Abominator – The Highwire Daze Legacy Interviews

The Highwire Daze Legacy Interviews with ABOMINATOR

(Original Postdate: 04/12/2015 with a new introduction by Ken Morton)

Abominator is a blackened death metal band based out of Australia whose early recording were released on the infamous Necropolis Records as well as the iconic Osmose Records label. This interview from 2015 found the band unleashing Evil Proclaimed through the Hells Headbangers imprint, and it’s Abomninator’s latest release to date. Our interview is with Chris Volcano, who has also worked with the likes of Destroyer 666 and Denouncement Pyre. Here’s hoping we hear from this super intensive brigade in the near future – in the meantime, let’s go back to 2015 and revisit Abominator as we discuss their intensive career and the unveiling of Evil Proclaimed…

Introduce yourself, tell me what you do in Abominator, and how long the band has been together.
I am the entity known as Chris Volcano, and my role is that of the holocaustic drum death and morbid war cries. Structuring songs and conjuring dark poetry from beyond. ABOMINATOR has been around since the dawn of time (around late 1994, so close enough to it). Ever since, the band has been around in numerous forms and line ups, recently we have re-grouped with a new line up so the band is re-energised and ready for the approaching battle.

Where is the band based out of and what is your local metal scene like there these days?
We are based in Melbourne, Australia. Its a great scene in some ways, not so good in others. As far as promotion goes, we get a raw deal because of our relative isolation from the rest of the world. It is expensive to tour Australian bands in the US and Europe, both for the promoters or the band members. However we do have a rich and diverse music scene, particularly extreme metal. The best scenes are currently in Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide. Particularly Melbourne with its very artistically driven culture. The members of Abominator are also involved in other bands, namely IGNIVOMOUS, VOIDCHRIST and CEMETERY URN. Apart from that, there are too many bands to mention from Australia in this space, but some readers of this may have at least heard of a few.

How frustrating was it to wait 8 years to unleash the new Abominator magnum opus?
Not as maddening as it may seem. After our 2006 album ‘The Eternal Conflagration‘, we put the band on ice for a while to concentrate on other projects. We knew the band would continue at a later stage so we never split up. I focused on IGNIVOMOUS, while Andrew (guitarz) focused on CEMETERY URN. The productivity of those bands has made up for the lack of Abominator albums in that time. The only frustration was the time it took for us to properly re-activate Abominator and get a new album recorded as well as solidify a new line up and start playing shows again. There were so many curtailing factors involved but it it a massive relief to finally have a new album out there again.

Is there any overall story or concept behind the CD title Evil Proclaimed?
Yes, the idea behind the concept is to obviate and glorify the advent of hell on Earth. Its the expression of Satan, as well as the divine, as elements of the human condition. The album is also a vessel which we channeled our dark and demonic energies into, as we have that unnameable darkness flowing through us in spades. Its not necessarily the worship of darkness, but a simple acknowlegement and celebration of it. But light and dark, good and evil, are all very subjective terms in this twisted modern age we live in. Some of us can’t really tell which side we’re on and some of us may be closer to the truth than others. But as an album, ‘Evil Proclaimed‘ sums it all up in a nutshell.

Select two songs from Evil Proclaimed and what inspired the lyrics.
Ashes of a Demonic Legacy – These lyrics are pretty much about a satanic firebug. A soul possessed by evil fire demons who desire to see the land burn before them. The silver lining is in the destruction of the false society in its wake and the elimination of hypocricy. It was also inspired by the 2009 black Saturday fires near Melbourne, the worst in living memory, which killed more than 150 people and darkened the skyline.

Rebirth of the Archnemesis – This one is about the eternal battle between God and Lucifer and the duality of existence. Its our own take on the biblical story and how it relates to the world situation. It it the story that concludes the album and the overall concept with a sense of apocalyptic upheaval. The sound of the universe turning over and restoring itself through perpetual chaos with the truth resplendent in its rightful place.

