Headbang Today » death metal

Reverend Henry Kane

Scream — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 13:45:13 +0000

Metal 4 Africa’s metal minded Darkfiend joined us as a guest writer to interview a couple of MotherFUDD’s most talented bands. Reverend Henry Kane are one of them!

Interview by: Darkfiend (from the all inspiring Metal 4 Africa.com)

DF: Hi Guys. It’s a pleasure to be having this opportunity to chat a bit to Reverend Henry Kane, just prior to the mighty MotherFudd Festival. Are you all excited?

RHK: Thanks so much for the opportunity, much appreciated! Yeah we’ve all heard it’s an epic festival and we’re beyond stoked to be a part of it and share the stage with so many talented bands!

DF: Please excuse my rudeness! How about a round of introductions before I go blundering ahead?

RHK: On vocals is Ryan Kietzmann, lead guitar is Cameron Smith, rhythm guitar is Lloyd Beckett, on bass is Iain Cook and our ‘’old’’ drummer is Chris Graham.

DF: Ok, so MotherFudd is just around the corner, and you are joining a pilgrimage of metal bands to perform up North. Can you tell us who else from your neighborhood is going up?

RHK: As far as we know we are the only Durban band that’s on the bill, so we will be flying the Durban metal flag high for all to see during the show. There are some really talented bands in Durban, so it is a privilege for us to perform at such a prestigious event.

DF: It’s always nice to play in front of new people, but sometimes it can be daunting if people don’t know your music. Do you expect that many of the Durban punters will go along to MotherFudd as well – to represent a united front of sorts?

RHK: We’re hoping there will be a few familiar faces to represent the Land of the Long Green Leaf, but we love playing to new crowds and people, that’s what gives us the motivation. Getting a good response to our music is the best feeling as musicians. It gets boring playing to all the same people time after time, as is sometimes the case.

DF: It looks like your band is really gearing up to join the ranks of those bands who enjoy national recognition. We’ve seen you in your home stomping grounds of Kwazulu Natal, and in Gauteng, and even as far off as Cape Town for Whiplash at the end of last year! Where else has Reverend Henry Kane toured that we’ve missed?

RHK: Nowhere else as yet, but we’re always looking for new venues to play around the country. We want to play some shows in PE and Bloemfontein, heard good things about the venues and crowds, and we’re always up for a thrash afterwards! We said when we started the band that we don’t want to sit in our home town all year and play once or twice in Gauteng or Cape Town. Getting away is the best for us!

DF: Have you been making this all happen yourselves, or has there been some help along the way?

RHK: There’s been a shit load of help from various parties in the scene, and we really wouldn’t have come as far as we have without them. Our biggest help has come from Barry and Delia Drewett and we want to give a big shout to them for all they’ve done for us and the rest of the bands! A special mention to Azrail (RIP) who’ve always hosted and organised for us in the Cape. However we do make a lot of it happen ourselves, applying to festivals, organizing travel arrangements, studio time, merch, etc. and generally managing the band ourselves.

DF: The road is a fun and different lifestyle that most people will never know. Can you fill us in on your single greatest triumph and pitfall that you have experienced whilst touring?

RHK: Our single worst moment was our first ever show in JHB at Asylum. We were plagued with gear issues (our own gear and venue gear) and we were a three piece for 80% of the show, added to that we were playing to about 5 people, it was the worst show we’ve ever done so far. Our greatest triumph was doing a couple of kick ass shows in Cape Town last year in July, surviving the party, flying back with the worst hangovers of our lives and seeing all our gear come back in one piece!

DF: Have there been any bands that you saw on your travels that you would like to take home to do a show, assuming that you are currently holding a winning Lotto ticket and can afford to have “friends” over?

RHK: We’d love to have Azrail, Mind Assault and Day Turns Night from CT; All Forlon, Warthane, Bile of Man and Erebus from JHB. From Durban, Contrast The Water, Theatre Runs Red and Pledge Defiance. That would make for one crazy pit!

DF: Let’s hear a little more about hometown, Durban. How long has Reverend Henry Kane been active in the Durbs scene, and what bands share a similar timeline?

