Global Domination

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Interviews

Taedeat - Azogh Martins

15/04/06  ||  Global Domination

Living in a small town like Umeå has both its good and bad sides. The good thing is that you’re constantly subjected to new bands and it’s easy to keep up with what’s going on. The bad thing is that sometimes the leadsinger of a death/black band twists your arm and forces you to conduct an interview with him just because you’re drunk and easily persuaded and he wants exposure for his band.

Then again, I quite like the guy’s band, Taedeat, so I don’t really mind.

Global Domination: Hey man, how are you doing?

Martin: Not bad, not bad.

So tell me, you’ve recently completed your second album “Quademonium” which is due out in March. Am I wrong in saying that it’s a fucking lot faster than your previous material?

Haha. Yeah, you could say that we’ve cranked it up a notch. It just fell naturally in the studio when we recorded the songs, though I can imagine Mark being a bit fed up with hearing us saying, “Can you push it just a little bit faster?” all the time.

Hey, he’s a drummer, they always get harassed, just ask Bill Ward. So what surprised me the most was the significant difference between “Quademonium” and the demo (named “Quademortis”) that preceded it by just a few months. What the hell happened between those two recording-sessions? More coke for the band (and I’m not talking about the carbonated kind) or was it a conscious decision?

Well, three of the songs from “Quademortis” are featured on “Quademonium” and they do hold the same feel as the rest of the music. What really has changed is that the tempo is higher and the production is a lot better, much thanks to us moving from Dimrakk Studios to Starfruit Studios, which has a much better atmosphere and equipment. Also, we’ve all evolved quite a bit as musicians since last time around and we’re all a lot angrier.

Your vocals have also undergone a change since “Quademortis”, I don’t think I’ve ever heard you growl this deep. Did your balls finally drop and you got hair in funny places?

With the new sound to the music, the high-pitched vocals just didn’t cut it. We tried and just went “Fuck no!” so I just went back into the recording room. My thought was to just take it down a tad, but the result of that test-run was much deeper than expected. Listening to “Everybody Bleeds” after recording the vocals we decided that I should keep going for it and it turned out to be my best performance so far.

Well it certainly sounds great and fits perfectly with the music. So why the fuck did you have to name the demo and the album so similarly?! I keep getting them mixed up and then have to edit my text all the time. Does “Quademortis/monium” actually mean something?

It was decided early after the release of “We Bring the Fourth” that the next album was to be named “Quademonium”, which would roughly mean A Unit of Four Demons. Calvin wrote the lyrics to the song and the punchline of the chorus is “Quademortis ascends”, so when we had recorded the demo we figured we could call it “Quademortis”, which (again roughly) would translate to A Unit of Four Deaths. If you have trouble separating the two, just think of the ways that you need to die before you can rise as a demon. “QuadeMORTis” comes before “QuaDEMONium”.

Good tip, that actually helps. So how would you describe Taedeat in 3 words?

Ruthless. Uncompromising. Thirsty.

And how about yourself?

Sober. Drunk. Hungover. Depending on the time of day.

As far as I’ve understood, this “Quademonium”, just like “We bring the fourth”, is a self-financed album released on your own, without a label. Is this because no label wanted to touch you with a pair of five foot pliers or because you wanted to do everything yourselves?

There is a certain satisfaction in receiving a full edition of CD’s from a print shop and knowing that everything is done by the band only. Composing the songs and the recording of them, designing the layout, finding the finances and completing the release. We haven’t needed to change anything just because some producer or director from an outside company didn’t like “that riff” or “that line of the lyrics”. Everything you get on “Quademonium” is how we want it to be and how we want you to experience our music. Of course it is possible that we could have done this exact release if backed up by a record company, but I’m not convinced some of the lyrical content would pass through the censorship of bigger, more commercial metal-labels.

Well you’re talking about eradicating the whole human species, who could possibly object to that? So let’s talk career-options instead. Let’s say Nuclear Blast signed you and said, “We’re gonna invest a lot of money and make you huge, but first you have to spend 200 days of the year on the road under shitty conditions for 2 years, and you’ll probably be known everywhere and lose all your privacy”. Would you still be interested? In short, how much are you personally, and as a band, willing to sacrifice to “make it”?

