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Interview with Daniel Corchado, vocalist and guitarist, of the Death Metal band THE CHASM
In a world where the human concept of justice held true, Mexico-born, Chicago-based The Chasm would be universally acknowledged as one of the undisputed kings of Death Metal or Metal in general. Instead, in this inverted world of false values and ideals they are doomed to obscurity(partly due to their own wishes, it is true) though to many a staunch, long-time follower of the Death Metal underground they are unspoken kings. Though part of an aeon where trends are followed or discarded as the whim takes or leaves us with no regard for eternal truths, this band(consisting of Daniel Corchado, Julio Viterbo and Antonio Leon) has walked a steadily maturing visionary path through nine uncompromisingly excellent releases epitomising the spirit of the underground spanning nearly two decades of adversity(including line-up changes, relocating to another country and label disinterest that would have ended a lesser band) culminating on September 15th, 2009 with the unleashing of the aural masterpiece that is "Farseeing the Paranormal Abysm". This is not Death Metal that strafes into submission. This is music that lays siege in the serene knowledge that the city will fall; a dark, revelatory, cosmic journey through the truths of the Universal Mind, or at least that part of it belonging to the depths of The Chasm. I asked The Chasm's mainman and founder, Daniel Corchado for an interview following their first release in 5 years and he agreed. He is forthcoming and outspoken, with a surprise or two for the unwary fan and reader. This is how it went:
- Conducted by Hamano Kyousuke |
Diabolical Conquest (Hamano Kyousuke): Most of the questions are related to the last 5 years of the band after The Spell of Retribution( the 2004 Chasm album ) came out but could you start by describing your music? What can first time listeners expect from you? The Chasm (Daniel Corchado): I think that no matter at what album people start listening to us, they will realize, slowly but surely that The Chasm plays a hybrid style of Death Metal, and I say hybrid because of the tendencies and aspects of some other styles of metal. I remember in 1992, when we were ready to promote the first demo, I created a flyer that stated that we were a band that played "Death Metal with a different touch"... Almost 18 years later it still applies to our actual musical status. Of course now the style is way more personal and unique, some will get it some not, because we are not afraid to experiment and go into different paths when we create music. It is difficult to describe our own music.
TC: Well, one reason probably was that we took so long to release a new album. Plus to be honest I didn't push it enough to keep the band on Earache, there was a point that we just simply didn't care about being signed. Nothing against Wicked World, in fact they did a decent job distributing The Spell, and Dan Tobin, manager of Wicked World, really likes/understands our music, but also they knew/realized that we were not very successful commercially, which is ok and understandable.... Around 2007 I just came to the conclusion that being signed and what it involves is no big deal for us anymore. It used to be, when we were younger, but now we see things differently. There are tons of bands/labels and with the internet I don't see a big difference between being signed or independent. In the end, we are composing music for ourselves,and we release it for the people who believe in our music, to do that we don't need anybody else but ourselves.
DC: You did your first real tour in 2005 after 12-13 years of existence as a band. How was it? Was the reaction to the Chasm live as good as you wanted it to be? TC: Yeah, the response was pretty solid, almost all the times that we have played live here in USA people have been really supportive. Yes, that was the first and only tour we made, it was fun and interesting, good experience.
TC: Yes, Julio got kidney problems in late 2005. It got worse and they discovered that his kidneys were useless. That was early 2006, he's on dialysis treatment nowadays and of course that changed our plans and also perspective. I don't think it really affected the band because we have always been in a similar situation, you know, been underground and not very "commercial" or "popular". Personally I didn't care about stopping playing live, I have been doing it for around 20 years and I'm satisfied with what we did in the past. Nowadays we are grateful that we are still able to compose and create our obscure form of death metal, which is the main purpose of the band. Since the beginning, I created this act to create music, I wasn't thinking about making it big or touring the world, etc... It would be nice to travel and stuff, but its not a priority, the bottom line is to create music that satisfies our inner will and soul.
DC: There are some in the metal scene who don't appreciate the bands who intentionally try to stay away from the commercial mainstream and call them isolationists, an "elitist poseur" if you will. What do you think about that? TC: Well, nowadays people can say whatever they want. I really don't have an opinion for that, caring about all these comments is just a waste of time, anybody is entitled to do whatever they want with their music, and we are not doing this independent thing on purpose to be "cool" or "true". Its just that is the way we do things and that's it. We don't have to explain anything to anyone or act according to what the "scene" says is the right thing to do.
DC: Could you give me a good overview of what transpired in the last 5 years between The Spell of Retribution and Farseeing the Paranormal Abysm? TC: Well, between Julio's health scare, which as I said, it gave me a different perspective on life in general, we took some long breaks, we were fed up with all the circus that is the "scene" nowadays, gotta say we were pretty close to disbanding, but we just relaxed and realized that we should keep minding our own business and keep writing music, which is the bottom line of the band. So we went in some isolation, just focused and concentrated on creating some of the most fucked riffage and composition we could do, without being pushy or pretentious, just to write music which really touched our deepest inner self, taking our time...
TC: Yeah, it is probably the best sound we got so far but still, it didn't meet my expectations,and I'm the only one to blame. But that is the way it is, I'm not a professional engineer and I'm still learning, but it came out pretty close to what I had in mind... The process was a very long one, as with the music, we took our time in recording and producing, there was no pressure or rush in finishing it. We started the first part in December 2008,with drums and guitars, at the Ensomberoom Studio in Indiana, then we recorded everything else at our practice room and my home here in Chicago, better known as Lux Inframundis Studios. The recording process was smooth overall, but the mixing was a bit strenuous, it took me a long time to get the songs where I wanted. Having these long songs with so many riffs and extra adornments really took it's toll on my head. In the end we are satisfied and accomplished a gargantuan album, which was really something I wanted to do for a long time, you know, to be more instrumental, than ever. . DC: That sets the tone for my next question. Why so many instrumentals(4 songs out of 8) on this album? Every Chasm album has a couple of instrumentals but never so many. Are you a great fan of classical music(western or otherwise) and how much of it do you consciously/subconsciously incorporate? TC: I'm a big fan of orchestral, soundtrack, progressive, classical music, that has been/was a bit of influence in doing more instrumentals, but most important was the fact that I'm getting tired of writing lyrics. I don't want to get to a point where I'm just repeating myself plus the fact that I'm older now and obviously I see things differently. Sometimes I really find a bit annoying (at least for myself) to be doing this kind of vocals when I'm close to 40 years old, that was part of a youth that now is gone. My musical taste is still within the darkest side, but I think I'm growing as a musician and I like to challenge myself and see what is possible to do with only instrumentation. I mean, if there is another Chasm album in the future I'm almost sure that there won't be any vocals at all. Shouldn't be saying this right now, but there is a very good chance it will happen....
TC: Hard to say, and I can't even get close to these persons, but I'm very fond of Sibelius, Handel, Mozart and Grieg... Sometimes Metal is very restraining in the way that if you go to some other "places" it will lose it's identity (*as metal, I know it sounds stupid/contradictory in a way, especially when I'm talking about being mature and seeing things differently), but that is part of the challenge and pleasure of creating heavy metal with a very personal vision.
DC: Do you see yourself ten years down the line playing music which is of an entirely different genre but with the same passion and spirit of Metal that you so love? And do you think you'll retain the same audience? TC: I don't know about maintaining the same audience, but yeah, I will keep creating music for as long as there is inspiration... Metal?? I don't know, but yeah, personal obscure music for sure. That's why I released the Magnum Itiner Interius, to explore different perspectives and ideas inside my soul and head. One thing is for sure, The Chasm will keep playing this style of darkened death metal until we decide there is no more fire burning inside.
TC: Since the beginning, well, even before The Chasm, when I was part of Cenotaph, I started to get more in-depth thoughts and questions about my own existence, and of course being a teenager and very young, those questions almost every time never got an answer. With the passing of time, as I matured, my visions kept into the same channel, but with new uncertainties and paths. Sounds kinda dramatic, but for me it really is complex stuff, to see one's existence and the purpose in life. Of course now I can control more these emotions and the routine of regular life somehow has taken over this way of thinking and dreaming... Also I have always been very interested in how our ancestors and ancient culture were so powerful, smart, unique and how all those values and sense of power and strength became lost in actual Mexican society. Of course at this point I really don't care too much, since I have learned to just live my life to the fullest without worrying too much about the past(which is already gone) or the future(which is totally uncertain and non-existent). The present is the all, and I try to just be myself and do what I want as much as I can, and for as long as possible. So, in other words, the lyrics just deal with my ideas and how I envision existence and the trip and what maybe the other side.
TC: Well, going back to the beginning of the band and how we saw music those days, being a native Mexican we always thought that Death Metal, or Metal in general should be written in English. I just thought that it sounded like crap in Spanish, actually, I still think it does sounds like shit in Spanish. Plus if we were trying to reach some other people, English is the universal language so far. I just kept it like that, and never got more interested in singing in Spanish or in an ancient Olmec/Aztecan/Mexica dialect, just got way more focused on the music... I never tried to send a message to anyone, so with the passing of time, the lyrics became less important to me.
