Tag Archives: Interviews

Interviews, Various

(interview) HORN PROJECT : Religions are only about power while spiritualism is about one s own development!

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Long time no interview in this zine. Horn Project is interesting entity and it was an absolute pleasure to do a chat with them for my webzine. Here it is:

First of all, hails from Croatia and welcome to Kraykulla Webzine. Could you tell a bit more about musical entity called Horn Project for readers who didn´t hear of your opus yet?

Thanks for the invitation, Horn Project is a Melodic Black Metal project. I think everyone should listen to it and make up their own mind.

As I understand, you are a one man black metal band, did you play live yet, or are there any plans maybe to play live with session musicians?

Yes, that’s right, Horn Project is a solo project. However, without the help of Christian Wieser (drumcomputer, guest solos and mix) and Max Carreri (voice) the album would never have been made. Since it is a solo project and I don’t have much time, there probably won’t be any live gigs. Let’s see what the future brings.

Your debut album is coming out in October. How was the writing and recording process? How do you write songs? What comes first, riffs or lyrics? As far as I understand your lyrics deal more with spiritual and mythological themes. Are you a spiritual person? What do the lyrics mean for you?

When I started the project in 2018, everything was new territory for me. I have never recorded professionally.  But with the help of Christian Wieser I learned quite quickly to deal with the programs. First I wrote the guitar tracks and sent them to Christian who then programmed the drums. As soon as I had the mix I could write the bass and keyboard. I always had a concept in mind, but wrote the lyrics as soon as all the songs were finished. For many years I have been dealing with spiritual topics, especially shamanism, natural philosophy and buddism. Spirituality has nothing or at least almost nothing to do with religion, if at all there are small remnants in religion. In my opinion, religions are only about power, while spiritualism is about one’s own development. The more one deals with spiritual topics, the better he can understand oneself and thus live better or, better said, accept many things more easily. Therefore, it was clear to me from the beginning that I have to deal with spiritual themes.

How did the cooperation with Planet K Records come about? Is there going to be physical release or only digital?

I uploaded some songs on Bandcamp where Planet K Records noticed me and reached out to me. Thanks again to Planet K Records for the professional support. The CD will be available digitally and also physically.

How is the underground music scene in the place where you live?

I live in a rural area where there is a small but dedicated scene.  I think South Tyrol has a lot to offer in the field of metal, we really have a lot of talented musicians. Innsbruck or Munich is also not so far away so we can see bands from all over the world.

Are there any notorious or scary urban legends in the area where you live?

Yes, there are many legends and tales that revolve around a man named Pfeifer Huisile. In the legends it is said that he had a pact with the devil and there are many crazy stories about how he brought disaster among the people.

Let´s talk about horror. Do you love horror movies and literature? If you do, what are your favorites? Mine are old Hammer horror movies and found footage, also golden era slashers from early eighties.

No, actually I hardly ever watch movies. I’m more of a documentary person. Mainly nature and astronomy documentaries.

I read somewhere that black metal isn´t black metal if it is not Satanic. Do you agree on that? I personally don´t.

There is certainly a small Satanic scene, but I think that most Black Metallers are philosophical or rather shamanic in nature. Maybe it only looks like that to me because I am like that.

What are plans for immediate future? Classic for the end, is there anything you would like to add? Thank you!

Let’s see how Illusions of Maya is received. My goal would be to release a 2nd album, it will take a few years but the will is there.
I want to thank all the people who made this project possible especially Christian Wieser (Drumcomputer, Mix, Guest Solos) Samuel Stelzer (Album Cover) Max Carreri (Voice) Felix Tock (Video) , Hannes Grossmann (Mastering) and Planet K Records.
And a big thank you to you Kraykulla Webzine!

Interviews, Various

(interview) Love Equals Death are back!

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Love Equals Death from California are back with interesting releases and plans, so it was about time for me to talk with Chon Travis about various topics for my webzine.

HI GUYS, NICE TO FEATURE YOU IN MY ZINE. WHATS UP? CAN YOU TELL THE READERS SOMETHING ABOUT THE HISTORY OF LOVE EQUALS DEATH FOR THE READERS WHO DID NOT HEAR OF YOU? THE NAME OF THE BAND IS VERY INTERESTING.

