1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording and release of the new album?
It's mostly been dealing with the logistics of getting pre-orders together and getting to the post office while also kinda taking inventory of everything. Nothing super exciting! I've also been listening to the album itself a lot to hear things that I feel could be better or somehow improved. In the next week or two we're going to formally begin looking for a drummer as our former drummer, Josue, quit the band before we recorded "Slaughter Campaign."
2.Recently you have released a new album, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording and also how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?
I think the sound is consistent with the direction I wanted the band to go in. There's two d-beat type songs, two slow songs, two grind songs, and some wild cards. Namely, "Acidification" which is a song our bassist Anthony wrote. He also wrote all the riffs in "Ritualistic Insemination." A song that features our first guest, Matt Difflin. He's in our old guitar player Jason's band called Charonincentive. He was also a member of Repulsion in the mid-80s. And I guaranteed him a solo spot on the album awhile back and I thought it would be cool to have a lead guitar player that's tangibly better than me do a guest solo. I thought it turned out really cool because I always liked the old school solo hand offs between Hanneman and King and Adrian Smith and Dave Murray. It sounds like the album I wanted to make when we first started writing it back in 2014. I also think we leaned a lot on our ability to write different kinds of death metal songs for the second time but managed to also make better and longer songs. I also think the production is way better than our first album and that's a testament to just taking the time to really really listen to it and concentrate.
3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the newer music?
Well, the first album's themes were basically like dumbed down Carcass and Cannibal Corpse lyrics. A style I really do enjoy writing and will probably revisit at some point. But this album, lyrically, probably draws a bit more on real life. We're not a political band or anything and I'm far from a qualified activist of any kind, but every song is basically a variation on different ways that mankind sucks. Like, I'm optimistic that we'll figure shit out and fix the planet and probably conquer the solar system or some shit. But that terrorist shit in Paris last year, a recent car accident, this fucking presidential campaign, the religious freedom thing, Lemmy dying and the existential crisis that event created in my personal life were things I sort of drew on for inspiration.
4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Clawhammer Abortion'?
Well, on one hand, it's ripping an unborn baby out of a woman with a tool found in virtually any household. On the other hand, it's really like any other title to any death metal band where it's sort of an examination of violence and how wildly absurd it can be when you remove any value for life. Ultimately, it was just a name I blurted out at a friend's house about 8 or 9 years ago and it stuck with me.
5.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?
The tightest we ever played was probably our show with Sepultura last year. We played excellently. My favorite is probably a local show we did with a band called Deadspawn who asked us to play their EP release show. We got a small pit going for a song or two. It was the biggest crowd we've ever played for. I also really enjoyed playing a friend of ours named Tim Callaway's birthday party at a local bar in Arizona here called the Palo Verde Lounge. It is an archetypal dive bar in the southwestern United States and it's just how you would imagine it. The PA System was on a table. It was amazing. We'll play anywhere.
6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the new album?
Yes. We'd like to get back on the show thing and ultimately tour. We get asked a lot to play shows and I have to turn people down as we don't have a drummer. So, we're definitely looking for someone.
7.The new album was released on 'Distrust Records', can you tell us a little bit more about this label?
Distrust Records is just my little po dunk label for releasing Clawhammer Abortion music. It's full on DIY.
8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of death metal and grindcore?
We haven't had a whole lot of international feedback but your review and some things I've heard from peers have been really positive. The worst review so far has been from me because I'm my harshest critic.
9.What is going on with some of the other bands or musical projects these days that some of the band members are a part of?
I have about five other bands I want to do but don't really have time for. Robert actually has about 4 songs he's going to contribute to the next album and we're his only gig right now. Anthony and I want to do a side project eventually with me on guitar and him on drums but right now we're focused on getting Clawhammer back into live shape so we can start playing shows again.
10.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
I think that we will always fundamentally kind of sound how we sound. We'll have a mix of old school Swedish, mid-90s Florida, mixed with grindcore and d-beat. I think there will be albums here and there that favor one of those styles over the others. But, we're not gonna make any wild changes to throw our fans off or anything. It's always going to be brutal old sounding death metal.
11.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your newer music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
I drew a lot of inspiration from only a few death metal bands this time around. Those bands being Cannibal Corpse and Death, almost exclusively. I also got into bands like Martyrdod and Skitsystem since the last album. There was a lot of non death metal that really influenced the album too. I was listening to a lot of Ministry and Godflesh when I was finishing up the writing and recording the thing. Misery Index, Vomitory and Napalm Death are all more or less ingrained in the DNA of the band as well.
In terms of what I've been listening to that's metal, Metallica. That's a boring answer but I've been obsessed with the first four albums lately. I do the same thing from time to time with Slayer and Danzig where I just go through the favorable portions of their discography over and over again. I really enjoyed the recent collaboration between The Body and Full of Hell. It's one of the heaviest things I've heard in a long time.
12.What are some of your non musical interests?
Basketball. Horror movies. Biographies. Astronomy. Scotch Whiskey. Watching Law and Order on Netflix with my girlfriend.
13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Thank you for the interview and the great review!
