Interview with Jonathan Huber of Pathology - 2011

Shortly after Jonathan Huber was recruited as new vocalist of Pathology back in 2011, I conducted the following interview with him:

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Cerebral Reviewment-  First of all, thanks a lot for doing this. I hope your recovery is going smoothly. For those who don’t know, would you mind saying how you were injured, causing you to miss the current tour?

Jonathan Huber-  No problem. I was severely injured while riding my bmx bike at my homies trails a couple hours from my hometown. I broke my leg in 4 places. 3 full breaks & 1 small fracture. No compound fractures but def was the worst pain I’ve ever experienced in my life. Let alone the worst crash I have ever had in my 16 years of riding bmx.

CR-  Congratulations on your spot in Pathology! I’m sure it has been a very rewarding experience thus far. Anything you can tell us about the band and how you fit in with them?

JH-  Thank you. I am def still siked on being in this band. I enjoy playing & hanging out with my bandmates Kevin, Oscar, Tim, & Dave. It still is very surreal being apart of this band. Seeing how I was a fan on theirs since the time of the release of “Age Of Onset”. I have always wanted to be in a brutal death metal band. Doing guttural vocals & what not. So, it literally is a dream come true to be doing it. Let alone I have to thank my bandmates for allowing me to become a part of this band. I feel that I fit very well with them. We all get along great & love to play music & get rowdy. I came from the hardcore scene which is much different than metal but bring a live element that most metal frontman lack. So, if you are curious I suggest you come out to a Pathology show/tour soon ! ! ! ! !

CR-  As we all know, you missed this last tour and were replaced by the one and only Shawn Whitaker. Can you tell us of any future touring plans? Are you excited to get back on the road?

JH-  I def will be back out on the road once I can walk on my own & perform to my highest ability. I feel that as a frontman/vocalist I need to always be at my best. For the crowd/fans/promoters as well as my bandmates & myself. I love playing in this band. Like I have already stated. I hope to be back before the end of the year. It’s really out of my hands right now. My injury was very serious & will take time to heal properly. I will NOT rush it or hinder my ability to walk or do the things I love. But, rest assured I will be back.


CR-  When on tour, do you do any specific things to help your voice? Do you eat or drink certain things to keep it going night after night?

JH-  Well, first of all I don’t smoke. I believe that your voice is a gift & can be taken away at anytime. If, you don’t take care of it. I drink a lot of teas & sports drinks. I drink room temperature water before playing. Along with vocal warms ups before we play. I do humming exercises & do yelps & grunts to warm up my vocal chords. It seems to help & I take my job very seriously. Although, I do hate the way my voice sounds. So, I’m always looking to become better at what I do.



CR-  Can you tell us about the lyrics on Awaken To The Suffering?  What is your opinion on lyricism in general for this genre of music?

JH-  I think that in this style of music, especially brutal death metal there’s too much of the “GORE” element. I understand & respect the bands that do it well. As well as started this genre of metal. However, I can’t write lyrics like that & not sound cheesy. The lyrics to “Awaken To The Suffering” are straight forward lyrics that discuss my/our/your issues with government, religious, & social issues that plagued our everyday lives. While they have meaning & substance to them doesn’t mean they aren’t pissed or angry by any means. I still wanted them to be very dark & morbid but still have something behind them. It’s something that I read & research a lot about & feel it needs more attention. So, what better way to convey a message than through music.

CR-  The album has countless places where you seem to have inhuman lung capacity as well as guttural range. Have you been practicing different vocal styles for Pathology?

JH-  Like I stated prior I hate my voice/vocals. Always have & always will. But, I have been toying with the “guttural” style of vocals for a couple years now & am always trying to become better. While growing up in the hardcore scene all I knew was push & be loud. So, I take that into trying to make inhuman, putrid, & disgusting vocals. I can only hope people will dig it. I am no Matti Way by any means & replacing him is not easy or something I am proud of doing. I am honored everyday to be following in a brutal death metal legends shoes. I just hope I can be that good one day.

CR-  How was it to work with great vocalists such as A.J. Magana and Obie Flett?  Did they have any instructions to follow or were they free to do as they pleased?

JH-  I had good ideas where I wanted them to do their guest vocal parts on the album. I gave them some verses & let them run with it. I have full confidence in their abilities as vocalist & amazing ones at that.  We were just stoked to have them on the album.

CR-  Is the band pleased with all aspects of how the album turned out?

JH-  I love it. Daniel Castleman is a amazing producer & did a awesome job on it. Let alone is a rad dude too. This was his first time working with a guttural band so it was different for him but he got the idea & killed it.

CR-  Who are some of you influences vocally?

JH-  Def a lot to list.  I could go on for hours.  Anyone that is burly, gnarly, putrid, pissed, inhuman, disgusting, & guttural.  That about sums it up.

CR-  What are your favorite kinds of music to listen to?

JH-  I literally listen to about everything. Lately I’ve been into old country, punk rock, & new wave heavily. It always seems to be changing throughout the year. Just depends on how I am feeling at the time.

