Withered pour l'album "Folie Circulaire"

Hi Mike! It's a pleasure to discuss again with you! Could you briefly (re)introduce Withered for those who don't know your band?

Withered is a blackened death/grind/doom metal band from Atlanta, GA. I'd say we specialize in combining a number of old school styles (early Swedish death and Scandinavian black metal) with modern American doom and overall, everything has a pretty dark atmosphere.


There were some changes in your line-up since 2005, weren't there?

Yes, there were. In the fall of '06, we decided to part ways with our original bassist. He just couldn't commit to the band's schedule anymore. Immediately after, we completed a successful tour with Dismember, Grave, and Vital Remains. We had a friend fill in on bass for that tour. Immediately following the tour, our drummer told us that he could not tour anymore because of his new child and financial responsibilities. So, we continued to write music and play regional shows until we could find a suitable replacement drummer for touring. Mike Longoria filled in on Bass for those shows and did an awesome job. In mid '07, we were scheduled to play select dates with Mayhem (they were cancelled due to Hellhammer's injury). So, we approached Beau Brandon about playing drums for us to fulfill these tour obligations. After getting together, we decided these guys were exactly what we needed for the band. So, they were very happy to join withered and continue full time. It's been great. They are a very powerful rhythm section. I think it's very obvious on the new album.


Your live drummer Alex Tomlin has just joined the monster of Arsis, what do you think of this band?

Personally, I've never been a big fan of really technical death metal. These guys are amazing and Alex is a phenomenal drummer. I think Arsis will be better for having him in the band. He's a great friend and awesome to hang out with. And, he's actually a great drummer WITHOUT an ego. That's pretty rare these days.


What I predicted came true, Memento Mori had a lot of great praises, did you expect that?

We were very confident in the album. We love it dearly but we didn't expect it to get as much coverage as it did. That was a nice surprise but I think it made a lot of pressure for us to do even better on the new album.


During the writing progress of Folie Circulaire that "buzz" didn't put pressure? How did the writing progress go?

ha, yeah, that's exactly what I'm talking about. The ‘buzz' did add a little pressure. The writing process went pretty well. It's always slow for us since we over analyze every part of every song. That can be a little frustrating. Also, our music just happens in rehearsal. It's not planned and there is no formula. It's very organic.


Which changes compared with Memento Mori?

Well, there's Mike and Beau of course. Otherwise, I think we're better at what we're trying to do. We have more focus and we had a good direction of how we wanted the music to feel for the entire album. In other words, we focused on writing an album more than just writing 8 or 10 unrelated songs.


Your musical style still remains indefinable (a mix of sludge/black/grind/death), how would you define it?

Pretty much like you said. We mix everything that we listen to. Somehow, I think we make it work. It's a lot of fun for us to have an early Swedish death metal riff change into a full on old school black metal riff AND it all makes sense. At least it does to us. We just want to do everything that feels right to us. From crust punk to death metal, black metal, sludge, doom, heavy rock, grind, whatever fits.


Why did you choose Prosthetic Records? Did you have other offers?

Yeah, we were talking with a few other companies. Prosthetic seemed the most eager and focused on getting us on their roster. We just felt they could do the most for us without compromising our music.


What did you think of Lifeforce Records?

We loved working with Lifeforce. They were behind us all the way. It was a very tough decision to leave them. I hope to work with them again one way or another. They are really good people. It's very much like a family. However, Prosthetic is just stronger in the US and they can offer us more exposure.


Could you explain the meaning of “Folie Circulaire” to us?

Yes, it's a term that was coined by a French psychologist in the late 1800's to describe bi-polar disorder. nietzsche used it in one of his novels to describe the “human condition”. That's the same context we're using it in. We've grown simply fed up with the general public. They are so stupid and blind. They refuse to wake up and face the real problems in everyday life. Most are selfish and only worry about their little tiny life. We each song on this album to describe different scenarios and experiences that humanity struggles with over and over again. The title was very suited for this album.


Why did you choose a title in French?

