- Hello, Ken! To begin with, let's restore the chronology of Ossuary's creation. How did you start the band? Who was the first who came up with the idea? - There actually has been a lot of debate about this question and since I did not start the band (I was actually the second vocalist) I will try to put it into the most correct way possible. Ossuary was the idea of Nick Metzger and Jesse Nelson. The addition of guitarist Eric Armusik propelled the band immediately past the point where so many bands of that time in our area failed giving us a stable foundation. Erik's do or die and ask questions later attitude carried the band though it's entire span well past the stay of its original creators.
can you say about the metalheads of those times? - The metal underground at that time was extremely supportive. Everything was tape trading at that time so the word was spread very quickly. Locally we cornered the market of what we did as we were the heaviest act. Plus the progress of the member line up set us apart from everything. It was unheard of at that time to have 2 separate lead vocalists. - In 1991 you recorded you first demo. Where did you record it? How did you like the final result? What was the feedback from the metal community? - Our first Demo was recorded at Holland sound studios. At first we were happy but later on right before the release we determined that it was lacking something so we took it to be remixed. Being the type of music we were it was kind of hard for the studios to get what we were looking for. The feedback couldn't have been better. Our local fan base loved it as did the fans we were rapidly gaining nationwide through the tape trading scene I mentioned previously. - Did you have anyone responsible for the press activities? How did you promote your band? - Eric took on the press responsibility and as of promotion there was no internet like there is now so we promoted shows strictly through flyers. We hung flyers everywhere. News papers were hard because most of our shows were under 21 shows. - In 1993 you recorded another demo "Over Her Dead Body". Why did it take you so long? Where did you record that material? - It took that long because we were going through some major member changes. The addition of Jay Comitz on drums and Chris Stroud on lead Guitar. These two really upped the sound and changed it making the whole sound more brutal and unlike any other death metal act. This was recorded at Sound Investment Studios where the remainder of the Ossuary recordings would take place.
groove to fuel our music making it truly unique. - Who helped you with all your covers design and the artwork? - Eric did all the cover work and design. He was at that time studying art at Penn State. But really I've known him my whole life and he has always been drawing stuff so it was a no brainer. - Did you try to find any proper label that would give you a bit more of promotion and spread your material around the globe? Did you get any offers from any labels? - Yes we were always trying to get signed but Eric always looked out for us,he wasn't going to let us get mixed up in something that would hurt the band. Him and Chris and Jay pretty much had all the global stuff taken care of. Yes we had a few offers but nothing we could really agree with. - So what was the reason for the band's split-up? When exactly did it happen? - Well it wasn't really a split up as it was chiseled down. Chris left followed soon after by Eric. We tried to keep it together as long as we could. But with the absence of Chris and Eric it became harder to remain exactly where we were sound wise. It was around 1996 when the band officially called it quits. - Due to the Ossuary's collapse, you didn't manage to release your first full-length, "Clean-Up". You uploaded some tracks on your Reverbnation page, but do you think there is a chance that we will see this material with an official release? Maybe even together with your previous records? - The thing is those songs were from a cd copy of it. I have a bunch of analog master recordings but it would take some time and money to have them transferred over to digital first so they could be released on something like iTunes. I do plan on doing something but at this time I can't really give a solid time as when. - Nowadays, together with Chris Stroud, you started a new band, Prosody. What could you say about this band? After such a long break, how was it to play again in a band and create new songs? - Prosody is a five piece metal band that takes influence from many types of metal and hardcore but mostly dwells in the brutal metal category. I love playing music and writing after so long. It's never really left me and I found its a lot easier to get my point across nowadays. - Prosody is working on the new album "Lifetime of Torment", due 2015. How would you describe the new material and when approximately can we expect your second full-length? - Lifetime of Torment is our second album and it picks up where out first album left off and carries it to a whole new level of heaviness and brutality. I would say we should be finished with it by around October as we are three songs into it now. We have been recording it a song at a time as that way makes it easier for us financially. - Thank you for this interview, Ken. Would you like to add anything in the end? - I'd like to add thanks to all for having an interest in Ossuary and or Prosody. Both acts are a huge parts of my life and I am extremely proud of both of them. |