Interview - THE GROTESQUERY

Martín: Hi there! Your debut album is out now; tell us about the beginning of THE GROTESQUERY and the birth of “Tales of the Coffin Born”.

Kam Lee: THE GROTESQUERY was an idea of both Rogga Johansson and myself started up the post production work on the BONE GNAWER "FEAST OF FLESH" debut album. We had talks about doing another band with some different ideas then had been presented in BONE GNAWER. One was to be able to do lyrics and themes that were in a more darker tone and concept wise direction then what was done in BONE GNAWER, and also to be able to bring a very dark and morbid atmosphere and tone into the themes. BONE GNAWER for the most part is lyrically based on gore and horror films as well as themes that deal with serial killers and cannibalism. It's also done with a very campy - tongue-in-cheek type of sensibility, and not to be taken too serious at times. However, with THE GROTESQUERY... we wanted to take and do themes that are not only serious, but also have a solid formation and cohesive direction. We wanted it to be based very much on the supernatural, the occult, and paranormal, but have these themes of black magick, necromancy, and have an over all classic gothic horror feelings.
I primarily based the lyrics from a story I had been trying to write for the past few years. Something I had originally intended to make into a movie script, or perhaps a plot for a graphic novel... but found that they fit best for the ideas for THE GROTESQUERY album, and we decided to make the album into both a death metal album as well as an audio horror tale of sorts.

M: The sound of the album remains the spirit of the Old School with a clear new sound. Who did the production duties? How were the recording sessions?

KL: The over all production was all done by Ronnie Bjornstrom at his studio Enhanced Audio Production in Sweden. Ronnie also produced the BONE GNAWER album, and is also the guitarist in the band BONE GNAWER. However... my vocal recordings sessions, as well as the intros and sound effects design was done by engineer/fellow musician Rob Reider here in Orlando, Florida at Full Sail studios. Rob is also the bassist in my 'horror punk' band CRYPTIDZ, and has been my personal engineer on both the BONE GNAWER and THE GROTESQUERY albums. It's a collaborated effort... with many talented people involved, putting together their best efforts to bring out the very best in the over all sound and quality of the album.

M: The lyrics in the album are related with dark stories and macabre tales. What is the story behind “Tales of the Coffin Born”? Which were your influences in the writing process?
KL: It's a dark gothic horror story. It reflects the evil deeds of a desperate man in order to save his 'coffin born' child from death. With the use of necromancy and forbidden black magick, the man conjures forth the dark forces of death and shadow, and thus makes a ghastly deal. In oreder to perserve his son's life... he is forced to take life. In order to let his son live year after year... the father must kill and murder. For every life the father takes it gives another year for the son to live. But - as the years pass... the father becomes obssessed with murder, and his son becomes a living grotesquery. Lurking in the shadows, feeding off of the blood of his father's victims, and morbidly become fascinated with the dead. it takes place in a timeline of about 20 something years, and get's more and more horrific and bizarre as time goes on, until finally in the end self destruction and firery mayhem takes it all down. I am highly influenced by writers like H.P. Lovecraft, Edgar Allen Poe and others as these types of classic gothic horror authors tales of madness and the macabre really influenced my work.

M: Talking about Death Metal in general, is it difficult to find inspiration writing always about death, darkness, suffering and stuff like that?

