Smut from the gut
Grindcore/death metal ousting Napalm Ted from Oulu, Finland, are one of the northernmost bands of that craft. They formed last year, and have already put out two EPs. Guys are known from such bands as Clock Paradox, Mythos and Depth Beyond One's, so one can expect some well-played stuff. Tendinitus (drums/vocals) and bass player Ted Nugget provided the answers.
AM: Good mid-summer! How's the mosquito-situation in Northern Finland nowadays!? And more importantly: How has the summer been for Napalm Ted thus far? Hopefully no any burnt arms in pig head barbecue accidents...
Tendinitus: Howdy. Mosquitoes, blackflies, gadflies and all the other biting and blood-sucking bastards are painfully alive and well again. But we are too! Some holidaying but also rehearsing and demoing new stuff. No burnt body parts yet, at least in my knowledge.
AM: Napalm Ted was formed in early 2015, and the first release, 'Swallow', came out already in the summer of that year. Was the band "in the making" for a longer period than a few months, or was it like a quickie, that led to the birth of the debut release?
Tendinitus: Actually it was quite random since it all started of me having this oooold grindcore song eventually titled 'Ancient Beast' (made with the almighty Fast Tracker 2) that I dreamt of having to get recorded with actual instruments some day. Then my band at the time quit and I asked our guitarist to check out the song and maybe demo the riffs for it, just for fun. Then it kinda escalated because the track came out so smoothly and we got excited about it. More songs in the same vein were written, jammed and finally recorded in a rather short period of time. It would probably have been put out even sooner if we had taken control of the vocals ourselves right away since we spent some time to find a vocalist for the release. Cheers for the candidates though.
AM: 'Swallow' is a brutal cocktail of grinding and death metal in old school way, I think. How do you see it yourselves? Can you shed some light over the construction of it? Like compositions, influences, etc.?
Tendinitus: Not bad definition at all. I think it turned out pretty good, not too snobby or produced. Like I said, the songs came out fast. We wrote the material about 50/50 with Gravy Ted (guitar/vocals) on that one. My songs were compiled more or less from the material of 'Ancient Beast' era. I think Gravy's tunes were more current compositions. Influences taken from obviously the covered bands (Terrorizer & Macabre) plus the good ol' Carcass, Slayer, Death, Rotten Sound and such, at least on my behalf when I wrote the music. Also the local hc/punk band Viisikko had a great influence on me when shaping and arranging the songs later on.
AM: There is no CD edition of 'Swallow', only a cassette and of course the digital one. Why so?
Tendinitus: We had the cover setting ready from early on and it really fitted to the cassette layout so we just decided to make it on tape. Also the material was suitable and underground enough for the format. Plus the possibility of getting those instrumental demo versions (not available anywhere else) there as a bonus didn't hurt either. I'm also a devoted tape digger so it was a no-brainer. Actually there is a small amount of crappy CD-r's somewhere that were used in promotion purposes.
Napalm Ted in 2016 (from left to right): Ted Nugget (bass), Gravy Ted (guitar, growl vocals, bass), Tendinitus (drums, shout vocals).
AM: From 'Swallow' to 'Into a Black Ooze'... First there was two, and then there was three! A new member, that is. Bass player Ted Nugget joined the band. Can you tell about this happening?
Ted Nugget: Well, we have a history with Clock Paradox and I know the guys from that era. One day I was at home just chillin' and killing mosquitoes when Gravy called me and told me he's cooking up some new stuff with Tenditinitus. Gravy asked me if I wanted to join the orchestra. I didn't have to think twice since we've always had a good chemistry with these guys and I had a hunch that the music was going to be straight-forward, heavy and somewhat humoristic.
AM: 'Into a Black Ooze' certainly has clearer sound. I also hear some changes in songwriting. How it all came to this conclusion?
Tendinitus: We put some money on better recording equipment and also progressed on the whole studio process since we tend to do all by ourselves so the sound evolved as well. Mr. Gravy was responsible for most of the material but now we arranged and rehearsed the songs more as a full band. Also no cover tunes "distracting" this time. I guess it shows on the final product.
AM: And when the two releases are somewhat different, how you think the band's next step could be?
Tendinitus: Next up is a 4-5 song split 7" that we're planning to do with a fellow local band. Release sometime later this year, who knows. We're now in the state that we might have already recorded the material when this interview is out. Songs are shorter, rougher and crazier. Maybe even one instrumental piece mixing things up a little.
