Around the Table With the Masters of Games - Interview with DEMON BITCH - Nachthymnen 2024

 Around the Table With the Masters of Games - Interview with DEMON BITCH - Nachthymnen 2024

    The following is an interview conducted in late 2024 with Demon Bitch for issue #2 of Nachthymnen Mag. As Nacht has laid the project to rest, both he and Logon have given me permission to post the interview on Crypt's Burden. Many thanks to Demon Bitch for the great answers and patience!  - Rusty  

                                                                                        

    

        1. [Nacht] Hails Demon Bitch. Congratulations on fantastic new release “Master of the Games”, which matches or exceeds “Hellfriends” in every way. Can you explain how these two albums differ, both in concept and execution? Given the exceptional quality of “Hellfriends”, how was it even possible to set the bar higher on “Master of the Games”?

    [Logon] We didn’t mean for such a large gap between the two albums to occur, but I think it helped in a sense. Think about it, that’s 8 long years of listening to cool music, thinking of stupid ideas, thinking of some good ideas, and complaining about everything we wished went better about our last album. So when it finally came time to record this album, we had a lot of pent up energy that I think had just been bottling up for a while - we knew if we wrote a good album before we could write a better album this time, and I think we did. I think Master of the Games is a higher concept album than Hellfriends, it’s still not a “concept album” per se, but it has a lot of interconnected ideas which when brought together in the context of the whole album makes for a more epic album - but in terms of execution - I don’t think we tried to change our approach in any way, just let the songs come out the way they needed to.


   [Sam] Hell yeah! A possible underlying dynamic in our band is offending each other. Mars and Solon play guitar Riffs at me which I couldn't possibly play, so I take it personally and do my best to play equally as offensive in response. “The most offensive thing to a retarded person is information.”


        2. [Nacht] While firmly a traditional heavy metal album, “Master of the Games” progresses the genre into new territory. Beyond the obvious big names, what bands influenced this record? I hear a bit of everything, from CAULDRON BORN on the choruses “Not of the Cruciform” to BLIND GUARDIAN on some solos. Am I correct when placing these influences?

    [Mars] I don’t think I’ve listened to a full BG album but I don’t doubt they may have nice parts. If a heavy metal band exists in this day and age and they are not at least somewhat influenced or inspired by Mercyful Fate, and by proxy, Uriah Heep, it’s a pointless fucking band. I’m not necessarily referring to the music there, if you know what I mean. Regardless, the late, great Mike Coates of US’s Asia was very inspiring to me. He had a way of creating these layered, grand musical passages with his composition and lead playing. You might hear some of that inspiration in Cruciform, for example. A smattering of other bands left fingerprints.


    [Logon] But really I think at any given time during the album we’re going to be inspired by some vastly different things and there was little to no communication about our inspirations during the writing process. Two of my biggest inspirations during the writing process of this album was Genesis Live ‘73 videos & Sortilege’s Larmes de Heros. I don’t think you’re going to necessarily hear that in the songs - but every time I was out of ideas or stuck on a part, maybe a phrase wasn’t coming out quite right - I’d turn to these sources and try to study what it is that I love about these vocal performances & try to figure out how to harness the level of passion that I’m hearing. As a side note, I don’t even know which part the chorus of Not of the Cruciform would be, come to think of it.


    [Sam] I appreciate this type of listening to music, saying this is like this or this is like that. I think it's some of the highest form of appreciation when rings true. When it comes down to it, there are only so many cess pools to drink from but some are more clean. There’s a galloping bass drum sound from the first two Nocturnal Rites albums I'm trying to go for in Not of the Cruciform. Somehow certain frenzied drumming can sound faster than just a straight double bass pattern which I'm fascinated with. I guess if I had to describe my ideal drum sound in a cartoon idea, it'd be like some kind of chained caveman rolling bones down into a cavern.


        3. [Nacht] A few years ago I sent drunken fan email requesting you cover “Angel Witch” by ANGEL WITCH with evil changed lyrics (You’re a Demon Bitch, you’re a Demon Bitch… I'd always hurt you, I'd always hurt you. That'd be the first thing that I'd do, etc). Can you update me on the status of this? Maybe put it on the “Master of the Games” Japanese version?

