Interview with death metal band from Australia - DEPRAVITY.
Answered drummer Louis Rando, thank you!
Translated Duzl, thank you!
Recenze/review - DEPRAVITY - Grand Malevolence (2020):
Ave DEPRAVITY! Greetings to the Australian underground. Let's go straight to the most important thing. You have released a new record „Grand Malevolence“, which is literally packed with honest, dusty death metal. How did the album come about and how do you feel about it? What direction have DEPRAVITY evolved to?
Hi and thanks for the interview!
The new album GRAND MALEVOLENCE is a pretty linear progression from our previous album EVIL UPHEAVAL and the early REIGN OF THE DEPRAVED EP.
We didn't consciously look to change our style, I do think it's an improvement however, mainly because we've been consistently writing and playing shows together for a long time now, we are in a good rhythm and when you always work hard, things tend to improve naturally.
We had a few of these songs written when we recorded the Evil upheaval record, so they spilled over onto this album.
Guitarist Jarrod wrote 4 songs, Lynton wrote 4 songs and I wrote 3 songs, so there is some variation in style between the tracks you'll notice. Creates a pretty cool texture and variation I think.
The new album seems to be getting great reviews thus far and of course we're very happy about it, we busted our asses to make it afterall!
You released a new record in the strange times. No one could have known that Covid 19 would hit the world. Has the current situation affected releasing process in any way?
These songs were written through 2017-2018 so the covid situation wasn't a factor at all.
We tracked the album between February-July 2019 so Covid hadn't kicked off yet and we could record the album under normal circumstances.
It just took the label a while to release the album, I do believe covid made it difficult for our label Transcending Obscurity to do business for the first half of 2020 yes.
What is the current situation regarding Covid 19 in Australia? Clubs are already open, can you have a tour, for example? Many summer festivals have been canceled in our country, foreign groups will hardly reach us.
We've been very lucky here in Perth Western Australia.
We only had 3 months of lockdown.
There's been no community transmission in my state, so life is 90% back to normal in our city it seems.
Other states and cities have had more strict regulations and more covid cases than us, so travel between these states still requires quarantine in some cases.
Interstate travel has resumed but there is still uncertainty about planning trips, things can change on a daily basis.
I think there's a capacity limit on larger outdoor type festival events here in Perth, although sporting events are still busy so there's some contradiction over the rules. Some bickering as always.
Our pub scene here in Perth is still amazing.
Most bars are full of people on weekends and bands have resumed performing since September 2020. Gigs are happening every weekend as was normally the case. No masks in sight.
Perth is probably one of the most open cities in the world at the moment due to our sheer isolation. I'm very thankful to be living here.
But let's talk about new record. I'm listening to it right now, and I have to write that this time it took me a while to get this record into my blood. I put the album into the player, I am listening to it in the car. I really like the sound. It is lively, organic, old school and at the same time clear. It seems different to me from your previous records. Where did you record and who is signed under the sound?
We recorded the tracks ourselves at home, then sent the album to Hertz studios in Poland, a great death Metal studio that has produced albums for world class bands such as Behemoth, Decapitated, Vader, Nervecell and Hate.
There was no doubt we knew they could do a great job, so we used them for both albums in fact.
They were super easy and intuitive to work with the first time so we returned to them for Grand Malevolence.
We wanted a mix of clarity, sheer power, modernity yet 'organicness' for the album.
The music is on the more technical side, so we needed a sound that was controlled and clear, yet retained the element of musicianship and 'realness' that we perform with.
I would say it's a very balanced sounding album, not too extreme in any regard, yet the music shines through the best that it possibly could
Big shoutout to Hertz studio in Białystok, Poland!
You'll probably agree with me that the cover sells. Your cover is really brutal this year. The author is Alex Tartsus. Personally, I like this cover. I'm just wondering if it's not "too" brutal. You know, on social networks, artificial intelligence evaluates what is and what is not right. Many bands had problems due to similar covers. How did you get together with Alex and what exactly does the motive have to express in relation to music?
We weren't at all worried with the cover of the album being too extreme in anyway.
Personally I've seen many more extreme covers floating around and I'd say our cover is safe by comparison.
After all, it's more cartoonish in it's appearance, it 's not political in anyway, not sexist, not too anti religious, and as we know, these are the taboo subjects these days. The old days were different...
Alex Tartsus also constructed the cover for our previous album Evil Upheaval, which looked fantastic.
We loved his style so we returned to him for this album with a vague notion of a total carnage ridden post apocalyptic scenario, and that's exactly what we got.
Total decimation and mayhem on a massive scale. The end of mankind! Hellacious demons sent forth to eradicate the populace under radiated skies.
The idea is written in the lyrics of the track Grand Malevolence, check it out.
I put „Grand Malevolence“ in my head again and again and I say to myself that I like the most this old school death metal feeling that's hard to describe. Looks like we're of the same blood. Who were and are actually your idols? Every musician started somehow, there are patterns that shaped his signature. What about you?
Personally the bands that influenced me were Cannibal Corpse, Motley Crue, Slayer, Anthrax, Metallica, Mayhem, Darkthrone, Napalm Death, Bolt Thrower, Morbid Angel etc...a lot of early 90's extreme metal with some glam and rock thrown in.
A reflection of my age moreso than anything I guess.
The influences of the other band members is kind of the same, all styles of Thrash Metal (Destruction, Kreator, Pantera) Heavy Metal (Judas Preist, Iron Maiden, Dio) Brutal Death Metal (Lividity, Decrepit Birth, Suffocation) a bit of grind etc.
I think our general interest in all styles definitely helps the sound of Depravity evolve.
