Thanks List
Patrick & Iron Bonehead Prod, Chris Reifert & Autopsy, Fenriz &
Darkthrone, Jon Metallion & Slayer Mag, Paul Groundwell & Peaceville,
Alan Moises & Glorious Times book, Jeff Wagner, Laurent Ramadier &
Snakepit Mag, Patrik Cronberg & To The Death Zine, Daniel Ekeroth &
Swedish Death Metal Book, Frank Stöver & Voices from The
Underground, Felipe Plaza & Procession, Salva Rubio, Unai Garcia,
Anton Reisenegger & Pentagram/Criminal, Javi & Julkarn & Graveyard,
Dave Rotten & Xtreem Music, Francisco Martin & Mechanix Music,
Moolyn & Proselytism, Josepth Curven and U.Kulten, Gabriel Gatica &
Compilation Of Death Zine, Roberto & Perversor, Tomaz & Throneum,
Luis Ubilla & Helraiser Zine, Pato & Tyrannus Records, Rodrigo and
Australis, Tyler and Ajna Offensive, Greg & Sunn O))) / Southern Lord
Records, Comegato & Electrozombies / Yajaira, Enzo & Proyecto
Sepulcro, Mark Riddick, John McEntee & Incantation, Anastasis & Dead
Congregation, Czar & Ammit, Anders Björler & At The Gates, Dani
Brother & Bloody Zine, Kevin & Pink Reason, King Fowley & Deceased,
Brian Werking & Exmortis, Annick Giroiux & Cauchemar, David
Torturdød & Undergang, Sindre Solem & Obliteration,
Nekromantheon, Florian Grill & Thrash Attack Zine, Nelson Muñoz &
Massive Power, Hugo & Jedbangers, Roberto Artigas & Death Atomic
Zine, Patricio Jara, Danai Hassam, David Vincent & MorBid Angel,
Intro
Me cuesta creer que ya han pasado más de veinte años escribiendo
sobre la música que amo. Cuando partí confeccionando mi primer
fanzine fotocopiado en 1988 jamás pensé que dos décadas después
seguiría con la misma nostalgia y apego hacia la música. Y no es
cualquier música, es el venenoso Metal, ese que se jacta de tener
muchos apelativos como Black, Death, Thrash, Doom, Speed, Heavy, etc
que lo hacen parecer confuso y poco entendible, pero sin embargo,
tiene un factor en común que es un profundo sentimiento por la
música por parte de quienes lo siguen. Como dirán muchos de los
entrevistados en este document, este mañoso sonido que se niega a
recibir aplausos, apareció en nuestras vidas para nunca jamás irse.Y si
asi realmente pasa es porque nunca estuviste ahí.
El Underground lo forman tu, tus amigos y todos quienes contribuimos
de una u otra manera a mantener vivo este fortalecido movimiento que
a estas alturas, ya es difícil de parar.
En todos los rincones del mundo existe algún vestigio o evidencia de
bandas, fanzines o entusiastas personas dedicadas a desenterrar lo
último o lo más antiguo del metal. Da lo mismo, la llama sigue ardiendo
y es nuestro deber mantenerla asi, intacta, tal cual está, agena a la
farándula o parafernalia de la prensa y televisión, que representan un
mundo de falsedad y egoísmo absoluto.
Este libro fue convebido con la finalidad de reunir las suficientes
imágenes y testimonios capaces de representar fielmente lo que han
sido estas tres décadas de sonidos mórbidos y contra culturales. Cada
página que verán a continuación es simplemente un testimonio más y
porqué no, un vestigio verídico de lo que ha sido este rústico y
chocante sonido durante toda su existencia.
Disfraszados bajo el nombre de Underground, la infinita jungla que
habita dentro de la escena metalera de todo el mundo sigue creyendo
UNDERGROUND NEVER DIES!
“La cultura oficial sale a tu encuentro, pero al Underground tienes que ir
tú”, Frank Zappa
UNDERGROUND NEVER DIES (UND!), traducido al Español “El
Underground Nunca Muere”, será mi nuevo desafío de para el 2012:
concebir en un libro -de buenas proporciones y calidad- una
investigación que pueda hacerle tributo y al mismo tiempo, darle una
resurrección a una enorme colección de afiches ochenteros de todo el
mundo. Esta irá incluida en las más de 200 páginas que tendrá la obra,
obviamente diseñada al más puro estilo copy/paste. Ese es el objetivo
principal.
Segundo, y no menos importante, a través de este arte intentaré
responder y explicar un concepto tan usado dentro de este movimiento
pero que no muchos han investigado. Luego de varios años y decenas
de entrevistas a los personajes y actores más diversos del mundo
subterráneo, UND! Será el elemento clave para profundizar un tema
puntual: ¿Qué es el Underground? Parece una pregunta simple, pero
la respuesta no lo es. ¿Para donde va?, ¿Cómo nació?, ¿Qué significa
para ellos?, ¿Cómo adoptaron esta filosofía en sus vidas?, son algunas
de las preguntas que los distintos entrevistados responderán a través
de las páginas del libro. Estas irán acicaladas con alucinantes afiches de
la época dorada del movimiento que seguramente más de alguna
emoción van a provocar en los fanáticos.
Ahora, Uds. se preguntaran, ¿Por qué el nombre en Inglés?,
principalmente porque este trabajo tiene como objetivo principal, ser
distribuido y difundido por los principales sellos, distribuidoras y
editoriales de todo el mundo. Algo que impidió mucho la distribución
de mi anterior trabajo –Retrospectiva al Metal Chileno [1983-1993] fue el tema del idioma Español. Lógicamente haré lo imposible para
que sea una versión en bilingüe -Inglés/Español-, así que no se
preocupen.
Reuniendo material de todas las latitudes y rincones del planeta, no
tengan dudas que las páginas de este libro mostrarán la más alucinante
colección de afiches ochenteros tanto de Thrash, Black y Death Metal
nunca antes vista en un libro de esta especie. Será un verdadero festín
gráfico y visual para los amantes de esta disciplina que el mismísimo
genio y legendario músico Frank Zappa, define muy sabiamente “La
cultura oficial sale a tu encuentro, pero al Underground tienes que ir tú”.
La idea de concebir un libro como este fue naciendo poco a poco.
Gracias al trabajo que hice con el libro Retrospectiva al Metal
Chileno [1983-1993] –más info aquí-, tuve la oportunidad de revivir y
recordar lo que fueron aquellos años cuando pacientemente
esperábamos las cartas desde el extranjero. Muchas de ellas venían
escritas a mano detrás de afiches de conciertos que nuestros amigos o
llamados “penpals”, enviaban junto a decenas de pequeños flyers que
promocionaban demos y fanzines de todo el mundo. La mera ilusión
de juntar y recolectar la mayor cantidad de esos afiches me tenía súper
motivado. Particularmente hablando, esos inútiles papeles –para
algunos-, eran verdaderas reliquias para otros, que veíamos en ese arte
una filosofía sumamente precaria y conocida como “autodidacta”. La
segunda mitad de los ochenta, en donde personalmente me crié
escuchando Thrash Metal, iba de la mano con ese concepto básico que
estaba súper apegado al movimiento metalero de entonces. Hacer las
cosas uno mismo, ya sea afiches, carátulas, duplicado de casetes,
escribir o tratar de diseñar un fanzine, eran pasatiempos que muchos
de nosotros veíamos como algo normal.
Debido a estos nostálgicos sentimientos y a mis constantes ganas de
darle una resurrección a este material, quise sumergirme en esta
nueva aventura de hacer un modesto catastro de afiches de conciertos
ochenteros que pertenezcan a los años ochenta y al mismo tiempo,
aprovechar de preguntarle a las bandas y personajes claves de este
movimiento, que opinaban ellos de una palabra en particular que
muchos de nosotros usamos frecuentemente pero que al mismo
tiempo no le tomamos el peso correspondiente. Se trata del concepto y
filosofía que hay detrás del “underground”. Que mierda significa para
estos músicos que han seguido un forma de vida tan alejada a los
patrones normales de un individuo cualquiera que pertenece a una
empresa tiene una familia o paga sus impuestos como cualquier
ciudadano común y corriente. Quienes hemos estado relacionados con
el movimiento, tenemos nuestra propia versión de esta palabra. Lo
fascinante de todo esto es que cada personaje al cual le he preguntado
su visión y opinión sobre que significaba esto para el, el resultado
nunca dejaba de asombrarme. Más allá de cómo nació esta palabra,
quien fue el primero que la uso, y bajo que parámetros políticos puede
haber sido concebida, “el underground’, ha sido un verdadero insecto
inmortal que nunca ha muerto –y por cierto, nunca lo hará-.
Actualmente estoy en la fase de entrevistas, investigación y
recolección de afiches.
2da parte del LP
UND! : Corvus Discos está preparando la edición del segundo
compilado en vinilo 12” LP con algunas rarezas bastante interesantes
que serán reveladas a su momento.
Aviso: Si tienes material gráfico que consideras importante, no dudes
en contactarnos! Todos aquellos que colaboren tendrán en exclusiva,
mercancía y souvenirs que no estarán disponibles para venta.
Contáctanos al email: corvusdiscos@gmail.com
Cast de entrevistados:
Hablan personajes claves del movimiento, como Chris Reifert
(Autopsy), Fenriz (Darkthrone),Jon Metallion (Slayer Mag), Paul
Groundwell (Peaceville), Alan Moises (Glorious Times book),
Laurent Ramadier (Snakepit Mag), Patrik Cronberg (To The Death
Zine), Daniel Ekeroth (Swedish Death Metal Book) o Frank Stöver
(Voices from The Underground) entre otros!
Sugerencias de algún personaje clave para agregar, no dudes en
hacérnosla llegar.
Anastasis DEAD CONGREGATION
What is the meaning of underground metal to you and your band?
What do you think of all metal heads that are unaware of this
scene with its labels, distros, zines, bands and that they only know
the most popular part of it? What is metal for you?
Metal for me is everything. That is a bold statement, yet the passion
that I have for this music has made me who I am today. It’s hard for me
to elaborate more on this subject… I am eternally grateful to my father
for giving me ‘powerslave’ and ‘bark at the moon’ back in 1985 and
scarring me for life with the grandeur of Heavy Metal Cult. ‘Metal
Heads’ with no knowledge of the underground are obviously not
thirsty enough for Metal to dig more into it, they buy their Metallica CD
from Virgin Megastores, they read Kerrang and they are happy.
Personally, I think these kind of fans are the ones who at the age of 2025 decide that Metal is ‘immature’ and they start listening to other
forms of music… It doesn’t bother me, Metal was never meant to be
popular (‘POP’ music) so the fewer fans the better, if it means that the
remaining few are more dedicated.
I'd like to ask you if you known any person, friend, fan, etc who may
have a collection of olf school flyers -Bay Area 80ties era-, due the
investigation i'm currently doing for my book will feature lots of those
lost "handmade" flyers. Any info on this will be extremelly appreciated!
I have been trying to reach out to as many people as I can in order
to get this project (UNDERGROUND NEVER DIES! Book) well on its
way. I am asking the key-characters of this movement, “What is
this “underground” concept all about? What does it really mean to
you.” After having read some of the responses that I have already
received, I am truly impressed that a simple question can have
such varied responses and impacts. Far beyond how this word
really started, the concept of Underground has been, and will
continue to be an immortal entity which refuses to die. Can you
explain that really the word “Underground” means to you?
John McEntee, Incantation
“To me the word underground means to be true to yourself. Like
expressing what’s on your mind and your true feelings. To me most of the
best music has to do with people expressing themselves honestly with
their instruments. A lot of people write music to please other people, but
for us it’s about pleasing ourselves and when people enjoy the music that
we write it means more to us because it’s a true expression of ourselves.
As a musician I’ve always been interested in digging deeper into the
history of the bands that I enjoy. I want to know what other bands they
played in and what other recordings they had a part in writing.
True success is found within yourself. For me I believe that it’s more
important for me to be proud of the work I have done, then worry about
the trends of the time. At the end of the day I need to be proud of my own
legacy. And it won’t be judged on popularity but on integrity.”
Brian Werking EXMORTIS
Hay que pensar que el “underground” está ahí afuera por una razón y
esta es para discriminar el hombre de dinero que tienen todos esos sellos
discográficos que muchos de nosotros conocemos.
Annick Giroiux / CAUCHEMAR
I only know the metal and punk undergrounds, but what I have learned is
that it is a worldwide movements of music FANATICS that exchange
ideas in an alternative way about their favourite genres. It can be done
by fanzines, bands, record shops, forums, newsletters, and even
gatherings. It’s something very pure and unique, and like you said – will
never die! Like Away of VOIVOD said... we are in this... TO THE DEATH!
- D. Torturdød / UNDERGANG.
- Haha, yeah man I believe that you just have gotten a lot of varied
answers to that. It's also something that I think can be a very personal
thing too, build around the different persons own experiences.
To me the "underground" has something unique to present. Something
that is put into this world based on nothing but passion and usually tons
of hard work. Be it music itself, the way to present reading like in a
xeroxed zine or what ever independent product one might have the pure
burning passion for. Something that the majority of people probably will
not give a second of attention, but you still choose to fight for and offer to
your surroundings and possibly the entire world if dedicated enough.
When earning money off it isn't an issue and "thought" is the main
character behind it. Anyway, that's in a few words my 5 cents.
Brian Werking / Exmortis
I consider metal fanzines like the base of underground music.
Many of them has been the source of information for all music
followers (musicians, journalists, fans or label related business
men, to name a few).
Although Internet existence, this source of information has never
abandoned the face of the music scene. So, at the beginning of
your music journey, how important were the fanzines to you? Do
you still keep an eye on them? Do you remember any memorable
one that changed your way of think about music? or any
particular one that you considered important/fundamental in the
80s?
BW) In the beginning it was just us and then we started tape trading. I
don’t really know how it happened but we ended up sending a demo to
almost every zine on the globe at the time. They were very important to
me because without them there would have been no fans. I really haven’t
been following them much these days but I do occasionally come across
an interview that I must read. I think that all the zines were important
at the time and… ARGH, Slayer, Satanic Death, the list can go on forever..
I have been trying to reach out to as many people as I can in order
to get this project (UNDERGROUND NEVER DIES! Book) well on its
way. I am asking the key-characters of this movement, “What is
this “underground” concept all about? What does it really mean to
you.” After having read some of the responses that I have already
received, I am truly impressed that a simple question can have
such varied responses and impacts.
Far beyond how this word really started, the concept of
Underground has been, and will continue to be an immortal entity
which refuses to die. Can you explain that really the word
“Underground” means to you?
BW) Well first, I think it’s great that you’re working on a book about the
underground. I wish you all the luck in the world with it. You know,
you’re asking a huge question that I’m not quite sure I can answer fully
as I know I’ll miss something key. Let’s see. Let’s start with the basics.
The underground is an awesome collection of individuals that have come
together for one certain cause. Kind of like the way people get together
to support something like cancer awareness. Anyway, in this culture as I
call it, there are many factions of its roots that one must follow. Back in
the late eighties, it was a mix of all these different styles of music that
came together as one and dreamt of one goal. That is to be respectful of
one another and help each other out when one was down. The outcry of
support from the scene was undeniably the best part about it. As I said,
people respected one another back then and supported each other
continually without question. We had all the zines, the radio shows, the
promoters and of course, all the fans of the metal movement. There was
always someone there to help you out even if you didn’t ask for it. It’s
just a massive movement of people all there to obtain a common goal. If
you really want my input on this topic, please ask me in a personal email
and give me a bit of time to put it all together as my mind feels it. It’s a
lengthy process that everyone went through to get this whole thing
started and I think it will be worth your time to listen to what I have to
say for your book.
I consider metal fanzines like the base of underground music.
Many of them has been the source of information for all music
followers (musicians, journalists, fans or label related business
men, to name a few).
Although Internet existence, this source of information has never
abandoned the face of the music scene. So, at the beginning of
your music journey, how important were the fanzines to you? Do
you still keep an eye on them? Do you remember any memorable
one that changed your way of think about music? or any
particular one that you considered important/fundamental in the
80s?
any form of knowledge and learning of music is important to me. the
fanzines of the older days were all neat and clever. a person or persons
own identity in those pages. you saw different angles of why someone
did or didn't like a band. the sometimes simple layouts or other times
crazy layouts. it all came together! the internet makes things quicker
and easier yet as being part of the reading a book generation it's still
always fun to sit down and read in your hands a fanzine etc. kerrang
magazine was my bible growing up. it was more a magazine then a
fanzine but it delivered. learned of all the latest stuff and it was an
honest read from fellow avid fans very knowledged in the world of
heavy metal/rock. that always will be my favorite read!
By the way, did you had any experience doing underground
fanzines? If I’m not wrong, you did a fanzine back in the 80s?
i did a few. 'morbid terror' was my early 80's one. it was cut and paste
and very simple. it served its purpose. later on i had one called 'stay
true stay ugly stay underground' which was much more opinionated
and a lot more to it. many reviews and editorials in those pages. it was
fun creating them! i wanted to give my two cents on what it all means
to me.
I have been trying to reach out to as many people as I can in order
to get this project (UNDERGROUND NEVER DIES! Book) well on its
way. I am asking the key-characters of this movement, “What is
this “underground” concept all about? What does it really mean to
you.”
After having read some of the responses that I have already
received, I am truly impressed that a simple question can have
such varied responses and impacts.
Far beyond how this word really started, the concept of
Underground has been, and will continue to be an immortal entity
which refuses to die.
Can you explain that really the word “Underground” means to
you?
just setting up and writing and playing music from the heart. away
from the dollar, away from spotlights. just sincere honest musicians in
it for the love of music. stepping away from the 'boss man' and just
doing things at your own place and own speed. fellow musicians
helping each other out. no egos, no head trips. a life long unity and
bonding.
KING FOWLEY DECEASED
EXTRA DE LA ENTREVISTA
Last year I published a book about the history of thrash metal in
Chile (it is called Retrospectiva al Metal Chileno [1983-1993]
more info here). To finish it I invested lots of time researching
through old Chilean fanzines. I consider them as one of the
important keys of the underground movement.
Regarding fanzines: What do you think about them? What kind of
value do you give them? And how could you define a fanzine?
-That’s fucking awesome, cudos. I love fanzines, I wish I had more time
to buy and read them. They are worth just as much as huge magazine’s
like Metal Hammer, perhaps even more since you know that what’s
beeing written is honest and done out of dedication for music. A
fanzine has to be written by a fan (doh), feat reviews of demo bands as
well as established artists, side by side. It has to be printed rugh paper,
and look old shcool. But hey, how am I to say how a fanzine should be?
My favorite fanzines are Morbid Tales, Isten, Slayer mag, Downtuned
and Morbid etc.
In the 80ties the word underground was very natural inside the
metal movement. Nowadays, it is kind of difficult to describe it
and represent it. I have asked to several musicians about this
important word. So, what this really represent to you
(“Underground”)?
-Pure dedication to the music, not the fame or glamour. Low-fi
production and an addiction recording analoge. Careing more about
rocking hard than hitting every note perfect. And most important;
beeing part of a comunity /underground scene, beeing in touch with
other bands and show mutual respect towards other dedicated
metalheads/bands and pushing the musicaly style forwards. The
underground is raw and brutal, only for the freaks and devotes. It’s is
conservative, e’yet radical and cutting edge. Good and though question.
Sindre Solem (Obliteration, Nekromantheon)
Taking the concepts of 'underground' and 'fanzine' and applying them
to mean something within the context of a military standpoint is a hard
thing to do. Rather, if one is to bother at all, they may find it pertinent
to attempt the classifications from within the parameters of the
paramilitary.
Not unlike the 'Minutemen' or other organs of resistance throughout
history, there has always been varying levels of involvement to the
agendas at hand, and corresponding to that, publications of one kind or
another developed to cater to the people whom make up each level of
participation.
Politically it's easy for anyone with background to understand that a
mainstream newspaper is a vast organ of political indoctrination, for
the mainstream person, for the 'everyday man' - and a publication
designed for exposing the agenda to new minds or keeping in place the
mindset desired of those already basically indoctrinated.
It can change it's direction over time to mould the minds to accept any
new 'truth', even one in complete opposition to the original 'truth'.
A publication for the street-soldier, the militant activist, has to be
better suited to the personality, drive and motivation of those making
up that more dedicated but less populated strata. It could be the partypolitical membership bulletin or hand bill, distributed with fervor but
irregularly or on small budgets.
This very real concept is used to orchestrate any politcal change (or
survival) in most societies, and it could be argued that a similar
strategy is used in the loose 'underground' and now today there is
even a 'mainstream' of extreme music.
In this world that coincides with the 'real' world, albeit as a general
rule apolitical in pretty much all senses of the term, there is an
underground, and a mainstream version constructed to suit the
plebescite which is basically viewed as merely a consumer: an
economic entity devoid of the powers of discrimination.
Taking this into account then, the major, glossy, hi-financially backed
music magazines would be considered the equivalent to the every day
newspaper, constructed and distributed with the 'mass man' in mind.
The 'mass man' being the merely economic entity encouraged to
consume whatever it is deemed necessary to consume, whichever
musical fad is desired to be the next 'big thing' to generate dollars.
Similarly the 'fanzine' could be equated with the publications produced
at far less expense to cater to the more stern and motivated, but
significantly numerically inferior members. There is a certain zeal and
committment present in this minority (called the underground) that is
blatantly missing in the mainstream, and the fanzine is the organ
created by and for that minority and actually not even meant to be
circulated within the masses of the mainstream.
I do not believe that this comparison is correct or holds water in every
scenario, since, although mainstream music is brutally political in it's
deviously well-hidden way, the underground of the Glorious Times
compared to that which exists in December 2010 are quite different
creatures indeed. There is no real music-revolution happening
within the current scene, when one compares the scene of the GT
which was breaking barriers and creating bands that to this day
have never been matched, especially in the department of
conviction.
It must be said though, since none of this music is hunted down by 'the
system' actively, that it is either deemed as being of no-threat to, or not
worth the effort of, the system to silence it. It, after all, is
entertainment, and the system adores that which entertains it's
subjugated masses and stops or diverts those masses from taking
an active hand in 'change'.
Alan Moses / Glorious Times
“Just like any other category of music, to some extent there is sort of a
restriction on what your style allows so you need to dig deep and find a
unique way of interpreting your take on that style”.
Chris Reifert
In the Czech Republic during the late 60's counter-cultural groups like
Plastic People of the Universe, DG 307 and others called their
"movement" Second Culture because they stood apart from the official
Soviet-dominated culture. In Russia, during the 80's "unofficial" groups
distributed their music through a system of distribution they dubbed
Magnitizdat in reference to their appropriation of the earlier Samizdat
methods applied to the newly available medium of cassette tapes. In
the US musical outsiders forge their own independent touring circuits,
and develop their own self-produced media to promote and
disseminate ideas that have no place in popular culture. What
differentiates the underground from the simply "independent" is the
challenge it presents the status quo. Underground is not exposed
because something about it lacks or rejects commercial or "official"
potential.
