Exclusive Interviews Only Found Here at MetalCore!
Necrodemon
Here is a new and current interview with Rob Elliott of Necrodemon:
MC: Rob congrats on the new CD. It is great. How did you and the band come
up with the new songs for the disc and are you happy with the way it turned
out?
RE: Yes we are happy
as fuck for the way our new EP came out! We aimed for dark and angry metal and
we feel we achieved it. It is full of hatred. The new songs came as the material
always does for us, from the heart. We feel it, we write it. Lyrically and musically
Necrodemon has ALWAYS wrote what comes naturally. Once again we stand proud
and on our own doing what most bands don’t dare to do. We suffer sometimes for
being so diverse and different but we are not going to change. We also don’t
care about trends and fads. We are Necrodemon and not copycats or followers.
“Reclamation of the Stygian Throne” is filled with energy and is bad ass from
start to finish. The band spent a lot of time perfecting the songs. The subject
matter of our new disc is very dark and dangerous. We produced the EP with a
feel of old death metal magic in mind.
MC: I know you had some problems with your old label Open Grave Records. Did
this problem ever get solved and what exactly did he do to you and do you know
if this same problem happened to other bands?
RE: The funny thing here is Open Grave Records and Necrodemon used to be really
cool on all levels. They started really promoting us and working to help the
band. In return, Necrodemon was working hard to promote the label and followed
through with all the guidelines and expectations they put forth. It was a symbiotic
business relationship. Then all of a sudden Open Grave Records changed their
line up, their style, and their staff. Once this happened, Necrodemon and a
few other bands were shunned, shut out, and completely wiped off the label.
Personally, I did not care but the problem was that we signed contracts with
them for sales, distribution, and studio recording agreements. Once the change
happened, we lost everything and are still fighting to get our stuff back on
digital distribution levels. It shouldn’t have happened this way but if it’s
a war they want, THEY CAN FUCKING HAVE IT! I have been really professional with
them from the start and I end up getting the shit end of the stick. I don’t
think so! James Mattern, Rob of Necrodemon is now your enemy. Beware!
MC: You have told me in the past that you would love somebody to put a 7"
out of the band. Why do you want this and what songs would be on it?
RE: It would just be a dream come true for Necrodemon to have 7” vinyl out.
We actually recorded two songs for this purpose as Open Grave Records promised
to release it for us. Of course the label never followed through. I am not even
slagging on them, just being honest. So yes we have material specially recorded
for a 7”. The songs are a previous version of “Black Hell Apocalypse” and “Chant
of Making 6”. This was another frustration created because my instrumentals
have always been planned out and came out in sequence. “Chant of Making 7” is
on our new EP, “Reclamation of the Stygian Throne”. Now one of them is out of
order to be heard. Anyways, the songs are waiting release and I hope someone
will press a 7” for us. They have that old death metal magic feel to them.
MC: How did the band come up with its name?
RE: We actually
were called Lordes Werre at the very beginning. Lordes Werre was my previous
band. I found out that the band name and all my music had been stolen from me
and had to exact my revenge. We kicked around names for a couple of weeks and
came up with Necrodemon meaning the demon of death. It fit perfectly. Once we
had the name we finished up our demo in the summer of 1999. The band actually
formed in 1998 and we rehearsed in a dingy old basement. We wrote “…Mechanical
Death” there and started working on “The Asp”.
MC: You also do websites, including mine. How did this come about and what other
websites have you done in the past and also would you be up for doing other
label's/bands websites if they needed somebody?
RE: I learned html and website design in college. I have done a lot different
sites for business firms, bands, labels, and art sites. I did not do the initial
designs for both of your sites Chris but I do enjoy adding all the content and
yes I am up for any website work. Also our new bassist, Travis Rose is great
at web design and flash work. Both of us are available for work.
MC: I know you are also filming a video for a song. What song is it and when
can we expect to see this video?
RE: The video is for “Feral and Unbound”. The video will be available by Fall
2010. I wish I could discuss it but I want to save it for the sheer shock and
surprise. I’ll just say that this clip is going to be bad ass and very shocking!
MC: How would you describe your music to somebody who has never heard your band?
RE: Dark Death Metal with Black Metal and Thrash Metal mixed in. We probably
sound like a band from the earlier days. We were influenced by the 80’s and
90’s very heavily. I do a lot of vocal styles so be prepared for something a
bit different. One song we are total old school thrash, then next we almost
go completely black metal, then we turn it around again and do death metal.
We try to keep it interesting. Every song is different. We don’t have a set
format.
