Derealized - Interview 2026

Derealized have a demo out right now, "Inception of Unreality".  It is about 12 minutes long and full of original ideas and raw brutality!!!  I am loving this young band!  Learn more below!

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 Hello!  How are you?

(R) Hey man, doing great. We are very appreciative to have the opportunity of you chatting with us

How are you? 

I'm great!!!!  Who are you? what do you do in Derealized?

Well the whole band is here so we can go around the horn and introduce ourselves

(R) I’m River and I handle all the vox

(O) I’m Oscar and I play drums in Derealized

(B) My name is Ben and I play the bass for the band

(N) I’m Nevyn on half the guitars section

(G) I’m Gabriel on the other half of the guitars 

Can you talk a bit about how the band started and how everything has been up until now?

(N) Sure thing, well the Toronto music scene is very fragmented and not very large. So based on our music interest alone we already knew about each other just through being at the same shows. 

(R) Yea, I mean the way this band formed was literally just through me posting an instagram story saying I want to start a band and these are the yutes that responded.

How did you name the band

(R) For a while I really wanted to start a trippy bdm band, and thought derealized was a great name especially after seeing newer bands like dissonance. The name hadn't been taken yet so I stuck with it, although the original name I had come up with was Delirious Circumvention. Not a very good name.

(O) When River told me about his idea for the band I really loved the name. The idea of Derealization is something I can understand and express much better than something based around gore, physical violence, or sexual assault. It feels like there is a greater depth of emotions to explore within a theme of mental illness and drug induced psychosis. I hope it will help set us apart from other bands in the genre.

(G) We all thought that was a sick idea and felt it was a unique direction for a bdm band to go in, so we were immediately on board with it. 

(N) I also find the whole realm of mental illness and the concept of the horrors of the mind to be a topic that death metal doesn't really delve into; or when it does, it’s not dealt with in the way we think it should. The idea of fully disconnecting from reality and losing your mind to your own thoughts along with how consciousness and mental illness alter perceptions and cause untold horror and carnage to be truly scary. That sort of plane of thinking is where we as a brutal death metal band want to direct our attention upon.

(B) Importantly, we want to sort of bring light upon these issues while not coming off as a stupid anti-drug band. We want to represent this as grimly and as fucked up as we can. 

What is the band's writing and recording process like?

(N) Well for writing we sort of have two avenues we do down. We usually write the riffs first then throw the drums, vocal patterns and bass on top. So firstly what happens is I come to a jam with a full song that I sent to Gabriel to learn. Then us and Oscar will sort of move things around and lengthen or shorten parts until we have the guitar and drums set for a song. The other way we do it is Gabriel will come with some riffs and then we will all hash them over in the jam space. After this we usually play it over and over and let oscar fuck around on the kit to get that sort of “constantly folding in on itself”  or rollercoaster feel that we aim for with our songs. 

(O) True. Personally, I try to first synchronize my drums to the riff to internalize the rhythm. Then I start deciding on the type of beat that best fits the riff. Put the blast over the tremolo or half time over the slam. Then I start adding diversity in sections where my parts diverge from the riff. With this type of band I try to make simple changes in the beat that shift the song in the emotional direction I am looking for. For my fills, I want them to sound chaotic and a bit sloppy so I just improvise them unless we are transitioning parts because that is the only fill that might feel distinct to the listener. The last and hardest part of writing I do is adding some atmosphere and build to the guitar only parts. Honestly Nevyn and Gabe write the songs, I’m just trying to make their riffs hit right.

(N) Awesome, aside from the writing process our recording for Inception Of Unreality was pretty straightforward. I'm working on another bdm band that's like a broken torso worship project called Ligature. The other guitar player Alex in that band has a proper studio setup. I asked him if Derealized could record with him and he said yes. Then like two weeks later we popped in to the studio set up and banged out the ep in 3 hours on a worknight. We didn't use a metronome and all played together in the room because we were a bit lazy, gung-ho about getting some music out, and also Oscar is our time-wizard. Tried to keep the music with a proper underground demo feel but with a nice enough sound of a studio so you can at least pick apart the instruments and hear what we are playing for the most part. 

I think playing all together and not nit-picking every little sound worked perfectly for "Inception" and I hope you never go too polished.  The emotions come through nicely!

What bands inspire you

(G) My main inspirations for riff / songwriting come from Cerebral Hemorrhage, Incantation, and Deaden, which is a big inspiration for the whole band. I also enjoy gutrot and try to emulate some of their riffs in my writing. I'm also a big fan of some slam bands like Infertile Surrogacy which I've been listening to a lot along with Cephalotripsy. I've been listening to bands such as Jenovavirus and bound and gagged, trying to take inspiration from them and incorporate a weird edge to our future music.

(B) As for my inspirations, I would say bands in the style of Ton or Dehumanized are where my main influences for a BDM sound. Aside from that I'm a huge fan of early Pyrexia and I want to integrate that dirty old-schoolness into this band more. I haven't gotten much of an opportunity to write for Derealized yet but I am excited to integrate my inspirations into our sound more. 

(O) Before joining Derealized I only regularly listened to Molesting the Decapitated. But I have been listening to a wider range of BDM like Eternal Suffering and Artery Eruption to develop my drum sound. 

(R) Well as for myself I have already discussed my love of the trippy sounding bdm stuff, im a big dripping fan and want to take the band in that sort of direction thematically. Additionally and more importantly is orchidectomy which is probably my main inspiration. I Gotta represents the best bdm thats from our home city. Additionally im really inspired by this bdm band called bubba *BUBBA INTERVIEW HERE* which are super trippy with their melodies but are brutal asf. Their vocals utilize a lot of almost singing with the pig squeals that's unlike other bands. Last but not least I gotta shout delusional parasitosis as those vo-kills are still some of the nastiest pipes ever laid down to this day, my predator vocals were inspired by them.

(N) Lastly for myself. I'm not gonna lie, especially at the time of writing the songs on Inception of Unreality I wasn’t listening to alot to bdm (still dont listen to a whole lot of it anymore) I kinda moved past it. Bestial black / war metal is what I usually jam to. For writing the derealized riffs my biggest inspirations are the first two immolation albums, their influence on bdm is undeniable to me. The weirdness of the riffs on both the albums (especially Here in After which is the best album ever made) is a principle element I wish to carry into this band. In that same vein I am really influenced by the first Sacramentary Abolishment album as the whirlwind of riff changes is a huge part of my playing style. Aside from these two bands I am inspired by the war metal band Proclamation as that is the most fundamental influence in how I write songs, also I really dig early Lividity and Deaden stuff for their songwriting and riffs as well as Cerebral Effusion which is a band I think is really underappreciated   *C.E. INTERVIEW HERE*, I use them as an inspiration for a lot of the more faster parts and slam parts I write. 

So Oscar spoke a little about how the band name could hopefully set you guys apart.  How cool!  It does, and I agree that it will keep opening more opportunities for actual relatable themes and material.  That brings me to lyrics.  River, do you write lyrics?  Just go with an emotion?  How does the band think about each song in regards to its title -wand possible lyrics?

R - I do, although they are not all finished. I try to reflect my own experiences in the lyrics as well as the overall theme of the band. To me it sort of serves as an outlet to express feelings I wouldn't normally. The name Inception of Unreality comes from the idea that the EP is like a bad trip, Unreality being the altered state and the Inception being the ingestion of a substance.

What music other than heavy stuff are you guys into?

O: My Grandpa had “Songs of a Russian Gypsy” by Theodore Bikel on vinyl. That's a record I have always loved and made me search for more folk music from Eastern Europe and the Balkans. Now I have found contemporary bands creating a really interesting fusion between the traditional sound and modern western rock/punk. The Bands that I think pull this off the best are: Kultur Shock, Besh o Drom, Rotfront, Russkaja, and the Anakronic Electrico Orchestra. 

G: On the occasion that I’m not listening to heavier music, I really enjoy 2nd wave emo and various other forms of alternative rock. Some bands I’m really into are: Everyone Asked About You, Eldritch Anisette, Cap’n Jazz, susquatch, and Plumtree.

R: Aside from metal I'm really big on techno and electronic music. I spend a lot of time listening to schranz and jungle, but I also really like underground alternative metal and metalcore bands 

Some of my favourite artists include Speedy J, embodyment (both eras but I love their alt metal), frisbee aerobics, strain theory and bladee 😬

B: Hard question for me to answer. I don’t really know what the genre’s would be but I listen to a lot of Vietnamese music and artists considering I grew up there. I do like a lot of Japanese rock and a bit of Japanese pop as that's a genre I am aware of. Some of my favourite artists are Táo, Yoasobi, and Den Vau

N: Nothing, if it aint bestial black metal its wimp shit. On a real note however I dig a lot of ambient music, Scottish folk songs, and Japanese funk guitar. I also have a soft spot for midwest-emo and shoegaze adjacent things. My favourite non metal bands would probably be Duster, Rush, Casiopea, The Corries, and obviously Masayoshi Takanaka.

Are all of your families supportive of the band?

G: My parents are super hyped about it and think what we’re doing is really cool, and my mom makes me compile all the videos and photos taken during our shows so that I can send them to her.

O: I'm very lucky that my parents have always been supportive of my bands regardless of the genre. But when I've asked if they like Derealized they just say “atleast it's better than Slam”

R: My parents think it's cool but they aren't really involved.

N: Yea my family has come out to shows to support. My parents also genuinely dig the music. 

B: Yeah they seem pretty cool with it. No reactions to write home about really.

How often is practice, and what is the jam space like?

O: We practice once every one or two weeks at my parents house in the basement. I've got my drumkit down there and over time me and my friends have been able to build up a pretty great set of equipment for us to use.

N: Yea the jam space is very spacious and pretty well equipped. Pretty much consumes the whole basement. Its hot as fuck though sometimes. 

What is coming next?!

G: U.S shows!

N: Yea seconding Gabriel's point, we’d like to try to get some shows outside of Ontario and explore north america while delivering the hallucinogenic riffage of Derealized. Additionally we have a whole new EP's worth of tracks that we have been working on. As the principal riff writer I have been trying to push my songwriting on these tracks into an even weirder BDM context while still holding onto the sound we’ve already carved out in Inception of Unreality. I would like to maybe shop around for a band to do a split with. 

Thank you all so much for taking the time to answer these questions!

Any last words?

N: Keep it underground… and death to hardcore!

G: Thank you for having us. You’re doing something amazing for the death metal community!

SUPPORT DEREALIZED HERE!