Kevin / Pink Reason
How could you define the meaning of the next two words:
“underground” and “fanzine”?
For me, 'underground' just means a label that classifies something be it
music, art or whatever as not easily accessible to the masses.
A 'fanzine' is a magazine made by fans for fans.
Simple enough, eh?
On March of this year I published a book about the history of
thrash metal in Chile. Particularly, to finish it, I invested lots of
time researching in old fanzines. I consider them as one of the
keys of the underground movement. What do you think about
them? What kind of value you give them?
Underground zines had a massive impact in the death metal world, no
question about it! Personally speaking, I found out about so many
interesting bands from zines. I started finding them sometime around
'84 or so. I found a copy of Kick Ass magazine in a local record shop
and couldn't believe how much killer stuff was packed into those
pages. It was the opening of a huge door for me as a metal fan. As a
musician, zines were the best way to get your band know about and
heard. They're still important and vital though I wish there were more
actual printed zines out there. Not to knock webzines, but there's
nothing quite like a good printed paper magazine.
Chris Reifert
Have you done any writing for any publications before Snakepit?
LR: Yeah while you, Chris, were doing some writing for Scott Helig's
Total Thrash back in the day, at the same time I was doing Decibel Of
Death 'zine, the first French Thrash/Speed 'zine ever.... that's a long
story but it was a great experience cos I got to know numerous bands
such as NECROVORE, SACRIFICE, MORBID ANGEL and hundreds
more.... I did like 8 issues (the first one was done by the original editor:
Ludovic Gluozko (VIPER/ ZOMBIE guitarist). Hail to him forever for
having been one of the first TRUE banger in France. When all this so
called Metallers from France where hailing the likes of VAN HALEN,
TWISTED SISTER, SCORPIONS and stuff, he was hailing the likes of
MANTAS, SLAYER, GENOCIDE, POISON (Germany/ IL) etc etc.... it says
all.
Then I ended up doing D.O.D. by 1988 with issue 9, not enough
feedback, too many hassles and stuff.... then I was offered by a certain
cool L.A. dude known as Richard C. to write for The Wild Rag mag...it
was cool I submitted him a few interviews I had originally done for
D.O.D. but I couldn't use since the mag was buried. There was
SINDROME, ENTOMBED and maybe a couple others...when I look at the
stuff now, I laugh and I'm not proud at all about it because the shit was
cheesy as hell.... I hope I'm doing a little bit better with Snakepit, at
least I'm trying....
(Laurent Ramadier) texto Metalcore Fanzine
1 - Please, explain me, what means for you the word "underground"?
the concept & vision you may have on it.
Underground can mean different things for different people I suppose.
When I think of underground, instead of a particular sound or style, I
think of the tape trading days & discovering hard-to-find new (or old)
bands through a relatively small network of people, & also reading
fanzines to find out about bands that were not covered in the bigger
metal mags. It was like a multi-tiered system. Now there is the internet
& anybody with a pc can easily find music of any style because it’s all
out there, instantly spread across the globe for all to see (hear).
Most bands have myspace pages & the opportunity to spread their
music to everyone through this or Blabbermouth is huge. It’s good to
spread the word of deserving bands of course, but the sense of
discovery is not quite the same perhaps & the ‘scene’ is totally
swamped, leaving people like Fenriz & his myspace ‘band of the week’
to filter what’s worth checking out.
So, what is ‘underground’, is perhaps something hidden & not easily
accessible…& maybe it comes in waves, so if you ride the underground
wave once, you tend not to notice it again. Maybe once you reach the
underground you can’t tell if you are still there or not after a while,
heh, & then it depends on your will to discover the next wave.
Paul Groundwell /peaceville.co.uk
What means the "underground" for you?
Underground is to me the whole scene of trading and doing everything
DIY.
In my -twisted- mind most releases underground are far superior to
the ones released after -talking music here- a band starts to release
albums. In many cases the first or second album is good but in 99% of
allcases somehow the musical quality seem to deterioate after that,
can't put my finger on why but I recon it's the worn phrase of progress
that is to blame. In my mind musical expetise can't compete to the
youthful enthusiasm that the bands have in their early stages. Also I'm
-and always has been- allergic to "music for the masses" as soon as a
band reaches a certain level of popularity I loose interest, pretty
eliteistic point of view I know but "too old, too cold" to quote a band
that lost my interest.
fanzine?
To put it simply a fanzine is a FAN zine, an publication made by a fan of
a certain genre promoting that certain style of music. Again for me, this
is doing it DIY, not to make a living out of it. Once it's start being you
livelyhood the spirit of the FAN-zine gets lost. There are some
exceptions ofcause, SLAYER MAG being the #1, but for most cases I
prefer the amatorish witing of a fanzine any day over the cold "well
written"magazines.
Also I belive the layout has a big part of what's a fanzine, being raised
in the glue-and-paste times I kinda miss the more primitive lay out of
the past. Having said that I have to confess I don´t know that much of
the fanzines of today
Patrik Cronberg / To The Death Zine (Swe)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Underground – the shit that kids do when nobody is looking, not
giving a fuck about whether it will sell or work. They just need to do it,
and they are doing it beneath any radar.
Fanzine – the shit that kids write when nobody is looking, not giving a
fuck if anyone will read it or understand. They just have to do it, and
they are doing it beneath any radar.
Daniel Ekeroth / Swedish Death Metal Book
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1. What means the “Underground” to you? And how could you
define/describe this word too?
The Underground is for me a world wide network of contacts,
collaborators and sometimes friends. it consists of bands, labels, zines,
clubs and fans. In my opinion there is no reason to complain all the
time about the"scene" and the "underground" which are swarmed with
"posers", because you can find people that are not as much into
something as you are everywhere. However the fact that it works that
you trade/buy/etc with people all over the world that you have maybe
never even met in person and this over years gives me the feeling that
there is a certain spirit that will never die, even though some idiots/rip
offs or whatever dont understand it and try to destroy it. I think the
underground doesnt only depend on great personalities. i mean a band
or label can be run by assholes on the personal basis, but if they
contribute something really outstanding and worthy to the
underground i dont mind. of course it is better if you become friends
with your collaborators though...
In the end all participents of the underground should try to mainly
support metal, however i obviously know that this is not always the
case. though it will never die!
2. What means and is a “Fanzine” to you?
Obviously the word itself has a strong meaning that shows you the
intention a fanzine should have. to differentiate it from a magazine
which has not only the intention of supporting bands, but also making
money, a fanzine is done by a FAN of the music and its only purpose is
to support the music/bands/scene. of course a fanzine editor doesnt
necessarily have to lose money, there are few that can afford that, but i
think fanzines should always be available at a reasonable price which
can be lower or higher depending on the quality of it. A fanzine should
always only contain the content that pleases the editor and not any
bands/musical genres that will help him spread the zine more, even
though he doesnt like them. Fanzines aren´t supposed to be ass kissing
in their reviews but try to give a good idea of the music and if it is shit,
well then the editor has to inform his readers.
Of course the importance of fanzines has lowered with the internet, but
i still think they are a great way to find out about new bands/unknown
names. this can be combined with your own research online.
FLORIAN GRILL / Thrash Attack Zine
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1- underground
La alternativa a la comercialidad musical. El caldo de cultivo y origen
de las más novedosas propuestas dentro del metal, que ha permitido
su creación, desarrollo y difusión mediante medios “alternativos”
(tales como flyers, radios independientes, fanzines, boca a boca, tape
trading hasta hace una década…y mediante el desarrollo de Internet en
nuestros días).
Digamos que esta podría ser una definición formal y seria, si bien a
nivel personal, el underground es más que eso, es la idea de una forma
de vida que te impulsa a asistir a pequeños conciertos y comprar el
material de ese grupo que te acaba de sorprender. Adquirir un fanzine
y devorar y disfrutar con las entrevistas de bandas que solo con sus
palabras son capaces de despertar tu interés por su música. Compartir
esa banda desconocida con tu íntimo círculo de amistades que viven el
mismo interés y lograr con todo ello crear una red (formada por fans,
bandas e instrumentos de difusión) que podría resumirse con el
nombre de Underground.
2- fanzine
Como editor de mi propio fanzine veo éste como la puerta a través de
la cual puedo dar rienda suelta a mis inquietudes e interés por bandas
que han suscitado en mi algún tipo de curiosidad en un determinado
momento (en otros casos se trata de bandas de las cuales puedo ser
acérrimo seguidor y en ese caso las entrevistas cobran el doble de
importancia a nivel personal) y de las cuales deseo conocer algo más y
compartirlo con aquellas personas interesadas en las mismas.
Personalmente veo un fanzine como algo imperecedero en el tiempo y
del que se puede disfrutar en cualquier momento y en cualquier lugar
(algo que no pueden ofrecer los webzines, por ejemplo) y además es no
solo un instrumento de difusión del underground (bien sea mediante
las entrevistas, las reseñas de álbumes, demos u de otros fanzines) sino
que es un perfecto documento escrito que sirve, con el paso del tiempo,
para comprobar qué bandas siguen fieles a sus declaraciones y
principios y qué bandas reniegan y se desdicen de su pasado años más
tarde.
Objetos de coleccionismo para mi y de respeto total hacia quien está
detrás de la elaboración de estas armas base del underground y que
actualmente resisten como verdaderos colosos del pasado luchando
con fuerza por mantenerse a flote dentro del convulso mar del mundo
digital.
Dani Brother / Bloody Zine
- Underground
Se me vienen variadas ideas a la cabeza al pensar en esta palabra y la
idea o concepto tras ella, pensamientos semi encontrados, hasta
destructivos...
Veamos, para no irme en la volado y ser más objetivo y ecuanime que
viceral.
Antiguamente, digamos la segunda mitad de los años ochenta, tenía
super claro que el underground era el resultado del movimiento de
demos, revistas y musica en general, supeditado principalmente por la
falta de recursos asociados a la difusión o distribución, donde la causa
de esta falta de recursos era principalmente debidamente a un rechazo
a las multinacionales y al negocio de la musica. Posterior a eso
recuerdo que hablabamos de cosas como "este tema es comercial....o
esta canción no lo es", en el fondo asociabamos de acuerdo a nuestra
percepción que nos sonaba como algo "vendido" o no.... En cualquier
caso era fácil reconocer si algo era o no comercial, y si lo era, entonces
era considerado como fuera del underground. Por lo tanto cabe
analizar si se quería permanecer en el underground o salir de él, por
ende los que querían despegar hacia otros horizontes y salir de la
categoría de subterraneos, eran considerados posers...
Ahora en un analisis retrospectivo, pienso que ninguna banda, aunque
lo quiera firmemente, se mantuvo en el underground por mucho
tiempo, a menos que se haya disuleto en el acto, lo que la catalogaría
como una banda de culto.
De tanto divagar me doy cuenta de que el underground es un
movimiento de los fans y no de las bandas, ya que tambien lo vemos en
la creación de fanzines y revistas de bajo presupuesto, donde se ofrece
cierta difusuón a bandas cuyos periodos de gloria, por asi decirlo, se
consideran en sus demos, tal vez por que las creaciones eran menos
pretensiosas y más inocentes, o bien llenas de energía y rabia y no tan
procesadas.
