Yes it is a weapon( the Army ' s internal docs say this) and YES it is extremely dangerous, * Monsanto Is Gojira: A Sepultura reference, about the dangers and crimes of this cartel. * Chemtrail: I ' m not sure if“ Chemtrails” are real, but I like the idea of them. I did see with my own eyes an unmarked black military plane pumping chemicals like fog outside windows over all the marijuana crops of northern California, which spread across the sky in creepy forma on. I ' d really like to know what that was. * Audacity Of Hoax: The obligatory an- Obama song. * Sharia Law: The world ' s first metal song about ISIS. I wanted to offend everyone first. It ' s one of the best on the album. * Weaponized Morgellons: About weaponizing the supposedly fake disease many people are suffering from, being mummified from within by alien fibers. It ' s freaky. YouTube it. * Minimum Wage: The staple 30 second grinder with“ Falling Down” references and being a broke ass wage slave. * They Live We Sleep: John Carpenter worship and a way to breach the subject of extraterrestrials in an off-hand, less direct way. * False Flag: About countries that a ack themselves and then make it look like another country or organiza on did it as to jus fy war. * Brandishing The Scalp Of God: Chris anity, the original conspiracy, and the blatant death / black track. * Sow Reaper: About the final moments of a wasted life as the void consumes. The character deserved it, like many of Ozzy ' s villains.
Are there any label interested in VULTURE LOCUST?
There were a few smaller labels that showed interest but I politely turned them down. Really, even if Metal Blade or Nuclear Blast came knocking I don ' t think I ' d do it. I like to have full control over the projects I create, and I always release them for free online even if there is a physical pressing of CD ' s. All record companies are capitalist, even if their goals are legit. They are businesses, and that ' s fine. But I am not running a business, I ' m in a metal band and that band has a message. I also don ' t want anyone breathing over my shoulder or telling me I can ' t do something or say something. My big mouth needs to be free. And even if someone put out my record I ' d openly be telling fans to download it. Vulture Locust is no one ' s employee, nor am I Vulture Locust ' s employee. If that makes sense, haha.
How is the scene OREGON?
Portland Oregon is my favorite city in the world. It is the only place I feel at home, the public transit is amazing, and we now have a social safety net that makes Oregon ' s government compare to that of a European government. There are so many bands here that aren ' t enough bars or venues for everyone to play. There are dozens of houses that have turned their basements into secret venues, and there are house shows all the me. I happen to live at one of the big extreme metal house venues and we hook a lot of shows up for touring grindcore, crust, death and thrash bands. Everywhere I go I see punks and metalheads on the street, you don ' t have to worry about“ normal people " bea ng you up for looking strange, the cops don ' t harass or target you for having a satanic t-shirt, etc. Everyone that plays in a band here is in mul ple bands, or runs a zine, or does something on the side. And Portland is filled with guys like me-- men in their 20 ' s & 30 ' s who all came here from all over the USA to play music and make this their new homebase. Portland isn ' t the place where you“ make it big”-- it ' s where you set up your metal headquarters and go from there. Even for the nega ve things people say--“ oh the metal scene is the same few hundred die-hards going to everything, it ' s not big as indie rock in Portland”-- i think this is heavy metal paradise. Every night is a Saturday night compared to the rest of the USA!! There is always a show.
And if no show, I could call up one of my friends bands and watch a world class metal band prac ce in their rehearsal space. It ' s all about perspec ve! I ' d rather have 300 die-hards then 10,000 fakes any day! But for anyone reading this, check out these bands-- Snakes, Immoral Majority, Nescient, Roadkill Carnivore, UADA, Raptor, Weresquatch, Drouth, Crime Machine, Machetazo Profano, Dodlage, Gladius, Disenchanter, Clitera, Dead Nexus, Spas c Blurr... And tons of amazing punk rock bands everywhere too! Every kind of music is here, really. And people are generally friendly, even if they all do that“ Seinfeld " thing where it ' s the same like 4 people huddled in a corner in their own li le clique. Ha! But thats everywhere you go. And it ' s cool here because it is very unpopular to be racist or to be some asshole star ng fights or coming to the mosh pit to throw elbows at peoples heads.
What has been the response of the EP and " COMMAND PRESENCE " by the extreme press and fans?
Overwhelmingly posi ve! Either they get it or they don ' t, and if they don ' t“ get it” they seem to hate it. But they always start a review with“ it should be said that I don ' t like grindcore very much...” and then everything they complain about I read and think“ If I wasn ' t in this band I would go find them on YouTube right now!” So the bad reviews are good reviews in my opinion! And I also get great reviews with people saying“ This is the kind of album you always hope Terrorizer would release, but somehow never does” from people that live, breathe & shit grindcore( that one is a real quote too). Then I get:“ I don ' t like this produc on, it ' s noisy and painful-- where are all the Lamb of God styled breakdowns? Can it please just slow down? This band is just too brutal and the vocals are too insane for me to handle” kind of reviews. So really, whose opinion counts on this ma er? So far I have not found anyone who is a die-hard of extreme underground metal that totally hates my album. Across the board people seem to think it ' s quality for what it is. And the other folks-- well, I love being hated for the right reasons. This is a specialty album for all the real freaks out there. The produc on is the major thing that is make or break. It was recorded / mixed to sound like a top of the line basement recording, then it was mastered to have a nasty black metal produc on caked on top of it, pushing it more towards a Darkthrone sound layered over early Napalm Death / Brutal Truth sounding produc on. If you listen too low, there is a metallic hum. That ' s the crash cymbal pushed high on the treble mix. So it ' s unpleasant to listen except at really high volume, which was the point. If it ' s low on your stereo, it ' s messy and odd. Jacked up to full volume, it ' s a punishing, clear, brutal experience. It has it ' s own feel. My vocals are all high-end too, no gu urals or grunts. My style is like a mix between DropDead and early Bethlehem, but with a Carcass twist.
What is the songwri ng process?
What worked best for me is playing guitar in front of a hand held MP3 recorder. I collect hours of myself playing. Using a program like Audacity or Cool Edit Pro I save any riffs I liked. A erwards I start grouping riffs together un l songs begin to form. With Vulture Locust, you hear many kinds of extreme metal. There is a grindcore basis to our music, and the grind blast appears in all our songs. But we also incorporate elements of death, thrash, doom and crust. When you hear thrash, it will sound like old school Slayer, Coroner. Darkthrone and some black metal sec ons, but the feeling is always heavy hi ng and grinding. Unlike many brutal bands, our music has a rock n ' roll feel like Motorhead. This is why I like grindcore so much-- it has a punk rock feel to it, but is s ll metal as it gets.