So, the first album of Dead Congregation is finally out, after quite some time passed since the fantastic ‘Purifying Consecrated Land’ mini album, and let me tell you that I was fucking blown away. How are you feeling with it? Are you satisfied with the result? How has been the response so far? Yes, we are very satisfied with the result. Some things could have been better, like the sound on the drums or the speed which should have been slower at some parts but in general yeah, we are very proud of what we have achieved. As for the response it really exceeded all our expectations. We know that the material was really good and felt very confident about it but we never thought that it would reach so many people… Before focusing on the new album, I’d like to speak a bit about the beginnings of the band and your first miniLP. Dead Congregation was formed after the break up of Nuclear Winter, which, even if some people tend to relate it, had quite a different kind of vision of Death Metal, more focused on swedish stuff. The MLP had good reviews(I really liked it) but, how do you see it now that time has passed? Thank you for pointing out the difference between the two bands, as you said most people confuse one as the continuation of the other which is not the case. Judging the MLP in retrospect I can say that we are still very pleased with it. It was recorded in haste with a very low budget and with that in consideration I think that the result is very effective. ‘Auguring an Eternal War’ and ‘Feasting Angelcunts’ remain two of my favorite D.C. songs! On the downside I have to admit that some of the MLP’s material does sound a bit too much like our influences but who cares, we never said that we’re innovators. We just play what’s in our hearts. I guess you managed to show a big evolution from one release to the other. Your sound is really personal but you let some other influences to show up and achieved a more compact writing. Which differences are the most remarkable in your oppinion? I think the album is definitely more brutal and massive. Ha, yeah that’s pretty much what I said on the previous question. We’d like to think that on the album we distanced ourselves from our influences and managed to sound more like a real band rather a tribute to Immolation and Incantation. Soundwise the album is definitely more massive since we spent a lot more time in the production, trying to get a wide guitar sound and an overall suffocating atmosphere, a soundscape that would let most elements shine through but without being clean and sterile. ‘Graves Of The Archangels’ was released by Nuclear War Now Productions, which is more reknown for re-releases of old obscure Black/Thrash bands as well as War/Black Metal stuff, and which always put out excellent LP releases, as much for the music as for the artwork. Has the experience been good until now? Are you staying with them for the next release or you still didn’t think about this? Why didn't you release it on Nuclear Winter, just as the MLP? A main reason why we went with them is because of the quality LPs that they release. They spare no expense in the packaging and we would also have complete artistic freedom in how we’d want our LP to be like. We are very pleased with Nuclear War Now!, they kept their part of the deal and seemingly they do a good work in putting the word out as we have sold a lot more CDs/LPs that we ever expected… It is a bit too soon to know who will release the second album, we haven’t even thought of recording yet. When the time comes we will definitely keep NWN! in mind if they are interested in working with us again. As for my own label, I didn’t release the MLP either – that was done by Necrocosm from France (MCD by Konqueror Rec. and Enucleation Rec.). I only did the tape version because I still love tapes as a format for Metal recordings, which is why I will also release ‘Graves of the Archangels’ on tape too. Anyway, I think that other labels can do a better job at promoting Dead Congregation than me, I deal with pretty much everything in the band, I wanted to leave the distribution part to someone else… What I really like from your sound is that it’s not the typical old-school Death Metal copy, as a lot of bands use to do. I always say I like old-school Death Metal, but it becomes boring when all the bands just try to sound over and over like Entombed and Dismember. Which are and have been the biggest influences on Dead Congregation’s sound? I guess Incantation had a huge weight on it. What do you think about all that "old school DM" fever? Fashion or true return? In the beginning early USA Death Metal bands like Immolation, Morbid Angel and Incantation had a big impact on our sound but after a while we focused on creating the right atmosphere rather than trying to sound like a particular band. So we never have doubts about using whatever element we might find suitable in favor of a song and we never limit our compositions to sound like this or that. If it feels right, we play it… People like to put labels on everything, fuck ‘old school’, ‘brutal’, ‘american’, ‘swedish’, what happened to the good old days when everything was just GOOD (or bad) MUSIC? As for the ‘old school DM fever’ as you put it, I definitely think it’s a trend to its majority. Most of the bands who are into that will eventually fade away or change musical directions. One great thing on these album are those slight Black Metal influences we can find on some songs, which are really enriching for your sound in my oppinion. What kind of comments have you received about them? I ask you because some old-school Death Metal fans are not that much into Black Metal or even dislike it. Don't you think it doesn't make much sense to do that sepparation? Fuck narrow minded people. Of course we will use some ‘Black Metal’ riffing if it serves right in the song. If such a riff helps in creating darkness and filth will we exclude it? Who puts boundaries in how a recording should sound anyway, if a musician wants to stay true to himself he should not be worried about such petty details. We are not playing/recording to please or impress anyone, we do it for ourselves. If you like it, good, we are flattered. If not, good, there are other bands out there which you will like more. This year has been quite busy for you I imagine, and especially when it comes to the live activity. You played at the Triumph Of Death Fest in Berlin, at Ludwigshafen Deathfest and Trauma Fest, as well as some smaller shows, with Necros Christos for example. How was the experience as a whole? Maybe your show