When Suffocation and the NYDM crew started layering groove and breaking down those tech heavy chops over twenty years ago, no one could have guessed it would spawn an entire sub-genre based on their newly brutalised version of death. But here we are, and not only is ‘slam’ a legit name for music, it’s got it’s own moves – well, if you can call the Mullen chop and slam hands ‘moves’. Crepitation is a name you might remember from the mid-noughties, a name that despite only really releasing a couple of splits was at the forefront of brutal death in the UK, abruptly disappearing after their performance at OEF 2009 (where this scribe first became familiar.) Announcing new members and an appearance at NDF a few months ago, it was recently revealed that they’d once again be reppin’ the UK at this year’s Obscene Extreme festivities. Bassist Joe Mortimer checked in from Liverpool to explain where the hell they went and where the hell they’re going.
ZT: So what exactly prompted your reunion and why had you been on hiatus in the first place?
JM: Basically Mark and I got hammered at Obscene Extreme 2012 and he said we should do something because it was always a laugh. We never really went onto hiatus as such, we were all just too busy with our other bands and Crepitation kind of fell to the side a bit.
ZT: You never had all that much released material to begin with – how did Crepitation build its reputation and why do you think you were so well known despite having little fodder for the fans?
JM: We only had the split with Ingested and Kastrated officially. There was another 6 way split that was only a small run in the states which had a few tracks from the North West Slam Fest split and a few promos. I am still trying to figure out why we have such a following myself. I think its because we dont take it too serious. Everything about the band is over-the-top. The logo, the song titles, the slams, the vocals etc. People seem to have just latched onto that I guess.
ZT: How was the first show back at NDF and how did that come about? Were you at all nervous about your first gig back being at a huge international festival with some of death metal’s elite?
JM: I really wanted to go to NDF myself and after talking with Mark the summer before I thought I’d give it a shot. They replied immediately to my surprise and then we had to get the line-up sorted haha. Harry (Neuroma) wasn’t able to drum so we got Ginge (Horrific Sexual Atrocity) as he was a friend of the band and also from Merseyside. The show was terrifying to be honest, especially when we found out we clashed with Immolation which was utter shite. Playing the same bill as bands like Pig Destroyer, Internal Suffering, Carcass, pretty much all the bands was probably a highlight of mine, and I’d think it would be safe to say, all the other guys musical careers too.
ZT: Tell us a bit about ‘Glasgow Smash’. What’s the title about? Who comes up with the song titles? Are the lyrics as delightfully ridiculous?
JM: Glasgow Smash was basically what it says on the tin. We went to Glasgow, got smashed, and recorded some songs. The production quality isn’t great, but it was only ever meant to be a promo. We actually recorded that in 2010 and never did anything. It was until after the conversation between me and Mark that I decided, ‘Fuck it’ and uploaded it. It got hundreds of downloads in no time at all haha.
The song titles are a funny one. ‘Shittifying…’ and ‘Paedophillic…’ were dubbed by Chris in a practice. We thought they sounded funny so decided they were song titles. ‘Pathological…’ and ‘Elephantitis…’ are older songs that was titled by former vocalist Gek.
Funny you should ask about vocals as this has came up a few times. There are none! We concentrate more on the range of noises that we can produce, the more putrid and ridiculous, the better.
ZT: Are you in the process of writing new material? If so, what are your aims, how do you intend to progress from where you left off with ‘GS’? How are the new members influencing the proceedings?
JM: We are starting to write some new stuff yeah. When it will be recorded and released, who knows. We do aim to have a few new songs ready for OEF though. It will continue along the same path to be honest. Silly slams and blast all the way. As the members are all in many other bands, including Neuroma, Kastrated, Cerebral Bore, Scatorgy, Cancerous Womb, Horrific Sexual Atrocity and more, you can expect a mix of all these bands with extra added silliness.
ZT: How do you guys make it work living all over the country? What does each individual member bring that you think is crucial to Crepitation, especially having been through so many people throughout the years?
JM: Each member brings a different alcoholic drink that they prefer. Ginge one drums is much more of a grind and power violence fan and his interests have definitely started to seep into the newer songs. Most of the band are based in Merseyside now so a lot of the music is written together in practice. Both Paul and Mark will send us ideas that we will either butcher or learn wrong and then turn it into a new song idea. Every incarnation of the band has a slightly different sound but generally we all have the same ideology of what Crepitation is about. The only reason the band still exists is because no one ever tries to change it beyond what it is, which is a reason to have fun.
ZT: You’re all in a bunch of other bands as well, how do you plan on moving forward with Crepitation. Do your other bands take precedence? What’s on the cards?
JM: Like you say we are all in other bands. Paul plays in Cerebral Bore who are obviously a mega busy band so he isn’t always able to commit time. Crepitation for us is a band that we will do something with when the rest of our bands are taking a break. We don’t intend to take the band to the mega heights to be honest. We just want to play the occasional show and festival and just write tunes whenever we can.
ZT: Saw you at OEF 2009, which was kick ass, so I know you’re alumni… what do you appreciate most about the fest? Who are you looking forward to seeing?
JM: Obscene Extreme is an incredibly sick festival. The crowd I think has to be the thing I appreciate most. The fact that the crew have created such an environment that people can go crazy, get on stage, dance like lunatics is fantastic. When we played in 2009, we had like 50 people on stage dancing and going crazy, people doing the Macarena, people doing rolly pollys and all kinds. I’m personally most looking forward to seeing Fuck the Facts, Gadget, Antigama, Negative Approach and our fellow scouser in Horsebastard. Going to be a mental few days.
CREPITATION can be found HERE
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