HMTV Canada Interviews Skeletonwitch

www. prostheticrecords.com

HMTV Canada: Hey guys how are things?

SCOTT: Things are killer! We're home right now gearing up for the Bodom and Black Dahlia tour and putting the finishing touches on our new album "Breathing the Fire."

HMTV Canada: Can you tell us what the fans can expect when your new Album “Breathing The Fire” is released through Prosthetic Records on Oct. 13th?

CHANCE: 100% pure Skeletonwitch! A big, fast, evil headbanging good ass time.

HMTV Canada: How many song tracks will be appearing on this Album and can you give us a hint about the lyrics and their themes?

CHANCE: We recorded 13 tracks in the studio this time. I think the North American versions will have 12 brand new tracks. We re-recorded the song "No Rest for the Dead" from our first recording as a bonus track. We'll see where that track ends up. As far as the lyrical themes, I'm a story teller of evil and darkness. The lyrics on "Breathing the Fire" are pure Skeletonwitch. Expect songs about personal hatred and disgust, songs of demonic possession and the willingness to let evil control ones every move and thought. "Submit to the Suffering" is about having dreams of human torture and making those dreams a reality. You know, cool ass evil shit man. Don't expect the same stories to be retold though.  There is no "Fire From the sky" or "Baptized in Flames" part 2. It’s an all-new collection of darkness dude!

HMTV Canada: How did Skeletonwitch land the opportunity to work with engineer Jack  Endino and Scott Hull for your Album Breathing The Fire and where on location was this Album recorded?

SCOTT:  We called them up and asked them...simple as that.  Jack has done a lot of killer work (High on Fire, Toxic Holocaust, Zeke, The Accused, etc.) and we are fans of his organic sounding production.  He knows how to make a record sound huge while avoiding sterility. He's also a really down-to-earth guy and we learned a hell of a lot from him.  Scott also did a great job on the mastering.  The record sounds massive! We recorded the drums at Studio Lith in Seattle and the vocals, guitar, and bass were done at Soundhouse Studios, also in Seattle.

HMTV Canada: Who is the incredible Artist that designed the bands Album Cover for Beyond The Permafrost and will the same Artist be designing the Album Art for Breathing The Fire?

SCOTT: John Baizley designed the "Permafrost" cover.  Not only is he a talented artist, but he also plays guitar and sings for Baroness! He's a badass dude. The cover art for "Breathing the Fire" was done by Andrei Bouzikov.  He's done covers for Municipal Waste and Cannabis Corpse among others.  Andrei drew and hand painted the cover, which looks fucking amazing! We prefer to work with artists that share our more natural and organic approach to things.  Somebody else can pay Johnny 5 from Short Circuit to shit out a digital turd and call it an album cover.

HMTV Canada: Will the band be producing any music videos from the song tracks of their new Album Breathing The Fire?

 

SCOTT: In the near future we will be shooting a video for "Crushed Beyond Dust".  We're still working out the details. I don't have much info at the moment, so I can't give you the monster truck style hype just yet: "Sunday...You paid for the whole seat but you only need the edge!"

HMTV Canada: I noticed the dark lyrics from Beyond The Permafrost deals with many demons, and evil consuming man it almost depicts revelations what motivates the band to come up with these dark lyrics?

CHANCE: I am attracted to evil in general, I think. I mean why is "Butchered at Birth" my favorite album cover of all time, you know! Because it rules!!! I'd never cut a baby out of a woman's guts, but when i first got that album i couldn't put down the lyric sheet or quit looking at the artwork. I guess that's just the way my head is wired, so those are the topics I enjoy writing about. Plus, I can't stand mixing metal with politics, we hear that shit every day. Middle east this, North Korea that, auto company bailout money etc. We already know shit is f**ked up and things aren't right. Music, to me, is an escape or sacred place where the limit is your imagination.

HMTV Canada: Do all the band members contribute their ideas to the lyrics?

CHANCE: No not really. I do give the guys a general outline of where I'm thinking a song is headed lyrically to see how they feel about it, get their feedback. Their response is usually, "sick dude, go for it!"  We pretty much know our own roles and what is expected of each of us musically. On the other hand, we are a band and if someone has a killer idea that changes what was written initially, we'll go with that. That's why it says "all songs by Skeletonwitch" and not lyrics by this guy and this solo by this guy. Everyone adds to everything when it’s said and done.

HMTV Canada: Who helped with the mixing and mastering of Beyond The Permafrost?

