Pathogen’s been together for over 12 years now. Have you ever thought that he band could live this long?
Deathful greetings Roel, and to all the maniacs and readers of Tripalium ‘zine out there!
Some 12 odd years gone by in a blur! No, we never expected the band to ever last this long to be perfectly honest. Although we always dreamt of making music our careers since we were young. But considering the odds, We’re not a ‘Manila’ band, we are the outsiders from a middle-of-nowhere quaint little city in the province and we just wanted to play music that moves us, basically, so it was so very far in our minds back then to think of ever lasting this long.
We were that band that everybody ignored and looked down upon in the beginning. But we just wanted to play and create our own music I guess. We’re very much inspired by that D.I.Y. punk mentality to create your own music, fanzine, or whatever it is that can help you express your thoughts and ideas. It doesn’t really matter if it’s crap or done very well as long as you’re creating your own original shit without conforming to any so-called ‘standards’.
What motivates you to keep going despite the fact music you’re playing isn’t exactly popular in the local scene?
It’s mostly our love for this particular kind of music, I mean I don’t think we could have lasted a year if we didn’t like what we’re playing.
We all like metal and all its sub-genres, from grind, black, doom, thrash, classic heavy metal, punk/crust/D-beat, etc...But it is death metal, among other genres that really resonates strongly within us and we try to add a little of those other influences in our songs in order to create some sort of ‘sound’ of our own. We all know that we’re not really selling an obscene amount of CD’s so success and failure never really mattered to us.
We’re not trying to be overtly original by any means, and I suppose it’s hard not to wear your influences on your sleeve when you’re playing in a metal band- because this genre practically feeds off itself-you have to really listen to a lot of this music in order to play this particular musical style. This is not jazz or progressive music where things sort off drifts away into a cacophony. Metal is always based on the ‘riff’-which is a very integral part of the song, and without it you have nothing. But then again, death metal is versatile enough to add jazz and progressive elements (or any other metal sub-genre for that matter) and be still considered ‘death metal’.
Anyway, another reason we keep on doing this is because we have chips on our shoulders, nobody in our local musical community, in San Pablo City, ever believe we could ever achieve anything from playing this kind of music-they all think what we do is bullshit and therefore we could not play a single note of music. They are all trying put us down and that fires up our boilers and we wanted to prove them wrong. And to be really candid with you many people here that actually does not believe we have albums released overseas and stuff. But then again we never really focused too much in promoting our own band locally in the beginning. It’s only in the recent years that we are getting noticed locally-in a small way, because of the internet thing and such.
Erwin left the band recently, what happened?
Erwin went through some very difficult period in his life in 2010. He and his wife separated-in the ugliest, most unimaginable way possible. And things went on a downward spiral for him for the next couple of years, he went back into doing drugs, he lost weight and some of his hair due to stress, and the most significant thing was that his attitude changed. After the separation he was never the Erwin Javier that we all knew, his mood became darker, his behaviour more erratic, he started to miss rehearsal sessions for months, he and (drummer) had an argument once and the conflict built up until we had to make the terrible choice of firing him. None of us wanted that to happen, but he’s acting in a manner that is affecting the entire band and even some people around the band, and I suppose there are times in life when you have to make a very difficult decision. It was a tough move but we have to be decisive and we never looked back. But we all hope the best for him and his kid in the future. I hope he’s pulled himself together out of the debacle that he has been through.
How’s the current band line-up?
The line-up we have now is comprised of basically the same people since we recorded ‘Blasphemous Communion” with the exception of Erwin-he is duly replaced by Jervish Alcos, also of Rabies which is also a long time Pathogen session player.
You used to have other bands/projects, why did you decide to put them all to rest in favour of Pathogen?
I’d like to focus on a single band right now, and try to put a lot more effort with song writing and stuff like that. We’re maturing as musicians and people. We don’t want to lose sight of what Pathogen is all about, we want to remain true to ourselves and our music but add a little bit more of ‘finesse’ in our playing for a lack of a better term. I had fun playing in different bands and playing with different people in other bands over the years. It broadens your musical horizon and develops a musical connection and intuition with other people because it sharpens your harmonic and rhythmic senses. But I feel that it’s time to put more focus on Pathogen right now. I’m not really sure why but it’s just my gut instinct.
One of your projects that I’ve been longing to hear from again is Children of Badeath. Is there a possibility that COB might come back to life again? How you get the idea of doing this project in the first place?
It all came about in a drunken night with several friends-the Toxemia guys, mostly, at another friends’ apartment in UP Village in late 2004. He was learning to make good use of his brand new recording software and he got all these instruments and effects and just recorded some shit for the hell of it! It really meant nothing to me now in all honesty! Hehe! We just tried out some new stuff, reworked some cover songs, etc... I haven’t heard anything we did since 2009! I threw all the COB recordings with a bunch of local demos from that era on my storage bin! Hmm, maybe I’ll pull them out one of these days and have a blast!
