Interview with Suffer Yourself

[endemoniada_88]

Read the interview here:

http://doom-metal.com/interviews.php?entry=1757.

[klamerin]

Great interview! I loved the in-depth information about Rip Tide, as it is such a fantastic album=-)

[baphomet]

The first song of this album is hard to swallow. It start like a -certainly- upper-class death doom track a la Fuoco Fatuo and then verges onto something that develops odd cavernous dynamics, extraordinarily hypnotic. Still, I would have like to hear more adventurous, less expected moves in this grand opening number that has lost quite a bit of finesse. Finesse that the second song restores with brilliance. There's like a gap in atmosphere that I can't really understand. And then, the third track, that is pure ambient. Good stuff, But I 'd rather have that kind of sound permeate the whole album... All in all, I'd have liked it more daring...

[LastInquisitor]

The first song of this album is hard to swallow. It start like a -certainly- upper-class death doom track a la Fuoco Fatuo and then verges onto something that develops odd cavernous dynamics, extraordinarily hypnotic. Still, I would have like to hear more adventurous, less expected moves in this grand opening number that has lost quite a bit of finesse. Finesse that the second song restores with brilliance. There's like a gap in atmosphere that I can't really understand. And then, the third track, that is pure ambient. Good stuff, But I 'd rather have that kind of sound permeate the whole album... All in all, I'd have liked it more daring...

Interesting remarks! I personally see it quite opposite of sorts: Spit in the Chasm is kinda more experimental and "daring" for us than anything else up-to-date, while "Desir..." leans closer to our usual composing approach. You seem to lean heavier to our "romantic" side of things, if I see correctly? (for example Inner Sanctum album + most of melodic parts of Ectoplasm?)

If you could elaborate more on that...?

[Merchant of Doom]

I didn't like it at all... not the interview, the album... just boring.

[baphomet]

You seem to lean heavier to our "romantic" side of things, if I see correctly? (for example Inner Sanctum album + most of melodic parts of Ectoplasm?)

I guess you're right, I'm an inveterate romantic!

The first track's length would have allowed you to cut the heavy and gloomy mood with parts made of another stuff that would have cracked the anvil, some bends that would have opened to more fragile grounds (not necessarily 'romantic'), less organic maybe? Like ambient bits, bizarre sounds, a sudden scream? But you've favoured a more classic sound all in all (I think of Evoken too of course, Anhedonist, Indesincence... ). Mind you, I don't say your songwriting is plain and boring (unlike my esteemed colleague, but he's old and grumpy ), the guitar lines are often gorgeous and it's a fine voyage that you invite us to, but the overal sensation that I gain of it is not something as awkward and suprising as I hoped for. It's a massive block of darkness, it holds some subtleties , but obviously, it's been written to obtain that feeling of oppressiveness on which already many bands are focusing.

One thing I've come to appreciate too is when the voice steps back, and doesn't occupy all the foreground, like after 12' and the more delicate cello part, and during 4 minutes, the song imho stagnates 'cause the instruments 'just' follow the voice and it rebounds with the chugging riffing and a great ominous whispering behind a kind of ethereal guitar line, at about 17'....

[LastInquisitor]

You seem to lean heavier to our "romantic" side of things, if I see correctly? (for example Inner Sanctum album + most of melodic parts of Ectoplasm?)

I guess you're right, I'm an inveterate romantic!

The first track's length would have allow you to cut the heavy and gloomy mood with parts made of another stuff that would have crack the anvil, some bends that would have opened to more fragile grounds (not necessarily 'romantic'), less organic maybe? Like ambient bits, bizarre sounds, a sudden scream? But you've favoured a more classic sound all in all (I think of Evoken too of course, Anhedonist, Indesincence... ). Mind you, I don't say your songwriting is plain and boring (unlike my esteemed colleague, but he's old and grumpy ), the guitar lines are often gorgeous and it's a fine voyage that you invite us to, but the overal sensation that I gain of it is not something as awkward and suprising as I hoped for. It's a massive block of darkness, it holds some subtleties , but obviously, it's been written to obtain that feeling of oppressiveness on which already many bands are focusing.

One thing I've come to appreciate too is when the voice steps back, and doesn't occupy all the foreground, like after 12' and the more delicate cello part, and during 4 minutes, the song imho stagnates 'cause the instruments 'just' follow the voice and it rebounds with the chugging riffing and a great ominous whispering behind a kind of ethereal guitar line, at about 17'....

Yes, I got what you mean! Thanks for compliments and notes around!
I would say, I deliberately wanted to step away a bit from eeriness which previous works had and to embrace that impending riffing more. I may say here we swapped "ethereal" with "dark and heavy", of sorts? The desire was to shift focus a bit from ambience, as there is plenty of that stuff around too - to a feel of evil, dark, commenced through appropriate riffing and dynamics.
Later work after Rip Tide will give you "weird, sick and heavy" (consider that a spoiler) - that's almost completed btw.

Though I did not gave up experimental and ambient part as such, not at all. There would be works with that too.

P.S. I got blown away by Merchant's opinion too, he seemed to like our previous stuff...

[klamerin]

For me the best parts are the fragile melodic lines in the background - I love the juxtaposition between them and the heavy, thick and dark sound on top. On the other hand the chugging part at 17:30-19 is not my cup of tea at all, in general I hate chugging guitars and think that they are simply a very cheap way to create heavy and oppressive sound, but there are so many people that like them and so much bands that use them, that I've learned to tolerate them. At least you've added a nice guitar line besides so I can focus on it instead=)

But the rest of the track is suburb with the first half slightly better.

I would say, I deliberately wanted to step away a bit from eeriness which previous works had and to embrace that impending riffing more.

The eeriness from your previous works was one of the defining characteristics which separated you from the flock. Fortunately Rip Tide still has a sound of its own and is not as straightforward as Anhedonist, Indesincence, etc, but yes, I do not think that embracing impending riffs is the best way to go, so I'm looking forward to a "weird, sick and heavy" album=)

[baphomet]

so I'm looking forward to a "weird, sick and heavy" album=)

me too!

[Merchant of Doom]

P.S. I got blown away by Merchant's opinion too, he seemed to like our previous stuff...

Yes, I did like your previous stuff a lot. But somehow, this one just didn't click with me. Remember: when I say it's boring, it's boring for me. I'm not implying it's a bad album. Otherwise I would have said it was crap... Maybe I was expecting a different direction. The death/doom track is pleasant enough, but not really anything new, the "French" track starts well but then it ends up with the French speech - and I'm not fond of long speaking parts in music - and the ambient track, well, it's an ambient track! I like the recording, but overll the EP doesn't grab me.

[LastInquisitor]

Oh my gentlemen, you would hate it for sure, but we got to enjoy that rotten OSDM stuff a lot...
So that "weird, sick and heavy" may show up as Disembowelment which merged with old Esoteric in a quite gnarly way.

Well, you loose somewhere, but you gain somewhere else..
And I'm consciously keeping our signature things in place, so those will still be there ofc.
Eerie stuff may also show up

[Merchant of Doom]

Oh my gentlemen, you would hate it for sure, but we got to enjoy that rotten OSDM stuff a lot...
So that "weird, sick and heavy" may show up as Disembowelment which merged with old Esoteric in a quite gnarly way.

Well, you loose somewhere, but you gain somewhere else..
And I'm consciously keeping our signature things in place, so those will still be there ofc.
But eerie stuff may also show up

I'm still looking forward to your next full length...

[VesicaP23]

I must give Rip Tide another listen. Whilst it wasn’t disappointing it didn’t sound half as good to me as Ectoplasm. That’s still getting the odd rotation down here.