Interview MALEBOLGIA ( Usa )
Interview MALEBOLGIA ( Usa )
Interview By Herry SIC
Interview By Herry SIC
MALEBOLGIA Interview ( Check back on LIC # 18 Issue )
answered by Kevin ( Drums ) and Josh
Hello guys!! How are things going in the states these days?
Kevin Hedgecock (Drums): What’s up… Umm, I guess there is nothing much going on in the states except for getting into fights at the local bowling alleys… Hahaha…
Josh: Shitty. We have a horrible president who is trying to ruin all of our lives, and enough idiots in the country that believe he is doing something good. Aside from that, life is good…assuming the moron doesn’t kill us all by starting another retarded war.
For how long has MALEBOLGIA been a band and how did it start?? Were any of the members in any others band before joining MALEBOLGIA and if, are they still in them??
Kevin: Well, Joe (guitars) and I started Malebolgia in the spring of 2000. It was originally going to be a side project in the vain of Black/Death/Gore Metal because we have always been big fans of the music and grew up listening to it and we had never really played that type of music before, so we thought we’d give it a shot. We tried it and found out we were kind of good at it and decided to pursue it as a full time project. I was in another band at the time, a band called As We Burn, which was a sludgy version of Mastodon and Converge, but I got so wrapped up into Malebolgia that I decided to leave the band. So yeah, none of us are currently in the bands that we were in when we started this band. Although Josh and I do have some side projects, but nothing major.
Josh: I joined Malebolgia permanently during Fall 2004. I was a founding member of Quell, and continue to book for them and manage the business aspects of them, but have recently quit my duties as a vocalist. I also play bass in Redrum, Sgt. Stadanko, and Our Problem with Rodney and Kevin.
What is the meaning of the band name for you and all members? Any special description about that name?
Kevin: Malebolgia has a couple different meanings, well more like descriptions. In a couple of dictionaries it means an open wound filled with pus that will not heal. Malebolgia is also a character in comics, books and in folklore. He is basically a Devil but not the Devil, a leader in Hell to say. Basically I always liked the name so I just threw it out there and the band liked it.
Josh: Most people instantly relate it to the clown/demon in the Spawn Comics. It’s also a demon from Dante’s inferno.
I’ve read somewhere that you will release your first full length “ Requiem for the Inexorable “ where did you record this material? Could you provide some detailed info about it? And how does the new material differ in comparison with the previous Ep “ synchronized stabbing “?
Josh: This will be recorded with Jamie King at the end of August. It will be between 6 and 8 new songs, with the possibility of 2 older songs on it. We are talking about some other ideas to enhance the CD, but have not solidified anything yet. Our new material is much more aggressive, much more structured, and much more pissed-off. Joseph’s song-writing ability, and Kevin’s drumming have allowed us to create more intricate songs with a more basic structure… we’re all VERY happy with the progression we have made.
Kevin: Yeah, we are releasing “Requiem for the Inexorable” hopefully at the end of this year or early next year, 2006. We’re actually recording the album in August through September. It is going to be a lot faster, yet more dynamic and have more hooks then the “Synchronized Stabbings” EP. There will be a lot more musicianship so to speak because we have grown by leaps and bounds since that EP. We’re really excited about it.
Are you still going to independently released “ Requiem…” or you have a label signing to back it up?
Kevin: I am not really at liberty to say anything right now about the label situation because nothing has been inked, it’s more of verbal thing right now, but once everything is on paper, then we’ll make an announcement. But we are paying for the recording out of our own pockets, which is always a bitch. Hahaha…
Josh: We are talking to a couple of labels, but have not set anything in stone yet. Keep checking www.malebolgia.com for an announcement.
How does it sound stylistically compared to your previous effort?
Kevin: The new album will be a lot more like the 2 song promo that we have out now, but it’s going to be all over the place. The music written for the album so far is sort of all over the place but is blazing. Vocally is challenging and very driven. So stylistically there is really not much of a comparison. Even the older songs from EP that we’re rerecording for the CD are faster.
