Interview with Carl Byers by Rx Zenabi.
ss: You recently toured with Unearthly Trance, how was it? any weird stories or extreme partying that happened on the tour? what are your touring tips/survival guide tips that you can advise us?
C: Actually, we didn’t tour with Unearthly Trance, but drove out to Brooklyn to play a show with them. It was just a weekend trip with a show in Philly and a show in Baltimore book ending the Brooklyn date. We met the UT guys when I did a show for them a few years ago in Indianapolis, which was Coffinworm’s first ever show. All of us have been fans of their band for years, as well as their side projects. They’re excellent people to boot! The show with UT was phenomenal, though. Syphilitic Lust and Acheron also played (both ruled and you should check them out). The show was in the basement of this bar called The Charleston, which was a perfect setting (we prefer that sort of atmosphere over a bar or typical venue). UT leveled the place with their set…the songs from their forthcoming new record sounded so good live and they ended with a cover of ‘Servants of of the Warsmen’ by Winter!!! There was certainly extreme partying happening, but no weird stories to speak of necessarily.
As for touring tips, we don’t have many since we don’t really tour (which is both a personal decision and one of necessity). A few of us have done it in previous bands and while it’s fun, it’s not worth fucking up your life to do constantly. People’s attitudes about supporting musicians seem be getting worse all the time: People download shit and don’t buy the actual CD or record even if they actually like it, bands tour and people bitch about the door price at shows (if they bother to come at all), and the Myspace explosion a few years ago begat far too many upstart ‘promoters’ with no idea about how to book a show and get people in the door.
I’m not against downloading, but I will say that personally I feel like it’s breeding this ideology that music should be free to everyone and that’s not the case. Tour vans don’t run on wishes and dreams. All of us in Coffinworm are from a DIY background and we try to keep everything we do on that level. If we can ever make it overseas, especially to Japan or Europe, we’d certainly make that happen. In the U.S., though, it’s much harder to execute a successful tour without losing your ass. We prefer to do small runs over an extended weekend or a couple of days of shows on occasion.
ss: can you tell us about the limited 100 press of the demo? are these different versions from the ones on the new record? (I got the last copy I think, because after I bought one the blog said it sold out)
C: The demo was made in 3 separate runs. The first edition was 100 copies, the second was 70-80 copies (a screen printing error claimed a few covers), and the third run was another 80-100 copies (can’t remember exactly). The versions on the demo are a different recording from the full-length as they existed in their more primitive states. We were all incredibly pleased with how the demo recordings turned out and Bob Fouts did an excellent job. Once we got into the studio with Sanford we re-recorded ‘High on the Reek…’ and ‘Strip Nude…’ to be included on the full-length.
ss: what was it like working with Sanford Parker on your new record? what can you say about the stuff he’s recorded/done mixes on?
C: Working with Sanford on the new record was a great experience. He’s a top notch guy on both a personal level and a professional level. We knew the basic results would be exactly what we wanted, but he surprised us when it came time to listen back to the mixes on the final days. It was like hearing the songs for the first time…he made the full-length sound huge and had great ideas when it came time to do overdubs and creating layers and textures. We can’t wait to work with him again.
ss: how was it recording at Semaphore with all the analog equipment that they have in there. did you do some extra experimenting during the recording sessions? what about the pedals/amps you used ?
C: We actually didn’t use any of the analog recording equipment, everything was recorded in ProTools. Sanford rarely uses tape machines anymore, and with the leaps in digital record technology you can get a warm sounding record without having to use tape. We did use some analog effects like an original Roland Space Echo with the reel tape echo loop, but the recording itself was digital. As for amps, Tony and Garrett used their usual amps (a Sunn Beta Lead and a Peavey 5150) biamped with a Marshall JMP through Emperor Cabinets. For some of the overdubs we used a Fender Twin. Todd tracked his bass parts through an Ampeg V4 into a Sunn 2×15 cab. There was an assortment of pedals used, but a few were the RAT, Piercing Moose, “The System”, Moogerfooger pedals, and we also used a Leslie rotary speaker unit.
ss: one of your former members was in a band Black Arrows of Filth and Impurity which has ties to Coffinworm. can you tell us more about them? what can you say about the Indiana metal underground that spawned Coffinworm?
C: Actually, two current members and one ex-member of Coffinworm were in Black Arrows of Filth & Impurity. Black Arrows were a killer grind band that mixed a lot of other influences and electronics/samples into their music. A heavy doom influence and lots of black metal peppered their sound. They released one CDep on Gilead Media entitled ‘1984 (Eternal)’, which is still available.
As for the Indiana metal underground, it’s there but it had little to do with spawning Coffinworm. We draw influence from a lot of other areas and all of us have been or still are involved in DIY punk or hardcore, too. Thankfully, a lot of those scenes cross-pollinate and support comes from all areas locally.
ss: how did you guys meet the people behind Profound Lore Records? how did they find out about the band?
