Vastum's latest work is a death metal masterpiece touching many areas of the psyche. Fantasies and mysteries alike take province within the band's music that seems to always outdo prior efforts. "Orificial Purge" is their 4th full length record that once you've heard it, you'll be unable to put it down. Six songs of muscle and monstrosity make way to the headbanging beholder; though veiled to an extent through its lyrics, the tonality lifts the covering to reveal the horror ever frequently. As vast as the band's collective image may be, "Orificial Purge" is but a new revelation of the landscape. MetalBite was lucky enough to catch up with Daniel and Leila to give some insight about "Orificial Purge". 

Alex

Thank you for granting MetalBite the time to conduct this interview. Also, congratulations on the new entry into Vastum's catalog; How has touring been? Are there any upcoming shows planned in support of "Orificial Purge"?

L: What little touring we've done has always been a positive experience and hope to do some more in 2020. Our next show is at Shadow Frost Fest in Maryland, Feb 21-23.

How did the band meet and form?

L: I met Dan first, around 2007, when Acephalix was just getting started and met Kyle and Luca shortly after that. Dan and Kyle go pretty far back, I think. I introduced Dan to RD sometime in 2009; RD used to play drums in Infest and I think is still playing in (The Infamous) Gehenna. Dan, RD and Kyle formed Corpus and recorded a demo; it was a deathpunk kind of thing. A month or so after recording the demo, and right after my old band Saros broke up, Kyle asked if I wanted to play second guitar. So I jammed with them, and started writing new songs with Kyle, which changed the direction of the band to a darker, doomier and slightly more technical sound (very slightly!). The new direction warranted a name change, so I came up with Vastum. Luca joined on bass shortly after the name change.

How did you arrive at the name Vastum?

L: Coming up with a band name is never easy. I came across Vastum in a Latin glossary, and the meaning of it (waste, empty or vast) felt like it captured the essence of our lyrics and what we're about as a band.

Vastum's style of death metal is sexually corrupt with all kinds of depraved and grotesque imagery and lyrical content. How did this idea of blending pleasure, pain and wickedness come to fruition?

L: Extreme music warrants extreme lyrics. But life is also extreme. We delve deeply within ourselves and our experiences, thoughts, fantasies, nightmares and the lyrics and images you read and see are the result of this process.

D: I'm interested in the psyche as a source of horror, and I'm interested in how there can be something religious and erotic in the horror that the psyche begets. This approach is related to intellectual interests, but it's also related to a certain kind of emotional orientation to the world. I think I've always been drawn to complex internal experiences, especially those of a darker sort, so that's what you get in our lyrics.

Was it difficult to acquire members to play in the band?, And more-so, finding members that share similar musical philosophies and subject interests.

L: Not at all. It came together naturally and easily, more so than for any band I've been a part of. We never seem to struggle finding new members when needed, and I'm grateful for the many people who have offered to play in the band. The Bay Area is a good place to be if you're looking for death metal musicians.

To me Vastum is like an underground death metal super-group, all members are associated in other notable acts, thus how do you balance and find time to commit to this project?

L: It's our biggest challenge, to carve out time to write, record and play shows, because of all of our collective commitments to other projects. It can be a crazy and hair pulling thing! Everyone is experienced and talented enough to pull it off in the little amount of time we have, and we do the best we can.

I have listened to your new record "Orificial Purge" and I'm impressed at the level of detail you were able to place into 6 songs; was the writing and recording process for this tedious or prove to be more difficult than in the past?

L: Thank you! It's always hard to try to outdo ourselves with each new release. Shelby, Chad and I spent a lot of time preparing for recording and demoed the tracks before we went into the studio, which we hadn't done as much previously to this extent. We also didn't have a lot of time booked in the studio, so we had to utilize the time wisely. I tend to write in bursts; I won't have any ideas for a long time, but once I get started, I can get half of an album's worth in a relatively short period of time.

Who makes the final decision as to whether a record is complete and fit for release?

L: We all do, to varying degrees. All of us took part in the mixing process for "Orifical Purge".