Vertiginous - Interview 2026

 Ever since I heard 2023's single "Relentless Chaotic", I knew that anything this Indonesian duo put out I would want to hear.  That was only further confirmed by the band's full-length "Reek of Putrefaction on Excruciating Lust".  Vertiginous continue to churn out faced paced brutal death metal complimented impeccably by Jossi Bima's nasty guttural vocals.  The new album is entitled "Incessant Affliction" and is out now on Comatose Music!  Read a small update/interview below and then go order the cd!

Hello!  Hope you are well!  Who are you and what do you do in Vertiginous?

Hello, I am Jossi Bima, vocalist of Vertiginous.

Who else is in the band?

Hendika is responsible for all instruments and song composition.

What is the whole story of Vertiginous so far?

To date, Vertiginous has continued to strive to deliver the best possible presentation of every release to the public, with the hope that our music can be embraced by listeners around the world.

"Reek of Putrefaction" was amazing!!  How is Incessant Affliction different from that album?

Thank you for your appreciation. The most notable difference is likely in the album’s theme. However, in terms of musicianship, we always strive to bring something fresh and incorporate catchy elements into each piece of material.

So are you and Hendika long time friends? and how old are you guys?

Yes, we have been friends for quite a long time. We eventually decided to form Vertiginous and several other projects outside of our main bands, to explore ideas and compositions that may not be suitable for our respective primary bands. I am 31 years old ( Jossi Bima ) and Hendika is 31 years old.

How did the deal with Comatose happen and how is it going?

We are truly honored to be working with Comatose Music for the release of this album. Boss Steve has been an exceptionally kind and supportive individual throughout this project. Thank you very much, Boss Steve.

What bands are you most inspired by?

In terms of musical references, we share similarities with several bands worldwide. Our sound contains elements of Disgorge, Deeds Of Flesh, Indecent Excision, and other brutal death metal bands.

Who did the artwork for the new album?

The artwork for this album was created by Mas Timbul Cahyono of Bvll Metal Art. He is already well-known within the global underground art scene, and his work is consistently outstanding and brutal.

Will the United States ever get to see you guys play?

Maybe yes, maybe no haha. if we are given the opportunity to perform there, we would not decline the offer, provided that the terms and agreements are acceptable.

Anything else you’d like to say to the fans??

To all bands around the world: thank you for persevering and for consistently releasing your best work.

To metalheads worldwide: please continue to support the bands you love by purchasing their physical releases and merchandise.

To all record labels worldwide: thank you for providing a platform for bands that remain active in creating music, and thank you for releasing and distributing their work.

To all zines and promotional media worldwide: thank you for conducting interviews and serving as a promotional platform for bands that are promoting their work, so that it can be read, heard, and allow people to gain a deeper understanding of the band’s work.

VERTIGINOUS

COMATOSE MUSIC

BVLL METAL ART

Incremation - Interview 2026

Who are you?  How are you doing?

Hello i'm Meigo, Nice too meet you

Who are all the members of Incremation?

Now Incremation is two man project Brutal Death Metal

the member is :

Meigo Badio / Guitar Vocal

Danang Agus / Drum

Please tell us how the band began!

The band was formed in 2016; initially, it consisted of four members: Sofyan on vocals, Meigo on guitar, Frando on bass, and Jovi on drums. Although he is no longer part of the band, the group continues to perform and write new material.

"Dilapidated Psyche" blew my mind!  I really listen to it all of the time, how was the writing and recording process for the album?  Any stories from that time?

Hahaha, we actually wrote this album two years after the release of our first demo. At the time, we received an offer from Dismember Records to join their roster. There were plenty of challenges and new experiences during this production process. Back then, each member’s musical background was quite different, but what gives the album *Dilapidated Psyche* such a strong character is the drumming. We did feel a bit disheartened at the time, as the Covid-19 pandemic also posed a hurdle during the recording process, given that Meigo was living in a different city. Although it took three years to complete this album, the result has largely met our expectations.

Ah yes, Covid 19.  I think we are all glad to be done with that!  So Incremation will keep moving forward as a two-piece?  Is there new music being written for another release?

Yes, that’s right, we’ll continue to use a two-piece line-up for the band, but during the live season we’ll bring in some session musicians. In the near future, we’ll be releasing a new demo and writing material for our second album. A new chapter is about to begin.

What bands or artists inspire you?

This band draws much of its inspiration from Gorgasm, Suffocation, Prophecy and Deicide

What music, other than metal, do you guys enjoy listening to?

Hmmm, Perunggu, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Pearl Jam, and many more haha

Miego, how are your vocals so disgusting?  Who are some of your favorite vocalists?

On the first album, it wasn’t actually me singing the vocals, haha, but we’ll be releasing new material soon where I’ll be the lead vocalist. My favourite vocalist is Glenn Benton, haha I love Deicide.

Who did the artwork for DP?

The artwork for the first album was created by Rio from Oscaryzm Art

Thank you so much!  Anything else you'd like to add?

I think that’s enough; thanks for the quick chat, hehe. Look out for our latest work coming soon.

INCREMATION

RIO OSCARYZM ART

Suspectum - Interview 2026

Hello!  How are you?

Yooo what's up brother!! We're feeling pretty good with newly released music and happy to be featured on Cerebral Reviewment.

Who are you? what do you do in Suspectum?

This is Ryder speaking, I've played drums in Suspectum for over 6 years, all the way back since middle school

Can you tell us all the members?

The current lineup is Bobby Snyder on guitar/vocals, Hunter Kaeff on guitar/vocals, Ethan Kaeff on bass, and me, Ryder Kaeff on drums.

