Cataract Interview with Simon Fullemann

Grab the nearest dictionary and look up the definition of heavy. Do you see a picture of the overpoweringly brutal Swiss metal machine Cataract next to that definition? If not, you should, because these guys epitomize all that is crushingly killer in metal music today. One listen to the band’s latest Metal Blade record, the destructively dark “Kingdom,” and most metalheads will surely agree this intensely antagonistic outfit devastates like few other acts in modern metal can. Simon Fullemann lets us into his kingdom for updates on the band’s recent line-up shifts and his take on the response to this complete pounder of an album.

A bit of time has passed since the release of “Kingdom.” How would you gauge the response to the record thus far? Are you pleased with the feedback that you’ve received on the new record?

Yes, its five months past. The feedback has been great so far! People seem to like it even more than the previous record – at least here in Europe. The response from the US is about the same as it was for the last record. All of the tours supporting Kingdom have been twice as big and all the shows were amazing! Also, the feedback from the press worldwide is way better than for the last record. Lovely.

I thought the record is much heavier sounding than “With Triumph Comes Loss.” It has a darker tone about it. When heading into the studio this time, did you have plans of pushing this album in a heavier direction?

Yes, you are absolutely right about that. It has a heavier and darker vibe. It wasn’t intended like this, it just happened through our touring with bands like Amon Amarth, Six Feet Under, Dying Fetus and Hatebreed, each of which has had some impact on us. Also, the world itself and the direction humanity is heading in general has made us angrier. We just knew that when we hit the studio, Kingdom had to be heavier and more brutal than the previous record. Our producer helped us to achieve this end. He did a great job.

Michael, your long-time bassist left the group shortly after the release of the new album. What caused the decision to part ways?

We parted ways to make the band right again. At some point, he and we didn’t feel the same vibes anymore. It was a slow process of having different opinions about certain things. It was the right moment for all of us. It was a decision we all took part in. Our new bass player is kick-ass and is a prefect match for Cataract. It was just perfect for us. He really brings us to the next level as a band.

Did Michael’s leaving the band have an effect on the concerts you had lined up in support of the new album?

Not really. We only cancelled two local shows. We played all of the important festivals and shows! The moment was perfect and it had no negative impact on us whatsoever. Actually, it was even the opposite. A lot of fans and people that knew us where totally stoked and supported us even more. As I said, we couldn’t be happier. As crazy as it sounds, this line-up change was a big push for Cataract.

After having a tremendous response to the call for a new bassist, the band settled on Kay Brem, who was first a temporary member, but has graduated to being a full-fledged member of the group. Why did you initially choose Kay for the position and what led to the decision to make him a permanent member of the group?

Yes, we had about three dozen people willing to join. That was good for us, for could choose wisely and try out many players in order to find the best fit for the group. What made us decide on Kay? He was the most able person to jump in as a temporary member for the summer festivals. From the time we met him, we knew he was right for us. He represents everything that the band stands for in one person. So, we tried him out to get to know him and see if he fit into Cataract as a person. And he did. He’s really crazy, just like us and cool as hell. He got the job because he plays the bass very well, understood our songs and even added stuff to what was already there. To top it off, he has the same ideas about the future as we have. That’s important.

You shot a video for the track “Denial Of Life” from the new album. Please tell us about the clip…

This clip represents the record. Its dark, scarry, shows some cool live shots but is mainly about how shitty this planet is. It’s a lesson in history without teaching – if you know what I mean. We wanted to create something new in a certain way. With Maurice from Low Life Media, we found a very good producer. He had the same idea about what this video should stand for. He came up with the concept for the video. The basic live shots were done at our record release show with six hundred kids moshing and singing along. It was a great show! Then, Maurice added the colors and the history pictures and made the video that it is. The whole idea is to bring together party time and the worst time in life – war. Good and bad. We wanted to show how perverted this world is. You can rock out to a video and remember the good show, but seeing the video makes you think different.

Since the addition of Kay, the band has settled into a nice touring run across Europe. How have the live shows been thus far? Are you pleased with the reaction from the fans in regard to the new material?

O.k., half the run is over now and I can say that this touring was the best we’ve done so far! The new songs are great to play live and people love it. We tried out nearly every song from the new record live. Now we know what works and what doesn’t.
Especially the “Hell on Earth” tour, with an average of over five hundred kids every night. It was great! It proved to us that we are on the right track and kids still like very heavy and brutal metal. I would also love to go back to the UK again. The best gigs were in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Netherlands and the UK. All the rest were super cool too but those shows stood out the most. All of the summer festivals were crazy good for us. It’s just insane to play with bands like Testament, Kreator, Dimmu Borgir or Amon Amarth in front of 5 to 10 thousand kids. We are more than happy with the way it’s worked out so far and our fans are the best. Period.

