CHAOTIAN (EN)
– Hello, thanks for taking your time, how are you holding up during this pandemic, almost dystopian times?
Søren: Alright, all things considered, thank you for asking! I’m currently just studying, writing for Chaotian and other projects. I do miss the activities and shows that usually fill my weekends, but oh well.
-How and from what needs was CHAOTIAN born?
Søren: Initially, I was searching for a drummer and a vocalist for a completely other band more in the vein of Demolition Hammer, Ripping Corpse, Dark Angel etc. I was doing with a friend at the time. That band didn’t really come to much, and I forgot to take down the ad. That’s when Andreas contacted me, saying he’s a big fan of the more thrashy style of death. His friend had a nice rehearsal space we could try out some July afternoon in 2017. We decided on the spot to continue and found our own rehearsal space. In October, Andreas found Jonas and not long after that, we decided to go full on grimy, crushing death metal.
-ERP put your two demo tapes out, and they’ve been sold out for a while now. What were your expectations and goals when you released them?
Søren: I don’t think we really had many expectations haha. We were green, none of us had really released music before, so we were just excited to have something to show. In the start there was little traction, but I’d been talking to David (Mikkelsen) for a while at that point, I showed him the tape and I gained a great friend and we managed to release a physical version of the Where Gods Excarnate demo. We were happy to see the very positive response from people, but we wanted to perfect our songwriting and compositions a bit more. Festering Carcinolith was the result. Many aren’t big fans of the production, which is understandable – but we do feel like we zoned more in on what Chaotian means to us.
-Did tha fact that they sold out rather quickly had something to do with the idea of releasing this new compilation featuring them both?
Søren: Not really, no. We had a deal with both Dark Descent and Me Saco Un Ojo for an LP and a CD release of the first demo, but due to the length being problematic for a 12” release, we kinda didn’t really get anywhere with the first demo. The second demo came out, and by then we had enough for a 12” release on vinyl LP and CD, so that’s pretty much where the idea from the compilation came from. So we also got a layout change to make the release a bit more exciting haha. We’re quite pleased with it, and seeing the response from fans, I think they’re enjoying it too.
-In your lyrics I see a lot from Lovecraft’s cosmology, am I wrong? What else or what other authors do inspire you?
Søren: Yep! Lovecraft isn’t anything new to death metal of course, but the universe he’s created has inspired me quite a bit. It fits well with the theme of chaos and the apocalypse. As a direct inspiration lyrically, I have taken some notes from the old sagas (and probably butchered its use). Their poems have a distinct style with some interesting (and humorous) metaphors and analogies. Other than that, history, darker sides of mythology and fantasy as well as a nice touch of body horror inspire my lyrics.
-Thogh your sound is raw, brutal and filthy, you keep an atmospheric aspect. Where do you want to take the listener to with it?
Søren: We want to play filthy and brutal death metal, but we also like when it’s not entirely predictable. Sometimes we want a more atmospheric feel to a song, other times we want a song to change rapidly between tempi in various extremes or time signatures. We want to create a raw and chaotic sound.
– Both «Festering Carcinolith» and «Where Gods Excarnate» have a very raw sound. Did you have a clear idea on the sound you wanted to obtain when you started the band? And how did you obtain it? How do yo approach production duties?
Søren: For both demos we recorded it with Tuna (Hyperdontia, Apparatus etc.) at his Djævlesound Studio. We knew that we wanted it to be raw, and Tuna likes his demos very raw. So it was a nice fit albeit perhaps a bit too raw for Festering Carcinolith haha. We pretty much recorded the rhythmic sections live in a modified rehearsal studio. That’s why you hear us fuck up so much! But we recorded lead guitars and vocals separately. Tuna pretty much did all the mixing and mastering, but we wanted to keep the sound production to a minimum. They’re demos, not full releases. It has to be raw.
-You also have a technical element ALA IMMOLATION. What bands would you mention as influences for CHAOTIAN?
Søren: Immolation is a certain, major influence for us. Incantation of course, and Infester is a massive inspiration for me as well. Imprecation, Nile, Autopsy, Disembowelment and Brodequin has also inspired my riffs, and I know that Andreas has taken a lot of his inspirations from Gene Hoglan, Sean Reinert and Chris Reifert. Naturally, the various death metal bands these days in the Kill-town scene as well as Blood Incantation, Pissgrave, Anatomia, Cruciamentum, Convulse. I could literally go on for days, we have so many inspirations. But those are all pretty major sources.
-All this about “Festering Excarnation” being said; how would you describe it in just 3 words?
Søren: Carcinogenic, crushing compilation.
– Your style is just OSDM (with a slightly technical aspect), from the cover to the sound and approach. What’s to you the most important in an opus of the genre? The overall feeling? The filthy sound? Or is it a mix of different elements?
Søren: I think it’s a mixture of all elements. In order to be a genre, it obviously has to sound, and feel the part but the visual aspect is also very important. I’d say the most important aspect is the songwriting in itself, but a well-written release can be ruined by the wrong production. It can even lose some value with the wrong cover/layout!
– In fact there’s now an obvious resurrection of old school Death Metal. Is it easier to get out there due to the growing interest or the fact that there are a lot of bands doing this makes it harder?
Søren: I think it’s a double edged sword. If you’re starting out now from scratch, I think it will be difficult to break the mold and really get yourself out there (exactly why they should do just that!). But I think it’s easy enough to garner some interest, as so many people worldwide worship death metal these days. As they fucking should!!!
-You even did with David (ERP, etc.) the Putrizine. Will there ever be issue #2?
Søren: I did yeah, and we’re actually quite far content wise for #2. David and ERP are going through massive changes – new downtown store, as well as him going full time with InkLesions/ERP and his bands. So not only does he have a lot on his plate, I’m also quite far in my studies and inbetween figuring that out there’s also a pandemic going on that makes everything just a tad more difficult these days. PutriZine #2 will come out, and we’re definitely aiming for a 2021 release.
-And before we wrap this interview up; what are now your near-future plans? Even though I know these are very uncertain times.
Søren: We’re releasing a MC single for our upcoming album entitled Adipocere Feast. It should be out in late January. Chaotian are currently in the latter stages of songwriting, so we’re soon ready to hit the studio and record our debut LP. David and I have another project on our hands that (hopefully) should see the light in 2021. Just started my Master’s Degree in Geology and Geoscience, so I’m trying to get that in order too. Uncertain times, but I keep myself busy.
– That’s all from our side, thanks again for your time. If you’d like to add some final words, feel free to do it.
Søren: Thank you for the interview! Support your local scene, buy merch (especially these days) and listen to Deiquisitor!!!
