Excruciations Interview 2024

Cerebral Reviewment long-time readers will know, old school style BDM, like the latest from Kansas City one-man Brodequin worship project, Excruciations, is right up my alley.  The riffs, the vocals, the imagery.  Hell yes.  Thank you Simon!

Thank you for taking the time to answer some questions!  Can you start by telling us your age and a little background about yourself?

Thanks for hitting me up for an interview!! I'm Simon, 20 years old and lived in Kansas city damn near my entire life. been obsessed with this whole realm of disgusting music since high school and its been uphill (or downhill, depending on how you look at it) ever since.

You have two projects that are just you, Defaced and Excruciations, correct?  Have you always enjoyed working alone?  have you played with a full band before?

I've actually got a pretty ridiculous amount of projects haha, but defaced and excruciations are definitely my favorites. some others of mine are lymphoblast, pig stomper, ejaculation, scum, and my most recent musical endeavors , Butcher (ultra raw brutal death with all real instruments) and Portrait of God (which is a real deal band I play drums for , really really fun stuff).

but yeah I love working alone! sometimes working with other people on music can be really frustrating so I've always loved being able to just be like "well yall ain't workin out too well so I'll just prolly go do something on my own" without really having to sweat it lol.

This EP has a raw, unpolished feel.  Real old school feel right down to the pacing of the riffs and the wonderful gutturals.  You call this project "Brodequin worship" and I also see a Disgorge cover on here.  What other influences, music or otherwise, do you have?

oh man, there's such an endless amount of things I've drawn inspiration from for music , I'll try my best to break it down so this isn't a 40 paragraph answer haha.

the biggest ones for Excruciations are most definitely Brodequin and Disgorge, the upcoming EP is TO THE BONE Brodequin worship especially, someone described the debut as "if brodequin
moved to Kansas city" and just imagine that but cranked past 10. shit, imagine the knob broke.

I'm also endlessly inspired by my friends and loved ones who all pursue their own passions, seeing someone else thrive with what they love doing is an incredible driving force for me.

I love the classic medieval artwork!  Who did it? 

I won't lie, I'm one of those nerds who obsesses over medieval torture art and the like, so when it came time to release the EP, it was just the one I gravitated toward.

Looks like you have a debut full-length album coming soon!!!!  What can you tell us about "Putrification Through Torture"?  Same style?  Same production?

its definitely a big step up in my eyes! everything i loved while making the EP is all present in PTT, while honing it all to a massive extent. some of the absolute nastiest riffs I've ever written are on here , alongside some of my best vocals. there's actually a couple spots where I had to vomit after a vocal take because I biffed something, but ended up loving how it sounded haha.

What else can we expect in the near future?  Live shows?  New merch?

merch for sure !!! I would absolutely love to do shows someday, and even had a conversation with a couple people in KC who offered to play as Excruciations, but it unfortunately never came to fruition. but someday ! there will be at least ONE Excruciations show.

How did you pick the name "Excruciations"?

it's just a badass sounding word! very intense and ugly.

Can you name 3 bands that you take influence from?

I think the 3 bands who influenced me the most overall are probably Circle of Dead Children, with their extremely frenetic energy throughout their music, esoteric feeling passages where they show they're not afraid to use harsh noise or create an intense soundscape, just everything about them!

next would definitely be Suffocation, I've always been utterly infatuated by Terrance Hobbs'
playing, and how the tabs themselves are almost an art form when you really look at them.

finally, without any shadow of a doubt is Mortal Decay. the demos,  sickening erotic fanaticism, forensic and everything after really made me push my songwriting to its limits, especially when I was starting out. groovy, gory mayhem with melodies strewn throughout and horrifying frog vocals, they've just always checked every box for me.

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

BILLY!! 100% BILLY. some of the sickest and coolest dudes I've ever met, and they just dropped their second EP, Control Burn, which is a MUST LISTEN if you can get down with hardcore and hammer swinging riffs.

Strzyyga is also very very good, I've had the honor of ripping with these dudes and they're no fuckin joke. grinding, war-like absolute mayhem. they're about to drop their first EP too!

lastly I wanna mention Tombseeker. holy shit Tombseeker. they're some straight up, no bullshit death metal, and everytime I've seen them they've had such a control over the entire room it's impossible to ignore.