The group has often concentrated intently on live performances. Do you see that as being the best way to get the word out about Cataract?

That’s one aspect. Beside the label doing its job, we do ours. And that is delivering a good record and playing live as much as we can. You know, touring for 8 years leaves its marks on a band. We are getting better and offer better shows to the kids every show. So that’s the best way to spread the word for us and get kids to be into us.

Which of the tracks from the new album are most exciting to play live?

There are a lot of them! We actually have an intro where we jump in half way through. That is killer. Also “War of Cultures” is a very cool song live. I love “On This Graveyard”, “Denial of Life” and “Tongues Spitting Hate” the most. Kids are totally digging those songs.

Why so?

For me, it’s the most fun playing songs off the new record live. They are so brutal and intense. Those songs are just between fun playing and interesting to play – if you know what I mean. It’s also interesting for me to play them, not only for the kids to go off to them. It’s just that they rock so much that kids even scream “Yeah!” when our singer Fedi announces the song. Crazy cool.

Most artists say that feeding off the energy of the crowd in a live environment is crucial to their delivering their best performance. How important is this factor for Cataract?

Well, this is very true. The crowd makes the show something more than just a show, it’s an event. Our fans belong to us. Each show is like a family meeting. We love when people are part of what we do. We have seen worse, I can tell you that. Every band experiences the first few shows/years, where you have to play your ass off and the crowd just stands there and goes “What’s that?” But luckily, those days are long gone for Cataract. We are one of those lucky bands over here that have a good following with a lot of participation from the crowd at every show.

For fans that have not had the opportunity to witness the band in concert, how do you best sum up a Cataract live performance?

Energy. We play brutal, tight, in-your-face music. No lame breaks, no samples. Nothing that happens at any show can take the energy away from us. We deliver a show with no compromise. Imagine Bolt Thrower on acid, playing Slayer songs (laughs).

How long do you plan to be touring in support of the new album?

We’ll be touring for Kingdom until the end of next year, at least. We have set our plans to tour until then. We just have to keep our fingers crossed that everything works out as we’ve planned. This should lead us to every country in Europe and some other continents. A headlining tour is in the works, a lot of festivals next summer and some crazy cool events. Better check our website from time to time for updates and details! After that, we’ll start writing a new record which should hit stores in the summer of 2008, not before.

What’s the primary drive that keeps you focused on heading out there every night and tearing it up on stage?

It’s the energy of the people. This is our life, to perform and be on the stage. Everyone in this band has been in bands since 1992 and since then our lives have been focused on being on stage. Nothing else - our hearts, the stage and the people.

(Cataract)
(Metal Blade Records)

Above This Fire: Interview with Oliver Barrett

Above This Fire has released a solid new album titled‘In Perspective’, which showcases the group’s intense riffing and powerfully arranged songs with an excellent production. On the day of the record’s release, seminal metal scribe Erin Fox had the opportunity to ask a few questions of ATF bassist Oliver Barrett…


Erin Fox: There has been an explosion in groups playing metalcore as of late. How do you feel ATF is different than the scores of other metalcore acts out there today?
Oliver Barrett: "Metalcore" is a loose term in today’s music. You would think it means a fusing of metal and hardcore, but most of today's metalcore bands are just playing metal or at the gates riffs with breakdowns thrown in. I think we're different because we actually playing metal AND hardcore, so I guess you could say we think we're different because we're a true metalcore band in the purest form.

EF: What are some artists the band looks up to that are of a different style than ATF?
OB: Anthony Hamilton, Talib Kweli, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Aesop Rock, DJ Shadow, RJD2, loads of other stuff. All of us mostly listen to things outside of hardcore and metal, and it’s not a dis on that type of music, its just because we all like to think outside of the box.

EF: What types of gear did the band use to make the album? Is it pretty much the same gear that you use on the road?
OB: Yeah it’s the exact same gear actually, and if you wanted to know the secrets of our sound we'd have to kill you. However, I will tell you that I (Oliver, the bass player) used a Sansamp on the recording and I use one live so if you're reading this, and you play bass, buy one of those because otherwise, you probably sound like crap.

EF: Do you think that the metalcore scene is burning out too quickly?
OB: To be honest, yes. With all these bands on Ozzfest and MTV2 and things like that I think it'll sour the scene. Don’t get me wrong, it’s great those bands are getting great exposure and being able to maybe make a living off of what they’re doing, and I might like that for myself too, but with the bigger those bands get the shows will change. For example, a number of years ago, I saw Unearth play for 5 bucks at a tiny venue in front of like 10 people. Now you have to pay a high price and see them in front of a packed crowd (which is awesome for them) but now you have big jock dudes and young kids that don’t know how to dance and people are getting hurt and people don’t understand what’s going on. I keep seeing way too many fights at shows now, and it’s ridiculous.


