Please tell us about the history of your band and its members.
The bassist Chris, vocalist Jay and myself (Matt) on guitar have known each other since middle school so we've been doing music in some from for over ten years. When we found our drummer Max in 2014 is when we began to take things seriously. In the next five years after that we landed regional opening slots on Summer Slaughter, Devastation On The Nation and Bloodletting North America. Colorado has had a few bigger metal acts erupt from our scene and we're just trying to carry that torch as well.
How would you describe your style? Which bands influenced your music?
We're an amalgamation of grindcore, thrash and death metal. We had another band from the Denver area give us a moniker and we think it holds true to what we're doing: American Razorgrind. We collectively listen to a whole range of music from Talking Heads to Motown to hip hop. As for what inspires our sound though, we all have a mutual love for Slayer, Cannibal Corpse and Iced Earth so that sound definitely sneaks in on the strings. There's plenty of other death metal bands that I enjoy guitar-wise but those 3 were very influential to me in the beginning. Jay has a love for GWAR, Oderus specifically, and old school hip hop so his lyrics are absolutely everywhere. I believe that Chris's favorite bass player is Alex Webster or Nikki Sixx while Eric Moore, ex-drummer of Suicidal Tendencies really influenced Max's style.
Why should a metalhead buy your demos/albums?
If guitar riffs that get stuck in your head and absurd lyrics that will have you laughing are your thing, then we're your band. Catchy riffs, off the wall lyrics and offensive live performances are what we do. If you're a fan of extreme music and offending pedestrians you'll likely find something you like about what we do.
What have you released so far and how were your releases received by the public/media?
We released an EP titled "Evilgasm" in 2014 and a full-length album titled "Rumpus Time Is Over" in 2018. Evilgasm was our first serious step and it was well received in our home town of Denver, CO. Upon recording Rumpus Time Is Over we branched out and reeled in EU distribution. That album was also well received with no review being less than a seven out of ten. We also have older recordings that are no longer in print but that's for good measure. I think all musicians are embarrassed of their first recordings and we're no different haha.
Do you play live as well? How's your live activity so far?
When there's no virus going around we're very active live. That has of course derailed much of what was in the plans for the future. If we can tour again soon that would be amazing but that all seems to be up in the air currently. However, we did get one super cool show on the books at the beginning of the year when we opened for Internal Bleeding in January.
What should labels/zines/promoters know about your band? Why should they be interested in it?
We simultaneously make it a point to be entertaining in a live situation and while sitting at home listening. Every band thinks that they're bringing something new to the table. Whether or not we do is up to the listener I guess but, the number one compliment we get on a regular basis is that we're a breath of fresh air for death metal. I mean half of death metal bands are singing about gore or some super deep metaphysical meanings to life. Not that here's anything wrong with that, we just try to be a little different. We have songs about shaking annoying babies to death, killing disgusting cat ladies, sodomizing your kid brother, raising hippos from the dead to hunt tourists or a group of down syndrome kids being eaten by a yeti. That lyrical content coupled with dead babies at all of our live shows or maybe even a live abortion is guaranteed to keep you entertained.
What plans do you have for the near future as a band?
We're putting out our new EP this year so if the metal gods allow it, we'd love to be performing the new material for all of our fans, new and old alike. If touring is unlikely in the near future we definitely will not be plateauing. Just leaves more time for writing new material again. By the time we hit the studio, we generally have a song or 3 in the works that is slated for the next release so we're pretty good about keeping busy.
Where can we listen to your band and where can we buy your stuff?
We're on all major streaming platforms and any of our physical goods can be bought at our bandcamp site, angelicdesolation.bandcamp.com. Coupled with our music, we make it a point to have offensive merch as well. We've got items ranging from satanic blasphemy on t-shirts to toddler onesie's that have "Shake Me" written out in alphabet blocks. We've got stuff for the whole family.
https://angelicdesolation.bandcamp.com/
May 2020