Necrosexual Interview
We sat in the bowels of hell with The Necrosexual himsef over a Franzia Chillable Red for a friendly chat on everything around him, the band, the corpse paint, the nightmares and the reality, the black metal legacy and the present. In the darkest shades of the crazy grim mind it all started, just to turn into a corpse entertainment of unlimited magnitude. Where is the gory hole and how to slay a poser – it’s all here. Open your mind, it’s Rock’n’Roll, baby!
– Hello and welcome to Blessed Altar Zine, to The Necrosexual himself! How are you? Excited for the brand new record release or you are still grim?
– I’m GRIM, as always.
– How did it all started around Necrosexual band? And why did you choose the name Necrosexual for the band and yourself?
– The Necrosexual was born the first moment I listened to Slayer. I was 14 years old at the time, but the seeds of darkness were planted immediately. Years later I was a struggling and unsuccessful comedian. My musical projects were non-existent. So one night in 2011 I donned corpse paint at a comedy show and channeled my inner crazed metal head. It got a loud reaction immediately. That’s the best thing about rock n roll. It keeps you young and rowdy at heart.
The name Necrosexual is part satire and part celebration. I wanted to make something that was derivative of all the black metal heritage but also filled with my weird sexual energy and humor.
– Is it already a main band or you, or just a side project?
– I’ve always viewed the Necrosexual with a one-man army type of work ethic. It has to be that way, because you can’t rely on anyone else for a damn thing. As a band leader, I like to surround myself with all kinds of talented and colorful freaks. I enjoy improvisation and collaboration with my art. So the Necrosexual musical incarnation is more of a collective of Grim Ones centered around my cult of personality, and the gang of marauders is growing.
– Your classic 80’s bands influences are quite obvious – Venom mostly I think, right? However all the gore and corpse paint suggest more death, black and grind influences too? Are there such? I mean, is “Exhume to consume” your favourite song and anthem, and “Butchered at birth” your favourite album?
– If it’s from old school metal from the eighties I probably dig it. Yes, Venom is a huge influence, as is Slayer, Kreator, Dark Angel, Sodom, Bathory, bands of that vein. I’m a bass player and guitarist first and foremost so I’ve always dug bands who shred. My newer material like “Orgy On Your Burial” showcases more of my death metal and thrash influences. I want to cover a spectrum of metal styles in the future. I’m the most electrifying man in corpse entertainment, so I want to prove that I’m a versatile performer. Some of the new songs I’ve written for my next release are more on the extreme side of black metal, thrash and grindcore, and some are more rock n roll. But always rooted in the old school, and always heavy. The Grim One has many shades of darkness.
– How does the shock factor helps you? Is it necessary and does it help to sell more, or the substance is more important?
– People love me or hate me. But if you listen to my music, you cannot deny our validity as musicians and song writers. The way I see it, a 50-percent success rate is damn good odds. It cuts through the fake people real fast. A lot of the best metal is extremely polarizing. I used to laugh at bands like Manowar, Immortal, King Diamond and Motley Crue when I was a judgemental teenager, and then one day I grew up and realized the reason I was laughing at them is the reason why they are awesome.
– I guess all the shock factor side should be taken on humorous side and not getting very serious, right? Or I am wrong?
– I’m an over-the-top, flamboyant entertainer who takes my craft extremely seriously. I don’t think I do things that are that “shocking,” compared to visual aesthetic of the eighties, or bands that used to commit murder and arson. I’m being myself, and having fun. Sometimes I get naked and tastefully cover my genitals with meat, but Anvil’s been doing that sort of thing since 1982. If people considering it shocking, maybe they should take a hard look at how it contrasts with other metal bands today. I see a thousand bands who all look the same, all sound the same, all have the same photographs of a bunch of glum dudes in the woods with their hands in their pockets. There’s a lost art of theatricality in Heavy Metal and I’m here to remind the world that it’s also about ENTERTAINMENT. Corpse entertainment.
– What about slaying the posers?
– I’m a man with many introductions. Slayer of posers. The Casanova of Cadavers. The Joan Rivers of Black Metal. I preach artistic and musical violence over the physical, unless we’re talking about good old fashioned mosh pit violence or a consensual cage fighting match. There’s enough bloodshed in the world today. Music, and heavy metal especially, is something that brings all kinds of people together.
While I’m on the topic of posers, please allow me to stand on my Franzia box for a moment to say I detest racism, sexism, bigotry and any notion of one people having “supremacy” over another. That trash has no place in heavy metal. Lately I’ve been reading the especially tired argument from some black metal virgins that “black metal should have no safe spaces” or “metal shouldn’t be political” to hide their ass backwards views behind. I say to hell with that. Venom, Kreator, Motorhead were never about that, and they’re still harder than 90 percent of the newer black metal music out there today. This planet might be doomed, but we are all on it together. Open your mind or leave the goddamn hall.