Can you talk a little bit about how the band started and how everything has been up until now?

Well, Back in 2020 when we started the band we knew very little about playing music, local scenes, or metal in general. The first couple of years really was just a learning phase for us, once we had a setlist of about 8 songs we decided to start playing local shows in Cincinnati. It wasn't until 2023 we decided to delve completely into a death metal sound, and start taking the band in a serious direction. We wrote an entirely new list of songs which eventually became Cull of the Weak. The years following we have been actively playing shows around the Midwest and continuing to define our brutal sound. 

How did you name the band?

Suspectum is the scientific name for a gila monster, and that's what we thought was badass when we were 13/14. We had discussed changing the name a few times but we never did, we had been rolling with it for too long, and we enjoy its uniqueness. We actually had a terrible run of people misspelling our name on band fliers and online, and it always gets a laugh out of us. Even though it's not as brutal as many of our death metal brothers' bands, we still love using it after 6 years.

I just recently discovered Suspectum, so I still have to familiarize myself with your full-length from 2024.  I started with the recently released ep, "The Piercing Thorn of Hatred" and I was blown away.  Is the bands previous work similar?  How was the recording process for Piercing?  How has reception seemed so far?

In 2024 we released Cull of the Weak, which is much less brutal and more OSDM. A couple of
those songs were written a year or two apart from the others, and not the whole album flows together perfectly, but we have a rerelease of it coming very soon, which will be a much more refined album. The Piercing Thorn of Hatred was much different in that we completely recorded it by ourselves, and not in a studio. It took us a while because of gear and scheduling issues, we had to re-track drums at least 2 times, haha. But we're very happy with how it turned out. So far the reception has been great, and we are very thankful for our fans who have stuck around long enough to see us evolve, and those who are just discovering us with our new sound. 

What bands inspire you?

One thing I enjoy about TPTOH is that you can hear the influences pretty clearly in the music. We're heavily inspired by bands like Cryptopsy, Deeds of Flesh, Mortal Decay, Defeated Sanity, and even though the influences are there, it still sounds like its own thing. Pretty much all we do is listen to death metal, black metal, and discover new bands, so our influences are always fluctuating and very vast.  

It's really cool that you guys took your time to evolve naturally, and it comes across in your playing.  Also recording the ep on your own must've had a litany of challenges!  I do hear the influences AND the originality, you've got an amazing EP on your hands!  Now what's next?  Touring? New music?

Well so far we have just been riding the wave of our EP, but we don't plan on slowing down. We have been actively booking more shows in new locations around the midwest for the last half of the year. We are also beginning the writing process for our new release, which will be much more in-depth with the themes and lyrics, as well as the brutality. We plan to make an announcement some time before the end of 2026. 

Ohio seems to always have a growing scene, and a strong death metal history.  Who are some other bands from your area that we should look out for?

Absolutely, there is a lot of variety when it comes to the extreme music scenes in Ohio. I would definitely take the time to check out Ovenhead, Coagulation, Church, Dissected, and Soul Realignment, all are great bands for their respective reasons 

Thank you guys for taking the time!  Any last words???

Yes of course bro thank you for having us on! We just wanna say thank you to all of those who have supported us through the years, there will be much more to come in the future!!! 

SUSPECTUM

OVENHEAD

COAGULATION

CHURCH

DISSECTED

SOUL REALIGNMENT

Beckett Fountain - Interview 2026

Yo!  How are you doing??

What’s up Ant!!! Just ate a hot pocket on my lunch break I’m phenomenal, I apologize for any bad grammar or spelling I’m lowkey stupid 

Please state your name and few things about yourself that might surprise us!

I’m Beckett fountain I’m currently 20 years old I woke up with an erection this morning! Fun fact I ate 4 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in one day when I was about 7 or 8

What bands are you in and what do you do in them?

Okay time to be serious, I do vocals in 3 bands, divulsive, coagulated and hydrocephalic excavation. I play drums in 2 others intestinal sodomy and a goregrind band called scxmfxck that is soon to be renamed, and possibly a revival of an old heavy hitting band. I do not wish to spoil the surprise if it dose end up happening 

I was lucky enough to ask Intestinal Sodomy a few questions a couple of years ago. Then more recently Divulsive.  Now here we are with both groups about to release new material.  Will there also be a Coagulated full-length to look forward to?

So currently we are sitting on the intestinal album and divulsive album the divulsive album drops this Friday. The coagulated full length is in its very early stages of the writing process. It’s been a pretty slow process due to everyone starting there adult lives, me Issac, Cameron and Townsend all work so it’s going I little slow but I promise the full length won’t disappoint!!!

Can you talk a little about the differences in the projects and the pros and cons of having so much cooking at one time?

So right now it’s honestly not too much on my plate now that we have 2 albums done but there definitely was a point in time where I was extremely overwhelmed with all the projects. Pros I would say it really helps getting your name out there I honestly don’t really care about stuff like that cause at the end of the day I’m a normal ass dude that’s going to clock in to work in the morning, it definitely really pushes your creativity making you form different styles for each project and I think that’s a huge pro, vocals are pretty easy to me and not very time consuming so it helps balance all the projects . Cons I would say the biggest one is no matter how hard you try your going to neglect a band or 2 I consider all my bandmates brothers but it’s impossible to work a full time job and balance all those bands that being said I still try my very hardest to keep up with everyone and stay up to date with everything but I wouldn’t trade it for anything I’d do anything for those guys we were all friends before we were bandmates 

What else, other than heavy music, inspires you as an artist?