Your releases are on different labels. How it’s like to deal with different people every time you have to release something new?
It was very difficult to snag a record deal earlier in our careers. Oftentimes the labels would say their release schedule is full for the entire year or some other excuse. But we persisted and kept on spreading promos to bands and fanzines and kept contacting other record labels, until some of them would take notice. We’re being rejected for us is a very common thing and we’re used to it. But at least we got a pretty good deal with Old Temple and Dunkelheit Produktionen in the recent years. Anyway, we’ve always operated on a more ‘global’ level since the very beginning. 90 percent of the time foreign labels have invested in our music-which we really think is good because the music reaches more people.
There’s no point in just being a ‘local’ band these days in this vastly globalized world of today and a lot of the music we listen to pretty much comes from everywhere now.
Old Temple Records have just released your third album and the Lust of Evil EP on CD. Will you tell us more about it?
We got the Old Temple deal in early 2011. And it took nearly a year and a half for them to get the third album released-release schedules, you know! But it was well worth it when they finally put the thing out. (in October 2012). The ‘Lust Of Evil’ MCD came out in April this year, (2013) which previously was released by Afterlife Productions, Malaysia in 2011. The CD version has a different track listing than the tape version and the tape version of our third album would be released by Mandarangan Records, USA sometime this year.
What about the split project with Toxemia, how did this project happen? What can you say about their new musical direction?
It’s been a long time coming. We have planned that release since 2005 and it is only this year that it finally became a reality. A lot of other things have gotten in the way but we were very happy it finally came out. I think Toxemia these days are hitting their stride in being good and prolific songwriters and musicians their ideas and musicianship are developing and I really liked their new material. Slow, riffs contrasting with fast blast beats, I think they’re really into creating a vibe, an atmosphere in their music instead of just grinding their way into their songs.
Toxemia has been our long time friends, brothers in fact, and we’ve always collaborated musically and alcohol-wise over the years. Vic and Erwin played with Toxemia in the past and I laid down some guitar parts for their full-length album and more recently Kenneth, played drums for Pathogen for the As Sahar gig.
Your second album “Miscreants of Bloodlusting Aberrations” was finally immortalized on CD. Will you tell us more about this album?
Yes, finally after three long years! That album is born out of pain if I should say so myself. Around the time we wrote that in 2008 things were not well personally for several of the band members at the time but that album is also a huge step forward in terms of songwriting and production compared to our first album, “Blasphemous Communion” which is almost a ‘crust’ record if you ask me.
We were more prepared and better rehearsed for ‘Miscreants...’ compared to ‘Blasphemous...’ There are a few glitches on it because like ‘Blasphemous...’ it was also rushed during recording. It was ten-fold better than everything we have done during that point and nobody seemed to be interest in it during the time we released it on our own except for that low-key French tape label, Satanized Productions who released it in March 2010. We have had several deals from other labels but nothing really came into fruition until we came across Dunkelheit Producktionen in 2012.
How did you managed to land a deal with Dunkelheit Productions?
Sometimes things just happen in a strange way. Back in 2012 we have practically given up any notion that ‘Miscreants...’ would have any other proper release. But we were still actively trading and spreading the promo everywhere when all of the sudden I came across Bernd of Dunkelheit through his band, Nacht. We traded some materials and surprisingly enough he offered us a record deal and I didn’t even know yet that he was running Dunkelheit Produktionen and it was finally released on CD in March 1st 2013 and he also did everything he promised in terms of promotions and everything.
You are now in the process of recording another album for Dunkelheit. Will you tell us more about it?
I don’t want to get too much into the details yet, but we’re still working on it for sure!
In what direction is the new record heading into? Have you made any major changes in terms of music and song-writing?
I can say that there are songs there that are very aggressive than many of the previous songs we have written in the past and some of the songs arrangements and definitely more complex and really a challenge to play live and record.
What about the release of Lust of Evil on CD. What can you say about the way Old Temple do things for the band?
Old Temple is a good company and they still very much adhere to the old underground traditions of trading and promoting music. They also run their own fanzine. They are probably one of the few good Polish underground labels since Time Before Time has already closed down a few years back. They have very wide connections and distribution globally and recently they also have digital distribution via Code 7/PHD, and ‘Forged In The Crucible Of Death’ and ‘Lust Of Evil’ are now available on that format for all the anti-CD crowd.
It is a fact nowadays that there are a new generation of metal fans out there who have never bought a single CD in their entire lives, it’s a pity but that’s the reality of this modern age that we’re in! I suppose I’m that person who wants the music contained in a format that you can hold and read the lyrics and look at the artwork.
But anyway, yeah we are very much happy with the outcome of ‘Lust Of Evil’ the quality of the CD that they pressed and the reproduction of the artworks and photos are nothing short of immaculate.
You guys are often invited at gigs, sometimes with rather odd band line-up. How do you deal with the crowd who doesn’t have any idea about Pathogen’s music?
