Interview EMBRYONIC DEVOURMENT (USA)

Grinding brutality, in its own unique form, shredding the minds of all alike from the close-minded, and feeble, to the strongest of free thinkers... Embryonic Devourment formed in early 2003 from the ashes of Ye Old Skabbard with founding members Lauren Pike and Luke Boutiette. After 8 months of writing and playing they agreed to add former Ciribus members Johnny Helvete (vocals) and Austin Spence(bass). In November/December 2003 they went into Trident Studios and recorded the brutally acclaimed 5 song EP "Beheaded by Volition", recorded and engineered by Juan Urteaga of the band Vile, which quickly got them signed to Grotesque Music, out of Spain. The release immediately received media attention in worldwide publications such as Pit Magazine, Metal Maniacs, Terrorizer, Metal Pages, Bast Magazine, and several zines and online sites. . The band received airplay on Sirius Satellite Radio, college radio stations, fm stations, and was mentioned in many of their local newspapers. The release allowed the band to play many notable shows with great bands such as Cannibal Corpse, Obituary, Brutal Truth, Incantation, Sadus, Decrepit Birth, Deeds of Flesh, Severed Savior, Origin, Impaled, Vile, Odious Mortem, Sleep Terror, Cephalic Carnage, Atheist, Exodus, Suffocation and many, many others. In addition, the band completed 3 west coast tours, and booked major metal fests, such as The Northwest Death Fest, Gathering of the Sick Fest, L.A. Murder Fest, Cali Death Fest, and many others. All this, just from a 5 song EP!! In February '05, Embryonic Devourment parted ways with Johnny Helvete, as he went on to start a career and a family, and had Austin Spence take over on vocals along with his bass duties instead. The new lineup was dynamic, and the band continued to shred and brutalize, with new material constantly being created on an overtly technical level. Meanwhile, with all the promotion and sales that was happening the band was really starting to gain a steady following worldwide. In mid 2007 Embryonic Devourment finished recording their debut full length album entitled "Fear of Reality Exceeds Fantasy", recorded and engineered by Matt Sotelo of Decrepit Birth, and mastered by Colin Davis of Vile. The new full length was quickly signed and released in Febuary 2008 on Deepsend Records. This was followed by an intense promotion campaign which included interviews and reviews in major metal magazines such as Metal Maniacs, Pit Magazine, Terrorizer, Metal Hammer, online zines etc. The release also received major instore distribution with a company called Lumberjack Mordam which helped the band get their music into stores like Rasputin, Amoeba Records, Best Buy, and hundreds more including online digital stores. The band, label, and distributor pushed the release hard and sold out of 2 cd pressings, apperared on various compilations and splits, and is still selling well. The band decided to add an additional guitar player (Adam Weber) to the fold and then they embarked on 24 day U.S. tour with Insidious Decrepancy and another 23 days around the U.S. in Mar. 2009 with Lecherous Nocturne. The tours and video were a huge success and helped establish the band a deeply carved niche in the underground metal scene. Currently, the band is in the process of writing the final 3 songs for their next album titled "Vivid Enterpretations Of The Void" and are prepared to book a much longer, region expanding tour in 2010. The members of Embryonic Devourment want to take their band to the top of the heap and will not stop until they are satisfied.



Hi there guys, thanks for showing interest in answering this interview. How are you? Anything important to start with?
Lets start by blessing our readers with a prayer, in tongue,  to the almighty Reptilian God Sobek Ra. Kay o wata ayo ra edra - So miy misr unk toa sobek - sobek ra! May he protect us and bless us with ever growing knowledge and the ability to see outside of human boundaries!

" Reptilian Agenda " has initiated a new run of EMBRYONIC DEVOURMENT I think. The bookings running good, right? How are you!
Yes, we have been playing many shows along the west coast here in the U.S. - Some of the more mentionable ones this year have been shows with Possessed , Verbal Abuse , Disgorge , Origin , and the Sickness in September Festival. We also have a tour in the works for April 2014 across the USA with a band called Abolishment of Flesh.

We appreciate you taking time out of your busy schedule promoting your new album and rehearsing for your tour to take some time out to answer some questions for your fans. What's going on in the EMBRYONIC DEVOURMENT camp these days? Any "sensational and Nice" latest news?
Well this will be our 3rd album on Deepsend Records and this also completes our contractual obligations with Deepsend Records. Completing our contract is exciting new for us!  So now we are free to shop to bigger labels upon our next offering. We are also getting better as musicians and our writing style has really evolved since we first began in 2001. The exciting thing is were finally playing shows that matter, and playing with bands that we idolize. Some of those bands say they are equally influenced by us, which is always nice to hear. The label is taking Pre Orders at www.deepsend.com . Order now and get it before Xmas!

