A few questions - interview with death metal band from USA - KOHNERAH.
Answered JD, thank you!
Ave, can you introduce your band to our readers? – When was it founded and what style of music do you play etc.?
JD: I think it was November of 2016 when vocalist Stephen Babcock, and guitarist Ryan Bender asked me to jam with them. We met up sometime shortly after that and ended up working out one song in that inception of the group. Drummer Chris Thorpe jammed with us briefly but was unable to fully commit at the time so Bender, who had been honing his skills on the drums, decided to fill the role. We then enlisted Joshua Riley to be the second guitar player and Spencer Halstead would handle bass duties. Most of us already had backgrounds in death metal so it was pretty clear what style of music we were going to play. I had previously played guitar with Thorpe and several other musicians but it never fully materialized as a band. Other members of the group had much more success however, Babcock was the vocalist for technical death metal band Diskreet, Bender was the guitarist and vocalist for melodic death metal band Obliterate The Apex, and Spencer Halstead was the guitarist for death metal band Damned By The Pope. We wrote 7 songs with this lineup and everything was going great but then suddenly, due to circumstances beyond our control we were forced to find a new drummer and it was at this time Thorpe officially joined the band.
Where and under what conditions were you recording the new album? Who was in charge of sound, production and mastering?
JD: We recorded the album with Adam Mitchell at Hammerfarm Music Studios in Lawrence, KS. Adam is the drummer for thrash metal band Hammerlord and he has produced albums for Hammerlord and for his solo project Daemon Poetica, as well as bands like Marasmus and Troglodyte. We set up drums and mics on a Friday evening, began tracking the following Saturday morning and by Sunday afternoon drum tracking was complete. We then each scheduled time to track guitars and vocals. Adam was very focused on all aspects of the recording process, from mic placements and dialing in guitar tones to making sure we got the best take on each song. He really had a keen sense of what was needed to achieve our goal. Once we had everything tracked, Adam began to work on the overall mix of the songs and they were starting to sound massive! We discussed hiring Dennis Israel at ClintWorks Recording, Mixing & Mastering in Seth, Germany to put the finishing touches on this collection of songs. Adam had previously worked with Dennis on another project and recommended that we reach out to him for his mastering skills. We sent one track to him, got a few samples back and decided to go with him. I am extremely glad we did, his audio mastering techniques really took these songs to a new level that I really hadn’t anticipated and I was very impressed to say the least. Looking back, our goal was to create a modern sounding death metal album without making it sound too “to the grid” and when I listen to the final product, i believe that we achieved that.
How many copies were released and which medium was used for this new edition (CD, digital, vinyl, cassette)?
JD: We decided to do a limited release of 100 CD’s. The album artwork and layout design are beautifully printed on 6-Panel Digipaks and you can check them out at Kohnerah.com.
Who is the author of the lyrics and how were they created and about what do the lyrics deal with?
JD: Babcock writes most of the lyrics but Josh and I contributed to a couple of songs as well so it was a collaboration of ideas. The lyrics we write tend to be about death and destruction, cryptids, aliens and alien abduction, mind control, failing empires, etc. We chose the album title Ominous Ubiquitous because we felt like it encompassed the lyrical content of this album.
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?
JD: The logo was a collaborative effort between Bender and I. Bender actually came up with the name Kohnerah, which is the phonetic spelling of the musical term ‘con ira’. When he pitched the name to us with the idea to spell it phonetically, I immediately loved it and started sketching. Bender and I passed some rough drafts back and forth for about a week until we were satisfied with the logo and then I began to work on the graphic design aspects of the logo.
We contacted the late Polish surrealist artist Mariusz Lewandowski for the album artwork. His spectacular painting has made it very easy for us to create stunning layout designs for the album and for our website. We are grateful for the opportunity we had to work with him and we decided to dedicate the album to his life and memory.
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?
JD: We decided to release the album independently. We had briefly talked about reaching out to labels but decided that we would just release the album and see what kind of reception we would get on our own and I am very humbled by the amount of support we have received.
Which bands do you idolise and where do you get your inspiration?
JD: I would have to say some of our more noticeable influences would be Death, Hate Eternal, Nile, Decrepit Birth and Deeds of Flesh but we draw our inspiration from everywhere. I am heavily immersed in the worlds of black metal and doom metal and I think some of those elements are apparent in our music as well.
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?
JD: We played a few local shows with Bender on the drums. Most of our efforts at that time were focused on writing but we were able to play a few gigs here and there. After we made the transition to Thorpe on drums, we played Topeka Metal Fest and I think we had another two or three shows set up when the Covid-19 epidemic reared it’s ugly head and everything was canceled. We ended up playing SlamDakota Death Fest about a year and three months later and after that we decided we were going to focus on recording the album. Festivals are a lot of fun and there are always so many great bands to share the stage with but I also enjoy a good local show with friends because it’s really amazing to see a thriving local music scene.
What about your plans for the future? What do you want to achieve with the band?
JD: We are currently writing new material and hope to be both back in the studio and back on the stage soon. We currently do not have any shows or touring plans booked. Our main goal has always been to write quality death metal songs and with this record complete, it will now serve as a platform to expand the boundaries and really push ourselves on the next album.
How and where can your fans contact you? Can you provide some contact information?
JD: Fans can sign up for our mailing list at our official website Kohnerah.com. We are also on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Youtube and we will respond to all messages. Like, follow and subscribe to support us. We can also be reached via email at Kohnerah@gmail.com. Thank you so much for taking the time to send us these questions.
Thanx for the interview.
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