MC: Do you feel as I do, that the scene now is polluted with way too many band
bands and that it makes it harder for other bands to get noticed?
RE: Of course I do. I feel it has always been hard on the true bands to get
noticed and any attention. Nowadays it is ever harder. The Internet is great
for some things but it has destroyed the once sacred underground. Anyone and
their Mom can record a song on the computer with drum software and put it up
on Myspace. I don’t want to come off like an asshole here because there are
plenty of bands I have found on the Internet and they are great. But overall,
yes I agree that the metal scene has become very polluted. Or maybe I am just
a stickler for what I grew up on and am not willing to bend to the winds of
change. Who knows? All I do know is that the ratio of good bands versus bad
bands is not as it used to be.
MC: Do you get to play live much and is there any kind of metal scene where
you are based out of?
RE: Ha Ha Ha! That is funny Chris! Our metal scene here is not existent and
terrible. We are from Northern Indiana. We and a few other bands are the only
existence of a scene here at all. There are a few metal heads here but they
are far and few. Locally we are shunned, persecuted, and banned. Most people
from our area are utterly terrified of us and our music and they should be!
Record stores around here mostly do not have hardly any metal at all. Large
venues here won’t even have bands like KISS. Yes we do play live as often as
we can. There are only a few venues locally we can perform at so we are forced
to play other areas. The Chicago scene has always been cool to us as has the
Detroit area. We do have a mighty allegiance with our brothers in Psychomancer
out of Michigan City, IN. We do go out there often and jam with them.
MC: How does a song and lyrics come together?
RE: Lyrics come to me pretty naturally. I just sit down and write when the
black clouds in my mind begin flowing. When writing the music, I spend a lot
of time putting riffs together and make sure that changes fit together and have
a feel for the ideas of the character of the song and theme. When I have all
the guitar parts finished, I put the lyrics to them and edit them as needed
to fit. Once this process is done I take the song to Dustin and give him a basic
idea of what I want for drums and then let him fill in the rest. Once we have
a skeleton of the new song done, we practice the hell out of it until we perfect
it. We work really hard nowadays to make sure all parts are satisfactory. Once
again we write what just comes to us. I do 90% of the writing but the other
10% comes from other band members.
MC: Tell me a little bit about each one of your releases and your thoughts on
them now?
RE: Great question! Here we go:
Deadly Demo 1999: We recorded this in a basement to finally get some of our songs heard. I feel that this recording was perfect for the time. We had a lot of fun making this demo and had a lot of beer during the recording ha ha! It’s as old school as it gets. I refuse to make it available on any format but cassette as to keep it’s integrity.
Haunted Eons: This was our first full length. We recorded it at the same studio where Lordes Werre did all of their studio sessions. It’s classic Necrodemon. It’s very thrashy and Death Metal at the same time. We had a lot of fun covering “Evil Dead” by Death. Definitely not our best work but definitely the best start as the band could offer. “The Summoning” became a classic song.
Allegiance to the End: Second full length album. This was probably the album that defined the Necrodemon sound and attitude. We became our own entity on this cd. The band matured musically, lyrically, and definitely became more dark and evil. These songs also were the first Necrodemon tunes to have a character of their own. We started using thirds on this album as well. The solos were way more thought out this time. Vocally I did strong and proud on this release.
Ice Fields of Hyperion: Third full length and first concept album. We focused in on the winter and the cold. From beginning to end, this album is frigid! Every song, lyric, riff, and sound effect was inspired by freezing weather conditions and all we could imagine for it. Northern Indiana gets very extreme in the winter and we let it influence us. And as a side note to all the people that talk shit about us: We did this because we wanted to and not to be like Immortal. We do not copy bands or styles we do what comes naturally. I added black metal style vocals on this release.
Reclamation of the Stygian Throne: New EP. These songs define the new Necrodemon.
We focused in on hate. This release shows Necrodemon’s rage and aggression.
During the writing period of these songs a lot of anger and vengeance was building
up in the band. This disc surely is not for the meek or faint of heart. We are
proud of it. When you listen to “Reclamation” you just want to break shit and
kill people! It will make you head bang.
MC: Does the band have any goals for themselves?
RE: Yes we all have goals for the band and personally. We all want the band
to continue in the direction of getting betting and doing better. We all have
personal goals to do better in life. All three of us would like to make Necrodemon
our full time job. We all want our families to do well.
MC: Do you think all this downloading of music is killing or helping bands in
the long run?
