interview with towards global holocaust done by patrick

here is a new interview with one of the u.s best new bands.towards global holocaust is a nightmarish ride through the nightmarish visions of two depraved individuals mixing violent raw black metal,brutal death,
and some dark ambient and industrial a band worth checking out if you enjoy original yet extremly violent and dark metal..
as always thanks to everyone who comments,kudo's and writes all support is greatly appreciated!! if u have not done so please subscribe to our blogs we are in process of working on new reviews,interviews with bands all-over the world.
best regards,
patrick


interview with r.f guitars,bass,vocals and blaash drums,vocals for towards global holocaust done by patrick
1.metal hails r.f and blaash!! how is your week starting out? please tell the readers a little about yourselves.

RF - Old, bitter, scrawny, scruffy metalhead of dubious merits.

Blaash –I am a very bitter, drunk, violent metal head bent on world annihilation and self destruction... however, it seems, since I’m almost 40, I’ve procrastinated horribly, and normally just drink, puke and play with loaded guns.. I handle skins for tgh (until I get fired due to incompetence), scribble Wheresmyskin zine, and also skins for Bahimiron…

I have a severe dislike towards all right hand path religions, but humans in general tend to annoy me to a point of wanting to go on a shooting spree.. however, again, this alcohol thing just means I talk a lot of shit, and pass out

2.when did the two of you meet? was it long until you decided to form towards global holocaust? for the readers who have never heard the band how would you

describe the music of t.g.h?

RF - I think that we met in 1995 through a mutual friend and fellow musician. Details are difficult to recall, but I think that we first started off doing

weird troll rock called Eternal Ice Storms before deciding to go in a different direction. Thus Holocaust SS was formed in 1996 I believe.

Not really sure how to describe the music. It is not happy, positive or uplifting in any way, shape or form. I try to write songs that we want to listen to.

We try to be fast, aggressive, chaotic and hateful while having a bit of variety thrown in to make things more interesting. Unpolished is a word that comes

to mind.

Blaash – hm… now that you mention it, I’m not exactly sure when I met RF.. I’m positive it met him in the mid 90s, and we hit it off just extraordinarily – I mean this is a guy you can count on to use a webley headgun to blow your head off in an instant! What better ally could you account for? About t.g.h….. that was not the original name, and we actually tried relatively hard to get something going circa 1996/97.. even have some godawful recordings somewhere of what eventually became "Issuing forth.." and "Burn the ashes" on the mcd that was just recently released..

3.i know you both take part in writing lyrics and music for the band.what are some topics/subjects you guys like to write about?

RF - The lyrics that I write are repetitive and focus on : Fire, the Holocaust Winds, World War, Death, Global Genocide and things in that vein.

Blaash – cheerful topics like burning to death, burning others to death, burning the world (to death) and overall causing flame to espouse the eventual end of all life.. well… that’s not totally accurate, but I will say that our lyrics (unlike perhaps our titles) are not either politically or religiously motivated.. religion and politics have no use to tgh.. we’re not un-intelligent folks, and we know that they (religion and politics) play well in controlling the masses, but for us, its just world annihilation.

4.how long did it take the two of you to write/record the songs for the new cd "...ever onwards"?are you guys satisfied with how the songs turned out?how

has the response been from the fans and press?

RF - We started Holocaust SS in 1996 and broke up in 1997 or 1998. Reformed as towards global holocaust in 2008. Five of the tracks on Ever Onwards... were

taken from ideas we had in 1996. Changes and revisions of varying degrees were made and things were finalized to finish those old songs. Flamethrower and

Ritualized Planetary Cleansing were written in the beginning of 2008. So overall it took us twelve years or so.

At the time we finished recording I was mostly satisfied with things. Now, not so much. We could have done much better. Future releases should be vastly

improved as the song writing, musicianship, recording, mixing and mastering is improving rapidly.

Response has been minimal at best. We have a decided lack of PR at this point in time. Which is to be expected. With the upcoming release of the split with

Christ Dismembered and our first full-length cd, we should get more interest. The few people that have heard it seem to like it.

