DAM Interview

Intent on thrusting the extreme sounds of death metal in to a new age, Dam lay waste to conventional, stereotypical concepts of sonic extremity with "Purity", an album filled with textured, intense sounds that will not only assault your eardrums, but your conceptions of extreme music as well.

The Gauntlet: What is it like for you to have signed with Candlelight Records? Are you happy with the way that things have turned out so far?

Nathanael Underwood: Well it has obviously made a difference. It was a real validation of our efforts when this deal came through. So far we are happy, yes. We have released an album, which is actually being promoted, and we have been put on tour.

The Gauntlet: How was it different for you to go in and record your debut album, "Purity" as compared to the three demos you had recorded in the past?

Nathanael Underwood: Recording a demo and an album are two very different things. This might sound obvious, but producing 9 or 12 songs is not simply like recording three or four demos. It was a lot more time consuming and the pressure of knowing that the final product would be released influenced our approach to quite an extent. The whole process took a lot longer and in a sense had more of a will of its own, as well as us having a lot more of an opportunity to fine tune many of the details that had previously escaped us. There are also a lot of details that, in terms of playing, hadn't evolved at the time the songs were originally recorded. Altogether this means that the album sounds and feels quite different to the original demos.

The Gauntlet: What was the most important new experience that you have had in regard to the band in the past year?

Nathanael Underwood: Well a lot of things have happened in the past year. Getting signed, suppoting some of our favourite bands, getting exposure. But the tour with Decapitated and Gorerotted would probably have to be the most radically new experience for the band. It can be quite an ordeal - when Wilson (Gorerotted) gets a bit frisky for instance. But it's a real buzz to get to play every single night in front of a new audience.

The Gauntlet: Tell us about how the band goes about putting its songs together�

Nathanael Underwood: There is no set procedure or formula. It's a question of getting enough riffs together some new some really old and combining them in a way that satisfies us. Elements of matured reflection and intricate riffs are required as well as a certain amount of spontaneity. In most cases the lyrics are added after the music, often onto a rough sketch of vocal patterns out of which some words sometimes emerge to give pointers of what the overall meaning could be.

The Gauntlet: Why do you choose to play this style of metal above others? What is it about death metal that you find to be so appealing?

Nathanael Underwood: It is not us that chooses the style, it is the style that chooses us. The way we play, the type of riffs we come up with and our musical chemistry determines our musical output. Obviously, the way we play has been greatly influenced by our record collection, which happens to include a large amount of high quality death black and thrash metal. Extreme and dark is about as far as I'd go in describing our aesthetic intentions.

The Gauntlet: Who would you consider to be the most musical member of the band and why?

Nathanael Underwood: All of us. Because we are.

The Gauntlet: Tell us a little bit about what it is like to be a part of the English metal scene�

Nathanael Underwood: Like most 'scenes' it's very bitchy. Most bands complain about it and like to consider themselves too cool to be a part of it. Many people involved in it in one way or another I personally don't really care about that. I like the fact that there people that have enthusiasm and want to be proactive. I like the fact that there is a crowd with converging interests where anyone who wishes to can participate.

The Gauntlet: If you had to compare the sound of Dam to any one band, what band would it be? What attributes do the both of the bands have most in common?

Nathanael Underwood: Well we like to think we don't sound like any one band in particular. I think that some of the contemporary bands that blend similar influences would be bands like Scarve of Gojira. The attributes we would have in common would be maybe our love of early nineties death and thrash metal like Death, Morbid Angel, At The Gates, Entombed or Sepultura.

The Gauntlet: Lyrically, the group moves between several different themes. What influences the lyrics of the group?

Nathanael Underwood: Dreams, the human condition, films, art, and generally anything that goes through my head that I feel is relevant or deserves to be committed to paper.

The Gauntlet: Does the band have a tour planned in support of the new record?

Nathanael Underwood: Well we have just come back from a European tour with Decapitated, but we are looking to book more shows.

The Gauntlet: Over the years, what do you feel is the most memorable performance the band has given to date?

Nathanael Underwood: I would say one of the most memorable ones was the last date on our recent tour with Decapitated and Gorerotted. It was at a small venue in in Halle, Germany. We played as a fivepiece. The bass player from Grind inc. who also played that night did a monstrously good job of doing our sound. The response was awesome. They asked for more. Great night. Nuff said.

The Gauntlet: Do you feel that this is a time when death metal is regaining momentum?

Nathanael Underwood: I am not sure that Death Metal is really a relevant genre in what I would understand to be its pure form. By that I mean brutal Death Metal such as Suffocation or Cannibal Corpse, or Scandinavian Death Metal such as At the Gates or Entombed in their early days.
Styles that might have been considered distinct even five years ago are mutating or merging with other genres. Bands which refuse to evolve simply stay in their niche � which is fine if that's what they want to do. It's great to see bands like Vital Remains still blasting out their old material like it's 1991 for instance. Maybe the original interpretation of the term 'Death Metal' which would include bands such as Bathory, Death or Celtic Frost, which is more concerned with a morbid, brutal and deathly aesthetic is actually more relevant these days. If that's what you mean then the answer to your question is yes.

The Gauntlet: Which bands on the British scene do you feel are most important at this time?

Nathanael Underwood: That's a tough one. To me the obvious 'new' bands would be Akercocke, Anaal Nathrakh and maybe Biomechanical. Obviously the old Earache and Peaceville bands such as Cathedral, Napalm Death or Anathema still have their place, but in terms of quality of music I find it very difficult to find anything genuinely new or exciting.

The Gauntlet: What plans does the band have for 2006?

Nathanael Underwood: Right now we are writing material for our, as yet untitled, second album. We are also looking to book more shows.