Azerate Nakamura Interview 2025

Azerate has been taking the brutal death / slam world by storm with his insane and inhuman vocals.  Learn more below!

CEREBRAL REVIEWMENT:

Azerate, is that your name?  what do you go by?

AZERATE NAKAMURA:

yes my name is Azerate Nakamura 

How old are you and where do you live?

I am 34 and im originally from NY currently in california 

How did you first get into extreme music?

I started listening to blackmetal and pornogrind in sixth grade. a few older girls i was friends with put me on Torsofuck and exposed me to limewire and isohunt. the rest is history.  i was in a blackened thrash project in sixth grade it was my first band. we were called Hellion. 

I know you are also an emcee correct?  Has hip hop always been a part of your life?

Yes I am. My mom actually has history as an emcee. I took after her. I started rapping and producing at age nine on cassette tapes.  I begin learning about Schumanns Resonance and radionics in my freshman year and tried applying that to my music as well.

From social media I get the feeling that you are a spiritual person.  Could you talk a little about that?

Everything is spiritual to me and it is everything I do is devoted to my practices yes.  I have studied alchemy and the occult for many years.  I was raised in christian cult and the indoctrination ran deep.  I became strongly versed in sciences and discovered alchemy and the allegory of spiritual purification in junior high school.  Observing the patterns and symbolism over and over, my life became horrifyingly responsive to everything I thought and said.  I drove into all things taboo before long.  It started a journey of inner exploration and soul searching before discovering witchcraft and luciferianism and both of these practices illuminated me.  They saved my life. My eyes were opened to a different side of being. 

I have been known to hit a endo-keo spin and then track stand until the light turns green.  Why is your bike so tall?  Have you been riding fixed gear for a long time?

You are a savage.  That takes a remarkable amount of skill. 

I ride a tall bike for a lot of reason but being able to see so far ahead changes everything especially when you ride brakeless.  It gives me some peace of mind because prior to it’s construction, I was in a freak accident on a vintage time trial pursuit and it changed my life. Believe it or not, I actually feel a lot safer on the tall bike.  It’s exhilarating and extremely heightening of the senses.  I lost a lot of confidence after getting hurt and it’s definitely helped me overcome a lot of personal barriers.  I’m working on locking some of my tricks in on it.  It’s definitely a challenge.  To say it’s rewarding is an understatement.  I've been riding fixed over 20 years and it’s my preferred mode of transportation. 

Can you list all of your past bands?

past bands would be 

Hellion

The Veil Thinning

Alchemia Hospital 

Mindless Corruption 

Oculus

Shapeshifting 

Chapel of Autumn

Eternal Turtle 

Cinnabar Island 

Lakeborn

Malenia

Cephalophore

Darxifer

and a few others

live vocals for Esophagus 

Can you list all of your current active projects you are part of?

present bands

Ungraceful

Surgical Abnormalization

Messmer the Impaler 

Sumijigoku

Tomb of Scabs

Vid Flumina Sotra Facula

Human Ivory

Acharayim

1diazidocarbamoyl5azidotetrazole (c2N14)

Putred Incision

Dilatation 

Fetters

Paimon

Shalicu

Wakaba

Radiologist 

Silver Coil

and a few more i cannot mention at this time 

It must be so hard to keep a sense of balance with so many projects and things going on?  On top of a job or different gigs?!  Any tips for people out there trying to juggle many things at once?

I had a pretty good handle on it but the tour kinda messed up my routine a bit so I’ve been making some changes.  It’s important to know your own limits.  People who tend to be selfless suffer in different ways from those who are more selfish.  

   Musically, I’d like to say my turn around is pretty quick but technology issues typically makes things a little less convenient than anything else.  I try to stay organized, naming and dating things as you would in the kitchen or laboratory.  I do a lot outside of music.  The only time living my dreams isn’t working for me is when I neglect myself and my basic needs.  I think the best bit of information I could offer anyone is “to take care of yourself first and your loved ones and foremost. have regular, healthy conversation with yourself and ask yourself questions. Prioritize what’s important and question everything especially in a group setting with a shared goal.  Create realistic deadlines and goals that you know you can and will meet.  Be kinder to yourself.  Understand that occurrences unseen are a normalcy when we seek out to do anything.  Otherwise, have no expectation.  Take nothing personally.  Keep learning!  Things tend to get hard right before you meet a goal.  Never give up!  Keep your word and always follow through! 

