Interview with King Fowley of the great death/thrash band Deceased |
Of all the names that are constantly bandied about the heavy metal underground, few are quite as deserving of plaudits and reverence as Deceased. First imprinting their names upon the underground with the putrescent, flesh-flaying fecundity of Luck Of The Corpse, Deceased's carrion-infested sound has undergone significant renovation/evolution since their fabled debut, but through its various incarnations, from the dreary, morbid epic-thrash of Fearless Undead Machines to the uproarious, perversely melodic, SURGING sinew of Supernatural Addiction, the focal core of Deceased's philosophy has remained immutable. Adamantly underground and vehemently obstinate, metal warlord King Fowley has, for a decade and some change, provided Deceased with its chillingly macabre vertebrae, his bloodstained lyrical excursions into decay and dementia propelling listeners through horror and paranoia. Truly, Deceased is an underground institution, absolutely deserving of its place alongside dark metal's most nefarious legionnaires- Atomic Rooster, Pentagram, Black Sabbath, Death SS, Black Hole, Witchfynde, Cirith Ungol, Mercyful Fate, Demon, Deceased. Percussionist, vocalist and heavy metal poet laureate, King Fowley is a living legend, and it is an absolute honor for me to have had the following exchange with him. Enjoy. |
Diabolical Conquest (Nin): Hails, King! Let me first of all start this interview by saying this is a real honor for me, I've been a devout fan since Fearless Undead Machines first invaded my world at the age of 16! I'd like to begin with a rather lofty question- As someone who's lived through the NWOBHM, through the innumerable fluctuations in heavy metal, from the Morrisound boom to second-wave black metal, what, in your opinion, defines the essence of heavy metal, the spirit that has remained throughout all of its incarnations? What does the idea of ‘'heavy metal'' embody for King Fowley?
King: WELL EVERYONE HAS THEIR THINGS IN THIS WORLD. To me if you wanna drink or drug, that's your thing. I don't knock or condemn it! It's not for me! I've been down those streets and for me it always ended up a path I wished I'd never of taken. People should always do what feels best to them but make sure the reasoning has commitment to match. Sometimes folks just do things to do things and that to me is being a follower, not a leader to yourself!
DC: Let's talk about Deceased for a while. One thing I've ALWAYS appreciated about Deceased's lyrics is the fact that there's a cryptic, esoteric otherworldliness about them…it's not D-grade horror schlock or gorey hack n slash nonsense, but there is a real tortured darkness within. The title track on “Blueprints For Madness”, for instance, is truly frightening, really conveying desperation in one's struggle to retain his sanity. I really get the sense that you aren't intent on using horror as a gimmick, there is a real unnerving quality in the Deceased stuff that I also feel in stuff like Slayer's “Seasons In The Abyss”, early Death SS, Mercyful Fate, Sacred Oath, Satan's Host and early Black Sabbath…what is it that attracts you to such frightening topics? King: How do you want people to react to Deceased's lyrics? Well I'm a very fun going guy but inside my brain also lives the mysterious world of death and the morbid side of life. It's always been with me. Not sure if it was from my father dying so young and me as a youngster kinda being put into it early on in life. I'm really not sure. It is a big part of every day of my life. It's in my thoughts ALOT. As for my lyrics, I do appreciate when people take the time to read them and perceive their own visions of them. Lyrics to me are a big part of music I'm a part of. I try to be a haunting storyteller at times, unleash my own dark thoughts through music and
just keep the fork in the road because in life there always is a twist in about everything we do. It's just the pattern of life! We live our lives the best we can for the final reward of death. It's very eerie to me! It can be so many things. But no one has the answer! CURIOSITY ALWAYS LINGERS! ~
King: For me man really doesn't ever win! There can be small 'victories' but in the scheme of it all, the loss always come at some point. I don't see happiness and peace to man. I see moments in time where the person's world is peaceful. But then comes the darkness again and again and again.
King: 'The kept' is a song about personality transplant. It's about adding to yourself day in and day out, always trying to make the picture perfect person you see somewhere down inside yourself. But at the end of the day it's never quite there. Through things we experience in life, situations brought to us throughout life, and simply living. For me the real realization is knowing that no one will ever be perfect, so we must stop our quest to be and live our lives while we are around to do so!~
DC: I feel as though a lot of people have been quick to use such terms as “death metal” or “melodic death metal” to describe Deceased, and while such terms may help to paint a sonic picture of what Deceased are about, I feel as though such crude generalizations are very callous and inappropriate when describing the overall aesthetic of the band. To me, your band has a lot more to do with, say, Atomic Rooster on “Death Walks Behind You”, Death SS, Mercyful Fate, Deep Switch, Black Sabbath, Future Tense, Cloven Hoof and early Necrophagia than Deicide or Autopsy or anything like that. Does it upset you that people are so quick to use categorizations that have little to no meaning? King: People categorize all the time. To be lumped in with other bands that pretty much sound nothing like us is odd to me but music is heard from one persons ears to the next persons ears. All we do is play and write our music. To label us is limiting us. For me i call it death metal because my lyrics/themes are based on death and plays around inside the aura of it all and we build our musical foundation through heavy metal music and all of it's character.
DC: Does it bother you that the dark and tortured aspect of heavy metal is becoming increasingly downplayed for the sake of garish ‘'fuck christ'' blasphemy (black metal), whiny overemotional introspection, textbook anatomical references (post-CARCASS goregrind) and pseudo-intellectual political statements?