Thank you for the interview, we are very grateful that you chose us. Love Equals Death is a band that started in early 2000’s in Northern California and split up around 2010 and reformed in 2019. The name means different things to different members of the band. To me(Chon), Love Equals the Death of fear, hate, and validation. To others it means that if you love something too much, you can kill it. Like a cat for instance. If you squeeze your cat too hard, because you love it so much, you are likely to kill it by suffocation.

TALK OF THE DAY IS YOUR NEW RELEASE. WHAT CAN YOU TELL ME ABOUT THE SPLIT WITH THE STATIC AGE AND ALSO YOUR NEW SINGLE? HOW WAS THE WRITING AND RECORDING PROCESS? YOU GUYS HAVE SUCH NICE MELODIES AND HARMONIES IN VOCAL AND MUSIC LINES, SO WHAT COMES FIRST, LYRICS OR RIFFS AND MUSIC? WHERE CAN WE GET/BUY YOUR NEW RECORD? HOW DID YOU GET IN TOUCH WITH SBAM RECORDS?

I would first like to give enormous praise to Felix, Stefan, Adam, Tim, and The Static Age. What an amazing group of people. I have never been so happy to work with this group. The Split is a great appetizer. I think it helped get us in the writing mode for what’s to come and we also got to enjoy a band we never heard before in The Static Age. When writing songs, it varies. Sometimes a melody will come first, sometmes a lyric will appear to one of us, and sometimes you’ll hear a riff in your head that you can’t stop thinking about and if either one of those thrives with the whole group, then you usually get a song out of it. If you’re lucky. Thank you about the melodies and harmonies. The new record will be out on SBAM and will be available through them and various music outlets. We were introduced to SBAM by Mr. Felix Willinkonsky of Flix Agency. One of the coolest humans alive.

YOU DELIVER PERSONAL THEMES IN YOUR LYRICS TO THE SONGS, DO YOU THINK THAT THERE ARE TOO LITTLE POLITICAL PUNK BANDS LEFT IN THE SCENE AND THAT PUNK SCENE LOST ITS TOUCH WITH BEING PROVOCATIVE, ANGRY AND REBELlOUS?

You’re absolutely correct. I tend to write from a personal perspective, because it’s easier for me to write about real things that I have experienced rather than things that I’ve only heard about from someone else. I agree also that punk rock has gotten sod in it’s political stance across the board as well as that aggression that drew us all to it in the first place. I like the balance of both personal and political. I also think that the Casualties really deliver the anger, the politics, and the presence of trad punk rock all the way around.

DID YOU GUYS TOUR A LOT? DID YOU DO A EUROPEAN TOUR? WHAT ARE THE MAIN DIFFERENCES BETWEEN EUROPEAN SCENE AND CROWD AND BACK IN USA? ANY FUNNY TOUR STORIES?

We toured often. We were always on the road and yes, we did tour Europe. There’s not much difference in the two. We have a good time wherever we go. We’re just grateful to meet new people and see old friends. Oh, and there’s always something funny going on…trust me!

WILL THE NEW RECORD BE IN PHYSICAL FORM(CD) OR ONLY DIGITAL? DO YOU BELIEVE THAT BANDS CAN STILL SELL ENOUGH HARD COPIES OF THEIR RECORDS NOWADAYS OR IS DIGITAL THE RELEASE FORM OF THE FUTURE?

From what I understand, the new record will be available in hard copy form, digital, and vinyl. I think that digital might be the way to go now, but there’s plenty enough people who prefer hard copies for them to be successful as well in this day and age.

WHAT WERE YOUR MUSICAL INFLUENCES GROWING UP AND WRITING AS A BAND? TO REPHRASE THE QUESTION, CAN YOU STILL REMEMBER THE FIRST PUNKROCK/HARDCORE SHOW YOU WENT TO?

Aha!? My influences growing up were Bad Religion, GBH, Social Distortion, NOFX, Jawbreaker and mostly The Misfits and Generation X. My first punk rock show was GBH, The Cro-Mags, and Death Angel. It was hard fucking core.

WHAT IS YOUR STANCE ON THIS COVID VIRUS AND ALL THE PROPAGANDA? HOAX? CONSPIRACY THEORISTS HEAVEN OR SOMETHING ELSE?

