castleoftormentprod@gmail.com - http://castleoftorment.bandcamp.com/
Castle of Torment Prod. is extremely proud to announce the release of: Crown of Worms - The Last Profanation.
Recorded (live) in December 2022, this beautiful picture 7" includes the last two Crown of Worms songs ever written.
Line-up for this unholy massacre:
Beast of Holocaust, Bloodless, Evil Butcher & Inhuman.
https://crownofworms.bandcamp.com/album/the-last-profanation-single-7-2023
BY JAMES SWEETLOVE (CAVE DWELLER MUSIC)
01. How did the band come to form all of those years ago?
Bloodless: Hades (guitar) and me (guitar) met at some literature class at college (2002) and decided to play some cover songs together.
We met vocalist Inhuman at college, too. Mutilation Hammer (drums) came from my Bloodless (2002-2004, 2014-?) project.
We did the Glamripper demo in early 2004.
Evil Butcher: I joined Crown of Worms mid 2004. So, the Promo 2005 was my first release with the band.
Inhuman: I first met Bloodless through common friends and learned that he and some other guys had started rehearsing a couple of cover songs, so I joined on vocals and bass. That was basically the seed of what would later become Crown of Worms.
02. Tell us a little about the new album, what inspired it, what was the vision behind it?
B: Inspiration for this unplanned second album came from the riffs that Inhuman found in his archives while moving to a new apartment.
He told me about them, as it was no big deal. But I was curious and gave them a try. I had to restore them and then adapt them to a constant tempo (they were just guitar riffs with no percussion). I made them playable and THAT inspired me to do some new music. I think those (now decent) demos inspired Inhuman to do some new music, too.
We also started to do lyrics and eventually came up with two albums.
This one has longer songs and clever lyrics by Inhuman.
The next one will have shorter songs (like in the old days) and some longer, more complex stuff, like the ones on this second album.
It will also have dark fantasy lyrics by me (again, like in the old days) as well as the abstract texts that Inhuman writes now.
It should be a return to the roots kind of album, which will also display complex, mature material. A perfect mix of all past work.
20 years of music loving/ learning might have something to do with this, as well.
My (personal) vision for this album was to take the band to new structures, like those insane-quantity-of-riffs albums like Rotting or Schizophrenia.
E.B. Our goal was to record an album that was better than the last one, in both arrangements and production. There were lots of riffs by Inhuman, from many years ago. That was the foundation of this new project.
I: Musically it has been a journey of reconnection to some riffs and ideas that were planned to be part of our second album, but these plans were made several years ago... So, this was a rediscovery of those ideas but with the vision and capabilities of this more mature version of ourselves. Lyrically, we had the same approach as always: to create an interesting self-referential imaginary, but I think that all the years that have passed in our history have given us some sense of complexity applicable to our musical outputs, without falling into the abyss of absurd excess of technicality or meaningless profundity, that we see on other bands.
03. What inspired the stylistic progression between albums (i.e. longer more technical songs)?
B: It was something that just happened as we had lots of riffs around.
Still, it was unplanned enough as the genesis of this new era of the band is based on unused riffs from the old days. Riffs that I’ve just listened to a couple of years ago, for the very first time.
Once we had the riffs, we started the “let’s go crazy" composition with lots of parts and different tempos. Still, nothing went too far. It’s still a metal album.
I: As I said, it was kind of natural as we were able to, but also a conscious decision to create this album as a more robust piece on the compositional aspect of it.
04. Who would you say is your greatest inspiration as far as influences go?
B: I have guitar (playing) influences and music (composition) influences. And the guitar influences are for lead stuff and rhythm stuff.
For lead guitar I think I can mention the work of Dave Mustaine, Quorthon, Chuck Schuldiner and Mille Petrotzza. They are not guitar virtuosos (maybe just Mustaine on rhythm). But they also compose and sing. They had the “vision” of the band. The slow leads of Quorthon and Petrozza are amazing. They raise the compositions. Mustaine’s three note fast blitzkrieg leads are great. Schuldiner does have excellent slow and fast leads. His fast parts I enjoy more than Petrozza. But not as much as Mustaine’s. They are all great. And I do not try to copy. I am not able to nor have the interest in that. But I can say they are an influence in lead stuff and in having a vision for a project as guitar players, composers and also singers.
Still, I don’t see much of them on this album.
I don’t do much leads in Crown of Worms.
Sorcery Rites have more chaotic leads. Maybe a bit like Slayer stuff.
For rhythm guitar I can mention Tom G. Warrior. He does lots of noises and ghost notes. I enjoy that very much.
I think that albums like And Justice for All… and Reign in Blood are basic for understanding metal guitar.
On the other hand, I think that Morbid Visions IS the blueprint for metal.
Crown of Worms is just a part of my musical output. I try to mention names that are connected to the Crown of Worms story. But, I (as a composer) do take a lot from how a musical piece is constructed and produced from several composers. Not just individual riffs as it was in the past.
How you connect this with that. Or how a very basic drum pattern may induce trance like sensations or help the riffs get notoriety. All this I found as interesting as basic ideas (riffs).
It’s all about what you play, how you play it and which part follows.
I have learned a lot from music not related to the Crown of Worms style.
I am afraid that discussing these issues may give certain ideas on Crown of Worms… Our music must be deciphered by LISTENING to the CDs.
This may only be interesting to the composers out there. Still, it makes more sense to discuss specific details than just name a lot of band we all already know and like.
EB: I would say Geezer Butler. It may be a different style to ours, but the important thing is that, if possible, the bass lines must be different to the guitar lines. Which is something that does not happens much in metal bands, especially when you have an aggressive and fast style.
I: Even though there's a genuine individuality among the members of the Crown of Worms, all of us share a common ground that has allowed us to grow together as a band, and it's related to more traditional-oriented Metal such as Hellhammer, old Sodom, Slayer, Sepultura, Darkthrone, Death, and more recent bands as Carpathian Forest, Deströyer 666, Aura Noir and Desaster.
05. What would you say the main theme or message behind your music is?
B: Traditional Occult Metal.
No shorts, no baseball caps, no being friends with everyone.
Supporting other bands because of their credentials, not because of stupid things like who started their band first or being popular.
It is all about hard work, creativity, discipline and loyalty.
I: I think that the overall theme is (the return of) darkness and evil... There's this narrative around death, dark images, stories of obscure ancient times and war related events that has always captivated us while listening to records we like and even venerate. So we mean to walk that same path in the best way we can, creatively but honoring it as a tradition worthy of respect.
06. Do you as musicians come from more of a black metal or thrash background or a mix of the two?
B: I do not use marketing brands for the music I do or enjoy. I play metal and that’s it. But, I do love other kinds of music too. As well as lots of art in general like films, paintings, literature, etc.
All this plus life experiences shapes the music that I do.
Even if Crown of Worms have a more direct approach in comparison with my other musical outputs.
07. Are the band's members involved in any other projects and have they brought some inspiration from those projects to the new release?
B: All the art we love influences Crown of Worms. It may be on writing a riff, how to play a riff or a production decision. There are lots of tiny details in our work. It is not a one direction only kind of thing. Again, even if our music is pretty right to the point.
When Crown of Worms ended in 2008, I took my unreleased songs and formed Evisc (2008-2017) the very next day.
The music in Evisc showed more progression (longer structures) and more interesting small details, in comparison to the Crown of Worms stuff. They were still my riffs. And they lacked the marvelous arrangements and ideas from Evil Butcher and Inhuman, but it had my ideas as well as the ideas from the other band members in Evisc. It was a different beast. Yet, it was the same musical style. Just more mature and seasoned. I can see an obvious connection between new Crown of Worms and Evisc stuff. Evisc was what my input in Crown of Worms was becoming.
An obvious maturity, in Crown of Worms, was evident in the releases that came after the Glamripper demo (Promo 2005 and Serpents and Horns 2006).
The crowning (no pun intended) achievement was our Cult of Darkness song (released on the Shadows of Past Wars compilation from 2010). It had everything. That and the Glamripper (second version) song were recorded for a split that just got delayed and delayed, so I took them both to start the compilation CD. Those were a glimpse of Crown of Worms as a studio band and not a demo band.
It took a decade to show the band full potential with our post reunion (we got back together in 2016) debut album Impalers March (2019).
Still, I think that our new Sorcery Rites album is way better.
I did have a band called Penetrator Hammer (2005-2015), which did a couple of demos and splits, and ended with the debut album. Lots of that energy served to reanimate my old Bloodless project.
Bloodless is my solo creation and the work I am the most proud of.
Crown of Worms is the band I do with my friends. Bloodless is something I do for myself. Dark, repetitive metal music with bestial vocals mixed with dark ambient and noise passages. Everything is written and performed by myself. The albums were released in 2017, 2018 and 2020.
I: These last few years I have started some projects on my own and joined some others, like: Motherfog, Antipröphet, Incantamentum, Saqraruna, Despoil, Ghoulfist, NDR... But, personally, my intention as a musician is to keep a different approach to each one I'm involved with. Even the idea around the vocal attack in this album is more related to our own primordial releases, such as the demos, than to my more recent activity as a musician.
08. If you could play live with any two bands on a world tour who would they be?
B: I am not a fan of playing live. And I tend to assist to only a few shows as there are lots of idiots in every crowd and tickets are expensive in Peru. I do, however, regret missing Dead Can Dance because of the covid pandemics.
We just went to the Kranium gig last week and it was wonderful. Even if the guitars were very low in the mix. It was my first gig in years. That night we (Crown of Worms) discussed about our favorite concerts.
I got to see Carpathian Forest in Spain (2005) and it was mind-blowing. During that same trip I got to see Megadeth for the first time, in Germany. That was fantastic. A big influence in guitar playing and riff making for sure.
But, we kind of consider the Aura Noir gig in Lima (2016) our favorite. At least, it is my favorite. It was done in such a crap place… But it was like we were in a band rehearsal. Kind of intimate. The temperature was super high, too. It’s a great memory.
A world tour? Hahaha. I will answer as the kid that formed Crown of Worms back in the day: Desaster with Okkulto, Absu with Equitant and Shaftiel and Aura Noir with a full working Aggressor.
If I have to keep only two, I think I would let Aura Noir go as we can do their job and both Okkulto and Proscriptor are my favorite metal singers.
E.B.: Among active bands: Mayhem or Sodom.
From the past, I would say Sarcofago or Celtic Frost
I: Aura Noir!!! - but sadly they're not into live concerts anymore - and there's a big tie in second place, as I realize that most of the bands I can think of are no longer functioning...
09. What is the Peruvian extreme metal scene like, are there any local bands that you play with that we should all check out?
B: I don’t know what an extreme metal scene is. But the Trinity of Peruvian Metal is Mortem’s The Devil Speaks in Tongues, Hadez’ Aquelarre and Anal Vomit’s From Peruvian Hell.
I must also mention the excellent Hands of Doom and Goat Semen’s demos. Plus the Illapa debut album.
I do enjoy lots of Peruvian releases. But these are just fantastic.
We do not “play” with other bands. We did one gig in 2006 and then the 2016 gig (which got us reunited in the first place and was the beginning of us doing our debut album, which was originally planned to be recorded in 2008).
Great questions. Thank you very much!
E.B.: I recommend two albums that I consider iconic for those who enjoy extreme metal: Hadez’ Aquelarre and Mortem’s The Devil Speaks in Tongues.
I: My perception is that there's not a sense of cohesion throughout the scene, but the individual efforts made by some bands are remarkable. Bands like Mortem, Hadez and Kranium, Goat Semen, Putrid, Perverse Rites, Maze of Terror and more.
