Recently I had the pleasure of reviewing the Master/Dehuman split EP Decay into Inferior Conditions and I was so impressed with the style of death metal that Brussels based Dehuman played, I simply had to get in touch with them. Although there were only three songs recorded live in the studio for this release, I couldn’t help but appreciate the musicianship on show here and would urge anyone to give Dehuman a listen if they fancy mixing the old school death metal with the new. I had the opportunity to catch up with vocalist Andrea and this is what he had to say… enjoy!
Simple things first – where are you guys from?
Dehuman was formed in the grey and filthy Brussels city in Belgium!
How did you meet?
We met as teenagers wandering off in the streets of Brussels, forging our will to make a band through shows, drinks and smokes!
How long have you been playing as a band?
Dehuman has been active since 2006/2007 and things got serious when we first changed line up in 2010 with the addition of our drummer Laye, writing better songs and preparing for a studio recording. Things really moved, touring/show wise when we released our first record Black Throne of all Creation in 2012 with the of our label at the time, Kaotoxin records.
What are your influences?
Our first influences were classic bands such Atheist, Pestilence, Morbid Angel, Suffocation, Sepultura, Hate Eternal, Immolation, Marduk, Enthroned, Death, Mayhem, Mercyful Fate, Venom, Agent Steel, Blitzkrieg, the Misfits… I mean bands most 15/16 year old headbangers would listen to. Right now, it is a little different; we have so many different things we like to listen to, ranging from heavy, death, black, doom, new wave, dark folk, etc. More undergrounds acts, or not for sure. Naming them all would be a long exercise but things like Sortilegia, Arkhon Infaustus, The Fields of Nephilim, Dead Congregation, The Ruins of Beverast, Heavy Load, Negative Plane, Sortilège, Deathspell Omega, Bowie, Ra al Deen, Diaspiquir, Sol Invictus…
Describe your music. What makes you unique?
Well one thing we wanted to achieve on our previous record was to have a heavy, fast and merciless record. I think what makes it unique, and maybe sometimes hard for people to relate to, is that our music is on the edge of the technical and old school death metal sound and maybe too harmonic for some. When we wrote the record we wanted something fast, aggressive and technically intriguing while keeping that early 90s feel to our music. Also I think production-wise our album is interesting. The drums weren’t triggered and the guitars/bass tracks were done in one take. We tried as much as possible to keep an organic feel to our music. For sure there are some production stances we would not take now and also much of the mixing was done without us being hands in on it. I guess 3-4 years ago we were not that mature compared to how we envision our next record and recording session at the moment.
Do you have any particular lyrical themes?
All that is fucked up in the human mind, lust & Satan!
How often is the band able to get together and rehearse and what are the facilities in Brussels like for studios and recording?
We try to rehearse two times a week depending on everybody’s agenda. Facilities are OK here in Brussels but the nice thing is that it’s a pretty central European city. We can reach most of the studios we know or are in with by driving.
With pretty much a steady lineup for a number of years, apart from the addition of guitarist Lou this year, how are new songs composed? Do all the band contribute or do one or two of you do the main songwriting?
It really depends. Sometimes someone brings a complete song and sometimes we put together riffs or write a song in pairs. On the last record, most songs were brought in with a “steady skeleton” and then we worked on the arrangements all together. One thing is sure: everybody has to agree on each riff.
How was the recent European Tour with Master?
The tour was excellent, always great to tour with friends. It gives it a family trip feel.
What’s your live show like? How many shows have you played?
Death metal madness… I could not really describe it as I’ve never witnessed one of our concerts. What I can stay is we practice hard to play the songs how they are on the records with some additions of solo, leads, backing vocals, etc. Also, we try to give as much energy as possible to the audience.
If you were second on a three-band bill, which band would you love to be ing and which band would you choose to open for you? A chance to plug someone you’ve toured with, or a mate’s band we’ve not heard of before!
I think at this point we would really like to tour with Hate Eternal and to open for us… well I think I would really have fun touring with our friends from Bones of Antwerp!
Graveyard of Eden has been out for a couple of years now. Is there anything about that album that you would change now that you have had time to reflect on it?
That is not really how we see things. This record was done at a certain time with a certain aim and a certain production team and last but not least a fixed budget and a certain experience. So the record captured all of that and all things considered we are very happy with the result! If we would work on the new record the same way we did on Graveyard of Eden, absolutely not. The word absolute does not mean we dislike the way we worked or would change the production of Graveyard of Eden but rather, it portrays our artistic will to make something different, to evolve and present the listener with a new experience.
When will a new album be recorded? How would you compare the songs to that of the previous album?
We hope to get in the studio after the summer 2018, the listener should expect a more varied record. Less straight in your face but still pretty violent!
What would be your plans for the band in 2018?
Write music, record music, plan and organise touring
For Dehuman, how easy or difficult is it to get the band together and rehearse. Where do you record your material before you record the album?
Well one thing that makes it easy is that we all live in the same city, so seeing each other on a regular basis is quite easy. We like to keep the “band” format, rehearse as much as possible and catch a few drinks/shows together. We record our pre-productions at home or at some friends studio/home studios. Everything is based here in Brussels.
How has the response been so far with the recent split EP with Master?
First thing, the split with Master is not officially out yet. This release is intended to be only in LP but there are some huge delays in the production line so the release will be postponed for January or February. However, to avert this situation, our label printed 200 digi-pack CDs which we sold on tour last month and are now sold out. So I guess the responses so far are good.
A fun question to end this interview. If you were a DJ and were allowed to bring five CDs to the party, what would they be?
I think I would go for David Bowie’s Best Of, Deep Purple’s Made In Japan, Mercyful Fate’s Melissa, Agent Steel’s Skeptic Apocalypse and Dead Congregation’s Promulgation of the Fall.
Any last message for our readers here at Moshville Times?
Bang or be banged!
Dehuman: official | facebook | bandcamp