I feel that people are going to believe whatever they want no matter the truth or lies. Some of us can feel that there’s something wrong with the information and there’s a lot of us who will believe whatever new information is being fed is the gospel, even if it’s contradictory. It’s sad to watch people divided in any case.

WHAT CAN YOU SAY WERE YOUR PEAKS AS A BAND AND YOUR LOWEST POINTS ALSO? WERE YOU DISAPPOINTED A LOT OF TIMES?

The peaks of the band had to be the signing with Fat Wreck Chords, reforming the band in 2019, and signing with SBAM. The lows were splitting up, but because the band started up again, I can erase it. As far as disappointment goes, never.

WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO PAY BILLS AND SURVIVE BESIDES PLAYING IN THE BAND? HOW IS LIFE IN AMERICA GENERALLY?

To pay bills, I buy and sell abandoned property through lien sales and auctions. It’s super fun going to auctions and bidding. Life in America is difficult for a lot of people right now. We are going through an identity crisis it seems. We are at a crossroads with racism and I think that we will see a big change very soon where it’s concerned and I believe the outcome will shock everyone in a good way. I’m always hopeful.

THIS IS IT FOR THE FIRST TIME. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS ONE. ANY WISE WORDS FOR THE END?

Thank you so much for the interview and my last words of wisdom would be, “If your heart is not in it, you need to also remove yourself”. -Chon Travis (Love Equals Death).

Interviews, Various

(interview) ThePicassos – Horror tends to be the fear or threat of death, and in life we know it’s fleeting.

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ThePicassos recently released a fine record and I reviewed it for this zine.

I was about time for me to talk to the guys in the band a bit about everything, the new record, horror, life and all other themes we thought of.

FIRST OF ALL, WELCOME TO KRAYKULLA WEBZINE. I THINK IT IS YOUR FIRST INTERVIEW FOR SOME MEDIA IN CROATIA, SO PLEASE INTRODUCE THE BAND TO READERS WHO DON´T KNOW YOU YET. HOW COME THE NAME OF THE BAND, DO YOU LIKE PICASSO AND ART OR IS IT A COINCIDENCE?

Greetings and thank you for taking the time for having us and listening to our haunting tones.

We are a 3 piece of occult practitioners consisting of : 

Charles Urban – Guitar/Vocals/lyricist 

Dan Lowe  – Bass Guitar/backing vocals s

Thorin Murphy-Fahlgren – Drums/banjo/keyboards/accordion/backing vocals/auxiliary percussion.

 We attempt to perform live séances originating in the dark sides of metro Detroit, MI, USA. This is indeed our first international interview and we couldn’t be more tickled to be hosted on your site and help spread our death-positive messages  – as for Pablo Picasso as an artist it’s less of a tribute to the person and more the concept of looking at things creatively and in the mindset of visual artists in general. Specifically as many painters are only ever truly revered after death. 

TALK OF THE DAY IS YOUR NEW RELEASE OUT VERY SOON. WHAT CAN YOU TELL ME ABOUT THE NEW RECORD? HOW WAS THE WRITING AND RECORDING PROCESS? WHERE CAN WE GET/BUY YOUR NEW RECORD? WHERE DO YOU DRAW YOUR LYRICAL INSPIRATION FROM?

Charles: Yes indeed, we released exclusively on digital release in time for our Samhain celebrations here, we are currently streaming this and our first single released last year (on occult day, no less) on all streaming platforms with potential plans for a physical release compilation down the road. We were fortunate enough to get together back in early February (pre-pandemic) to track these numbers and unfortunately haven’t been all together since then. It was a very quick recording process as we have written and lived with these songs for about a year before we put them to tape. 

As for lyrical inspiration I’m inspired by horror films and stories – and in part from my time as a cemetery worker – the message of “Memento Mori” our title track of the E.P. translates to “remember you will die” is simply that: we are all destined to cross the fresh (threshold?) hold of life into death at the end of our lives. It’s singularly the thing all life has in common. We don’t wish to live in fear of death and if anything the acceptance of death is the freedom to live your life as full and completely as one can. A “seize the day” sentiment more than anything. 

