METAL NIGHTMARE: ASPHYX INTERVIEW 2010

Wow. It's been a long time since ASPHYX were in these pages... all the way back in issue eight, to be exact. At the time, On the Wings of Inferno had been released, and they called it a day before the interview made it onto the internet. As we all know, it turned out that this was not the end of the band. Just a short time ago, Bob Bagchus (drums) and Martin van Drunen (vocals) worked things out and decided it was time to bring back the Ghost of Death. They recruited Wannes Gubbels to play bass, and Paul Baayens (HAIL OF BULLETS) to play guitar. After a few shows and a highly anticipated 7", they decided that an album was in order. And so it was that we were all blessed with the release of Death the Brutal Way. I really couldn't let Metal Nightmare end without one final chat, and Bob was kind enough to oblige me.

All photos are taken from ASPHYX's Myspace page and used with their permission.

OK, so what happened after the On the Wings of Inferno album that caused ASPHYX to end?

The band spirit was lost. Eric [Daniels, guitar] had a mental breakdown, and I was fed up with everything. There simply was no spirit in the band anymore, although On the Wings... is a great album.

In the years between the last album and the reunion, were you still playing music at all?

No. I was just working and working and raised a family.

How did the whole reunion happen to begin with? I think I heard it was because one of the European fests really wanted you guys to do a one-off?

The Party San fest called me in September 2006 to do an exclusive ASPHYX show with the original The Rack line-up. But Eric couldn't do it at that time so Martin [van Drunen, vocals] and myself didn't want to do it either. But then Martin came up with Paul [Baayens, guitar], and after some heavy thinking we gave it a try, which went great. We also asked Wannes [Gubbels] to handle the bass since he was part of the line-up on the On the Wings of Inferno album.

As a fan, one of the more notable things about the reunion is that Martin came back into the fold. How did this come about?

Without Martin it was a no-go anyway. That wouldn't have made a lot of sense to do the show without him. If Martin had said no, then I would have not done it. But Martin was thinking of doing something with ASPHYX again anyhow,so he was very excited.

At the time Martin rejoined, I would assume that Wannes was fine with no longer fronting the band as he did before?

Yes, but at first the Party San wanted ASPHYX in The Rack and The Last One On Earth line-up anyway. But we asked Wannes since he was the frontman at the On the Wings... period and a longtime friend. Also we had to cancel the Party San show in 2000 for some reason, so also for Wannes it was a kind of "settle the score". But Martin was always the main and most important frontman of ASPHYX.

Was Eric not interested in trying again? Did he give you guys his blessing?

He was, but he just couldn't handle it mentally and physically. But indeed he gave us his blessings which meant a lot to us,and especially to Paul.

Was the initial attitude you guys had one of "let's just do a couple of shows", and then it grew from there into first the 7" and then the album?

The initial thought was "let's just do the Party San show and then call it a day again". But we did more shows,then the 7" and finally the Death the Brutal Way album. We enjoyed it a lot and still do.

Will this album be a one-off thing, or are chances good that you'll be doing more in the future?

There will be a live DVD/CD from our DTBW release show in Germany in June. It's a real and one hundred percent honest live recording without any overdubbing or whatsoever. It's all there,the brutality, the rawness,the atmosphere,the mistakes and fuck ups. One hundred percent live. Also we'll be recording a track for the split 7" with HOODED MENACE.

Once again, Century Media opts not to release your album over here? What's the story with that?

That's a thing Century Media US decides. We're probably not a trendy metalcore band or such.... and we don't care. It's being released now by a great and dedicated label,so we're happy.

Did you approach Ibex Moon for the US release, or did they come to you?

We asked Ibex Moon. We've met John [McEntee] at the Maryland Death Fest and he's a one hundred percent dedicated guy who knows his roots in the scene. They're doing a great job!

Had the DVD that was released as part of the album been planned from the start, or do they record all the bands that play Party San?

They record all the bands,but since this was kinda "our festival" and it was so special we decided to include it in the CD. A killer package.

It's interesting to note that it's Paul who writes most (if not all) of your music now. Does writing in the ASPHYX style come naturally to him, or did he have to learn it first in some way? Playing is one thing, writing is different.

Paul writes all the music. Paul always was an ASPHYX fan and Eric was one of his favourite guitarists, so it comes natural to him. But not everybody has that ASPHYX feeling, so Martin and myself were amazed when Paul came up with the first riffs. And then he started to compose whole songs and we were blown away. Martin and I did some minor arrangements here and there.

ASPHYX has never been a band with guitar solos for the most part. Is this by intent or by accident?

No,we hate it. ASPHYX is a riff oriented band. It's intentional. Sometimes we have a "solo" but that's mostly the atmospheric riff-like solo, or some tremolo krushing.

Out of curiosity, Is the 7" version of "Death the Brutal Way" different than the album version?

Yes,it's faster. The album version is a bit slower and heavier. We like it better that way.

The term "brutal" has some very different connotations these days, compared to when you were originally using the term. What does "brutal" mean to you?

"Brutal" means to us that's it's non-compromising, raw, sloppy and heavy. It also means creepy.

Out of all of CELTIC FROST's material, why did you guys decide to cover "Os Abysmi Vei Daath"?

Since the Monotheist album was released by Century Media and we had to cover a CMR band for the anniversary cd. At first we wanted to cover GRAVE, but another band did that already, so we chose the FROST tune, which came out great I must say.

How was playing the US for the first time? Other than your set getting cut, of course.

It was great! We got a great welcome at the MDF. But yes, our set being cut short sucked A LOT, so we'll play again this year with a complete set.

Do you guys perform any of the SOULBURN stuff, or have those songs been left behind?

No,although SOULBURN is great.

For that matter, a lot of bands these days seem to be into re-releasing their demos on CD. Is there the chance that you might do the same?

It's already done now. CMR re-released Embrace the Death from 1990 with our demo's and 7" on it. It came out great!!

What are your thoughts on this old school revival that's going on, with bands like DEAD CONGREGATION, BLOOD MORTIZED, MAIM and DEATHEVOKATION?

Great, of course! And not to forget NECROS CHRISTOS which is one of my faves. DEAD CONGREGATION and DEATHEVOKATION are awesome bands and guys!

What can we expect from ASPHYX in the new year?

The live DVD/CD, and the split 7" with HOODED MENACE.

Final comments and thoughts are yours!

Thanx alot for this interview, Tom! Too bad it's the last issue of Metal Nightmare. See you at the MDF.