NP1: An Interview With Deus Otiosus

Deus Otiosus are a Danish Death/Thrash Metal band fromed in 2005. They are one of the numerous Old School Death Metal revival bands, but choose to play in the vein of Dutch masters like Burial and Asphyx, stepping away from the usual choice of Incantation or Entombed worship. After a 2007 demo, the band released their debut album in 2010, titled "Murderer".

Murderer begins with a a very Burial-esque, Thrashy song titled "I Have Seen Him Slay". The song sets the mood for the rest of the album, as the band indulges in no unnecessary build-ups or intros, reflecting the straight-forward nature of the record. The set intensity rarely drops, and the band engages in consistently catchy riff-work, combining it with blazing guitar solos, indicating that these guys are a lot more inclined to Thrash Metal. The addictive, groovy riffing is a headbanger's delight. The drumming is relentless, with double bass pounding away at all times, and the snare is precise, with no sign of sloppiness around. There are no frenzied sections with blast-beating and hyper-fast riffing like Ripping Corpse or Merciless, but that certianly wasn't needed here. The band rather engages in slower, doomy sections - as heard on the song "Whore Limbs" - and keeps up an evil vibe throughout with them, and the tremolo riffing. The bass guitar is very clearly audible, and that is always a big plus in metal. The vocals are demonic, monotone growling with a very "commanding" sound. They aren't insignificant, but never distract from the rest of the music. There is enough variation in the album, which eliminates monotony, but some songs, eg. "Ash World" can seem to drag on too long, but the more interesting songs like "Wall of Violence" and the title track more than make up for it. Each song has certain memorable moments, but that makes it hard to distinguish one song from another, but considering the genre, it is completely normal. The sound and production of the album are perfect. Everything is clear, each note is distinguishable, each instrument audible, and everything is mixed well, yet, the sound is old school, like a mid-90s Death Metal album. The band definitely succeeded in what they were attempting in terms of sound, as well as musically.

 In short, the album is an onslaught of mid-paced Death/Thrash metal which will compel you to headbang your brain out of your skull. Do not miss this if you are an Old School Death Metal worshipper or a Thrash Maniac. This album was especially made for true fans of the genre that do not need unnecessary technical wankery or jazzy noodling, and want Metal in it's pure, unadulterated form.  - Rohit Chaoji

We caught up with Henrik,for an exclusive interview.

NP: Across countries, continents, pervading oceans, the love for extreme metal unites us all. Greetings from Nuclear Paradise.

Henrik: “Greetings to you at Nuclear Paradise!”

NP: The probity of your music, your polemical stance on true extreme metal is commendable. What makes you stay true to your roots?

Henrik: “We just play what we like, this is the style of music we grew up with. We try to make some good death metal music and that is all there is to it really.”

NP: A myriad of influences can be felt in your music. Most notably, hints of the malediction that is Asphyx. What are you major influences?

Henrik: “I like that everybody seem to have their own references and bands they compare us to. That probably just means that we have a diverse sound that is not too close to any single band. I’ve been listening to metal music for so many years, I don’t even know if I have that many conscious influences anymore, just all the stuff I’ve listened to through the years. I am sharpening my notion of what makes music good or bad, and try to place us on the good side. If you’re looking for band names I would say that for example  Death, Morbid Angel, Deicide, Obituary and Pestilence have meant a lot.”

NP: 'Murderer' inundates everything in its path, intrepidly progressing from a strength to next. A brilliant album. We would like you to elaborate on the song writing, recording, reception, and the 'behind the scenes' aspects related to it.

Henrik: “Thank you very much. We tried very hard to give every song it’s own character and strength to give the album a strong and diverse whole. The music is written by myself and so are the lyrics with the exception of “Ye Pigs of Little Faith” by former bass player Jens Nepper. The album was actually recorded very early when we had just gotten together as a band, as I had the music written beforehand. Things went very quickly and we recorded the album in 8 days in the local Earplugged Studios, then we talked with a few labels and agreed that it would be released by FDA Rekotz and American Line. The reception from listeners and media has been very good up till now!”

NP: What is the lyrical concept behind your esoteric take on death metal? What are a few recurring themes you have build your songs upon?