Josh: I think before, Malebolgia had a much younger sound. Now, we’re reigning in all of our influences and not wearing them on our sleeves quite as much. I think you’ll hear bits and pieces of Origin, Hate Eternal, Immortal, and Morbid Angel in the music, but not enough to straight up compare us to any of those bands. The vocal styles have changed dramatically, seeing as the original vocalist was much more of a traditional death metal vocalist, and I come from hardcore roots. The vocals are still extreme, but with the rage and aggression of hard core, and Joseph sounds like James Hatfield on a death metal trip… which is great!
What is the lyrical theme? What are the lyrics about and do they play a big role in MALEBOLGIA’s music? What influences do you have to write the lyrics you use? Do you still care about underground music scene as well? How do you see it all?
Kevin: Well, lyrically we have changed a lot. We use to write Gore-ish type lyrics, but now we tend to write about things in the scene and things that effect our lives. The music seems more personal with lyrics that we can relate to as oppose to hacking up a bitch that fucked one of us over. Haha… But yeah, we still care a lot about the scene and want to help it out as much as we can because there is a lot stale music floating around out there. Even if we are not a traditional Death Metal/ Grind-Core band we are breaking boundaries and pushing the limits of our genre and ourselves as musicians. There is written rule out there that you have play a certain way or dress a certain way, act a certain way, all you have to do is love this music and help make it better.
Josh: Initially we were shooting for a concept album based on the Apocryphal (“lost” books from the bible describing several battles for humanity), but we’ve strayed away from that. Most people either don’t understand, or refuse to acknowledge that those stories were a part of a dominant religion, and it gets VERY tiresome trying to explain the meaning behind all of it. Now, we’re covering everything from western civilizations dependency on consumerism, materialism, faith in a faulty government, substance dependency – there’s really a wide gamut of ideas being talked about in the album – mostly metaphorically of
course. We have all made a pact to shy away from the gore-style lyrics and typical death metal messages…. Hopefully we are succeeding.
Explain the process of writing a MALEBOLGIA song, how does it work out? Who writes most of the music and how do you put it all together?
Kevin: The process of writing a song for Malebolgia is a long and sometimes tedious process because we are so fucking picky. Everything has to flow perfectly and be energetic. But, I mean we could write an average Death Metal/Black Metal album with no problem and a lot of people would love it, but that’s not how we function. We want the best product out there. So if it takes a year to write a song, then so be it. On who usually writes the material, Joe or I will come up with a beat or riff or even a vocal pattern and we go from there. Nothing special to it, just a lot of work. Hahaha
Josh: My dog barks the songs out to me, and I tell them to Joseph. No, really. Actually, Joseph works up some riffs and brings them to practice – Kevin will put beats together, and we all work on vocal patterns. We just try various riffs together to hear how they flow, and put a skeleton of a song together. Then as we play it, we make minor changes until we are all satisfied with it. It’s actually a fairly painless process, though time-consuming. Joseph does all of the writing at this point, and I work on some of the lyrics, although we all contribute to every aspect of each song.
Lets talk about the North Carolina scene. How do you see it now? You may feel a little responsible for being a more extreme band now, don’t you? Which North Carolina band would you recommend to the audience? Do you think that North Carolina bands are starting to be more recognized now? How is it with LUST OF DECAY, DOMINATION THROUGH IMPURITY, DEBODIFIED, DEHISCENCE, etc?? Are they all still killer in underground scene there?
Kevin: The scene here in NC is sort of strange. We have a lot of “Death Metal/Grind-Core” bands around here, but they have nether grind or death metal elements in their music. But like you said they are some really good bands around here too. Bands like The Demonstration, KillWhitneyDead, False Hope (Virginia), Dreamscapes of the Perverse, Morose Vitality, Art of Dying just to name a few and all of the bands you stated above are incredible bands and we listen to them and play out with them from time to time. But we tend to appeal to different listeners/crowds. We really don’t cater to Death Metal fans because we’re not 100% Death Metal and we really don’t cater to Grind fans because we’re not 100% Grind either. Really, we’re like an Extreme Grind band that has Death Metal structuring that plays like a hardcore band. We really don’t stand still on stage and Josh is always running out into the crowd going ape shit. As far as feeling responsible for a movement here, we’re not ego heads and we feel that we have a long way to go before we can totally say that we influence this scene. But we have noticed that bands do change their style/stage presence after we play with them. So I guess we are doing a little bit of something here. Hahaha.
Josh: NC has a growing scene, though not particularly for extreme metal. The coast has a very strong extreme metal scene, as does the southern part of the state, but central NC is all about hardcore breakdowns and emo anthems. We have tried VERY hard to bring in extreme acts, and have had a hard time drawing enough kids to keep extreme metal shows going (105 kids for Dying Fetus and Goatwhore with 2 months of promotion, for instance). Unfortunately, for many people in NC, it’s all about how you look, rather than how talented you are. And, like everywhere, every idiot who owns a guitar or drum set believes that they can start a band, so in NC we end up flooded with a myriad of crap bands playing the same shitty breakdown that we all rocked out to 10 years ago. Of course there are some great bands out here that are very successful (Between the Buried and Me,Bloodjinn, codeseven, just to name a few).
What bands are you inspired by? Do you want to stick out from other forms of music?
Kevin: Personally, I’m inspired but tons of bands and genres of music. Iron Monkey, Aborted, Converge, Swallow the Sun, Crytopsy and the list keeps going. I tend to listen to a lot of Stoner/Southern Rock, Doom Metal and of course a lot of grind and death metal. I am always looking for that next thing that will drive me as a musician to help this band grow and stick out. So yeah I definitely want to stick out and be our own band.
Josh: We all have different influences… as I stated earlier, I come from a hardcore background, but my vocals are heavily influenced by Shogun, Azazel, Cattle Decapitation, Gorguts, Hate Eternal… I also try to pull patterns from some indie bands – Minus the Bear, No Knife – but translating that into grunts and screeches tends to be a little difficult.
When did you decide to do MALEBOLGIA as fulltime band? Do you to work besides touring or are you fortunate enough to make your living with the music? Is it possible for you to have something like a private life? Or is this something you have to sacrifice for doing this band?
Kevin: We started taking this band seriously around 2001/2002, especially when Josh joined the band. We knew we had what it took to make an awesome band if we applied ourselves. We still have to work full time jobs to make our ends meet because shows around here and states around here don’t pay very well. It’s almost impossible to get a guarantee from most venues because they take so much money from the door. As far as a personal life we seem to maintain those decently. Hahaha. We go bowling a lot as a band, go out to bars and cater to our girlfriends/wife (Joe is married) and still get to hang out with our friends. But it takes a certain kind of friend/partner to handle a relationship with a band member that is dedicated to his or her passion, a true understanding of who we really are. And yeah, there are certain sacrifices that we all make to play in this band but that is the way it goes.
Josh: As long as I have been in the band, it has been a priority in my life. You don’t go practice with a band 4 days a week for 12-16 hours for nothing, you know? I work full time doing overseas purchasing, which pays the bills, and is actually a lot of fun. I maintain a private life that consists of consuming massive amounts of alcohol and hanging around my friends and my folks, but I’m single (hint, hint – ladies. Kidding, of course).
Have you recorded any cover songs for gigs? If you could, what would be you choice of cover songs for either recording or live performances?
Kevin: We have done and still do covers from time to time. We’ve done Slayer – Raining Blood (with blast beats hahaha), Cannibal Corpse – Stripped, Raped and Strangled, and Sepultura – Propaganda. We are working on doing a Carcass cover right now, Corporal Jigsore Quandary, and have thrown around a couple of ideas here and there, like Vader – Carnal and Suffocation - Despise The Sun. I would love to do some more covers like Napalm Death – Suffer the Children, an Agoraphobic Nosebleed cover, and an Obituary cover. More of the old school type stuff in our style.
Josh: Right now we have a list of covers about a mile long, but never quite got the reaction from kids that we should have…. Fuck it… we’ll play them again, some day.
What is your opinion on the come back of bands like SUFFOCATION, PYREXIA, OBITUARY, and REPULSION, DISMEMBER, etc? Do you think that they came back for the money? Do you think what they do is valid for the present scene??
Kevin: I am actually excited in some ways because I get to actually get to see these bands live because they never came around our area/I was too young to go see them. In some cases I think some of these bands have come back for the money but for the most part I think that most of the bands missed what they use to do. I still think they are creditable in a lot of ways even if their music may not be the fastest nowadays or the heaviest, but to me without those bands we would not be where we’re at today. So yeah I still give them the respect and credit they deserve.
