Interview with BESTIAL REVILER
We had a conversation with Misotheist (Bass/Vocals). Enjoy!
Welcome to the FILTHY DOGS OF METAL Webzine.
Tell us a few things about BESTIAL REVILER (Members, Starting Year etc).
Bestial Reviler's story goes about 20 years back, when as a teenaged metalhead I got a metal itch I desperately needed to scratch. Without getting into too many insignificant details, since they are too numerous and trivial, I wasted some time with a revolving door of musicians, who pissed me off consistently by completely misunderstanding whatever I was gunning for. Eventually I managed to find a couple of dudes who accepted my more or less dictatorship in terms of musical direction, which at that point was old-school thrash. With them the band put out two splits, the first one being with Bestial Torture from Finland and Terrorist from the States, and the second one being with Abigail. We also played gigs relatively regularly. We were severly hampered by our broke-ass student budgets, a certain degree of ignorance of the workings of the underground, and obviously musical incompetence. Having said that, I still listen to that old shit quite regularly. By around 2014 the first chapter closed since my life focused exclusively on getting the hell outta Russia. Once I managed that I kinda hit a bit of a wall when it came to finding new members, so I kept on writing new songs for hypothetical new projects. At that time a posthumous split with Guerra Total from Columbia also materialized A kick up the ass that I needed was my good mate Rektor from Finland putting out a tape compilation of all (almost) of the old recordings I could gather. It made me decide to do my best to restart Bestial Reviler, so with Rektor's invaluable help as well as a Ger Pivopath Six's willingness to contribute the band rose from the grave at least as a studio only project (I do hope to play live again at some point).
You have recently released your EP ''Accursed Resurrection''. What is the feedback from your audience as well as from the press?
Haven't cracked the Billboard 100 yet, but getting there. But seriosuly, haven't really engaged that much with the press yet. I'm lost these days. What press? I know a few underground zines that are put out once every few months at best. I have or will soon send them a copy of the CD to check out, so might get a review in a few months... As for the big magazines I've never followed them. So wouldn't know where to start. Same with the whole podcast/ youtube channel stuff. Regarding the audience, nobody has taken a shit over the EP yet, so I guess that's a good sign. Those who have watched the new video at least thought the drunken shenanigans enjoyable.
How did your cooperation with Witches Brew Records occur? What do you prefer, Label or DIY and why?
I first got in touch with Cheryl in the year 2009 I think. For some trades. We've been sorta in contact since. I ran into her and Hart (R.I.P.) for the first time at Raging Death Date in Germany in something like 2015 I wanna say. Once the recording of the new EP was finished I started sending it to everybody and Cheryl expressed interest in the material, so I didn't have a second of hesitation. Fuckin legend all the way. As for DIY VS. Label... As long as you're passionate about your music I personally couldn't care less who puts it out. Of course as a musician I like to delegate the tedious task of promotion and distribution to others, because I'm such a fuckin diva. But as a listener I don't give a damn. Some of the coolest shit I own is DIY. Plus the DIY attitude is the driving force behind a lot of labels. So the line might be very blurry at times.
Do you prefer Vinyl, Tape, CD or Digital Format and why is that?
All of them. Vinyl cause it looks and sounds awesome (big-ass artwork!) Each LP feels like some sort of artifact.Tapes cause they're cheap, they reek of the underground and I grew up with tapes. CDs cause those fuckers are indestructible. Digital cause my car ain't got no physical players, so I need MP3s on my phone to play over the bluetooth.
Your music style is Death/Thrash Metal. Which are your main influences (Favourite Artists / Bands etc.)
