Interview with UNITED CORPSES
!!!BLACK METALPUNK FROM CZECHIA!!!
Welcome to the FILTHY DOGS OF METAL Webzine.
Tell us a few things about UNITED CORPSES (Members, Starting Year etc).
Hi, we are United Corpses from Pilsen and Holoubkov (Bohemia). The band name is inspired by well known S.O.D. song. Most of our songs deal with death so that´s why the corpses. Current line-up is Fanda on vocals, Vápno on drums and me (Krtek) on guitars. We don´t have a bass player, we use playback instead of it. Corpses were born in 2018 on the ashes of a previous punk band Demöralyzér, founding members were me and Vápno. A friend of mine recommended us Fanda - shy metalhead who becomes vocal beast after few beers. We use to have a bass player for a short time - also a guy from previous band, but he wanted to create his own music so he left us.
You have recently released your album ''Ve smrti jednotni''. What is the feedback from your audience as well as from the press?
We did not get much feedback yet, just a few copies of our album were sold till now, some of them went abroad. We have one positive review from Thrash or die webzine (thanx!). Our album was published on some youtube channels (New wave of old school thrash metal, Psyfrost) and it helped us a lot to spread our music. Before the album there were two demos recorded in our rehearsal room. First demo was released physically on a tape. Maybe some people would prefer more raw sound of the demos than clean studio sound of the album, we will see soon.
Label or DIY and why?
Our album is DIY, I don´t want to beg at label owners. If someone would give us offer then it is fine.
Is there any funny or weird story from the recordings or from your live shows that you would like to share with us?
Once we played with a french band (I forgot the name) who called their music suicidal black metal. After their show everything was covered in fake blood, their singer looked like he is possessed by some fucking demon. After the show he returned back to his human form, gave us hugs, it was kinda schizophrenic. Fortunately no one was hurt :).
Do you prefer Vinyl, Tape, CD or Digital Format and why is that?
Personally I prefer vinyl, it is some kind of fetishism. I have some CDs too - they do not steal too much space like vinyl records. I don´t like tapes - when recorder decides to chew the tape, you are lost and your album too. Digital format is ok, does not steal any physical space.
Your music style is Black MetalPunk. Which are your main influences (Favourite Artists / Bands etc.)
I am not much into black metal, just the first wave. I prefer to call our music metal punk or horror punk metal. I am not into satanism or satanic revolt, turned crosses, pentagrams and this shit. But I admit our music is dark, but there is also fun in our lyrics. My main influences: Exploited, Zeke, Törr, Šanov, later Entombed, GISM, GBH, Gehennah, Driller killer, Black sabbath, Deathammer, Motörhead, Toxic holocaust and more. Fanda is into speed and heavy metal, Vápno into black metal.
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 know, since I have family and kids I had to sacrifice most of my hobbies and the band is the only hobby which remained. So maybe you have to sacrifice your family to become famous, haha. That was just a joke but as I know some musicians, their personal lives are just a bloody mess, so I think they sacrificed a lot.
Describe your ideal live show as a performance band. Have you already experienced that?
Ideal live show - cool sound engineer, small club, no assholes at the gig, no politics, free beer.
What attributes do you think that a new MetalPunk Band should have in order to gain identity and be unique?
Maybe not just to copy your favourite bands, bring some more elements from other styles, create own artwork, sing in native language....
Do you believe that Digital Platforms help the new MetalPunk Bands? Which, do you think, is the ideal way for a band to promote its work?
Digital platforms may help but on the other hand we are flooded with new bands in the era of internet. We are overfed a little bit. When I was a kid it was much more difficult to get the music you like. The best way is to play gigs and spread it to the world by all means possible. But you must not loose your dignity or your face when you do this.
Tell us a few things about the New Underground Metal Scene in Czechia (Bands, Fanzines, Webzines, Metal Clubs etc.)
There is a cool metal club in Pilsen - Parlament. It is run by dedicated people with passion for the music and style. They also organize Armageddon of decibels fest in Pilsen. I am not big expert in todays czech scene but here are few interesting bands - Doupov (thrash), Middledark (heavy thrash), 1000 bombs (thrash death), Umbrtka (black metal), Stíny plamenů (black metal), Laid to waste (thrash speed), Exorcizphobia (thrash), Gotterdammerung (thrash), Hejtman (deathnroll), Commander (thrash). Some webzines that I know: Thrash or die, Fobia. Paper fanzines: Pařát. Festivals: Armageddon of decibels, Kafest, Nice to eat you, Czech death fest, Metalová brusírna, Obscene extreme, Brutal assault.
Do you know anything about the Hellenic Metal Scene?
I know some big names like Rotting Christ, Septic Flesh or Varathron. I have few vinyl records from Greek underground in my collection - Violent Definition LP, I want you dead LP, V8 carburetor EP and maybe some bands, that I don´t know they are from Greece :) The problem is your alphabet, I have to learn it so I can read the band names :)
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?
Everything turned for the worse, Europe is not a safe place at the moment, people in power play their puppet games, people hate each other. It is totally fucked and it is not the end yet. The positive effect of this shit is that it forces you to focus on important aspects of life. Anyway I am afraid a lot of future know.
What are your future plans?
Play more gigs out of our hometown, write and play new songs and to find a good bass player :)
Thank you very much for your time & keep up the good work! The closure is yours.
Thank you for your interest and for giving us space on your webzine. Keep up good work too! We hope to play in Greece once! Go to gigs, support underground bands and listen to metal and punk! Cheers from Bohemia.
By Steve the Filthy Dog.
UNITED CORPSES CONTACT:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063260016746
https://www.instagram.com/united_corpses/
https://unitedcorpses.bandcamp.com/