RHK: We’ve been around for two years now, our first gig was March 2008. A band that shares a similar time line are our good friends and bunch of crazies Theatre Runs Red (sick band), although they did start about 6 months before we came along, they are the closest band that is still around today.

DF: Would you say that the Durban scene is unique, if compared with what you experienced in Cape Town and Joburg during you travels? Please go into a little detail about your views.

RHK: We wouldn’t call it unique, as the metal scene in general is pretty unique in its own twisted way. Durban is a lot smaller than the other two major centres, but the scene shares more in common with Cape Town than Jozi. There are a load of bands in JHB and from what we’ve seen and heard, there are big divides in what is ‘’scene’’ or ‘’core’’ and what is ‘’metal’’. We’ve heard of gangs, fights and other crazy shit that goes down in JHB that just doesn’t happen in Durban. There is always going to be some rivalry between bands, but that can be a good thing as it pushes bands to progress, but there can be bitterness and jealousy that does come up every now and then, we’ve been on the receiving end of some of it. It’s a pretty mellow scene generally, and everyone knows everyone, so there is a good camaraderie between the bands. The support at local gigs could be much better for all the bands though.

DF: Since about 2007, we have picked up on a growing buzz about metal, especially after years of living in a wasteland of nothingness in the late 90’s and the first half of the 2000 decade. What has cropped up in the South African metal scene excites you the most at present?

RHK: One thing that has grown are the amount of festivals, venues, shows that are geared towards metal, the support for metal is growing slowly around the country. Although there are still those fucking morons who petition against our ways, we will overcome that and metal will continue to grow as far as we see it. All the kids are getting into whichever shape or form you want to call the scene now, which is always a positive. Start them young the lil’ ones!

DF: Most local metal bands seldom survive longer than approximately 3 years, we’ve noticed. Obviously, there are huge challenges that need to be surmounted and many just don’t have what it takes to persevere. In taking a look at the current situation, do you feel optimistic and confident that Reverend Henry Kane will be making music for a long, long time yet?

RHK: There are a few things that we feel optimistic about currently. We’ve had no line-up changes since we started, so it’s a close bond we have in the band, but it’s very important because we don’t keep changing members and playing the same songs all the time. Our music has progressed dramatically since we started and we’re writing music that we never thought we could a year ago, in our band it’s all about progress and forging ahead and trying new things. Our support base is growing day by day; we’re seeing more people in front of us at each show which is a good sign.

DF: Have you have any recorded material available as yet?

RHK: We are currently putting the final touches of our debut album entitled “Baptised in Blood”. It’s been a big learning curve for all of us, they’re lessons we’ll take into our next endeavor. We have two unmixed tracks from the album on our myspace and facebook pages to give a taste of what can be expected. Go listen! www.myspace.com/rhkband

DF: When can we expect a release? Tell us about what you have in mind and how you plan to overwhelm your followers and convert the masses of unsuspecting hordes?

RHK: We’re looking at a mid-year release. We’ll keep the plans close to our chest!

DF: What else would you like to say, now while you have the spotlight attention? Choose any topic close to your hearts.

RHK: Just wanna say thanks to our sponsors, Bavaria Beer, Skintrade Tatoos, Elixa energy drink and Marshall Music Hillcrest. They’ve all helped us out in our various times of need! Also, to all our fans for all their support and belief in us as a band, and a big thank you to Yvonne for what should be a brutal festival. Shot for the interview DF, hope to see you all at the Fudd!

Bile Of Man

Scream — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 11:35:34 +0000

Bile Of Man

A great beast laid in wake of the Earth’s mind. A dark conscience within all mankind called … Bile Of Man. erm… maybe that’s not quite it… oh well, we got hold of Bile Of Man anyway and asked these South African Death metallers a couple of questions about their brutally driven metal awesomeness and the real meaning behind their delicious band name!

Puure ‘Suid Afrikaanse Brutale Vrekyster!’

BILE OF MAN ARE: VOCALS: Rehan De Kock GUITARS: Bennie Burger

GUITARS: Nicolas Sothmann DRUMS: Riaan Els BASS: Choroz Bileous

Collaborated Interview By: Scream and MDF

Headbang Today: Welcome to the family of Headbang Today! There is but one house rule and it’s no cannibalism! Everything else goes while constant headbanging is compulsory! We suppose that’s no problem for the members of Bile Of Man, right?

