Zom have been around for a few years only but the release of their first demo granted them a very loyal fanbase. This Irish trio is about to unleash their debut album “Flesh Assimilation” through Invictus Productions and they will surely impress the listeners. Sabbac shared his ideas and thoughts with Pest… read on to learn more!

Your 5 track demo through Invictus back in 2011 has granted you a big fan base but only now will ZOM release their first album but the buzz around you is already so intense… Who is ZOM after all? What’s so special about ZOM?
ZOM is nothing more than three beings making the noise they want to hear. There’s nothing intelligent about this, no philosophy… only chaos.

Your logo reminds me of the chaos symbol. Is there any connection whatsoever?
Yes, when I drew the logo I wanted to stay away from the generic “Satanist” trappings. That’s not who we are or what we stand for. The chaos star is far more representative to our sound and approach.

Since your first demo got such appraisal, what took you so long to release your debut?
Quite simply, we work at our own pace. All three of us are incredibly busy in our personal lives and we didn’t feel the need to rush anything for anyone.

Your debut album “Flesh Assimilation” is about to be released. What can fans expect from it?
Hard to say. The song writing may have gotten a little sharper but it’s very much still ZOM. It’s primitive in its approach and execution, quite abrasive sounding. There’s definitely a little more Morbid Angel in there and D-Beat.

I read that ZOM invoke perversion, sorcery, cosmos and death through their primitive, atavistic and ritualistic sounds. Why did you feel the need to create this band and explore these themes?
Myself and CTHON wanted to do a Death Metal project together. We didn't feel any particular need or calling per se... we just do what we want at the end of the day regardless of others.

Does it include any of the tracks featured on the demos/EP?
No, the record will be all previously unreleased material.

ZOM take influences from Hellhammer, Beherit, Morbid Angel, Blasphemy, Celtic Frost, Slayer, Sepultura, Necrophagia, Sodom… basically all great old bands… don’t the new bands influence you in any way?
When CTHON (bass/vocals) approached me with the idea for what would later become ZOM, we agreed to stick to elements of a handful of bands we both had a mutual interest in within the Death Metal genre and while we take inspiration from newer bands we don't necessarily take influence. We knew given our limited playing ability that we would end up sounding worlds apart from our initial pool of influences anyway and what we were left with is what you hear now.

The art of your album has been done by renowned artist Zbyszek Bielak. Can you enlighten us about its significance since it seems to be quite complex?
The concept behind Zbyszek Bielak's "the Harvester" was devised by myself and CTHON. We relied heavily on his lyrics from the title track Flesh Assimilation, which deals with an alien race rummaging through the ruins of human civilisation harvesting the last remaining organic matter. This is something we wanted conveyed in the art... formless masses of human flesh swarming with alien technology surrounding the ZOM logo. We tried to work with a number of artists but everything fell through eventually. That's when Bielak made contact with Invictus and offered his services. Truth be told, I wasn't aware of his work at the time but after a few emails back and forth it was clear he got our Akira and Tetsuo (the Iron Man) inspired vision. He pretty much took care of everything else and to say we're happy with the finished piece would be an understatement.   

Chthon (Sub Sonik Destruktion/Kommands), Sodomaniac (Axe of Khaos/Kommands), Sabbac (Astral Battery) are the members… how easy/complicated is it being a trio?
As easy as any other band I guess!? There's pros and cons. Usually we can work a lot faster and sign off on things as there are only three opinions at the end of the day. Thankfully we're usually all on the same page when it comes to ideas too but if not, it's a two against one issue and that's how we operate. It's easier to travel with three people as well as opposed to five say.

The intro to ZOM is quite interesting as it states that “Ireland has always suffered from a lack of the more traditional black and death metal bands over the years but this has slowly began to change. Emerging from the sewers of Dublin is ‎ZOM”. Who came up with this description?
Darragh who runs Invictus Productions wrote that. They're all his words from the press release.

Do you think that the Irish scene is something to take in consideration?
Of course I do, I've been a part of it for half my life. This is all I know really. There are some fantastic bands and musicians in my circle and I feel pretty grateful about that. Listen to Malthusian, Slomatics, Wild Rocket, Disguise, #1s, Tome, Putrefaction, September Girls, No Spill Blood, Rabid Bitch of the North and Abaddon Incarnate. 

How do all the bands get along?
How do all the people get along!? They do and they don't really. Dublin is small and everyone knows everyone pretty much so there's a lot of crossover between scenes, which I think is a good thing.  

Do you think living in an island  might be limiting ZOM’s options when it comes to playing live?
Yes, definitely. It isn't like mainland Europe where you can just get in the van and drive across the border. The costs for an Irish band to tour can be quite staggering at times.

What impressed you the most in ZOM’s life so far?
We've got play with some amazing bands in amazing places and meet amazing people.

An Irish friend of mine was kind enough to send me a cassette of your demo. The first copies sold out almost instantly. Did you ever think it would be so easy for ZOM to break through?
No, we didn't consider anything like this at all. I put all of that down to the tireless efforts of Invictus Productions. Darragh puts a tonne of effort into his bands and label and we're delighted to be a part of that.

Since most members are involved in other bands, what happened differently with ZOM and your other projects that granted you immediate success?
Well we don't really see it as success really, that's not how we operate. ZOM worked out for various reasons but again a lot of this was down to Invictus Productions taking us on board and really pushing us out there.

Please share a final message with Pest readers.
Thanks for your time and interest in the band. We will be hitting the road in Europe with Dead Congregation at the end of December. Check the dates and come bring us weed.

Interview by Sonia Fonseca

October 2014