Actually, since Chris discovered it in a nietzsche book, he didn't realize it was French. We thought it was Latin at first. We wanted to stick with the latin theme from “memento mori” to carry on with the dead language. But, the title was perfect and we decided to keep it.


The Paul Romano's artwork is again wonderful, what is its meaning?

Paul does a great job of researching the things that influence us and our lyrics. We discussed a lot of philosophies and ideas for this. Paul decided to base the cover art on the Ouroboros (the pagan symbol for infinity - a snake eating its tail to form an endless circle). Since we're talking about mankind's endless cycles of madness, Paul created the Ouroboros out of a man. His tale is the chaotic creations of mankind and they are being destroyed as he is force-feeding himself. There are a lot of other smaller elements but that's the basis of it. We couldn't be happier with it. It's perfect for this album.


How happened your meeting with Barney from Napalm Death?

I was talking with Albert Mudrian, the author of “choosing death”. Since I knew he did a lot of interviews with Napalm for that book, I asked if he was still in touch with them. So, he introduced me to Barney and I asked Barney to do guest vocals on our new album. Barney is one of my all time favorite vocalists/ heros. Barney and Napalm Death are legendary for me so this was a dream come true. He was amazing and very easy to work with. Every time I hear his vocal parts on our album, I feel a surge of energy and the hair on my arms stand up. He's simply a beast.


Why did you choose a cover of Necrophobic? Why "Into Armageddon" and not a title from Nocturnal Silence (their best to my mind) for instance?

I'm not sure. I think that song just spoke to us above all others. If you really think about it, that song is very similar to some of our writing style. It is such a powerful song and Necrophobic is such a great band. Their writing is so consistent. I love all their albums. In the US, no one knows who they are. They just don't get any exposure here and we wanted to wake people up. I think they'd be very popular here if people learn about them.


I know it's in French but I made a project about swedish black/death in 90's (http://thrashocore.com/v4/dossiers/dossier.php?dossier_id=27), are there some bands you know?

Yeah, I listen to about half of those bands. Of course all the Swedish stuff and the Naglfar, Lord Belial, etc. I've never heard of the rest. I'll have to check them out, thanks!


For those three years (since our first interview) which things had a great effect on you?

A lot happened. Of course, having 2 dear friends leave the band after everything was going well for us, was a big set back. Chris and I were pretty depressed during that time. Also, I had a friend killed in a motorcycle accident and another friend commited suicide this year. Not to mention the shitty political and economic state of the US right now. Life is harder than it's been in a while for a lot of people. Yet, they are still blind and still voting for idiots. All of these things directly affected the music for our new album.


What is your feeling about playing with your fetish bands (Dismember, Grave...)?

Shit, that was like winning a contest or something. For the first few days, I felt like I was 15 years old. It was great. Additionally, we made good friends with those guys, they were awesome and treated us very nicely. It was another dream come true. I was probably most intimidated by Ola since Grave is right at the top of my list and he's a legend for me. His writing and guitar playing has always had a big influence for me.


Besides have you listened the last Dismember or Grave?

I have heard only a couple of songs. I still need to buy the CD's when I get some money. The stuff I heard sounds great. I can't wait to get the full albums.


I suggest you listen to the new Vicious Art as well as the free demos of Torture Divsion (http://www.torturedivision.net/discography) considering that you like Jörgen Sandström!

Awesome, thanks for the tip. I've been meaning to see what he's doing these days. His vocals are also great. Very guttural but understandable.


What are you listening at the moment?

Literally, right now I'm listening to Pandora.com. I'm listening to Napalm Death, Dismember, Aura Noir, Marduk, and Vader. Otherwise, I listen to mostly black metal right now. A lot of French bands recently like Arkhon Infaustus, Temple of Ball, Deathspell Omega, Glorior Belli, and a few more.


Have you planned to play in France at last?

No real plans yet but we would really like to play France. The black metal scene there is amazing. There are so many really good bands and most all have a unique style. It's the strongest black metal movement in a very long time.


A little joke to conclude that interview?

Hmmmm………..the only joke I can think of right now is Deathcore music!!!!! Thanks a lot, it was good to talk to you again. Hope to see you guys in France soon!!