KL: I always find inspiration from horror stories... in books, movies, and even video games. These horror genre related ideas that I put into my music and lyrics all stem from works of fiction that give me my own inspiration. But some of my lyrics also stem from "real life horrors" such as with BONE GNAWER, many themes are based on serial killers and true crime stories. However- with THE GROTESQUERY... like I said above... the horrors of fiction writers such as H.P. Lovecraft and Edgar Allan Poe really influenced my writing of the story.
Although fictional horror doesn't even compair to the true horrors of the world today.
Just turn on the News and everyday you can find a glorified horror show... war, famine, destruction, natural disasters are all around us.
Death, dying, and darkness are all a part of everyday life for over half of the world. And News casters always seem to "glorify" death and dying more so then actual death and horror that bands do.
Most humans luckey enough to live in the comfort of a stable society and country without the inner problems of war, famine, and destruction everyday - they tend to shy away from these things... but for some people who have to be living in parts of the world that are under constant fire - horror, death, killing and dying is a way of life.
It's either from guns and bombs, insane weather conditions, serial killers and paedophiles on the streets, drug addicted crack heads murdering and robbing someone for $10.00 in the ghettos... or even the corrupt governments of third world countries... whatever the "horror" is for these people - these people live day by day with horror.
To understand death - to live with death - it is not for the dead... but for the living. We all find different ways of dealing with subjects of death and dying. Some tend to keep it at bay by not thinking about it... not facing it, but the truth is death awaits us all.
Others like myself... I tend to face death head on... I tend to try and understand what it is about death and dying that so many fear.
But overall... it's the thrill... the excitement that horror brings with it. The adrenaline rush of being on a horror thrill ride...or the hidden mystery behind the darker clandestine secrets of a cult... either way it's all a rush, and I can never stop.
Horror is my addiction... horror is my drug. And music is the needle that I use to inject it into myself!



M: The album has an amazing artwork, who is the artist behind the cover?

KL: Turkka Rantanen is the artist, and his skills in capturing the feeling and over all atmosphere for the TALES OF THE COFFIN BORN is just dead-on! His work... not only on the cover art, but inside the booklet layout is just awesome. And I would like to always work with Turkka on future album for THE GROTESQUERY, as he was also a great thrill to work with as well as a very accomplished artist.

M: Many extreme bands are making videos to promote its songs. It could be cool to film a short movie based in the story of the album. Are you planning something like that?

KL: It would be cool indeed... however, we would need to see where the budget for such an adventure would come from... And I just don't think the label has this type of money. Making an album is one thing, but making a "movie" is a whole other process, and the budget would be really alot alot alot of money in order to make this story transfer over into a visual media to be done as a movie. However this would need to be multi - million dollar affair, and I don't even know anyone willing to put that much money into a horror story. Not unless someone like directors such as Stephen Sommers or Peter Jackson was involved. Sure - I would be glad to have some movie making production company come in and try and make it into a full length feature, but I would have to be creatively involved, and would have to be a part of the writing process of the script.

M: Recently you finished up the work with your other project BONE GNAWER, are you guys involved in new projects?

KL: All the members are involved with other bands. Rogga has many projects under his belt... PAGANIZER, RIBSPREADER, DEMIURG, and many many more. I have BONE GNAWER and THE GROTESQUERY, but also have BROKEN GRAVESTONES, GRAVE WAX and CRYPTIDZ. Ronnie Bjornstron has his band HATE AMMO also with Morgan Lie. Morgan has NAGFLAR and other things. We are all keeping very busy with music projects and bands.

M: A difficult question: American Death Metal or European Death Metal?

KL: I don't think it's difficult question at all. I tend to like European bands more. I like the early Swedish bands, as well as some of the U.K. bands. I do like some early US bands... and some of the bands now in the US that preserve the 'true old school style'... but overall I still tend to like more of the European bands more.

M: What is your opinion about music in our days with the internet and mp3 downloads?

KL: Well... my opinion doesn't really matter in the overall view of things. But I hate the illegal downloading and the "ripp off ways" people STEAL from bands. It's unfair for the bands that work hard to try and make music... now days most of the bands have to finance their own recordings and pay out of pocket for their own merchandise. So when a faggot thief goes online and illegally downloads music - they are stealing the music... they steal from the bands... they aren't any better then a crook that breaks into your home and steals from you. Because it is in fact stealing from the profit that the bands and their members have to sacrifice and pay out of pocket in order to create and bring out their music to the world.
However... the internet has also helped out in ways that conventional ways could not do before.
For example: I could not be doing these bands like BONE GNAWER and THE GROTESQUERY and many other bands that I do now... if not for the technology of today. The fact that we can send MP3 and Wave file back and forth thru e-mails to one another has helped with aiding the making of bands like BONE GNAWER and THE GROTESQUERY possible.
So - it's a double edge sword that cuts from both ends. it's good for something... and bad for others.

M: Thank you very much for your time. Here you have space to write what you want as farewell.

KL: Thank you for the interview, and thanks for the support! Cheerz and Fearz!

http://www.myspace.com/thegrotesquery
http://www.myspace.com/bonegnawerband