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| Dawn/TheMetalWeb.com: Before we start, I want you to know that I’m not trying to be funny with my first question. The album title A Haunting Curse couldn’t be more fitting after everything the band has been through within the last couple years. Was that partially the significance behind the naming of the album? (Laughs)
Sammy Duet: Oh, absolutely! I’m sure you’re familiar with the turn of events that’s been happening within this band. We haven’t had the best of luck. It was actually a title that I was going to try to use on the last album Funeral Dirge For The Rotting Sun for possibly a song title or maybe a concept behind a song but it didn’t get used. So, we just decided to use it for this album because it fit so well within the whole chain of events . Dawn/TheMetalWeb.com: The band sounds totally revitalized on this album. What’s the morale like for you at this point? Sammy Duet: Everything’s going great within the band and everything. It’s probably better than it’s been in a very, very long time. We had to switch a bunch of members. They had their own personal reasons why their not in the band anymore and those personal things just started reflecting within the morale of the band. It’s time for us to move on and not be such a depressing band anymore. We're more blood thirsty and rabid now I find, than where we were, delving into more of a depression. Dawn/TheMetalWeb.com: How did the studio session for A Haunting Curse differ from Funeral Dirge For The Rotting Sun? Sammy Duet: Funeral Dirge For The Rotting Sun was done in a very small studio in New Orleans on a very small amount of money and a very small amount of time. The guy we were working with for Funeral Dirge For The Rotting Sun wasn’t really experienced in metal. So, it was more of a chance we were taking because we couldn’t really afford to actually hire somebody that was professional and with the experience that we needed to come across. That was the deal with that. On A Haunting Curse we worked with Mr. Erik Rutan who did an incredible job with the album. He worked our butts off. It really came through on the recording that he worked us so hard and I will forever be grateful to him for that. Dawn/TheMetalWeb.com: I was going to say, speaking of the studio, you brought in Erik Rutan to produce the album. I was going to ask you what you felt he brought to the band that perhaps lacked in prior releases but quite obviously, that about sums it up. Just his name alone! (Laughs) Sammy Duet: (Laughs) Dawn/TheMetalWeb.com: He’s excellent at what he does. Sammy Duet: He did a great job! If your going to go record with him you better be prepared to strap your boots on because he will work your butt off. Dawn/TheMetalWeb.com: I actually interviewed with Cannibal Corpse not too long ago and obviously they used him and we got on this same discussion. One of the great things about Erik is that he’s involved in Death Metal so he knows already what sound you’re looking for. Sammy Duet: He knows what kind of sound to get from a band. Dawn/TheMetalWeb.com: My next question was actually written with Ben in mind because I thought we were going to be interviewing today. But, perhaps you could elaborate on the lyrical content of the album. How important is it for Goatwhore to convey a message through words? Sammy Duet: It’s very important. I find the lyrics play a very vital role as well as the music. I help Ben write a lot of the lyrics also. It’s pretty much split up almost 50/50. In the past… actually, almost all the lyrics were written before the first album, Eclipse Of Ages Into Black. The old drummer Zack and I pretty much wrote almost all those lyrics. Those songs were written so long ago before the band was even a band. Now, the lyrical content I find is very important. It’s all about darkness. The dark recesses of your mind, just dark, evil fantasies. Fantasizing about blood, Satan, and fire. Dawn/TheMetalWeb.com: Could you provide some details about the cover art and what the symbol represents on the cover? Sammy Duet: That is Lucifer and we all know who that guy is. Dawn/TheMetalWeb.com: Obviously. (Laughs) I kind of thought that’s what that was. Sammy Duet: It represents a lot of things within the band to us. He was the original rebel angel. He’s the one that defied God. He’s the first one that lead the whole legion into hell. So, it plays a major part in the band, just a big symbol of rebellion against God. Dawn/TheMetalWeb.com: Well, I noticed the one symbol but I’m talking about the writing above the picture itself. Sammy Duet: There’s all kinds of stuff in there. Jacob Dannon did the artwork. We just gave him a general idea of what we wanted, and we said, just go with it. He’s never did a really evil album cover with his past art. So we said, we want something totally wicked and evil. He did a great job. It looks awesome. Dawn/TheMetalWeb.com: You recently recruited drummer Zack Simmons and bassist Nathan Bergeron. Did you find it to be an easy transition and what finally lead to the demise of the others? Sammy Duet: Actually it was an easy transition because Nathan and Zack are such talented musicians. They just came in and breezed right through it. Coming from a musicians standpoint you know when it feels right when you play with someone and we were lucky enough to where we really didn’t have to search through a whole bunch of people to get the right people. It worked out fine. Dawn/TheMetalWeb.com: How did you find them? Sammy Duet: Our original drummer Zack quit and we posted on the internet that we were looking for