1.Hello XT thank you for taking the time to fill this interview out please introduce yourself to the readers?
Thank you for having me! I'm the forerunner of this band. I'm the one who came up with the names, concept, music, and I play guitar/bass. I have a musical background in extreme metal, and a hobbyist background in 3D modelling and level design.
2.When did you first discover death metal and music in geeneral and who were the first bands you discovered?Who are some of the current bands that you have been listening to?
The first death metal record I fell in love with was Carcass' "Symphonies of Sickness", even though it's arguably the first deathgrind album, and possibly the heaviest album of the 1980s. I expanded out into more obscure bands like Timeghoul, Demigod, and Chthe'ilist in my later teen years. I found their musical compositions very unique and well thought-out. Recently I've been jamming Abyzou, Rites of Daath, Nihil Invocation, and Mordom, all of which are impressive modern acts of extreme metal.
3.When did you first become interested in writing and playing music?What was the first instrument that you learned to play?
When I was eight years old, I began taking guitar lessons. Around age 11 is when I started taking drum lessons, where I frequently played along to the entire debut Van Halen album note-for-note. In terms of writing my own music, I wrote my first song when I was 10 years old, making a horrible demo with my 4th-grade buddies at the time. Re-recorded it with a band I formed in the 8th grade when I was 14, then re-re-recorded it properly when I was 19 with the same band. I got more into writing music in my later teen years as my improving musical skills allowed me more creative freedom.
4.What instruments do you currrently play?Are you self-taught or did you take lessons when first starting out?
I play drums, bass, and guitar. I played violin in grades 6-8, but that was for school. Never cared for it, never picked it up since, despite being the best violin player in the school. I also can't read music,even though I was taught how to during the violin years. I'm mostly self-taught in my instruments, especially in music theory. I've found learning theory has unlocked massive songwriting potential. At first I was very weighed down by it, thinking a song had to have 1 tempo and 1 scale, later realizing I can mix scales, modes, and keys all I want, and throw in chromatic riffs because they sound evil. Theory is fantastic knowledge to have, and even better when you know it and ignore it.
5.Are their any instruments that you would like to learn one day if yes which ones would they be?
Not really. I do wish I was able to do death metal vocals. Something in the veins of Ross Dolan from Immolation, Paul Riedl from Blood Incantation, Muhammed Suiçmez from Necrophagist, or Karl Sanders from Nile. It's something I think about, but not something I want to actively attempt like I did with guitar or drums.
6.When did you first get the idea to start Perilaxe Occlusion and how did you choose the name of the band does it have a special meaning?
Perilaxe Occlusion is play on a 3D rendering technique called parallax occlusion mapping. I thought the name sounded neat, especially combining "peril" and "axe", which makes it more akin to death metal. I thought it'd be unique to have a death metal band dedicated to 3D modelling, rendering techniques, and all other things surrounding it like math and computers, but in a macabre context, such as describing someone rendering a scene of graphic violence. I got the idea years ago, and had several death metal riffs in my phone's voice memos kicking around for a while. In July 2020, I decided to stop daydreaming and start taking shit seriously. I hit up Lucas (@rustedwinds on Instagram) to design a logo for me while I was writing music. I got a talented drummer and a skilled vocalist to perform on the demo, all recorded by an engineer who is extremely knowledgable, although he had never done death metal before. I must say that everyone knocked it out of the park. Everyone played top notch and took it as seriously as I did.
7.Who would you say are the bands biggest influences?For the readers unfamilar with the bands music how would you best describe it?
I'd say Perilaxe Occlusion plays death metal with technical and doom elements. We're not a death/doom band, we're just not afraid to slow down to knuckle-dragging speeds. We're not tech death, but we have parts that stray off the 4/4 path. We'll never make the listener feel tedium that some doom bands might have, or make them do a calculus test for technicality's sake. It's like spices on a roast--overdoing it kills the joy.
8.Exponential Decay is the bands debut which is getting released through Chaos Rec. when did you first come in contact with Chaos Rec.?
Chaos Records contacted me on Instagram. Impure is a band I like that's signed to them, so I was quite surprised they showed interest before even hearing any music. Victor from Chaos Records is super nice guy. He wants to print this on all formats including vinyl! Whether or not that happens remains to be seen, but I'm very glad I get to work with him. He works his ass off getting me fantastic interviews such as this one, and is connected with a graphic designer who does all the layouts for physical media. The PDFs I've seen of the CDs and tapes look incredible. Very excited to start shipping them out.
9.I believe you are the main song writer for the band how long did it take to write the music for the debut demo? How long does it usually take to complete one song?
