Interview with FOULERAH
!!!TRUE BLACK METAL FROM THE UK!!!
We had a conversation with Nzenz (Drums). Enjoy!
Welcome to the FILTHY DOGS OF METAL Webzine.
Tell us a few things about FOULERAH (Members, Starting Year etc).
Foulerah is Bristol based black metal band in the TRVE UKBM collective. We started late 2024 around October and our first show was in November ( https://youtu.be/CsQyF0hxt2s?si=1Rzv0U0xxqCgmyW5 skip to 17 to see). There are three of us, Me (Nzenz) on drums, Tomb Filler vocals and bass, Carni Gore guitar. Currently looking for a bassist too! We are all inspired by bands such as: Carpathian Forest, Marduk and Bethlehem.
You have recently released your demo ''Hellsent Decimation Force ''. What is the feedback from your audience as well as from the press?
So far with our EP "Hellsent Decimation Force" we have had a very positive response, a lot of fans enjoy it with nearly 500 streams on the EP, and a lot of tickets to our upcoming shows. Also lots of venues and promoters reach out to get us on lineups because of the traction we have. I think what fans like is we just don't associate with the super uptight nature of modern black metal, and take it to the roots with this super aggressive, blasphemous and raw sound.
And what about the lyrics?
Lyrically we tend to focus on pagan ideas, even though we aren't a Pagan band, esotericism is very much an interest between us. We also do the usual talk about Satan and witches, wizards and Knights. However we are starting to tackle more serious subjects in lyrics, and I don't want to tease too much but lyrics in "The Bleak Sky" and "Starved Of Sanity" are something I think we want to focus on more.
Are you in searching for a record label? What do you prefer, Label or DIY and why?
We don't want anything permanent to tie us down at the moment, so we are planning on reaching out to producers and so on but not being tied down to a specific label.
Is there any funny or weird story from the recordings or from your live shows that you would like to share with us?
At our first live show we had 5/6 acoustic indie sets before us and a noise band after us.
Do you prefer Vinyl, Tape, CD or Digital Format and why is that?
Personally I prefer the physical, it just helps me enjoy the music more. I think as a whole we all love CDs, Tomb Filler especially.
Your music style is Black Metal. Which are your main influences (Favourite Artists / Bands etc.)
Our collective influences would be: Bethlehem, Marduk, Carpathian Forest and Darkthrone. But since we go to a lot of local shows in Bristol, we hear Bristol punk bands and we sometimes think their riffs sound a bit evil and dissonant, so we take influence from that as well.
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?
Time and Money. When you have just begun and you take a risk to go perform in Newcastle like we did, you have to be willing to travel and spend money on travel to perform with a big band. For context we supported Evil Dungeon Crawler in Newcastle on their live debut, and we decided we need to because even if we didn't get a following from it we have left a mark. Which is what has happened, now loads of promoters want us from all across the UK. If you are a new band, keep an eye out for bigger bands in your scene and sacrifice time and money to try and perform with them. One investment can get you far!
Describe your ideal live show as a performance band. Have you already experienced that?
We are currently hoping to play Exchange main stage or The Fleece. I think our biggest dream would be to either play at Fortress festival or at SWX in Bristol, ideal world both.
What do you think about the rise of AI in music production?
We have made it very clear since the start that we are anti AI, lack soul and creativity and are very harmful. We don't want to hear the argument it makes art more accessible when Beethoven was deaf!
What attributes do you think that a new Black Metal Band should have in order to gain identity and be unique?
Just don't care about what anyone else thinks, don't feel scared to be called Poser, have your own image. Everybody these days wants to look and dress the same in the BM scene, which I understand it's cool to be all evil but it can be very repetitive, try and bring something individual to the table.
Do you believe that Digital Platforms help the new Black Metal Bands? Which, do you think, is the ideal way for a band to promote its work?
Well digital is good for growing a worldwide audience, but for extreme bands like us you don't want the wrong crowd to get interested. So posting is totally fine but also showing your true self and not sticking up to trends to be super popular works well for us. We do alot of promotion in a lot of forms, fliers, instagram, facebook, threads, tik tok, emails and youtube. We just want to be known.
From your experience in the music industry, what would you tell to a new Black Metal band to avoid or what to do?
Don't suck up to a hater. If someone is hating just do not bother with them, keep working and let the fans do the work.
Tell us a few things about the New Underground Metal Scene in Bristol, UK (Bands, Fanzines, Webzines, Metal Clubs etc.)
Bristol has a Thriving scene especially in punk. Black City is obviously a go to for any metalhead, could not recommend less, it is a must, they got everything for you. There's also a few tape distributors that we personally enjoy such as BlackNoiseProductions, Gobemouche Productions and Eggy Tapes. Also an amazing local scene of bands some of our favourites being: Grismo, Skeletal Fragrance, Zero Again and Plague Pit.
What does Metal means to you? And give us 10 metal albums that run in your veins.
To me Metal is very similar to Punk, it is an attitude, rebellion and political. If you tell me it's not political then you clearly have never listened to Motorhead, one of the founders of this genre. But some black metal essentials for us as band would be in no particular order: Abruptum - "Evil Genius", Marduk - "Rom 5:12", Gudsforladt - "Friendship, Love and War", Bethlehem - "Dictius Te Necare", Bathory - "Under the Sign of the Black Mark" (1st wave but still great), Ulver - "Bergtatt", Carpathian Forest - "We are going to hell for this", Fall Of Rauros - "The Light that Dwells in Rotten Wood", Summoning - "Minas Morgul", Windir - "Artnor".
Do you know anything about the Hellenic Metal Scene?
Yes we have heard of the Hellenic Black metal scene but only know one band, that being Vestia who are UK based.
What are your future plans?
Well currently we have a lot more shows booked and ready to be announced. We have been thinking of releasing more music but I will not reveal when. And we have been contacted by some bigger bands who need support as part of their UK tours, so maybe that too. We have a lot to do but we won't say all.
Thank you very much for your time & keep up the good work! The closure is yours.
FUCK TRENDS HAIL TRVE UKBM.
By Steve the Filthy Dog.
Photo Credit: https://www.instagram.com/jh_media_/
FOULERAH CONTACT:
https://www.instagram.com/foulerah_bm/
https://nzenz.bandcamp.com/album/hellsent-decimation-force
https://open.spotify.com/artist/75KKr51iXFLtTFHe5ygsp6