You do a good amount of features correct?  How do those usually go?  Are bands seeking you out or are you contacting bands you’d like to work with?  Then they send you the song and you record vocals at home?

I do quit a bit.  I’d say that’s pretty balanced.  But these days a lot more people are reaching out to me than me to them and I feel a sense of accomplishment from that.  Maybe five are so years ago I was more into directly contacting bands and artist I grew up listening to.  Even now sometimes I shoot my shot and get shot down or left on read.  It’s become easier to accept and it took me a while to get here.  As I became more recently established, I have become more selective about approaching other artists.  I’ve been contacted by quit a few extremely talented musicians to feature on their material or to even start a new project and it’s beyond flattering.  I’m honored to work with all the people I’ve had the pleasure of creating with thus far.  Everyone has taught me so much in ways they could never understand.  Not to mention the praise I receive from them and their individual fan bases.  It fuels so much inspiration to keep going. 

Can you tell us your favorite vocalists?

I love a lot of different vocalist for a lot of different reasons

my top five are

-deep gurgle of Surgical Abnormalization 

-BT of Knifefight

-Richard original vocalist  of FLESH

-Hugo Ojeda of the original Esophagus 

-Anon of Induced and Bleeding

I am also a big fan of Haruka, Larry, Angel, Don, Skuta and WHS

Are you totally self taught or did you have some mentors?  Who would you say helped you?

My exhale guttural style is self taught as well as my grindcore croaking and gurgles. 

I learned inhales recently and got some really good pointers from Deep Gurgle, Parasitic Infection, Victor of deformed Esophagus, Hugo Ojeda, and a few undiscovered fans who are extremely talented and coming to establish themselves in the community as well.  I learned 3 different predator techniques this year.  Two exhaled one inhaled.  Currently trying to master them and have been developing my own way of implementing my style into using them.

You took over vocal duties for Esophagus on a tour. How did this come about? What was that experience like?

Around this time last year, I initially made contact with Victor.  They were preparing for a US tour and getting ready to announce a new single.  We talked on Instagram for a little while after I have responded to a few story posts. One was an inquiry about vocalists and since it was one of my favorite bands, of course I responded immediately.  I was asked to do a vocal cover of one of their songs which I did and sent to him. 

I seemed to get pretty good feedback on it then I was sent an instrumental and asked to record over that.  I was urged to sound monstrous.  I said I wasn’t confident in my ability to do the predator vocal sound and he told me that that’s OK because it isn’t necessary. 

I did my best and sent the recording, I wasn’t very proud of it, and he seemed to be happy with it and asked me how I felt about performing with them live.  Of course I was ecstatic. within a few weeks time, I was given a set list of songs to learn and rehearse.  Leading up to us meeting in Houston these songs would be the only songs I listen to for three months.

In March, we met up at the Gulf Coast death fest 3.  We had a great time but the initial tour that was set up was canceled and we only got to play at the festival.  I definitely felt bad for the guys because they had come all the way out from Chile so I in communication with a few other people begin trying to plan a West Coast tour for them closer to the end of summer. 

Little had I known a very prominent contact put us in line to travel in Mexico.  I also didn’t know that the guitarist of Esophagus, Mauro, was a big fan of Ungraceful, and was encouraging Victor to give me a shot on the tour.  I was weary and confused because I didn’t know what had happened with Hugo and every time I would ask questions it seemed to trigger a lot of tension.  I wanted to initially reach out to Hugo and inquire directly, but I was advised from the drummer to avoid him at all costs so far as to block him.   But I didn’t, and then the whirlwind of confused fans and unnecessary comments.  I received quite a bit of passive support from Hugo and one of his bands when we started sharing videos of practice and performances in Houston.  Likes on posts and stories.  Still I had a lot of pressure on myself because I knew they were big shoes to fill and to add to that stress, a lot of the fans were talking.  Despite Victor encouraging me not to do predator vocals I push to do them to give the fans what they wanted.  

