1. Hey my friend, how are you doing today and for those unaware of who you are could you introduce yourself as a musician. You have played in a plenty amount of bands in the past.
My name is Bill Cunniff. I am best known as the current drummer of Scum Sedition and former drummer of Torvus, Fatal Agent, Tuol Sleng, and Thonian Horde. Although drums are my primary instrument, I also play guitar/bass/vocals; all of the instruments for Konsolidated Vindikator recordings are performed by myself. I am also a lyricist and songwriter.
2. Scum Sedition, Orpheon and Tuol Sleng was more doom metal oriented bands, what reason pushed you to become involved in black metal specifically?
Maryland is the doom metal capital of the USA, but I kinda developed an interest in doom outside of my surroundings. I got into bands like diSEMBOWELMENT and old Finnish stuff like Unholy, Unburied, and Faltomy from the atmosphere and vibe of the music. Originally I was attracted to doom metal due to my own limitations and playing slow attracted my attention more. As I became more proficient through playing in thrash and death metal bands I became more interested in playing intense music that would better keep a listener’s attention. I noticed the value in playing fast and intense during my tenure in Fatal Agent. I started listening more intently to bands such as Destroyer 666, Onslaught, Bulldozer, Cruel Force, Master, Destruction, Sodom, as well as a lot of NWOBHM such as Cloven Hoof, Diamond Head, Grim Reaper, Tokyo Blade, Saxon, Angel Witch; my biggest musical inspiration for Konsolidated Vindikator is probably Sabbat (UK). I admired how Martin Walkyer pronounces his lyrics with intent and the phrasing of Andy Sneap’s rhythm guitar is something I sought to replicate.
3. You play guitars and do vocal work on all KV records. Who inspired you to become a musician and who would you say paved the way to get you exposed into hearing different subgenres of extreme metal?
My dad played in bar bands so from a young age I had access to a guitar and drums from a young age. I come from a family of musicians; my Grandfather sang in Church Choir and wrote poetry. I developed a melodic taste from him singing old Irish folk songs. My cousin plays in a death metal band (Flakvierling from Mexico). My other cousins teach music. Music has been my passion since I was a little kid. I was exposed to extreme metal from playing video games with metal soundtracks such as Doom and F-Zero. My friend Joey from Torvus was my main inspiration for guitar. I always thought he was a brilliant songwriter and guitarist and I took many cues from him on how to play.
I think heavy metal for me is the best way to express myself. It’s very genuine and personal music.
4. Before becoming a musician, were you self taught taking private music lessons at a young age or did you fully learn and adapt on your own from there?
My dad taught me how to string and tune a guitar and the chords but after that I was completely self taught. Each record I release is a culmination of my constantly growing abilities up until the point of release. I still focus on drums mostly but to do Konsolidated Vindikator, I spent many months focusing on getting my guitar playing up to the standard I wanted (I still have room to grow).
5. I can't really imagine the amount of work involved, but as a one-man project it's certainly huge. Is it worth it that you can implement your own ideas 100% without making compromises with other band members?
That is one of the reasons I did Konsolidated Vindikator. By having other members who want to contribute creatively, it impedes the process of making and releasing music. Being able to play all the instruments gives me the ability to write, record, and release on my own terms. I have members from my other band to provide a second set of ears; I’ll present them with a demo and see their opinions, what can be improved and usually I’ll take their suggestions as to how I can do better.
6. Can you tell us a bit more about your own creative process? Why should everyone check out Konsolidated Vindikator and what does your music offer?
The songs are memorable which was a deliberate choice. I want the songs to be recognizable and distinct from each other. Konsolidated Vindikator is nominally a “black thrash band” but it has its own qualities because my influences are not just black thrash. I think a lot of bands pick some pigeonholed genre and try to replicate it, versus letting the sound form naturally from their own influences. A lot of the sound resembles bestial black metal, old British heavy metal, melodic stuff, thrashy stuff, but it’s all metal all around. I hallucinate music. Usually I write drums first and add the guitar parts on top. I write hooks and climax parts of songs first and then add choruses and verses after. For lyrical inspiration, I read a lot. The central themes of Konsolidated Vindikator come from Herman Kahn (On Thermonuclear War) and Machiavelli (The Prince). Another source of inspiration was Ken Alibek’s “Biohazard”. Alibek ran the Soviet Biological Weapons Program in the 70s and 80s. I am interested in power structures and the themes of dictatorship, vengeance, etc are prominent in my lyrics. I believe lyrics are something many bands unfortunately overlook, and I also make a deliberate effort to ensure my
lyrics are coherent for the listener. As far as music, I usually find a part from a song that I like and try to change it enough so that it sounds distinct enough that it’s not so obviously copied (up to the listener to determine if I did a good enough job ;) Bitten riffs are something I can improve on and the second demo (release soon) is more original to my ideas. As I write more and more music it develops its own character which I hope to craft into something completely unique.
7. Let´s talk about your debut EP, Are there any kind of particular points of inspiration for these five tracks that you would like to discuss?
The phrasing for the rhythm guitar on skank beat parts comes directly from Sabbat (UK). Celtic Frost as well. I believe that this rhythm is a good way to complement the D Beat rhythm (having the “one” being distinct allows the measure to reset cleanly in a way that doesn’t make it just sound like blurry tremolo picking). Some of the songs that inspired me were Cruel Force - March for the Pentagram, Sabbat - Horned is the Hunter, Teitanblood - Morbid Devil of Pestilence, Destruction - Total Desaster, Cancer - CFC, Bethlehem - 3rd Nocturnal Prayer, Archgoat - Luciferian Darkness.
