[IMGLEFT]http://www.russell.ultimatemetal.com/Interview/SDF.jpg[/IMGLEFT]By Russell Garwood
Screamin’ Daemon. If they made a movie, it would be gorier than an explosion in an abattoir, feature a lot of serial killers, relish in offensive, macabre humour, and sport a blackened death soundtrack. But they are in fact a band, and - in case you thought you’d heard everything – they play grind/black/death songs to the tune of nursery rhymes, with lyrics about infamous serial killers. It is not for the faint hearted; anyone with a weak constitution listening to their music is likely to be as happy as a bulimic in a pie eating contest. That said it is really, really good fun. UM (not so) recently caught up with The Reverend Trudgill, guitarist, vocalist and (probably) murderer extrodinaire, to talk about their last album The Decline Of The English Murder, and all kinds of crap.
“We love parody and irony,” the man himself begins. “For example, our song ‘The Brady Bunch’ about the children murdered by Ian Brady and Myra Hindley uses a famous children’s nursery rhyme. Jack the Ripper is undoubtedly the world’s most famous serial killer, and seeing as he was a British export, we used ‘Rule Britannia’. It brings a smile to us to twist a piece of music and incorporate it into one of our songs.”
But first things first – the lineup has expanded since the band’s debut. This bunch of miscreants and drunks now stands as Rev. Trudgill on rhythm guitar and main vocals, while “lead guitar and backing vocals are handled admirably by Alhazred Jihad. Bass duties are carried out by Voulgartoktonos, and Nate Gould, a.k.a Rex Judaeorum, provides the drum battery. He is an ex-tank sergeant from Israel. What he doesn’t know about blowing things up isn’t worth knowing. The music itself you could describe as ‘blackened murder metal’, kind of like an ugly hybrid of Macabre and say, Panzer Division Marduk. Blasts, screams, and a spiteful sense of humour.” As for the band’s debut, “the reviews have mostly been very positive indeed. A couple of reviewers were a little confused as to whether the album was supposed to be black metal or grind, whether it was supposed to be humorous or not. It’s proven to be a ‘hate it or love it album’, but judging from the fans’ reaction it seems to have hit the right spot.” This was released through Identified By Dental Records, which happened as a result of Trudgill’s unique charms. “I met Joanna Carr when I was stinking drunk and told her what a fantastic songwriter and performer I was, and how if I wanted to, I could write a whole concept album about British murderers. She was stinking drunk and said ‘Yeah right, you do it and I’ll release it, haha’. So I did. And that taught her a lesson. And then I said that a record contract should only ever be signed in blood and semen, she said ‘go on then’ so I cut my hand open and bled a lot. And that taught me a lesson.”
As for the new lineup, the idea was originally to be a three-piece. The reverend explains, “I went through several musicians before I hooked up with Nate on drums. It was hard to find musicians who could keep up with the speed and handle the commitment of touring. We met Al Jihad through drinking and he proved to be such an extraordinary musician we had to enlist him, then Matt from Gorerotted recommended Voulgartoktonos to us and the line-up was complete. Then we realised we all hated each other but it was too late to do much about it, so we just have to put up with each other. God I hate them.” He then goes on to explains the band’s humour. “We all have a tongue-in-cheek approach to life in general. I can’t stand people without a sense of humour, they are just asking for a pint of piss over the head. A few ‘true kvlt’ black metal cocks got their noses out of joint as they think the album is disrespecting the genre, but when the fuck was black metal ever supposed to be about respect? Before it was even about church burning and stabbing poofs to death it was coined by three pissed up geordies called Venom. Some of these black metal shitheads should remember that.”
‘Why serial killers?’ I continue.
“When I was a kid, my mate Hairy James got me into Macabre, and my father gave me an A-Z of serial killers, you know, just to make sure I grew up well adjusted. We used to read that at school instead of actually doing any work and James said ‘Macabre should make an album all about British killers’. Well, they obviously didn’t. So I did.”
‘Are you going to move on to other nationalities?’
“We are moving away from not just Britain but also serial killers themselves, into territory with bigger death tolls. Hence the new album ‘Genocide Gods’ is an A-Z of brutal dictators and tyrants from around the world. This way we can annoy not just the British but Johnny Foreigner too. First stop: ze Germans. That’ll teach them for putting towels on the sun loungers.”
‘Why are British serial killers superior to killers from other nationalities?’ I finish.
“They have style and manners. Can you imagine a killer from anywhere else strangling someone, stripping them, masturbating furiously over their corpse and then making them a nice cup of tea?”