a drummer. We had tried out a couple other people and they weren’t working out and then Zack comes along and just blew us away immediately. We were like, this is the guy without a doubt! After the first five songs we played together, I took the rest of the guys outside and was like, dude, this is the guy. I don’t want to search anymore and if he’s into it, I say we just stop the search now and get him in there. Dawn/TheMetalWeb.com: So, it’s this guy wasn’t referred by anyone, he just came from the internet? That’s pretty amazing. You lucked out! Sammy Duet: Yeah, he emailed us and was like, I’m a big fan of your music and I’ve been a big fan for awhile and I’d like to come down and tryout. We really didn’t have any other options at the time so we were like, come on down. Put your nuts on the chopping block and let’s see what you got. He definitely missed the chopper! (Laughs) His nuts are still in tact and he’s jamming. Dawn/TheMetalWeb.com: When I caught the band last it was with the old guys. So, I have yet to see the new. Sammy Duet: You will be thoroughly impressed. Not to talk bad about the old lineup, but people that have seen the new lineup and that have seen the old lineup in the past have said, you guy’s got good all of a sudden and it’s good to be playing with people that are good musicians. Dawn/TheMetalWeb.com: I’m just surprised that you found them on the internet. Usually it’s a referral or someone that’s played with someone. Sammy Duet: To be honest with you, we didn’t want to go with someone that has been around the block. We didn’t want to take a chance of getting someone that was jaded for some reason in the band. We wanted something fresh, We wanted someone just almost like a new start. Dawn/TheMetalWeb.com: Yeah, that you can mold. Sammy Duet: (Silence) Dawn/TheMetalWeb.com: (Laughs) I’m kidding! You have to know I’m a joker. Don’t take me too seriously. Sammy Duet: (Laughs hysterically) No, it’s all good. Dawn/TheMetalWeb.com: Looking back at your career, which album are you most proud of and which do you consider to be your best work and why? Sammy Duet: Definitely A Haunting Curse. I’m happier with that than I’ve ever been with any other material that I’ve ever recorded. The songs are really good . I’m really happy with the way the songs came out and the recording came out incredible. Just the whole thing in general came out surprising to me to how well it came out. In my career I’ve never really had the best of luck with the way things that I saw should of came out. My vision was always altered in some kind of way and it was out of my control due to numerous different reasons. But, this actually came out perfect. Dawn/TheMetalWeb.com: Coming up in October you’ll be touring with Celtic Frost which is a band who you’ve named first as being an influence. How excited are you to have the opportunity to play with the band that has had some sort of bearing on who Goatwhore is today? Sammy Duet: They have a humongous influence on Goatwhore. To be honest with you, I’m really not going to believe that I’m playing with Celtic Frost until I see them on the stage. They have been my favorite band since I’m a kid. It’s amazing that we even have this opportunity. It’s awesome! Like I said, I’m not going to believe it until I see it. Dawn/TheMetalWeb.com: How did it come about? Sammy Duet: We had got submitted to their management to do the tour. They were searching for opening bands. We got submitted and we were like, yeah, were not going to be accepted but it’s worth a shot. We didn’t think that we would ever get it. Then their management emailed us back and I guess they did research on us and they were like, you guy’s are perfect for the tour. Dawn/TheMetalWeb.com: I have to ask this next question though I feel I’m going to regret it after asking. (Laughs) Sammy Duet: (Laughs) Dawn/TheMetalWeb.com: I read in your press release that the name Goatwhore originated from, "a mysterious encounter with a rather uninviting stripper". What’s the story behind this because this is the first I’m hearing of it? Sammy Duet: It’s a mixture of different things. At the time, we were reading a lot of Aleister Crowley books and we came across a little story about one of his wives or his whores to where he would make her have sex with goats in some of his rituals and then have sex with all these other men afterwards. So, that’s basically where the name came from. Dawn/TheMetalWeb.com: Ok, so it had nothing to do with the band? (Laughs) Sammy Duet: (Laughs) But then from a little emphasis from an unattractive stripper that definitely pushed the name even harder on us. Dawn/TheMetalWeb.com: Ok, but it was about something that you read and not something the band was involved in. (Laughs) Sammy Duet: (Laughs) Well, it was a name we kicked around for a while because we weren’t sure about it. We were in a nudie bar one night and one of my friends seen an unattractive stripper and called her that and I was like, that name is definitely sticking with us. Dawn/TheMetalWeb.com: He called her that to her face? (Laughs) Sammy Duet: Yeah! (Laughs) He’s this really rude guy. Dawn/TheMetalWeb.com: (Laughs) I guess she didn’t make much money that night. Sammy Duet: (Laughs) Dawn/TheMetalWeb.com: Well, that’s all I got Sam. Thanks for the interview. Looking forward to seeing you guy’s on tour. Hopefully, catch you with Celtic Frost. With that said, do you have any final words for The Metal Web!? Sammy Duet: Metal Web, just keep supporting evil music! OFFICAL SITE "GOATWHORE : http://www.goatwhore.net HOME |
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