Fiends At Feast Interview

All questions answer by Guitarist David Uttal-Veroff of Fiends at Feast

     1. Can you give us an update on what is going on with the band these days?

1. Currently, we are writing new material for a follow up album to “Towards the Baphomet’s Throne.”  Nothing is set in stone yet but the plan is to record an EP featuring new songs that were written over the course of time it took us to release the LP.  Afterwards we will begin recording our sophomore full-length album.  The body of the album will be built on fresh song writing to ensure both consistency and innovation.  So far the material we’ve come up with is more aggressive and evil sounding then the stuff we’ve written in the past so I am excited to see how it turns out as a whole.  We recently started working with Claw Hammer PR to gain further promotion and exposure for the band, and so far things are going really well.  

2. How would you describe the musical sound of the new album and how it differs           

from the previous ep?

2.The music on “Towards the Baphomet’s Throne” showcases a more pronounced black metal influence and a greater emphasis on atmosphere.  It still retains the idea of fusing black and death metal together but it does it in a more consistent and fluid manner then the EP.   The tone of the music is dark and sinister with a helpful dose of melody to carry the music above the usual grit and grim.   There is far less pure riffing on the album and more tremolo- picked chord and melody lines to bring out more feel and atmosphere.   The main difference between the full length and EP is we honed our songwriting approach so that each song relates to each other instead of the scattered array of influences that the EP encompassed.

3. What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the new release explores?

3.The lyrics on “Towards the Baphomet’s Throne” explore a wide array of satanic and apocalyptic themes.  For example, “After the Gates of Hell” proposes an individual’s vision of a time when demonic forces have taken over the world, oppressing humanity and crushing their faith in religion.  The song “Hedonistic Hersey” portrays various satanic cults and groups through out medieval and more contemporary history that practiced black magic rituals and sexual rites.  There is also the inclusion of more traditional satanic themes as in the case of “Walls of Worship” that explores the horrors and lies of the Christian church.

4. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the bands name?

4.The name Fiends at Feast was the title of one of the first songs we ever wrote as a band.  The name refers to a scene in the lyrics where a man who has journeyed into a hellish underworld encounters a group of demons feasting on human flesh.

5. What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and how would you describe your stage performance?

5.The most memorable show we’ve played was when we shared the stage with Goatwhore.  It was in Santa Cruz,CA which is where we are based out of so there was local support  from our fans and  many people showed up that had never seen us before.  We played with proficiency and passion that night and everyone was banging their heads vigorous throughout our set.   The ‘Towards the Baphomet’s Throne” CD release show with A Band of Orcs was particularly memorable with us co-heading the show and playing to more people then I think Fiends has ever had the privilege of performing to.

6. Do you have any touring plans for the future?

6.We are trying to organize a west coast tour for the summer of 2013 so for anyone that lives on this side of the U.S stay tuned for possible dates.

7. On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your new album by fans of black and death metal?

7.The feedback has been overall good on an international level.  Many people have shown interest in our music in countries such as Brazil, France, Russia, Singapore, and Canada.  We contributed a track to a compilation that was organized by a guy out of Scotland, which was a very cool opportunity for us.   I think many fans enjoy the no-frills solid approach we take to Blackened Death Metal and are interested to see how we progress further as a band.  Others are not so impressed and enthusiastic and have criticized us for our lack of originality or black metal authenticity.  Ether way I’m happy people outside of the U.S are listening to our music since I have a lot of respect and admiration for the international metal community.

8. What direction do you see your music heading into on future releases?

8.I see us going in a much more aggressive and extreme direction.  One thing I think we’ve lack musically in the past is raw ferocity and I would be interested to see if would could maintain the same level of melody and atmosphere with a more violent and visceral approach.   We will always continue to progress as musicians so I think you can expect raised level of technicality and musical experimentation in our future releases.

9. What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your newer music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

9.Bands like Deathspell Omega, Portal, and Impetuous Ritual have influenced some of the stranger and more disturbing sounds we have begun to incorporate into our new music.   On the flipside, bands like Negura Bunget have also influenced us to continue writing music that is melodic and musically diverse.  We have also been able to re-connect with some of our older influences such as Morbid Angel and Immolation to sustain the death metal side of our sound.  Some bands I’ve personally been listening to a lot recently are Deathspell Omega, Morbid Angel, Evoken, Vollahn, Immortal, Dark Fortress, and Ruins.

10. How would you describe your views on Satanism and Occultism?

10.Our singer Loki gave his personal sentiments on Satanism and said “it is a choice to accept true freedom and enjoy all the carnal pleasures without hypocritical deceit”.  I think everyone in the band can stand behind that philosophy whether or not we consider ourselves to be Satanist in the truest form of the word.  

11.Outside of music what are some of your interests?

11.Along with music, I’ve always been deeply interested in film and literature and I think this holds true for the others in the band as well. Guitarist Sammer has been writing movie scripts for the last few years and also has an interest in opening a small business. Drummer Trevor is passionate about English studies and Bassist Nathan is a classical music major at the University of California Santa Cruz.  

12. Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview?

12.I would like to thank you for giving us an opportunity to do this interview.  Much respect and gratitude to Mike Juliano of Horror Pain Gore Death Productions for distributing and releasing Fiends at Feast’s albums.  I want to thank Scott and Ryan of Clawhammer for their great PR work and for all their help and support.  To all our fans thank you and be on the watch for news in the Fiends camp.  2013 should be a very busy year for us and we’ve got some exciting stuff in the works.

For Contact/Booking: fiendofthefeast@gmail.com
http://fiendsatfeast.bandcamp.com/
http://www.facebook.com/FiendsAtFeast
http://fiendsatfeast.com/
http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Fiends_at_Feast/3540325915