CR-  What are some of your all-time favorite foods?

JH-  Anything Seafood.

CR-  Thanks again man! Get well soon!


JH-  No problem. Pick up the new album out now on Victory Records ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

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Pathology- Awaken To The Suffering - 2011 Victory Records

Considering the constant evolving state of electronics and what some would call increasing success of modern day audio engineering, it has become rare to hear bands come out with raw, unique sounding records that are packed with feeling and the flaws are audible and appreciated.  It is far more common to have a band go into a studio and have the engineer clean everything up and make them sound like the perfect musicians they are not.  Here, however, Pathology manage to get a clean, crisp sound while still having their passion and talent shine through.  The best of both worlds?  Maybe.

The first track on this album, "Dissected by Righteousness" wastes no time at all.  It immediately goes right into a very groovy, brutal, blasting riff.  Next we are lead to the first of this album’s brutally catchy slams in which we find proof of Jonathan Huber’s super-human, or super-something, guttural abilities.  Don’t worry, don’t rewind, these are showcased throughout Awaken To The Suffering’s entirety.
A creative but repetitive riff with a harmonic struck over and over again seems to go on forever and then stop briefly and return.  Then my favorite part of this song, a super awesome and surprising melodic riff is repeated, creating an amazingly haunting atmosphere, ending just in time for a perfectly placed and beautifully played guitar solo.

Now, if you are following along with the correct album and song, the last twenty seconds of this song, you know, the part right after you thought it was ending, will blow your mind, and crush your skull.  All while perfectly wrapping things up.



"Ingestion of Creation" plays back and forth with brutal ‘marching’ riffs.  Reminds me a lot of Visceral Disgorge.  Hopefully though it will remind the Slam/Brutal Death community that it is possible, and very rewarding, to insert insanely creative guitar parts to this genre.   Very refreshing.
At about one minute in, the reality of intense and fun songwriting is slammed back into the listener.  Everything about this is made much more disgusting and fun by the vocals.

"Hostility Towards Conformity" starts with more of what I am really loving about this record, huge, melodic riffs that create so much atmosphere and feeling.  Only a few key notes are changed to switch this up to something that sounds so different but really is not before it all returns to that main atmospheric riff that this track is built around.  Time signatures are played with and all instruments are very nicely balanced and blended together.  This is also one of the few instances in life that a fade out seems fitting.
"Media Consumption" is a short straightforward track where the drums keeps things pounding forward and the vocals get creative and crazy.   Then we have guitar solo number two which is, yet again, great.  Following that is this "breakdown" that has everyone up in arms.  It is really not that hard to enjoy, and if you are one of many people saying how much it sucks, I bet you are bobbing your head to it at the same time.  Loosen up and enjoy yourself.
"Society’s Desolation" starts with precise hammer-on pull-off guitar work and a stop and go pounding feel that begs to be resolved.  I wouldn’t really say that it ever is resolved, it just flows so nicely into the next blasting sections that you forget about it.  Due to the truly amazing song writing though, it will be back.

Obie Flett graces this track with his literally monster-sounding gutturals and it is nice that you can actually tell when it is him.  The most impressive part though, vocally, is Huber’s incredible lung capacity displayed at the end of this track.
Following a short, simple instrumental track is “A Perverse Existence” which has my favorite intro thus far.   Fast, blasting buildup with Dave Astor once again showing his creative excellence on the drums.  More time changes will have your head spinning before a slower slam ended by Huber’s reoccurring mid-range “bla”, which I absolutely love.  There is also a really cool sliding riff to end this track.

"Humanity’s Cesspool" Will force you to bob your head along with its chuggy, groovy parts.   Some far-in-the-distance yells are heard and this track starts having a weird, dark, almost black metal feel.   It’s awesome.  Another guitar solo and we are off and running with more melodic, full of emotion riffing, only to end with slammier versions of the same riffs.  This track does an awesome job of repeating all the right things in all the right ways.
"Festering in Filth" starts very fast and does not slow down until A.J. Magana says so.  Possibly my favorite part of this album starts at 1:15 and changes the whole mood of the track.
Then a solo that makes you feel like you are riding a horse brings in “Opposing Globalization”.  This intro seems very out of place until, of course, it’s return at the end of the song.

Pathology rerecorded the song “Emesis”, previously on their 2009 album “Age of Onset”.  This is proof that this band makes great songwriting sound easy.  Amazing, flowing transitions from every instrument.

"Awaken To The Suffering" ends beautifully with"Revocation of Earth", a soft, pretty display of Kevin Schwartz’s guitar mastery.  As if the solos were not enough.  Kevin Schwartz and Tim Tiszczenko both do an amazing job on this whole album.  Oscar Ramirez also puts out his share of brutal riffs and Dave Astor is his usual amazing self.  Jonathan Huber has impressive range, several different vocal styles and can hold a note/gurgle/burp longer than most.

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