DO YOU CONSIDER YOURSELVES A HORROR PUNK BAND? OR IS YOUR MUSIC IN A WAY AN AMALGAMATION OF EACH AND EVERY OF YOUR MUSIC INFLUENCES?

Charles: It’s difficult to classify us as we have such a wide array of influences- we definitely would like to claim “horror punk “ influenced as bands like Misfits and the Cramps have informed parts of our sound. But we also have a love for alternative and  folk bands, The Decemberists, The Cranberries – and experimental unclassifible artists like Tom Waits really stretched the creative license to take any sound or influence and stretch it farther than it has before. 

Dan: Which is why I think we really went with the name of ThePicassos. It allowed a creative freedom and doesn’t box us in. The genres become our medium beyond the instruments. We’re able to really create what we want. It really helps to overall message reach more ears. 

Thorin: I definitely agree with both Charles and Dan, I think our sound comes from a pretty wide variety of influences, and we have a pretty varied sound. We’re certainly some kind of horror, though I’m not sure I’d say punk is a very pervasive sound in our repertoire. When I think of punk, I think of fast and aggressive and either angry or angsty, and I don’t see a lot of that in our music. We usually like to take things a little more slowly and with bigger drama and dynamics. But we have a few songs in our back catalog that have a bit more of a punk vibe going on, and I’m really looking forward to when we can get together again to start getting all our back catalog material together for release.

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DO YOU PLAY GIGS? HAVE YOU TOURED OR POSSIBLE TOURED EUROPE OR OUTSIDE USA?

Regrettably, we have yet to make it out of the US, and this past year certainly didn’t help that matter. But it would be a dream to get out to Europe and share our sounds with other parts of the world. We only hope they would have us! 

HOW ARE THINGS IN YOUR HOMETOWN GOING? WHAT KIND OF CITY IS YOUR HOMETOWN?  DO YOU HAVE A SCENE, BANDS, VENUES?

Charles: We came up in the DIY punk scene in the Detroit area and that gave us a lot of appreciation for any rooms we can fill. We thrive in art collective venues – and spaces with a lot of collaborative soul. We don’t have too many bands that share our sonic tastes  locally – but have a heavy dose of garage rock in our sound in a city known for MC5 and the Stooges so that helps on a variety bill on occasion. 

Dan: Also I’m pretty sure Charles has been described as a gothic Jack White so that doesn’t hurt local shows either. 

HOW IS LIVING IN USA NOW AFTER TRUMP LOST THE ELECTION AND HOW IS LIVING WITH ALL THAT COVID EPIDEMIC? WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO PAY YOUR BILLS? 

Charles: It’s a relief! It’s still a scary time to be living in, but the reality that we are nearly done with the Trump years is a major weight lifted. As I mentioned I work at a cemetery so that has been a stressful time – a necessary job to help those that have seen the caustic effects of the virus on a personal level. It’s been rough but rewarding. 

Dan: I think we have been very fortunate in that our lives don’t necessarily rely on making money from this. Obviously that’s a dream as well to be able to support yourself with your art. But we are very fortunate I can only imagine how hard this is. As for Trump, good riddance but I think there is still so much work to be done beyond the next four years. There’s a lot of distrust and irreversible damage however this is a step in the right direction. 

Thorin: The thing about Trump losing the election is that he’s refusing to admit defeat and he’s been filing a bunch of lawsuits and making ridiculous, unfounded claims of widespread election fraud, so for us, the election turmoil isn’t over yet even though we know Trump isn’t reelected. As for COVID, I could go on and on about so many different things about the pandemic, but I’ll just say that Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell, who’s the head of one of our national legislative bodies, are both responsible for killing several hundred thousand people here in the US and ruining millions of lives with their disgusting lack of leadership, and I can only hope we find some way to hold them responsible for what they’ve done.

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DO YOU HAVE ANY MOVIES/BOOKS/BANDS THAT YOU SAW/READ/LISTENED LATELY TO RECOMMEND?

Charles: I know I don’t need to recommend Netflix these days – but very much enjoyed “Devil all the time” with Tom Holland, just a relentless depressive departure into depravity so a high recommendation for those who haven’t. Also the  Ratched series which led to a thoughtful viewing of the original “One flew over the cuckoos nest” is worth the time to immerse yourself in that time period. 