How do you work around musical disagreements within the band, if any?

L: I think one of our collective strengths is that we are able to solve disagreements in a civilized way where at least everyone's voice is heard, even if not everyone's preferences are incorporated 100% of the time. Sometimes compromise is necessary.

There is a magic between Daniel and Leila often times created through the vocal toggle, like a dangerous affair occurring between domination and fragility. Was it a conscious decision to have 2 vocalists as a means to evince an atmosphere of oppression submission?

L: Dan and I are both quite dominating vocally - unbeknownst to many, because I don't sound stereotypically female - but we work together very collaboratively. We knew from the beginning we would both be doing vocals and were mutual fans of our previous vocal work.

D: I'd been a fan of Leila as a vocalist and guitarist for some time prior to forming Vastum. I wanted to play in a band with her, and I'm pretty sure I'm the one who really pushed for it (I first introduced myself to her at a restaurant where I was waiting tables; she was eating with a former collaborator, Eric Wood of Man is the Bastard). I wanted both of us to sing, so yeah, it was a conscious decision. I think our vocal dynamics have grown over the years, and that they're more interesting and complex on this record than any other.

Adding to that is your provocative song titles and lyrics such as 'I on the Knife', I might be wrong, but that sounds like a less venereal way of indicating penetration. Am I correct? Please elaborate even if I've been misled into a false interpretation.

D: 'I on the Knife' is a weird song. I wrote most of it in one sitting. It's about dissociative states or moments when we're commanded by another, a figure outside the self, and how this figure's command constitutes the self and so isn't technically outside of it at all. Like a lot of the songs on this record, I'm bridging the violence of mysticism, eroticism, and dissociation to tell something like demiurgic myths. The dissociative commands come from a God-like figure who instructs a subject to mutilate themselves - or who instructs the subject to keep their 'I'/'eye' on the knife - and it's through the subject's self-mutilation that a new world is born (creation ex-nihilio). The self-mutilation is a kind of deicidal gnosis, by which I mean the subject mutilates the divinized knower (the 'I' as a God), and it's through this (pleasurable) self-mutilation that the unknowable - a new self/world, one born of blood and a time beyond time - comes into being.

I have also noticed each of your full-length records contain 6 tracks, what is the meaning behind this? Is it some reference to occultism in sex (6ex) or is it mere coincidence or other?

L: I don't think this was ever consciously intentional. However, I think the 6-track format works very well for Vastum, both for the sonic experience and the logistics of releasing vinyl.

Moral boundaries are crossed in your music, particularly where the ideology behind love is concerned, hence it appears you must be fans of Friedrich Nietzsche's work or at least inspired by it. Would you share some insight here?

L: I discovered Nietzsche's writings when I was 14 years old, and although I haven't delved too deeply since, I wouldn't say it's wrong his work has affected me on a subconscious level at least.

D: I'm not totally sure what you mean, but I'll try to roll with the question. I'd say we're quite Nietzschean, largely via Bataille. Nietzschean ethics go beyond good and evil, which is what makes them radically evil. For Pseudo-Dionysus, what's radically evil is not opposed to the good; rather, the radically evil is opposed to production - it is that which is useless and so cannot produce any kind of 'good' at all. Nietzsche espouses a similar view. If Nietszchean vitality opposes the production of goods, which in turn opposes a certain relationship to time in which the goodness of my life in the present is dependent on the goods that I produce in the future (slave morality), then its reverence for momentous vitality is a form of radical evil. How does this relate to love? The love of life is an indifference to the production of goods; it's a form of radical evil in that it's an immersion in the moment. This love is not about persons or respect for personhood; it's about something more like libido and a celebration of (a potentially violent) vitality that transcends the person to more deeply commune with the world.

Would you agree the traditional concept of love is all systematically fabricated to veil the truth behind physical attraction, fetishes and social preferences?

D: Love is what sexuality struggles with and against, so I don't think the two can exist separately, nor do I think one veils the other. The veil is a doubling in which both conceal and reveal the other to create an ineradicable antagonism.

