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pondělí 12. října 2020

Interview - XPUS - See you in Hell!


Interview with death/black metal band from Italy - XPUS.

Answered bassist and vocalist Aren, thank you!

Translated Petra, thank you!

Questions prepared Jakub Asphyx.

Recenze/review - XPUS - In Umbra Mortis Sedent (2020):

Ave XPUS! I haven’t found any interview in the Czech language with you, yet. So please, first introduce the band to our readers who don’t know you. You could start from the early beginnings and describe the whole XPUS history. 

XPUS band was founded by me in January 2015, at the end of March I recorded the first demo like a "One-Man Band" and thanks to that, one month later, I signed a contract with Ukraine Label "Metal Scrap Records" for the release of debut album, of course I needed to switch the band typology from "One-Man Band" to "Full band" so I called my old friend and ex member in my every old music projects "Mornak" (guitars) and "L" (Drums). In June we started the recording for the debut album called : “Sanctus Dominus Deus Sabaoth” which was published in November. In the 2016 with a new Drummer called “Ulvirøs” we played many gigs in Italy and abroad, we appeared in two compilation, the first one named “Blasphemy by thy name vol.3” released by “Metal Music Austria” and in “Witchery Flames Of Underground Lust" released by “Metal Scrap Records”. In October we partecipated to the Festival "Rites of the black mass" in Bucharest with Enthroned, Bolzer ,Possession, Infernal IWar and many others bands. In September 2017 we entered Studio for the second chapter called: "In Umbra Mortis Sedent" and after 2 months we signed a deal with Transcending Obscurity Label. In May 2018 we went in Tour in the east of Europe. After two years, in April 2020 our album was finally released. Unfortunately, due to Covid 19, all of our plans for supporting the album release went to fuck...... So now, waiting for better times, we are closed in our rehersal room to complete the future third chapter. 


On 8. 5. 2020 Transcending Obscurity Records released your new album "In Umbra Mortis Sedent". As the name suggests, it is again a whirlwind of honest black and old death metal. When did you go out of studio, how did you feel? Introduce a little bit your new album to your fans. 

Well, when we finished the recording of the new album, we felt... "strange" because after months of preparing for the work in the studio, we finished all in only 8 hours, 4 hours for the music part and another 4 hours for the lirycs, so you can understand that this thing is unusual, we felt good but also "is it all over?" we didn't have the opportunity to taste the entire process of album creation, all was too fast. "Umbra Mortis Sedent" is a deepest obscure and blasphemous genuine extreme metal album, no innovations, no clean voices, no super recording with blasting and plastic sound. This album is our personal tribute to the music we love, and we grew up with. 

I really enjoyed a very raw and "mangy" sound on the new album. Where did you record and mix the album and who is signed under the production? 

I'm happy to hear this, we spent many hours searching for a personal sound. We recorded the album in a very particular place, a mix between castle and farmhouse, this building is always used by some professional Theater companies for their rehearsals. In order to exalt and bring on the recording the raw sound that we have on stage we didn't want a real professional studio. The man behind the recording and mixing is Manuel Marani of "Mara's Cave" here in italy, for the mastering instead Dan Lowndes of "Resonance Sound Studio" in England. 

 

I am also interested about the cover of the album. If I understand it well, so it is a scene from an old occult book. Cover is hell, dark and mysterious like your new album. What does this idea mean? And who painted it? 

No it isn't a cover of old book, when Kunal (Boss of Transcending Obscurity) listened the whole album wrote to me and said " your music remember me old underground catacombs, Death darkness and desolation, what do you think about this concept? Of course was a cool idea! The artwork was created by Misanthropic-Art, really great work, i love it. 


As a band, you are dealing with satanism, occultism, death, violence. What are the lyrics about on the new recording? What is the main theme and idea of "In Umbra Mortis Sedent"? 

