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BLACK
ANVIL:
New York
Black Metal Trio Brings
About a Brutal Sound & Crashes Skepticism.
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The
black metal genre is infested by trends and posers looking to
shed light, ridicule and ostracize the trends and posers within
the BM clique. New York’s Black Anvil don’t give a shit, but
they get a lot of it due to their hardcore affiliations. This
three piece has just put out an impressive record titled Time
Insults the Mind, overlooking it based on this would be a
stupid fucking mistake. Read on and spread the word.
- First of all, I was totally taken aback by Time Insults the
Mind. What a great record. Before we get into anything,
could you speak a little bit about the album title, what does
Time Insults the Mind mean?
That it keeps
going. (Time that is…) It’s a line in “Margin for Terror” that
stuck out when we were thinking of titles.
- A lot‘s been said about Black Anvil being comprised of members
of hardcore bands, how does the band come together?
The 3 of us
were in Kill Your Idols. We were a hardcore band between 1995
and 2007. We've known each other for longer than that as well.
Some question who we are or what we're about, because we spent
so much time in a hardcore band. It’s the same shit. Not
lyrically, but musically. We've been on a mission, that mission
took us around the world and opened a lot of doors. Deathcycle
was started as a side project towards the end of Kill Your Idols
and it focused on some darker ideas musically with a different
lyrical approach than KYI and I feel we just over the years,
kept getting darker and kept getting heavier. It finally came to
the 3 of us doing this, and it was very natural. Time finally
permitted for the 3 of our schedules to finally sync up.
- Black Anvil is a black metal band, which is a genre packed by
musicians and fans who go around questioning the trueness and
kultness of the music and its musicians. Because of this have
you encountered any barriers and close minds? What would you say
to those who are skeptic about Black Anvil's trueness?
We've dealt
with shit from day one. From friends, reviewers, fucking
bloggers, or whatever you want to call them. I don’t really give
a shit what anyone thinks. It’s easy to put on a record and
gather an opinion based on shit you have no idea about. Our
record has a bigger production, which to me is still way raw. We
recorded the album in 3 days, and our shit has our own twist to
it musically. It’s not ‘real’ enough for people, yet these are
the people that do nothing but sit home, sit on the internet &
judge what other people do and create. These people do not know
us, do not know what we are about. I don’t need to make anyone
else happy with what this band does. It’s not about pleasing the
listener. If you are pleased, then great. If not, go fuck
yourself. Our approach to this shit is very minimalist. It’s the
way we write. We could easily be carbon copies of other bands,
but we still write what we want based on our reaction. Not that
we're this original band, to me we
are, in the grand scheme we're not. I think real recognizes real
in the end of the day.
- Black metal is a genre where ideas and philosophy are very
important, what are these ideas and philosophies in Black Anvil?
What role do they play and how important are they?
We are 110%
individuals. 3 individuals on the exact same path. Our lyrics
are a little cryptic and we prefer it that way, but not enough
that you can’t see the big picture. They’re as important to this
band as writing the music to back it. It’s easy to be some
fucking guitar whiz to play what ever the fuck he can, but this
comes from deeper. The darker side of our lives creates this for
sure.
- One thing that got me about the album was that it doesn't
sound like most black metal bands, however as soon as you listen
to it, you know it is undeniably black metal. writing what kind
of atmosphere are you trying to capture?
Our sound has
been our sound for a while cause we've been playing together for
so long. We’re a band that has set out to play live. So I feel a
record has to capture what that band is capable of live and vice
versa. We're not a bedroom 4 track band and if the kid from
Montana that isn’t a fan of us because we don’t sound a certain
way then he can keep playing his dusty shit guitar in his room.
- What kind of atmosphere are you trying to capture with your
song writing?
I don’t think
we’re trying to capture a specific atmosphere in our writing.
The songs evolve as any song. Some are
brought to the table almost in full, others just a part and we
sit and go with how it comes out. We’re writing for our next
record now and it’s coming along. It’s just gotta come natural.
