Lingua Brutallica

Lingüa Brütallica - Episode 24 (Part 2): Aaron Carey of Nechochwen (West Virginia)

This release brings you part two of our interview with Aaron Carey of Nechochwen. In this segment, our topic of discussion turns to particular lyrical practices and how these patterns are connected to Nechochwen's thematic focus on native American history, culture and mythology. Shifts in Aaron's lyrical approach across albums, including shifting from writing from the first person plural to first person singular perspective, reflect different periods of his life where he was feeling relatively connected or isolated from community. Drawing on particular Native American conceptualizations of the passage of time, Aaron explains that even when composing lyrics that detail events that occurred centuries before his birth, he feels personally embedded in the stories he weaves. The detailed descriptions he writes to accompany these songs invite the listener to accompany him on this journey into the past and regain lost knowledge of Native American peoples. As Aaron put it "we lost some stuff and we want it back". And so, this interview poses some important questions about the potential for metal music to serve as a vehicle for language reclamation. 

The second part of this episode will be released alongside a full live video of our chat where you can see Aaron display the linguistic and historical resources he discusses throughout this two-part episode.

For more on Nechochwen, go to https://nechochwen.bandcamp.com/music

Lingüa Brütallica - Episode 24 (Part 1): Aaron Carey of Nechochwen (West Virginia)

For Episode 24, we sat down with Aaron Carey of Nechochwen for what ended up being a THREE HOUR chat about his blackened folk metal features lyrics that address native American history, culture and mythology. While we are no stranger to long episodes here, we decided to do something unprecedented for Lingua Brutallica: split the episode in half. In our first release, we begin with Aaron’s explanation of how his exploration of Native American themes in his lyrics is part of his personal investigation of the lives of his Shawnee and Lenaupe ancestors and his history in West Virginia, and details the incredible lengths he has gone in attempt to preserve the languages and traditions of the land. In particular, Aaron talks about how he works with and integrates resources from historical texts he has collected, some of which date back many centuries, into his lyrics, with Nechochwen’s lyrics straddling the lines between the personal, the instructive, and, of course, the metal, with Aaron also explaining how metal was the only suitable genre to convey the stories he wanted to tell. Stay tuned for the second half of this video next, as well as a full live video of our chat where you can see Aaron display the linguistic and historical resources he discusses throughout this two-part episode.

For more on Nechochwen, go to https://nechochwen.bandcamp.com/music

Lingüa Brütallica - Episode 23: Frank Albanese of Hath (New Jersey)

This episode presents our interview with Frank Albanese - guitarist and vocalist of New Jersey's arcane progressive blackened death project, Hath. Although Hath is often described as having lyrics referencing dark souls lore, Frank discusses how this was more of a consequence of time crunch for their first release than a vision for the band. Rather, his lyrics instead more broadly draw on a wide range of fantastical and historical references, ranging from real-world mythology to the Jungian approach to alchemy, that give their music a distinctly dark and theatrical feel. Frank's lyrics are also not just inspired by existing works of fantasy and literature, as his lyrics' neologisms assist in developing lore unique to Hath's music. To explore the dark theatre of Hath's lyrics further, see https://hathnj.bandcamp.com/ 

Lingüa Brütallica - Episode 22: Kyle Beam of Undeath (New York)

In this episode we talk to Undeath's guitarist and lyricist Kyle Beam, the first of our interviewees whose lyrics seriously engage with such well recognised death metal themes as gore, murder and, well, death! Kyle details his recipe for unpretentious lyrics that tell a good-humoured horror story and allow the listener to draw on their own imagination to depict violent acts that are not explicitly described in the songs' lyrics. Far from trying to be shocking for the sake of being shocking, Kyle's lyrics describing zombies and undead skeletons are decidedly fantastic and removed from real-world human experiences of violence so that they may serve as source of entertaining escapism rather than genuine offense. Kyle explains how Undeath's lyrics are, in continuing a long tradition of metal spawned by bands like Cannibal Corpse and Carcass, aimed at curating an atmosphere of horror that is fun, exploratory, and above all, very metal. Undeath's latest album "It's Time...To Rise from the Grave" is out April 22. To keep up with all Undeath's latest releases go to https://undeath.bandcamp.com/ 

 

Lingüa Brütallica - Episode 21: Cain Cressall and Tim Pope of The Amenta (Sydney)

This episode brings to the fore the combined lyrical prowess of The Amenta's Cain Cressall (vocals) and Tim Pope (keyboards, samples). When approaching their lyrics, Cain and Tim draw on a diverse array of linguistic resources to engage in language play. Refusing to submit to presumed linguistic 'rules', the two lyricists wear their linguistic repertoire as an action suit rather than a straitjacket. The resulting amalgam of ambiguous neologisms, intentional mondegreens and graphic manipulations produce layers of meaning, extending across both oral and written modalities, whose significance is often mysterious, even to the authors themselves. In fact, Cain and Tim deliberately avoid sharing with each other explanations for their lyrical choices, opting instead to allow the other writer to adopt the viewpoint of their listeners who are permitted to interpret the lyrics free from their author's intervention. The ultimate effect is such that The Amenta's lyrics slowly envelope the listener, or devoted lyric reader, in an inescapable air of unease.

