GRAVE DESECRATOR INTERVIEW 2023
GRAVE DESECRATOR is Brazil`s one of most interesting bands, me thinks. Formed exactly 25 years ago, they have been pretty active and just provided us with their amazing, brand-new album "Immundissime Spiritus". A good reason for an interview, in my opinion, huh. Lads and ladies, this is GRAVE DESECRATOR`s main man: Butcherazor. Enjoy.
Hello Butcherazor. Well, it has been seven years since “Dust to Lust” was released… a long time, indeed. You surely have taken your time working on your new album, huh?
Butcherazor - Hi Leszek! We've been working on a new album since 2017/18, I think. A long time since "Dust..", many things have happened around here.
Anyhow, I would say these seven years have been very good for GRAVE DESECRATOR. Why? Because we have been provided with a very, very good album. Man, these 10 songs killed me totally, awesome stuff in other words, really!
Butcherazor - Thank you, brother. We've always worked hard on the songs. Not with the interest of revolutionizing something but creating good riffs, different perspectives. It's always a long creative process.
Can you please elaborate on “Immundissime Spiritus”? Where did you record this stuff? What studio?
Butcherazor - The main thing was Black Sin and I talked about what we wanted before writing anything. The idea in GRAVE DESECRATOR has always been to bring the macabre and violence. And we always try to make progress on that. It's like digging a grave deeper and deeper in each album. We've always written separately and put the whole thing together in the studio focusing on the atmosphere we're looking for. This time we record most of the stuff in our homes. Just the drums, some vocals and solos we did in the studio. We chose Tellus Studio in Niterói city, Rio de Janeiro, to record, mix and master. An amazing studio.
You have mentioned that Black Sin is no longer with GRAVE DESECRATOR. Can you please elaborate on this topic a little bit? What happened? Do you have a guy to replace him?
First, he's a good person, a good musician, but in recent years the environment has become very toxic. Emotional exhaustion is normal in any band, ok, the problem is when you leave the band days before several scheduled shows and tell the producers that the band is over. That's the attitude of a rip-off. Well, good luck to the musicians and producers who will be working with him. And yes! We have a new guitarist. A. Círio Sacrilege. A brilliant musician. And let's be clear, it only ends when I decide! I'm the FUCKIN' GRAVE DESECRATOR!
And how much time did it take you guys to get this album recorded? Anything special about the session? How did it go?
Butcherazor - "Immundissime spiritus" was the most painful and time-consuming album to record. For several reasons. And this time we did it without any label support, which made things more complicated. But the most important thing is that we got the result we wanted. This is the best GRAVE DESECRATOR album for me.
Tell us a bit about those last seven years and GRAVE DESECRATOR. Have you had any issues, problems and so on during that time? Has the line-up been changed in any way? What did you use those years for?
Butcherazor - Private problems, work, no money, line-up change, Covid, no money again, line-up change one more time, etc. etc. "Immundissime..." was spawned in chaos and finally this filthy demon will can possess your mind.
You mentioned that this time you guys will be attacking from “multiple directions” so to say. In other words, there`ll be more labels involved. As far as I know the label in Brazil that`ll take care of your album is Xaninho Producoes, how about releasing this stuff in Europe, Asia and the USA? I don’t think there’s going to be any problems cooperating with international record companies, huh? – because this album is simply amazing! Any offers so far?
Butcherazor - Yes, we talked with some labels in Europe and now we are negotiating with a label from Switzerland.
Well, talking about non-Brazilian editions of this album. Do you have any bonus tracks for Asian editions, for instance? You know, these extra songs are sort of mandatory when it comes to Asia. In Japan, FYI, albums are usually delayed but their local editions are usually enhanced with bonus stuff to make fans more interested in particular editions. Or, perhaps, you guys plan to release all the stuff at the same time, both in Europe and USA as well as Asia?
Butcherazor - So far, we have nothing established in Asia. But we don't have any bonuses for that. Everything we've done is on this new album.
So, tell me whether your new album will be paired with any touring all over the world?
Butcherazor - We're going to try to get our music out to as many cities as possible. Mainly for the South American audience. There are many places around here that we should visit.
Your album is going to be out very soon. I am more than sure you are about to start touring in order to promote it, right?
Yes of course. Unfortunately, we had to cancel some shows and reschedule others because of the aforementioned guitarist. But we're going to take this cursed band to as many cities as we can.
I must say I did enjoy your live show in Chorzow (Poland) during your 20 Years of Desecration European Tour 2018. You played live on three occasions here in Poland. And the show in Chorzow killed. Total fucking destruction. So, I do hope you`ll not forget about Poland and you`ll come over to play live again, huh?