It gives us a wide musical vocabulary to draw from, which makes performing and writing more varied and spontaneous.
We have all played in other styles of metal bands before so we can mix things up quite comfortably.
What do you think about the current trends, widespread mainly among young bands, where they try to play as technically as possible, they often insert a saxophone, various keyboards into death metal and look for a way in a very complicated way. Do you enjoy such bands? For example, if I ever come to a concert and someone like this performs there, I'm confused. It seems like a rehearsal of a jazz school to me, but in the end I don't remember anything at all. What about you and current trends in death metal?
I have to say I agree with you on this one.
I may be the metal purist of the band, but such things don't really capture my attention in the metal context.
I like more traditional and raw style metal, and the constant 'adding' of new instruments or concepts does get a bit tiresome for me. I'm mainly an 'old school' guy.
I do prefer jazzy or progressive elements when they're not mixed with metal honestly.
The styles seem a bit contrived when they clash so abruptly, but I might just be an old bastard rambling....
There are infinite ideas to be carried out with standard rock/metal instruments, if you have the imagination and work at it.
Sometimes throwing a trombone in the mix for novelty isn't the answer!
When we look back at the beginning ... What was the first impulse to found the band? And why the death metal? It's not the typical style which can would give you great "glory".
Well we certainly didn't start playing extreme metal for the glory, although over the years we've certainly had some amazing moments, travelling many other countries performing with various bands, playing shows/tours in foreign places, which is the greatest reward you can recieve in my opinion, although yes finacially it can be very difficult.
We've all been playing Metal music since we were teenagers, and now 25 years later, we're still going strong, driven purely by the will to create, execute and impose our music onto those who wish to bear it.
All the best times of my life have revolved around metal shows/tours and we intend to continue the glorious tradition deep into the future, afterall, we didn't get into this style for trends.
Metal is a genre that demands ultimate respect and we're happy to be involved in the game.
It's a badge of honour that's we've been proud of for many years, and it's such a rush to deliver our wild music to fans anywhere. Pure expression of the unimaginable.
You come from Australia and you play extreme death metal. Our readers would certainly wonder how the death metal scene works in Australia. 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?
Australia has an amzing metal scene, dozens of high qaulity bands of all styles are abundant in each city.
Because of Coronavirus, Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide all had restrictions on venues, meaning they're still doing 'seated' shows (as of now January 2021) but i'm confident when they reopen, shows will be packed and rockin.
Australia has a great history of Metal bands going back to the 80s and early 90's, legendary bands like Armoured Angel, Damaged, Destroyer 666, Astriaal, Sadistik Execution, Alchemist and Bloodduster we're ruling the scene in the 90's, and now we have a new generation of bands like The Amenta, Psycroptic, Desecrator, Mason, Hidden Intent, Truth Corroded, Disentomb, Denouncement Pyre, Whoretopsy carrying the flag of Australian metal into the future.
Sometimes it can be difficult for Australian bands to receive exposure they deserve because of our geography mainly, but when it comes to qaulity and performance, Australian bands are as good as any i've seen in the world.
We've always had a legendary 'pub rock' scene here and I think the newer metal bands feed off that historical Aussie legacy of drinking hard and rocking out!
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 DEPRAVITY.
My influences seem to be an equal blend of Thrash, Death and Black Metal, all from the mid to late ninety's, that's where my heart is.
I would say Depravity's sound would be more American sounding than anything, just as a result of the predominant intake of Death Metal hailing from that region.
The 90's Florida scene was utterly amazing, but also the German Thrash scene of the 80's has so much to offer too.
I also love the Norwegian Black Metal scene of the early 90's although we don't play that style with Depravity because our guitarists don't listen to such 'crusty' music as me.
I can't speak for the others in the band, but my biggest influences musically would be Morbid Angel, Slayer and Angelcorpse. These bands helped me define my Death/Thrash style which seems to carry forward into all the music I make.
I don't mind having strong influences in the band, but it's important NOT to copy or replicate them.
We always search deep inside ourselves when writing so we can STAMP the music with our own taste and technique. That's very important if you want to stay relevant.
In the end I always ask a slightly philosophical question. How would you define death metal and what does it mean to you? I don't mean the playing technique now, but rather what it brings to you, how you perceive it in relation to the fans. Did you grow up on it?
Yes I definitely grew up on Metal since high school days in 1994 so it's always been with me.
Metal to me is many things, it is a sport, a form of expression, it's a social group, it's an aesthetic that only few people can truly appreciate.
As a musician, I love the musicality involved.
I love the horror/occult themes because I was always a big horror movie fan since the 80's.
I love the anger and power of metal, I love the grace and intelligence also.
I think metal music can be many things at once and hence, is widely misunderstood by the mainstream.
I always found there was more 'truth' to metal than any other style, so the choice is very easy.
After seeing crazy European metalfests with thousands of people screaming, camping out and showing true family style commitment to the genre,, it's hard not to follow that passion.
I think metal may be the most longlasting and robust of all genres.
Thank you so much for the interview. I appreciate it. Now let's talk music. I'm going to play „Grand Malevolence“ really loud! I wish you good luck and all the best in your personal lives. Thank you!
Excellent! Thanks so much for the opportunity, and I hope you all go and check out the album.
Go to the bandcamp page, download the entire discography!
Hopefully see you on the road some day maniacs Hails!
Louis
Depravity Facebook – https://facebook.com/Depravitydestroy
Depravity Bandcamp - https://depravitydeath.bandcamp.com
Recenze/review - DEPRAVITY - Grand Malevolence (2020):
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