Now
on Sludgelord, I am interviewing rising Psych/Thrash/Doom/Stoner
Metal upstarts – BUZZHERD – who are starting to make a name for
themselves within the Doom/Sludge/Stoner Metal community with their
uncompromising blend of hard-hitting riffs.
Ben
Bowman recently described their new album On Sinking Ships... Rats
Drown as
“is
an aggressive and crusty metal record, summoned from a sweaty,
mid-winter basement show. Passages of sludge and doom mix with
chugging metal riffs and a punk-rock ethos throughout the 31-minute,
6-song album. Their sound is salty and dirty, and their songs hit
hard.“
I
had to find out more about from these genre-defying rockers and see
what makes them tick. So here is my interview with BUZZHERD
1
– Hi guys. Thanks for doing this. How are things with you today?
Thanks for talking to us at Sludgelord HQ.
Jay:
We are most excellent today sir, we actually lived up to the above
statement regarding the sweaty mid-winter basement show. We played
one the other night, the review was a prophecy. Thanks for the kind
words, and for reaching out for the interview.
Justin:
Things are good as long as we have access to the film Commando (or
Cobra in a pinch). Steel drums to infinity as a torture device or
carrying around a match in your mouth for no apparent reason.
2
– Can you give our readers a brief history of how the band came
about and where it is today?
Jay:
The band came into existence a little before Christmas, 2010. It was
initially myself and Dan, who played drums in a band I was in
previous to this one. We started jamming and decided it was time to
find more members. Everyone who played or has played in this band
came into it through mutual contacts, except for Justin, we found him
on Craigslist. Dan had to vacate the drum throne a few months later,
and around that time Terry took his rightful position behind the
microphone. Our now 3rd drummer Blake, and 2nd rhythm guitarist
Bryan make up the current roster of musical accomplices. This lineup
of the band is more intoxicating than Frank Booth’s respirator in
Blue Velvet.
Bryan:
I’m in another project with Justin and Terry. Last summer when
the guitarist position opened up for Buzzherd, it only seemed natural
to hop on board.
3
– So. Lets start off with your sound. How would you describe it as
you include a lot of great noises and sounds, which is very hard to
categorize?
Jay:
Yeah, I know. It’s a tough one. Whenever people hear you’re in a
band the second question, after what do you play , is what do you
sound like, or what kind of band are you? I usually go with the vague
categorization of “metal”. Sometimes people want a deeper answer,
the response would be, well, we are like slow and heavy with
occasional mid to fast tempo thrash parts, with a tendency to
indulge in psychedelic flourishes if at all possible.
Terry:
If I were to pigeonhole us I’d make up a non existent sub-genre and
say we are the first. We only play exactly that. Honestly we all come
from different influences that have managed to mesh together pretty
awesomely. Mesh-metal? That sounds dumb.
Justin:
I’d call it metal just because I don’t want to pigeonhole us
into some narrowly defined subgenre. There are plenty of other
people who will do that for us, anyway! I view it this way: we’re
like that Por-eef stuff from Kids in the Hall – we have the bite of
metal but the chew of a more typically bass-heavy form of music like
doom or something. We put all the shit we listen to in a confined
space and let nature take its eventual course.
4
– Which bands and artists influenced you all as musicians?
Jay:
Slayer, early Metallica, Black Sabbath, Black Flag, Eyehategod, Iron
Monkey Butthole Surfers, Bad Brains, Iron Maiden, Syd Barrett, David
Gilmour, Uli Jon Roth, Ace Frehley, Vinnie Vincent (not really)
Corrosion of Conformity’s Technocracy album, Bl’ast, the bands of
Glenn Danzig, Thin Lizzy, Voivod, most of the bands Justin listed as
well. I can get inspiration and ideas from just about anything I
listen to.
Bryan:
Megadeth, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Protest the Hero, Faceless,
Misery Signals, Unearth, Orange Goblin, Slayer, Thrice, At the
Drive‐In, Periphery, Sikth, Russian Circles. Anything that sounds
good!
