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First of all, can you
give us a brief introduction of DeadCell?
DEADCELL is my brainchild since early 2006. We combine
Industrial/Metal with all kinds of theatrical
performances and dancers. In addition we use tons of
video projections to visualize the music.
How did things get started, and why did you pick this
band name?
Things got started by me being frustrated after years in
different bands. I wanted to try something new and
different.
The band name is picked for 2 reasons :
1) The band name is derived from Washington D.C. The
D.C. abbreviation translates into DeadCell. Now you go
figure out what that means.
2) The name is also from the Stephen King movie 'Rose
Red'. It's one of my all time favorite horror movies.
It's about a haunted house which was built by the
Rimbauers. A group of psychics is invited to examine a
series of psychic phenomena in the house. It is told
that the house is a 'DeadCell'which needs to be
awakened ( since there haven't been any phenomena in
many years ).
What are your main influences, and how would you
describe your music?
Basically anything. I'm really much like a 'sponge',
absorbing everything and translating it into music (which
is my channel). To give you an impression of
my main influences : I mainly listen to old skool bands
like Ministry, Laibach, Skinny Puppy et cetera. But
there's many more which I like and listen to.
Your debut album is called 'The Massacre'. It was
well received by press and public, but what are your own
views on it?
Well, to me it was a journey and an experiment. And I'm
still experimenting. Of course I like it when people can
appreciate what I'm doing, but I'm always extremely
critical on my work. So basically I'm not easily
satisfied with the end result. I'm still developing a
lot every time I'm working on a song. An album is just a
recording of a period and phase I'm going thru in life.
Logic to say the one's always evolving as a person, and
as an artist. Looking back on the debut album I'm happy
it got noticed the way it did. It was marked the start
of DeadCell. Since then a lot has happened.
Now a little practical question - there is a 10th
track on that release, while the track list exists out
of nine titles. Why have you decided to add this "hidden
track" to the record, and what is it called?
The track is called In7ekt. There are 2 release series
of the debut album. On the second release this track is
included.
The new album is called 'State of Fear' and will be
released April 30th. What can the people who didn't read
my review yet expect of it?
Well, as a start I think the songs sound much more
mature. The overall sound is more professional, and
easier to translate to live situations. The songs are
much more written from a 'band' point of view. I think
the album is pretty intense, although there's more
melody in the songs. A lot of songs are doing really
well in live situations. Songs like 'Kill The President',
'Lies', 'War Of Choice' and 'Save One Bullet' pretty
much turn the place upside down. It's difficult to catch
this energy on a record, but I think we've done well
after all. Of course this is also our first release on a
label (Urgence Disk in Geneva). So that makes everything
a more special and exciting. Buy the album at bol.com
now!
What is in your opinion the best track on the album,
and why?
Hard to say, since they're all very different. 'Lies' is
definitely one of my favorites, but a more hip-hop/metal
oriented song like 'Palestine' also has a really
refreshing and new sound. As a rule of thumb I only put
the songs I like most on an album. I don't 'fill up' an
album with crap. Not every song made it to the album
unfortunately. The song 'Into The Light' was originally
planned to be on the record, but in the end didn't make
it. We play it in live situations though.
What is the major difference between 'The Massacre'
and 'State of Fear', and what are the major improvements?
Both albums sound really different. The major
improvements are definitely the recording process. And
I'm still improving that part. We are an underground
band, so there's no massive recording studio and budget
behind us. The same as on the first album I recorded and
mixed everything myself. This time the mastering was
assisted by Peter Degen (Reel, Conteched). One of the
main goals was to make this album sound a bit heavier
than the first one. I think we succeeded in that part.
On 'Kill The President', the chorus includes these
lines: "Killing all American lies. [..] This is not the
meaning of life, all part of your American show". Do you
feel that 9/11 was an inside job?
Could be. I don't know. I would just be speculating if
I'd say 'YES' or 'NO'. Fact remains that America has
become extremely divided in the last couple of years.
There's good and evil in the world. And in America's
politics there's definitely a lot of evil going on. And
a lot of ignorance too. And that's a dangerous
combination. In any case, I'm really feeling sorry for
the majority of the American people. The song 'Kill The
President' is basically a parody on the U.S. In live
situations two cheerleaders are on stage representing
the ignorance and shallowness of the large majority.
What are your personal views on the so-called
'American Dream'?
The dream in itself is not bad at all. As long as no-one
gets hurt during the process.
Another track on 'State of Fear' is called
'Palestine'. What are your views on the Israël/Palestine
conflict?
Just another example of people fucking themselves in the
ass over and over again. People are killed without any
reason, and no-one seems to get it, or can't get past
their own narrow-minded ego's. Negative behavior leads
to negative response. It's really that simple.
Do you feel that the current China/Tibet propaganda
will lead to more awareness of the situation in
Palestine?
I don't want to be negative, but with all things in
world politics : it's all trends and manipulation. Most
people tend to forget what's going on in the world after
a couple of months when it's no longer 'hot news'.
Especially in Western Europe. Every-one is so
self-absorbed and consumed with fear about basically
nothing, that they tend to forget the most important
things in life. And that's a very tragic development. I
don't know if the situation in Palestine will ever be
solved, because it depends on a lot of critical
decisions, willingness and a positive attitude. And
since I don't trust global politicians, I'm not very
positive about the outcome. But I hope I'm wrong.
What are your views on religion in general?
I think religion is a good thing. Once again, as long as
no-one gets hurt and if it's not used for the wrong
reasons. In fact the song 'Lies' is about the abuse of
religion in the world. 'Death in the name of Jesus
Christ' is a short part from the lyrics. Aiming at the
fact that people tend to hide behind religion to do
really ugly things. In the East as well as the West.
It's a problem of all centuries.
I am among the lucky ones who have seen DeadCell live
on stage several times already. What can a stranger
expect when he visits your live show?
Me shitting on stage, and urinating on the audience
hahaha..No, heavy music and a visual extravaganza.
The visual aspect is really important in your live
performance. Why did you pick exactly this kind of
visual performance, and aren't you afraid that people
will pay less attention to the music because of it?
No, the music is reinforced by the visuals. Since the
lyrics are really important to me, we use the visuals to
express what we want to say.
What are your views on the (industrial) scene in The
Netherlands?
It keeps growing and growing. It starts to get attention
on a more national level. And that's a good thing.
What are, next to music, your other passions in life?
My girlfriend, my family and my work as a teacher.
What can we expect of DeadCell in the near future?
A new E.P. I'm already working on new material. And a
lot of shows in the Netherlands and abroad. I'm really
excited that we will also be going to a couple of
foreign countries like the UK, Czech Republic, Germany,
Norway and Slovenia.
Allright, the interview ends here, thanks a lot for
your time. As usual on the Industrialized Metal Webzine,
we leave the final words for the band.
Keep it metal. Thanks for the interview. Support the
band and buy the album at www.bol.com or order it
directly at deadcell@deadcell.nl.
http://www.myspace.com/deadcellband
Interview by: Gerardo (April 2008) |
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