DAWN OF ANNIHILATION – TOM KUZMIC
Art: Tata Kumislizer
No rituals. This stuff is only for the weak. Whether you’re into the goat guy or the white-bearded one, we don’t care about religion. No jokes aside, we jam and come up with a riff, then another one we combine, look for significant drum parts, and one thing leads to another until the songs are done. Mostly it starts with a couple of riff ideas, and then we work on the drums and the bass, and in the end, we figure out some great vocal lines that fit, and that’s it. Nothing really special going on. This is a dull or common way to write songs.
We let everyone in the band have their freedom concerning personal beliefs, but this doesn’t interfere with the stuff we do in the band. We also feel quite free; it’s not that we’re a black metal band that has to sing all the time about the black lord, so there is no fixation at all. The first album was gory; this one is kinda futuristic, and sure next one will be about something else because we’re interested in tons of stuff, and maybe the next one will be about sex or drugs, let’s see.
We all worship heavy metal, everyone, of course, in their way. But speaking for myself, I can say that I feel fortunate growing up in the 70/80s because, in my opinion, these were the days for metal—so many groundbreaking releases and creative subgenres. I started early to listen to metal due to my older sister. So Iron Maiden, for sure, was my first love of metal as a little kid. Still, as a metal addict who always wanted it to be more brutal, Slayer was my next big love, and my life-changing moment was the early death/mantas stuff in the mid 80ies when death metal was starting. This is the love of my life concerning music, and I think I’ll always stick to that genre.
It’s all in the guts. Or the hands. Sometimes you can play for hours, and not one single riff will kill; on the other hand, you grab the guitar and write a song in just 10 minutes. But unfortunately, I still to this day didn’t figure out what can enhance the creative process. If I only knew, this whole songwriting thing with tons of hours would be easier. I have my fetishes or obsessive behaviour but only on a private basis. As a guitar player, one of my non-metal heroes is Allan Holdsworth, and he honestly is on a fucking genius level. Groundbreaking stuff he did in every way. And yet he influenced so many metal bands; check out the lead guitars in Meshuggah, for example.
Music may be a spiritual experience or let’s put it with these words. Music was always like a drug or therapy; I have different music for every mood. It can heal me, make me cry, laugh, or kick my butt in the best way possible. If I’m down, it can lift me, but when I want to stay in a melancholic state of mind, I love to get hurt musically even more. To me, music is one of the best inventions of humanity.
I’m very open-minded and love all kinds of music. I’m into modern jazz and classic stuff as well. But this is not so uncommon with metal dudes. Still, I also like some world music stuff that, if people heard, probably some of my bandmates would laugh at; one band I would recommend is Brutus. It is more independent rock but is an incredible live band and just really nice guys/girls.
https://amputate.bandcamp.com