It's mostly been dealing with the logistics of getting pre-orders together and getting to the post office while also kinda taking inventory of everything. Nothing super exciting! I've also been listening to the album itself a lot to hear things that I feel could be better or somehow improved. In the next week or two we're going to formally begin looking for a drummer as our former drummer, Josue, quit the band before we recorded "Slaughter Campaign."
2.Recently you have released a new album, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording and also how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?
I think the sound is consistent with the direction I wanted the band to go in. There's two d-beat type songs, two slow songs, two grind songs, and some wild cards. Namely, "Acidification" which is a song our bassist Anthony wrote. He also wrote all the riffs in "Ritualistic Insemination." A song that features our first guest, Matt Difflin. He's in our old guitar player Jason's band called Charonincentive. He was also a member of Repulsion in the mid-80s. And I guaranteed him a solo spot on the album awhile back and I thought it would be cool to have a lead guitar player that's tangibly better than me do a guest solo. I thought it turned out really cool because I always liked the old school solo hand offs between Hanneman and King and Adrian Smith and Dave Murray. It sounds like the album I wanted to make when we first started writing it back in 2014. I also think we leaned a lot on our ability to write different kinds of death metal songs for the second time but managed to also make better and longer songs. I also think the production is way better than our first album and that's a testament to just taking the time to really really listen to it and concentrate.
3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the newer music?
Well, the first album's themes were basically like dumbed down Carcass and Cannibal Corpse lyrics. A style I really do enjoy writing and will probably revisit at some point. But this album, lyrically, probably draws a bit more on real life. We're not a political band or anything and I'm far from a qualified activist of any kind, but every song is basically a variation on different ways that mankind sucks. Like, I'm optimistic that we'll figure shit out and fix the planet and probably conquer the solar system or some shit. But that terrorist shit in Paris last year, a recent car accident, this fucking presidential campaign, the religious freedom thing, Lemmy dying and the existential crisis that event created in my personal life were things I sort of drew on for inspiration.
4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Clawhammer Abortion'?
Well, on one hand, it's ripping an unborn baby out of a woman with a tool found in virtually any household. On the other hand, it's really like any other title to any death metal band where it's sort of an examination of violence and how wildly absurd it can be when you remove any value for life. Ultimately, it was just a name I blurted out at a friend's house about 8 or 9 years ago and it stuck with me.
5.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?
The tightest we ever played was probably our show with Sepultura last year. We played excellently. My favorite is probably a local show we did with a band called Deadspawn who asked us to play their EP release show. We got a small pit going for a song or two. It was the biggest crowd we've ever played for. I also really enjoyed playing a friend of ours named Tim Callaway's birthday party at a local bar in Arizona here called the Palo Verde Lounge. It is an archetypal dive bar in the southwestern United States and it's just how you would imagine it. The PA System was on a table. It was amazing. We'll play anywhere.
6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the new album?
Yes. We'd like to get back on the show thing and ultimately tour. We get asked a lot to play shows and I have to turn people down as we don't have a drummer. So, we're definitely looking for someone.
7.The new album was released on 'Distrust Records', can you tell us a little bit more about this label?
Distrust Records is just my little po dunk label for releasing Clawhammer Abortion music. It's full on DIY.
8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of death metal and grindcore?
We haven't had a whole lot of international feedback but your review and some things I've heard from peers have been really positive. The worst review so far has been from me because I'm my harshest critic.
9.What is going on with some of the other bands or musical projects these days that some of the band members are a part of?
I have about five other bands I want to do but don't really have time for. Robert actually has about 4 songs he's going to contribute to the next album and we're his only gig right now. Anthony and I want to do a side project eventually with me on guitar and him on drums but right now we're focused on getting Clawhammer back into live shape so we can start playing shows again.
10.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
I think that we will always fundamentally kind of sound how we sound. We'll have a mix of old school Swedish, mid-90s Florida, mixed with grindcore and d-beat. I think there will be albums here and there that favor one of those styles over the others. But, we're not gonna make any wild changes to throw our fans off or anything. It's always going to be brutal old sounding death metal.
11.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your newer music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
I drew a lot of inspiration from only a few death metal bands this time around. Those bands being Cannibal Corpse and Death, almost exclusively. I also got into bands like Martyrdod and Skitsystem since the last album. There was a lot of non death metal that really influenced the album too. I was listening to a lot of Ministry and Godflesh when I was finishing up the writing and recording the thing. Misery Index, Vomitory and Napalm Death are all more or less ingrained in the DNA of the band as well.
In terms of what I've been listening to that's metal, Metallica. That's a boring answer but I've been obsessed with the first four albums lately. I do the same thing from time to time with Slayer and Danzig where I just go through the favorable portions of their discography over and over again. I really enjoyed the recent collaboration between The Body and Full of Hell. It's one of the heaviest things I've heard in a long time.
12.What are some of your non musical interests?
Basketball. Horror movies. Biographies. Astronomy. Scotch Whiskey. Watching Law and Order on Netflix with my girlfriend.
13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Thank you for the interview and the great review!
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