Questions by David Bugeja (DB) ; David Cachia (DC) ; (*) Melanie of Necrosis Magazine
Interview for ChaosBreed Webzine, 1998
(DC): Hail Besieged, welcome to ChaosBreed e-zine, can you please start this interview by introducing the band members. How and when did the band form?
Hail!
BESIEGED are:
Jason French Guitar/vocals
Gabe Passmore drums
Scot Dunlap Bass/vocals
Scot - BESIEGED was formed by original members myself, Jason French, and (former drummer) Shannon Collins in the winter of 1994 as a post-apocalyptic speedmetal project. I met Jason and Shannon through a rtythm guitarist that I had played in a previous project with (they were playing with at that time). They needed a bassist at the time so I went to a try-out and got the position. After about the 2nd rehearsal we decided to drop the rhythm guitarist and form BESIEGED.
(DB): A new album is on the way and from certain "rumors" I heard, seems like this is going to be an extremely brutal release. Can you describe what the new material sounds like? When and on which label will it be released?
Scot - The new material is in the same brutal vein as the material on our previous release butit is even faster and more intricate. Even the re-recorded material from the self-titled tape is faster and more brutal with the addition of Gabe Passmore on drums.. The vocals are substantially deeper also.. They almost sound like different songs altogether due to the sweeping changes that have occurred in BESIEGED since the 1995 release. The new tracks represent the evolution of the project since the 1995 self-titled release and draws more heavily upon some of our non-metal influences, so even though the new material is faster and more aggressive it is more technical and melodic at the same time. The CD will be released on J-Bird Records. (http://www.j-birdrecords.com) No official release date has been forwarded by our label as of yet (the CD is process of being pressed) but we estimate the CD will be available by late April or early May.
(DC / MR): What is the next release entitled and how many tracks (songs) are you going to have on it?
<Scot - The new CD is entitled "AkeldamA" and will contain 7 tracks from the 1995 self-titled release (re-recorded for legal reasons surrounding the departure of our former drummer) and two new tracks written with the new drummer Gabe. The seven re-recorded tracks are:
GolgothA
ReflectioN
Age of Malevolence
SarcophaguS
Posthumous
EngulfeD
Beneath the Grave
The re-recorded material from the self-titled tape is faster and more brutal with the addition of Gabe Passmore on drums.. The vocals are substantially deeper also.. They sound like different songs altogether due to the sweeping changes that have occurred in BESIEGED since the 1995 release. Then two new tracks are "IntercessoR" and "Misantrhope GoD."
(MR) What differences in recording and production have you experienced from release to release? Is this kind of (change in?) sound something the band planned or was hoping for?
Scot - Our fist two releases, the "Forging of Ruin" demo and the "GolgothA" EP were recorded at Underground Studios in late '94 and early '95 when the facility was 16-channel analog. The self-titled release was recorded at the same facility but by this time it was 24-channel all laser to digital (which improved the overall quality of the tape). We had intended to record "AkeldamA" at Underground Studios as well but they were experiencing equipment problems at the Time and we were under a very tight deadline to deliver masters back to The label for replication. We ended up laying the raw tracks down at another local studio called Audio Media Group (AMG). AMG is all digital, 32-track, fully automated and overall just a higher caliber studio. At this studio we were able to use triggers on Gabe's drums (which enabled us to capture the foot-work much more clearly and with better separation). This was another reason for re-recording the 7 tracks from the self-titled tape.. The bass drum work got really washed-out on that tape and there is allot of killer foot-work in those songs that could not be heard well on the previous mix because we were unable to use triggers. After the rough tracks were laid at AMG the masters were sent to another studio in New York for final mixing and digital mastering. "AkeldamA" is by far the cleanest, best separated mix BESIEGED has had on any release.
(DB): Besieged has made a big impact on the underground with its fabulous demo tapes. What impact do you think you have made? What is your opinion about this?
Scot - We don't feel that we have made that big of an impact on the underground yet.. BESIEGED has not yet come out with any releases that we consider to be ground-breaking but we are working on new material for a follow-up EP that we feel very confident about and hope it will turn out to be the fastest, most technically aggressive deathmetal ever written.
(DB / MR): Have personnel shifts caused a directional shift for the band? How do these membership changes arise? Introduce us to the new member(s).
Scot - They're have been several members travel briefly through BESIEGED since the winter of 1994. The only one that was a result of a shift in musical direction is the disbanding with our original drummer Shannon. That was more of us just getting heavier with time or an evolution than a shift in direction though.. Chad Walls occupied the drum spot for two releases through February of 1997 when he was disbanded due to touring commitments with other bands. Gabe Passmore is the new drummer (and hopefully the last). He has been with the band since Walls' departure in February '97. There has been no directional shift since becoming a deathmetal project in late 1994 and will be none regardless of membership changes. BESIEGED will be a brutal deathmetal band indefinitely. We would kill the project before allowing membership changes to modify its direction.
(MR) Where did the band name come from?
Scot - Jason and I tossed around several different names when the band formed in 1994 (one of which was Gehenna) and we could not find anything that fit the project.. We didn't want the typical gore name like "Aborted Festering Fetal Mass." Jason just walked into rehearsal on day and said "BESIEGED" and we thought it was original and fit the project so we went with it.
(MR) What is your contact address for booking, promotional, or merchandise orders and "fan mail"? Do you have an E-mail address/band contact? Do you have a website or websites; if so, URL(s)?
The BESIEGED snail mail is:
BESIEGED, International
C/o Scot
Johnson Road
Oak Ridge, TN 37830
USA
Email: [email protected]
Official BESIEGED website: http://teufelstomb.com/besieged/
(DB): Do you use the Internet a lot? What do you think of the idea of having fanzines on the Web?
