Nufutuc is a new fusion metal project featuring musicians from some of Europe’s top death metal bands. The quartet, which came together late last year, features bassist Jeroen Paul Thesseling (Pestilence, ex-Obscura), Sadist guitarist Tommy Talamanca and vocalist Trevor Sadist, and drummer Romain Goulon (Necrophagist). Thesseling recently gave us some more details about the exciting new venture.
REVOLVER How did the idea for this group come together?
JEROEN PAUL THESSELING Having collaborated with a few progressive metal bands, I thought it would be interesting to work on a different concept in a direction where I have room for improvisation and am able to use other elements of my musical background. I’m interested in recording music that makes me become a better musician. Nufutic is meant to be a fusion-metal-oriented project. Without being a jazz bassist, fusion has always influenced me since I studied at the conservatory. I think it’s a great style to combine with metal and works well with an open-minded approach when it comes to experimental composition techniques. The name Nufutic stands for new future, a “new fusion.”
Starting with the idea to build something unique with experienced musicians, I thought immediately about working with Tommy Talamanca from Italy, who is known for his unique guitar- and keyboard-playing. After we announced drummer auditions, Romain Goulon from France contacted us to find out if we shared the same musical interests, the same vision. He’s used to working with polyrhythms and it appeared that he also had a background in fusion. With the voice of Italian vocalist Trevor (Sadist) we wanted to add something “strangerous” but brutal.
How are you hoping the album will sound when you’re done?
First of all we would like to focus on transparency and dynamics, striving for the characteristics that you often see in a typical fusion production, where even the smallest details, like for example ghost notes, will come out clear and audible. Besides that, we want to work with interesting song structures and strong melodies. This is often a must, but when you write a bit more complex material the listener needs to get a clue for sure. I hope that the compositions will come out in a renewing form with a futuristic touch. When we recently met in the studio, we figured out that while the compositions are going to have a quite experimental approach, the production should have a natural feel and articulation. We want to avoid things that are going to sound too mechanic.
What are some of the most experimental or adventurous things you’re doing in the studio?
Our basic idea is to work with patterns and structures which are built on polyrhythms. Romain is known for his skills using this method, and in Nufutic he literally provides us with the first stones to build compositions. Not only the instruments, but even the vocals could fit in patterns that complete the polyrhythmic based concept. Currently we’re recording long distance, sending each other files with such structures. The ideas need to be exchanged until they get the right form, the right expression, where we all feel comfortable with them.
Another challenge is the balance between all the guitar and keyboard arrangements, as Tommy feels that both instruments need to be recorded as they would be played in a live situation. However, his vision is totally different compared with what another guitarist and keyboard player would have contributed. My bass playing might veer toward the same direction it did the Spheres album, by Pestilence. I’ve never liked the production, but those bass arrangements have always been an important reference for me. Although I already used my 7-string bass with a low F-sharp string in a completely different setup, here it should add more dynamics in my lines.
Who are you working with as a producer? What has he or she contributed?
Tommy and I will take care of the production. He has worked as a producer at Nadir Music in Genova, Italy, for several years. We will probably do the production together, as we both have very clear ideas about how this concept should be worked out.
What excites you most about this band?
The open-minded way of thinking and creating music with other musicians who want to develop. It’s about the compositions, the music. We don’t need auto-friend-adder bots for Facebook or Myspace to make this group look bigger or more popular than it is in reality. It’s also not about recording extremely complicated music with the usual software techniques, which leads to a substantial part of the album turning out to be unplayable in a live situation. Our goal is using the right ingredients and methods to create an original direction in this genre, but not necessarily in an übertechnical or complex form.
When will the album come out and what are your touring plans?
It’s going to take a year, probably early 2013. In the first instance we see Nufutic as a studio project. If everything turns out well we might decide to go out for a series of shows.
For more info, visit nufutic.com.
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Death-metal stalwarts Dying Fetus released their limited-edition covers EP, History Repeats…, this week. Here is your chance to hear that release, in its entirety, right here (the day they embark on the Summer Slaughter tour). It includes covers of songs by Dehumanized, Napalm Death, Broken Hope, Bolt Thrower, Pestilence, and Cannibal Corpse. Vocalist-guitarist John Gallagher fills us in on the album below. Let us know what you think in the comments.
REVOLVER Dying Fetus have covered Napalm Death and Integrity in the past, but you haven’t done that many covers lately. Why did you decide to do a covers EP?
JOHN GALLAGHER Well we don’t want to build a career on doing covers because I think too many covers can start being cheesy. With History Repeats… the band and I wanted to give our fans something special to hold them over to our next full length due to come out in April 2012 And it’s always good to remain active and record as much as possible because each time we record and visit the studio we learn more about refining our sound.
How did you pick the bands and songs that you covered?
We wanted to do some songs that we have listened to and enjoyed over the years. I have always been a fan of Broken Hope so I wanted to do one of their songs and also to commemorate the passing of Joe Placek . “Gorehog” seemed like a suitable cover because of its bruality and slam. “Unchallenged Hate” from Napalm Death has always been a classic to us and fits with our style so I thought that was a suitable selection. The Dehumanized’s “Fade Into Obscurity” cover demonstrates the sound of the mid ’90s New York Slam genre. We used to play alot of New York gigs with these dudes back in the day and had many good times. “Unleashed Upon Mankind” is just a killer death metal song with a memorable main riff so we thought that would be a ripper. The Cannibal Corpse song was recorded in 2001 for a Cannibal Corpse cover album which never came out so we threw that and the Pestilence song on it as a bonus. The Pestilence song was originally on the War of Attrition CD as a Japanese bonus track.
Did any songs “almost make the cut?”
I wanted to do some more hardcore covers from Blood for Blood, Madball, No Innocent Victim, and 25 ta Life, but we didn’t get a large enough recording budget from Relapse to do them all. So I thought it would be best to just go with some good solid death-metal songs. In the future I might approach a hardcore label to do a hardcore tribute album but it’s just a thought at the moment.
What’s your favorite cover another band has done of a Dying Fetus song?
That’s a good question, I’ve heard some good covers of “Kill Your Mother, Rape Your Dog” and “Grotesque Impalement” but I can’t remember the name of the bands who did them. Just kinda ran into them on YouTube and whatnot. It would be cool to see a glam band do a cover of our joke song “North Forest Trolls of Satan” I bet Steel Panther could do a good job with that.
Obscura’s previous release, 2009′s Cosmogenesis, fell much closer to the latter category than the former. On Omnivium, however, Obscura have created an album that, while more challenging than its predecessor, is also more streamlined, focused, and artfully crafted.
Obscura’s influences are blatantly obvious. The stirring fretless bass tone and often jarring, chunky guitar work are pure Atheist, while the vocoder murmurs and ambient touches reek of Cynic. As a result, Obscura’s phenomenally adept crew—which includes former members of Necrophagist and Pestilence—often sound like they were pulled straight from the early ’90s. It makes for an album that is superficially derivative, but is performed and constructed so well as to still come across fresh and exciting.
To its credit, Omnivium never feels as impenetrable as the works of fellow tech-death virtuosos Gorguts (after whose 1998 album Obscura are named), yet the album is deep enough to improve subtly with each listen. Still, even at its best, Obscura’s latest never wows like the classics of the subgenre. This band that once seemed destined for mediocrity has a made a leaps and bounds here, but they still haven’t achieved true greatness. CLARKE READ
Check out “Septuagint” off, Omnivium, below: