In this new series of articles, and as the title suggests, we will be asking basic and general questions to bands who have or are currently working with Brutal Resonance Records. Wanna know their favorite albums of all time or how they met? Then this is where you start. We're starting off with our most recent collaboration on the label, that with industrial metal band Carrion. Get to know and meet Hide, Sam, and Joe directly below:
Who are the members of the band, what do they do, and where did you all meet?
Hide: Carrion currently consists of myself, Joe Crow and Sam Dusk. Joe is a recent addition who I've known of for a while through his main band Vanity Kills. I can't remember how we got in touch initially but we've collaborated here and there for a while now. Sam's been around since the dawn of time and has always been involved to some degree or another.
I lay the groundwork, I act as the main composer and the mouthpiece. The others add whichever contribution they feel fits. I may have started this as a solo project but I always intended for it to be a band so lately I've tried to run it as such.
Sam: I mostly provide sound textures and field recordings, and handle some of the visual arts. I met Hide back online years ago and I’ve no idea how. We’ve been good friends since and I’ve always supported his work. Joe was someone that I met through Hide actually.
Joe: I generally take care of the live bass aspect of things. Taking from the foundation that Hide and Sam lay down and trying to add new and interesting rhythmic and melodic elements. I've known Hide a few years through a shared love of the strange and weird aspects of music. Sam I met through Hide after joining the band.
Where did you get the name of your band from? What is the inspiration behind it?
Hide: Ah yes, I wish I knew. Most Carrion related matters stem from somewhere else, I don't always know the purpose or meaning for these things but I know they are necessary. As the word implies decay as well as birds who feast upon Death one might draw conclusions from that.
Sam: We had a joke I liked about the name Carrion. This project has been kicking around for a long time rather like it’s namesake. It’ll never quite go away. It’ll always be laying there, waiting for our mental stability to waver long enough to fall back into it. I’m not sure what the original inspiration behind the name was however.
What are three of your favorite albums of all time and why?
Hide: My music taste is far too erratic to choose just three, I'll listen to anything from sleazy rock'n'roll like L.A Guns to Morbid Angel. I'll go with "Elizium" by Fields Of The Nephilim. "The Crimson Idol" by W.A.S.P. and "The Wild Hunt" by Watain.
Sam: Three favourite albums is a tough call. Again, my memory is shit, so I’ll pick some from my physical collection. At the top of my list, I’d put Psyclon Nine’s "Order of the Shadow". Was huge for me growing up. Columbine’s "Religious Equipment" would come second. They were another huge band for me when I first started getting into music. And thirdly? It’s been less influential on my life but I can’t overemphasize how much I love Howls of Ebb’s "The Pendlomic Vows". I spent a lot of nights feverishly meditating over that album.
Joe: I think mine changes from day to day so by the time this is printed it'll be wrong so I'll pick albums I always refer back to in a creative pinch. Stabbing Westwards "Darkest Days" album was a life changer for me. It gave me an insight into how synths could be a prevalent force in modern "rock" and opened a channel to more traditional industrial music. Another would be Slipknot's self titled album as it also paved a way into vastly heavier music than I was able to digest in 1999 and Michael Jackson's "DANGEROUS" album for its vastly intriguing percussion production and genre scope through a single artist.
If you had to describe the sound of your band to someone who has never listened to it before, what would you tell them?
Hide: I once described us as Nine Inch Nails going through Hell on a spicy drug cocktail
Sam: I’d tell someone who hasn’t heard us before to find a quiet room, center themselves, and then I’d walk them mentally through the process of slipping into a deep pit. That’s what Carrion feels like for me. It feels like you’re drowning in mud, but you’re too feverish to fight back. I want them to feel physically ill.
Joe: You know that feeling as you're drifting off to sleep and you suddenly feel like you're literally falling? Prior to joining, as a fan of the band, I'd describe it as that feeling you get right before you spring upright in your bed in musical form
If you could meet one person, dead or alive, who would it be?
Hide: All my heroes are dead it seems but I suppose someone like Galileo, DaVinci and Stiv Bators from Lords Of The New Church / Dead Boys might be interesting all in their own way.
Sam: I don’t want to meet anyone so this question is difficult. I suppose I’d pick a historical figure like Grigori Rasputin or Vlad Tepes. I’d attempt to persuade them to teach me something.
Joe: Whoever decided that marmite should exist. I have my reasons.
What kind of gear do you use to record your music?
Hide: Hardware synths, modular synthesizers, guitars and processed found sound. The DAW acts as a tape machine these days. I wanted to bring a more organic touch to all this as opposed to simply clicking around on a screen. Leftovers from my days playing in punk bands I'm sure.
Sam: Most of my work is done by cellphone to be honest. I’m always recording everything around me, looking for new sounds. I don’t care if that’s someone beating their spouse at 3am while I’m listening on their porch or if it’s a broken radiator in an old library that disturbed my concentration.
Joe: I use an old no brand bass guitar through various effects pedals and a free amp simulator. Nothing too exotic but nothing routed to manufacturers specifications.
What do you think the future of music is going to look like?
Hide: Let's see if there even is a future at all. That said, one might find some comfort in the fact that since no one's making money anymore at least [hopefully] that must mean the people starting bands and trying to do what they can with the bloated corpse of the "Industry" do it for the love rather than the money...But then I might be too hopeful. One positive I will add however is that since the live scene is all but dead and gone for the time being it seems to have opened some doors for smaller bands who may not have the funds to pay half of a headliners tour bus or live in an area without much of an active scene. Live stream shows lets these artists perform even if in a limited manner, so I hope to see that trend continue even though of course we all hope to one day be able to step on a stage again. As for the rest all I can say is support your friends, support your local scenes and search through the dusty tunnels of the underground, you might find a treasure or two.
Sam: Music is getting more accessible and the boundaries and definitions are continuing to be pushed. It’s going to get chaotic and wonderful and I’m looking forward to drowning in a sea of noise.
Joe: Back to the artists. Back to where it was before the business became more important.