Suddenly I feel very patriotic… When I ask further about the new album, Trudgill elaborates: “We have written about 50 minutes of music. We have done the scratch tracks already. Musically, it is far more diverse than the first album, as it was written more by the band as a whole, whereas ‘The Decline..’ was written solely by me. It features some enormous drumming, ripping neo-classical solos, samples, strings and a few other surprises. It promises to entertain our established fans but also to attract many new listeners who may have thought we were just a one-trick pony. People will hear it and say ‘fuck! I didn’t think those drunk obnoxious bastards were capable of stuff like this…” The drunkenness doesn’t interfere with the song-writing either, as the band leave the drinking until after they have recorded a song. “I write best with an idea to work towards, a game plan” the reverend begins, “I find history inspiring, rather than gore films and crap horror novels. Fiction just doesn’t really inspire me. I find a subject I find interesting, work out the keywords I want and then find all the rhymes I can use. Then I use the most entertaining ones. For song arrangements we like to keep things simple, as this as a better impact live. Then we record it before we get drunk and forget what we wrote.”
Screamin’ Daemon also has a hectic touring schedule, including dates with Macabre. “It was a real treat watching them play every night, they are all top fucking fellows. Except for Chuck, who swears too much. And Dennis, who drinks too much. And Lance, who is just plain weird. Imagine being like him, writing song after song all about serial killers and murder. There’s something wrong with that man, I tell thee.”
Now, the question I’m sure you’re all begging to hear the answer to, is about that minister thing. Well, apparently it is genuine. “As I get asked about this all the time, I will be scanning my passport and driving license onto our website as soon as possible” the Reverend asserts (there is no sign of it yet, however, and this interview was conducted months ago. Hmmmmmmmm). “There is no mystique. I am a genuine ordained minister. At the moment I am available for baptisms, weddings and funerals (rates vary), but I will shortly be very busy, recruiting the vulnerable and lost for a religious MurderKult called the Church of Daemonology. We are on the lookout for celebrity patrons to help lend credibility to our cause, a bit like Tom Cruise and John Travolta do for that silly Scientology bunch.”
And Trudgill’s favourite serial killer?
“I don’t really have favourites, although I find Carl Panzram very interesting. A hardened convict, murderer and rapist. He once said ‘I wish you all had one neck and I had my hands around it’, which is eerily similar to something the Roman emperor Caligula once said. The film ‘Killer’ is about Panzram.” He has also had brushes with the relatives of some victims of the serial killers in his songs. “At the London Deathfest I think it was, a guy came up after the show and said ‘Y’know that Harold Shipman song you do?’ I said ‘I have a vague idea how it goes’. He said ‘Well he killed my grandfather.’ ‘Oh really..’ I said, eyeing him up and trying to work out which of his hands was going to throw the first punch. ‘But my granddad was a sad old cunt,’ he went on ‘so I reckon Shipman probably did him a favour really. By the way, your song’s really funny.’ Obviously I will have to try harder if I want to offend people.” Which, I’m tempted to say, explains the entire genocide theme for the next album. Speaking of which, the band’s plans for this year are to release the obscenity. “We will be shopping the new album around to find a label with bigger advertising at its disposal, although Joanna from I.B.D. will still be handling our bookings and management. She really knows her stuff and has been invaluable to us since the beginning, even though she can’t stand us for more than about five minutes. We’ll also be expanding our merchandise range and playing more shows around Europe, hopefully some good open air festivals.”
Outside the band, all members also keep have full-time jobs. “I usually provide care for the elderly and the dying,” the Rev. explains, “but at the moment I’m working in a tattoo studio (Sith Tattoos, Norwich). My hobbies include drinking, slapping girls’ arses and consequently getting barred from pubs. Al Jihad works in the drinks industry, which is just about the only reason we haven’t kicked him out the band yet. He also plays solo jazz gigs and teaches guitar. Voulgartoktonos is bravely trying to solve Britain’s drug problem by taking them all so there’s none left for anyone else. I think Nate’s hobby is talking. A lot. And driving like a complete bastard.” And, on that note, my time with the holy man draws to an end. With trepidation, I ask for any final words. “Yes. I’ll leave you with a couple of George Carlin’s serial murder tips: dispose of all your victims separately and at least a mile away from the murder scene. Be sure to dispatch any witnesses to the murder or disposal with the minimum of fuss. Don’t taunt the police or newspapers: it’s dumb, and will only lead to your identification and capture. Take care, good hunting and stay alive!”
Thanks and apologies that this has taken so long to IDB and Rvd. T. Although I doubt the latter has noticed - he’s probably too drunk. Still, it’s always good to be polite.
Official Screamin’ Daemon website
Official IBD website
Screamin’ Daemon. If they made a movie, it would be gorier than an explosion in an abattoir, feature a lot of serial killers, relish in offensive, macabre humour, and sport a blackened death soundtrack. But they are in fact a band, and - in case you thought you’d heard everything – they play grind/black/death songs to the tune of nursery rhymes, with lyrics about infamous serial killers. It is not for the faint hearted; anyone with a weak constitution listening to their music is likely to be as happy as a bulimic in a pie eating contest. That said it is really, really good fun. UM (not so) recently caught up with The Reverend Trudgill, guitarist, vocalist and (probably) murderer extrodinaire, to talk about their last album The Decline Of The English Murder, and all kinds of crap.
“We love parody and irony,” the man himself begins. “For example, our song ‘The Brady Bunch’ about the children murdered by Ian Brady and Myra Hindley uses a famous children’s nursery rhyme. Jack the Ripper is undoubtedly the world’s most famous serial killer, and seeing as he was a British export, we used ‘Rule Britannia’. It brings a smile to us to twist a piece of music and incorporate it into one of our songs.”
But first things first – the lineup has expanded since the band’s debut. This bunch of miscreants and drunks now stands as Rev. Trudgill on rhythm guitar and main vocals, while “lead guitar and backing vocals are handled admirably by Alhazred Jihad. Bass duties are carried out by Voulgartoktonos, and Nate Gould, a.k.a Rex Judaeorum, provides the drum battery. He is an ex-tank sergeant from Israel. What he doesn’t know about blowing things up isn’t worth knowing. The music itself you could describe as ‘blackened murder metal’, kind of like an ugly hybrid of Macabre and say, Panzer Division Marduk. Blasts, screams, and a spiteful sense of humour.” As for the band’s debut, “the reviews have mostly been very positive indeed. A couple of reviewers were a little confused as to whether the album was supposed to be black metal or grind, whether it was supposed to be humorous or not. It’s proven to be a ‘hate it or love it album’, but judging from the fans’ reaction it seems to have hit the right spot.” This was released through Identified By Dental Records, which happened as a result of Trudgill’s unique charms. “I met Joanna Carr when I was stinking drunk and told her what a fantastic songwriter and performer I was, and how if I wanted to, I could write a whole concept album about British murderers. She was stinking drunk and said ‘Yeah right, you do it and I’ll release it, haha’. So I did. And that taught her a lesson. And then I said that a record contract should only ever be signed in blood and semen, she said ‘go on then’ so I cut my hand open and bled a lot. And that taught me a lesson.”
As for the new lineup, the idea was originally to be a three-piece. The reverend explains, “I went through several musicians before I hooked up with Nate on drums. It was hard to find musicians who could keep up with the speed and handle the commitment of touring. We met Al Jihad through drinking and he proved to be such an extraordinary musician we had to enlist him, then Matt from Gorerotted recommended Voulgartoktonos to us and the line-up was complete. Then we realised we all hated each other but it was too late to do much about it, so we just have to put up with each other. God I hate them.” He then goes on to explains the band’s humour. “We all have a tongue-in-cheek approach to life in general. I can’t stand people without a sense of humour, they are just asking for a pint of piss over the head. A few ‘true kvlt’ black metal cocks got their noses out of joint as they think the album is disrespecting the genre, but when the fuck was black metal ever supposed to be about respect? Before it was even about church burning and stabbing poofs to death it was coined by three pissed up geordies called Venom. Some of these black metal shitheads should remember that.”
‘Why serial killers?’ I continue.
“When I was a kid, my mate Hairy James got me into Macabre, and my father gave me an A-Z of serial killers, you know, just to make sure I grew up well adjusted. We used to read that at school instead of actually doing any work and James said ‘Macabre should make an album all about British killers’. Well, they obviously didn’t. So I did.”
‘Are you going to move on to other nationalities?’
“We are moving away from not just Britain but also serial killers themselves, into territory with bigger death tolls. Hence the new album ‘Genocide Gods’ is an A-Z of brutal dictators and tyrants from around the world. This way we can annoy not just the British but Johnny Foreigner too. First stop: ze Germans. That’ll teach them for putting towels on the sun loungers.”
‘Why are British serial killers superior to killers from other nationalities?’ I finish.
“They have style and manners. Can you imagine a killer from anywhere else strangling someone, stripping them, masturbating furiously over their corpse and then making them a nice cup of tea?”
Suddenly I feel very patriotic… When I ask further about the new album, Trudgill elaborates: “We have written about 50 minutes of music. We have done the scratch tracks already. Musically, it is far more diverse than the first album, as it was written more by the band as a whole, whereas ‘The Decline..’ was written solely by me. It features some enormous drumming, ripping neo-classical solos, samples, strings and a few other surprises. It promises to entertain our established fans but also to attract many new listeners who may have thought we were just a one-trick pony. People will hear it and say ‘fuck! I didn’t think those drunk obnoxious bastards were capable of stuff like this…” The drunkenness doesn’t interfere with the song-writing either, as the band leave the drinking until after they have recorded a song. “I write best with an idea to work towards, a game plan” the reverend begins, “I find history inspiring, rather than gore films and crap horror novels. Fiction just doesn’t really inspire me. I find a subject I find interesting, work out the keywords I want and then find all the rhymes I can use. Then I use the most entertaining ones. For song arrangements we like to keep things simple, as this as a better impact live. Then we record it before we get drunk and forget what we wrote.”
Screamin’ Daemon also has a hectic touring schedule, including dates with Macabre. “It was a real treat watching them play every night, they are all top fucking fellows. Except for Chuck, who swears too much. And Dennis, who drinks too much. And Lance, who is just plain weird. Imagine being like him, writing song after song all about serial killers and murder. There’s something wrong with that man, I tell thee.”
Now, the question I’m sure you’re all begging to hear the answer to, is about that minister thing. Well, apparently it is genuine. “As I get asked about this all the time, I will be scanning my passport and driving license onto our website as soon as possible” the Reverend asserts (there is no sign of it yet, however, and this interview was conducted months ago. Hmmmmmmmm). “There is no mystique. I am a genuine ordained minister. At the moment I am available for baptisms, weddings and funerals (rates vary), but I will shortly be very busy, recruiting the vulnerable and lost for a religious MurderKult called the Church of Daemonology. We are on the lookout for celebrity patrons to help lend credibility to our cause, a bit like Tom Cruise and John Travolta do for that silly Scientology bunch.”
And Trudgill’s favourite serial killer?
“I don’t really have favourites, although I find Carl Panzram very interesting. A hardened convict, murderer and rapist. He once said ‘I wish you all had one neck and I had my hands around it’, which is eerily similar to something the Roman emperor Caligula once said. The film ‘Killer’ is about Panzram.” He has also had brushes with the relatives of some victims of the serial killers in his songs. “At the London Deathfest I think it was, a guy came up after the show and said ‘Y’know that Harold Shipman song you do?’ I said ‘I have a vague idea how it goes’. He said ‘Well he killed my grandfather.’ ‘Oh really..’ I said, eyeing him up and trying to work out which of his hands was going to throw the first punch. ‘But my granddad was a sad old cunt,’ he went on ‘so I reckon Shipman probably did him a favour really. By the way, your song’s really funny.’ Obviously I will have to try harder if I want to offend people.” Which, I’m tempted to say, explains the entire genocide theme for the next album. Speaking of which, the band’s plans for this year are to release the obscenity. “We will be shopping the new album around to find a label with bigger advertising at its disposal, although Joanna from I.B.D. will still be handling our bookings and management. She really knows her stuff and has been invaluable to us since the beginning, even though she can’t stand us for more than about five minutes. We’ll also be expanding our merchandise range and playing more shows around Europe, hopefully some good open air festivals.”
Outside the band, all members also keep have full-time jobs. “I usually provide care for the elderly and the dying,” the Rev. explains, “but at the moment I’m working in a tattoo studio (Sith Tattoos, Norwich). My hobbies include drinking, slapping girls’ arses and consequently getting barred from pubs. Al Jihad works in the drinks industry, which is just about the only reason we haven’t kicked him out the band yet. He also plays solo jazz gigs and teaches guitar. Voulgartoktonos is bravely trying to solve Britain’s drug problem by taking them all so there’s none left for anyone else. I think Nate’s hobby is talking. A lot. And driving like a complete bastard.” And, on that note, my time with the holy man draws to an end. With trepidation, I ask for any final words. “Yes. I’ll leave you with a couple of George Carlin’s serial murder tips: dispose of all your victims separately and at least a mile away from the murder scene. Be sure to dispatch any witnesses to the murder or disposal with the minimum of fuss. Don’t taunt the police or newspapers: it’s dumb, and will only lead to your identification and capture. Take care, good hunting and stay alive!”
Thanks and apologies that this has taken so long to IDB and Rvd. T. Although I doubt the latter has noticed - he’s probably too drunk. Still, it’s always good to be polite.
Official Screamin’ Daemon website
Official IBD website
