Ladies and gentlemen,
today it's Christmas Eve, so all we must be good and gentle for this time...but don't you think that a demo called "Reborn in Blasphemy" could be a fantastic gift? In any case, here you are the very nice interview to the Calabrians Gargoyle, an emergent doom metal band reviewed by me some days ago with a very good 73/100.
ENJOY THE READ!
You are a
very young band since, if I am not mistaken, you started in the early 2016. So,
what are the roots of the band? And what is the goal of Gargoyle?
I’ve always
been fascinated about the way the bands choices their own monikers. In
particular, the gargoyles, ignoring their architectural purpose, are those monsters
erected on the Christian cathedrals to defend them from the demons. So, why did
you choices a name like Gargoyle? And who proposed it?
We have loved gargoyles since before we started
to play together. We admire how mighty and strong those figures appear and how
you feel anguished while you look at them. It's just what we want you to feel
while you are at one of our gigs.
You were
fast to realize your first demo since it was released on March 2016. Were the
songs more or less ready to be recorded before the band’s foundation? How do
you compose your songs?
The demo’s songs have been done in a few
months, they came from jam sessions or as an evolution and combination of riffs
made at home by one of us.
How and
where was recorded “Reborn in Blasphemy”?
We wanted a raw sound and, being poor devils,
we opted for a live-recording with a single microphone placed in the middle of
the rehearsal room. So… technically speaking, we've simply recorded our usual
rehearsals, which take place in a building between some public houses of our
city, where little old women live surrounded by "holy images" and
curse us behind the dirty glass of their windows… ah, such a typical and
perfect Italian atmosphere!
But is it
true that the title “Reborn in Blasphemy” pays an homage to the homonym demo of
the early Dismember or is it just a simple fortuity?
The truth is in the middle of both answers… One
of us proposed exactly "Reborn in Blasphemy" as a title, simply
because it sounded good. Then he remembered that it was the same name that
Dismember gave to their demo release in 1990 and also to the homonymous track
in "Indecent & Obscene". In the end, despite having no real
intention to copy from Dismember, we thought there was still no big problem in
using it and, most of all, it's perfectly fine if people look at it as an
homage to the Swedish band, since we are big fans of them!
What are
the themes of your lyrics? Surely they aren’t about happy things!
We usually turn up our noses when a band starts
talking about happy things hahah! We are in the middle between being realists
and being pessimists, we can't stand anyone speaking of "everyday
life" and all its shit as an happy good thing; it reminds us of the
catechism, when the nuns say you that "god is love" and such
bullshits. Our lyrics are linked to the funereal and mournful dimension of a
typical Italian cemetery, which we plunge ourselves in. Everything started some
years ago in the night time: we were passing in front of a cemetery gate and we
saw a white isolated figure in the middle of the main path, which seemed so
alive that he drove us totally mad. We could say that our funereal obsessions
are born thanks to this little "trauma", which influenced our lyrics
a lot. Anyway the tracks "The Lord of the Tentaculars" and "The
Whisperer in Darkness" have been inspired by Lovecraft's stories, which we
love to read… He is the true essence of the "weird cult"!
Why has
been added a fourth track called “The Whisperer in the Darkness” into the tape version edited by the Shadow
Kingdom Records?
The day we released our demo, an important American
underground label contacted us. The guy behind it wanted to print our demo in
tape format but he also wanted it a bit longer and a little bit different from
the CD version. So we've added another track, by recording "The Whisperer
in Darkness". Unfortunately some misunderstandings brought the agreement to
nothing. After another failed agreement with another American label, which has had
serious financial issues, we have received a great proposal by Shadow Kingdom,
which we have gladly accepted, keeping the extra track for their release as
well.
Speaking
about “The Whisperer…”, I must say that it is the more particular and draining
track of the entire demo. What do you tell us more about this song?
This track has been made exactly like the other
ones, maybe its weakening essence derives from a particular period of cosmic
pessimism haha! We can tell you that it was originally excluded from the demo
because of its length, but we added it in the tape version for the reasons we explained
in the previous reply.
A demo
re-released by a US label isn’t a thing for everyone, especially for a debut
production-band like you. Ergo, how was possible the re-release of “Reborn in
Blasphemy” even by a US label as the Shadow Kingdom Records? Do you have the
intentions to continue the collaboration with it?
We didn't expect a proposal by Shadow Kingdom
and we have been really excited in receiving it! Also, it was S.K. who contacted
us, we hadn’t sent them any promo. It has been so fucking old school! We are
currently finishing the last new songs for a full-lenght and we will contact
S.K. when they'll be ready, since we both intend to work together again in
future.
Your doom
metal is so dark to possess a damned black metal aura. So, what are your
influences?
Even if we listen to a lot of common bands,
each one of us is particularly in love with some musical genres or bands and
brings his own ideas into Gargoyle. Our intention is to create a certain type
of sensations and our influences are an instrument to reach this goal. We can
mix Darkthrone, Abysmal Grief,
Cathedral, Manowar, Mayhem, Death SS, Bathory and many other bands, as long as
it creates the atmosphere we desire. Our music is also influenced by
Lovecraft's and R.E. Howard's stories, as well as by old horror Z-series movies
and Italy's cemeterial landscapes. We are a mix of all this!
How was
born your participation to the free compilation of the Doomed and Stoned?
Mari Knox Knox, who works for Doomed &
Stoned and Doom Charts, contacted us for this proposal. We've of course
accepted it and the next month the Compilation has been released. We are much grateful
to her, and she'll be very welcome should she ever want to do an "occult
tour" of Southern Italy haha!
You will
participate to the 11th edition of the Calabrian Metal Inferno Fest
scheduled for this 28th December, sharing the stage with other
compatriots acts like Electrocution (from Bologna) and the Romans Corpsefucking
Art. What do you expect from this fest and, normally, how is a live concert of
yours?
Our participation to the Calabrian Metal
Inferno was totally unexpected! For several years now we joined this annual
event and it has always been a great opportunity to meet lot of nerds from
whole Calabria! Each year, it is an indispensable appointment for any Calabrian
metalhead! We saw Abysmal Grief last year and we took a direct inspiration from
them in creating a certain atmosphere while playing. We want the audience to
imagine being inside a cemetery, among crosses and bats that fly above the
chapels' marmoreal cusps!
Ok, it’s
all guys! Now you can ends the interview as you want and see you next time!
First of all, thanks for the interview! Now go
to listen to Bunker 66, Fangtooth, Abysmal Grief, Tony Tears, Bretus, Night
Gaunt, early Death SS and Black Hole, obviously! Hail to the Dark Sound, hail
to the Weird Cult!
"Sacra alla
religione dei sepolcri inauguravasi questa necropoli"
BandCamp: http://gargoylehorror.bandcamp.com/FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/gargoylehorror/
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