Grue Interview!

The time to talk to the band Grue is now! 
With me i have  Barghast (vocals and guitar, ), and Ghast (drums and vocals)...Lets dig in.

 1. Hails! 
How are things and how did your live ceremony at Dusk in the 28 of february go? 

B: That Dusk show was fantastic! It was our first time there as Grue, although we'd both played there before in previous bands (Nachzehrer and Fresh Kill). Providence is a great town for heavy metal. 

2. As a newly born (2011) horde as Grue is how would you describe your first steps in the outside world felt and what if any kind of obstacles was first to tear down? 

B: When the band first started, the first thing everyone would say to us was either "when are you getting a bass player?" or "can I play bass for you guys?" I think the first real obstacle (after deciding that we were committed to remaining a two-piece) was figuring out how to write music that didn't just sound like a regular black metal band with the bass removed (instead of just turned all the way down, to drag up an old joke one more time). And for me, that also involved doing a lot of work on my guitar and amplifier set up, learning to play in a new tuning, things like that. 

G: As a new member of Grue I felt it necessary to put my mark on the sound and help elevate our music to another level. The first shows we played were met with strong support from true metalheads. Any obstacles that might have been there were quickly found not to be an issue. 

3. When your first release the split "Lo, the Curse of the World Cometh" with Word of Unmaking was manifested and spread out how was the reception? 

B: The reception was fairly positive, but unfortunately the tape ended up coming out at a time when the band was fairly inactive - the original drummer was very busy with other bands and personal stuff, and I was at a low point of motivation. When Ghast joined and we started writing new songs and re-arranging the old ones, the situation was a bit strange because the only recording we had was with a different drummer, with different song arrangements from the way we were playing by then. 

4. How would you describe your lyrical content & occult directions and how would you describe the energy that Grue eminates? 

B: To be honest: we are not practitioners of the occult, nor do we worship Satan (or any other spirits or dogmas). My lyrical inspiration is a mix of personal experience ("Ascending the Necrolith" is basically auto-biographical), science fiction and fantasy literature ("Across Black Seas of Infinity" is directly based on the opening sentence of "The Call of Cthulhu" by H.P. Lovecraft), or a mix of both ("They Who Walk Behind the Skies" comes from short stories by J.G. Ballard and William Gibson, as well as my own experiences working at a needle exchange and as an overdose prevention counselor). 

G: As Barghast has pointed out we do not worship or follow and doctrine or dogma, the real energy and power comes from within. As musicians, we tap into this energy in the form of live music and actively crafting new things to represent who we are as a black metal entity. 
Our lyrical focus is on observations of life and analogies that we draw from that. The works of H.P. Lovecraft resonate strongly with me as well. 

5. Last year your first full length album "Casualty of the Psychic Wars" was released. This powerfull entity i guess one can be seen as the real first corner stone in Grues existence but how you feel yourself of it? Did you reach your goals you set out with it, etc? 

 
B: It took a long time for us to finish "Casualty of the Psychic Wars," because as we were working on it we had to figure out how we wanted to sound as a recorded band. With the tape demo I had just tried to capture what we were doing live but on this album we paid a lot more attention to things like vocals and backup vocals, drum sounds, arranging and layering the guitars, and so on. 
I'm very proud of the way it turned out, but I'm also looking forward to working on future recordings much more quickly and efficiently now that we have a better idea of what we're trying to do. 

G: I am very proud of our first full length. I also agree that it is our first corner stone given that we are writing and producing music at a good rate. The goal with the record was to establish a new platform for the band and make a statement of what we are as a black metal band; I feel we accomplished that despite the amount of time it took to release. 

6. What would you say is the most inspirational experience you receive from our modern society and what drives Grue to thrive the most? 

B: If modern society inspires me at all, it's mostly in a negative sense: for all of humanity's illusions of progress, our history has been built on cruelty, injustice, degradation, and waste. 
As someone who was born into a white male skin in North America I'm fortunate enough to suffer less than many others, but I suppose you could call this general pessimism (and sometimes shame, anger, disgust) about the human race "inspirational" for Grue's music. 

G: I have a general disgust and loathing of modern society. Living in a populated area further propels these influences and Grue is a way to combat these feeling that I have and channel that into a more constructive form of art. The two of us share similar thoughts on current day living are able to raise our sound as a weapon of bitterness. What drives us to thrive is the satisfaction of creating an art form that helps us and the listener cope with these sorts of things. 

7. How does your concert plannings look like for the coming spring and summer? 

B: Right now we have a run of shows planned from now until mid-summer, in the New England and New York area. I'm really happy that I was able to work with Chasse Galerie to bring them down from Quebec for a couple of shows with us (in Boston and New York City). 

8.Is there some hordes in your surroundings that you respect? 

B: There are a bunch of great metal bands in New England these days. If you haven't already, check out Bog of the Infidel, One Master, Morgirion, Haxen, Sangus, Morne, Obsidian Tongue, I could go on… 

G: I would add PanzerBastard and Blessed Offal. These are 2 bands that have been around for some years in the Boston scene and have earned my respect as die hard individuals. Morne deserves another mention too, they are a monumental force and they are highly recommended. 

9. Is some kind of tasty Grue merchandise on its way this year? 

G: We do have some new merch items in the works. I would like to do another dual sided shirt design with an image of us performing since we are very much a live band. I will add that all of our shirt and patch designs are rendered and printed by us. If you have a Grue shirt or patch then it was hand drawn and printed by the two members of Grue exclusively. 
This DIY approach to our products makes what you get from us more genuine. 

10. What is your most imminent actions for the band now? 

B: We're going to be recording four songs in the next couple of weeks. 
One of them will be going on a cassette compilation of New England metal bands, and we'll also be working on putting out an EP on cassette and/or vinyl hopefully. 
This recording will be all new songs, plus a cover of "Rake" by Townes Van Zandt (an American songwriter who wrote some of the bleakest, darkest songs in country music). Playing covers isn't something we'd normally do, but we've been making an exception for this song. Further in the future, we're eventually planning on re-recording some of the songs from our cassette demo as well, since they've taken on new shapes with our current lineup. 

G: Inspiration for us has yet to be a lacking force. 
The goal is to keep writing and recording new (and the last of the old) material and bring our live ritual to as many places as we can. 
We will eventually write another epic that will more than likely go well beyond the 10 minute mark.

11. Thanks for your time & best of luck!