Who did the stunning cover art for Evil Proclaimed and how much input did you have on it?
That cover art was done by the amazing french artist Chris Moyen! He is a master at the creative perception of one’s ideas. The concept for the cover was mine, I proposed it to him, even providing other images to him as a rough guide and what he threw back at me was perfect! Its the third piece Moyen has done for the band and each time he has nailed it.

What could one expect from a live Abominator show in 2015?
Bullets, spikes, some leather, guitar, drums, bass, full blown hellfire as well as four maniacal blasphemers conducting it all. We have already played a live show this year in support of INQUISITION and MARDUK back in January, but there will be more to follow….

Has Abominator ever played here in the States or plan to do so in future days? If so, what was the experience like?
Abominator itself has never played a show in the US as yet, but it is something we’d like to accomplish when the circumstances are right. However, both myself and Andrew have been to the US on separate occasions with our other bands Ignivomous and Cemetery Urn. My experience was brief but awesome! I met so many cool people and we were shown much support and respect. The only downer was when the second guitarist from Ignivomous was locked up after being arrested outside the pre-fest gig and we had to play as a three piece! Oh well…..

What is your favorite beer of choice and why?
Well, I like mostly the European beers, Schofferhoffer and Becks, and the numerous other beerz that come out of Germany and Belgium. I really like the Polish beer Ziewieck (I think thats how its spelt), very clean and strong! There are a few good Aussie beers like Coopers and James Squire, nevermind XXXX or Fosters, they’re shit. In fact the Fosters they sell overseas is far different to the Australian equivalent which tastes like camel piss! Overseas Fosters is closer to Crown lager, which isn’t too bad. Having said all that, I can’t say I’m the worlds heaviest drinker.

When you look back on the Prelude To World Funeral Split you did back in 1997, what do you think of it now? And whatever happened to Mornaland?
That particular split probably shouldn’t have been released. Originally, German label ‘Path to Enlightenment‘ promised to release it with a superior band (to Mornaland) but when that band withdrew from the project, we wanted to withdraw as well, but the label owner already had our master tape so he went ahead and pressed it anyway. So then you had two bands that didn’t sound very good together on the same disc. Not only that, but they sent us 200 copies very pooly packaged and only fifty of them were sellable, the rest were scratched to the shithouse! Needless to say that label didn’t survive too much longer after that. In hindsight, we should have known better and that recording should have been released on its own. As for Mornaland, I have no idea what became of them, but I don’t think anybody really gives a shit.

You’ve been on various record labels such as Necropolis, Osmose, and Displeased. What advice would you give you a metal band seeking a record deal in this day and age?
The best advice I can give it to make sure whatever label you choose has a genuine interest in what your band is doing and is prepared to support the band for the duration of the given contract. All three of those labels broke their contracts with us long before it was supposed to finish, due to their impatience and obsession for the next big thing. Don’t be fooled by a bunch of empty promises of things they were never offering you in the first place. Also, don’t go into a deal thinking that you’ll make a whole lot of money and be able to quit your day jobs, the industry doesn’t really support that kind of lifestyle anymore. Just as you have passion for the music you create, so to a label should show the same interest for the product they’re releasing.

What’s up next for Abominator?
We plan on doing a split album with a band we will not name as yet, in the hope that everything goes according to plan and we can announce those plans when the venture comes closer to being finalized. We’re looking to record around four tracks of pure aussie black chaos, so stay tuned and beware! After that I suppose we’ll begin work on yet another full-length album. Theres no point in quitting just yet, so we shall just forge on into the near future. Only armageddon could stop us, if even that!

Any final words of wisdom?
The future is all around us, hidden behind veils of secrecy and transition, soon to be born in great moments of truth and revelation. Don’t believe everything that the powers that be try to make you believe, they do not have your best interests at heart! In this inverted reality, Satan is the great liberator, exposing the god of hypocrisy as it sloths on its throne, repulsive it its undeserved glory. Buy a copy of ‘Evil Proclaimed‘ and join the front line of armageddon!!!!

Thank you for taking the time to answer these questions! Hope to see Abominator here in the States sometime soon!
Infernal Hails!

(Interview by Ken Morton)

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