01) Hello sickos! How are things in Truculency? What I wanted to ask in first is that you started a band in 2007 and after 2 years you had a deal with Amputated Vein... You didn't play according to my knowledge in other bands so how come it is possible to write and record such amazing album as 'Eviscerate the Paraplegic'?
Joe: Amazing? Really?? Thanks. Things in Truculency are good, working on new shit, with some new additions to the band. I've been in a few other bands, but nothing with this caliber of writing style. Steve is crazy, it's an art form to him.
Steve: Thanks for allowing us to do this interview and for your kind words about ‘Eviscerate the Paraplegic’. Everything is going really good. We have added a new vocalist, Shawn, who is really killer, and a new bass player, Jeff, who is insanely amazing. And we have been busy writing and recording material for our new record.
Truculency was actually started in January 2008, our record deal with AVR came in September 2008, and the recording was finished in January 2009. We tried to make each song as nonstop brutal and crazy as we could. The songs needed to be aggressive, technical, and unpredictable with many ideas flowing together seamlessly. We wanted to make an album that was a mix between extremely brutal diarrhea sounding death metal and technical death metal. We think it came together pretty well.
02) Truculency is just two sick minds, is it easier to compose music in that form?
Steve: I think it works out better. I have never been a big fan of a band jamming to get ideas for songs. Much of the material for the CD had been written for many years before the band was formed. All the guitar riffs for the songs are written over a couple of weeks. Once I felt the song was complete I would play each section of the riffs for Joe so he could get his drum parts down. And Joe is just so creative at coming up with great drums parts. I know I can just write whatever I want, and he can come up with a way to make it so much crazier. It was a very fast process that allowed us to focus on what each one of us does best. But we are also very pleased to have 2 new members that can contribute to vocals and bass far better that what the 2 of us could do.
Joe: It worked well for us, once AVR contacted us to put out a full length, it seemed like it was pretty easy to pound out songs. Once guitars and drums came together, the rest was easier considering Steve and I both had a general idea of what direction we wanted to go in as far as vocals/bass.
03) As we said in the first question you have signed to Amputated Vein Records. How do you see their work so far?
Steve: They have been doing a great job. It has been very cool for us. It is amazing to see our album all over the internet. Pretty much every major metal distribution company has it. I even saw it in the local metal shop in Chicago.
Joe: AWESOME, Maskatsu is a cool ass dude, we never expected anyone to hear our shit in the first place, but Masa and AVR made that possible.
04) Before we will move to music I wanted to ask you about the about two tracks that are dealing with christianity matters. "Fecal covered christ" and "Deformation of the Virgin Mary" - nice view of christ covered in shit and Mary after so many years can't be a young hottie anymore so deformation in her case is normal hahaha. Why are you against religions? What are the most frightening matters for you in christianity or religion in common in overall and why?
Steve: We are really not against religion. People are free to believe and be controlled by whatever they want to. For us the lyrics are mostly meant to cause people to laugh. I mean we have lyrics ranging from mutilation and gore to computer science and calculus. So nothing should be taken too seriously.
Joe: Ha, well, I think Shawn can answer that one best. Steve and I just wrote that since that's what everyone in the genre writes about, so we just jumped on the “I hate religion” bandwagon I guess.
Shawn: The new record we are writing is conceptually centered around the history of religious violence. I am incredibly theophobic. I have a restraining order against Jesus.
Jeff: I dislike religions because of the restrictions that they put on humanity. It's not right to limit what people are allowed to do, how they can act, and when or how they must worship. So much of it makes so little sense that I feel like if there is a God, he is a self-centered jerk with a huge ego- or at least that's how he is portrayed. The whole 'sin' idea doesn't sit right with me. Who decides what a sin is and why do they get to decide it? All I know is- "Some things a man does is good, and some isn’t so good. And that's all anyone's got a right to say." -Pa Joad
05) 'Eviscerate the Paraplegic' is your debut album, before it you didn't record a demo. Where did you get the skills to do it?
Joe: Steve is a maniac, he plays guitar non-stop, it's all him. A lot of the songs he writes are so messed up, I couldn't understand the riffs, so I would have to count how many beats to blast for and just go at it. It works well considering, it kind of helps break the songs into even stranger time signatures sometimes.
Steve: I have not left my room in 15 years except to take guitar lessons from guitar god George Bellas.
06) Brutal Death Metal, advanced as for song writing structures... but there is so many astonishing fragments like taken melodies from rock music, very heavy metal solos, breakdowns, on 'Fecal Covered Christ' there is even a riff that form me suits even for Depressive Black Metal... Is that what you want to do? I mean lots of ideas, avoid to be monotonous?
Joe: Steve likes melody, I hate it, we meet somewhere in the middle, and it usually ends up with those weird breakdowns like in Fecal. Other times, to avoid monotony, it can be as simple as cutting a riff in 3rd's and putting pauses in there, or just jamming until we find a slam-esque part and throw it in there somewhere.
Shawn: Steve's guitar work is extraterrestrial. My primitive Earth brain lacks the cognitive capacity to even listen to some of the new riffs. Its like punching a dinosaur in the dick. It just don't make sense.
Jeff: The thing that I like about Steve's writing style is that a vast majority of the music that he writes come from great ideas. All of it is super fast, but if you slow it down and really analyze it, almost every line is a great musical idea. If this goes into other genres, so be it, it's still great music.
Steve: We defiantly try to incorporate a lot of ideas in to a song. It makes it very unpredictable and fun to play. We don’t like to play the same riffs throughout the song, and since the songs are written over a couple of weeks, one day I might want to write a real brutal breakdown, the next day I might want to write a real fast technical part, and the next day I might want a black metalish part. Nothing is ever planned.
07) In other words recipe for Brutal Death Metal?
Steve: Defiantly. Brutal Death Metal has no limits on what can be included in it.
08) Is there any particular philosophy in meaning of non-musical in Truculency? When asked what is it all stand for you would say?
Joe: We don't stand for anything; we're just dudes playing music.
Shawn: I am told I can be a truculent from time to time. But, to quote Steve Smith, thats just because "People make me mad all of the time for being stupid about everything." I mean, 60% of Americans still do not believe in Evolution, for Christ's sake. The Scopes trial was nearly 90 years ago and the jury is still out.
09) I must say that the whole layout and front cover art is very good work! Again the studio of Phlegeton did amazing work! Obvious that probably you like yours most from their works but which one for you does attach your attention as well?
Joe: Phlegeton is insane; using real people in his artwork is what makes him stand out the most. I like Avulsed – Gorespattered Suicide the best.
10) They did also the artwork for Gorevent Slam Death band. What do you think of their new album 'Worship Paganism'?
Steve: It is not too bad. It is nice to listen to a little slam once in awhile
11) It is also a close time when new stuff of Morbid Angel will be released. Happy and can't wait? Did you hear new track that is online for some time already?
Steve: I liked the track they posted online. The rest not so much.
Joe: I've heard it, and that's all I'm going to say.
12) You changed your vocalist to Shawn Connors who is now in Bound and Gagged. New song sounds even more sick with his vocals!!! Is that means that now as a trio you'll play live gigs?
Joe: No promises, but it's something we've talked about. Now that we've got a bass player we're one step closer.
Shawn: Thanks, man. One day at a time. Right now we are, more or less, crafting songs. I'd love to have these songs see a stage someday.
Jeff: I sure hope so! I've never played a live show before, but I think that with some practice (and perhaps some liquid courage) a live show is definitely possible.
13) As it comes for inspirations what would be yours?
Steve: All I know is music.
Joe: Deedsof Flesh is what got me into metal drumming. Outside of other music, video games.
Shawn: "The Purpose Drive Life" by Rick Warren.
Jeff: I would have to say all of the bass players in metal who are pushing the envelope and making bass heard. A few years ago, almost every band out there would say that the bassist is the most non-essential and least musically inclined part of the band- sticking to whole/quarter/eighth notes and 1-4-5 patterns or a very basic 12 bar or something. But now, there are people like Jeff Hughell and Mike Flores and Erlend Caspersen who just shred the bass like there is no tomorrow and add so much to the overall sound of the music. They continually inspire me and motivate me to practice for hours on end. Also, I am very inspired by the natural world. I love being outdoors and appreciating everything from the architecture of single cells to sprawling landscapes- they show how amazing life can be given enough time to mature.
14) Lyrics, music all is very close to other genre: movies. So which ones are closest to you -> porn or horror/gore flicks and why?
Joe: Again, just jumping on the “gore” bandwagon like everyone else. The original lyrics were about love and sunshine, but we lost those pages and had to re-write them.
Jeff: I like horror flicks, especially old ones. The blood and effects are just priceless. But I also like sci-fi stuff and comedy/satire.
15) When can we expect new stuff of Truculency? New track on myspece made me hungry for this sick shit!
Steve: Hopefully within the next year. We have 6 songs written so far. All of them have the drums and guitars recorded. Shawn has been working on getting the vocals recorded over the past few months. And Jeff has been learning the songs very quickly and we hope to get his stuff recorded soon. We are very excited about getting the new CD released. The production is going to 100 times better and the new material is sounding brutal as fuck.
16) Are you going to continue working with Amputated Vein? Or was it just a one album deal and you'll search for other label?
Steve: We would be happy to work with AVR again. But the deal we had with them was a one album deal. So we are trying to find a new record label. There are many great labels that we would be willing to sign to. Our main goal has always been to get our music to as many people as possible. Any label willing to do that for us, would be perfect.
17) Being totally serious do you think that playing that type of music or releasing it you are able to live only from it without selling off your principles?
Steve: We would never be able to live from it. Most of the material was written without ever thinking that anybody would ever hear it. We do this for fun and are out to make Brutal Death metal that we would want to listen to. It is cool to have just a few people from around the world listen to our music. We just want to make brutal aggressive music. We hope that people enjoy it.
Joe: No way, I mean I suppose it's possible but it's not something I'd be willing to do; I want to keep it fun.
Shawn: Extreme Metal isn't really a career. There are a few bands kind of making it work to various degrees and those bands have to have a work ethic that I feel would sucks the fun out of music for myself. Of course, if poverty is your bands goal, then the sky is the limit.
Jeff: I believe that that is called "living the dream," and it would be sweet, but I think that death metal is too small of a genre to really support my whole life with the proceeds- especially while maintaining all of my principles and not selling in any way. Besides, it's worth doing just for the experience and the accomplishment of bringing something new into the world. Music is something that I have huge respect for, and it is incredibly humbling to be able to contribute to it in any way.
18) That's it for today. You can now wave your left hand to fecal covered jesus hahaha. Thanks for the interview.
Steve: Thank you for your time. It has been a real pleasure.
Joe: Later
. Thank YOU.
interview by Waldemar 06/2011
