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Goreaphobia
Goreaphobia are back and better than ever. Read my interview with Alex about what he has been up too and the future for Goreaphobia as well.
MC: OK Alex my first question for you is how did the band get back together and who was the one who was instrumental in getting the talks started?
AB: Well it had been talked about for the past few years and I think we needed
to iron out a lot of personal issues and between me and Chris as well. Roy Fox
from Necroharmic had a lot input in that as well trying to get us back together
and do something. When we first talked about it we were not all on the same
page and I think if we do something earlier on it would have been crap and it
was proven because I had just done a promo CD with me and Craig in the band
and a couple other guys and my heart just wasn't into it at the time. That CD
we did was really crap and me and Chris both need to be in the band together
for it to be Goreaphobia. So it just came down to working out a lot of personal
issues and wanting to do it and both me and Chris both had to want to do this
and if we were gonna do it, we had to do it right and it took quite a few meetings
between me and Chris and of talking about it and ironing out the differences
that we had in the past and all that stuff. We came to the conclusion that we
both wanted to do it and we also knew that it was not going to be an easy task
because we were only a bad that released a few songs in the underground and
never did a full length album and also the scene has changed, I mean your talking
about almost a 20 year difference in age from the young kids today and we also
know it is a challenge as well, that we basically have to prove ourselves as
well to a younger audience. We knew everything that was at stake in doing this
and we did a reunion show 3 yrs ago, me, Chris and Craig and our rhythm guitar
player from 89 and the show went really well and we recorded 2 new tracks and
2 old songs for the Necroharmic release, with the 1st demo and 7" we had
on Relapse and a couple live tracks that Roy actually had. A couple people in
the underground had some hands in it, actually Tony from Fatal actually remastered
the demo and it didn't come out too well, I thought Tony would have done a better
job, but it came out really thin and we probably should have just left that
alone. Basically a lot of talk between me and Chris to make sure we are on the
same page and have the same vision and Chris felt that the band never developed
the way it should have and now we have the chance to do that and we are on firm
ground and here we are today.
MC: Tell me about the reunion show you did 3 yrs ago. How was it playing live
again and looking over and seeing Chris on the other side of the stage?
AB: It was great. Actually
I feel that, that show we did was probably one of the best things we ever did
live. The audience was weird because a lot of these guys knew all the songs
and knew all the lyrics and it felt like an old school show, but it also felt
like yesterday. It was weird the 1st time we got into a rehearsal room together,
it was like the 1st time since December of 1991 and this was this was like sometime
in 2004. It was a little strange, but it felt natural and we had not lost the
chemistry that we had. It took only like 1 rehearsal to get us right back to
where we had been. It was a great experience and it shows how much I miss working
with Chris as my partner. The reaction that we got live was one of the best
we ever had and it was a really good show. We actually did a Hellhammer cover
as an encore.
MC: This release that came out on Necroharmic, which by the way is an awesome
CD, was that Roy's idea or was it the band's and he just put it out and was
their any other labels that were interested in the band?
AB: We have got a lot of label interest, people wanting to release stuff and
do stuff with us, but it was Roy's idea for the release. Roy is a good friend
and an old friend and if we were gonna give any of that material to anybody
we would give it to him and we trust him. We knew he would do a good job with
everything and with him being a fan of the band and he didn't just want to release
old stuff, he wanted us to record some new stuff. So we wrote 2 new songs and
recorded 2 old ones that we never recorded before and considering we only did
3 rehearsals, I don't think if came out that bad. Of course it will be a different
story when we record the new record. It also helped beat out all the bootleggers
and I don't know how many different versions of the demo have been put out and
the 7" being released on CD and it helps us get some sort of profit out
of all this. T-shirts will be coming next.
MC: When you wrote these new songs how did that go since it had been a long
time since you had done that? Did you just bang the new tunes right out?
AB: Yeah, actually the 2 new songs, there was actually like 2 or 3 old riffs
that had been around since the old days and the stuff came together really quick
and it was very natural and Chris wrote the lyrics and it is weird cause Chris
has a way with himself that well I write the music and he knows exactly what
to do and he feeds off the music with his vocal arrangements. It was a quick
easy progress.
MC: What has been the reaction from the underground to the Necroharmic release?
Have you been gaining some new fans too?
AB: Yeah we have pretty much got all positive reactions to it and we have gained
some new fans, like some 18 yr old fans and they weren't even born when we started.
Which is nice that a younger audience is discovering the band and what real
death metal is. On My Space they add as a friend and ask questions about other
bands like Immolation and Profaniticia, Autopsy and Nilist and stuff like that.
It is nice to see the younger audience is recognizing where the original death
metal come from and we have been getting good reviews and I haven't seen anything
bad about the release so far.
MC: How serious are you taking the band this time. Do you practice every week
and are constantly writing new songs etc?
AB: Everything is very professional now. It is more serious than we have ever
been. Back in the early days we were very dysfunctional and we were just kids
obviously things are very different and we have a lot of goals and ambitions
that we want to accomplish with the band and as far as new stuff, all the new
material it has changed a lot because originally I had written the whole album
by myself as far as the music. John Mcentee came into the picture and this time
I wanted Chris to contribute musically, which he had not done in the past. I
ended up scrapping most of the album and writing with John and Chris and it
made it much better material. Much more diverse too. It is exciting because
I had never collaborated with anybody musically in Goreaphobia cause I never
really respected any of the other guitar players we had worked with in the past.
MC: Before we started this interview you told me you just had a band member
change, you want to explain that?
AB: Well Craig who played with us on the 1st demo and played on the new tunes
for the Necroharmic release, we had to let go and I am not going to get into
all he just had a lot of personal issues with himself and me, Chris and John
just can't work with him and probably will never ever work with him again. I'll
just leave it at that. We now have Jim Row who will be doing the record with
us. If anybody knows Jim he is the drummer in Incantation and he plays on the
first 2 Incantation albums and he played in Diciples of Mockery and he is a
very solid drummer and very professional and we are very excited about doing
the record with him now.
MC: Let's go way back in time. What are your memories, if you can remember,
about the tour you went on with Immolation?
AB: Well I wasn't playing in the band, but I was on the tour, I was Immolation's
guitar tech and what happened was there was a major split between me and the
old guitar player and we didn't like each other and he wanted to take control
of the band and I had lost interest in the band and I wasn't very functional
back then, so I left the band and had only been out of the band for a few months
and originally Incantation was supposed to tour, but at the last minute Incantation
backed out and Immolation got Goreaphobia to tour. the funny thing is it wasn't
an easy experience as I am watching my band playing all the songs that I had
wrote and it was very comfortable. As far as Immolation goes they are great
friends and it was a fucked up experience to say the least. A lot of drinking
on my end and as far as remembering a lot, I don't remember too much cause I
was drunk all the time.
MC: Now you have been sober for 6 years now how tough has that been and my hats
goes off to ya for having accomplished such a feat.
AB: It has been easy and
I can't see myself being any other way. It is a little strange cause I started
drinking at the age of 10 and it has always been a part of my life and nowadays
I am the focused I have ever been.
MC: When you go to write a song, do you have to be in some sort of mindframe
at all?
AB: I am always writing, but I don't always like everything I write. It is really
natural for me, I mean I can go today and write a song no problem. I have probably
about 4 albums worth of material. I have bits and pieces of ideas that are waiting
for some other idea to make it work. As far as writing it always came natural
to me. Some of the old riffs will surface on the new record, stuff from back
in 1989!
MC: Do you have any kind of date when the next record will be out?
AB: We wanted to go record in January and the situation with Craig has pushed
us back a bit cause we have to break in the new drummer, but it should be out
by fall of 2008.
MC: And this is going to be on IBex Moon Records right?
AB: Yes.
MC: I know you have a My Space page Alex, but does the band have a My Space
page and a website as well?
AB: Goreaphobia has a My Space page and we also have a website too, but there
is nothing up on the site right now and we don't even use it so eventually we
will probably do something with it, but My Space is probably the easiest way
of getting information or contacting the band. The url is
www.myspace.com/goreaphobia
MC: Now in the meantime before your next album comes out are you planning on
playing a bunch of shows and stuff?
AB: Yeah we are doing some shows in Jan and that will be Phila, PA. There is
a couple other shows in the works as well We are gonna do a US tour at some
time and we aren't exactly sure who we are touring with, but there is some talks
about going to Europe as well.
MC: Now you have been in this music scene for a long time like me. Do you still
have the drive and the passion like you did back in the early days?
AB: Oh absolutely. I definitely lost it for a long time and I think I am more
ambishish that I was before and it comes with growing with age and I think I
am more smarter than I was before. When your a young kid your mind is kinds
fucked up anyway. I think me and Chris are more ambishish than before and we
have learned from our past mistakes and we are a lot more functional now and
working with people that are not going to hold you back and a perfect example
was Craig, there is no way I could be on the road with that man. I am definitely
smarter as I grow older and they say you don't have the same ambitions as you
grow older and I would say that is not true.
MC: Do you have any set goals for the band at all or are you just kinda ride
it out and let the chips fall where they may so to speak?
AB: I want to keep making records for as long as I can and at the same time
to continue to do what I love to do and people of course have to buy your records
and support what you do and also we have a pretty strong fan base, which is
pretty overwhelming and maybe it will come a little easier for us because we
have a strong fan base as opposed to a band just starting out and that would
probably be a little more difficult. We will continue to make records and I
think we will do a lot of things together because our friendship is stronger
than it's ever been before and that is important as everybody respects each
other. I don't think anything is gonna stop us from making records in the future.
John has Incantantation and Chris has Bloodstorm and a new Bloodstorm record
is coming out soon and I play in a band with John Plumbley, who used to be in
Anvil Bitch if anybody remembers them from the 80's and it's a thrash metal
band called "Rise to Offend", which is a lot of fun and I like working
with John, he is an old friend and I have a lot of respect for the man. We all
have our other projects, but we will continue to make music with Goreaphobia.
MC: Alex I am out of questions and I think everybody should go and pick up the
Goreaphobia CD and do you have any last words? Horns up for the interview.
AB: Thanks Chris for the interview. It was a pleasure speaking with you and
everybody just look out for the new record.