Josh: I’m sure some members of each band came back for money, but I’m also fairly positive that as bands they came back because they love music. Sometimes life gets in the way and you forget about your love for music, or you’re not able to accommodate that love. I think that’s what happens to a lot of bands, forcing these bad break-ups because members forget why they started writing music in the first place. I love Suffocation, but I wish the production on “Souls…” was better… they deserve a far better production then what they ended up with on that recording.
What do you do when you are bored playing in MALEBOLGIA? It can’t be fun all the time, or is it? Do you combine your MALEBOLGIA life with (Real) Jobs, wife’s, studies and even stranger and more disturbing activities?
Kevin: Music and Malebolgia are my passion and my life but sometimes I need a break and need to relax and rest my body. This kind of music takes a lot of us, especially when we play a lot of shows in a month. I like to travel, watch cartoons and hang out with Josh and Joe away from practice, drinking and bowling and I also spend a lot of time with my lady friend.
Josh: Bored, never! Actually Joseph and Kevin have a hair metal repertoire that would absolutely disgust you. During practice, they can roll out five or six songs in a row from all these bands that I was never really into as a kid. We aim to have fun all the time… whether it’s a huge show or a tiny show we give it our all every time and just aim to have fun with the crowd… which usually consists of me being an ass. Joseph is married, Kevin should be, and I just bust my ass working. I’m about a semester away from a Business Degree, and greatly enjoy eating babies.
What do you think you’ll be doing in 2015?? Do you think you would still be playing in MALEBOLGIA? By then, MALEBOLGIA must be playing some avant garde jazz, or sober middle of the road dire straits pop music?
Kevin: We have a saying “2002 till Death” (2002 is the year in which Josh joined the band and we started taking it seriously.) I am sure by 2015 that is if we’re not dead yet from alcohol poisoning, we will still be doing this band or at least something similar. I would really love to pick up a project in the future that included jazz or maybe even something stoner/southern rock-ish. But that is way down the line. Hahaha.
Josh: I hope to still be playing in Malebolgia. I hope that at that point we’ll all be able to spend our time writing and recording whatever the hell we want to. Malebolgia will ALWAYS be an extreme metal band… even when my voice goes out, I’ll get one of those Stephen Hawkins talking computers and make it growl for me.
Do you know the Indonesian Underground scene? Bands/records/distros/zine/individual?
Kevin: I am pretty sure I listen to some bands from that spot in the world but I’m afraid I don’t know much about the scene. Sometimes I don’t even know what’s going on in our scene. Hahaha.
Josh: I know Will Farrell tried to kill the Micronesian Prime Minister in Zoolander… but that’s about it. I actually had no idea that there was a scene in Indonesia (Ignorant, I know). It’s very rare to get good coverage on international bands in NC – you pretty much have to search around to find anything extreme that doesn’t sound like old school Florida death metal – especially if it’s not on a US independent metal label.
Do you often get the opportunity to play live? Do you have any live gigs scheduled for the coming months or other plans?
Kevin: Yeah, we try to play out as often as we can. Right now we try to get out and play every weekend because we’re saving money up for our CD. We have an ass ton of shows coming this month and July. But we are taking time off from shows to relax and to finish writing the album. Basically after this month we only have one show lined up before we hit the studio. We probably won’t play any more shows until the end of the year because of the CD.
Josh: We try to play out every week, and once the record is done, we will be aiming for at least two nights a week. We’re also planning a South American tour in January, and possibly some other national and international tours for next year.
So its time to tell us some final words, hints, advertisements or share some words of wisdom.
Kevin: I would like to thank you for the interview and thanks to the people that actually read this, also a big thanks to all of our fans for their support. Like I said, “Requiem for the Inexorable”, will be out later this year, 2005 or early 2006. Thanks again and stay metal.
Josh: Check out our friends the Demonstration on Tribunal Records. Both the band and the label are good friends of ours and deserve all the attention they can get. Eat vegetarians… they taste better, and d everything you can to support independent musicians… we thrive and survive based on your support. Thank you so much for taking the time to interview us, and please keep in touch.
