CEPHALIC CARNAGE
Locked and Loaded
By: Brian P. Hoadley
Despite the satirical nature of some of its more accessible songs and the adventurous edge of many of it’s heavier tunes, CEPHALIC CARNAGE’s Anomalies album proved a major cross-over hit - strong enough to solidify the band’s primary grind and death metal fan base - but intriguing enough to draw in fans of metal stylings both more mainstream and experimental. As the frantic touring cycle for that album winds down, the band has begun writing their 5th as-yet-untitled album. We sent our main-man Brian Hoadley to chat up the band on topics concerning the recent past and bright future for Colorado’s favorite Hydro-Grinders.
RESOUND: Ok, you guys just got back from a tour in Mexico. How was it? What bands did you guys play with during the tour? Any crazy stories? How was it being back with your families in the Rockies after your whirlwind of touring?
CEPHALIC CARNAGE: “So insane we can’t even remember doing it. It’s like it didn’t happen. I can’t read Espanol so I don’t know the names of any of the bands we played with. The craziest thing that happened on the tour was probably eating tacos, and John had to go take a piss. It’s always great to come back home with the families. There’s no place like home.”
RESOUND: I know a strong part of the CEPHALIC CARNAGE sound is about experimentation. Of the albums you guys have recorded, which one do you feel crosses the most borders? What other borders, musically speaking, do you guys wanna knock down?
CC: “With our newest CD Anomalies we probably crossed the most borders. With that one we crossed the Canadian border, Mexican border, England border, Czech border, Swiss Border, Hungary border, German border, French border, Italian border, Slovenian border, Dutch border, Spanish border, Belgian border, Japanese border, and too many state borders to remember. But if you’re talking musically we try to explore every territory in the world.”
RESOUND: Of all the albums CEPHALIC CARNAGE has made, what is the one album you’re most proud of? Why?
CC: “Conexplucmalies is probably the one I’m most proud of. With that one, it sounds like all the CDs put together in one. I really just like the production on it. But honestly we are proud of every CD we’ve done. We spend a lot of time writing and recording each one, and they all have different elements. As of right now I am most proud of the new songs we are writing.”
RESOUND: Much of the touring CEPHALIC CARNAGE has done over the years had been on your own cash. What do you guys do to fund those tours? Has your gig with Relapse made it easier on your tours?
CC: “We funded the tours by selling potted meat burritos out of our practice space. We do quite well with it, and now have an online store / restaurant. It has most of the recipes of our best selling burritos and chimichangas. You can find a link for it at our website: www.cephaliccarnage.net
RESOUND: I heard about that situation with Subordinate Records bootlegging your debut album. What’s the low down? Are they still at it?
CC: “We don’t know what the deal is right now. All we can say about it is that it’s pretty gay. Relapse has plans to re-issue Conforming to Abnormality with some extra bonus
surprises. Look for that to come out around the time our next full length comes out.
RESOUND: You guys are set to begin recording your next album soon. Is it titled yet, and is there a theme? What’s the cover art gonna be like? Is Orion Landau gonna handle it for the band? Are there any cameos planned on this album? Any changes in the lineup?
CC: “Right now we are still struggling with numerous ideas such as titles, themes, artwork, and cameo. The only thing we know for sure of is that we have a new bass player named Nick. He’s from a couple local bands (AIN MATTER and ROUGE). He’s an awesome bass player and pretty cool when he’s not around. We are hoping for this album to be the most brutal and amazing one to date for CEPHALIC CARNAGE. We have 29 songs completed as of right now but only one with a title. It’s going to be called ‘Endless Cycle of Violence’.”
RESOUND: What are you guys listening to these days, what’s in your CD player? What are your musical influences?
CC: I play most of my music through no a Nopod. It’s kind of like an Ipod but it plays cassettes of old metal bands like ACCEPT, RICK JAMES, KANSAS and PAT BENETAR among other things.
RESOUND: Many CEPHALIC fans are dudes with their own bands, maybe working on creating one. What advice would you give those guys? What would you say to your fans?
CC: Practice as hard as you can and learn the business end of everything. But practice, practice, practice. You might have to kick a dude out here or there, but practice your ass off!
CEPHALIC CARNAGE is in the studio, working on their new album (tentative release May of 2007).
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