- Hello, Chris! How were you introduced to Death Metal? Was it an immediate crash? Do you remember your first of impressions of the early Death bands? - I was introduced into death metal back in 1988 and I started to play DM in 1989. My impression of it back in the day was EXTREME METAL. The sound, the speed were so far beyond anything that I had heard before.. - Being from Pennsylvania, how could you describe your local underground community? Did you have any other bands around? - I have to be very honest with you... the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area death metal scene is a joke.. There were/are very good bands from here, but the area is very judgmental when it comes to EVERYTHING... This is a very closed minded city (area), I'm not saying there are not fans, but even the places that you can play at around here don't really support this style of music. It was that 25+ years ago and it is that way now. The DM bands get the lesser places to play, if they get a place to play at all ... - Tell us about the band's creation, how did it happen? What was the original line-up and how did you meet each other? Who came up with that name? - Well, it started out as Mark Mastro's brain child. He was the founder, but there wasn't enough members to have a band. I remember I was taking bass lessons at a music store 100 meters from where Mark lived, and I just happened to place an AD looking to be in a local band. I listed my influence as death metal. I cant remember the bands I listed back then, but that is what made Mark give me a call. And it was at that moment we got everything rolling and started to write music. - In 1990 you recorded your first demo, "The Epitome of Pantalgia". Where did you record it? How many copies did you have? - We recorded it in this guys house... all I can remember about him is that his name was Bob. And the studio was nothing to brag about, it was small. And he never recorded a death metal band before so we broke him in hard!! I remember him being so shocked that we wanted to sound this way... lol As far as copies sound, I would have no honest idea to the amount, as each member was selling copies as well as all the bootlegs out there. - In the early 90s the tape trading was heavily developing and promptly became one of the main ways of underground distribution. Could you recall any stories about this period? What were the first bands that you exchanged the tapes with? - As far as tape trading, Mark Mastro was the epitome of tape trading. He had thousands and thousands of cassettes. I myself never really got into tape trading, I did a little bit here and there but to no where near what everyone else would do. I did exchange cassettes with Unleashed, Dismember, Grave.. - Next year your released your first official record, "Copulation of the Virtuous and Vicious". How did you get the deal with Relapse Records? How and when were you contacted about it? Did you receive any other offers as well? - The offer from Relapse I believe was based on prior shows we had with Bill at that time (from Relapse). The deal we got from Relapse was for only that EP and nothing else, it was later discovered that we were not Relapse material. And all that I mean is they wanted bands in the realm of total satanic images. We were very not like that. At that time it felt like if you wanted to get an EP/LP out there, all you had to do was to take a few photos of you in fake blood with some upside down crosses and you were in the "club". We stayed true to what we believed, by not being fake satanists. I'm so glad we did it this way. But because we were not go the satanic image route, Relapse didn't want anything more to do with us. I personally know and have known more than a hand full of Relapse bands that wrote and posed with a total satanic format. And meanwhile if you knew them personally, like I did, you would laugh at this, because they were the nicest, most family focused people you would ever meet. But they knew how to play the game, the image game. Do what you've been told, no matter if you believe in it or not. - Where did you record this 7EP? Where does this title come from? Was it a mutual agreement that Mark Mastro should be in charge of the artwork? - We recorded the 7Ep in a real studio in a town I believe called Latrobe. That was a studio that had no idea about death metal, and we had to break him in hard as well. As far as the art work, we always wanted Mark to do the it, it was just what he did and liked to do. Plus he seemed to have a good understanding of what we wanted. - With the next EP, "Fornication in Delirium", you had a small line-up change: Bob O'lexa replaced your previous drummer, Nick Esquivel. How did it happen? And why did you have to find a new drummer later again, Jason Graham, for the full-length? - We've always had issues with drummers. Nick said this was a Temp thing for him as he was never really into death metal in the first place. Then with Bob, he was my very first drummer ever so when Nick left i asked Bob to be in the band. But he had a bad work ethic. And we had a lot of issues with his laziness. Plus he also had a hard time showing up for practice. So then we got Jason, which was a good friend of mine back then, and a pretty serious drummer. He was a perfect fit. That was until guitarist/singer Chris Weber started to fuck with Jason's personal life and made Jason resent him. And then Jason stopped coming to practice after the album was recorded. So we pretty much broke up before the album was even released. After Jason left, I saw how hard it was going to find another drummer, plus with me being pissed off at Weber and his reckless behavior, I decided that I was finally going to quit the band as well. And back in 1994, before the release of the album, I said I was done. And keep in mind it was 6-9 months of NO luck finding another drummer. - So, in 1993 you released your long-play "Iniquitous". How did the recording sessions go? How long did you spend in the studio? Do you have any story to tell about this time? - That was the best studio we were in (at that time), they never ever heard of death metal before. And we scared the living shit out of them. I remember the engineer couldn't believe I wanted my bass to sound that way!! I don't remember how much time we spent in the studio as that was almost a 1/4 century ago !! lol But I do know we all weren't there at the same time. Mark and Weber finished the mastering and without me being there. I would guess we spent about 40-50 hours... - How did you find out about Drowned Productions? Where you satisfied with that deal? Did you receive any copies for yourself to distribute them around? - I can't remember how we found out about Drowned other than they contacted us. I remember the dealing with them were good, and Dave Rotten is an outstanding and honest person. We did receive a lot of copies from them for ourselves to hand out or sell - And in 2011 you came back. How did the reunion happen? Who was the main initiator? Did you try to bring the original members too? - Weber and the drummer at that time Christian Easley were seriously thinking about getting Rottrevore back together and try to record some unrecorded songs. They talked me into doing it with the deal that there would NOT be any drama. I am very anti drama type person. So I said I would do it again. We recorded 3 songs, and played a lot of fests!!! Great, great shows. We even went to Denmark and headlined a fest! But it was then that I started to see this little amount of success go to Weber's head, and he started getting really shitty and pushy with the other 2 non-original members. Demanding them not go to work at their regular PAYING JOBS. So that they could practice just about every single day of the week. As nice as that sounds, we live in the real world and lets face it: Death metal doesn't put a roof over your head nor does it feed your family. So Weber would get more and more angry and hateful towards these guys. He wasn't that way towards me at that point, until we got home from Denmark and I said I was DONE. I said I don't need this drama in my life. We played some great shows, had some fun, but that's all. It was fun, it wasn't paying bills. If anything, it was costing me money, which I was fine with. The moment it was starting to cost me money and was no longer fun, I looked at myself in the mirror and said: why am I doing this? I don't owe anyone anything, except to myself. - In 2012 you released your independent Demo, "Blind Sided Attack". You recorded at Mana Studios, with Eric Rutan. How can you comment on your choice of the studio add producer? How can you describe the experience of working with Eric? How do you like the final result? - It was a non official release. This was the drummer who wanted to release it on his own without our permission. We went with Eric Rutan due to the relationship our drummer Christian had with Eric. They were very close friends and because of this he offered to record a EP for us. - A year later you released it officially through Xtreem Music. Why did you have to change the title to "Hung by the Eyesockets"? And why didn't you include the instrumental versions, as you did it on the Demo? - That one was the official release, and there is no instrumental version because there never was any instrumental version in the first place. The only reason it was on the bootleg EP, because they used that track with no vocals as a way to "fill time", to make the EP longer. That's also another reason why it's not the official release. Also, the EP was always to be called "Hung by the Eye Sockets", but the drummer didn't like that title and wanted to do his own bootleg as he did. - By the way, in 2009 Dave Rotten re-released the remastered version of your full-length. How did you like this edition? How different is the sound now? - I'm glad Dave did what he did. I thought he did a good job. I think what he did made it sound a little more "FULL", using the 21st century technology. - What is the current band's status? Is there any chance for a new record? New live shows? Are you involved now in any prog bands? - In my opinion, the bad is dead. I left in the 3rd quarter of 2013, and Weber snapped! He posted a silly and very childish YouTube video trying to make fun of me (like anyone even really cares about his opinion in the first place) lol. He told everyone in 2013 there was going to be a new upcoming music etc etc.. Well, here we are, mid 2016 and not only is there NOT new music, but he hasn't even found a bass player in almost 3 years. No one wants to work with him any more. I was doing some side project bands and played a few shows. But as of right now, I am not involved in any bands as I refuse to work with or in drama. - Thank you for this interview, Chris. Is there anything you would like to add in the end? - Yes, visit our Facebook page |