interview w/tom guitarist for cardiac arrest&vocals/guitars for severed.

Interview with Tom, rhythm guitarist for Cardiac Arrest and vocalist/guitars for Severed. Done by Patrick.


1. Metal hails brother! How’s your weekend been for you? Please tell the readers a little about yourself.

Cheers Patrick and thanks for getting in touch. Weekend was ok. Just finishing up in the studio. More on that later though. About me, nothing special. Lifelong horror and metal fan. Lucky enough to have been in a few bands that people seem to dig. I’ve been doing the tape trading/band thing for over 20 years now, although I did have a few absences here and there. Worked in the corporate world for a long time and I’m currently trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up now that I am in between jobs. I’m back in college for the third time in life too. Pretty boring, but that’s what happens as you get older.

2. When did you first discover metal? Who were some of the first metal bands you listened to? Who are some of your favorite bands from today's scene?

Well I discovered Kiss at a very young age. After seeing Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park on TV, I begged my mom to get me Kiss albums. I still had to wait a couple of years though. So probably when I was 6 or 7 I got my first Kiss album. I had some older cousins that listened to Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Thin Lizzy, Iron Maiden, Motorhead and stuff like that. So I was pretty much hooked. I started getting into heavier stuff as I was getting older…Metallica, Slayer, Anthrax, Venom etc…I think I started getting into the underground around 87 or so. Did the tape trading thing and had a pretty respectable demo collection going. So it around this time I was getting into the more extreme stuff…Celtic Frost, Death, Master, Repulsion, Massacre, Slaughter, etc. And those are still the bands I am into most. I am very stuck in the past, almost to a fault.

As far as newer bands today, to be honest I don’t really keep tabs on anyone. Fondlecorpse is excellent. Cianide is still doing what they do best. Gravehill are also awesome. I’m sure there are a lot of great bands out there, but I really have to have someone recommend them to me…I don’t really seek anything out. Basically if it sounds like the old stuff and they have the ideals of the past, I’m game.

3. At what age did you become interested in playing guitar? Are you self-taught or did you take lessons? Who are some of your influences/favorite guitarists?

I’ve been interested in playing since I got into music. It didn’t become a reality until I was 13. I figured that I was writing to a lot of bands and into what they were doing and figured I can do the same thing. I took lessons for about 6 months…I went once a week for a half hour…once I started being able to figure out songs from my favorite bands at the time, I said bye bye to lessons…I got into my first band when I was about 15…of course we sucked. But my first serious band was called Dogod and I was around 17 once that started going.
As far as my favorite guitarist, that will always be Ace Frehley. He is why I started playing guitar after all. I’m not so much a guitar nut though. I don’t really care much for all that wanky stuff.

4. You are the rhythm guitarist for the mighty Cardiac Arrest! When did you join the band? What is the current line-up? For the readers who may have not heard the band how would you describe the music?

Yup. I joined in 2006. Lineup has been the same ever since…Adam Scott-Guitar/Vocals, David Holland-Bass, Jim Deabenderfer-Drums, and yours truly on guitar and sometimes vocals. We’re just death metal in its true form. We all have our different influences and it just melds together well.

5. I know the band released it 2nd full-length CD "Cadaverous Presence" last year through Epitomite Prod. Are you guys satisfied with how it turned out? Do you have a personal favorite song off the CD? How has response been from the fans/press?

Yeah, Cadaverous came out in April and we were all happy with it. We worked hard on it and I think it shows. It’s hard for me to pick a favorite song though…I like all of them. If I didn’t I wouldn’t play them. The response has been very positive. Sounds kind of cliché, but I haven’t heard anything bad about it yet.

6. It was released through Von Young's label Epitomite Prod. How did you guys get signed to the label? Are you all satisfied with the job he and the label have done so far? Do you all plan to work with him on future releases or was it only for a single release deal?

I have known Von for a long time and we reconnected once I joined Cardiac. Adam knew him pretty well also. We had played a show with Deaden and Von told us if we were ever interested in working with him to let him know. Well, we were interested and started to get the ball rolling. We are satisfied with what Von and Epitomite has done. We are always in constant contact with him which is nice. Our upcoming full length will also be released through Epitomite, so that should give everyone a hint on how we like working with him.

7. Speaking of releases, has the band begun writing new musick for the next release? How many songs does the band have written and completed? Would you say the new songs are in the same vein as your previous releases?

We are always writing…plain and simple. We practice 2 times a week and riffs will just happen. We’ll work on arrangements and boom, a shell of a song is born…We’ll refine and whatever, but it is a pretty quick process. Once a band has retained the same lineup for awhile, things really gel. Everyone just brings their ideas to the table and if it works and we all like it, we just keep working at it.

The upcoming full length will be called Haven For The Insane. 13 tracks on this one. A little different than Cadaverous as this one is a bit more stripped down. It is Cardiac Arrest though, no mistaking that. We just finished in the studio this past weekend and are in mixing mode right now. We are very happy with it.

8. In your opinion what is the best and worst thing about the underground today and what does the term "metal underground" mean to you?

Well, that’s a loaded question…People will probably get mad at for this, but fuck it. There really isn’t an underground any more. Sure, there are some of the same people still around and doing stuff, and that’s cool. But the old spirit is not there anymore. And of course, like anything, there are exceptions. But there are too many genres, too many bands, to many “retro” kinds of stuff going on…I guess since metal is somewhat popular now that is to be expected. Let’s see in a few years when it is not and see if some of these people that claim they are underground are still around doing the same thing.