Butcherazor - Of course, we will back to Europe again to drink some beers in Poland! haha
Who`s responsible for the new album`s layout and front cover?
Butcherazor - I designed and did all the layout. The cover was made by a friend of mine from Rio de Janeiro, Alexandre "Moicano". He is a great tattoo artist and painter in our city.
I have been blasting your new album on repeat all day and I must say the more I keep pounding these songs the more bulldozing they become. I must say my fave work of yours has been your second album for a long time; but now, I am not that sure which one I prefer most, because “Immundissime Spiritus” is just killer. Tell me how hard it is to maintain this high quality of music and, at the same time, to be able to release such fresh, sincere and honest music, huh?
Butcherazor - I did the same. Ha-ha, I really like what we do. I declare myself a riff maker who seeks to make the most cursed riffs. That's why my god is called Tony Iommi. Ha-ha.
Missa Pro Defunctis” oozes of Wojciech Kilar`s “The Ninth Gate” soundtrack. Is this assumption correct? Do you like Wojciech Kilar?
Absolutely. Wojciech's music was a big influence on this track. I've always wanted to try something that sounds like a band playing as an orchestra. I really liked the result. Oh man, Wojciech Kilar is fucking great! I got to know his music in the movie Bram Stoker's Dracula. It's spectacular!
“Immundissime Spiritus” is awash in devilishness. I think that thanks to this dark element your music becomes so omnipotently powerful. Why is it like this, I want to ask? Because darkness is always mysterious, attractive and thus alluring to listeners` imaginations? What are your inspirations when it comes to writing such darkness-suffused music, huh?
Butcherazor - Evil is the answer. Evil is my way. I really don't like cold riffs with boring melodies. I am inspired by the evil I hear in SLAYER, POSSESSED, VULCANO, BLACK SABBATH, etc. A riff that can rip your eyes out, burn your bones and consume your soul. I have hell inside my mind and hell is attractive. And to compose I penetrate this atmosphere. Whether with classical music, experimental films, literature... Check out the Brazilian gothic literature!!!
I suspect you guys are inspired by horror literature and soundtracks. Can you please name some movies and soundtracks that you find really impressive and inspiring?
Everything around can influence me to create music, lyrics, art. It depends on our perspective. I'm not totally chained to horror movies. The world can offer what is more subversive, evil and degrading than any B-movie. It's the weird arts, experimental films and music, controversial literature, that really capture my attention. This is probably not yet so evident in GRAVE DESECRATOR but that's what poisons my mind. I could name several cliché movies and soundtracks that I love, like The Exorcist, The Devil Rides Out, etc etc and composers like Basil Poledouris, Jerry Goldsmith, Vangelis, Ennio Morricone, James Bernard, etc. But it's been a while since I've been bewitched by Kenneth Anger movies and stuff like that. And I'm currently obsessed with the films of the Austrian Peter Tscherkassky. I've also been listening to a lot of classical Brazilian composers who are geniuses and totally ignored by most people: Heitor Villa-Lobos and José Maurício Nunes Garcia.
Can you please tell us some more about Brazilian gothic literature you have briefly mentioned? Sounds really interesting to me.
To explain this in the best way I could make an analogy with Brazilian Extreme Metal. We didn't create it but we absorbed a lot of ideas and we created our own style. SARCÓFAGO and SEPULTURA are perfect examples. In the same way, we created in the past a very rich literature. Writers and poets who delved into the abyss of terror and the grotesque in the aesthetics of Gothic literature. Some specialists call our style "Tropical gothic" due to adaptations. The cold and dark place that gave way to a light and sunny environment, but which brings an approach as diabolical as European tales. Álvares de Azevedo, Fagundes Varella, Augusto dos Anjos, Bernardo Guimarães, Cornélio Penna are great influences for me. A few years ago, I became an independent researcher on the history of Rio de Janeiro, I am writing a book about some bizarre and unknown stories and I have found many texts that have influenced me a lot.
Brazil, similar to Poland, is an ultra-roman catholic country, yet the antichristian rebellion is quite popular in both countries. Why?
Butcherazor - Oh no! There is nothing popular here in that sense. We are a minority here and we don't make a fuss. We are not known here. Brazil is still a conservative country and sick with a fever of Christianity. We just got out of a far-right government. A fascist and religious government that many metalheads supported. Brazil is a disgrace and some aspects.
Well, let us talk about your lyrics. What is more difficult to create? Music or lyrics? What does the writing process (of both) look like? I mean do you compose music and then write lyrics or do these two things happen at the same time? How important is inspiration when it comes to writing both music and lyrics? Is it an intentional or spontaneous process?
Butcherazor - Composing riffs or writing lyrics is equally difficult for me. I have no obstacles to create but for me to find exactly what I'm looking for is difficult. I tend to compose riffs first. Riffs are most important to me to create the perfect environment for the lyrics. Finding the idea, everything flows. I dive into different atmospheres for inspiration, with old movies, books, places, etc.
Well, judging by your “Death Misery Ecstasy” I am curious to know if you think that death is the absolute end of a human being?
Butcherazor - This song talks about exactly that. It's an analogy for saying that "death is the end and I'm fine with that". There are no other lives, there is no heaven or hell. And the greatest ecstasy is to be consumed by mother nature.
In general, your lyrics are damn dark. The main motifs, as far as I can tell, deal with blackness, misery, fall of the soul, abyssal depths and bewitching. How did you get inspired to write about such themes? Music, movies or books?
Butcherazor - Everything can be inspiration. I like to read about these topics. "Finis Hominis" for example is inspired by Lord Byron's poem "Darkness" and that title was stolen from a Brazilian movie with the same name and talks about the same things.
What happens to man when the thread of life gets broken? Are we just carrion to be devoured by maggots that help to break down the matter, help to rot the tissue? Or, perhaps, death helps to release the soul from the chains of the material substance? Do you believe in reincarnation in any form?
Butcherazor - If the "other side" existed, some human being from this place would try to market for you. The idea of another life exists only to alleviate your fears and frustrations. There are no proofs for reincarnation. Only decomposition is real!
Heaven and hell according to you? Do these two exist? Judging by what is happening right now on earth, I would say hell is right here, lock stock and barrel. Your opinion on this matter?
Butcherazor - The "hell" is here. Here you will be judged by your actions. The glory and suffering are part of life. Anything beyond that is fantasy.
When we look at human mankind, it is hard to deny that it is us and us only who are responsible for all the evil that has been affecting us. And these wrongdoings aren’t caused by some “devilish whispering”, just the very opposite. It is our internal need to obliterate, it is our destructive nature. But, as some claim we are created to liken gods, well, maybe most of our population has been paying homage to wrong gods then? What do you think?
Butcherazor - These are primitive ideas of every human being. Easy and comforting answers to difficult questions. Creating fables is not a problem. Art is fantasy. But we need maturity to understand the universe as it is.
Is Satan not an artificial creature created by religion to excuse religion`s own crimes? It is much easier to blame the Horned God for anything one would like to, instead of taking responsibility for one`s own wrongdoings and malice – using religion as an excuse?
Butcherazor - Exactly. And using the term "Satan" is perfect symbolism to express revolt against religions and political systems based on it.
How do you imagine Lucifer if you remove all the deformation imposed on him by religious teachings? I mean the Church purposefully created an image of him as a terrifying beast; of hell full of eternal pain and suffering and so on - in order to terrorize and control masses. Or maybe Lucifer is some sort of omnipotent energy that is so deeply intelligent that it can take any form there is and thus become what we indeed want/imagine him to be?
Butcherazor - Lucifer is an idea. And I like it. The symbol of the one who turned against god's laws and built his own world. And if his image terrifies Christians, it sounds much better!
In the past, many heretic groups (including Gnostics) perceived Lucifer as the god of goodness, and Jahve, the demiurge, as the tomb of all evil. Maybe the devil isn’t as bad as people say it actually is, huh?
Butcherazor - The Devil is the law! The Devil represents justice and freedom. The Devil will not judge you by your race or culture. The Devil will accept you regardless of your sexuality. The Devil represents unity between people and revenge against those who attempt against it. Meanwhile Christianity represents racism, xenophobia and ignorance.
On February 10, 2022, the vocalist of legendary KAT, Roman Kostrzewski died. That’s a huge loss for our Polish scene. This band has always been extremely influential and important. Always has and I think always will be. I know you`ve always been a huge KAT fan. Which album is your favourite by the way?
Butcherazor - I'm sorry for your loss. I honestly never followed KAT very much. Our former bassist, Necrogoat, was a really big fan and always talked about it. I remember the album "Metal and Hell". It's a great album. RIP Roman.
Well, that’s about it. Thank you for your time. Anything to add for your ardent fans/readers? Thanks again and take care.
Butcherazor - Thanks to you Leszek for this great interview and to the manic people of Poland. We had a good time there and want to come back often. Follow us on social media and if you like our shit buy our stuff. See you soon! METAL AND HELL!!!
NecronosferatuS/ Pawł Wojtowicz
Poprawiony (czwartek, 30 marca 2023 16:15)