Italian dark hardcore / blackened grindcore band LAMBS (est. 2013) have teamed up with German noisy, chaotic sludge grindcore act ILL NEGLECT (est. 2013) for one of the most monstrous, abrasive split releases in the genre this year. We have teamed up with both bands to reveal some details behind it, discuss the overwhelming perception of darkness sweeping over this radical split record, themes they addressed in their lyrics, and more. See the full interview below.
“Trisma” is a follow up to ILL NEGLECT‘s only EP Reality Tunnels (2015) and LAMBS‘ “Betrayed from Birth” (2015). Mastered by the amazing Brad Boatright of Portland’s Audiosiege, the split is a collaborative release between several DIY labels: Wooaaargh, Drown Within Records, Hackebeil Records, Abekeit, Earthquake Terror Noise, 5 Feet Under Records, Aktiver Ausstand in Plastik. Pre-orders are up at this location.
ILL NEGLECT are: vocalist Daniel Powell, drummer Jan T-Beat, guitarist Thomas Conrad and bassist André Beyer. LAMBS are: vocalist Cristian Franchini, drummer Mattia Bagnolini, guitarist Gianmaria Mustillo, and bassist Steven Teverini.
Hey guys! Congratulations on one of the most abrasive and bleakest hardcore/metal records this year! How did you team up for this release?
Daniel (ILL NEGLECT): Hey man, thank you!
I think it was in summer ’15 when Cristian contacted me to ask for some help to book a show in Germany for their tour that year. Initially we were planning to play one or more shows together on that tour, but unfortunately it didn’t work out for us.
So I forwarded him to a friend of mine in Schwarzenberg, Germany. Lambs ended up playing there with Abaton – I went to see the show with a couple of friends and both bands blew me away.
I immediately knew that I needed to release something with these guys, so Cristian and I agreed on doing a split together on that evening and we kept in touch since then.
You invited a couple of DIY labels to this project. How did you select them?
Daniel (ILL NEGLECT): Wooaaargh was a pretty obvious decision for us, because we released our first output “Reality Tunnels” via the label.
And Wooaaargh released another band of mine back in 2012, so Cris and I have known each other for a couple of years now and we’ve always stayed in contact.
Sif of Abekeit as well as Domi and Simon of Hackebeil Records are friends of mine, so I had no problem emotionally blackmailing them into the project.
But actually Cristian contacted most of the labels and worked everything out with them.
LAMBS: Hackebeil, Drown Within Records and Wooaaargh have released our vinyl edition of Betrayed of Birth as well. The other labels are teamed up after the listening of our new record.
Photo: ILL NEGLECT
Lyrics-wise, did you agree on a certain concept to go with these crushing riffs? Would you mind dropping us a quick track-by-track feature?
Daniel (ILL NEGLECT): We didn’t agree on a lyrical concept between label partners, neither within ILL NEGLECT.
I never really talk about the lyrics with my band mates, so I can more or less write about whatever I want. Cold Turkey and Permanent Euphoria are both about drugs.
Cold Turkey is influenced by William S. Burrough’s Naked Lunch and was written while my first couple of weeks working at a “junky café” – a place where mainly heroine addicts hang out.
Permanent Euphoria is about my own experiences with Ecstasy/MDMA and the contrast between the overwhelming euphoria during intoxication and the depressing hangover on the next couple of days.
LAMBS: For having more cohesion with music and words, I actually try to writing lyrics during the songwriting process, but I mainly run from previous drafts. What about the lyrical themes? “You, The Drawback” is a really raged text; a deep accusation from a man to another man, at this point you can imagine frustration, disappointment and obstacles to overcame through human behaviors;”the lyric” tells you to go ahed to your goal and don’t lose your passion. “Unfeeling” is a bit less misanthropic of the previous song and there is only one reason: loss is all around us and we have no more feelings. A perfect soundtrack for a post apocalyptic scenario.
Photo: LAMBS
Yeah, these tracks are absolutely overwhelming, both lyrically and sonically. How do you bring yourself into such dark moods? Tell us a bit more about your inspirations.
Daniel (ILL NEGLECT): Thanks a lot, I’m usually very self-conscious about this kind of stuff.
It’s not like I deliberately put myself in a dark mood. To put my emotional constitution in J.R. Haye’s words: “Mood swings like an axe.”
I don’t necessarily need to be in a bad or dark mood to write lyrics though. All I need to be is alone and focussed. Sometimes I don’t even know what I really want to write about, then it’s more like brainstorming sentences or scenes and moving on from that and putting it in some sort of coherence.
On other days I walk through the city, listening to music over my headphones and ideas for lyrics just shoot in my head unintentionally.
As far as inspiration goes, I take a lot of it from movies, literature and other lyrics. Although I got to say, that I’m more fond of watching movies than reading books.
In the case of movies, I’ve taken a lot of inspiration from David Cronenberg‘s works.
If it comes to lyrics in “extreme music”, I really adore those of J.R Hayes of PIG DESTROYER and also Nick Blinko of RUDIMENTARY PENI.
I’ve previously mentioned Burrough’s Naked Lunch as an inspiration. That book is a neverending source of weirdness and lyrical genius.
LAMBS: LIfe on this planet is enough to bring us to dark moods. I always be attracted to decadent stuff because is the real vision of the current world I live. From a paint to a black metal song, from poetry to hanging out with people, all is part of a gloomy world.
Photo: LAMBS
Ok guys, so I guess it would be nice to take this beast the road and push it down our throats, right? Do you plan on playing shows together to support this split?
Daniel (ILL NELGECT): We’ll bring “Trisma” everywhere we go, so much is for sure. I hope that we’ll play a lot of shows in 2017, there are a couple of pretty sweet weekenders in the making.
I’d love to play a tour or at least a couple of shows with Lambs, in Germany or Italy. But you know, some of us have regular jobs which makes it hard to tour a lot.
LAMBS: I’d love to. Meahwhile we have a bunch of winter shows in Italy and from Summer 2017 we’ll be touring Europe with our friends and labelmates Sedna, if you’d like to book one show in your city, please get in touch [email protected] or [email protected]
Photo: LAMBS tour dates
Alright, so what else? Do you have other projects you’d like to spread the word about via this interview?
Daniel (ILL NEGLECT): Thomas (guitar) and Jan (drums) are also in Captain Caveman, you might want to give those guys a listen.
Thanks for the interview, I appreciate it. If anyone would like to contact Ill Neglect, hit us up on the common social media platforms or on Bandcamp. See you somewhere, sometime.
LAMBS: More things to come! after the release of this split we’ll put all thoughts towards the songwriting of our first full length; 2016 was a really painful and wearisome year, we have a lot of things to tell you through our music. Keep you posted about our shit on our facebook page. We’d like thank you for your time and support on IDIOTEQ.
Cool, thanks for the quick chat! Cheers!
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