A BLAST from the PAST

I did this CODC interview a while ago, anyway if you didn't catch it the first time check it out!

1. What has inspired the lyrics for Circle of Dead Children over the years? Have any new topics/ideas been used on your next release, "Psalm of the Grand Destroyer"? 

Lyrics are as important to me as crafting the vocals are, no doubt about it, but I don’t put a lot of forethought into particular topics or anything like that.  Generally I find myself writing for CoDC in random bursts.  Ideas and whatnot seem to pop in and out of my head all day and night long sometimes and when those types of things are happening I try to write it down on anything around that I can write on.  I think I’ve hit on a lot of different topics over the years, but obviously the overall tone of the lyrics for Circle have a similar feeling.  No good-time sing-a-long lyrics and nothing to leave you feeling inspired.  The lyrics on “Psalm of the Grand Destroyer” are a continued progression of the same style of lyrics I’ve been writing with Circle since the beginning.  

2. I read another interview in which you talked about how rushed past recording experiences have been. Did this change at all with the new album? 

We took a little bit of a different approach this time, but in some ways things weren’t so varied from the past.  We recording in the most professional environment we’ve been in to date and this was the first time we tried to slow down a bit in tracking all the music.  We did it over the course of two days instead of one.  I wasn’t able to get into the studio to lay the vocals for another seven months.  In the past I’ve always rushed the vocals for no reason other than wanting to get it over with and move on.  For “Psalm...” I decided to try taking my time so I booked two spots over the course of two different days to lay them out.  But, as things would have it, I ended up blowing out all the vocals in just over an hour on the first day and canceling the other time which was booked.  Once my adrenaline is up and my mind is in that zone, I hate breaking it and hate stopping.  I don’t like listening back to what has just been recorded and would rather just go with my gut feeling.  I don’t like doing several takes either.  The last thing I ever want is to strip the raw emotion from this band and I think our methods of recording over the years have really helped keep it doing.

3. How did Scott Hull come to be mastering the album? Do you know if hes going to be keeping the extremely raw sound or if he will be putting a new twist on the classic sound? 

We’re mutual fans of one another’s bands, and I think that’s probably the best part.  We’ve been wanting to work together but things hadn’t worked out before.  I wouldn’t expect the sound to be as raw as “Zero Comfort Margin” or some of the really old material, but I don’t think you could ever fully clean up our sound.  The music is still as ugly and barbaric as ever, but Scott’s work just be pushing it to a new sonic level and maximizing our sound I think.  

4. According to the ever reliable and correct "wikipedia" you have passed on deals from larger record labels. If any truth is behind this what reason was it that made you decide to continue working with smaller labels?

Oh yeah, that’s definitely true.  The first time we started getting some attention from larger labels was in 2001, just prior to recording “The Genocide Machine”.  Signing to multi-record deals, doing hyped up tours on the drop of a dime with bands we’re not into and having fancy DVDs and videos was not really what we were all about.  We didn’t start CODC to get the biggest fanbase we can or be cool band of the minute.  We started before myspace and before the big rise in popularity of “grind” or “brutal metal” or whatever.  All we wanted to do with CODC was play fast punk-influenced metal in Pittsburgh and drop a 7”.  There was no scene and no popularity of this shit, and that was perfectly fine by us.  CODC is, was and will always be primarily a punk band, no matter how savage or sick the music gets.  The attitude and soul of this band is punk rock, and signing to popular record labels so we win cock size contest with our friends isn’t important.  Prior to “Zero Comfort Margin” coming out we started to get a couple more offers from some of the bigger metal labels, but again we didn’t really put much thought into it.  If I wanted to be popular with my music, I sure as hell wouldn’t have called my band Circle of Dead Children.

5. Moving away from the new album now, what made you want to become a frontman and what vocalists influenced your sound?

It’s weird because I’m not a social person at all.  I hate speaking in front of people and I don’t really like big crowds too much.  But I have always been drawn to vocalists, singing and language.  My first influences were probably Kevin DuBrow of Quiet Riot, Vince Neil and Billy Idol.  As I got older I started really digging the style of a lot punk and thrash bands and bands like DRI, Nuclear Assault, Cryptic Slaughter, dead horse, Candelmass, Slayer, etc.  By the beginning of the 1990’s, my tastes kept being drawn to the the more brutal and fast end of things and I was getting into Napalm Death, Morbid Angel, Sepultura, Death, Sodom, Bathory, etc.  All of that shit made me want to play in a metal or punk band and since I sucked at playing the guitar my dad had bought me and my parents weren’t crazy enough to let me get drums, vocals had to be my gig by default.  I think the three records which really helped form me into the vocalist I am now would be: Incantation “Onward to Golgotha”, Sepultura “Bestial Devastation” and Disgorge “Cranial Impalement”.  

6. How come you don't normally have gigs posted on your sites or seem to tour much? 

Different reasons at different times.  We’ve gone through so many lineup changes and each time we have a lag period where we can’t play out or whatever.  The period of time between our last drummer and Matt, our newest guy, was a really long and drawn out one since Matt was living 7 hours away in upstate New York and having to make that drive whenever he could to come and practice before finally moving to Pittsburgh.  That created a really long break in productiveness for us.  The other thing is money and work.  I can only get off a few weeks per year due to my job and I’m in no position to quit my job for the sake of going on the road.  Other guys in the band have had various levels of financial hardship that has kept them from being able to play out as much as we’d like. Stuff like that has just become the norm for us and the things that seem to break up so many other bands have just been temporary setbacks for us.  

7. How did it come to be that you sang on Anaal Nathrakhs song, "Genetic Noose"?

This again was started through having a mutual appreciation and respect for one another’s music.  They had originally wanted to get me to do some guest vocals on their “Eschaton” record, but it just didn’t work out.  Fortunately they still wanted to do a collaboration for their following record, “Hell is Empty and all the Devils are Here”.  I really had no idea that they were going to give me an entire song to do myself.  I was recovering from a serious illness that had me laid up for a few months at the time and hadn’t sang with Circle in several months.  Drew, our bass player, came over to my home and we hung a microphone from a nail in the ceiling of my basement and laid the vocals down while I had an IV sticking out of my arm!  Talk about keeping it sick, right?  No matter what, it was a honor for me and something I’ll always be appreciative of.  

8.A big thank you for this interview Joe, any final words? 

And thank you as well.  Hails to all the fans in the UK.  We’d love for nothing more than to get our asses over the big pond and do some touring throughout the UK and Europe next year.  Hope to see you guys and girls around!