Scot - The internet is where we do 80% of BESIEGED promotion.. We are constantly working to improve our internet presence because you can reach so many people with minimal effort.
Web Zines and email zines are one of the best things that have ever happen to underground extreme metal. The zines are free and easy to get to (for the computer literate) which makes their distribution almost unlimited. I think webzines have become the backbone of underground music promotion and information and will continue to become a even stronger force in the underground.
(DB / MR): What about life outside of Besieged? What is your occupation, and what are your other interests?
Scot - Outside of
BESIEGED: I work for an international science corporation as a CAD Mapping
Technician (drawing maps using CAD softwares). I write reviews and interviews
for a few pulp and web zines (Frozen Hell -
Jason - Outside of BESIEGED I work repairing mother boards in electrical Equipment, go to the University of TN (BS Electrical Engineering), teach classical guitar off and on and compete in power lifting.
Gabe - I work in a factory, as a studio musician off and on for various other bands and perform in a college Jazz band intermittently.
(DB): Which is the first metal album you ever listened to? When was that? What are your current and all-time favorite albums?
Scot - I've been listening to metal since the early 80s so I would say my first metal album was probably Destruction "Sentence of Death" that was probably 1985 or something..? My favorite all time Albums are Morbid Angel "Covenant", "Altars of Madness", Cannibal Corpse "Butchered at Birth", Suffocation "Effigy of the Forgotten", Death "Individual Thought Patterns" and Lisa Gerard "The Mirror Pool."
Gabe - First metal album was probably Metallica "Ride the Lightening" it was around 1987 when I first heard it. All time favorites are Morbid Angel 'Altars of Madness' and Emperor 'In the Nightside Eclipse.'
Jason - Metallica "Kill Em All" and that was probably 1988. Favorite albums: Cannibal Corpse "Eaten Back to Life", "The Bleeding", Suffocation "Pierced from Within", Morbid Angel 'Covenant' and Deliverance 'Learn.'
(DB / MR): Back to Besieged. How often do you rehearse, and who writes the music and lyrics? Where do your musical influences come from? Any particular musicians you guys "worship"?
Scot - We generally rehearse 2-3 times a week.. Jason and I write all the music (60% Jason probably) and I write most of the lyrics. Jason writes lyrics to some of the pieces he writes though such as 'GolgothA' and 'EngulfeD.' Musical influences are very eccentric in BESIEGED.. We are into a lot of Extreme metal (Morbid Angel, Cannibal Corpse, Suffocation, Perimecium) but we are also into classical (Bach, Beethoven, Vivaldi, Tchaikovsky,), Al Dimeola, Lisa Gerard and Dead Can Dance, etc.. The art of H.R. Giger, and M.C. Ecsher, The poetry of H.P. Lovecraft, John Dryden and Poe, the literature of Anne Rice, Ernest Hemingway, Patricia Cornwell, etc.. All of these entangled between the three of us influence the music.
Scot - Musicans I
worship? Steve DeGeorgio
Gabe - Gene Hoglan, Pete Sandoval are worthy of worship.
Jason - Segovia and Al DeMiola.
(DB): Have you got any plans to tour or play in Europe? If you had to set up some shows in Europe, which countries would you like to play and with whom?
Scot We would love to tour in Europe in the future. We know bands internationally that we could set up dates with but at the moment our label does not offer tour support so we cannot even consider a U.S. tour until we are picked up by a better label. If I could chose anywhere internationally Sweden, Greece and Germany would top the list.. The bands we would want to do the dates with would probably regional acts like Devourment, Darkmoon, Nile, Abominant, Angelkill, that need the international exposure as we do and not the major label bands.
(DC): Are you into the Occult at all?
Scot In the past I was into the occult quite heavily but I have lost interest and gotten bored with a lot of it. I still read occult literature and get into Tarot cards but not as heavily as I used to I'm getting more into herbs and scandanavian culture lately.. BESIEGED is really not an occult oriented project. It's more about aggression than li cention.
Jason No, not at all.
(DC / MR): What do you think of the current underground scene, let's say compared to three years ago?
Scot - Think the current underground scene is stronger than it was three years ago although it is fewer in number. Any remnants of extreme metal being trendy seems to have faded away (finally). The bands and audience that remain in the scene today are die hard metal musicians and fans so the weaker bands that were just playing metal and listening to metal because it was what everyone else was doing at the time are gone and the scene is tighter and stronger without them. The underground metal scene is back down to fighting weight (so to speak).
(DB): What's in store for Besieged for the coming months? List all available merchandise and how to order.
Scot - BESIEGED will continue writing and rehearsing material for a forth-coming EP (so far untitled) and working toward releasing and supporting the new CD. We are momentarily sold out of the self-titled tape but it will be available until "AkeldamA" is released and then discontinued. The self-titled tape can be ordered through any of the BESIEGED distributors: (Underground Metal, Abound Distro., Extreme Records) or directly from:
BESIEGED, International
Johnson Road
Oak Ridge, TN 37830
USA
The new CD "AkeldamA" will be available through J-Bird Records by late April or early May and can be ordered by mail, email or the J-Bird Records webstore at: http://j-birdrecords.com/
Mail orders to:
J-Bird Records
River Road, Suite 301
Wilton, CT 06897
USA
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (203) 761-9393
DB: Well, I think that is all. Mega brutal thanx for your time. The following space is all yours....
Scot - Thanks for the press David, David and Mel.
Petition the largest local club in your area for a BESIEGED performance! Visit the BESIEGED website for news, radio shows in your area and performance dates http://teufelstomb.com/besiged/
Interview done by David Bugeja, David Cachia, and Melanie Rider