Wind of change
Geoff Birchenall spoke to lone Abjection Ritual member DC about his latest slice of misery, Soul Of Ruin, Body Of Filth.
The album cover for Soul Of Ruin, Body Of Filth is so effective it reminds me of the good old days, when one could judge the quality of an album (especially death metal) by its cover! “I know very well what you mean by ‘90s death metal album artwork!” DC enthuses. “I used to buy anything with a Dan Seagrave cover without even hearing the music first.” [Didn’t we all? – GB]. “I think that good artwork can enhance the overall impact of a release but isn’t absolutely necessary. Even if In The Court Of The Crimson King just had a plain white cover the power of the music would not be diminished. Original artwork done by a well-known artist is not cheap and can be beyond the budget of artists and labels.” I am catching up with sole Abjection Ritual member DC with the release of new album Soul Of Ruin, Body Of Filth on the horizon and it’s an album that takes a solid sidestep away from martial industrial style in a decidedly metal direction. As he explains, he “…simply became bored with [his] working methods and felt like [he] was just writing the same track over and over,” before elaborating. “It wasn’t challenging or satisfying any more and I missed the visceral impact that loud guitar, bass and drums can have. I’m a huge music nerd, listen to a tonne of different stuff and do not want to restrict myself just so I can fit in to a certain scene or genre. If you go back to the progenitors of industrial i.e. Throbbing Gristle, Coil, Current 93, they all changed dramatically from album to album, not following a specific formula or playing it safe to please others.”
“…we will continue to kill each other and ruin the planet until the nukes fly and erase us all. We get what we deserve.”
Fifth track, ‘Ruin’, is a massive highlight: an emotive beast that veers between causticness and mellifluousness with effortless ease feels like an anthem to the anger and sadness felt at the destruction we humans are bringing to the world around us. “’Ruin’ was actually inspired by loss and regret,” DC clarifies. “I was going through a hard time and had some really heavy shit befall me. Some of it was brought on by myself but other things happened that were completely out of my control. I was pretty crushed and devastated during this time and was self-medicating with pills and alcohol. The song is also about longing for some kind of transcendence or redemption. Desiring to return to a purer, innocent state but knowing that it’s impossible to do so.” A perfectly functional analogy for our planet and species perhaps? “It is indeed a direct reflection of how I view humanity. I don’t see any hope for some great change or evolution. Things will just continue to deteriorate, we will continue to kill each other and ruin the planet until the nukes fly and erase us all. We get what we deserve.”
Soul Of Ruin, Body Of Filth is out now on Malignant Records | malignantrecords.com
This feature was intended for publication in ZT issue 084, but due to lack of space it’s landed here for you to enjoy online instead. Subscriptions and single copies available here: https://store.ztmag.com/
