Colpocleisis Interview 2024

Beyond stoked to have had the pleasure to ask the dudes in Colpocleisis a few questions!  Read on to learn more about the band's history and future!!!

1. Thank you for taking the time to answer some questions! Let's start with who we are talking to. What is your name and role in Colpocleisis?

JB: I’m Jon. I’ve been the singer of the band since 2018. 

JM: I’m Joe. I’ve played bass for Colpo since 2016 

2. Could you share the history of the band? How it started, if members have switched up much?

Joe - the band started around 2014 originally as a 3 piece with Ste, Marc Mullin and Karl Scahill.

 I came on later originally to play bass for the debut album Fallopian Fallout but decided to stay on board. A few years later both Karl and Marc had decided to leave the band for personal reasons with Karl now playing in Coprocephalic Mutation amongst others. The initial direction for the band was a blend of old school slam bands such as Devourment, Cephalotripsy and Cerebral Incubation but the sound has evolved over time with the addition of Jon on vocals and Lewis on drums. 

3. I think I was late to the game finding your music, but I am in love with it! Colpo has been around for 10 years now correct?  

JB: Yeah! A decade strong. I’d not noticed the milestone. There’s been a few changes but we’ve had the same lineup since Lewis and myself joined in 2018. 

Maybe next year, we’ll find a way to mark a decade since the 2015 Demo came out. 

4. Elegant Degradation is my favorite album of yours, but maybe just because it is what I heard first.  It's not hugely different from your first record, Fallopian Fallout, song-structure wise. What I mean is, you guys are consistent with quality writing and production. What is your writing process like and then also what goes into the recording and production of everything? 

Fallopian Fallout was entirely written by Ste and Karl focussing on caveman brutality in the riffage. Production was handled lately in house with Karl recording and mixing much of the album.  Karl and Marc were both involved in some of the writing for tracks that appeared on the Human Dignity Violated EP also.

Elegant Degradation was different in that I led quite heavily on the writing before and during the pandemic with a lot of remote collaboration work with the other members.  Myself and Ste would meet when permitted by restrictions to work through ideas and structures.  Over time the songs fleshed out with Jon and Lewis adding their own character to the songs. We also focussed heavily on themes and running order to make the album sound more like an album rather than a collection of tracks. This is most noticeable in the opening and closing tracks Degrade and Decay which bookend the album with motif oriented riffs and structure. We wanted to increase the atmosphere and intensity of the 2nd album but still keep it aggressive and over time have finely tuned out sound in the studio to match our sound on stage. 

5. Also seems like you started with Inherited Suffering, then joined the ranks of RealityFade? For those of us with no idea, how does this sort of thing work, signing to a distribution label?

JB: I can’t speak on how the Inherited Suffering deal came together as it was before my time, but I know a deal to release one album was signed. The debut, Fallopian Fallout came out in 2017. 

We recorded some new songs in 2019 to showcase the then new lineup. These songs were released as singles to generate some buzz and put us in the shop window to labels. 

After going through a few offers, we decided to work with Reality Fade. RF bundled our 3 singles together as the Human Dignity Violated EP in 2020 and then after a long delay caused by COVID we eventually got album 2, ‘Elegant Degradation’ out in 2023. 

As of right now, we’re free agents again so we need to talk to labels and see who is a good fit to release our future material. 

6. I've looked up the word, but I'll let you share. How did the name Colpocleisis come about? Was this always the name?

Joe - Yeah the name was there from the beginning and was used for the shock factor when people googled the name. Much of the medical world has been used in brutal music titles and names but this was untouched and lent itself to the aggressive nature of the music the band intended on making. 

7. You guys seem to have creatively funny song titles, and some lyrics to match. Do you all write these together? How do the ideas for songs form?

JB: As far as lyrics and song titles go, that’s normally from silly ideas we throw around in the group chat. We have been introducing some darker themes and ideas recently and using less puns though! 

Corpocleisis was born from an in-joke about our corporate jobs away from the band. Third Degree Gurns was based on a story about a mate of the bands on a lot of drugs. 

I think the best origin story for a song is with #ProlapsoVaginal as this relates directly to the band. As Joe detailed above, the band name is a form of surgery and we kept getting tagged by South American doctors promoting their surgery successes. We saw how funny the Spanish to English translation of the captions were and decided to make a song just using these captions for lyrics. 

The songwriting is a mix of individual writing (Joe and Ste primarily), collaborating on riff ideas together and loose jamming whenever we’re all in the same room. 

The last album was written over a longer period and in many different ways because of the pandemic. After finishing a run of shows with a February 2020 appearance in Moscow, we were set to begin the writing process for the album. Of course in March 2020, the pandemic shut the entire world down and derailed any plans. 

With our practice space shut, and the band spread across the country, it was impossible to get in a room and jam like normal. So a lot of that album was written by Ste and Joe with ideas discussed over weekly Zoom calls and sharing ideas on GuitarPro. All of the songs then came to life once we got together and Lewis put his drums over them. 

Flagellating and Six Feet Chunder were the last two songs finished and by that point we were all back together and jamming in the room again. 

8. I love the artwork for both full-lengths! Who did it? Any stories behind the art?

Joe - The debut was intended to be a mix of the band names theme (hence Fallopian) and the video game Fallout (which influenced the artwork). The word Colpocleisis being a surgical procedure to fix a vaginal prolapse. Fallout took on the meaning of both the procedure and video game. Rudi Gorging Suicide was responsible for that one

Elegant Degradation was a different approach. We found an unknown artist in Daniel Francisco through some internet searching. He'd not worked with any bands before and just had a great style that was super grimy and dark. We contacted him and gave him some demos to listen to, discussed the concept of Elegant Degradation, dehumanisation and  such and told him to go wild with creativity. 

I personally went down an academic rabbit hole reading journal articles on the psychological aspects of degradation, humiliation and similar topics. This first appeared in the Human Dignity Violated EP which was actually the title of an article that I read which inspired the themes. It was a conscious decision by the member to keep exploring these themes to add a deeper and dark experience to the music rather than standard fictional gore and famous murderer type stuff.

9. Anything new in the works currently? Please??

We’ve got 4 songs recorded and ready to go. Still undecided on how we will release, but it’s looking like a new EP for 2025. 

Beyond that, writing is underway on the next batch of songs for what will be Album 3. Hopefully we can pull this one together a little quicker and easier. 

10. What is your take on the current state of BDM/Slam?

Joe - There are a lot of insanely talented bands coming out now, especially on the US west coast. The younger generation of bands are delivering Huge quality brutal music which is great to see. The scene can seem a little over saturated at times and to be honest it does occasionally feel like it's ran by merch companies rather than record labels supporting artists.  Dig through bandcamp and you can find some gems. Our mates in 357 Homicide, Coprocephalic Mutation and Vulgar Dissection are making waves in the UK right now. 

11. Can you name 3 bands that you take influence from?

JB: Slam and brutal death metal is the core of our sound, so in terms of direct influence it’s hard to not say Devourment, Cephalotripsy and Cerebral Incubation. 

There’s a lot of influence from of course the likes of Internal Bleeding, Dying Fetus and Suffocation. 

More and more outside influence has been creeping in though as we look to create our own unique sound in such a crowded scene. Things have got more chaotic and noisier with more fx and samples. Plus we’re pushing the tempos up as much as Lewis can handle 

12. The UK Slam scene seems CRAZY right now! Can you name a few upcoming bands from your area that we should check out?

Joe - Beyond the bands I mentioned earlier I'd definitely recommend Hacked Up, Ovulating Cadaver, Vast Slug, Exhumation, the list could go on. 

13. What is something about you that fans of your music would be surprised to learn?

Joe - were largely open people so it's hard to think of anything surprising. Jon is massive into fitness which is quite evident because he is massive. I have a master's degree in musicology which is why I'm such a nerd. Ste and Lew are big into their video games. Lewis is forging himself a career as a session drummer if any bands are in need. 

JB: As brutal as our music is, we all have wide and diverse tastes away from the band. Everything from goregrind to black metal, nu-metal to metalcore, prog and classic rock etc etc but most of that wouldn’t be obvious to the listener. 

Joe loves everything from Primus to Cephalic Carnage to Don Broco. Lewis is well known for his love affair with Megadeth and lifelong feud with Lars and recent obsession with Ja Rule. Ste is big into nu-metal and bands like Fear Factory and Rammstein as well as electronic music. I’m into all sorts from brutal death and grindcore to hip-hop. 

Thanks again for pumping out consistent caveman slams and all around sick music!

14. Anything at all you would like to say to our readers?

Joe - cheers for the support, keep moving forward, stay active in the pit and support your local scene 

Links:

YOUTUBE

FACEBOOK

INSTAGRAM

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RUDI GORGINGSUICIDE

DANIEL FRANCISCO ART

Ungraceful Interview 2024

Ungraceful is beefy, chunky, groovy riff filled 4th dimensional slam, with untouchably nasty vocals.  A 27 minute journey in a brutal dimension that is rather infectious and addictive.  This two-man group was nice enough to sit down and answer a few questions.  Enjoy!!

 

Thank you for taking the time to answer some questions!  Who do we have the pleasure of speaking with?

Ungraceful is a two-man project.  Jake writing and playing all instruments, Azeraté on the disgusting vocals.  Am I getting that right?  Any other members included in the process?  

Jake: “This is Jake and I’ve sent all your questions to Azerate and will include his answers too. And yes, we’re a 2-man show. “

Speaking of process, what is the Ungraceful writing and recording process like?

Jake: “Typically, I start by setting a tempo and developing a solid riff. Once that’s recorded, I let go mentally, allowing the tempo to drive the process as I continue jamming and see where things naturally evolve. Much of the writing involves thinking, ‘What would sound best next? How do I get there?’- always trying to stay a few steps ahead. 

The transitions between riffs are often more important than the riffs themselves, as I focus on hooks, building momentum and creating climactic moments. Slam is a straightforward genre, which makes it challenging to keep things interesting. Some songs have taken weeks to complete, while others come together in a single day. For example, when I wrote Schizophrenic Machete Assault, I set the tempo at 120 bpm, hit record, and the song’s structure was done in one take. Once you add drums, the creativity really starts to flow, and you often discover ways the guitar can be improved, leading to back-and-forth adjustments. It’s a long, evolving process.”

Azerate:  Unfortunately, we live a distance from each other.  As of now, Jake writes drums, then tracks guitar and bass, exports a demo and forwards it to me. I take time to listen and create a solid mental image before creating any phasing. In some instances I get into a trance state and usually will power through a note of words or phases in one take. As the technicality of the music progresses, with Jakes encouragement, I begin to experiment with laying techniques and variations of vocal styles.

Artificial Aberrations is such a crazy album, already mentioned on online forums and youtube comments as easily one of the best of last year.  Were those songs a long time in the making?  How do you guys feel like it was received?

Jake:  I believe I started writing the first song for that album about a month after the release of "There Is No God Here."

 It wasn’t until about a year and a half later that the full album came out, so it took quite a while. Originally, it was supposed to be another 7-song EP, like the first release. But after connecting with Azerate, we decided to write two brand-new tracks just for fun, unrelated to the EP. Those songs eventually became our 2022 single.

