Hi! “Children of the Morgue” dives deep into the theme of death. Can you share some personal experiences or societal observations that shaped the concept of this album?
Having had a blood clot in my lung in 2002 And a stroke in 2004 I have definitely been close to the edge. My father died when I was 5 years old of cancer. He was only twenty seven. The album is basically how I see death. Death to me is a short time on earth. And Hopefully I’m wrong, But the lights go out and that’s it. No after life no reward in the end. The tale has to do with everything from The act of Dying to the act of being afraid to die. How the love ones around you deal with it. And how hard it is for some to go on When people have passed away.
DECEASED has been a constant in the evolving death metal scene. How do you feel the band’s music has grown and changed alongside the genre over the years?
We were 15 and 16-year-old when we started this band we are now in our 50s (most of us). We have learned to play Our instruments better. We’ve learned to record a little better. All of it is a lesson. We are proud that we can put all Of our musical influences In to our sound. I am personally proud of how my lyrics have Gotten better Through the years. And we are out to impress no one. We do this for us. We just want to write the best tunes we can year in and year out.
Was there a particular moment or track on “Children of the Morgue” that really pushed your vocal limits?
Not really. I kind of found where I wanted to sing And Locked Myself in. I did notice My long Screams Weren’t where I wanted them to be During the vocal recordings this time around. So I didn’t put any. But it didn’t bother me When I heard the finished result. I’m very pleased with the vocal tracks.
Returning to Oblivion Studios must have been quite a trip down memory lane. Did this nostalgia influence how you approached recording this album?
We have recorded there many times we actually were just there doing the ‘thrash times at ridgemont high’ record. But having everybody together with our own new tunes was fun. the owner mike bossier is a great pal. And like family We love that place. We feel very comfortable and at home.
Death metal has seen many trends come and go. What keeps you creatively motivated and true to DECEASED’s vision in such a constantly shifting landscape?
We honestly don’t care. We don’t care to be popular or hip or any of those things. We write music from the heart. This is our epitaph. As long as we are happy With our music everything’s smiles. We are not Afraid to put melody, we are not afraid to do death metal ‘our way’. we’re not afraid of anything. if it feels right to us, we do it!
The artwork. How did its visual concept come together, and what role did it play in shaping the album’s atmosphere?
The artwork was an Idea I had in my head. I told the artist desmond what i wanted and me and him worked on it together for over two years staying close as it progressed. It’s a fitting cover for what we’re doing musically this time around. It really Keeps the vibe of things in line.
How does the narrative of “Children of the Morgue” reflect or contrast with the themes explored in DECEASED’s previous work?
The last few records have been dealing more and more with real true life Horror. Real death. There has been tunes about fictional horror movies I/we love at times but This record really pushed deepest dafrkest rooted in the heart stuff to the boundaries. Death is a very fucked up thing.
When putting together live setlists, what drives your decisions, especially when showcasing a new album like “Children of the Morgue”?
There sure is a lot of tunes and a lot of them are over eight minutes long hahaha. I like. To make sure we cover most of our years when doing shows, all eras are a part of us. But when it’s a fest and thirty minutes , you gotta kind of compromise. And sometimes even an hour set you have to compromise. We want to be pushing songs from the new Record. On the new tour. As well as playing some songs we haven’t Played in a while along with a few stage faves too.
After such a long career, how do you keep your creative process fresh and avoid artistic burnout?
We always go in to a record having the passion to wanna be in there. We practice hard and we always want to out do and challenge ourselves to what we’ve already done musically. Speaking for myself at forty years I still love love Creating music.
Was there a particularly surprising or unexpected moment during the recording of “Children of the Morgue” that stands out to you?
One thing that was fun, We asked les our bass player To write more bass lines for himself. He’s always been right with us musically. But he had some extra stuff this time. Other than that just very Happy with the mix and the Playing by everybody.
How do you personally handle dark themes, and how does it affect your own emotional state?
This record has really been rough on me. I lost my stepfather recently. Man that took care of me with my mother since 1975. And every time I write about death and all of this My mother’s death My father’s death And my son’s mother’s death Are deep in my brain just laying on my mind. Add in me watching Documentaries on children with cancer And people dying Too young from disease and other awful things And it was really tough for me When watching and aining knowledge for lyrical content this time around.
How do you hope newer death metal bands are influenced by DECEASED’s work, and what advice would you give them?
Be yourself. Write music from the heart. Put nothing before the music. Don’t rush to put Music out before it’s finished In your mind. The band pics and logos and videos can wait. Get the tunes in place! As for something newer bands could take from Deceased. A learning that some bands never follow the leader and Just do their own thing.
What’s next for DECEASED? Thank you!
Next year is our 40th anniversary. We will release a 2 CD History of the band. It will include a couple New songs exclusive to the project. A couple cover songs we love. A couple New recordings of old demo tracks from our earlier days. And songs from all the eras. We will go out on tour and see as much of the world as we can And we will continue to play death metal from the grave. Thank you very much for the support. I wish you and everyone reading well. Up the tombstones!!!!
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