Interview with Gutted Christ- A Blackened Death Metal Band from Virginia Beach USA

I am super excited to say that I have been working with Keith, the PR man for both GC & Strike Master, he is a super awesome dude who is giving me an amazing opportunity to branch out to more bands that I've never and would never be able to work with.

Band Members:

M = Michael (Guitar + vox)

S = Stephen (Guitar + vox)
K = Kevin (Drums)
We figured that some of these questions couldn't be answered as a collective.

What makes your music unique, what sets you apart from the other bands?
I think we inherently have a different sound just because we each have different musical influences. We just try to make music we want to hear, not out of some dumb hipster need to “be different.”


What are your influences?
Cannibal Corpse, Dying Fetus, Dark Funeral, Death, Emperor, Nile, Kronos, Carach Angren, Ulcerate, Wintersun.

What was a defining factor in choosing how your music would sound?
Making it really good and really heavy.

Do you have a mentor? Who is it?
M: Joe Randazza from Eye of the Destroyer
S: N/A
K: I have a drum teacher, named Jeff Johnson. He really got me thinking about how to play this extreme metal stuff at age 50. I try to listen to music beyond metal, be versatile, and, most importantly, stay relaxed when I play live.

What was a defining factor in choosing how your music would sound?
I try not to overthink it. I just want it to sound as evil as possible. As if we were calling on the darkest forces of hell themselves to make people bang their heads.

Tell me one genre of music that you do not understand.
M: Harsh Noise
S: N/A
K: African Tribal Rhythms… They eat and sleep odd meter and polyrhythms. From a western drummer’s perspective, it’s crazy!

Tell me one genre of music that you can't stand to listen too.
M: Hardcore
S: N/A
K: I think if I found the right artists within a genre, I could get into any genre. However, I don’t tend to like Top 40 hits radio; in my opinion, the mass populace’s overall taste can be…. blind, uninformed, and overzealous.

Where was your favorite place that you performed a show at? Where would be
a dream place to perform?
Favorite place: Lucky 13 for the look, Firehouse Saloon for the crowd.
Dream place: Wacken Open Air

Write some advice you would give to your future self.
M: Keep at it until you make it to Wacken if you haven't already done it.
S: Quit this band.
K: Don’t forget you were born to create art. And don’t let the cogs of money and capitalism ever stop you from doing that.

What is your favorite song from your band?
M: Straight Fucking Murderous
S: Straight Fucking Murderous / Victims Remain Nameless
K: Hmm, I appreciate each of our songs for different things. In terms of which one sounds most black metal, I’d have to go with Devil’s Brood

What is your favorite song in general? And on top of that, what if your favorite band to listen too?
M: I don't have a "favorite song" or "favorite band" but Rainbow with Dio comes pretty close.
S: N/A
K: That changes week to week honestly. Right now, I’m listening to Spiritual Relief by Keep of Kalessin. My favorite band/artist would have to be Devin Townsend. That dude has fucking balls. When Strapping Young Lad was REALLY blowing up, he wound up turning down fame and fortune… in order to be the best dad, he could be to his kid. As an incredibly selfish and individualistic person, that really spoke to me. And you know what’s crazier? He fucking came back from that with the Devin Townsend Project and is arguably “bigger” than ever. He showed me you don’t have to compromise your personal life for your art.

Are you a person that is usually on time, late, or early?
We run on Gutted Time (late) but we are punctual when we have to be for shows and such.

Name one time you have broken the rules, what did you do and why did you do it?
M & S: All the time every day just because we fuckin' can!
K: Oh well I do it all the time when it comes to drumming and drum technique. A lot of what works for extreme metal drumming doesn’t work outside of the genre. Like triggers or doublestrokes with the feet. There’s a lot of debate about “it’s more brutal if done that way.” I only care that I’m playing what I hear in my head. If you care about how I do it; why the fuck do you call yourself a metalhead? Metalheads are supposed to be the freethinkers; we don’t judge others. Fuck that.

What was your dream job when you were you were younger?
M: Game Designer
S: Actor
K: I wanted and still want to be a fine artist. No not like those dumb cafe lounge art painters. I mean someone who crafts interesting experiences and challenged the status quo like Zaha Hadid, Van Gogh, or John Cage. I work primarily in new media and sound art.

Name something that makes you uncomfortable, pet peeve, phobia, etc. and explain why.
M: Heights - because fuck heights.
S: Birds
K: Closeminded people boil my blood. They care little for learning. You know the type: Pro-nazi republicans, Anti-vax protesters, Pro-Universal Income people (which is literally communism btw). They have a narrow viewpoint and don’t want to empathize with others. They get in the way of human progress; evolutionarily speaking, we’d be better off without them.

If you could go on tour with any band or artist, who would you go with? (You can list more than one)
Cannibal Corpse, Dark Funeral, Morbid Angel, Dying Fetus, Immolation, Gojira.

What is the nastiest or worst thing that has happened to you during a show, before a show, or after a show?
M: Almost got robbed by bikers in San Antonio with my other band on tour.
S: N/A
K: I used to be in a slam band and it was my first show with them. I wound up forgetting like half the set and I ended up bumbling around trying to improvise. It was the worst feeling, and people looked genuinely pissed I was up there wasting their time. I think I needed to go through that though. Now I tab out ALL of my bands’ material in Guitar Pro and practice that shit religiously before a tour. People made time to come see me play; I gotta make time to give them a good show.

Tell me about your most recent Album.
Pretty good attempt all around (Sower Ov Discord), but our next release is gonna destroy our last album EASILY.

What is our favorite track off of the album?
M: Dismembered Messiah
S: Victims Remain Nameless
K: Devil's Brood

What was your inspiration and your influences on this album?
Satan, FourLoko, Mary Jane, and a lot of hate.

Tell me about your future plans for music.
Continue to drop sick albums, play sick shows, eventually play Wacken, then retire.

Are there any special plans music-wise you want people to know about?

Gutted Christ is hitting the recording studio to track Hail and Kill this September. Follow our social accounts and stay tuned!

Links:

https://open.spotify.com/artist/0RLxKQyVa6KGTxxp1t7Zw7

Guttedchrist.bandcamp.com

Soundcloud.com/guttedchrist

Facebook.com/guttedchrist

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq4_NjZ9oUjkJYzepG6ZeIw