Interview Amputated (England)

Gore: Hey Daryl, I hope everything is fine in England. Could you please tell our readers who don't know your band something about the history and the current line-up.

Daryl: Current line up is as follows:

Daryl (Bodybag Daryl) - Guitar, Ollie - Guitar, Morbid Mark - Vocals, Garry - Drums, Andy - Bass

Well, Amputated formed in the Spring of 2002, comprising the line up of Morbid Mark (Vocals), Daryl BC (Rhythm Guitar), Simon (Lead Guitar), Sicky Martin (Bass) and Garry (Drums). They had all known each other from the local Bristol scene and got together after the demise of their previous bands, which coincidently happened around the same time. The bands' primary aim was to become the sickest and most brutal band to hit the boring Bristol metal scene that was (and still is) completely choked to death with bland over melodic thrash/death crossover bands. Influences included bands such as Nunslaughter, Goreotted, Exhumed, Carcass, Cannibal Corpse, etc. but more and more noticeable as the band gained experience, was the increasing presence of more brutal influence from bands such as Lividity, Devourment, Disgorge (USA and Mex), Anal Blast, Retch, Dyscrasia and Waco Jesus etc. Also starting to emerge was the presence of the anti PC, nature that was to complement the aggressive live performances. As long as it involved the sexual debasement and/or the extermination of women it was all good!

After several months of line up problems it was decided to continue as a four piece. During this time, the first Demo was recorded and the first gig played. The Demo entitled "Up To Our Nuts In Guts" caused a huge stir amongst local metal fans and led to an opening slot supporting Necrophagia and Exmortem, where the full fury of the live show was unleashed on an unsuspecting crowd. Several months later, the band supported Desecration which would lead to the Desecration main man Ollie Jones (now also a member of legendary crust/grinders Extreme Noise Terror!) joining as a second guitarist.

Word was quickly spreading about the aggressive and unrelenting nature of the live shows and this led to the Demo being picked up by IBD Records, in January 2004, who re-released "Up To Our Nuts In Guts" as part of a split CD with Leptotrichia of Belgium. Soon after release there were more line-up changes and the CD was to lead to the bands first tour supporting Disgorge (Mex), Sanatorium and Gorerotted, a slot on the Obscene Extreme 2004 bill alongside bands such as General Surgery, Blood, Prostitute Disfigurement, ENT, Brodequin and Rompeprop and shows with Incantation, Necrophagia, Avulsed and Deicide to name drop a few, as well as headline shows throughout the UK.

In early 2005, the band entered Endless Studios in Birmingham, UK to record their debut album entitled "Gargling With Infected Semen". As well as showcasing new material, the band chose to re-record 2 tracks from the Demo as well as a cover of "Immersed in Pain" by Jungle Rot. The recording was to remain as raw as possible to retain the natural aggression of the band's music but at the same time sound professional. After the CD was recorded we played a well received show at the London Deathfest (alongside Avulsed, Gorerotted, Prostitute Disfigurement et al.) which was recorded and released in November 2005 as a DVD-R entitled "Live Amputation". after more hiccups in the line-up we have continued to gig furiously, including being main support on Deranged's late 2005 UK tour alongside the US's Skinned and more recently in mid 2006 a 2 week stint around Europe with Extreme Noise Terror, Desecration and Cold Lazarus.

Recently we've been working on our second full length album, which should be released in the next month or so. But between editing and mixing we've been trying to do as many shows as possible.

Gore: Well, maybe you have seen that we already made a positive review about your bands first album "Gargling With Infected Semen". It's a real piece brutal and sick Death Metal, which I can recommend to every fan of guttural Brutal Death. How have the responses been so far?

Daryl: The responses have been nothing but supportive so far. We've been well received by most extreme metal fans, and have even got ourselves a fan base in pretty much every country because of it. Sevared Records have done a great job promoting it and it has sold really well over in the US and other countries because of them. We can't thank them enough for doing such a great job. So yeah we're all really pleased with the way people have taken to it. :)

Gore: I've talked with your singer Mark at this years Death Feast Open Air in Germany and he told me that you guys are working on a new album. Please tell us something about the record. Will it be released through Sevared Records again?