Además creo que en la actulidad, tambien se da este fenomeno, el
fenemeno del underground, pero es mucho más corto, ya que dados los
medios de difusión (uno de los objetivos a lograr de antaño) ahora son
más faciles de acceder y muchos de ellos son gratuitos. Sin embargo,
existen las ganas al menos de hacer que el underground perdure, tal
vez imitando el tape trading, editando revistas y formando circuitos de
bandas que se repiten en las tocatas. De alguna manera esto forma un
conglomerado de fans, bandas y revistas alimentadas por promocinoar
un gusto común y escondido, diferenciado por estilos de música o
tendencias sociales, religiosas y políticas. Por esto mismo es lógico que
surjan resquillas y diferencias entre las escenas underground de death
Mmetal, Punk, Thrash, etc. aunque todas tienen la misma estructura.
Sin embargo, te puedo decir que todos esperan algo más, todos sueñan
con grabar y sonar bien y mejor, todos pretenden pomocionar su
música más alla de las tocatas más allá de nuestro país.
Tal vez otra arista a considerar sea la actitud frente a todas estas
condicionantes que afectan de alguna forma el cómo eres visto dentro
de una escena, lo cual parece ser ciertamente importante aunque todos
lo nieguen.
En mi opinión es cosa de tiempo, tarde o temprano saldrás del
underground, ya sea esto bueno o malo, creo que es una etapa,
importante de vivir y nunca negarla, ya que eso si sería un error.
Algunos tips en la actualidad. Es claro notar que ciertos sellos, quieren
mantener a la fuerza el undeground utilizando estragias como
ediciones limitadas en vinilo con poster y cinturon de balas poco
menos, sólo vendibles en el continente de origen, limitando la
difusión... osea conseguirse una edición de estas en Chile al menos es
muy caro,luego viene la pregunta ¿eso te hace ser Underground?
La verdad es que prefiero los fanzines en español, ya que son mucho
más rapidos de leer y divertidos, y sobre todo en chilensis language
pues aparecen modismos y expresiones que hacen más amena la
lectura.
El fanzine es muy importante sobre todo para las bandas que recien
comienzan, pues es una clara forma de promoción, y tan sólo por amor
al arte. Quien edita fanzines es retribuido casi siempre con música,
pero partir es dificil, y como digo es una pega sin retribución
económica.
Lo bueno de los fanzines es que el que lo hace no es necesariamente
periodista o editor o estudioso de las letras, sólo debe ser asiduo al
Metal o a lo que su revista publique. Recuerdo los fanzines de antaños
escritos por tipos de 15 ó 16 años, con faltas de ortográfía, falta de
redacción y vocabulario, pero es justamante la forma en que se escribe
y relata la historia, lo divertido, sobre todo si se trataba de algún recital
o tocata, en la que uno también haya ido.
Como lo decía los fanzines carecen de linea editorial, por lo tanto nos
podemos encontrar con miles de tipos de fanzines y miles de opiniones
distintas respecto a lo mismo, creo que esta diversidad es positiva en la
raya para la suma, ya que finalmente uno forma su propia idea
respecto de un review de banda o tocata. Se pueden encontrar tipos
que odian todo o aquellos más condecendientes que procuran apoyar
la escena o que se yo.
Generalmente se produce una discusión entre preferir sólo fanzines o
revistas profesionales y creo que está comparación no tiene lugar. Para
mi son cosas diferentes.
Nelson Muñoz (Massive Power)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1. Underground
is a communion of maniacs, bands, zine editors, witches, demons,
bastards and infernal beigns who stand in opposition to the
official, plastic and ideologicaly empty scene! We are aggressive,
raw and ugly! We are Metal! We are "the true" (Mayhem)!!!
2. Fanzine : is one of many manifestations of the Underground!
all hails
Tomasz - The Great Executor
TimeBeforeTimeRecords/Throneum/MorbidExecution/Necrostu
prum
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1- Underground
Seria una especie de lugar ficticio donde se aglutinan artistas que por
un motivo u otro no llegan al mainstream. Creo que en nombre del
under se escudan muchos que no tuvieron la determinación o el
talento para llegar a un niver superior de reconocimiento. Claro que
hay diferentes escalas de underground, no es lo mismo el under
chileno que el under de EE.UU donde la mayoría puede dedicarse a
desarrollar su actividad teniendo una repercusión más que interesante
y logrando ingresos monetarios significativos a pesar de estar en el
underground. Tampoco significa que ser under o estar en el under sea
sinónimo de ser un perdedor, se puede ser exitoso en el underground y
seguir manteniendo convicciones e ideales, dos conceptos que están
muy unidos al under.
2- Fanzine
Primero que nada derribaría el concepto de que un fanzine es una
revista mal hechaa o sin recursos, o bien sin contar con una
distribución correcta.
Después de haber trabajado en diferentes tipos de medios impresos,
llegué a la conclusión de que la principal diferencia que hay entre una
revista y un fanzine, es que en un fanzine no existe -o no debería- la
obligación de incluir ciertos contenidos para reflejar la actualidad de
una escena o de una ciudad. Creo que un fanzine está sujeto a los
gustos de quienes lo hacen, incluso podría decirse que dependerá de
los caprichos del auto la inclusión o no de un reportaje, o una critica.
En una revista comercial, de las que se venden en los puestos callejeros
(en argentina le decimos "Kioskos de diarios), uno cuenta con la
obligación de incluir lo que resulte relevante para el grueso del público
lector. Y creo que esta es la principal diferencia porque estoy
convencido de que la escencia de un fanzine radica -o al menos
debería- en que se escriba en él acerca de los tópicos que resulten más
atractivos para el autor. En un fanzine metalero se podría ignorar la
visita de una banda como AC/DC y al mismo tiempo se podrian
destinar 5 páginas a una entrevista con The Haunted. Digamos que son
licensias que en el medio gráfico profesional uno no puede darse.
El resto, son solo detalles; un fanzine puede estar bien hecho, con un
nivel literario alto, puede contar con buena distribución, puede ser
gratuito o tener un precio de tapa elevado. Estas características son
compartidas con la mayoria de las revistas profesionales, por eso no
creo que en ellas podamos encontrar motivos para diferenciar a ese
tipo de medio gráfico con un fanzine.
Hugo / revista Jedbangers (Argentina)
Underground: Even after so many years, still a very exciting melting
pot for fresh, unpolished new bands that don't give a shit about what's
being hyped in the bigger magazines.
Fanzine: An independent magazine, done with a lot of dedication by
real fans of the music they write about... for people who like to read
about bands / releases that are not trendy enough to get recognized by
the mainstream.
Frank Stöver / VOICES FROM THE DARKSIDE
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------UNDERGROUND = Kept outside the mainstream eye. A subcultural
social network only for the choosen few.
FANZINE = Media publication dedicated to underground culture.
Anders Björler / At The Gates
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Underground: Aspecto de la "realidad" alejado de los cànones
convencionales y comerciales que rigen a nuestra sociedad, oculto y
paralelo a la vez.
-Fanzine: Basàndome en la palabra misma, serìa algo asì como un
“trabajo literario” hecho por los fans y para los fans, sin importar
mucho los recursos econòmicos o tècnicos, sino màs bien resaltando el
factor emocional (amor al arte).
EDSON JORQUERA
- Underground: Es toda manifestación cultural que no pasa por los
medios de comunicación tradicionales y masivos. En el caso de la
música metal, antes de la era internet esto se manifestaba en fanzines,
intercambios de material, ya sea por mano o por correspondencia, etc.
El advenimiento de internet transformó totalmente el escenario,
facilitando mucho más la formación de grupos con intereses afines.
- Fanzine: Es una mezcla de las palabras fan (fanático) y magazine
(revista), o sea, es una publicación hecha por fanáticos de un estilo (en
el caso de la música, también pueden haber fanzines de arte, política,
etc) para fanáticos, muchas veces con medios muy rudimentarios de
diagramación, diseno, reproducción, etc.
Anton Reisenegger 11-10-2010 (Pentagram / Lock Up / Criminal )
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Underground:
Movimiento musical, social y cultural, pero mas que cultural yo lo
asociaria a la anticultura, ademas es un estilo de vida
que a pesar de los años y de los cambios que se han visto
tecnologicamente, sigue siendo un movimiento subterraneo oculto...
que llevamos al 100 % en nuestra sangre!!!!!
Fanzine: un gran espacio en donde podemos expresarnos libremente y
apoyar a la escena underground, y no solo a las bandas si no tambien
a otros fanzines. Un aporte muy valioso para la escena metalera.
Roberto Artigas / 11-10-2010 DEATH ATOMIC MAGAZINE....
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Underground: Hoy podría entenderse como el subterráneo de la
industria, pero evidentemente es una categoría en muchos casos
momentánea, un tránsito necesario. Sin embargo, hay dos modos de
verlo: como una condición valórica, casi moral, de negarse a la gran
maquinaria y apelar a la autogestión, con todas las precariedades e
incertidumbres del caso, o bien como el segmento desde donde todo el
mundo debe partir y nada más que el trabajo y la calidad los hace
crecer. Es curioso lo que pasa: cuando una banda ha progresado,
cuando ha crecido o simplemente mejorado en algún aspecto, decimos
que "ha surgido"... y ya sabemos de dónde ha surgido.
Fanzines: son revistas de fan, los "fan magazines", aunque lógicamente
lo que podría hacer una diferencia es la factura, pero es engañosa. Hay
muchas publicaciones que tienen una apariencia y entregan un
producto súper profesional y que son hechas por una o dos personas.
Pienso desde los casos de "Morbid Magazine" y "Slayer Magazine", que
a fines de los 80 se diferenciaban del resto. Eran, más bien, revistas de
autor. Lo que podría hacer una real diferencia es, por ejemplo, la
periodicidad con la que aparecen y los niveles de profesionalización de
su equipo, la preocupación por los textos, por la fotografía y, claro, ver
a la revista como un negocio rentable al que vale la pena dedicarle el
día con exclusividad.
Patricio Jara (4-10-2010)
Editor de Dark Thrash Zine, Antofagasta. Actualmente es un
periodista y connotado escritor de libros.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Wenas Andrés,
La raja que sigas reviviendo la antigua toxina ochentera, eso si no se
si pudiera darte una descripción muy adecuada de lo que me pides,
pero aca va algo:
Pa mí el underground es algo en lo que estoy metido no más y nunca le
he andado buscando significados ni descripciones. Si tuviese que
intentar describirlo, lo fundamental para mí es operar musicálmente al
margen de la ley, lejos de la industria musical y de los medios masivos.
El metal no se hace por dinero, ni por la falsa ilusión del
reconocimiento del público, o mal llamada fama. O sea, Underground =
No Mainstream.
Nada más. Al final lo que cuenta son las razones por las cuales se hace
el maldito metal del demonio, y los géneros, movimientos, modas, si
eres considerado true, o real, o under, son solo juicios que emite el
resto hacia uno, y todo eso le debería importar un pico a alguien que
hace metal de forma honesta y por las razones correctas.
Fanzines
A las fanzines no soy muy adepto, de hecho no leo muchos reviews,
porque no me interesa escuchar la opinión de otra persona respecto a
los discos que escucho, y las entrevistas por lo general me aburren,
salvo raras excepciones. El punto positivo que les veo es que permiten
dar a conocer bandas nuevas que de otra forma uno nunca sabría que
existen. Como tengo una banda respondo entrevistas a fanzines cuando
me las piden por una cuestión de respeto al trabajo y la preocupación
del editor, y para dar a conocer mi banda a un público mas rancio, pero
a las finales, me gusta escuchar metal y punto. Por lo general creo
que las bandas mientras más hablan más las cagan, y lo último que
quiero cuando escucho un disco que me gusta es conocer a la persona
que está detrás de él.