Bile Of Man: Bennie: We got the headbanging down, but whats this about house rules and you leave out an important one: One should always try and be offensive. Unless you make me some coffee. Right now!!

Headbang Today: If you had to cover a Cannibal Corpse song, which would it be?

Bile Of Man: Bennie: It would have to be Stripped, Raped and Strangled! Such a Brutal song!!

Headbang Today: If Bile Of Man could work with any other artist in a big event, who would it be and where would the event be held?

Bile Of Man: Riaan: For me it would have to be Morbid Angel and it could be anywhere. They are the Kings of Death Metal!!!

Headbang Today: You’ll be coming down to Cape Town for your Stages of Brutality gigs on the 26th of March this year. Are you excited about rocking the shit out of capetonian headbangers?

Bile Of Man: Bennie: Oh yes!! We can’t wait to spill some new blood, we want to see the old school moshing, headbanging, heavy drinking crazy motherfuckers to come and show us what the Cape Town scene is made of and that they CAN mosh and keep the pits going!

Riaan: I think we are all very excited, we have never played Cape Town and I hear it’s great down there.

Headbang Today: You’ll also be performing at MotherFudd 2010 where they will also be attempting to break the Guiness world record for ‘MOST HEADBANGING SIMULTANEOUSLY!’ How much headbanging are you planning on for that? (make us proud!)

Bile Of Man: Bennie: For the World Record attempt (Which is great for international exposure), I guess it will be for the duration of whichever song it is that they choose to have us headbang on. But as for the other bands playing, I am sure there will be much more extensive headbanging to take place while watching other bands as well.

Headbang Today: What inspired you guys to become musicians in this genre?

Bile Of Man: Bennie: There is no money. Huge inspiration. No actually since the garage days of covering Sepultura, Slayer and MetallicA, I had listened to Nile and Morbid Angel, but never attempted to learn any of their songs. And when I started realizing what music is, it became clear to me that the three most challenging genre’s to play are Jazz, Classical and Death Metal. And this is purely an opinion driven statement, because apparently it’s very hard to produce dance music and any variation thereof. Personally, with my untrained ear, I can’t hear the significant difference between “House” “Rave” and/or “EBM”. But that’s just me, it might be all the years of death metal and noise that destroyed my ears.

Headbang Today: Tell us more about your actual band name, how did it originate?

Bile Of Man: Riaan: I will give you the short version. I came up with the name so that there’s an array of subjects to write about. Just so that we aren’t nailed down to one subject. So our lyrical themes are mostly about mankind and the bad side of the world, of the reality we live in. We like to keep things really brutal, so the name “Bile of Man” suites our theme and style quite well. Plus it sounds really cool.

Headbang Today: We would like to hear about what went down at your craziest gig ever!

Bile Of Man: Bennie: I would actually say that it must have been one of our best gigs ever!! We were playing alongside Tranquil and The Dead Will Tell at the Black Dahlia in Boksburg. When we hit the stage after TDWT, the crowd was so hyped up because of shit that happened in the middel of TDWT’s set, between slamdancers and moshers. It was honestly some of the most brutal pits I have ever seen. It was pure hate and aggression in that pit. It got so bad in there that the bouncer came up to the stage and threw everyone out the club. We were literally playing in front of 5 or 6 people for more than half our set.

Headbang Today: When can we expect an EP or better yet, a full track album from Bile Of Man?

Bile Of Man: Bennie: We will be hitting the studio in April and then we will set a release date as soon as we have gone through all the motions of shouting at each other in the vocal booth, messing around on Vuvuzela’s and drinking copious amounts of Monster

Headbang Today: With the launch of your official website BileOfMan.com being imminent, give us an inside scoop on what we can expect on it.

Bile Of Man: Bennie: We will have a forum where fans can register and interact with the band and each other. We want to put up a “Hall of Blood” which would be a gallery with photo’s of fans’ injuries as a result of Bileous Mosh Pits, the injured will get the option of getting their own personalized bileofman.com email addresses. There will be a gallery of downloads, songs, pics, and video eventually. We will establish a news blog to keep fans updated to what the latest news is in the band, what we are doing and what we want to do. But this is all still in the mix. We will also be launching an sms hotline for gigs and updates. Still some work to be done and brainstorming to be taken with some vodka, or Bile Drops… (ask us).

Headbang Today: With influences like Morbid Angel, Behemoth, Origin, Nile and Cannibal Corpse on your card, which band would you say was and currently still is the most influencial for Bile Of Man as a whole and what about them is it that fuels you to do what you do?

Bile Of Man: Bennie: To choose one band as the most influential band for Bile of Man as a five piece band, is kind of hard. I think each member draws influences from different bands. For me it would have to be Dying Fetus. I think Dying Fetus is the best death metal act ever!

Headbang Today: You’re known to have “very intimidating means of Brutal Death Vocals”… What would you say your lyrics cover in general?

Bile Of Man: Riaan: We write about what humans have done throughout the ages that are basically, inhumane. Serial killers, torture, war and occasionally religion. But with religion, we do not promote or denounce religion. We write about the factual things in the history, like the witch hunts and burnings, people joining cults and worshiping the devil. We also like to write about our deeper, darker inner feelings which would be Murder, Death and Destruction.

Headbang Today: Tell us about what a typical Bile Of Man Jam session consists out of.

Bile Of Man: Bennie: Ranting at each other mostly. Then we cover our whole set, work out some kinks, and then we would start working on new material. We are currently rehearsing Hotbox Studios in Hatfield, so we try to use our time in the studio as efficiently as possible.

Headbang Today: A sheep in Turkey has just recently given birth to a dead lamb with a human-like face thought to be the result of a rare mutation. What the hell do you think went wrong there? Your opinion on this disturbing matter?

Bile Of Man: Bennie: Woah. Cool song title. HUMAN-FACE-DEATH-LAMB. Brutal. Well who knows, maybe it was an “accident”. Some Turk who just lost his job, his girlfriend who is also his nephew, got drunk at the local, drinking the product of the fermentation/distillation of various insects and human limbs, got lonely and saw a sheep, by itself, in the cold. And well. Let’s just say no one would really know where the Turk is.

Headbang Today: Give us your thoughts on the South African metal scene… room for improvement, or do you think the room has already improved?

Bile Of Man: Bennie: Since we started in April 2007, the scene has changed quite a bit, regained some of it’s roots, fell apart and more generics came along that don’t last very long. So in quite a short period of time a lot has happened. I hope to be bashed for this, so, there is just a lack of consistency in our scene. You get bands that gather a name for themselves and then they claim the title of “Greatest-band-in-the-universe” without considering the fact that half of them are still at school and they are still in South Africa. But with that said, there are still some brilliant acts in this country like Architecture of Aggression, Deane Crescent, Azrail (RIP), Pledge Defiance, Contrast the Water, The WarInsane, Theatre Runs Red, Erebus, Selfmoord, Reverend Henry Kane and some more. But between these bands there is no time for such infantile rabble-rabble bullshit and politics. REAL Metal. But with that said, the same applies for fans. People only support the band if they know the members or if they gain free access somehow. It’s not like people go out just to support metal bands anymore. So there is a lot of improvement to be done there.

Headbang Today: Have any of you headbanged today?

Bile Of Man: Bennie: Is this a question? Have you had your morning coffee yet, Headbangtoday.com?

Headbang Today: Have you ever given touring and gigging internationally a thought? If so, which country would be your first stop and why?

Bile Of Man: Bennie: Yes we have been discussing it quite extensively the last while. But we are stuck in a rut where finances always comes in to play. But when the opportunity comes along, most EU countries is a given for Death Metal, Poland, Germany, Holland and then also DEFINITELY the U.S. Everybody knows that some of the best Brutal Intense Death Fucking Metal is spawned in the states. Morbid Angel, Dying Fetus, Cannibal Corpse, you know, that kind of thing. It’s a dream to tour the states. You could pretty much tour the entire US, play a different state every week and it will take you a year. Thats BRUTAL!!!

Headbang Today: If you were allowed to say but only ONE word to your fans? what would it be?

Bile Of Man: SupercalifragilisticexpialiBILE.

Headbang Today: What can we expect from Bile Of Man during 2010?

Bile Of Man: Bennie: Festivals, Vodka, Energy drinks and a 5 track EP. Look out for it online and check out our gigs, we are to debut new songs very soon.

