Interview with death thrash metal band from Florida - INHUMAN CONDITION.
Answered guitarist Taylor Nordberg, thank you!
Translated Duzl, thank you!
Questions prepared Jakub Asphyx.
Recenze/review - INHUMAN CONDITION - Rat God (2021):
Ave INHUMAN CONDITION!
Greetings to the Florida underground. For several weeks now, I've been returning to your new album "Rat God" this year. I feel like I'm seventeen again and discovering new music. At first I didn't even know who was playing in the band. I would rather listen than search for information. I say to myself „damn“ that's really good. It sounds like old MASSACRE, SOLSTICE records. Then someone tells me… „ and do you know who plays in INHUMAN CONDITION?“ Then I was no longer surprised! The new album is excellent. In all aspects. How did you get together? Please describe the origin of the band. I can imagine a pub meeting somewhere in Florida, am I right?
Well it was in a secret dungeon in the swamps actually…haha! Jeramie and I were in Massacre in the fall of 2019 and wrote what was to be the new album, totaling 14 songs. We had recorded our parts and then throughout the next year it became clear that we could no longer be a part of that band. So rather than scrapping the material we decided to make a new band and put the record out ourselves. So Terry had heard the songs some time after we left Massacre, and he really liked the music and wanted to be a full-on band member. It worked out great, and honestly I prefer these versions of the songs! So everything on Rat°God and 5 extra songs (to be released later this year, perhaps…) were originally written as Massacre songs, which may be why some people think it sounds like Massacre, haha!
I'm an old metal dog, I like your traditional, dusty sound. However, more people are signed under the album - Jeremie Kling, Taylor Nornberg. (Spring Hill). Was it hard to achieve such an "old school sound"? I played a record to a young boy and he tells me he can't hear it. I had to laugh, today all the productions are incredibly rude, about to be heard in all streams on the internet. How did the recording go? Was it recorded in analog? The album sounds like that.
Jeramie and I recorded the album here at our studio Smoke & Mirrors Productions in Spring Hill, Florida. It sounds analog? Let’s go with that, then! We were both there throughout the whole process bouncing ideas off each other but Jeramie mixed the album and I mastered it. Our recordings usually go pretty smooth, and it was totally cool recording Terry’s bass for the album.
At first I heard music, I only got to the cover after a while. You'll probably agree with me that the motif from Dan Goldsworthy refers to the works of Ed Repka. I really like it, I had to order a t-shirt immediately! How did you get together with Dan, what was the assignment and how did you choose the cover?
The cover turned out so cool! We call Dan “Babe Ruth” because everything he has done for us so far, he knocks it out of the park! I was just looking through some newer thrash album covers and saw the newest Xentrix album cover, and I think a shirt design, and I thought it was Ed Repka, to be honest, but it was more fresh. So I looked up who the artist was and it was Dan Goldsworthy. We got him on the phone and chatted for a while about all sorts of things, and Jeramie had an idea for the album cover concept for him to roll with. He sent a sketch maybe a week later and it was already mind-blowing. Then he sent an “unfinished” version and it was even more mind-blowing. Then he sent the final and it was a full on “wow…” moment. He has designed a shirt for us, which we will release soon, and we already have talked about him working on the next album/EP release as well.
Who is the author of the lyrics? I don't have a CD yet and I'd guess it's a death metal classic? What are the lyrics on "Rat God" about and how were they created?
Jeramie and I split up the lyric and vocal pattern duties for all 14 songs, with the exception of 2, which were written by Paul Mazurkiewicz from Cannibal Corpse. One of those ended up on this album, and the other will be on the next one. The lyrics cover a pretty wide range, anything from murderers, gore (Paul’s song!), problems with human beings, time travel, Earth’s destruction.
INHUMAN CONDITION is a band composed of experienced musicians. The list of bands you play in is impressive. How did you compose the new material? Wasn't it a problem to agree on something? Who was the main author? How does INHUMAN CONDITION actually form? I am interested in the process of creating a new song. Seems to me you are a bunch of guys who get together in the rehearsal room and just „ go for it“!
