DYING FETUS
Studio Update
By: John Gnesin
An extended hiatus and another shift in membership had many pondering the future of DYING FETUS, who are now a certifiable institution in the U.S. and international death metal scene, having recently marked the tenth anniversary of their self-released debut, Infatuation with Malevolence. Fall of ’06 saw the band writing and recording for their sixth album, the upcoming War of Attrition. Between exiting the studio and embarking on a huge tour, guitarist Mike Kimball took some time out to answer some questions about the new album and his role in helping to continue the band’s tradition of brutality.
RESOUND: This is your second album with DYING FETUS. How does your level of contribution to the writing process for the new album compare with writing/recording for Stop At Nothing? Dying Fetus is a band with a long history and a very well-defined sound. In general are your goals as a guitarist to write and perform strictly in the established style of the band, or do you feel you can bring something to the table that brings that sound to another level?
Mike Kimball: “Of course I do my best to add something of my own, but I intend to maintain the band’s sound, since it is well-defined and we all basically want the same thing from it. Naturally we expect to learn from experience and continue evolving without altering our style. As far as the writing, my contribution is similar to Stop at Nothing - all of the new lyrics plus one full song and a riff or two elsewhere. My lyrical direction is a bit different than past albums but John and Sean seem to enjoy the change, and I make sure they feel strongly about singing the words. But the guitar tone is closer to the classic DYING FETUS sound on this one. We used the old Ampeg heads with my new Marshall 1960’s, instead of the Randall amp used on Stop at Nothing.”
RESOUND: Two albums in and you are already the ‘veteran new guy’ in the band, as there has been another shift in the membership of the band since you have joined, with new drummer Duane Timlin and Vinnie’s departure. Did you get to step up to the mic and contribute some vocals for this new record? Can we get some insight on why the drummer search took so long? From my perspective I would think there would be tons of drummers vying for the DF seat. What was it about Duane that made him a good fit for the band moving forward?
Kimball: “Simply put, Duane demonstrated best that he could do the job. We heard from a lot of people but no one else seemed fully committed. Duane contacted us and within a couple of weeks we had his full audition video. He came out to jam in person and did a terrific job, so that was it. As for doing vocals myself: not on this album. I don’t really have a death metal voice, although I did demo vocals for half the songs just to lay down the patterns. It was useful for John and Sean, but not good for much else except to laugh at the sound of me shredding my vocal cords.”
RESOUND: You guys are fresh out of the studio at the time of this interview. What can you tell me about the recording process this time around? Is it a pretty easy process for you at this point or can it still be a challenge?
Kimball: We recorded at our old favorite Hit and Run in Rockville, Maryland. It was just our recording engineer, Steve Carr and us. The bulk of the tracking was done during September, with the addition of some long weekends in October. The funny thing about tracking difficulties is that it isn’t always the most difficult parts that give you trouble, and sometimes it’s merely a matter of your concentration being broken by everyday life. For me it was the opening riff on Sean’s song, “Parasites of Catastrophe”. The studio can be like a giant magnifying glass; you really hear those parts where your execution is off.
But we are very pleased with how this album is turning out.
RESOUND: With Stop at Nothing’s prominent themes regarding the current military actions - and of course the infamous Bin Laden target image - it is clear that DYING FETUS’s message about social/political injustice has been augmented with - if not blind patriotic fervor - at least a growing sympathy towards the need to ‘get them before they get you’. The imagery I have seen so far for the new album pushes this forward with the band’s usual ‘blunt force’. What can you tell me about some of the themes, lyrics and imagery of the new album and how it relates to the state of the country/world today?
Kimball: “I’ve taken some heat for this since a lot of times my lyrics happen to share coincidental similarities with President Bush, whose administration is not terribly popular these days. Who didn’t want to pop Bin Laden and raze his harboring nation when we saw the WTC towers decimated? Personal views aside, I think the band’s style and the genre overall will always lean more toward the aggressive. And as always, the current state of the country and the world is full of inspiration when it comes to military conflict, political corruption, murder, excess materialism, and so on. I try to write lyrics in a way that more than one meaning can be taken depending on who reads them. I hope what is said is not the only thing that matters, but also the questions of who is saying it and why. If it provokes thought or a vivid image then I’m happy.”
RESOUND: You guys are a few days away from embarking on a huge tour with label-mates NECROPHAGIST and death metal legends CANNIBAL CORPSE. I imagine this tour will be a great chance to preview the new material before it hits stores, but I’m sure you guys won’t forget long-time fans with the choice of set-list. How do you personally prepare for touring and live shows in general, and what can the fans expect from this newest configuration of DF in the live setting?
Kimball: “It has been a long time since we’ve played live, but we expect the new configuration to be as strong as ever. We will be playing two new songs along with many old favorites, so I hope everyone will be pleased with our set list. My personal tour preparation involves making sure the logistics are set (gear, clothing, etc) and of course practicing every day to get the songs as tight as possible. I also have a metronome routine, like a guitar workout, which I practice more frequently before a tour.
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