by Kenneth Morton

Abacinate is death metal New Jersey style - a new breed of extreme band sure to make a name for themselves judging by the tunes heard on their latest full-length entitled Ruination. One of the top bands on the mighty Epitomite label, Abacinate has a new EP entitled A King's Thirst For A Frosty Brew, which they are giving away for FREE!!! Read on to find out more about this punishing new band and their staggering death metal brew...

Introduce yourself, tell me what you do in Abacinate, and how long the band has been together.
I'm Justin, I play drums in Abacinate. Thanks for contacting us for the interview. We've been together for 4 and 1/2 years now.

Where is the band from and what is the metal scene like there?
We're from all over central New Jersey. The scene around here is pretty beat these days. It used to be much better. No one wants to go to shows anymore. I feel bad for all the awesome bands that tour through here and play to a beat crowd.

What basically made you decide to give away your current EP A King's Thirst For A Frosty Brew for free?
Around September of last year, we decided to record these new songs we wrote, to let people know what we've been up to and give a bit of an idea what to expect from our next full-length release. The idea was to use these new tracks as a promo, to help maybe gain some new fans, and keep our existing fans on board. We originally thought of just putting the tracks up on the internet as free downloads for everyone, which we did anyway, but we like the idea of owning a physical copy of a band's music. We don't actually "make money" doing this shit. We figured, fuck it, take the hit. Spread the word. We just want our music in the hands of any metal fan.

Who did the killer artwork for the EP and how much input did you have on it?
Tony fuckin Koehl. He also did all the artwork for our full length, Ruination. He's real flexible, so we get to have a lot of input when we work with him. The name of the record was something we've been wanting to use for a long time, and figured that this is the perfect opportunity, so we came up with a basic idea of having a fucked-up demon-looking character holding a giant mug of beer. Tony came up with a batch of sketches for us to choose from, so we picked out the one we liked best and basically told him to just go nuts, and add in some scenery. The idea of the scenery with the bar, the dead clown, etc, that was all him. He is awesome to work with and his style is very professional. We will definitely be working with him again.

How does your newer material compare to your work on the full length Ruination?
The fast parts are faster, the heavy parts are heavier, and the songs are a bit more technical. I think Ruination has a wider range of different styles blended together; it's all over the place.

At this point, how close are you to recording all new material?
We will most likely hit the recording studio before the end of the year. We put songwriting on hold for a while as we were searching for a new 2nd guitarist. We recently started writing again, since the addition of our new guitarist, Rich, and it is going really well.

Where do you get some of the ideas for your lyrics? Please cite a few Abacinate songs and what they are about.
There's a lot of different topics, and you might notice that we have a sense of humor. Ian is our main lyricist and he does a really good job. For instance, the song By The Righteous Hands is based on a story about a family being murdered by a Mormon cult. The idea of Shake The Spot comes from a variety of interracial porn movies starring Wesley Pipes. Far From The Reaches and No Big Deal... from the Portrayal EP are both based on real life murderers. Negating the Omnipotence of Your So Called Man In The Sky from Ruination basically says it all in the song title.

Did you ever meet the band (God-Rot) who you shared a split CD with and what do you think of their music?
I met their drummer, John, in Milwaukee a few years ago. He seems to be a real cool dude. I think they're a good band. Definitely a totally different style, which may be why a lot of people ask us "Why did you guys do a split with (God-Rot)?" I heard they broke up, but I could be wrong.

Who is the Grey Man you are referring to on the EP title Portrayal Of The Grey Man?
Albert Fish. The general idea of the tracks on that EP was mostly about serial murderers, true crime, etc.

What is a live Abacinate show like for those of us who have yet to see you play?
A lot of energy on the front line, songs usually played 10 times faster than what you're used to hearing on the recording, ridiculous audio samples between songs, possible drunken banter, and maybe some beer spitting. We always play songs from all of our releases.

Have you ever played in the Los Angeles area or plan to do so in the future?
No, we haven't played in Los Angeles yet, but we definitely plan on it.

Are any members of Abacinate involved with any other bands or projects?
Todd plays guitar in a band called The Ghost in Black and White; I've been playing in a band with Karl and Rich from Suffer The Living (STL just recently broke up), and Ian and I had this thing called "Corpsebanger" with Nick from WTC; you can probably find it on Myspace. We all do some other shit every now and then, jamming with friends in other bands, but nothing too serious.

What is your favorite brew and why?
Probably Becks or Yuengling. I like the way they taste. I'll drink just about any kind of beer, but prefer something with a strong flavor. Ian is all about Molson. Todd and Matt will also drink just about anything, but Todd loves Budweiser.

Any messages for metal fans here in the Los Angeles area?
Please come out to see us and hang when we come to your area! To anyone that hasn't heard of us before, please check us out; hope you like what you hear. In the words of ManOwaR... HAIL AND KILL.

Abacinate links

Abacinate on Myspace: The Official Myspace Page for Abacinate!
The Highwire Daze Home Page: Return to the Main Page!

Counter