Killgasm is one band with a crushing sound of black/death metal that must be heard. Here is an interview with band member Emperor Kuntslughter:

How long has the band been around and how many members are from the original line-up and did you go through many member changes before coming to a solid line-up?
The band technically started in 2002 but it was just me on vocals and a guitarist fucking around for a few years. The band didn't really start getting things done until 2005.

How long had the band been around before you recorded and put out your "Sodomized For Satan" demo? Looking back what are your thoughts on this demo these days and how was the response to it back then?
A few years. We tried out drummers for the first few years but none of them worked out so I just said fuck it and bought a drum kit and we did a few rehearsals with me on drums then recorded that demo in 2004. My thoughts on it are that it is terrible but we put some of the more tolerable songs up on myspace and people liked it and it got us on some good shows.

In 2006, you released "Black Metal Whore Killer", which was an Ep. Did you get any shit over the name of the Ep and who released this?
The title of the ep probably helped us more than anything. We were a virtually unknown band at the time but many labels wanted to carry it in their distro. And it isn't like the music on it was spectacular, so it must have been the name. It was released by Buriedinhell Records which is a vinyl record label based out of here in Sacramento run by our friend who also plays or played in the bands Kuru, Knifethruhead, Cura Cochino and Hellcrew.

How did you come up with the band name and were any other names tossed around before you came up with the name "Killgasm"?
Me and the original guitar player couldn't agree on many band names back in 2002 and Killgasm was the only one that we both agreed on. The names I came up with were too abrasive I guess and the names he came up with were too generic.  I can't remember all the reject names we tossed around but one I really liked at the time was "Rape Machine", but in retrospect I'm glad we didn't use that one. Another one the ex guitarist came up with was "Cauldron" and I was like "WTF...a black kettle? Really?!"

In 2007, your released, "Goat Grind" ep. Was writing songs and going into the studio easy for the band and tell me how a song comes together and what are your thoughts on this release these days?
I really liked how that one came out. We had a more solid line up then and were churning out songs left and right so it was really easy. It was the first time we recorded at Mayhemeness Studios, which is where we have recorded all our other albums since. Those songs were definitely going in the direction I wanted the band to go in with the blasphemous, perverted blackened death/grind.

At what point in the bands career do you feel you came up with the "Killgasm" sound so to speak and do you think you’re an original band?
Definitely with our Christian Holokaust demo. That was the start of the current sound I think we have now. I wouldn't say we are an original band as we just take our favorite black metal, death metal and grindcore bands and rip them off. But since we try to mix the styles pretty well I would like to think we have a sound that people know is clearly us when they hear it.

In 2008, you released another demo called "Christian Holokaust". At this point had you been sending of your stuff to any labels in the hopes of getting signed at all?
We sent "Goat Grind" out to lots of labels and when it got in the hands of Negativity Records they were interested in working with us. They co-released our split 7" with Slaughterbox and were interested in releasing a full-length down the line. Christian Holokaust was recorded with intentions of becoming our first full-length. We only had the budget to record 3 songs at first then we would come back and do more later. But after those songs were recorded we wanted to redo some parts but the engineer deleted the files so we would have to start over from scratch, so we just turned those 3 tracks into a demo. They grew on us though and 2 of them ended up going on the full-length later as they were.

Where is the band based out of and is there a good metal scene there? Do you get to play live a lot and do you think you’re a good live band and is there any live clips of the band say on You Tube and places like that?
We're based out of Sacramento, the capitol of California. It fluctuates, sometimes there is a plethora of good black/death/grind bands and then they break up and there are times when it is barren and it's the same two bands playing every show. We do play live a lot, if you search us on youtube some people have uploaded live songs of us or full sets. How good we are live depends on where we play and how motivated we are. If we're playing locally for lots of friends we just talk shit non-stop and don't care if we play sloppy. If we're playing to a whole new audience who doesn't know our personalities and humor we try to leave the jokes aside and just play a fast brutal set. But a lot of times we still like to talk shit and be as offensive as possible, regardless of where we're at. Whether we played a good set or shitty one, the audience will definitely remember us.

What would you say to somebody if they asked what the band sounds like and would you say the bands sound has changed much over the years?
I think maybe from the earlier years to now it has shifted to more of a black metal band with death/grind influences rather than a death/grind band with black metal influences. We just tell people it's blackened death/grind.