It took me roughly a month to get everything as they were recorded. I had a bunch of riffs I had thought of over the years, which kicked things off a little bit. The biggest challenge was connecting them, some riffs didn't even get used. I'd say if I worked every single day on a song, it'd take about a week to compose. Rehearsing, tweaking, etc, all takes up more time. Months, even. This demo was quicker than one might expect since I was very direct with all the arrangements.
10.Who usually handles writing the lyrics for the band and what are some topics written about on the debut release?Which usually comes first the music or the lyrics?
I write the lyrics since the theme of 3D modelling was thought up by me. I only have 1 friend who knows about 3D modelling/has experience with it all. This is all nerdy-ass mumbo-jumbo to most people, bandmates included. I am related to one of the digital artists for Avatar (2009). He works for Weta Digital, and sent me several books on filmmaking and 3D. Very complex, yet cool stuff. The music always comes first. I often get a song title or theme before a song, which is very helpful in lyric writing. It's a bit of a jump start writing lyrics with a topic in mind.
11.does the band have any other merchandise currently availible for the readers to purchase? If yes what is availible and where can the readers purchase it?
Yes. I recieved cassettes from a fantastic French label called Epidemia Records. At the time of writing this, they're over 80% sold. I have 2 t-shirt designs available on my Bandcamp. One is of the demo art printed by Cursed Earth Apparel. The other is a polygonal graveyard seen on the back of the CDs, and the inside of the tapes from Chaos Records, printed by Grim Graphics GSO. They sell for $16.
12.Have you started working on new musiic for the bands next demo or would you like to write a full-length release?
Yes to both. The new demo is being recorded right now. It's called "Raytraces of Death" and will be out sometime in 2021. We plan on doing a compilation of the two demos with a bonus interlude track. All 2021 we plan spending on writing a full-length album, hoping for a 2022 release. I also plan on having new merch. At least one new shirt design with a backprint that reads "RASTERIZED DEATH METAL", and possibly even a long-sleeve.
13.What does Underground Metal mean to you?
.Underground metal is the response to everything more in the mainstream. Cradle of Filth and Amon Amarth are far from mainstream music, but are the mainstream of slightly more extreme metal music. The underground steers clear of squeaky-clean, quantized production, and instead opts for organic recordings and filthier tones, also shying away from convential song structures and lengths. The freedom and loyalty in this scene in strong and supportive. The people involved are the sole reason music like this is still around. Very few people would write music that nobody wants to listen to. I'm very happy people think Perilaxe Occlusion is worthy of being an underground band, and not something people skip over on Bandcamp or YouTube.
14. comes out of Canada's metal scene what is your opinion of the scene in Canada over the years?
Canada's metal scenes vary on location. Quebec is full of incredible death metal and black metal. Giants such as Voivod, Gorguts, Kataklysm, and Cryptopsy hail from that province, and more underground heroes like Chthe'ilist and Spectral Wound reign from that region. Then you have the most iconic war metal band Blasphemy hailing from the west coast, along with Conqueror, Revenge, and Axis of Advance. Scattered around are solid acts like Adverserial, Human Agony, Tomb Mold, VHS, and Nocturnal Departure. Many classics like Woods of Ypres, Slaughter, Strapping Young Lad, and Razor come to mind, as well.
15.Who are your all-time favorite Canadian bands and are their any new bands you could recomend to the readers?
Fuck, this is a thinker. I'd say early Gorguts/Cryptopsy, I fuck with some Rush albums, July Talk, Tomb Mold, Gordon Lightfoot, and Stan Rogers. As far as newer Canadian bands are concerned, I would recommend Mitochondrion, Paroxsihzem, Gris, and Profane Order.
16.Besides working in Perilaxe Occlusion do you currently work with any other bands or solo projects? If yes please tell the readers a little about them?
.I do. I'm in a number of other acts ranging from grindcore to thrash metal (although I'm keeping those acts classified for now).
17.Thank you XT for taking the time to fill this interview out do you have any final comments for the readers?
Thank you for the interview! I love doing these. A great way to spend an evening thinking critically. My final thoughts are a big thank you to everyone who preordered Exponential Decay, and that there is more music to come and not a lot of waiting. We have plans for new music years ahead of us. Stay (down)tuned... Band Contacts https://chaos-records.bandcamp.com/album/exponential-decay-demo https://www.instagram.com/perilaxeocclusion/?hl=es-la Label Contacts https://www.chaos-records.com/ https://chaos-records.bandcamp.com/ https://www.facebook.com/chaosrecords https://twitter.com/ChaosRecs