That’s a good question! For vocals Houston and Memphis rap really inspire me such as dj screw, lil keke, beltway 8, botany boys, Tommy wright and shawty pimp when I go play shows and I’m doing vocals that night it really gets me into the mood for drums I really enjoy some Japanese artists such as casiopea and masayoshi takanaka.

Can you remember a crazy story from a recent live gig that you could share?

Dude not going to lie there’s always some shit when we play shows but the craziest thing was back when I lived in Houston intestinal played a show and these guys came to the show in shiestys and
they didn’t seem like they were there for the music. Houston is an extremely hardcore oriented city so even at death metal shows it’s not uncommon to see someone doing karate in the pit. Some kid maybe 15-16 kicked one of the guys in a shiesty in the face and they weren’t happy after the band was done playing they were talking shit back and forth outside and the kid ended up getting a gun pulled on him after they pulled the gun on him they just started jumping him and then when his girlfriend tried to intervene his girlfriend got jumped aswell. Very bad night I got many other crazy story’s I will forever love Houston but fuck that shit 

Who are some vocalists that you really look up to?

I definitely have a big 4 for vocalist and that’s Ruben rosas of Devourment, angel ochoa from cephalotripsy, Justin boehm from orchidectomy and rob webber from enmity. Crazy thing is I feel like I don’t sound like any of them except angel lol 

Drummers?

I’ll try and keep this short lol my all time favorite drummer has to be Jon engman of brodequin,
foetospy, liturgy and many more sick projects no questions asked he’s my absolute favorite drummer I’m extremely grateful to consider Jon a friend I talk to him pretty frequently on Facebook extremely humble and down to earth guy he’s always sharing story’s about brodequin, foe and liturgy I also look up to many other drummers such as the homie Nate Gonzales, Townsend Humphrey, alfie vienneau of orchidectomy is a big one, Lille gruber, Brennan from fake dust, max McMullen, Giovanni from corporal raid is sick too. Man I know I’m leaving out so many more sick drummers I could name sick drummers for days man 

When I was at NSE fest, Ryan was so pumped to have Coagulated playing and was telling me how awesome you were and warned me to watch for big things from you.

Really made me tune-in to that coagulated set and then check out all of your projects even deeper than I already had!  

Shout out to Ryan Baker and New Standard Elite!  Can you talk a little bit about that relationship, how you first started working with NSE, and then also how it's been having Divulsive sign to Comatose?

It’s kind of a funny story how intestinal got on NSE back when we did our first 2024 demo we sent it to ryan, that demo was decent but it was when I first started really trying to blast, we sent it to ryan and he hated it lol then later on we wrote erotic and we sent it to him and he loved it, 

as time goes on I’ve gotten closer with ryan he’s a very respectable dude who really takes care of our bands intestinal would definitely not be where it is today without ryan or Sam. Working with Steve green from comatose has been great aswell I have zero complaints about both labels!!!

**********************1 WEEK PASSES**********************

Bro, the Divulsive album is so so good, and your vocals are unique and inspiring!  Can you tell us more about your journey doing vocals?  Is it something you practice?

Honestly I don’t really practice vocals too much I do them here and there walking around the crib but typically I only practice before shows, I’ve been doing vocals almost as long as I’ve been playing drums it started with osdm vocals and grind highs then one day it just clicked I could do inhale gutturals then and little after I learned exhales and now that’s all I do for all the bands. Thank you man I’m extremely stoked on the divulsive album!!

Also how did you get into hip hop?

It was kind of a long journey getting into niche rap when I was super young my stepbrother would play rap while playing video games so I found some songs from that. My ex had shown me dj screw and I kinda went on my own journey finding a bunch of Houston artists I used to go to car meets In Houston and Houston rap is played pretty often at those meets. All the Memphis shit came from Emrys from necrotic and virologist he kinda put the whole crew onto Memphis shit like blackout and Tommy wright III and a super underrated artist called lil yo who actually is yo gotti when he was a kid. 

Do you have any goals for yourself or for any of the bands?

My life goals right now is to just continuing to persue a career in automotive I decided to goof off in high school so I’m stuck doing this lol, for all the bands I just want to keep trying to push the boundaries and produce a sound people haven’t heard. We try and just make music we would want to hear. My biggest goal is for us to stay in our own lane and do our own thing too many guys are caught up worrying about the next band and too worried about being better than someone else 

What is something about you that no one would guess?

I really enjoy nature and long drives 

What would be your last meal?

Seafood boil all the way or any Cajun food dude that’s the best shit ever my dads side of the family is from Louisiana and my favorite thing about visiting them was the food they’d make and the hospitality. Huge shoutout to mikes seafood off hwy 6 and bissonet 

What are 3 movies that you love?

Who killed captain Alex(terrible Nigerian movie but it’s so fucking good). Star Wars attack of the clones. The good the bad and the ugly. If anyone reading this is actually going to watch one of these movies please watch who killed captain Alex 

Who are 3 bands or musical artists you are into that would surprise us?

I mentioned them earlier but Casiopea is fucking great. Flats and Scruggs is amazing bluegrass. Marty Robbin’s is amazing aswell.

What sort of automotive work do you do?  Do you have a dream car?

