DEVOURMENT (Eng.)
– Hi, thanks for your time. What are you currently up to? How is everything doing right now with DEVOURMENT?
MM- Things are great at the moment. We just played the Neurotic Deathfest in Holland, which was an amazing experience. Our new album has been out for a few months now, and is doing great for us.
– You have just released your new album, entitled «Conceived in Sewage»; how is its feedback being thus far and what are your expectations on it?
MM- The Feedback and reviews have been really awesome. I have seen very few negative reviews on it, and I think for, the most part, fans are very happy with it.
– Have been four years since your previous «Unleash the Carnivore» came out so, how do you think has DEVOURMENT evolved throughout these last years?
MM- We really evolve each album. You can tell its our music, but each album had a different vibe in my opinion. We don’t see the point repeating ourselves with each album, so the song writing tends to evolve with each album. With Conceived in Sewage, we really wanted to branch out and write more of a death metal album.
– I personally think with this new opus you have picked up where «Unleash the Carnivore» left off, taking a similar basis. In fact that album got mixed opinions, which makes me guess you are just true to yourself and not pay that much attention to others opinions, don’t you?
MM- There is always gonna be haters, no matter how good something is. There has been a few outspoken critics of the new album, but its really a very small percentage. We write music that we think is quality and that we want to listen to, if people don’t like it, oh well.
– In fact once more Erik Rutan took production duties so, maybe this has something to do with the sound similarities on both albums? Or do you go for Erik because you want to get a certain kind of sound?
MM- I think those 2 albums are very different, and this is the first time we worked with Rutan, so of course its gonna sound better. We went with Rutan because we felt it was time to change things up a bit, and the result could not have been better for us.
– This sound I’m talking about is pretty thick, heavy yet clean and more modern than on your earlier releases, was this how you envisioned this new «Conceived in Sewage» since the beginning?
MM- Well we are on a bigger label, there was more money to spend on production and the difference is easy to see. Not to say our older albums don’t sound good, but its not even in the same league. Its dumb to move backwards, so wouldn’t It make sense to have a production where all the music can be heard and sound killer?
– It caught my attention the fact vocals are now more diverse, still using those really deep growls. Was this something you were looking for?
MM- Yeah for sure. That style of vocals can get boring very quickly because its always the same thing. I don’t want to do that every album, every song, so I decided to add some much needed variation.
– You manage to mix ferocious brutality with an enormous groove and the necessary melodic doses, specially thanks to the great guitar solos. In fact I’d dare say you now have a wider instrumental versatility. Is this something important for the band? As I guess having this mixture can halp the album having a more extreme and intense feeling.
MM- Yeah, I feel like the song writing has gotten substantially better with this album. That has a lot to do with Ruben. He is a good guitarist and I guess he wanted to challenge himself a bit and write better song structures.
– Talking about such, this seems to be your most eviscerating release to date, also emotional and rough. Does each album represent a certain moment in your life?
MM – Yeah its just more time we’ve been together as a band so we will continue to understand each other and learn as musicians. At this point we just wanted to bring a bit of an old school vibe with our style and create something fresh, rather than the some old stuff.
– Now that I’ve mentioned this; how was the songwriting process for the album? Did it change at all?
MM Yes it did. Our previous albums were mostly written by me and Ruben. This one, besides a couple of songs, was all written by Ruben. Lyrically, I also wanted to mix things up a bit, rather than making every song about killing bitches.
– Your lyrics have always been pretty brutal but, where do you draw inspiration from to write them?
MM- The goal of the band is always to be as intense and extreme as we can so it just makes sense that the lyrics are just as extreme. Also, I see things that makes me hate people, pretty much on a daily basis, so it’s a nice vent to be able to sing about it rather than act on it.
– All this about «Conceived in Sewage» being said; how could you describe it in just 3 words?
MM- Our Best Album
– This has been your first release with Relapse Records, which I personally think is a label that fits perfectly your music style considering the other bands on their rooster but, how is everything doing with them so far?
MM- Every band strives to expand themselves, so Relapse was a great fit for us. It’s a great step up from Brutal Bands and the have been massively supportive. Having a band like Dying Fetus as label mates is awesome and can hopefully expose our music to more people, so we can take over this shitty planet haha.
– And finally; what are your near-future plans?
MM- Future plans include some touring, and eventually to start writing a new album. We would like to get something out sooner than 3 years.
– That’s all, thank you once more for answering our questions. If you want to add some final words; feel free to do it.
MM- Thanks so much and keep an eye out for tour dates, see you on the road!