Being on tour is an amazing and yet horrifying feeling.  It is truly a love labor.  There is an immense amount of uncertainty that is as thrilling as it is stressful.  We got to travel to so many beautiful places and we had the privilege of meeting so many beautiful and diehard fans.  I have been all over the United States, but it was my first time leaving the country.  MEXICO IS INCREDIBLE and we got so much love when we were there.  It was quite an eye-opening experience.  I ultimately had to drop out of the tour, as finances became an issue, and I had to be concerned for the well-being of myself and my partner, who was basically managing everything by the time we met up with the rest of the band.  What started off great quickly turned into a nightmare, and we realized that we were being taken advantage of, money was being kept and withheld from us as well as important information.  There was not a level of mutual respect, which made it difficult to remain on the same page with the drummer.  The tour was unorganized and very unprofessional.   There were many things promised prior that did not happen.  We were not paid for anything and we were lied to about the band getting paid for shows.  Language barriers. The list goes on.  We lost majority of our savings in the process.  But even still, meeting so many lovely people. Discovering new friends and family is unmatched and my heart swells for the bonds we made along the way. 

Can you tell us anything about Hugo/Esophagus “fallout” if it’s even that kind of thing?  Are band mates on good terms?  

There isn’t much to say. Victor was why Hugo left. Mauro stayed with Victor and was trying to see things through.  But I felt as if Victor should have started something new instead of trying to take the band from Hugo.  Seemed spiteful.  Ultimately, like most of us, I think Hugo inspired Victor and Victor wanted to be recognized in that same way.  As far as I am concerned Hugo doesn’t speak to either of them.  After what i experienced, I can see why. 

What is your relationship with Esophagus like?

We do not speak. I am only associated with Hugo, the real Esophagus.

Which of your many many projects are you MOST excited about and focused on currently?

They are all exciting for their own reasons.  It is difficult to say.  I think the most anticipation I have for releasing a project is a secret one I recorded almost four years ago with Larry Wang. Tracked 12 songs in two days.  That and the much anticipated return of Paimon. 

Do you have one favorite band?

Ungraceful before I joined lol

Induced or Vile Discectomy 

Do you have a favorite food or kind of food?

inarizushi, 

taro shashu, 

blue lotus, lavender and butterfly pea tea 

Can you name 3 pros and 3 cons of touring?

--3 pros--

CONNECTION 

Great way to meet your tribe, network, good exposure, helps develop people skills. 

FOOD AND TRAVEL

I fell in love with so many new things and places. 

CONFIDENCE

It will inspire you to strive for more. It makes it feel as if nothing is out of reach. Great for when you are chasing what you love. 

--3 cons--

HYGIENE AND HEALTH

It’s hard to keep clean and to eat right. Not sleeping and being in public settings has its own list of concerns. I learned of my privilege very quickly. 

DISCONNECTION

Sometimes people you think you know or are close to will show you different things in pressing situations.  There can be confusion and frustration at times and it’s up to you to remain self disciplined in your integrity. 

UNCERTAINTY

No matter how prepared you are, you cannot prepare for everything. 

Thank you so much for these answers and bringing your positive energy to the scene!  Can't wait to hear more from you!  Any last words??

I appreciate you with the utmost gratitude. Stay tuned!  Chaos governs us all.

Just a thank you to everyone. These last few years have been pretty dark for a lot of us.  I wouldn't be here without all the love and support you all give me. In these ways I am rich so I seek to enrich.

Hugo Ojeda - 2025 Interview

Hugo.  You've heard the name, or seen it as a feature on some of your favorite tracks.  For almost 20 years, BDM and Slam fans have grown accustom to his brutal and unique vocal stylings.  If you don't recognize his name, you likely have enjoyed his contributions to the scene without even knowing it.  A lot of time has passed since the birth of Esophagus, and many other bands.  I was stoked to be able to ask a few questions about what has changed, and what to expect!

Enjoy the below interview with the legendary Hugo Ojeda!!!!

Hugo, thanks so much for taking the time to do this!!!  What have you been up to?

At the moment I’m focused on my job, family and of course music. Even though it’s a hobby, music is essential to me and I always try to find the time to do it.