DC: Let's talk about October 31 for a while. I think in some way October 31 seems like a means for you to explore your influences in a fashion that is removed from the epic aspirations of Deceased, more of a ‘'fun'' band (though this not to suggest at all that the musical content is any less worthy or that Deceased is any less of a passionate/sincere endeavor). Do you think such a conclusion is fair? What do you see as the primary difference that separates October 31 and Deceased? King: OCTOBER 31 lets me unleash out of my heart my love for traditional heavy metal sounds. Nothing more, nothing less. We have fun with it all! we give em the OVER THE TOP show on the stage. We play for an era of music we all really love in the band! the main difference for DECEASED and OCTOBER 31 is that for OCTOBER 31 we scale it way down. We don't do anything more then write the song and go and play it! it's firmly routed in tradition, arrangements as well! DECEASED has an edge to it that we crafted into as we got older and learned our craft more and more.
DC: In many senses I would say that October 31 is more “death metal” than Deceased, in the sense that it more fully explores death (“Meet Thy Maker” being a full-fledged exploration of that, “Back Alley Murders”) and the afterlife (“What Waits Beyond”) . Yet, for the most part, the lyrics for October 31 seem more immediate, more grounded in human experience than the more paranormal fixations of Deceased. While fear takes a similar prominence in October 31, the realm in which the narratives are set seems to be different, there are no servants of the undead lurking in the darkness, only Man's innate fears and convictions (“For There Was War!” is fucking GREAT). What do you think your goals are with October 31 thematically? Is it an outlet for topics/feelings you can't usually address with Deceased (such as stuff like “Powerhouse” and “Behind The Castle Walls”)? King: Its topics which i find 'heavy metal-like'. It breaks no new barriers just continues rolling on like bands and sounds of those before us. It is simple 'set em up and knock em down' formula! And it feels good and fresh in a time when so many 'retro' bands copy a riff and style just to do so. With no heart or integrity they leave it dead in the water.
King:
I get emails all the time asking for the cds and when new material will surface. Cutty sark rules, we both know that! JAM TO THE RAMP!!!
King: OLD METAL RECORDS was another dream of mine I have fullfilled. brining out bands and music from the past and updating the format for todays metal world. It felt good to talk with bands like SOUND BARRIER, WILD DOGS, and BLESSED DEATH, to get the chance to release some music that is forever in my heart! It at times was hectic. You wouldn't believe how many obstacles come up to get an album not many have cared about for 15-20 years back out. alot of headaches and a few liars and bullshitters along the way. But integrity and sincerity have won out. OLD METAL goes on but at a slow pace these days. So many labels now re-issuing stuff onto c.d. hopefully for the right reasons, THE MUSIC. keep an eye out for releases!
King: A zillion of lps! haha WILDFIRE 'brute force and ignorance', BLACKLACE 'unlaced', BITCH 'be my slave'. bands like STAIRWAY, SACRED FEW, MILITIA, WITCH, ARAGORN, ASTAROTH, THUNDERFIRE, and a zillion more. keep digging into the vaults, never stop! no one has it all
DC: How do you feel about this resurgent interest in NWOBHM, old Swedish heavy metal, old epic American heavy metal like Cirith Ungol, Omen, Manilla Road and ‘70s ‘'proto-metal'' like Pentagram? It seems like all these movements that have been thoroughly unfashionable for so many years are now ‘'cult'', and many bandwagoneers have latched on to these ancient sounds. Do you see this as a positive thing, that all these kids are now shelling hundreds of dollars on e-bay for old vinyl, some of which doesn't contain very good music in the first place (kids buying things just because it says NWOBHM or ‘70s rock records just because it's rare…like ELIAS HULK or SORCERY's ‘'sinister soldiers'', who I personally find to be merely an ‘'okay'' band). King: THE MARKET IS WHAT IT IS. things come into fashion then back out. It's how it is! for me, those who buy these lp's should wanna buy them. should want to study where metal was born and evolved from. that to me is what it's about. not the raritie value of a MILITIA 12 inch, etc.
DC: We'll close with this one, as a friend is anxious to know if you
like SAXON King: c! Saxon rules!~ soldiers of heavy rock metal for life. Great guys and great band! power and the glory forever!
King: Thank you for the good questions and for your support of music in general! Keep in touch and have a great fall/winter, those are the spookiest times of the year! in metal! your friend always, King Fowley
- Conducted by Nin Chan
September 20th, 2005 |
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© 2005 Diabolical Conquest |
King: Well to me it's just the entire big picture. It's the love for the music. It's the constant need to hear the music. It's the collecting of the music. The support to other brothers and sisters of the metal world. The entire aura of it! NEVER caring what's 'in' or what's 'out'! Just living it, day in and day out! ~ ALWAYS 
King: For me i've always said how i felt. I hide behind nothing. To become the character in the song is easy because every person in this world has to look inside themselves. We all have questions and look for answers. Finding the answers only leads to more questions. It's a wheel that never slows and never haults. We all grow and grow and grow. Our minds push us forward and the thoughts inside the mind sometimes brings us backwards. 
King: There is very little metal that is TRULY dark and mystical nowadays..the Cirith Ungols, the Mercyful Fates, the Witchfyndes have all gone, and I think Deceased are one of the few still carrying on that heritage. In many ways, I would say that horror movies have taken a similar turn…we are a long ways away from macabre masters like Fulci, instead we have mass-marketed sterilized nonsense…Do you see Deceased in the midst of all that, trying to preserve heavy metal's darkness? i can tell you this. My lyrics and themes with DECEASED will always be based in the darker side of life. It's in my blood and it is part of what started this band. it is sad so few bands will really convey a morbid death-like vibe in thier style anymore. Everyone it seems is too busy trying to keep up with trends and fads. we don't care about those kinda things, so we just write what we want. That is how it's been and how it will always be! ~ 
DC: Doomstone…will we ever see this sinister behemoth rise again? I was a HUGE fan of all the Doomstone stuff, and the Cutty Sark cover…what a cool tribute to such an overlooked band! you never know! there's plans for a third l.p! 
