Do you like NJ hardcore? Do you like BLACK METAL? If you like either, you should check out Fleshtemple. I did a Q&A with guitarist Shawn Madden via e-mail about the band and I’m posting it here. I’m really into their sound and I got to see them play a bunchof times in New Brunswick, at the Meatlocker, at Garden Sk8, and at the Mountain Lakes Community Center. So they obviously play a lot of NJ shows…so you should check them out. They also have a brand new 7″ out. Read a little bit about the band here:
i’m digging the black metal influence in your sound a lot. are you the
main black metal fan in the band? could you recommend some bands and
albums of this genre that people should check out?
--I would say I am the most into black metal in the band, but everyone pretty much listens to it. Black metal is such a wide genre and has so many terrible bands in it, its sometimes hard to find the good. There are main bands that everyone should check out, but ill just list some of the things have influenced me.
—–Darkthrone
—–Burzum
—–Behexen
—–Aura Noir
—–Beherit
—–Deathspell Omega
—–Emperor
—–Hellhammer
—–Mutilation
—–Satanic Warmaster
—–Venom
—–Taake
I could go on but these bands have been in constant rotation for the last few years.
i noticed the link to the temple of the black light on your myspace
page. are any of you guys involved with spreading the word of the
temple of the black light? are you a firm believer of this organization?
—The temple of black light is less of a cohesive organization and more of a informational center for everything luciferan or satanic. Its a listing of rituals and spells to connect followers across the world. Satan is the highest form of the black light, which the spells attempt to unlock. FLESHTEMPLE supports the temple of black light completely. I encourage all people to take a look at it for themselves, www.templeoflbacklight.net
i like how you guys stand out as a hardcore band by having a little
bit of a different sound that is darker and having seen a few of your
shows, i noticed that sometimes kids don’t know whether to dance or
just stand there during some parts. i personally like that. how do you
feel about it?
–It doesnt really matter if people are punching each other in the face or standing there confused. We are still going to play as hard as possible. The reaction does not affect how we play, whether we play to a full basement or an empty room.
you guys have a reputation for partying a little harder than most
others. how do you keep the band in check at shows by making sure
everyone is on time, not too fucked up to play the show, etc? also, do
you have any crazy stories about when you all hang out and party, yet?
—-There is no way to keep any of us in check. we all have our own vices that affect the way we live and act. There are definately certain days that are harder or longer from the night before. We are on time sometimes, and being sober while playing rarely happens. As far as crazy stories, Im not sure if i could really tell any or all of them. Sex with the same person, sex with nazis, doing drugs off girls, FLESHTEMPLE tattoos in weird places,good coke, shitty coke, coke cut with dope, throwing up, fighting, freaking out, cumming in shoes, cumming everywhere, degrading people, overall pieces of shit.
would you care to elaborate on where the band name came from or if it
has any particular meaning to you?
–The band name was influenced by a song by the band Behexen, called Demonic Fleshtemple. We originally started the band and had a few other names but none of them worked. As we started playing faster songs and had a little more of a darker influence the name FLESHTEMPLE just worked.
are you guys planning on going on an extensive tour at any point? how
do you think that would turn out if you did?
–We are going to do some weekends this coming year with some of our friends in troublemaker, suburban scum, and black kites. We’re looking at doing at least a week in the spring, but who knows.
do you have some new songs in the works? can we expect a full-length
at any time soon and what do you think it will sound like? will it be
on ride the fury records?
–We have 4 new songs already, 3 of them will be on a split with Black Kites that will hopefully be recorded in the next months or so. That will definitely be out on RTF. The full length will probably be out sometime in the fall, but we could never be certain. All the songs are becoming a lot heavier and darker, with a lot more influence from crossover/metal/powerviolence bands. It will be different then most of the shit you hear in the next year.
what is the favorite new brunswick basement show that you played so far?
–having a favorite show is hard, any time we’ve played AMERICA or the moldhole. My personal favorite basement show we’ve played was probably our first show, it was Walrus/Killin it/FLESHTEMPLE/Guilt Trip. It was part of the 3 day weekend and it was a fucking party.
who is your favorite band to play with right now? if you could play
with any band in the world, what band would that be?
—-favorite bands to play with right now: troublemaker, seasick, black kites, suburban scum, killin’ it, staring problem, spanish bombs, lewd acts, etc
any band in the world, i would love to play with darkthrone, pantera, or electric wizard. that would be a dream show.
if you could change one thing about your local nj hardcore scene, what
would that be, if anything at all?
—new jerseys hardcore scene is great right now. There is so much going on, there are shows every weekend. Last weekend there was 2 big shows with touring bands on them, that were both like 15 minutes from each other, and there was over a hundred people at both. There is a whole new crop of bands that continuously plays out, puts out new music, and supports other bands. New Jerseys on top right now.
www.myspace.com/fleshtemplenj