Henrik: “Our concept is the world, where humanity is without god and guidance and the horrors that man inflict upon one another. That means we have a somewhat broad lyrical spectre, and some of the themes are death, murder, war, torture, undead and the beyond. Some lyrics can perhaps also be interpreted to be about completely other things behind the metaphors.”

NP: Growing up in an era, mainly dominated by extreme metal, how would you define the change in the atmosphere of the metal community world wide? While we still have bands like Burial Invocation, Deus Otiosus, Disma and others, who swear by their roots, you also do see a lot of people coming up with farce hybrid genres. What is an ideal response to the parasites feeding on something established by our pioneers?

Henrik: “There are a lot more bands today, and a lot more releases. However the creative level has not been lifted accordingly, so there’s a lot more stuff sounding the same. That’s the biggest problem, I think. Of course there are also a lot of bands playing a style that I never really saw as metal, but I think the greatest problems are lack of creativity and songwriting. Most of the releases today don’t stand out in any way and simply crowd the scene. Otherwise you are right, there are still some cool bands around – for example Burial Invocation.”

NP: Extrication of hybrid genres like core, djent and the like has come to be an essential part of the new wave of old school death metal. What new bands in your opinion, are at the forefront of this movement? What new bands in your opinion, are worthy of re establishing the good name of the art form, that is extreme metal?

Henrik: “I’m sorry, but I don’t know so much about these core and djent genres. I think a lot of these bands have gotten lost. Somewhere a lot the way other things became important besides playing good music. Too focused on technique, speed, style, image whatever. I don’t most of these bands have actually given thought to creating music that’s good. The very best bands within extreme metal today are actually still some with some years under their belt like Macabre, Melechesh or Absu. Of good Danish bands I’d mention Strychnos and Undergang.”

NP: India, although in limitation, has considerable affinity for extreme metal music. Deus Otiosus, has built up a niche fan base here among the metal elite. We are waiting for your next releases with alacrity. What comes next for Deus Otiosus?

Henrik: “Really? That’s good to hear. Right now we are working on our second album, rehearsing and arranging songs. It is our clear goal to record it in 2012 and hopefully release it that same year! So hopefully you guys will get another album from us this year. More info will follow of course.”

NP: Europe's ambivalence is well known. How is the scene back home in Denmark?

Henrik: “Denmark is probably the European country with the smallest interest in metal. There is not much of a scene here. Even though there are a few good bands, and we do get quite a bit of metal concerts here too. With the internet album availability is not an issue either, so things could be a lot worse too.”

NP: What according to you, is symbolic of a perfect death metal record? What attributes does an album require, to come good in your opinion?

Henrik: “A perfect record is one that goes from strength to strength. That means that every song is good in itself. A good song holds strong and inspired riffs and elements that come together in a coherent, meaningful and characteristic whole. Besides that, for the album to be perfect there would have to be a certain variation and dynamic in between the songs, so it doesn’t feel the same song over and over throughout. Those are the ideals we write our music after.”

NP: 'Thousand Arms of the Dead' really enthralled me. 'Down below, in the deep where bones are scattered far, drenched in flame, the rotten flesh, in this chasm hell...'. What is implied in this particular song?

Henrik: “Cool, man. The lyrics to this song are probably the most straight forward on the album. It’s simply a vision of hell and the tormented souls therein. It’s a journey through hell where the damned are depicted in a very carnal way with rotten hanging flesh. Perhaps subconsciously inspired by the quite carnal hell in Dante’s “Divine Comedy”?”

NP: Is Deus Otiosus a katharsis of your feelings?

Henrik: “Yes, very much so. Deus Otiosus is my creative medium, so it’s very natural for me that I would express what I think and feel through the music and lyrics of the band. That also means that it sometimes crosses the boundaries of what you normally do with the borders of death metal, but it’s much better this way, I think. Every great artist have always done their own unique thing.”

NP: What in your opinion, are the strengths and weaknesses of Old school death metal? How do you overcome the weaknesses, if any?

Henrik: “The strengths and weaknesses of old schooled death metal are the same as any genre I think. The strength is that we stand on the shoulders of giants. We don’t have to invent guitar distortion or the basic instrumentation of the genre. We have the classic bands who have already shown us the greatness of this music. But this strength is also the weakness, or at least danger of this music. Many bands simply rest on the shoulders of the masters of old and are quite satisfied by sounding like a cloning of for example Entombed. But a clone will never have the same impact as the original. And a band that can be contended by belonging in a niche genre, will never be as inspired as those who carve their own path. It is therefore important to do your own thing. Do not listen to underground rules and norms. It’s the music that counts and great artist do not sound like artists that have already been before them.”

