PlanetMosh Keeping it Metal
Dyscarnate have just finished a tour with Psycroptic, Hour of Penance and Exhumer. They are taking on the world as a three piece modern death metal band “…bringing the sound of a five piece…” With the band having just signed a deal with Siege Of Amida/Century Media Records, they are currently writing a new album. Matt Unsworth expresses ” As much as we could put out the same record again and again, like some bands, we’d much prefer to grow and try different things to keep ourselves fresh…but it’ll still have that groovy Dyscarnate vibe.” Their next album is looking to release mid to late 2014. Dyscarnate will be on the Terrorizer stage just before 4 o’clock and they will, in the words of Matt (which he learnt from the Italians), “Piss on the sandals of Jesus Christ.”
Lara Kisel – You have just finished a Euro tour with Psycroptic, Hour of Penance and Exhumer. How was it?
Matt Unsworth – Great! Having toured with Psycroptic in Europe and Australia before we’ve become good friends and always have great times with them, and the Italians are always excellent to go out with since they have the most lyrical insults in the world. Where in England you might say “bollocks”, we’ve been taught such classics as “Piss on the sandals of Jesus Christ”, which I feel does the job a mite better. The shows and crowds were great too; excellent times.
LK – ‘And So It Came To Pass‘ was cited as “one of the best death metal albums to come out of the UK in the last twenty years” by Metal Hammer’s Dom Lawson. Heavy praise from him. How do you take such praise, and do you feel you have a point to prove among your peers and equals? Is the mentality of ‘Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned’ still applicable?
MU – Dom’s been a firm friend of ours since he championed our first EP, it means a lot coming from him since we grew up reading his articles! We feel we’ve gone a fair way to proving ourselves as a recognised force in the death metal scene by now, but still have plenty more to pull out of the bag when our next album comes out. The mentality of “Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned” is always applicable for us. It totally sums up our ethos in that there’s only three of us, but we feel that since we put so much thought and energy into our live shows we can take on a five piece anytime!
LK – You guys represent the new wave of modern death metal, but in music press Tom Whitty has vocally been likened to Erik Rutan on more than one occasion, and the band has been likened to early Behemoth with hints of Obituary. Do Dyscarnate seek to carve a different niche in the genre of modern death metal, or does the band’s main influence lie in the old school?
MU – We’ll always be a modern death metal band, but people have always drawn comparisons to more old school acts. I suppose we do draw influence from the old school bands too, but always try to maintain the cutting edge approach of a modern act. We’re not really trying to emulate any band or precise style in particular, rather writing and playing whatever feels right for us at that point in time.
LK – Do you have any musical restrictions when writing due to being a three piece, or does it strengthen the songwriting process?
MU – Now and then we’ve wanted to write riffs which would require a second guitar, but we’ve always found ways around it. Since there’s no lead guitar parts, Tom does an excellent job of delivering all the tone you might expect to hear from two rhythm guitarists, having put so much thought into his setup and sound. As far as the writing goes we’re all on the same page most of the time, so it can help not having too many people to please. ‘Too many cooks’ and all that!
LK – Your hometown Horsham holds the UK record for the heaviest hailstone ever to fall. Do you seek to steal this record for ‘Heaviest thing out of Horsham’?
MU – I never knew that! Horsham’s not exactly known for a prolific output of metal bands, so I don’t think we’ve got a lot of competition in that respect; but now that I know about this hailstone I may have to rethink our position…
LK – What are your plans for after Damnation; specifically 2014? Are you already planning and writing the next album?
MU – Yeah we’ve sat down to start writing the next record fairly recently, we’ve been so busy touring for the last year that there’s not been much time to concentrate on new material! We’ve recently signed a new deal with Siege Of Amida/Century Media Records, and will be putting something new out around mid to late 2014. We’re trying to write something with a bit more variation than we have done in the past, but it’ll still have that groovy Dyscarnate vibe. As much as we could put out the same record again and again like some bands, we’d much prefer to grow and try different things to keep ourselves fresh.
LK – What are you bringing to Damnation, and what are you looking forward to besides your own show?
MU – We’ll be bringing the sound of a five piece with just three blokes; Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned! Aside from that I’m particularly looking forward to Carcass. They pretty much got me into death metal but I’ve never had a chance to see them live.
LK – Thank you for your time Matt and I look forward to seeing you guys on stage at Damnation.
Band Members
Tom Whitty – Guitar & Vocals
Henry Bates – Bass & Vocals
Matt Unsworth – Drums
Band Links
http://www.dyscarnate.com
https://www.facebook.com/Dyscarnate
