ARTHUR VON NAGEL OF CORMORANT: THE OFFICIAL METALSUCKS INTERVIEW
Friday, August 28th, 2009 at 2:35pm by Ziltoid
Once the polls indicated that I was practically guaranteed to win this little contest, I decided that one thing that I really wanted for this site was an interview. But I didn’t want an ordinary interview—I wanted a killer interview. Luckily, bassist/vocalist Arthur von Nagel of the band Cormorant was more than happy to provide this interview. In fact, Arthur went way beyond anything I expected!
For starters, Cormorant is a band that is very hard to categorize. Some might be very general and say “extreme progressive metal,” while others might just be up to the task of labeling them using every subgenre that Cormorant integrates into their music (an arduous task if I do say so myself). Regardless, these guys bring an incredibly unique and diverse sound into the metal scene. Based on what I’ve heard so far, their new album Metazoa is definitely looking like it’ll be one of my top albums of the year.
Besides being a great bassist, Arthur is just a genuinely classy guy and quite the intellectual as you’ll see in the interview after the jump.
Read the interview after the jump.
Arthur, great to talk to you. For those reading this who aren’t familiar with Cormorant, explain the story behind the creation of the band, as well as your influences?
Ziltoid, it’s a pleasure to answer your questions. Though Cormorant proper has only been together since 2007, the concept behind the band developed gradually, over the course of about five years. I met our drummer Brennan Kunkel when we both joined a thrash band together. I was 17, and had just started learning the bass. Since the guitar riffing in the group was simple and punk-inflected, Brennan and I compensated by developing a nuanced and almost “melodic” rhythm section. As we improved and listened to more diverse and extreme music (around then I was all about fringe pseudo-black metal like Solefald, Celtic Frost, and Agalloch) we realized we were no longer satisfied playing straight-ahead crossover, and attempted to integrate progressive and folk elements to widen the scope of the sound. It didn’t sit well with the rest of the group.
Around this time, I had the chance to have tea with Faith No More and Ozzy Osbourne drummer Mike Bordin, introduced through a mutual friend. We immediately hit it off because we’re both huge literature geeks: I’m sure neither of us thought we’d end up discussing the merits of separating Louis-Ferdinand Céline’s literary output from his anti-Semitism. Over the course of our chat, I grew more comfortable, so I finally explained my band situation and asked for his advice. He suggested that life was too short to bother with artistic compromise. And from a man who had followed an MTV-friendly platinum record with the commercial-suicide known as Angel Dust, it was clear to me his words were sincere. Next time I met with Brennan, we began conceptualizing a new band, one without stylistic barriers.
We forged on as a two-piece, performing all the parts on a rough demo that included primitive versions of songs that would later become “Trojan Horses,” “Hanging Gardens,” and “Ballad of the Beast.” We discovered that while the framework was sound, the execution left room for improvement. So we ended up jamming with the guitarist Nick Cohon, a high school friend of Brennan’s and a former band mate, and everything clicked. Sketches of the songs “Scavengers Feast” and “The Crossing” emerged from that initial rehearsal. He was the guy. Unfortunately for us, Nick was working as a farmer at the time, and we were approaching the harvest season, so we had to wait for him a good six months. Brennan and I bided our time by moving into our own band house and building a recording studio in the living room, sending Nick photo updates to make sure he stayed committed. We were dead fucking serious about this.
Once Nick got back, we immediately began writing. Within half a year, the three of us had composed a five-song EP, The Last Tree, which we self-released in Digipak format in December 2007. Since we’re poor and pig-headed, the album was recorded, mixed and mastered over the course of a single week-end at Studio D in Sausalito, with a friend from grade school named Matthew Wilenchik engineering the sessions. We didn’t have a clue what we were doing, but I feel the production and execution still has a lot of charm. At the time, our style was more along the lines of melodic death metal like an Amon Amarth or Quo Vadis, except for the last track “Ballad of the Beast” which was a whole other animal entirely, integrating elements of doom, prog, gothic metal, black metal, jazz, operatic female vocals, piano… all hinting very directly at the sonic evolution we’d undergo over the next year to lead up to the recording of our upcoming full-length album Metazoa.
That’s quite an interesting history! Now, I hear that you guys have your debut full-length album being released on September 22nd, entitled Metazoa. That’s quite a metal title if you ask me! What does it mean, and what should we expect from the album? The three songs from the album that are currently streaming on your Myspace sound very different, so I have no clue what tricks you have up your sleeves.
After the release of The Last Tree, we felt that we wanted to build upon the sound we’d developed in “Ballad of the Beast.” Doing this successfully demanded a second guitarist. We auditioned too many to count, most quite talented, but none seemed to “get it”: they were too ingrained in a particular style. It was only while we were passing out demos at an Enslaved show that we ran into Matt Solis, then the bassist for the local power metal band In Virtue. He was actually an accomplished guitarist, composer and singer who was essentially filling in on the four-strings, so he was looking for a project that would let him flex his writing chops a bit. He loved the demo we gave him, so he e-mailed us, and we auditioned him soon after. He fit perfectly. He learned all our material within a month. His prog-inflected playing was exactly the direction we were heading in already, so he accelerated the process. The addition of his clean singing with my harshes expanded our vocal palette, and the guitar harmonies he offered added so much depth. I felt then that the sound was truly blooming into the no-limits concept Brennan and I had envisioned those years prior.
The name Metazoa reflects this scope of styles and influences. “Metazoa” is a zoological term that categorizes all the world’s multi-cellular animals. This of course includes human beings. We felt the title enveloped the variety of lyrical subjects and genres employed on the album. The idea for the title came from a quirk in the lyrics: every single song contains an animal. This was discovered by accident, so the record was never intended as a concept album. From Metazoa you should expect good storytelling and surprises. Styles hover around a template of progressive blackened death metal, with various elements of folk, NWOBHM, and doom/sludge appearing over the 70-minute length. The first half of the album is overall more up-tempo, direct, and tinged with trad metal, while the more moody second half, beginning with “Hanging Gardens” borrows from doom and black metal. The latter half of the album also features the mournful cello performance of Judgement Day’s Lewis Patzner (http://www.myspace.com/judgementday). His tasteful playing lends elegance and gravity to the songwriting.
By the way, that’s some excellent cover artwork! Many metal album covers these days are boring and generic, but Metazoa’s cover is simply fantastic. Is there any theme or meaning that you guys had put into it, or are we to interpret it however we see it? Also, who did your artwork?
The art was created by a Sacramento-based illustrator named Julie Dillon (http://www.jdillon.net/), and she is a genius. I can’t praise her work enough. Not only does she produce incredibly detailed, beautiful designs, she’s a total pleasure to collaborate with, and always delivers revisions quickly with a smile and a sense of humor. She’s a huge metal fan and looking to diversify her portfolio into the music. Bands, labels, magazines: hire this woman immediately. Please do interpret the art as you see fit. I think everyone in the band has his own idea of what the artwork signifies. The cover was conceptualized to match the sound and themes of the music very closely, though the main inspirations were gathered mostly from the songs Hole in the Sea, The Emigrant’s Wake, and Sky Burial. Keep a close eye for all the clever details, like the family of cormorants on the bottom right corner. While the cover art is damn beautiful on its own, what really impresses me is that, once you unravel the Digipak,
the complete piece is actually an uninterrupted mural extending over three whole panels. It’s just massive. Can’t wait to see it in vinyl.
Metazoa was produced by SUPERSTAR PRODUCER Billy Anderson, of Neurosis and Sleep fame amongst many others. What was it like working with him? Also, how did his presence affect the overall sound of the album?
Working with Billy Anderson was a joy. And it had to be, because we were holed up at Sharkbite Studios recording Metazoa with him for two weeks straight. To understand how Billy approaches the role of producer, imagine your favorite uncle, the charming, foul-mouthed one who can spin a mean yarn, spouting crazy factoids and clever jokes about the most random subject, and who treats you to a beer when you’re having a rough time. That’s Billy. He’ll hardly ever say “no” to any ridiculous idea you may have, his default reaction to experimentation being “let’s fuckin’ try it!” His MO for a really climactic vocal or guitar line? “Double and triple that shit up!” When he really enjoys a performance? “That was tight as a baby’s asshole!” Andy Sneap he is not.
Good thing, haha. Based on what we’ve heard so far from Metazoa, Billy was the perfect choice.
