Denial Fiend Interview 2006

Interview with Sam of Denial Fiend 2006

By Bradley Smith

I just got ahold of your Demo 2006 and man I must say I am impressed by how mature and developed it is for a band that is so young. Can you tell me some of how you guys went about the recording and writing of the material?

Thanks very much. For writing the stuff, I guess I handle most of the music. All of the riffs on the demo were mine. And I probably have a slightly different way of putting songs together due to my background. I don't just like death metal.. I like pop and punk and country, etc. And I've been writing melodic, poppy punk songs for most of my life. I'm not saying that we're a poppy band, or anything. But I probably have a slightly different inclination of how song parts should fit together and flow into each other. Kam is the lyric man, and they're pretty self-explanatory.

We recorded the stuff at a small studio here in Tampa. And had Juan "Punchy" Gonzalez mix it. He did the last Morbid Angel album, and the last Terrorizer as well. I know that the production on "Heretic" was kind of controversial.. but I really liked it. And I was psyched on the way the demo came out. I think all the songs on the demo will be on the full-length. But they're kind of stripped down on this recording.

There is a pretty diverse mixture of musical backgrounds amongst you guys in Denial Fiend. Can you tell me how you guy came together? DO you guys sort of fit naturally or is there any tension when working together on material and rehearsing?

How we came together: I had been wanting to stretch out a little bit and try my hand at a new genre. I've always been a fan of death metal and grindcore. But it's kind of a daunting thought to start over after you've spent your whole life playing a different kind of music. I'm totally connected and set up in the world of punk. But I'm a nobody starting from scratch in the world of metal.

Anyway, everyone in the band has a mutual friend named Mark Odechuck. I can't underplay his role in helping me get the band together. He's been a part of the Tampa metal scene since the beginning, and knows all these guys very well and was able to contact them and such. I'm quite a bit younger, so I didn't know them as well, if at all (though I grew up being a huge fan of all their bands). Anyway, I basically picked all the people in the metal scene that were kind of my favorites, and luckily they were down for it. Kam had actually worked on a song on the Pseudo Heroes album a couple years before.. so I knew he and I could work together.

I wouldn't say there's any tension in the band. I guess there have been a few instances of us going back and forth on the direction of the band. Ironically enough, I had started the band wanting to do straight up death metal. Whereas Kam has really gotten into the punk/horror punk thing. But it all has worked out in the end. We have a unique sound, I think. I'm sure that's due to everyone's different influences.

The lyrical focus of Denial Fiend appears to be mainly about Cult Horror movies. Why this subject matter and will it only be B grade early horror movies and what sort of other movies are you guys planning on writing about? I tell you that Son of the Creature from the Black Lagoon is awesome!!!! Heh heh.

Thanks. The lyrical direction of the band is mainly Kam's deal. When we started the band, that was kind of my thing. I do the music, and you write the lyrics. That's my favorite way to work. Although it's definitely not set in stone. Everyone is free to throw in stuff, where ever. Anyway, who knows what the future lyrics will be like? That's up to Kam, for the most part. But I think all of the songs we have now are based on old horror movies. I'm sure it's partially coming from Kam's love for all things Danzig (whom I also love). Some of the other song titles we have are "Frankenstein Conquers The World" "The Thing With 100 Eyes" and "Atom Age Monsters Unleashed". One cool thing about the lyrics is that, while there are some straight-up gore tunes, the main vibe is coming from a different angle. More like Rob Zombie or the Misfits in their approach. It adds to the unique quality, I think.

Knowing you I know that you have always been into Death Metal and even helped turn me onto it with that Morbid Angel/Carcass tape you gave me. But has there been any is of credibility for you since you have been a guitarist for mainly punk bands?

If I understand your question correctly, no, I don't think my name means much in the world of metal. There are surprisingly few people that appreciate such different extremes as pop punk and death metal. There are a few, though.

Denial Fiend is supposedly working on a New Album. Can you tell me something about what it will be like? Also you have signed with Ibex Moon. Why them? I would have thought based on having Terry Butler and Kam Lee in the Fold you would have gotten offers from larger labels.

The record is going to be quite varied. It was kind of hard to represent with just the three songs on the demo. That's a big thing with me.. keeping the songs all different sounding. There are some suuuuper slow, doomy songs along the lines of St. Vitus or Winter. And then there are a couple of faster, Slayer/Massacre sounding songs. But the bulk of the stuff is kind of mid-paced like on the demo. Absolutely NO blast beats.

I got in touch with Ibex very early on. We had a rehearsal tape at the time. Thinking about it now, the stuff sounded pretty terrible. But John at Ibex could totally see where we were coming from, I think. Unlike a lot of labels, he has vision. Probably because he's in a band himself. So he snagged us early on. However, Ibex is the perfect label for us at this point. They're up and coming. And they have a great distro deal and credibility, which is something most newer labels wouldn't have. But the main thing is that John is from the same mindset as us. He's totally oldschool. He knows exactly what our ambitions are.. he likes the same bands we like.. he feels the same way we do about the current metal scene.. he just totally gets us. That means a lot. Also, I'll always trust a fellow musician over just some label guy.

And a funny thing is that coming from my punk background, a small metal label is 100x more on the ball than a small punk label. So it doesn't seem like a small deal to me. It's like a big step up.

Being a band from Tampa made up of veterans of the Death metal scene what do you think will remain of Florida’s Death Metal Legacy? What bands really stand out to you as the ones that shall be remembered and revered long into the future? Why?

Obviously, Morbid Angel will always be the Beatles of death metal. They just kept pushing and pushing. And now they've totally changed the face of death metal. Especially with the whole blast beat thing. I mean, if you look at death metal pre-Altars and post-Covenant... you can see that they're influence is fucking massive. What's interesting is that it took people quite a while to catch up with them. For a while, NO ONE would/could play like Pete Sandoval or Trey. But beyond that, they just flat out rule. I don't love their newer stuff quite as much. But Trey is just a real visionary, and a great songwriter. So when all else fails, Morbid Angel will always be out there "representin'" Florida to the rest of the world, letting them know where this shit started.

Six Feet Under is clearly keeping the torch burning as well. They're a kick ass band, and have been making their mark for quite some time, now.

Obituary are still out there, too. Not really breaking any new ground. But that's a good thing, in this case.

Other than that, I think Florida will always be known as a historical place for death metal by people that are in the know. It's not the top of the heap of metal any more. I mean, if someone starts something cool, then inevitably other people will take it and run. So it's not like any scene can remain on top forever. But there are a ton of great bands in the area, still. And a really great awareness of metal, with cool zines like Rivot Rag.

When did you start playing guitar and what were the first bands you were in? What sort of guitar idols do you have and why?

The first band I was ever in was called "Insight". We started a couple of weeks after I started playing guitar. It was a punk band. Totally unfocused, of course. We'd do very melodic punk, along the lines of 7 Seconds. Then we'd do an Angry Samoans cover. I think we played out twice. At some point I heard that first OLD album, and lost it. I think we tried to do a grindcore kind of thing. The weird thing is that we were also into Bad Brains. So, somehow, we tried to integrate raggae into our grind stuff. After that, I'd basically play around with whoever wanted to play. Until I joined a band called Balance. Which is where I met Dave Smalley when we opened for DBL. The rest is history.

I idolize very few guitarists. And when I do, I'm almost always influenced by their approach rather than their actual sound. My favorites will always be Brian Baker of Dag Nasty/Bad Religion.. Bob Mould of Husker Du.. Rick Neilson of Cheap Trick.. Fast Eddie from Motorhead.. Probably not stuff that most death metal purists would like to hear. But that's who I love. As far as metal guitarists go, I'm a huge Tom Warrior fan. Absolutely love his riffs. And Dave Chandler from St. Vitus (love his tone). And of course Trey from Morbid Angel. Although I would never even attempt to play like him. There's just no way that would happen. I also really like Jesse Pintado's stuff with Terrorizer. And Mitch Harris when he was with Righteous Pigs. Those guys really knew how to write metal riffs. And Bill Steer as well.

There was a period during the mid 90s where it seemed like Black Metal had virtually killed Death metal. But in the recent past there has been sort of a “Rebirth of Death metal.” What do you think spurred this on and why do you think that Black Metal took over like it did?

