INTERNAL BLEEDING Interview (USA)


Internal Bleeding: Twenty Years of Sonic Mayhem. The Long Island, New York-based INTERNAL BLEEDING has been slugging it out in the underground since early 1991. Many underground fans credit the band with the invention of “slam-metal”; a variation of death metal that concentrates on punishing, pit-friendly grooves as opposed to blinding speed. Moreover, they are considered one of the true pioneers of the New York death metal scene. Their live shows are known for their incredible intensity and their fans are both loyal and rabid. In short, they helped create the standard by which we judge all things heavy. After the breakup of his original band Autumn Reign, guitarist Chris Pervelis went on to found the first INTERNAL BLEEDING lineup in early 1991. That winter, a case of 300 blank tapes were “found” at a local university and provided the inspiration to set up a 4-track recorder and record their first release—The One Dollar Demo. Shortly after that recording, INTERNAL BLEEDING started playing their first shows. In the winter of 1992, they released their now classic Invocation of Evil demo, which went on to sell an impressive 5,500+ copies through the now defunct Wild Rags Records. Soon, pressure started to come from Wild Rags, fans, and the band themselves, and INTERNAL BLEEDING returned to the studio to record another demo in early 1994. The result of all that pressure was what is considered today to be a masterpiece of underground music: Perpetual Degradation. The band immediately hit the road with a vengeance, promoting themselves and their music shamelessly. All that self-promotion and tireless dedication was to bear fruit at that year's Milwaukee Metal fest, where the band's captivating performance caught the eyes and ears of Pavement Music. They signed with the label and in 1995 released their debut album Voracious Contempt shortly thereafter. The group hit the road once again, this time around with world-renowned acts Immolation and Six Feet Under. Album sales were impressive, and the group kept busy throughout 1995 and 1996. By the time 1997 arrived, constant touring and hard work had taken its toll on the band, while financial troubles plagued Pavement Music. It was during this time that the group's second album, The Extinction of Benevolence, was released. No tour followed, and INTERNAL BLEEDING fell into a rut of inactivity. In late 1998, they regrouped, re-focused and began writing music that pushed their talents to the limit. Pavement Music picked up the finances and 1999 saw the band in the studio recording and releasing Driven to Conquer with ace producer Brian Griffin. Standout songs such as “Falling Down” and the title track became permanently enshrined in the band's live set, complimenting classics from their previous releases. The band decided to part ways with Pavement Music in 2000 due to lack of support and soon struck a deal with Olympic Recordings. A compilation of their early demos titled Alien Breed soon followed. After seeing the departure of the band's founder Chris Pervelis, Internal Bleeding released Onward to Mecca; a a very well produced, punishing slab of pure heaviness that perfectly fused their deathmetal roots with NY style hardcore. After the release, two small tours followed and the band seemed to fall into another state of disarray and literally disappeared from the music scene.

In early 2011, Chris Pervelis decided to pick up the pieces. He contacted original members Bill Tolley and Brian Hobbie about getting the back together. The three of them agreed and together began re-learning the band's classic back catalog. With the addition of Jason Liff on bass and legendary front man Keith DeVito (ex Suffocation, Catastrophic and Pyrexia) handling the vocals, the band has set out to devastate everyone in their path. Armed with a strong catalog of past material and plenty of new material, the band is once again at the forefront of the underground music scene and has been taking their show on the road, both in the USA and in Europe. In February 2014, the band signed with Unique Leader Records. Their newest album, Imperium, will be out in the fall. After the breakup of his original band Autumn Reign, guitarist Chris Pervelis went on to found the first INTERNAL BLEEDING lineup in early 1991. That winter, a case of 300 blank tapes were "found" at a local university and provided the impetus to set up a 4-track recorder and record their first demo —  the infamous One Dollar Demo. It was a crude recording, but underneath all the noise and hiss lay the seeds of a new genre of death metal.

