1. Hello Mike! How are things going?
Things are going great man, we have been busy as hell.
2. I heard about the lineup changes you have been through, How did that happen and why? How does the new line up work and could you tell us about it?
Well when we reformed, it was gonna be me on bass, Wayne on vocals, Ruben on guitar and Brad on drums. Brad backed out pretty quick due to lack of interest. Shorty after that we hooked up with Eric Park. He fit in perfectly and added a bit more dimension than Brad was capable of, such as gravity blasts, not to mention he was very energetic and excited to be in the band. After writing about 2 new songs,
3. "Butcher the Weak" came out a few months ago and i feel its one of the best releases from Devourment yet. I think i heard some people saying it wasnt as good as "Molesting the Decapitated" but for me, i think the band gets better and sicker on every release you do! Are you satisfied with the results?
We love the songs and feel they are a worthy follow up to Molesting, but the production was rushed and not what it should have been. That is why we decided to re-record it and release it through Brutal Bands this time around. This time the production is 1000 times better and we couldn't be happier.
4. Did everthing go as you planned? if not, what would you liked to have done differently?
No definately not. It took a long time and our studio visits were very spread out. It was very stressful. We were never satisfied with the mix and every time we went in to try to improve it, it got worse and worse. We ended up going way over budget and got a recording we were not happy with.
5. How would you cumpare "Butcher the Weak" from your previous releases?
I love all of our recordings but the new version of Butcher the Weak has alot more meaning to me. Alot of people were skeptical of us because of the lineup changes and whatnot, so we had something to prove with this album. The new version of Butcher the Weak, to me, is just the most intense thing Devourment has ever done, I fucken love it.
6. What are some of the bands strongest musical influences?
Alot of the old school bands, Ruben and Eric are heavily influenced by grind, I am really big on the
7. Your lyrics are gory and sick as fuck! Any story behind the songs? Do you find social/political topics interesting? As well as topics about animal rights, religion etc...
Not really, I mean they aren't based on fact if thats what you are asking. We just try to push the boundaries. To tell you the truth, politics and religion kind of bore me, I don;t really get involved in such things. Animal rights I'm all for I guess, but I don't get actively involved in it.
8. Do you have a great admiration to serial killers?
Not admiration, its more like fascination. To try to see whats going on in these crazy fucker's heads is interesting.
9. Have you ever cuntemplated about how such serial killers feel about lyricist and gore enthusiast such as yourselves, using their twisted state of mind for lyrics and themes?
Hmm, I think if anyone takes these kind of lyrics seriously, they are fucked up in the head. It is entertainment, not to be taken literally. Twisted and sick, yes, but entertainment none the less
10. If you are to be a serial killer, who would you be and what sorts your will your victims be?
I guess you are asking who my favorite is. I would have to say Albert Fish. He was one sick fucker.
11. And how would you like to die??
In my sleep, no pain ha ha.
12. I heard you guys are preparing a split with Godless Truth, Sarcolytic and Sect of Execration... Hows the writing going for the split? Any updates as far as studio shit goes?
Yes. We wrote one brand new song called Deflesh the Abducted for it and did a cover of "The Pick-Axe Murders" by Cannibal Corpse. The songs came out great and we already submitted them to Ossuary Industries. They will be releasing the split. It will be out in June.
13. What can you say about th bands that you are sharing releases with?
They are all fucken great. I am a hige Godless Truth fan, Sect of Execration are one of the heaviest bands around and I think Sarcolytic is one of the best new bands on the scene. This split if going to be amazing.
14. Hows the scene in
There are parts of
15. Whats the typical song writing process of a Devourment song?
I write some riffs, I show them to Ruben, he makes them better, we both arrange a full song, show it to Eric, get drums to it, show Chris the music, he puts bass lines to it, I will do some scratch vocal patterns, write lyrics, then we got a new song.
16. Your gutturals are sick as fuck! Is there any particular vocalist that you look up to? Did you learn alot from Ruben and Wayne?
Oh yeah man, Wayne and Ruben are the fucken kings. I did pick up alot of tips from those guys over the years. They are my 2 favorite brutal vocalists by far and I couldn't have had better teachers. Others that I am big fans of are John Paoline from Mortal Decay, Rich Turnbul from Repudilation, John Gallagher from Dying Fetus, to name a few.
17. Besides being a musician, you're also a well known artist. Tell us a bit abput that in depth for those who dont know. What are the themes you commonly mutilate?
I've been doing art for bands and zines for years, even before I joined Devourment. I've always been an artist and have been a huge death metal fan since like 1990 so I just started contacting zines and bands and sent them free artwork, thats how I got started. I think I'm most known for my black and white designs. Themes are typically creatures, gore, guts, blood, all that fun stuff.
18. How would you describe Devourment on stage?
We are alot more concerned with how we sound than how we look. I see alot of bands jumping around like maniacs and look really cool, but sound like crap. We try to sound better than our records. Ruben and Chirs thrash their heads around like madmen, my whole onstage persona is to look like I want to kill you.
19. Aside from playing in the band, what do you guys do during your spare time?
We all work, have families, go out with friends, watch sports, all that kinda stuff. Eric has 2 other bands, one he does vocals for called Rhome and another he plays drums for called Hyperion. Chris has a bands called Intestinal Fortitude which blends grindcore and pro wrestling, its awesome. I spend alot of my spare time doing artwork.
20. What kinda shit has been in your CD players lately?
I have been jamming the new Lust of Decay alot lately, the new Carnivore Diprosopus to, that shit is brutal as fucking hell.
21. What can we expect from Devourment in the near future? Gigs, Tours etc.. Have you think on the idea of touring here in
We are playing the Central Illinois Metalfest this July and Gathering of the Sick in August. We are gonna be hitting
Our second DVD will be out soon as well. Thanks for the interview brother, keep it sick.