...No se si eso que te digo te sirva de algo.
Obvio que podemos hacer su trueque, mandame tu numero de nuevo
que he estado en otra y el celular antiguo se me fue a la chucha, rescaté
el puro chip, pero perdi todos los contactos. quizás la otra semana
podemos cambiar material, me quedan split Morbosidad/Perversor y
Perversor "Cult of Destruction" versión self release (no la de NWN!) pal
cambalache en CD, los vinilos ya se agotaron por mi parte.
te dejo mi fono por cualquier cosa: 8 4488636
Roberto / Perversor
UNDERGROUND
Corriente intelectual que esta bajo el radar cultural de los medios
abierto, también puede ser una selección de caracteres y personas que
crea y alimenta un interés común que generalmente se unen para
intercambiar informaciones acerca de algo relacionado con sus gustos
y experiencias.
FANZINE
Publicacion echa por una persona fanática por un tema específico o un
genero especifico, tambien puede decirse que es el primer proyecto de
un futuro periodista o reportero, donde trabaja sus primeras
impresiones y contactos desarrollando y publicando todo el proceso
intelectual que ha obtenido con la practica hasta ese minuto.
Ignacio Orellana / Chilean Metal.net / baterista de Pirosaint.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1. Fanzine
“Para mí el concepto de fanzine es el principal motor del
underground, pero hay que contextualizar, época-estética. No
podemos desvincular estética con época, también en esta fusión,
podemos encontrar el soporte del fanzine, que condiciona la
estética del mismo. Es decir si estamos hablando de los años 80´s,
nos encontraremos que la fotocopia correspondería al medio
soporte, por ende al ser un medio visual-informativo no narrativo,
la fotocopia en sí condiciona la estética. Si lo vemos hoy parece casi
una obra de arte armar un zine totalmente a mano y luego
fotocopiarlo. Además del trabajo de enviar cartas, hacer entrevistas,
esperar meses por las contestaciones etc.
Así tenemos que los recortes y el collage, máquina de escribir
manual también se hace parte del entramado estético que soporta
un zine.
En los 90´s los zines cambiarían y nos encontraremos con los zines
“Pixelados” que curiosamente también corresponden a estéticaépoca, lo que si bien a mí no me gusta, (estoy cerca de los 40), será
referente para generaciones más jóvenes.
El zine es eminentemente informativo, es representación de un
lugar y tiempo determinado, es por ello que poseen un encanto
intrínseco.
Cuando yo hacía fanzines, no pensaba ni me planteaba toda esta
faramaña intelecto-teórica que te estoy expresando ahora, pero es
una buena y casi única forma de representar un momento en el
tiempo pasado, ya que no podemos volver a el, sólo podemos
conocerlo a través de representarlo, y jamás en su comprenderlo en
su totalidad.
En el momento que uno trabajó en zines era pasión y fuerza, ahora
¿cómo describes esa pasión en el aquí y en el ahora?, porque fue un
momento determinado en el tiempo y espacio. En el presente la
representas intelectualizando los hechos.
La gente mayor le tiene miedo a la pasión, es porque esta conlleva a
los cambios sociales y luego intelectuales”.
2. Underground
“Es difícil definir que es y que no es underground, es como pensar si
el “Kill em All” es un disco underground o no…
Si no se puede definir underground como esto es y esto no es, la
respuesta puede ser es que es un concepto mutable.
Creo que para mí se resume de la siguiente forma, cuando sale el
“Kill em All”, estamos hablando de una banda haciendo un estilo que
comercial no era, era eminentemente underground, hay que
ponerse en el contexto temporal. El primer disco de una banda de
gente muy joven en un sello bastante pequeño y familiar, ni siquiera
constituido como una empresa.
Luego ¿qué pasó con Metallica?, creció y para los 90s ya era una
banda comercial, esto no lo digo peyorativamente, comercial en el
sentido que funcionaba como empresa, tanta inversión por el
producto, tal cantidad de ganancia.
El “Kill em All”, se transforma en un disco comercial, cada prensada
se vende como pan caliente, ya no es parte del underground, todo el
mundo sabe quien es Metallica. El “Kill em All”, nace como un disco
underground para convertirse en un producto de masas.
Esto es una muestra de la mutabilidad de un concepto, no es
absoluto, si no que cambia en función de factores externos, en este
caso factores externos a la creación musical implícita en el “Kill Em
All”… que por lo demás es un gran disco”.
Czar / Ammit
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Fenriz / Darkthrone
Underground
“underground doesnt mean WHERE YOU ARE. it means WHERE YOU
WANT TO BE. so if you have 0 fans but still sound like dimmu borgir
you are not underground but wanna be overground. if you have 15 000
fans and still sound UG as fuck (for instance NUN SLAUGHTER) you are
underground!!! it's where you are aiming.
this is one way to define the UG in the last 20 years, ca. but before that
it was different. many UG bands were just not able to sound
overground because of MONEY. now everyone can sound
compressed/modern OR lo-fi for cheap amounts of money, since ca 89
i see no negative aspects of underground, many small annoying details
yes but i don't want to BREAK THE OATH haha
Fanzine
well, i give them MOST value, as the answers of the bands are seldom
changed or edited! GREAT! but many bands like me become tired of
answering and therefore there are often other sides to the story that
are forgotten completely unless you KNOW the persons for a long time
:D myself, i would always answer differently as time went along. one
reason i don't wanna read the mags when the interviews are out (i do
ca 90-100 interviews a year) is that just 3 months later (and i
discoverd this phenomena already in 88) is that i disagree with myself
immediately afterwards, after only 2 or 3 months. so no reason for me
to write too much, hahahah , i always changed my mind and then back
again.
I believe there has almost been NO FANzines in the metal realm, but if
you see all fanzines as the counterpart to COMMERCIAL magazines
then EVERYONE of the UG zines are fanzines. i think the FAN side is
toned down, they are just people wanting to know more about very
cool bands that they like.
but lets just say it this way, that fanzines are underground and big
glossy mags are overground. still, my first meeting with the
underground was in the DEATHVINE section of KERRANG in 1986, that
was only half a page every month but it changed my life...and still today
big mags like Terrorizer has LOTS of good undrground stuff in their
mag even if it's an OVERGROUND magazine, so to say.
Metal
metal shouldn't have any more styles i think, most styles were already
good and made in the year of 1989, there was room for some more,
and after 1993 there was amazingly room in the metal world for many
shitty styles. there are still almost NO bands that play the style of for
instance old SAXON (also with the same sound) and CRIMSON GLORY
Fenriz / Darkthrone
Well I think when a scene gets to a point it gets over flooded...It goes
for the more extreme…or a change…then that will run it’s course and
what was old is new again…the scene will get flooded with endless
bands again…and then…ease off…then reboot again. Yes I’ve seen
plenty of the new thrash bands…it’s great.
Jim Durkin / Dark Angel
http://www.nocturnalcult.com
¿Qué es para ti el Underground? ¿Cómo podrías definirlo y
explicarlo?
A lo largo de la entrevista, he ido hablando repetidamente de lo que
para mi es el underground: sencillamente, la base y esencia misma del
Metal Extremo, el lugar donde sin afán por el dinero, la fama u otras
cosas que mueven al resto de la industria musical, un número de
grupos, fanzineros, discográficas, distros, artistas, fans y un largo
etcétera realiza una labor de conservación de los valores, sonidos,
estéticas y formas de una música a la que este contexto permite
permanecer pura, mientras que, al mismo tiempo, otras bandas
contribuyen a que no se paralice su evolución, siempre incorporando
nuevas influencias. Sencillamente, creo que el underground es la base
misma del Metal, la fuente de su autenticidad, su pasión y su
respetabilidad.
Salva Rubio / Metal Extremo 30 años de Oscuridad
“Underground”
Terror: In short we can say that for me is underground when the music is
not made for a commercial market. When there is a genuine feeling
behind the creation. And perhaps also that music is experienced
"obscure" radio hit people.
metal fanzines
Fanzines, homemade compilation tapes trading and demo trading was
extremely important for 20-25 year ago. I myself remember how fun it
was to sit and write letters and send cassettes. Then I received several
letters a week with new demos. Not to mention all the cool flyers where
I got tips about new bands and fanzines. The time had clearly its charm
and excitement.
Fanzine was very important to keep up with what happened to all the
bands and read the reviews of new demos.
In the 80s, Death Metal music began as something that no one
dreamed would grow to have any validity whatsoever; it ended
up being a groundbreaking thing. How do you see DM now? Do
you believe that this kind of music can still grow and continue
to be a menace to the mainstream?
Terror: I can admit that I do not have full control of everything that
happens with the new band and the scene itself. But now and then you
hear anything new band that sounds good. There will probably always
be some form of movement that is struggling on with death metal.
Nicklas Terror Rudolfsson
Underground
: I do not think in country borders, I do not think in skin colours or races,
and I definitely do not think in terms as Underground or Mainstream. If I
like a band, it doesn`t matter from which place they seemed to come, nor if
they `ve signed a major deal or not, it is my soul which reflects to their
music and that is what really counts.
26. In the 80s, Death Metal music began as something that no one dreamed
would grow to have any validity whatsoever; it ended up being a
groundbreaking thing. How do you see DM now? Do you believe that this
kind of music can still grow and continue to be a menace to the mainstream?
: It is something I nearly point out in every interview: Death Metal has no
boundaries!
Mors Dalos Ra / necros christos
(UNDERGROUND?
There will always be those people that appreciate something
the majority doesn't. The people that find themselves walking
unorthodox paths. It's a way to differentiate yourself from the
rest and for some of us that is imporant. Not in a way of
stating that you are cool and special. But because you're
feeling that you have to. In the same way you would fight to
survive a disease it's a way of fighting the transformation into
a mindless sheep. As long as there is that main path, some
people will always stray off towards adventure.
In the 80s, Death Metal music began as something that no one
dreamed would grow to have any validity whatsoever; it ended up
being a groundbreaking thing. How do you see DM now? Do you
believe that this kind of music can still grow and continue to be a
menace to the mainstream?
Of course it can! We started as basically a tribute to our old
favourites. When it all comes around, Sleepers in the Rift is
just that, a tribute. That's all we wanted, to bring back that
obscure feeling that was lost somewhere in the 90's. We've
done that now and the next plan is to take it further. Reviving
is something wonderful, but continuing is something even
better. We'll improve for each release, hopefully going places
that people aren't expecting.
After spending some important time in the music industry, we can
see many things in a clearer way. What kind of positive and
negative things could you recognize inside this business (or
whatever you could call / name it)?
We're just happy to get the music out there and we haven't
really experienced any setbacks yet. Right now we're glad that
the labels are seeing the potential in this music once again and
we can only hope that they're doing it for the right reasons.
Robba / Morbus Chron
UNDERGROUND
I will separate my answer into two perspectives that I both find relevant
although based on different motives. First of all the “underground” is a
manner in which one hold certain types of ideals and attitude intact that
are based upon devotion and not compromising about anything. Being
“underground” can in this way be thought of a certain mentality shared
only by those that actually lives and breathes for these ideals and attitude
mentioned above. A second definition, that I would rather prefer to
understand it as, would be to think of it as a heretical cult of Darkness
and Death. An esoteric forum for those who wish to uphold the
adversarial tradition of diabolical art throughout the ages. Black/Death
metal in this sense is something holy and extremely powerful and thus
should be hidden within the confines of the underground as all just cults
have been in the past.