Blaash – ah.. who said we were satisfied with the result heh.. it took a while, and we’re still trying to get this record in two different states (we live thousands of miles from each other) and get stabbed into something we find satisfactory…

Response? Limited I would say.. some folks (like my bandmates in Bahimiron) really like it.. but for the most part I haven’t heard too much.. a couple of reviews compare us to a blasting maniacal screech attack of non-sensical metal.. not sure what they mean though…

5.if i am not mistaken the two of you live in seperate states.does this make the writing/creative process more difficult?

RF - It doesn't seem to be a huge problem most of the time. I write all of the music and come up with drum patterns which blaash then modifies to suit his

preferences and skill set. It is time consuming more than anything.

Blaash – ah, glad you asked this question. The short answer, is YES, its extremely difficult.. but even when we were practicing in 1996/97 in our rehearsal dumpster, it was rather difficult to get things accomplished.. actually, I think we’re doing a bit better now with creation, completion and arsenic inclusion in all mail we send out.

6.have you guys had time to write new songs for the next towards global holocaust release?any idea how many songs will be on the next release? will they be

in the same vein of ..ever onwards?

RF - Currently, we have all of the music recorded for four new songs and have drums for 3 of them and vocals for two of them finished. Flamethrower and

Ritualized Planetary Cleansing will be re-recorded and brought into line with the newer songs as they did not turn out as well as intended on Ever

Onwards..., and I feel that they deserve better than what we gave them on the mcd.

I have ideas for 3-4 additional songs and plan to get those finished up in the next couple of months. So, we are looking at about 9-10 songs for the full-

length clocking in at about 40 minutes or so. We will also include two old rehearsal tracks from 1997 as bonus tracks.

Somewhat similar to Ever Onwards..., but now I can kinda play guitar again after a ten year break. So things will be faster, tighter and more aggressive while at

the same time being more diverse and experimental/progressive. Time will tell if we are deluding ourselves or not into thinking that we are getting better.

Blaash – mr. RF is in charge of the song creation – we have new songs already done, and will prolly re-record or re-mix some of the old ones for the first LP release..

7.speaking of the bands sound you guys seem to combine alot of different styles together to create the unique yet dark and brutal towards global holocaust

sound.so would you guys say you have a open-mind towards metal and music in general?

RF - I think that we do, although we have some differences in taste. I can listen to a fairly wide variety of bands and genres. The main thing I look for is

sincerity, artistic integrity, talent and quality. So, in some ways I might be considered to be open-minded when in reality I am exceedingly closed minded.

Any sub-par effort that lacks sincerity, conviction, intergrity and vision will not be tolerated

Blaash – I do not have an open mind. I’ve been categorized as a die-hard believer in very simple, un original music. If there is any innovation, it comes from RF.. I do listen to other things besides metal at times.. but for the most part.. no new innovative ideas from me..

8.do either of you guys currently play in other bands or side-projects? if yes please tell the readers a little about them.

RF - blaash plays drums in Bahimiron. We also have two other projects that feature just the two of us : Ever Adrift and Eternal Ice Storms. I also have

another collaborative project that is currently in the early stages of writing. At this point in time, it looks like we will be busy writing and recording

until I keel over and make some new friends with worms in the damp and cool earth of my looming grave.

We hope to have a full-length for Ever Adrift out sometime in 2010. Maybe a split for Eternal Ice Storms and an instrumental concept that I have in mind.

It is too early to talk much about the music as things tend to change once the initial writing has been extensively revised. Slow, depressing, melodic,

suicidal, drifting, dreaming are what Ever Adrift should end up being.

9.blaash besides the band i also know you are "editor" of the long-time running u/g fanzine "wheres my skin".when did you start the zine? how did you come up with the name for the fanzine?

Blaash – I think I started it around 1994.. mainly because the zines that I was reading at the time were rather less then average; downright shiate in some instances; the editors couldn’t spell/write/compose worth a damn, the art was fuggin’ horrible, and there was a repetition of the same boring questions…

I’m not exactly sure when I came up with the name, but I’m positive it has something to do with a person who is getting skinned alive thinking to himself, "hm… wheres.. my… skin…".. or something to that effect. I found it jocular and decided that sense of humour would befit a title for a written zine type publication…

10.how many issues have you released? do you have a new issue coming out this year? if yes please give the readers some details.also do you work on the zine alone or do you have some "writers" to help out?

