Interviews
Interview with Matt Harvey of Exhumed
One of the forefathers of Gore metal, Exhumed has been terrorizing the world with their own brand of extreme metal. Having started with their debut album Gore Metal, Exhumed’sreign of terror has spanned close to thirty years. This band has seen several line up changes over the years but founding member and Lord of Gore Matt Harvey, continues to march this path of destruction. I was fortunate to speak with Harvey as Exhumed is currently touring with Revocation and Rivers of Nihil.
GA: When I think of Gore metal, I look to Exhumed as one of the forefathers of putting that Tag out there. Where do you see Exhumed sitting amongst the metal scene, I know Carcass was a huge influence on the band in the beginning with their own blend of grind and death metal, but I feel that you guys turned that up to another level?
MH: Back when we did the first record it was a very conscious decision of what people now call branding; because obviouslywhen you put out a record; they are going to review it, and try to put you into a box, and categorize you. We figured we would get out in front of that. We also wanted to make a record that was a statement, because at that time there was a European grind scene that was still active but, in the states, there wasn’t hardly anyone doing death metal to the style that we do. Carcass was an influence; Immolation, Death, Napalm Death, Sodom, Kreator, and Exodus were all big influences on us as well. Razor was a big influence with the chainsaw and everything. So, we synthesized the old school death metal with the tempo and aggression of thrash, because a lot of the death metal would start to drag and that’s not what we were interested in doing. I don’t know in the terms of where we sit, but we are just doing our thing. Staying true to ourselves, and hoping people want to stay there with us.
GA: Is the band currently working on any newer music currently?
MH: Yes, we always have stuff waiting in the works. We are looking to get into the studio early next year. Once we get home, we will start rehearsing and working on those new song. I think we have close to eighteen minutes of material currently.
GA: I look back to your last album Death Revenge and it has the distinct Exhumed sound. What I mean by this is, it’s a bit gritty while still clear, almost like a home studio feel but polished without feeling over produced. When Exhumed goes into the studio is there a distinct direction the band has for its sound out of the gates or do you kind of tweak things to your liking during the recording process?
MH: We always have a sort of vibe we are looking for when going to the studio. I felt when we did Necrocacy, it sounded great and I was really happy with it. I felt if we kept going in this direction we would end up sounding like a Jason Suecof or a Mark Lewis thing, and that’s a little too nice for us. I talked to Jared Pritchard who recorded the record and did a great job, and I was like you know, “we want the album clear and powerful, but we don’t want it so cleaned up and so nice that it sounds safe.” I hear a lot of newer metal records and there is like no mistakes, it’s so perfect that it doesn’t feel like I am listening to people play. It’s not organic anymore. It’s great and cool, and I understand why people want to make records like that, and I kind of get like that as well when making an album. Of course, you want to make it perfect, but I’m kind of fighting against that; like the sixteenth notes don’t always line up but that’s fine, that’s how Reigning Blood is, along with many of my favorite records. They are not perfect, they didn’t have the time to sit there and scrutinize each note. So, during our recording process we try to cut things off around that point, so we don’t go down the rabbit hole of chasing perfection.
GA: When writing, what do you look to for inspiration? You have been quoted that even though Exhumed has gore themes,the song topics span out further than that.
MH: The last record was a concept album, so that was a little different, it was historically based. It was a neat different way to do it. I did a lot of research and took notes, it was like preparing a term paper. I never went to college, so I wouldn’t know, but it is what I’d imagine preparing a term paper would be like. We have been doing this for a long time, so it was a new and different way to keep my own interest in the music. Its kind of hard to stay excited writing stuff like, rotting corpse, dead person rips your limb off, yeah. It’s still cool and I enjoy it, but at the same time it is hard to get super fired up about it, because it’s now repeating a lot of that stuff. It gets redundant, but at the same time we try to stay fresh with it. It’s a weird thing because we set ourselves up to be in a box, and we want to be, but at the same time we strain against the box and with our options with each album, so we try to bring in elements from outside that box to keep things going.
GA: What gear is the band currently using live on tour?
MH: I am working with ESP Guitars who have been very, very,kind to me. I am using an ESP standard Aero, that was made in Japan for me. I didn’t mean to order a custom guitar, I just asked them for a white one, and they said sure. I thought they were going to take one-off the factory line and paint it white for me, but they were like, “oh, no we are custom making one for you in Japan.” I was like, oh shit. I use Seymour Duncan Blackouts, which I love for Exhumed because they have a nice bright mid response. They also have a high output, but it is not as noisy or dark. I am very happy with that. I also use a Maxon Super Distortion pedal in front of my Peavey 6505. I use a lower gain setting on the amp and get more gain from the pedal. I do this because the 6505 is kind of the standard walk into Guitar Center buy the amp kind of thing, and it sounds good right out of the box. So, I wanted to keep that kind of power, but I wanted to color the tone a bit differently, so it doesn’t sound like I got the amp and plugged into it right out of the box.
GA: Any vocal routines or rituals do you perform prior to going onstage?
MH: Not really, after a couple of days of being on tour my voice is pretty much going to be there. I’ll do a couple screams to loosen my voice up, and a couple of beers to numb the throat. I also have a zinc spray that I will use. There is nothing to scientific, after doing it for a long time it is becomes natural.
GA: What is next for Exhumed after this tour?
MH: We are going to go home and figure out the next record. We are also going to get some stuff set up for next spring, and start thinking about next year. I think getting the new record done will be the priority.
GA: Having been the music business for close to thirty years, what are your thoughts on the newer styles of metal or extreme metal scene, with newer genres like deathcore, slam, down tempo metal on the rise in popularity?
MH: To me, I sort of have that old guy disease where every time I hear something new, I am like this just sounds like two other styles of things smooshed together, or it sounds like something I have already heard but they put a computer noise on top of it. I also recognize as much as I am still into the same stuff that I was when I was a teenager, it is important that the genre keeps evolving; because without that evolution it’s just going to be a bunch of middle-aged old guys like me. Sitting around talking, like “I just got the new Incantation demo.”
GA: That’s like one step from being the old guy saying get the fuck off my lawn.
MH: Yea, and that’s a bummer. The way I look at it with the way we do music, we kind of fit in the middle. We’re not retro, but we are all from that old school of metal, but we are not so retro or elitist that we can fit in on a bill like tonight. We can go out and tour with say The Black Dahlia Murder or Obituary, or we can float around and do different things which is the nice thing to me. I don’t begrudge anyone on what they grew up on or anything, I hate Slipknot, but I recognize that for the younger kids it could be the first metal band they ever heard, and it’s totally fine. Our hope is that we are exposing those younger kids to some of this older style, but not in a sort of elitist way. A lot of revival bands kind of get snotty about it, like many of the bands I like, its like its ok they haven’t heard of Demigod yet. They are not a poser, they just haven’t heard of you yet, maybe they will hear it and they will like it. Overall it is good to see the genre keeps changing and thriving and finding new ways to get people interested. Without that it would have died out a long time ago, like I thought it was going to do. I never would have imagined that death metal would still be a thing in 2018, and Morbid Angel and Cannibal Corpse would still be out touring.
GA: Where can people keep up to date with the band and if they want to purchase merchandise online where is your online store located?
MH: We have the usual Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. We also have a Big Cartel store. We also have our own store, and we are trying to, like our whole thing is called vertical integration. We are starting to print our own shirts, we own our van and our trailer. We try not to rent anything, we try to keep everything in house. If you want to keep doing this at this level, its different when you are playing in front of a thousand people every night you have a little more freedom to outsource stuff versus being in an underground band. We do this because we love it but also you can’t go out and keep touring unless it is cost effective. We still would make records and play a few festivals, but if we can’t do it in a way that allows us to make money than its going to be more of play a festival and then sit around.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ExhumedOfficial/
Instagram: @exhumed_official
Twitter: @exhumedofficial
Big Cartel: https://exhumed.bigcartel.com/
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IVE BEEN SUPER EXCITED ABOUT THE UPCOMING TOUR FOR EIHWAR. I FOUND THEM ON THE INTERNET AND THEY BLEW ME AWAY WITH THEIR VIKING/FOLK/PAGAN MUSIC MIXED WITH ELECTRONIC. EIHWAR WILL BE COMING TO THE RECHER IN TOWNSON MARYLAND ON AUGUST 30TH. EMPIRE EXTREME GOT TO ASK THE DUO A FEW QUESTIONS BEFORE THE SHOW.
ARE YOU EXCITED ABOUT DOING YOUR FIRST AMERICAN TOUR? ANY AMERICAN THINGS OR PLACES YOU WANT TO EXPLORE?
ASRUNN: For now, I have to admit I’m still completely stunned. I’m not excited or imagining it yet at all. Right now, I feel like I’m about to go to a country that only exists in TV shows, so I’m still kind of wading through disbelief.
Once I’m actually there, though, I’ll probably start talking way too fast and way too loud, and I’ll want to go way too everywhere.
HOW DO YOU EXPLAIN VIKING WAR TRANCE AS A GENRE OF MUSIC?
MARK: Viking War Trance is basically what happens when you mix Nordic folk influences, tribal rhythms, electronic music and something much more primitive and aggressive. We wanted music that makes you want to dance, fight and enter some kind of trance at the same time. So instead of trying to fit into an existing genre, we just called it Viking War Trance. And about the word “war”: it’s not a war against others, but a war against ourselves. Against our rigidity, our limiting beliefs, our fears. Victory is letting go.
WHAT CAN FANS EXPECT WHEN SEEING THE BAND LIVE?
MARK: Our concerts are much more physical than people sometimes expect from listening to the albums. We want people to dance, scream, jump, crowd surf and completely lose themselves for an hour. It’s somewhere between a concert, a rave and a pagan ritual, but with a lot of joy. “Joyful chaos” is the word that Asrunn often use.
WHAT WAS IT LIKE PLAYING HELLFEST AND WACKEN?
ASRUNN: It’s basically spending an entire hour on stage thinking, “Seriously, what the hell am I doing here? This makes absolutely no sense,” and then, the second it’s over, thinking, “Fuck, that was WAY TOO SHORT!”, hahahahaha!
In reality, it’s a mix of intense concentration and this explosion of joy inside when we manage to bring such a huge crowd into our madness with us. It’s as if, all of a sudden, we’re no longer men and women, but one human tribe, united by joy and raw energy.
HOW DO YOU FEEL THAT YOUR STYLE OF VIKING MUSIC AND IMAGE DIFFERS FROM OTHER VIKING AND FOLK METAL?
MARK: What sets us apart from folk metal is simply that we’re not metal. We don’t use distorted guitars or acoustic drums. As for pagan folk, I think the differences are pretty obvious too. Most pagan bands take a fairly ceremonial approach, resulting in atmospheric, ambient music. Some of them are even very serious. From our point of view, seriousness is a symptom of bad digestion. We prefer to fool around.
As for the peace you find in atmospheric ritual music, we don’t know much about it. Asrunn, our leader, is nothing like a priestess in a linen dress singing with butterflies in the forest. She’s living anger. Our music is joyful and brutal, primitive techno made to dance to until the end of the night.
The biggest difference is also, and perhaps above all, harmonic, in the musicological sense. With ancient instruments, it’s difficult to modulate frequently or to play every note in every octave. We use machines, and that gives us much more freedom to create melodies and chord progressions that evolve constantly and are far more pop-oriented than ancient instruments would normally allow.
DREAM TOUR: YOU CAN GO ON TOUR WITH ANY 2 OTHER BANDS, WHO DO YOU CHOOSE?
ASRUNN: MmmmdzgebhfugzFDBZueisfg that’s WAY too hard to choooooose HAAAAA! I’d say……….. NIN and… well, Sofia Isella, lately. She’s tooooooo good to be true.
MARK: The Prodigy and Peter Gabriel
FAVORITE GAME OF THRONES CHARACTER?
MARK: Don’t know, but I like the soundtrack.
ASRUNN: Bree Van De Kamp.
IF YOU COULD RESURRECT ONE HISTORIC VIKING WHO WOULD IT BE?
MARK: Honestly, my memories from that time aren’t clear enough for me to really know. But I was very fond of the monk Eadwig of Durham, and I’d be curious — and happy — to see him again.
ASRUNN: Lagertha, to prove to Mark that he’s wrong when he says she had bigger boobs than me.
IF YOU HAVEN’T BOUGHT UR TICKETS YET GET THEM HERE
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EMPIRE EXTREME GOT TO INTERVIEW KURT DEIMER ABOUT THE NEW ALBUM “A GROG IS BORN” HIM WORKING WITH GEOFF TATE AND JOSH TODD AND BEING KILLED BY MICHAEL MEYERS AND HORROR MOVIES
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by Josh Drespling
I was at Preserving Underground to cover Filth and Resistor. I was all set with my photo pass and cameras at the ready. And then this young band exploded onto the stage. No grand entrance, no intro music, no flashy lights—just a wall of noise from the first guitar chord and a guttural growl that seemed to come from somewhere below the floorboards. I was blown away. Thoroughly impressed.
This band was Inferious, out of Dayton, Ohio. If you look up the word “inferious,” most dictionaries will tell you it means something low-status, submissive, or fit for sacrifice. But this Ohio metalcore outfit Inferious has spent the last several years proving that definition couldn’t be more wrong. Tonight in the basement of a converted church, Inferious delivered raw, sweat-soaked fury to all who were smart enough to show up early.
Before their set was even half over, I made up my mind that I had to talk to them and let our readers know about this band. Here is how it went:
Empire: This was the first time I have ever seen you guys. I’ve heard your name before but never had the chance to listen. The show tonight was freaking awesome. I loved it from the first few notes. The vocals and the guitar tone just hit ya right in the chest.
Since I am a new fan, can you give me the nickel tour of how you came together and I understand you are from Dayton, Ohio.
Shaun O’Shaughnessy – Guitarist: I live in Dayton, and the original band members all formed in Dayton, but it was kind of a collage of multiple band folks. People from the southwest Ohio area. Gabe [McQueen – vocals] and I were there at the beginning, and then through some line-up changes, this is our current and most solid touring line-up so far with Cody and Kyle. They also are from the area and have been in several bands. So they were always in the same circles, at the same shows, talking to the same people. It all worked out one day.
Empire: Given that, it seems like there is a healthy music scene in Dayton. Are there any good clubs, any fields to play in?
Shaun: It’s hard to say Dayton, Ohio, specifically so much as just southwest Ohio because of the way that Dayton, Columbus, and Cincinnati form like a little triangle. You’re only an hour apart from each other. So we can get into that larger music scene pretty easily. So Dayton itself has venues, but the whole collective area has stuff. There’s some house venues, like Gnome House, there’s Bob’s, but then Cincinnati has Madison Live, and Design Collective [DSGN CLLCTV] was doing shows for a while, but I think they got in trouble.
Cody: Yeah, it some code stuff.
Empire: I think there are a couple decent places in Akron, and even across the border is Huntington, WV?
Shaun: Yeah, that area still does have sick stuff. It’s just farther away from our personal local scene. Cleveland is kind of separate from us too.
Cody: That’s not necessarily our scene, but there is such a good underground local scene from the Huntington / Athens / Charleston area. Shout to Feverwar.
Shaun: We were just at the Grog Shop [outside Cleveland].
Cody: We were at the New Foundry not too long ago.
Empire: Oh, yeah, like upstairs?
Shaun: No, it is Foundry’s new location.
Empire: I’ve not been there.
Shaun: It looks basically like the old one, but it’s new.
Empire: You mentioned the Grog Shop. Were you guys there with Filth and Resistor?
Shaun: Yeah, we’ve been on tour with Filth and Resistor. The first half of the tour had Two-Piece on it; we missed them, but now Mono’s [Monochromatic Black] on for the second half, and they’re homies.
Gabe and I toured with them in Inferious a couple years ago with band called AMTAE, and Monochromatic Black. So, those are long-time homies as well. So, we’ve known Tanya [Elizabeth (Beickert) – Vocals] and Eddie [DeCesare – Drums] for a long time, and Pierce [Akers – Guitar] is our new best friend as well.
Empire: So, it’s just like a big hang for you guys.
Shaun: Yeah, all the homies are back. We’ve toured with Filth before too; we were out with them on the Oceano tour, and then actually a year ago, I think like right now, like today a year ago, we toured with Filth also. So, it’s Filth and Oceano, and then Filth again.
So, it’s been fun to have a full circle of friend hangs, and every night’s been sick. The show turnouts have been amazing, and then just hanging out with all our friends has been amazing.
Empire: That’s part of what makes it fun. Whether you have 50 people or 1000, you have that camaraderie and shared experience.
Empire: So do you currently have an album out? Where do you guys stand with that?
Gabe: We have music out everywhere, on all music platforms: Apple Music, Spotify, Google Play, and YouTube Music. Shit, if you even got to rip that shit, YouTube to MP4, do it, man!
Shaun: We got your back. We got three full lengths and an EP. We are working on a new EP with a label we’re signed to that we’ll announce here soon, but that’s going to be really exciting stuff, and just stoked to be able to get that out soon.
Empire: Cool. So don’t say the label name, but your deal is in place, and then the new album in the fall, winter, spring?
Shaun: Yeah, the EP should be coming out sometime this year, if all the schedules align and everything, but that’s in the works.
Empire: Cool. Filth tour, what’s after that?
Shaun: Finishing up the EP. Record release cycle, and then hopefully touring in support of that. Whether it’s co-headlining with somebody or doing some more support stuff, we’re down for whatever. Hopefully we can fill up the rest of the year.
You know, touring is hard financially, so while we’re able to still make ends meet on the road, it’s hard to pay all the bills, so we’ve got to go home, stack our bread back up, and then be ready to go back out again.
Empire: I understand. Is this your first time in Pittsburgh?
Shaun: We’ve actually played Preserving. This is at least the fifth time.
We played the DIY room, we played this room, this orientation, we played this room when it was facing the other direction. AJ, the owner, has been good to us. He is a rad dude.
Empire: AJ is great.
Shaun: The record shop and merch store upstairs is sick, I just bought a shirt, a Never Ending Game shirt, because we have to do a laundry soon, and I bought a shirt to extend one more day to get through.
Empire: Anything you guys want to add, anything going on? Shameless plugs?
Shaun: This has been a kind of sick tour, because I think we’ve all got to see family members. Gabe’s dad dropped him off, so we got to see Gabe’s dad. We got to go get breakfast with my mom and some family, I saw my aunt. Cody’s mom let us stay at her crib, and we got to hang out with her and his family. Kyle’s family came out last night and hung out, and that was pretty sick, so it’s been a good time.
Empire: Kyle hasn’t said anything, so tell me about your family coming out and seeing the show.
Kyle: I mean, it was my sister’s first time seeing us live.
Empire: What did she have to say? I mean, I’m sure she knew the style.
Kyle: Oh, yeah, she’s conditioned to it.
Empire: She’s not like a Britney Spears fan at a hardcore show?
Kyle: No, no, she’s by far not a normie, but close to it.
Empire: Thank you, gentlemen. That’s all I have today. Appreciate it, and thanks for the show. It was great; loved it.
Shaun: See you next time.
Before that night at Preserving Underground, I’ll be honest: Inferious was just a name on a show flyer. Another opening band before the acts I actually came to see.
That’s the thing about this level of heavy music. The headliners get the lights, the longer set, and the crowd that’s already warmed up. But the openers? They get twenty-five minutes, a soundcheck that barely counts, and a room full of people who are mostly looking at their phones. Inferious didn’t just overcome that. They incinerated it.
What struck me most, sitting down with Shaun, Gabe, Cody, and Kyle after the show, was how unpretentious they were. No egos. No rock-star posturing. Just four guys from southwest Ohio who’ve been grinding in the same circles, playing the same basement venues, and slowly building something real. They talked about the small venues with the same reverence other bands reserve for stadiums. They shouted out Feverwar. They bought merch from the shop upstairs to make it through one more day on the road.
That’s the part you don’t see from the crowd. The financial grind. The van trouble. The “stack our bread back up” reality of modern touring. And yet, here they were—genuinely stoked to have seen family members at shows, genuinely grateful for AJ at Preserving keeping the doors open for underground bands, and genuinely excited about an upcoming EP they couldn’t even name the label for yet.
Inferious may have a name that suggests something low-status, something sacrificial. But after watching them level a converted church in New Kensington, and after listening to them talk about their scene with the easy confidence of people who have nothing to prove, I think the definition needs an update.
Check them out on all the streaming platforms. Catch them when they roll through your town on the next tour. And for the love of God, show up early.
You never know which opening band is going to blow your doors off.
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