Alex from Inherited Suffering Records reached out after hearing the singles and wanted to plan our next release. 

He suggested we combine the singles with the tracks we had planned for the EP and turn it into a full album. This meant we had to re-record the EP tracks to match the tuning and mix of the singles, and that’s how the album officially came to life. 

Telekinetic DNA Removal was actually written about a week before the album’s release, and we included it to round the project out to nine songs. I knew we had something special but it was definitely still received better than I thought.

Azerate: The album was finished for sometime but revisited after we signed with Inherited Suffering.  In preparation of the release, the entire album was re-recorded and sounded vastly different from its predecessor. The successor is what you all know to be “Artificial Aberrations”. Revisiting them allowed for us to refine our writing and sounds, while pushing the boundaries of our ability. I (azerate), personally feel it was underestimated; which allowed for a greater impact than either of us expected.

I am continually grateful for Inherited Suffering for seeing the diamonds in the rough, and helping build awareness to the general masses. I can say this is one of the most unique projects I have had the pleasure of participating in. Jake is a masterful musician with unmatched skill and creativity.

How did working with Reality Fade come about, and what can you tell us about your upcoming 2nd full-length?  What are your fans in for?

Jake:   Again, we were lucky enough to have them reach out to us. As Azerate would tell me, it was a manifestation. I was talking for some time about wanting to possibly get in with Realityfade due to their community engagement and continued support of their bands also their drip is always sick as fuck. 

As for the next album, I would say there’s a bigger focus on riffs and technicality. I wanted to take all of the great aspects of Artificial Aberrations and turn it up to 11. All of our work so far has been written with the idea in mind that a good drummer could play it. I’ve basically thrown that idea out and now we’re just going full on demon mode. As of me writing this, I’d say we’re about 50% done with the album. 

Azerate:  After convening at the Bronx Zoo in New York city, we went to New Jersey and had our first live practice.  During this time, we had just received merch from Russia and began sharing posts about the releases online.  It was at this time we were contacted directly by Reality Fade. 

The new music is an evolution of the alien sonic captured in our music.  I believe it to be more visceral, suspenseful and off putting.  As we develop as artists and as people; our preferences and taste change too. While I feel that Artificial Aberrations had a more rigid concept in place, this 2nd album is more advanced yet naturally took form.  It’s primal, cold and calculated.  I believe Jake and I’s characters are expressed much more clearly this time around. 

Artificial Aberrations was the sound of us getting a foot in the door, and this next album is us comfortably taking the couch.

How did the name Ungraceful come about?

Jake: Ungraceful started as a social media tag I used for a long time, mainly for my art page on Instagram and a few entrepreneurial ventures that didn’t pan out. 

Over time, it evolved into a regular personal Instagram account, but the name stuck. When I began making music, I was brainstorming for a name, and after searching ‘Ungraceful’ on Spotify and not finding any other artists using it, I decided the ungraceful legacy will keep going. 

Can you name 3 bands that you take influence from?

Jake: I’ve been blasting a lot of Syphilectomy lately. Deprecation is another favorite—another two-man band, but those Russian morherfuckers know how to write a good slam. 

Speaking of, We’ve been compared to Abominable Putridity a few times, which I guess is a compliment. Maybe that’s why Alex reached out. who wouldn’t want to work with the discount version of their favorite brutal death metal bands?”

Azerate:  Traumatomy, Putrescent and Inpoexia

Can you name a few upcoming bands that we should check out?

Jake:  That’s a better question for Azerate cus I’m a mainstream poser.                             Azerate is a living almanac for the deepest, darkest underground caveman shit.  Also he’s in like 39 bands, check them all out. 

Azerate: Be on the look out for Surgical Abnormalization, Knife Fight, Sumijigoku, and any project featuring Hugo Ojeda.

What is something about you that fans of your music would be surprised to learn?

Jake:  I’m actually just three raccoons in a trench coat, it’s a miracle that we’ve actually made it this far. 

Azerate:  We are just like you. fans of some brutal music who decided to make our own.            To be honest we are both full of surprises, quirks and niches but above all else, Jake doesn’t know he’s black so I constantly call him ni**a to remind him  cause that’s my ni**a”

Thank you both so much again for the interview!!!  Cannot wait for more from you guys!

UNGRACEFUL BANDCAMP

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Invirulant Interview 2024

Invirulant, a Slam/Brutal Death Metal band from Arizona, have been at it for a short 2 years.  As individuals, they have been active in other bands for years before, but this really feels like the Slam boss that other iterations won't be able to touch.  The band's biggest criticism thus far has been songs that are "too long".  To that I would say, who cares.  I disagree, but honestly I know I listen to things much more attentively than the average person.  Yeah, I said it; I think if you are saying the songs are too long, they are over your head, or you just aren't listening!  There's way more to this than just repeated parts.  Listen deeper.

I was lucky enough to have the band answer some interview questions!!  Enjoy the interview!

YOU GUYS ARE ARGUABLY THE HARDEST WORKING BAND IN SLAM.  THERE ARE ALREADY SOME NOTICABLE DIFFERENCES FROM INDOMITABLE TO NECRO-THUGGIN.  I'M WONDERING JUST HOW DIFFERENT OF A RECORD WE MAY BE IN FOR?  MORE HIP HOP VIBES/SAMPLES?  MORE TECH DEATH PARTS? MORE SLAMS?

Our next full length will be a return to the debut stylistically but without just regurgitating IWS. We have plans for both a slower and a faster release so it just depends on which we work on first (or which gets done first). The differences in sound mainly are coming from our own learning of production and writing. The lessons we learn each time compound as we go forward so you will notice a lot of refinements in the upcoming releases to styles we introduced in Necrothuggin. Derek can you elaborate?

