Simlev: I'm fine but cold, what about you Metal Dad?
Dubg: Same here, humans were not engineered for this kind of weather!
Tell us a little bit about where you guys come from and what the metal scene is like there?
Simlev: Me and Mathz are born in Montréal in the province of Québec in Canada. The metal scene in Montréal is great. Montréal is arguably considered the metal capital of North America and for good reasons, pretty much every band likes to come over here. It's not a North American tour if you don't stop here somehow. In general we're known for brutal metal, but there's bands here for almost every taste. Every night you can attend a metal concert if you want and people show up, it can't get any better than this.
Dubg: I was born in Belgium but moved to Montréal in the early eigthies. Been here ever since. I’ve started playing guitar when I was a teen and never stopped. Since then I’ve also became a sound engineer and love every aspect of the music craft. I think Simlev pretty much covered what the scene is like around here.
Have any of you guys ever been to Australia?
Simlev: No, none of us ever set foot over there. Australia is on my top 5 places to visit before I die though.
Dubg: I’d love to go down there too. If our current extreme right-wing Christian regime continues to do its damage I might even consider moving there.
What comes to mind when you think of Australia?
Dubg: When I think of Australia I think of bird eating spiders first and then I think about all the other nasty things that wants you dead. But seriously Melbourne, Sydney and Perth all look like great cities to visit.
Simlev: I'll be honest here, I think of Skippy the fucking kangaroo. Most people of my generation watched that as kids, that's when we first learned that there's a country called Australia. We thought everyone had some sort of genius kangaroo in their backyard and flying around in choppers ahaha. But seriously, every Aussie I met were super cool. I have a very high esteem for Aussies, maybe that will change when I get there? Beside that, the place seems to be amazing, when it's not on fire.
How would you best describe you musical style?
Simlev: We've been described as Death Metal, Thrash Metal, Industrial Metal, Industrial Death Metal, Technical Death Metal, Progressive Death Metal and even Doom and Black Metal. I think it's safe to say that Death Metal needs to be in there because of the death growls. I personally think the best way to describe Krokmitën is Experimental Death Metal.
Dubg: I guess we've got a bit of everything in the styles mentioned above. Well, maybe not Black Metal ahaha!
What are the plans for 2012?
Dubg: Currently we're working on "BWV565 Redux" which should be released soon enough. Something that our fans can chew on while waiting for the next album. In between that we’re rehearsing a lot too.
Simlev: Yes, many! Is everything going to pan out in 2012? I don't know, it depends of so many factors. We’re currently writing the next album and doing demo. There's also talk of music videos. It's very unlikely that the next album will come out in 2012 though.
What's the funniest thing you have ever seen at a live show?
Simlev: Around 1993 we played a little intimate concert in the basement of Mathz' parents house while they were away. Every kids but us were on LSD. That was fucking insane. There's this girl in a corner crying with people trying to comfort her, this guy is hallucinating spiders, the other wants to jump off the shed etc... it's impossible to describe the scene properly, it was so surreal.
I've got an other one for you, I was at that infamous Metallica and Guns & Roses concert at the Olympic Stadium where everything went wrong. James Hetfield got burnt on stage by a firework mid-set and was rushed to the emergency. Then afterward Guns & Roses played a couple of songs and Axl did what Axl does best, he decided he didn't want to sing anymore and just left. That's when the party turned to mayhem. People starting to rip seats off and throwing them around, people running and screaming everywhere, souvenir stands got smashed and robbed. People set a lot of shit on fire, police cars flipped over, break ins in stores around the venue. It was an apocalyptic night!
Dubg: The only thing I can think of is not that funny. I went to see Nine Inch Nails back in the the days and the Jim Rose Circus was one of the opening act. I never heard of them or knew what their act was about. I was as high as a kite and was expecting to hear some music. I’m still somewhat traumatized 20 years later.
Who is the most annoying member of the band?
Simlev: I guess that I would be the most obvious choice since I'm the loudest and I even annoy myself sometimes. But the two others can be annoying too, for less obvious reasons. Are you trying to stir up some shit here? haha
Dubg: I agree....
Sarah Palin or Courtney Love?
Dubg: They’re both too wacked-out crazy for me.
Simlev: Jesus Fucking Christ, what kind of question is that? Alright... Something sure I would avoid Courtney Love at all cost, I almost got AIDS once just by looking at her picture. Sarah Palin is prettier on the outside but just as ugly on the inside. If I was stuck on a deserted island, I guess they could both burn well enough for an emergency fire.
Beer or wine?
Dubg: Beer, wine, vodka, Jägermeister! It all depends on what I’m doing...
Simlev: I like wine once in a while during dinner but I prefer beer, by far. 0
What's you thoughts on the current metal scene?
Simlev: I think that overall, the current metal scene is great. There's bands for every taste. The problem isn't the scene, it's the industry. As a business, profits are watered down because there's so many bands.
Dubg: It’s cool that the metal fire is still burning high and don’t seems to weaken. In the mid-nineties it seemed to want to disappear way back to the underground. But now many great acts are spawning all the time. Also these days with the net, there’s more and more ways that they get their music out there. We are living in very interesting times... musicwise.
What are you listening to at the moment?
Simlev: When I'm in writing mode I pretty much don't listen to anything. I just can't concentrate on anything when I'm obsessed by some riffs, it just distract me from what I'm doing.I normally listen to stuff like Nile, Dying Fetus, Gojira, Origin, Morbid Angel, Kataklysm,... so mainly brutal death metal bands.
Dubg: Nothing in particular right now since I’m mixing the "BWV565 Redux" track for Krokmitën. So I mainly listen to different tracks that I reference the sound on. These include classics like Slayer, Metallica, Anthrax and more modern stuff like Nile, Lamb of God, Gojira. I’m really eager to hear the next Gojira album btw.
What's the best way for people to find you music?
Simlev: On www.krokmiten.com it's all there and it's free. It can't be any simpler!
Any message for the masses?
Dubg: The support we’ve received so far is overwhelming and beyond any of our expectations. If you want to help us make a better record you can alway support us financially by giving a donation or buying a physical copy of our album. We give everything for free, but still your support is important.
Simlev: Join us on Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, Google+, we all like to read your comments. You can contact us directly, we’ll answer back when time permits.
Thank for taking the time to talk to MDA, I really appreciate it.
Simlev: You're welcome! Thanks for helping keeping the scene alive! Stäy Brütal!
Dubg: Thanks for having us! Give some eucalyptus leaves to the koalas in your backyard from us, and please, try to avoid anything that wants to kill you over there!
If you haven't heard "Alpha-Beta" I highly recommend it! 45 minutes of brutal technical brilliance!! and as the guys say it free.
Adrian \m/
