NECROT are an established name, at least in the death metal underground, and have been able to gain a decent fan base with their previous albums. This year, the band released their third album, „Lifless Birth“. We spoke to Trip about the creation and recording process of the album, the lyrics, the artwork and planned tours.
Can you share the inspiration behind your new record “Lifeless Birth”? What themes or concepts influenced the album?
Luca Indrio: What inspires the lyrics to a record is always what happens around me. I spend a lot of time writing lyrics. Every day when I am in the process of writing a new album I dedicate a few hours to it. First I have to find inside of me what I really want or need to say and then find the correct words to express it. The words I chose have to be placed into the vocal patterns I have in mind for the song and that is the most complicated part. It’s like completing a complicated puzzle and usually it takes a lot of time. There is only so many words and often the words I want to use that would work perfectly conceptually don’t fall into place phonetically, so I am forced to find different words or sometimes even rephrase completely an all verse to achieve the same meaning in a different way.
Inspiration for “Lifeless Birth” was not a problem with everything that happened to us on a personal level and everything that happened to everyone starting in 2020.
People really showed their ugly side during the pandemic.
A period of common distress that you would think it would bring people together while sharing similar difficulties, but instead showed a complete opposite scenario. How easily people panic when forced to face their mortality, how easily the people in power are able to put us all against each other and how easily we fall for it.
Now it’s important to disconnect and regain the ability of perceiving reality for what one believes and not what we are influenced to believe. Also because what we see on our phones or on the news comes charged with so much negativity and a real capacity of dividing while also exasperating people’s fears.
The first single ’Cut the cord’ from our new album talks about this.
How did the songwriting process for “Lifeless Birth” differ from your previous records? Were there any specific challenges or breakthroughs during the creative phase?
Luca Indrio: If anything writing this album was much easier than the previous ones. We had so much more time to work on it. I remember writing all the songs for “Mortal” (our previous album) in between tours having to leave the work unfinished so many times because we always had to go back on the road. I also remember how we only had two weeks to rehearse the songs before entering the studio to record and how I had to write all the lyrics in the van while on tour.
For “Lifeless Birth” I had many months to sit with my guitar and compose the songs and even more time to write the lyrics.
I believe even for Sonny Reinhardt it was way easier this time to write the guitar solos having plenty of time to work on it. I wanted this album to be heavy on guitar solos, so I wrote more parts that required Sonny to put his guitar genius hat on and come up with different styles of guitar solos. I remember sending the new songs to Sonny and telling him that we needed something like 13 parts between solos and extra guitar magic, more than any previous album of ours; so having all this extra time was beneficial for all of us.
What was the recording experience like for this album? Did you experiment with any new techniques or approaches in the studio?
Chad Gailey: I think with every new album recording we try to spend more time focusing on how to improve everything on it. We book a lot of time in the studio, almost a month , so we don’t have to rush anything and we can take our time. Every instrument is scrutinized so that we can present the best performance possible. On previous albums it seemed like if the main take was good we would just approve it and move on. The new way really helps us create a better record.
Sonny Reinhardt: I don’t feel like we did too much that was that radically different for this recording. This is the 3rd full length LP we’ve done with Grammy Greg Wilkinson so we have a great work flow with him now. Most of the differences came from him upgrading a lot of his studio equipment. He streamlined some things, got nicer mics and preamps and some special guitar cabs for recording that I thought was a really cool sounding combination.
Since your last record, have you noticed any significant developments in your sound or musical direction? How has NECROT evolved over time?
Luca Indrio: I feel that we are on a natural progression as a band. We never tried to sound like some other band in specific, our influences come from many different styles and music so we have tons of freedom in our sound and songwriting. We have been a band for 13 years and with each album we get to refine our style and take extra steps towards what we want NECROT to sound like. Of course we are an extreme metal band and we don’t fuck with clean singing or anything that takes us too far from what NECROT is, but we don’t put any limits to what we can do to make every album better than the previous one. This one is slightly more aggressive, melodic and groovy, but it’s still us, we don’t change our essence.
Chad Gailey: I think we are getting more musically technical with every album. We still retain our sound as NECROT but having more songs that push us to our limits helps us become more precise when it’s time to play live. I think it also allows us to be more creative when it’s time to come up with new songs too. We use all the experiences from the previous albums and put them into the new one to keep the band’s progression moving forward
Sonny Reinhardt: I think we are also progressing as musicians and this shows more on this album. Chad’s drumming has gotten more intense, brutal and intricate, Luca’s songwriting and lyrics have evolved and I’ve gotten better as guitar player with my rhythm playing and making my solos more vocal and expressive. We are naturally evolving and improving on the NECROT formula as time goes on and you will definitely hear that on “Lifeless Birth”.
Could you delve into the lyrical content of “Lifeless Birth”? Are there any recurring themes or narratives throughout the album?
Luca Indrio: Our lyrics have often covered some similar topics since we started in 2011, mortality being one of them. The consciousness of being a mortal being and the power that you can receive from accepting it. Also society related thematics have always been a part of our lyrics, with a very critical take on the way people are pushed to believe that the “work – reproduce – die” is the best way to live. Sacrificing so much to a capitalist machine that tricks you into give up most of your time in exchange for commodities often superfluous and not crucial to your happiness.
The visual aspect of an album is crucial. Can you tell us about the artwork for “Lifeless Birth” and how it complements the music?
Luca Indrio : The cover of the album designed by Dutch genius artist Marald Van Haasteren represent the painful cycle of life – death – rebirth on a planet that is full of pain and deception.
“Lifeless Birth” is about each and one of our lives condemned to end and to be completely erased and forgotten. Since birth that sentence hangs over our heads.