in Berlin was not the best because of the sound problems (you solved that in Madrid!), but I'm sure it should have been a great day for you playing before Asphyx and with such good other bands. Our show in Berlin was a disaster indeed, because of technical difficulties. It’s a pity considering that it was a great event with AMAZING bands (Asphyx, Drowned, Tribulation, Necrovation, Slugathor) and a great audience but life goes on. Other than that, every show we do is special for its own reasons… We were very skeptical about playing in Ludwigshafen for instance, since the other bands were quite different from us so we felt a bit out of place. The audience however embraced Dead Congregation and gave us a very warm welcome so it turned out a pleasant surprise after all. Future plans involve two gigs in Finland (with Drowned and Slugathor), a participation at Hells Pleasure Fest in Germany and a few more that are not confirmed yet. There is a big demand for gigs and even tours but unfortunately we have to turn down most offers because all of us work at regular jobs and it’s hard for all of us to coordinate our schedule so that we can all take leave from work at the same time. So if the event doesn’t take place during a weekend it’s particularly hard for us to accept. So, after all what happened this year, are you going to take a break or just keep on making Dead Congregation's name bigger? Have you received offers for any tours or bigger fests? I think you've just released a new split EP recently, what about it? We never intended to make Dead Congregation ‘big’… We just continue on our own pace, rehearsing whenever we please and composing new material whenever there is inspiration. At the time we have 8 new songs but not all of them are rehearsed properly as we can’t focus on new songs all the time since we have to rehearse the older songs too when there are upcoming gigs. The material for the split 7” with Hatespawn was recorded at the same studio session as ‘Graves of the Archangels’ but it has a different mastering so the sound is a lot rawer and brutal. Our side has one previously unreleased song and a version of ‘Subjugation’ with the different mastering. Artwork was handled by T.Ketola as always and the die-hard version also included a poster with the front cover artwork. The 100 copies of the die-hard version sold is 4-5 days which was quite a shock to us, we had no idea that there are so many people interested in Dead Congregation. Apart of Dead Congregation, you are running Nuclear Winter Productions, a label focused on dark Death Metal as well as some Black Metal. How is it going on? You've been releasing some real underground jewels, as Delve's demo and MCD, Verminous EP, Drowned's demo LP or Plague Bearer's EP, and the last one, Saturnalia Temple's demo (great!). Can you advance some of the future releases for us? Which band would you dream about signing? The Dead Congregation/Hatespawn split 7”EP was also partly released on my label, I did 500 copies and handle distribution in Europe and Enucleation Records did another 500 copies and has distributions rights in America. Other than that, these are my most recent releases: NWR025 TEITANBLOOD (Spa) - 'Black Putrescence Of Evil' CD Due to the constant demand of their sold out musickal rituals, NWR raises from the grave the old cacophonies of Hell and burning offerings from the putrescent Depths of this Bestial and Obscure Death/Black Metal from Spain. This release will feature the demo and their split EPs. NWR027 KARNARIUM / DEFILER (Swe) - split 7"EP Two of Sweden's most twisted bands share sides on this split EP and deliver some of the most fucked up and obscure Death Metal to be found nowadays. NWR028 COFFIN TEXTS (USA) - 'Gods of Creation, Death & Afterlife' LP Formed in 1997, this Los Angeles based band has been desecrating the scene for more than a decade. Having toured with bands like INCANTATION, INFAMY, ANGELCORPSE, SKINLESS, and CEPHALIC CARNAGE, and shared members with legendary acts like SADISTIC INTENT, INFAMY, and DIABOLIC, Coffin Texts has proven their right to be heralded among the elite archangels of death metal. These affiliations notwithstanding, COFFIN TEXTS has also been one of the most overlooked bands in Death Metal. This fact is mostly attributable to their short (yet nonetheless important) discographic history. Their only album, the masterful 'Gods of Creation, Death & Afterlife' - originally released by Dwell Records on CD in 2000 - finally sees the light of day on vinyl format with much deserved new artwork and design. This album features 6 tracks of devastating Death Metal darkness shrouded in esoteric references to Egyptian mythology. (The cover songs featured in the CD version have been discarded in favour of preserving the consistency and sonic purity of the LP.) Solid musicianship and crushing production easily places the band on par with monumental and well-established bands as MORBID ANGEL, IMMOLATION, BOLT THROWER, and CARNAGE, and yet the recording still oozes the deathly aura and thirst of a 'demo band'. Limited to 500 copies. And for the future, I am working on these!: NWR026 USIPIAN (Dk) - 'In Skinless Form' MCD digipack Old School technical Death Metal inspired by early Suffocation, Gorguts and others. More info soon... NWR029 DEAD CONGREGATION - 'graves of the archangels' TAPE MYTHOS (Fin) - 'Moulded in Clay' 10"MLP SATURNALIA TEMPLE (Swe) - 7"EP What's your oppinion about these bands: - Mortem: - Throneum: - Kaamos: - Necros Christos: - Headhunter DC: - Teitanblood: - Bloody Sign: - Necrovation: - Repugnant: - Hail Of Bullets: I haven’t paid much attention to Throneum and Bloody Sign – I need to check them out properly sometime. As for the rest, they all have my deep respect. No need to comment on each one separately, though I would like to point out that Kaamos and Repugnant are mainly responsible for the old-school Deathmetal trend that we previously talked about as they had the balls to play REAL Death Metal at a time when most bands had turned super gay. Soon after a lot of bands followed their example and many bands tried to copy their style. Ok Anastasis, I will stop here as I know you’re a busy guy and I’m sure you’ve spent enough time with this interview now. Thanks a lot and I hope to see you live again soon. If you want to add anything else, it’s your time. Thank you very much for being such a loyal fan and supporting D.C. in every way you can. We hope that our new material will not disappoint you. See you again at some gig in Europe!
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