Interview with Elektrokutioner of Decrepitaph

When did Decrepitaph form, and how has your lineup evolved?

Elektrokutioner: It started in 2005 as my solo project, then I moved to Texas and found Sinworm who was a big fan of real Death Metal, and we decided to keep the band going with him on guitar and me on drums. We had a bassist for a while but he flaked out, so now it's just the two of us again.

What are your influences, and have they been consistent? If there's any Swedish death metal in the mix, do you find yourself compared to Divine Eve, who are also from Texas and sound Swedishy?

Elektrokutioner: Some people say we sound Swedish (which is unintentional) and some people say we sound purely American. I don't really think about that, as I am influenced from bands all over the world and I just write and play what comes natural. I haven't seen us directly compared with Divine Eve before, but that could be because they are more like a DM version of Hellhammer and we are more Doom/Death from the early 90's.

In your mind, what distinguishes excellent death metal from run-of-the-mill metal, and what distinguishes metal from pop music, rock, etc?

Elektrokutioner: Well, with this new crop of br00tle DM, not much separates it from pop music since they basically use the same drum trigger sounds and ultra crisp production. All our material is home recorded on cheap recording equipment and that is what brings out the atmosphere in the music. It's kind of hard to describe the differences, but if you are a true fan, you know whats good and what isn't the second you hear it.

You've got a new album, Beyond the Cursed Tombs, coming out in a few weeks. How's it different from your previous work? Has there been an evolution of form, content or both?

Elektrokutioner: I would say the songwriting is basically the same, but the tracks themselves are improved overall. If you liked Condemned Cathedral, you will like this new album too. If you hated our first album, this one isn't going to win you over by any means. It's much in the same style, although this new album is a lot heavier and it's a little more varied than the first one was. It still completely sounds like Decrepitaph though, no doubt about it.

I've been noticing what I am calling, for lack of a better terms, a revival of the old school death metal mentality. Your previous CD, Condemned Cathedral, seemed very old school death metal to me. Why is it important to you to create in this style, twenty years after its birth?

Elektrokutioner: Well, to me, the old school style of DM is the ONLY true DM style. Over the years, the focus has gone from how good and memorable your songs were to how technical you could play or how fast you were. Both of those things have nothing to do with DM in my eyes. I think there is a revival of sorts because some people are fed up with what passes for DM these days and they want to play it like it should be played.

Do you think that people with similar ideas make music that "sounds" similar, as if they're trying to share the same experience, or do you think people end up making death metal purely because they like how it sounds?

Elektrokutioner: I think it's a little of both. There are a million bands that try to sound exactly like Suffocation and bands like that, and there are bands that don't worry about fitting in with any other bands and just do what comes natural. I really don't worry much about other bands and what they do, I just pick up a guitar and write what comes natural and that is what Decrepitaph sounds like.

From experience, Texas is an easy state to get started in as a local band -- but a hard one to rise up out of, with many of our best local bands fading into obscurity. How do you hope to navigate this and what kind of audience do you want?

Elektrokutioner: To be honest, I don't really care about how popular we are or what the "scene" is like or anything like that. I just write and release music that I'm proud of and I think positively contributes to metal. The only audience I want is people that hear our music and "get it", which is usually people in their 30s that were around when what we are doing was somewhat popular.

Where can people get your new CD? Do you have any upcoming shows where they can see you?

Elektrokutioner: You can get our new CD from our MySpace page at www.myspace.com/decrepitaph or from the label at www.razorbackrecords.com as well as many distros all over the world! We aren't planning on playing any shows anytime soon, but if we do, you can read all about it on our page! For more info on the band go to www.decrepitaph.com as well! Thanks for the interview!

Thank you, Elektrokutioner, for an articulate and informative interview. Gentle readers, I predict you'll hear more from this promising band in the future, so keep your eyes (and ears) peeled.