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Anthony, how is it going my old friend? It
is good to talk to you after losing (sorry about that) some time. Has much
changed in your personal life since we last talked (I think it was around
time you filled in live with Stargazer on the Nunslaughter tour)? Do you
feel like an old man in this scene (sometimes I do)?
Greetings squire Dale, tis sensual times hearing from you!
I can’t really remember too much of the years that have passed by, they all
seem…… so distant and vague ??!? It would appear that these long years are
starting to catch up after all.. I did play guitar in Starslaughter on the
Nungazer tour, didn’t I??
Let us know
what has been happening in recent times with Misery’s Omen?
Misery’s Omen has slowly lurched towards the spawning of new musickal
tidings over these last few years whilst waiting for the album to see
daylight. As the inevitable release of the album has since occurred it
would seem that our slow lurch is moving toward a creep..
Aside from creeping and lurching, our website was registered by an online
entity wishing to sell it back to us at a rather handsome profit, of course
I gave the group a rather ugly answer. Thankfully Abysmal Sounds have
helped us out and we will have a new website shortly at the following
address – http://miserysomen.abysmalsounds.com
The release of the album has consumed most of our time as of recent and now
work on the layout of the LP version of Hope Dies is my priority.
Is the
upcoming album considered your debut
album or would it be the release a few
years ago on Bindrune (which I see often listed as an EP disc)? Give us some
details on where it was recorded, length spent in the studio and what you
think of the final recording, sound wise?
Hope Dies is our debut album, the CD released through Bindrune is a
compilation of the demo and 7” tracks from earlier times. Hope Dies was
recorded over a period of 12-14 months ending in 2004 (time has stolen the
actual dates from my mind) in an antiquated analog studio in Adelaide. In
the quest for an ideal mix we waited around 14 months for a suitable
engineer to become available, this eventually happened in 2006. The time
from then to now has been an epicly boring journey of events which to be
honest is just too mundane to repeat..
As a fist we believe that the final recording is very suitable, we would not
release it otherwise. However as always our quest for eternal life err….. I
mean, ideal sound continues and the path ahead appears should be
interesting.
How long in the making was “Hope Dies”. I know your last release was 2003
correct? Were you working on the album the whole time or has it been worked
on periodically during this time period? Has the recording been in the can
for any length of time?
The album took roughly 6 years
to create, for the songs to become and the band to get them together. Each
ghoul of this fist has other bands they are involved and committed to and we
also need to plunder our valuable time with menial tasks such as stealing
from the sick and eldery for food to fill our gizzards. Misery’s Omen is no
constant entity in it’s workings only its existance!
I don’t have any cans here,
but I am aware that in South Australia you do get 10 cents per can or glass
bottle when recycling them.
What was the
single hardest part of making “Hope Dies”,
from the original thought on working on the material to the eventual 2008
release? Was the material stronger due to this long brew time?
Aside from recording late into the night until being completly fatigued, the
hardest part of this release was not making it, but rather waiting at every
possible interval that came afterward as we encountered delay after delay
releasing it. Indeed time was taken during the writing phase to ensure
depth and meaning to the tracks, Misery’s Omen is not a band that could (or
want to) produce an album in 12 months.
What
does “Hope Dies” sound like in relation to past material from Misery’s Omen?
You were often called a progressive black metal band from the start. So is
it more a case of honing your style or is there room yet to get even more
progressive?
The aural poison that Misery’s Omen creates on Hope Dies is both similar and
disimilar to elder tracks from the demo and 7”. We have lurked deeply into
the musickal abyss and what we brought back with us is daemonstrated on the
recording. Ensuring that we create whilst not re-creating is an anxious
task that some would say akin to juggling multiple items with one limb.
Continual and ongoing refinement and deep space exploration of the tracks is
important in terms of balancing our sound.
The
Australian scene has been considered easily one of the best in the world
since the late 90s or so. Do you feel it is still holding on to this
reputation? Is the scene continuing to reload so to speak or do feel things
on the front are beginning to quiet down a little bit?
Australia has some interesting entities that construct music, although in
all honesty those that are creating something of interest nowadays tend to
be those who have been around for a while. Very few ‘new’ bands spark my
interest, but that isn’t to suggest they aren’t good, just bitter to my cup
of tea. I will list some currently active bands which for me personally
uphold the reputation for Australia: Mournful Congregation, Stone Wings,
Portal, Stargazer, Innsmouth, Nocturnal Graves, Shackles, Cauldron Black
Ram, Gospel of the Horns, Demons Gate, Raven Black Night, Wurm, Vomitor,
Wither, Raven Black Night, Crone, Tzun Tzu and Darklord to name those that I
can recall off top my head.
What
do you like and dislike most about playing live? Surely you can tell us an
interesting story related to road trip and live show / tour?
Misery’s Omen doesn’t play live Mr Dale, so this concept is rather alien.
However I have performed for other bands in this capacity and the concept of
playing live at times can be frustrating and irritating. The fact that bands
are always at the mercy of the sound engineer and PA at the venue and thus
if they suck, then you suck.
