INTERVIEW with old-style death metallers TrenchRot (U.S.)

INTERVIEW with old-style death metallers TrenchRot (U.S.)

TrenchRot (U.S.)

Philadelphia’s TrenchRot’s “Necronomic Warfare” is the most metal, headbanging album that I have heard in 2014 so far. If you love death metal, with intense-expressive growling, big riffs and real drumming and direct songwriting, and you appreciate bands from today that play classic-style death metal, then read on. Brooks (guitars) tolerated my questions about music and the movie Rocky.

-- What is up with TrenchRot in 2014?!

TrenchRot is laying low for much of 2014, slowly working on new material and focusing on our other projects, of which we have quite a few.

What are your impressions of how people have responded to your new album?

We are stoked with the positive response. We figured fans of the early death metal style would be into it, and so far the reaction has been really awesome. Still, TrenchRot are not a live band at the moment. We've come to the conclusion that we'll play fests and stuff like that, something where we can put together a good performance. The DIY touring circuit is not one of our priorities and since we haven't been asked to play any fests yet, we haven't played live at all.

I find "Necronomic Warfare" to be the most fun, headbanging album in 2014. It has a warm sound. What can you reveal about the sound?

We recorded click tracks, and then recorded everything to those, all the drums were done in single takes, most guitars and bass were done in single takes as well. Of course we overdubbed the solos and stuff. There isn't much to reveal about mixing other than we tried to get the best sound we could within the limitations of using a few microphones hooked up to a computer in a dingy basement. There isn't so much "studio magic" really, but we did use some modern death metal techniques. This would be a good spot to plug Richard Scott, who recorded us with his mobile studio.

There is no "computer programming" of the drums, but I think we did work on them quite a bit to get them sounding just right. We didn't make fake blast beats or anything, every drum beat was real. To clarify, there are four guitar tracks going on at most points in the mix. Each rhythm guitar is tracked twice, mostly done in single takes.

TrenchRot's sound is very experienced and specific. Have you been in other death metal bands?

We are all experienced musicians, and though none of us have played in any "death metal" bands specifically, we knew very much what TrenchRot was going to sound like before the first note of music was written.

I notice that you all seem to have other bands.

Steve and I (Brooks) are in Crypt Sermon, a traditional epic doom and heavy metal band. We are currently writing our debut full-length due out on Dark Descent Records. Grass dissolved a few years ago, and from that we started TrenchRot and Crypt Sermon, effectively allowing us to focus better on the sound of the bands.

When did your vocalist discover that he sounds like classic Martin van Drunnen?

I think it was a very deliberate choice to enunciate the way he does, and we make no secret of worshiping at the altar of Asphyx.

You know what's surprising about the album? Some of the melodic guitar solos in the context of doom segments. Sometimes I think you really love the song "The Left Hand Path" by Entombed and the doom segment and guitar solo in that song.

Sure, it comes from Entombed, Asphyx, Dark Millennium, and all the rest of that old school stuff. It's what we get down with. I think some of our other influences tend to creep into the mix, of course, and being big fans of traditional heavy metal and doom metal certainly colors our sound a bit.

Brooks Wilson and Steve Jansson are in three bands?

We've been playing music together for six or seven years, I think. Sometimes you just find someone you work well with, who shares your musical tastes and you just want to crank out the tunes. We are currently involved in two bands, and maybe another will happen... There are some plans in the works.

Here are some Philadelphia questions.

What is your favorite "typical" Philadelphia food? Are any of you particular about certain Philly foods? Our band has a very unusual mix of eating habits, so if I had to speak for anyone overall I'd say we can all get down on some Dock St Pizza in West Philly even though I'm not sure [the drummer] Justin's ever eaten there.

Have any of you ever run up the steps of the building in the Rocky movie, like he did?!

I have walked up the Rocky steps, and Justin is very familiar with the Art Museum.

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