I’m currently at a Toyota dealership working on gas cars I’ve been thinking about getting into diesel work. My dream car is really anything Datsun made from the 60s to 70s

What celebrity do you have a crush on?

Fleece Johnson 😂

Do you use drugs and/or alcohol?

Unfortunately I have a terrible addiction to gas station boner pills I don’t even take them for sex I just take them and go run hard as fuck dawg, on a real note I’ve been clean for 6 years off all the hard shit

Do you have any pets?

I dont have any pets of my own at the moment but growing up I’ve had a lot of pit bulls very sweet dogs 

I dont play drums. Never have. but I know rhythm and beats.  Fire beats. 

If I dedicated myself, how long would I need to practice to be a proficient drummer, but for bdm, complete with wrist-killing blasts?

I think if you seriously gave it your all you could be blasting in 2 years. My good friend Sam little is a prime example of it I wanna say Sam’s been playing for 2 and a half years and now he plays submerged shit, Sam’s a great drummer. I’ve been playing for about 4 and a half years, if you want to get into blasting then learn the flying fingers technique and never neglect one of your hands that’s one of my biggest regrets. My left hand can play 285 bpms max when my right hand can play 320+

Also, if I had the songs written, would you be my drummer for a country western project?

haha bro hell yeah I’d be down 

Did you do any sports in school?

I actually used to play football from 10-13 I lost interest cause they Texans suck, last season I played football every Sunday we’d get our asses handed to then I’d go home and watch the Texans game and the same would happen to them Lmaooo

Explain what a date with Beckett would be like.  Where would you take me?  What would you say? Would we kiss? more?

the perfect date for me would involve us smoking meth and stealing catalytic converters 

What is your favorite color?

it was yellow when I was a kid but I think I just said that to be different I grew up and realized yellow fucking sucks fuck that color yo!

What kind of gifts would you want for your birthday?

firearms. I want to obtain a grenade launcher with a switch on it for home defense

What is 1 smell you hate and 1 smell you love?

The smell of Cajun food is the best. I hate the smell of the bathroom after my coworker blows that shit up, like bro it’s so bad these dudes diets are terrible 

What would you do with a day off?

Since we finished the intestinal album I don’t do much on my off days but relax around the house and watch dumb shows and play drums here and there 

What is next, musically?

I definitely have a lot of plans musically right now I’m taking a small break because I spent the last year writing the intestinal album with the guys. Next on the list is learning some songs for an old band that I might be joining soon and also writing new content for that project there really no rush on things for that. We’re going for a full length for the next coagulated release hopefully by around December July we’ll have that done and recorded we’ve been talking about possibly doing a split for intestinal, we’ve talked about doing that for awhile I just would like to get some really brutal bands together for that. I believe a split is next for divulsive aswell. Me and one of my best friends from Texas are going to revive our old goregrind band and rename it. Hydrocephalic is kind of a joke band to us we just kinda do it when we’re in the mood to do it so I have no clue what’s next for that 

Thanks for gettin weird with me!  Last words?  See you in November bro!

Just wanna give you a huge shoutout man, you’ve shown nothing but amazing support with all my projects your the fucking man! It was a pleasure getting to answer all these questions, catch you in November bro!!

Support:

INTESTINAL SODOMY

DIVULSIVE

HYDROCEPHALIC EXCAVATION

COAGULATED

SCXMFXCK

NEW STANDARD ELITE

COMATOSE

Subserviency - Interview 2026

SUBSERVIENCY

Location: Little Rock, Arkansas 

Genre: Brutal Death

Members: 

Samoth Cook - Drums / Vocals 

Phoenix Davis - Guitar / Bass

Lance Schwab - Guitar 

"The midwestern states are not typically known as the bastion of brutal death metal, but Subserviency is definitely going to put Arkansas BDM on the map. Their NSE debut EP will be out later this year, mixed and mastered by Xander Bridge (Nuclear Remains, Obscured Existence)." 

Subserviency is a very young band that sounds and feels beyond their years!  Cannot wait for more!!!  Enjoy the interview!

Hello!  How are you?

Hello! I'm fine, thank you.

Who are you? what do you do in Subserviency?

I'm Samoth, I drum and do vocals. I also create a lot of the graphics/art for the band and handle booking and whatnot, I love making stuff.

Can you tell us all the members?  How old are you guys?

I'm 19. Lance plays guitar, he's 16 about to turn 17 this month. Phoenix plays bass and guitar, he turned 17 not too long ago.

                                                                                                                                                                        Can you tell the whole story about how the band started?

   

I used to have a solo project named Artistic Defilement back in 2024. My friend Sam, who plays in
a band from here called Render, reached out to me about needing another band to play for a show he was putting together. At the time, I didn't really have shit written. What ended up happening was I wrote 3 songs, all very odd BDM pieces inspired by a mix of Mortal Decay and Stargazer. I got Sam to learn them on bass and his friend Logan to learn them on guitar, and we ended up playing a few shows. There's probably some clips lying around on YouTube. Eventually, we split in early 2025 due to the distance between members and time issues. Not long after, we were offered a show with a pretty big band at the time that happened to be coming through, and I had nobody to play it with! So, in a nature similar to how Artistic began, I gathered a few friends to write some music and make this shit happen. I think we had about 2 months. I got my good friends Phoenix and Lance to join, who swapped between bass and guitar between songs. We had another guitarist at the time, who we've now since parted ways with. We wrote 3 songs and learned a cover of Losfer Words by Iron Maiden. It was very low effort slam-centric music made solely to get through the first couple shows, but people seemed to dig it since they could mosh to it. After we became a three-piece, we began writing new material in which we actually wanted to play. I wrote the the first couple songs on the EP, Lance and I wrote the last song, which was actually the first one we began to write (around November). Phoenix wrote all of the bass, which I suspect emerged from the babbling brook of consciousness which his brilliant thoughts flow. We finished writing in time for our first out of state show in late January, which we played in Jackson, Mississippi.