When we were in Massacre it was sort of agreed on the general vibe of the album before we started writing it. I made the guys start playing in D standard again, because they were playing in B before I joined, I believe. We started revisiting the 80s death metal stuff and of course From Beyond and the Inhuman Condition EP, Leprosy, Spiritual Healing, Celtic Frost stuff, and pulling some of those hardcore kind of influences as well. I demo’d out the riffs in some sort of song structure. Then Jeramie would help with the arrangement and jam it out to make sure it sounds like a song, then we would maybe change a riff here, swap out a bridge from another song, etc. For two of the songs, Tyrantula and Planetary Paroxysm, Jeramie wrote the drums first, recorded them, then I came in and wrote riffs around his drum beats. That was a fun process that made those songs turn out pretty exciting.
What about INHUMAN CONDITION and concerts? Are you and will you be a regular band touring, playing in venues? Is it even possible due to your busy schedule?
We have done one show so far, with Deicide here in Florida, and we have one in July with Gruesome. We have all sorts of tour/show ideas in the works, so as long as everyone’s schedules work out, then we hope to play lots of shows.
For me, Florida has always been the cradle of good music. MASSACRE, OBITUARY, DEICIDE, SOLSTICE, DIABOLIC, you have a lot of great bands. For example, SOLSTICE and DIABOLIC returned with very good albums. The new GOREGANG are great. Does this mean we have to wait for another "new wave"? How is life in Florida today? Do you have a lot of concerts, events, festivals? And how do you explain that there are so many death metal bands in Florida?
I think death metal is bigger now than it has been in many years. The new Cannibal Corpse album was #6 or something, and the new Gojira was #1!! That’s so damn cool! A big up for death metal. It’s on the upswing I hope. Life in Florida is looking pretty good. More shows are being announced every day, and things seem to be coming back to “normal” a little. I think that since there were so many good bands back in the late 80s and early 90s, that the younger generation of bands are inspired to be living in Florida and being a death metal band.
Jeramie Kling is sitting behind the microphone and drums. There aren't that many singing drummers. I understand it in the studio, but live? It must be very challenging. But somewhere I noticed that Ruston Gross (MASTER, DEATH STRIKE) is supposed to play the drums live, is that true?
For our live shows Jeramie will just be doing vocals, and we will have live drummers play with us. We had Ruston play with us at the Deicide show, yes! There may be some shows at some point where Jeramie may sing and play, I suppose it just depends on the situation.
You play old, honest death metal. Today it is played differently. Technology, procedures have changed, there are other options. How do you perceive these changes as a musician? Did the internet influence you? Do you download music? Do you keep up with the times or do you prefer to go for a beer with old friends and talk face to face?
Things have changed even since I was a kid, but I guess the only thing you can do is “roll with it, or get rolled over” (to quote Dimebag!). I think the internet has influenced everyone, whether they want to admit it or not. Everything is so accessible now and that includes music, which I think is a plus. I used to download songs when I was a kid, and discovered a ton of my favorite bands that way, but I only buy physical albums for the last 15+ years. I have probably 800 CDs and a few hundred records. My friends say I was born a grandpa because I guess I act like an old man, haha, so maybe I keep up with the times in some regards, but I don’t drink anymore, so I guess I’d rather just stay home and hang with the dogs.
How far do you want to go with INHUMAN CONDITION? What is your goal? Is it a festival, a tour? Or a big label? Do you have some aims that you want to reach?
We’ll go as far as it will take us. We are here to chew bubblegum, and to kick ass…and we ran out of bubblegum! We plan to tour, hopefully hit the festivals, release more albums. We enjoyed self-releasing this album so we may do that with the next one too, and maybe forever, if it keeps working out.
I just received an email saying that the package with the CD and the shirt is somewhere over the Atlantic. Thank you for the interview and your time. I wish you great CD sales, concerts full of fans and I hope to see INHUMAN CONDITION live. All the best! Death metal forever!
Thank you, cheers!
Recenze/review - INHUMAN CONDITION - Rat God (2021):
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