1.Hello Phil how are things going in Texas these days?Please introduce yourself to the readers?
Hey Patrick, things in Texas are great, in particular it's really nice to be back! Lots of good tours coming through this summer and stoked to see a lot of them. About myself I've lived in Austin for about 10 years now, and been jamming in a couple local acts over the past 6 or so.
2.Whore Of Bethlehem was formed in 2009 what gave you the idea to start this band?
So the band was actually started by Ryan Sylvie, the lead guitar player in Whore of Bethlehem, and Rene Martinez. They were playing in a brutal death metal band at the time and they fooled around with the idea of a more blackened sound for a new band that tried to deviate from the often recognized brutal death metal sound that Texas has made a name for itself with. It was never actually supposed to take off, but it got real traction and quickly turned into a real band with a solid driving force.
3.What is the current line up of the band?Who would you say are some of the bands biggest influences
The current lineup is probably the most solid we've ever had and includes Ryan Sylvie, James Van Den Berg, myself, Sam Axelrad, and Alan Berryman. Influence wise we pull from a lot of the usual suspects. Dark Funeral, Suffocation, Arch Goat, Morbid Angel, Immolation, Blood Red Throne, Cannibal Corpse, Behemoth, Nile... the list really could go on for awhile. All of us have different influences on our personal playing styles but when we come together to make the music for Whore of Bethlehem we focus on the elements of songwriting we grew up appreciating over the years mixed with our own styles.
4.Extinguish The Light is Whore Of Bethlehem's newest full length release how long did it take the band to write the music for the new release?
This album is pretty cathartic for us. After our first album, Upon Judas' Throne was self released in May 2014, the band had more than a few lineup changes. The songs were being written at that time which obviously made that difficult. We continued working with promoters to play shows and build a name for ourselves while tightening as a band on the new material and bringing the new members up to speed on our old songs in order to not lose any steam. Collectively Extinguish the Light has been in the works for about 3 years, and it feels really great to have the songs locked and recorded to share with everyone. Some of the songs on the album we've been sitting on for well over a year, waiting for the CD release before we started to play them.
5.Besides the newest cd are any of the past releases still available and besides the physical releases are their any other merchandise available if yes what is available and where can the readers buy it?
Yes! Upon Judas' Throne was a self released pressing, and we still carry it. Our official online website is the best place to get merch outside of seeing us play live. We have shirts, stickers, koozies, and CDs. We also use Bandcamp to digitally sell our albums. Extinguish the Light will be available on Bandcamp with the official release date on Black Market Metal Label, July 21st 2017.
6.Whore Of Bethlehem comes out of the Texan black metal scene what is your opinion of black metal scene in Texas?
There is a thriving underground black metal scene here, and there are multiple fests that cater directly to black metal specifically. Red River Family Fest, and Destroying Texas Fest to name a couple. On top of that there are so many bands it's difficult to remember them all off the top of my head but Absu, Funeral Ash, Venereal Baptism, Sacrocurse, Black Vice, Uruk, and Tyrannosorceress to name just a few, and they all rip!
I think we actually get more noticed in the death metal scene in Texas and not as much in the black metal scene. There is a lot of crossover between the two but a majority of our shows are typically with a death metal bill. Either way the scene here is doing great and there's always metal going on somewhere if you want to find it. Doom, black, thrash, death... it's going on somewhere.
7.Who are your all-time favorite Texas bands and are their any new bands you feel the readers should check out soon?
There are quite a few down here but I'm a fan of War Master, Devourment, Power Trip, and obviously bands like Absu and Pantera. As for up and coming as well established bands in Texas to check out I've definitely got a list. A couple of these bands are currently inactive however, hopefully they are back at it soon.
Id, Black Vice, Uruk, Venereal Baptism, Morgengrau, Tyrannosorceress, Unmothered, Haunter, Sacrocurse, Funeral Ash, Plutonian Shore, Demonseed, Asylum, Cesspool of Corruption, Cleric, Khringe, Athanatos, VBT, Cathexis, Infuriate, Widower, Serpentian, Images of Violence, and Flesh Hoarder. There are so many others as well, they are all worth checking out.
8.Besides bands are their any honest and reliable labels or distro's from texas you could recommend?Beside labels are their any good fan or web-zines from Texas you feel the readers should check out soon?
There are quite a few down here but I'm a fan of War Master, Devourment, Power Trip, and obviously bands like Absu and Pantera. As for up and coming as well established bands in Texas to check out I've definitely got a list. A couple of these bands are currently inactive however, hopefully they are back at it soon.
Id, Black Vice, Uruk, Venereal Baptism, Morgengrau, Tyrannosorceress, Unmothered, Haunter, Sacrocurse, Funeral Ash, Plutonian Shore, Demonseed, Asylum, Cesspool of Corruption, Cleric, Khringe, Athanatos, VBT, Cathexis, Infuriate, Widower, Serpentian, Images of Violence, and Flesh Hoarder. There are so many others as well, they are all worth checking out.