How did you name the band?

Lance came up with it, he got it from the Internal Bleeding song "God of Subservience". At the same time, I think it offers deeper meaning when you think about the "subservience" you often see in music scenes, following trends and gimmicks and regurgitating ideas between one another instead of creating something of your own volition.

How did working with New Standard Elite come about?

A good friend of mine, Sam Little (Submerged, Grafted, etc), mentioned our name to Ryan Baker a couple times. They ended up reaching out to us after Bridget Lynch of Stabbing saw us play in Houston, she sent him a clip of Butchery of the Witless and he was sold. We were super stoked since we were actually gonna reach out to the label once we recorded, but it gave us the kick in the ass to actually get everything recorded.

What bands inspire you?

This could be a long list but I'll try to condense it, haha. Number one is definitely Lykathea Aflame and their precursor band Appalling Spawn. Other than that, Gorguts, Defeated Sanity, Deeds of Flesh, Despondency, Stargazer, Morbid Angel, Cenotaph (MX), Atheist, Cynic, Immolation, Oppressor, Nile, Theurgy, Submerged, Contrastic, Origin, Internal Suffering, likely some others on the death metal front. We try to incorporate melodies inspired by ancient music of various cultures. We also take inspiration from some black metal and heavy metal acts, we like to mesh stuff from everything we like. Also Rush.

Damn, Lykathea Aflame!  Haven't heard that name in a long time!

Being that you are all so young, I just have to ask how you came to find this kind of music. Family? Siblings? Older friends?

Lance: I personally found this kind of music just from hanging out with Samoth and Phoenix, because before I became friends with them I had minimal interest in the genre and I was just more of a black metal guy anyway. (You can probably somewhat hear the influence in our music, being that us 3 all love black metal) None of my family is into extremely heavy music though, except for my dad who is a big thrash and heavy metal guy.

Samoth: My parents raised me on a lot of metal. They, along with my aunt, played in a black metal band called “Fallen Empire”. My uncle also plays in a death metal band called “Vore”.

I grew up listening to a lot of Iron Maiden, Savatage, Burzum, Einherjer and whatnot. Lots of heavy metal and black metal. I remember always looking at the CDs we had in our car on the way to school, I loved the art on Ragnarok by Tyr haha. I got into brutal death metal around 5th grade when I found Dying Fetus, I thought the name was funny but ended up getting addicted the more I listened. I’ve only grown to be more passionate about this music as my life goes on, I have almost everything to thank for it.

Phoenix:  When I was in the sixth grade, I downloaded bandcamp and began exploring all sorts of genres. Before this I hadn't much engaged with music. In my household, it was mainly pop and folk, and none of it interested me besides the occasional Sabbath my mom would put on. My big gateway band was Sleep, which sparked my ever-evolving obsession for discovering music through whatever methods. At first it was doom metal, then black metal, and eventually death metal. I started listening to BDM around the end of ninth grade, and since then I've been doing what I do.

Also, after a youtube deep-dive, I realized that you are all incredibly talented musicians! How long has everyone been at their instrument and how often do you guys practice?

Lance: I would estimate I've been playing music and instruments for probably 2 and a half years. I started out playing bass because my brother had a bass guitar and a bass amp in his room that just sat and collected dust and he didn't care for me playing it. I remember playing bass a lot for most of summer, and finally getting an electric guitar for my birthday in July. And ever since then, I've just been playing guitar everyday.

Samoth: I’ve been playing drums practically my entire life. I received a toy drum set when I was like 2 or so, ended up loving it so much that my parents got me a starter kit. I remember bass pedals being the most difficult thing to grasp, I’d supplement it by using the floor tom instead. I mostly played a lot of Black Sabbath, I love Bill Ward. Eventually I got decent enough by time I was in elementary school and so on. My skill really began to improve when I got into Zach Hill’s playing, 

I remember practicing everyday to sound like him. It ended up giving me a very erratic and loose style that ends up working to my favor. Then I learned how to blast and so on so forth… I’m still not as good as Lille Gruber but I’m always getting better!

Phoenix: I started playing guitar shortly after I began drumming roughly three years ago. Initially, I was just messing around with my grandpas acoustic and most of my attention was centered on drums. Gradually, though, my focus shifted more and more to guitar and now it's my main instrument. And as much as I'd love to say I practice a steady eight hours a day Joe Pass style, it usually ends up being around 1-3. I'll get to that 8+ schedule soon though hopefully maybe!

Thanks a lot for answering some questions!  We can't wait to Observe The Ancestral Twilight!!!   Any last words?

Keep an eye on the upcoming EP and the music video, it’s a lot of fun. Listen to Manilla Road and Lykathea Aflame! Thank you for taking the time to interview us!!!

SUPPORT SUBSERVIENCY HERE

and

HERE

Barbarism - Interview 2026

Barbarism is an international act; Indonesia/Ecuador Brutal Death Metal.  The band's debut album, Predetermined Extinction, is slated for an August 10th release via Grave Island Records.  Grave Island is a young label, owned and operated out of the country of Cyprus.  One to watch for sure, with a small but strong roster, great website, and great communication.  I'll be supporting for sure!