And you know, I feel his improvisational, Pollock-like approach to tracking really worked for us. Our music is all about depth, layers, story telling, and genre blurring, and he completely understood that from the start. He insisted that we record the songs live all the way through without a click track, so the performance would feel honest. All the drum and bass guitar tracks are heard as we played them, with maybe 3 or 4 minor punch-ins on the whole album. We even kept most of the initial “scratch” guitar tracks, and then just layered over them for added heft. No Pro-Tools trickery here. Oh, and I hate to reveal Billy’s secret, but despite all the rumors about him being batshit insane, while we were recording he was an absolute professional. There were no drugs or liquor at all in the studio, he’s very polite, he’s respectful of women, and he works his ass off. How boring, right? Hell, my grandmother met him and she wouldn’t stop going on about how much of gentleman he was. Sorry Billy, but the cat’s out of the bag. And to be even sappier, I can say now that I consider him a true friend.
Billy influenced our sound in subtle ways. He’s not at all the type of producer who will mess with your song structure or tweak your riffs. He strikes me more as the grand visionary type. He actually gave a shit about my lyrics, and would offer suggestions for their delivery to help accentuate the meaning. For example, in “Blood on the Cornfields,” about the Nat Turner slave uprising, he insisted that I put tremendous emphasis on the final line of the song: “skinned.” He observed that for the southern Whites to so desecrate the executed Black revolutionary’s identity by cutting of his flesh was highly symbolic, and so the line bore repeating. It worked beautifully, succinctly linking all the themes together. In that same song, my voice cracked at the end of a particularly revealing verse culled from Nat Turner’s confessions: “Was Christ not crucified?” I was self-conscious about it and wanted to redo the take, but Billy refused the do-over, saying the voice crack was honest and chilling. I’m so glad I didn’t get my way, because now it’s one my favorite moments of my vocal performance. In terms of tones, we spent a whole day just working those out. Billy was obsessive, and he had a very clear idea for the sound of all the instruments. “Organic” was the word of the session for him, and we were all in perfect agreement that the drums should sound huge, old-school and analog, avoiding the clicky, over-triggered BS miring far too many modern extreme metal albums. Of course, they needed to be loud, so what we ended up doing was sampling Brennan’s own drum kit, then mixing in those hits with his actual performance, so the “triggers” were really just a regularized recording of himself. For the guitars and bass, Billy’s legendary predilections for lower frequencies definitely delivered (much to my delight as a bassist), without ever falling into muddiness. The guitars are beefy, layered and powerful, with the bass completely audible, dancing around the rhythm lines. I hear some definite Through Silver in Blood moments in the mixing, particularly in the more doomy tracks like Hole in the Sea and Sky Burial, so if you’re going to pinch from Neurosis, you might as well hire the real deal.
Billy also influenced our sound by recommending an incredible mastering engineer in the form of Justin Weis from Trakworx studios. Justin’s local legends resume of Slough Feg, Hammers of Misfortune, Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, Ludicra and Brocas Helm definitely spoke to us. I’ve never met anyone with so delicate an ear. He went through every part of the album with a fine-toothed comb, and his mastering work was exactly what we were looking for, just loud enough to crush your skull, without falling off the cliff into Death Magnetic loudness-war territory. I think in the end Billy surprised himself by how much he enjoyed the project, since we were perhaps a bit outside his usual style. One of the highest compliments we’ve received thus far on Metazoa was Billy calling me up to say, “You know, I almost never listen to albums I work on, but I’ve been spinning yours non-stop for weeks now.”
That’s quite a compliment! I’ve heard that there are going to be some very sexy pre-order packages, as well as the possibility of some combination packages including either your first EP The Last Tree or a Cormorant shirt (those blue logo shirts are quite cool by the way). Would you mind telling us what the packages are shaping up to be? Also, will a vinyl release happen? Those seem to be still very popular with the collectors and audiophiles
Pre-orders for the Metazoa 6-panel DigiPak CD will open on September 1st via Paypal through our web store at http://cormorantmusic.blogspot.com/ (the page is inactive until then). The album will cost $12 plus shipping, and all pre-orders will come with a free, signed 11 x 17 poster of the album artwork. There will indeed be package deals. For a lower combined rate, you’ll be able to order Metazoa in conjunction with our EP The Last Tree, or with our available T-shirts, or even a combination of the three. Package deals will not only come at a discount, but also include a free sticker, in addition to the aforementioned pre-order poster. I ship extremely quickly, and for some early pre-order buyers, you might actually receive the album in the mail before the official September 22nd release date. I’m cool with music piracy, but the age-old (and normally accurate) argument that “bands hardly receive any money from CD sales anyway” doesn’t apply in this case: we paid for all the album costs ourselves, so 100% of profits from our web store go right back into the band to afford the next album/tour. We will be releasing Metazoa on vinyl through Kim Kelly’s newly established Saturnine Media imprint, and though no release date is set as of yet, hopefully by the end of the year. Expect a double gatefold 2xLP, in limited edition colors. We’d also like to include a free high bit rate download code with the purchase of the vinyl. I believe very strongly in the vinyl format, both for the sound fidelity and as a larger canvas for the artwork. And of course it’s the only physical music medium that has seen an increase in sales since the advent of file sharing. Unfortunately vinyl is ungodly expensive to print, so expect no more than 500 available copies in this first pressing. Collectors better jump on it or face future price gauging on eBay.
On Blabbermouth, it said that you guys had a few distribution deals, but otherwise are self-releasing the album. Financially speaking, was that the best option out there? Are record labels really in that shitty shape? I remember seeing you talk about an offer from Code666 amongst other labels, and that you were in talks with Nuclear Blast rather recently, so labels were obviously interested (Why the hell wouldn’t they be? If Born of Osiris could get signed, you guys should be rich.). Is it better for bands like Cormorant to self-release these days, especially in this financial climate (and more importantly, is it worth getting screwed by a record label for the possibility of them promoting you)? Explain the thought process behind the band’s decision of how to release the album. And for those of us too lazy to buy it from a band’s website, will there be a way to get the album through The End’s webstore or something like that with the distribution deals?
I mentioned to a friend who didn’t understand the mechanics of the music industry that we’d been offered several record deals for Metazoa, and he sincerely said “Wow that’s great! Now you can quit your day jobs and focus on music full-time.” Ha! But this reaction is not uncommon, and many still think there’s real money to be made in metal music, even for smaller bands.
This is not news to anyone reading this, but the recording industry is on life support at the moment, and not the exciting kind where George Clooney teams up with Gregory House and Doogie Howser to find the miracle cure for lupus. The already piracy-ravaged industry has over the course of the last year suffered a slow death by asphyxiation
courtesy of the global economic downturn. Many labels are currently on a signing freeze, particularly for new bands. I actually heard from one company that they weren’t even considering new groups from genres outside nu-thrash and deathcore. It’s that bad.
When we started shopping Metazoa, we were fortunate and received several contract offers, but for various financial and legal reasons we had to politely decline. You must understand that we paid for 100% of all the recording costs out of our own shallow pockets, so we were under the silly impression that our massive initial investment would
afford us leverage to secure the rights to our own publishing, mechanical royalties and masters, and perhaps even negotiate better- than-average terms on album sales. That was naïve of us. Instead, the contracts promised to get our name out there, but at the cost of our artistic and financial freedom, and by way of sacrificing any chance of recouping our recording costs. No advances were offered, and it’s my understanding that this is now the industry norm for newer bands. By signing, we would effectively be forcing our band into bankruptcy or litigation within two years time.
Since we had already paid for everything, it was clear to us that what we were looking for in a label was not really money, but legitimacy, connections, and PR muscle. So it made sense to strike up a promotional deal with Saturnine Media to put their stamp on the album. So while the arrangement is non-traditional, Metazoa is technically not a self-release. We’d worked with Kim Kelly’s Catharsis PR since our first publicist (and big fan of this site) Adrian Bromley passed away. She’d done a fantastic job getting the word out on us, so we completely trusted her to expand her role when she expressed interest in releasing our album.
As to Code666 Records, I have tremendous respect for Emi and his label. They were straight up and honest with us, sincere fans of our music. And frankly any label with the balls to release Negura Bunget’s brilliant but completely uncommercial Romanian black metal opus Om is a winner in my book. What happened there is simply that negotiations fell apart after Code666’s two biggest distributors, Pinnacle and SPV, filed for insolvency. Though from a branding perspective I’d still love to be a part of their roster (which includes/included some top-notch bands like Fen, Void of Silence, Enid, Axis of Perdition, Aghora, Amesoeurs and Ephel Duath), to us it seemed like theywere simply in too precarious a financial position at the time, and it wouldn’t be a comfortable working relationship for either party. So we mutually stopped the deal. But still, artistically, Code666 is pushing the progressive envelope and releasing some of the most daring and inventive metal out there, and it was a great honor that they wanted to include us. The aborted contract was just a question of poor timing. The distribution deals we have in place currently include The End Records and Relapse Records in the USA, and Candlelight Records in Europe. So assuming you’d rather not buy Metazoa directly from us, it will be available through their web shops. You could also theoretically have your local brick & mortar record store order it from their distro network. The terms of these distribution agreements are actually quite generous, so you’ll definitely be supporting us regardless of where you buy the album.