200 days on the road in a small car with engine trouble each year for two years, just touring? Fuck yeah, I’d do it. Nothing beats the feeling of being on the road with a band you enjoy playing with. I hate it when I listen to some musicians and they complain about how horrible it is to be on the road for 150 days straight, traveling to new places, drinking free beers and meeting metalheads around the world who like their music. When you join a band with the intention to release albums, you should already be prepared to take that journey no matter the conditions of the tour. If you’re not prepared to do that, you should stay at home, baking cookies for the Salvation Army.

I’ll make sure to forward this to Glen Benton, the fucking primadonna, haha. I want to ask a little about your musical past (don’t worry, I won’t mention that brief stint in A-teens). Pretty much all of the members of Taedeat were earlier in a band called Surrounded By All. Howcome you changed your name and what were the biggest musical differences between the two bands?

Mark, Mathew and former guitarist Threat started Surrounded By All in 2002 and I joined shortly after that. It was slower and more melodic, happier and more commercial back then, but much of that changed when Calvin was introduced to the band. As he began to compose music and as Threat left us to pursue other projects, the intensity and aggression grew and as we were to release the “Death Awaits You” demo, we realised that it wasn’t the same band anymore so we decided to change it.

I see. Moving on to your personal history, how did you get started making music and singing? Was it the usual “I saw a Kiss-cover and had to buy it” crap or maybe the ever popular “OMG FuckinG SLAYER d00d!!” in your teens? What do you feel is your strongest point; the guitar, the voice or the songwriting?

Shit, dude. Music has been a part of my life since I was 7 years old and started playing the piano at school. Then in 7th grade my music-teacher forced 5 of us pupils together to form a band, and since we all were well into Metallica, Slayer and so on it turned into a metal-band. We weren’t very good but we had fuckloads of fun. I played the bass back then, but deep down I always wanted to be doig leadvocals, so of course I jumped at the opportunity when Mathew asked me to join Surrounded By All. In death metal my strongest skill is definitely the voice, which is why we recruited a new guitarplayer after the release of “Quademonium”. This way I can focus more on the vocals without getting distracted by a BC Rich hanging around my neck.

I know we’ve talked about this before but I was fucking drunk so let’s do it again. Taedeat’s lyrics are vaguely anti-christian (everyone seems to hate that guy, Christian) with lines like “The time has come for all Christians to burn in hell” and “The power of Satan compels you”, so the question is: how serious is the lyrical content to be taken? To untrained ears it all might sound very violent and grim, but death and black metal has had a long tradition of such lyrics so it’s always interesting to hear the bands explain their own views on how the texts should be interpreted. Some want them taken literally, some just see them as metaphors and others as part of a package.

People should take our lyrics as seriously as they want. If what I write makes people pissed off or pepped up I have still succeeded. Apathy is the most horrid state of mind so any feelings I can arouse with my lyrics is a plus. Also, the anti-christian angle in Taedeat is all but gone with the release of “Quademonium”. The hate is now directed to pretty much any and all forms of human life. So Christian isn’t more bullied than other kids anymore.

While on topic, how do you feel when people commit actual crimes, like church-burnings and priest-murders, in the name of metal? Do you think such things have hurt or actually helped the metal scene?

Both, for sure. It has made people more aware of the existence of the music and leads more and more rebellious kids to pick up a metal-album, but at the same time it has put a stain on the entire genre, which is hard to get rid of. If someone asks you what music you play and you reply “death metal”, 9 times out of 10 you’ll get a raised eyebrow and a worried look in the person’s eye. It’s as if they think you are going to stab and shoot them at first chance. Then again, people who are into metal are mostly more genuine people, so those 9 people out of 10 you most likely wouldn’t want to know anyway. So it’s a double-edged sword.

Which bands give you a boner, and which turn you flaccid like a flag in a cupboard?

Behemoth, Nile, Belphegor, Vader, Naglfar, Dark Funeral… the list can be made long. There are so many ruthless metal-bands out there.

... Not to mention worthless. The best non-metal band ever? Answer quickly!

The Rolling Stones. Hands down.

I know you’ve spent some time in the UK, has that in some way influenced you in your music or writing? Is the UK metal scene really as shitty as Kerrang makes it look?

