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It's an old saying that the Devil has all the best tunes... and Ireland's Abaddon Incarnate would surely concur. From the twisted minds of these four Deathheads has come their debut album, 'The Last Supper', a platter of pure, filthy, nasty Death Metal capable of flaying skin from bone at several yards...
Fitted Kitchens chats to Steve (vocals, guitars) and Bill (guitars) to find out more about this extreme audio experience.
It's likely that most readers won't have heard of Abaddon Incarnate, so give us a quick run through of the warts n'all history of AI...
Steve: "We formed in '95 from the ashes of Bereaved as a four piece, with myself on vocals and lead guitar and Bill on lead guitars, Rob Tierney on bass and Olan Parkinson on drums. With this line-up, we recorded the 'When the Demons Come' demo which had on it five songs of Brutal Occult Death Metal- which had a dodgy sound due to a lack of good engineers and studio experience on our part. However, it got good reviews and sold well too!!!!! Then we played many gigs around Ireland and became a formidable live act. After a brief sabbatical (Olan moved to England to play in Blastcage and play the gig circuit over there ) we got together and recorded 'Aeons of Me Rising', a two track promo which, sounding more mature and brutal secured us a record deal with Seasons of Mist in France. We travelled far, far north to a freezing redneck town in Finland to record our CD 'The Last Supper' in Tico Tico, which also produced Impaled Nazarene and Sentenced. Since then, Rob decided to quit for reasons too many to go into and we teamed up with Cory Sloan, of Afterlife and Fifth Dominion fame. He assumed bass playing responsibilities and the result is more than satisfactory".
What is the political/ collective band/ your personal agenda behind AI? How did you get into making this sweet sweet muzak? And what is it about Death Metal that you identify with and which has led you to play it?
Steve: "Abaddon Incarnate is about Hate, Nihilism, Traditional Devil Worship and other horrific stuff. Politically, I suppose, we don't care!!!! We like to play extreme music and don't give a fuck about any other aspect of life. I play in Abaddon Incarnate because I love Speed and Death Metal. And I owe it to the thousands of devils and forces to promote their hate to mankind. I am a gateway for them to project evil and hate!"
In other interviews (such as in 'Deprived' zine), you've compared your music to Morbid Angel, early Impaled Nazarene and Cryptopsy. That's a fair illustration, but I do think it sells your sound short. For example, on several of the geetar leads on your album I noticed a definite early Nocturnus feel, would you agree? What other bands have either influenced your sound or simply inspired you to get up and start cranking out your own Deathly fayre?
Bill: "Immolation are a definite influence in our music since all the band have a great respect for them. The lead solos are a mish-mash of mainly three bands, primarily Immolation, Morbid Angel and Deicide. Because we've been listening to these bands since we have been into Death Metal our solos obviously reflect in a way the style of these three bands. This isn't to say that the solos are carbon copies; they reflect what each of us derive from these Metal bands. Deicide: fast solos with little melody. Morbid Angel: fast and off-the-wall. Immolation; slower, but more melodic. These bands and others have helped shape Abaddon Incarnate to create a sound which is unique"
Steve: "Mmmm... Nocturnus have excellent leads and personally they influence me a lot. I learned many scales and sweeps from listening to them, but we are so much faster and less technical than them that I don't think you can compare. Deicide, Malevolent Creation, Immolation and Strapping Young Lad are other bands that definitely influence us. As regards our sound, I would describe it as heavy as fuck, very very dark and extremely fast!"
AI have just got a new bass player, this seems a tad unusual given that you've just secured a deal and are about to release yer debut... a strange time to be jumping ship. What's the story here?
Steve: "Rob was losing interest slowly for years but, being a cool bass player and a close friend for the last eight years or so, he just never left. It was his decision to leave and his attitude was getting us all down. When we met Cory his attitude was perfect, he's like a breath of fresh air. He knows all the songs now and we are as tight, if not tighter, live now so it's not a problem. The new line-up has us all more focussed on the band in general. It has been a very good thing to happen. In regards to our timing, if Rob was leaving it's better for him to have gone now before we start writing new material and stuff; Cory should have as much input as possible to get as much back for himself as possible. Rob played with us in Abaddon and Bereaved and put a lot into the band over these past seven years or so, but he doesn't want to play any more and the time came for him to call it a day".
I've seen AI live on a couple of occasions and have been very impressed with the band's presentation on stage... what with Steve's between-song rasps etc it has a very strong 'European' Metal feel to it. It reminds me of Mille from Kreator. In fact, I'd say that there is a definite thrash vein running through AI. Is it a deliberate decision to project such an image, which is presumably tongue-in-cheek. Presumably it'll remain confined to the live setting, as it'd be difficult to translate the live vibe onto studio recording?
Steve: "Tongue in cheek? You presume wrong, my friend, I'm deadly serious when I 'rasp'. I really do feel possessed when I play. When I say that I hate it I mean it!! The thrash vein is probably from the Metallica, Slayer and Megadeth influence, bands that I forgot to mention earlier on but who got us all into Metal in the beginning... and Iron Maiden, of course. We put a lot of samples between the songs like rabid dogs, killing children and parts from The Evil Dead to get the between-song stuff we do live onto tape. We throw ourselves into the performance when we play live, give it as much as we can for the forty minutes to an hour we play".
 'The Last Supper' isn't officially released yet as I write these questions, and I only have an advance tape, so I haven't had a chance to check out your lyrics... perhaps you could select a few songs and take us through the lyrics to give us an idea of AI's subject matter...
Steve: "Well, 'Nihilist', the opening track, is about that, destruction for it's own sake; burn the world!! 'I Hate ' is about raping women (come on guys, wise up... Ed). 'The Sharing of Thoughts with the Dead' is about taking LSD and ecstasy in a graveyard and empathising with the dead. 'Temple of Rancid Filth' is a prayer to all the hate and spite and darkness inside me. 'Vermithrax' is about christianity being a homosexual religion and genocide of all christians/ faggots. 'Vile Pleasures...' is about indulgence and sex and drugs to attain spiritual wellbeing. 'Raping Ground' is about war in the afterlife and atrocities against angels and christ and the gang rape of holy Mary. 'When the Demons Come' is about armageddon. 'Manhead' is about ugly women who like to slice themselves up. 'Forced Osculum Infame' is about sex with animals. We all stand behind the lyrics 100%".
The Death Metal genre has a healthy fixation with all things gory. I think it was Autopsy who had a song called 'Battery Acid Enema' and Cannibal Corpse who did 'Meathook Sodomy', but I could be mistaken. Whatever, who did what is not really that important, tell me; in your opinion, how has the Death genre evolved and matured through the 90's? What do you make of crap like Six Feet Under who seem determined to peddle their shockingly tedious Death Metal Lite... in this enlightened day and age?
Bill: "I think who did what IS important. Image plays a big role in Death Metal. If Morbid Angel come up with something new, there is always a band there to rip them off. Six Feet Under; for fuck's sake, if they were just another bad act you could say okay, but the fact that the lead singer is the ex-Cannibal Corpse singer makes me want to vomit... IDIOT. In the early '90s when Death Metal was just starting, bands were getting signed whether they were good or bad. All of a sudden, labels realised that they had signed a lot of shit bands and thought 'fuck... we can't sign any more'. Unfortunately, this fucked up the chances for a lot of bands to come. Nowadays, Death Metal bands have to be damned good to get signed. It is happening with Black Metal also. Four or five years from now there will be some amazing Black Metal bands out there, who are not signed simply because they were not around at the right time. It's the same with all types of music".
Scary hairy-arsed Deathsters have an alarming habit of being really nice guys. Tell me that this isn't true for AI, that yer really a bunch of komplete kunts and not a crowd of middle-class mummy's boys.
Steve: "We are middle class alright, but I don't give a fuck. We come from the Death Metal class, The Highest Caste!!! As regards us being cuntz, yes, we are. We are completely self-obsessed wankers and we hate everything. Very dangerous when we are drunk!".
Bill: "We are complete cunts!!!!!!!!!!".
It's fair to say that Death Metal in Ireland in recent years has been overshadowed by other 'extreme' genres, be they Black or Doom or whatever. Besides yerselves, there aren't that many other acts around today who peddle a similar symphony of sickness. The only other vaguely similar Irish bands that spring to mind are the now-defunct Morphosis and Lesshelp... I think that Putrefy tried to give it another go, but mutated into the excellent Emaciate, who are currently doing the rounds up North. Belfast's Scald arguably come from a similar musical base, though more grind-orientated and more technical in approach. But apart from this, not a great deal else... what's the reason in your eyes?
Bill: "Black Metal came in, Death went out. The reason that not many bands play the music we play is because it is hard to become good at it, especially live. You can't just start out playing this music; to reach the standard we play at takes time. This time is what makes or breaks a band, most of the time they split. Another reason is that Black Metal at the moment sells, whereas Death, because of its extremity, does not".
What are your opinions on the Irish Metal scene in general?
Bill: "The Irish scene is small and therefore will always be shite compared to other countries, although lately, interest in it is picking up. This is because bands that have been going for ages are suddenly being signed and that has brought a lot of attention to the scene, which is all for the better. It's good to see that bands like Primordial, Arcane Sun, Waylander, Geasa, Moonfog and Mourning Beloveth are doing what they do best. Without bands like these, there would be no underground".
Steve: "I play in Geasa so obviously they are good. I love Moonfog and Sinister Demise. I think the scene is small and healthy, but is prone to over-saturation. I mean, this summer there has been a gig nearly every weekend and the crowds get smaller and smaller. But there are big bands coming these days, so interest is growing"
Both yourselves and Geasa have been to signed to Seasons of Mist, and both bands have debut albums out this year. What are your expectations of the label in terms of promotion and support; I've heard, for example, that Waylander have been disappointed by their label experiences to date.
Bill: "I'd like to think that we would get good support and the rest, but now that Mayhem and Nocturnus have been signed to Seasons of Mist I can't see that much happening. Then again, I could be wrong. About labels in general, I heard that Waylander had some bad experiences too, but that kind of shit happens all the time. Band gets signed, band does album, band gets fucked over. It sucks, but bands get a raw deal from the label because they often fall short of expected album sales and then find themselves dropped or looked over. I don't think this was the case with Waylander sometimes the label fills bands full of shit, it works both ways".
Have AI figured out their long-term aspirations in the Metal game, or is it just a matter of seeing what happens and dealing with things as they rise?
Steve: "We want to conquer the world and play live at massive death camps. We want to be bigger than Metallica. And have mass-suicides and murders at our concerts. I won't rest until this is achieved. It will take a lot of hard work and determination, but we will achieve it... or die trying!"
Ok, if you were a punter, why should you be interested in AI?
Steve: "Because we are the fastest band on earth, faster than Cryptopsy, darker than Mayhem, and the most punishing live act in the world. Do you think I'm over-confident?"
OK, many cheers for your patience and time; close off as you see fit!
Steve: "We will play in the north with Desecration before christmas. The album will be available within the month of august. Go to Valhalla Metal club in Fibbers if you're in Dublin. Support Abaddon Incarnate or you're a wimp and a cunt. Anyone who wants to gig, email AINCARNATE@HOTMAIL.COM".
Bill: "As you've said we have a unique live show, we are as fast as fuck, we are signed to an up and coming label and we're complete cunts!... what more could you ask for?"
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