In the album you can find only 2 lyrics, the first one is splitted in the first two songs, it talks about a man that in order to get rid from the satanic voices that torment him, is forced to make a satanic ritual and kill a young virgin girl, but at the end he understands that there aren‘t any voices, all is in his head, he is just crazy, he takes pleasure to plan in kidnapping, torturing, killing the girl and taking pleasure in rape her dead mutilated body. He understands that there is no chance to escape from his madness, the only escape is suicide. The song: “The Gates of Doom“ is a rivisited cover of an our (mine and Mornak) old Black Metal band called Unholy Land so this song is apart. The second lyric is splitted from all the rest of the songs and talks about a little child raped by a priest, in this case I try to tell the story from a different point of view, the priest who tries to resist but the impulses is so strong and uncontrollable, the pleasure of his flesh blending with child's flesh, the possession upon his body, the crying alone in his hall after the coitus, he hate all of this but he is a fucking asshole and he knows that soon another child will become one of his victims. The point of view of the child, alone in this great room with the priest, he is too strong, no escape, his hands all around the body, his kisses and his drool, his fetid breath in the throat, the rape and the entire life ruined with future continuous nightmares. 


You play totally nihilistic death/ black metal. This is exactly the kind of inferno that listeners really mess up their nerve and auditory canal. How did you get to this style? Did you pass as musicians other styles of music? Did you play in other bands? Who actually influenced you at the beginning? 

When I was 14 years old I found a cassette with the inscription "Slayer - Hell Awaits": this was the beginning for me, I was already listening metal music like Iron Maiden, Megadeth, Metallica, Manowar Venom etc. but that album changed everything. After 1 year I met some guys older than me that brought in my life bands like: Grave, Deicide, Cannibal Corpse, Morbid Angel, Autopsy etc etc. No other kind of music in my life. I play extreme music since 1995, with Bathim (Black Metal), Unholy Land (Black Metal), Soulphureus (Death Metal) all dead Bands, now I play only in Xpus. Only the great olden bands of the past influence me/us. 

The new album on CD, vinyl and cassette was released by Transcending Obscurity Records. The label has a very good name in the underground and it does a great job because people often hear about bands this label works with. Were you, as a band, satisfied with their work? 

Yes. Kunal, Boss of T.O. is a real metalhead and he puts all his passion into his work, our album is released for now only in 2 different format, the digipak version and the limited box edition, both are very cool productions with glow in the dark effect, I love the creativity of T.O. and these innovative ideas, we are very satisfied, yes. 


How about XPUS and concerts? I looked online and I found out that you mostly play in underground clubs. Do people often go to old death black metal concerts in Italy? Do you want to support your album with a tour? If yes, do you want to play in the Czech Republic? 

We love play on stage, we are a live band, it doesn’t matter if it’s a big or underground club, for us the only important thing is play. Unfortunately, this is a real strange and waste period, the Covid 19 ruined all, so now, we don’t have any plan for the near future, we have to wait and hope. For now, we prepare us for the future gigs and continue the work on the new album and if will be the possibility to play in your country, we'll come for sure man! 

Nowadays, many people download music online and they only use its digital form. How do you feel about this as a musician? 

Internet bring us some great possibilities but also it ruined many others. all this savage illegal download has brought the music business to its knees so now, the Labels don't invest anymore in the new bands and more doors are closed for many guys around the world, some of them (Labels) ask a lot of money to the Bands for the releases, this is shameful, play extreme Metal is a vocation, as a band you can't expect to make money with this kind of music but not even sell a kidney for everything, damn! Lastly, today is too simple to get a new album, so you lost the taste of what was all around, the waiting, the trusted shop, touch the physical copy, opening it, see the lirics, the photos, the run to home or in your car to listen to it, you understand me? All this is lost today. Today is all aseptic. 


Are there any albums which have caught your attention recently? 

No, but only because in the last period I'm very busy with my work and some problems, unfortunately no time for search new music. 

Do you know and listen any Czech bands? 

Yes of course, some of them? Krabathor, Pathologist, Disfigured Corpse, Maniac Butcher, Root. 

What are XPUS ´s plans for the next few months? 

As I said, in this strange period is hard to plan and organize things, we wait... 

Thank you for the interview and I wish you many sold albums, hundreds of crazy fans and tons of great ideas. 

Many thanks to you, for the space you gave us and for all your words, really appreciated, 

See you in Hell.
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