INTERVIEW + SONG PREMIERE: Witch Vomit

TO (Ani): Hey guys! How goes it in the Witch Vomit camp? Are you guys nervous about the response to your debut full length?

Witch Vomit: FUCK! Things are going well, we have finished writing our new EP which will follow up “A Scream From the Tomb Below”. We are preparing for some shows this summer after a bit of a live hiatus. No we are not nervous at all about the response of our new album, we feel strongly about all of the songs on the album and the recordings came out better than we expected. It’s dirty and ugly, not meant to be liked by everyone.

TO: So you guys got a new bass player, how the three piece line-up working out for you? Does it make a big difference playing live? Are there any bands that you would love to tour with?

Witch Vomit: JG has been in the band for about two years now, he joined right before the recording of “The Webs of Horror.” Having him as a bass player definitely improves our live sound. He brings a lot of intensity to our live shows which is important because I hate watching bands who stand around looking like they have somewhere else they would rather be. There are plenty of bands we would like to tour with, nothing is in the works yet.

TO: Can you tell us more about the band’s influences and lyrical content?

Witch Vomit: Our musical influence comes from old death metal bands. Nihilist, Carnage, Demigod, Morbid Angel, Autopsy, Incantation so on and so on. All the great old death metal bands with disgusting powerful riffs, and atmosphere. We all listen to music outside of death metal but we aren’t going to draw that influence in. There doesn’t need to be any more pretentious “death metal” bands that gradually morph into prog rock. Most of my lyrics come from scenes of horror I’ve imagined in my mind or in my dreams and then I just write them out like a horror movie. Mostly witchcraft, demonic possession, and the afterlife.

TO: I almost died laughing watching the demo tape artwork. What was the actual intention behind it? How would you describe the progress you guys made since the ‘Drowned in Filth’ demo?

Witch Vomit: The intent of the demo tape was to get our music out,and we didn’t care how it looked. Our first bass player drew the cover, it’s an outline of a scene from Creepshow 2. We wanted something crude and ignorant which matched the music, especially at the beginning of the band. People have always given us shit for that, frankly I’m more turned off by another black album cover with a fucking ouroboros on top of a triangle with no logo or track list then by a shitty drawing.

TO: What do you guys feel about the resurrection of old school death metal? It’s stronger now than it has been say in the last decade.

Witch Vomit: It’s great, there are loads of sick new death metal bands popping up everywhere. We are grateful to be living in a city that has it’s share of good death metal bands located here and constantly touring through here. Keep it going, be gross, write good riffs, get stupid album covers, play as much as possible, death will never die.

TO: A cliched question, but where does the band get its name from?

Witch Vomit: V.V came up with the name in high school after the demise of our previous band. There is no meaning behind the name, it just sounds gross and puts a nasty image in your mind. It might be one of the most cliche metal band names ever, but we sing about witchcraft and we all vomit frequently enough so it fits.

TO: How did you guys end up working with Memento Mori to release your full length?

Witch Vomit: J.G and I also play in Torture Rack and Memento Mori released our debut album last year, the timing just worked out for when we finished recording Witch Vomit. Raul and his team are awesome and easy to work with, we are all happy about the release. SUPPORT.

TO: Going by the intro of the opening track, it seems that you guys are into horror movies. What are your favourite ones?

Witch Vomit: Yes, we all love horror movies and get a lot of influence from them. Some favorites are Suspiria, Profondo Rosso, The House by the Cemetery, Re-Animator, The Resurrected, From Beyond. The list could go on, V.V and I had another band called Smut that was much more of a horror movie worship band.

TO: How supportive is your local metal scene?

Witch Vomit: The scene in Portland is kind of scattered, certain people only go to certain shows. But overall it’s pretty solid, we have lots of good bands, labels and venues to play at. There are shows happening every week, we get a lot of sick bands passing through and have enough good local bands to make shows worth going to. Unfortunately venues are growing a bit more scarce thanks to yuppies moving in, we need more places like Blackwater Records.

TO: What is your take on the on the newer forms of death metal like brutal death metal, technical death metal, and so on. Do you think they still retain the original essence of the genre?

Witch Vomit: I am pretty sick of overly technical death metal. Morbid Angel, Immolation and Demilich did it right, being technical without just wanking out scales. I can’t stand bands gravity blasting over a fucking video game soundtrack riff and sweep picking over everything, it’s not heavy and there is no power behind it. Certain old brutal death metal bands were cool, but the modern stuff puts out the same vibe as that technical garbage, it’s just void of any feeling or atmosphere. So to answer your question, no it’s all trash and it isn’t real death metal.

TO: The last words are yours. Thank you very much for this interview.

Witch Vomit: Thanks for the interview. Listen to ‘Shitfun’, drink heavily, go to shows, watch horror movies, buy our new album, CRAWL TO YOUR GRAVE.