To experience The Amenta's discomforting quality, see https://theamenta1.bandcamp.com/ 

Lingüa Brütallica - Episode 20: Jono Colliver of Dr Colossus (Melbourne)

In this episode, vocalist and guitarist Jono Colliver from hard rock/metal outfit Dr Colossus embiggens us with his presence. Dr Colossus is best known for it's jocular yet affectionate retelling of episodes of the show from which the band derives it's name - The Simpsons. Although the Simpsons appears as unusual source material for metal lyrics, Jono highlights the show's well recognised dark humour, projecting dark reflections of society veiled by the program's innocent spirit. This balance of dark and light is one that Jono endeavours to reproduce when composing lyrics based on the stories that resonated with him and which he believes are relatable to his audience, in particular the Simpsons' die hard fans who can recognise Jono's selection of deep cuts. Importantly, whilst Jono's recounting of the Simpson's is certainly loving, it is not uncritical, as his lyrics contribute to essential cultural discussions around the show, in particular regarding it's representation of POC characters. To see more from Dr Colossus https://www.drcolossustheband.com/ and https://drcolossustheband.bandcamp.com/ 

 

Lingüa Brütallica - Episode 19: Karina Utomo of High Tension and Rinuwat (Melbourne)

In this episode, we speak with Karina Utomo about her longstanding work with extreme metal band High Tension, and her more recent undertakings with experimental project Rinuwat. While these projects may appear to discuss distinct contexts at first glance, Karina explains how both are vehicles for her exploration of different aspects of her Indonesian cultural heritage and research of Indonesian historical events. Lyrics from High Tension begin to reflect on revelations drawn from Karina's engagement with survivors of Indonesia's 1965-1966 anti-communist purge. Her compositions for Rinuwat then bring further focus to Indonesian history and cultural knowledge via a combination of traditional gamelan notation and Javanese cultural references written in Indonesian (Bahasa Indonesia) and Old Javanese (Bahasa Kawi). Ultimately, Karina views both projects as methods of decolonizing metal and tapping into the sonic power that ancient languages and cultures offer. To see more from High Tension and Rinuwat go to https://hightensionband.bandcamp.com/ and https://rinuwat.bandcamp.com/.

Lingüa Brütallica - Episode 18: Andy Walmsley of Beyond Grace (UK)

In this interview, we speak with Andy Walmsley of death metal project Beyond Grace, based in Nottingham, England. We sink our teeth into in depth discussion of how Andy constructs lyrics addressing key questions about the nature of humanity, morality and choice that, whilst theoretical, are nonetheless very clearly grounded in the real world contexts. Andy details how, like a magpie, he collects excerpts from various sources, from Obama's political discourse, to Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale and even Rick and Morty, embeds them in lyrics attending to varied social and political issues. His frequent use of second person pronominal forms (i.e. 'you') coupled with rhetorical questions force the listener to confront their own perspectives on these issues, and also reveal Andy's own inner dialogue and self-reflection. 

To see more from Beyond Grace, go to: https://beyondgrace.bandcamp.com/ 

Lingüa Brütallica - Episode 17: Kat Gillham of Thronehammer (UK and Germany)

In this episode, we speak to vocalist and drummer Kat Shevil Gillham of Enshroudment, Lucifer's Chalice, Nine Altars, Uncoffined, Winds of Genocide and Thronehammer. Focusing on her work with doom metal group Thronehammer, we talk to Kat about how her deeply descriptive lyrics immerse the listener in a multisensory experience of ancient battles fought amidst a ferocious landscape, drawing the listener's awareness to the brutality of both war and nature. Building on this discussion, Kat explains how she and her bandmates separate their lyrics from their politics, using their social media platforms to take a strong stand against fascism while allowing their lyrics to take the listener to a land of pure escapism and fantasy.

To see more from Thronehammer go to: https://www.facebook.com/THRONEHAMMER; https://thronehammer.bandcamp.com/album/incantation-rites

Lingüa Brütallica - Episode 16: Researching Extreme Metal with Laina Dawes

In this episode, we interview Canadian heavy metal journalist, music and culture critic, and PhD candidate, Laina Dawes. Laina has written extensively about the social, cultural and political aspects of the extreme metal community, most notably in her book ‘“What are you doing here?” A Black Woman’s Life and Liberation in Heavy Metal’, first published in 2012.  In this interview, Laina draws on her research and personal experience to discuss the complex and often paradoxical nature of the metal scene as space of freedom and liberation on the one hand, but also a source of exclusion and marginalisation of on the other. Noting that "your freedom is not regulated on my oppression", Laina discusses questions like, despite the prevalence of gatekeeping, racism and misogyny in the scene, how has metal become so important to so many people of diverse backgrounds? How can a genre known for songs of murder, horror and slaughter be a source of positivity and unity? And how can a scene with a history of exclusion become a source of liberation? 

To read more of Laina's work, go to https://writingisfighting.tumblr.com/ and keep up with all her current research and media output on Twitter https://twitter.com/Lainad?s=20