Interview: Andrew From Rex Shachath

Band: Rex Shachath

Genre: Death Metal

Year formed: 2011

Members: Dave: Vocals
Andrew: Guitar
Franky: Guitar
Eddie: Bass
Jay: Drums

Website: http://www.rexshachath.com

Interview with: Andrew

Interview Though Email:

What bands influence your music? "There's so many, each of us in the band have our own individual influences musically but something we all share is a passion for death metal and I think that's fairly obvious when you listen to Rex Shachath. If I was to speak about my own personal influences I'd have to say bands like Morbid Angel, Entombed, Pestilence, Bolt Thrower, Vader, Dying Fetus, Asphyx, Cannibal Corpse and so on have had a big impact. I've quite a broad taste in music in general, my favourite band of all time is Iron Maiden, as a guitar player I'm really into Joe Satriani and guys like Steve Vai but overall I guess old school death metal shines through as the biggest influence."

Why start a Death Metal band? "When I think back to when I started playing guitar I always wanted to push myself further as a musician and death metal provided that scope, the technicality, speed and more extreme edge compared to more mainstream metal if that's how you could describe it. When myself and Dave (Rex Shachath vocalist) got talking about starting a new band I wasn't really sure initially if I could devote the time to a new project because of commitments with my other band Overoth. As time went on and the more Dave and I spoke I got more and more into the idea, or at least getting a few guys together and having a couple of jams in a rehearsal room to see how things went. We talked about what we'd like to do and we decided it was always going to be extreme metal in some form because ultimatly that's what we play. We thought something a bit more new age death metal like Man Must Die with a punky edge to it would be cool but when we got a lineup together and actually stood in a rehearsal room together with our instruments the initial idea just hit the floor. We wrote a song together with one punky riff, the rest was just pure death metal. That song turned out to be 'Blind From Birth' from our upcoming EP 'Sepulchral Torment' and that punky riff isn't even there anymore. When we done the pre-productions for the EP it stood out like a sore thumb so we changed it slightly so it was more death metal. We're doing something different to what we initially had in mind but in the end if that's whats inside then that's how it's going to be and without sounding cheesy it is art afterall and that's something that should come out naturally, you shouldn't force anything different."

What is the Metal scene like in Ireland? "It's good for all the size of it... we're cut off from the rest of Europe here but there's plently of cool bands passing through the big cities now, more so Dublin and Belfast these days and there's definetly more happening than when I first started going to gigs. There's a decent number of good local bands as well, there's the more well known bands like Primordial, Gama Bomb, can I mention Thin Lizzy? I'm personally a big fan of Warpath, Coldwar, Abaddon Incarnate who've been flying the flag here and abroad for years... There's a lot when I really think about it. One thing that we don't have enough of is venues, there's literally only a handful of places to play in Ireland but on the other hand it isn't a massive scene in general so there's enough to accomodate everyone. The scene is also quite active, the guys in Into The Void (a record store) are doing a lot for the scene in Dublin, there's people running webzines, magazines and there's more record labels popping up. It's these people that really keep the scene alive."

What was the game plan going to record the "Sepulchral Torment" EP? "I don't think we had a set game plan really. We just wanted this EP to sound as big as we could make it, or as far as our budget would stretch haha. Because this was a new band, made up of seasoned musicians and we want to unleash something 'with a bang' as it were. We wrote I think six songs in total and then we booked into The Oaks Studios in Enniskillen with producer John Moffat a couple of months ahead. We didn't really have a great deal of time to record, only two or three days recording time so we picked five out of the six songs and we just played the songs over and over and over to get them as tight as possible. We done a lot of work on the pre-productions just so we were well prepped. Then when the time came we loaded up the cars and headed out, nailed the tracks and came home with mighty hangovers haha! Dave lost his shoes along the way as well haha! The intro we recorded was quite fun, we wanted to mimick the sound of a tomb made of stone closing which you'll hear in the last few seconds of the intro. We pulled bricks against each other, rocks, everything and in the end what made the best sound was a flowerpot of all things... I wonder if anyone else has ever used a flowerpot in a death metal release?"

What kind of sound where you looking to achieve with this EP? "I think everyone had their own idea's but what we all agreed on was a very natural old school vibe and I think John captured that really well. The production feels very dark as well, there's a bit of atmosphere on there for sure and it's perfect for the concept of 'Sepulchral Torment'."
 

Do you have a favorite song off from it? "That's a tough one. Anytime someone's asked me that before on any other projects I've worked on I've answered it but this time that's a tough question. Each song has it own strength, the title track 'Sepulchral Torment' is very old school death, it reminds me of faster Asphyx and a bit of Slayer. 'Follow The Bastard Prophet' is just pure groove, it opens with a fast double kick part and slower snare hit, then it goes quite thrashy and it's got a great headbanging chorus riff, it'll be a great one live. 'Blind From Birth' has a fucking massive shit stomper at the end, very Dying Fetus and the lyrics are very cool and very real. 'Seven Serpents' was a real hard one to record, it's got speed, technicality and a lot of groove, it's very old school death and I think out of all the songs that one covers the most ground. 'Statues Of Death' kicks you in teeth from the get go, the opening riff is just huge, then it goes into this real rollercoaster and the ending is so scarily errie, it's very unnerving. I had the idea for the ending but when it was recorded it turned out ten times better than I imagined it would. If I really had to pick at this moment in time I'd say 'Satues Of Death' just for the ending." 

When and where can someone pick this EP up at? "It's not due out till later this year, at the start of September and it'll be released via Hostile Media. We'll be releasing a track online and details for a special pre-order package in the next few weeks so keep your eyes out for that. It'll be available to buy online at our webstore (www.rexshachath.bigcartel.com) or directly from the label. It will also be in some shops and it'll be available digitally through iTunes, CDBaby, Amazon, etc."