Headbang Today: So now that Bile Of Man will be performing at MotherFUDD 2010, which song out of your set do you think is bound to get the masses headbanging simultaneously like ravenous beasts at the event?

Bile Of Man: Bennie: Amidst the Chaos is a new contender and I think that it is going to break some necks at this MotherFudd. We are stoked about it and we want our fans to be as well. Headbang. Or DIE. You filthy Bile.

Headbang Today:

Last but not least! Answer these short questions:

Shaken or stirred? Shaken.

Black or white? Black. Unless it’s lingerie, then it’s definitely white!

Leather or lace? Leather

Backhand or bitch slap? RLTPK (reeks lae trajek poes klappe)

Headbang Today: Any last words?

Bile Of man: Thanx to Headbangtoday.com for this interview, it was awesome doing it. Come and check us out at Motherfudd 2010 at 22h00 on Saturday 13th March.

We would like to extend thanx to Nescafe, Russian Bear and Monster for supplying us with eternal drinking pleasure, Yvonne from MotherFudd for organizing such a Brutal festival, Marshall Music for your recent hospitality. And lastly but most importantly the Bile Horde for spilling blood in pure hatred for the human race, passion for metal and self loathing purposes. We hate you.

It’s been a feast having you on Headbang Today! Goodluck with all your up and coming shows and we look forward to having you back here again soon!

Loathe

Scream — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 12:15:31 +0000

loathe

We got Mark, the bassist of death metallers, Loathe to spit it all out in a one on one interview with Scream. If heavy is your thing, you should check these monsters of metal from Malta out today!

Interview By Scream

Photography By Steve Giordano Imbroll and John Gauci

Head

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bang Today: Welcome to HeadbangToday.com! As always, we honour the bands and its members who are willing to do an interview with us! So let’s cut to the chase! For those that are unfamiliar with Loathe, tell us briefly about the band.

Mark: Hey there, thanks for the offer! Loathe has been around for almost ten years, in various forms. The band is one of the oldest and highest achieving in the country of Malta. What we’ve done of importance in the last 3 years is tour the UK 4 times over, record an EP, record a full length album and headline several great gigs locally.

Headbang Today: Your full length debut album is said to be set for release any time soon… What can you update us with on the progress of your album?

Mark: At present we’re ironing out some minor issues with the label that will carry this album, but after that it’s pretty much the time needed to ship masters out and duplication and the album will be in hand.

Headbang Today: Now you’ve done quite a few gigs in the past couple of months while touring the country. How did that go?

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Mark: Correct. That was our fourth tour of the UK in 3 years. So far, our tours get better by time. Crowd response is always stronger, more people show up to the shows, and people seem to like our stuff more every time. Plus, we now have pockets of hardcore fans in the locales we’ve played, so it’s great to have them come back every time and bring their friends!

Headbang Today: You’re doing the “We Have Unfinished Business” show where you “versus” the band Slit this coming weekend. But by the time this interview gets published, you would’ve played that gig already… It also seems to be the final show for your tour… What will you guys be up to after that show?

Mark: Yes, we do have that show, although we considered the tour closed with Friday the 13th’s gig with BNI. However, this ought to be a great show, we have not played with Slit in years, and they are also a vastly experienced band. After this show we’ll get back to the practice room, really hammer out any issues before printing the CD and continue where we left off before the tour when it comes to new material.

Headbang Today: Speaking of new material, I’ve given your tracks a listen and I am very impressed by the solid composition and awesome variety in the vocal work. A perfect blend of thrash, death and hardcore metal! Do you write your songs having these genres in mind or does it come naturally by just jamming together?

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Mark: Thanks for the compliments man, we’re very happy with how it sounds ourselves! Well, you mentioned the three basic genres of metal the band is influenced by. Everyone brings some preference of their own to their table. Most of the riffs are written by Kurt, who of course writes what he likes, but then during practising everyone puts their ‘twist’ on to it, if you please.
Loathe Bassist Mark

Headbang Today: And your personal influences would be?

