Wayde:
Hey Jael! How’s things in Melbourne today? Let’s start off with a bit of background info about Ignivomous for the uninitiated. Who’s in the band? How long have you guys been around? What have you released so far? And so on…
Jael:
G’day Wayde. Melbourne in the dead of winter is its usual dreary self, cold and grey haha.
OK, Ignivomous has been around since 2006. The current lineup comprises of myself on Bass and vocals, Chris Volcano on drums, Sean Hinds and Matt Johnson on Guitars. Since we started we have released the Path of Attrition demo, the Eroded void of salvation 7”, a split 7” with Tzun Tzu and the Death Transmutation full length. An unreleased alternative version of the track from the Tzun Tzu split appears on the NWN fest LP, and we are just about to release a CD version of all the demo/EP/split tracks with some unreleased materiel as none of that has been available on CD in the past. In that time we’ve played fairly frequently across Australia and appeared at the first NWN! Fest in Berlin. We are off to the U.S in December to play Rites of Darkness III which is a pretty exciting prospect.
Wayde:
That compilation CD sounds interesting, will it be released on Nuclear War Now! as all your releases thus far have been, or will you be releasing it through another label? When will it be out? Speaking of NWN, how long have you been with the label and what has the bands general experience been working with this label?
Jael:
Yeah, the compilation CD will be out through NWN!, as will the new album once its done. Our experience working with Yosuke has been 100% positive – zero bullshit, he just releases stuff he likes and does a great job as far as the packaging and presentation, which as someone with a strong interest in graphic design I’ve always been really impressed with. Its a very good working relationship – anyone who’s been in a band signed to a label can tell you some of the horror stories that come up from time to time, and our members have seen a few (Abominator and their terrible run with Osmose and Necropolis spring to mind). But its about as good as you could wish for – we write some songs, say we’ll be ready to record in however many months, the budget comes through, we record then we work on the layout. No stress, no pressure about the marketing or whatever. As an artist its nice to be trusted – the subtext is “we picked you up because we love your stuff – if we tried to influence you, it wouldn’t be what it is, so here is some money to record, make a killer album then we’ll ensure that the package is nicely put together”. We were approached by the label rather than the other way around. When we had recorded the demo we pressed up 500 cassettes and they sold really fast. We were really very lucky as an unknown band that we had contacts in the scene who traded them and sent them off to bands and labels they were in contact with . Within 3 months we had sold the whole print run and were fielding offers from several labels. We picked NWN! Because we had good friends in bands on their roster and as I said before we had always been very impressed with the kind of layouts they do. In the underground, they are really one of the top 3 labels. The other offers were good too, and I still talk to and trade with the guys who run those labels, but I think we made the right decision. Possibly a case of “right time, right place” – in 2006 when the demo came out it was one of the very first of what became a fairly big wave of bands playing in the “Dark Death Metal” style these days the market is saturated in a way it wasn’t only a few years ago.
Wayde:
It’s really good to hear of a band that is as satisfied with their label as you are.
Speaking of the “dark death metal” style that seems to be pretty popular these days; how do you think this “movement” started off? What influences Ignivomous to play such a raw and ugly style of death metal? Are there any bands within this style that you think stand out from the over-saturated crowd?
Jael:
I think probably there were a number of other people out there who had the same ideas we did – that Death Metal had become really saturated with fairly shit bands playing either very technical but soulless music or Neanderthal slam bullshit. Our motivation was simply that we liked evil Death Metal and we thought that it’s viable to have a heavy as fuck sound with a dark aesthetic. I wouldn’t describe our sound as “Blackened death metal” as that raises a certain set of assumptions, but it’s not far from the truth. As for bands that stand out in this environment, I would mention Dead Congregation, Grave Miasma, Prosanctus Inferi, Father Befouled and Embrace of thorns off the top of my head.
Wayde:
I think it’s great to have so many modern bands playing this style of death metal, even if it is getting a bit overdone. The bands you mentioned are a good example of how it should be done!
What are your views on Australian metal and the Aussie “scene” as a whole? What bands are you into? What are your thoughts on the lack of a centralized “hub” for Australian metal? Evil Invaders III was a great weekend, do you think there should be more “gatherings” such as this, or would you prefer it if it happened less often but with a decent amount of quality bands?
Jael:
I think the Australian scene is in a really good state of health at the moment. I'm very much into a lot of the Aussie underground acts - Portal, Impetuous Ritual, Grave Upheaval, Tzun Tzu, Cauldron Black Ram, Stargazer, G.O.T.H, Order of Orias, Erebus Enthroned, d.USK...could go on and on. The lack of a centralized hub is a good thing I think as it stops too much of a homogenized sound/scene developing - divided we stand! While all of the Aus/NZ bands may share certain stylistic characteristics, they don’t sound mych like each other at all, which is a good thing I think. Keeps everything challenging and vibrant rather than just copying each other. Evil Invaders was III was indeed an epic weekend - I certainly didn’t get much sleep as you can probably attest to with those thin fleapit motel walls haha! I don’t think its all that feasible to do something like that often - I travel interstate to go to gigs fairly frequently anyway as do a fair few people I know, so people get around regardless of large-scale events
Wayde:
Haha! That motel was indeed a classic, and what a messy weekend it was! I agree with your stance on the current “scene”, it’s good to be widespread yet still have the more subtle stylistic similarities there, it makes for a very interesting musical climate over here.
Speaking of Australian metal in general, I’m interested to know; what bands have you and the other Ignivomous members been involved with in the past? Are you or any of the guys involved in any “side-projects” or other bands currently?
Jael:
We've all been involved in other things over the years - Chris has been in god knows how many bands (Abominator, D666, Urgrund, etc). Sean used to be in Earth and Cryptal Darkness and I was formerly in Accursed. Right at the moment we are not doing any other projects as Urgrund's future is now uncertain given that Botlthorn moved to Germany.
Wayde:
So you’re all what you could call “seasoned musicians” eh? It’s always good to have a group of experienced guys focusing on the one project, rather than all over the place with side bands etc.
What plans for Ignivomous are coming up in the near future? I know you’re releasing all of the demo, split and EP tracks on a compilation CD as you mentioned earlier, but is there any chance of a new demo, split, EP or full length any time soon? Aside from Rites of Darkness III in December do you have any other upcoming tours or major shows? Is there any other relevant news coming from the Ignivomous camp?
Jael:
It’s a busy time right at the moment. We've written the next full-length, so we are in the stage of getting tight to play it all and recording demo versions so that we can work out the solos and vocals. Its shaping up to be a monster- less of the long meandering complicated songs and more "knife to your neck" immediate and violent songwriting. All the elements are there, the odd timing, the doom sections, the blasts, but it’s a bit more concise. I'm sure it’s a common and natural reaction that the second album reacts against the first. Although if it comes down to it, we did an albums worth of tracks on the demo and EP's. But whatever - you write a certain way when you are doing EP's - one direct song and one experimental one, on the album, that balance pointed more towards the long, strange tracks. On the next one it’s pointing back the other way, although there is still the 9 min closing track.
Other than ROD III we'd like to get back to Europe next year. Touring is always hard for us, money problems and study timetables and all the rest. Ideally what we would like to do is get on a tour with a more established act for 2 weeks or so, but we'll have to see.
Wayde:
Well I’m definitely looking forward to the new album and will be anxiously awaiting its release!
What does the word Ignivomous mean, and why was it chosen as the band name? Are there any central themes or ideologies prominent in Ignivomous’s lyrics? Or do you just write lyrics to fit the song you’re working on at the time?
Jael:
Ignivomous means "to vomit fire". The exact reasons for choosing the name lie within the labyrinthine recesses of Volcano's mind, but I think it suits. We don’t have any over-arching lyrical theme, but certain ones seem to repeat which relate to ideas around the unstable nature of what we perceive as reality.
Wayde:
Is there a song you’re most proud of writing? What is your favourite Ignivomous song to play and/or listen to? My current fave is “A Weak God Withers” off the “Eroded Void of Salvation” EP.
Jael:
"A Weak god", "Psychic Murder" and "The alchemy of suffering" are probably my 3 favorites out of our recorded songs. I'm more inclined towards the slower and doomier parts of our sound I think. That said, there are some of our recorded songs that we've never played live for different reasons, so I can’t comment about how they might work. The covers we've done we always picked because they are simple, high-energy songs, so they are always a lot of fun to whip out (Dr.Offals infamous pleura incising necropsy by Necrotomy and World Eater by Bolt Thrower. We were planning on playing "Pain divine" at EI3 but we had to cut the set a bit short because we were running over time)
Wayde:
While on a similar subject; what bands directly influence Ignivomous? And what do you and the other blokes generally listen to day-to-day?
Jael:
I'd say the direct influences would be fairly easy to pick - dark, swampy, dissonant Death Metal bands like Immolation, Incantation,Demigod, The Chasm etc as well as stuff like Beherit and Blasphemy. Day to day we all have fairly eclectic tastes. Sean's into all sorts of metal from Megadeth right through to Agorophobic nosebleed. Chris listens to heaps of blasting war metal plus 70's prog rock. I'm into a lot of noise and experimental stuff, everything from 70's Krautrock through to power electronics. Lots of psych-folk, neo-folk/martial and singer-songwriter stuff as well. While its a long-running in-joke among us that whenever someone starts describing any new music someone will pipe up with "if it doesn’t sound like old Beherit its shit", that’s more a mockery of the internet-toughguys we come across than how we are. If you're seriously into music your curiosity will draw you towards all sorts of stuff.
Wayde:
What are some of the ups and downs you have experienced over the years playing in metal bands? Do you have any interesting and/or funny stories you might like to share?
Jael:
Plenty of both, I guess. Playing in Berlin with some of my favourite bands was definitely a highlight. The lows are the same stuff everyone who's done it for a while will describe - being tired and broke, getting ripped off - its a long way to the top as the song goes! Most of the best stories relate to drunken idiocy and our odd sense of humour. One that springs to mind was the time we were hanging out at the hostel in Germany with the guys from Revenge, Proclamation etc. Volcano wanders in and says "There was this dog outside and it was barking at me. But I couldn’t understand what it said ‘cause I don’t speak German". It was one of the most hysterically funny things I'd ever seen - these staunch guys utterly dumbfounded by the wit and wisdom of Volcano haha. To this day I'm not entirely certain if he was serious or not. Other than that the need to protect the innocent prevents me from sharing the more lurid adventures.
Wayde:
Haha! Classic…
I’d like to thank you for conducting this interview, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. Do you have any last words to add, or anything else you would like to cover?
Jael:
Indeed, always a pleasure. Keep an eye out for a formal announcement re the new album over the next couple of months and never stop the madness!
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