As for books I’ve been thumbing through Neil Gaimans “Graveyard Book” (we would be happy to provide a soundtrack for the eventual screenplay) 

Dan: My wife and I have been watching a few shows about cults from the years. I think the one we watched was on Showtime from People Magazine and on Netflix one is called “Wild Wild Country”. That was a trip, highly recommended and a great soundtrack too. 

DO YOU STILL REMEMBER WHAT DREW YOU INTO THE MUSIC SCENE, YOUR FIRST SHOW OR SOMETHING THAT INSPIRED YOU TO START PLAYING MUSIC? 

Charles: I was in theater and marching band in school and that definitely informed a taste for performance and theatrics- it took a few years of playing other people’s notes and saying their words that began the itch to start using my own.

The real eye opening experience was in high school I went to a production of Sweeney Todd at the Detroit Opera House that the actors were also playing live instruments in character to provide the score. 

Dan: I grew up wanting to play music, but I also did my share of theater which definitely helps drive the performance itch AND helps make you a better performer. My first local show was actually one of the very FIRST incarnations of ThePicassos in which their bass player had quit prior to the show. So I joined afterwards. ALSO the local community theater is how Charles and I met about 10 years ago.  

Thorin: Oh wow ok so it’s really funny that Charles mentioned The Cranberries earlier, because my first inspiration to make music, according to my mother, was when I was a few months old and I would sing the beginning of The Cranberries’ song “Ode To My Family” (but apparently I always refused to sing for my doctor, who wanted so badly to hear me sing). So I guess creating music is something I’ve always been inclined to do. But the first time I consciously recognized any desire or inspiration to play music was when I was seven years old and my brother Trystan started playing drums in his high school marching band, and I just thought that was the coolest thing ever,

ALSO, WHAT WAS THE CATALYST THAT DREW YOU INTO MORE DARKER HORROR SIDE OF THINGS?

Charles: I think growing up watching the Universal monster movies, feeling such a familiar tie with Frankenstein’s monster and Bela Lugosi they feel like relatives I’ve never met. So it just stays with you and that isn’t something you run from. 

WHY IS THERE SO MUCH BEAUTY IN HORROR? 

Charles: Horror tends to be the fear or threat of death, and in life we know it’s fleeting. A thing isn’t beautiful because it lasts forever, but since the flowers only bloom some of the time we take note. The color palate of deep reds into inky black. I think one can’t help but look at the genre like a painting in a museum. 

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE HORROR SUBGENRE? MINE IS GOLDEN ERA SLASHER, HAMMER OLD SCHOOL HORROR AND YUP, FOUND FOOTAGE!

Charles: Absolutely top notch picks! I’ll always love the universal Silver screen monsters. But I’ve been coming to appreciate the 80s slashers in a new light as the next generation of classic monsters. Though my favorite flavor is a good physiological thriller – Silence of the Lambs and the like.

Dan: I was and still am into the really (really) bad horror movies. The cheesier the better. Always was a big fan of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre I have the third one and worst one on vhs somewhere. Charles has been telling me to watch “Silence of the Lambs” for years and I still haven’t. 

Thorin: I actually don’t really watch horror movies or anything. Well, really, I don’t watch movies at all unless it’s with a friend or something. I saw one really good found footage movie once, though: Troll Hunter. I definitely recommend it if you haven’t seen it, it’s a bit of a trip.

WHAT IS THE FUTURE HOLDING IN STORE FOR THEPICASSOS?

Charles: We have plenty more songs that have yet to be recorded and heard, if the world allows we would love to talk touring – however I think the safe bet is more music coming out  to stream. We are talking to some filmographers about some videos.. so stay tuned in! 

THIS INTERVIEW HAS COME TO AN END. IT WAS A PLEASURE. ANY WISE WORDS IN THE END? 

Dan: THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME!

Thorin: Thank you for having us, and please, to everyone reading this: please stay safe!

Charles: This was a splendid time for us as well! We appreciate the time and consideration – and the kind words in our Ep Review – so thank you, and Remember You Will Die. 

https://thepicassos.bandcamp.com/