Interview with HOROH
Welcome to the FILTHY DOGS OF METAL Webzine.
Tell us a few things about HOROH (Members, Starting Year etc).
Hi guys, and thank you for giving HOROH some time and words ! So, Basically, HOROH started close to 2 years ago now (2021), as a one man army effort, just some nasty and old riffing style, in the 90’s spirit. I’ve always been productive and involved in various projects (with mates, or not), but not in this old school gnarly death vibes. So…now, here we are, 2024 will be the next step with the addition of Seb MOKY ( he’ll take on all vocals and also drawings, art). Two headed baby incoming with putrid intentions…!
You have recently released your album ''Aberration''. What is the feedback from your audience as well as from the press?
Sure, Aberration is also the first full length after an EP-Demo published in 2021, so the work has been more improved, it was important to deliver something with a respect for the pillars who have given the love of this genre.Press, and people have received it very well, words and reviews have been great, and the purpose was to deliver something “real and direct” not with a modern approach, like a blast from the past you see? It's always a pleasure to see people enjoying the noise. It’s also a source of motivation to think about the future and make it great once again…without trying to offer “ what people would like to ear” but more “ make what we like that people should ear“ !
How did your cooperation with Crypt Of Dr. Gore Records occur? What do you prefer Label or DIY and why?
The short story for the partnership with Crypt of Dr Gore is that, close to one year and a half now, he was looking for some people to increase the staff for his fanzine. I saw the announcement, and i’ve sent him a message. We’ve started to work together, talking about our feelings about the actual and past scene, bands, etc…and one day, i’ve simply said to him without any specific thoughts “ hey, i’ve finished the first album mix for my OSDM band HOROH, wanna listen to it? “ ; and now? haha we have a deal…No tricks, nothing else than spontaneous partnership..! The DIY/ UG scene is great and cool, not simple every time because we’re all with a job beside it, and nobody will do moves for us. Time, passion, devotion are the keys to pierce through the masses and overflow of a saturated scene.
Is there any funny or weird story from the recordings or from your live shows that you would like to share with us?
Mhhhh…let’s see…is a computer crash with the loss of 75% of the mix lost is a funny thing to talk about?? hahahaha sure not, but weird for sure…when you record alone, you have to think about so many things to be sure about making everything OK…so when something like that is happening, you’re just going mad and can’t blame anyone except your own hardware hahahaha. But the more funny thing is about the drums…some people have written to me, or noticed that the drums were sounding very human and not synthetic… and yeah they’re right…The only instrument i don’t have at home is a drum. But I got a big keyboard,and all the drum parts, including blast beats (the funniest to do hahaha) are hand made. Left hand leads the kick, the right one snares and cymbals / toms…trust me, my fingers have big biceps!!!! No mouse writing, metronome is in the place but the groove and the “imperfections” are included, because human feeling will never be replaced by machines (of course it’s a big help nowadays to record, but we’re not in the mood to polish the result in a way to make it like a nano surgery…) For live shows…nothing on the horizon at the moment…!
Do you prefer Vinyl, Tape, CD or Digital Format and why is that?
All physical supports are great ! Digital is absolutely not to be excluded, because we all know that tons of people enjoy streaming and discovering with various platforms ( i won’t pronounce any name of it because they’re like Lord Voldemort in Harry Potter, if we talk about it it will be more empowered haha ). Digital way is also easier to spread when making promotion, and when you’re in DIY/UG, the money management is very important, thinking about promo version is an additional cost, and it’s not easy to say “ yeah we’re full of bucks, let’s make a CD promo prod to send to everyone”, we don’t have the same force strike than big labels ( and i’m not convinced that all big labels send promo CD/Vinyl etc to people for review and early access). To finish, Of course vinyl is the best to enlighten the artworks, and also the warmed sound…CD is more cold but precise, also easier to produce. Tape? sure i got plenty of them, but honestly i don’t listen to them very much, it’s more like collectibles..!
Your music style is Death Metal. Which are your main influences (Favourite Artists / Bands etc.)
Oh, yeah it’s DM for sure, and not really the modern one..i’ve grown up with Deicide, Cannibal Corpse, Morbid Angel, Malevolent Creation, Monstrosity…you know the Floridians ones essentially..! Not a huge fan of the Swedish sound…I prefer the chainsaw with Leatherface hahahaha. The Hellenic scene has great bands too, something very interesting in the atmosphere and songwriting… As artists, I could enlighten Pat O’brien, Jack Owen, Trey Azagtoth, Anastasis Valtsanis, the Hoffman brothers, to name a few as references for their work and inspiration.. Groove, improvements, digging new elements to break the limits..everything i love for music purpose. Stay locked and blocked, and your music will be too. Even if you wanna write your own musical never ending story (that could easily make me bored hahaha), it depends only on you. But if you want to surprise and make your band evolve…so you have to replace you oftenly.
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?
It’s a picky question and a good one ! I think responses can be influenced by our own lives…it depends on our goals. Being in the UG scene is a bit hard to think about “ this will be my salary, it will make me live and pay my bills and my daily needs “. I’ve never been in the mood to live by the music, but more live for the music. So the biggest sacrifice, if we can consider it like one, is the amount of time we’ll spend and also the social impact hahaha. Time is one of the most valuable resources in my opinion. It will be helpful to improve skills,songwriting, learning, training…all components to make you better and also your creations… Another important aspect is the ego. Playing with people allows you to learn about yourself, and you have to consider individual feelings in order to advance and work properly. I often say that to be in a band is like being in a couple…listen only to your envy and don’t watchout for the other’s care…and you will fail/split…
Describe your ideal live show as a performance band. Have you already experienced that?
