Interview with TORVUS
Welcome to the FILTHY DOGS OF METAL Webzine.
Tell us a few things about TORVUS (Members, Starting Year etc).
We started in 2016, with Joey McTorvus (guitar/vocals) and our former drummer Bill Cunniff, who named the band. We started as a sludgey death/doom metal band, but have since come cover more melodic territory. We have gone through various lineup changes throughout the past years, with the most recently additions being Bileh Dougsiyeh (drums) and Jake Kimberley (guitar) as of now, it is myself (Joey), Jake Kimberley, and Bileh Dougsiyeh.
In 2021 you released your demo ''Dead Seasons''. What was the feedback from your audience as well as from the press?
It went over quite well. That demo showcased the progression of our sound early on and while the production quality and songwriting was quite low-fi, it seemed to do well. Received some interest from labels as well as some reviews from well known webzines. A lot of our fans also complemented the new sound direction. As a band though, we felt that the songs were too underdeveloped and the production was too rough.
Label or DIY and why?
DIY at the moment, when we find a label, we want to make sure that they are curated to the genre that we play in, instead of just some random metal label.
You are going to release your new album ''Words Within''. Tell us a few things about this project.
It is a further progression of this new sound we have been going for. As a record, the songs are all just as diverse as they need to be without it sounding incohesive. The overarching sound of the record is a mixture of traditional doom metal, as well as gothic rock, heavy metal, black metal, hard rock, sludge, and so on. And of course, the overall atmosphere of the record is devastating.
Is there any funny or weird story from the recordings or from your live shows that you would like to share with us?
The funniest that I can think of was when we stopped at a fast food drive thru after a show while we were on tour, and gave the drive thru cashier a hit of our weed.
Do you prefer Vinyl, Tape, CD or Digital Format and why is that?
I personally prefer CD. I am constantly on the go so listening to CDs in my car happens to be one of my favorite pastimes. Also the feeling of being able to physically possess an album you love, is a feeling I have chased after since I was a kid.
Your music style is Gothic Doom Metal. Which are your main influences (Favourite Artists / Bands etc.)
We like everything from Paradise Lost, to Sentenced, My Dying Bride, Sisters of Mercy, Slowdive, King Crimson, Varathron, Woods of Ypres, Steely Dan and Black Sabbath. We like a lot of things.
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 don’t think we have really had to make any major sacrifices as a band. Though, I am a firm believer in the idea that in order to succeed, you need to work for it. You need to devote more time and attention to your craft than most would think in order to succeed, so I would say that sacrificing a lot of your leisure time is something that often happens with successful bands.You really have to have the drive in order to succeed in this industry, it won’t fall in your lap otherwise.
Describe your ideal live show as a performance band. Have you already experienced that?
It would be nice to bring some theatricality to our future live performances. I would like to have life-sized props on stage with us.
What attributes do you think that a new Doom Metal Band should have in order to gain identity and be unique?
More clean vocals. More influences from outside the metal realm.
Do you believe that Digital Platforms help the new Doom Metal Bands? Which, do you think, is the ideal way for a band to promote its work?
I think in this day in age digital platforms are a necessity. Obviously physical formats have made a comeback, but most people, upon hearing a new band, will hear them first through some digital platform before they decide to buy your CD or tape. I’d say the best way to gain publicity for me has been through Youtube, as there are more metalheads than you could imagine on Youtube constantly searching for new bands to support, and we could just happen to be one of them.
Do you see any differences between the US Metal Market & the EU Metal Market (Labels, Bands, Fans etc)?
Yes. Seems like in terms of genre, Europe is more accepting of what we do. Aside from a select few bands to come out in the last decade, such as Unto Others, there just aren’t a lot of gothic metal bands back home in the States. I have always considered Europe as the best place to present our music since so many of our influences have come from there, such as Katatonia, Sentenced, Paradise Lost, and so on.
Tell us a few things about the New Underground Metal Scene in Washington, D.C. / Maryland (Bands, Fanzines, Webzines, Metal Clubs etc.)
There is a great scene here, some cool webzines are DCMetal, Deathwaves, etc. A lot of great bands include Goetia, Cemetery Sex, Desolus, Caustic Casanova, Nuclear Tomb, and so on. Those are some of my favorites.
Do you know anything about the Hellenic Metal Scene?
Well, I grew up on Hellenic Black Metal. Bands like Rotting Christ, Varathron, Necromantia, and so on have always been favorites of mine. As far as the Greek Metal Scene in general, I am not too familiar, though I have close Greek friends back home who always insist on me visiting Greece since the scene is apparently thriving over there, haha.
The last 4 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?
This affected us pretty negatively at the time. We were in the process of recording our second full-length, “The Innate Disease”, during the second wave of Covid. It unfortunately caused us to rush a little bit through the process to finish.
What are your future plans?
Nation-wide tour in the fall, as well as recording a new record after this one is released, ASAP.
Thank you very much for your time & keep up the good work! The closure is yours.
Thank you so much for the interview! To all our Greek friends and followers, we hope to come overseas and play in Greece sometime soon! Thank you.
By Steve the Filthy Dog.
TORVUS CONTACT:
https://www.facebook.com/torvusband
https://www.instagram.com/_torvus_/
https://torvusmd.bigcartel.com/
https://torvus.bandcamp.com/music
https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kHDWe0xiCfV6uMrSUEh8S