Your next 2 releases were split releases. Were these 7" with 2 different bands? Who put these out and how did you come up with the other band for each release?
The split with Slaughterbox was a 7" released by Buriedinhell/Negativity Records. The 3 way split with Shitestrom/Valdur was a cd released by Christhammer Records/Christian Annihilation Productions. Slaughterbox was a natural choice for us to do a split with as they have been our best friends for the past decade and we have toured with them many times and done countless shows together. The 3 way split Shitestrom approached us about but we didn't have much material ready so we proposed a 3rd band to fill more time on the cd and Valdur was a great choice as they are also good friends of ours we enjoy sharing the stage with.

Now in 2011, you had your 1st full length come out called, "Bloodbath Of Satanic Vengeance". How did this release come about and which label, if any, put this out? How was it going into the studio finally doing a full length this time around?
That album wasn't originally intended to be our debut full-length and sort of just came together out of circumstance. "Bloodbath of Satanic Vengeance" was supposed to be the title of our split with Catholicon that was to be released on Negativity Records but then Catholicon broke up and the 2 partners running Negativity Records split off and the other person started UW Records. We were more in contact with the guy who later became UW Records so he continued contact with us and wanted to release our full-length. So we took the 4 tracks that were recorded for the Catholicon split plus 2 songs off "Christian Holokaust" and used the artwork that was supposed to be for that split. We still needed to record 4 more songs for it to be a proper full-length though but we got rid of our guitar player before we could do that and got Lord Nekrotiis from Rotten Funeral as our new guitar player then we recorded the remaining songs and the album was finally released on UW Records!

How was the response to this release and how do you feel about it these days?
The response to that full-length was incredible and I am still really fond of that album. It definitely took us to the next level as a band and also got us signed to Moribund Cult, which has been a goal of ours since the band's inception.

A single came out in 2013. Why just a single?
The album was finished being recorded in Summer of 2013 but Moribund couldn't release it until spring 2014 so we had a long time between that so we took 2 tracks off the album and self-released a single to spread around at shows and give people a preview of the new album that would be coming soon

Now in 2014, a new full length is out called, "A Stab In The Heart Of Christ" and it is an incredible release. How did you hook up with Moribund Records?
I've been in contact with them for many years as a customer and doing trades with them. When they got a hold of our debut full-length in 2011 they liked it and wanted to release the follow up and the rest is history!

How easy was it with the recording process of this release and how did you come up with the title of the album and the cover art?
I've had the concept and title for this album for many many years and I originally intended it to be our debut album back in the early days of the band. But, like I said before, circumstances happened and "Bloodbath of Satanic Vengeance" inadvertently became our debut full-length but "A Stab in the Heart of Christ" was planned long before that. The recording process for this full-length was our hardest one yet. We have never recorded 10 songs in one recording session, they were all previously either short eps or broken up sessions. We also had high expectations for ourselves since this album was to be our defining moment that we has been planned years in the making, so we had to work hard in the studio to make it sound how we wanted. In the end though there are still things I wish we could have done differently and hopefully will correct on the next one, but I still think it came out killer and is the best thing we have ever done. Since I had the idea of a lifeless, pathetic Jesus nailed through his chest to an inverted cross for many years, I was afraid when an artist finally created it would not meet my high expectations. But luckily when we commissioned Rafael Tavares to do it he not only exceeded the blasphemy and brutality I had in mind, but he made the album cover more dark and sinister than I ever could have imagined!

What are your plans as far as promotion goes with this album? Any plans on a possible tour?
No tours planned as we all work full-time jobs and can't get enough time off to leave for long periods of time. But we do want to play outside the northern California area as much as possible and hopefully hit cities we've never been to and fly out to play some fests if possible.

About how much time in any given week is spent doing band related stuff?
Before the album was recorded we were practicing about twice a week but after it was finished we got lazy and hardly practiced at all. Nowadays it's maybe once a month, if that. But eventually we'll get back into the stride of things and start writing for the next album.

Please plug any websites you have?
Check our official website or facebook for news and shows: killgasm.blogspot.com, facebook.com/killgasmgrindcore
And order merch from our online store: killgasm.bigcartel.com
And order our new album from Moribund Cult. You can get it from us directly as well, but Moribund usually has good sales going on so check out what they have: moribundcult.com

Any last words and horns up for the interview?
Thanks Chris. Been a fan of MetalCore zine for many years. First heard about you back when I used to buy Grimoire at Tower Records. It's a shame that the term "Metalcore" later became used for the new era of trendy garbage metal when you were doing it long before. Keep up the good work and I will always support only the true MetalCore which is your zine!

Interview by Chris Forbes

November 2014