Inspiration wise, riffs.. I think still come from the same place
as they’ve always come. We're influenced by shit from Poison
Idea to Frost to Sabbath. I still listen to the same shit I’ve
always loved and lots of new. We like to push our own meter when
writing. Lyrically, every day is an influence.
- How long did it take for all the songs in the record to be
completed?
The record, we
recorded in 3 days. It took a little longer to mix, but we
tracked it all in 3 days. It took about a year writing it. We
were in no rush. It definitely still feels like a first record
to me. I definitely back it, but our newer shit is definitely
finding a pattern we all agree with.
- The sound is great. I enjoy the fat sound, contrary to many
black metal records which don't sound heavy at all, Time
Insults the Mind is a very heavy record. How where and how
long did it take to get the recording down?
Guitar sounds
work with different styles of shit. I mean, if a band like 1349
had a guitar sound like us, it wouldn’t work. If we had a sound
like them, it wouldn’t work either. I’m sure we'll experiment
with more sounds on this record, but overall this is the way we
do it. We're a 3 piece and live we need it to be full as well.
We recorded it in Queens, NY at a friend’s studio. Like I said,
we recorded it in a weekend and we’re pretty stoked on it. It’s
been a while though and it’s definitely time for some new shit
which is coming along hard.
- What is your opinion of the response that the album has been
receiving? How do you think that Monumentum Records is handling
the promotion?
I think overall
pretty good. We’ve been well received by enough people whose
opinion I actually respect and that’s what matters. You can’t
make everyone happy. Like I said, we're happy with it.
Monumentum is a great label. He puts 110% into all of his
releases.
- You guys are gigging in New York, are there many like-minded
bands and does that even matter, or you are willing to go out
and gig around with other type of heavy bands?
I don’t think
there are any. We've played with some of the ‘like-minded’
bands from here and I got nothing to say about ‘em. First
impressions go a long way. I don’t need some kids trying to act
better than us. We've been doing this long enough. I’m not about
that ‘better than you’ shit. Especially when it comes to
mother fuckers that just hop on band wagons. Yeah, this is a new
band for us, but we've all been a part of this scene for over a
decade, some of us 2 decades and one of us 3. Sorry we don’t
sound like Transylvanian Hunger and aren’t hipsters doing
what’s obvious, but it’s that attitude that’s turned me off from
other NY bands. We’ve managed to play cool punk and metal shows.
I mean, some shit fits, some doesn’t. We just do our thing.
- How would you describe the current metal scene in New York?
Any small bands we should watch out for?
There’s a huge
metal scene, but with all the ‘sub-genres’ you start seeing it
diminish. Bands from NY that I would give props to are The
Comunion, Dimentianan & Tombs.
- I am always looking for new music, what current bands are you
guys digging now? Which classics got you into music?
Right now, I’m
running the new Sabbath a lot (Heaven & Hell). It took a while
to grow on me, but it’s fucking heavy. Other than that, I’m
really digging The Devil’s Blood from Holland. Probably one of
my current if not THE top band. I haven’t gotten too much new
shit. The new Funeral Mist is great. 1349 as well. Newest Aura
Noir is no joke. I think the new Metallica record is fucking
great and I don’t give a flying fuck what anyone else has to say
about it. As for classics? Shit, that list is long; Kreator,
CroMags, Agnostic Front, Celtic Frost, Carnivore, Sodom, Black
Flag, Poison Idea, Metallica, Sabbath, Venom, Possessed... you
get the idea.
- What’s next for the band?
We’re writing
record #2 now. It’s probably going to take us a little while,
but it’s in the works. No real touring. Although we'd like to do
as much as we realistically can in this day and age. So we’re
going to take it all as it comes.
MySpace
Read the Deaf Sparrow review of Time Insults the Mind.
Live photos by Daniel Warrington.
Check him out here! |