Blaash – as of right now (and I literally mean right now), 11 issues have been birthed.. quite slow I know, but there are a variety of issues on why this happens; combinations of laziness, procrastination, and the fact that I like to work on WMS when I am *motivated* by the music/bands I’m reviewing/interviewing.. I don’t just try to scribble some unintelligent questions about favourite colours or the state of the shitty underground or what releases they have out, though I may mention those, I like to dig into the bands philosophy and/or ability to further what motivates them and how they relate their music to real life in general..

I’ve always worked on WMS alone; I’ve had a split issue with MkM’s "IMPAIRED" zine, some many years ago, and I do sometimes include certain articles, pieces, etc.. done by other folks, but for the most part I do all the reviews, layout and design; well, apart from stealing all the shit from the interpenet and before that it was stealin’ from various other violent/xxx/vomit natured writings to use as background…

11.i know the two of you have been in the underground scene for many years now.so i was curious on your thoughts on how you feel the scene has changed over

the years?

RF - Seems about the same to me, except that the means for distributing music have changed drastically. There are still insincere scene/genre hoppers around

as always. Which doesn't matter in the least to me. There will always be people/bands that do what they want to do and ignore styles and trends and simply

create what they want to.

Blaash – there is the very obvious answer of how technology has ‘destroyed’ the True UnderGround ™ © as it were.. but again, I have early interviews with other extreme metal bands in the early 90s, who already said the underground was dead… personally I do NOT like the way too many fuckers with no credibility or integrity can easily pollute this so called scene… .but really.. I just try to ignore all the bullshit, and concentrate on the things I like..yes, some things annoy me; kids with plastic swords and guns; hippies, pro lifelovers, and overall mallcore crap that likes to use "heavy" guitars or "grunts"… I mean but really, that’s just fuggin’ annoying…

12.R.F i know you play bass and guitars for t.g.h what age did you start playing the bass and guitar?who are some of your influences/favorite guitarist and

bassist?

RF - I started playing guitar when I was 15 and got my first electric, a really crappy strat copy made by Hondo, when I was 16. I upgraded that to a Charvel

shortly there after. I had quit guitar for about ten years or so and got back into it in 2008 to record Ever Onwards... . Now, I practice seriously again.

Bass is something that I have taken up recently as we needed a bass player for the cds and this is pretty much a two man band until we play live one day and

add another member or two.

I don't really have any favorite guitarists. There are guys that play guitar that write good songs and I am more into that aspect of things now. When

younger I listened to most of the typical 80s guitar oriented bands. I have never learned how to play anybody elses songs so any influences are going to be

more on a sub-conscious level. Somebody else could probably tell me what my influences are more easily than I could simply by listening to our material. I have heard Immortal and Morbid Angel mentioned before and that sounds like fine company to me if it were remotely accurate.

I am a shitty guitar player and have to set my goals low and reasonable and work towards them. So I won't name off a list of competent, good or great

musicians and say how much they influenced me and drag their good names through the muck of our incomptetence.

13.i know you also sing on a few songs on the debut.who are some of your favorite vocalist? do you do anything special to keep your throat healthy?

RF - My throat isn't healthy after practicing and recording. Something feels like it is torn in there and it bleeds at random. Doctors are forbidden in the

Holocaust State so it will go unchecked/untreated until our regime is overthrown by left-wing, pc fascists.

Favorite vocalists include : Nattramn, Jonas Renske, Grutle from Enslaved, Bennie from Mysticum, Henke from Niden Div. 187, the guy from Abyssic Hate,

Zyklon B, Robert Smith and Nick Drake.

14.blaash you handle the drums for the band what age did you start playing the drums?are you self-taught or take lessons?
who are some of your influences/favorite drummers?

