Interview with death metal band from USA - TERROR CORPSE.
Answered Dobber (drums, guitars), thank you!
Recenze/review - TERROR CORPSE - Ash Eclipses Flesh (2025):
Ave TERROR CORPSE! Greetings to the Texas underground. I hope everything is going well for you. It should be, since you have released the first great full-length album of your career this year. I must admit that it literally pinned me to the wall. It's dark, energetic, and cuts like a sharp knife. It's clear that you've done a great job and that you have a lot of talent. How do you perceive the new album in relation to your EP "Systems of Apocalypse"? Where did you want to go with it, and how do you think the recordings differ? Personally, I hear the biggest difference in the sound.
Glad you liked it. When we first got together for the Systems EP, we were just revamping some older songs Mat and Josh (former guitarist) had tucked away. As soon as we got through that, Mat and I got to talking about moving forward with much darker and sinister death metal direction. It was just timing.
"Ash Eclipses Flesh" has all the attributes of good, dirty, dark death metal. For me personally, it's an album I love to come back to. How did it come about? How does TERROR CORPSE compose new material?
Honestly it’s just part of what I grew up with. I played satanic death metal for a decade plus since the late 90’s. Mat also enjoys the style a lot and we just got after it. We wrote the whole record in about two weeks time.
Who is responsible for the sound? I have to admit that the sound is literally killer. It keeps making me turn up the volume on my hi-fi system. You have a sound that is cruel, raw, and at the same time dark and animalistic, with an analog feel. How did you work with it and why did you choose it? In which studio did you record and how did everything go? Also, I hear a hint of CELTIC FROST, was that the intention?
I tracked and produced the record myself. I’ve been recording since the early days after Infernal Dominion broke up, being unhappy with everything we recorded under that band. We’ve got a fairly extensive gear collection and I have a pretty good idea of what I want the band to sound like. And yes, the Celtic Frost tone was most definitely intentional. Huge, huge fan of Tom’s horn like mids.
An integral part and a kind of bonus for fans today is the music CD (cassette, vinyl). You released it on Dark Descent Records and it has a macabre cover. Who is the author? How did you choose the motif and how does it relate to the music on the new album?
We worked with Shoggoth Kinetics on the Malignant Altar records and we wanted to continue with the motif in Terror Corpse. He really summarizes the landscapes we associate Terror Corpse with so well.
I've been wandering around the underworld for almost thirty-five years, and I go to Texas for music because I know I'll find what I'm looking for. I think we have a similar nature and taste when it comes to metal. I really like your bands and follow your scene closely. Maybe I'm even a little jealous of you, because we only have a few death metal bands that are worth listening to. How do you explain the fact that death metal is so successful in your country? How do you perceive your scene, fans, and labels?
I honestly don’t know. I think those who kind of forged the path (Incantation, Morbid Angel, Immolation) unlocked something in the subsequent generations that just have had a lasting effect. The scene and the fans are also reinvigorated by generation. As time moves, the players and fans might change, but the game will always exist in some fashion.
You play old-school-influenced death metal. Nowadays, bands can't avoid comparisons, but I'd be interested to know how the idea to form TERROR CORPSE came about, who your role models were and are, and where you want to take your band. Are you attracted to big international festivals, would you be willing to tour with a more famous band? Why did MALIGNANT ALTAR break up?
I think it’s just a continuation for me. I’ve also been involved in this scene, in one form or another, for the last 25 plus years. Now was just the right time to try and record some of this style. Biggest influences for me would be Morbid Angel, Disciples of Mockery, and Incantation. Festivals would be great. Touring is a bit hard for us, but we could make it work with the right opportunity. Malignant Broke up because the timing was just off. Some people were all in, others were not.
When I started my website ten years ago, I had a vision that I would try to support bands that I thought weren't getting enough attention. To let the world know about them. I think I'm doing pretty well, at least according to the feedback. How do you approach promotion? Do you leave it to the label, or do you send CDs out for reviews yourself? For example, I buy albums that I really enjoy. How about you? Are you also fans who like to support your colleagues often? Do you go to concerts? Do you party?
We’ve got a little network of music contacts we’ve made through the years, so a combo of that and the label takes care of our promotion. And yes, we definitely listen to new bands and buy the records we like. Not much partying, but we all go to shows fairly often.
On the one hand, a band starting out today has a lot of opportunities to make themselves known, but on the other hand, there are so many bands out there that fans get lost in the crowd. A lot of people just download MP3s from the internet and instead of going to concerts, they prefer to spit venom on Facebook. How does modern technology affect you as TERROR CORPSE? What do you think about downloading music, Google metalheads, streaming music, etc.?
I think it’s just something you have to factor in. It’s here and it isn’t going anywhere. Some people use streaming to check records out and buy them if they like them. Some don’t. We’re lucky to have had fans already who purchase records and that’s a massive win these days. Physical dollars versus digital penny’s. One helps artist continue to work and create, and the other just looks good to digital marketers. I am a proprietor of both.
I like to ask musicians what death metal means to them. How would they define it, is it more of a philosophy and lifestyle for them or "just" relaxation. What does it mean to you? How do you perceive and experience it?
It’s like film or photography to me. Just a scene or a snapshot of my personality. A place where we can create and exist in a fantasy like state. A place all ours.
Finally, a classic but important question. What does TERROR CORPSE have planned for the coming months? Where can we see you in concert and when will you be visiting Europe? If you have something on your mind and would like to say it to your fans, labels, promoters, here's your chance...
We’ve got some time off at the beginning of the year, so we might start working on new music. If all goes to plan we will be in Europe around the fall of 2026, but we will have to see…
Thank you very much for the interview. I wish you every success with your new album and hope that your fan base grows as much as possible. I look forward to seeing you live somewhere and wish you all the best, both musically and personally. I'm going to listen to "Ash Eclipses Flesh" again!
Recenze/review - TERROR CORPSE - Ash Eclipses Flesh (2025):
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
sledujte nás na sociálních sítích - follow us on the social media:
instagram:
facebook:
