Interview with Brian Lawrence, Dream Death

- Hello, Brian! Dream Death is about to release the new full-length, "Dissemination". First of all, my congratulations! How do you feel about the new CD? Can you say that this album is the new milestone for you? 
- Hi Dima and thanks. I think that the new album is the best collection of songs that we’ve made. It’s DD stripped to the core and all of the fat trimmed off.

- What is interesting is that you are signed with Lee Dorrian's label, Rise Above Records. How did you get the deal? What does this contract mean to you? Did you receive any other proposals?
- We didn’t look anywhere else. Mike has a history with Lee after playing on their first album so he reached out to him to see if he was interested in putting out the new DD and he was. Actually, this current line-up also put out the first Penance album on Rise Above way back when.

- When did you first start working on the new material? Originally, did you have a clear picture of the future material in your mind? 
- Mike and I started jamming material after the last live show we played, which is awhile back now, and things just continued from there. Once things started coming together we wanted to make a very concise, angry record and made sure everything fit those criteria.

- I know it might be a bit difficult, but do you have a favourite track on "Dissemination"? And from the technical point of view, what is the most complicated song on this album? 
- My favorite two tracks are the two right in the middle, “All in Vain” and “Dominion”. I think the album peaks with those two songs and then crescendos off. The most complicated song is “The Cold Hard Light”. It’s somewhat in the vein of older DD like “Divine in Agony”. This one kind of had everyone messed up when we were playing it in the studio and there were many takes and some editing.

- Tell us a bit about the recording process. Where did you record it? How long did it take you to complete all the material? Did you have any funny story happen to you at the studio? 
- We recorded it at Mr. Smalls studio here in Pittsburgh with Larry Luther as engineer and Chris Kozlowski as producer. It probably took us around 6 weeks to complete. I feel a bit of pressure when we’re in the studio because I kind of have to be there for every step. Play along with drums, put my guitar down, make sure the arrangements are coming together and also adding vocals. So after my last vocal was completed I felt a certain amount of pressure come off and broke out a bottle of rum. Anyway, I guess I overdid it and must have been saying some stupid stuff during early mixing because I remember Chris looking at me like I was crazy and saying “ok, someone take his drink away”. That’s pretty rare though. We’re all business when we’re in the studio. 

- Was it your first-time collaboration together with Chris Kozlowski? Being your producer, how did he contribute to the final version of the album? Did he have any ideas that were surprisingly good even for you? 
- It was my first time working with Chris although Mike and Terry have worked with him in the past. It was great working with him and we’re really happy with the final production, which is rare. Usually when we’re done recording I always feel certain dissatisfaction but not this time. Chris is easy to work with and has a really good ear. It’s the first time DD had someone exclusively in the producer role and it was nice having someone outside the band to bounce ideas off of and to settle disagreements.

- What can you say about the lyrics? What are the main topics raised in your songs? Since the album's title is pretty much global, what kind of dispersion are you talking about? Dissemination of what? 
- Dissemination of bullshit really. Haha. The mindless masses accepting what’s dished out to them on a daily basis and believing that they have options otherwise but really don’t. A lot of the lyrics on the album deal with the direction society is taking/has taken.

- Comparing to the previous CD, "Somnium Excessum", what could you highlight as the major development? Did you have anything in particular that you wanted to improve with your next release?
- I think just keeping the tracks more to the point. This has made the songs more aggressive. Some of the songs on Somnium perhaps went off into different directions and lost a little focus.

- By the way, "Somnium Excessum" was your first album since the reunion in 2011. So how was it to work together once again? Who was the initiator of your comeback?
- Mike and Rich just started jamming together. Eventually they asked Terry and me to come out and play. It was all for fun in the beginning and then we realized that we still had some things to say.