NP: What are a few noted bands you have had the fortune of sharing stage with? I have gathered from what I have heard, that you have played with Burial Invocation, who happen to be a personal favorite of mine. if true, how was the experience?

Henrik: “Yes, you are right, that both us and Burial Invocation played on the Kill-Town Death Fest 2010 in Copenhagen. There were plenty of other names on that festival too of course like Dead Congregation, Strychnos and Miasmal, and besides that we’ve played with bands like Undergang and Nocturnal Graves.”

NP: Thank you for this interview! We at Nuclear Paradise appreciate your dedication for the furtherance of extreme metal. Any message to your Indian fans? What would you like to advise the kids who want to form bands, to keep the torch alight?

Henrik: “Thank you very much for this interview and a chance to speak with you guys in India. Watch out for our next album, which will hopefully be out this year. For those who want to form a band: Don’t do it just for the sake of it. Play music only if you have something to say with it. Don’t mind what the others do, but go for your own vision.”

ETERNAL GOAT REIGN - SLAUGHTERED PRIEST

Taking influence from early Venom, Hellhammer, Bathory and Slayer

(in their more straight-forward thrash moments),Slaughtered Priest bring to you “Eternal Goat Reign”.

Hellhammer derived circular black/thrash riffs, gurgling basslines, surprisingly tight drumming and awfully awesome vocals are just some of the main features of this band's debut album. Just like early Bathory and Venom, you can spot some punk influences here as well, mainly in the upbeat 'happy' drumming style. The blackened thrash riffs make up most of the guitar work here as there are no solos, but the riffs at times morph into full fledged black metal riffs with just a shade of thrash in them, and other times they take on a slow, somewhat groove metal appearance. The filthy Celtic Frost inspired guitar tone however gives the music an atmosphere of malevolence at all times. Vocals are here in the form of low death growls and thin - but not ultra high-pitched - black metal shouts.

There are six songs here from the total of eight tracks, the other two just being an intro and an outro. The song titles here are as awesome as the songs themselves, despite the blatant cheesiness. Despite the fact that both thrash metal and black metal are considered to be extremely restrictive genres, the music here never gets boring and feels peculiarly fresh throughout. Overall, this is a good first album for these Greek black metal thrashers and I look forward to hearing more original material from them!

-Hassan

Nuclear Paradise Volume 1, featuring Necroven, Old School Death Metal Act from Spain, Dormant Inferno, Death/Doom act from India, and Idolatry, Old School Death Metal from Bangladesh.

NP1: Necroven, an interview

Necroven, is a one man old school death metal project from Spain. Born to make music along the lines of  Grave, Abhorrence and Demigod, here's what Jonathan of Necroven had to say, in an exclusive interview with Nuclear Paradise, raw, and unedited.

NP: Hello from Nuclear Paradise! How are you doing?

Necroven: Hello!  Fine, resting after a nice working day.

NP: Take us through the early stages of the band……how did it all start?

Necroven: I needed a death metal band! I have been playing in other bands and projects with different styles but always I was thinking about to do something nearly of old death metal bands, I was working step by step to record the first demo and I think that the final product was great, I recorded all instruments and voice cause where I can from is too difficult to find people ready to play death metal but I'm happy and the people are interested, that's all that I want!.

NP:What would you highlight, as the greatest moment for Necroven, and why.

Necroven: Necroven is a really new project, but too much people is interested, now is a great time for Necroven cause I have a demo and an album to be released by labels with just 2 - 3 months of life as a band. I'm so grateful to the people that help me.

NP: What are your major influences, that got you started, and continue to shape your work?

Necroven: My influences are early death metal from USA, Sweden and Finland, all people said to me that Necroven sound is like early American bands but I think that the melodies the Necroven have are more near to the european sound, probably that's a mix,I don't know sure, I play all that I like when I'm doing a song, without care!, I listen some bands like,  Deteriorot, Rottrevore,  Abhorrence, Grave, Demigod, Entombed, Purtenance, Demilich, etc.