It’s always been a challenge playing in front of people who are not aware or even familiar with the particular kind of music that we play. And we think it’s always good to do things outside your comfort zone from time to time. It keeps you on the edge and you don’t get too complacent as with playing in front of an audience that are comprised mostly by friends and bands that you already knew.
Personally I don’t really mind if they are not into our music. We just wanted to play and make some fucking noise, basically!
How does the social media and internet in general affect the band?
Its effects on the entire underground scene not just on Pathogen are massive. Some die-hard underground dwellers might underestimate it but its benefits undeniable. There never was a time in the past where underground and independent musicians are so empowered. 90 percent of correspondence of bands, labels and fanzines are happening on the web, plus the postage is free!
A decade ago there were fears that the internet would kill underground traditions such as making paper fanzines, releasing physical albums and demo tapes, snail mail correspondence, etc… But guess what, It didn’t! Although there are downsides such as lazy bands releasing music only in the web and the overwhelming amount of accessible music available, but that’s for the here again, gone tomorrow type of trendy wannabe scenesters! Majority of the real underground bands are still releasing tapes CD’s and vinyl, underground media is still flourishing with paper fanzines and newsletters, and real fans still buys or trades records and demos!
The mediocre people will always use the internet in a mediocre way-but why bother? I wouldn’t want to waste my time on such insects. It’s just the reality of life in this ultra modern world that we’re living in. Time moves forward not backwards. It’s something that we have to face-the changing of the times. But I do believe however that all that old underground ways and tradition can peacefully co-exist with modern technology-it’s happening right now.
Some people in the underground scene just couldn’t accept that reality and they just could not develop a more mature perspective on things, unfortunately-which is kind of a shame really. To each his own, I suppose.
What’s your view about bands that are very active in playing live but couldn’t find the time to record their materials?
We’ve encountered and still encountering one too many bands like that for as long as I can remember and I couldn’t really figure out what they’re all about.
Some bands have recorded demos and albums but don’t have the slightest idea of how to promote their materials-they don’t even know what a fanzine is. While other bands have more shirts released than the songs they’ve written!
You’ve been in the scene for quite a long time; you’ve been to several bands and have done a couple of zines. What can you say about the local scene’s evolution?
Well it’s still developing. It has definitely changed a lot since we started out around 2000-2001. Today there are a lot of bands and fanzines. More and more people are getting into the scene with an equal amount of posers coming in as well. More foreign independent bands are playing-which is something that is unheard of back then, except in the punk/HC scene. Fans, bands, labels and fanzines are more interconnected now because of the internet and social media-which is a good thing, especially in averting the near-disastrous As Sahar gig. Information and updates are faster now compared to 2 decades ago.
Only time can tell about what the future would bring to the local scene-but I’m hoping for better things to come.
OSDM recently made resurgence and lots of bands from the 90’s were suddenly active again. What’s your take on that?
Yeah, it’s basically the same with the thrash scene a decade ago. I’d hate to think that they’re just cashing in on nostalgia but in a way they are, you know. A lot of fans have missed them and would pay real money to see them live. But I’m not too excited about their newer releases though. It’s quite apparent even on the underground scene that many new bands are adopting that old-death metal style and sound and the underground media are proclaiming a revival and all that hogwash, because in reality, OSDM never really went away from the true metal heads. The underground media have this tendency to create all these revivals and ‘movements’ with one great band spearheading it and the rest are pale imitations.
It’s the same thing in the 80’s and the 90’s as it is today. But you know, I don’t believe this so-called ‘resurgence’ will be as big and as awful as the black metal explosion of the mid-to-late 90’s where the bands like Cradle Of Filth and Dimmu Borgir were almost topping the mainstream pop charts in Europe in terms of record sales and popularity.
Death Metal was big in late 80’s and early 90’s but it never eclipsed the popularity of thrash and it was nearly dead by 1994 with too many bands and shit releases flooding the scene. And even though it became popular it never was truly accepted by the mainstream as thrash was in the 80’s and black metal was in the 90’s and I don’t think it’s because of the lyrics either.
Horror, Gore, Violence, Satanism and Nihilism are totally mainstream entertainment, just look at films and TV shows! It’s probably because of the music because Death Metal is not as catchy and as melodic as thrash or 90’s black metal. It’s a bitter pill to swallow and definitely an acquired taste.
And speaking of band re-union, who among the bands from the early years you’re happy to see coming back from their grave and who you wished have kept the lid of their coffin permanently closed?
There are a lot of bands out there that I wished would rather call it a day instead of perpetually disgracing themselves, Celtic Frost is one. They’ve gone too much overboard in being experimental and they just practically alienated their fanbase.
As for local acts, there are plenty as well. Many old bands have reformed but they just didn’t have the same attitude and musical integrity that they have in the past. They should try to make more great music instead of just re-living former glories.
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