Thanks again!  Anything at all you would like to say to our readers?

KEEP MAKING MUSIC. Don't let yourself get bogged down by not being big on what you write. the first 5 or 6 months I was writing my solo stuff, it was all TERRIBLE! I'd be ashamed to hear it now. Keep on grinding that axe and before you know it you'll be pumping out some seriously sick shit.

Links:

EXCRUCIATIONS INSTAGRAM

EXCRUCIATIONS BANDCAMP

SPOTIFY

APPLE

VILE TAPES

BILLY

DEFACED

STRZYYGA

TOMBSEEKER

Nauseating - Subjected To Rot - 2024 - Vile Tapes Records

Art by BLCKSTRY Art

 This 20 minute slab of skull-bashing slam was just released on Vile Tapes Records, a quickly rising label out of Russia.

"Subjected To Rot" opens with a haunting, cold, hip-hop esque beat/feel.  Then drops right into a mid-paced slam that sets the tone for the rest of the EP; a near perfect tone for whats going on with the instruments and the sheer barbarity that ensues.  Then the vocals begin.  Dear god the vocals.  This release may have the nastiest and lowest inhuman gutturals in a long time, surely out-doing anything yet this year.  To think, I haven't even mentioned the all-star roster of vocalists with features!  You will hear grunts and gurgles from D of PeelingFlesh, Andrew of Cerebral Incubation, and perhaps a newer voice to some of you, Rodger Fischer, also-known-as MC Cumblood, who specializes in Death metal/Gore Rap.  MC Cumblood and MC Bushpig make up Butcher's Harem, a Goregrind/Horrorcore/Rap group from Australia.  

If "Subjected To Rot" had zero guest features, it would still have some of slam's most disgusting vocals.  Ivan Tyulkin (Nauseating, Insect Inside) is raising the bar for extreme gutturals recently.  

Insect Inside has shared a couple videos of him recording vocals that showed just how low he can go.  This is already a couple of years old.

See a recent video of Ivan recording some vocals for "Subjected To Rot" HERE!

The 2nd track, "Dissect Vaginal Skin" is immediately catchy.  Warm, thick guitar and bass tones meet precise drumming and more insane vocals as the song wraps-up with one my favorite, Andrew from Cerebral Incubation.

Intestinal Disemboweling contains the tastiest slams yet, then grinds to an amazing halt, just to rebuild on itself and bash your brains in.  Then of course Damonteal of Peeling Flesh shows up to help on Incubation of Dismembered Bodies, with a crazy heavy section of skull slamming, pinch harmonics, groovy drums, etc.

The title track, "Subjected To Rot" is where MC Cumblood makes his grand entrance.  With the undeniable heaviness that precedes this track, his gore-growly rap style seems to fit.  It's new to me, and I am not AGAINST mixing rap into slam, as the similarities are there, but its the death growl approach to it that may grow old.  At any rate, it works here and isn't overdone.

The EP takes you on a ride, but it's really the perfect length.  Just when it starts to veer off, "Deformed Fragments" brings it all together for a nice, in-your-face, slam package of under 20 minutes.

This is really a must have release and you should purchase it on CD, Cassette Tape, Shirts, Patches, ETC...  HERE

Prolapsed Interview 2024

Prolapsed, a one-man BDM machine out of San Jose, California has been on and off for close to a decade.  Now, moving full steam ahead, "Expulsion Of Innards" is set for a March 7th, 2024 release via Vile Tapes Records.  The single off of the project is a promising slab of slamming goodness.  Give it a listen HERE.

Thank you Alex for sitting down to answer some questions!

CAN YOU START BY STATING YOUR NAME AND YOUR ROLE IN THE BAND?

I am Alex Kristoff, head of all operations at Prolapsed. Vocals/Guitars/Bass/Drums as well as Mixing/Mastering

HOW DID YOU LAND ON THE NAME PROLAPSED?  HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN AT IT?  WERE THERE OTHER PROJECTS BEFORE THIS FOR YOU?

Coming up with band names is never easy. I wanted to have a one word name that would be as repulsive as the music. I think it fits perfectly. Prolapsed started as a side project back in 2010ish. At the time I was playing guitar for a Tech Death Metal band and I wanted to learn how to record music on my own. From that time up until 2022 I had performed drums with three different Black Metal bands, so Prolapsed was put on the shelf. After departure from the last group, I decided to resurrect Prolapsed and give it my 100% effort as a Brutal Death/Slam outfit. 