In the winter of 1992, the band released their now classic Invocation of Evil demo. This recording got them closer to their goal of creating crushing death metal with grooves and hooks that stayed with the listener long after the stop button was hit. Critics and fans responded, and Invocation of Evil was eventually released on Wild Rags Records selling more than 5000 copies — the label's highest selling CD at the time. Relentless self-financed touring and promotion followed. Pressure started to build from Wild Rags, fans, and the band themselves and Internal Bleeding returned to the studio to record another demo in early 1994. The result of all that pressure is what can be considered today a masterpiece of underground music — Perpetual Degradation. The band had finally solidified their sound and even coined a description for it – Total Fucking Slam. As with Invocation of Evil, Perpetual Degradation broke Wild Rags' sales records once again — topping off at 6200 copies. They immediately hit the road with a vengeance, promoting themselves and their music shamelessly. All that self-promotion and tireless dedication was to bear fruit at that year's Milwaukee Metalfest, where the band's captivating performance caught the eyes and ears of Pavement Music. They signed with Pavement and in 1995 released their debut album, Voracious Contempt — a sonic  tour-de-force that truly highlighted the band's unique approach to death metal. Once again, the band hit the road, this time around with world-renowned acts Immolation and Six Feet Under. Album sales were impressive and the group kept busy throughout 1995 and 1996.

By the time 1997 arrived, the constant touring and hard work had taken a terrible toll on the band and financial troubles plagued Pavement Music. Oddly enough, it was one of the band's most creative periods, and  it was during this time that the group's second album The Extinction of Benevolence was released. Although the band thought it was their heaviest release to date, little support in both advertising and touring from the label saw the album's true potential cut short.

In late 1998, they regrouped, re-focused and began writing music that pushed their talents to the limit. Pavement Music picked up the finances and 1999 saw the band in the studio recording and releasing Driven to Conquer with ace producer Brian Griffin. Standout songs such as "Falling Down" and the title track became permanently enshrined in the band's live set, complimenting classics from their previous releases. The band decided to part ways with Pavement Music in 2000 due to lack of support and soon struck a deal with Olympic Recordings. A compilation of their early demos titled Alien Breed soon followed. After seeing the departure of the band's founder Chris Pervelis, Internal Bleeding released Onward to Mecca;  a very well produced, punishing slab of pure heaviness that perfectly fused their death metal roots with NY style hardcore. After the release, two small tours followed and the band seemed to fall into a state of disarray and literally vanished from the music scene.

In early 2011, Chris Pervelis decided to pick up the pieces and went about getting Internal Bleeding back together. With the primary original core of the group in tact, plus  the addition of Jason Liff on bass and legendary front man Keith DeVito (Pyrexia, Suffocation and Obituary) handling the vocals, the band set out to devastate everyone in their path, playing high-profile festivals in both Switzerland and Holland, as well as touring across the continental US. Due to demand and renewed interest in the band, in mid-2012 they released Heritage of Sickness —  another compilation of their sought-after demos, plus live tracks featuring Keith DeVito.

In 2013, they released an industry only teaser cd, which garnered plenty of label interest and early in March of 2014 the band signed a deal with Unique Leader Records to put out their upcoming album, Imeperium. Internal Bleeding is back and out to conquer the world with their patented, infectious brand of deathmetal.

Slam -  It Began with IB.
Many metal historians will credit different bands with the creation of the 'slam' genre in death metal. The simple truth is that Internal Bleeding coined the term in 1992 and began defining their music as "Total Fucking Slam" long before any other band even contemplated using the term - that is the plain fucking truth. Ask anyone who was involved in the Long Island Scene back then and they'll tell you - Internal Bleeding was using the word slam long before anyone else. They truly are the Godfathers of Slam.

History is Made at a Diner in Huntington New York. After practice one night in the fall of 1992, founding members Anthony Miola, Chris Pervelis and Bill Tolley decided to go out for a bite to eat. A lively discussion began about the direction and philosophy of the band. At the time, Internal Bleeding had described their music as "Barbaric Moshing Death Vomit," but the band thought it wasn't an apt description.

"Mosh is for thrash bands. Mosh is weak," drummer Bill Tolley said. Chris and Anthony nodded their heads in agreement. "We should call our music SLAM, 'cause that's what we are. One slam riff after another after another. Our music is all groove. No one is doing that," Bill said.

"Yeah, it's Total Fucking Slam," Chris chimed in. "That's it!" said Anthony, "Total Fucking Slam it is." The proof is in the print. This flyer from late 1993. From then on  the word SLAM proliferated. The shirt pictured is from 1994. Note the sleeve, proclaiming "Total Fucking Slam."

Answered By Chris Perverlis (Guitar)
Update 15 Mei 2014

Hi Chris, thanks for showing interest in answering this interview.How are you? Anything important to start with?
Chris : Hi Herry! No problem for answering the interview bro, it’s my pleasure. Currently, we are in the recording studio, finally getting all these news songs we’ve been writing for the past two years down and ready to release. We’re all very excited about it. I start my guitar tracks tonight, so that should be a lot of fun.

