GORY BLISTER (I)

I only know the song from the rock hard sampler but it simply blew me away! Where's this track taken from?

You are talking about "Anticlimax", track 5 of our forthcoming album entitled ART BLEEDS. It is a 10 trax album, that we intend to release within this year. The guys from Rock Hard mag listened to our promo and were so positively impressioned that asked us to put a song into their unsigned bands comp CD. Yes, we are still an unsigned band even if we are searching intensively for a good deal. There are many labels that are showing at different degrees some interest on Gory Blister, you know, everyone saying we are an amazing band, but we are just waiting some serious proposal. Anyway, stay tuned, cause our ART BLEEDS CD will be out soon!

"Anticlimax" reminds me alot (musically & productionwise) of Death's very last studio release.as i don't know your other material: how imprtant are blasts for GORY BLISTER? sometimes you sound like a cynic clone on blast.

Yes, we have always considered ourselves a death metal band, even if many bands tend to refuse this description. You know, we have our own musical influences and personal experience, but I cannot say that bands such as Death, Cynic, Slayer, Cannibal Corpse, Coroner or Pestilence are not part of our background. We always try to put new and original ideas into our new songs, but on the other hand we play death metal and we like it, so you can always recognize somewhat of the bands named above. I don't think this is a bad attitude.

Give us an insight view on your releases so far.is there anything available?

We just released a couple of demos in 1991/93 and they sold out, but indeed we still receive requests and informally record them on a tape to people who really want them. In 1995 we released COGNITIVE SINERGY, 5track miniCD, there are few copies left that we sell at live shows, but when someone writes us for it we just send. If you want please write to artbleeds@katamail.com.

Any updates on forthcoming releases or touring?

We'll give release updates as soon as we sign a deal for our new album, please be patient and watch out. With regards to live shows, we have been playing with a new line-up for 6months and we are planning many gigs, even abroad if we can. Our new lineup (our best ever, I think) has played a great show in december here in Milan and it was really amazing: Joe (drums) Raff (guitars) Adry (vocals) and Luca (bass).

NATRON?

NATRON is a very interesting deathgrind band from our hometown Puglia. Before we moved to Milan we met sometimes, they are really cool guys. I think they should have played some live gigs in Germany as well.

Is there a strong DM scene in italy?

I think Italy has a strong scene now, maybe the strongest ever, but not in death metal. The trend is not death metal and here it seems that to follow the trend is the best way to get the labels attention. The sad thing is that this is true. We stay faithful to Death Metal and with us we can name NODE, a really great death band with which we played the december gig.

How often do you guys practice a week?

We are not professionists, as you may consider, but we try to play with a professionist attitude, when possible. We need at least  three hours twice or three times a week of hard and planned work to play our songs precisely and to work out the new ideas properly. This is really the minimum; if I could I would play everyday.

As far as I know you all got regular jobs. It pisses off, he? Tell us about!

As I was just saying, when you are not a professionist this means that you need some money to support your activity as well as your own instruments, and since here in Italy musicians are considered nothing, you need to work much more than other people to get the money you need. But if you get a regular job then you lose the time you need to play! My experience is to work twice a week as stagehand, gaining not much money, but what about if I get a regular job and then having to go on a two months tour? Please, if you want to be a musician, and we are trying with all our soul, you have to do some sacrifices and not surrender to the attitudes that your society requests. Otherwise go and try to work in a bank, there you gain much money.

Impossible to receive social welfare in Italy?

Impossible. See my friend in our music and lyrics you won't find politics, because I believe in art, but there is one thing I have to say: here in Italy we are some years in the past now. We are trying to put into practice the politics of Reagan and Mrs Thatcher now, more than ten years after they have miserably failed. Look at the situation in Argentina, what have I to expect by my country?

How expensive are studios in Italy - what do you pay a day? I mean the sound of "anticlimax" is excellent.