Terry:
I think the first time I wanted to sing in a band was the first time
I heard Exhumed’s Gore Metal. Those trading off vocals kill so
much! As far as writing goes Neil Fallon’s writing amazed me
growing up. He’s an awesome storyteller.
Blake:
Iron Maiden, Helmet, Murder City Devils, Shellac, 16, Opeth,
Katherine Katz, Three Mile Pilot, Cro-Mags, Church of Misery, D.R.I.
Jawbreaker, Avail, Fu Manchu, Karp
Justin:
Melvins, Dale Crover, Motorhead, Vitus, Hawkwind, Venom, Celtic
Frost, film soundtracks like the guy who did the Nekromantik and Der
Todesking scores (Hermann Kopp), Acid King, Discharge, most of Jay’s
list, and a lot more. There aren’t really a lot of individual
bassists that I would cite here; I’m more interested in bands as a
whole generally speaking.
5
– What made you decide to become a musician? Any particular band or
life-changing event?
Jay:
Music has always played a significant role in my life. I would say
the initial inspiration to pick up the guitar was Mick Mars believe
it or not. The guitar tone on “Shout at the Devil” made me want
to do that and sound like that. I still listen to that record. It’s
been with me forever. Later on I really wanted to learn to play like
Slayer and Metallica.
Blake:
One of my good friends growing up, had an older brother that I really
looked up to. He skated and played drums in a local band. They had a
half pipe at their house, and I spent all my time there. Mark
practiced in a shed, and I just fell in love with the sounds I heard.
I was around fourteen, when I asked my parents to take drum lessons.
It is one of the best decisions I have ever made.
Justin:
I got into the Melvins via Nirvana fandom (I still love Nirvana even
though I really got sick of people wearing those “1967-1994” RIP
shirts) and delved into heavy music from there – that was like my
gateway. I still think Dale Crover is the best drummer out there
(phrasing, tastefulness, creativity, you name it) and I’ve seen the
Melvins at least 30 times now.
Terry:
I’ve always been crazy about music. I think anybody who’s
immersed in a punk/metal/whatever scene from an early age at some
point is like give me an instrument! I need to fucking do this! My
slope into it probably started with me and a friend shoplifting a
Master of Puppets tape and playing it till it broke. Or going to my
first show with my cousin to see the Queers.
6
– Where does the name Buzzherd come from. Any particular meaning
behind it.
Jay:
The whole thought behind it was that it would be just a different
way to spell Buzzard, seeing how there are or have been countless
bands with that name I’m sure. Actually saying our name like that
for us in the band, and everyone else we know, didn’t last long so
we pretty much just say we’re Buzz-herd. I like the name because
you can draw a few meanings out of it, if you so desire anyway. It’s
also the best thing we could come up with at the time.
7
– You have read our review of your excellent new album. How would
you best describe your album?
Justin:
I like the term “excellent” – some other choice terms to
describe it could be “with heft,” “turn this shit up to 11,”
or a “blitzkrieg of the insane.”
Jay:
“A musically deviant concoction”, or “what were these guys
thinking”?
8
– Was it an easy or hard album to write and record for?
Jay:
It was fairly easy to write for. The first few riffs in Abuse of
Despair was some of the earliest material I wrote for this band,
Justin had the first riff in the Maloik, we set these songs aside for
awhile which worked out really well because we were able to develop
them much better at a later date. I came up with Indrid, that’s the
only song I wrote all the riffs for. We collaborate for the most
part, even if someone doesn’t write a particular part, the part you
have may be critiqued, leading to a better part being written in its
place. The quality control mechanism in this band is operating above
average for sure.
Blake:
When I joined the band, they already had a handful of songs. I was a
fan prior and knew most of their stuff. I changed some of the drum
parts to fit my style. From the first time I played with these guys,
It just felt right. The songs came together pretty naturally.