Would you say the term was constructed to suppress innate survival instincts and necessities of man?

D: I wouldn't actually. I think love or attachment is about survival, whereas sexuality is about destruction.

Is Vastum's music a take on true human nature to some degree?

D: I don't know about human nature, but we're definitely drawn to some diagnosis of the human condition.

Does it attempt to exhibit what is considered as 'foul' to be very much associated with the idea of affection?

D: I think we cherish the things we call foul but repress or dissociate that cherishment.

Are the philosophies represented through Vastum's music a reflection of any personal experiences?

D: Yes and no. I wouldn't say they're autobiographical. I don't like the idea of autobiography. It assumes too much conscious control of a narrative. Our lyrics aren't confessional in any way. They're about psychic life, which exists at the border of reality and fantasy.

How much of a role does each member have within Vastum? Is it an autocratic band or is it open to internal constructive criticism?

L: We are not autocratic, but not entirely democratic either. Everyone in this band does have a voice and everyone is heard but sometimes compromises are necessary to be able to move forward with our business.

An obscene spiritual intimacy also materializes through your work; would you agree or disagree that there is an ethereal element present within Vastum's music and particularly on "Orificial Purge"?

D: Definitely. That element is supposed to evoke something of the connection between violence, spiritual or religious experience, eroticism, etc. It's always been there, but I might be more pronounced on this record.

The artwork on "Orificial Purge" appears to be an extension of that on "Hole Below". Hence I suppose its contents are a further step taken in advancing "Hole Below"?

D: Laina Terpstra's painting is her response to Vastum. It's a response to her experience of meditating on our aesthetic and vision, which connects to her own in various ways.

I enjoy the way you play with words, whereby a blur of sorts between pleasure and hostility manifests. Please elaborate on this.

D: I suppose that reflects my/our insistence on violence as a part of life, or as something that transcends morality and form. I'm trying to link the physical and the psychical, the mystical and the erotic, whenever I can. It's an impossible link - such phenomena are ultimately irreducible to each other - but I feel a responsibility to try to make it anyway.

Do you think "Orificial Purge" speaks to the inner urges oftentimes hidden behind societal restraints? As though we are all vulnerable to succumbing to our temptations.

D: Prohibition reveals transgression as much as it tries to conceal it. I don't think people are very restrained actually - just look around.

Last time I checked "Patricidal Lust" was out of print, are there any plans to reissue the record?

L: 20 Buck Spin plans to reissue "Patricidal Lust" in 2020.

Excellent work on "Orificial Purge", I look forward to getting it on vinyl. Thank you for taking the time-out in contributing to this interview. MetalBite wishes Vastum all the best in future musical endeavors of introspect and provocation. Is there anything Vastum would like to add in closing?

L: Thank you, and thanks for the interview.

D: Thank you for the very thoughtful questions.

Japanese Significant Point released their superb debut album "Into The Storm" via the German label Dying Victims Productions (review here) recently. It's an album that puts you in a good mood while listening to it and also makes you want more. Buuuut... it took those guys ten years to release it. That's already two reasons to ask the band more about it and also to be a little critical. The two guitarists of the band, Gou Takeuchi and Kazuki Kuwagaki have taken the time to answer my questions in detail. Many thanks for that gentlemen! Enjoy the interview.

Michael

Hey, how are you guys doing? Thanks for taking the time for the interview!

Gou and Kazuki: Hello! We are doing very well, thank you for giving us the interview!

In my opinion with "Into The Storm" you have released a super cool album that makes you feel good. What is the feedback you get about the album?

Kazuki: We have got a number of reviews and interviews. We are just feeling happy that people in overseas countries are listening to our album and giving us great responses. We have taken 10 years until we release our first album, but I'm very happy that we could make it this far. We'd like to say thank you to all the people who supported us thus far.

Gou: Thank you very much. I am very satisfied with the album's quality. It's been 10 years since we formed the band, and the album contains the entire history of the band so far. The theme of this album was to create an album with a perfect mix of fast songs, melodious songs, and many other variations, like a storybook. It was a very challenging experience for me, but I'm glad I was able to make it work. I am happy that we were able to release the album. We would like to thank all the people who supported and helped us to get to this point.