- You released this album on your own. Was it your initial idea or couldn't you simply find any good label? So, how did the whole process look like? Till the moment when you received your copies. 
- I think because we got burned in the past we decided to do that album all ourselves. We didn’t even attempt to contact one label. Our live shows were able to fund the album and that was ok but after that there was much work because we had no promotion, no distributor, etc. I guess it was nice having the payments sent direct to us but I would never do it again. We’re just not set up for that kind of business.

- Let's get back in time and talk a little bit about your early days. The band was formed in 1985, what do you remember about this year? How did you come up with the idea of having your own band?
- Mike and I had been playing since we were kids. Always attempting to start a band of one kind or another but we weren’t very competent on our instruments. When we became better we started to write music and to seek out a bass player who eventually was Ted Williams. The first proper song that we wrote was Sealed In Blood.

- Where did you practice? Do you remember your first gig? Was it before or after your first Demo?
- We practiced for years in each of our parent’s basements. Later, we rented out a space below a pizza shop. Our first gig was at the Electric Banana in Pittsburgh opening for a punk band. I believe this show was shortly after our first demo came out.

- Speaking of your demos, "Dream Death" and "More Graveyad Delving", where did you record them? How did you distribute them? How deep were you involved into tape-trading? Do you remember the first bands you exchanged your records with?
- The first demo was recorded on a 4-track Tascam recorder in Mike’s house. More Graveyard Delving was recorded in the same studio that Journey into Mystery was recorded. We were heavily into the tape scene. Always buying stuff we saw reviewed in magazines. An early memory was getting the first Obsessed demo. As a bonus they threw in a single of Sodden Jackel. Great stuff!

- In 1987, you released your classic "Journey Into Mystery". While recordings, what did inspire you? What were your main landmarks in music? 
- We were just all around metal heads. We liked all different styles but I guess we were really drawn to Trouble, Angel Witch, Nemesis, Witchfinder General. Bands in that heavier vein as opposed to all out thrash. Was always a fan of Judas Priest as well as the entire NWOBHM movement.

- How did the recording sessions go? How long did you spend in the studio? Did you face any difficulties? Do you remember your feelings and thoughts when you just received your first copies?
- Yeah, we pretty much blew through the entire album as fast as possible. Vocals were all one take except maybe Black Edifice because it was new and I never sang it before. I could never sing all of those in a row like that now. My vocal chords would be gone. When we got the album we were hugely disappointed as it didn’t capture the heavy wall of sound that we created live.

- How could you comment on the fact that later on you decided to change your name and play under the title Penance? Was it related to the Ted Williams' departure? Are you still in contact with him?
- I still see Ted around at bars sometimes. That change had nothing to do with his departure. Rich joined the band when were still DD and we did another demo called Ode To Sorrow. We did a demo because we felt ripped off by the record label that we were on. We were kind of lost at that point and started to change direction musically. I became discouraged and left the band. The other three continued on and became Penance. They didn’t have a singer for their first demo so they asked me to fill in and somehow I was back in. There was a new energy there for a while with the first demo and the Road Less Travelled album. There were also some fun live shows and I have fond memories of some of those. Eventually things fell apart for me again but Penance lived on with some really good albums.

- Interesting moment. The debut full-length was recorded twice, and in the end you went with the second version. How did it happen? And which version do you prefer?
- The Road Less Travelled? We recorded in this studio in Pittsburgh where the owner/engineer of the place kept disappearing to get high. I don’t think he liked our music. Instead of packing up, we felt like we could do the job and basically recorded the album ourselves with no real knowledge of the studio. We sent this to Lee and he was like “I can’t put this out”. So we had to come up with money ourselves and find a better studio. This experience was much more professional and the final product sounded better. However, I prefer the original because our performance was spot-on. The second time we were rushed because of financial reasons and the performance sounds stiff to me and I can hear the mistakes. Rich likes the second one better because he loves his bass sound on there. So go figure.

- Alright, Brian. Thank very much for the interview. Would you like to add anything in the end?  
- Hope everyone enjoys Dissemination and thanks for the interview!