Since 1991, Internal Bleeding has been at the forefront of what is known as the Slam Genre in deathmetal and as a simple matter of fact they coined the term and invented it. Now, after an almost 10 Year hiatus the band is back with a new record label and a new release to shatter your mind. It's called " Imperium " and it's the best material they've done in a a careers spanning 20+ years. Imperium im-'pir-e-?m (n): supreme power or absolute dominion. and Chris, if you could tell me a little about the matter the most awaited by the SLAM fans?
Chris : Well, we’re really proud of this material. We have worked really hard on blending both the classic Internal Bleeding sound along with some new twists and turns, which will hopefully help take the slam genre into a stronger, more interesting direction. Seems like today a lot of bands are just rehashing the same type of structures and riffs that have been used over and over. We worked hard to try and break that cycle and introduce some different ways to throw down the groove. We really wanted to push ourselves on this release and make things interesting, unexpected and heavy as fucking hell. I think we succeeded, but ultimately the fans will decide.

We appreciate you taking time out of your busy schedule promoting your new album and rehearsing for your tour to take some time out to answer some questions for your fans. What's going on in the INTERNAL BLEEDING camp these days?

Chris : Like I said before, we’re knee-deep in the recording of the Imperium album. Yesterday (May 15, 2014), Jay finished up his bass tracks and today we’re going to start up on the guitar tracks. Once we finish up the recording, we’re going to take a little well-deserved rest, then we head to Columbia (Central America) for a little tour, then back home. In October there should be a full US tour to promote the album.

Can You tell us about the concept and story behind this masterpiece. The Cool story behind " Imperium ". The story is cool and Imentioned several influences in my review. Is this going to be like a " New Explosion " Strength Band after deciding to go back and write a new song for an Release?
Chris : The concept for the album title is loosely based on Internal Bleeding returning to the scene and claiming their throne. Musically, the album is definitely going to be a “new explosion” (as you would say) of power and heaviness. We’re all very energized and excited about the material and we feel like we haven’t missed a beat in 10 years. It’s like we picked up where we left off, but only more advanced and heavier.

An Amazed & excellent album that should be heard from some Trailer Release. If you really consider yourself a metalhead, give this band a try. and how the process of making this new material? whether all members are involved in every writing music?
Chris : I would say that I write 80-85% percent of the music, but Bill, Jay and Brian contribute music as well. The real magic with out music happens when we do the arrangements though. That’s a true team effort, and everyone is really involved in getting the arrangements just right; which with our music is one of the most critical aspects. Keith handles most of the lyric and vocal arrangements, but sometimes I contribute to that. In short, we all do our part in making each song the best it can be.

What the band decided to join the label Unique Leader Records, as the information that I read earlier, " Imperium " will release the band are Independent, whether Unique Leader Records has made a great deal for INTERNAL BLEEDING then accept it?
Chris : We were very happy with Unique Leader’s offer. We did have a bunch of offers from some larger labels, but they weren’t willing to commit the amount of financial resources and energy that Unique Leader was willing to. Beside, I’ve know those guys for many years, and they really do love underground music.

I know if this the label has more Brutal Death Bands Extra " Explosived ! " on the concept and still do not have a band with a more Catchy Concepts and Slam, perhaps after Pyrexia. it's possible you could explain a little bit Describe for this question?
Chris : Actually, the newest Pyrexia album is out on Unique Leader - and it crushes. I think Pyrexia and Internal Bleeding are probably the only two groove and slam oriented bands on the label. And that’s great, it makes us stand out more on their roster.

What is the Briliance special Concept Musick thing with INTERNAL BLEEDING? The guitar must be always Excellent Progress? Bass guitar and drums are allowed to be more Slam Groovy beaten? Or is it much more? How much guitar overdubbing and harmonization do you do in the studio? Is layering a necessity for the INTERNAL BLEEDING formula to work properly?
Chris : The glue that holds our sound together is our drummer Bill Tolley. He is the single most important element to our sound. His style is very unique and incredibly groovy. When we write music, it’s usually centered around what Bill would do. So, for example, when I am riff writing for a song, I always have in the back of my mind what Bill would be doing, this way whatever I write I know will have a groove to it. even our faster blasting parts always have some kind of groove or feel to them. That’s why we don’t blast at 1000 miles an hour like many bands do. We like to keep it so it has a groove and you can pick up on it. As far as guitar harmonization, we don’t go too crazy, but like to harmonize in 5ths or minor 3ds. We also like to keep “air” in our riffs and songs so that Jay our bass player can add his touches to the music. Not everything needs to be guitars all the time you know.