C: I had talked to Chris from Profound Lore through email prior to the formation of the band. He also released The Gates of Slumber’s “Conqueror” album and before we entered the studio with Bob Fouts (who at the time was the drummer for TGOS) I sent Chris an email saying Bob was recording our demo. He asked the guys in TGOS about us and said he wanted to hear the results. Once we finished the recordings I sent him a copy and he dug it so much that he offered to put out a full-length for us.
ss: who are your Profound Lore favorite bands. Have you played with any of them? Portal played mdf this year did you see them?
C: The Profound Lore roster is pretty heavy with bands that I like (and from an unbiased point of view). I really dig Portal, Impetuous Ritual, The Howling Wind, Vasaeleth, Ludicra, Hooded Menance, Salome (forthcoming album on PFL), Thralldom, Asunder, and Yob. We’ve played with Salome, Altar of Plagues, Bloody Panda, and The Gates of Slumber (PFL alumni). I wasn’t able to see Portal on their brief U.S. tour surrounding MDF, unfortunately. Didn’t go to MDF, either.
ss: When All Become None is pressed on some good vinyl with a killer gatefold. do any of the members of the band collect vinyl? what do you think of this format being more popular again?
C: All of us are vinyl lovers, some to more intense degrees (namely Dave and me). I’m definitely for the rise in popularity of vinyl again. It’s the better format on many levels. You’ve got a bigger, more appropriate presentation of the artwork and the medium forces you to practice active listening (as well as it sounding better to my ears). The advent of the iPod married with the rise of vinyl is a great thing in my opinion. You still have a portable format to listen on the go with a tangible musical document that is worthy of your hard earned cash.
ss: who are your favorite black metal bands? what can you say about European BM vs. USBM etc. and how much influence does old and new black metal have on Coffinworm?
C: I haven’t been paying nearly as much attention the past year or so as I have in the past, but some black metal bands that are constantly on rotation for me are: Bathory, Darkthrone, Craft, Leviathan, Ondskapt, Thralldom, Mortuus, Deathspell Omega, Von, Baptism, Antaeus, and Blasphemy. I don’t think there’s much to be said about Euro black metal vs. US black metal…it’s two different approaches born from two completely different cultures. The US bands may have started out imitating the Norwegians (especially), but there are a few US bands that have carved out a niche of their own.
However, most of it is kind of boring to me anymore. Black metal is like a buzzword for hipster bullshit these days and too many bands try to claim it while having none of the feeling or understanding what it actually sounds like. Coffinworm doesn’t play black metal, but we do incorporate some of that feeling and those types of riffs into our songs.
ss: one of the shows you played in was a pizza party with Kill The Client and Zoroaster. how was it and who set up that gig?
C: That’s correct, one of the shows we played during SXSW in Austin was at a place called Hoeks Death Metal Pizza. Fred Pessaro from Brooklyn Vegan put it together with the fine folks from Crustcake online zine and 1,000 Knives. The show was really cool and we had a good time. It was setup outdoors in back of the pizza place, small stage area and the standing room was very compact. The lineup was killer and it had a backyard BBQ feel.
word association list:
Rwake – need to put out a new record
Sleep Reunion –
Harakiri – 40 ounces
Feast of Herod – Goatsblood collaboration (where is it?!?)
Deiphago – YES
Darkthrone – wolves among sheep
Sunn amps – want
analog effects – want
sleeping on tour – what is sleep?
Minsk – Goatman!
Indiana – home sweet home
Izzy Stradlin – cocaine
Axl Rose – cool ranch dressing
Seventh Rule – Scott & Cara rule
Portal – next level shit
Profound Lore – only Bruni is real
bus / truck stops – shitting & food
breakfast – best meal of the day
Cobalt – Man’s Gin
Nachtmystium – enemies of Opeth’s tour bus
Maruta – my Florida dudes!
Krallice – whirlwind guitars
cops at gigs – no bueno
Kill the Client – grindyourfuckingheadin!
weed on tour – not a big priority for me
Earthride – meh
Iron Man – “nobody wants him, he just stares at the world…”
Orodruin – they’re alright…i remember digging one of their records
Pale Divine – meh
tour vans – farts
Canada – Labatts and metal
Zoroaster – one of the loudest bands i’ve ever seen
Sweet Cobra – tight bros…RIP Mat
Pentagram – a salamander is not a camel
Salome – rulers
It Is I – who?
Slayer vinyl boxset – “we are all here…in the worship of metal”
Japan – a country we want to go to
Southern Lord – good stuff…now a hardcore label?
Earache – home of the classics and some of my favorite DM records
Wormrot – killer grindcore! my other band will be playing with them this Saturday
Towards Harmonious Civilization Zine 
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