Sign up at www.malebolgia.com for our forum and our mailing list. We’ll love you forever.
MALEBOLGIA
www.malebolgia.com
answered by Kevin ( Drums ) and Josh
Hello guys!! How are things going in the states these days?
Kevin Hedgecock (Drums): What’s up… Umm, I guess there is nothing much going on in the states except for getting into fights at the local bowling alleys… Hahaha…
Josh: Shitty. We have a horrible president who is trying to ruin all of our lives, and enough idiots in the country that believe he is doing something good. Aside from that, life is good…assuming the moron doesn’t kill us all by starting another retarded war.
For how long has MALEBOLGIA been a band and how did it start?? Were any of the members in any others band before joining MALEBOLGIA and if, are they still in them??
Kevin: Well, Joe (guitars) and I started Malebolgia in the spring of 2000. It was originally going to be a side project in the vain of Black/Death/Gore Metal because we have always been big fans of the music and grew up listening to it and we had never really played that type of music before, so we thought we’d give it a shot. We tried it and found out we were kind of good at it and decided to pursue it as a full time project. I was in another band at the time, a band called As We Burn, which was a sludgy version of Mastodon and Converge, but I got so wrapped up into Malebolgia that I decided to leave the band. So yeah, none of us are currently in the bands that we were in when we started this band. Although Josh and I do have some side projects, but nothing major.
Josh: I joined Malebolgia permanently during Fall 2004. I was a founding member of Quell, and continue to book for them and manage the business aspects of them, but have recently quit my duties as a vocalist. I also play bass in Redrum, Sgt. Stadanko, and Our Problem with Rodney and Kevin.
What is the meaning of the band name for you and all members? Any special description about that name?
Kevin: Malebolgia has a couple different meanings, well more like descriptions. In a couple of dictionaries it means an open wound filled with pus that will not heal. Malebolgia is also a character in comics, books and in folklore. He is basically a Devil but not the Devil, a leader in Hell to say. Basically I always liked the name so I just threw it out there and the band liked it.
Josh: Most people instantly relate it to the clown/demon in the Spawn Comics. It’s also a demon from Dante’s inferno.
I’ve read somewhere that you will release your first full length “ Requiem for the Inexorable “ where did you record this material? Could you provide some detailed info about it? And how does the new material differ in comparison with the previous Ep “ synchronized stabbing “?
Josh: This will be recorded with Jamie King at the end of August. It will be between 6 and 8 new songs, with the possibility of 2 older songs on it. We are talking about some other ideas to enhance the CD, but have not solidified anything yet. Our new material is much more aggressive, much more structured, and much more pissed-off. Joseph’s song-writing ability, and Kevin’s drumming have allowed us to create more intricate songs with a more basic structure… we’re all VERY happy with the progression we have made.
Kevin: Yeah, we are releasing “Requiem for the Inexorable” hopefully at the end of this year or early next year, 2006. We’re actually recording the album in August through September. It is going to be a lot faster, yet more dynamic and have more hooks then the “Synchronized Stabbings” EP. There will be a lot more musicianship so to speak because we have grown by leaps and bounds since that EP. We’re really excited about it.
Are you still going to independently released “ Requiem…” or you have a label signing to back it up?
Kevin: I am not really at liberty to say anything right now about the label situation because nothing has been inked, it’s more of verbal thing right now, but once everything is on paper, then we’ll make an announcement. But we are paying for the recording out of our own pockets, which is always a bitch. Hahaha…
Josh: We are talking to a couple of labels, but have not set anything in stone yet. Keep checking www.malebolgia.com for an announcement.
How does it sound stylistically compared to your previous effort?
Kevin: The new album will be a lot more like the 2 song promo that we have out now, but it’s going to be all over the place. The music written for the album so far is sort of all over the place but is blazing. Vocally is challenging and very driven. So stylistically there is really not much of a comparison. Even the older songs from EP that we’re rerecording for the CD are faster.
Josh: I think before, Malebolgia had a much younger sound. Now, we’re reigning in all of our influences and not wearing them on our sleeves quite as much. I think you’ll hear bits and pieces of Origin, Hate Eternal, Immortal, and Morbid Angel in the music, but not enough to straight up compare us to any of those bands. The vocal styles have changed dramatically, seeing as the original vocalist was much more of a traditional death metal vocalist, and I come from hardcore roots. The vocals are still extreme, but with the rage and aggression of hard core, and Joseph sounds like James Hatfield on a death metal trip… which is great!