Sure in the past i’ve made live shows, as guitarist or lead singer, from hardcore style to sludge death…Ideal show is : adrenaline and a great soundcheck. The musicians partnership and fusion is also necessary, but it’s better to think that you’re in this case when you’re close to start the show haha. No matter if there are 20 or 500 people : they’ve come to see and hear you, give your best, don’t care about the rest !!
What attributes do you think that a new Death Metal Band should have in order to gain identity and be unique?
Oh ! Another picky question ! haha, also very personal, as we all have different ways of perception and conception. Some people will be like “ we do death, so we are badass guys, dark, not funny, and we love satanic things”. Some others could say “ we do death, we’re not important because our music is, so let’s create an occult universe and make rising old demons and let the dead live out of their graves”. Maybe it’s like a cliché/shortcut, but in the end, one thing matters : sincerity. Whatever you believe in one thing or into another, just make it well, and not to attract people trying to be inside their heads. Also Logo,artwork and graphic design, will oftenly hit people before their listening, so don’t forget to take care about it, it’s your universe, your creations, a part of your identity, like the sound…
Do you believe that Digital Platforms help the new Death Metal Bands? Which, do you think, is the ideal way for a band to promote its work?
Of course, every kind of media can help, it depends how and if it fits with your music and vision. Like said previously, nowadays, tons of music is streamed, and actual generations are not necessarily into the physical purchases, it’s a generational story now, we have to deal with it. No matter while the diffusion is good and bands can be known around the globe. If someone wants to support more, he’ll take merchandise to the band instead of ingesting massive numeric datas.. Digital platforms are tools,and we need to learn how to use it without staying in confrontation with it..
Tell us a few things about the New Underground Metal Scene in France (Bands, Fanzines, Webzines, Metal Clubs etc.)
Sure, with pleasure, we got a great underground scene in France, and activists too. My interest mostly goes for Death and Black one,bands that i could recommend for a listening are (releases from Crypt of Dr Gore of course haha), Pénitence Onirique, Hyrgal, BA’A,Certa Mortis, Vertige, Spheres, Gummo,Voorhees, Truie, Scorn, Wintermoon, impossible to list everyone haha. Some examples of great DM and BM bands, evolving independent or via labels with a huge devotion. We also got great webzines, like Thrashocore, Core and Co, underground section from Hard Force called “label et les bêtes”, Acta Infernalis…Fanzines are not legions, but Crypt of Dr Gore got one, Nonoise Nogood, l’Antre des Damnés…are some well known here. If you look after a solid roster and releases, you can go to Drakkar Productions,Osmose productions, releasing a lot of underground bands from France (and around the world too), supporting the scene for close to 30 years now… Also some active others labels for the underground are Cabale prod,Transcendance,L’armée de la mort…
Do you know anything about the Hellenic Metal Scene?
I know some things, yes haha, there are some killer bands in the Hellenic scene. Dead Congregation, Ectoplasma, Rotting Christ, Varathron, Septic Flesh, Nadiwrath, Spectral Lore, Yoth Iria…the sound and the identity of the Hellenic scene is strong, and very pleasant…Have to admit that Dead Congregation, Ectoplasma and Nadiwrath are my favorites, each different, but so powerful, and songs easily stay in mind,and ask the mind to blast it again..!! Also, when I've officially launched another of my bands ( Tattva); I've discovered a great guy leading his own band, Apocalyptic Leaders, mixing of black death sound, and the identity in the riffing is immediately recognized…there is a Hellenic Touch!!
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?
Honestly, it has been so weird,disgusting, we all wanna forget this, but it’s a part of how the world is now, and also some people habits change…Lot of artists, labels, scene has been impacted on different degrees, and we can see how human kind is complex and not as adaptative as the nature is. On negative aspect, yeah sure the side “i fear you, you got a cold and you could be a problem” in social life was exhausting (you have to relax until it’s not the bubonic pest or the pox), doing the basics things was also a pain, movements of panic, stress for some people afraid by many war speech from politicians and scientists, emergency profits from pseudo scientists with shity and silly alternative medicine and beliefs…of course you have the responsibility to care about each others, but your body have also to become stronger by not living into a bubble, and YOU have to think by yourself and not by the other ones…so the good point is this **** is behind. Positive aspect? Sure yes…more time to listen and make music..!! and also to take deep breaths outside, while Nature was taking back some of their rights, far from humans making perpetual disasters with pollution, massive city traffic and urbanization…
What are your future plans?
Right now? writing and recording the successor of Aberration…! With the addition of Seb MOKY, we’re going to make something great, increasing our vision and personality through the sound. We’ll drop stuff in 2024, it’s too early to speak about it now, but it’s gonna be…putrid and visceras are gonna sparkling on the floor !!! We’re currently in the writing sequence, testing and experimenting, to find the best way to express our vision and feelings we want to spread. We got a big passion and culture about horror movies from the 80/90’s. We want to use it as an additional weapon and create sounds around our convergent ideas and desires. Seb got the pencil, the voice, I got the music, so don’t doubt we’ll do something magically disgusting !
Thank you very much for your time & keep up the good work! The closure is yours.
Big thanks to you also, it was a pleasure to respond to these questions, and exchange! Keep your eyes peeled for this new year, HOROH has a lot to say and we’ll be present, my thoughts for all the people who have supported HOROH for this album, and like the great Pile Driver would say “stay ugly !“ No mercy for the Damned !!
By Steve the Filthy Dog.
HOROH CONTACT:
https://www.facebook.com/Horohdm
https://www.instagram.com/horoh_dm/
CRYPT OF DR. GORE CONTACT:
https://sites.google.com/view/cryptofdrgore/merch-distro/c-o-d-g-releases
https://www.facebook.com/cryptofdrgore
https://www.instagram.com/cryptofdrgore/