The mad Russian Nik told me awhile back about a band he was in, Cease to Exist. I heard their demo and 7” and was impressed. If you haven’t heard them, the head of label Hemlock 13 gives a pretty good description: “Many years ago I witnessed a roadie for a notable band screw a junkie chick in an alleyway adjacent to a venue in ‘the north’. There was menstrual blood involved, dog shit and human piss all over the walls and floor and these two fuck- ups bumping uglies in the midst of it all. What a miserable sight. Cease to Exist play ugly music. When I listen to their music, that memory always springs to mind”. I can’t put it any better than that, so read on…
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What gutter did you scumfucks crawl out of? I mean, what are your origins? How and why did this band come to be? What inspired you to start the band?
This question is too boring and predictable to answer.
You’ve been described as “vile black metal with sloppy grind/hardcore influences”. How/why did you choose this unholy amalgamation? Is it an accurate label? What elements of the 2 genres do you bring together/bastardise? Who influences you from these genres?
We knew we wanted to shit out a raw and disgusting mixture of black metal and hardcore punk, other influences like sludge, thrash and grind eventually slipped in there. There was very little thought put into any of it and it just naturally evolved in that direction, we’re not one of those bands with a contrived step-by-step plan of the kind of stuff we want to play, we just let it happen. We’re influenced by Belketre, Morbid Angel, Gehenna (US), Sabbat, GISM, Watchmaker, Judas Iscariot and too many others to mention.
Tell us about your lyrics and imagery. You’ve got some cool stuff going on there that I like to term as occult-tinged, nihilistic death-worship. I might be talking out of my ass, so here’s your chance to set the record straight…
The major theme lyrically is transcendence of all matter and human existence. We borrow most of our imagery from Gnosticism, Freemasonry and Western Occultism in general; Crowley, William Burroughs, Gurdjieff and the early Gnostic philosophers have been a big influence so far.
You boast current and ex bastards of Unloved/Spat On/Cthulhu Youth/Armour of Contempt in your ranks. What do these guys bring to the table from their other bands? Is this another project for you, or are you in it for reals?
Unloved, Spat on and Cthulhu Youth are all inactive, none of us can really be bothered to play gigs with those bands anymore. We’ve spent more time playing shite pointless gigs with this band then any of the others, so I guess that makes it our “full-time” band. Armour of Contempt are alive and well, and we soon hope to be releasing tapes by various other projects we’ve created, such as Ewige Schlangenkraft and Gnostic Front.
How far do you plan on taking the sonic torture? Do you have any goals/aims?
Our only goal is to write the most violent abrasive shit we can and thrash it out; we write songs we love because everything we hear sounds mediocre and worthless. This band exists for us and no one else.
So I hear you’re signed. What next, choruses? How did the signing to Feast of Tentacles and H13 come about?
We’re not signed to either of those labels, they released the Heptaparaparshinokh 7″ and that’s it. We have no allegiances to any scene or culture.
Tell us about your demo tape, which has been sold out for some time. How and where was it recorded? Are you happy with it? Aren’t H13 also doing a repress?
It was recorded in a shitty little rehearsal room in Benfleet, Essex with a sketchy pal of the band. It’s raw, nasty and awesome in every way possible. We have no idea about a re-press.
And what of the “Heptaparaparshinokh” 7″ – how was that session? Any memorable moments?
No
Your drummer recently left the band. What happened there? Do you have any replacements lined up?
Yes our drummer left due to a huge debt that was causing him some problems, he has since been replaced with himself and things have been working out just fine.
What is a cease to exist gig like? How did the Scumfest benefit go? Do you have any memorable moments from previous gigs?
Pure idiocy and chaos. Memorable moments? Playing at the Dew Drop, getting punched in the face by audience members then thrown through the drum kit.
You’ve got some critics (including some notably “overweight feminists”). How would you respond to charges such as “being in a band that shitty and calling it art [is totally unacceptable]”? What is art to you?
We respond to these charges with a big fucking yawn. Art is anything we create, beyond petty moralizing and ethical judgements, or the half-arsed opinions of idealistic imbeciles. If people don’t like us they’re quite welcome to leave, it’s not our problem.
“Rock and roll is not to entertain, but to annihilate” as GG Allin said. How much so does Cease to Exist follow this? Moreover, how would you reply to feminist complaints that you make people feel “unsafe”?
We don’t have any obligation to justify anything to anyone. Sometimes shit kicks off at a gig, many times nothing much happens. If you feel unsafe, that’s just too bad, go home and whine on a message board, we’re not really interested.
How has the UK extreme music scene in general responded to your antics? Do you fit in?
They either think its funny, “brutal”, pathetic, childish or cowardly, take your pick. Fitting in consists of kissing the arses of promoters and various “significant” members of popular bands, so no, I don’t suppose we do. Unlike most bands in the UK we don’t attempt to fit in anywhere, nor do we have any “antics”.
Stupid question but, what is it about drugs, meat and sexism that you love so much?
Yeah, that is a stupid question.
What’s next for you guys – any notable shows coming up or another release?
We plan to do a short UK tour in the summer with our comrades Wretched Hour, we’re also looking for some mug to release our split 7″ with Armour of Contempt [a track can be heard HERE]. It’s fucking superb. If no one’s interested we’ll just release it ourselves. Following that we will commence the recording of our LP “Relax In The Safety Of Your Own Delusions”.
Lastly, say something to offend us. Go on.
No thanks. Bye.
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Cease to Exist’s debut 7” “Heptaparaparshinokh” is out now via Feast of Tentacles and Hemlock 13. The band will play at Necrosadistic Goat Torture’s album launch at the Unicorn in Camden on April 27th. Check out their filth HERE
