#band interview

I finally got around to summarizing the 2010 interview with Shinya and Toshiya in the GiGs Bass & Drums book, and honestly, it's one of the most charming DIR EN GREY interviews I've ever read. ________________________________________

Before DIR EN GREY existed, Toshiya's band was falling apart. He heard that Kyo's band was also close to breaking up, so he went to see them at a taiban and suddenly asked Kyo if they should start a band together.

According to Toshiya, he's extremely shy. He and Kyo exchanged phone numbers, while Kaoru stood nearby witnessing this unexpected proposal.

At the time, Toshiya had only really spoken to Kyo. One day Kyo told him to come to Tokyo. When he arrived, Die was there too and introduced himself in Kansai dialect.

Toshiya originally thought they were forming an entirely new band. He didn't realize that most of Kyo's existing bandmates would stay and that he'd simply be joining as the new bassist.

Their first meeting was arranged at a Kentucky Fried Chicken in Osaka.

But only Shinya and Toshiya showed up. They have never spoken to each other before.

Kyo had warned Toshiya beforehand that Shinya didn't talk much, so Toshiya would have to carry the conversation.

Under immense pressure to think of a topic, Toshiya settled on... driver's licenses.

He had recently gotten one because he thought it was a bad idea for only one band member (Die) to be able to drive during tours.

To Toshiya's surprise, Shinya became completely invested in the subject.

They spent the entire meeting talking about how to get a driver's license.

Neither of them remembers discussing music.

Shinya eventually got his license.

Their first rehearsal together was scheduled in Nagano in January 1997. Toshiya waited for the others in a snowy parking lot. Eventually they arrived in a van.

On normal tires. In the middle of winter. In Nagano.

Toshiya's immediate thought was basically:

"These guys are idiots."

Instead, he politely said:

"That's amazing."

He remembers thinking they were completely anarchic.

The van struggled through the snow all the way to his parents' house, where they spent the night before rehearsing and playing a live show the next day.

That night Shinya saw Toshiya perform live for the first time. Toshiya was playing support guitar in another band.

According to Shinya, even though Toshiya was only a support member, he stood out more than anyone else on stage.

Shinya's reaction was:

"Wow. I'm going to be in a band with this guy."

Over the years, Shinya and Toshiya ended up spending a huge amount of time together working on songs.

Toshiya would come up with ideas intuitively.

Shinya would carefully write everything down.

Toshiya was impressed by this, although he refuses to call Shinya a genius because he was also one of the people who drove to snowy Nagano on regular tires.

It was often just the two of them refining songs in the studio. Shinya remembers that Toshiya would constantly react to new ideas with an enthusiastic "Omoshire!" ("This is fun!" / "Interesting!"), something Toshiya immediately admits he really did say all the time.

As musicians, they describe their relationship as surprisingly uncomplicated.

They say they rarely talk about music outside of actually making it.

Even when DIR EN GREY formed, they never sat down and discussed a grand artistic direction.

They basically decided:

"Let's make fast songs."

Toshiya jokingly says it all started with Shinya's "tsutatsutatsuta" drumming.

When asked about Shinya's role in the band, Toshiya says that whenever things become tense, everyone teases Shinya and somehow the atmosphere improves.

He compares him to a healing item in a video game.

Then he says:

DIR EN GREY is probably still continuing because Shinya is there. Whenever something goes wrong, everyone relies on him.

Shinya, meanwhile, describes Toshiya as extremely reliable and hardworking, someone who practices constantly and somehow manages to draw attention even as the bassist standing next to two guitarists.

The interviewer points out that Toshiya seemed to make a lot of friends overseas (apart from Die), giving the impression that he was one of the more sociable members of the band.

Toshiya disagrees.

According to him, Shinya is actually much more sociable.

Because Toshiya was not confident in his English, Shinya would often help him understand conversations, explain what people had said, and tell him what he should say in response. Toshiya says that Shinya always made an effort to speak English and communicate with people overseas, and considers him the most sociable member of DIR EN GREY.

The interview ends with the two of them talking about their rhythm section.

Rather than competing, they try to support each other's strengths. Shinya describes bass and drums creating "waves" together. Toshiya says he wants to alternate between being a rhythmic foundation and stepping forward melodically depending on what the song needs.

The interviewer jokingly suggests that if they develop this chemistry even further, they should perform a bass-and-drums solo together live.

Toshiya immediately responds:

"What are you talking about?"

When the interviewer insists that these ideas shouldn't stay hidden in the studio, Toshiya laughs and says it's only fun because it's just the two of them doing it privately. Besides, both he and Shinya get nervous easily.

Shinya agrees, though he points out that he'd still prefer that over being asked to do a drum solo by himself.

Toshiya then says he'd actually like to see Shinya do another drum solo someday.

Oh sweetie …

Zayne- "He's reliable, talented, and an excellent leader. With his medical knowledge, he's also good to have in the event one of us feels under the weather. We're lucky to have him."