NP: If you could exist in any movement in musical history, which would it be?

Necroven:Death Metal, for sure! I can listen other kinds of music but death metal still being my favourite.

NP: Congrats on Being signed by Memento Mori. When can we expect the full-length record to release?

Necroven:Thank you! I'm so happy with the recent deal. I think that the album will be released the next year, I'm not sure but I'll be a true butchery! heheh for while I'm preparing all details for Perpetual Scorn demo released with Filthy Cave records soon.

NP: Tell us about your songs. What are they based upon? What are the major lyrical themes and inspirations?

Necroven: The lyrical theme isn't nothing new, about horror, gore, near-death experiences, sickness, witchcraft, possesions and those kind of wonderful things!

NP: Some final thoughts on Death metal. What do you think are the genres greatest strengths and weaknesses?

Necroven: I think that DM is a powerful genre right now, have too much bands and labels, so too much sometimes means too much shit also, but I think that a real good thing of death metal is the underground movement, bands, labels, zines with an old or vintage atmosphera in 2011, for me that's good, somebody that will be reading it could mean that I'm a 80's nostalgic but I'm not, just I think that this way keep death metal real...a really weak shit is the people that think like a rockstar playing death metal, and the shit-talkings...but this exist in all movements.

NP : What motivated you to get into metal? What according to you, made you stick to it?

Necroven: I started to listen heavy metal too young, I had 9 or 10 years old when I listen my first Iron Maiden album in a friend house, on vinyl, I think that was "The number of the beast", at first time I was paying my attention to the cover and other things in rock and roll music, I was a kid, but then, over time I being to listen that sound and pay attention to the music. I think that the things what made me stick to death metal is underground movement, people helped others,  small and proudly labels, handmade zines, vinyls, raw music, etc...I love the atmosphera around underground death metal in all ways, that made me stick to this

music!

NP: Can you characterize today's death metal scene?

Necroven: Just can I say that is a scene involved in music, I mean that for example black metal, is a movement where sometimes the people pay more attention to corpsepaint or appearance than to music (I like too many black bands, is just a example), and I think Death metal is more a musical movement without care about other things.

NP: What do you see as the primary difference in mentality between underground metal bands and modern day metal bands?

Necroven:If with modern day metal bands do you mean "big" or "commercial" metal bands I will see more colaborative work in underground, as a big family, but the problem is the money, that would be perfect if we can live of the music, but underground is underground, at the moment I'm happy with my work and I don't change it for a tour in a big bus with bitches, drinks and drugs, I prefered to play in my room an satisfied myself...

NP: What kind of reaction are you expecting from fans for the upcoming demo?

Necroven: At the time people who have been listened it, reacts well, a lot of good reviews and that makes me feel so proud an that gives me desires to continue with this project.

NP: How is the underground scene back there in Spain? We have all heard of the mighty Teitanblood and the likes. Any NOSDM bands worth checking out?

Necroven: I think that we don't have a lot of new bands, for me, a new bands that worth to check would be Ataraxy, Unconsecrated, Banished from inferno...maybe will exist other nice bands but I don't know about.

NP: Thanks a lot for your time. This is your space to say anything you want to. How about a message for your fans?

Necroven: Thank you for give me an space on your blog, and also thanks and cheers for all people who read it.

For the interested people I'll say that for news or whatever they want could contact me through the following address: necrovendeathmetal@gmail.com or visit the new brand page www.necroven.bandcamp.com.

Cheers!

NP1:Dormant Inferno, An Interview

We caught up with Gautam, from Dormant Inferno- a Mumbai based 3 piece Death/Doom act, for our second feature. Despite being a Doom metal acts in an almost non- existent Indian scene, Dormant Inferno has struck a chord with a huge number of fans, from all walks of the Indian Underground. Read on.

1.      NP: Hello guys. Greetings from the Nuclear Paradise. How is the band doing?

  Dormant Inferno : Greetings and thank you for the interview. The band is dormant for the time being, owing to me being in the US for my education. We are still active, But making music at a snail's pace, at the moment.

2. NP: Take us through the early stages of the band……how did it all start? 

  Dormant Inferno: Well, I have always loved doom metal the most among every other genre and sub-genre of music. It is the music that I could relate to. It is the music that has influenced my thoughts and my beliefs tremendously in my 'formative' years. I had always wanted to start a doom metal band. Preferably death/doom, funeral doom or drone. Due to this genre of music not being too popular, I could not find like minded musicians to work with. But thankfully, Sunny messaged me on a social networking site asking me if I could do vocals for a death/doom band he wanted to start. We jammed a few times and created Total Negation and Failed Experiments. That is when we asked Aurko to play for us because we felt the sound was incomplete without keyboards. He agreed and we got together and made Ashes, and worked on the details of the other two songs. Bhaskar joined us for session drums and even played drums for us on our only live live performance so far. I have to say, I am glad I got to work with these guys because it was so simple for us. Every person knew what had to be done. It was a pleasure! 

3. NP: What made you choose ‘Dormant Inferno’? An interesting story perhaps?

  Dormant Inferno: Sunny came up with the name for the band. It basically refers to the feelings and emotions that lie buried within us. The feelings we hope never get out and the memories we would like to forget. These emotions that lie dormant within each and every one of us. It is like an inferno lying dormant, building inside you every time. And we hope to affect it with our music.

4. NP: What Influences DI’s music? Which Bands would you consider to be the greatest driving factor for you guys, to continue making your music?

  Dormant Inferno: Everything around us is an influence, to be honest. DI for us, was the portal through which we could spit everything out, based on what was going on in our lives. Plenty of bands influenced us. Mainly funeral doom and death/doom bands. Bands such as Thergothon, My Dying Bride, Skepticism, Evoken, Solitude Aeturnus, Desire, Necare, Reclusiam etc. I could go on for hours. 

5. NP: How did you guys discover doom? Once discovered, what made you stick to it?

  Dormant Inferno: I started off with My Dying Bride. Their release 'Turn Loose the Swans' completely floored me the first time I heard it. It was perfect! The emotions conveyed through the music, the agonizingly beautiful music and the image it conjured within me made me hungry for more. I have to say, I spend an unhealthy portion of my time listening to music, but doom metal does something to me that other forms of music rarely do. I have no choice but to stick to it.

6. NP: Is Dormant Inferno a catharsis of your feelings?

  Dormant Inferno: It definitely is. As I said earlier, it is a portal through which we could spit everything out based on what was going on in our lives. Personally, Dormant Inferno was a mode of 'escape' for me, if that makes sense. It was something I had to do to focus on the other things in life. It helped me immensely and I do not know where I would have been without it. It Was much more than just music. 

7. NP: Tell us about the scene in Mumbai. Does Death/Doom Metal garner as much support as the new hybrid shit ass genres we see polluting the art- form?

 Dormant Inferno: We were pleasantly surprised by the tremendous response we received in Mumbai. We were a bit skeptical before releasing the EP, but the response was amazing. Thankfully, the scene is fast improving. There are mallcore bands, and there always will be. But there are some amazing bands in the scene at the moment too. The people are very supportive of the bands that play live. You can see plenty of people flocking to support the bands at gigs, and it is very nice to be a part of the scene at the moment. We surprisingly received a very good response when we played live. To be honest, I was shocked by it and I am thankful to the people who support the scene.

8. NP: Who usually writes the songs? Take us through the entire process.

  Dormant Inferno: Sunny and me wrote the Total Negation and Failed Experiments by ourselves. Sunny would make a couple of riffs and send them over to me and we would just jam and see how things went with that song. It was similar with Ashes. We made that just a few days after Aurko joined us. The band was practicing and Sunny just played a few riffs he had thought of, and Aurko gave the perfect atmosphere for it. It just sounded great then and we went along with it. The lyrics however, are written by Sunny and me.  

9. NP: Tell us about your originals. What are they based upon? What are the major lyrical themes and inspirations?

  Dormant Inferno: The songs in In Sanity basically deal with hopelessness, despair, loss and despondency. Our inspirations were what we had to go through in everyday life.

     Failed Experiments was a very personal song for Sunny. It      deals with hopelessness and his regret at having taken up the habit of smoking. It is about how you know it will destroy you, but you cant do anything about it and are lost in an addiction.

Ashes is my favorite track and probably the most 'destructive' one. It is about the grief and sorrow one suffers on losing a loved one. It is about loss and the inability to deal with it.

