Interview with Ruin Lust done by Patrick
1.Hails please introduce yourselves to the readers?
M- Cheers! My name is Mike. I play drums in Ruin Lust.
J- I’m Jack and I do vocals and play guitar.
2.When did you first discover death, black metal music and who were the first bands you heard? Who are some of the current bands that have caught your attention?
M- It was probably when I was 11 or 12, at the tail end of the 90s. I was obsessed with horror movies and had already gotten into punk early, and my friends and I were always looking for something more extreme and generally morbid.
On this quest, at around the same time, my buddy stole a copy of Tomb of the Mutilated (based near entirely on the cover art) and I picked up a used copy of Serpents of the Light.
Needless to say, our minds were blown, though at the time, we still saw it as a sort of novelty. It was probably 4 or 5 years later that I got into death metal in earnest. Punk to crust to grind onto death and black metal, in an obsessive way.
As for current bands that I follow and care about, the big ones for me have been Knelt Rote and Ascended Dead. I've also been into the Peruvian scene (Obscure Evil, Evil Priest) and what my buddies have been doing in Superstition. Absolutely killer shit.
J- When I was about 20 I found myself burned out on the bay area punk scene, which felt increasingly polarized between dogmatic vegan college kids and borderline joke bands that seemed to revel in the meaninglessness of their own projects. What held my interest in punk at that point were bands like Iron Lung, Corrupted and the Endless Blockade –bands that didn’t have a message so much as a rage and intelligence that culminated in something that resonated with me on a deeper level. Mike and I were in a crust band together at the time and I saw the same potential in Fell Voices, which was just starting out. As I was gravitating to more esoteric punk bands, my friend Andy started showing me stuff like Knelt Rote, Dead Congregation, Bolt Thrower, and Beherit. In hindsight I was clearly looking for something darker, more instinctual and immediate and it turned out that it had been waiting for me.
As far as current bands go Infernal Coil, Ritual Necromancy, Dead Congregation, Aosoth, and Knelt Rote are probably what I listen to the most consistently. I’m really fucking excited for that Caustic Wound record too.
3.When did you first get the idea to form Ruin Lust and what is the current line up?
M- Jack and I formed Ruin Lust in 2010, shortly after I moved to New York from California. We had played in hardcore bands together back in California, so playing together was second nature. The current line-up, that been on all three full lengths, is Jack, myself, and Sam Bennett, who also plays with me in Vilkacis and Vorde.
4.Who would you say are the bands biggest influences? For the readers who have never heard the band’s music how would you best describe it?
M- Ruin Lust play hellish, grinding, metal of death and war. Historically, I identify with the traditions of chaos mongers like Sadistik Execution, Sacramentary Abolishment, Kholostoi Vystrel, etc. We don't sound like any of them, but I admire their extremity and idiosyncratic approaches to their music.
In general, I appreciate music from that moment in history where lines between genres of metal were blurred. Black and death metal were nearly interchangeable and playing EVIL METAL was all that mattered. While there is nothing retro in Ruin Lust's sound or aesthetic, this historical lineage deeply informs our songwriting.
Also beyond all of that, old noise blitz hardcore has also had a HUGE impact on our sound and conceptual approach. Confuse, Gloom, (early) Anti-Cimex, (early) G-anx, all sorts of shit in this realm has so much more in common with what we're doing than any slick modern death metal.
5.Choir Of Babel is the bands newest full-length how long did it take to write the music for the new release? Does the whole band take part in writing process or does one member usually write everything?
M- Our writing process is entirely collaborative. We all write riffs, we all contribute to structure. Both Choir of Babel and the previous album Sacrifice were written while Jack was living in Japan. We would write and demo riff ideas remotely and then plan a time for Jack to visit. Once he was in town we'd maniacally practice, arrange, write, re-write, and structure the album, then spend a few days in the studio.
The process was fast, feverish, and high-pressure. All instinct and guts. No time for overthinking.
6.Who usually handles writing the lyrics for the music and what are some topics written about on the new release? Which usually comes first the lyrics or the music?
M- Jack and I write the lyrics. They are written independently of each other and generally entirely separately from the music. While sometimes an entire piece is used as is for a song, often we review what we've each written, identify the psychic connections, and combine them to create the final song.
The themes and topics we write about are overarching and are connected to all of our records, not just choir of babel. Sex and death (what all good art is about), the prison of language, the labyrinthine nature of morality and self-hood, and class conflict are all topics we've dwelled on over the years.
J- For some of us the demons are real. It has been a conscious decision on my part to write lyrics from a place of rage, sorrow and fear that actually reflects my life experience. I think this vulnerability distinguishes us, to a degree. Collectively we’re trying to do something unique and this includes the art, which we conceive together and which Sam executes.
7.Besides the upcoming Choir Of Babel release are the bands previous releases still available for the readers to purchase? Besides physical releases does the band have any other merchandise currently available if yes what is available and where can the readers purchase it?
M- We are proud to say that our album before Choir of Babel, Sacrifice, is still available on vinyl from Sentient Ruin Laboratories and CD from the mighty Nuclear Winter Records, run by Anastasis of modern legends, Dead Congregation. Beyond releasing Ruin Lust, both labels are stalwarts of the underground and have released an incredible amount of excellent music. Absolutely worthy of support.
8.Does Ruin Lust play live very often or do you prefer working in the studio? What have been some of the bands most memorable shows over the years?
M- For years Jack was living between Japan and Los Angeles while Sam and I were still in New York, so we didn't play live at all; just writing and recording in isolation as opportunity presented itself.
While I didn't entirely mind that mode of operation, the live performance is a key part of what Ruin Lust is. Live is where the unhinged violence and feral intensity of our approach is most evident. The precision and patience necessary for recording is meaningless live as far as I'm concerned.
For me some of my favorite shows we've played were very early on. Back rooms of shit hole bars, dingy basements, amidst the filth. No one knew what to expect when we played and the scene for what we were doing had far less visibility at the time. It was freeing and it was immediate.
Writing is where we get to collaborate and experiment and that is ultimately my favorite part of playing music. Our live performances are for catharsis. I think when our collective synapse fires our energy is singular and severe. We tend to play short sets, but we will all be exhausted and covered in sweat by the end of it. We played a show with Tomb Mold and Superstition last summer that was a lot of fun.
9.Are there any shows or tours planned in support of the new release if yes where will the band be playing? Who are some bands the band will be sharing the stage with?
M- We are working on sorting out plans for upcoming tours, but nothing solid to announce yet. In the meantime, we're playing May 27th in New York with some old friends in Mortal Wound and Kommand. It will sort of be the record release show for Choir of Babel. Then on June 13th, we play in DC for the first time since 2011, with Ascended Dead, who are absolutely one of the best new bands out there doing this shit.
Later in the summer we play Migration Fest in Pittsburgh, put on by Dave who runs 20 Buck Spin and Adam who runs Gilead Media.
10. Ruin Lust comes out of New York's black, death metal scene what is your opinion of New York's metal scene over the years?
Incantation, Immolation, Ceremonium, more recently Negative Plane. Historically speaking, New York's contribution to legendary, cryptic evil is pretty much indisputable.
11.Who are your all-time favorite bands coming out of New York and are there any new bands you feel the readers should check out?
M- The classics that I just mentioned are probably my favorites in the world of death and black metal from New York. As for new bands that speak to what we're doing with Ruin Lust, Bog Body is the one new band in the city proper that are trafficking in the sort of death and filth that excites me.
If we open the conversation up to New Jersey though, Siege Column and Massive Retaliation are absolutely worthy of attention. Ripping, violent, and ancient metal of death! Excellent shit.
And if we go even further into the general "North East", there's a band from Western Mass called Tortured Skull that are killing it. I played with them recently and I was thoroughly impressed; imagine Zouo meets early Sodom.
J- Vorde and Sanguine Eagle.
12.What does Underground Metal mean to you?
M- It’s my life. I've committed the last 20 years of my life playing extreme music. I've made friends all across the fucking planet through the connections I've made. It is inspiration and struggle in equal measure. This music and culture has the capacity to be catharsis and transcendence, but is also subject to the same stupidity and passing whims as culture at large.
J- I don’t feel any particular allegiance to metal, but extreme music has been a refuge, coping mechanism and source of inspiration since I was a kid, and black and death metal metal is where I'm finding that now. The friendships that come out of extreme music are different because they are based on an intuitive understanding of something that most people find alienating and ugly. At its best, extreme music is visceral connection for freaks.
13.Besides Ruin Lust do you or any of the members currently work with any other bands or solo projects? If yes please tell the readers a little about them?
Jack and Sam are currently working on a very warped new death metal project called Morbid Sphere. They just recorded a demo so keep a look out for that coming soon. Sam and I also play together in the black metal bands Vorde and Vilkacis. On record Vilkacis is a solo recording project of mine, but it also has a live band that materializes for rare live performances. Beyond all that, I also play in the black metal bands Yellow Eyes and Vanum.
I wasn't joking when I said this shit is my life.
14.Thank you for taking the time to fill this interview out do you have any final comments for the readers?
Thank you for the interest and the support. ONWARD TO DEATH!
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