Accursed Spawn was formed in Ottawa in 2010 with one mission: turn raw aggression into music. The band mixes influences from old and new forms of extreme metal, resulting to date in a renown energetic live show, and a handful of recorded songs. The band's most recent release, 2014's Putrid, shows another step in the Accursed Spawn's ability to hone in on their chops and assault listeners with a wall of pounding drums, thundering vocals and wailing guitars. Drummer Jay Cross discusses the EP as well as mentions their time currently in the studio working on new music with plans to release it soon and much more activity in-store.
1. Please tell us about the history of your band and its members.
Jay: Accursed Spawn has been around for about 5 years now. We started off as just a bunch of friends that wanted to jam and its gradually evolved into what it is today... which is basically still the same thing, just we sometimes jam in front of people rather than just in a basement.
2. What's the origin of the bands name?
Jay: The name Accursed Spawn refers to the idea of basically everything that's wrong with humanity being embodied into a single entity. We started off doing more direct examples of that (i.e. songs named after criminal charges) but have recently been taking a bit more of a broad approach to the idea.
3. Where is the band based out of and what is your music scene like there? Are there any local bands you could recommend?
Jay: We're based out of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The music scene here is amazing. We're not the biggest city around but get some of the best tour packages, and fans here can out-mosh most crowds I've seen. In terms of local bands, there is a ton of talent to choose from. A few personal favorites would be Fuck the Facts, Insurrection, ...From the Deep, Deformatory and Signs of Chaos.
Like a lot of scenes, its pretty incestuous. Adam and I also play in other bands, Antlion and Mortor, and Mike (From the Deep) filled in on bass for us over the last year, we share a jam spot with Signs of Chaos and Fumigation, etc. It's pretty cool.
4. How would you describe your style? Which bands influenced your music?
Jay: It's a blend of old and new school death metal. Tons of Suffocation and Cannibal Corpse in there with mixes of tech, Cryptopsy aggression, etc. We try to keep it frantic but catchy. Other influences would include Vader, Decapitated, Nile, Gorguts, Morbid Angel, Nile, Slayer, and all that other good stuff.
5. You went and released a video for the song "Burned into Sterility". Why was this song picked as a single and video choice and why a "live" video? Can you discuss what the song all about?Jay: Burned is a first-person revenge story about someone who seeks vengeance on a former attacker. They, as the song suggests, subject the victim to a vicious incineration. In terms of the song choice, it has been an immediate favorite (both for us and the crowd, thankfully) as soon as Putrid was out. We often use it as a closer because of the drawn out ending.
6. You've released not one but two EPs, your latest being the EP "Putrid". Why go and release EPs instead of a full-length? Do you have any new music in the works in terms of a follow-up release to that EP?
Jay: We're currently working on our debut full-length, and have already begun road-testing a couple of the tracks. I won't spill the details on it yet, but you should starting hearing information in the next little while. In terms of our decision to stick to EP's prior to now, it was a bit of an economic thing (EPs are cheaper to do) and also a bit of a realization that we were still a band looking for our sound. Engendering a Sociopath (2012) gives you a rough idea of the frantic pace, and I think we honed it in a bit more with Putrid (2014), which had some of our more catchy and groovy elements mixed in.
7. What should labels/zines/promoters know about your band? Why should they be interested in it?
Jay: Same reason as everyone else! We make frantic yet catchy death metal, and have a blast while doing it (pun? I think so). There's some bands that pop out of nowhere and take over, and there's others that gradually build steam and take over one town at a time. I'd say we're the latter.
8. What plans do you have for the future as a band?
Jay: The immediate priority right now is getting through the final shows of the 'Burned into Sterili-tour', which include some wicked festivals in the region. After that we're back to focusing 100% on the full length, which we hope to start recording early in 2016.
9. Where can we listen to your band and where can we buy your stuff?
Jay: We have all our music streaming at our bandcamp page, plus a YouTube channel with the Burned into Sterility music video and same live takes. For anyone wanting to purchase digital or physical copies of the EPs, or pick up shirts, we have online stores through both bandcamp and bigcartel, as well as distribution through CDN Records.10. What is it you?d like a listener to remember the most when hearing your music for the first time?
Jay: The favorite reaction I always see (and hear about) when it comes to the live show is this gradual realization and surprise that we're playing at the frantic pace that we do. That's usually followed by a strong desire to mosh.
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