Interview with death metal band from Sweden - PUTRIFIED.
Answered A. Death, thank you!
Recenze/review - PUTRIFIED - Death Darkness Decay (2024):
Ave PUTRIFIED! Greetings to the underground. I hope everything is fine with you. It should be because this year you have released a first long-play full-length album in your band's career. I have to admit it has literally blown my mind. It is dark, energic and as if it cuts by the sharp edge of the knife. I can hear from the record you did a really good job and you added a big portion of the talent, too. How do you perceive the new album in comparison to the previous records? Where did you want to move and in what are these two records different?
Thank you for the kind words.
It feels great to finally have the Death Darkness Decay album unleashed in the Death Metal underground.
About the album and the concept.
I had long had in mind to write one long song and after hearing Impiety’s album Worshippers Of The Seventh Tyranny I figured I might just go ahead and go through with the idea and I did.
The goal was to compose something that would work as one single composition (30+ minutes) as well as individual “songs” that could stand on it’s own.
Which is why the album in the end is divided in to several parts/tracks although it is one long song.
The majority of the album was composed in 2012, then I worked in many various sessions on and off during the coming years.
I wanted to bring in some more dynamics so I decided to invite a few guests to participate in the record.
The most noteworthy guest must be Dthmngr of Charon and Hatespawn infamy, we had been in contact since the Spawn Of The Dead demo compilation.
I also invited H.Sulphur and N.Sadist of Swedish Black Metal band Patronymicon who I had established contact with during my time with the Black Metal band Infuneral.
Grave and Crypt who then were members of Putrified participated with backing vocals and P.Apocalypse who still is a member contributed with spoken word on the last part.
They were all part of the Putrified lineup that recorded the A-side of the The Flesh. The Scythe The Tomb 7” EP on their respective instruments.
„Death Darkness Decay“ includes all attributes of good death and doom metal. For me personally, it represents the record, which I really like to listen to. How did you produce it? How look the writing process of new material in the case of PUTRIFIED?
I am a big fan of Autopsy as well as “newer“ bands such as Necros Christos, so there is no surprise that some influences might shine through in the music from time to time in the Death/Doom department.
I undertook the writing of Death Darkness Decay as a project, with focus on what the album should be and where it should begin and end and how it all would fit together.
Usually from my experience with writing and rehearsing with bands, the band writes material and when you have 30-40 minutes it is time to hit the studio.
Thus a more focus on individual songs rather then the overall album.
When I wrote the Death Darkness Decay album everything was planned out from the beginning in terms of the album and what it should contain.
An integral part and a kind of extra bonus for fans today is a music CD (cassette, vinyl). You have released it on Godz ov War Productions and it comes with a deadpan cover. Who is the author? How did you choose the theme and how does it relate to the music on the release?
The instruments and vocals were recorded in different underground studios that the persons involved with making of the album was associated with.
To take the material to the next level I decided to work with Dan Lowndes (of Cruciamentum) who previously had done the mixing and mastering of the A-side of our 7” EP.
I was a fan of his band and appreciated some of the studio work he had done so I reached out to him.
I had previously worked with Devo of Marduk and his Endarker Studio with the Sacriligious Purification MCD.
I’m glad to have Godz Ov War Productions releasing the CD version of the new album and I hope that they get the support they deserve from the underground maniacs.
About the cover, I saw a photograph at a photo exhibition in Stockholm around 14 years ago.
I sent the photo together with a sketch I had made to Blial Cabal and asked him to do the cover based on that and it turned out amazing I must say.
I have the original framed on the wall here at home.
The cover to me depicts mankinds strife for “something more”, a sense of bigger purpose, yet there is naught and all that is granted in the end is Death, Darkness and Decay.
The rest graphic design and the layout I did mysef once I had settled on the rest of the visual representation of the album.
I have been wandering the underground for over thirty years and I still go to Sweden for music with certainty. I think we have a similar nature and taste when it comes to metal. I like your bands a lot and I monitor your scene carefully. Maybe I envy you a little, because we only have a few death metal bands that are worth it. How do you explain that death metal are doing so well in your country? How do you perceive your scene, fans, labels?
We have a very strong history not just in Metal but also in music in general with focus on strong memorable songwriting regardless of the genre.
So you have the “ABBA effect” in that term, you know good songswriting when you hear it.
Then you have the factor in that as youths and teenagers in Sweden it is quite easy to get a rehearsal room and get started playing in a band with others.
I think Swedish Death Metal had a great revival about 10-15 years ago with Degial, Invidious, Tribulation (first two albums) and Tormented.
I’m not that impressed by the current scene which I think is more focused on Thrash Metal, Eternal Evil is really good live though.
You play death metal influenced by, among other things, the old school. Today, the band can't avoid comparisons, but I would like to know how the idea to start PUTRIFIED was born, who was and is your metal idol? Where do you want to move your band? Are you attracted to large foreign festivals, for example, are you willing to go on tour with a more famous band?
Putrified started during a period of time when I was sick of playing in a group, if I was inspired I want to execute the idea instead of waiting and having to hear other people’s useless opinion on the material.
So during a few months I recorded the Spawn Of The Dead demo compilation as well as the “full lenght demo” Neurotic Necrotic.
Shortly thereafter I decided to do the band justice and for real and recorded the Sacrilegious Purification MCD in a proper way, which I consider to be the first REAL release of Putrified.
Idols always change from time to time.
If one is to name drop bands of the biggest significance to Putrified it would probably be the following:
Entombed, Dismember, Kreator, Celtic Frost, Morbid Angel, Vader, Repugnant, Verminous and Autopsy.
Throw in some Black Metal on top of that and you have Putrified.
We had a line-up that was meant to play live around 2016, if we get an interesting offer we would definitely look into playing live and assemble a line-up for that purpose.
During 2018-2024 I was a member of the Thrash/Black Metal band Beastiality and played live with that band, so I have gotten my share of the live experience anyway.
Me and the vocalist/bassist of that band have formed a new as of yet unnamed band in a similar vein of music and we intend to play live as much as possible.
When I started my website seven years ago, I had a vision that I would try to support bands that are not so much popular, or they are lost in underground. To let the world knows about them. I think I'm doing quite well, at least according to the responses. How do you approach the promotion of your music? Do you rely upon the label or do you send the CDs for various reviews by yourself? For example, I buy albums that I really enjoy. What about you? Are you also fans who often support your colleagues? Do you go to concerts?
I rely on the label to do the planned promotion, then I contribute some from my end which is more in the line of online marketing rather than sending out physical copies.
I’m addicted to music and buy several albums every week all year around.
I love the physical product and don’t consider an album properly released if its not on CD, vinyl of cassette.
I go to concerts quite regally, living in Stockholm has its advantages in choosing which concerts to attend.
The most recent concert I attended was Marduk and Hellbutcher (ex Nifelheim vocalist new band).
On the one hand, today the new band has a lot of opportunities to make themselves more known, but on the other hand, there are a huge number of groups and the fans are getting lost in this big metal sea. A lot of people just download mp3s from the internet and instead of to visit the concert they prefer to spit poisonous saliva on Facebook. How do modern technologies affect you as PUTRIFIED? What do you think about downloading music, google metalists, streaming music, etc.?
As a metal head I buy the music I like, not only because I want to support the bands but also because I genuinely want the physical copy of something I enjoy to get the whole experience of the cover and layout of the release.
I’m glad that I don’t try to make a living off of music, that would be very difficult in this day and age since modern technology really is hitting hard against musicians.
I like to ask the musicians what death metal means to them. How would they define it, whether it is more the philosophy and lifestyle thing for them or "just" relaxation? What does it mean for you? How do you perceive and experience it?
Death Metal is a tool to channel and experience certain moods.
It is something I look upon just as Black Metal very seriously, as such it is not a laughing matter.
One could however also summarize it such as:
Sweatpants, cap, singing about acid rain and being fat = not Death Metal
Bullet belt, cowboy boots, singing about devilry and being fit = Death Metal
Finally, a classic but important question. What is PUTRIFIED planning in the upcoming months? Where can we see you at the stage and when will you visit the Europe?
Right now the plan is to record a new 7” EP or MCD.
The material is written and recordings should proceed during the summer of 2024.
Then I will resume work on the next full length album.
The drums have already been recorded for that one, that took place at Studio Ryssviken and the session was engineered by Germaniac of Verminous.
Thank you so much for the interview. I wish a lot of success to the new album and let the number of your fans expand as much as possible. I will look forward to seeing you somewhere live again. I wish you a lot of success both musically and personally. I'm going to push „Death Darkness Decay“ into my head again!
Thank you for the interview!
I hope your readers check out Death Darkness Decay and get swallowed by the void.
/A.Death
Recenze/review - PUTRIFIED - Death Darkness Decay (2024):
Recenze/review - PUTRIFIED - The Flesh. The Scythe. The Tomb (2016):
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