DEADLY STORM zine: A few questions - interview with death metal band from Finland

A few questions - interview with death metal band from Finland - DEATHGOAT.

Answered vocalist Putrid Worm and guitarist Nihilist, thank you!

Ave, can you introduce your band to our readers? – When was it founded and what style of music do you play etc.?

Hi and first of all, thanks for contacting us!

Deathgoat was formed in 2015. Putrid Worm was trying out to be the new drummer for Nihilist’s other band, Stygian Creations. While that didn’t really work out, the jam sessions between him and Nihilist were fruitful in other ways, and eventually that jamming spawned Deathgoat. Fun fact - the current drummer of Stygian Creations is also our dear blaster, Chope666 (or as we call him, Iso K).

Around 2019 Chope666 and Vicar Miggoat joined the band, and shit started to get real. In 2020 when live shows seemed inevitable, we adopted a poor bassist from Kerava, who called himself L.F. Molestor. Did you know that out of all developing countries, Kerava has the most bassists?

Our music is simply Death metal, no fancy prefixes needed. Our influences come primarily from the Swedish scene of the early 90s, but over time they have become more diverse. We’re not exactly trying to reinvent the breaking wheel, although we’re aiming not to be just another mass-produced Sunlight turd either. Most of all we’re just making Death metal for the sake of Death metal.

Where and under what conditions were you recording the new album? Who was in charge of sound, production and mastering?

Three of the songs (Rotten Salvation, Carniwhore & Homicide) on the album were already written around 2015-2017 and the rest of the songs were composed around 2019. The whole process was kind of slow because we were first just a duo.

We basically did the whole album DIY. Drums and vocals were recorded at our rehearsal place in Hyvinkää and Nihilist recorded guitar and bass parts in his apartment. Miggoat recorded a few solo parts and some backing vocals in his apartment in Helsinki, since he was the only one not living in the Hyvinkää area anymore. Our good friend, Eetu, who happens to be singer of our guys another band Stygian Creations also joined our recordings by recording vocals to the outro of “Chainsaw Abortion”. That turned out great and we most likely will use his talent on our next records.

Album was mixed by our good friend Jasse Hast(“Tomb of Finland”, ex-”Charon”). and mastering was done by Miro Kiiski, also a great dude.

How many copies were released and which medium was used for this new edition (CD, digital, vinyl, cassette)?

As you might have already realised, there’s no physical release yet, just the digital on Bandcamp and on online distributors and streaming platforms.

Who is the author of the lyrics and how were they created and about what do the lyrics deal with?

Most of the lyrics are written by Putrid Worm, but Nihilist has a part to play in it as well. Usually the music is written first, and then the lyrics because it’s easier to fit them together that way. Our lyrics deal with homicide, cannibalism, paraphilias, and the end of mankind. You know, the usual stuff. We don’t really aim to make a political impact, or go through profound introspection and other pretentious crap. It’s more about making all kinds of nasty stuff rhyme in a fun way.

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?

Both of the Deathgoat logos, old and the new one(on our album) were done by our guitarist Nihilist. Also 90% of designs on FB/Bandcamp/Youtube players are made by him. The album artwork was made by our friend Nelli Kilu.

Our opinion of the social media and internet in general is that too much shit but what can you do about it? Adapt or die. Despite its downsides, social media is useful for a band like us, particularly at this point of our career. We can’t imagine achieving so much in this amount of time in the days of tape trading.

We try to be as active as possible on Facebook, Instagram & Youtube, since those are good and well known platforms to use when independently promoting bands online. So far we have been quite happy about the outcome. No Shitcock or Onlypals coming, sorry guys!

Which label did you choose for releasing your album and why this label? Are you satisfied by how your label represents you and takés care about you?

Which bands do you idolise and where do you get your inspiration?

Particularly in the beginning, our influences came primarily from Sweden. Entombed, Grave, Dismember, Bloodbath and so on. From Finland, I guess our biggest influences are Torture Killer and Mörbid Vomit. And of course, like so many of our peers, we’re also more or less directly influenced by Slayer. We do enjoy Death metal bands from the USA and UK too, and pretty much around the world. Newer bands too, not just the ones from the 80s and early 90s. But I suppose the early Swedish scene is the influence that you can hear in our music the most.

Did you send your record to some Labels - which are the labels? How was the response?

We were in contact with a few small labels who offered us deals, but sadly we didn’t manage to get into a good agreement with them. It also felt that doing a small Indie release would be much more risk-free for us.

So, in the nutsack: We are open to a release deal with a label but if no miracles happen, we will make a small physical release during this spring!

How many gigs have you played? Which type of gigs do you prefer, whether it's (clubs or festivals) and which of your performances would you consider as the best?

So far we have played just three gigs last autumn, two in Helsinki and one in Lahti. The first gig was quite unique as to say. I woke up on Monday and checked the emails while still in bed. There was an email about if we could warm up Barathrum(hopefully you don’t have to use Google) in the Helsinki suburb area on Saturday, the same week! We were able to panic-rehearse and got Molestor to play live bass, before that we had had no full band rehearsals. In the end Barathrum had to cancel the same day because one member ended up in Covid quarantine but Deathgoat performed and it was a success! There was also a fight in the crowd during our song!

After that, just before the lockdowns in November, we managed to play in Lahti and had another gig in Helsinki, organized by the Helsinki Death Fest crew. That was probably the coolest gig, since the venue and bands were awesome and everything worked out just perfect. There were also quite a lot of people watching.

All of our band members enjoy live music. All sorts but probably Metal in general.

What about your plans for the future? What do you want to achieve with the band?

2020 was kind of a rapid year for us and basically started the movement of the band and now it’s just rolling faster and faster.

Our plans for 2021 are to record and release at least one song from the next album as soon as possible and then record the whole album as well. First of course we have to do our best with “Regurgitated Into Existence”. So far we have had quite good responses both in Finland and abroad. It’s nice to see that our hard work pays off. And of course, if the situation allows us, we will definitely play some shows.

There’s also Deathgoat merch coming during this winter! Shirts, patches and stuff like that. But don’t expect any Deathgoat brand buckets or buttscratchers. We’re a band, not a Walmart.