Justin:
I found it mostly easy. I contributed some of the riffs across most
of the songs as Jay detailed above (the first riff in The Maloik when
the whole band comes in is one I am especially proud of), and some
lyrical passages in Abuse of Despair and The Maloik. Basically if
the part sounds really weird or just somehow strange, odds are it’s
something that popped out of my head which we either used as it was
or slightly altered to fit better. I think Jay once told the guys in
Cauldron that all the odd stuff was my fault, ha! I write a ton of
material (it’s almost compulsive) so I’ve found I have to do a
lot of self-editing prior to bringing stuff in since I don’t want
to just inundate everyone with it.
9
– You have come up with some interesting song titles. Can you tell
us some of the reasons behind them?
Terry:
Abuse of Despair Is about the person who is always piling their own
problems on you without ever taking a minute to consider anyone else.
Indrid
Cold is loosely based on the urban legend. In the song it is an alien
who comes to earth to offer us access to the universe if humans would
put away their differences and how I imagine that would play out.
Maloik
is about someone who is cursed to relive their life with crippling
depression. They are told the only way to end the curse and return to
their normal life is to kill themselves or else in consequence become
an undying slave.
Stakes
and Snares is a reference to one of my favorite parts in Watership
Down
Gigas
is about an ethereal being on earth who is perpetually trying to die
at the hand of someone with a pure heart. I wrote it about an idea I
had for a short film.
I
definitely have these big stories in my head for most songs I write.
I just hope it translates well into the music ha ha!
10
– Your album is starting to receive a whole load of praise within
the Sludge/Doom/Stoner Metal scene. Are you pleased with the
responses so far?
Jay:
Oh, absolutely! It’s actually very humbling in a way. It’s really
cool to see other people describe our music, and to pretty much nail
what we are going for, and to write about how much they’re enjoying
what we created. Most of us create music because we love it and
that’s just what we do, but one of the main goals is to have other
people get into it. I’m stoked that people are into it!
Blake:
I’m extremely pleased. Proud to be a part of the metal community.
Listening to metal is fun, but playing it is beyond comparison.
Justin:
I’m really gratified to see that what we are doing is gaining some
support. There are a lot of people to thank for their kind words or
for providing other forms of support. I feel like we have put the
time and effort into creating something that stands apart from what
is admittedly a very crowded field of bands working in the
doom/metal/stoner kind of thing. We have elements of all the things
we like in the band’s songs, and this is really just the
beginning…we are currently putting together new songs that take
these elements and really amplify them tenfold (like a Gorilla amp).
11
– Do you guys gig a lot in your hometown or do you have to travel
further afield to perform regularly?
Justin:
We’ve played extensively locally and also done a number of shows
in the tri-state area (mostly in Philly but also in New Jersey, New
York, and Maryland). As we have broadened our reach we have been
able to maintain a pretty good balance between both local and out of
town shows.
Terry:
Bethlehem and the surrounding Lehigh Valley area is a Fuckin awesome
area to be in for music. The local scene is A great place to cut your
teeth as a band and filled with people who are amped about music in
general. Not to mention the sweet ass Bands we get to play with all
the time.
12
– In 5 words or less what is the live BUZZHERD experience like.
Jay:
thunderous, Bacchanalian, moist, green
Justin:
Relentless; Reduce you to jelly
Terry:
A head bangin good time
13
– What is you live equipment setup when performing live. Do you
have an ultra-modern setup as you guys do have a very thick sound
indeed.
Jay:
I have a Mesa dual rec, and play out of a Mesa 2x12, 2 Orange 1x12,
and a random Peavey 4x12. Both the guitars I play are equipped with
active EMG’s. There’s some other gear I would like to try out,
but this setup is delivering the goods. No need to tamper with a
winning formula.
