CORPSEVOMIT
interview by Ian C Stewart
AUTO4 spring 1997
One of the best tapes to arrive here in the past twelve months was sent by Brice Dalzell of the band Corpsevomit. Fans of the metal underground will already be familiar with these weirdos but the rest of you may be experiencing them for the first time right now.
I axed Brice about the early days.
"Matt, Garrett and Pat (guitar/vox, drums and guitar) first got together in late 91, I think. Matt and Pat were friends of mine from living so damn close and from skateboarding around the city being drunken hoodlums . They had been jamming together on guitars, writing tunes."
The first lineup of Corpsevomit didn't include Brice, even though it was he who birthed the band's moniker.
"I used to sing for a band called Roadkillstew, and I wasn't comfortable because I wasn't playing with my friends. Matt, Garrett and Pat (filling in on bass) were playing brutal fucking death metal and Roadkillstew was kind of like a thrash, goofy old metal band."
Brice finally joined Corpsevomit in summer 1993, after being booted from
Roadkillstew "for lack of dedication. Because I started thinking: 'Wow, this is pretty gay.'" So Pat went back to guitar " and since the night of the unmentionable, Corpsevomit realizes that as individuals we are shit, but together we are the Warriors Of Filth," whose recorded output can be summed up in one word: unclean."
They released two demos before the undeniable Bastards Of Foreverfilth came out in March 1996. Before being licensed to Wild Rags in October 1996 and released on CD. I know I loved it, but what about everyone else, how's the reaction been?
"Pretty awesome, I guess. But we don't expect the whole world to start shitting on themselves uncontrollably after their first listen." Maybe by the third listen. Give them something to look forward to."
The death metal underground is thriving, there are loads of bands and zines that all support each other. The downside to this, of course, is that "standards" develop and pretty soon all the zines look identical and all the bands sound the same, yawn. How does Corpsevomit differentiate itself from every other bunch of necro speedfreaks out there?
"I'm not going to say 'well, I gotta admit it, we're pretty fuckin' awesome, we've moved 1,600 units of all our releases and our new shit makes Cynic and Atheist look simple.' Come on, this is fucking death metal, you spread filth and plague! I don't see how any death metal band can take itself that fucking seriously. I'm not really sure what about our music separates us from other death bands. Maybe because we don't have any ripping guitar solos or verse/chorus song structures. We're just four goofy metalheads who happen to play in a band, that's all. And you're right, Ian, about loads of bands and fanzines supporting each other in our underground, it's a great feeling.
Hail to our dirthead friends in these bands: Cianide, Pederasty, Deceased, Incantation, Lividity, Severed, Disinter, Deaden, Reprobation, Eternal Hatred."
Oh, okay.
It's not every death metal band that would even think about playing at an event like the WE Fest last year, let alone make the huge Chicago-Wilmington trek. So, what the fuck was that all about? What was it like?
"Oh man, it was a lot of fun. It was great just being out there. That's the farthest I've ever been from Chicago. Thanks a lot to Kenyata Sullivan for considering us. This was the first show we've ever played without any other metal bands. But I think that is what the show was about, y'know? Being exposed to some diverse music. We played at the Far Side and the order of the bands playing that day was: Flicker,
Sidedoor Johnnies, 99 cent Special (Hi Spike!), Corpsevomit, Laburnum, The Maggies, Bruna, Breed 13. We'd agree to play the WE Fest again in a second if we were asked. The only thing I would do differently is not leaving a brand new pack of bass strings at the club!"
And has contact with people across the globe made Brice more patriotic or less?
"Probably less. A lot of the history here in the US is disgraceful. But, hey, I know a lot of people fought to make the US a place where the average fuckface can walk into Walgreens and purchase whatever he wants, whenever he wants. My biggest gripe about this country is that it totally caters to the weak sloths and leeches in our society. What a fucking waste."
For the nine-siete, expect Corpsevomit to carry on just like before.
"We plan on being the least showered band and we plan on drinking on all 403 days of 1997. I'd like to spread 'Bastards Of Foreverfilth' to every piss-infested corner of the underground. We'll continue to write songs (slowly but surely), jerk off, bang our heads, play Slayer covers, drink good beer, drink shit beer, hang with our pals and continue our dirty journey. We can't picture any of us four falling out of metal or becoming clean and feeble, so we have a long way to go."
Brice Dalzell