Driven by the old school death metal style source, the guys in Carnation, have been writing and recording for their debut they like to call "Cemetery Of The Insane". That being said, they have also set sights on playing shows and touring to likely follow through. Frontman vocalist Simon Duson discusses their debut effort with further plans in-store.
1. What type of band are you?
Simon: Carnation is a five member death metal band from Belgium. Our sound is a mixture of influences from the Swedish and American death metal legends.
2. Tell us the brief history of your band.
Simon: Most of the members know each other from other bands or just from the Belgian metal scene. Our history as a band begins in May 2013, this month was the first time that all five members started working on the project together. This year mostly consisted of songwriting and crafting our sound. In 2014 we started working on our first release “Cemetery Of The Insane”. We recorded this release in our home studio during Spring. We really took our time during this process to shape the record exactly like we wanted it to be. Later this year we signed a deal with Final Gate Records and now our debut will be released on 28 March 2015.
3. Where is the band based out of and what is your music scene like there? Are there any local bands you could recommend?
Simon: We’re based in the Heist-op-den-Berg area in Belgium, more specifically in Antwerp. But Belgium is such a small country that all the local bands get to know each other pretty quickly. Some great underground bands that we could recommend are Disinterred, Bones and Hammerhead.
4. What is the story behind the name, Carnation, if there is one to tell?
Simon: There is not one specific story behind the name, we liked the sound of it and chose to use this. Later on we've discovered other links to this name, such as a series of murders that happened in the town called Carnation in the United States.
5. Who are your musical influences?
Simon: We’re mainly influenced by the Swedish and American death metal bands. Our guitar sound is more focused on the Swedish sound of bands like Entombed and Dismember and our drumming has a more American approach such as Deicide or Morbid Angel. The main influence for the vocals is definitely Bloodbath, both Mikael Akerfeldt and Peter Tagtgren are held in high regard by our vocalist. We try to create a fresh mix while combining these influences.
6. What are your songs about? (What specific themes do they cover?)
Simon: Most of the songs are about witnessing or perceiving a very morbid or macabre situation or scene. Themes are about rituals, sacrifice, necromancy, atheism, suffering and tyranny.
7. Do you write your own songs? (Discuss the songwriting process in detail.)Simon: Several members create their own ideas at home and take these ideas to the rehearsal room, this is where we assemble the full songs and give our opinion on what needs to change for the final piece. After the music is fully written, our vocalist creates the lyrics for this track to finish the song. This process takes a lot of time but everyone can give their input and opinion and it’s the most natural way of working to us.
8. You have your new release "Cemetery Of The Insane", what can people expect from it?
Simon: This debut EP is the perfect representation of what we want to sound like with our band. It should be an appetizer to death metal fanatics and an introduction for them to who we are. The songwriting for the full length release, which we’re currently working on, will continue where the debut EP started out.
9. If you had to pick one song off the new release, to show someone to introduce them to your music, which would you pick?
Simon: The whole EP has many different kind of paces and structures. It’s a pretty short debut and we’d like to think that this whole product showcases exactly what we represent. The final track, “The Great Deceiver”, might be the best track to witness the wide range of aspects on this release.
10. How does it feel to have this release under your belts and added to the Carnation name?
Simon: This is our first release and it feels great!
11. Why did you see Final Gate Records as your record label home?
Simon: Final Gate is a German record label, we feel that the scene in Germany will be a great place to promote our music. This definitely influenced our decision to sign with Final Gate. So far we have been very welcome in Germany and we hope to expand our range from here on out.
12. Did you guys have any leftovers from this release that will be used for future releases or have you gone forth and already written material for future purposes?
Simon: We’re currently writing the full length release. We aim to return to our home studio in the summer period to create our next work.
13. How have the gigs you guys been doing been going?
Simon: The response has been overwhelming, we’re slowly building up our name at a steady pace thanks to the support we've received from everywhere so far. Thank you very much for your dedication.14. What do you guys have planned for the unforeseen future?
Simon: We have our release show scheduled on the 28th of March in Edegem, near Antwerp. Entrails will be headlining this event and we’re very much looking forward to this evening. During the summer period we will perform at both In Flammen Open Air festival and also Deathfest Open Air in Germany. These two festivals have very awesome bills and we’re very fortunate to have the opportunity to play here.
15. Anything else you'd like to add or would want to say?
Simon: Thank you for this interview and the interest in our music. Keep supporting old school death metal!
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