First off, Thank you. We really appreciate you taking notice of that. I work my ass for this band haha. It is a very different but not very different record... I would say it is a more condensed version of Invirulant... You see, Necrothuggin was an experiment with song structure and our songs got a bit long and people told us... god did they tell us.. So this next release has much shorter songs hahaha. I think our half of it is like just over 5 mins. The riffs are still 90% brainless and 10% impossible and the 10% impossible is laughable, but there is this vibe to the new stuff... its more fun, more bouncy, I guess more hardcore influenced and just fucking heavier. This stuff will definitely be fun to play live. If you want more details on the next release coming this is a breakdown of each songs inspiration.

"Clangkpilled" was written in typical invy fashion and its actually a pretty old idea... like sometime back in like 2023. It has a lot of my personal influences in it. I was showing my love for Dying Fetus, Despised Icon, and the obvious Between The Buried and Me. But I added new stuff some nods to like Terror and the hardcore genre. But we also go super into slam and just the most no brain we have ever been. 

"Psychosomatic Problem Solver" was written after I got done listening to "PeelingFlesh" on the garza podcast. I don't remember all of it but I know I was at work and I listened to that pod cast while finishing up and when I got home I just went into Derek mode. It is the only song so far in invy history to be 100% written by me with no input on structure, riffs, anything from the other guys. It felt like graduating slam school. haha IT IS BY FAR THE HEAVIEST THING TO DATE WE HAVE DONE.  

WITH ALL THE RECORDING AND COLLABING, CAN YOU SAY ONE THING YOU'VE LEARNED TO NOT DO IN THE NEXT PROCESS?  AND ONE THING TO DO MORE OF?

Great followup.

Don't do: force a song into a structure that it doesn't want.  We have learned to not force something to be longer than it has to be. When a song ends it ends, period.

Do more: let the songs write themselves; ask your producer EVERYTHING upfront so you can deliver what's necessary for them to do what you want--ie, we have learned that if we do accent vocals or gang vocals to send more than one track of each vocal so our producer has the ability to pan them out and create a wider stereo image.

DEREK, I'M WONDERING HOW IT WENT TRACKING YOUR STUFF IN STUDIO IN VEGAS?  WAS THIS FOR THE SPLIT COMING UP?  CAN WE HEAR ANYTHING MORE ABOUT IT?

Yeah I was tracking for an upcoming split coming out in a few months actually. We have a pretty intense schedule of releases this year. If it was our release I could give more details so I am sorry about that. I can say it is not on inherited and it is more of us being the 2nd band on the split than us running the show but I believe things are being announced sooner than later. It is an honor to work with this band. Their vocalist does a ft on one of our tracks and its just AWESOME.

ALSO ARE MATT'S PARTS WRITTEN SEPERATLY OR ADDED IN AFTER THE MAIN STRUCTURE IS THERE?  IM NOT SURE WHAT IM ASKING.  IS MATT BRAND NEW TO THE BAND?  HOW IS THAT ADDITION FITTING IF SO?

Matty is the newest member to the band. He joined after the debut was done and after I had

written most of what would become Necrothuggin. He is a very beloved member and really is just an awesome guy to be around. Insane guitarist too. As for Matty's parts... well... I write the main riff and then I just kinda play around in my DAW with what I think the 2nd guitar should do. I send him stuff and ask him for ideas but its always me playing it and asking "is this dope or this" and him going "dude thats the sickest shit ever hell yeah" so I just kinda go off of that. As for how Matty fits in as an addition to invy. Matty is very easy going and understands I write A LOT. I hope to one day be able to get him to collab more but it just hasn't happened yet. As I am answering this I am working on music that is 3 releases away from Necrothuggin haha. Basically its unfair to ask anyone to keep up with me because we all live separate from each other so it is hard to really collab in person. Triston is the only person local to me and he and I actually did collab on the next NEXT release. I cant fucking wait for people to hear that one. we leveled up even more than we did on this one.

BRANDON SHOBE IS LIKELY ONE OF YOUR FAVORITE VOCALIST'S INSPIRATIONS.  CAN WE HEAR MORE ABOUT HIS TECHNIQUES?  OG GUTTURAL, ANGRY TURKEY, PREDATORS, ETC....  WHAT ARE HIS FAVORITES?  WHAT ARE WE MISSING?

Thank you very much that's so kind and I love that you know my nomenclature. I can break them down for everyone:

Lazy OG: this is the bread and butter guttural of slam. think Cepho and Cerebral. Nauseating is doing it well too. its sort of a constricted burp that requires a lot of air flow and breathing control. my lazy og is mostly in the throat and I have been working on a modified lazy OG thatIi call the russian OG which has a lot more chirp to it. think eeggh sounds vs errgh sounds.

Angry Turkey: I love this style and the stupid name we gave it. It is a modified Travis Ryan style poly shape but projected from the throat like a guttural and not a scream. It's extremely loose in the throat and rattles the back of the tongue to create a throat clearing sound that is sustainable for vocals. The tongue is tucked into the lower corner of the jaw tight at the tip and allow the rest of the tongue to flap with the exhale.

Predators: I do Heinous Killings tongue trills on a normal guttural vocal. Think of trilling your R's in Spanish and just apply it to your guttural tone.  I notice that the higher register vocals sound better than the lower ones in recording context.  There's a lot of air moving on those and they usually only sound good in small bursts.  The epiglottal 'death rattle' predator that is essentially a whisper version of what the girl in the grudge does and while they sound cool in recorded music I don't consider them to be predators.  Those are closer to a cat purring or an exhaled version of a cricket vocal.