IT SEEMS LIKE THE PREVIOUS TWO RELEASES HAVE STUCK TO SIMILAR STYLES OF PORNOGRIND/SLAM/BDM?  HOW DO YOU DESCRIBE YOUR SOUND?  

WHAT BROUGHT YOU TO THIS CURRENT STYLE OF RAW IN YOUR FACE SLAM?

I would say the first 2 releases leaned more towards Brutal Death Metal as far as overall pace and riff style, whereas I have slowed things down a bit and leaned more towards Slam on this incoming release. In general I would describe Prolapsed as Brutal Death/Slam. A mix of heavy slow parts similar to Mortician and fast/technical parts similar to Beneath the Massacre or Cannibal Corpse.

SHOULD FANS EXPECT MUCH OF A DIFFERENCE IN WRITING OR PRODUCTION ON "EXPULSION OF INNARDS"

Main differences would be improvements in production and more slow slams incorporated. I'm perpetually learning production techniques, so each release keeps sounding better. I think if they enjoyed the previous two releases, they will definitely enjoy this one as well. 

WHO CREATED THE PROLAPSED LOGO?  HOW DO YOU GO ABOUT FINDING THE ALBUM ARTWORK?

Angbudlia made the logo.  I found him on Facebook. The guy makes amazing logos and he does it very quickly. I was able to get the Prolapsed logo within 24hrs and for a very good rate. I would highly recommend his work, The album art was created by WildanSlamArt. The extreme violence/gore was exactly what was needed. I will be using him for future releases

I LOVE YOUR SONG TITLES AND ALBUM TITLES!  DO YOU WRITE LYRICS FOR EACH SONG?  IF SO, WHAT IS THAT PROCESS LIKE?

I try to match the song titles with what the song sounds like, at least in my imagination. I do not write lyrics for Prolapsed. I know many would disagree with me on this, but lyrics are the most unimportant part of music for me. Plenty of bands offer that if you need that aspect, but it's just not my thing. Listening to bands like Cemetery Rapist kind of taught me that you don't necessarily need to have lyrics for vocals to be amazing. 

HOW OLD ARE YOU?  

37

EVER TRIED TO MAKE IT A FULL BAND OR DO YOU LIKE THE ONE-MAN THING?

This is something that I think about on a daily basis. I'll try to keep this answer short and to the point. I have been playing in different bands for the last 15yrs and at this point as far as how things are now socially, I feel I do much better on my own. I have full control of everything in Prolapsed, although that luxury comes with all the responsibilities. When you're in a group with five different people with five different opinions on what to do, things can get shitty. I absolutely miss performing live. There's nothing like playing live music, but to be honest I don't miss the other 90% of being in a group.

ANY PLANS FOR PLAYING SHOWS IN THE FUTURE?

Doubtful, unless I find the appropriate people to do so.

EP COMES OUT MARCH 7TH VIA VILE TAPES RECORDS.  HOW DID SIGNING WITH THEM COME ABOUT?

I had released the second EP "Sepsis" on Distrokid in hopes for it to reach as many platforms as possible without having to do the marketing leg work myself. That is my weak point in the scheme of making music. I don't enjoy marketing/promo. My strength lies more in writing and performing the music. With that being said, you can imagine how it felt to have Constantine from Vile Tapes reach out to me in interest to get Prolapsed on the roster. I am extremely grateful to be with Vile Tapes. Getting signed to a legitimate label was one of the main goals for Prolapsed and Vile is a perfect fit.

ANYTHING YOU WOULD LIKE TO SAY TO OUR READERS OR ANYTHING ELSE YOU WANT TO SAY AT ALL?

Much appreciation to all who support Prolapsed. Expulsion of Innards will be available shortly and I hope it is well received. Keep your eyes out for the future as well, as I am about to enter the mixing/mastering phase of a 10 track full length. No comment on when that will be out or any other details, but know that will be coming in the future. 

Thank you Cerebral Reviewment for giving Prolapsed some great questions.

Shout out to 

Constantine from Vile Tapes Records

Angbudlia (Logo Maker)

WildanSlamArt (Artist)