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Current mood:  cold Category: Music
The Sound of Transcendence
By: Eric Johnson Australian doom metal pioneers diSEMBOWELMENT were nothing if not distinctive when they first descended upon the extreme music scene in the early 90s. While the churning guitar work and blastbeats of the band's grindcore past remained, they were now tempered with hypnotic, droning passages and a solemn atmosphere lacking in most death metal. Here was a band who took influences from Asphyx, Autopsy and Cathedral but at the same time held an appreciation for the dark ambience created by artists like Boyd Rice, the Cocateau Twins and Harold Budd. The foundations of a new genre were being laid, and through a clashing of influences, funeral doom was born.
"We never became outcasts, instead, we received more respect for the fact that we tried something different and made it work."
"We did start off as a grindcore noise band - Bacteria. As the grind scene was taking off, we decided to fool around with it, as we were blown away by the extremity of the music at the time," says drummer Paul Mazziotta when asked about the formation of the band's unique sound. "But as time went on, we listened to and were influenced by more Death Metal & Doom bands. So it gave us inspiration to write some heavy, dark & doomy tunes.
I'd say it was more a combination of death/doom bands & creating various moods."
Visually, diSEMBOWELMENT stood apart as well, their minimalist album covers a marked contrast from the Dan Seagraves-style carnage favorited by most death metal bands. Their logo, in particular, could be mistaken for one of a Kraut Rock or ambient group. "The infamous d. logo was a result of Renato's (Gallina,
vocalist/guitarist) creation while studying to be a Graphic Art Designer at the time. He probably thought it was a good time to not only add a new dimension to the music, but to change the identity/logo a little too. It was important as it gave the band a really distinguished identity. It was a huge talking point at the time and still does come up in conversation here and there."
Often, a band attempting to integrate new sounds into an established genre can be met with staunch disapproval, and metalheads aren't always known for their tolerance. Did diSEMBOWELMENT meet with a lot of puzzled looks in the beginning? "There were more curious people out there wanting to hear some of the more ambient sounds with the typical death/doom vibe we were creating.
Because of this, we did stand out from other bands out there. We didn't get too much negative feedback. It was mostly positive, especially as time went on and other bands were experimenting too. We never became outcasts, instead, we received more respect for the fact that we tried something different and made it work. When we recorded demo 1 (Mourning September), it was your typical Ultra down tuned Heavy sounding guitar. But towards the end of when Transcendence... was recorded, the non-metal influence was huge to our sound."
What effect did the band's Australian origins have on their sound? The common perception of the country as a wild expanse of rugged terrain would certainly match the distant, hypnotic atmostphere the band created. "I don't know if being from Australia was that important, although people around the world were curious as to what these Aussie guys could create," says Mazziotta. "Maybe they thought we were playing with our pet kangaroos in the backyard all day long! So would the band have sounded the same had they been from, say, Norway? "If we were from Norway, who knows, we may have still had the similar ambient feel with more Black metal influence? It's hard to say but honestly I don't think it made much difference."
Now that the band has passed on, their legacy carried on by bands such as Evoken, Bunkur or Tyranny, does Mazziotta remain involved with extreme music? "I can't say that I keep up with the Heavy scene these days as I used to. It's impossible for me to follow any genre closely due to work & family commitments. Although I still enjoy it as much as I did when I first got into it. I do listen to some radio shows which play Death Metal and Grindcore, and I still go out and buy CD's and DVD's of the extreme metal scene and go to occasional gigs. As for the funeral doom scene, I occasionally listen to some material out there, but can't say I follow it that closely."
Ltd. Ed triple disc including every recorded note in dISEMBOWELMENT's history available through Relapse mailorder only! "Standard"
version includes all official releases, liner notes, and never-before seen bandphotography in a gorgeous, embossed, deluxe double digipack!
"Disembowlment were one of the very first ultra slow doom/death bands I ever got into and definitely influenced my riffing. This collection is ABSOFUCKINGLUTELY ESSENTIAL!"
- Greg Anderson (Southern Lord, Sunn O))),Thorr's Hammer, Goatsnake)
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