In the 80s, Death Metal music began as something that no one
dreamed would grow to have any validity whatsoever; it ended up
being a groundbreaking thing. How do you see DM now? Do you
believe that this kind of music can still grow and continue to be a
menace to the mainstream?
Of course. Although the scene become more or less obsolete during the
90´s, things started to happen again about 10 years ago. These days acts
such as Necros Christos, Portal, Hatespawn, Grave Miasma, Teitanblood,
Drowned and Dead Congregation keep pushing things deeper and
forward even beyond the ways of old. Fuck trendy retro shit, true Death
Metal was always supposed to evolve into more and more grotesque and
abominable forms.
After spending some important time in the music industry, we can
see many things in a clearer way. What kind of positive and
negative things could you recognize inside this business (or
whatever you could call / name it)?
I couldn't care less about the so called music industry. Like I talked about
earlier I see Morbid Insulter as part of an endless cult spreading
throughout millennia. Our Kingdom is simply not of this world. The only
benefit would be that such a holy form of art as Black and Death metal
was able to grow within the rotten soil of the so-called popular music of
this day and age.
“May the truthful servants of the ancient cult of Darkness and Death be
blessed and may the profane cunts of spiritual and carnal falsehood be
cursed unto eternity”
C.Conjurer / Morbid Insulter
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------I consider metal fanzines like the base of underground music. Many of
them has been the source of information for all music followers
(musicians, journalists, fans or label related business men, to name a
few). Although Internet existence, this source of information has never
abandoned the face of the music scene. So, at the beginning of your
music journey, how important were the fanzines to you? Do you still
keep an eye on them? Do you remember any memorable one that
changed your way of think about music? or any particular one that
you considered important/fundamental in the 80s?
I have always been into fanzines, especially in the beginning because there
was no internet so it was the only way to find out about new underground
bands and music, this is why I always still make time to do interviews for
zines no matter how big or small they are!!! Well some of you may know
that Trey had a zine he did back when we were in Morbid Angel together
back in 1985-86 and Vince had one too when I was in Acheron, but also
there was Ripping Headaches which was a great local zine that really
helped all the local Florida bands get their names out.
By the way, did you had any experience doing underground fanzines?
Not so much directly, it was mainly helping out here and there with things
with people that I knew that were doing the fanzines back then.
I have been trying to reach out to as many people as I can in order to
get this project (UNDERGROUND NEVER DIES! Book) well on its
way. I am asking the key-characters of this movement, “What is this
“underground” concept all about? What does it really mean to you.”
After having read some of the responses that I have already received, I
am truly impressed that a simple question can have such varied
responses and impacts.
Far beyond how this word really started, the concept of Underground
has been, and will continue to be an immortal entity which refuses to
die.
Can you explain that really the word “Underground” means to you?
Well I think it kind of goes back into history where there were huge
underground movements where people would smuggle things and people
right under the publics feet without them even knowing. So the Metal
Underground is like this vast worldwide connection of people who share
information and music and support. It has been the one thing that has kept
Metal going all these years.
In the 80s, Death Metal music began as something that no one
dreamed would grow to have any validity whatsoever; it ended up
being a groundbreaking thing. How do you see DM now? Do you
believe that this kind of music can still grow and continue to be a
menace to the mainstream?
Yes I do think too that when Death Metal came out that no one expected it
to grow like it did. But then in the mid 90's it really took a huge nosedive
and almost seemed nonexistent for a few years and again with the growing
of the internet it began to grow again and it seems to have found a pretty
descent audience worldwide that are all very connected to each other. As
long as these connections remain it can continue to survive and grow!
Sorry for asking so much about your past, but I personally consider
myself a lover of the MA’s Abomination of Desolation album. In some
way I consider it sinister, obscure, and absolutely raw! A total gem for
the Underground music. In retrospect, What do you remember about
this recording? (recording process, discussions about the sound
quality, etc) was this record the reason that motivated you to leave
MA?
We all were very young when we recorded this record, at least in the
business end of it, and it was our first full length record too, so I think thats
why it had such a raw and real sound, there is no editing on that album, just
overdubbed leads and vocals, but the music is pretty much raw, just the 4
of us playing live in the studio, no clicktracks or anything. David Vincent
owned the record label that we signed to, it was called Goreque Records
and Bill Metoyer, of MetalBlade fame) was the engineer, but all in all the
record captured that very real live sound with the right amount of effects to
keep it atmospheric too. I just want to say for the record that this is Morbid
Angels first recorded record album. I played drums and did vocals, Trey
and Richard both played rhythms and leads and John Ortega played the
bass, not Sterling, he joined the band after we recorded Abominations of
Desolations.
Mike Browning / After Death
Vlad : Underground means hard conditions, varied support, lot of fun and
crazy people, no cash, and very dedicated music. But as I’ve saided before,
you don’t have to “be underground”, it loose all it sense. You just know that
you’re living and playing underground, but there is no sense to claim it !
18. In the 80s, Death Metal music began as something that no one
dreamed would grow to have any validity whatsoever; it ended up
being a groundbreaking thing. How do you see DM now? Do you believe
that this kind of music can still grow and continue to be a menace to
the mainstream?
Vlad : I don’t think that music can menace mainstream, and it’s clearly not
the intentions… For sure there is so many bands now, but I’m sure a good
evolution is still growning.
Vlad / Necrowretch
Last year I published a book about the history of thrash metal in
Chile (it is called Retrospectiva al Metal Chileno [1983-1993]
more info here). To finish it I invested lots of time researching
through old Chilean fanzines. I consider them as one of the
important keys of the underground movement.
Regarding fanzines: What do you think about them? What kind of
value do you give them? And how could you define a fanzine?
Lots and lots have changed because of the Internet. Pre-internet, I
think zines meant everything for a underground movement to thrive.
These days, everything is much easier. Communication is fast and
cheap, and you don't have to put a lot of effort into stuff. It's easy to
whine about stuff on message boards and spread negativity. On the
other hand, if you know what you're looking for internet is a goldmine
of information and networking possibilites. Personally I like having a
paper zine in my hands, bring it on the bus, smell the print and feel the
effort behind it. Not that I'm putting down net zines, there's many great
ones out there. It's just the feeling. The definition of fanzine, it has to be
done for the love of something and not as a day job, because then it
becomes a magazine.
In the 80ties the word underground was very natural inside the
metal movement. Nowadays, it is kind of difficult to describe it
and represent it. I have asked to several musicians about this
important word. So, what this really represent to you
(“Underground”)?
Working outside the mainstream I guess. Different networks, lots of
dedication and love for the art.
Speaking about death metal. I have seen several good new bands
which are doing interesting things. But anyway, metal seems to be
limiting itself just like in the 80’s. There is no real new music, but
only new bands doing the same thing over and over again. Where
do you think metal is going to or doing properly nowadays?
I think in a genre like death metal, there shouldn't be too much
progression otherwise the genre loses it's meaning. In Miasmal we
don't want to be too original or experimental, we don't want to mess
with a winning formula! It's always just about writing good songs. If
you just try to copy something completely though, down to
productions, guitar sounds etc it will never be as good as the original.
Pontus / Miasmal
Underground
PERRA: People that doesn't know by heart what “Underground” stands
for doesn't simply belong in the “Underground”. There's no concept to it,
it's a sacrificial and very honest lifestyle.
36. In the 80s, Death Metal music began as something that no one
dreamed would grow to have any validity whatsoever; it ended up
being a groundbreaking thing. How do you see DM now? Do you
believe that this kind of music can still grow and continue to be a
menace to the mainstream?
PERRA: Death Metal will always stay strong and true to the fans of
Death Metal. I know that ENTOMBED are still classified as a Death
Metal band, well, in my world INCANTATION, IMMOLATION, AUTOPSY,
MALEVOLENT CREATION and even CANNIBAL CORPSE etc are far
MORE Death Metal than for example ENTOMBED will ever be again. Of
course I like some of the ENTOMBED stuff for sure, I am not stupid. But
if a band drastically changes and become something else, it's not 100%
sure that I will follow them just because I used to like them. They're
still one of the best live acts around and I love them for that, but that's
it, unfortunately.
Perra & Nominon
Foto Metallica Pag. 10
Pic taken from the originals of Rattlehead Zine (# 4, Chile 1985).
Originally founded by Anton Reissenegger (later in Pentagram
and Blowing Thrash zine) and André Thorun.

“Las cartas llegaban a la casilla de la empresa, para la cual trabaja mi padre y eran lo
más esperado del día. A penas las abría, acudía al teléfono público para contárselo a
Antón Reisenegger y saber, si le había llegado algo. Atesoro algunas de las más
emblemáticas, la entrevista al fundador de Metal Blade -en cassette-, Brian Slagel,
una carta escrita por Venom, las cartas de Nasty Ronnie (Nasty Savage), cartas de
Kreator, una de Jason Newsted cuando todavía tocaba en Flotsam and Jetsam, el
primer demo de Nasty Savage autografiado y algunas más. Otras definitivamente se
fueron perdiendo con tanto cambio de casa”.

“Every day I was waiting for the postman. I remember all the time
running to the public phone to call Anton and tell him all thenews of the
packs. I still own tape interviews with Brian Slagel (Metal Blade) or
original letters sent by Venom, Kreator or from my fave band Nasty
Savage”
IMAGEN
Quorthon: Black Metal is a part of that. It’s a very extreme image and all of that, but, uhm, we
all go through a certain stage in our life, when we have green hair or safety pins, or
studded black leather underwear or whatever (laughs)
QUORTON
http://www.metalunderground.com
The violent, obsessive and obscurant phenomenon of death metal
arose in the middle of the 1980’s from the minds of alienated and
intelligent artists, writers and musicians while the powers of the world
were engaged with the nuclear paranoia of the Cold War, while
computer technology broke through to everyday life in Western
societies, while preachers were fighting against Satanic messages in
party-loving hair metal albums and while musicians in the vein of U2
were participating in massive events that attempted to bring world
peace and end famine with decades old clichés of British rock music.
NWOBHM and British punk were dying out, replaced by the tough
street gang aesthetics of hardcore and the satanic postures of early
speed and black metal. The public stances of groundbreaking bands
were growing to be more and more incompatible with mainstream
rock media, which since the demise of the “counterculture” had
abhorred ideological consistency as a threat to the marketing forces for
which it owed its livelihood.
Real metal fans tended to be smarter than the average mainstream
rock fan and naturally gravitated towards more critical sources,
written by fans to other fans. The success of bands such as Metallica
and Slayer wasn’t founded on big corporations’ agencies of promotion.
Active touring, circulation of demo tapes and word of mouth
established the reputation of these non-compromising bands, along
with independent heavy metal publications such as Metal Forces
Magazine in the UK and Kick Ass Monthly in the USA. While these
started out as photocopied zines, they soon became professional but
continued championing the authentic observations of the editors,
distinguished metal writers such as Dave Reynolds and Bob
Muldowney (R.I.P.), for relatively small profit and a benefit to metal
fans worldwide in search of ever more lethal developments of the basic
ideas of heavy metal music.
Death metal in the 80’s was as avant-garde and extreme as metal went.
In keeping with the independent spirit, death metal fans corresponded
with each other and compiled newsletters that were at first minimal
and crude, spreading the viral infection of an art form which was long
abhorred by fans of classic metal and power metal. Thus, the crown
jewels of death metal media originated perhaps from lands separate
from the Anglo-American centers of youth subculture dissemination,
where enthusiasm for the new style existed alongside speed metal and
crossover interest: Metalion’s Slayer Magazine (Norway), Laurent
Ramadier’s Decibels of Death (France), Desexult’s Blackthorn
(Denmark), Headbanger Zine (Peru), Alan Moses’ Buttface (Australia),
Streetcleaner (Germany), Anton Reisenegger’s Rattlehead
Zine/Blowing Thrash Zine (Chile), Isten (Finland) and lots of others
with enormous local influence. Contemporary US zines that didn’t lag
behind included, for example, Aggressive Metal/Screams from the
Gutter, Ripping Headaches and Chainsaw Abortions.
"We basically were putting chaos into music," said founding Morbid
Angel drummer Mike Browning. "We wanted to be chaotic and evil."
Growling, screaming vocals designed to sound as brutal, heavy and
insane as possible. "It sounds like a demonic, growling voice coming
out of something possessed in a horror movie," said Cannibal Corpse
bassist Alex Webster.
By the late 1970s, a fast, aggressive type of metal, dubbed thrash, was
being played in Scandanavia and in California's Bay Area. In Tampa,
something darker was brewing.
Origins of a scene
It was the summer of 1982 when Nasty Savage booked their first show
on piece of property on Harney and Williams Road in Brandon.
Ben Meyer, the band's guitarist, said they only printed about 50 fliers
and charged $1 to get it in. Bring your own bottle, of course.
"We stirred up quite a bit of interest in that show, and we made 400
bucks," Meyer said. "It was all word of mouth."
In their shows, Nasty Savage started covering songs by Iron Maiden,
Judas Priest and Venom. But when they added a second guitarist, Dave
Austin, their sound began to change.
"We started developing intricate and unusual time changes, signature
riffs and using diminished scales," Meyer said. "We tried to make it so
that each guitar was doing some different."
Then there was frontman Ronnie Galletti. Meyer says he wasn't the
best singer, but his stage performances became legendary. He'd smash
television sets onstage, ending shows covered in blood.
Nasty Savage paid for a recorded demo in early 1983, then they started
sending tapes all over the world. Meyer recalls Galletti recording
pretend interviews on cassette, doing a different one for each
magazine.
"Next thing you know, we are in magazines all over the world," Meyer
said. "That tape created a huge buzz."
Metal Blade, a fledgling independent label out of Los Angeles, took
notice and signed the band. The label — which at the time was also
working with a couple of young California bands called Metallica and
Slayer — released three Nasty Savage albums that sold an estimated
100,000 copies. "Those albums had heavy production, and we were
like, 'We should try that,'" said Tom Morris of Tampa's Morrisound
Studios, which recorded Nasty Savage's first three albums. "We started
getting metal bands from around the country after that."
The music grows
For young Tampa musicians that congregated at Nasty Savage shows,
the band's success was a huge deal.
Among them were a group of kids who called themselves Death. The
Tampa band, which formed in 1983 as Mantas, took Nasty Savage's
sound and made it deeper and more sinister. Singer Chuck Schuldiner
is often referred to as the "father of death metal" by those in the metal
community. A Death demo called Death by Metal is held up as a
signature recording of the Tampa scene.
"Death was influencing the Tampa death metal scene with these killer
demo tapes that Chuck was making — always faster, heavier and
darker," said Brandon native Terry Butler, who was playing in a band
called Massacre when Schuldiner asked him to join Death. (Schuldiner
died in 2001.)
Death started gigging with Nasty Savage in 1985 at Ruby's, a bar on
Fowler Avenue, then a club on Fletcher called the Sunset Club. Handdrawn fliers and homemade demos began to circulate for artists like
Death and younger groups like Deicide and Morbid Angel. Fans traded
demo tapes with fans overseas.
By the end of the decade, the 200-capacity Sunset Club was regularly
selling out on metal nights. "It was such fertile ground for extreme
music," said drummer Steve Asheim of Deicide, which formed in 1987.
Death metal's sometimes satanic image is as important as its sound.
Deicide, which signed with pioneering metal label Roadrunner
Records, was abrasive about denying Christianity through its music.
Frontman Glen Benton often claimed theistic Satanism in interviews,
and burned an upside-down cross into his forehead. At a 1992 gig in
Sweden, a bomb was set off at a show, causing chaos in the crowd of
1,200.
Pushing the religious right's buttons alongside Deicide was Morbid
Angel. Guitarist Trey Azagthoth has a fascination with the
Necronomicon, a fictional book often affiliated with the dark arts, and
fans claimed Morbid Angel often participated in ritual animal slaughter
as part of satanic worship.
"A lot of it is an image," said Death's Butler. "It's kinda sexy to play
death metal, in black, with paint on your face, with flames onstage."
The message apparently worked; in 1993, Morbid Angel created one of
the best-selling death metal albums of all time, Covenant, which sold
125,000 copies in the United States alone. Singer John Tardy of
Obituary, which formed in Brandon in the mid- to late-'80s, credits
Death, Morbid Angel and Nasty Savage for spurring his interest in the
genre.
"They really got me into it, got our band started," he said. "They made
us want to be as heavy as we possibly could."
That deadly sound
"We were both blown away when the scene exploded like it did," said
Tom Morris of Morrisound Studios.
Along with his brother Jim and engineer Scott Burns, Morris took on
the task of learning to record death metal demos, because, at the time,
few studios fully understood how to record such loud and aggressive
music.
"Neither one of us were really familiar with death metal, to tell the
truth," Tom Morris said. "It was a unique sound at the time that these
bands were creating. It was fast everything and loud everything ,which
is different from a pop record where everything has its own place. In a
fast thrash, blast beat, there is no space, notes are everywhere. It was
and still is a challenge."
For the Buffalo, N.Y.-based Cannibal Corpse, the value of production
quality and a thriving metal scene prompted a move to Tampa in 1990,
four years after their first album Eaten Back To Life. "Morrisound was
the first studio in the United States — well, the world, really — that
had a handle on what to do," said Alex Webster, bassist for Cannibal
Corpse.
Today, Cannibal Corpse is the top-selling death metal band of all time,
according to Nielsen SoundScan. They appeared recently on this
summer's Rockstar Energy Mayhem Festival tour alongside Slayer and
Marilyn Manson, and are coming to the State Theatre on Nov. 15 with
Hatebreed.
Not every band has enjoyed such longevity.
Death dies ... and lives again
The scene stayed strong until the '90s, when the rise of grunge,
coupled with a splintering of death metal into various subgenres, led to
the music going back underground. Some shows still draw crowds, but
few, if any, are considered must-see.
"It's a different kind of music now," said Death's Butler. "Its not as good
as it was; nothing will ever be. But I am a lifer. I've been doing it since
1985, since I was 17. It's in my soul and in my blood."
Deicide's Steve Asheim — who boasts that he's the only band member
not battling premature balding — says his band is as brutal as ever. A
little over a month ago, Asheim says the band played a short tour in
Mexico to crowds of thousands.
"Everything is one obstacle at a time, but death metal has to keep us
going because it's worth our while," he said. "I mean what else are we
going to do, get jobs? Where am I going to get a job? I've been
drumming and touring in a death metal band for 20 years. So we keep
fighting."
James Murphy's experience has come full circle. After recording only
one album as Death's guitarist, Murphy is working with up-and-coming
Tampa bands like the Absence. He mastered their demos at
Morrisound, and the band signed with Metal Blade Records in 2005.
"He even came to band practice to give us notes," said the Absence's
singer, Jamie Stewart. "It was like, Oh my God, that's James Murphy."
On the phone from Santa Monica, Calif. — where Obituary was about to
play for 800 hardcore fans — John Tardy says he, too, sees an
appreciation for Tampa's old-school metal bands in his younger fans.
"It's not a whole lot different than it used to be," says Tardy. "No doubt
about it, they all used to be younger kids about our age. You see guys
that are our age now, but they have their sons with them. Which is
kinda cool."
Soundcheck
“We wrote it in 1985, I was 15 years old, and we literally got money
from our parents to try and go record it at an 8 tracks studio. So during
1985 it was officially started.” Donald Tardy
“Well obviously like most kids, METALLICA I think, in 1985, maybe…
something like this, but then when I heard HELLHAMMER, I knew right
away, that’s exactly, that’s heavy, Heavy Metal, I knew that it was
gonna change the scene, change the minds of most Metalheads you
know?!” Donald Tardy
Chuck Schuldiner
Información personal
Nombre real
Charles Michael Schuldiner
Nacimiento 13 de mayo de 1967
Origen
Long Island, Nueva York,Estados Unidos
Muerte
13 de diciembre de 2001(34 años)
Instrumento(s) Guitarra eléctrica, voz, Bajo
Período de actividad 1983 - 2001
Artistas relacionados Death
Control Denied
Voodoocult
Web
Sitio web
www.emptywords.org
Charles Michael "Chuck" Schuldiner (13 de mayo de 1967, Long Island,
New York – 13 de diciembre de 2001) fue un músico estadounidense
conocido por ser el cantante, guitarrista y compositor de la banda
Death. Está considerado como una de las personalidades más
influyentes en la historia del heavy metal y uno de los mas grandes
guitarristas de toda la historia. Schuldiner murió a causa de las
complicaciones que ocasionó un glioma de tronco el13 de diciembre de
2001
Vida temprana
Nació el 13 de mayo de 1967 en Long Island, New York, en una familia
de origen judío. Tuvo dos hermanos mayores, Frank y Bethann. La
familia se mudó a Florida en 1968.
Al morir su hermano Frank en un accidente a los 16 años, los padres de
Chuck, le compraron una guitarra acústica a los 9 años para ayudarlo
con la pérdida. Tomó lecciones de guitarra clásica pero no le gustaron
y las abandonó en menos de un año. Entonces sus padres le compraron
una guitarra eléctrica y Chuck desde ese entonces no paró de practicar,
día y noche, en su habitación o en el garaje, limitado únicamente por
las actividades escolares.
Sus primeras influencias fueron Kiss y Billy Idol, además de otros.
Luego se interesó en el movimiento del "New Wave Of British Heavy
Metal" (NWOBHM) con bandas como Venom,Judas Priest e Iron
Maiden. Sus últimas influencias que marcaron su estilo final fueron
grupos de thrash metal de la escena de la "Bay Area" como Slayer y
Possessed. Su madre afirmó que a Chuck le gustaba todo tipo de
música excepto el country y el rap. Además era fanático del Jazz, el rock
progresivo y la música clásica, estilos que luego implementaría en
Death
Aparentemente a Chuck le iba bien en la escuela, pero ésta le aburría y
prefirió abandonarla inconclusa, algo que lamentó en el futuro.
Chuck fue conocido por estar abiertamente opuesto a las drogas duras.
Esto estuvo reflejado en varias entrevistas y en algunas de sus
canciones (como en "Living Monstrosity", que trata de un niño adicto
nacido de una madre cocainómana). Sin embargo Chuck no se oponía
al uso recreacional y medicinal de la Marihuana.
[editar]Carrera musical
Chuck formó su primer grupo en 1983, llamado "Mantas" para después
pasar a llamarse Death. Allí tocó el cover "Black Magic" de la banda
estadounidense Slayer.
En enero de 1986, Chuck entró temporalmente en la banda canadiense
Slaughter como guitarra. Sin embargo, volvió rápidamente a su grupo
original.
En ese periodo, Death sufrió varios cambios en su formación, aun así
con Chris Reifert publicaron su primer álbum, titulado Scream Bloody
Gore, en 1987. Este disco está considerado uno de los primeros
álbumes del death metal. Posteriormente, lanzó Leprosy con el
guitarrista rítmico Rick Rozz, Terry Butler en el bajo (Terry no tocó
realmente el bajo en el disco, sino que lo hizo el propio Chuck, que por
motivos de amistad, lo dejó en los créditos) y Bill Andrews en la
batería. En 1990 publica Spiritual Healing, donde James Murphy
remplaza a Rozz.
