From the most blasphemous Greek Underground, this band arises in 2004, delivering its first work “Purifying Consecrated Ground” in 2005, this Mcd immediately catched my attention, with its Death Metal full of negative vibrations and unmerciful brutality, so I contacted Mr. Anastasis Valtsanis (who also runs the Underground Metal label Nuclear Winter Records) and he kindly accepted to answer my questions…

BB: First I would like to thank you for giving us this interview. Can you tell us about Dead Congregation beginnings?

Thank you for featuring us in your zine. Dead Congregation was born sometime in 2003-2004. At that time I was composing songs, rehearsing them with a friend who helped me with the drums. After a while, another friend joined as a second guitarist so we decided to take things more seriously and became a real band, started rehearsing more frequently etc.

BB: Why you decide to change the band name from Nuclear Winter to Dead Congregation?

We didn’t change any name. They are totally different bands.

BB: Can we considerate Dead Congregation as the continuation of Nuclear Winter? Or both names belong to different entities?

As I said above, Dead Congregation is not and should not be considered as the continuation of Nuclear Winter. Nuclear Winter was a band I played in for some years but I never had much to do with it. By the time that I was left the only composer of the music, I realised that I wanted to take a different direction so I formed a new band, which is DEAD CONGREGATION. Those who have heard the two bands can easily tell that it’s two totally different entities.

BB: What doest the name “Dead Congregation” means to you? Why you choose this name?

I chose the name out of a Nuclear Winter song because it seemed like a good name for a Death Metal band. There’s no hidden concept behind the name.

BB: As far as I know you are the only Nuclear Winter remaining member in Dead Congregation line-up… Are you satisfied with your current line up?

I am satisfied because all of the members are friends of mine and we are having a great time playing together. We also have the same vision on how our music must sound and that’s really important. However, 2 of the members are also in another bad which is very active and this causes some problems every now and then but it’s nothing that bothers me a lot. Our main goals are being fulfilled, we don’t wish to become big and tour 100 days per year anyway. So if we have to take things slow because of their other band’s schedule, it’s a sacrifice (or compromise if you will) that I’m willing to make.

BB: Can you tell us about the composition process of “Purifying Consecrated Ground”?

There’s not much to say about it, we didn’t really plan to record the MCD. At the point that we had these 5 songs completed we simply decided to enter the studio and record them. The way we usually compose is: we work on songs individually and as soon as someone has a complete song, he presents it to the rest of the band and then we all rehearse it together. If someone has ideas about changes in a song, we talk about them but that rarely happens.

BB: I think you got a good lyrical level… Who compose the lyrics?

3 of the lyrics were written by our guitarist T and another 2 were granted to us by a friend because at the time of the recording we still didn’t have lyrics for these 2 specific songs and we needed some fast. So I asked my friend Damian if he could write something for us since I really like his lyrics in IMPURITY (USA – ‘Unearthly Affinity’ MCD on Nuclear Winter Records) and he came up with ‘Auguring An Eternal War’ and ‘Downward Spiral of Morbidity’. I’m really pleased with these two lyrics, the title of the later is mine though.

BB: What are your sources of inspiration? I mean musically and lyrically…

It’s kind of hard to say because it can be all sorts of things. Music can be inspired by listening to other music, or it can be something totally spontaneous. A stroke of inspiration while sitting in the couch, doing nothing, thinking of nothing. Usually a riff pops in my head, I pick up the guitar and nail it down and from there I evolve the whole song. It might take 10’ to have a song completed to it’s very detail, or I can have 3-4 riffs which lead to nowhere for ages. And then one day another stroke comes and I complete it…

On the lyrical side, it’s really easy to get inspired, just have a glimpse at the world we live in. The decadence of mankind and filth of the fucking Christian church are never-ending sources of inspiration.

BB: “Purifying Consecrated Ground” is a very intriguing title…Can you tell us about the concept behind it? 

It’s pretty clear, I think: spare the earth from the scheme called ‘Christian church’. It can also be translated as “defiling all that is holy”.

BB: I really liked the “Feasting Angelcunts” lyrics…Can you tell us about it?

I’m afraid you must ask our other guitarist about it since he’s the one who wrote it.