    [Logon] The parallels between the name wasn’t intentional, but it did always amuse me. I much prefer Angel Witch’s second album “Screamin’ n Bleedin’” to the S/T so it would be much more likely that we cover Evil Games if anything - maybe change it to Master of the Evil Games.


        4. [Nacht] From both an artistic & commercial perspective, how successful was EVE OF WAR FEST? What are the chances of another fest in the future? Anything you would have done differently? How difficult & expensive was it to book old-school bands like TORMENTOR, SADISTIC INTENT and DEMONCY? Which bands were you most excited for? Argox & I had a great time and would happily return.

    [Solon] I think it was something that will always be remembered by everyone who went and something the newer kids hear about in years and couldn't believe it happened before they were around like the Michigan Death Fests were for me. Everyone who went bands and attendees had a great time, there was no bullshit or drama or anything dumb everyone just had a great time and saw a lineup of top to bottom killer bands with a total and uncompromised underground ethos so I would say it was a huge success, it sounds like you implied that you were there… in that case thanks for your support(!!) And wouldn't you agree?

    Tormentor was my biggest enthusiasm for the fest. 7th day of Doom is one of the most important pieces of black metal music to me so it was surreal to have them play here. Negative Plane as well! Volahn! There wasn't a band on the bill that I didn't think was awesome. Repulsion was awesome too because…. How long were they really not gonna play where they're from? Someone had to do something.

    Anyhow… as far as the next one is concerned… who can say? Definitely glad to have the stress of it all behind us now and play music and live life. And I think we're gonna enjoy that for a while. Regarding your inquiry to commercial success and cost I'll leave you with a quote

    “We don't discuss business at the table” - Santino Corleone


        5. [Nacht] In previous issue we interviewed thrash maniaxxxe SAURON. Do you have any stories about SAURON? Have you always been close or was their respect earned over time? Do you share their firm anti-mosh stance?

    [Solon] I have the highest respect and admiration for SAURON! I mean they save a lot of time by shortening words. DGB I'm pretty sure actively disliked me for quite some time… I drove him home one night per the request of the Lore Lord when DGB was completely hammered and trying to drive himself! I didnt know him at all and he spent the entire drive verbally abusing me and not telling me directions as I didn't know where he lived and then telling me I missed the turn a mile later and then blaming me for not asking… all while smugly sipping some sort of cola out of some type of big gulp plaatic cup… I told him I didn’t even want to be there…. somehow by the glory of the gods and the magic of metal we've been great friends ever since!

    My stance: I Despise it when anyone has any kind of a good time besides me and my own friends… I have seen Sauron enforce this stance! Moshers beware!

    The first time I met the Lore Lord he actually heckled me for wearing an Electric Light Orchestra patch while he was drinking wine from a pouch hanging around his neck at the Corktown Tavern… now we feast on Fridays and he tries to make me hopping mad for his own entertainment.


    [Logon] I first met the Lore Lord right when Demon Bitch was first starting out as a band. He heard our then unreleased Demo from 2012 and then contacted me offering to put out that demo tape through his label (Arcane Metal Arts at the time, currently known as Dystopian Dogs). If it weren’t for him intervening, we might have sabotaged the band by never properly distributing the demo and then wondering why no one liked it anyway, followed by endless discouragement and Hellfriends & Master of the Games would cease to be. But instead, what happened was the Lore Lord released the tape, and then he invited us on a tour with him along with Borrowed Time . Still we weren’t really friends. We did have to earn his respect. 

    I theorize the moment that we really earned his respect was when he saw us on that tour trying to bounce a ball that we found off of the concrete and get it to land squarely on the lid of an empty Arizona Iced Tea can. I could tell his demeanor towards us changed after that moment. He then graciously invited us into his cohorts of jerks such as Sauron’s Doomy G. and the venerable Sethi man Sean Sethi - who, by the way, helped to record our EP Death is Hanging… So you see, these people, though deeply, deeply, deeply flawed are very important to us and so if I find out that you said anything disparaging towards them in your previous issue’s interview you and I will have a few words. But if I find out that you praised them for being the upstanding gentlemen that they are, you and I will celebrate and laugh and smile together.

        6. [Nacht] For Solon - In previous issue we briefly reviewed “Screams in Cold Silence” by ISENBLÅST, another project closely associated with DEMON BITCH. This excellent album has a firmly Norwegian second wave sound but still sounds unique. What is the thought process when innovating on a sound that has been done so many times over?

    [Solon] We'll have to have the Beastmaster talk on this as well. ISENBLAST is our band equally. We started it together and won't exist without us together. The thought process is precisely that a sound that has been done so many times over needs to be given more attention to detail. It needs more influence than just Norwegian Black Metal. Which is what made those old Norwegian bands so special. From Ulver to Thorns, DHG Satyricon Burzum Darkthrone early Gorgoroth… they didn't have themselves to be inspired by and copy. The funny part about that is… people who often try to reinvent this wheel… are not true black metal and don't actually understand it.

ALSO! Our follow up to Screams was JUST sent in to be mastered! LOOK OUT! Its a fucking beast I guarantee it. Also thanks for reviewing Screams, I'm not sure that made its way across my desk.

    [Brian] It's not like we got together and said let's write an album that sounds this way or that way, so there wasn't too much thought into how the album should sound composition wise, maybe only that it was recorded with the raw early 90’s atmospheric production value, self recorded, using lo-fi equipment. We write what we write, with barely any sort of confinement to a certain sort of sound or trend. I listen to primarily 80's/90's black/death/thrash metal so it's a pretty natural writing process on my end, a riff is either good or it isn't.


        7. [Nacht] For Solon - Rumor is that you now play live in NEGATIVE PLANE. How did this happen? What is the chemistry like between yourself and the permanent members of NEGATIVE PLANE? How do the shows with them differ from your other projects?

    [Solon] Its quite simple really. I've been friends with NV for a long time. He asked me last minute to do some stuff for them live, I learned the songs and played them. Honestly I hardly know any of the guys besides NV. So far how they differ… there's more people in attendance HA! the realest difference is that I'm on stage playing a real guitar and headbanging instead of playing air guitar and head banging in the crowd.


        8. [Nacht] Why are WHITE MAGICIAN and LORD KAISER’S WHITE MAGICIAN separate projects? The lineups are incredibly similar.

    [Solon] I think you mean The Great Kaiser's White Magician. I will include a venn diagram in here to help explain…




        9. [Nacht] What do you think of the term “New Wave of Traditional Heavy Metal/NWOTHM”? Most bands grouped with this term merely re-hash the sounds of the 80s, whereas DEMON BITCH pushes the heavy metal sound into new territory. Do you think there is any place for JUDAS PRIEST clones in current day, or should all bands strive to create something new?

    [Logon] Honestly, I appreciate the term NWOTHM because it usually is a pretty good indicator of what to stay away from. The issue for me isn’t that these bands re-hash the sounds of the 80’s. We like the sounds of the 80’s, it’s objectively cool, so if that was the case we could say “okay good - but nothing new”, no harm no foul. 

    The problem I have is with the bands that play 80’s style heavy metal under the wrong lens. So lets look a little deeper into this issue, what did the heavy metal bands from the 80’s listen to before they started their band? Music from the 60’s and 70’s… these were artistically and musically rich eras. A lot of these NWOTHM bands don’t have it so easy though, their lens has been muddied by decades of dull music that they listened to before they decided to play heavy metal for whatever reason. If they’re lucky they can put the blinders on and become a “Judas Priest clone” as you say because they really like that one band - in which case, they might be pointless in the big scheme but if the source inspiration is cool then at least they’ll sound cool even if in a shallow way. But in order to really capture the sound they’re presumably looking for, I think they need to widen their scope and look to the music that helped make Heavy Metal sound good in the first place.

    But the problem isn’t with the bands, some bands just suck - that’s their right. The real blame should be placed on the listener for not noticing that something is wrong and accepting it just because it KIND OF looks like Heavy Metal. It’s a shame and it perpetuates the machine that churns out useless band after useless band because there’s some chuckle head out there that’s gonna eat it up just because it’s made available and convenient for consumption.

    Maybe we sound the way we sound out of an act of rebellion to a sad situation. It’s not all bad though, there are some world class bands out there like Espada and from Chile, Angel Sword, Helvetets Port, these are bands that get my stamp of approval - not that anyone asked.


        [Nacht] Any final words?

    [Mars] Yes

    [Logon] …

    [Sam] Orto, orto, yojo