RE: That all depends on where you download from. It also depends on if the band
or musician made the tracks available for sharing on purpose. If you download
from I Tunes, Amazon, Rhapsody, or other sites where the songs are purchased,
then no it does not kill the music scene and it does help. If you download songs
and albums from torrent sites and mp3 sharing sites then yes it does hurt the
bands.
MC: Where do you see the underground scene in 5 years from now?
RE: Hopefully it will get back to the way it is supposed to be and not end up
in the toilet.
MC: Are there any new bands that have tickled your fancy so to speak lately?
RE: New bands no. New albums from older bands yes. I haven't heard any new bands
since 2006 that I like. But there may be some out there I have missed. I can't
stay up on the scene as much as I used to.
MC: How has the feedback been on the new CD so far?
RE: So far we have received nothing but great feedback. All of our close friends
have told us that the disc is fucking awesome. Our peers in Psychomancer love
our new material. Everyone so far has said that Necrodemon put out a slab of
hate upon the world!
MC: How did you end up on that Slayer cover's Cd and did that help the band
out at all?
RE: The owner of Russia’s Slayer
Fan club got a hold of us on Myspace and asked us to participate. We replied
with “Fuck Yeah we will do it!” I am sure it helped the band out in Russia and
a few other places in Europe. I am not sure how they promote the disc but it
was an honor to be on it and was cool to record “Black Magic”. I love “Show
No Mercy”.
MC: Do you have a favorite Necrodemon song and why?
RE: Yes I do. “Feral and Unbound” is my favorite Necrodemon song. I love playing
this song live, at practice, and love listening to it at home. This song has
my favorite lyrics and riffs. It has a lot of character to it. I am obsessed
by lycanthropy and it just means everything to me.
MC: Tell me a little bit about the other band members and do you all get along
pretty much?
RE: Yes we all get along. I mean as with any kind of relation between people
there are arguments and pissed off attitudes sometimes but for the most part
we all get along. Remember we are talking about three pissed off metal heads
all in the same room ha ha! We are all cool guys but I wouldn’t fuck with us!
Dustin Mock is a really good drummer. I have been impressed with him a lot lately.
He is a younger guy and into some of the newer bands that I don’t necessarily
agree with but that is what makes him Dustin. He loves metal and loves to have
some beers. He is a bit of a jokester and quite a character. Travis Rose our
brand new bassist is the type of guy who is a surprise. You always would under
estimate him. He’s the quiet type who is the dangerous guy to watch out for!
Travis is a very intelligent guy. He also just loves metal! We all do. It is
our life.
MC: Tell me why somebody should buy a CD from your band?
RE: Because Necrodemon is tried
and true. We are different than every other band in the scene. We do it all.
We do all styles and have a lot to offer musically and lyrically. We are a good
band live and anything on a cd we can do it live. We never rely on studio tricks
or magic. What you hear on disc is what you get on stage. Necrodemon is original
and never is predictable. We put a lot of hard work into creating our music.
Research on all of the lyrical content is done and Necrodemon constantly gets
better through time. Every release shows more aggression, intelligence, writing
abilities, and thought. I am a metal head and if I was not in Necrodemon, I
would like our band and listen to us. It’s head banging music.
MC: If there any other material you have lying around that might see the light
of day in the next year or so?
RE: Yes. We have a few songs recorded from different times when we were at the
studio. We are going to eventually get this stuff released and the disc will
be called, “Server of the Damned”. We have two songs from right after the Allegiance
sessions, one song done in 2005, one live track recorded from 2003, a tune never
released from the Hyperion album, and a few surprises! Hopefully this material
will be out in a couple of years.
MC: What does Necrodemon mean to you?
RE: Necrodemon is our life. Allegiance to the End.
MC: Plug any websites or merchandise that you have for sale?
RE: Necrodemon Official site: www.metalcorefanzine.com/Necro
Necrodemon Myspace: www.myspace.com/necrodemon
Necrodemon merch: www.metalcorefanzine.com/Necro/order.html
Necrodemon on I Tunes: http://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/necrodemon/id74102169
Short Notice Productions: www.shortnoticeproductions.com
MC: Any last words? Horns up as always for the interview.
RE: As always Chris, you fucking rule. We appreciate all the things you do
for the band and Necrodemon is now managed by you so you command us in ways!
Horns up to you and thanks to all the true metal heads out there that understand
Necrodemon and follow us. Necrodemon thank all of our fans and those who have
supported us. Once again we will remind the world that we have no time and do
not care about drama, bullshit, games, talking shit, and stupidity. We only
care about metal and the fires of Hell.