Interview with DEATHCOLLECTOR

Hi guys! With members from various established bands such as Bolt Thrower and Memoriam, how does DeathCollector bring a fresh and unique sound to the death metal genre?
Mick: We’re not out to reinvent the wheel, we’re out to make music for ourselves first and foremost. Anyone else that enjoys the music after that is a positive. Yes, Andy was the drummer for those bands and it would be very easy to rehash music in that vein but what’s the point in doing that when both bands have music out there already. What got the ball rolling with writing music for DeathCollector was our mutual love and appreciation for all things Death Metal/Punk and Hardcore. Music that people can bang their heads to. We take those influences and put our own individual touches on the music with how each member plays their instrument.

What sets Death’s Toll apart from other death metal albums that have been released in recent years? From your point of view.
Mick: From my point of view, compared to modern day death metal, there isn’t a reliance on blastbeats or virtuoso technique in our music, in fact, there’s no blast beats in our music. The songs are based around hooks and catchy songwriting to get listeners attention, not speed or technique.
Kieran: The album is honest and doesn’t hide behind air-tight production, grid locking, triggers and programming, this album sounds like we would live, raw, heavy and human.

The album’s lyrics explore dark themes such as addiction and mortality. Can you tell us more about the inspiration behind these themes and how they relate to your music?
Kieran: Death’s Toll covers all aspects of life’s toll on us until death finally claims us. Be it drugs, violence, mental health, disease and our actions in life. the being in the art represents the gatekeeper to the underworld who acts as a mirror and embodies all above as a final reflection for a moment of acceptance or judgment before moving on.

Could you walk us through your song writing and recording process for Death’s Toll? How did each member contribute to the final product?
Mick: I live in Limerick, Ireland and the rest of DeathCollector live in the UK so all songwriting is done remotely. I will write some riffs and record them to a click on my DAW and once I have about 3 or 4 riffs together, I will assemble them into some sort of an arrangement and will send an audio file to Andy so that he can start working on drumbeats. This can go on for about a week or 2 with each song with just working solely on rhythms and drums so we can zone in on sections and figure them out and make the transitions tighter. Once Andy and I have the skeleton of the song together (rhythm tracks/drums) we then send them onto Lee to put his bass lines over it and then onto Kieran so that he can start working on the lyrics and vocal patterns. Once that’s done, I’ll figure out the guitar solos and any additional guitar parts such as harmonies or layers, it’s the same process for every song. We have a Drive folder that we share amongst ourselves which we use for songwriting. Given the fact that we live in different countries, this is the only way that we can write music. It seems to work well so far. For the recording of the album, Andy recorded his drums at a studio in Birmingham with scratch guitar tracks that I had prepared in advance. Once I got the finished drum tracks, I recorded my guitars in a studio here in Limerick with Ciaran Culhane handling the engineering duties. Lee and Kieran recorded their parts at their home studios and the entire project was mixed and mastered by Gord Olson (Darkened). Gord was very instrumental in how this album turned out and we’re all very proud of the end result. I cannot recommend his services enough.

The album features a mix of old-school and modern death metal sounds. How did you balance these influences and create a cohesive sound for the album?
Kieran: As mentioned before we did not set out to make music to pander to a certain style we just went with whatever we came out with, so we happened to inherently have old school death metal elements due to the pedigree and experience of the members among others and no one sound is prioritized.

Can you share any memorable moments or challenges that arose during the recording process of Death’s Toll?
Mick: There was one part that springs to mind when I was tracking my guitars that makes me laugh now in hindsight. I had just finished tracking all my guitars and I was fried mentally and physically. I sent on a rough version of “A Taste of Ichor” to the lads and Lee kindly informed me that I was playing one of the riffs incorrectly, one note was out. So, after a mini meltdown and cursing Lee’s name, I went back in and retracked that song.

“A Taste of Ichor” has received positive feedback from fans and critics alike. Can you tell us more about the inspiration behind the song and how it fits into the overall album?
Kieran: ‘A Taste of Ichor’ is about substance abuse and addiction and how we frame it to be like “the nectar of the gods” to feel invincible and carefree but without it we are mortal, insignificant, weak and scared of the world in our unconsented reality and is just a chapter of the beings mirrored experience.

What can fans expect from your live shows, both in terms of your stage presence and the overall experience?
Kieran: Gritty heavy D beat death metal and attitude, people will walk away satisfied after hearing the songs live as they were on album, and importantly we love our fans/supporters, and you can fully expect us to be walking around after and chatting to everyone.

As a new band, what are your goals for the future of DeathCollector? Are there any particular venues, festivals, or collaborations that you are hoping to work towards?
Mick: Personally, I’d like to take this on the festival circuit. I’d like to start it out with maybe some club gigs around the UK and Ireland and see how it progresses after that. Anyone that wants to talk to us about doing some gigs or festivals, get in touch with us through our socials.
Kieran: I just want to play live and make music, I’m already living the dream, whatever comes I can’t wait.

The band is made up of members from various countries (UK and Ireland). How has this affected your ability to work together and promote the album?
Mick: The distance hasn’t hindered our ability to work together at all, in fact it is quite easy doing stuff remotely as the tools to do so are at our disposable. We have met up a couple of times to rehearse, I flew to Birmingham, met the guys and we played in a room for a couple of days and it was very productive and quite easy to play the songs because of the way we work remotely, the songs are fresh in your head because they are already on our Drive account in mp3 format. Promoting stuff is very easy too. We keep in touch on messenger and keep each other in the loop with what’s going on and when we are going to share stuff online so that it has the biggest impact online once shared.

DeathCollector’s image is dark and intense. Can you discuss the importance of visual art and aesthetic in the death metal genre, and how you approached designing the album cover and other artwork?
Kieran: I have done all the art and overall look for DeathCollector so far and I wanted to portray a simple and colour coded theme so we are easier to recognize in the malaise of brutal and disgusting art that’s typically associated with death metal.

Are there any particular themes or messages that you hope fans take away from listening to Death’s Toll?
Kieran: Life is finite and every action you have and make affects you and will leave a toll on your body, mind and soul. Choose wisely.

How do you feel about the current state of the death metal genre, and where do you see it heading in the future?
Mick: Death Metal is in very good shape. Legacy acts heading back out on the road performing genre defining albums to sold out audiences, dedicated Death Metal festivals all over the world, very consistent and quality albums being released on a weekly basis from bands all over the world… Death Metal is going nowhere for a very long time.

Can you tell us about any other projects or collaborations that you have in the works, or any other music that you are currently listening to and drawing inspiration from? Thank you!
Mick: At present, I am in the middle of recording guitars for the next Zealot Cult album, our follow up to 2018’s “Spiritual Sickness” so I am still in recording mode. Listening wise, I’m still stuck in the past haha! Still listening to all the Death Metal stuff from 1991 plus loads of Bad Brains, GBH, Exploited, Discharge, ENT, Napalm Death. So yeah, my listening tastes haven’t changed in 30 years.
Kieran: My main band Ashen Crown is currently writing its second album and we have started on album 2 for DeathCollector so exciting to see that progression. I have a wide taste in music so I’m drawing influence from loads like Undeath, Frozen Soul, Thy Catafalque, Cattle Decapitation, Leeched, Author & Punisher etc.