　
Blaash – drums.. lesse.. I started to try to play drums I think around 1994 or 95.. that’s when I bought my first drumset, and started trying to take some timing lessons (paradiddles anyone?)..but learning drums was very, very hard for me.. I just didn’t have the right/left foot coordination, and I became rather disappointed with my lack of progress.. RF and myself, as stated, attempted a few tracks in 1996/97.. but after that, we went our separate ways..during these years, I would sometimes try to practice on drums again, but I didn’t really have a band or any goal, so I wasn’t really that good.. when finally asked to handle percussion for BAHIMIRON in 2001 or 2002 (not sure when), I started practicing more and realized just how shitty and out of shape I was… quite horrid….. to this day I am not happy with many facets of the drumming I do, but it has always been my standpoint that the drums are not to be a prominent instrument in extreme metal, just lay the basic groundwork… so fuggit.. if you want superneat/blasting/perfect rolls/toms etc, then go somewhere else, coz you most certainly will not get that from me.. conviction in what I play fuels my drumming..

Over the years I’ve had a lot of help, especially in Houston from the Kathonik drummers (Jon and then Lord Poe) and also the Adumus/Imprecation drummer (Vomit).. I mean with realllly basic shit like how to do rolls etc… drumming like I said, does not come easy to me..

For influence I would say I really like the early scandic scene of black metal – the drumming by Frost, early Dimmu/OMC, Fenriz, and a ton of others that used the drums to accent as well as lay the groundwork for extreme metal assault.. there are a trillion drummers now that impress me; all the way from jazz drummers to the Behemoth drummer; really I’m amazed at how good these guys are, and I like to watch and try to (on a very, very basic level) understand what they’re doing; but I’m not up for reading music theory and really applying myself physically to training for drums, so what you hear is what you get I guess; if you don’t put the effort in, you won’t hear the improvement..

15.you also sing on a few tracks when did you become interested in singing? who are some of your favorite vocalist? do you do anything special to keep your throat healthy?

Blaash – I do some leads and backing vocals; honestly there’s not much rhyme or reason to it; I let all the bitterness and acrid vileness that I keep happily tucked away in my shorts (along with my glock 40) come out and I just, for lack of a better word, SPEW… I don’t keep my throat healthy; I don’t even really know how to sing; I just want to convey a conviction laced with maniacal and unbalanced mindset – and I personally really like dual to even three layers of vocals; so I try to come up with some patterns as such that make some sort of sense with our musical contrivance…favourite vocalist for me right now is Arioch.. others I appreciate are the vocals done on Bethlehem’s "Dictus Te Necare", Nattramn (Silencer) Niden 187 (Mr. Henke Forss), Nasko (Teitanblood) and of course Grimlord from Bahimiron/Imprecation…

Why am I interested in vocals..well.. when watching live bands or when listening to extreme metal, I want to feel negativity flow from the hymns, and it seems to me a that dual assaults promote to me that more then one entity in the band is fueled with the same vileness/hatred whatever, and that, to me, shows more conviction.. so.. I started doing backing vocals (not too many) for BAHIMIRON..and it was a pain in the arse to try to do drums and backing vocals, and nobody ever hears them anywho heh.. but with tgh, yes, I figured I’d lay down some pukeage (ha take that kraggit!) and see what flows…

16.well guys we have reached the end of the interview.thanks alot for taking the time to fill this out.do either of you have any final comments for the

readers?

RF - Expect "Upon Firmaments of Sacrilege and Genocide" to be out in the near future on Disease Foundry Recordings. A full-length release on Scattered to

the Winds Productions should be out late 2009 / early 2010 followed by Ever Adrift sometime in 2010. Perhaps we will have PR by then and somebody might

actually hear the music by then. Genocide Worldwide!

for more information on towards global holocaust check out the bands official myspace page.
http://www.myspace.com/towardsglobalholocaust

interview with syrach done by patrick

here is a interview with the norwegian death/doom masters syrach!! be sure to check out their new cd "a dark burial"on napalm recods!!
enjoy and thanks to everyone who
supports me and this zine.
patrick and winter torment e-zine.
http://wintertormentzine.blogspot.com




interview with ripper vocalist for syrach done by patrick.

1.hello ripper how are things with you this week? please tell the readers a little about yourself?

Ripper:

Hi..I’m doing good..busy rehearsing with the band for our 2 upcoming tours in Europe in Sept. and Oct. About myself..hmm..well, I started Syrach back in 1993,-then doing both the drums and vocals,-but a year later I decided to focus on the vocals. Since that I’ve being doing this in SYRACH, but this year I have also started up a project called Among Gods,-a three piece band playing funeral doom style music.
2.at what age did you get into metal? who were some of the first bands you listened to? who are some of your "current"favorites?

Ripper:

I got into metal in 1983,-when I was 10 years old and the first metal band I ever heard was Iron Maiden with the song “The Trooper”,-from the Piece Of Mind album,released the same year.I also remember that I started to listen to bands like Venom,Celtic Frost and Motley Crue in 1983,-so that’s a couple of years with metal for me ;).

I still have Iron Maiden as one of my favourite band,-but nowadays I listen to a lot of different styles of music, not just only metal. But most of my vinyls and on my ipod is metal I have to admit that. Some of my current favorites are Novembers Doom,Wall Of Sleep and Starchild. I almost just listen to older music,-so I seldom by new records..I like the classic bands best.

3.the band comes out of the norwegian metal scene.norway seems to be more known for the amazing black metal bands of the early to mid 90's.but what is the doom scene like in norway? any new up and coming norwegian doom bands the readers should keep a eye out for?

Ripper:

The Doom scene in Norway ain’t that big,-there are some bands around like Funeral and Sahg,-but they sound different than us actually. But I hope that Doom Metal will become more popular, not only just here,-but in other countries as well. I will recommend Funeral,-but they have been playing as long as we have,-so I won’t call them upcoming,hehe.

4.while on the subject of black metal.what is your opinion of this genre? who are some of your favorite norwegian black metal bands ?{if any}

Ripper:

It’s no secret that I don’t like Black Metal,-I have never liked it. Never liked the image,the sound and all of that “corpsepaint & sword & forest & axes” stuff... But for those who like it, go ahead..there are some good musicians in Black Metal of course. I do not have any favourite Black Metal bands…sorry.

5.please give a brief history of syrach? what is the "current" line-up? for the readers who have not heard syrach's music how would you describe the bands sound?

Ripper:

Well, the band started in 1993,-have done 3 cds and some demos. The last two cds on Napalm Records. The current line-up; me on vocals,Rolv Erik Berge (guitar),Adam Suleiman (drums) & Øystein Knutsen (bass). We are looking for a new guitar player and in these days we’re having some in for audition.

The best way to describe Syrach’s music is that we’re in a death/doom metal style,-not too fast and not too slow,-but the slower elements there’s more of..we have also a touch of 70’s prog and a bit rock’n’roll to our music..you just have to hear for yourself..I don’t know any bands that sound like us,-but many people draw lines from us to My Dying Bride,Paradise Lost and bands like that,from the early 90’s,-but I don’t really see that.

6.the new cd "a dark burial" was recently released through napalm rec.how long did it take you all to write/record the new cd? are you satisfied with how it turned out? do you have a "personal"favorite song?

Ripper:

We started writing the songs after our last album “Days Of Wrath” in mid-2007 and finished them in early 2009,-so it took awhile.We recorded and mixed the record in about 10 days I guess,more or less. We are really satisfied with the new album, I think it’s a more band feel on this one,-so yes, we’re very satisfied with all of it, the songs and the production..it’s been a pleasure working in Conclave Studio in Bergen again.

I think I have to say that my favourite is “A Mourner’s Kiss”,-it seems like I always stick to the longest tracks on our albums,-from “Days Of Wrath” my favourite was the 14 min.opus “The Firm Grip Of Death”. “A Mourner’s Kiss” has everything a good song should have and we combine many different styles on that song,-but of course,-it’s hard to pick one favourite, because I like them all really.

7.how has the response been from the fans and press?

Ripper:

We have almost just got good response,-really good reviews in the press and the feedback from fans has been amazing. I am proud to make music people can find worth listen to and I’m honoured that we have such great fans that appreciate what we do. We owe it all to the people out there.