Rafayel- "It's nice to have someone around who knows so much about the industry. Rafayel grew up in this world and has a lot of good connections. Some might say that he was only put into the group because of who he is related to, but, his talent and devotion should speak for itself." He rubs the back of his neck. "And, to be honest, I'm not the best at fashion. Without Rafayel double-checking my outfits before appearances, there would probably be some awkward photos drifting around..."

Caleb- "Caleb is talented all-around and easygoing. He's good to the fans, hard-working, friendly, and helpful. Whenever one of us makes a mistake, he instinctively knows how to cover for it to make sure things go smoothly. He's also an excellent cook. Too good, to be honest. We've had to limit how often he cooks so that none of us gain weight... Hm? The food he's best at making? That'd be his dumplings. He makes such large batches of them and we lose track of counting how many we've had. Before we know it, the platter is empty... Thinking about them has me hungry again."

Formed ten years ago, DEATHSTENCH released three albums and many eps.. The "Massed in Black Shadow" album was a great obscure and dangerous one..The crown of their sacrifice was their collaboration with Bon Masters Phurpa. John Paul Whetzel and Darea Plantin spells behind this interview.

“Blood Moon Divination” was your latest release. It was released in a limited amount of copies and only in Tape format. Why this choice?

We have always preferred analog releases. We view physical copies as something that should be appreciated.. Let's face it, it's the 21st century, and people do most of their listening through some sort of streaming service. If they like it, they most likely pirate it. We understand this; Our physical releases are intentionally designed for coveting.

We put a great deal of energy into each release. In our past special editions, we have included ritual accouterments that correspond with each album, such as shards of human bone and incense we made specifically for the intent to conjure with the dead.

You have released three albums. Please tell us the concept behind each one and the process of the recordings…Each release turns out to more noisy and dark forms..

To be precise it's four albums, and numerous collaborations and splits. Our releases are not in any sort of chronological order, from conception to the final product takes its own time dependant upon the haste of that particular record label. We record basically the same for each album, building upon a structured theme. Our music is built on layers of sounds from instruments, traditional and otherwise, that we record with either handheld devices or microphones connected to an audio interface which we use to record our percussion and amps.

Each track on "Blood Moon Divination" is an audial ritual recorded and released during each specific Blood Moon in the tetrad cycle of blood moon eclipses of 2014-2015. Through that span of time, these celestial vibrations were available as they were being released on several streaming platforms, including Black Metal and Brews and Repartiseraren. A tetrad of lunar eclipses is extremely uncommon. This was only the eighth of such cycles in over two thousand years. We compiled them together for a physical album that we chose to release during the first exclusive total solar eclipse the United States had seen in over two hundred years. Eclipses, both solar and lunar, are considered to be very inauspicious events throughout the world. As an omen of war, the Talmud regards "If the face of the moon is as red as blood it is a sign that the sword is coming to the world."

"N.O.X." is a transcendent four track journey that starts out violently with the lo-fi black metal track OXEX DAZIS SIATRIS, Enochian for "Vomiting The Head of Scorpions" and slowly transforms itself into a less chaotic discord that concludes with the meditative piece "Mysterivm Tremendvm". N.O.X. or "The Night of Pan", is a mystical state that represents the stage of ego-death in the process of spiritual attainment. The Greek word Pan also translates as All, as he is a symbol of the Universal, a personification of Nature; both Pangenetor, "all-begetter," and Panphage, "all-devourer". Pan is both the giver and the taker of life, and his Night is that time of symbolic death where the adept experiences unification with the All through the ecstatic destruction of the ego-self. In a more general sense, it is the state where one transcends all limitations and experiences oneness with the universe.

"Nekro Blood Ritual", our second album, was designed specifically for its cassette release and is broken into two sections: Conjuration Rites and Burial Evocation. This album focuses on conjuring the dead and the desecration of human remains. This is by far our most atmospheric album; most of the tracks are rely heavily on field recordings and stygian synthesizers to evoke the abject darkness. These songs are reminiscent to the "Incantations in Dead Tongues" era of our work. There are only two conventional (for use of a better term) songs on this album, "Nekrobloodritual" and "Desecrating The Host" the latter being a harsh black funeral doom dirge for the departed.

In our debut album, "Massed in Black Shadow" we utilize all of our influences through the years. Incorporating elements of death industrial, dark ambient, doom, and black metal, and hideously transforming and conjoining them into a writhing mass of absolute filth, a sound truly all our own. The final track, titled “Bastards of the Black Flame” can be considered a motto to us, as it is exactly who we are. The byproducts of an unholy union between some of the most violent forms of music, in both sound and ideologies.

DEATHSTENCH collaborated with Phurpa. How did this Union take form? Are you interested in the theory of empiricism in Bon Religion?

