Summon: How did the band get started?
Dustin: Church of Disgust started in 2010 in the wastes of north Texas. My friend Tim and I would get stoned and jam on riffs, and it went from there. No one else that we knew up there was interested in playing death metal, so we recorded with a drum machine. Not too long after we moved to San Marcos and started jamming with some like-minded musicians. We went through some lineup changes, bringing us to the current lineup today.
Summon: What kind of music do you play?
Dustin: We play raw death metal.
Summon: How has the fan response been?
Dustin: The response has been mostly positive. Since we have yet to perform live, we have been getting our name out there primarily by tape trading and word-of-mouth. Up until now, our only release was a self-released demo tape, so we are eager for Invocation of Putrid Worship to be released. We have also received positive words from musicians that we respect, that was definitely encouraging.
Summon: Where did the band name come from?
Dustin: Most fans of the genre will recognize the name from the Nunslaughter song. Of course, we are fans of the band, and we had the music long before we had the name. When thinking up a name, it felt like a good fit for the music and the vision of the band.
Summon: Introduce the band members and what they do in the band.
Joshua: I play the drums and help record the bass lines. I also recorded both of our releases.
Dustin: I am the guitarist/vocalist.
Summon: Who writes the music? Lyrics?
Dustin: The music is written collectively by Joshua and myself. We come up with a riff or song idea and we build upon it. As for the lyrics, I handle those duties.
Summon: And where do the lyric ideas come from?
Dustin: Horror films, pain, gore, and the use of fear as a weapon. I am an avid reader, and I also draw heavy inspiration from the things I read. Like many metal artists, Lovecraft is a big one. Several songs are inspired by the novels of the American author Brian Keene. For instance, our song, “Seven Sigils of Infinite Void” is based off of his writings….our way of paying tribute to a true master of the horror genre.
Summon: What is your view in Satanism and Occultism?
Dustin: We are against organized religion of any kind. As for the Occult, it is a very interesting topic to study.
Summon: How many albums/CD’s have you released?
Joshua: I have written and recorded 100+ songs ranging from hardcore punk to doom and metal. Playing guitar, bass or drums. As far as albums go, I have released a slew of EP’s and demos but no
full length releases yet. As for Church of Disgust, we have one self-released demo tape, and one professional release on the way.
Summon: Tell me about some the songs on the latest CD?
Joshua: My favorite song, “Seven Sigils of Infinite Void” was a step in a new direction in my opinion. Slower but more effective giving it almost a doom feel, in this release I would say we have some really groovy parts that are helping us shape the sound of Church of Disgust.
Summon: Do you have any side projects?
Joshua: At the moment I am working out guitar parts for my new project (which I have yet to name). The new project is gloomy and dark rock and roll.
Summon: Who are some of your musical influences?
Joshua: I would have to say my biggest influences would be Gorguts, Incantation, Autopsy and Bolt Thrower. But my roots run punk rock and I’m a sucker for some of the stoner stuff like Kyuss, Acid Bath and Electric Wizard.
Dustin: My favorite death metal band since high school(I’m 29 now) will always be Bolt Thrower. We also draw influence from the classics – Winter, Autopsy, Decomposed, Crematory, Slugathor, Incantation and Derketa. We are also both punk fans, so perhaps a bit of Poison Idea/Black Flag.
Summon: Which current bands?
Dustin: I can’t think of any newer bands that we draw direct influence from, but there are certainly plenty of active bands that inspire us to push ourselves and write better/heavier music.
Summon: What is the band like when you play live?
Dustin: At this time, we have yet to perform any live shows. For quite a while, we practiced and recorded in Joshua’s house in the woods, and were content with not venturing beyond there. I, for one, cherish solitude, but we are working on expanding our line-up to perform live in 2013. (note: I omitted the next few questions about live shows due to the above response).
Summon: What do you think of the US Black Metal/Death Metal scene?
Dustin: There are many talented bands coming from different areas of the country, and I feel that this is a very exciting time for extreme music. The Texas scene in particular is going strong, Houston
especially. Texas gets lots of national tours, many great locals, fests(Destroying Texas, Chaos in Tejas, RIP Rites of Darkness).
Summon: What do you think of the Overseas scenes?
Dustin: They’re maniacs! Truly dedicated fans over there, no bullshit posturing. Most of the correspondence/tape trading I’ve participated in since the inception of this band has been with people overseas. Both Filthy Cave Records(the label releasing our cassette, Invocation of Putrid Worship), and Memento Mori Records(the label releasing our full-length CD, coming in 2013) are based out of Spain.
Summon: What are some of new favorite black metal/death metal bands?
Dustin: There are so many quality bands coming out of Texas currently, namely Imprecation, Blaspherian, Perversum(who just broke up, sadly), Steel Bearing Hand, War Master, Doom Siren, Hellvetron, and Oath of Cruelty. While not all of those bands are new, they are active and putting out quality metal. I’ve received some very good demo tapes in the mail this year from Ascended Dead, Into Darkness, Lampades, and Wormridden. 2012 has also seen great releases from Druid Lord, Undergang, Black Feast, Serpentine Path, Ataraxy, Anatomia, Ectovoid, Father Befouled, and Chthe’ilist.
Summon: When do you guys plan on writing any new material?
Dustin: Definitely! 2013 will be a very busy year for us. We are currently writing for a split 7″ with Spain’s one-man death machine, Necroven. We are also writing for a full-length.
Summon: What does the future hold for the band??
Dustin: More booze, shirts, 7″s, patches, CDs! Our 5-song cassette release Invocation of Putrid Worship will be released in December or January. We will be spreading the filth by arranging some live shows for the new year, dates and times to be determined.
Contact them at:
http://www.facebook.com/churchofdisgust
http://churchofdisgust.bandcamp.com/