One day all you see, care for and struggle so hard for will be gone and forgotten. A life that seams to be nothing more than an impossible struggle to hold on to passing things. “Lifeless Birth” is the inevitability of everything disappearing and being gone forever.
Chad Gailey: The Artwork needs to match the album theme and feeling in order to really capture the listener’s attention. I feel like Marald Van Haasteren really nailed it with the composition for the entire album. All the additional artwork created for the release looks sick too. We commissioned a lot of artwork to use for both “Mortal” and “Lifeless Birth”. I think it helps paint another picture of how the lyrics influence the art to bring the songs to life.
Do you have a favorite track from the album? If so, what makes it stand out for you?
Luca Indrio: I think my favorite track might be “Superior”, because it’s kind of a very aggressive anarchist song. A reminder of how Death is above all, even the same politicians that often feel superior and invincible ultimately they will face suffering and death when the time comes. It was also really hard for me to find a satisfactory combination of vocal pattern/lyrics to this song and when I finally did it felt the same as when you search for so long something you have lost and then you finally find it. That might be why I really like it.
In all sincerity this is actually the first album of ours where I like all the songs almost equally, so if you ask me this same question again some other time I might answer with a different song. “Drill the skull” for example is also another one that I like a lot. Mid tempo just ugly riffs that are easy to bang your head to.
Chad Gailey: I really like Lifeless Birth. My runner-up songs would be Winds of Hell, and Superior. They’re some of the most aggressive songs on the new album and really technical compared to some of our previous songs. I just really like the high-energy tracks. The songs are really fun to play too.
Do you have any touring activities planned in support of “Lifeless Birth” (after finishing your current tour with Municipal Waste, of course)? Any specific cities or festivals you’re excited about?
Luca Indrio: We for sure will do more tours in the USA and Canada, but also we will be coming to Europe this summer! We will play Partysan Open Air, Void fest, Brutal Assault, Helsinki Death Fest, Death Coffee Party and many more shows that haven’t been announced yet. We have in the plans over 100 shows starting now (February 2024) till late August 2024. Follow our Instagram for the most updated news.
NECROT is known for its intense live shows. How do you translate the energy and aggression from the studio recordings to the stage?
Chad Gailey: We wrote the songs outside of the studio so the studio recordings capture that feeling of how the songs are supposed to sound. If you can’t play the songs you recorded then you shouldn’t try to play them live. Everyone can tell when you can’t replicate the album songs at shows. Sure, there’s always gonna be some sort of editing on albums, but so many people go overboard on it to the point where the songs end up sounding unnatural. We want all the albums we record to sound similar to how we sound at our live performances
Sonny Reinhardt: The songs are pretty aggressive and energetic in nature so it’s natural to want to play them live with as much intensity as we’re able to. I tend to think about it in an opposite way as well. It’s also like, how do we translate the high energy and aggression of the live show into the recordings? I try to make the guitar parts sound exciting as possible so they don’t sound dull. Especially with the solos.
Were there any gear changes or modifications you made specifically for recording “Lifeless Birth”? How important is gear selection in achieving your desired sound?
Sonny Reinhardt: We mostly use older guitar and bass equipment. It just has more character and soul to it. I use older 70s and 80s Marshall heads and Luca has been using some Sunn heads and a 1978 Gibson RD artist bass for awhile now. I have gotten into modding my gear more the last few years. I’m really enjoying having an fx loop in my old JMP head. I also added another gain stage to it using a Legendary Tones George Lynch mod which gives me a bit more gain and makes it heavier and more responsive sounding. I have been using EMG active pickups for a while and I switched up the models I’m using. We experimented with some different pedals for driving the amps this time and got some great results to. But ultimately the sound comes from us as players to arrive at the classic NECROT sound.
How have fans or press responded to the new album so far? Any memorable fan interactions related to “Lifeless Birth”?
Chad Gailey: So far people really seem to like the first single, ‘Cut the Cord’. I’ve had a lot of friends reach out and tell me it’s sick. I’m stoked at how many music news outlets are reporting the new single as well. I haven’t really shown the whole album to anyone cause I want them to check it out themselves when it eventually releases.
Sonny Reinhardt: Yes! The response from the single we just dropped ‘Cut the Cord’ has been killer! Both fans and the press seem to be really excited about it and can’t wait to hear the new album in its entirety. This is really exciting for us to see and we can’t wait for everyone to get their hands on a copy. No one has carved “Lifeless Birth” or NECROT into their chest yet, but there’s still time!
Looking ahead, what’s next for NECROT? Are there any side projects, collaborations, or future releases on the horizon?
Luca Indrio: We have a strong team behind us, from Scotty at Tankcrimes, Liz Ciavarella at earsplit or Neils Andersen at Oktober Promotion for Europe.
“Lifeless birth” is our future release on the horizon and it’s coming out worldwide on April 12th. We don’t have side projects that relates to what NECROT is doing, nor collaborations with other bands to announce at the moment.
We are fully focused on touring and promoting our new album.
If you’d like to add anything – the last words are yours!
Luca Indrio: Thanks to anyone who pre-ordered our new record “Lifeless Birth”. In Europe it can be pre-ordered on Tankcrimes merchtable website and it will be widely available after April 12th.
Looking forward to see you all on our Euro tour next summer and thanks for the chance you gave us to talk about us with this interview.
Cheers!
Chad Gailey: Thank you for the interview! Thank you as well to Greg Wilkinson, Brad Boatright, Marald Van Haasteren, Scotty Heath / Tankcrimes, Mark Reátegui, Phil Trona and Vicky Carbone / Pyre Press, Liz Ciavarella-Brenner / Earsplit, Ron Martinez / Crawlspace, and Niels Andersen / Oktober Promotion
11. Juli 2024 Christoph Emmrich
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