The musical approach is certainly ever-changing and pleasingly different. However, I hope you don't mind me saying, your Concept approach on this album is little or Changed than before. aren't always exactly what you'd expect. What was the motivation behind approaching the Changed in such an unusual manner?
Chris : Thanks for noticing that! We wanted to change things up by mixing the classic Internal Bleeding grooves with some different stuff too. You cannot always walk in the same footsteps over and over and over. It gets boring. I think as a musician, you should always ask yourself “How can I expand my band’s sound, without losing the core concept of the band?” We could have played it safe and did an exact re-hash of what we did in the early 1990s, but there are thousands of bands out there doing that today. We want to step up our game, throw people for a loop and get them to hear some different stuff. You’ll know it’s Internal Bleeding when the grooves kick in, but there’s also a lot of different things in our new stuff to shake up the staleness.

Chris, Actually what you make a decision to start again INTERNAL BLEEDING since you are not with the band after "Driven to Conquer", is yearning to return to play the best music to INTERNAL BLEEDING returned to be one of the main factors as heart calls you the deepest?
Chris : Yes. I missed the music terribly when I left the band for a while. I had to do it though. I had just started my business, and my attention needed to be focused on that. I couldn’t give 100% love to Internal Bleeding when I was constantly trying to get the business off the ground. Once that happened, I felt the time was right to get back in and get things up and running again.

And if you are also quite liked the concept of this band without you anymore since "Onward to Mecca"? What Is Frank Buffolino and Matt Ferrera has done its best to INTERNAL BLEEDING without you? Fans Know it all, if Chris Perverlis is INTERNAL BLEEDING! then your own opinion about This?
Chris : I think Matt and Frank did a great job in my absence and carried the Internal Bleeding torch in a very good way - especially with some of the songs they wrote on Onward to Mecca. But, so you know also (and not many people know this), many songs on that Onward to Mecca album were written by me and Guy Marchais (Suffocation), so there is a strong legacy there. The continuity between the stuff me and guy wrote and the stuff written by Frank and Matt fit seamlessly together, that’s why I think they did such a fantastic job.I have heard from a lot of people that “Internal Bleeding is Chris Pervelis”, but that is not true. I may have founded the band, but as long as the spirit of the band is intact, it is still Internal Bleeding. I hope you understand that. More importantly, Bill Tolley is the only member who has played on every release, so he should not be excluded in any talks about who Internal Bleeding is.

Hey Chris, Are you currently is also busy working for CGP? whether it actually CGP? Does the same job with Perverlis Design?
Chris : It’s actually CGP creative, that’s my business. I run a full-service advertising agency that does print advertising, web design, logo design, etc. cgp stands for Christopher Gregory Pervelis. This is my full-time job. You may check out my website at www.cgpcreative.com

A question I like to ask a lot on musicians that follow the underground, is the question on downloading. What would your reaction be if someone told you that he downloaded both your albums and thought they were awesome, and what to someone that told you he bought the albums and thought they were shit?
Chris : That’s a great question and here is where I stand: I do not like it when people steal music and downloading without paying for it is stealing. It hurts the artist and it hurts the record label, distributors, etc. Bbeing that I don’t make a living from music, the whole downloading thing doesn’t really bother me that much, even though I think it’s wrong. But I do know some bands,  Suffocation for example, who are trying to make a living off their music. When you download a song illegally, you are denying them their income and way of life. That’s not a good situation. However, if someone downloads, then starts purchasing band merchandise from the band, etc. that’s at least helping the band and makes up for things a little bit. If someone came up to me and told me they just downloaded our album and love it, I would most certainly be happy, but I would also be a little bit conflicted. If someone bought the album and didn’t like it, I would feel bad that they wasted their money, but I would also be thankful that the invested in Internal Bleeding.

Overall, it's time to come to an end now. Hope you enjoyed this interview? Thanks for answering my questions and the time you spend on them. I hope I didn't forget anything? If there's something left to say at the end feel free to use this opportunity now. The last words are yours!
Chris : We are humbled and in awe of the amount of fans we have from your country. We hope we can get there one day and do some gigs for you guys. That would be a dream come true. Thank you for your time and thanks to everyone who is reading this. Check us out at the following links:

Important Notes :
Interview dalam Versi Bahasa Indonesia HANYA tersedia
pada LIMITED PRINTED EDITION LOSTINCHAOS # 25

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