Interview with Exhumed done by Patrick
1.Hello please introduce yourself to the readers?
Hey there, I'm Matt Harvey, guitarist / vocalist of Exhumed (among others!).
2.When did you first start listening to death metal and who were some of the first bands you listened to?Who are some current bands that have caught your attention?
I first began to get the idea that Death Metal was its own thing, separate from Thrash bands like Sodom, Kreator, Slayer etc, in 1989, when records like Slowly We Rot and Leprosy were in heavy rotation among me and my handful of weirdo friends. I was 13 at the time, and becoming disenchanted with how “nice” a lot of the Thrash records were getting at the time. Early on we heard Death, Bathory, Obituary, Necrophagia, Napalm Death and bands like Autopsy, Carcass, Terrorizer, Morbid Angel, Entombed, Carnage, Bolt Thrower and many others soon followed. By 1991, we were digging mostly Eps from American bands like Mortician, Incantation, Deceased, Goreaphobia and more underground stuff like Impetigo, Blood, Sore Throat, Repulsion, Master, etc. There is a bumper crop of good Death Metal happening right now. Some of my favorites are Ruin, Necrot, Aseptic, Mortuous, Skeletal Remains, Gorephilia, Cemetery Filth, Lantern, Lago, Fluids, Tomb Mold, among many others I'm sure I'm forgetting at the moment.
3.Exhumed was started back in 1990 when did you first get the idea to start this band?
Well, among our group of metalhead friends, we were always discussing doing a band, and I was kind of the leader of this whole idea. Some friends and I used to do covers of songs like “Bombenhagel,” “Regurgitated Guts,” “Sacrificial,” “Riot of Violence,” and “Persecution Mania” but once Col (Jones, original Exhumed drummer) got a kit in early 1990, things got a little more “serious.” Col and I wanted to do something a lot more extreme, stuff like Napalm Death, Carcass, Xysma, Extreme Noise Terror, etc, but the other guys were more into a thrashier kind of direction a la Coroner, Kreator, etc. It took about a year for me and Col to find other guys who wanted to do the heavier shit and put together a few songs. We played our first show in October 1991.
4.Who would you say are the bands biggest influences and have they remained the same over the years?How do you feel Exhumed's music style has changed over the years?
I think around 1994 we kind of found our style. We were still quite young at the time, I was 19 so... I think our influences since then have been pretty similar. Napalm Death, Carnage, Master, Repulsion, Autopsy, Carcass, Possessed, Death, Sadus, Exodus, Razor, Slayer, Kreator, Pestilence, Metallica, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Cryptic Slaughter, Siege, Discharge, etc. By bringing in influences from traditional metal and thrash, we kind of found our niche, rather than just doing the typical Cannibal Corpse / Suffocation type stuff that had really taken over the Death Metal scene at that time. I think we've gotten a lot better at playing and a lot more confident in our songwriting and stage performance, but the inspiration really hasn't changed too much. Some records lean more heavily in one direction or another, just to keep it interesting, but it's still us doing our thing.
5.Horror is the bands newest full length how long did it take the band to write the music for the new release?How long does it usually take to complete one song?
The writing process usually goes pretty quickly. I tend to write songs in clusters, I'll come up with two or three pretty complete ideas in a week, and then a month later or something, a couple more will get done. We always have a lot material written, though. I think we have seven songs in the can for Exhumed at the moment. Once we find a direction to go in, things come together pretty quickly from there.
6.Besides the upcoming Horror release are the bands previous releases still available for the readers to purchase?Besides physical releases does the band have any other merchandise currently available if yes what is available and where can the readers buy it?
All of our albums are available via Relapse, we've been working with them since the first record back in '98. We have our own merch store with exclusive shirts, cassettes and even our own hot sauce at exhumed.bigcartel.com as well.
7.What have been some of Exhumed's most memorable shows over the years?And who have been some of your favorite bands to share the stage with?
We play a lot, and we drink a lot so... my memory may not be the best haha! We had a really great show in Santiago Chile a few months back, it was our first time there and the crowd was really, really into it. Tokyo is always a great place to play as well. We have a good time with just about all the bands we tour with. Cannibal Corpse and Suffocation were a blast to hang out with. The Dying Fetus guys were a really good time, Goatwhore are old buddies of ours, the Obituary guys are always a pleasure as well.
8.Are their any shows or tours planned in support of Horror if yes where will the band be playing and who are some bands you will be touring with?
We have a six-week US tour with Gatecreeper, Necrot and Judiciary that starts in Los Angeles on October 27th. It should be a total fucken ripper!
9.Exhumed comes out of California's grind,death metal scene what is your opinion of the scene in California over the years?
I grew up in the bay area in late 80s when bands like Metallica, Exodus, Testament, Heathen, Laaz Rockit, Vio-lence and Death Angel were ruling the world and the scene. After about 1991, that started to fade a bit, and Death Metal was never really as big in the bay area, but we did have Autopsy, Sadus, Immortal Fate, Plutocracy and us. In the mid-90s the metal scene on the West Coast really wasn't very interesting, but there were loads of great hardcore and powerviolence bands in California, like Man is the Bastard, Crossed Out, Excruciating Terror, Gasp, Spazz, Infest, etc. Now there's a real embrace of Death Metal, with bands like Necrot, Mortuous, Aseptic, Acephalix, Skeletal Remains, Ruin, Mortal Wound, Calcemia, and loads of others making a lot of noise.
10.Who are your all-time favorite bands coming out of California and are their any new bands you could recommend to the readers?
New bands, see my last answer. All-time faves: Metallica, Exodus, Sadus, Autopsy, Dark Angel, Slayer, Insanity, Possessed, Infest, Crossed Out.
11.What does underground metal mean to you?
I mean... that's a pretty sweeping question haha! It means a group of people galvanized by their love of crazy, fucked up music that pushes boundaries aesthetically and musically without any restraints.
12.When you need to take a break from working on new music or band business what do you like to do in your free time?
I hang out with my dog, haha! Usually working on music is my mental break, especially from band business which sucks and sucks up a lot of time.
13.Back in the 90's I know fanzines were big in the underground did you read a lot of fanzines?What made a good fanzine in your opinion?
I think a good fanzine needed enthuisastic, honest reviews and a good smattering of stuff that you knew and loved already and stuff that you would never be able to hear about anywhere else. A good layout or design was pretty much unheard of, so you were mostly focused on the editorial content and how encyclopedic the coverage was.
14.What were some of your favorite fanzines to read back then?And are their any current fan or web-zines that you like to read?
A few that I remember off the top of my head were Comatose, Chainletter, A Lesson in Pathology, Atmosfear and Necropolis. Nowadays the level of journalism, design and writing quality is sooooo far advanced from the early days, I tend to read sites that I'm familiar with and have reliably good writing, like Decibel, No Clean Singing, Toilet Ov Hell, Last Rites, Invisible Oranges, etc.
15.Thank you for taking the time to fill this interview out do you have any final comments for the readers?
Thanks for the interview – the record Horror is out October 4th on Relapse Records, check it out and STAY DEAD!
Band Contacts
https://exhumed.bigcartel.com/
https://www.facebook.com/ExhumedOfficial
https://exhumed.bandcamp.com/
https://twitter.com/exhumedofficial
Label Contacts
https://store.relapse.com/
https://www.facebook.com/RelapseRecords
https://relapserecords.bandcamp.com/