Can you tell us your age and how long you've been into brutal death metal?

I’m soon to be 47 years old on January. I started doing music in 1996 when I finished highschool.

I think most people who know of you, found out about you from Esophagus.  I know there has been many other projects and bands over the years.  Could you tell us your story?  How did you start in this crazy world of music, what bands have happened, and where are we at now?

The first band I joined was GOREDEFECATE in 2001, there I recorded my  first demo where I was on vocals and guitar, it’s called THE DAY OF THE DEAD (2002) and it’s available on Youtube.  And then, on the same year, I debuted live. 

After GOREDEFECATE, THE MACABRE was born in 2005 with the demo SERMON TO THE LAMBS, also available on Youtube, where I was on vocals and guitar as well.  And from The Macabre’s ashes I created the still active band WOUNDS OF CHRIST and it’s first demo, DESPISING THE CHRISTIAN RACE (2007) is still available on Youtube.

In 2008 I founded the band ESOPHAGUS, which is active to the date. 

We recorded 3 demos, PULVERIZED BY MISANTHROPIC BEHAVIOR (2009), ORIGIN OF HUMAN DEGRADATION (2010) and AWAKENING OF A NEW ICON (2011). 

I left the band in 2023 after recording all the vocals between the years 2018 and 2023, although, that version (2018 onwards) of the band still exists only because Mauro, who is on the guitar, is my friend and asked me not to kill the band. 

But as it is my band, I decided to rejoin Esophagus in the upcoming year 2025. This time only with the records from 2009, 2010 and 2011, I don’t give a fuck about whatever was recorded since 2018.

Between the years 2016 and 2018 I recorded an album and a demo with the band INTESTINAL EXTIRPATION, both available on Youtube.

Currently I’m on vocals in PUTRESCENT (2005) and we’ll soon release a demo in 2025.

I’m also in DECREPIT CADAVER and PUTHROATFUCKTION on vocals, for the latter I recorded a demo (2024) and soon we’ll release an album in 2025. I always try to lend my vocals to bands that need them for recording.

I also participated on various projects like, SUPREME BANISHMENT, FIRST DEGREE MURDER, INDOCTRINATED SOLEMNITY, all of them available on youtube.

**Holy shit, First Degree Murder is amazing:

Let's speak a little about your vocal style.  How long have you been making inhuman noises with your face?  What do you call your technique?  Who are some of your favorite vocalists?

I started doing vocals since ‘95 approximately. It’s not really a technique, I learned from other
vocalists until I found my own brutal style. I always try to sound as inhuman as possible.

Some of my influences are, Chris barnes, Joe ptacek, Matti way, Rich Lipscomb, Joe wolfe, to name some.

I tried to emulate everything that sounded inhuman and animalistic.

Can you talk about the origin of Esophagus?

I created the band Esophagus on 2008. And the reason I created it was to achieve an inhuman slam with my voice.  I got the idea from Joe Ptacek from Broken Hope, it was a real influence on my way of singing.  The year was 2008 so you can imagine I had the trashiest PC with the shittiest software and hardware haha, still, I created the most brutal band.  It was so powerful that even Mark Rawls (Guttural Engorgement) offered himself to participate on vocals, so we had 3 vocalists on our 2009 demo.

Can you tell us all of your current active bands that you are part of?

**CLICK TO HEAR**

Active:

Wounds of Christ 

Putrescent 

Puthroatfucktion 

Decrepit Cadaver 

Chunks of Guts 

Esophagus (The original from 2008 that I just recently resuscitated)

Can you tell us all of your past/inactive bands?

Goredefecate 

The Macabre 

Intestinal Extirpation 

Esophagus 2018 

Supreme Banishment 

First Degree Murder 

Indocrinated 

Solemnity

Some projects I was in but they were mostly only live performances 

After the release of Inglorious Beings, you left the band?  Can you clear the air about what happened?

I got bored of music. And mostly I got tired of working with Victor who joined the band on 2018. I really couldn’t stand him, he thought he was better than the rest and that he owned Esophagus.