Metal is a genre known for many things, but good lyrics are rarely one of them. Some bands sing about fairies and dragons and shit, others sing about boat rudders and strange mountains, and so many bands overdo the satanic crap. But I’ve seen you say on multiple occasions that your lyrics are one of the most important aspects of your music. I’ve read some of them, and they’re truly better than much of what’s out there. Why are lyrics so important to you, and what is the inspiration behind them?
My goal as a lyricist is to be journalistic first, poetic second, and philosophical third. Even in surrealistic songs, I strive for a cohesive, logical story, with definite set-up, plot, climax and denouement. It doesn’t matter if the track is about a subject as seemingly over-the-top as the mating rituals of the North American bull elk (check our EP for that one), there are always very definite characters and personalities involved. As such, I map out the lyrics as narrative bullet points first before reinterpreting them into verse format. When I’m working out the poetic form, I usually try to picture how the music should sound to match the emotion. If there’s a happy, triumphant moment, I’ll perhaps integrate catchy AABB iambic pentameter rhyme schemes, or if the mood is dark and twisted, I’ll explore something a untraditional and off-center, like the mixed- syllable AABCCBBDDE scheme that opens up Scavenger’s Feast, or I’ll forego rhyme completely. Only once the story and structure is perfected will I start refining the message, pruning the details that don’t relate to the thematic thrust of the song, and accentuating the parts that do as motifs or refrains.
The themes of Metazoa came together by accident. It was never a concept album, as the lyrics were written over the course of several years, while I was going through a lot of different mind states. I wrote the words to “Hole in the Sea” while under sleep-deprivation, on a plane heading home to San Francisco from Europe. I was watching the sun rise over the Atlantic. That morning view, coupled with my day and a half of sleeplessness, contributed to the song’s psychedelic mood and abstract, mythic imagery. “The Emigrant’s Wake” came to me after a trip to Stinson, a beach I loved as a kid. When I was there with grade-school friends we’d concoct pirate treasure hunts and medieval jousts in the dunes, create massive sand sculptures… and we always felt this playful fear of the ocean, dipping our feet in the water just so, then running away as the waves chased us to shore. When I visited Stinson again as an adult, the adventures I imagined then seemed so insignificant, the mystery gone, and I experienced this horrible “Calvin-realizing-Hobbes-isn’t-real” moment. I feel the struggle to preserve that youthful magic and innocence against the adult realities of suffering, hatred and poverty is the tension that glues all the lyrics in Metazoa together. This friction is most real for me in “Hanging Gardens,” which is set up as a children’s fairy tale on a floating island paradise in the sky, but the lyrics really originate from an aborted suicide note my father had written, and I had the displeasure of reading. As the story progresses, more and more of the original inspiration seeps into the words and music, until the song dissolves in a bleak sludge of chromatic dissonance. So I’m often mining this oscillation between the childlike and the nightmarish… a Kafka meets The Little Prince vibe. There’s another side to the lyrics, when I’m exploring historical or social issues. We are not a political band. However, I am a political person. I’m not here to preach, so I leave my thoughts veiled, but the lyrics are rife with social and philosophical commentary if the listener is so inclined. The story always comes before the message though. I feel it’s essential each song follows a strong, cohesive narrative first and foremost, and then my own beliefs on the subject can be inferred later. Some examples of these more story-driven songs include “Blood on the Cornfields” about the Nat Turner slave rebellion, and “Uneasy Lies the Head” about the Reign of Terror brought down on France by Robespierre following the Revolution, during which nearly 40000 executions were carried out. In the Iron Maiden tradition, I’m a massive history nerd, so I’ll often conduct several weeks of research before adapting any real life events to lyric form. And then of course the lyrics themselves go through dozens of tweaks and rewrites. A strong marriage between the words and music is essential to me, so there are always modifications made when combining the two, and we don’t have any hard and fast rule regarding which is written first. For “Hanging Gardens,” the lyrics had been set in stone for several years. When we arranged the music, we built it very precisely around the words, so that each riff and movement translated the events and moods expressed in the poem. That style of writing accounts for the song’s linear structure, since neither the words nor music contain refrains of any sort. The words to “Salt of the Earth,” in contrast, were written after the music, so I took inspiration from the “color” of the riffing. I function very visually, so I like to close my eyes while listening, and let my mind paint a picture. For “Salt” I imagined a lot of greens, browns and reds, fields blown back by the wind, the travels of poppies and dandelion seeds… and then I built a story around those images. The lyrics to “Sky Burial” were also written after the music, but this was a unique case because the song’s structure called for several minutes of ambience right in the middle of the piece. So for a change I wasn’t matching the words to any particular riffing, but adding my voice to a landscape of free-form acoustic instrumentation. This near-silence struck me as meditative, which eventually led me to a study of Buddhist myth and ritual. From this research I discovered the Tibetan funerary practice of jhator, which we call “sky burial” in the West. In this rite, specialized monks are assigned the task of rendering the body of the deceased into a pulp, which is then exposed to the vultures on a mountaintop. It is considered an act of generosity to nature, an offering to the living. I felt that was very inspiring, and a fitting rebuttal to the Werner Herzog-esque depiction of nature as an all-consuming, thoughtless chaos I’d imagined in the first track, “Scavengers Feast.”
So while Metazoa was never conceived as a concept album, there are thematic threads that run through all the songs. What jumped out to us as we were contemplating album titles was something completely unintentional: every single lyric contains an animal. And these creatures aren’t just background imagery, but active participants in the song’s narrative. In “The Crossing,” the story of a poor manual worker crossing the border in hope of sending money to his family back home, the battered, fearful dog foreshadows the protagonist’s future, scrounging in the dust for scraps to survive, while the proud desert wolves of the past have all fallen to extinction. The cosmic she-whale in “Hole in the Sea” instigates the creation of a new world after destroying ours. The ever-hungry hornets, flies, buzzards, and jackals in “Scavengers Feast” speak of nature’s complete disregard of man’s higher ethical and philosophical constructs. So we felt it important to represent these so-called “lesser-creatures” in the album’s name. For me the title captures that sense of mystery and discovery I loved as a child.
Wow! That’s really deep stuff. How about live gigs? I saw the live stream of you guys opening up Paganfest at the DNA Lounge in California, and you guys were spot on. What was it like opening up for a great band like Primordial? Hell, did you get to meet any of them?
Glad you enjoyed our set! That gig was a bit strange for us, because when we showed up with all our gear, we found out that we’d have to use all the tour manager’s equipment instead, so there was a bit of an adjustment period. In most of these touring metal fests, the bands are all using the same gear to facilitate transport and smooth over set changes. Say what you will about the corporatization of music festivals, but the Paganfest organizers run a tight Drakkar. Primordial are no-question some of the nicest muckers around. It was a real honor meeting them, since I’d been a huge fan of their music for years. A big reason we chose Billy Anderson as Metazoa’s producer was because of his raw, somber work with them on A Gathering Wilderness. “Coffin Ships” is such a mournful, heartbreaking song. It’s funny chatting with Primordial though, because they’re so damn Irish it felt like listening to the books-on-tape version of Ulysses. Of course, I’m sure that, to them, we Californians all sound like Spicoli in Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Alan looks very intense while he applies his corpse paint, but when you chat with him, he’s a sweetheart. We talked about the difficulties of balancing day jobs and touring/recording, which most musicians have had to suffer through. Oh, and Michael, their guitarist, was wearing a bitchin’ Drudkh
shirt, which made my inner black metal hipster jump for joy.
You’ve also played with the likes of Giant Squid, Wolves in the Throne Room, Hammers of Misfortune, Grayceon, Black Cobra, Saviours, Ludicra, and even headlined a show over Slough Feg. Any more shows coming up soon? Maybe a tour of the US in the not-so-distant future? I might just leave my mother’s basement where I obviously spend all of my time to go see you guys. Also, what’s your most memorable live moment?
You know, for some reason, we’ve never actually played with Ludicra, which we need to remedy soon.
Whoops, my mistake. Well, they’re great regardless. I’d love to see that show.