Total Negation was the first track we made as a band. It deals with death, despondency and the loss of will to live.  

10. NP: How often do you guys jam? What else, do you guys do? Day jobs?

Dormant Inferno:We used to jam regularly. At least once a week. But unfortunately, we haven't jammed since last august, due to me going off to the US to pursue my master's degree. As for jobs, Sunny is working full time on his business, Bhaskar and Aurko are studying in college. 

11. NP: What would you highlight, as the greatest moment for DI, and why.

Dormant Inferno: Definitely releasing the EP and reading the initial response to it. It was something I would never ever forget. I did not sleep for two whole days because I did not want to miss a single review and a single discussion in the internet about us! In my opinion, the highlight of the band and the highlight of my life. Would take something really special to top that.

12. NP: Tell us about In Sanity, your debut EP. How well was it received, considering it to be one of the first of its kind in India?

Dormant Inferno: In Sanity got a terrific response by the people who heard it. We were stunned as the positive reviews kept coming in. We were actually in two minds about recording the EP, because we did not think it would be received too well, but the response was completely overwhelming. I might sound like a broken record, but I truly am thankful for the support that everybody has given us. Even when we played live, people gave us a very good response. Was amazing!

13. NP: Considering the current lack of labels, how hard was it to release In Sanity? 

Dormant Inferno: We never actually looked for a label to release In Sanity. What we had initially thought, was to print a limited number of CDs independently and distribute it to a few labels and to a few people who had helped us and would appreciate the effort behind it. And to put it up as a free download. We did not want to sell the EP or take any money for it. The appreciation was more than enough for us. Unfortunately it didn't work out that way and we never actually got around to printing it yet. It is in my 'To-Do list' for the future. I would definitely like to work with a label for the future. But at the moment, we are not thinking about it.

14.NP: What new (post 2000) band would you recommend to the old guards of Death/Doom? In your opinion, where do the new bands stand, in comparison to the pioneers of the genre?

Dormant Inferno: There are plenty of post-2000 bands that are amazing. Bands are coming up with new releases every year. At the moment, I find myself listening to a lot of Ophis, Loss, Dictator, Reclusiam, Necare, The howling Void, Ahab, Longing for Dawn, Mar De Grises etc among the post-2000 bands. Of course, most of the bands I have listed here are funeral doom bands. But close enough.These bands stand toe-to-toe with the pioneers. I cannot compare them. That would be an injustice to everybody. All I care about is that they make some great music. 

15. NP: Some final thoughts on doom metal. What do you think are the genres greatest strengths and weaknesses? 

Dormant Inferno: I don't think the genre has any weakness. I love it for what it is. Everything, from the lyrical content to the execution is perfection, in my opinion. It is insanely beautiful, yet filled with despair and melancholy. The music can talk to you and completely sucks you in. What more could I possibly ask from it?


16. What next? A full length perhaps? How long before we can expect one?

Dormant Inferno: At the moment, we are just taking it one step at a time and making some new music. I had come back to India for a couple of months, but we could not make any music owing to my health getting screwed at the worst possible time. I don't know how long it will take for us to release any new material, but hopefully it will come soon.

17. NP: Thanks a lot for the interview! This is your space to blabber away. All the best!

Dormant Inferno: Thank you so much for the interview and your support! If you haven't downloaded the EP, please do. 

Download Dormant Inferno's Debut EP 'In Sanity' Here: http://www.mediafire.com/?ozgy1qycdj8ftaf

NP1: Idolatry, an interview.

For our very first publication, we chose to feature Idolatry, a death metal band formed in Dhaka in 2009. Heavily influenced by the pioneers of death metal like Death, Obituary, Possessed, Monstrosity, Immolation, Cancer and the like, Idolatry aims at following the path carved out by these bands, by staying true to old school death metal. Nuclear Paradise recently caught up with the guys from Idolatry, and here's what they had to say.

 1. NP: Hello guys. Greetings from the Nuclear Paradise. How is the band going?

Idolatry: We’re good. Metal as usual haha!


2. NP: Take us through the early stages of the band……how did it all start?
Idolatry: It all started back in 2009 when Vichaama and Israfel wanted to get together and play random Death (the band) tracks. Then they met Sethos and Araf and we just jammed for a year to get to know what we were doing. We then found our sound and Idolatry came into being.