Después de Spiritual Healing, Chuck Schuldiner dejó de trabajar con un
grupo entero, para pasar a trabajar con músicos de sesión, después de
las malas relaciones entre guitarristas. Esto provocó que se le
considerase un perfeccionista dentro de la comunidad metalera. Chuck
también despidió a su manager Eric Greif, pero lo volvió a contratar
después del lanzamiento de su siguiente álbum.
Death lanzaría un álbum innovador, Human, donde se podía ver una
banda que había evolucionado hacia un estilo más técnico y más
progresivo, en el cual se podían ver las grandes habilidades
guitarrísticas y musicales de Chuck. Death mantuvo y profundizó este
estilo, como se puede ver en los álbumes posteriores Individual
Thought Patterns, Symbolic y The Sound of Perseverance.
Chuck Schuldiner tocó la guitarra en el proyecto Voodoo Cult (donde
participaron otra leyendas del género como Dave Lombardo de Slayer
yMille Petrozza de Kreator) en el álbum Jesus Killing Machine.
Chuck fundó una banda de heavy metal llamada Control Denied y lanzó
The Fragile Art of Existence en 1999. Control Denied era el proyecto
que solía satisfacer la necesidad que Chuck tenía de ser solo el
guitarrista líder, además de componer y escribir. Aún se espera la
salida de su disco póstumo "When man and machines collide", del cual
se sabe Chuck grabó demos junto a su útlimo baterista, Richard
Christy.(Album Zero Tolerance)
[editar]Lucha contra el cáncer
En mayo de 1999, Schuldiner tenía dolores en la parte alta de la nuca.
Creyendo que ese dolor era producto de un nervio comprimido, fue a
consultar a un quiropráctico y luego de terapias de acupuntura y
masajes, le recomendó un examen de resonancia magnética. El examen
determinó que la causa del nervio comprimido era un tumor. El día de
su cumpleaños, 13 de mayo de ese año, Schuldiner fue diagnosticado
con un glioma, un tipo de cáncer cerebral localizado en el tronco
encefálico y del que se requería tratamiento radiológico.
En octubre de 1999, la familia de Schuldiner anunció que el tumor
había remitido y que Chuck estaba pronto a recuperarse. En enero de
2000, Schuldiner requirió cirugía para extirpar los restos del tumor. La
operación fue exitosa; sin embargo la familia adquirió problemas
financieros, pues los costes totales de la operación y tratamientos
bordeaba los 70 mil dólares, cuyo monto no podía solventar la familia.
Entonces se organizaron colectas de fondos y conciertos benéficos para
ayudar a la familia a costear el tratamiento. La comunidad metalera se
dio cuenta que la vida de Chuck estaba en peligro y ésta y su familia
tuvieron conciencia de que Chuck podía perder la vida debido a la falta
de fondos. Mientras tanto, los doctores anunciaron, al extirpar el
remanente del tumor, que el diagnóstico original de Chuck, el glioma,
era un mal diagnóstico.
Mientras tanto, Schuldiner continuó trabajando en su música,
continuando su trabajo con Control Denied. En mayo de 2001 el cáncer
regresó y Schuldiner enfermó otra vez. Se le negó la cirugía (la cual
necesitaba urgentemente) debido a la falta de fondos financieros.
Reportajes en los medios hicieron llamados para apoyarlo, incluyendo
a compañeros artistas de la escena. La madre de Chuck, Jane
Schuldiner, a propósito de la enfermedad de su hijo, recomendó que
todos obtuvieran seguros de salud, pues Chuck no lo tenía, lo cual
mostró su frustración por el sistema de seguros de su país.
Schuldiner recibió quimioterapia basada en una droga experimental
llamada vincristina para ayudar con su terapia. Los efectos secundarios
debilitaron aún más la salud de Chuck y a pesar de ello, continuó con la
lucha. A principios de noviembre de ese año, Schuldiner contrajo una
neumonía. Chuck falleció a las cuatro de la tarde del 13 de diciembre
de 2001 a los 34 años.
[editar]Creencias
Chuck se consideraba "amante de la vida, los animales , la cerveza y la
amistad". En una entrevista el comento "Quiero vivir para siempre si es
posible". También comentaba que él no escribía canciones satánicas ya
que él decía que no quería que la gente tuviera malos pensamientos e
hicieran cosas estúpidas como hacerse daño a ellos mismos.
[editar]Equipo usado
Chuck desde su juventud, se decantó por el uso de guitarras B.C. Rich.
Uno de los modelos más usados fue la Stealth, que podemos ver en la
mayoría de sus fotografías. Su característico sonido, aparte de su
guitarra y su técnica, se debe a sus micrófonos Dimarzio X2N, al uso de
amplificadores Marshall modelo Valvestate y al rechazo de
procesadores de efectos, como declaró en ciertas revistas (aunque en
directo usaba un chorus). El sonido de Chuck es oscuro y pesado, es
por eso que él, al igual que otros guitarristas de death metal, usaba una
afinación en Re.
Muchos de los logotipos de bandas de metal son considerados en su
tipografía: crudos,espinosos e ilegibles. Por lo general hechos a mano o
como resultado de la conglomeración de distintas fuentes, esta
iconografía es ya considerada una forma legítima de arte y parte
fundamental del metal más extremo.
Todo comenzó con la creación de la influyente y misantrópica rúbrica
de la difunta Death. Sin el salvaje simbolismo e inclemente naturaleza
gestada desde el marcador de punto fino de Kam Lee (antiguo
miembro de la banda de Chuck Schuldiner) el epígrafe metalero no
sería posible.
Mientras más pesadas las guitarras,ininteligibles sus guturales y
bestiales sus dobles bombos, más mórbido e indescifrable el logo de la
banda.
Mark Riddick se especializa en ultra-brutales ilustraciones. Su huella
quedó marcada con sangre en distintas portadas de álbumes y
logotipos de bandas de la calaña de Autopsy, Emperor, Arsis y por
supuesto la suya, Fetid Zombie, infames delgrindcore.
“I was born in Springfield MA on September 6, 1964. I lived in the New
England area until I was 7 years old and then my family and I moved to
Tampa, Florida were I have lived the majority of my life. I lived a pretty
normal life until I started high school, where I began to find my
identity. My dream was to play guitar in the heaviest and most extreme
metal band in the world. After high school I started jamming with other
local musician until met Mike Browning and Trey Azagthoth. I joined
up with Mike and Trey and became a member of Morbid Angel; this
will and always will be highlight of my life, I am forever grateful for the
opportunity to be a part of Morbid Angel history”.
Richard Brunelle
Según la página del Departamento de Correccionales de Florida, el que
fuera guitarrista de MORBID ANGEL Richard Brunelle fue liberado del
Correccional de Zephyrhills, situado al norte de Tampa, el pasado 21 de
junio del presente 2008 tras pasar 14 meses por posesión de cocaína.
Brunelle estuvo en MORBID ANGEL desde 1985 hasta 1992
participando en los dos primeros discos del grupo, "Altars of Madness"
en 1989 y "Blessed are the Sick" en 1991. Volvió al grupo un par de
veces — 1994 y 1998 — para ayudar en directo, pero no ha vuelto a
grabar nada con la banda.
En una entrevista concedida en el 2002 a Metal Side, Brunelle fue
preguntado por su marcha de MORBID ANGEL. "Ya no estoy en
MORBID ANGEL porque sentí que era el momento de moverme,"
respondió. "Había algunas cosas que no podía ver, y necesitaba
explorar diferentes caminos."
Brunelle formó PATHS OF POSSESSION en 1999 con Randy Butman
(SILHAVEN), Jay Fossen y Erin "Goat" Fuller (CRYPTIC WINDS), y
aparece en la maqueta lanzada de forma independiente en CD-R
"Legacy in Ashes" en el 2000.
"Well anything that comes out of Rick's mouth should be considered to
be total bullshit," states Chuck agreeing to take on the first batch of
questions. "He's proven himself to be a liar by telling people since
getting kicked out of this band that he was in M.O.D., that he was in
DARK ANGEL, and telling a friend of mine even that he was in three (!)
different bands at the same time. The guy obviously has a problem
with telling the truth, and everyone should take everything he says
with a grain of salt. Rick was basically kicked out of this band due to
the fact that we were all into progressing as a group and getting better
as musicians, and he simply was not. He was stopping me from writing
the kind of material I wanted to write due to his inability to play the
songs, and we all knew it was time for a change. So, we're very happy
to see him gone." Chuck Schuldiner (Metal Forces –UK- # 47, Feb 1990)
Borivoj Krgin
FLYER TOUR DEATH / DARK ANGEL
"Additionially, prior to the start of that tour, it was made clear to both
bands, the label, the booking agents as well as everybody else, that this
was a co-headlining tour, with DEATH and DARK ANGEL receiving
equal billing everywhere, with us going on before them due to the fact
that they had three albums out and we only had two. What this meant
to us was that we would get the same amount of money as DARK
ANGEL, that we would share the drum-riser, and that we would get the
same amount of soundcheck time as them. None of these things were
kept to by their people. They would soundcheck for two hours while
we would only get ten minutes, if we were lucky, and we literally had
to fight to get the drum-riser which should have provided to us without
a moments hesitation, as was understood considering our coheadlining status."
"And then the biggest joke of all is that after we walked off the tour,
DARK ANGEL went around talking all kinds of shit about us to make us
look like the culprits in all this. Eric Meyer (DARK ANGEL guitarist)
told people that we were "unprofessional" and that we "didn't care
about the fans". That, to me, is the joke of the century. This comes from
a guy who can't even get a proper guitar sound; he can't even realize
that his guitar sounds like a transistor radio, that's how stupid he is.
The guy is 27 years old and half his leads are out of key, that's how
professional he is. All anyone has to do is listen to "Leave Scars" and
realize that DARK ANGEL is not a professional band."
I heard something about an incident in which you were involved in
St.Petersburg, Florida where you got punched by a member of their
crew?
"It was their merchandiser, actually. What happened was that he was
standing there calling us all kinds of names, which I can take and laugh
at it, but I decided to call him one back, after which he snuck up behind
me and popped me in the face. The guy is like 350lbs, 6 foot 4 inches
tall -I mean, he could be in DARK ANGEL himself. But the DARK ANGEL
guys didn't care about it, they probably liked it..." Bill Andrews
What did you think of the whole "Ultimate Revenge2" thing? Do you
think you came across well in the video?
"Well, the fans really seem to like it, but us.... we basically don't ever
want to see it again. That just...wasn't us. We don't even consider that
to be a true DEATH show, that's how bad we were. Not to make
excuses or anything, but just about all that's wrong with the tape was
Rick's fault; he was constantly out of tune, his stage presence was
ridiculous, and his playing was largely unimpressive. But it truly was
not a DEATH performance as we saw it." Bill Andrews
Chuck, what are your expectations for the new LP? Do you think this LP
will take DEATH to the next step, whatever that is, and bring you closer
to mass acceptance?
Chuck:"There's not doubt about it in my mind. I think that "Spiritual
Healing" is very much representative of what death metal can sound
like when it's done with strong emphasis on musicality and less so on
hyper-speed and stupid Satanic lyrics. We believe that we can turn a
few more people into death metal with this record and change a lot of
people's minds about what death metal is supposed to sound like.
Having said that, we don't expect to turn into pop stars overnight as a
result of this LP -we're still way too extreme for a great majority of the
record-buying public out there."