Interview with Demented of Aeturnus Dominion Interview questions by militia |
HailMetal: Could you please introduce your band to our readers? When did it all start?
Demented: Sure, Aeturnus Dominion came together in early 2003 with Jester (Jesse Aiken) on lead vocals, Rat (Dave Wratten) on bass, Ozi (Steve Austin) on drums and myself, Demented (Ted Foster) on lead guitar and vocals. Spud (Tait Kristen) joined late 2003. Other than Spud though, we have been together in various hard rock/metal bands since 1995.
HailMetal: An industrial accident severed a few of your fingers. Could you explain to us what happened and has it had a major impact on your guitar playing abilities?
Demented: Yeah this was one of the worst days, i`ve had to experience. I was working in a joinery and was operating the spindle molder (industrial router). I slipped and stuck out my hands to stop me from falling. Unfortuantely the right hand went straight into the cutting blades and instantly the fingers were shaved off. This was a horrific experience, very painful and life altering.It has had an adverse effect on my employment and also on my guitar playing. At first I wasn`t sure if I could play again and as the months passed I picked up the guitar and started strumming with my thumb. Finger tapping is somewhat of a problem now, but a song planned for the new CD called `Blackness Descending` has a dual guitar finger tapping intro, thats an endeavor to play, but I manage.
HailMetal: Aeturnus Dominion plays bastard metal. What exactly do you consider as bastard metal?
Demented: Ha Ha, I’ve had a lot of people ask me about it, even had some slander me due to it."is it thrash, death or black metal, you`re no fucking messiah, etc" are among many remarks made about us branding ourselves bastard metal. I consider bastard metal a genre with no boundaries, no limitations. I love all metal, death, black, doom, speed, Viking, war, power, old school, nu, etc. Having also played various genres in many bands has had an influence on how I write. It’s like a child with no father and many fathers at the same time, a bastard child. Most who hear us agree with our terminology, but, I suggest having a listen and making up your own mind.
HailMetal: You have released 2 demos in the past. Where can we buy those demos from?
Demented: As I said above I recorded some songs as Disciple Of Death. These songs had my vocals removed and Jesters recorded. (This became our demo `Terrorize`. with the only difference being the vocal) Even though the band gets credit on the cover, its actually all programmed drums, bass and keyboards, I made up with my Sony Playstation then recorded to an 8 track. I overdubbed the guitars and vocals. The reaction from friends was positive and so Aeturnus Dominion came to be! The only way Terrorize is available is by download and is no longer available from us. Trivia: There was also a Led Zep cover (Immigrant Song) omitted from the recording as we didn’t want to breech any copyright laws.... Semper Tyranis is actually a promo CD and is available for $10 at gigs or can be ordered via our website.
HailMetal: A good fact to point out is that all your demos are pretty lengthy with 7 to 9 tracks each. Are you planning to release them as CDs?
Demented: Terrorize - No, its not good enough! But, Semper Tyranis was intended to be a CD in the first place. So to get a label backed release would be awesome. If not we are saving the funds to press it and release it ourselves.
HailMetal: How were the demos received by metal fans?
Demented: Terrorize was ok, I guess, most seemed to genuinely like it. Semper Tyranis though, has received great comments from many people, both old and new fans alike.
HailMetal: Your first full length CD titled `Annihilation Process` is due out this year. Can you tell us how has the recording been going thus far and is it actually finished?
Demented: We had planned to record this before the New Year and it was also going to have alot of older unrecorded material included. But, we had second thoughts and decided to write some new slabs of bastardry to include on the CD. We begin recording the drums tracks at the end of January. All going well it should be available from us by June.
HailMetal: Tell us what we can expect with this release?
Demented: Some solid head banging material, although we have tried to be a little more technical in the newer songs, I think we have retained the brutality in each song! Definitely Aeturnus Dominion!
HailMetal: The CD cover work of your demos is quite amazing! Who deserves all the credit and do they have any specific meaning?
Demented: Terrorize features cover artwork by Mr R.S. Connett of Maximus Vomitus (vomitus.com). Semper Tyranis features cover art by Roy Jager, a friend of mine in Holland (tryym.com).
HailMetal: You recently played with Dungeon (being power metal) and Raven Black Night (being Doom metal). How is it playing with bands that are not in the same genre as you guys?
Demented: A gig is a gig I guess. We were honored to be included in that gig and the night went off. Yes we were slightly alienated crowd wise as I`m aware that our vocals are generally disliked by the power metal fans. If we make only one fan per gig then we`re satisfied. Luckily we managed to gain a few on New Years! From what I`ve noticed fans of all metal genres seem to like us, except the die hard power metal fan!
HailMetal: A slightly odd question, but can such bands influence you guys musically as I know that you have been in quite a few different bands during your music career?
Demented: Yes every genre of metal has a direct influence on my writing. I love all metal, the best of every genre. It`s only natural to want to draw from them to create. I feel this is what contributes to our sound and style. Not limiting ourselves allows us to play anything and still sound like we do!
HailMetal: Aeturnus Dominion were entered in the 2004 Music Oz Awards and ended up with a placing in the `Top 10 unsigned metal/hardcore bands in Australia`. What is the feeling in the Aeturnus camp about these awards and the bands placement?
Demented: Ahh, we were wrapped at first and still are. Although, we knew we`d never get any further than we did, we were very disappointed to see the top 5 bands all being hardcore. I feel these have to be separated to give metal bands a chance. MTV friendly hardcore will win it every time if they don’t have separate categories...
HailMetal: I noticed that you guys are not on the Metal for the Brain line up. Is this because you have not released any full length CDs or the fact that the band is still fairly new on the scene? Can you give us a more specific reason?
Demented: Wish I knew, last we heard was our profile isn`t big enough to be worthy of inclusion. It`s the old catch 22 situation, we need to play to a crowd like MFTB to gain a bigger fan base and need the bigger fan base to play the gig in the first place! We are gaining momentum and hope to play in Brisbane and Melbourne by the end of this year. Hopefully our profile is bigger and we can get slotted into a metal fest. We were supposed to play the Reign In Metal gig, but had prior arrangements in the ACT. If it’s on again in 2005 though, we are there!
HailMetal: Are you considering releasing a DVD at some point in the future? Where would you like to record this DVD and would you have any extra content?
Demented: lol, don’t know! Never really thought about it, maybe a live DVD with some extras may happen, not for a while though.
HailMetal: In the past you`ve declined offers from labels (both local and global). Could you tell us the reasons why?
Demented: Ahh, yeah nothing worse than thinking, `Yes this is it` only to find bad press or something to sour the feeling. Yes, we have turned down labels for various reasons, among which are; paying to be included on the label`s website. Only releasing CDr copies and ignoring artists already signed to the label. If the label isn’t as believing in us as we are, then there is no point.
HailMetal: Given the opportunity to choose a metal label, which would it be and why?
Demented: Getting onto a label such as Earache or Metal Blade would be wicked, but we would be content with a label that has faith in what we are doing.
HailMetal: What`s does the future bring for Aeturnus Dominion? I would love to see you guys tour with Vaticide because those guys are somewhat similar to the style that you play.
Demented: Yeah, Vaticide kick a lot of arse and if the boys are up for it, we would be happy to do play!
HailMetal: What are the plans for the band for the rest of 2005? Any closing comments?
Demented: Record and release the new CD. Play some gigs in support of it from Melbourne to Brisbane and get a label deal. Above all though, just performing and spreading the word on Aeturnus Dominion like a whore in a brothel.
I`d like to thank Goran and all at Hail Metal for supporting the underground!
Props to you!
Cheers \\m/
Ted