Daryl: Ah yes, I was a bit upset I couldn't go to Death Feast this year but all is good as we've already been confirmed for it next year. And yes, we've been working on the new album "Wading Through Rancid Offal" for a few months now, and we're all very happy about the way it's turned out. It's a lot more mature, certainly heavier, faster and tighter. That not to say we've all gone serious, just that we've all progressed as musicians and can now play more complicated music. On first listen you'll definitely hear a difference but you'll still know for sure that it's us. We also had the artwork for it done by the mighty Jon Zig, so you can expect it to look as good as it sounds too. And yes, it will once again be released on Sevared Records sometime in the next few months. Be sure to check it out.

Gore: Ok, Daryl, Amputated have been featured in the British TV show called "Singing With The Enemy" (watch it on http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=RV4kDEUq5IQ) It was one of the most funny things I've seen in my life. Who had the idea to put a hot girl group with one of England's most brutal, putrid and perverted Death Metal bands together to write a song (my Mom really liked the song by the way)?

Daryl: Haha, yeah! We had so much fun filming that show. It all started when the company Endemol (the people behind Big Brother) approaching us randomly on Myspace and asked if we'd be interested in it. Obviously we were all intrigued by the sounds of the concept and asked who we'd be put with, and as you know it was all kept secret, which just added to the appeal of doing it. We were lucky too as we were picked out of over 500 bands. Bands ranging from Akercocke to Gorerotted right up to Burning Skies, and many many more well known names. So to be picked out of them to do it was something we were very appreciative for. It was also something of a follow up to something Cradle Of Filth did back in the late 90's called "Living With The Enemy" (who I've recently found out watched the show and loved it), so we'd have been stupid not to have done it. Basically the BBC/Endemol paid for us to take time off work and bought us as much alcohol as we could shove down our necks. That in itself must have cost them a fortune. Haha! But anyway we were so annoyed about people asking for a copy on DVD or when the show was to be repeated over here in the UK that our bassist Andy decided to put it up on Youtube for the world to see. And so far that too has had really great reviews. With the occasional death threat from some moron that didn't get the joke. But such is life I guess.

Gore: Are any members active in other bands? I know that Mark is also the vocalist of Creptiation, do you have any news about them or the bands of the other members?

Daryl: I'm not 100% sure what the Crepitation boys are up to at the moment, only that they had the Obscene Extreme festival coming up shortly. And if any of your reader's hasn't been there, I suggest they go at least once in their lives. As for the other member's, Andy has a couple of projects he's doing on his own called Bukake Birth and Bum Sick. And as you can see from the titles, both are pretty much as stupid as the other. Garry is drumming for a few bands right now, but nothing as heavy or as fast as Amputated, so not really worth mentioning. Ollie is also playing guitar in both Desecration (his main band) and Extreme Noise Terror who he joined a few years ago now. I myself play in a few other projects, most of which I doubt your reader's will want to know about, but I may well be starting a new band with the old guitarist from Ignominious Incarceration. It'll be straight up no frills Death Metal, with odd timings and other good stuff, which will hopefully be released on Earache Records when we get round to recording it. So yeah, we're all pretty busy in our spare time I guess, but we do make sure Amputated gets the time and attention it deserves.

Gore: Crepitation played at the Death Feast Open Air here in Germany this year and as you've said before, you will play there next year too. Are their any more plans for a tour or some gigs outside of England in the near future?

Daryl: The plan is definitely to do more shows outside of the UK more often, it's just a shame that recently we've missed all the windows to play most of the festivals this year due to the fact we were in the studio recording. But yes, we've already been confirmed for Death Feast 2010, and also have in the pipe line the Mountains Of Death Festival in Switzerland, along with a few others all around Europe we hope. Ollie's dealing with them all at the moment, so you'll have to watch this space.

Gore: What has been the best and the worst live experiences with Amputated for you?

Daryl: There's so many of both! Where do I start...?! Um, I'd have to say the worst was a show we played in Manchester many years ago where we all got so drunk we couldn't play a thing. I couldn't see my guitar, let alone be able to play riffs. But sure enough we got on stage thinking we made complete arses of ourselves only to find out people loved it. We even split up as a band for a few hours because of it in all honesty, but we've now got a limit to what we can drink before we can play, so all is good now.

The best show or moment has either been a show we did in Austria where Mark invited everyone on the stage and that turned out to be the worst idea he's ever had as we didn't had any room to move at all. But it was all fun and the response to it was awesome! You can find a clip of that on Youtube too if you search for "Groovy Gore Galore Amputated". Or quite recently we played the London Deathfest after a few years of not playing it, and went down a complete storm. Everyone we spoke to said we were the best band of the show, topping even Immolation which we were very chuffed about. But not only that, we managed to sell a load of merchandise and even had a three way lesbian orgy on our merchandise stand. We honestly felt like Motley Crue for the evening, it was that awesome!

Gore: Well, maybe we can see the first Amputated Porn movie soon haha. Ok Daryl which bands had influenced Amputated the most?

Daryl: This is a really hard one to answer as we all have our own different tastes in music. But I guess Suffocation, Deicide, Morbid Angel, Carcass and Cannibal Corpse would be the obvious ones. Like I said we all prefer different styles, so picking out anything will have to be asked to the individuals of the band, not just me.

Gore: Daryl you're one of the guitar players in the band. How many years have you played guitar and do you have any favourite guitar players? Who influenced your style?

Daryl: Well, I started off my musical life as a bassist to begin with back in 1995. I joined a load of non successful bands throughout my school days but never really did much until I joined a local band called Mr. Zippy. We were a skate punk rock band who did rather well in the years I was with them. Not that your reader's will care for the bands I supported, but it gave me the opportunity to tour Japan by the age of 21 and got my first record deal by the age of 20. All was going well until I was kicked out for looking too metal and having too much fun. Shame! I then met up with my old college buddy Mark soon after and talked about forming a Death Metal band for a laugh and we then became Amputated. I think I bought my first guitar when I was 21 and never really bothered to learn it properly, just something to do in my spare time. But as soon as Amputated formed in 2002 I became a bit more interested and started playing it a lot more often. I can't say I've ever really learned how to play it, but I would definitely say I was getting better.

As for my favourite guitarists, I'd have to say Steve Vai (who I met quite recently for the first time) is someone I look up to. I know it's not Death Metal, but his stage presence is definitely something you can't ignore. I like to make sure people have something to watch when we play, so I try to move about as much as I can to keep things interesting. We've played with so many bands in our time that are musically amazing, but bore the hell out of me when they just stand still the whole set. And as for my style, I can't really say I've ever copied anyone's playing. I kind of like to think I created my own way of doing things. But then again, every guitarist would like to say that. Haha!

Gore: At the moment great British bands like Infected Disarray, Detrimentum or Ingested are putting out some real brutal Death Metal stuff. Tell us something about the Death/Grind scene in England. Could you recommend some bands?

Daryl: Yeah, they're all really great bands! We all get along with each other really well. We love playing shows together, and every time we hook up it normally ends up in complete carnage with the all night drinking thing after the shows. But as for the scene, I'd say it's getting bigger and stronger lately. Kids are starting to look for heavier and more offensive music all the time, so more often than not they'll stumble across one of us and then get linked to another. It's all good! There are so many bands that it's nearly impossible to list them all, but a good few would be Ditchcreeper, Ignominious Incarceration, Porkfarm, Fleshrot, Twitch Of The Death Nerve, Foot And Mouth, Trigger The Bloodshed, Desolated and Abbadon Incarnate. Like I said, there's so many more, but that's a good starter for you.

Gore: Which albums or EPs have you bought recently?

Daryl: I can't really say I've bought much at all recently. Unfortunately I was made redundant from my job after 9 years of making expensive furniture, so moneys a little tight right now. But my taste is all over the place, so I'll pretty much listen to anything as long as it has talent.

Gore: What's your opinion about the growing Deathcore trend at the moment? Do you think it's a good cause for the Death Metal scene or do you hate it because it swamps the scene with Metalcore-kids?

Daryl: Hmm....That's a tough one. I personally think it's a good thing that kids are getting into heavier music; otherwise our scene would never be able to grow. The fact that they're getting into Deathcore first can only mean they'll soon search for something heavier. Nowadays there's a very thin line between what is or isn't Death Metal. You could hear a band that sounds just like us, and then see a picture of them with fringes and Suicide Silence t-shirts. So we can only assume they listen to us along with Deathcore too. It's a good thing for us personally I think as it's got them to check us out and buy our CDs. But then you'll always get the elitists that will say it's a bad thing for whatever reason. Each to their own I guess.

Gore: Ok Daryl we're at the end, thanks a lot for the interview. You have the last words.

Daryl: Ok, first of all I'd like to thank anyone that bothered to read my response to the questions, and that I hope you'll all be sure to check out our new album when it comes out. Thank you to everyone that's bought anything from us, and I hope you'll all come and check us out if we ever play anywhere near you. Pease!

Daryl (Amputated guitarist)