Haha, no problem. I love that band, though they hardly ever played live until recently. Get their album Fex Urbis Lex Orbus for some awesome art-punk, urban-themed USBM. We’re actually going to be seeing them live with Amber Asylum and Hammers of Misfortune the day this interview is published, so we’re psyched. Giant Squid, man, we can’t get enough of them. Their front man, Aaron Gregory, was kind enough to contribute guest vocals to our psychedelic jam song “Hole in the Sea.” That track was crazy to record, because while we had the lyrics in advance, we improvised all the music live in the studio Grateful Dead style, so we didn’t really know how it would turn out. Then Aaron showed up to sing and fucking killed it. It’s one of my favorite songs on the new album, actually. We’re really fortunate to be a part of the phenomenal San Francisco metal scene. The eclectic, anything-goes nature of the music here was influential in shaping our own sound.
Our CD release show will be September 24th at Thee Parkside in San Francisco alongside Velnias (from Chicago), Elm and Fell Voices, courtesy of Whore For Satan promotions. We have an hour-long set, so we’ll be playing nearly the whole album. This show is a must for any fan of atmospheric, folky black metal. I promise the line-up will make you want to defenestrate your television, move to a shack in the woods and grow your own vegetables.
As to tours… Yes, there will be a tour to support the release of Metazoa. I can’t offer dates or other details just yet, but it’s happening. We’re looking to do a West Coast run first, and then hopefully a full on nationwide one next year. Since we’re putting this together totally DIY, what we can pull off will depend in part on the reception and press received from the album, so any music journalists reading this, please do get in touch. Help spread the word about us so that one day Ziltoid here may claw his way out of his mother’s basement.
We’ve experienced some ridiculous gig happenings but my favorite live moment was just this week actually, and we weren’t even performing at the time. This show was at a bit of a dive in the boonies, and we were scheduled to play with a couple touring thrash bands. Turns out they cancelled, so the booker scrambled to find replacements, and our set ended up being sandwiched between a NYC punk trio and a Sacramento hard rock bar-band named Twitch Anger. So we finished our set, and Twitch Anger took the stage. They played solidly, your workmanlike Pantera, AC/DC, Misfits style, but then I heard from their singer’s mouth the greatest chorus in the history of recorded sound: “FUCK YOU! IN THE NECK!” And he kept repeating it over and over. “FUCK YOU IN THE NECK FUCK YOU IN THE NECK FUCK YOU IN THE NECK.” There might have been other words in that song, but I couldn’t tell you what those were, except I do believe I heard some mention of “cunt kicking.” There’s no doubt in my mind he sang that chorus in all caps. Then the vocalist for the New York punk band jumped on stage, grabbed a mic, and joined in on the neck fucking. My band mates all began rocking out in unison. The whole bar joined in. It was just glorious. So I think now we will call our next album FUCK YOU IN THE NECK.
Oh yeah, during the Paganfest gig, the first thing you did was go up to the microphone and say “GHOULS! ATTACK THE CHURCH!” as a mic check. Are you trying to summon demons to attack our various religious institutions? Are you the evil satanist the mainstream media warns us about that is in all of the tr00 heavy metal like Slipknot, Korn, Limp Bizkit, Emmure, and Marilyn Manson? What was that about?
I was trying to summon David Vincent to slay any falses in the audience.
Right on!
I guess I’m a bit rusty on my satanic incantations, because Kip Winger showed up instead. Oh well. It was a valiant effort on your part. As to the mainstream media, I sacrificed 3 goats to the eternal glory of Baphomet while brushing my teeth this morning.
Brutal!
Just kidding; I don’t brush my teeth.
Haha, brushing teeth is for falses. I love your dedication to true metal! What artists have had the most influence on you and Cormorant’s music? Do all of you guys listen to relatively similar music?
Major influences on Cormorant’s sound include Enslaved, Slough Feg, Novembre, Dissection, Agalloch, Celtic Frost, My Dying Bride, Thin Lizzy, King Crimson, Ulver, and Sigh, among a million others. My bass playing style is cribbed mostly from Sean Malone of Cynic, various jazz players, and the bassists of Fleurety and In The Woods… My lyrics are inspired by a lot of Symbolist and Romantic French poetry, Bob Dylan, William Blake, and countless films and paintings. We all listen to a very wide spectrum of music, with our own particular areas of interest. Nick is our resident expert of American traditionals, and even played acoustic guitar for the old-time country band The Yellow-Bellied Sapsuckers. He’s a really solid banjo and fiddle player. Brennan just recently got back from a reggae music festival. He’s a talented hip-hop producer who puts together some pretty complex beats as a hobby. Matt and I are more the obscure metal guys, but we have some quirky tastes: ask Matt about his thoughts on Tom Waits or Johanna Newsom, and don’t even get me started on my love for Portishead and Cocteau Twins.
What inspired you to be a musician, especially a bassist?
I was first attracted to the bass guitar because it’s under-appreciated in metal. The instrument’s second-tier status allows for more creative freedom and experimentation, as opposed to drums and guitar, where the bar for virtuosity has been set to ridiculous levels. I was never particularly interested in technical wizardry, instead gravitating toward a more melodic, complementary playing style, dancing in and out around the guitars when appropriate, hinting at the root note rather than chaining myself to it. For me, the ultimate bass performance in metal has to be Sean Malone’s work on Cynic’s album Focus, because while it pushes the boundaries of technicality, his playing somehow remains tasteful and harmonious with the song as a whole. It’s just beautiful work.
I studied for several years with a fusion and classical contrabassist named Clarence Stephens, and a lot of his improvisational, chord- inflected playing rubbed off on me. As a result, I prefer to keep my bass tone closer to jazz than metal, heavy on the low-mids, smooth, watery, articulated and undistorted, almost acoustic. To achieve this, I enlisted the help of master luthier Greg Nelson of Greg Nelson Guitars (http://nelsonsguitars.com/Electrics.htm) to build me a couple of custom instruments. The first, which I played exclusively on our EP The Last Tree, is a five-string unlined fretless with a cocobolo top and a lacewood body. A monster of an instrument, with sustain for years. The second bass guitar I commissioned is a six-string fan-fret, with a redwood body and figured cherry top. The fan-fret design means each string is attached to its own individual bridge, offering perfect intonation and tone across the fretboard. I fell so in love with these basses that now I won’t play anyone else’s. And yeah, that’s a real nautilus shell and working antique pocket watch in the headstocks.
I’ve heard that you have a guinea pig. Is that the most grim and frostbitten pet of all? If so, why?
My girlfriend and I are indeed the proud owners of an orange and white Peruvian guinea pig named Lemmy Kilmister. His favorite activities include consuming his own feces, raping, pillaging, ruthlessly slaughtering various fruits and vegetables, and making lawns die. Lemmy is very forward with his desires. For example, he decided he no longer approved of our beat-up old couch, so he proceeded to squeak angrily then piss all over it. This sounds like something the real Lemmy Kilmister would do as well, except instead of squeaking before soiling our furniture he would grunt something incoherent and British. [laughs]
http://img504.imageshack.us/img504/8662/lemmykilmistere.jpg
That is the best pet ever! Any last words for the readers out there?
May these be first words rather than last ones.
Wow, very nicely said. Thank you for all of the time, effort, and detail that you put into this interview. To everyone else out there, pre-order Metazoa ASAP (September 1st) and take advantage of all of the special deals that Cormorant is offering. This is shaping up to be one of the best albums of 2009. Otherwise, the official release date is September 22nd. Enjoy! Here’s the poster for the album release show!
And some live Cormorant videos!
Cormorant Live “Hanging Gardens” off Metazoa upcomming album
Image credits:
Tommy Ferguson
Daryl Darko
Cara Crandall
Amber Nelson
Julie Dillon
Greg Nelson
Video by Anton
-Ziltoid
Great interview, loved it. =)
Fucking awesome. Long live the ‘rant
This is more content than all of MetalSucks’ posts combined over the last six months…congratulations on finding someone as long-winded as you Ziltoid! That being said, I still wanna check this band out. Pretty cool cover art also.
tl;dr
but on the other hand, i checked out the band and they’re fucking awesome
Do you have a job?
lol, Mariah Carey fan.
How pretentious.
Wow, you spent a long time kissing ass
Ziltoid spends every night furiously masturbating to to this picture in his moms basement http://www.metalsucks.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/cormorantweb19-500×333.jpg
The though of which, incidentally, is what Oceano here spends -his- nights furiously masturbating to.
and for good reason.
OK Ziltoid, you win this round, you little fucker. Well done buddy, terrific interview.
Really interesting interview. Have never heard this band before, but I’m already certain I’ll end up preordering Metazoa.
I hadn’t heard of them either until Zilltie put up those two awful bands (Sodamized by Satan and Hexlust (not as bad as SbS)). Cormorant was one of 6 friends or so for the black-metal cave dweller and top friend on Hex.
Obviously, this is one of the best interviews on this site. You actually did something right, color me impressed.
billy anderson did a great job with the cattle decap record, looking forward to hearing this one.