Unfortunately, yes. When it comes to death and black metal, there is all but nothing over there. There are a few great bands of course, but most of those as well have members from other countries of the world.

How did the band solve the songwriting-process without you? They wrote the songs and then just made you learn it when you got back or did you have some input as well?

There were a few mp3’s sent over to me from Mr Shroom, so I had some input through that and through a few tabs and so on. Then, when I got home we began rehearsing four to five times per week for a while, so that I could learn the songs in full. Mainly I wrote lyrics while I was there and when I got home I tweaked and shaved them until they fitted in with the music the others had written.

Speaking of which, your guitarist is named Calvin Shroom. Have anyone in the band tried licking him to get high? If so, did it work?

Can’t speak for the other guys but personally I haven’t tried it yet. I doubt anyone has though, since even if he looks very lickable I’m sure he is coated in some form of lethal, demonic venom.

Bored yet?

I’m always bored unless I’m drinking.

I guess that’s why you work in a pub. But hey, we still got 10 questions to go, hah!

Fantastic. You owe me beers after this.

Has anyone ever told you that you sometimes look like Filip Hammar?

Hmm… Now someone has. You seem to fail to remember that this won’t be the last time we speak.

Hehe, did you just get an urge to beat my ass?

I’m gonna do something to your ass. Not sure of I’m gonna beat it, but I’m sure as hell gonna do something to it.

Is that a threat or a promise? I bet you are disappointed when you realize you don’t know where I live.

I’m not too worried. We have mutual acquaintances who do know where you live.

Crap, backfire! While we’re on the subject (well, sorta); What’s your opinion on groupies; annoying and unclean or swell and most welcome?

That depends. Define a groupie. I don’t mind picking up a girl after a gig if she seems like an interesting enough person.

But seriously, wouldn’t it feel weird to be with a girl you know only fucked you because you’re in a band and maybe didn’t even know your name?

I think it would. But then again, people go home with others all the time without knowing each other’s names and based on superficial reasons. Like someone playing in a band, being the DJ, being the bartender, being of a different ethnic origin, etc etc. In the end we’re all just human beings, all with the same weaknesses and urges. So if it’s wrong to fuck someone just because you want to for one reason or another, I say it’s rather just wrong being human. And there’s a cure for that.

Ever seen eel-porn?

Eel-porn? You need to get that head of yours checked up, man.

Lord K fucking forced me to ask this: what’s your favourite NHL team and why?

Depends on the players of the team. At the moment it would be Detroit Red Wings. Good, solid, Swedish players in that team.

In Flames had a duet with Swedish pop-singer Lisa Miskovsky, when will we hear Taedeat & Kylie Minogue in a duet? No, but seriously, have there ever been any thoughts about using chick-vocals or maybe a nice keyboard/guitar solo duel in Taedeat? I hear that Tarja the Cumbucket is not in a band anymore.

We have a female voice doing two lines of speech ( Note by The Abyss: I don’t think that counts as a duet, buddy ) on the song “Utopia” from the new album, and also a guitar solo duel on the song “P.O.P.E.”. There is even a keyboard-intro for “Enslave the Inferior” so I guess, in a way, we’re already there. But no, if you mean in the way In Flames used the vocals of Lisa Miskovsky, or the way Cradle of Filth uses keyboards, it’s not gonna happen. Tarja can stay in bible-school singing her psalms without the company of Taedeat.

Please describe your bandmates with one nice sentence and one sentence that’s actually true. Don’t worry, we won’t publish this part ‘cough cough’

I’ll go for one that is both nice and true, and the only way I really can describe them all in one combined sentence: “The most supporting friends you will find in this world, and the last people to die, together with me, come the revolution.”

Ok, I’m getting bored now, is there any question I haven’t asked that you wanted to answer?

Not really. Feels as if you covered most parts of the intellect ladder with the questions so far. A good mix of information and downright stupidity.

Thanks, I think… Any last words or things to whore out?

To quote a good friend: Come the revolution, we’re gonna need a bigger wall.

Thanks for your time, don’t eat the yellow snow.

Don’t worry, I’ll stick to the red one, as always.

www.taedeat.com

Interviews