Death Cult Pharmaceutical – Interview – Thanks for Asking!

Death Cult Pharmaceutical – Interview – Thanks for Asking! – by Liam Sweeny.

RRX: Every artist’s first song is a milestone. But so is the latest song. Describe the first song/album you recorded, and also the latest song/album you recorded; what are the differences?

BB: The first song we ever recorded was Screaming in the Rain, which is also the first song I ever wrote for the band, before the band was even a thing. It was more of a classic Ramones style punk song, and was on our first Ep of the same thing. Our next recording was our full length “Insane World”. Which had more of a hardcore/thrash edge to it.

BC: I think the early material is different lyrically from what we’ve been writing more recently. The early stuff was more about heartbreak on a personal level. Where as our new stuff that we are writing for our upcoming “Torture Zone” LP is more about the human condition and how trauma and abuse can affect the human psyche.

RRX: Part of learning to be a musician is to fall in love with a song, an album, and hammer away at your instrument until you can play that whole thing. What was that song for you? Was there a hardest part?

BB: There is a song on the upcoming album called “Shattered”. The song is very fast and has some time changes going on that make it probably the hardest song we’ve written. To be honest we still don’t have it down yet! But I know we will by the time it comes to record. It’s also personally a difficult song to perform because it deals with the impact of losing a love one to addiction. I often write about things that painful to me as a way of working through them. It is a cathartic experience.

BC: Sometimes I think that

when Brian comes up with a riff for something like our song passages, I might do something that is simple and keeps the beat at first and then shift into something more dynamic that showcases a little bit more of skill. I think for some of the thrashers like Passages it has been a challenge to stay on time in the past but I know we are improving with that and I think the next album will reflect that.

RRX: Sex, drugs, and rock and roll. Or so they say. Whether you’re off the wagon, on it, or never been, there’s something you got a thirst for. What are some of your basically harmless vices?

BB: In my opinion there are no “Harmless vices”. Even the more innocuous ones like coffee or scrolling on your phone alter your brain chemistry in some way. We have dealt with issues in the band over addiction and I personally have lost friends to it. That being said, pretty much every human ever has some sort of vice that gets them through the day. It is said that getting inebriated is the 4th greatest need behind food, water and shelter. Personally I find a couple beers and a little bit of weed can make for a fun jam session.

BC: Harmless Vices? Haha I think vices are called vices because they can trap you and keep you stuck in the same cycle permanently making you a slave. Ultimately that’s what addiction is it’s a form of bondage between yourself and a substance or whatever you’re trying to suck the life out of. I have struggled with addiction in the past and to a much lesser extent today. I think being in the band has actually saved me from falling deeper into addiction and depression. It gives us a sense of direction and purpose. It keeps me grounded and goal oriented. I am not saying don’t have a good time and I am certainly not straight edge but definitely an advocate for moderation. Otherwise the cost will be eventually losing everything.

RRX: What instrument would you add to the band if you could? Is there anything you are trying to do musically that would be helped with one or more additional players?

BB: We have talked about potentially adding a second guitarist to have some more lead/solo work going on. We also toyed around with the idea of adding horns and doing a Ska thing. But that would be way down the road.

BC: I sometimes thought about second guitar player or keyboardist, we have a rotating cast of bass players up until now so I think Brian and I would like to finally iron out who the mainstay in that position is going to be first before we add anyone new. TBH ever since seeing The Loved Ones open up for The Unseen back in 2005 at the Knitting Factory in Brooklyn I have romanticized the idea of super loud and powerful sounding three piece. It’s somewhat rare and always a gem.

RRX: Love is a big part of music. We’re talking first loves here. Lots of cool stories about first loves and the things we do for those loves. Can you (or, in the case of a band, one member) talk about your first love, especially if you did something cool to express that love? (No names needed.)

BB: I wasn’t really sure what love was until I met my current girlfriend Kelsey. We have been dating almost 3 years and everyday has been magic. Until I met her I mostly had one night stands, flings, and a couple failed relationships. Some of the early DCP songs reflected the heartbreak I felt, particularly our songs “screaming in the rain” and “downbad” But on my first date with Kelsey we were dancing barefoot in the park listening to “4 non blondes” and didn’t care who was watching. I knew then she was the woman I wanted to be with. Since I’ve been with her I stopped writing songs about heartbreak and started writing more about worldly affairs, psychology, and spirituality.

BC: I have never really had much success in romantic love, I m Bisexual and have found the dating world on both ends of the spectrum to be a very cold, shallow and superficial place. Any “love interests” I have had in the past have had little to no interest in my creative side and I often get the sense that they would prefer not to discuss it. Even people who might look and act the part of a music fan. So I instead found true love in the bands, artists, and writers that came before me. They gave their gifts to the world in a bold, courageous, unapologetic fashion and I believe in doing the same, that’s what keeps me going.

RRX: I know when pitching it helps to tell someone it’s “this meets that.” So let’s try that with you. If you had to give me two bands that meet each other in your sound, what are those bands? More than two bands?

BB: This is a good question. I personally come from a more metal background while Bryan comes from punk. So I would say we are like negative approach meets death. Vocally I take a lot of inspiration from black metal and crust bands like disrupt or dystopia and also classic death metal bands like death or possessed.

BC: I think DCP is the best of many different worlds everything from Stoner Rock to Grunge to Hardcore Punk, Thrash and Death Metal. I’d say we are a somewhat of cross between Ramones and Suicidal Tendencies with a splash of Discharge and Death (FLA).