AM: Now that you have a bass player, it must be easier to play gigs. Have you performed how much and where? Any shows happening soon?
Tendinitus: Yes indeed, though we hadn't even considered of gigging without bass. We've done some local shows in Oulu and one cool punk/grind/doom evening in Helsinki with B.E.T.O.E. (Ven), Morbid Evils, Cut To Fit and Viimeinen Kolonna. Next maybe some gigs in southern Finland later this year. Plans are to play more, concert moguls and others please contact. We are easy and cheap!
AM: At least Mr. Tendinitus has a lot of active bands. How do they all manage to happen in this restricted time system that us human beings sense?
Tendinitus: My other bands tend to activate for a certain time period and then go to hibernation mode again so it can all be managed quite fluently.
AM: Napalm Ted's lyrics deal with many things (gore, human feelings, demons, etc...). Where do you get lyrical inspirations from?
Tendinitus: We get most of the lyrics from our friend Jari-Pekka Kanniainen who has graciously offered us his material since the beginning. Clever thoughts that we can relate but also brutal and over-the-top material when needed. The collaboration is smooth and it doesn't seem to cease so why not. But lately I've been writing some too, like 'Burnt Arm', so there might be some more straightforward blockheadedness in the future.
AM: You made a fine music video for 'Burnt Arm', which was made with claymotion. "Claymotion for adults only..." Inspired by Primus??!?! How did that actually come together?
Tendinitus: Maybe subconscious influences since Primus rules, I mean sucks. I have enjoyed claymated music videos like Green Jelly's 'Three Little Pigs' since I was a kid. The thought of doing one on my own came up when I did an animation video for my other band a couple of years ago that included a short claymation scene. I planned of making it already on 'Swallow' but got lazy and forgot about it. The idea re-emerged on 'Ooze' when there was more suitable songs (length of less than a minute) and I also got a great inspiration for the script from the real life event of burning my arm accidentally. A rough storyboard was done and the shooting happened on my living room's small round Ikea table and the video was out in three days. Let's say there might be a sequel coming sooner or later.
AM: Oulu has a firm reputation of metal music scene. History speaks for itself. Is it true today? Is Oulu the northernmost capital of metal, then?
Ted Nugget: Don't know about that. It seems that the Etelä-Karjala region is the new Oulu in this sense. There are a few bands that have put that area on the metal-map. Not internationally, though (The Finnish charts were saturated with bands like Mokoma, Stam1na and Kotiteollisuus a few years back). Nowadays it seems that Oulu youngsters don't care about the dark values of life thus creating more lighter rock n' roll with loads of synth and what not. I don't follow the scene that intensively but also it looks like we're losing straight-forward metalists to numerous subgenres. So maybe we'll soon be the northernmost capital of symphonic djent-sludge with influences from viking-deathcore.
AM: How do times change...
Let's stick with music-centered stuff... Can you reveal your lists for "10 albums one NEED to hear", please? They are musts, because...
Tendinitus: Sorry, too hard! I'll rather list 10 albums that I've been digging lately:
Sonic Poison - 'Harsh Demonstration...' (Brand new filthy grindcore from Finland.)
Nails - 'Unsilent Death' (14 min grind/hc full-lenght, nasty and groovy as fuck.)
Tugnsten - Zehn (Local low-key ambient bros, more intriguing action on this release.)
Killing Joke - 'Brighter than a Thousand Suns' (Less known KJ gem, 80's "pop" at its best.)
Hebosagil - 'Lohtu' (Harsh and brooding sludgy suomirock. "Pian tämä kaikki on ohi".)
Katatonia - 'Brave Murder Day' (Classic doom/death era, hypnotic and cold pounding.)
Scumripper - s/t (Old school grind/punk in vein of Repulsion, "Run to the Pills".)
Zombi - 'Shape Shift' (Drums/bass/synth grooves almost like from a John Carpenter movie.)
Huminoita - 'All Is Two' (Best album of 2015, semi-instrumental prog/postrock greatness.)
Chelsea Wolfe - 'Abyss' (Also last year's finest. Bleak, haunting and heavy trip.)
Ted Nugget: Anything from Kake Randelin discography.
AM: Do you have anything to say, what hasn't yet been said? Now is your chance!
Tendinitus: Thanks!
Interviewed by Lane.
07/16/2016 16:10