This is jay reporting from Bogota, Colombia…
Today I’ll be talking with Adam from UK Black Metal Monster, Arrogant Destruktor..
Hi Adam, thanks for taking the time out of your busy schedule to talk to our avid readers….
1- Tell us all about Arrogant Destruktor.. when/where/why was the band formed? Who is in the band?
I (A.R) play guitar and bass on the albums, but just play bass live….Lewis Chrimes plays guitar live, A.T does vocals and Clive Parkinson plays drums. Me and A.T just decided to do some music with no real ambitions as such, but ended up doing a couple of albums then we got a couple of extra members after a few years and started playing live etc and slowly intensified from there.
2- Run us through your discography and tell our readers where they can get their claws on some physical editions….
Well we did 2 demos back in 2013/2014, then we recorded 2 newer tracks and added those to the demo songs which turned into our debut “Amidst the Blackest Void” on Wolfspell records in Poland. We did a split cd on Wolfspell with Wrang from Poland. Then in 2016 we released “Commandments Of War and Necromancy” which was a step on in terms of quality I think….then the next album “No Fucking Mercy” came out on CD (Void Wanderer) and cassette (Analog Ragnarok). Our latest album “Written in Blood from the Blade” came out on CD last year and now Masters Of Kaos will be releasing the cassette and vinyl versions which should be killer! We recorded a Master’s Hammer cover exclusively for the cassette version so collectors should track a copy down.
3- Tell us about the new material you’re working on now…
Since the new album was released we’ve already got 8 or 9 tracks ready for what might appear on our next album.
4- You’ve got quite a reputation as being a solid and entertaining live band… tell us about your best gigs and the gigs you have coming up for 2024…
A lot of bands judge their best gigs by how many people they played to or how much merch they sold blah blah blah but for us my favourite gigs were both in Worcester here on the UK playing a tiny venue put on by Malcolm of Sadistic Screams zine. Both had a cool underground vibe and the crowd were killer both times. We did an audio recording of the 2nd one we did there and you can hear the maniacs in the crowd going wild so that was a cool one to do definitely. Probably no live action from us until early 2025 now….we shall see.
5- What equipment and instruments do you use? Where do you record ? and what is the usual song writing process?
We’re not really equipment kinda guys, me and the guitarist play live just plugged straight into the amps, no fx pedals, backing tracks and that kind of bollocks. We have 2 settings…. off and on! We played a gig with one band had they had a really annoying guitarist who was setting his guitar up and doing warm ups, practising the scales on his guitar. Our guitarist was on his fourth can of Polish lager….different kind of warm up routine.
6- What first inspired you to become a metal musician?
I’d been listening to metal music since I was a child and started tape trading when I was 14 so picking up an instrument was a natural progression really. I played guitar but then I joined my first semi professional band as a bass player and I’ve done that primarily live ever since but I still record all the guitar tracks in the studio.
7- What have been the highest and lowest points so far in your career?
I’ve been lucky enough to tour Europe a couple of times in a previous band but as far as Arrogant Destruktor is concerned its always great to have people from bands you respect give you kind words about your music. We’ve had praise from Emperor’s Bard Eithun, Trevor Strnad(R.I.P) from The Black Dahlia Murder and The Magus of Necromantia. We recorded a cover of Shaman for the Necromantia tribute cd and also appears on Written in Blood from the Blade.
What is your opinion of the evolution in Black Metal over recent years and how do you think it will sustain itself in the years to come?
I’m not sure how much of it has evolved in recent years, or if it has I’ve stayed pretty much ignorant and listened to the old stuff haha.
8- Do you have any other projects? Tell us about them…
I did a hardcore punk band called Mandatory Choices a couple of years ago, just did a one off tape release just for fun….I’ve also done a darkwave project just with synthesiser and a female vocalist. Might see the light of day at some point.
9- What is the current UK scene like ? Recommend some up and coming bands for our readers to check out…
We had Abdicatrix support us at one of gigs Sadistic Screams organized that I mentioned earlier….their album is killer. But I generally find bands from overseas more interesting.
10- What are your top five metal albums of all time and why?
If we’re talking top 5 general metal albums I’d say: Coroner – Grin
Neolithic – The Personal Fragment of Life.
Katatonia – Brave Murder Day
Disharmonic Orchestra – Not to be Undimensional Conscious.
Pungent Stench – Club Mondo Bizarre
Top 5 black metal albums it’s hard to narrow down to 5 but these tend to be at the top of the all time list:
Dissection – Storm Of The Light’s Bane
Masters Hammer – Ritual
Burzum – Hvis Lyset Tar Oss
Necromantia – Scarlet Evil Witching Black
Abigor – Verwustung, Invoke The Dark Age
11- If you could play with any musician , live or dead, who would it be and why?
GG Allin
12- Would you like to add anything for the young musicians out there that are looking to follow in your footsteps?
Don’t do it.
A massive thanks to Adam and the mighty Arrogant Destruktor…
Hails!!!! Arrogant Destruktor https://arrogantdestruktor.bandcamp.com/ https://www.facebook.com/arrogantdestruktor https://www.instagram.com/arrogantdestruktorblackmetal/