Mark: well, my overarchingly favourite band forever would be Slayer, but in the past few years I’ve gravitated towards bands such as The Black Dahlia Murder, Psycroptic, Necrophagist, Bloodbath and other brutal metal acts. Of course I’m also a big fan of other bands like Lamb of God, Devil Driver, Gojira and so on.

Headbang Today: Aah… the latter of the bands such as Devil Driver and Lamb of God deserve a spot in our up and coming “Top 10 metal albums of 2009″… Any other new releases this year that blew you away?

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Mark: definitely TBDM’s Deflorate, Behemoth’s Evangelion, and an odd choice for me personally, Rammstein’s Liebe ist fur Alle Da.

Headbang Today: Rammstein was mentioned to us while compiling the list, but I very much doubt that it would make the list… Unless of course you release your album before we publish the list to take Rammstein’s spot!

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Mark: Not that the possibility doesn’t tempt me, but I doubt we can humanly move that fast!

Headbang Today: So tell us about the best and worst gigs (also possibly the most bizarre) gigs that you’ve experienced during your decade of gigging.

Mark: To be fair, I can’t be the judge of all the gigs, because I joined Loathe around 4 years ago. But in these four years, my worst gig has to be some night here in Malta, I was feverish and the sound on stage was crap. Needless to say, my playing was sloppy. I couldn’t choose a best gig, because we’ve had so many, but I rank our appearance with Sabbat in Bradford in 2007, the launch party for our EP and every time we’ve played in Birmingham very very highly.

As for most bizarre, well, that may well be Wales, on this last tour. The Welsh are mad. We know that now. Suffice to say that my travelling tip is: “If offered to crash in the pub where you played for the night, sleep in the van”

damian4

Headbang Today: HAHA why would you say that?

Mark: Not that they weren’t great people, mind you, but let’s say the owner and his clan managed to drink 2 metal bands under the table, after which they proceeded to ‘gently’ wake us up with tunes, played over the PA, till 5 in the morning, drinking inhuman amounts of alcohol all throughout.

Headbang Today: Ouch, I’m sure that one caught up with you guys the following day! Well, we’re actually pretty excited and waiting in anticipation for your album release! Should a world tour cross your paths in the very near future, would South Africa be on the map?

john6

Mark: Yes, the drive in the morning was silent indeed.

Well, we do plan to hit Europe in the near future, as so far we’ve concentrated upon the UK. We need fresh blood! And although a world tour is not on the cards for the very near future, we would definitely want to hit as many places as we could! I also understand you guys are completely mental, which not only warms my heart, but makes me want to visit even more!

Headbang Today: Yip, these South African metal heads are whole different breed of headbanger on its own…. But they are sure to fill up the venues and empty the bar fridges!

Studies have shown that despite having tiny brains the size of a pinhead insects possess several impressive mental capabilities from the ability to count and categorize objects to the ability to recognize human faces…. Does that make you feel bad for squashing all the bugs you have during your lifetime?Loathe Guitarist

damian3

Mark: Not really, if they do have an ability to recognize human faces, they ought to know the look of an angry metalhead who will crush them! Unless they are Hindu and have been very bad humans in a previous life, in which case, my apologies bro….

Headbang Today: HAHAHA! Last question… Give us your thoughts on the following: Headlining for a Headbang Today festival one day:

Mark: That would be ace! And a great honour for us. You’ve already been so good to us, is it because you want to our pure off-white souls?

Headbang Today: Maybe just a little…. – Illegal downloading of your album:

LoatheMark: You know, I don’t mind that. As long as the music is listened to, I don’t mind if people get it for free. In the digital age, the end user is used to getting stuff for free, so it’s up to the bands to be smart (not sneaky) and create new ways of making money so they can tour and write more.

Headbang Today: That’s true! – - Last one: What the future of Loathe has in store for us headbangers?

john2

Mark: Well, we’d love for the album to be loved, for a start! We’re confident a lot of people will like it. Apart from that, we’ll keep on gigging and writing new stuff, and hopefully become even more road honed and play to a whole big bunch of people. It’s hard work, but if it’s easy it’s not worth doing.

Headbang Today: Well my friend, I would like to say that all the hard work, blood sweat and tears that you dudes have endured is definitely paying off! Your music rocks and the headbangers on this side will love it!! Thanks for the sincere interview!