8.Besides bands are their any honest and reliable labels or distro's from texas you could recommend?Beside labels are their any good fan or web-zines from Texas you feel the readers should check out soon?
A couple of labels and distros come to mind, but I think they're actually no longer active unfortunately. As for publications and web zines Texanomicon and Under the Sign of the Lone Star are definitely worth checking out. Texanomicon is in PDF format so it's easy to find and enjoy through FB. https://www.facebook.com/T
9.Whore Of Bethlehem just finished a small mid-west tour where were some towns and cities the band played? Who were some bands you shared the stage with?
Yes! We just got back a few days ago and it went really well. Lots of new fans, and we played with some killer bands. This tour we hit Oklahoma City OK, Chicago IL, Des Moines IA, Madison WI, Milwaukee WI, Kansas City MO, and Fort Worth TX and had a kick off show opening for Morbid Angel and Suffocation in Austin TX.
We played with Marasmus, Torn the Fuck Apart, Demonseed, Asylum, Cesspool of Corruption, Splattered Cadaver, Prezir, Khazaddum, Mutilated by Zombies, Horde Casket, Predator and Cranial Decay. They were all sick bands, the shows really ripped and everyone killed it. It was a real honor playing these guys.
10.Are their any other tours or shows planned for this summer or fall? If yes where will the band be playing?
No other tours are planned for this year, but we do have a couple of shows coming up in the Austin and possibly San Antonio areas. Confirmed dates we play on October 22nd 2017 at the Texas Mist and with Cattle Decap on the North American Extinction, Pt II tour on Nov 15th 2017. We're working on some cool stuff for next year though, so keep your ears and eyes open!
11.Phil you handle the guitars for the band when did you become interested in playing the guitars?And are you self taught or did you take lessons when first starting out?
When I was younger I did take lessons at a local music store, where I learned mostly about music theory. Everything else has been self taught and honed over the years. There are some techniques I probably missed out on learning properly, but I'm happy with what I can contribute from a song writing and rhythmic perspective.
14.Thank you Phil for taking the time to fill this interview out do you have any final words for the readers?
No other tours are planned for this year, but we do have a couple of shows coming up in the Austin and possibly San Antonio areas. Confirmed dates we play on October 22nd 2017 at the Texas Mist and with Cattle Decap on the North American Extinction, Pt II tour on Nov 15th 2017. We're working on some cool stuff for next year though, so keep your ears and eyes open!
11.Phil you handle the guitars for the band when did you become interested in playing the guitars?And are you self taught or did you take lessons when first starting out?
I handle mostly the rhythm guitar of the band, and I've been playing since early high school so probably about 20 years ago. God damn, 20 years ago! I got interested in playing because my dad had an old guitar laying around I would just mess around with it from time to time. Once I got my first real guitar, I quickly went from bands like Deftones and Korn into At the Gates, In Flames, Cannibal Corpse, Amon Amarth, Vader, etc in order to find stuff that was more intricate and fun to play. That's where my love for metal developed, as an appreciation for the precision of metal songwriting and blistering guitar playing.
When I was younger I did take lessons at a local music store, where I learned mostly about music theory. Everything else has been self taught and honed over the years. There are some techniques I probably missed out on learning properly, but I'm happy with what I can contribute from a song writing and rhythmic perspective.
12.Who are some of your influences and favorite guitarists? Besides the guitars do you currently play any other instruments?
My personal influences in terms of guitar playing are Terrance Hobbs, Peter Tägtgren, Dan Swanö, Olavi Mikkonen, Erik Rutan, and Adam Darski (Nergal). They all have a different style, and all of them contribute to mine. I don't play any other instruments, unfortunately.
13.Besides playing in Whore Of Bethlehem do you or any of the members currently play in any other bands or solo projects?
There are quite a few other projects within the band actually. Starting with myself, I have three solo projects I've worked on. Passage; a black metal project, Cocytus; A death metal project, and Brunanburh; a melodic instrumental metal project. They are all up on Bandcamp. As far as other live acts I play in I've recently joined Black Vice as a second guitar player.
There are quite a few other projects within the band actually. Starting with myself, I have three solo projects I've worked on. Passage; a black metal project, Cocytus; A death metal project, and Brunanburh; a melodic instrumental metal project. They are all up on Bandcamp. As far as other live acts I play in I've recently joined Black Vice as a second guitar player.
Alan, our bass player, plays in Infuriate and Cathexis. Ryan jams with a project that currently has no name, and while the other guys aren't in another project at the moment, they have been a part of other bands in the past.
14.Thank you Phil for taking the time to fill this interview out do you have any final words for the readers?
Thanks to everyone for taking the time to read this, and thanks to all the fans that make what we write and perform fun and worth playing live! We couldn't do it without your support. Cheers!
Band Contacts
https://www.whoreofbethlehem.com/
https://www.facebook.com/wobethlehem
https://whoreofbethlehem.bandcamp.com/
