Lingua Brutallica

Lingüa Brütallica - Episode 54: Jason Peppiatt of Domination Campaign (Hobart, Australia)

In this episode we interview returning guest, Jason Peppiatt about his new project, Domination Campaign. In differentiating Domination Campaign from his longstanding work with Psycroptic, Jason explains that, in contrast to Psycroptic’s modern technical death metal approach, Domination Campaign draws on Jason’s traditional death metal background. Moreover, while Psycroptic explores Jason’s perspective on the modern world, Domination Campaign draws attention to the past, in particular the stories of World War I and World War II that he grew up with. Far from glorifying war, Jason’s lyrics expose the horrors of these events while recognising the bravery of soldiers in the face of death. These lyrics and the music they complement, are spontaneously written and free from the kind of expectation that comes with writing for such an established band as Psycroptic. Though Jason describes this project as being produced solely for his own sake, the reception to it's release suggests that it's appeal is certainly not limited to Jason's personal taste.

For more from Domination Campaign go to: https://www.facebook.com/dominationcampaign/ and https://www.instagram.com/domination_campaign/?hl=en 

Lingüa Brütallica - Episode 53: Ross Sewage of Exhumed, Impaled and Ghoul (California, USA)

In this episode our guest, Ross Sewage, talks to us about his lyrics for Exhumed and Impaled, and speculates on the lyricism of Ghoul - a band that he is familiar with, but definitely not a member of. Sketching the lyrical landscape of each work, Ross explains how Impaled probes the space between life and death, detailing grotesque medical experiments and surgeries gone wrong, while Exhumed disinters death and life thereafter. Ghoul then (Ross imagines) follows the misadventures of a cast of macabre characters in the fictional town of Creepsylvania. Littered with alliteration, medical jargon, grotesque puns and literary references, Ross' lyrics examine human fears, from the everyday to the supernatural, in horrifying detail but always with a trace of humour. 

To explore Ross' work for yourself, go to https://www.doktorsewage.com/ 

Lingüa Brütallica - Episode 52: Will Smith of Afterbirth (Long Island, USA)

In this episode we chronicle Will Smith’s work with diverse death metal projects including Artificial Brain, Biolich, Reeking Aura, and most recently, Afterbirth. Departing from death metal’s love affair with gore, many of Will’s lyrics capture images of mental illness, invasive insects, and filth. Though such scenes would not be out of place in your average horror movie, Will explains that their inspiration is closer to fact than fiction. Many of Will’s lyrical motifs reproduce aspects of his past experience growing up in a blue-collar neighbourhood in Long Island and his current work in disability service provision. Will describes how writing these lyrics gave him an outlet to work through the trauma of witnessing first-hand the devastating effects of poverty and untreated mental illness. In effect, while death metal is best known for its celebration of death and destruction, Will finds that working in the genre can be profoundly therapeutic.

To hear more from Will, follow https://www.facebook.com/AfterbirthNYDeathMetal/ for Afterbirth and https://www.instagram.com/exsanguinated666/ for Exsanguinated, and https://www.facebook.com/reekingaura/ for Reeking Aura

And check out Will’s metal-themed podcast “Heavy Hole” at https://heavyhole.fireside.fm/

Lingüa Brütallica - Episode 51: Ruttomieli of Moonlight Sorcery (Tampere, Finland)

In our first episode of 2024, we interview Ruttomieli about the lyricism of his symphonic black metal project Moonlight Sorcery. Ruttomieli's work exhibits a perfect marriage of music and lyrics, both which honour the spiritual origins of the black metal genre. Weaving stories of witchcraft and myth, his lyrical poetry both guides their listeners to the skies to bask in the moonlight and drags them down to burn in the Finnish underworld of Tuonela. Whether in English or Finnish, Ruttomieli's lyrics ultimately prove that, as he says "black metal is more than just music".

To experience Ruttomieli's work for yourself, go to:

https://moonlightsorcery.bandcamp.com/ or https://www.facebook.com/moonlight.sorcery/ 

 

Lingüa Brütallica - Episode 50: Himari Tsukishiro and Ricky Wilson of Isiliel (Tokyo, Japan)

Welcome to our 50th episode!

In this very special episode, we interview vocalist Himari Tsukishiro and Ricky Wilson of Isiliel. Drawing on Ricky's translation skills, we explore how Himari's background as a Japanese idol has shaped her journey into the world of symphonic metal. A self-described "metal baby", Himari's relative inexperience in metal allows her to step outside of the subculture's many lyrical conventions. Breaking with the norms established inside and outside of her native Japan, Himari writes Japanese lyrics adopting themes of romantic love and perseverance seldom observed in the genre, using her lyrics and memories to connect with fans and better show who she really is.