SCOTT: As far as mixing it was Jack Endino and 5 brutal dudes collectively known as Skeletonwitch.  It was just us and him the entire time, which was fucking fantastic.  When Jack Endino "works" on a record, that motherfucker really works.  He did 12-hour days the entire 3 weeks we were there. He rules!! The mastering was done by Scott Hull with input from the band and Jack as well.

HMTV Canada: Can you tell us the deal about Beyond The Permafrost appearing on vinyl soon how many copies will be pressed and when can the fans pre-order their copies?

SCOTT:  I'd love to, but it appears I've been kept in the dark on this one! When "Permafrost" came out we pressed 1000 copies.  A couple hundred were on ice blue vinyl and the rest were black. We've been planning to repress for quite a while now, but we got consumed by the new record and never finalized anything.  It seems I have some phone calls to make. Ha-a!

HMTV Canada: Will the band be producing any vinyl copies of Breathing The Fire and autographing them?

SCOTT: Absolutely! "Breathing the Fire" will be available on vinyl with gatefold packaging featuring more killer artwork by Andrei Bouzikov.  We will start taking pre-orders a few weeks or so before the October 13, release date. We'll sign some to send out, but we're also happy to sign anyone's vinyl at the shows, or if they mail it to us.

HMTV Canada: Skeletonwitch has lots of great influences for their music but I’m curious do all the band members like to experiment and try new ideas to their sound?

SCOTT: There's a core of bands that we all love such as  Mercyful Fate, Immortal, Kampfar, Overkill, Nuclear Assault, Death, and many others.  Then we all kind of branch out a little into our own areas of taste.  To over simplify it: Chance is the Death Metal guy, Mullet Chad is the Black Metal guy, I am obsessed with Judas Priest, Evan gravitates to more melodic styles of metal, and Nate is a sucker for a killer riff on any sort.

HMTV Canada: How did you re the Stone-Dead Summer Tour turn out did the band receive a great turn out of fans attending?

SCOTT: It was a fucking blast! Saviors and Trap Them were a shitload of fun to tour with and are all really nice guys.  The turnouts were better than expected.  A lot of people came out and got thrashed and trashed.  Good times had by all!

HMTV Canada: I realize Skeletonwitch has toured with lots of great bands which music venue or tour comes to mind as being the most memorable, funny crazy and why?

SCOTT: For me, touring with Danzig was the most memorable because I've been a fan of his work since I got into heavy music.  As a kid listening to Danzig records, you never imagine that he's going to dig your band, invite you out on a tour, and hang out with you.  It still f**ks me up!

HMTV Canada: Is the band looking forward to coming to Canada this fall to play with Children of Bodom and Black Dahlia Murder? We have lots of beer EH LOL.

SCOTT:  Absolutely! We're fucking stoked! Its been too long since we've played in Canada and on this tour we have the opportunity to play in some cities that we've never been to at all.  Everyone keeps telling us how insane the shows are in western Canada.

HMTV Canada: When can the fans look forward to the completion Sketetonwitch dot com will this be a social networking website where fans can interact with each other?

SCOTT:  Great question.  A website isn't quite as necessary as it used to be thanks to Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, and all the other social networking sites so it hasn't been a main focus for us.  But I think we'll get one together here shortly.  And rest assured, there will be networking on it.  That's the most fun part!!!  It's not a real website unless anonymous users can insult each other digitally and tell the band how much they suck. Ha-ha!

HMTV Canada: What is the music scene like in Athens, Ohio is metal a popular genera or more of an underground scene?

SCOTT: Athens is a college town so there is a lot of music, and it's quite varied. You often see the same people at punk shows and blue grass shows.  However, Rock and Roll/Punk and college douche baggery are the most popular forms of music here. If there's enough cheap beer and pot, though, people will always turn out. Athens is a blast.

HMTV Canada: Will Skeletonwitch be taking a break once their touring is complete or are they working on new material for more songs?

CHANCE: Touring complete? That term doesn't exist for Skeletonwitch...touring is never complete!

HMTV Canada: Before we wrap up our interview does the band have any shout outs to friends or fans?

CHANCE: I just want to say thank you to everyone that has made it possible for us to keep doing this month after month, year after year. We can’t wait to get back out there and see all of you again with our new material!

SCOTT: I second that...thanks to everyone for the support!! Check out "Breathing the Fire" out on October 3rd!!

Skeletonwitch, thank you for taking the time to complete this interview, I would also like to send thanks to Prosthetic Records. Horns High you rock. HMTV Canada.