DISMEMBERED FETUS | Interview with the HateGrind/Noise Band - Dismembered Fetus

Diabolical Conquest (Kunal N. Choksi): People were not used to such explicit and politically incorrect music back in 1996 when your soul-scarring ‘Generation of Hate' CD was released. What was the reaction of the people back then? Did any human rights activist groups protest in front of your house?

Dismembered Fetus: !!EVERYONE WE CAME IN CONTACT WITH WAS SCARRED FOR LIFE AFTER COMING TO ONE OF OUR SHOWS,BECAUSE THE LEVEL THAT WE WERE WILLING TO TAKE IT TO THEN WAS NOT HELD BACK BY FEAR OF THE LAW,PEOPLES PERSONAL VIEWPOINTS, OR DEATH ITSELF!!!!!WE HAD ALOT OF RUN INS WITH PROLIFE ACTIVISTS BECAUSE WE WOULD GO OUT LATE AT NIGHT TO CLINICS AND TRY AND FIND DISMEMBERED FETUS'S IN DUMPSTERS...WE ALL HAD STRIPPER GIRLFRIENDS AND GREW UP IN A CIRCLE THAT HAD ABORTIONS,VIOLENT BEATINGS,OVERDOSING,PROSTITUTION, AND POVERTY, SO WHEN PEOPLE THAT WEREN'T USED TO THAT HAD IT SHOVED DOWN THEIR THROATS, THE REACTION WAS FEAR AND HATE!!!WE WANTED TO SHOW THEM OUR REALITY,OUR WORLD,OUR CURSED LIVES!!!!!

DC: Are you guys actually violent in real life or is it just a suppressed part of your personality that is expressed through your music, failing which you guys would probably explode with so much hate stored inside of you? Apart from Anal Cunt, which bands have influenced Dismembered Fetus' music? What made Dismembered Fetus want to create such hateful music?

DF: WE ARE REALLY THAT VIOLENT...JUST ASK ANYONE WHO CAME TO OUR SHOWS...WE DIDN'T WANT TO BE SOME FAKE ASS HAIRBAND THAT SANG ABOUT CUTTING GIRLS UP AND EATING OUT THEIR ASSHOLES...WE WERE THE REAL FUCKING DEAL...A FAMILY...A MAFIA....AS FAR AS BANDS THAT INFLUENCED US....??????SLAYER,SUFFOCATION,DISRUPT,ETC......BANDS THAT REALLY HAD HATRED!!!!!ANAL CUNT AND GG ALLIN ARE ON TOP OF MY LIST...SETH WAS REAL....HE WOULD GET BEAT UP JUST TO MAKE SURE HE HAD A GOOD SHOW....AND GG ALLIN...ENOUGH SAID...WE ARE FULL OF HATRED AND IF YOU LISTEN TO OUR SONGS YOU CAN HEAR ALL THE PAIN,ANGUISH,AND HATE!!!!!!!!!

DC: Interestingly, going by the ‘Generation of Hate' thank list almost all of the Dismembered Fetus band members seem to have high regard for their parents and friends, so technically you guys can't be called misanthropes. What do your girlfriends/wives, parents and non-metal friends think of your lovely music?

DF: THEY ALL SUPPORT IT BECAUSE THEY CREATED IT....WITHOUT THE FUCKED UP SHIT THEY PUT US THROUGH THERE WOULD BE NO FETUS!!

DC: To have an intro after every song isn't uncommon but ‘Generation of Hate' has “noise” tracks instead of intros. Also, Dismembered Fetus has a tendency to stop the music and resume it several times in the same song, creating the impression that the next song has started when the same song is going on. What is the intention behind all this?

DF: WE LIKE TO BUILD THE INTENSITY AND THEN GIVE THE LISTENER A CHANCE TO DIGEST IT , THEN WE BRING IT BACK UP AGAIN LIKE VOMIT....THE PURPOSE IS TO LET THEM KNOW THAT THERE IS NO END TO THE ALL CONSUMING HATRED INSIDE...ONLY MOMENTS OF PEACE THAT WILL ALWAYS FADE AWAY..

DC: How did you manage to remove such caustic, spiteful and utterly terrifying vocals? To me they sound like glass shards being gurgled in a ruptured throat while the vocalist is screaming out in pain.