EF: Tell us what an average ATF set is like for the concert goer…
OB: It's a fun time, we get people to move up and fill in the front. People sing along, mosh, dive, and have a good time. And of course, we're having a good time playing. We don’t stand still, we put tons of energy into our live show because we love playing.

TG: Is being in a band something that you had wanted to do for a long time or is it something that happened out of the blue?
OB: Its something that all of us have wanted for a long time we all started playing in bands when we were really young, and it just kept going from there.

EF: Which song is the band’s favorite song to play at this time and why?
OB: That’s a hard question to answer, at this particular moment my guess would be “Designing A Requiem” because the record just came out today and that song has been around the internet for free for awhile now so that song will probably have the hugest crowd response until our record has been circulated for some time.

EF: Do you think that music is an important emotional release for you? What types of things could you do instead if you were not a musician?
OB: Personally, I don’t really see it as an emotional release, I just like to enjoy myself and have a good time while playing. I guess sometimes if I wasn’t too happy, playing would help brighten my mood, but I don’t find myself at that point too often.

EF: What is the most difficult aspect of being in the band?
OB: Well right now it’s having bad luck with transportation, we've had 3 vans so far and they’re all dead, and right now we're in the market for a new one but we're not loaded so its a slim market at the moment. Being away from your friends and your family for extended periods of time can be rough too.

EF: Name 3 bands that have changed the face of music history…
OB: Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin and The Rolling Stones.

EF: What things outside of music influence you as an artist?
OB: I like to think I’m a designer, and I’m an extremely harsh critic when it comes to art and design and I try to bring that mentality into our music. Everyone in the band has something outside of music that they bring to the table and that helps to make our music different.

EF: What is one band that you definitely hate?
OB: Ashlee Simpson and her band. She has no talent and her band sucks. She didn’t write any of that dog shit she calls music. It was awesome watching her get booed at that bowl game. I'd rather shove my arm in a blender and chew glass than listen to her. I’d love to have the opportunity to throw a brick at her face.

EF: Describe for our readers the general attitude of the band.
OB: We're a bunch of fun guys. We like eating pizza and making jokes. We're all really easy to get a long with. And we're probably funnier than you, and we can prove it. We also like prank phone calls, I'm a champ with those.

EF: When did you begin playing music?
OB: Although we're all different ages I think its safe to say that we all started playing in early high school.

EF: Rate these Metal legends:
OB: Slayer - 2
Slipknot - WHY ARE THEY ON THIS LIST, WHERE IS IRON MAIDEN?
Judas Priest -3
Black Sabbath -1
Metallica -4

EF: Nice Slipknot answer, I wondered if you would catch that, ha-ha. Rate these HxC Legends:

Murphy’s Law -3
Gang Green -5
EF: Hell Yeah!
Cro-Mags -2
Sick Of It All -1
Agnostic Front -4

EF: So are you guys just in this for the chicks or what?
OB: We don’t get chicks, we get 7'1, 400 pound dudes named Hoss.

EF: Tell us about your local scene…
OB: It’s come a long way in the past couple years. Shows have pretty good turnouts now and there are some pretty good young bands coming up that i can name drop like - falling stars burn bright, salt the wound, and of flesh and blood.

EF: Are there any new bands we should know of?
OB: Tears from the Sky and One Dead Three Wounded, both are awesome and should start getting some heavy recognition soon.

EF: What do you like most about being on Life Sentence Records?
OB: Dan Gump, he's a fun guy.

Ef: Metalcore: Passing Trend or Here To Stay?
OB: As far as mainstream goes, it’s a passing trend. It'll get bigger than it is now, then slowly die down and the shows will go back to the way they were years ago.

EF: Explain the evolution of the band, tell us about your history, your goals and ambitions…
OB: We've had 6 drummers (Dave being the current and best one, and he's not going anywhere), 3 bass players (me being the current one, and I’m sticking around), and there was a time for about a year or two when there were two vocalists, one left and its been Andy for quite some time now and its turned out to be the best.

We're hoping to get on some good tours and play some awesome shows and hopefully keep this thing going because we think we're on to something.

EF: Name a band that you have always wanted to play live with.
OB: Iron Maiden or Prince, maybe at the same show.

EF: That would be a pretty damn strange show, but at the same time, pretty cool…