Main Guttural:  My main guttural is NOT lazy og and is actually more of a false chord scream that is shaped in the mouth to sound like a guttural.  Think of elysia or jfac lows but with a mouth shaping that you typically find in the lazy OG style. It's a very high pitched vocal but it is extremely loud and cuts through the mix. It does not layer well due to how overbearing the vocal can be.  My voice naturally is nasally and high pitched and so its easy for me to stay in that range and just focus on making the "click" of the guttural more prominent and not necessarily just lower in pitch. This is the voicing you hear me use for most of the verse sections of our songs.

CAN WE HEAR MORE ABOUT BRANDON'S ELECTRONIC MUSIC PROJECTS?  SAMPLING, VAPOR TRASH, ETC..

We could but why would you want to haha.  I have experimented a lot with harsh noise and distorted sounds for a while as different aliases doing mostly pop stuff like vaportrap to lofi. Everything I generally do, and this drives Derek crazy, carries this gritty analogue feeling.  There's always a static, a buzz, a hum, a glow and a glitch.  I've gotten less heavy handed with it in invy but you can still see a massive influence in, for example, the samples in Necrothuggin (which are mostly my own voice, just distorted).  I would like to give a s/o to all my futuregx.net family: Strolts, Dyz, Mabs and LSD are some of the dopest dudes I've ever worked with and are all insanely talented and I have had a lot of fun larping as an anime waifu music producer with them. you can check out Seasonal Waifu series by Empty Gestures on youtube for some lofi to exist to that I made around the time of Indomitable. It's a blend of sampled instruments, field sounds and random noises. The video is basically just me teaching myself video editing using old anime that I love. Lofi + anime should've made me a youtube bajillionaire but it didnt work. Still slaps though.

I MUST SAY AS AN OLDER PERSON, BEING A FAN OF THIS MUSIC, BUT SOMETIMES NOT KNOWING WHY OR HOW TO EXPLAIN IT TO PEOPLE, YOUR ANATOMY PODCAST INTERVIEWS WERE VERY RELATABLE AND I APPRECIATED HOW HONEST YOU ALL WERE.  IT'S COOL THAT YOUR MAIN WRITING PROCESS SEEMS TO BE BRANDON HUMMING PARTS FOR EVERYONE TO LEARN.  IM SURE THERE IS MORE TO IT, BUT HAS THIS CHANGED SINCE THE FULL LENGTH AND NOW NECROTHUGGIN?

Derek is taking a lot more of the writing on going forward. When we first started Indomitable we (Triston and Brandon) were essentially teaching Derek to slam. In Necrothuggin it was more of a collab and in the new stuff Derek has taken over almost entirely on the writing process. Typically now, he will circulate a riff in chat and we will all hum comments and he will crank out what we envision almost perfectly now. It's becoming uncanny but great for our pace and productivity. Derek can explain better.

I am honored that you took the time to watch both of those interviews. So thank you for that. Our writing process has grown and changed for sure. The debut was really me flying by the seat of my pants.  Shobe and I had started writing like 3 or 4 songs that would be on the debut before Triston got involved. He was a big help once we got him working with us. Dehumanized wouldn't be the track it is without Triston. WE WORKED SO HARD ON ANTHROPATHIC AND NO ONE LISTENS TO IT... it hurts our souls hahaha. But yes a lot of the writing process for the debut was us sending each other voice messages and joining discord Calls. If you didn't know we wrote the debut in 2020. So covid had us all at home. I think every song on the debut has something from Shobe saying "do dodo dooo" and me going "oh like this?" and him going "YEAH" and those parts are the ones that get the biggest reactions from the fans or the crowd. He WAS in Necrambulant so he knows what the audience wants I guess haha it helped make my job easier having a team like him and Triston. The debut was a very collaborative effort. So by the time I was writing Necrothuggin I had gotten a solid idea of how I play SLAM and a much better idea of what INVIRULANT is. NUMBER ONE THING: Invirulant has to feel like invirulant.  If it doesn't then it has to be changed till it does or it gets scrapped.  I have so SO many ideas that are basically full songs but they didn't make the cut.  So Necrothuggin was waaaaaay more of me having freedom, but also not having freedom.  Still we wrote Necrothuggin basically the same way but the guys had less input to give to me because I was better at my job.  They became more like a filter for completed ideas than someone writing riffs with me.  On occasion one of them would be on stream or something with me and we would get one of their ideas in the mix.  Triston has a whole ass riff in the death of slam haha.  So... on this NEXT RELEASE.  I had graduated even FURTHER.  To the point where one of the songs IS ENTIRELY WRITTEN BY ME.  I am so proud of myself.  I graduated from slam school :) But the basic formula for writing invy is Derek comes up with idea and we change it or work with it till it feels like invy. Or I just 360 no scope it and do a flawless victory and bam it's perfect first try.  That was a bunch of gamer talk for doing something perfectly.  Oddly enough the thing that we collab or work most on is the drums.  We don't have a drummer and so we all kind of put in our thoughts on what drums would best suit a section.


PLAYING ANY OF THE BIG FESTS THIS YEAR?

Something will be announced in Washington Soon.  Then the first annual Sonoran Slam Fest in Phoenix, the Desert Death Fest 2 in Tucson, and the Paul Benson Benefit in Scottsdale. We played CDF last year and while it was an incredible experience it was tremendous impact on us monetarily so unless we can tour to the show or get a high enough guarantee to cover travel, I don't know when we will play another one of those bigger fests.  But again... Chicago Domination Fest was a fucking incredible experience and we thank Miguel for the incredible opportunity.

WRITING FOR A NEW FULL LENGTH YET?

We are ALWAYS writing.  A full length (and more) may come sooner than you think.  Derek take it away.

We have plans for one... we have the title and everything but the long story short is the music industry has changed and dropping singles or EP's more frequently will get you a far better response because it keeps you on peoples minds. We dropped 2 singles then our debut and honestly numbers went up then just fell down... people listen to new stuff and then if they like it they stay if they don't they move on but if you are constantly dropping stuff you are constantly getting exposed to a new audience. Sadly the name of the game is Spotify Numbers. 

Facebook Follows. Instgram likes. Your online presence is a huge factor of if people take you seriously. So another full length is planned... but it'll probably be 2025 because we are fully booked this year on releases all the way to November.

ARE YOU GUYS FANS OF HIP HOP?  WHAT ARE SOME FAVORITE ARTISTS.

OH FUCK YEAH!!!  I listen to all music, all genres, and I love a few artists in particular for each and every genre. For all things Rap, Trap, Hip Hop ect: Waka Flocka Flame, Rae Sremmurd, French Montana, THE HOMIE TONY SLAM, XZARKHAN, Kanye West, Jay-Z, N.W.A AND ALL AFFILIATED MEMBERS, Deathgrips, Jarren Benton, Black Bear, Hopsin, Keith Ape, Rich Brian, OUTCAST, Tech N9ne, WU-TANG CLAN, Dr Dre, Snoop Dogg, 50 Cent, Eminem, D12,  LUDACRIS, Whiz Khalifa, Tyga, RUFF RYDERS, DMX, PINK GUY, Machine Gun Kelly, Mos Deff, NOTORIOUS B.I.G. Gucci Mane, Kendrick Lamar, Ashnikko, Doja Cat, Bhad Bhabie, Childish Gambino, Connor Price, Dax, Drake, Immortal Technique, Kitty Pryde, Lil Debbie, Kreyshawn, NF, Sludge Door, XREIGNOFTERRORX, RMR, Robin Gan, Lil Wayne, Lil Nas X, Jack Harlow, MOMO of TWICE, SXMPRA... and I think that is everyone... I scoured my computer and my spotify to find everything so If I left something out my bad. Triston?

Yes, we are all individually huge fans of all types of hip hop and rap music.  Triston loves Hopsin and Rich Brian. We are also all fans of electronic music in general. Triston recommends KOANsound, Dino Safari, Joe Ford, Seven Lions and Virtual Riot. what about you Shobe?

I am a huge fan of flocka. I got to party with him on my birthday one year and I absolutely loved it.  He is everything you think he is. everything from salute me or shoot me to flockavelli 1.5 is full of bangers. I also am a fan of Lil B and borrow a lot lyrically and stylistically from him.  he is a genius.

LETS TALK SAMPLES.  ARE THESE MAINLY JUST PULLED FROM FAVORITE MOVIES OR VIDEOS OR CULTURAL REFERENCES?  IS THERE MUCH MORE TO IT?  IS THERE A STORY OF A SAMPLE OR INTRO IDEA THAT ENDED UP NOT MAKING THE CUT?

Samples are kind of a weird subject.  Sometimes the clip will change the song and other times the song kind of dictates the clip.  Other times we will write entirely based off the clip. Derek?

When it comes to samples we had clips that we wanted to use on the debut but we were figuring out who we were and what was expected of us... when it came to Necrothuggin I just had some spots that I really wanted to convey imagery and create an ambience to the tracks.  But I had all the samples and stuff before we had lyrics and I don't know if everything really fit haha...  Invirulant is a zombie theme there is no really getting away from it, but at the same time we don't feel at home with the serious clips, so from the start we were like here's event horizon ha just kidding its trailer park boys.  We will continue to do as such... but we are leaning into more so using clips for media and property's that make us laugh.  Especially on all future releases... we got some fucking bangers for you all.  If you aren't crying laughing before the track hits we failed.

NEW SHIT WILL HAVE MORE OF A FOCUS ON LYRICS?  WHAT ARE THE LYRICAL THEMES?  IS THE WRITING MAINLY BRANDON?

Brandon handles all the lyrics primarily but we chime in with ideas and stuff.  I got a few lines in on the next NEXT release and I am stoked.   All I will say is "slaying fakes, making bank, reppin ckb" is my input.

I know we have a very strong influence from Flocka and what he created with his catchphrases, identity, and music.  We really are a slam, trap, beatdown, hybrid.  Shobe can tell you more.

For the first time ever we are writing lyrics in slam that are resembling what the words say.  I want to bridge the gap between brutal guttural and something you can sing along in your car to.  Adding hooks in cleaner shouted vocals, callouts and gang sections offers something to listeners that breaks up the gurgle.  I try to run the verses in my main guttural style and mix in cues for listeners to sing along like the word CLANGK. our lyrical theme takes a heavy dose of irony and self-awareness (as a slam fan) to appreciate.  We are super aware that we are cringe and it's hilarious to us.  We mock ourselves and the genre because we love this shit so much.  As far as lyrical themes go you will notice that the new stuff has a lot more freeness to it and is less medical thesaurus.  I will note however, that the first song in indomitable, slamophilic, ends with a rap section---so the influence has always been there but now we are less subtle about it.  I pull a lot of vocal themes from the hip hop side because yelling about how cool you are and how everyone else sucks is really funny and fun.  Compare that to corpse and gore worship which really isn't my thing.  I would rather rap and say generic tough guy shit like "If you're not with the clangk then you're fucking dead" which itself is a few layers of irony at its core. here are some samples I'm particularly proud of that I think sum up the general vibe: "I AM THE CLANGK GOD. THIS IS MY CLANGK SQUAD. PUT SLAM IN THE MOTHERFUCKING GRAVE. SLAMOPHILIC SICKNESS, CALL IT NO BRAIN. KNOCKED SLAM OFF ITS MOTHERFUCKING LEGS. HATE DEALER CKB, CLANGK CLANGK!" 

There's lots of inside jokes and easter eggs of clangk lore to reward listeners for reading into the lyrics--which makes for a song you can sing to yourself after its done playing.   That is going to be the thing that separates us the most: having memorable hooks and repeatable lyrics not just reeeebreereeeee (although I still do intentionally write very select scat sections with no lyrics that I just mark as 'utter no brainery' in the notes because in slam sometimes you just really DO need a bree).  An example would be "young clangk god in the slam game bussin/Masked up fella with an all white musket/on that og ree ree bree bree/put it on my clangk/OH WE OH WE OH OH [no brainery]" I will note that trying to actually say words has made the delivery SO much harder than it ever was without lyrics but I think the result is worth it.

The Death of $lam - 

Invy hit the planet
in a quest for freshness
abominations have been loosed
this time by the invy ckb
as the cities burn
and the worlds in ruins
as for those who survive
everybody purge the weak
we bring the purulence
our style's impure
this rotting flesh the new allure
when invy hit the planet
spread seed to full completion
fuck shit up like the weekend
necrothuggin clangk contagion
this is a call to violence on everything
no brain hard fists
taking aim right at the next thing we see
invyckb
a viral curse, a plague upon the land
the death of slam in pain
well beyond comprehension
invy we keep things violent
stay clangked and necrothuggin
cant hear you bitch just keep walkin
play it safe no face mask on
invy hit the planet
in a quest for freshness
abominations have been loosed
this time by the invy ckb
as the cities burn
and the worlds in ruins
as for those who survive
everybody purge the weak
invirulant shit so putrificent
clangked out death pit
step up and get lit
no brain bullshit
slamophiles represent
never am was
fuck that
get necked
we bring the purulence
our style's impure
this rotting flesh the new allure
when invy hit the planet
spread seed to full completion
fuck shit up like the weekend
necrothuggin clangk contagion
this is a call to violence on everything
no brain hard fists
taking aim right at the next thing we see
invyckb
a viral curse, a plague upon the land
the death of slam in pain
well beyond comprehension
invy we keep things violent
stay clangked and necrothuggin
cant hear you bitch just keep walkin
play it safe no face mask on

I'M VERY CURIOUS ON YOUR FAMILY LIVES.  I BELIEVE BRANDON HAS 4 KIDS?  SLAMDAD INDEED.  WHAT ARE OTHER MEMBER'S FAMILIES LIKE?  TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR MUSIC/WORK/LIFE BALANCE.

Triston got nothing going on worth sharing yet.  It's just him and Reggie against the world.

Brandon's life is super crazy. He has no balance but is working on it.  Luckily with the nature of this project we can all work at our own time.  As far as kids go--I have 5-year-old triplets and a 2 year old and they're all clones of me haha.  I love being a father it is the most important thing I have ever done and has made me a better man than I could have imagined.   Highly recommended, maybe not all at once though. Derek?

Oh man... well the economy was so bad that my parents needed me to move back in with them to just survive.  Arizona really got hit with this insane inflation in our housing market.  Their rent went from 900 to 1600 with nothing fixed, or added to the property.  We are all just happy to have a roof over our heads but it's bad in Havasu right now.  So no wife and kids for me.  I haven't had a gf since November 2021 and I don't know, I want to date but in general I'm so fucking busy with invy that I don't know if I could dedicate time to someone and they would have to be cool with how much money and time I invest into invy and that's not always something a partner understands or respects.  But yeah I live with my Mom and Step dad and our dogs beau and griffin.  I write and compose music in my room/lil studio and I work a delivery job to keep my family from being homeless.  It's nice seeing family all the time.  Sometimes we butt heads but I mean it's family and you have two men living under the same roof.  I just try to keep the peace and keep to myself.  But I greatly enjoy spending time with my mom.  Taking her out to get food, going and seeing movies, watching one piece together.  My dad died in 2010 and My mom isn't the healthiest person.  She has a long list of medical problems and I just am happy to have her around. to be honest balancing everything is pretty tough because I am actually mentally disabled and on social security disability for generalized anxiety disorder.  Before my parents needing me to move back in and help pay bills I had not worked since 2014.  I have a few other mental disabilities including being autistic... but I get by with a little help from my friends <3


IV'E HEARD YOUR STUFF REFERRED TO AS ZERO IQ SLAM, CAVEMAN SLAM (A TERM FIRST COINED BY BEN MARTINEZ, EARLY BASSIST OF CEREBRAL INCUBATION), OR BRAIN-DEAD MUSIC.  ARE THESE GENERALLY ACCEPTED?  HOW WOULD YOU GUYS DESCRIBE YOUR SOUND?

WE LOVE CEREBRAL INCUBATION SHOUT OUT TO THE HOMIE ANDREW <3  As far as the ZERO IQ CAVEMAN SLAM, we wear that NO BRAIN flag proudly. We are ANTI BRAIN. haha. the brain isnt just dumb or dead, we are completely lacking all braindom. but on a serious note, we embrace any kind of hilarious coined term (its good for marketing) in general we are just writing death metal that's slightly hard to subgenre so any of those descriptors are close enough to work.  As you've notice already we have put a particular focus on putting influences from hip hop and hardcore into this SBDM project.  We love caveman a lot.  Knuckle dragging, jaw extended, cross eyed, and still gangster.  So when we debuted our sound was described as ARIZONA SLAM GRIND, and we had a banner that said that and Shobe made one that said Necrothuggin and that's kind of where we are.  

