Lingua Brutallica

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 

Lingüa Brütallica - Episode 15: Simon Girard of Beyond Creation (Québec)

In this episode, we conduct our first exploration of multilingual lyrical practices by talking to Simon Girard of Quebec's progressive technical death metal project, Beyond Creation. Although Beyond Creation's work engages consistently with themes of good and evil, and the nature of humanity, Simon explains that writing lyrics in English and French involves different considerations and processes, resulting in distinct patterns of rhyme, word play and even grammatical tense. Ultimately, Simon explains that, like drinking beer, metal is an acquired taste, it takes time and experience to recognise all the complex notes that make up a single brew, making it all too easy to overlook the impact of metal lyrics on the music. To see more from Beyond Creation, go to https://beyondcreationofficial.com/

Lingüa Brütallica - Episode 14: Rory Lane of Set on End (New Zealand)

This episode presents our first retrospective interview. We talk to Rory Lane, drummer and lyricist of currently inactive New Zealand band Set on End. In this interview, we take the opportunity to explore this uncharted perspective on lyric-writing by asking Rory to discuss how his views on metal lyrics have changed throughout his time working with Set on End and in the years since the band ceased performing. We talk about how lyrics that speak to core issues plaguing humanity can, even if they were written years ago, have ongoing relevance for their audiences. We also discuss how the skills he developed while composing lyrics for Set on End have contributed to Rory's current creative endeavours, including his YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/c/MediaZealot) featuring comedic criticism of sci-fi and fantasy cinema. To listen to the EP and album discussed in this episode see: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5FjkzVjVCJAmqCsTYrCqyV?si=AHFa-vVYTkeMvsYnsYuQXQ&dl_branch=1

Lingüa Brütallica - Episode 13: Stevie Boiser of Inferi, Ahsen Horde, Equipoise and Tethys (USA)

In this episode, we speak to vocalist, storyteller and self-described nerd, Stevie Boiser of Inferi, Ashen Horde, Equipoise and Tethys. Focusing on his work with Inferi, Stevie details how he navigates these three roles across his four bands by integrating complex wordplay, including rhyming, alliteration and cryptic phraseology into narratives inspired by his diverse interests ranging from Lovecraftian horror and Japanese anime to edh deck-building and contemporary political issues of income inequality. To see more from Stevie and his myriad creative endeavours, see https://twitter.com/ScreamyMc and https://linktr.ee/Mc_Screamy 

 

Lingüa Brütallica - Episode 12: Matt Hyde of Beastwars (New Zealand)

In this episode, we return to the New Zealand metal scene by interviewing Matt Hyde, the vocalist of Wellington's sludge metal band Beastwars. Throughout the interview, we touch on the changes in Matt's writing style over time, how he has learned to weave his personal experiences into his music, and the ways that songs can become "spells". Further, Matt's straightforward expression and propensity for monosyllabic words, allows listeners to more easily connect with the stories composed in Beastwars' songs and relate it to their own experiences with adversity.

Lingüa Brütallica - Episode 11: Oliver Aleron of Archspire (Canada)

This month's episode presents our first plunge into the Canadian metal scene as we talk with Oliver Aleron, the vocalist of technical death metal band Archspire. Throughout the interview we discuss how writing lyrics depicting detailed sci-fi-inspired narratives represents Oliver's approach to metal as a space to escape the more mundane reality of our 'real' selves, and how locking yourself in a house and consuming nothing but coffee and eggs can assist with writer's block.

Lingüa Brütallica - Episode 10: Stace Fifield and Stu Minchington, Blindfolded and Led to the Woods (New Zealand)

In our tenth episode, we interview vocalist Stace Fifield and guitarist Stu Minchington, of New Zealand avantgarde progressive death metal band Blindfolded and Led to the Woods. We explore their diverging approaches to writing lyrics for different songs and how this is influenced by the role assigned to vocals as more of a percussive instrument or a vehicle for narrative content. We also discuss the freedom that the metal genre allows to explore diverse topics and ideas from these different viewpoints.

For more from Blindfolded and Led to the woods see: https://www.facebook.com/balttw/, https://balttw.bandcamp.com/

Check out their latest video clips, mentioned at the end of this episode here: https://www.youtube.com/user/balttw

 

Lingüa Brütallica - Episode 9: Researching Extreme Metal with Dr Jeremy Wallach

For the tenth anniversary of the book "Metal Rules the Globe", Episode 9 brings you our second academic interview with Dr Jeremy Wallach, an anthropologist at Bowling Green State University in Ohio who specialises in Southeast Asian popular musics. In this episode, we explore Jeremy's research on several Southeast Asian metal scenes, presented in "Metal Rules the Globe" and discuss how the international metal scene has changed in the 10 years since the book's publication. For more information on Dr Jeremy Wallach's work visit:  http://www.jeremywallach.com/ 

Lingüa Brütallica - Episode 8: Mallika Sundaramurthy of Castrator (International/USA)

In episode 8 we speak to vocalist Mallika Sundaramurthy of international band Castrator about how her lyrics are reflecting on and critiquing death metal's history of misogyny, whilst also acting as a vehicle for exploring women's anger and frustration developed through trauma and oppression. To keep up to date with Castrator's music and, especially their upcoming release, follow https://www.facebook.com/CastratorBand/ and listen to their music at https://castrator.bandcamp.com/