7 of these posts were written by Ziltoid.
P.s.- zilty, when do you plan on doing your ranking of Disturbed’s catalouge ?
I am Ziltoid!
No, I AM ZILTOID!
Will you stop pretending you’re me ? It’s getting old guys ?? I am the only Ziltoid and I’m down with the sickness !!!
ooo-wa-a-a-a!!
Oh, also, this band sounds like generic, cookie-cutter Tiberian ass-bastard folk.
It doesn’t matter how good the band is, just as long as they’re obscure. The more obscure the better, so when you get into arguments over music, you can throw in bands know one can argue against since no one knows about them besides maybe the bands family members. This is the Ziltoid way.
Hey, could you do me a favor and catch that frisbee for me? You know, the one that totally flew over your head?
I think Ziltoid is a very lonely person and that’s why he clings to metal so dearly, specifically the obscure bands. These are his family and friends, and he gets jealous very quickly when others discover them. That’s why he’s been so sparse with quality recommendations and the majority of his posts have been joke bands. He holds his friends very dear, and won’t give them up to just anyone. Ziltoid loves metal because it’s the only culture he has, there is no life beyond the digging for new bands and hating on popular ones. It’s what he revels in, yet inside he’s a very lonely person. Perhaps it’s because he’s afraid to let others into his world. He’s afraid of rejection, and as a result secludes himself not only behind the anonymity of the internet, but he also shies away from anything too popular. He will not put himself out there to enjoy more popular groups simply because he’s afraid he will like them and be forced to associate with other human beings who share similar taste. Ziltoid is a paranoid individualist, and that’s why he listens to unknown groups that sound exactly like popular bands. He has severe trust issues that inhibit his ability to make friends, and thus to enjoy more widely known bands. There is no difference in quality, just an imagined sense of security from other people who may hurt him. Obscurity is his only comfort.
Fuck myself
That’s what she said.
That’s what every pasty nerd on the internet incapable of independent thought mindlessly parroted.
Realize that is was a response to his first post and not his second. Also you should remove thesaurus.com off of you bookmarks if your going to use words that don’t make sense in context.
Considering none of those words are used incorrectly and make perfect sense in context, you might want to invest in a dictionary.
For someone slamming someone for having a lot of free time, that is one awfully large post.
Yeah, that’s what the “fuck myself” was for
:)
+10,000
shit man…. thats deep.
I used to be like that a lot too. But then I tried living. It turned out to be more fun then spending time in a dark room, trying to annoy my neighbor with See You Next Tuesday and Nile.
Bloodbath is good stuff though.
So just curious really, what were some of the ideas you had for the site? I think mine would’ve been a whole lot different.
If you’re still interested you can check out some of my ideas on my blog (won’t let me post on here lately), click on my username or go here…
http://uponwingsofblack.blogspot.com/
avoidant personality disorder i’d say. (cluster c of dsm-IV-tr)
None of the bands I’ve seen him post about are obscure…
You fucking tool, the guys name is ZILTOID for shit’s sake, and you are saying he “…will not put himself out there to enjoy more popular groups simply because he’s afraid he will like them and be forced to associate with other human beings who share similar taste.” Popular? Do you know who Devin Townsend is? No? How about Strapping Young Lad? hmmm, maybe you should leave here, and continue fisting yourself.
that second cover art is going straight like a tattoo on my left shoulder
hehe ye you talking about yourself mate? ;)
I am buying this. Listened to the songs, plus he name dropped loudness-based mastering and vinyl fidelity.
This band really needs exposure like this. Ziltoid, though our musical tastes might not always match, this was the best post on this site in ages.
This is seriously fantastic. Great interview…but this band is amazing. I’m preordering this for sure, maybe even the vinyl. Thanks for letting me know about em!
Thank you very much Ziltoid, for single-handedly showing me such an amazing band.
“For starters, Cormorant is a band that is very hard to categorize. Some might be very general and say “extreme progressive metal,” while others might just be up to the task of labeling them using every subgenre that Cormorant integrates into their music (an arduous task if I do say so myself). Regardless, these guys bring an incredibly unique and diverse sound into the metal scene. ”
Wait a sec, did you just admit that one band can’t be categorized into a specific subgenre?
Hey, nice way to catch that fucker out.
Indeed, I believe he had made the statement earlier that if you can’t categorize the band into a specific genre, then it must not be metal. Excellent Catch
That bass pic is pornographic – lemme get a close-up!
Great Interview, Never thought we’d get an interview out of this silly contest, much respect. I may have to purchase the album now.
awesome interview.
Very impressive interview… you definitely picked a perfect interview subject. Fascinating read.
To say the least, I will definitely be looking into these guys. At least you interviewed someone in a good band rather than someone from another horrendous joke band.
This is the best story I’ve seen on the entire site. Can Ziltoid stay?
might I say that was a damn well conducted interview, I still hate you Ziltoid, but that was classy.
Pretty good. Point #2 to Ziltoid. And that is really some badass cover art.
Congratulations to Ziltoid for bringing us such a great interview; I must say that I greatly look forward to hearing Metazoa in full, as what I have previously heard of Cormorant indicates they are a very high quality band.
that there’s some good listening
Very good interview but I have to say, I’m not getting into the band very much. Maybe it has something to do with how picky I am with my black metal. Oh well.
@Ziltoid nice job, you should post us a picture so we can see what the real Ziltoid looks like.
http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r308/chiller2k7/zilt5.jpg
I normally sit on the outside and look in on this website, but reading this interview on such a profound band is forcing me to join and comment.
Not only is this band not talked about enough when they provide more asskick than your everyday run of the mill bullshit being pumped out, they seem to handle thierselves in a very professional manner when not only recording but when being interviewed. I am truly impressed with this interview and the responses given. The insight given on the band from the history through the recording and thier influences kept me anticipating the next sentence. I will be pre-ordering the Album/EP/Shirt package for sure this Tuesday.
Cheers Ziltoid for providing us with this great read.
This is a Great band and really cool dudes ive had the pleasure of Taping them 3 shows now and love everyone!!
I was just listening to this band yesterday. A nice surprise to see them featured here!
Well done on the interview; that’s an intelligent, thoughtful chap with a lot of interesting things to say – just listened to a couple of tracks on their myspace page; the muisc wouldn’t be too my liking as I’m not a big black metal fan but I enjoyed the interview
~~!!!!OBJECTION!!!!~~
On Tuesday, August 25th 2009 at 11:00 am, Metalsucks made a post under the “contest” heading concerning the events we’ve come to witness today. In the piece entitled, “ZILTOID WINS OUR BEST CONTEST EVER”, it was announced that you had been chosen as the winner to Metalsucks BEST CONTEST EVER (in and of itself objectionable, but now is not the time or the place). After having your parade shit upon by some would-be internet detectives, I posited a question. At the end of that exchange (during which I called you an asshole and then apologized, as was due) you replied with, and I QUOTE:
“Yes, I do. I have already gotten in contact with someone, and he is doing an interview via email. Also, I have an actually decent satire written. otherwise, it’ll be some tr00 bands, some humor bands, and other tr00 metal stuff (i.e, proclaiming my glory, etc.). No clue on a number yet, but expect at least 4 (and I’m working on a bunch of others, but they won’t be submitted unless I’m happy with them). I’m planning for quality over quantity.”
THIS EVIDENCE CLEARLY CONTRADICTS PORTIONS OF THE WITNESS’S TESTIMONY!!!
*shocked gasps from the courtroom*
*slam*
Order! Order! Mr. seveword, could you please explain the meaning of this evidence to the Metalsucks audience at large?
Certainly, your Honor. In his original comment, Ziltoid clearly stated that he was going to write “an actually decent satire.” After having read what can only be called his “attempt” at satire earlier today, I can say that this is easily not true. Lie number 1 from the witness’s testimony!
After this blatant falsehood, he goes on to say, “it’ll be some tr00 bands, some humor bands, and other tr00 metal stuff (i.e, proclaiming my glory, etc.).” Your Honor, I’d like to give you the following definition of tr00, taken from urbanddictionary.com.
1. tr00
Although at face value could be conceived to be a leet version of the word “true” (which it is in one sense), it is actually more commonly used amongst fans of black metal, particularly of Scandinavian origin, to compliment a band, person, or thing for it’s black metal or Nordic/Viking values.
Your Honor, I would like to admit this as evidence to the court.
I’ll accept it. Please continue.
Thank you, your Honor. Unfortunately for Ziltoid, the “tr00est” thing about his posts today are, well, actually there is nothing tr00 about them. He talks about an obscure thrash band and a fridge? While the fridge is cold, this is quite a stretch to link it to music that comes from Norway, a very cold place.