Now tell us about the concept and story behind this masterpiece. The Cool story behind " Reptilian Agenda ". The story is cool and Imentioned several influences in my review.
The concept for this album is over the top  Just to give you a glimpse, its an album about a Reptilian race from a planet called Nibiru. This race has been manipulating our systems of power and governing the human race for thousands of years. This is something we believe in strongly to be true. Whether it be the reptilian serpents in the bible, the worship of Sobek Ra in ancient egypt, the dragon gods of Japanese history, the giant lizard statues found from ancient mayan/aztec civilizations, or the pyramid of sobek ra on our dollar bill. We sometimes shapeshift into reptilian gods for our live show even. We arent the typical band and we dont have the typical sound. We arent gore based or satan based. We are a conspiracy band focused on the Reptilian Agenda - for we are reptilians by nature. Does this sound interesting? Free your mind to other possibilities...

I wonder how's the interest from the underground Metal media so far? How did the reviews turn out? How many interviews have you answered and how's the response for " Reptilian Agenda " from the media and the fans up to now? How long did you orgasm last when the new album was released?
To tell you the truth this is the first interview for this album so far. The label just started to promote this album just a couple weeks ago so were still in the beginning process of building buzz for this release. We've done tons of interviews for our past albums Fear Of Reality and Vivid Interpretations and have received nothing but positive results from magazines, distros, etc Were very happy and we orgasm all the time over it hahaha.



An excellent album that should be heard. If you really consider yourself a metalhead, give this band a try. and how the process of making this new material? whether all members are involved in every writing music?
Yes, all the members are involved in the writing process. We usually each have a couple riff ideas and we just connect them together at rehearsals. It doesnt matter if a section doesn't fit or doesnt sound right...we'll use it anyways and smash puzzle pieces together. So its literally 4 people all writing one song together and it makes for an eclectic sound. It takes us a very long time to write on top of shows, tours, and family. This is why all our albums are usually a few years apart from each other. We'd rather take our time and achieve the effect we are seeking.

To you, what distinguishes this release with the material you before? what if this is for you a blast form the mature concept from material before like " Fear of Reality Exceeds Fantasy " and " Vivid Interpretations of the Void " ?
Well, we always try to keep it extreme. We want to be dependable in that aspect.  You will never hear us sound like Metallica or watered down chug chug type stuff. The thing we did different on this release was the fact that we played to a metronome. We've never played to a metronome on past releases. This helped us to stay in time and add a certain balance to the music structurally. I'm not sure if we'll ever do that again or not, but we did it for this album and so it has a different feel than our other albums. Its really easy to bang your head to, but at the same time has brutality, technical elements, and all out craziness that our band is known for.

What is the special thing with EMBRYONIC DEVOURMENT? The guitar must be always Fastest? Bass guitar and drums are allowed to be more progressive? Or is it much more? How much guitar overdubbing and harmonization do you do in the studio? Is layering a necessity for the EMBRYONIC DEVOURMENT formula to work properly?
We just play what sounds good to us. Were not trying to play what people want to hear. We;ll play slow and we'll play fast all in the same song. We like to mix it up, get tech, and we like our music to have soul. We don;t do a lot of guitar overdubbing unless its a lead or some sort of effect. We probably overdub a lot less than say,a band like The Faceless or Rings OF Saturn. Our heroes are of the old school... Suffocation , Immolation , Incantation, Autopsy , Cannibal Corpse , Gorguts, etc. so we use probably about as much studio magic as those bands did in the early days. We dont like to do anything that we cant reproduce live. That would be dishonest to ourselves.



The musical approach is certainly ever-changing and pleasingly different. However, I hope you don't mind me saying, your Concept approach on this album is little or Changed than before. aren't always exactly what you'd expect. What was the motivation behind approaching the Changed in such an unusual manner?
To us its really just an evolution. It would be a waste to play exactly what we did on the last album. We always want to evolve our sound to keep things interesting for us. We could have played Vivid Interpretations backwards note for note but that would just be boring. We would rather keep people guessing and not stay in one stagnant pool. So if its not what you expect than we are doing our jobs correctly. You can however always depend on us being extreme with our delivery. I was 20 years old when we first started this band...Now i am 33. Its been a long time now so yea of course we've grown and matured as musicians. I used to hate black metal but now i like it. Tastes change with evolution.