Mark: Thanks very very much Scream for digging our shit and believing in us! We’d love to visit SA someday, and if you ever chance on this side of the globe, remember you have friends in Malta!

IF YOU’VE NEVER HEARD OF LOATHE BEFORE UP UNTIL THIS INTERVIEW, COME CHECK THEM OUT HEADBANGERS!

www.loatheonline.com

The Hollow

Scream — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 11:54:15 +0000

The Hollow - HeadbangToday.com

The%20Hollow

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During our journey in befriending the twisted talent in South Africa, Headbang
Today cornered what we consider to be the most dangerous band we’ve faced to
date. The Hollow is a vicious metal band hailing from Durban South Africa. They
promise to scare the shit out of any non-metal fan and most metal fans alike
with their skull crushing melodies and brain popping screams and growls!

With their members in posession of Honours degrees in music and classical
guitar, The Hollow will be a band that will trample the weak and hurdle the
dead in their run for global metal domination!

Interview by: Scream

The Hollow

Published: 2009-10-10

THE HOLLOW ARE:

Wojtek Starzak – Vocals
Dean Thomson – Lead Guitar
Duncan King – Drums
Catlyn McDonald – Bass
Patrick “Fly” Basson – Rhythm Guitar

The Interview

Headbang Today:
//Scream nervously welcomes The Hollow to Headbang Today,
sweating that none of the members break loose from their chains and shackles to
eat him alive//
Welcome to Headbang Today! So…. If you don’t mind… please tell us
more about your band and your musical influences. I’ve noticed a lot of black
metal elements in your songs, yet you consider yourselves as just metal?

Catlyn: “Wojtek and Fly are the youngest and the most rowdy and out of control. *laughs* The old guys (Dean and Duncan) are the ‘responsible ones’………..”

Duncan: “Yeah, Catlyn changes our colostimey bags and diapers……….Oh yeah by the way we REALLY REALLY LIKE…………Black Label” *clears throat and utters something that sounded like……need sponsors*

Dean: “We all have a lot of different influences ranging from a wide variety of bands, we also don’t just limit ourselves to the metal genre. Each member of The Hollow has their own preferred genre of music as well as metal and we bring all of those influences together to let the music work itself out when we practice. This results in the music as a whole that can’t be classified to any one sub-genre, that’s why we classify ourselves as just metal. For example I’m pretty into Hendrix, Satriani, Steve Vai as well as Children of Bodom, Chimaira and Lamb of God. I think it’s refreshing for the mind and the creative process to step away from your preferred genre for a bit.”

Headbang Today: You dudes have a chick playing bass in your band! As the daily
trend in our modern world suggests, females tend to be more superior and
dominant than their female predecessors in the past. Does Catlyn teach you guys
a thing or two?
Fly: “Catlyn is on her own mission, we’ll get a serious beat down if we argue with her!”

Dean: “Like it says in her bio she’s the pimp of men, she teaches us to shut the F*&$ up and play. Next question”

Headbang Today: Tell us a bit more about the processes involved in writing
songs for The Hollow.

Wojtek: “Fly or Dean usually come up with an idea for a riff and bring it to the band when we practice. We all then put in our own ideas and the music evolves from there. Either myself, Duncan or Catlyn will add lyrics as the song progresses. You can sort of feel the direction the song is going, so usually the lyrics just fall into place”

Fly: “Yeah sometimes you can write a song in one practice other times it can take you a week or even a month to get it out, which can be really frustrating, but nothing a Black Label can’t sort out”

*everybody laughs and takes a swig of Label*

Headbang Today: How did your band name, The Hollow originate?

Fly: “One very drunk night at a usual band party, Duncan was shit-faced drunk. He wandered off to find a place to take a slash and ended up falling off a retaining wall and into a hole. He shouted out something that sounded to us like: “I fell in the hollow!” followed by some very psychotic laughter. Later when we were talking about it the name kinda stuck and as been with us ever since!”

Headbang Today: According to your individual band member bio, Wojtek is a
monster in mosh pits during gigs. Tell us about the craziest mosh and what went
down during that specific gig? (I’m sure you have a story to tell)

Catlyn: “Hahaha yeah we have a couple but I think the best one was when Wojtek dived into the pit and everybody went mental. The speaker fell on stage, somebody was thrown onto a table completely smashing it and I think someone got a concussion from running into a wall. Hahahaha the sound tech was pretty glad when the song was finished.”

