In the world of Slam, Within Destruction are at the top of the list of who is the best. The band has been around since 2010 and has dropped 3 albums. The latest album release was 2018’s Deathwish which has further pushed Within Destruction into popularity. Accompanying the album release was a music video for the song Deathwish, in which Infant Annihilator vocalist Dickie Allen, adorns a police uniform as the “Slam Police” and shuts down a Within Destruction party. At the end of the video the famous phrase “You ain’t slam” was coined and now follows the band around the world as they perform. I was able to meet with vocalist Rok Rupnik, to learn more about Within Destruction and find out what lies ahead for the band moving into 2019.

GA: How about we start with a brief introduction, can you tell me a little about the band?

RR: Within Destruction started in 2010, with Luka and I being the founding members in Slovenia. After a few member changes we recorded 2012’s From the Depths, which was a mix of traditional metal and death metal. Where the band really hit it off was with 2016’s Void, that was the album that blew up and made us recognizable to the worldwide metal community. Then we followed up with this year’s album Deathwish, and now we are touring the United States and its pretty cool.

GA: I first heard WD on 2016’s Void, the album was a straight deathcore album with nasty technical riffs and heavy breakdowns, which you followed up with 2018’s Deathwish. Can you tell me a little about the process behind writing and making the album, and how it differs from Void?

RR: Void’s guitar work and drumming was pretty much written by our drummer, Luka. We were having issues with getting guitarists to be able to write riffs and music that fit the style we wanted, and what was there creatively was already done by Luka. However, in 2018 we got a new guitarist, Damir. He is one of the best guitarists I have ever seen, and you can hear that on Deathwish. The guitars are way more refined, and better than the previous album. He wrote about ninety percent of the guitars on Deathwish. I think the results of this change can be heard on the album.

GA: The band isn’t new to having worked with other artists, having done work with Adam Warren of Oceano on Void, to Dickie Allen of Infant Annihalator on Deathwish, are thereany artists out there that you are looking to want to collaborate with?

RR:  Oh yes definitely. We haven’t discussed who we want for the next album yet. We always try to put two to three names on our albums to try to get it out there, and get people interested. It always helps to collaborate, and it opens up Within Destruction to possibly a newer group of fans in the process. I think it is a great way to get more fans.

GA: The tagline “You guys ain’t Slam” has been associated with the band since the music video for Deathwish came out where Dickie Allen says this famous line. What are your thoughts on the genre and where do you see it going in the future?

RR: I think Slam is getting more and more mainstream. Me personally, I think Slam started as this underground thing, and there are people who want it to stay underground. There are more bands now incorporating Slam and Deathcore into their music and trying to pass it as a new age thing which gets a god and a bad rep. When this becomes oversaturated it becomes viewed as a more of a fad. Slam is becoming more mainstream, and I think it is going to continue to evolve. It’s going to be modernized, which I think is a good thing, but there are people who don’t like that and end up hating the music. Therefore, we say we are Slam, then the Slam Police catch us and say, ‘you guys aren’t Slam.’ We are just poking fun at the whole thing.

GA: The band has toured and supported some major band with the likes of Suicide Silence and Disentomb, and now on tour with Arsis, what is it like to be out with these major bands?

RR: It is pretty crazy. When we started out, we had all these idols, as you said with Suicide Silence and these big names. Growing as a band and being able to play with these bands, it is like holy shit! You only get to see them on YouTube, and on videos, or if you go to a show. Now we are talking with them, and hanging out backstage, it is surreal. It is so strange to me, its like these guys are the people I idolized as a teenager and now we are comrades talking with each other. It’s really awesome.

GA: How would you say touring in America is different from touring Europe?

RR: It’s different from what we have experienced, in Europe the give accommodations and catering to the bands, here it is buy outs and no accommodations.  That is one thing we had to get used to, but we were already used to not sleeping in hotels; our first tour we rented an RV and we would just sleep in the RV. So, I think that is one of the major differences, but everything else is pretty much the same.

Also, a difference we have noticed, is we are not used to merchandise cuts. You don’t see that anywhere in Europe. We were really surprised when we first were told this.

GA: Do you have any preshow rituals or warm up techniques before you go on stages?

RR: Yes, if I have time, I will take five minutes to get my diaphragm and voice warmed up. I also like to get my mentality set to get focused on what I am about to do for the next 30 to 45 minutes. I might also do some push ups to get my blood flowing before hitting the stage. Other than that drink plenty of water to be hydrated during the show, because I sweat a lot.

GA: What is next for the band after this tour?

RR: We have a small European run after we get home, through Austria, Belgium and Germany. We are going to wrap up touring with that for the rest of the year. Next year, we already have an Asian tour booked. We are also planning another US tour and a major European tour.

GA: If someone wanted to support the band online, by purchasing merchandise where can they find your online store, and follow the band on social media?

RR: We are active on all the major sites, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Tumblr. Our personal merch store is located on Big Cartel, but we also collaborate with IndieMerch which is more convenient for Americans and Impericon for overseas.

GA: Anything else you would like to add?

RR: We love being in the USA and playing for everyone. We also love all the food here. Slovenia doesn’t have all the major chains, we have McDonalds, Burger King, and Subway. They are in the process of opening their first KFC right now. When we first came here and tried Denny’s, we were like, holy shit you guys have this everywhere.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WithinDestructionSlo/

Instagram: @withindestructiondm

Twitter: @DMWdestruction

Tumblr: mcwithindestruction.tumblr.com/

Big Cartel: https://withindestructiontrueslam.bigcartel.com/

IndieMerch: https://www.indiemerchstore.com/b/within-destruction

Impericon: https://www.impericon.com/us/within-destruction.html

About Author

Ron

Ron has keen eye for new talent, a love for the underground, and a tremendous passion for music of any genera. You’ll probably bump into him at a horror convention or some seedy club checking out the next need-to-know band.

See author's posts