OBSESSED WITH DEATH

Necrophagia released "Holocausto De La Morte" five years ago but now they are finally ready with the new full-length album "The Divine Art of Torture".

Nearly twenty years ago, Killjoy formed the horror metal band Necrophagia. Inspired by Hellhammer, Venom and horror movies he wanted to leave his stamp on the scene, and subsequent to a couple of demo releases 1987 saw the release of the debut album "Season of the Dead". In spite of a loyal fan base and an overwhelming reception of the album, Killjoy was not able to keep the band alive, and the musicians scatter to the winds. After a lengthy hiatus, Killjoys returned to music in the death/thrash band Cabal, but when Phil Anselmo expressed his great interest in reactivating Necrophagia, Killjoy reformed the band. Phil was responsible for the songwriting on "Holocausto De La Morte", and they quickly followed the release up with the "Black Blood Vomitorium" ep, a split-7" ep with Antaeus as well as the video "Through Eyes of the Dead". Their demo material was re-released on "Death Is Fun" and "A Legacy of Horror, Gore and Sickness" before Necrophagia released the ep "Cannibal Holocaust". However, the band suffered from internal problems prompting Phil Anselmo and Opal Enthroned to leave Necrophagia. This was the onset of a long line of replacements in the line-up, and with the release of "The Divine Art of Torture" the band looks very different. Accordingly, Killjoy started out by summing up Necrophagia's recent years of turbulence in as Bo Black caught up with him over the phone.

"A lot has happened in Necrophagia since "Holocausto De La Morte" and "Black Blood Vomitorium". We are now signed to Season of Mist who released the "Cannibal Holocaust" ep and now the full-length "The Divine Art of Torture". The reason that we chose Season of Mist is due to their great support of their bands, and it's a label on the rise. The only thing I would like them to realise is the importance of promoting Necrophagia inside the horror genre and not just the metal scene. Basically, we are getting along with them very well, but I'm not sure we are going to release "Harvest Ritual" through Season of Mist. It depends on whether they begin to promote us in the horror scene. I am not sure of that at all, but if they do we'll probably stay and if they don't we'll find another label before the end of the year."

#The change to Season of Mist is not the only difference in the Necrophagia faction. By and large, the entire line-up has been rearranged.

"We had many problems finding time to rehearse and write new material. There was practically no period of time when all of us were able to rehearse, and there was also a big difference between how much time each member could dedicate to the band due to the fact that most of us play in other bands besides Necrophagia. All my respect to Phil Anselmo for bringing Necrophagia back together. He put a great amount of work in getting us back on track."

#Will his split with Necrophagia affect your collaboration in Eibon?

"Actually, I'm not quite sure what is going to happen with Eibon. In my opinion, our cooperation in Eibon was brought to an end in silence. Phil and I are – as far as I know – still good friends. It was just best for Necrophagia that he left the band."

NEW MEMBERS ARE INITIATED IN THE CULT

 

#The line-up on "The Divine Art of Torture" introduces quite a few members in Necrophagia, and Killjoy expresses great enthusiasm for his new associates.

"The new line-up is the best one Necrophagia has ever had! Besides Frediablo on guitar and Titta Tani on drums, Necrophagia is proud to introduce Iscariah (ex-Immortal) on bass, Mirai Kawashima (Sigh) on keyboards and Fug on guitar. Iscariah and Mirah hardly require any preamble as they have demonstrated their worth in Immortal and Sigh respectively, and Fug is in my opinion one of the best guitarists on the scene. He is really brilliant! The reason that I chose these musicians is that they are dedicated, talented musicians and good songwriters. The difference between this album compared to the previous one is that all band members have been involved in the songwriting this time around, and they have all put their mark on the music. This time Necrophagia truly feels like a united band! The level is higher than ever before in the band's history, and Mirai's keyboard pieces have in particular added a new dimension to Necrophagia. Combined with Titta's bombardment on the drums, Iscariah's thunder bass as well as Fug and Frediablo's interplay with the guitars, I would say that "The Divine Art of Torture" evidences that Necrophagia is stronger than ever before."

#Previously, Necrophagia was primarily composed of American members, but with the new line-up the band now consists of musicians living in the US, Norway and Japan. Could this in fact create bigger problems than those you experience before with an American line-up?

"No, it's actually quite easy. We record demo versions of the songs in Norway and then send to the other members who add their parts. Mirai records his parts and sends them to us, and the rest of the band meets up in Norway where we rehearse the material before we enter the studio. As a matter of fact, it's quite easy even though it may not sound like it. All the members are really intent on making it work even though the band is spread out on three continents, and we are all in daily contact with each other by e-mail and phone so that we do not really notice the distance between the band members."

THE FUTURE OFFERINGS

#Killjoy's excitement for the new line-up is unmistakable, and he also expresses great confidence as we talk about what he can achieve with the new line-up?

"This is only the beginning. "The Divine Art of Torture" is faster, more aggressive and darker than anything else we have done. The keyboard pieces alone will make any horror fan rejoice. Mirai and I used a lot of time on getting the atmosphere right for what he should express with the music, and through close collaboration we came up with some eerie keyboard pieces that supplement the music perfectly. We wanted to do something along the lines of Goblin and soundtracks from older John Carpenter movies as "The Fog" for instance, and the result surpasses all our expectations. We will continue to bring new sick, disturbing, dark, appalling and shocking horror elements to the Necrophagia sound in the future, and we surprise ourselves with each new album. We will always hang on to the Necrophagia template but also experiment with implementing as many sick things as possible to make the music even more unpleasant. "Harvest Ritual" is 90% complete and the last parts will be written and recorded with an expected release in March 2004. All horror fans can look forward to that album because it is going to be just as sick as "The Divine Art of Torture"! Furthermore, our fans can prepare themselves for a new collection of Necrophagia videos. We are working at full stretch at the moment to record them, and as it looks right now there is going to be at least seven videos on the our forthcoming dvd, "Nightmare Scenarios". It will be released at Halloween on Red Stream, and will among other things contain videos by Coffin Joe, Alex Chandon, Jim VanBebber and Bob Murowski. I have really high expectations for this release and I'm convinced that horror fans will appreciate "Nightmare Scenarios". But until then I will suggest all serious horror fans to check out "The Divine Art of Torture" as I can guarantee that they won't be disappointed.

-->> Conducted and written by Bo.