|
Sunday, February 22, 2009
 |
thanks to john from ANCIENT DEATH webzine, one of the best online zines we've seen in a long time, for the review and interview. check it out at http://www.ancientdeath.com. direct links: http://www.ancientdeath.com/reviewsqz.htm#terracaputmundihttp://www.ancientdeath.com/terracaputmundiinterview.htm TERRA CAPUT MUNDI
Warp Speed Warriors
Terra Caput Mundi formed in 2006 and are from St. Louis, Missouri and the band's name is based from Warhammer 40K. The name takes "Terra" from 40K and the Latin phrase "Roma Caput Mundi" which combined means Terra, the Center of the Universe. This trio plays speed/thrash metal with heavy punk influences and the members clearly have more than a little interest in old-school metal. "Warp Speed Warriors" is the band's self-released debut album and it's definitely one that these guys can be proud of.
Leading the charge is Jared Brewer and his rumbling bass lines. Jared's lyrics deal mainly with science-fiction & Warhammer 40,000 and his vocals are cleanly sung with some screams thrown in. Playing guitar for the band is Thrash Attack Zack who creates an all out speed metal assault of thrashing riffs and killer solos that sound great. Bashing the skins for Terra Caput Mundi is Sarah Yancey. It's great that the band has a girl behind the kit and while her drum playing is fairly simplistic at times as thrash/punk drumming can sometimes be, she puts in a strong performance.
The band is fairly new though and there are some areas where they sound like they get a little loose and lose each other a bit but they pull things back together fine and as time goes on they're sound will only get tighter. There are also two excellent covers of songs from Manilla Road (Necropolis) and Metalucifer (Heavy Metal Hunter) on the album. The album's production is pretty good and the cool cover artwork was created by Thomas Plunk. "Warp Speed Warriors" is a good album that I enjoyed a lot and it reminded me of back when metal was young in the 80's and that's always a great feeling. Show these guys (and gal!) some support and check Terra Caput Mundi out! TERRA CAPUT MUNDI
An interview with Jared, Sarah & Zack
I ran across this trio from Missouri on myspace one day and was pretty impressed with what I heard. Terra Caput Mundi are a thrash band that formed in 2006 and have just released their first full-length recently. I love finding out about bands like TCM. They aren't groundbreaking or the tightest band to ever play together, they just play because they love metal. Thrash is a hard genre to play and get noticed in because of the amount of bands that are playing it right now. And in this sea of shitty, mediocre thrash bands that are getting most of the attention, it's a real shame that bands that deserve it like Terra Caput Mundi aren't.
Cheers Terra Caput Mundi! How is everything today?
J: Pretty good…just hanging out, drinking chamomile tea, and jamming to Tourniquet (one of few Christian bands worth a shit)!
S: We’re super! Thanks for asking.
Z: Fantastic.
How about some information on the band first. Who are the members and how did you end up forming the band together?
J: TCM is me (Jared) on bass/vocals, Thrash Attack Zack on guitar, and Sarah on drums. I conceived the band in 2005, put out a shitty demo that I did everything on in 2006, and completed the lineup in 2007. And here we are 2 years later!
S: Although I’d seen him around at various concerts for years, Jared first contacted me on Myspace. Jared’s been in several bands, but this is my first, same for Zack.
Z: I had picked up a copy of the first TCM demo at a local metal shop in late 2006, but didn’t meet Jared until the Destruction/Municipal Waste show in early 2007. We kept in touch through Myspace and the rest is history I suppose.
There's a heavy thrash and punk sound in your music. Did you grow up listening to thrash and punk music? What bands have had a big impact on your music?
J: Yeah, I’ve been into thrash and punk/HC for a fairly long time. I was in high school when I started to get into bands like Sodom, Bathory, Discharge, and the Exploited. This was also around the same time that I first picked up a guitar, so that’s probably why I write and play the kind of music that I do now! The bands that have influenced TCM’s music, aside from the ones I already mentioned, would be bands like Living Death, Exodus, Mercyful Fate, DRI, Celtic Frost, Accept, Razor, Motorhead, GISM, blah blah blah…lists like these can go on forever!
S: I’ll be the oddball here. In high school I was big into Guns N Roses, Type O Negative and Cradle of Filth. The boys have turned me on to some of the stuff they listen to, but I mostly play a thrash/punk style because it’s fun.
Z: Metal was the first music I ever really got into, and it wasn’t until I discovered crossover that I fell in love with hardcore punk. I started out with bands like Venom and Motorhead, and eventually developed an interest for bands like Discharge and Amebix.
What about the rest of the band? Are there any particular musicians whose style of playing has had a big impact on your playing?
S: Not really. I imagine I’ve soaked up a lot of influence without knowing it, but nothing I can name.
Z: I only listen to bands with shitty musicians.
Has anyone in the band had any music training? How long have you been playing for?
J: You’ve heard us, right? Do you think we have had any musical training? Hahaha!! But to answer your other question, I’ve been playing bass for about 8 years, and vocals for as long as I can remember (but never in a band until TCM).
S: I actually played flute in school for several years, and I also did chorus. I always placed high in those competitions, of course they don’t let me near a mic now, haha. I didn’t take up drums until after college; it had been 10 years since a band director talked me into flute over drums, and it was then time to set right that wrong. I’ve only been seriously playing drums for a couple years now.
Z: I’ve been playing guitar since I was like 10 or something. My dad signed me up for lessons because I really had no hobbies at the time, hah. I learned to play the blues, and that’s still the only thing I know how to play.
What equipment do you guys use and what would be your dream setup?
J: I play an off-brand lefty flying V bass (Martin Ain worship) through a Behringer combo amp. Pretty dinky setup, but it gets the job done! My ideal setup would probably be a vintage Fender bass through a nice Gallien-Krueger or Behringer setup. Listen to me…I sound like I know what I’m talking about haha!
S: Pacific by Drum Workshop kit, Iron Cobra pedals, Pork Pie throne (best drumming investment ever, really!), mostly Zildjian Z-Custom cymbals. I’ve been told by my old drum teacher and a few others that my set is one of the loudest they have heard. I’m pretty happy with everything for now. I guess my dream set up would involve having my very own drum tech slave to tear down and set up, and to keep it all cleaned and tuned for me.
Z: I play a Gibson V through a Marshall half stack and occasionally use some sort of Boss distortion for leads. I honestly don’t know much about equipment, haha.
Who is responsible for writing the lyrics and what subjects do they deal with?
J: I write the majority of the lyrics, and all of them are about the grim darkness of the far future…duh! Haha! In our songs, expect lyrics dealing with oppression, sadism, glory, dishonor, and death, all within the context of mankind’s dark future.
Do you guys write the lyrics after the music and who writes most of the music? Do you come up with your own parts or is there one main writer?
J: Generally, everything involving the lyrics and vocals comes after the music has been completed. But there are exceptions to every rule. If I come up with some good lyrics or a catchy vocal pattern, I’ll write riffs around them.
S: We each write our own parts. But at least being a 3-piece makes it easy to take a “Does this sound stupid?” vote.
Jared, is there anyone you base your vocal style from?
J: When it comes to vocals, I’m very influenced by Tom Angelripper, Schmier, Tom. G. Warrior, King Diamond, Wattie, and Kurt Brecht. And pretty much any metal vocalist with an overbearing German accent!
Which one is the geek into Warhammer 40,000? Haha, just kidding of course! How long have you been playing this game? Why do you think that it has played a big enough role in your life that you base some of your lyrics off of it?
J: The Warhammer nerd would be me! I haven’t played in a number of years, but I still read the books pretty frequently. I’ve always been enamored of the oppressive, dystopic atmosphere conjured by 40K’s background. It always seemed very distinctly metal to me, and I wondered why more bands (Bolt Thrower being one obvious exception) didn’t use and abuse it for their lyrical content. Sure, lyrics about Satan and Vikings are cool, but they’re done to death! So I cemented in my mind the idea to do a band with dark sci-fi themed lyrics, and here we are!
Z: After being in the band for several months, I finally picked up a Warhammer 40k book. I was tired of not understanding our lyrics, hah.
Do you only listen to metal and punk or are there other kinds of music that you enjoy? Are there any bands that you listen to that would be out of the ordinary for a metalhead to listen to?
J: The amount of music that I listen to that isn’t metal or punk is so small that it’s essentially negligible. Being closeminded about music has gotten me this far in life, and I’m sure it will continue to serve me well!
S: As an extension of my love of folk metal, I do enjoy non-metal Norse/Germanic folk music.
Z: I’m a bit of a blues man.
Have you been approached by any labels about releasing your album? If so, what ones?
J: “Warp Speed Warriors” might see a limited cassette release soon. Aside from that, there is nothing planned on the horizon. Know anyone who’s interested?
Z: I’m glad we got the experience of releasing our own stuff, but I’m hoping we can get label attention of some sort.
Have you played a lot of shows? If so, how has that gone? Any memorably experiences, good or bad, that you want to share?
J: We play out enough to not burn ourselves out on it, and to not burn out the audiences on watching us. But we’ve played some cool shows! Our first was with Toxic Holocaust (before they were signed to Relapse) and Midnight in the basement of a local record store. And we played with the Meatmen in a cave beneath an Ethiopian restaurant. No shit! There are also a few “bigger” local bands that we gig with pretty frequently, like Head On Collision and Cross Examination.
Z: I think it’s notable that Sanctum broke up the day after we played with them. Not many people showed up to that gig, haha. One of my favorite shows was with Superchrist, Wastelander, and Zuul in the same place as the Sanctum and TH shows. It was a great show, but it taught me to never mess with Everclear.
Are there any talks of touring or is that not in the picture as of yet?
J: Well, there are always TALKS of things like that. Haha. It would be great to do some extended touring, and we’d all love to do it, but real life stuff (jobs, school, blah blah) pretty much always comes first. For the moment, we’re content doing the occasional out of town ripper, but I wouldn’t discount the notion of touring entirely. Maybe one day TCM will warp into your town and drink all of your Ten High!
What occupies the band members time when not performing, practicing or writing music?
J: Working midnights, drinking malt liquor, going to gigs, buying albums, planning other band related crap, and absorbing sci-fi related media (books, movies, TV, anything). Probably all the things that you thought I would be into, haha!
S: Reading the eddas and sagas and studying the runes. I also have a dachshund who requires near-constant affection and adoration.
Z: I like skateboarding and partying.
How do you feel about downloading music? Do you download, and would you ever want your music available for downloading?
J: I’m pro-downloading. There are a lot of newer and older bands that I have bought albums and merch from that I would have never heard of had it not been for the whole MP3 thing. And I have no problem with anyone downloading our music. Hopefully if they do, it will garner their interest and they will buy some merch or come to a show. It’s not like I can stop it from happening anyway!
S: Music is a form of intellectual property (IP). For bands like us who have no intention of trying to make a living off this, it’s not as important to protect it. For us, the more people who listen to and enjoy our music, the better, as long as we can at least cover our costs. But I can understand why musicians who put in way more time and effort and have a lot more at stake than we do would care about large-scale free downloading of their IP.
Z: I do it all the time!
Where can we get Terra Caput Mundi merchandise from and what is available? Any shirts, patches, vinyl, etc in the works for the future?
J: Right now, all we have available is our debut full-length entitled “Warp Speed Warriors” (which you can get from us via www.myspace.com/terracaputmundi or from reputable metal shops and distros around the world) and some stickers and buttons. Soon we’ll have new shirts and patches. Keep an eye out!
Thanks for the interview, I highly appreciate it! The final words are yours...
J: We appreciate your interest, John! All I ask is that you remember…”In the grim darkness of the far future, there is only Terra Caput Mundi…”
7:55 PM
Powered by  | | English | | Albanian | | Arabic | | Bulgarian | | Catalan | | Chinese | | Croatian | | Czech | | Danish | | Dutch | | Estonian | | Filipino | | Finnish | | French | | Galician | | German | | Greek | | Hebrew | | Hindi | | Hungarian | | Indonesian | | Italian | | Japanese | | Korean | | Latvian | | Lithuanian | | Maltese | | Norwegian | | Polish | | Portuguese | | Romanian | | Russian | | Serbian | | Slovak | | Slovenian | | Spanish | | Swedish | | Thai | | Turkish | | Ukrainian | | Vietnamese |
|
|