In 2012 Alexei Tegin had discovered our music from our debut album and contacted us. Both Phurpa and ourselves operate with the same meditative qualities regarding our music. Although our sound derives from different spectrums, they coalesce quite vividly. "Evoking Shadows of Death" fuses our ultrasonic vibrations and harsh atmospheres with the harmonious chants and deep, droning reverberations of their tantric voice. These two tracks are designed to help the chod practitioner tap the power of fear. This transformation does not fall spontaneously, as grace, upon the listener: the practitioner must engage in the process. One must take steps to transmute through the aural plane and, through a process in which they must actively participate, requiring utmost concentration and mental stamina. This mystical experience is achieved, not bestowed.

Empirical reasoning has no place in esoteric practices and the occult. These objects are neither phenomena (empiricism) nor human constructs imposed upon the phenomena (idealism), but real structures which endure and operate independently of our knowledge, our experience and the conditions which allow us access to them. Some things cannot be reduced down to empirical measurements.

Thanatology and satanism are your basic influences. How do you define satanism and how death in your personal path?

Deathlore has always intrigued the both of us. There is absolutely nothing more final than Death. Every single one of us will die, as Death does not discriminate. Dying, death and how human beings respond to the inevitability of their mortality and cope with the reality of loss can be viewed from a wide range of perspectives. Our intent has never been to elaborate on our practices or rituals to any audience. Even the altars we allow you to see are set up specifically for public viewing. While they are still symbolic of what we would normally produce for our own rituals, the intent isn't there. It's merely superficial. Our personal altars and rituals will always remain clandestine, as all witchcraft should be.

“Those who know do not speak. Those who speak do not know.” ― Lao Tzu

I would like to hear your thoughts and if you are into the systems of O.N.A & Temple of the Black Light in theory and praxis as Traditional satanic approach you unveil through your works . Satanism is such an elaborate construct; Atheistic, LaVeyan, theistic, there are so many paths. Satan has always been symbolic with the quest for Knowledge, of opposition to arbitrary authority, forever defending personal sovereignty even in the face of insurmountable odds. Our path cannot be defined by one simple ideology.

We have absolutely no affiliation with these groups.

Does DEATHSTENCH ever perform live?

We are very selective in our live performances. The last show was in Portland, Oregon way back in 2015 when we opened up for MGLA, Weregoat, and Sempiternal Dusk. Alan Dubin (of Gnaw, Khanate) and Billy Anderson, whom we have long collaborated with, did a sort of dueling vocals approach to our fifteen-minute audial assault on an beyond-capacity crowd. This show was recorded by Mateo from Greysun Records who also released it on his label in 2018.

Necromancy is an Old Art Like Time.Ancient Greece had deep roots also in this Subject. Are you familiar with the Ancient Greek Mysteries?

Yes, we are familiar with some of the Chthonic mysteries highlighting mortality and the briefness of life, and the spirits of the blessed dead. Though, like most true paths of esoteric knowledge, not much is truly known about the intricacies of these rituals, having been sworn to secrecy and then lost to the Sands of Time. It has been suggested that communicants would drink Kykeon infused with the psychotropic fungus ergot which helped the initiate to reach a fuller understanding of their purpose in life and to shed their fear of death and this, then, heightened the experience and helped transform the initiate. The same can be said of the Huichol in Mexico, who eat peyote at the completion of long arduous pilgrimages in order that they may experience in the journey of the soul of the dead to the underworld. Death worship and eschatology are celebrated by all cultures throughout time, most with the use of hallucinogens.

I would like to hear your thoughts on these words: “This being true for the ordinary Universe, that all sense-impressions are dependent on changes in the brain we must include illusions, which are after all sense-impressions as much as “realities” are, in the class of “phenomena dependent on brain-changes.”  ― S.L. MacGregor Mathers, Goetia the Lesser Key of Solomon the King: Lemegeton, Book 1 Clavicula Salomonis Regis

In contemporary education, the emphasis has been on the psychomotor and the cognitive, namely reading, writing, and arithmetic, at the expense of the affective, namely, the emotions, the sensual, the intuitive, and the imaginative. Priority has been assigned to the verbal-intellectual skills. Anything else tends to be shelved or boxed and put away as ephemeral, esoteric, or mystical, each of these terms being used in a pejorative sense.

Consider for a moment the human sensory system. To the scientific mind, the senses are perceived to act as a kind of data-reduction system. The problem with this concept of the senses is that we do not respond to all that is potential sensory input. Perception is quite a selective process, attending to only a small fraction of so-called reality.

To some extent, scientist or artist, everything we perceive is "illusory," since to perceive anything at all we must use our imaginative capacity for fantasy.

What can we expect from DEATHSTENCH in the near future?

Photographs from the Crypta official promo shoot, 2023 by @eromera On July 31st, CRYPTA guitarist Tainá Bergamaschi graciously took the time to answer some Cave Dweller questions before heading back out on tour. They talk metal, touring, and the band's new album “Shades of Sorrow” out August 4th on Napalm Records.

Read Christian's full interview with Tainá and find music videos and links to listen to and order Shades of Sorrow at the link below: