about money, but I still think the live shows can bring more true fans to the music.
We are definitely planning on playing a lot more outside of Sweden now that we have our first full length album out. We work with a booking agent in England, so we are going to be heading there in April next year, and we are going to try to sort out some festival shows and perhaps a short tour next fall outside of the Nordics. Preferably in Germany and Belgium/Netherlands. It doesn’t have to be many shows, just a couple good places to get our name and music out there a bit more.
You play music old as a death metal itself. How do you perceive the new genres in the death metal, its mixing with deathcore or technical death metal? Do you have some favorite bands in the „modern death metal“ style?
I am not that well versed in deathcore, but a bit more into tech death; currently I really enjoy Soreption, Archspire, Abysmal Torment, the new Nile, new Cattle Decapitation. Other than that I’ve been trying to expand my musical tastes by discovering a lot of blackened death and black metal overall. Like in death metal there is almost too much music to discover and enjoy.
In conclusion, let me ask you one philosophical question. How important is death metal for you? I don't mean the technical part of playing, but what this style means to you, how do you perceive it?
For me it is the be all, end all of metal. Death Metal and all of its different subgenres is the best that metal can be. Specifically old school death metal is what got me really invested in the metal scene, and is what made me want to actually start a band and perform live music. Perhaps, as a guitar player, it is the focus of groovy and catchy riffs in OSDM that draws me into it.
What is CREEPING FLESH planning in the next months? Is it possible to see your show in the Czech Republic in the future? I hope and believe I will catch you somewhere!
At the moment we have just started writing our next album, so it’s a lot of fun to get back into the rehearsal space and craft new songs again. We are waiting for the vinyl release of “Into the Meat Grinder” and are planning for some shows here in Sweden and in England in the spring. I can’t say if and when we will go to the Czech republic, but if we have the opportunity, we will come for sure!
Thank you for the interview, I wish you a lot of sold records, tons of devoted fans and I wish you also all the best in your personal lives.
Thank you so much for the interesting questions and for your interest in the band! Hope to see you at a show in the future!
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCk4Km-80evO5p2Pbnqqd89Q
https://creepingflesh.bandcamp.com/
https://soundcloud.com/creepingflesh
https://creepingflesh.bandcamp.com/
https://soundcloud.com/creepingflesh
about CREEPING FLESH on DEADLY STORM ZINE / o CREEPING FLESH na DEADLY STORM ZINE:
Recenze/review - CREEPING FLESH - Into the Meat Grinder (2019):
Recenze/review - CREEPING FLESH - Scorched (2016):
A few questions – interview with CREEPING FLESH - death metal band from Sweden!:
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