It’s true that when he joined the band, I told him to take the reins and he delivered by making good contacts and publicity, I can’t argue with that.  But in the human part he was a real dickhead, I mean, before thinking your’e the shit, you need to remember how you got there and who put you there.  In my eyes he will never be the real Slam. He needs a reality check, never bite the hand that feeds you.

Azerate Nakamura took over vocal duties for tour, did you help with this decision?  What is your relationship like him like?

I met him not long ago. I just got back to him when I saw that they left him on his own in the middle of touring. 

At first he had sent me a DM which I didn’t want to answer because my first thought was “why would this dude that’s touring with my band want to talk to me?”.   But then I saw he was having a hard time so I decided to reply to the almost 1-month old text because I felt something was odd. And then we talked and we told each other everything about the band. Now we’re mates.

SOOOOO, what is the future like for Esophagus?

Pick up from where we left and play live here in Chile

Hugo, it seems like extreme music has been a huge part of your life for a long time.  What are some other things you are passionate about?

Actually, being with my family and being able to play live with mates. I’m old now haha, almost 47, music to me has always been a precious hobby and I try to get the most of it in the little time I have for it. 

Thanks again!!!   Anything you'd like to add?

I want to thank all the people that are listening to the 2008 Esophagus and you for these questions. This is my first interview haha, so I’m really thankful.  Enjoy music while you can and remember that family is above all.

BILE - Double Incision Tracheotomy - Demo 2024

--------LISTEN TO DEMO HERE--------

Who is BILE?

Bile is myself (guitar , drums and samples ) some guest vocalists from other homies projects , and Dominik (Babykiller) as the lead vocalist 

How would you guys describe your music?

Barbaric , sludgy , definitely heavy on "caveman-esque" style of drums and riffs, basically as dumbed down and brutal as possible. Nothing flashy or clean that's for sure. Just trying to worship the slam gods like Cephalotripsy, early Esophagus very early Cerebral Incubation and Guttural Slug . The classic 99-2010 sound , chugg guitars, popcorn snare, samples and ridiculous bass drops with grotesque vocals.

What other projects are you involved in?

Me personally am involved with 3 other bands , 

a brutal death metal project ( Seepage ) with Dan from Carniceria , a Nordic god themed slam band with friend of mine on vocals (Euphoric Dementia) and my main project with Dominik ( Intercranialectomy) 

Who is responsible for the BILE logo and the Double Incision Tracheotomy artwork?

The logo was done my fellow slam enthusiasts max from Deepthroat Defecation, he does a feature on a track as well. The artwork was done by myself.

Tracks 

(Intro)

1•Asphyxiation on fertmented stomach bile 

2•Nocardia cyriacigeorgica soft tissue infection attributable to unlicensed cosmetic procedure (featuring deepthroat defecation) 

3•compound elevated skull fracture (featuring gruesome end ) 

4•immunotherapy treatment of squamous cell carcinoma of the head

These are some interesting song names!  Particularly "Nocardia Cyriacigeorgica Soft Tissue Infection Attributable To Unlicensed Cosmetic Procedure"

Nocardia cyriacigeorgica is a bacterium that causes infections in humans, primarily in people who are immunocompromised

Makes me wonder, who comes up with these?  do you guys have lyrics?  How are vocal duties shared?

I'm a huge fan of ridiculously long slam song titles, I think it adds to the obscurity of the genre and definitely makes for a brutal imagination from the listener.  That specific song title is from a medical gore page I use to find all sorts of nasty ideas.  There are no lyrics because we are cavemen!

Dom is a genius  lyricist but I just wanted gross alien inhuman sound and that doesn't really call for lyrics.

The demo is 4 songs, just under 8 minutes.  Is BILE a one-and-done experimental side project, or are there any plans for more BILE music?

Bile is definitely an experimental side project that will see the light of day again for sure . Since it's a one man operation and less serious from my other projects, I can really just get creative with samples and caveman ideas.

Thanks guys for answering a few questions!  Anything you'd like to say?

Anytime brutal boss, thanks for giving us a jam. 

Shoutout  to Devourment, Esophagus, Cephalotripsy, Cerebral Incubation, Guttural Engorgement, Gorevent. And every single brutal ass band out there that isn't afraid to "slam the entire song"!. Keep that shit brutal and fucked up! No hardcore-slam  , no trends!