Headbang Today: When can we expect an EP or even an album from The Hollow?

Duncan: “We battle to find sponsors to help us out with cash. Recording can be quite a costly exercise especially when you also have other costs to take care of such as petrol, strings, skins, sticks and not to mention merch and marketing. It’s definately a tough market to crack if you don’t have some sort of backing.”

Wojtek: “Yeah but we’re saving up and we are hoping to record a couple more songs in the forthcoming months. Keep checking our myspace, facebook or reverbnation pages for all our up to date news gigs and general info.”

Headbang Today: Do you have any pre-gig rituals that you guys do before hitting
the stage? What do you do to amp yourselves up before a show?

Dean: “Well we usually like to go to a quite corner of the club and cut ourselves with razor blades to get the adrenaline pumping so we’re super pumped on stage……………….. not really! We don’t really have a pre-gig ritual. I suppose we all grab a drink, high five each other and laugh our tits off – then get ready for a brutal show.”

Catlyn: “Hahaha Yeah and after the chaos we slap each other on the ass and say; GOOD GAME!!”

Headbang Today: What are your lyrics and music about in general? Does something specifically have to piss you off before you decide to destroy the subject in a song?

Duncan: ” Yes, significant things have to happen for an emotive response. For example; getting a 5 piece meal from KFC when you pay for a 6 piece…….Fail!. But seriously most of our lyrics usually come from stuff thats happening, or that has happened in our lives as well as everyday shit that just irritates us or that effects us emotionally. Combine that with a sick sense of brutality and a warped reality and you have our lyrics!”

Wojtek: “As for our song names, they’re usually titled before we even have lyrics written for the song, well the majority of the time any way.”

Catlyn: “Yeah like ‘Eat your Pancakes’ and ‘Ja-Ja the Arab Scarab’. We don’t want to come across as a joke or ripping off metal, though. We do it to take the serious edge off a hectic subject. You could also think of it as a marketing ploy, people will usually remember a strange name for it’s absurdity rather than one that sounds generic.”

Headbang Today: Name 3 bands that you ultimately would love to play with at a
festival.

Local:

Warthane, Erebus and Betray the Emissary

International:

Lamb of God, Cradle of Filth and White Chapel

Headbang Today: Is there life after death?

Wojtek: “One night after a good night out I saw a hobo get smashed by a truck……….I decided, no. But if you really really want to know we have ways to help you find out, none that you’ll probably like though!”

Headbang Today: After spreading the darkness in Durban, have you guys toured
and gigged elsewhere in the country yet and if so, what was the response like
from spectators?

Fly: “Yeah, we’ve played up in Joburg a couple of times. The crowds up there are awesome. We’ve seen some insane circle pits and big ass brawls break out.”

Dean: “Yeah, the people up there are seriously on edge haha, makes for some fun moshing though!”

Headbang Today: How do you feel about illegal file sharing – Great Marketing
Strategy For Bands OR Utter Disrespect Towards The Band And Their Hard Work?
(elaborate on your chosen answer)

Dean: “We believe that it’s a great marketing technique, there is no better advertising than word of mouth and the more people that hear our stuff and spread it the better. It does suck at the same time though, when you spend so much money, time, effort practicing, playing, carrying equipment around and so on, to not be able to recover costs. But there is no better feeling than being on stage and jamming for the people and to be honest the pro’s definately outweigh the cons in the end! Also if people really like our stuff they will go and buy an album anyway. I guess you could take that as a measure for how good you are (or how popular you are) as a band, if people buy your stuff even though they can download it for free, that says to me you’re doing something right!”

Headbang Today: Are you going to eat me?

Wojtek: “Are you finger-licking good?”

Headbang Today: Give us your thoughts summarized into two words for the
following:

The metal scene in Durban:

Fucking Brutal!!!

The future of The Hollow:

Liver Tranplants

Sadomasochism:

Family Orientated

The lethal mentality of your fans:

Fucked Up!!!

The%20Hollow

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Band Artwork by Garyck Arntzen

INTERVIEW BY:

scream@headbangtoday.com