What is the lyrical theme? What are the lyrics about and do they play a big role in MALEBOLGIA’s music? What influences do you have to write the lyrics you use? Do you still care about underground music scene as well? How do you see it all?
Kevin: Well, lyrically we have changed a lot. We use to write Gore-ish type lyrics, but now we tend to write about things in the scene and things that effect our lives. The music seems more personal with lyrics that we can relate to as oppose to hacking up a bitch that fucked one of us over. Haha… But yeah, we still care a lot about the scene and want to help it out as much as we can because there is a lot stale music floating around out there. Even if we are not a traditional Death Metal/ Grind-Core band we are breaking boundaries and pushing the limits of our genre and ourselves as musicians. There is written rule out there that you have play a certain way or dress a certain way, act a certain way, all you have to do is love this music and help make it better.
Josh: Initially we were shooting for a concept album based on the Apocryphal (“lost” books from the bible describing several battles for humanity), but we’ve strayed away from that. Most people either don’t understand, or refuse to acknowledge that those stories were a part of a dominant religion, and it gets VERY tiresome trying to explain the meaning behind all of it. Now, we’re covering everything from western civilizations dependency on consumerism, materialism, faith in a faulty government, substance dependency – there’s really a wide gamut of ideas being talked about in the album – mostly metaphorically of
course. We have all made a pact to shy away from the gore-style lyrics and typical death metal messages…. Hopefully we are succeeding.
Explain the process of writing a MALEBOLGIA song, how does it work out? Who writes most of the music and how do you put it all together?
Kevin: The process of writing a song for Malebolgia is a long and sometimes tedious process because we are so fucking picky. Everything has to flow perfectly and be energetic. But, I mean we could write an average Death Metal/Black Metal album with no problem and a lot of people would love it, but that’s not how we function. We want the best product out there. So if it takes a year to write a song, then so be it. On who usually writes the material, Joe or I will come up with a beat or riff or even a vocal pattern and we go from there. Nothing special to it, just a lot of work. Hahaha
Josh: My dog barks the songs out to me, and I tell them to Joseph. No, really. Actually, Joseph works up some riffs and brings them to practice – Kevin will put beats together, and we all work on vocal patterns. We just try various riffs together to hear how they flow, and put a skeleton of a song together. Then as we play it, we make minor changes until we are all satisfied with it. It’s actually a fairly painless process, though time-consuming. Joseph does all of the writing at this point, and I work on some of the lyrics, although we all contribute to every aspect of each song.
Lets talk about the North Carolina scene. How do you see it now? You may feel a little responsible for being a more extreme band now, don’t you? Which North Carolina band would you recommend to the audience? Do you think that North Carolina bands are starting to be more recognized now? How is it with LUST OF DECAY, DOMINATION THROUGH IMPURITY, DEBODIFIED, DEHISCENCE, etc?? Are they all still killer in underground scene there?
Kevin: The scene here in NC is sort of strange. We have a lot of “Death Metal/Grind-Core” bands around here, but they have nether grind or death metal elements in their music. But like you said they are some really good bands around here too. Bands like The Demonstration, KillWhitneyDead, False Hope (Virginia), Dreamscapes of the Perverse, Morose Vitality, Art of Dying just to name a few and all of the bands you stated above are incredible bands and we listen to them and play out with them from time to time. But we tend to appeal to different listeners/crowds. We really don’t cater to Death Metal fans because we’re not 100% Death Metal and we really don’t cater to Grind fans because we’re not 100% Grind either. Really, we’re like an Extreme Grind band that has Death Metal structuring that plays like a hardcore band. We really don’t stand still on stage and Josh is always running out into the crowd going ape shit. As far as feeling responsible for a movement here, we’re not ego heads and we feel that we have a long way to go before we can totally say that we influence this scene. But we have noticed that bands do change their style/stage presence after we play with them. So I guess we are doing a little bit of something here. Hahaha.