3. NP: What does the name ‘Idolatry’ stand for? What made you choose it?
Idolatry: In simple terms, Idolatry is the act of worshipping idols or idolizing something. And we chose it as it’s meant to be sarcastic in context to our lyrical theme.


4. NP: What Influences Idolatry’s music? Which Bands would you consider to be the greatest driving factor for you guys, to continue making death metal?
Idolatry: We are mostly influenced by the pioneering Death Metal bands such as early Death, Morbid Angel, Nunslaughter, Bolt Thrower and the likes.


5. NP: Tell us about the scene in Bangladesh. Does Death Metal garner as much support as the new hybrid shit ass genres we see polluting the art- form?
Idolatry: The Bangladeshi Metal scene is almost non-existent compared to the mainstream music and the false metal of the country. When Idolatry was initially formed, we had no support until we got together with our brothers from Primitive Invocation (hails!) who helped us get our first shows and helped promote us in the local scene. But there are a few major bands here such as the mighty Orator!


6. NP: Who usually writes the songs? Take us through the entire process.
Idolatry: Lyrically, the songs are written by Israfel and Infidel and most of the music is written by Sethos with support from the other members. In practice sessions, we play random riffs until something good comes out, get a few riffs going to get the song structured and finally put the vocals in.


7. NP: Tell us about your originals. What are they based upon? What are the major lyrical themes and inspirations?
Idolatry: The lyrical theme of our music is mostly anti-idolatry. We have 3 originals right now. “Where is Your God” is based on Prophet Ibrahim and his abolition of the disbelievers from Makkah. “Spawning of Iffrit” is about a spirit-like entity born from the blood of murdered victims. The yet to be released “Wraith” is about the War of Badr. 

8. NP: How often do you guys jam? What else, do you guys do? Day jobs?
Idolatry: We usually jam once a week, as we are busy with studies and other stuff.


9. NP: What would you highlight, as the greatest moment for Idolatry, and why.
Idolatry: Cursed Crematorations! Without a doubt our first show would definitely be the greatest moment for us, as we got it after almost 2 years of forming the band and opening for Orator and Infernal Curse from Argentina.


10. NP: We heard you guys are releasing a demo in November. Could you tell us more?
Idolatry: Because of some personal fuck-ups, our demo will probably be out by late December, if not earlier. It will be featuring 3 of our originals.


11. NP: What new (post 2000) band would you recommend to the old guards of the death metal genre? Favorite NOSDM bands?
Idolatry: Entrails, Excoriate, Old, Graveyard, Barzak.


12. NP: Take us through you experience at the Death Skull Ritual. Just another one off venture, or a well planned initiative, to promote extreme metal?
Idolatry: Death Skull Ritual was our second show, which was a very well planned initiative and Primitive Invocation did a great job promoting and supporting the local Bangla Death Cult and True Metal!

13. NP: As we have not been to an Idolatry gig yet, could you elaborate on your set list? An all original lineup, or do you guys do a few covers as well? If so, what made you choose the songs you did?

Idolatry: Our set list has both our originals and a few covers mostly by Nunslaughter, Morbid Angel, Obituary and Death. We chose these songs as they are our main influences and we felt it necessary to show our respects to these legends. We also enjoy playing them as a band. Going live is always a pleasure!


14. NP: Some final thoughts on death metal. What do you think are the genres greatest strengths and weaknesses?
Idolatry: Death Metal is a very powerful genre. We think the greatest strength is the raw blood pumping experience it delivers and the creative lyrics that many times hold hidden meanings. The weakness may possibly be the limitations we face while trying to stay true to the genre.


15. NP: Name 5 Bangladeshi Bands who in your opinion, deserve to be worshipped by the Indian Underground.
Idolatry: Orator, Morbidity, Nuclear Winter, Bloodlust and Barzak. True metal is really rare in Bangladesh and these bands are truly worth checking out. And not to forget, Idolatry! hahahah!


16. NP: Thanks a lot, guys! Finally, this space is for you to blabber away…..any messages to your fans? The Indian crowd in general?
Idolatry: Thanks to Nuclear Paradise for having us. Keep it True and support your brothers in keeping the spirit alive! Best of luck with the blog!