Having shared the stage with Static-X, Wednesday 13, Combichrist, Hanzel und Gretel and Genitorturers, Australian industrial rock-metal DARKC3LL are known for putting on a show that will keep audiences hooked from beginning to end. Jesse Dracman (Vox) & Postmortem Matt (Guitars, Electro, Synths) form the backbone of this chaotic live act, rounded out by the abrasive Rit Derelict (Bass). I’m speaking with Jesse about hunt for new drummer, songs from their album, new stuff, Australia and dark side of their music:
INTERVIEW
Piotr Balkus: First thing, and the most important: the drummer. I know you are on the search for new one. Scott Wade left the band in March… How you managed to play tour with Otep, Combichrist and Wednesday 13 without drummer!?
Jesse Dracman: “Yes we are. Unfortunately these things happen in a band, but we are very driven and it’s very hard to keep a good band down! We managed just fine however, through a mutual friend of the band who was more than keen and handled the shows extremely well.
Your music is very harmonic in a way, also very well “sliced”, seems like every sound falls into the place. Is that because you know each other in the band for a long time? Or something else…
– Post Mortem Matt [the guitarist] and myself have been working together for some time on various collaborations, and discovered a real chemistry between us in the studio that made sense for us to write and record as DARKC3LL. We thrive on hooks and melody and strive to improve on every track, learning things along the way. We have a lot of fun in the studio and we understand each other completely, so it makes for very productive work.
You have an album “Reboot: Repeat”… Your music is a mixture of styles and inspirations. Is your music the mirror of yourself?
– In some ways it’s a reflection of the music we love, the life we live and what we bring from within ourselves would be a somewhat descriptive of the elements we brought to ‘Reboot:Repeat’. We set out to make the album we wanted to best describe the direction we wanted to take and for people to have embraced the album the way they have,has been a tremendous reward personally. We love rock, metal, goth, pop, industrial and really just music with groove and a memorable twist. This continues to be a part of the standard we set for ourselves when creating. The songs on the album are a reflection of my soul and also observations of the world I see. We love the album! No regrets!”
You said in one of interviews that music is in your blood. Also a line from your new song is: “I’ve got a rythm in my veins”. Why music is so important to you personally?
– It’s very true. I really live for rhythm and music is part of the template that is our life. It’s for me, my best vessel in which to channel my emotions and my thoughts. And without it, I am without substance, for it is my drug and my love.”
In your music and lyrics there are lot of negative emotions like hatred, anger. Why hatred and anger, not love and joy? Why Satan, not God? Why darkness, not light?
– Why be something I am not? It is all in the detail. It is how we connect with the music that is where we create mood. I write what I love and flowers and sunshine don’t quite fit. Plus I couldn’t come across very convincingly. There is a lot of love and joy in our music. You just have to find it. We speak to a lot of people that find great joy in our music and we feel the love. I leave the light fairy stuff to those who specialise in that field. Not this lil devil.
I never quite understood why in such a sunny and lovely country like Australia someone can play this kind of dark, anger metal industrial music. Have you ever thought about it? Where it comes from?
– Why not? Don’t let the image deceive you my friend. There is darkness and hatred everywhere. Plus for us, we use these traits and create a style we like to call our own. Sure we have influences (don’t we all?), but this is the music we love and grew up with and the music our band best connects with. Plus we’re bringing back an edge and excitement that has truly been missing for a long time. I love Australia, but like anywhere in the world, there is a dark side, and we’re writing the soundtrack!
Please tell me about your song, one of my favourite, “Lost My Mind In America”. As far as I understand, its an ironic song with the hidden message. Am I right?
– (Laughter) Ironic indeed. It certainly makes a statement, and not necessarily one aimed at said country, but more of a ‘wake up and smell the coffee’ message aimed at people influenced and dependent on a lifestyle so conformative and plastic. It’s a daily vision in most parts of the western world I am certain, and in my particular part of town, it’s all too commonplace, so I felt somewhat compelled to write what I saw and we produced a hell of a cool fun song, that is more satirical, but get from it what you will I say. We wanted a track that had a lot of groove, and one that packed a stadium flavoured anthemic hook. A proud moment.
Darkc3ll is working on a new, second album. Are you gonna experiment more and look for new ways of expressions or rather stick to your dark industrial metal guns?
– We are building on what we have already created and taking iot up a level. The new album will pack a lot of punch and alot of groove. Lock’n’load!
We will. Thank you for your time and good luck with new material and shows.
Thanks!
New single from Darkc3ll SIX HUNDRED & SIX SIX on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/au/album/six-hundred-six-six-single/id586118001
Album REBOOT:REPEAT on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/au/album/reboot-repeat/id504512743