DF: FOR VOCALS...ME AND ACE WOULD SCREAM UNTIL IT MADE US PUKE, AND THEN WE WOULD BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF EACH OTHER WHILE THE MICS WERE RECORDING.

DC: ‘Generation of Hate' probably had the most unabashedly offensive artwork for its time, which was a perfect representative of your kind of hate/noise/grind music. My CD had supplementary artworks inside, one with a specific warning: “This Picture is very explicit. If you don't like it don't look”. That's fucking awesome if you ask me, but did you ever think of your CD getting banned because of the artworks? Some countries are known to be sensitive to such issues.

DF: YA, WE THOUGHT ABOUT THAT AND WE ACTUALLY HAD SOME DISCS SENT BACK BY CUSTOMS FROM AFRICA...WE NEVER REALLY CARED IF WE GOT BANNED OR NOT AND IT ONLY MADE US DO MORE OFFENSIVE SHIT KNOWING THAT WE COULD POTENTIALLY FUCK UP SOMEONES DAY..

DC: Dismembered Fetus broke up soon after releasing ‘Generation of Hate'. What were the reasons behind that? Some of the band members went on to play in Yeast Infection, which was similar but definitely not the same musically. Why did you decide to form a new band instead of reforming Dismembered Fetus at that time?

DF: PRISON,DRUGS, AND DEATH

DC: Ex-band member Jae Mephistopheles “Foetusgrubber” did most of the wonderful artworks of Dismembered Fetus. Apart from his stomach-revolting imagination, I admire his attention to detail like crayons falling out of the little girl's hand when the furious demented looking, gun-wielding person on your cover artwork is pulling her hair. What inspired him to create such violent pieces of art? Did you guys guide him in any way? Does he do artworks for other bands?

DF: MEPHISTOPHELES WOULD JUST DRAW WHATEVER CAME TO HIS TWISTED MIND....IT WAS PERFECT FOR US BECAUSE IT WAS SO DISTURBING!!!!!OTHER BANDS ARTWORK?HE MOSTLY DID SHIT FOR US...WE AREN'T JUST A BAND LIKE I SAID...WE ARE FAMILY, AND IT SHOWED WHEN YOU CAME TO SEE US LIVE...WITH US OR AGAINST US!!!

DC: Your album has samples from Goodfellas, Reservoir Dogs, Full Metal Jacket, Cape Fear, Higher Learning, etc. What kind of movies are guys into? Which are your favourite movies?

DF: HORROR,VIOLENCE,PORN ETC...ALL THE BEST SHIT..

DC: It has been over a decade since Dismembered Fetus' last release. What made you want to regroup the band now? Is there a change in the line-up? Considering that most reunions have failed, and with ‘Generation of Hate' being regarded as a genre classic for some, did you ever think your comeback album could mar your band's cult status?

DF: THERE IS ALWAYS A CHANCE OF MARRING OUR CULT STATUS,BUT WERE NOT WRITING FUCKING BALLADS,TRYING TO "GROW"AS A BAND...SAME HATE!!!EVEN MORE HATE!!!!!!WE WON'T WRITE SHIT THAT SUCKS.....All THE MEMBERS ARE THE SAME EXCEPT OUR OLD GUITARIST....NOW WE HAVE ACE,CREEP,JEREMY,AND CAVEMAN...ME AND ACE WRITE ALL THE RIFFS SO NOTHING WILL CHANGE..

DC: With Dismembered Fetus members playing in two other active bands, Festering Puke and Yeast Infection, does it cause any kind of problems in the band's songwriting process? How can you explain the inconsistent and irregular line-up on ‘Generation of Hate'? How come in spite of being around for a decade, all the three bands have just a release each (barring Dismembered Fetus' split with Drogheda)? Was it lack of motivation, funds or inspiration? Obviously, in such times the latter won't be much of an issue for your kind of music.

DF: WE ACTUALLY HAVE 4 ALBUMS..."HATE""BROKEN NECK""I DON'T FEEL SO FUCKING GOOD", AND "GENERATION OF HATE"...WE RECORDED OUR NEW ALBUM WHICH WILL BE RELEASED WITH THE OTHER ALBUMS IN JAN.008. WE WORKED BLUE COLLAR JOBS AND HAD VERY LITTLE FUNDS, BUT FETUS WAS THE ONLY BAND ANYONE WAS REALLY SERIOUS ABOUT.