Here in Milan recording studios are very expensive. You may pay up to 500 Euro a day. I mean professional studios. We have recorded our ART BLEEDS album in Alfonsine, RA (near Rimini/Riccione, you may know for seaside holidays) spending something like 5000E in one month. It is the FEAR STUDIO, really excellent and professional.

What are your influences - speaking the whole band?and beneath that: what newer combos do you listen to?

Some of our influences I have named above. I can add Kreator, At The Gates, Morbid Angel, Atheist and Watchtower. With regards to our listenings, we all listen to music freely enough. Personally I can fly from Napalm Death to Loreena Mckennitt and Tom Waits or Aphex Twin. What I certainly do not listen at all is italian music (think to Sanremo festival) and disco music.

What was your 1st / last bought cd?

KREATOR, "Violent Revolution"!!! But also "Lateralus" by TOOL, very interesting.

Did you hear the new DEEDS OF FLESH?

Yeah, one of my friends let me listen to it and it is great!

Don't you think that CRYPTOPSY, GORGUTS and THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN reached the end of the line what technically is possible?

No, I don't think so. I've listened to The dillinger CD and to projects such as Phantomas or the one from the Meshuggah guitar player and Cryptopsy. They are brave to show that you can always have new ideas. Think that what you listen normally through radios and TV is just what music Business want you to listen, and further, even the choices of a label work like censorship sometimes. When a death band send a CD to a label and they decide that you listeners do not want to listen death metal now, then what is it? Then you get the impression that Death Metal is dying. It is not true and we have to thank such bands that have the chance to shift the horizon of our musical perception a bit beyond.

I give a fuck on image- so i listen to LIMP BIZKIT, BUSTA RHYMES and R'nB stuff like ALIYAAH for example, coz they come along with big melodies. Melodies the DM could not use. Your opinion...

This time I think you are right. Personally I like to listen to Limps in a club, but I would not buy a CD. You right you must have free listenings, because if I want to hear a great melody I pick up my Nick Cave CD, but I would dislike a death band play like that! If you want to play melody then you just change your style, it is not forbidden, but I will choose another band. Would you prefer having one fave band playing all the styles you want or a big amount of great bands each one playing a different music?

The most obsolete thing you spontaneously can think of...

TV programs.

Tell us about the main voice of your lyrix...

What is a true critic sometimes we get is on the vocals. Sometimes people say the voice is just what they don't like because they don't understand, but to have grinding vocals is death metal. I don't want to sound like Helloween. But it is true also that we can really grow up and increase our lyrics and vocals. It is just what we are doing with our new singer, just trying to set up the vocals in strict harmony with the tunes of the songs and then trying to create some melodies upon our chorus. It is not simple but the vocals in our new songs won't sound only rhythmically anymore.

Describe the feeling you want to deliver whilst our readers listen to GORY BLISTER!

Well, the feeling an artist want to deliver and what people really perceive may not be the same. And this is good because everyone may get his own feeling. What we want to communicate with our stuff is violence made up in art. Because the outside world is weird and violent and so we feel to imprison some of the violence into art so that the world may be a bit more free. This is the process of the artist suffering, of his being really close to death without touching it. Any artist dream would be to capture death into a work of art. It has always been like this for any great artist in history. This is the sense of ANTICLIMAX, "to be death in an empty page".

Did you heard of the german FUCK THE COMMERCE festival? Three days DM only madness. Maybe 10 hours a day. I think you would perfectly fit in there.

Unluckily I have not heard before. But it sounds really cool and it would be great being part of it.

Allrightyright fellows... finally that's it! I hope you weren't dying from boredom coz of these standards. As always: the last space is the bands space, soo...

Don't worry, my friend, I have answered to worse questions. Just hope you like our answers and of course our music. Write to artbleeds@katamail.com and support what you want to listen and not what labels want you to listen. Remember that Death Metal is a free way of conceiving music and please don't forget to think of a sort of father for all of us: CHUCK SCHULDINER, you rule, forever. Thanx to you all!!!
Greetings
- JOE - Gory Blister -

Contact:
artbleeds@katamail.com

Interview: Tulg