Fire is not a thing of doom but a challenge wilfully entered and survived…
After seven years of silence, Tampa’s Blasphemic Cruelty are to release the band’s first EP since their 2008 debut album, Devil’s Mayhem. With death metal riffs and ridiculous lead work that would break anybody else’s fingers, drum beats to kill to, and vocals to vomit over, entitled Crucible of the Infernum, this four track EP sounds like the band never went away. Here, Gene Palubicki – yes, the ex-Angelcorspe and current Perdition Temple guitarist – talks to MR’s Jason Guest about all things blasphemous and cruel…
Thank you very much for taking time out for this interview and congratulations on your upcoming EP, Crucible of the Infernum. So, it’s been seven years since Devil’s Mayhem. Why so long to write, record and release new material? What’s been happening in the Blasphemic Cruelty camp?
Well, over the last year stuff was prepared for this new release, and now it is out, so now we will attempt to arrange whatever sort of live events that may be possible for us to participate in.
What did you want to achieve with this EP?
After so much time away from it, I wanted to get some good strong material for release. Not just quickly rush to make 7 or 8 mediocre songs just for the sake of making a full length. So I put the best of what I’d developed into these 3 new rather extensive songs to make a worthwhile follow up to previous stuff. And from a buyers perspective the release is a lower price item that can be an ideal way to discover the band and perhaps after pursue finding the older full length album.
With such a long time between releases, why choose to release an EP rather than a full length?
There was a period of time that the band/project was essentially inactive simply due to geography of where everyone lived. A few years ago some events happened that got some of us to be in the same place/same time to make a reality of any sort of new music/release possible…
How did the band approach writing the music for the EP? Do you write separately or collaborate?
It is all music/lyrics by me. There is a bit of collaboration with members on decided arrangements.
When writing, did you have an idea of how you wanted the tracks and the EP to sound or did it evolve as it was taking shape?
I always work one song at a time, so once I get a completed track, I then move on to a new idea. I like to do it that way so that each new song I build is coming from its own place. I don’t like just making a large library of random riffs and then grab bits from here and there to “construct” songs. By independently working on each full song idea they develop their own particular character and then when I start fresh on a new track I aim for some things that would likely have had no place in the previous song. Ultimately a collection of songs will then have a more varied set of ideas even though designed within a uniform style/sound…
What are the lyrical themes on the EP? And where does inspiration come from – music, books, movies, etc.?
All sorts of varied subjects and sources. All stuff that has some sort of interest to me. Some fantastical, some real world, some a blend. Often topics are based around delusional fanaticism that exists in very real ways for people and the lengths they might go to pursue these visions and beliefs. Some stuff is more fictionalized in a way that is a nod to the sorts of subjects many of the old bands that had a direct influence on this material might have had topics about…
On the EP is your version of Sodom’s ‘The Crippler’. Why choose this track?
I like to use cover tracks sometimes as a way to reintroduce songs or albums that might have been overlooked in the years. This Sodom album Tapping the Vein was what I felt one of the strongest releases from the band after the Persecution Mania album. There were a few so-so albums between these so when the Tapping… album came around and the whole death metal explosion was happening, that album sort of got lost in the shuffle. If people hear this cover track and like the song, maybe they will seek out that particular Sodom album if they may have previously overlooked it. Plus, I wanted to break the tradition that the only song ever covered by Sodom is one of the 5 songs from their debut EP…
Can you tell us about the artwork for the EP, what it represents and how much direction was given in its design?
I wanted to make a visual that played on the ideas of maybe 60’s era “witch burning” images, but the difference being that the fire is not a thing of doom but a challenge that if wilfully entered and “survived” what strengths might come from that. Hence the throng moving into the flames and the forms coming from the fire are not in despair but exhibiting a sort of renewal. The title of the album basically means “the ultimate test of hell” and in so many ways that can be translated to many facets of things that are faced by us all in our real existence…
Who’s the artist? And what was it about their work that drew you to them?
The artist is Juanjo Castellano who has been doing album arts and other stuff for almost 2 decades now. It is highly likely that anyone who has a fair share of black or death metal CDs/LPs in their collection will have one or more titles with some work he has done. It was great to finally have a release to feature his work.
Would I be correct in thinking that it’s because Perdition Temple are signed to the label that this EP is being released through Hells Headbangers?
Yes, when I moved from Osmose I took all my active projects with me. it is easiest to have all under the same banner…
Musically speaking, how does the band of 2015 compare to the band of 2008?
Aside from some different developments in riffs and ideas, there is to me nothing that stylistically separates this new material from the collection of songs on the 2008 album.
What does the future hold for Blasphemic Cruelty? Is there more material in the works? Will we have to wait another seven years for it to be released?
Time will tell, new things will happen when they are right to do so…
Are you planning any shows, festival appearances or tours? And will we be seeing you in the UK anytime soon?
We will try to take advantage of any sort of live opportunities as they come and we are able. The fact that all the members live in different regions of the USA makes for a set of problems to get everyone into the same place/same time to be able to do any stuff…
Thanks again for taking time out for this interview. Do you have any closing words for our readers?
Thanks for the major support!