As far as Barbarism and the album, it is relentless BDM full of memorable riffs and punishing drums, topped off with Ardian's nasty thick wet gross gutturals!

I will include the advance-track below, but the album as a whole is really well written and addictive!

Enjoy the track and the interview below!

 Hello!  How are you?

First of all, thank you for having us. It's a pleasure to be part of this interview, and we really appreciate your support.

Hi, man! We're doing great over here. How about you?

Also doing great over here!

Who are you? what do you do in Barbarism?

I'm Ardian, the vocalist and lyricist of Barbarism. I also handle the band's layouts and visual/video production.

Can you tell us all the members?  What other projects are you all a part of?

Barbarism consists of Ardian (vocals/lyrics), Roby (guitar/bass), and Claudio (drums). Outside of Barbarism, I'm also active in Deserter and Devastrosity, where Roby also plays guitar in Devastrosity. Roby is also the drummer for Decaying Human, among other projects. Claudio is active in Huesa Cadaver, Infected Humans, and Nephropexy.

Can you talk a little bit about of the band started? 

Barbarism originally started as a duo between Roby and me. We wanted a separate outlet to write music outside of our main bands, so we began writing and recording the demo in late 2023. We like to keep each of our bands focused on its own identity, so every project has its own musical direction and vision. Later, Claudio offered to record the drums, and he immediately understood the material and brought it to life. We never expected that this project would eventually become an international band between Indonesia and Ecuador. Haha!

How did you name the band?

Actually, the band had two different names before we settled on Barbarism. We even had logos made for them, but none of them really felt right. While discussing our demo with Jesse Denton, I asked if he had any suggestions for a band name. He sent me a list of ideas, and "Barbarism" instantly stood out. It perfectly captured the chaotic, savage atmosphere of our early material, so the choice was obvious. Then I sketched the Barbarism logo and asked Guntur to revamp it into the version we use today.

What bands inspire you?

Without a doubt, Almighty Disgorge is our biggest influence. Their music had a massive impact on us and helped shape the way we approach brutal death metal. That said, we didn't want to simply recreate the past. Predetermined Extinction is our tribute to the era of brutal death metal that shaped us while forging our own identity, rooted in structured violence, anti-creation, and the inevitable collapse of existence.

Now, you said "We like to keep each of our bands focused on its own identity, so every project has its own musical direction and vision."  

Then you said;  "Predetermined Extinction is our tribute to the era of brutal death metal that shaped us while forging our own identity, rooted in structured violence, anti-creation, and the inevitable collapse of existence."  Can you give any advice for bands that are also paying tribute to the more old school bdm sound, but are struggling in the 'forging their own identity' department?  I think you guys do this pretty well, with Devastrosity also, but I can't really explain it.  Can you?

Honestly, it's difficult to explain because developing a band's personality and identity is probably one of the hardest parts of making brutal death metal. It's such a dense genre, and sometimes your riffs or song structures will naturally resemble your influences or even other bands. That's completely normal, and it shouldn't become something that discourages you.  The important thing is to keep pushing until your own musical character begins to emerge. You don't have to reinvent the genre or force yourself to sound completely unique just for the sake of being different. What matters is creating the best version of your own style and developing it with conviction and consistency.

Our advice is simple: don't hold back. If you're going to do something, do it with passion and give it everything you've got. Your identity will develop naturally over time.

What sort of direction, if any, did you give to Andik to end up with the crazy cover art?

The instructions were actually quite simple, but translating the ideas into artwork was definitely the challenging part! Haha.

I wanted the artwork to combine angelic and demonic elements with fractal-like entities, following the concept of "chaos on the surface, but built with technique and precise patterns.  It reflects our philosophy of "chaos in order" or "structured violence."  Andik did an incredible job translating those ideas into the final artwork, and I really appreciate his ability to understand the vision.

Conceptually, the artwork portrays the collapse of creation as a carefully orchestrated process rather than a random catastrophe. It represents a universe moving toward a predetermined extinction, where demonic entities serve as instruments of a greater force. What appears to be complete chaos is actually part of a calculated design. Every creature, every ruined structure, and every act of violence exists for a reason, reflecting Barbarism's central philosophy that beneath apparent chaos lies hidden order.

How did working with Grave Island start?  How is that going?

Our collaboration with Grave Island Records actually began when the band was still called Fraktal. As the project evolved, we mutually agreed that changing the name would better represent the band's concept and artistic direction.

So far, it's been an excellent experience. Pavel is a visionary who truly understands what we're trying to achieve. He immediately connected with our vision.  

We're very proud to be part of the Grave Island Records roster.

Well, I am absolutely loving the album, and I am sure fans of this sort of brutality will have no complaints!  A wonderful slab of brutal death!!!  Ardy thanks again for answering some questions!  Your vocals rule!  Anything you'd like to say to the worldwide brutal fans?

Thank you so much! We really appreciate your kind words and your support.  We'll continue learning, experimenting, and pushing ourselves to create music that we're proud of and that brutal death metal fans can truly enjoy.

To everyone around the world who supports Barbarism and underground extreme music, thank you for keeping this scene alive. Your support means everything to bands like us.

Stay brutal... and don't stop the madness!

GRAVE ISLAND RECORDS