Ahhhh yes that familiar yet horrible feeling you get when eating your fellow human turns you on! "Abhorrent Nexus of Sexual Cannibalism" was released about a week ago, I think. I'm not sure, but I have been jamming the EP nonstop, and the days are blending together. If you want gross, beefy, grindy, slimy slams, then you will love this. Coming in at just over 10 minutes, there is no excuse to sleep on this release. You will thank me. Everything is tight but just loose enough in the groove. The stand out here for me is the vocals. Just wonderful, inhuman sounds that are varied and do not get boring. Luckily, Gnawing vocalist, Taylor, was kind enough to answer some quick questions!
CEREBRAL REVIEWMENT - Hello! Who are we talking to and what is your role in the band?
TAYLOR - Taylor Hoffman, vocalist and founding member of Gnawing.
Can you tell us the origin story of Gnawing? and who all of the members are?
The idea of Gnawing came to me some time earlier last year “2024”. It was originally a place for me to show case/practice experimental vocal styles. However late “2024” I reached out to one of my guitar homies “Manny Cavillo, Hankpeng” and we started to create tracks I believed could be more than just Internet releases.
My good friend Tony Bourne “drummer” joined the team and enlisted the help of his friend Eric Blackcloud “guitar”. Without giving away all of our upcoming secrets this currently brings us up to date with where we are now in the beginning of 2025.
3- Abhorrent Nexus Of Sexual Cannibalism is fucking amazing! What can you say about the band's writing process? It feels refreshingly original!
Thank you so much we are so glad you dig it.
For the instruments on our debut ep I have to give the homie Manny (HATRED6) all the credit. He has been a MASSIVE help and driving force when it comes to helping create the sound for ANSC ep. I usually like to track my vocal takes at home and send them to my good friend Mitchel Morrison (THE RAZOR CRYPT) who then helps me edit the vocal tracks and pick the best takes to use.
Gnawing is blessed to have many talented individuals who are willing to contribute when it comes to creativity. Huge ups to all my boys involved. Love you guys.
Who did the artwork?
Azizblvckstry did the art for the debut ep and another ep we have in the vault. Have always loved his art. Aziz is extremely professional and time efficient.
My good friend Musthafa.8.Kemal did our logo and does all our letter tittle work, big ups to these talented artists.
What does the future look like for you guys?
I am very excited for Gnawing’s future. We have a handful of shows that will be announced soon, and music releases planned through out the year “2025”.
The goal for 2025 is 4 ep releases and a few singles amongst a few other things I’d like to still keep secret.
Thank you Taylor and we can't wait for more Gnawing!
Cardiomyotomy, also known as Heller's cardiomyotomy, is a surgical procedure that treats achalasia by cutting the muscles of the lower esophageal sphincter (LES) to improve the movement of food and liquids through the esophagus into the stomach. Achalasia is a condition in which the LES doesn't relax, preventing food and fluid from passing into the stomach.
Cardiomyotomy is also the name of a one-man, self-proclaimed Brutal/Guttural/Slamdown project out of Jakarta, Indonesia. Sony Suhendrik was nice enough to sit down and answer a few questions! Check it out below!!
What is your name? How old are you?
- My name is Sony Suhendrik, I am 27 years old
How did Cardiomyotomy begin? What does that name mean?
- This started when I once made a one man goregrind solo project called "CONTOLEKTOMY", then I got several people to be part of the band, then they suggested changing the name, then the band was filled with full members and I decided to change it to "CARDIOMYOTOMY" - based on what I read, Cardiomyotomy is an operation for achalasia of the cardia, a condition in which the muscle in the lower oesophagus fails to relax and therefore hinders the passage of food and fluid into the stomach. - and this is a cool name, no one has used it yet, that's why I used that name for my band
Who are some bands that influence you?
- Some of the bands that influenced me in making more for CARDIOMYOTOMY are DEVOURMENT, CEPHALOTRIPSY, ABOMINABLE PUTRIDITY, SOILS OF FATE, EPICARDIECTOMY, CEREBRAL INCUBATION, and many more
Is Cardiomyotomy signed to Gattack Records? Pathologically Explicit?
- Last year, the CARDIOMYOTOMY EP was released by Mr. Fernando, Pathologically Explicit Recordings, then this year I plan to release 2 new fresh songs via my friend's label, we are in the same city, and it aims to support my friend's label too, and it's called GATTACK RECORDS
"Euphoric Of Abnormal Horde" is so groovy. Is this all written by you and then the members of the band learn the parts? Can you explain your process a little bit?
- Yes, that's right, I write all the music, then my friends follow the songs I wrote, that's how my band works
Indonesia has been known for years to have some of the sickest Brutal Death Metal bands. Is Slam having a take-over there currently like it is here in the states?
- I don't think so, here there is a very good balance between Slam Death Metal and Brutal Death Metal, of course I also like a lot of BDM bands
What are a few upcoming Indonesian slam bands we should watch for?
- there are several bands that I think are very good, BLEDOS VECTOMY, my friend's band, they combine SLAM and HIP HOP, then there is TEBAS, I know them, their album was released earlier this year and it's great, Burp's vocals are like CEPHALOTRIPSY, honestly, I really strict in terms of choosing vocals, I prefer bands that use the EXHALE technique because it is more challenging and difficult, I am also a user of the EXHALE technique
Who did the artwork for the album?
- Aziz Blckstry, in my opinion, he is a great album cover artist, I love his work
How did you get into this kind of music? What are some of your other passions?
- At first I only liked heavy metal bands, like Linkin Park, Avenged Sevenfold, Deftones, then Deathcore, but now I don't really like deathcore, then I explored other music and I entered the SLAM, BDM and GORE GRIND scene, I really like it , and snare sound, guttural burp vocals, groovy guitar part, blast beat, I really like it - I also like other genres such as Shoegaze (Cocteau Twins, Slowdive), Pop/Britpop (The Smiths), Slow/Prog Rock (Dream Theater, Yngwie Malmsteen, Crimson Glory), Thrash Metal (Slayer, Megadeth), Death Metal (Cannibal Corpse, Dying Fetus, Deicide, Massacre, 200 Stab Wounds, Blood Incantation, Necrot) and many more
Is more music coming? Any tours coming soon?
- yes, I plan to make material that leads to old school SLAM such as Devourment, New Wave Old School Slam - I don't have any tour plans yet, just playing domestically, because I'm still adjusting, I now have to take on guitar and vocals because I don't have full members anymore, so it's possible that my next musical material will be adjusted to make it easier to play guitar and vocals, this band has been officially running as a One Man Band for now
Thank you so much for taking the time to answer these questions!
- You're Welcome! Salute! Anything you'd like to say to your fans?
- I love & respect all of you music listeners, especially SLAM, BDM, and Death Metal, I will always accept your criticism and suggestions, long live DEATH METAL, I hope you are always healthy and united to fellow metalheads! \m/ , Thank you!
