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Home - Interviews - Bands - Cephalic Carnage
Cephalic Carnage
Interview with Nick Schendzielos and Brian Hopp of CEPHALIC CARNAGE
By: Terry Bunch
Date: Sep, 2010
1. Your new CD, Misled By Certainty is out now. What can people expect from this album?
Nick Schendzielos: People can expect the same unexpectedness they've come to expect from Cephalic by managing their expectations. MBC has something for every kind of Cephalic fan, whether it be thrash, grind, doom, black, tech, shred, blend, soar, swell, twist, gyrate or pop. I think it's our most diverse record for sure.
2. Did you approach this album differently when recording it when compared to your earlier albums?
Nick Schendzielos: We tried to approach this record from a true group effort vantage point. Everybody came to the table with material, so we had a lot of different styles to work with. There was a great deal of respect for the essence of "song" with this one. This is the first time we actually had all preproduction done before going to record with Dave (Flatline Audio). As a result of this "refinement" process I believe we came up with a tastier wine. The transitions are smoother, the odd parts are more appropriately placed, and the best riffs get repetition, with less overall riffs. The wheels definitely could still fall off, but you can tell from listening to it that we have more control over the vehicle.
3. Travis from Cattle Decapitation and Ross Dolan from Immolation both provided guest vocals for this album. How did that come about?
Nick Schendzielos: Immolation was on tour with Nile I believe and they stopped through Denver. Being that we have our own studio close to all the venues most extreme bands play, it was as simple as asking Ross to come down and track a part real quick. We already had the perfect spot for him to sing in "Abraxas of Filth", so it worked out quite easily. Dude's voice is sick! Travis has sang for us before on "Wraith" I believe, so it was natural that when Cattle came into town we hit him up to do some more stuff for us. He's got that crazy cow-jet-engine-tongue thing he does, so had him do a little of that as well as some killer weird chanting type stuff for the c'thulu chant before abraxas.
4. Your music is very diverse and very technical, yet there is a relaxed atmosphere as well. Did you set out to create your style or did that sort of evolve as time went by?
Nick Schendzielos: I think everything just sort've flowed out of everybody. There' no real "plan" of attack ever. We just know going into writing and recording sessions, that we need to be open with everything. You never know what could end up being really awesome as a final product so you just let everything through at first and filter from there.
5. For you upcoming European tour, what are your set list plans?
Brian Hopp: We are definitely going to play songs, that is a certainty. Obviously we are going to play some off the new record as we are trying to promote it and get it out there, but we try and balance it out and rock a bunch of the old jams as well. You gotta play the crowd favorites for sure.
Nick Schendzielos: I suppose its best to have a solidified set list, although for me personally I really enjoy variety and spontaneity and wish we could have a different set every night. You've got to play your "hits" (as if that is a real term in grindcore, right?" But I look forward to showcasing the diversity that is Cephalic. We have thrash, death, black metal, etc. etc. and I think if it's a headlining show, to really cater to your long terms fans you need to play a bit of everything innit?
6. Can fans look forward to a live DVD any time soon?
Nick Schendzielos: No
Brian Hopp: Hopefully one day there will be a DVD put out. We have so much footage of the band over the last 10 or 15 years doing stupid shit and playing killer shows that it would be a pretty bad ass deal to put out.
7. Metal Life Magazine focuses a lot of our attention on the things that metal fans are interested in such as video games and movies. What are some of the interests of the band members?
Brian Hopp: Depends on who you talk to and on what day i suppose. John is really into Gardening and sleeping, Len is perfecting his botany skills, Steve likes to count pennies, and Nick is into losing material possessions.
Nick Schendzielos: Besides losing and finding things, I like to snowboard, hike and camp, binge drink, and travel.
8. Sometimes when listening to a band, influences stand out as result of musical preferences. What are some bands that you listen to?
Brian Hopp: I listen to all sorts of musical styles and genres. i really dig classical stuff, jazz, flamenco, etc. But as far as metal goes, i usually listen to more shred bands like Necrophagist, Gorod, Mastodon, Between the Buried and Me.
Nick Schendzielos: I listen to everything. Fleetwood Mac, Candiria, Deftones, Guns N Roses, Pantera, Whitney Houston, Justin Timberlake, Fantomas, Alice in Chains, Dredg, Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, CeCe Peniston, Madonna, Steve Winwood, Huey Lewis and the News, James Brown, Earth, Wind, and Fire.
9. What would say is the single most important "message" that your fans should get from your music?
Brian Hopp: I don't think that there is a single most important message. The fans should get whatever it is that they perceive about the songs and what it means to them. We have ideas and issues about society that we talk about, but its all about having fun and enjoying life in the end.
Nick Schendzielos: The message I sent you three weeks ago that you haven't responded to. Dick!
10. Anything else you would like to let us know?
Brian Hopp: I just saved 15% on my car insurance by switching to Geico. And we hope everyone digs the new album and comes and supports the bands on tour with us! Cheers.
Nick Schendzielos: I'm a bassist and vocalist. I thank you for your patronage, and I hope you don't feel patronized by it. Yar!
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