We incorporate: Slam, Gore grind. Brutal Death, Hardcore, Beatdown, Trap, and more into our sound.  So with that information I would say we describe our sound as Invirulant.  A mesh of all of those genres.  We also like the nods to myspace slam.  That golden era 2000's vibe is a good descriptor too.  Like we don't really see or hear anything like us out there... which makes us stick out in both good and bad ways. Brutal death guys think we aren't brutal enough.  Slam guys don't think we are slam enough, hardcore guys don't even know we exist... deathcore... that's it... that's the joke.  But it's a process, you find your audience ya know and then you build your family.  We have some awesome Day 1 people in our camp and we welcome anyone and everyone in the CKB.

IT ALMOST FEELS LIKE THERE IS A NEW-GEN WAVE OF SLAM HAPPENING, LED BY THE LIKES OF INVIRULANT AND PEELINGFLESH.  SLAMS WITH A LOT OF HIP HOP GROOVE AND INFLUENCE.  WOULD YOU AGREE WITH THIS AND WILL WE SEE EVEN MORE GENRE BLENDING?

We are just a part of the spectrum.  Slam has always had a lot of groove and hip hop influences.  It's definitely becoming more apparent in the new stuff as more hardcore and deathcore bands adopt slam.  Now the influences are much more prominent and up front.  The rise of hardcore is also a huge reason why we see more of the influence seeping into all other forms of metal, slam included.  look I just said I love cerebral... BUT I LOVE PEELINGFLESH AS WELL.  To even be in the same conversation as them is awesome.  I had already written the debut fully when I first heard PF but they were definitely a huge influence on me.  Not in like riffs or anything but mindset.  I could blend hardcore, and rap, and all of these things and make BANGERS.

Because to us a Banger is a banger.  We don't care what genre it is.  K pop, Trap, Slam, Hardcore. You know when a track fucks and when it doesn't.  But to answer your question.  We all fully agree that genre blending is happening.  My favorite thing right now is hardcore kids have adopted Slam and have taken it back for the youth culture and Slam is in a better place right now than it ever has been with tons of new bands and people coming out like Desoectomy, PeelingFlesh, Snuffed on Sight.  We love the fresh blood and the fresh takes on something that became so by the numbers and boring. By the way, if you haven't heard yet Orbital Gate (Evan Van Dyne) just dropped a track with an actual rap artist called Sludge Gate and it has HEAVILY influenced how I see Invirulant in the future.  This next release is a pretty straight forward release but the one after... we show our next stage in evolution.

DO YOU THINK WAKA HAS HEARD THE COVER?

I fucking hope so. I don't know if he has cause he probably would've reached out cause we know Flocka don't fuck with no weak shit. We were reached out to by Flockas's team on instagram I believe and they told us that they would get it to him.  But we have had no direct communication as far as I know. But in general everyone who matters has loved the cover and said nothing but nice things.  OUR DREAM WAS TO GET FLOCKA TO FEAT AND DO A FULL ON NEW VERSE... but maybe that can happen in the future who knows. Flocka is dropping heaters again after being out of the game for a while.  It would be the BEST surprise for him to hear our tribute to him.

I THINK I RECALL DEREK BEING A HUGE AKIRA TORIYAMA FAN?  MY CONDOLENCES ON THE LOSS OF ONE OF YOUR HEROS!  CAN YOU POINT PEOPLE TOWARDS ANYONE OR ANYTHING SIMILAIR TO HELP THEM MAYBE STEP INTO THAT WORLD, IF THEY HAVE NEVER BEEN INTO DBZ?

Yes I am a huge anime fan and that all started with Dragon Ball Z.  I completely broke down at work when I found out on March 8th That Toriyama-San had left us...  So thank you for your condolences.  I read some wonderful things said by his friends and colleagues including the VA of Goku, and Oda the mangaka of one piece.  The entire world has come to a stop it seems.  Toriyama was more than DBZ.  He worked on video games, and a few series.  His influence touches every corner of the earth.  Every media.  He brought anime to the world in a way that no manga or anime had done before.  He set the stage for everyone after him.

Nothing will compare to Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z.  If you want to get into anime and you like seeing people fight through adversity, lose, get stronger, never give up, and conquer all, then watch dragon ball z.  If you want to know the orgins of Goku and where it all started watch Dragon Ball.  I personally prefer Dragon Ball over Z but that's because it is just a more comfy show.  I am a huge slice of life fan.  Also you watch Goku in real time mature, grow up and find himself.  So go on the Mystical Journey and gather the 7 magic balls to make your wish come true.  With nothing but love and the utmost respect, Rest in peace Toriyama san.

TRISTON IS A SELF-PROCLAIMED HIPPIE, BLUEGRASS LOVING, CLASSICAL GUITAR TRAINED SLAM EXPERT!  WHO IS THE BEST SLAM BAND OF ALL TIME?  WHO PIONEERED THE STYLE?  WHO IS DOING IT BEST?

Don't forget left handed. LOL The best slam band of all time is an INSANE question.  It's hard to pinpoint who pioneered "slam" a lot of people would probably point to the same things everyone is used to but I think it matters what your perspective is.  It's safe to say most people would point to Suffocation or Devourment, maybe Epicardiectomy iykyk. as far as who is the best?  Fuck me! That's the most difficult question.  If i had to be forced though to listen to one album forever it would be Gravitational Distortion.  I have to give a shout out to my boys in PF and Desoectomy. It's unfortunate, but like EDM most of the best underground deep shit doesn't last and just disappears after a release or two--stuff like Human Cordyceps and Internal Devour so it's important to support it while it's there.

Thank you so much to Invirulant for answering these questions so thoughtfully!  Check out the links below!

INVIRULANT

INHERITED SUFFERING RECORDS

SLUDGE GATE

FUTUREGX

EMPTY GESTURES - SEASONAL WAIFU VOL. 1

DRAGONBALL Z

GRAVITATIONAL DISTORTION