8. Was a self-titled debut EP the only logical option this time around, or did you have other titles in mind as well for the release?
Yeah, I kinda wanted to draw attention to the title track which I believe is the strongest song. I came up with the melody for the main riff at age 8. I felt like the demo didn’t really need a title since it was the first serious effort (First Strike ‘22 I saw as preliminary to the self titled demo). The upcoming demo is entitled “Massive Retaliation” to keep up with the nuclear war theme.
9. Musicians often have a single favourite spot on each album they make. What would be your moment of joy on this particular EP?
The solo section and final riff on “Doldrums - The Triumph of the Genius of Destruction” are my favorite parts. I am also partial to the final half of “Konsolidated Vindikator” and the verse section of “The Sword of Damokles”.
10. Your sound reminds me of old thrash records as well as bestial black metal bands. What did you have in mind when recording and mixing?
I recorded on a Tascam MRS 802, which I have had for years. I don’t think I captured the sound I wanted; mostly I just want the record to sound dry, dry, not as in bland but as in no reverb, I want all the instruments and vocals to sound very punctual in order to
keep the rhythm tight and not muddy. I chose the guitar tone on this album just to make it sound unique but I feel it came out a little weak; the next demo has a superior tone where the notes, when struck, can be heard much more clearly. I think the term to describe it is transience, where it is very distinct when the pick hits the strings. I prefer left hand muting, I personally feel that right hand palm muting ruined heavy metal. I like big chords, just making everything sound big and full. I also prefer really crisp drums, my toms and kicks have no resonant head in order to give it that really short, punchy 70s sound. As far as the mix, I wanted loud drums like Hellhammer. On this record the drums were a little overpowering in the mix. I also only recorded them with two microphones so it was difficult to get an even mix. Mostly I just want a record to sound organic but also very potent and LOUD.
11. What kind of bands you are listening to nowadays? Can you give some names? On the other hand, there can be also new bands that you can recommend from your area in particular (Maryland)?
Nowadays I am focused on becoming a better drummer so I listen to a lot of old death metal and death/thrash. Sinister, Morbid Saint, Necrophobic, Morbid Angel, Malevolent Creation, Solstice (USA) and Exhorder (which was an early influence for me; I believe Chris Nail is a highly underrated drummer, him and Steve Asheim from Deicide). I don’t pay much attention to bands in my area, I can count on one hand the number of bands of my caliber who have impressed me. Gravity Kong from Virginia was my favorite, the band Orenda features the guys from Gravity Kong and you should check them out. Maryland has a lot of doom metal bands. My old band Thonian Horde is still active and they’re really good, great musicians and great songwriters.
12. What is the contemporary black metal scene like in United States? Has much changed since you started out?
I don’t really have a sense of the country as a whole, it seems with the internet that regional sounds are a thing of the past. Pennsylvania has a strong black metal scene (look up PABM). Nationally, it seems that War Metal is the “in” thing right now and there are good bands and bad bands. I think Antichrist Siege Machine is killer, Primitive Warfare from South Carolina, Krusade from North Carolina really impressed me, Servitude from Maryland was a good band that was around for a little bit, they’ve disbanded though. I think there is too much emphasis on image and trying to be intense and not enough emphasis on memorable songwriting, but then again I don’t really spend a lot of time looking for bands, I’m sure they’re there. There are a lot of bands causing digital noise so it’s easy to miss the good stuff. Any bands I see are ones I perform with, I don’t really go to shows.
13. Black metal as a genre has been considered a philosophy by some, while some others consider it an avenue to express their anti-religious sentiments. What are your views on black metal as a whole?
I consider myself somewhat of a guest to black metal, but I do share anti-religious sentiment. I think black metal has gone too soft on religion. Nowadays everyone writes about nationalism and paganism and fantasy stuff, maybe the anti-religion thing has run its course to them. For Konsolidated Vindikator, it’s not the forefront of the music, but the themes of nihilism, and the denial of Christ and the recognition of religion as an instrument of suppression are there. I’m not a fan of bands who imitate the sound of black metal but fail to replicate its spirit. I believe there are bands who project the image but the music isn’t heartfelt, it’s too fantastical, they borrow themes and images but the lyrics don’t come from the heart. Bands that express themselves seriously tend to be better in my opinion.
14. Many black metal bands face controversy and criticism, how do you respond to these criticisms and negative perceptions of the genre?
I think bands facing controversy are fully aware of what they’re doing. The genre is deliberately alienating. I think a lot of the criticisms and negative perceptions come from within the genre itself. Personally I’m not concerned with the defense of any band other than my own. I consider other bands to be my competition and I strive to be better than them.
15. Before we end up this interview, I like to thank you for your time into doing this. Any final thoughts or words to the fans reading this?
Thanks Rotten Pages for the interview! I’m releasing new music soon (I aim to release every six months or so), the next EP is called “Konsolidated Vindikator - Massive Retaliation”, keep an eye out for it. Give me feedback! I love reading responses to the music. You can reach me by email (konsolidatedvindikator@gmail.com).
Comentários