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Hi, and thanks for your
time! Please give us a short introduction about your
band first.
Sokaris: Greetings, thanks for helping spread the
word on the demo. Heritech is essentially an
experimental mix of electronics and metallic elements.
Our main goal is to create something unique while
challenging ourselves as musicians.
How did things get started? And why did you pick this
bandname, has it any special meaning?
Sokaris: Dodd and myself played in another band
together and formed a sort of creative bond and began
experimenting with different ideas. We created the song
“Auto-Populous” which appeared on a couple compilation
CDs, but due to relocation the project was put on an
indefinite hold. Recently we reactivated the band with
more ambitious goals in mind. Dodd came up with the name
Heritech so he would be best to explain the meaning.
Dodd: Honestly the name doesn’t have any special
meaning but basically I wanted it to represent the idea
of “heresy” and “technology” describing our basic ideas.
How would you describe the music you are making and
why?
Sokaris: This is a difficult question as we never
try to box ourselves into any particular style or method
of creating music. I think we’re applying an avant-garde
attitude to the merging of industrial and metal,
striving not to water down either style while exploring
the different subgenres within them.
Dodd: I would say that it is something that
people into industrial and metal could equally into and
it could be a way for people into metal to get into
industrial and vice versa. We aren’t really an
industrial band that just uses some guitar and we’re not
a metal band that just has some electronics, we’re
actually both genres.
What are your main influences?
Sokaris: Mainly electronic and avant-garde
extreme metal, in particular I would say Aborym, The
Kovenant, Ram-Zet, Ensoph, Unexpect, Trollheim’s Grott
as well as Skinny Puppy, :wumpscut: and many many more.
Dodd: As far as bands go and influences for the
actual band I was influenced by some Skinny Puppy and
some electronic black metal. Not necessarily particular
bands so much as the idea of it. I would give some
credit to The Kovenant, I hadn’t even thought of this
kind of music until Animatronic.
How do you mostly compose your songs?
Sokaris: Xenopathic Biocide was basically Dodd
handling the programming and myself performing vocals.
However our current lineup (which now includes guitarist
Morder, who appeared on the demo’s title track) is
working on many different, new dynamics. We’re working
on incorporating much heavier and varied riffing into
more intricate compositions and more complex song
structures. The entire band will now be collaborating on
both music and vocals.
Dodd: For my part of it I usually make probably 2
or 3 different versions, almost always the same amount
of drum patterns and I’ll mess around with order. After
the drums I put down the strings and samples and glitchy
elements.
You just released your demo called 'Xenopathic
Biocide'. What can, according to you, people expect from
it?
Sokaris: I think our aspirations are pretty lofty
but I also believe that the effort we put into achieving
them comes through in the music. It’s something
different that I believe can appeal to industrial fans
who like a harsher edge to their electronics but I also
notice black and death metal fans who recognize that we
understand how to incorporate extreme metal elements
even on a more or less electronic base. As far as this
particular release goes we went the CD-R route but put a
lot of effort into the extra details, each CD being
completely uniquely splattered with blood, stenciled and
given plenty of enhanced surprises.
What were the replies, next to our excellent rating,
you've had on the demo so far?
Sokaris: First off, we were really flattered by
your words regarding “Xenopathic Biocide.” The demo is
still quite new so we’ve only sent out the pre-orders
and gotten rid of a few CDs to friends but the reaction
seems pretty positive. We’re looking forward to
spreading the word more soon.
What is according to you the best track of the demo,
and why?
Sokaris: That’d be impossible for me to pick,
every song has its place on the CD and I love different
things about each of them. “Grandiose Grotesqueries”
features some symphonic flairs that you will definitely
hear a lot more of on the next release. “Deathscape
Dataclash” is quite spastic and I love the bombastic
sound of the drums. I love how the title track basically
combines two very different styles and was the first
song recorded as the three piece we have become.
“Osmotic Epidemic” is interesting in that it’s probably
the heaviest song on the CD and yet I find it very
catchy as well. The intro and outro (“De-composure” and
“Digital Apocalypse” respectively) are an integral part
of the demo also.
For this demo you signed to My Bedroom Records. I (and
probably others as well) have never heard of this label.
What kind of a label is it? And how did they get in
contact with you?
Sokaris: An indie label, about as indie as it
gets! It’s more or less just a local musician (Hunter of
Razor Key Exit) helping us and a few other Ohio bands
out. It’s basically a very small operation to help out
some experimental acts in the area.
According to your MySpace page, you also do live
shows. What can a stranger expect when he visits a live
show of you?
Sokaris: That’s our current focus along with
promoting our first CD. We’re making our live debut
shortly and it’s going to be a very straightforward
presentation of the demo in full, from start to finish.
Our new guitarist Morder will join us for a song or two
and we’ll planning on slowly incorporating more and more
theatrics and live instrumentation as the band
progresses.
Dodd: A hiigh energy performance and
professionalism onstage!
What can we expect of Heritech in the near future?
Sokaris: Oddly enough we’ve been busier now that
the CD is out than we were during the writing/recording
process. As mentioned before, our live debut is soon and
we’re already working on a lot of new ideas. Since there
was a long delay in the CD’s completion we’ve been
excited to put together new songs incorporating more
metal influences with the percussion and Morder’s
contributions but also many other elements.
Dodd: On our next release we’ll be exploring both
metallic and electronic sounds in different ways. We’re
trying to have more of both in every song, possibly
something along the lines of Aborym’s “With No Human
Intervention” to give an example.
Thanks a lot for your time answering my questions,
the interview ends here. If you have something to add,
the final words are all yours.
Dodd: We’ll be very active with projects coming
up, we’re trying to be self-sufficient in what we do.
Possibly a music video and other ideas we’re putting
together.
Sokaris: Thank you for helping us spread the word about
“Xenopathic Biocide” and our future endeavors. If any
Industrialized Metallers want to check us out we have
sound samples, a video teaser and all the ordering
information on our website (www.heritech.net). Thanks
again!
Interview by: Gerardo (March 2007) |
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