When I listen to the CD, I have a feeling of hearing Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and Blind Guardian on speed. Am I right or are there other influences that have crept onto the album?

Gou: All those bands you mentioned are ones I like! Let me tell you about my musical influences. I am strongly influenced by hard rock as well as heavy metal, so I think my melodic side from the hard rock influence comes into my songs naturally. The guitarist I admire the most is Michael Schenker. I grew up listening to his guitar solos on 'Rock Bottom', 'Love To Love', 'Looking For Love', etc. I love his emotional guitar sound. When I was a teenager, I used to listen to his guitar and analyze it every day. In terms of guitar orchestration, I'm also influenced by Brian May. As for bands, I was greatly inspired by Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Savage Grace, Metal Church, Cloven Hoof, Shok Paris, Liege Lord, Sinner, Agent Steel, Sortilege, Omen, Grim Reaper, Rainbow, Scorpions, UFO, MSG. etc. In terms of Japanese bands, Loudness, Wolf, Aion, Anthem, Dementia, Crowley, X, Prowler, Hurry Scuary, Vow Wow, Mari Hamada, Kuni, Flatbacker, Earthshaker and Salem have a large influence on me.

What are your lyrics about? From reading the titles I'd say they absolutely fit into the traditional heavy metal mould.

Kazuki: I basically make the lyrics in English. Sometimes I create the content from the beginning, and sometimes I base it on images that Gou created in Japanese. There is not one particular theme, but I think I am influenced by Japanese manga and Hollywood movies. For instance, in 'Riders Under The Sun', I was inspired by the Japanese manga Initial D and Beck, and the Hollywood movie "The Fast And The Furious". Also, in all the lyrics, I tried to give them a cool sound. I am not a native speaker, so there were some aspects that were difficult, but I was able to make something that I was satisfied with.

I find the cover of the CD mega cool, this was also my first reason to listen to the CD. Is that to be understood as a kind of homage to old Japanese monster movies?

Gou: Thank you very much. As for the concept of cover art, the monster is the band's mascot character and has appeared on the previous 7" EP. We may have been potentially influenced by Godzilla. Since the previous 7” EP portrayed monsters attacking people, I wanted to see the opposite this time: people standing up to the monsters. I also thought it would be cool to express the fierceness of heavy metal with intense lightning and raging seas. I had already decided to include the sound of thunder in the beginning of the title track, 'Into The Storm', and I knew that it would be an important part of the album. So, I wanted to reflect the image of this song in the cover art. We asked Mario E Lopez M to draw the cover art for this album. We gave him a brief sketch and image, and he drew a cover art that fits our musical style perfectly. We feel very happy to have worked with him.

You have two of the three songs on the album that have already been released on your 2014 demo and as a single in 2018 and now released again on the album. Do you have a lack of ideas in terms of songwriting?

Gou: The reason why I put 'Attacker' and 'Danger Zone' on the album is because they are very important songs for the band. I wrote these two songs 10 years ago when I was 18 or 19 years old, and they were the first songs that I could feel confident in. These songs are very special to me, and we always play them at our live shows, and they are one of the most exciting songs. These two songs have given us many things. That's why I had decided to include these two songs in the full album since a long time ago. As for 'Attacker', the arrangement of the guitar solo has changed dramatically since the demo. The previous 7" EP also contains a version of the song after the arrangement, but now we can play it more quickly and aggressively, so I wanted to record it again with our best performance ever.

I have lots of ideas for songs. I'm constantly working on new songs. But I try to provide the band with only the good ones that meet my own standards. I myself am very excited to see what kind of songs we will be able to create in the future.

How did it happen that you have only released one studio album all this time?