– Where is the gory hole? What can we find there? Or it’s just an entrance to somewhere?
– The Gory Hole is a place between nightmare and reality. A realm of horror and eroticism. I wrote the lyrics to “The Bottomless Pit” after I watched Hellraiser, and so the “Gory Hole” song is a sort of spiritual successor. You should listen to or read the lyrics yourself, because it is definitely open to interpretation.
– Your second opus comes a year after “Grim-1″ How do you see now both records, what’s different then and now?
– It took me almost five years to record and release GRIM-1 due drummers flaking out, so I was eager to release new material right away. It’s addictive. GRIM-1 was a studio album, so I wanted the follow up to sound more raw and capture us live in concert.
The Gory Hole Overture in F# was especially fun to record because we played the first four tracks live in the studio. Instead of taking weeks or months to do isolated tracks for each instrument, we pretty much got it all in one weekend.
– Please tell us briefly about “The gory hole overture in F#”. We reviewed the album already, receiving high praise, but tell us your thoughts on it. What had been on your mind when you recorded it? What were your messages which you laid down there?
– I’m glad you dudes enjoyed it. We incorporated many elements of our live performances into this recording because, again, we wanted to capture our “concert” sound on record, with my band mates Anthony Vigo Gabriele on guitar and Mike Churry on drums. The intro track “Necromutants March Through Hell” is how we open every show. “In Ancient Daze” is a Black Widow cover song we usually play toward the end of our set list at shows. But more importantly, we also had two new songs to unveil, such as the title track and “Orgy On Your Burial.” You can hear the evolution of the Necrosexual sound. We will get more progressive and evil with each new recording.
– Why F#?
– The first four songs are all in the key of F# minor, and I share the view with many famous guitar players that F# is the best scale for heavy metal. Legend has it it is also the only key suitable for summoning the devil.
– What about the places of the recording and the line up on the five tracks in the records? There are differences…
– We recorded the first four songs live in the studio at Panther Pro Audio. The new track “Orgy On Your Burial” was recorded at Red Water Recording, which is also where we made the GRIM-1 album, and features the album debut of Ryan Dred Rot, who often plays drums with the Necrosexual band live when Mike is unavailable.
– Why is it so short? “Grim 1” is also under 30 minutes. When listening I felt I needed more there…
– I too was surprised that Grim-1 clocked in at hardly a half hour. “It took years to make, how could it be finished in the time it takes to watch an episode of Seinfeld?!” But then again, Slayer’s Reign in Blood is something like 28 minutes, and that’s my favorite metal album of all time. So I’d rather go for quality over quantity, and leave the listener hungry for more. There’s plenty more Necrosexual riffs to cum in the near future.
– What’s ahead of Necrosexual in 2019? Shall we expect live shows, tour etc.or you have ideas for your next (longer hopefully) record?
– I’m hoping to record the next batch of songs in the late summer or fall for an early 2020 release. I might do a split tape with another band before we settle down for the next full length album.
Upcumming tour dates:
June 1 w/ Tragedy: The All Metal Tribute To The Beegees @ Kung Fu Necktie, Philadelphia, PA
June 12 w/ Basilysk and Erlkonig @ Downsquares, Baltimore, MD.
June 13 w/ Basilysk and Cruelsifix @ McCormack’s Irish Pub in Richmond, VA
June 14 w/ Basilysk @ Slim’s Downtown in Raleigh, NC
June 28 w/ Evil Terror @ Blackthorn 51, NYC
– Rumours suggest that you have close connections with other bands…Can you tell us more about this?
– I’m very close with the band BASILYSK. Their drummer Mike plays in my band as well. Also, Josh from Basilysk will be filling on in guitar for some upcoming shows.
– Are there heaven and hell?
– I think Heaven and Hell exist in the human experience as well in the afterlife. I’ve definitely gone to a layer of hell when I wake up with a heavy metal hangover from drinking too much Franzia Chillable Red.
– Which is your favourite book? And what are you fond of in your spare time, outside the graveyard?…
– It’s hard to pick a favorite, but I love a good graphic novel. Watchmen is always an easy choice.
– Do you have a favourite necro/gore artwork of an album?
– I have to toot my own horn and give all the respect to Scott R Johnston and Faith Kellermeyer. They illustrated the covers to GRIM-1 and The Gory Hole Overture In F#, respectively.
– Which three songs by any band describe you best as personality?
– “Altar of Sacrifice” by Slayer
“Iron Horse (Born to lose)” by Motorhead
“Welcome to Hell” by Venom
– What do you want to be the soundtrack for the orgy on your burial?
– “Girls Girls Girls” by Motley Crue.
Interview by Count Vlad
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