TC: Well, of course I wish things were different, so my country - we'll be in a different situation, maybe not as corrupted and poor, more stable and with more independence so I will never have had to come here to the USA... Religion in any way is just manipulation and stupidity, to believe in some god or superior ethereal being in order to carry on with your life is just pathetic, but its a plague that is too deep in humans' brains, it is a cause of a lot of ravage in the world, which to be honest, as long as they don't affect me, I don't care. Due to all this decadence of humanity in general, my way of living has become much more isolated and realistic, life is fucked, so are we and there is not much we can do about it.
TC: It is difficult to say which ones are genuine or true to themselves, personally I think its half and half, on one hand they do it because they miss playing and such but on the other when they record new songs and sound like a bunch of people just forcing themselves to be liked by the "scene" then it all goes to waste. Also it is hard for a guy who created such killer songs in his 20s to do something similar when he is in his 40s, the feeling and ideas are different, and when they try hard to sound "old school" or whatever, it is regularly a failure IMO... I really just stick to the classics, original releases, so far I haven't really heard something solid from any of these reunited bands.
TC: Things are way easier now, especially for 3rd world countries. The internet just shortened the distances, and of course technology is way cheaper and more affordable in all terms... Maybe it really affected the way people create music (and art in general). You mention the struggle, and I agree, sometimes the sacrifices older bands did for their music played a vital role in the creation of their style. I think we valued everything a little bit more, to this day I don't take anything for granted, I still remember our days in Mexico, and even if we were not in the worst situation it was much more different than where we are now. I still appreciate what we do, we have and what we have accomplished as musicians, and besides the support and appreciation from the people out there, I'm mostly talking about what we have done for ourselves and by ourselves. That is something that probably a lot of kids nowadays will not even get close to feel, because these days almost everything is at the reach of a click of a button, or with a few hundred dollars you can create a lot. It is negative and positive, it is a sign of the times and I don't know how much more it will affect music (or life) in general, but so far the future looks very bleak...
TC: Well, a bit of that, but overall, art, music and metal in general is losing its values. Probably nobody's fault, but there is so much going on, that originality is getting lost, and a lot of people are just doping it to be "cool" and such... No matter what if an albums sounds great, if the music is plastic people will realize sooner or later...
TC: Definitely not, those people were part of a creation of a style. I'm just following a path, of course it is now very personal and kinda unique, but in the end, I didn't invent or help to create Metal, or Death Metal etc., like the masters.
DC: By all accounts that I've heard, you were once very active in the underground metal scene. However now you feel like you don't want to be part of any scene. How has this transition come about? Have you given up on the underground... or maybe the underground has given up on you? TC: Maybe a little bit of both, but it is part of this growing process. Sure, in the past I was kinda active as you said, but nowadays that feeling is all gone. I know there are still people who feel and believe in this music, and they are the reason why we release our music to the world. It would be easy for us to just compose, record and keep it for ourselves, but I respect those who have been following our path,and that is why we just released a new album... Nowadays what is underground? What is the real meaning? Once again, the internet changed the concept, and when even your grandma knows about the term death-black whatever metal you know there is no underground. Of course it may still be a subculture, but in no way is it what it was in the past. Once again, it is a sign of the times and personally I don't take it too seriously no more, I mean, my music and creations are very personal and I believe in them 100% but we are just a trio of Mexicans doing what we believe and love to do, to be looking for good reviews, interviews, acceptance, promotion et al is just part of the past. I mean, that was never the purpose, but now more than ever we are just doing our music, good or bad, it is ours and has a very unique style, some hate it, some not, who cares? We are just doing our stuff, if it's accepted or not, that will not change our vision, that won't make us better persons or musicians. Some people need success and people's opinion, we don't, my personal success is to be able to do and live my life my own way without any obstacle... Yes, I'm still a stubborn guy when it comes to Death Metal and this music, I still believe this music has to be done with some degree of class, a lot of atmosphere and feeling, a menacing tone and darkened sound, and probably I will think the same until the end of my days, but its just the way I am and I don't need to be preaching this to anyone... To this date I still don't understand why a veteran Death or Black Metal band needs such kiddie stuff like my space, etc... talking about the underground being lost, but I better stop here...
DC: This concludes our interview. Anything else you'd like to say, please feel free to say it TC: Well, I just answer the truth, well, the way I see it... I really appreciate your time. Nothing more to say, just that we salute and respect those followers in India.
Important Discography -
[The Chasm Website] [The Chasm - Farseeing the Paranormal Abysm REVIEW] [Discuss/Comment on the DC forum]
- Interview conducted by Hamano Kyousuke April 7, 2010 |
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