9. I know like me you have been into metal and the underground since late 80's/early 90's. How do you feel the scene has changed over the years? Do you feel it is better or worse or stayed the same for the most part?

Well, the obvious thing is the internet and technology. It has its good points and bad points though. I like the convenience of the internet because it is so easy to get ahold of people now. In the past, you had to wait and wait. But there was still something really killer about getting home, checking the mail, and getting a demo, fanzine and multiple letters from people all over the world. I really believe people who never did that (and in some cases no fault of their own) really missed out on what the true spirit of the underground was.

10. You live in the state of Illinois. I have been a huge fan of the Illinois scene since the mid-90's. What is your opinion of the scene in your state? Who are some of your favorite bands from your state/area? Are there any new bands the underground should keep an eye out for?

Illinois has always been great as far as bands go. Chicago in particular. Unfortunately, Chicago seems to never get any recognition. There are quite a few legendary bands that help create the death metal sound. You always hear about the “Florida style” and the “New York style” but never a Chicago style. Maybe that’s because all the bands were a bit different from each other so people couldn’t really pigeonhole a style. I dunno…

None of these bands are really new, but the ones around here I have been digging are Malas (Danny from Severed’s other band)…Deadnight is really cool…kind of an old Kreator meets Dissection kind of thing. Kommandant is a war/black kind of thing that is really aggressive. They just put their debut out and it is really good.

11. I notice a variety in metal styles {death,thrash,black and everything in between} so do all the bands get along pretty well or is their lot of competition?

See, that’s what I was alluding to before. Everyone is different in some way. The older bands all get along fine. Lots of us hang out together and just chill out…drink beer and listen to records…that kind of stuff. The newer bands, well, there are only a few around that are cool like that. But most think everything is a competition. It is a pain in the ass to plan shows. Once you do, it turns out that there are 10 other shows going on in the area. Nothing is an “event” anymore. Bands and promoters need to get their heads out of their asses and if they want any kind of “scene” start working together instead of against.

12. Besides being in Cardiac Arrest you also play guitars and do vocals in Severed. When did the band form? What is current line-up for this band? Do you have any releases or merchandise available for the fans?

Severed formed in 1995. There hasn’t been too many changes over the years. We stopped playing from 2001 but started going again in 04. I was no longer living in the area and it became too difficult to coordinate things. But I missed it too much and eventually figured things out. Danny (drums) and I have been in Severed since the beginning. Bill, our original vocalist quit in 98 I think…I can’t quite remember. It wasn’t bad or anything, he just didn’t want to do it anymore. Bill was in my first band Dogod that I mentioned earlier. We remained close over the years. Unfortunately, he passed away in 06, and I’m still not quite over it. Our original bass player quit late last year, but we have been jamming with a dude named John. I have known him for 20 years, and we never really jammed together, so he came aboard. So current lineup is Danny-Drums, John-Bass and myself on guitars and vocals.

We only ever did one 7 song demo and that was released in 96. On cassette only. We were behind the curve a little bit as most bands did CDs. We were supposed to do a free promo with a lot of our past songs and the demo tracks re-recorded, but that ain’t going to happen now. There is some drama going on with the old bass player that I’d rather not go into. But we have started live shows again and are in writing mode. We plan on doing a new promo with all new material soon. And like the last one, it will be a freebie.

I’m also in Convulsions with Stevo. Gregg from Lincoln Love Log is also on board. Logistically, right now things are just so busy for everyone, but something will happen.

13. Do you find it difficult to do both guitar and vocals in a live situation? Do you do anything special to keep your throat healthy? Who are some of your favorite vocalists?

Sometimes…I have gotten better at it over the years. I actually do vocals on some of the Cardiac tracks as well. But Severed is kind of a different animal. In a live situation, I’m known for being quite blitzed when I play. So, depending how bombed I am it can be very difficult to do both. The last show was like that…I took out the drum set twice. I try not to get that bad, but it happens. That’s what happens when we get stuck playing last I guess. But people still have fun anyway…we must pull it off ok.

I’m not really a vocalist per se…I just do it. I have no technique. I chain smoke and drink a lot, so I don’t take care of my throat at all. I just need to work on range. Favorite vocalists for me are Cronos (Venom), Chris Refiert (Autopsy), Chuck Schuldiner (SBG era Death), Scott Carlson (Repulsion), Kam Lee (Massacre) Paul Speckmann (in Master and Deathstrike especially) and a few others…at least those are the ones I try most to sound like…



14. Well man thank you for taking the time to fill out this interview. Do you have anything you would like to add before we end the interview?


Thanks for wanting to do an interview with me. I don’t do very many, so it is nice to talk about all that kind of stuff.

Cardiac Arrest will be very busy this year. More live shows throughout the US. New album, Haven For The Insane, will be out by summer hopefully. We’ll have a split 7” with our pals Gravehill coming out on Relapse. We also have a few other splits in the work.

Hopefully Severed will get a release out this year. And I’m hoping Convulsions will start working this year.

If anyone ever wants to get in touch, feel free. I’m online a lot and always like talking to people, especially about anything horror related.

Cheers and thanks again and take it queasy!!


anyone who wants to contact tom or his bands please check out the "official" myspace pages

tom's personal page
http://www.myspace.com/tomkwarrior

cardiac arrest
http://www.myspace.com/deathrot

severed
http://www.myspace.com/severedil