Hmm. I see where you’re coming from, Mr. seveword.
Indeed, your honor. And then, he puts up a link to a website that lets you “Download free and legal albums of less known but worth to listen to metal bands.”
Egads! Did the website owner bother asking a high school English student to check that header for proper grammar and tense?
I can only imagine, your Honor. Upon positing said link, Ziltoid then gave a list of bands that had garnered his seal of approval. But please, your Honor, just take a look at this list.
Hmm…there’s that fridge again…most of these names are pretty retarded…Clad in Darkness, “Amidst Her Shadows?” Someone needs to grow some balls…
I would not make any claims to the tr00ness of any of these bands, your Honor, because despite me typing up this long and ridiculous cross-examination, I do actually have shit to do today, so therefore I don’t have the time to download and listen to any of them. I would leave this up to the members of the audience, for them to determine whether they are tr00 or not.
Well, Mr. seveword, this is certainly interesting, but not necessarily worthy of being used against Ziltoid’s case.
I understand, your Honor. I would like to direct you to the second part of his earlier statement, the one about some “humor bands.” Your Honor, I can tell you with the utmost sincerity that there has been nothing humorous about any of today’s preceedings. No band, no post, has captured anything remotely resembling the essence of humor. It is all bland, unfunny garbage by some guy, who in his desperate struggle to shrug off the so-called pretentious, artsy bullshit, has become pretentious and artsy himself!
*screams of outrage from the courtroom*
*slam* *slam*
ORDER! I will have order in this courtroom. Mr. seveword! That is a bold claim, to say the least. Can you come up with evidence to back this statement up?
Your Honor, I would not make these claims if I had not done my research. May I direct your attention to the following statement that Ziltoid made in the review for Winds of Plague’s latest CD: “I love music, but only when it’s actually great. Most fails at even being tolerable.”
He appears to be a dick.
Indeed, your Honor. And take a look at this little gem, that he put forth in a post about the upcoming Blue Record, from Baroness: “Wit and wisdom happen to be things I have in great abundance.”
A bold claim, to be sure.
Your Honor, how can someone despise the artsy pretentious bullshit of a band like Sunn0))) (or however the fuck you spell it) and then make claims VERIFYING THAT HE HIMSELF IS AN ARTSY PRETENTIOUS ASSHOLE?!?
A stunning revelation, Mr. seveword. Do you have anything else to say?
Actually, your Honor, I do. I would like to point out this little discrepancy in his first statement, “I have already gotten in contact with someone, and he is doing an interview via email.”
…? I don’t see the contradiction. Metalsucks posted the interview that he had with a member of Cormorant, and they appear to be a decent metal band. Could you explain further, Mr. seveword?
Your Honor. Take a closer look at that interview with Cormorant.
? I don’t see anything.
Look closer, your Honor.
…
…
…
…!!! Good gravy!
I see you’ve looked close enough, your Honor. That isn’t an interview at all: that’s the closest one guy is ever going to get to fellating another man through the computer screen.
Hmm! Startling evidence, indeed.
frosted butts
C-C-C-C-COMBO BREAKER
butthurt much?
@groverXIII: great, now i feel the need to play killer instinct -_-
Holy shit, I love this post.
Lol, this man so wins.
BEST. POST. EVER.
And that isn’t all. One sentence that he wrote in his initial statement is the one that is the most inflammatory, the most contradictory, the one most full of lies. Your Honor! Please read the last sentence of Ziltoid’s initial statement.
“I’m planning for quality over quantity.” Explain, Mr. seveword.
Your Honor! Ziltoid is a liar, a fraud, a pretentious artsy asshole, and at the risk of running the gay joke into the ground, a raging homosexual. But this is the one thing that he said that most aggravates me.
He’s got his head so far stuck up his ass that he refuses to see what most people take for granted. For just one second, let us not focus on Ziltoid for today, but Ziltoid for tommorrow.
Some people would tell you that music must be art to be valid, to be fully capable of appreciation by someone who listens to it. Others would tell you that that is not true, that music is entertainment, and that it must be enjoyable by all to be considered an acceptable pasttime. And you know what?
THEY ARE BOTH RIGHT.
You can be a progessive black techno band with hints of melodic death viking ambient jazz, appealing to only eight people in the entire world, and still be a good band. You can have an asshole for a singer, a fat guy for a drummer, a stoner for a bass player, and a drunk for a guitar player, write songs about punching people in the face, and still be a good band.
It is opinion. It is subjective. If the first were always the case, nobody would listen to music. If the second were the case, then everybody would listen to music. But both are true! You would never have had one without the other, and you will never be able to separate them completely from the musical identity.
Being a pretentious asshole does not automatically equate to having good taste. Likewise, being a rampaging knucklehead does not automatically equate to having bad taste. If you can’t honestly understand what value someone sees in something, you’ve fallen off too far to one side.
Axl, Vince, and the other Metalsucks staffers are frequently lazy, unfunny, and boring, yet they mostly see the value of sticking to the middle, of being the moderates in a place increasingly notorious for taking sides. That’s why I come here. Also, I come here for Dino Cazares fat jokes and calling Sharon Osbourne a cunt, but that’s just the icing on the cake.
I think we’ve all seen what happens when somebody too far off to one side takes over for a day. It’s not funny, it’s predictable, and it isn’t something you want to come to look at every day, because it gets mighty fucking old mighty fucking fast.
seveword for president!
Seriously though, please give the website to this guy for a day. He is clearly alot more entertaining to read than our old friend Ziltard.
this was funnier than any of Zilty’s material.
Now this was an unfunny attempt at humor writing. I’m not saying that all humor needs a bit of subtlety, but this just sounds like you’re trying way too hard. If you had critiqued me in a more subtle manner, the result may have actually been funny.
Wrong, fuckface! This is him successfully shitting all over you, and you simply can’t handle that!
No, it was him creating some stupid fantasy courtroom rambling about things. It’s the equivalent of Dane Cook’s humor to be perfectly honest, and he’s awful.
Awesome stuff!
The lyric part where it says some bands sing about boat rudders and strange moutains gave me a case of the “lol”
Glad someone noticed it, haha.
And that isn’t all. One sentence that he wrote in his initial statement is the one that is the most inflammatory, the most contradictory, the one most full of lies. Your Honor! Please read the last sentence of Ziltoid’s initial statement.
“I’m planning for quality over quantity.” Explain, Mr. seveword.
Your Honor! Ziltoid is a liar, a fraud, a pretentious artsy asshole, and at the risk of running the gay joke into the ground, a raging homosexual. But this is the one thing that he said that most aggravates me.
He’s got his head so far stuck up his ass that he refuses to see what most people take for granted. For just one second, let us not focus on Ziltoid for today, but Ziltoid for tommorrow.
Some people would tell you that music must be art to be valid, to be fully capable of appreciation by someone who listens to it. Others would tell you that that is not true, that music is entertainment, and that it must be enjoyable by all to be considered an acceptable pasttime. And you know what?
THEY ARE BOTH RIGHT.
You can be a progessive black techno band with hints of melodic death viking ambient jazz, appealing to only eight people in the entire world, and still be a good band. You can have an asshole for a singer, a fat guy for a drummer, a stoner for a bass player, and a drunk for a guitar player, write songs about punching people in the face, and still be a good band.
It is opinion. It is subjective. If the first were always the case, nobody would listen to music. If the second were the case, then everybody would listen to music. But both are true! You would never have had one without the other, and you will never be able to separate them completely from the musical identity.
Being a pretentious asshole does not automatically equate to having good taste. Likewise, being a rampaging knucklehead does not automatically equate to having bad taste. If you can’t honestly understand what value someone sees in something, you’ve fallen off too far to one side.
Axl, Vince, and the other Metalsucks staffers are frequently lazy, unfunny, and boring, yet they mostly see the value of sticking to the middle, of being the moderates in a place increasingly notorious for taking sides. That’s why I come here. Also, I come here for Dino Cazares fat jokes and calling Sharon Osbourne a cunt, but that’s just the icing on the cake.
I think we’ve all seen what happens when somebody too far off to one side takes over for a day. It’s not funny, it’s predictable, and it isn’t something you want to come to look at every day, because it gets mighty fucking old mighty fucking fast.
…Indeed. Well, after having reviewed the evidence against our witness, I have decided to come to a verdict. Has all evidence been submitted and reviewed?
Yes, your Honor.
Very well. This trial has been long and arduous, and I think that everybody is glad to have come to the close. Therefore, with no more delays, I make my verdict. I declare the defendant…
G U I L T Y…
…of being a cock. Lighten up, Francis. Seriously, just take a week, don’t listen to the latest demo from some Serbian death jazz band, find something to do, pick up a new hobby.
