Interview with death metal band from United States - FLESHROT.
Answered Phil (Guitars, Vocals), thank you!
Translated Duzl, thank you!
Questions prepared Jakub Asphyx.
Recenze/review - FLESHROT - Unburied Corpse (2022):
Ave FLESHROT! I have never found any interview with you in Czech language. I will ask you first to introduce the band to the readers who do not know you yet. You can start from the beginning and take us throw the whole history of FLESHROT.
Cheers! Thanks for asking us to do this interview. We started Fleshrot in 2019 in Lubbock, Texas. The band was originally formed by me(Phil) and Tanner. Soon after we were joined on bass by AB. A little later we we were joined by Casey on second guitar.
This year, you have just released the new album „Unburied Corpse“. Again, it's a dark, harsh and honest death metal. Did you access to the recording process differently than last time or did you choose verified practices?
We recorded pretty much the same way as we always have the only difference is we sent it out to Dan Lowndes at Resonance Sound Studios to mix and to Greg Chandler at Priory Recordings for the masters. Insanely good dudes to work with and we were fans of their bands prior to working with them so that’s always fun to be able to do. Recording the album took some time though as we really wanted to put out the very best record we could. A lot of changes and re recording but in the end we are satisfied.
The new album seems to me more complicated, perhaps initially less accessible, at the same time incredibly dark and evil. Was it intentional? How did the album originate and how did you compose the music?
Yeah it was very intentional. We really found our sound and what we wanted to do while writing the record. We wanted it to be heavy but still catchy. Gross as fuck and evil but still consumable. All of the songs were written in my office by me or by me and Tanner at our practice space. We wrote a lot of songs that didn’t end up making the record. We decided to make it quick, short and to the point. No bull shit interludes or anything like that. Just pure fucking brutality no filler. We recorded the album locally with friends, mostly in my office that I call The Morgue.
I have a „Unburied Corpse“ in my MP3 player and I have to say that this album literally engulfed me. These are not just great ideas but also sound is simply devastating. I'm sitting in the tram, and suddenly I find myself shaking my legs. I have a feeling to start moshing. If I weren’t so old, I would probably start to. Where did you record and who is signed under mastering?
That’s awesome and exactly what we would hope to evoke from someone listening to us. Like I mentioned in the last question, we recorded everything locally with our friends Duncan and Jonah. We sent it to Dan Lowndes to mix and Greg Chandler mastered it.
Who is the author of lyrics on „Unburied Corpse“? What are they talking about? Where do you get inspiration for themes?
I wrote all of the lyrics for the album too. Each song I just wanted to be another take of terror. I’ve always loved writing lyrics so I wanted the songs to come off in that way. Each song is about a different killer and different techniques they use to kill and torture. I took a lot of inspiration from horror movies obviously but also from Spawn comics and from things I’ve seen on the news in real life.
Who is signed under the cover of „Unburied Corpse“? I like his work very much. How did you choose the motif for cover?
Brad Moore did the UK version and Chamber Realm did the USA version. The USA version was intended to be the official art but we ran into some problems getting it all put together so we decided to try out two different versions. For Brad’s art we were wanting something simple but impactful that really captured the feeling of the album. Both pieces really compliment the record in their own ways and we’re very stoked to have them both.
When we look back at the beginning ... What was the first impulse to found the band? And why the brutal death metal? It's not the typical style which can would give you great "glory".
Tanner and I started the band to play death metal and that’s it. We had talked about it for a while and finally pulled the trigger on it. It’s been a great experience being in a band with him and writing this music together. Our only goal was to write shit that we liked. We were originally influenced by undergang, anatomia, witch vomit and other modern bands but still wanted to sprinkle in some cannibal corpse and suffocation vibes in there too. We aren’t trying to get rich off of this anyways so we’ll always play what we want to regardless.
You come from Texas and you play extreme death metal. Our readers would certainly wonder how the death metal scene works in Texas. To tell you the truth, so lately I hear only the great bands from there. Does this mean that the scene there is so strong at the moment? What about concerts, how many people coming to them?
The scene here in Texas is and has always been incredible. We’re lucky to be a part of it. Where we are in Lubbock though we’re quite a bit away from a lot of the bigger bands and shows so we don’t get as many cool shows out here. We usually have to drive 6 hours or more to play a show. We enjoy it though, we love getting out of town and seeing friends from all over. I’ve been involved in the metal and hardcore scene in texas for half my life now and it’s truly a special thing here. People have a lot of pride in what they do and they work hard here. The shows are always fuckin sick. Packed out and fun with lots of energy. We prefer playing small intimate shows with no stage and having everyone right in our faces having a good time.
From your music is possible to feel that you are influenced by American death metal school and as well by the old European bands. How do you feel about it as a fan? Do you prefer the original death metal of the 1990s or do you get inspiration as well from the new albums? If yes so I am wondering which bands had the greatest impact on FLESHROT.
I’m a huge fan of the 90’s stuff and probably take the most inspiration from those records and demos from those days. Autopsy is a big influence on us. I listened to the Abhorrence EPs and demos a lot while writing. Newer bands we like are cerebral rot, undergang, witch vomit, innumerable forms, fetid, phantasmagore, faceless burial, etc. There’s a lot of great newer bands that deserve the recognition. I think death metal is the best it’s ever been right now even though I find myself listening to the older stuff more most of the time.
What about you and concerts in general? Are you a band that goes for concerts anytime you can or you are picky about where you will play? Do you have a dream, maybe a group you would like to go with for a tour or festival, a city where you would like to perform?
We play when we can. We have families and kids as well as full time jobs so we are very intentional about what we play because we don’t get to play all the time like some bands do, so when we can we’ll usually book it all ourselves and ask the bands we want to play to play. Our dream and really only goal this whole time is to play Europe and that is hopefully going to be happening very soon for us. We’d love to play with our friends in Phantasmagore one day but really we’re down to play with anyone.
I'm going to listen again your new album „Unburied Corpse“. I have to say that for me personally, this is basically a perfect death metal work. Totally inferno. I wish big success to your record and to get this album to as many people as is possible. This album deserves it. I wish you all the best in your personal life. Whatever you do and the last words are yours. If you want to tell something to fans, labels, promoters, you have space here..... Thank you for the interview and I am looking forward to seeing you live!
Thank you for asking us to do this interview man! I really enjoyed it and thank you for the kind words about the album. Want to say hello to Sean at desert wastelands and Jesus at me Saco un ojo. Thank you to all of our fans for buying and supporting the record. We hope to have more music for you all soon and we hope to be in your city to rot for you live someday.
Recenze/review - FLESHROT - Unburied Corpse (2022):
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