I don't want to be another arrogant prick pushing some bizarre genre tag down everybody's throat, but there's a reason I nicknamed our shit crude metal. When you say death/thrash, I have very strong associations with Sadus, Numskull, Ripping Corpse, Protector, etc. And we don't really sound anything like that. We're some kind of speedeathrash with a punkish vibe I guess... As for the influences, of course there's your standard Sodom, Venom, Bathory, Hellhammer selection. But if I had to pinpoint the albums that influenced me in particular, I'd probably name Gehennah's Hardrocker, more or less anything by Nunslaughter (Radio Damnation maybe taking the top spot), Slaughter's Strappado, Razor's Malicious Intent, Vulcano's Bloody Vengeance, anything by Blasphemy.
Which things do you think a band should sacrifice in order to succeed? Have you ever sacrificed anything in your life for a better future for your band?
I know this might sound hypocritical in the context of promoting a new release and trying to get people to buy it. But the main motivation for me has always been me. I know what kind of metal I want to listen to and I make metal for myself. That distorts the concept of success considerably. Because me succeeding is me banging my head to my records. At the same time I am an opinionated asshole who thinks that people who don't like the stuff I like are wrong. Which is why I need to convince them to join me if I can. I have huge respect for maniacs who tour non stop to spread the word and make a living out of it, sacrificing essentially every creature comfort imaginable, but I am not capable of that. I've never wanted to depend financially on music, because I feel it almost inevitably takes away your creative freedom. To sum up I would say that it all depends on the definition of sacrifice and success. Maybe the most common sacrifice is the liver.
Describe your ideal live show as a performance band. Have you already experienced that?
We kinda have. Around 2011 we played a gig in some basement with another metal band and two hardcore punk/ grind bands. The crowd wasn't huge but they were totally mental. The stage was probably no more than half a meter high. And the mic was wired weirdly. Kept electrocuting me any time I came closer than 10 or so centimeters. So the crowd was moshing and stage diving and every time some fucker pushed the mic stand it didn't only hit me on the mouth, but also gave me a shock. So I spent half of the gig with completely numb lips yelling incoherent bullshit instead of the lyrics. It was a lot of fun.
What attributes do you think that a new Death/Thrash Metal Band should have in order to gain identity and be unique?
Holy shit this is a tough one indeed. I don't think it's about attributes or anything tangible. One of the most unique bands these days in my opinion is Malokarpatan. And if you put a gun to my head I wouldn't be able to say what it is that makes them unique. One thing I can say with a degree of confidence is that the modern concept of a "good" sound is one of the worst enemies of any kind of identity. I've seen videos on YouTube with some wankers explaining the "correct" extreme metal vocal techniques. To me anything flat earthers have to say makes more sense than that. When you hear the 1987 Incubus demo you can't confuse it with anything else. I don't mean to say that bands should all go back to caveman recording techniques, but I sometimes wander how some of the bands these days can tell themselves apart from a bunch of others. When you hear Vomitor you can clearly hear what their influences are, but damn they sound like nobody else. That's what a band should be aiming
for, I think. Avoid the "correct" "good" sound. That shit is just boring and generic.
Do you believe that Digital Platforms help the new Death/Thrash Metal Bands? Which, do you think, is the ideal way for a band to promote its work?
Social media and digital platforms are definitely a double-edged sword. On the one hand, there's the ease and speed with which you can get some exposure. But on the other, they've definitely saturated the underground beyond what is humanly possible to digest. I try to keep up, but holy hell it's borderline impossible. And it definitely reduced the demand for printed underground zines, which I think used to be one of the most reliable means of promotion. When it comes to promoting your stuff - hard to beat a good live show. I also still dig actual music videos. Shame that they are becoming a rare breed. Fuck lyric videos, seriously. They should go away.
Do you see any differences between the Russian Metal Market & the EU Metal Market (Labels, Bands, Fans etc)?
I've been out of Russia for almost 10 years now, so I am really out of touch, and now with the war things are probably even more different. When we were active there, a rudimentary scene did exist. A few bands that we were kinda friends with, some decent labels... We were based in Moscow, but most of the good stuff tended to be in Saint-Petersburg and Petrozavodsk up north. But every time I travelled to Europe I saw how unfathomably far behind Russia was in terms of its underground. When Assassin played in Moscow in 2007 there were maybe 20 people there. I felt so embarrassed. We did our best to give the band the warmest welcome, but still... 20 people is ridiculous. So when I first saw the crowd in Finland going crazy for Sadistic Intent, I almost shed a tear.
Tell us a few things about the New Underground Metal Scene in Prague, Czechia (Bands, Fanzines, Webzines, Metal Clubs etc.)
It's not half bad in the Czech Republic. Some cool thrash bands, e.g. Faust, Laid to Waste, Murder Inc., Lahar, for death metal the best one is Snμt' in my opinion. Grindcore is huge in CZ, but the only band I really like is Kaosquad - old-school stuff. There have been some legendary Czech black metal bands over the years, like Master's Hammer, Root, Maniac Butcher, but most of them are defunct now and when it comes to younger bands, to be honest nothing particularly impressive comes to my mind. There is no old-school heavy metal here to speak of. There are some great underground organizers - Thrash Nightmare Promotions from the town of Pisek are the champs, Kreas Promotions is really cool, and there is a guy north of Prague who organizes some smoking gigs in a small club called Farαψova Sluj (looking forward to catching Spiter with Satan Worship there next month). Doomentia Records is a cool label, Filth Junkies is great and the Thrash Nightmare guys also run a label called Tapes of Terror. They're putting out the European tape version of our new EP soon. Can't miss a couple of metal bars in Prague. Hells Bells and Error, which the last song on the EP is about and where the video is set. I don't follow the webzines too closely, but I know there are a couple. Fobia Zine seems to be pretty good. Overall it's fairly lively in CZ. No shortage of good shows.
Do you know anything about the Hellenic Metal Scene?
Not too much really. The names that come to my mind are Flames, Zemial, Omega, Ravencult. A couple of years ago I traded with a Greek dude and he sent me a tape by Revenge, called Massacre in heaven. That one blew my socks off. Shame the band is gone. I remember trading with Crucifier... Mentally Defiled is Greek too I think. Swamp is cool as well. These are the ones I like at least to a degree. Of course I'm aware of Rotting Christ, Varathron, Necromantia, but they don't interest me that much (go ahead, throw your stones at me, I'm ready). Oh I recently stumbled upon a band called Sadistic Noise from the 90s. Pretty solid shit.
The last 3 years, worldwide in the world, we have faced many dark, strange & new situations in our everyday life (covid, lock-down etc.) Did all of this affect you positively or negatively?
To be honest, except for shifting to remote work, I didn't experience any truly significant changes. Of course, the postponed or cancelled gigs were heartbreaking and not being able to go to a pub was irritating. But I was lucky to be locked down in the same building with a bunch of mates, so we had regular BBQ parties and started spending a lot of time outdoors. Basically no changes to my social life. Maybe the main effect was a clearer understanding of how hysterical and irrational people can get.
What are your future plans?
Hopefully some gigs (either if I find local musicians or we get together for some rehearsals with Rektor somehow). An album is essentially composed. Needs recording so I would like to start working on that. Otherwise the plan is to drink beer and worship metal.
Thank you very much for your time & keep up the good work! The closure is yours.
Cheers to you for running this project, thanks for having me! Hail metal, fuck political correctness, destroy scene tourists. Check out Accursed Resurrection and spread it amongst your friends and enemies alike.
By Steve the Filthy Dog.
BESTIAL REVILER CONTACT:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100090583191903
https://bestialreviler.bandcamp.com/album/accursed-resurrection
CDs can be ordered from:
https://www.witchesbrew.eu/store ,https://witchesbrewthrashes.bandcamp.com/album/accursed-resurrection
or by writing to the band: bestialreviler@gmail.com
The South American version of the tape can be ordered from http://www.rawblackult.com/
And the European version is gonna be available soon from: https://tapesofterror.bigcartel.com/