8.when the band begins to work on a new song/release.how long does it usually take to finish a song?does the whole band work on the music or does 1-2 members handle everything?

Ripper:

Hmm, it depends,-some songs can be done in a couple of rehearsals, others can take months,-it depends how satisfied we are with them. All members of the band work on a song at rehearsal,-so everyone’s involved in all the making of the songs..it’s best that way,-so we can have different views on parts of the songs..we first make the music, then I make the lyrics and vocal lines and then we finish it off with vocals.

9.who usually handles the lyrics for the band? what are some subjects/topics you all write about?

Ripper:

I do the lyrics to the songs,-it’s always been like that. I think that our lyrics concentrate on life,-from birth to death,-and they are taken the dark paths that mankind often use..like a dark journey full of pain and despair. The title track on the album is about a serialkiller,-looking through his eyes on the deeds of horror.But we have had songs about witches (“Stigma Diabolikum” from Days Of Wrath),about betrayal in “In Darkness I Sigh” and about nightmares and fear of sleep in “The River’s Rage”...I'm sure nobody knew that..

10.does the band have any upcoming shows/tours to tell the readers about?who are
some bands you all will be playing/touring with?which countries will you be heading out to?

Ripper:

We have a headliner tour in Europe from the 11^th of Sept ‘till the 19^th of Sept. and another one supporting Pentagram and Trouble in Europe from the 30^th of Sept. ‘till the 14^th of Oct., after that we’ll only do “one-off” gigs somewhere…and concentrate writing new material. I have of course many bands I would like to tour with, it will be great for us to head out on the “Doom Over Europe 2009” with Pentagram and Trouble,-those bands have been my favourites from when I started to listen to them in the mid 80’s or so..

I think we will cover Denmark,Germany,Holland,France,Switzerland,UK,Poland,Cze Republic,Hungary on those two tours in Europe…so look out for those dates in Europe.

11.if you could set-up a "dream" show/tour who are some bands you would love to tour with? any special country you would love to tour?

Ripper:

My perfect tour would be with Candlemass and My Dying Bride maybe,-two great bands that I really would like to have the chance to tour with. I have been a C-Mass fan from the very beginning, I will actually see them live here tonight,in Bergen. I would also love to take my band to the US, we have never played there,-so if we have the chance,-we’ll go there.

12.you are the vocalist for syrach.at what age did you become interested in singing?who are some of your influences/favorite vocalist?

Ripper:

I started singing when I started Syrach in 1993,-but did sing some songs with local bands that I played in,-but those were not really in the metal style.I have always loved the vocal of Bruce Dickinson,but you can’t hear that on my voice,hehe..but people like Nick Holmes,Aaron Stainthorpe,Lee Dorrian among others of course inspired me in the early 90’s,-but I have tried to make my own style if you can call it that..make a clean growl so you actually can hear what I am singing/growling,-I think that’s important in this style of singing.

13.do you do anything special to keep your throat healthy?besides singing do you play any other instruments? if yes which ones?

Ripper:

As the other guys in the band tell me,-that I should bring a private doctor with me on tour..on two tours now I have lost my voice,-once a throat infection and once inflammation on my vocalchords,-then I was told not to speak nor sing for 3-4 weeks,-and we had only done 2 gigs on a European tour,hehe..guess who did NOT listen to his doctor ;)..so yes,-I should keep my throat more healthy and I will do warm up on the forthcoming tours and try to live healthy on tour (that is impossible,hehe)…and I also hope that I can get antibiotics from my doctor here at home,-just in case..to be prepared for the worst,hehe. I started out doing both vocals and drums in Syrach for 1 year,-so yes..I play drums as well,-but not that good..I’m not Chris Reifert,haha…I havn’t played drums for nearly 15 years now,-so..

14.well ripper thank you for taking the time to fill out this interview.do you have any final comments for the readers?

Ripper:

Thanx, Patrick, for a brilliant interview, it’s been a pleasure. I also hope that as many as possible will support Syrach and buy our album and see us on tour..just give us a line if some are going to a gig and we’ll for sure have a talk and a beer together at the venue..that’s always great. Raise The Flag Of Doom High!!