DC: How do you think the current scene has changed from back then? A lot more bands seem to be playing in this style of music now. Bands like Whore, Fornicator, etc. have even adopted your kind of ‘image' with politically incorrect lyrics and hand-drawn explicit artworks. What are your views on that and what do you think of the newer bands – do you like any of them?

DF: I THINK THAT THE SCENE IS A MACHINE THAT HAS TO KEEP MOVING....I WILL ALWAYS LIKE THE OLD STYLE, BUT ANYTHING THAT EVOKES HATRED AND MAKES ME WANT TO KILL PEOPLE IS GOOD ENOUGH FOR ME.....THERE ARE ALOT OF BANDS OUT NOW WITH THIS STYLE AND I APPLAUD ANY MAKING PEOPLE BLEED....

DC: What can we expect from the impending Dismembered Fetus LP ‘Full of Hate'? How many songs, uh rather how long will it be? Will it see a change in sound from ‘Generation of Hate'? What will is the theme, if any, of the new album? Who is going to do the artwork for it? None other than Foetusgrubber, I hope!

DF: FOETUSGRUBBER DID THE COVER AND BACK...THE SOUND IS A LITTLE MORE RAW HOW WE LIKE IT..AS FOR A THEME...."FULL OF HATRED"

DC: Who's going to be releasing your new album and how many copies of it will be pressed? What's up with your own Pigeoneck Records?

DF: I HAVE STARTED A NEW LABEL CALLED DFM RECORDS...WE WILL MAKE AS MANY COPIES AS WE NEED TO AND WE WILL BE RELEASING ALL FUTURE ALBUMS..WE ARE WORKING ON NEW SHIT NOW,AND IT JUST KEEPS GETTING MORE AND MORE BRUTAL!!!!

DC: To be pissed off is understandably a requisite for writing Dismembered Fetus' music. What pissed you guys off back then and what pisses you off now?

DF: THEN IT WAS ALL THE LIES!!!!NOW IT IS ALL THE LIES!!

DC: I've either read it somewhere or probably imagined it that a reissue of the severely OOP album ‘Generation of Hate' with bonus tracks is in the works. My CD will lose its rareness value but I guess more people deserve to be insulted by this vile album. Tell us more about the reissue.

DF: VON FROM LIVIDITY IS GOING TO RELEASE A "GENERATION/MUTILATED GOD" DISC...IT'S STILL THE SAME DISC WITH MORE FETUS ON IT.....

DC: Now I know ‘Generation of Hate' didn't have any lyrics printed in the booklet, but did any of the songs actually have lyrics? If yes, what were they about?

DF: STOMP ON YOUR FACE HAD LYRICS ABOUT COPS FUCKING WITH THE WRONG MOTHER FUCKER AND HAVING HIS/HER FACE STOMPED IN..

DC: How often does Dismembered Fetus play live and how does the audience react to their “music”? It is mentioned on your MySpace page that Dismembered Fetus have gained notoriety for destroying every venue they entered, inciting fights with the local grind freaks and creating full-scale riots. Is that what really happens? Are there any striking incidents that come to mind?

DF: WE GOT BANNED FROM EVERY VENUE IN COLORADO, AND HAD THE RIOT POLICE COME TO SHOWS WITH 6 FEET UNDER AND INTERNAL BLEEDING,AS WELL AS WITH DEICIDE...DEATHMETAL/GRIND SHOWS WERE NEVER ALOUD AT THAT VENUE AGAIN.....I WAS SO PROUD THAT NIGHT..

DC: Naturally, Dismembered Fetus must have received plenty of hate mails. What kind hate mails have you got and usually from whom? Feel free to share a few of them with us.

DF: HATEMAIL USUALLY COMES FROM SOME JACKASS ON MYSPACE CRYING ABOUT SATAN,OR HOW MANY BULLETINS WERE SENDING....THESE FAGS HAVE TO MUCH TIME ON THEIR HANDS AND SHOULD BE SHOT ON SIGHT!!!!!

DC: Are you a vegan or a vegetarian by any chance? What do you think of all that?

DF: EAT FUCKING MEAT!!!!!!!!