My favourite memory from touring was an incident in Europe after a big night
drinking, on a train ride home. The bassist of the band at the time was
looking unwell and was rather grumpy during the ride preferring to sit by
himself for the journey. When the train stopped at our destination, he
abruptly bolted down the carriageway pushing all persons in his path out of
the way in an effort to get to the station platform. We gave chase curious
as to what was happening. As he leaped off the train a firey infernal stream
of steaming puke exploded out of his mouth whilst he was mid flight. He
successfully contorted his body to avoid getting it on himself. However the
danish woman in front of him wearing sandals didn’t and had her feet covered
in heavy metal vomit. The woman squealed in disgust and ran to her friends
for support whilst our mate kept running to the other side of the station
where he landed on all fours continuing to vomit unto the train tracks as
the guitarist and I laughed our arses off!! It’s nothing really extreme but
the memory of him being in mid air and twisting his body to not run into the
vomit was hilarious!!
What
do you like / dislike most about recording material in the studio? Is it a
necessary evil to capture your creation or is the creation period the best
part of the whole thing?
Conjuring new recordings is
possibly the greatest experience in life. Observing a track grow from
something that was just rehearsed to becoming a recording and an ‘actual’
song is very satisfying, particularly if one is content with their creation.
The evils would definitely be the cost of recording in a good studio and the
small budgets bands have to produce albums with.
A
question I like to ask is your opinion of old analog recording as opposed to
the slick digital / pro tools? Would you say it is too easy to kind of fake
things and hide weakness in performance and/or material with pro tools? What
do you find helpful about the newer recording techniques? Do you think
digital recordings translate to vinyl as well as analog?
A great recording is not defined by the format it was recorded on. A band
should produce an album so that the mix reflects the band, not the recording
medium. That being said every Misery’s Omen recording has utilised Analog
equipment, which was a goal of mine in previous mindsets. However since
operating my own studio and recording bands outside of Misery’s Omen I have
discovered that digital recordings do not have to sound like the newest
“insert insulting yet humorus metaphor” released by Century Media. But you
are definitely correct in that digital recording mediums make it easier for
correcting mistakes and mixing, (which is a headfuck in an analog
environment). I am not sure what is meant by weakness in performance because
every band could potentially have a weak recording performance if they don’t
have a good recording (good being subjective, but relative to the style of
music). The main weakness of digital recordings is that because it’s so
cheap more and more people are recording at home and ‘engineering’ their own
recordings with poor or uninteresting results.
Of course everyone has a different perspective on the matter and I do not
advocate that one format is better than another. All my favourite
recordings are from the 70’s on analog equipment ie Eloy, King Crimson,
Camel to name only a few. But modern costs of recording and ever
reduced budgets from labels (if you get a budget) mean that as a musician I
must do what I can to get the recording done. If it means making a digital
recording that had 200 hours spent on recording and mixing to get the sound
desired versus, 40 hours in an analog studio with a half complete recording
and no budget left, the choice seems fairly clear! But I might clarify that
I am not a f an
of triggering and modern productions either, there is no room to them and
everything is so compressed that there is no personality to the recording.
As for digital recordings on vinyl, I don’t see why it can’t sound good? I
would think that the majoring of recordings for the last 10 years have at
some point been transferred into a ‘digital’ format before being released on
vinyl.
What is your opinion on the album “Black
Metal” by Venom?
It’s metal and it wasn’t made by black people?!
Tell
me what are your opinions regarding the Paranormal such as Poltergeists and
other unexplained phenomena? Do you believe in things like the Illuminati? I
have discussed this (Illuminati, police state, one world government) in the
past with a mate of yours from Stargazer (also Misery’s Omen), is this
interest something you share with him?
Unexplained phenomena does indeed interest me. I enjoy the term
‘unexplained’ because when individuals attempt to explain the phenomena it
seems, well ironic. My interests are vast and open, I try to not limit the
flow of information into my centrepiece with preconceptions such as
ignorance. But as being only human I certainly fail as often as I succeed.
Indeed my friend and I have in the past spoke of these concepts and the
conversations were both vivid and enlightening. Such discussions should only
be had with those who are ready to expand their mind, not to just hear it.
Is
your passion still as strong for the band and music in general today as it
was when you started out? When you first picked up a guitar did you anywhere
in the back of your mind still think you would be doing this today? Do you
hope to make a living off of music?
The twisted flames of creativity still burn within this vessel. My desire
for music still drives me to fill those cursed cards of credit with invoices
for LP’s as they are released or found! Perhaps these days my passion is
stronger than in my days of youth, I am not so blinded by ignorance!
When I picked up my guitar I knew that creating, writing, recording and
releasing music was all that I wanted to do. Nothing has or will stand in
the way of my music yearnings, it’s as simple as this. Heck I even learnt
how to play drums in order to meet these needs..
Personally I find the concept of making a living from music to be flawed.
Currently I dedicate my time and resources to my music, because I choose to
do this, it is both worthwhile and rewarding. However there are times when
I cannot write or am not in the mindset, so
 then I take a break. If I was
to be in the situation of making a living outta this, I would face
unnecessary pressure to write and or release something sub standard. But
that isn’t to say I wouldn’t mind some cash now and then to inject back into
my musick!!
I
thank you my old friend and metal brother for doing this interview. Please
end this interview, by sending hails to anyone you wish and also please fill
us in on the future plans of Misery’s Omen?
T’was a sensual experience as always Mr Dale…. Greetings and gratitude to
all those who have patiently waited for the album, the LP is currently being
worked on, it will differentiate from the CD in layout hence the delay.
It is anticipated that a new 7” should see light of day in 2009!
Otherwise, be good
to your mother.
miserysomen@hotmail.com
http://miserysomen.abysmalsounds.com/
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