Hmmmmm.. I'm not really sure. I've always just been kind of in my own world with metal, and music in general. So I don't even notice those types of trends. But that's just what they are.. trends. Something new and intriguing comes along, and the public will eat it up and forsake everything else for awhile. Then they'll regain their senses and mix and match what they like. Black Metal stuff is totally cool, too. I can see where the appeal would be. They're just more hardcore in their approach, and the image is very alluring.

I know you have mentioned that there is an upcoming Down By Law Reunion. I have been out of touch for awhile, so what is happening to make this happen? Why did you guys go your separate ways to begin with?

We didn't really split up. We just haven't really done anything in a few years. As far as most people are concerned, that's the same as breaking up. Basically, we're just all busy with other bands, families and jobs. And we all live in different states. So we weren't really pushing to do anything new. Then some guy called us and said he was putting on a festival in Florida and wanted us to play, so we said ok. After that, we had so much fun that we decided it's time to do a new record. So we'll hopefully be doing that sometime next year.

People go through a myriad of changes in their lives. How has your love for music developed over the years and what sort of landmarks do you look back on as life changing albums and concerts?

My love for music hasn't really changed all that much throughout the years. A few bands here and there probably didn't stand the test of time for me. But I'm still into the same stuff I was into growing up. And I'm a real bastard about checking out new stuff, just like I've always been. Everything I like has to be at least 10 years old, or more. Don't ask me why. I just keep going back to re-issues and stuff I missed back then. But besides that, I still love just about every kind of music out there. Especially if it's underground. But I'm not a purist. I love plenty of mainstream bands as well.

There were so many albums that shaped my musical views. Blessed Are the Sick or Severed Survival or Into Darkness by Winter.. Streetcleaner.. pretty much all of that first wave of Earache and Peaceville stuff. I have such fond memories of hearing them for the first time. Can I Say by Dag Nasty.. or Suffer by Bad Religion.. those are albums that I'll always go back and listen to for inspiration. When I saw the Accused live, that left me with a huge impression. I never stopped loving that band as well.

I also have to say that growing up with friends that were really, really into underground music in all it's various forms had a limitless influence on me. Something I really wish would return is the attitude that people had back then that all underground music was worthy. It didn't matter what genre, or if it was melodic or brutal.. I'd see the same people at 7 Seconds shows that I would see at Obituary. And the *only* people that used to go see Morbid Angel back in the day were the punk/hardcore kids. They were far too weird and extreme for the Metallica/Anthrax crowd. And of course when my cousin took me to see Iron Maiden as a kid, that was a big deal.

I guess this is sort of a personal question but do you ever look back on the care free days of the past with a sense of longing or are you more content with the days you live in today? What sort so memories stand out more to you? The reason I ask this of you is that whenever we converse I always kind of get nostalgic for the good ol’ days growing up there in Tampa going to shows and such.

Well I think everyone feels that way. I used to obsess over how cool and fun things used to be. And now no one really hangs out together anymore. And we'd look weird crashing parties around Tampa at our age. But then I remember the stuff that really sucked about growing up as well. Not being able to drive... girls never showing any interest... being kind of a non-entity at school.. worrying about horrible grades all the time.. that stuff wasn't fun for me. And now it's a lot cooler in that regard. Everyone is kind of free to live out their dreams, to a certain extent. And back when we were kids, you really couldn't do shit except for go out and get crazy on the weekends. But yeah, I still get nostalgic for the old days quite a bit. Unfortunately as I get older, I realize that some of those old friends aren't worth the pedestal I put them on in my memories. But then again, sometimes I see people or talk to people from back then and it's like nothing ever changed. Then I REALLY get nostalgic and want to hang out with everyone again. I think everyone longs to go back to the good ol' days. Shit, I remember feeling that way in my mid-20's.

One memory I have is being at Albertson's and seeing you and this dude Matt (I forget his last name) coming from, I think Nativity Carnival. And you mentioned something about kicking some crosses over, or something. I think about that every time I go to Nativity Carnival, which I just did a few weeks ago.

Any Last Words?

Thanks for the interview and all the help and support. Be sure to check out Reverend guitars (www.reverendguitars.com), I’ve been using their Warhawk model and it’s extremely heavy and versatile. Also We'll be putting up one song per month from our demo on our website and myspace sites. So be sure to check them out.