Justin:
Simple! Fender P into SVT 4 mono bridged to 8 by 10 cab. Add nasty
fuzz. I prefer P’s and T-Birds since I feel that they have a hard
yet booming and grinding quality to their low end. To me it’s
straight-up power. I hate twangy bass sounds for my stuff so I focus
on supplying powerful low end and lo-mids (a well-balanced bass sound
for the most part) and then I add really buzzy nasty fuzz. It’s a
gut-wrenching low-end roar with enough definition to make it
intelligible. I’m not a big fan of boutique bass kind of things or
all kinds of bells and whistles as I think they can easily neuter an
instrument that should be brutally powerful and driving. In short, I
like the classic designs best.
14
– If you could change anything within the Doom/Sludge/Stoner/Thrash
Metal community what would it be. Good or Bad.
Justin:
I’d like to see more bands that struck me as just batshit insane
as far as combining traditional metal/doom elements with things that
were outside the norm. Like why isn’t there a doom/gospel choir
band? Or a thrash band that uses distorted autoharp? I don’t know
of one. But I would love to find out otherwise! So I guess what I’m
saying is I want to see less orthodoxy in the music?
Terry:
Stop the snobbery. It’s always awesome being the first person you
know to find that awesome fucking band. It’s annoying as fuck
trying to hold a conversation with someone about music when their
constantly trying to tell you about this band that has one demo tape
recorded in an ossuary in Poland that they only made 10 copies of
that is a million times better than anything you’ve ever heard.
Although if you bring me that tape I will listen to it.
Jay:
I agree on both accounts. I think it can be boiled down to the
hipster thing. It’s outta control.
15
– The album is being released on Dullest Records. How did you hook
up with them? A really cool label that's recently started to interest
me.
Justin:
We played a show at 1 am in Easton back in late 2012 with label head
Danny Katz’s band Hollenlarm and he expressed interest in working
with us. The relationship has been quite beneficial for us and has
enabled us to put out this album, so it’s turned out to be a good
decision! We were definitely impressed with their roster from the
start.
16
– Are there any plans to release the album on vinyl as it would
make a great sounding record? Loud, thick and angry as hell.
Justin:
Vinyl is the next thing we want to do. We are working on getting it
executed so the fine people around the globe can enjoy us in a new
format!
Terry:
It’s gonna happen. I’ll sell a kidney.
17
– What is your verdict on the whole crowd-funding scene currently
going on. Are you a fan of this medium and would yourselves ever go
down this route.
Justin:
I don’t cast any aspersions onto anyone who uses it, because at
the end of the day people can choose whether or not to support your
project (that said, people who crowd-fund and misrepresent what they
are doing should be strung up by their thumbs). But I would not go
down that road myself. Most of the time when I see something that is
being crowd-sourced, it isn’t something I have any interest in
whatsoever. So I just don’t see anything of mine as being a part
of that world.
18
– If you could give any advice to someone wanting to start a band,
what helpful advice would you give them?
Terry:
Do it. Now. You can learn to play as you go. Find somebody who’s
bored and a slightly better musician than you and make music. You’ll
never regret it no matter how much you suck
Justin:
Look anywhere and everywhere for potential band members. Write
constantly and learn how to siphon your best ideas from the ones that
aren’t as good. Network. People who are unreliable at the start
do not generally get more reliable over time. Listen to each others’
ideas and communicate clearly. If you know a change has to be made
to move forward, do it and don’t look back. Have a good time and
don’t take yourself too seriously. Oh, and don’t let a few
naysayers or know-nothing know-it-alls derail you.
19
– Finally, Thanks for talking to us here at Sludgelord HQ. Do you
have anything to say to your fans?
Jay:
Thanks to the people that were at the Brooklyn show the other week!
Stay tuned for our 1st music video (The Maloik) which should be
premiering somewhere online within the next few weeks. Also a huge
thanks to Cat Jones for all her work and for being an exceptional
human being.
Well
guys thanks for doing this. All the best for your album in 2014.
Thanks
to Cat Jones at Southern Cross PR for arranging this interview.
Check The Band From Links Below
BandCamp
Written by Steve Howe and Buzzherd