BB: How has been the worldwide reception of “Purifying Consecrated Ground”? I have read many positive reviews…

Apart from two big magazines (Terrorizer and Close-Up) who both said that “it’s really good if you like this sort of Death Metal but it should be more original” (what the fuck is ‘originality’ anyway? Sing-along choruses and catchy riffs?), all the other reviews I’ve read have been amazing! One I received recently said: “Seriously heavy, churning strings opens the gates to another dimension. A dimension where god is a since-long forgotten word, and what’s left is a species of demons in this dark world of morbidity. The full and fat sound really lets the powerful guitar and bass work shine through. Shine like a blackened guiding star for all that’s unholy. Some of the greatest and most powerful, well-planned riffing is to be found on Purifying consecrated ground. Pulverizing drums and nightmarish growls that’ll haunt your dreams…” 

Most I’ve read are pretty much in the same vein, which seems good to me. I must say that I do appreciate a negative review as well, if it has grounds and can justify the negative aspects.

BB: Are you satisfied with the record final results?

Some things could have been better, like the drum sound or the overall tightness of the recording but in general, we are satisfied, yes. For a debut release it’s not bad.

BB: The album art is quite impressive… Is there any concept behind the blasphemous cover?

Thank you. The person who did it is Timo Ketola and he has done artwork for bands like Funeral Mist, Murder Squad, Kaamos, Marduk, Centinex, Deathspell Omega, Watain, etc etc…

I had this idea about the cover, and as a total coincidence, he had a rough sketch of this already. So he changed it a bit and we got what you see on the cover! Of course the concept is not original at all, it pictures demons that devour angels in the interior of a church. And on the background we have the congregation which pray for their lives to be spared. His drawing is really dark and blasphemous and we are totally satisfied by our cover. FUCK ORIGINALITY, this is Obscure Blasphemous DEATH Metal, if you want originality go to a Slipknot concert you damn poofter!

BB: What were the most influential bands to Dead Congregation?

I wouldn’t say that there are specific bands that influence us, just bands who share the same vision as us when it comes to how a Death Metal song should sound. A lot of bands from the USA were great at this in their early days, like Morbid Angel, Diabolic, Angelcorpse, Immolation, etc. But our influences are certainly not limited to these bands, we grind in a lot of elements because we don’t wish to sound in a certain way. We simply put our heart and soul in the compositions and aim for a dark atmosphere that must surround the songs.

BB: What bands are you listening nowadays?

Hm, a lot of things actually: Candlemass-candlemass, Isole-forevermore, Nile-annihilation of the wicked, Solstice-lamentations, Hate Eternal-conquering the throne, Arkhon Infaustus-filth catalyst, Megadeth-peace sells, Slayer-hell awaits, Exodus-fabulous disaster, Funeral Mist-salvation, Iniquity-serenadium… These are some records that have been playing here the last 10-15 days.

BB: Why you didn’t release “Purifying Consecrated Ground” exclusively under your own label (Nuclear Winter Records)?

Because I had too many things in my hand at that time and I didn’t want to stress myself with another release. Besides, I have faith in Konqueror Records and I’m glad I let them do it because they did a great job!

BB: How you get involved with Konqueror Records?

They where interested in Nuclear Winter, after the ‘abomination virginborn’ demo 2003. I told them that the band is dead and I have a new band so they agreed to a release without having heard any material from Dead Congregation! However, they still state that Nuclear Winter is pre-Dead Congregation, maybe they got it wrong and they are responsible for this whole misunderstanding… Anyway, it’s not that important, they handled their part of the deal really well I must say.

BB: I guess, considering you own Nuclear Winter Records, you listen to many new underground bands… What new bands are you listening nowadays?

I don’t really listen to a lot of new bands because I have posted a statement in my website with which I discourage bands from sending me promos. That’s because I don’t have the time to listen to many new things, I barely have the time to listen to records that I worship! Most bands I’ve discovered was by accident, haha. And all of them who were worthy according to my personal taste, ended up with a release on my label. So, look out for my upcoming releases, info can be found at: www.nuclearwinter.cjb.net

BB: What are your future plans with Dead Congregation? And what about your future plans with Nuclear Winter Records?

We will record our full-length album in August-September, entitled “Graves Of The Archangels”. It will consist of 10 new songs and should be released around December, hopefully. I don’t know which label will release it yet, there’s been interest by some but we haven’t made up our minds yet.

SWORN MCD (Aggressive Death Metal from Sweden)

BB: Well, many thanks for you time, your words and support… Is there anything else you want to add to this interview?

Thanks again for having us. Whoever is interested in our 5 song mini-album, Purifying Consecrated Ground, it is available on MCD, 10”MLP and Pro-Tape. We also have Tshirts and long-sleeves on all sizes, contact for prices and photos of the design.

Greece