In your attempt to flame Zilt you have done little more than make yourself appear to be some creepily obsessed internet stalker type. Seriously, that was what… nearly ten posts? Zilt may need a new hobby, but he sure as hell isn’t the only one.
While I certainly approve of the desire to be thorough even if it means sacrificing brevity, I must say that you have set entirely new standards in excess.
seveword, take no notice of these fuckbags. This thread has been far more interesting than the entirety of Ziltoid’s MS day.
By the way, nice “Summer School” reference.
Wow… You are the most insane person I have ever known. Off meds much.
I mean Seveword.
That was the best interview this site has ever had. Take notes Axl, Vince, et al.
seriously you think this is good . i was hoping for something different but alas you are as i imagined
fuck zilty..this day has been so fucking anticlimactic.
I made it clear as to what my intentions were. There was to be minimal hating on my part.
Dude talks like he hasn’t had human contact in years…specifically female contact…
Yeah, it’s not like he said he has a girlfriend or anything…oh wait…
Ok Fuckzoid, you’ve got me here. I admit it, I admit it out loud and proud: you have proven me wrong. I’ve fought and cursed you to the death over our musical differences, but all for what? Boredom? Self-promotion? To be an ass, simply put? We’ve gotten over our hump of oddities that separate us but yet those oddities…they, make us closer in a way. Not a homosexual way but in a way of common grounds, similar characteristics, mutual understandings, shared personality traits: the whole bit. Here we are. You have recommended me a band that I probably, well, let’s scrape that word altogether. “Probably” is a word to say when you WOULD HAVE discovered/found out about something/done/said before an event occurred to prevent any possibility of the probability. Yes, yes…”probably” is not a word to be said here. Let’s rephrase that shall we? I would have never found this band without your help and it is you whom I must thank you from the bottom of my heart. I would’ve never ever discovered this band and realized the all of the other music out there that I am missing by listening to, well, you know…my favorite band: let it not be mentioned as we all really know it, you know? It’s just that, sitting here, in my castle situated in a mountain elevated eighteen-thousand feet above sea level, located in Valhalla…you don’t get out much. Ahaha. Fucking scrape that and holy fuck, I haven’t said fuck in a whole shitload of text I just wrote. I actually take residence in a one-floor trailer home located in Newton, Iowa. Internet reception is actually (shocker) really fucking shitty. So finding bands out here in my humble abode…well, you rely on mainstream radio. But Fuckzoid–actually, no, Ziltoid–thank you for this band. I will be purchasing this album based on your recommendation, because in hindsight, buddy, that’s all that really matters.
Consider this my recognition of our mutual treaty to begin a new seed, a new life, a new dream–a new friendship.
Your new pal,
Revrant.
THIS IS BEAUTIFUL! I just shed a tear.
I peed in my pants a little!
Newton? Sorry dude.
Could be worse. You could live in Oelwein.
I knew it, revrant and Zilty are the same person now.
Next they’ll be getting engaged and moving into an apartment together on the lower east side.
and I quote “…to begin a new seed, a new life, a new dream–a new friendship.” …get a room you two.
ha ha Cormorant! I get it! Ziltoid you old joker you!
.. wait, this is a real band? I dont get it.
http://www.myspace.com/cormorantmusic
Go here, genius.
That is one pretty kickass bass…I”d like to stand on that.
yeah. i’d stand on that.
this band is one of the best discoveries in a while. very impressive and in depth interview. good work ziltoid!
I wasn’t impressed by todays posts. Sorry Ziltoid, but you just didn’t take me on the journey I was expecting to go on. And ending the day at 2:35? I feel like I was in the middle of having the worst sex in my life and then finally when I might be able to force out an orgasm, the girl walks away and I get blue-balled.
My poor weiner.
This.
The question now is, are you gonna be able to wrench the site away from his blistered \\\Maytag-praising fingers?
if you had control of metal sucks for a day, wouldn’t you be pimping your own bands too?
i meant to address that to sacajawea.
I was hoping for a bit more… he was kinda hit-and-miss today. Too many joke bands, not enough real bands, and Hexlust was underwhelming. However, the free metal downloads site is useful, Cormorant sounds very interesting, and this interview was quite good (mainly on the interviewee’s part, but it was an excellent choice), so all in all, I’d say that today was a marginal success.
>ending the day at 2:35
OOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! I GET IT!!!!
ending the day at 2:35 was my intention for a few reasons…
Ziltoid is sitting comfortably at 59% approval
Have you ever considered a career in politics?
I’ll be honest, I really wanted to hate this band just out of spite, but dammit they’re so fucking good. Damn you, Ziltoid. Cormorant is effin’ amazing. Fuck.
I still liked most of Ziltoid’s posts more than the posts by Vince and Axl. I would rather hear about new bands and such than read Vince and Axl talk about their opinions on metal news we’ve all already heard about.
As for Cormorant, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I like them. Thanks, Ziltoid.
Well, you are Ziltoid, so that makes sense.
Too long of an interview, though I love Cormorant.
I didn’t really like the band, so the interview was a bore. But it was well done. I guess?
Haha! :)
Haha :)
Good job good Ziltoid! Now more people will know of this amazing band. I cannot wait until the first of September rolls around to order a Digipak, EP and a shiny blue logo shirt! =)
Hands down, this is the best interview I have ever read. I’ve been a fan of Cormorant since they released their EP and I’ll definitely be getting their full-length. Thank you, Ziltoid, for the great interview.
For the record, just checked them out and I definitely dig it. Kind of reminds me at times of Opeth from their glory days.
Man I wish I wasn’t tired of Opeth and they would make an album that crossed BWP and Deliverance. I could really go for that right now.
Self-indulgent-wankery-wars.
dis band suxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
question for ziltoid, are you in a band yourself? is anyone here? Lay it on the table.
Trojan Horses is great!!
Well, you did it buddy. Posting Hexlust was predictable, since we talked about it earlier last week, but decent job on the whole… Unfortunately, it’ll all go for naught because new found fame and recognition only inflates the ego. I fully expect to argue with you when “Deflorate” and “Axe to Fall” come out, and I fully expect to hate you like I occasionally do, only to love as well for your genuinely hilarious, self-aware narcissism.
And for the record, Devin Townsend is still fucking overrated.
I actually like this band a lot
Currently listening to their stuff on myspace.
Sounds good. I like it.
Hi Ziltoid,
Congrats on the win!
That being said, I feel you’re better at commenting rather than writing a whole article. Your comments always crack me up, especially when you’re arguing with someone else. I was hoping to see that wit and clever sarcasm in your writings but I did not find any and in my humble opinion I thought your writing is very bland and “safe”…. I do understand, ofcourse that you’re not a professional and hence do not have the practice of writing but you do show promise and I hope you’re able to hone your skills soon….
That being said, I did not like this band, I’m sorry. The singer is annoying and I want to shoot him in the pharynx. The interview albeit was good but too lengthy. Had it been somebody famous like say Tom Araya or James Hetfield I would’ve read the whole thing… However, its a good thing that you’ve stayed away from the mainstream and gave some exposure to lesser known bands…
Cheers!
@ seveword:
Your ten or so comments were absolute gold!! You have a great comic sense… Kinda like Jonah Hill’s character from Superbad… I think Axl and Vince should let you run the site for a day too!!
I’m off for some mid-afternoon beer binge…
Cheers!
If I wanted to be as critical as I am as a commenter, then I would’ve been. I made it my clear goal to post a few things, and the Cormorant interview was my main goal. Frankly, I’m just happy that I got that out there. As for the wit and sarcasm, I thought that the Iced Earth bit would suffice, but I guess not. I got some of my own lulz at reading your comments for Sodomized by Satan. But make no mistake, “safe” was basically what I was going for, because that not only made it an easier transition into the Cormorant interview, but it also set your standards pretty low by that time, so the excellent interview would seem to be even more excellent by comparison. This was not some silly thing–I had my writing methods and style fully planned out to be this way.
Hi Ziltoid,
Thanks for replying to my comment.
I hope I wasn’t too harsh with my comment. I do commend your effort because you seem to be very passionate about the bands that you have written about… I’ll give it another read and get back to you…
Btw, I have a few questions, mostly personal –
a) How old are you? (I ask because if you’re under 24 then the writing is very good)
b) Do you work / study? (I ask because if you’re working then the little time you had for putting up these articles was definitely less and hence the writing is very good, if that is the case)
c) I understand that you dont like much of the mainstream stuff but, does that mean you dont like the Big 4 of the ’80s?
Cheers!
You weren’t too harsh at all.
a) 20, and frankly, today’s posts are nowhere near my better writings from when I was younger (16-18). The Iced Earth satire was a nice thing for me to do (I’ve never written satire before, and I consider it a success.), but for the most part, I prefer analytical papers on literature or science.
b) I’m a student. I wrote all of these articles/interviews either while on the way to college, or during the first week, which consisted of mostly moving in, intro classes, and a few parties. I certainly had less time than in any other week this summer, but that’s not an excuse or anything–I’m happy with my writings.
c) Megadeth is the best of the four if you ask me, but even so, listening to them bores me a lot. My general predisposition against thrash combined with the generally boring nature of the big 4 just makes them a chore to listen to. If you MUST listen to thrash, I suggest stuff like Overkill, Exodus, Sodom, Destruction, Kreator, Heathen, etc., even though those bands get old and repetitive really quickly as well.
Cheers as well! (wow, respectable conversation on MS? What the hell?)
I want to say something hurtful, but seveword already did the best job anyone could do.
I want to like a band with such prog-ness, but I don’t like these guys.
I had to ready the interview in shifts it was so long.
Good job writing, but I think you went a tad too much fanboy on this one.
That being said, this was the best think the Z put on the site today, seriously. And that sucks. Almost as bad as the headline of the site sucks.
I expected more, I think the the Z choked under the pressure.
…this was the best *thing* (not think)…
read my reply to “Die Britney!! Die!!”
There was no choking under pressure.
You had to read the interview in shifts?! Are you a fucking moron or something? Or do you just start foaming at the mouth if you read more than 10 words at a time? Fucking cockmuncher.
wow. is that your way of saying it’s not a long interview? cause you’re wrong.
maybe your lack of intelligence is to blame for your stupid comment, or maybe you just don’t get sarcasm, whatever the case is, you’re a cockbite and obviously have no sense of humor.
why don’t you go back to the farm and wrangle ya another sheep, sheep-fucker.
the actually hits it out of the park, ladies and gents.
and my above comment for Verdelet (aka Zilty’s dick rider) still stands, looks like we’ve got another pretentious, metal elitist asshole
What the fuck are you talking about you fucking sponge-brained cock sucker?! All of a sudden I am a prententious metal elitst asshole because I called you out for being an illiterate fuck even though I haven’t once mentioned my musical preference?
I can only assume you were beaten viciously about the head quite often as a child which would explain your unbelievable dumbfuckery that I have read so far.
The interview was kinda interesting, I must admit… I don’t like the music, but this is just a matter of taste, so this time it’s not a big deal… The artwork (and the website of the chick who made it) is awesome though… Still, I’m waiting for your Disturbed fanboy coming out Ziltouze
I was somewhat suprised by these guys – I thought they’d be another average, not that interesting band as promoted by the enigma that is Ziltoid, however they are actually pretty damn good.
Bit of a waffly interview but it still kept my attention to the end so it can’t have been that bad.
Plus funding your own album they way have definitely needs supporting when the music is so good.
This was waaaaay too long.
http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/genmessage.php?board=235&topic=51121817
ya hear
Way to post a link to a Halo 3 message board dumbass.
Overall the day mostly sucked, but this was a decent interview despite being a little too long. Only 2 real music recommendations were made, with Hexlust sucking and this one being decent. But I do think it serves a point, despite Zilt having 2? weeks to prepare, coming up with a constant steam of amusing and informative articles isn’t as easy as most people probably think, especially doing it 5 days a week. But props to Zilt for giving it a try, unlike a lot of critics here, Zilt at least attempts to back up all the crap he spews from his mouth, so I’m sure this was a learning experience for him and gave him some insight if he likes writing for the unwashed masses :)
Anyway, glad it only lasted one day, looking forward to the MetalSucks crew return on Monday
I started nothing until the 20th tbqh, and that was just Iced Earth and the interview questions, so I just used a week. Even so, I could have had more things on here, I just chose not to. I could have easily done an album review or three, but I didn’t want to. Make no mistake, this was very easy. And personally, I consider this to be more informative than most days at MS, since they post about popular bands for the most part anyway.
Unlike MS, my goal was to have original content (i.e., not stolen from Invisible Oranges, B-mouth, Metsl Injection, etc.), and with that, I succeeded.
this was in response to Sean.
I’d have to argue with you on ‘informative’, the only really informative post was the interview. I suppose the hexlust recommendation would count also but there really wasn’t much else. The link to free albums on the internet isn’t exactly real news, finding stuff for free is the 90% of the point of the internet :)
But I also don’t really see whats wrong with linking stuff from other sites. Not all of us have enough free time to constantly ready a half dozen metal news sites. I generally stick to metalsucks, and every now and then when I have free time I’ll wander elsewhere. I like having a centralized place that links to stuff that I may find interesting.
Where is Saturday’s song to get stoned by? I can’t pick one out myself, ‘IM TOO STONED.
TL/DR
Perfect Perfect song to get stoned to on saturday, The new YOB record. The first track is absolutely retarded good, Little long but you want to hear it just do huge rips and take it to MARS MANNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!
ATTN Seveword
Get a life. You have too much free time.
Now that was a fucking Interview.
Nice job.
Blood of the Tyrant is a better unsigned band. FACT!
Blood of the Tyrant fucking RULE! You’ll be hearing a lot more about them soon, as I’ve just started working with them as well.
Ziltoid – fucking ace interview, man. Thanks so much for the Cormorant love – I’m glad to see that people have reacted so positively to them. I’ll let you know as soon as I can about the vinyl version – still working out details!
Thanks Kim! I’m also quite pleased with the positive reception that Cormorant is getting here.
too much ziltoid, he was in my dream this morning o_0
Was I slaying falses?
Was I in Manowar attire?
No, just weird, then my sister mentioned you were cute, and in the rest of my dream just hanging around, and other stuff.
“other stuff”
Well, I am quite cute tbqh. I think it’s the eyes that get all the chicks going fo’ da Z-man.
http://www.insideout.de/catalog/images/Ziltoid.jpg
Ziltoid did a horrible job of running the site. FAIL.
this interview was a load of shit. wank wank wank im so fucking great ” after dining on some Oysters with Mike Bordin, i farted and the fart inspired to make a band and name drop and talk an unprecedented amount of shit about myself to explain my boring as fuck band”
ziltoid.. i used to think you knew your shit, but your taste in metal bar Townsend is god awful.
Anyone else notice the glut of generically named commenters praising Z’s work between 3:25-3:46 on Aug. 28th?
Just sayin’.
Is it truly so difficult to fathom that perhaps there was an influx of people who coincidentally happened to be online at the same time and who all were appreciative of Mister Ziltoid? In all honesty, this is a site for metal news-”generic” is likely to be an appropriate term to describe the names used at any such place, I highly doubt that it would be indicative of anything dishonest.
I got a message from Arthur about the album packages, and they’re great!
ALL PRE-ORDERS COME WITH A FREE SIGNED POSTER OF THE ALBUM ART. That’s a two dollar value you get just for pre-ordering. Also, any package deal will include a free white on black sticker of our new logo. We sell stickers for $1 at shows, so that’s a lot of free swag.
Anyway, pricing/package deals (not including shipping):
Metazoa 6-panel digipak: $12
Shirt (either album art, blue logo, or black logo): $15
Metazoa + shirt + sticker: $25 (you save $3 off standard combined price)
Metazoa + Last Tree + sticker: $18 (you save $3)
Metazoa + shirt + Last Tree + sticker : $30 (you save $6)
[Mega deal] Metazoa + logo shirt + album art shirt + Last Tree + TWO stickers (one of the old logo one of the new one): $40 (you save $12. OH SNAP)
Unless I run into some major technical problems, pre-orders will open on September 1st, sometime during the evening most likely. I’ll make a post about it when it’s available. Don’t get antsy if it’s a little late, it will be up as soon as I possibly can (day job, blah blah blah). Setting up all the different Paypal package deals can get kind of complicated. I do recommend pre-ordering, because besides the bonus poster, I WILL SHIP OUT BEFORE STREET DATE.
I think someone asked about vinyl pricing. I don’t know that yet, and it will be up to Saturnine Media. I know we want to do one regular black vinyl version, and one limited, blue + cream vinyl swirl. Those won’t be out for several months though.
I never go for the deluxe packages for albums (usually overpriced for just an extra track or so), but this shall be the exception. That Mega Deal is amazing!
You bastard, you actually got me to pre-order this shit. (not from this comment of course, from the interview and stuff. and partially the local-ness of the band). Congratulations.
HOLY CRAP.
MESSAGE POSTED 9/9/09 AT 9 O’ CLOCK.
Why is no one talking about the guinea pig?! That thing makes the most brutal metalhead d’awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.
It’s because people don’t have good taste in pets. That guinea pig is amazing.