Interview - INCREMATE - Old school death metal from Dresden. ~ DEADLY STORM zine

Interview with death metal band from Germany - INCREMATE.

Answered Ronald, thank you!

Translated Duzl, thank you!

Questions prepared Jakub Asphyx.

Recenze/review - INCREMATE - Mortal Domain (2020):

https://www.deadlystormzine.com/2020/09/recenzereview-incremate-mortal-domain.html

Ave INCREMATE! Greetings to Germany. I hope you're doing well in these crazy times. Recently, I had to order all your CDs as a fan of old school death metal. They are great and this year's "Mortal Domain" is literally killing. How and when did INCREMATE get together and why did you choose to play old moldy death metal? Please take us through the band's history.

Hi Jakub! We have started in 2007. In the beginning we played a more melodic Death Metal, but we rejected it again and directed strongly towards Old School Death, primarily the one of the American school. The style simply fitted better to us and corresponded to what we liked to listen to in private. Unfortunately, we often had problems with the line-up, and drummer Teo 2012 got injured, so that valuable time passed again. In 2015 we finally entered a studio to record our debut. Everything else is known.

"Mortal Domain" is your third album. How did it originate? If I compare it with the previous album "Violence and Insanity" (2018), it seems faster, sharper, darker. How do you see it? Where and how did you want to move?

We were not quite satisfied with the sounds of the first 2 albums. With "Mortal Domain" we finally managed to create a sound that fits to us, the music and the legendary 90's old school feeling. The whole thing sounds round and coherent now. We are very satisfied. Concerning the songs themselves: We think that we have become a bit slower and more groovy. The songs have become more catchy and audible from album to album. There is now also air to breathe. We no longer sound so hectic, but more orderly and listener-oriented. So it has become more old-school.

When I listen to the record, I feel like I did in the 1990s. I discovered music then and I still listen to it to this day. How did you manage to make such a dusty sound? Where did you record this album and who mixed your album?

This is because we worked with two people on "Mortal Domain" that we had not previously included in the recordings. One of them is Moritz from EPIC CLOUD, who managed to make the guitars and bass sound the way we had wanted it for many years. Since we are no fans of overproduced and artificial sounding albums, it was clear that we tend to record in a direction that sounds natural, human and yet energetic without annoying the listener. The second person I would like to mention is Jörg from SOUNDLODGE STUDIO, who might be known to some of you. He gave the songs the right mix and recognized what kind of music we make. So he has continued the old school way of recording and finally refined it in an explosive way.

The cover is also subject to the old days. This year's one evokes in me the memory of "Slowly we Rot" from Obituary. Maybe it's the way of painting or just the blood that flows on the ground, I don't know. What exactly is it supposed to represent in relation to your music? And who is author of this cover?

The cover design is just as important to us as the songs and the sound: It should look direct, old-school and natural. Our covers are all hand drawn by Shannon Leslie from Shetland. She is a very young and very talented artist who does not use Photoshop. From the beginning we had the idea not to let any living creatures appear on the covers, because almost everybody does that. We always wanted to create a dark scenario that was captured after a terrible deed was done. This stimulates the imagination of the viewer and gives room for wild speculations and stories. Our motto is "Murder Violence Insanity", which is reflected in the lyrics. And we have the album covers drawn to match.

The lyrics on the new album are traditional, classic, death metal. They seem good to me. How did they originate? Where do you get inspiration for them?

I choose stories from films, documentaries and books. I do not take over the actions 1:1, but transform them and describe individual deeds, persons, moods and emotions. Often the psyche of the perpetrator is involved. I shed light on the background, motives and of course also on the difficult actions that result from them. I don't follow a concept, but rather use all the stories that fit to an INCREMATE song.

You released album again by the German Democratic Recordings. I also like your stable colleagues M.A.D. They also did a great job this year. Why did you choose this label? Have you sent promo recordings to major publishers, for example? What was your experience with that?

I got to know Hendrik from GERMAN DEMOCRATIC RECORDINGS by writing to several labels. Hendrik was very enthusiastic, because he is a metal traditionalist like us. We fit together very well as people. He does his work from pure conviction and deep passion. I have also asked major labels, but the reactions were modest. Nobody was interested.

You come from the beautiful city - Dresden from the former East Germany. What's your metal scene like? Does underground work for you?

With the local club SKULLCRUSHER we have a real institution. There are very good concerts from small to very big bands and everything at super fair prices. In 2018 we were allowed to play here together with BENEDICTION, which honored us very much. Apart from that, the scene is probably not much bigger than elsewhere, but definitely lively and innovative. And yes, Dresden is a really great city, I agree with you Jakub.

Personally, I remember one visit to Dresden during socialism. I felt there like in heaven. You had, if I remember correctly, even metal cassettes in one store! It was like heaven to me. Nothing could be found here in the Czech Republic, we had to go to the black markets in Poland. But were there any East German death metal bands at the time? Do you still remember? And tell us how did you get into metal?

Unfortunately I am too young to give you information about the times of the GDR (German Democratic Republic), you would have to ask our label boss Hendrik, who is the absolute specialist in this field. With his label he has made it his business to re-release albums and demos of bands from that time. Hence the name of his label GERMAN DEMOCRATIC RECORDINGS. I can still remember the cassettes from Poland, that was between 1990 and 1994, and it was not uncommon to find METALICA, MACHONE HEAD and other spelling mistakes on them. I still don't know if they did it to avoid legal penalties or just because of dyslexia, haha. The second part of your question: I came to metal after my punk/rock teenage years in 1999. A buddy of mine brought two albums of BLIND GUARDIAN and ICED EARTH to school one day and borrowed them. When I arrived at home this music knocked me off my feet. My life changed from one day to the next. The more extreme metal followed and I went to concerts, e.g. at the Nordclub in Görlitz (my original home), where I made my first experiences with Death Metal, haha. There I saw bands like PROFANATION, DISSENTER, SPAWN, HARMONY DIES, SOUL DEMISE, PROFANITY, MUCUPURULENT etc.

I know that one year ago you wrote me that you would like to play at our DEADLY STORM FESTIVAL. Unfortunately we had to finish the festival, but would you come to the Czech Republic if you get an offer? What about INCREMATE and concerts generally? Do you play often and how do you enjoy gigs? Have you already managed some tour in past?

In any case, we would love to come to the Czech Republic. Very often we don't play live, because it's hard to get gigs. There are too many bands and too few clubs and due to the current crisis situation this will certainly not improve. We haven't had a tour so far, but maybe we'll change that, would be very cool.

Do you have a band in your area that you would recommend to us? And what are people going to see when they are going to clubs in Dresden?

There are some cool bands like DEHUMAN REIGN, PROFANATION, PROGERIA, DIVINE X, MOUTH OF MADNESS or MUSICAL MASSACRE. In Dresden directly, people primarily listen to Old School Death, Thrash, Heavy and Black Metal. Newer Metal styles are not so popular, you can see that in the bands that are booked in the clubs here.

What can we look forward to from INCREMATE in the upcoming months? Aren't you going to release "Mortal Domain" on vinyl also?

Yes, "Mortal Domain" will be released in the November on vinyl, limited to 300 pieces. Otherwise we hope that the gig situation will improve again and we can play live. That's what we wish not only for us, but of course for all other bands, clubs, fans, the whole scene.

Thank you so much for the interview. I wish you the best possible sales of your record, many fans at the gigs and also all the best in your personal lives! Pure death metal forever!

We thank you Jakub. Thanks for the cool interview, best regards to Czech Republic. We hope that we can get to know you personally, preferably at a concert.

About INCREMATE on DEADLY STORM ZINE:

Recenze/review - INCREMATE - Mortal Domain (2020):

https://www.deadlystormzine.com/2020/09/recenzereview-incremate-mortal-domain.html

Recenze/review - INCREMATE - Violence and Insanity (2018)

https://www.incremate.com

https://www.facebook.com/incremate

https://incremate.bandcamp.com

https://soundcloud.com/incremate

https://www.instagram.com/incremate_official/