Josh: NC has a growing scene, though not particularly for extreme metal. The coast has a very strong extreme metal scene, as does the southern part of the state, but central NC is all about hardcore breakdowns and emo anthems. We have tried VERY hard to bring in extreme acts, and have had a hard time drawing enough kids to keep extreme metal shows going (105 kids for Dying Fetus and Goatwhore with 2 months of promotion, for instance). Unfortunately, for many people in NC, it’s all about how you look, rather than how talented you are. And, like everywhere, every idiot who owns a guitar or drum set believes that they can start a band, so in NC we end up flooded with a myriad of crap bands playing the same shitty breakdown that we all rocked out to 10 years ago. Of course there are some great bands out here that are very successful (Between the Buried and Me,Bloodjinn, codeseven, just to name a few).
What bands are you inspired by? Do you want to stick out from other forms of music?
Kevin: Personally, I’m inspired but tons of bands and genres of music. Iron Monkey, Aborted, Converge, Swallow the Sun, Crytopsy and the list keeps going. I tend to listen to a lot of Stoner/Southern Rock, Doom Metal and of course a lot of grind and death metal. I am always looking for that next thing that will drive me as a musician to help this band grow and stick out. So yeah I definitely want to stick out and be our own band.
Josh: We all have different influences… as I stated earlier, I come from a hardcore background, but my vocals are heavily influenced by Shogun, Azazel, Cattle Decapitation, Gorguts, Hate Eternal… I also try to pull patterns from some indie bands – Minus the Bear, No Knife – but translating that into grunts and screeches tends to be a little difficult.
When did you decide to do MALEBOLGIA as fulltime band? Do you to work besides touring or are you fortunate enough to make your living with the music? Is it possible for you to have something like a private life? Or is this something you have to sacrifice for doing this band?
Kevin: We started taking this band seriously around 2001/2002, especially when Josh joined the band. We knew we had what it took to make an awesome band if we applied ourselves. We still have to work full time jobs to make our ends meet because shows around here and states around here don’t pay very well. It’s almost impossible to get a guarantee from most venues because they take so much money from the door. As far as a personal life we seem to maintain those decently. Hahaha. We go bowling a lot as a band, go out to bars and cater to our girlfriends/wife (Joe is married) and still get to hang out with our friends. But it takes a certain kind of friend/partner to handle a relationship with a band member that is dedicated to his or her passion, a true understanding of who we really are. And yeah, there are certain sacrifices that we all make to play in this band but that is the way it goes.
Josh: As long as I have been in the band, it has been a priority in my life. You don’t go practice with a band 4 days a week for 12-16 hours for nothing, you know? I work full time doing overseas purchasing, which pays the bills, and is actually a lot of fun. I maintain a private life that consists of consuming massive amounts of alcohol and hanging around my friends and my folks, but I’m single (hint, hint – ladies. Kidding, of course).
Have you recorded any cover songs for gigs? If you could, what would be you choice of cover songs for either recording or live performances?
Kevin: We have done and still do covers from time to time. We’ve done Slayer – Raining Blood (with blast beats hahaha), Cannibal Corpse – Stripped, Raped and Strangled, and Sepultura – Propaganda. We are working on doing a Carcass cover right now, Corporal Jigsore Quandary, and have thrown around a couple of ideas here and there, like Vader – Carnal and Suffocation - Despise The Sun. I would love to do some more covers like Napalm Death – Suffer the Children, an Agoraphobic Nosebleed cover, and an Obituary cover. More of the old school type stuff in our style.
Josh: Right now we have a list of covers about a mile long, but never quite got the reaction from kids that we should have…. Fuck it… we’ll play them again, some day.
What is your opinion on the come back of bands like SUFFOCATION, PYREXIA, OBITUARY, and REPULSION, DISMEMBER, etc? Do you think that they came back for the money? Do you think what they do is valid for the present scene??
Kevin: I am actually excited in some ways because I get to actually get to see these bands live because they never came around our area/I was too young to go see them. In some cases I think some of these bands have come back for the money but for the most part I think that most of the bands missed what they use to do. I still think they are creditable in a lot of ways even if their music may not be the fastest nowadays or the heaviest, but to me without those bands we would not be where we’re at today. So yeah I still give them the respect and credit they deserve.
Josh: I’m sure some members of each band came back for money, but I’m also fairly positive that as bands they came back because they love music. Sometimes life gets in the way and you forget about your love for music, or you’re not able to accommodate that love. I think that’s what happens to a lot of bands, forcing these bad break-ups because members forget why they started writing music in the first place. I love Suffocation, but I wish the production on “Souls…” was better… they deserve a far better production then what they ended up with on that recording.
What do you do when you are bored playing in MALEBOLGIA? It can’t be fun all the time, or is it? Do you combine your MALEBOLGIA life with (Real) Jobs, wife’s, studies and even stranger and more disturbing activities?
Kevin: Music and Malebolgia are my passion and my life but sometimes I need a break and need to relax and rest my body. This kind of music takes a lot of us, especially when we play a lot of shows in a month. I like to travel, watch cartoons and hang out with Josh and Joe away from practice, drinking and bowling and I also spend a lot of time with my lady friend.
Josh: Bored, never! Actually Joseph and Kevin have a hair metal repertoire that would absolutely disgust you. During practice, they can roll out five or six songs in a row from all these bands that I was never really into as a kid. We aim to have fun all the time… whether it’s a huge show or a tiny show we give it our all every time and just aim to have fun with the crowd… which usually consists of me being an ass. Joseph is married, Kevin should be, and I just bust my ass working. I’m about a semester away from a Business Degree, and greatly enjoy eating babies.
What do you think you’ll be doing in 2015?? Do you think you would still be playing in MALEBOLGIA? By then, MALEBOLGIA must be playing some avant garde jazz, or sober middle of the road dire straits pop music?
Kevin: We have a saying “2002 till Death” (2002 is the year in which Josh joined the band and we started taking it seriously.) I am sure by 2015 that is if we’re not dead yet from alcohol poisoning, we will still be doing this band or at least something similar. I would really love to pick up a project in the future that included jazz or maybe even something stoner/southern rock-ish. But that is way down the line. Hahaha.
Josh: I hope to still be playing in Malebolgia. I hope that at that point we’ll all be able to spend our time writing and recording whatever the hell we want to. Malebolgia will ALWAYS be an extreme metal band… even when my voice goes out, I’ll get one of those Stephen Hawkins talking computers and make it growl for me.
Do you know the Indonesian Underground scene? Bands/records/distros/zine/individual?
Kevin: I am pretty sure I listen to some bands from that spot in the world but I’m afraid I don’t know much about the scene. Sometimes I don’t even know what’s going on in our scene. Hahaha.
Josh: I know Will Farrell tried to kill the Micronesian Prime Minister in Zoolander… but that’s about it. I actually had no idea that there was a scene in Indonesia (Ignorant, I know). It’s very rare to get good coverage on international bands in NC – you pretty much have to search around to find anything extreme that doesn’t sound like old school Florida death metal – especially if it’s not on a US independent metal label.
Do you often get the opportunity to play live? Do you have any live gigs scheduled for the coming months or other plans?
Kevin: Yeah, we try to play out as often as we can. Right now we try to get out and play every weekend because we’re saving money up for our CD. We have an ass ton of shows coming this month and July. But we are taking time off from shows to relax and to finish writing the album. Basically after this month we only have one show lined up before we hit the studio. We probably won’t play any more shows until the end of the year because of the CD.
Josh: We try to play out every week, and once the record is done, we will be aiming for at least two nights a week. We’re also planning a South American tour in January, and possibly some other national and international tours for next year.
So its time to tell us some final words, hints, advertisements or share some words of wisdom.
Kevin: I would like to thank you for the interview and thanks to the people that actually read this, also a big thanks to all of our fans for their support. Like I said, “Requiem for the Inexorable”, will be out later this year, 2005 or early 2006. Thanks again and stay metal.
Josh: Check out our friends the Demonstration on Tribunal Records. Both the band and the label are good friends of ours and deserve all the attention they can get. Eat vegetarians… they taste better, and d everything you can to support independent musicians… we thrive and survive based on your support. Thank you so much for taking the time to interview us, and please keep in touch.
Sign up at www.malebolgia.com for our forum and our mailing list. We’ll love you forever.
MALEBOLGIA
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