I'm Very Surprise with Sound Production for this album, what Is this already a Trademark for EMBRYONIC DEVOURMENT established itself from the beginning? and how EMBRYONIC DEVOURMENT still able to maintain all of this until now? Are You Stay Satisfied work with Colin Davis? Why Not Work Again With Matt Sotelo like as " Fear of Reality Exceeds Fantasy " Material?
Matt Sotelo is a very busy man these days with his band Decrepit Birth. In fact i dont think he's recorded another band since us. In that sense Fear Of Reality is a very special album engineered by a very important man. Its a work of art that can never be redone n the same way again. We are happy to have worked with Matt and we love his band Decrepit Birth. Colin Davis on the other hand is a studio man 24/7. He authentically is dedicated to the art of recording and making metal that sounds excellent. If you don't believe me just listen to his band VILE. Even Cannibal Corpse loves his band and wears Vile tshirts all the time. Certainly CC is a force to be reckoned and has a formula for success and they genuinely love and respect  Colin's work. Colin Davis is someone to pay special attention to. He is a teacher and inspiration to Embryonic Devourment and we will continue to work with him on future projects as well. We will always be in debt to him for making us such a killer release. To us, its the most perfect release of our career and couldnt have been done without Colin's ability and ear for sound. I should also mention that Riff Gallery studios' Damian Talmadge had a hand in that as well.

EMBRYONIC DEVOURMENT is dedicated to the destruction and recreation of the current death metal paradigm, and a return the true spirit of the Ancient Gods brought to light by the vision quests of its progenitors. Please tell something about the lyrics and what they deal with? EMBRYONIC DEVOURMENT Wrote the lyrics to the concept of Conspiracy Theories deep meaning, so it will take a pleasure for the listener to be able to digest their meaning. exactly what you wrote all the lyrics on this matter? How With " Reptilian Agenda " mean?
You know its weird because i never made any rough drafts or had to scribble out words when i was writing them. They just flowed out of me naturally. I think somehow the reptilian gods channeled their words through me. On past albums we  talked about the conspiracy of the reptilians from a human standpoint. The difference on this album is we are now speaking from the viewpoint of the reptilians.  Puny humans shall worship the Reptilian god Sobek Ra else their soul shall be damned to the eternal Void! This type of thought process is the theme of this album. If people are curious and would like to know more i suggest reading "The Biggest Secret" by David Icke. He is the most known human prophet of the reptilian ways and history. Also, try typing up David Icke and The Reptilian Agenda  on youtube and you will find a wealth of information. This isnt some sort of new idea or anything. Just about every religion in the world has a reptilian deity that surfaces at some point. Its in every religious bible including the satanic bible...you just have to know what to look for, but its there. In the christian bible they are called the nephilim. In India they are called the Nagas. In Africa they are called the Chitauri. This story has been repeated in different ways throughout time - we're just doing it in a very blunt way.[/i]



A question I like to ask a lot on musicians that follow the underground, is the question on downloading. What would your reaction be if someone told you that he downloaded both your albums and thought they were awesome, and what to someone that told you he bought the albums and thought they were shit?
First of all, music is the just the vibration of air. So if you don;t like our music its only because you don't agree with that particular vibration. That is completely fine to us. Not every vibration is going to resonate with your own natural vibrations. If our music sounds like shit to you then i would say we're doing something right. Take for instance the artist Picasso...some people might say its fantastic art...others might say it looks like a 4 year old scribbling paint onto a canvas. Its all a matter of perspective. As far as downloading goes, i appreciate what it has done for our band and I'm not out trying to shut down all the sites that are making our music available for free. On the other hand, if someone complains about purchasing music for 99 cents a track but is drinking a star bucks coffee that cost them $5.00 in a single purchase or has a $5.00 dollar a day smoking habit its a little dumb don't ya think? People would rather support the evil tobacco companies or star bucks with no complaints, but they complain about us selling downloads because its too pricy to spend $5.00 dollars on the underground scene. Believe me were not rich haha. When you buy music from us it allows us to have gas money for shows, recording money, printing shirts, etc. We never pocket any money we make but rather invest back into our band.



Overall, it's time to come to an end now. Hope you enjoyed this interview? Thanks for answering my questions and the time you spend on them. I hope I didn't forget anything? If there's something left to say at the end feel free to use this opportunity now. The last words are yours!
Be sure to pre order our new release at www.deepsend.com May this world be cleansed in fire and be reborn - cheers!