Kazuki: Heavy metal is a minor genre in Japan, especially old school metal, and there are very few young people who play this music. Therefore, when a member leaves the band, it takes a long time, sometimes several years, to find the next member. In our band, after the initial members left, the remaining members, Gou and I, continued to search for members for a long time. During the time we also went to a studio and played, and, I don't know why, but we went around to secondhand stores to look at used guitars. I think we might have wanted to do something for the band. From this kind of circumstance, it took 10 years for us to release our first album, but the quality of this album is very satisfying, and we are very happy to have made it this far.

Some of your current and former members are also active in Evil. That's a pretty different kind of metal. How does it come about?

Gou: As you know, the drummer also plays in Evil. I also played guitar in Evil for a while. Our musical styles are very different, but it's very exciting to be exposed to different kinds of music. I've also learned a lot of approaches to guitar playing that I've never tried before. I was like, "Wow! I didn't know there was such an approach!" It was so fun and a great experience that helped me grow. So, playing with Evil was a great experience. I also think that even though they and we have different musical styles, we have something in common in terms of our essence. It's hard to put into words what it is, but anyway I think they play exciting and great music.

Why did you have to resort to guest vocalist George Itoh, who also sings with Risingfall and Military Shadow? Doesn't anyone want to have the position as a permanent singer?

Kazuki: Since Significant Point does not have an official vocalist at the moment, we asked George to record vocals for the album. Risingfall, Military Shadow and Significant Point are close friends, and George is also a friend of the band members, so we asked him. We can trust his abilities and personality. Even though he did not have enough time to prepare and practice, he did that amazing job with great quality. I also learned a lot from how he sang the lyrics I wrote. It was a real pleasure to work with him. As mentioned above, it takes time to find members for a metal band in Japan. We are still in the process of looking for a new vocalist.

One of the things that really impresses me about the album is the guitars. Was it planned from the beginning that you put guitar solos so much in the foreground?

Gou: That's right. I think the emphasis on guitar playing is one of the major strengths of Significant Point, this approach came naturally. I write guitar solos with the mindset that they are "another song within a song". As for my approach to playing guitar solos, I think that technique and theory are very important, but I believe that the most important priority is the quality of the melody. Technique is just a way to assist in playing the melody, and I play the guitar with two things in mind: feeling of the moment and playing a good melody. In the world of music, each person has a different feeling, and the right answer is different for each person. For this reason, I believe that making music is a way of confronting oneself. I try to create songs and guitar solos with a clear standard for myself in order to have consistency in my music.

Significant Point as well as Evil are both signed to the German label Dying Victims Productions. How satisfied are you with the label, which is known for its pretty cool bands?

Gou: We are honored to release our album on Dying Victims Productions. We were thinking of starting work on the album in 2019 and Dying Victims Productions offered us the opportunity to release the album at that time. They have always kindly supported us, and we are very happy to be able to work with them. Japan is a country where there are very few old school heavy metal bands. But in Europe, I think there are a lot of bands. So, I have always been longing for the European scene. I was very happy when I got the offer.

Which bands from Japan can you recommend to us?

Kazuki: For example, for younger bands, I would recommend Risingfall, Military Shadow, and Hell Freezes Over. Of course, there are many more great bands out the in Japan, heavy metal is a minor genre and the underground scene is very small. So, I was very happy and grateful that the overseas scene paid attention to us with this release. I hope that the Japanese scene will become more active in the future, and that Japanese metal scene will attract more attention not only from Japan, but also from the overseas scenes. To that end, I hope our activities will contribute to the revitalization of the Japanese scene.

Gou: There are many great bands in Japan, such as Risingfall, Military Shadow, Hell Freezes Over, Evil, Bafomet, The Blue Scream, Chase The Top, and many more. I recommend these bands. If you are interested, listen to them! Of course, there are many more great bands in Japan.

Last but not least, the last words belong to you!!!

Gou and Kazuki: We hope that many people will listen to our album. This album is the culmination of everything we've done so far and contains 10 of the best songs in the 10 years since the band formed. All the members have given it everything. We believe that this album is filled with intense speed metal, melodic songs, splendid twin leads, and a lot of attractiveness. We hope you will check out the album Into the Storm!

Thank you very much for the interview!

Gou and Kazuki: Thank you very much too! Take care of your health!