Purity Interview
One of the best death metal initiations of 2005, Purity (The Darwinian Paradox), instantly made London-based D?m an band to watch. On their Candlelight Records debut, the highly skilled group showcases a strong measure of texture and dynamics, yet their music features enough overpowering brutality to suffice any Death or Carcass listener. The Gauntlet catches up with the band to follow up on the latest happenings surrounding this mandatory release.
The Gauntlet: How do you feel about the press' reaction to your new album "Purity (The Darwinian Paradox)?
D?m: Well so far it has overall been quite positive. This is encouraging if you consider that we are a 'newcomer' in the public eye and think about how blase the music press can be. One thing that stands out in most of the reviews is that, whether they 'got it' or not, the overwhelming majority of reviewers saw us as doing our own thing and having our own sound.
The Gauntlet: After three demo recordings, how does it feel to sign to a reputable label, Candlelight Records?
D?m: Great. It was a real vindication of our efforts. We actually got approached by Candlelight when Samoth who got our CD through a package we sent to his NAP label recommended us. Given that Emperor is one of those bands we all grew up listening to this is also quite a big deal for us.
The Gauntlet: What are the titles of those other demos, and where can people purchase those?
D?m: 'mymindisyourhell' - 1999; 'Come to Dust' - 2001; 'City of Envy' 2002. They are not for sale at this present time, but I suppose may be released eventually. If you're very lucky you might be able to get a copy from someone who owns them.
The Gauntlet: The word d?m means "blood" in Hebrew. How did you come across this word? Why did you decide to name your band this word?
D?m: Blood has a lot of associations and connotations, good and bad, all quite fundamental. They touch everyone and everyone relates to the reality of blood in some way in some way. To call your band 'Blood' is kind of obvious for a metal band and brings up the wrong kind of image. 'd?m' on the other hand is more esoteric, opaque, obscure - you have to investigate it a bit more to understand what and why and how.
The Gauntlet: How does your Candlelight debut album "Purity (The Darwinian Paradox)" compare to your demo material?
D?m: Overall the work feels more refined without completely losing the roughness that characterized the demos. A lot of the songs are songs from these demos re-recorded and made 'album worthy'. The newer tracks incorporate new elements and hint at different musical directions. There is a real conscious sense of dynamics that we infused the record with that is quite difficult to impart to a three-track CD. The track order was very important of course but the interstitial pieces also play an important part in the realisation of this idea.
The Gauntlet: What does your album title mean? Does the human heart on the album's cover help convey the idea behind your album's title? Is this a photograph of a real heart?
D?m: It is a real human fetal heart.
The Gauntlet: Biographical articles about d?m state that Death, Carcass, Emperor, and At the Gates influence you. The references to Death, Carcass, and At the Gates are easy to pick out, but I do not hear the Emperor influence. Are there any songs parts where you pay homage to the "Black Wizards?"
D?m: All the bands we state as influences play some part in the creation of our music, whether obvious or not. An influence can be exerted in terms of the aesthetic of the music without the influence necessarily revealing itself in the notes or the rhythm. If you want an obvious black metal/Emperor moment, try the distorted chord soundscape after the clean opening of 'Body Temples of Sorrow'. A more furious example of this kind of influence is the rapid open chord section with blasting and screaming vocals half-way through 'Frightening and Obscene'
The Gauntlet: Speaking of influences, what was your reaction when you found out Chuck Schuldiner of Death passed away?
D?m: Utterly gutted. All of us. We all thought he was going to get better and make more albums and go on tour again. Same goes for Quorthon. And Dimebag. And Piggy. Actually the past few years haven't been too kind to metal pioneers.
The Gauntlet: At the album's end, you cover Carcass' "Forensic Clinicism/The Sanguine Article." Out of all the great Carcass songs, why did you choose to play this one?
D?m: It's simply a great song we all learnt jamming in rehearsals. It also has that great chugging middle8 ish riff towards the end. It just utterly kicks arse.
The Gauntlet: Metalcore is becoming the most popular form of heavy metal in the United States. Many people lump Gothenburg, Sweden bands like At the Gates and Dark Tranquility into the metalcore category, even though the Swedish bands were playing this style long before metalcore existed. Does d?m every get erroneously lumped into this category?
D?m: Not yet. I would be quite surprised if we ever were but nothing is impossible especially in music.
The Gauntlet: Was it difficult for Daniel to take over bass-playing duties when Erik left the band? How did he make that transition?
D?m: Long before Erik joined the band, Daniel was our bass player. It wasn't really difficult for him. He's good.
The Gauntlet: You have toured with some of the biggest names in death metal like Entombed, Decapitated, and the melodic death metal group-Detonation. How do you feel about your performances along side those genre-leading groups? What was the best show you played?
D?m: It was probably the last show on that tour in Halle. We were really on form. The show went really well, we were using great amps and the crowd really responded to us.
The Gauntlet: Can we expect to see d?m set out on a national tour sometime soon?
D?m: If you mean 'National' as 'UK' then we already did tour the UK fairly extensively with Decapitated. We do have plans to play further dates in 2006. Check the site for further updates.
The Gauntlet: Any plans to tour the States?
D?m: Ask the label. Maybe for our second or third album.