Special Interview: Dark death metal band Blaspherian

Blaspherian have ex-members of the legendary band Imprecation but that’s not their only claim to fame. They’ve released one killer output after the other and focus on creating the darkest and vilest form of death metal music. Comparisons to Immolation and Incantation can be made but they have their own brand of dark death metal, one that’s deafening and reeking of evil. Aumkar Lele talks to band founder and guitarist Wes Weaver about the current activities of this formidable group.

Transcending Obscurity (Aumkar Lele): Hello Wes! How are you doing? Greetings from this side of the world!

Blaspherian (Wes Weaver):  Hails! All is well, we’re writing new songs and gearing up to record!
 

TO: To begin with, in December last year you guys posted about entering studios in February 2016 to begin recording the new album. Tell us more about the album and would it be different from your previous release, ‘Infernal Warriors of Death’?

Blaspherian: Well I had a few health problems, so the recording has been pushed back. We’ll record drums in May, and guitars, bass and vocals soon after. We have 8 songs written, and we are quite happy with them. Not much different, maybe somewhat more streamlined, other than that it’s straight up satanic death metal!

TO: Who will be doing the artwork for the upcoming album? How important are artworks to you and your band? Do they hold significant promotional advantage?

Blaspherian: We will be working with Juanjo again. He already has the title and concepts ready and should be sending me some sketches very soon. He is one of the best right now we look forward to seeing what he comes up with! As for the importance of artwork, yes, of course! We want a professional product, one that looks visually stunning but also represents what the music and lyrics are about!

TO: Over the span of 12 years since your formation, Blaspherian have released only one full length album; however you have released a lot of split CDs, couple of compilations, EPs and demos. What was the reason for doing so many splits, EPs and compilations as opposed to releasing a full length album? 

Blaspherian: The reason is simple – we like doing them! We release a full length when we are ready and have the appropriate amount of music, so we’ve been writing and have enough songs so we’ll be releasing the next full CD!

TO: You recently cancelled two of your upcoming shows due to health issues. Hope everyone’s fine at the camp. Does playing this kind of music take a toll on your health by any chance?

Blaspherian: I had some issues but they are all worked out now, so really no, the music etc had nothing to do with it. Really it was bad life choices overall more than anything else.

TO: With so many death metal bands coming up these days, how do you manage to keep your material relevant? How challenging is it to come up with newer material? What is the thought process when writing new Blaspherian songs? 

Blaspherian: I’m not sure how to keep it relevant. Very simply put, I write what I write, we arrange it and that’s what it is. Hopefully people like it. But if not, that’s ok, we do it for us anyway. We do it because we like to write music and record, and play shows too. The thought process is basically about writing dark riffs with some evil emotion in them, heavy, doomy and dark.

TO: Before Blaspherian, you used to play in Imprecation which achieved cult status. Can you tell us more about that? Presently, what difference do you find in the song writing or composition process?

Blaspherian: It was an honor to be in Imprecation; the writing is similar, between them and us, so without a doubt they are my biggest influence. But despite the similarities there are also differences, in that I do not write exactly as Phil or Ruben did back in the day. I think I have my own style, and I always work on sounding different. If we have a part that’s too similar, we don’t use it. Also cult status is cool. It was a special thing to be around all the way back at the beginning of something truly special.

TO: You have been active in the metal scene for a really long time now. What kind of a change do you see in the metal community when comparing the scene in the ‘90s to the current one? Also how difficult is it to sell CDs or merch nowadays in comparison? Can you please shed more light on this?

Blaspherian: It seems to me that people were more of diehard fans back in the day.  I don’t see the dedication Blaspherian had these days. Music is becoming increasingly hard to sell, especially CDs, but shirts always sell. Anything with a killer design or sick artwork sells. I think that is the key – your merch has to look killer.

TO: There are many new death metal bands coming up these days, especially in death and black metal. Do you still find the time to listen to and explore new underground bands or do you enjoy listening to old death metal giants like Incantation, Immolation and others? 

Blaspherian: Yes, we keep up with as many new releases as possible and that’s because we are fans of metal, not just a band. We collect and listen to underground metal – heavy metal, thrash, death and black. We can’t get everything, but we do get many releases from the bands we love old and new. I’m always excited about a killer demo or killer re-release on vinyl, and of course WE WORSHIP all the old killer releases of Possessed, Poison, Incantation, Sacrifice, Immolation, etc.

TO: Do you like Indian food at all? What is the perception of Indians there? Does it come to you as a surprise that there’s a thriving metal scene here, and many of the death metal fans are into your band?

Blaspherian: I have a lot to learn about Indian food, so my familiarity is very limited, but my girlfriend loves it! I am surprised about metal thriving there, mainly because the Indians here don’t seem to care, but we HAIL all fans of satanic death metal! It doesn’t matter to me if they are Indian or American!

TO: I heard that you will be releasing your official merchandise shortly through upcoming Indian label Transcending Obscurity, targeted for the region in particular. What led you to that idea? Also can we expect a future collaboration between Blaspherian and Transcending Obscurity when it comes to putting out releases as well in the future? 

Blaspherian: We were approached by the label boss Kunal Choksi and it seemed like a great idea to get some stuff out over there. I’m not sure exactly what will be released yet but for sure a shirt and more than likely at least a mini CD, or EP for sure!

TO: Thanks a lot for doing this interview with us. Are there last words that you would like to say to our readers? Any word of advice for your fans here?

Blaspherian: Thank you for doing the interview Aumkar! Thanks also to our friends and fans worldwide for the support! KEEP THE BLACK FLAME OF SATANIC DEATH METAL ALIVE! Hopefully we’ll see you on tour someday!

Blaspherian Facebook | Dark Descent Records