Check out Isiliel's music here on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0YRE7UBgdQ1scmuBHn8o1r

and YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5DvPji8PO4z8lOoHto3jcQ 

Lingüa Brütallica - Episode 49: Joe McGuigan and Philly Byrne of Gama Bomb (Northern Ireland)

Speaking with Joe McGuigan and Philly Byrne, this episode takes as its point of departure a tweet written by Philly about Gama Bomb's lyricism, stating “interesting fact: most metal people who criticise us for being 'un-serious' or 'goofy' didn't grow up during a *civil war* like we did. Go ahead and write your wee songs about hatred and murder: must be great to be a tourist”. As the interview progresses, we see how well this initial tweet encapsulates Gama Bomb's guiding ethos, reflected in their lyricism. Many of Gama Bomb's lyrics are certainly humorous, with songs about zombies, ninjas and even Kurt Russel. But these references to popular culture are neither arbitrary or meaningless as each is connected to some aspect of Joe and Philly's real lives, reflecting, for instance, the films that first bonded them as kids and the local Irish colloquialisms they use in daily life. In this way, though some might call them 'unserious', Gama Bomb's lyrics share a genuine connection to the real world.

To connect with Gama Bomb, go to: https://linktr.ee/gamabomb

 

Lingüa Brütallica - Episode 48: James McBain of Hellripper (Aberdeen, Scotland)

This episode investigates the dark lyricism of James McBain's solo-project Hellripper. James initially describes his lyrics, laden with satanic, occult, and antichristian themes, as written primarily in service of compatibility with Hellripper's black and thrash metal music. But don't be fooled, those that care to peer behind the curtain of black metal's most archetypal tropes will find not only captivating fictional stories of dark magic and witchcraft, but theatrical retellings of true events of the persecution of presumed witches throughout Europe. Hellripper's latest offering, "Warlocks Grim & Withered Hags", is particularly noteworthy for lyrics that, whilst still in keeping with Hellripper's established dark and malevolent theming, lead back to his homeland traversing Scottish folklore. These lyrics, punctuated by Scottish language, transport any keen listener to the locks and mountains of the Scottish Highlands that first inspired this turn towards the history and myths of James' native home.

To travel there yourself, click: https://hellripper.bandcamp.com/music  

 

Lingüa Brütallica - Episode 47: Serena Cherry of Svalbard (Bristol, England)

Our interview with Serena Cherry begins with the vocalist setting the record straight on Svalbard's common mistyping as a hardcore band, instead offering post-metal, black metal, and even post-rock as more suitable alternatives, demonstrating how her music, and accompanying lyrics, are notoriously difficult to set against a single genre label. As our interview progresses, Serena guides us through her lyrical catalogue, starting with the unflinching critique of sexism and misogyny both within and outside of the music scene that characterised her early work before moving to the more abstract, emotionally-charged and introspective lyrics produced for Svalbard's latest release. Consistent across these works is Serena's direct and unfiltered lyrical style that leaves listeners no choice but to confront their emotionally resonant themes.

To see more from Svalbard, go to:  https://svalbard.bandcamp.com/ ; https://www.facebook.com/svalbarduk/ 

Lingüa Brütallica - Episode 46: Kyle Schaefer of Fallujah and Archaeologist (San Francisco, USA)

In this episode, we speak to vocalist Kyle Schaefer about his lyrics written for technical death metal band Fallujah as well as his progressive solo-project, Archaeologist. In our interview, we explore the evolution of Kyle’s lyrical approach, moving from writing the lyrics for the a small portion of Archaeologist’s songs that are non-instrumental, to writing a full album of lyrics for Fallujah’s latest release Empyrean. Kyle describes how, while lyrics he composed for Archaeologist move between fantasy and reality tracing a large range of subject matter, when approaching the writing for Empyrean Kyle made a concerted effort to develop clear and consistent lyrical theming, focusing on death, destruction, and rebirth with the album's lyrics beginning in the dark and moving to the light. The relatability of these themes represents Kyle's view of the fundamental purpose of a song's vocals and lyrics as a source of connection for whoever may be listening.

To connect to Fallujah's work see: https://fallujah.bandcamp.com/ 

And to explore Kyle's expansive solo work see: https://archaeologist.bandcamp.com/

Lingüa Brütallica - Episode 45: Garry Brents of Memorrhage (Dallas, USA)

In this episode, we interview Garry Brents about his solo nu-metal project, Memorrhage. Listen as Garry guides us on our journey through 90s/00s nostalgia, combining lyrics about mechs and video games with a distinctly nu-metal sound. Garry explains how his revival and reimagining of nu-metal finds him stepping away from the genre's stalwart themes of violence and interpersonal conflict, but reproducing its archetypal angst. To do so, Garry composes lyrics describing dystopian worlds of cybernetics and time travel, while preserving tropic elements of classic nu-metal lyricism, including present tense first-person narrative as well as a raw and direct language style. 

To experience your own memory haemorrhage, go to: https://memorrhage.bandcamp.com/

And to explore more of Garry's work, go to: https://lilangisla.bandcamp.com/