Anthony Abbatangelo – Bassist & Recording Engineer
1. Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording of the new album?
We’ve been on a long and COVID-mandated break. We were lucky that we had a window over the summer where restrictions eased up in Toronto, and during this time we were able to get together to rehearse and record the album over the course of a few months. I think we moved on to mixing and mastering right as we were getting hit with the second wave in the fall.
2. You have a new album coming out in April, musically how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?
The biggest difference sonically is that we handled all the recording & mixing ourselves. Our drummer Kamble and I are both audio engineers and the stars aligned that we had access to a good recording space and enough free time to handle this one ourselves. Musically the tracks are on a very raw, death-doom wavelength compared to our last album “Stagnation & Woe”, which had a more polished, melodic black metal kind of thing going on. The textures are a lot rougher and heavier, but we’ve kept the same twisty and unpredictable song structures that we’ve always had fun with.
3. What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the newer music and also how would you describe your progress as songwriters over the years?
Isabelle writes all the lyrics but keeps them pretty close, we’ve never published lyrics sheets. What I love about Isabelle’s songwriting is that she explores that classic metal theme of mortality in a way that avoids the usual horror-movie clichés. The general impression I get from these songs is the concept of death as a freeing and truthful thing, while life can often feel like a march of compromises and contradictions.
4. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Ischemic'?
This is from Isabelle’s experience as a registered nurse. A Transient Ischemic Attack is a kind of stroke, and Ischemia, in general, is the condition of blood and oxygen not getting to bodily tissue properly. We wanted a classic, one-word death-metal band name in the vein of “Autopsy” or “Entombed” and this fit the bill haha.
5. Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the new album cover?
The album art is something I’m especially proud of, it’s a photograph I took of a demon mask which was hand-crafted by an amazing artist and long-time friend of the band, Marcela Calderon Donefer (https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/MarcelasBrainJuice). My partner Danika Zandboer designed the lighting and helped me composite the final image. She’s an incredible photographer and recently shot the amazing cover for Vile Creature’s latest release (https://www.danikaz.com/). Our past album covers were all illustration-based, and I thought changing it up to a minimalist, photo-based design would suit the new material.
6. What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?
I personally love playing DIY spaces and house shows, and usually feel most at home in front of those kinds of crowds. I think we sound best when playing in small rooms with big amps and minimal monitoring. Grumpy FOH engineers have ruined the vibe of more doom metal shows than I can count!
In December 2020 we organized and played a house show in Kitchener/Waterloo, opening up for Greber who is easily one of my favorite live bands. The place was packed with metalheads, punks, artists and university kids, and Isabelle did some guest vocals with Greber. Good times!
We’ve been doing this for almost 10 years now in some form or another, and on our best days, the live show feels like a big engine pumping away in perfect sync. Isabelle definitely draws the most attention, getting into crowds and up in people’s faces or crumpling inwards in despair depending on the ups and downs of the riffs we’re pumping out up on stage. We like minimal, high-key red or white lighting and have been known to smoke out the audience with a fog machine when the mood strikes us!
7. Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?
We would definitely consider any offers that came our way haha, but I’m not sure it’s something we’re actively pursuing at the moment. Some of us are dealing with pretty demanding and unpredictable jobs/personal lives/health issues. That plus the COVID situation makes us a bit hesitant about tying the future of the band to a label or outside entity. We’re working on getting some copies of the new album out to one or two distros however.
8. On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of black, sludge, doom and death metal?
The reaction to the new single has been great so far! I think our style is slightly hard to pin down, but find that we end up being embraced by all sorts of audiences we aren’t really expecting. As an adventurous music listener and metalhead, the bands I love seeing the most are the ones that I know are going to surprise me during their set, and I feel like we try and bring some of that unpredictability.
9. What is going on with some of the bands or musical projects these days that some of the band members are a part of?
Our drummer Kamble produces and plays guitar in a death-band called Mors Verum, I think you can expect something from them later this year. He’s also in the process of opening a studio in Kitchener/Waterloo and is taking on production and mixing work. Isabelle currently sings in Experiment Specimen who is working on some new material as well I believe. Myself, I work as a sound designer for film/TV and score the occasional horror movie. I also play in Qarafa, a droney psych-rock band that’s currently on hiatus due to COVID.
https://experimentspecimenmetal.bandcamp.com/
https://morsverum.bandcamp.com/album/deranged
https://qarafa.bandcamp.com/releases
10. Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
We’re planning to do another round of recording over the upcoming summer, there’s been a low-and-slow sludge song in the vein of Disrotted kicking around that we’re getting to next. There are a couple of bands we’ve been dying to do a split EP with, so we’ll probably use the material for something along those lines.
11. What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
As I mentioned we love metal bands that use unusual songwriting to keep people on their toes with stylistic shifts. Great Sabatini, Greber and Fuck the Facts are great examples of this and personal favorites of mine. Some other amazing bands from Toronto that have dropped albums recently are Volur, Sarin and IRN. Personally, I’ve been way into Big Brave recently, a drone-doom band from Montreal with very beautiful, haunting vocals.
12. Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Nope! Thanks for having me and appreciate the interest.
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