For the first time when i get to know the band 's first album " Fear of Reality Exceeds Fantasy " in 2008 quite so warm conversation at the time, the band Brutal Technical Death Metal with a touch of origin Fantastic Willits , California Existed since 2003 was formed by Ex . Mummification Brutal band members . The band has a unique sound that can be well differentiated from other bands in this genre . Double bass and snare drum madness brutality runs throughout the entire album along with a mixture of vocals ranging from predominantly low pitched guttural , to the intermittent high- pitched screams and the occasional extended death grunts . The guitar work is heavy , technical and never yielding . Blending style of Old School Death Metal Technical with Modern Skill ciamik well with the beat Blastbeat burn adrenaln . Death is like a meeting between the era Cryptopsy " Blasphemy Made Flesh " by Cephalic Carnage and Decrepit Birth . but feel a little bit different impression when listening material Full 3rd Fresh them this time . This quartet is presenting typical terrible games and more mature again here , although some footage aroma Trademark Blasted still be the strongest since the band was formed . The band is absolutely bent on pounding one 's face through the remains of one 's skull upon the first track 's succinct drum intro . The drumming does well to set an example for how their specific sound is cultivated , due to the speed and strength of the unrelenting blast beats -along with quite a few other techniques to appease the attention deficit . The guitars are distorted to a level that rivals roomates of antimatter , roomates does much to add to the particular atmosphere one feels with each passing track . with music composition seems difficult to guess his progress much more than creating a sense of style Chaotic Technical actually what they contributed . The overall technicality is a little questionable - though there are plenty of riffs thrown about , not very many seem to Obtain a sense of coherence in context to the lyrics - but that is easily overlooked in the sea of pure brutality and raw sensibilities that has done oh so little to satiate my lust for metal or ease the burden on my ears . " Challenging All Forms Of Hope " to witness the beginning of a very moving with the beat blastbeat meeting Powerfully Concept remains a complex which then fight style riffing guitarist Adam Weber and Lauren Pike as being created Vortex Tornadoes terrible terrible blow complement Drummer Luke Boutiette . up to 2 minutes , the band began to develop a touch more Old School style of its top technical Atheist Death to be Part2 who feels boxed with his Sounding Horrific . Double bass and snare drum madness brutality runs throughout the entire album along with a mixture of vocals ranging from predominantly low pitched guttural , to the intermittent high- pitched screams and the occasional extended death grunts . The guitar work is heavy , technical and never yielding . more wrenching again when Colin Davis Solo played guitar in this track . " Masonic Angeldust " so increasingly thrust partition intense Technical Death Metal . here try explored more serious game with a touch of style progressive Opeth with Atheist , seems to be ripe for a concept honed Embryonic Devourment members swore with skill . Progress arrangements seemed less exploded when " Reptiliphiliac " slightly reminiscent of the old material Origin , Chaotic riffing Aggressive Energetic meet Immense Drumming Fast ! even " Experimental Deformation " will bring us to really feel Typical Death riffing on his Lick Partition . Track even the most into the Track " Sweet " than before , the feel of the 90s Death Metal is so very slippery feel of his epic sigh Element . " Suffer The Seas Of Gore " tempo re-heated again . and " Sealed With Resin " would be enough to drain the energy and minds member for arranging this Fantastic Track , where they are the same as the Ego is being challenged by the concept of music " Different " it, so assuming you stay out for yourself just how real the concept played on song Here you are. " Whilst The Rich Dine " is also quite chop next . Prepare antiaircraft measures on the double ! Granted , there is a certain degree of wankery INVOLVED : almost like he succumbed to a level Lawnmower Man influx of ideas and could not contain a brilliance all the Newfound ... not all the leads and melodies are very catchy ... but even so , there is so much more of the note ( s ) happening ! and " Blood Gift" Severe Torture ending ending gress album still sound cool Garapan featuring Colin Davis at Imperial Mastering since recorded in Riff Gallery Engineer with Damian . and the final touch is the artwork works Jonzig add " Cruel " feel of this album . A diligent showing off brooding drive drum style as the harmonized riffs Croon at the swiftly approaching rhythmic break . At this drop , the guitars patterned escape their prison and flourish until again driven by the percussion into the reappearance of the breakdown from the beginning of the song presents a welcome change in dynamics , opening quietly and calmly , serving as a small respite to the constant shredding and blasting . The final two songs end the album quite nicely , and leave the listener wanting more . An album truly Succeeds if it leaves the listener 's mouth agape , salivating and yearning - nay , craving more , this album does roomates . I obviously like usually means that the album as a whole is very strong , but here the fact that there are a few Differing styles of tracks means something else . It shows that the band can do different things , but they can not do any of them as well as they can do the one superficial aspect . It's all well done from a skill standpoint , but the songs do growing niche to blur together as the song tempos are pretty similar, the sticking to quick immediate territory with some speed - ups or slowdowns , with a hook or a stab here and there .