Interviews

By Janelle Jones

"Only Usurper could write an album that's actually called CRYPTOBEAST and lyrically make it fit," says bassist Jon Necromancer. He and henchman guitarists Rick Scythe and Carcass Chris, "vokillist" Dan Tyrantor, and drummer Joe Apocalyptic Warlord are, after all, self-described "weird dudes" who live, breathe, and eat metal. The Chicago five-piece's latest opus of destruction is a healthy helping of annihilating and crushing, balls-to-the-wall death metal/thrash sprinkled generously with dark, supernatural-themed lyrics.

SKRATCH: You've toured Europe [twice]. Did you have any absinthe while you were there?
JON: Any absinthe? [Laughs] We didn't get any when we were on tour, but I went back there on vacation [...] then [I] got some absinthe.

SKRATCH: What's it like?
JON: You know what? [Laughs] I was on so many other drugs and other forms of alcohol that it was hard to tell exactly [how] absinthe [is] in between the speed and the hash and drinking beer all night. By the time I started drinking absinthe, I was already fucked up.

SKRATCH: Sounds like fun.
JON: Yeah, actually, it was great. Someone showed me the pictures. It looked like I was having a wonderful time. [Laughs]

SKRATCH: Oh, man. That's always good: you get the pictures, you're like, "Oh no!" [Laughter] [...] So, Dan just joined in 2003, and you've had some line-up changes in the past. Would you say this line-up is pretty solid now?
JON: Yeah, having been through the line-up changes that we've had over the years, we always knew when something's not right. When someone's not pulling their weight or not 100% into something; you can tell right away. We've had other drummers in the past who couldn't give 100% just playing-wise and even with their attitude, and it just drags the whole band down. The General (the old singer), before he quit, the last couple years he couldn't care less about the band, and it was just terrible. Everybody else is beating their head against the wall trying to make something happen [...] and the General couldn't give a fuck. But now everybody wants to play shows, record, wants the album to do well, rehearse and practice and do all that-not only the cool stuff that goes with being a band, but even the crappy shit. Everybody's ready to tackle it [and] get it done. I think it comes through in the music and even on the album. There's a feeling of confidence. We really work well together. We've all known each other for so many years. It's just a completely comfortable feeling. [...] We all know everyone is in it for the long haul. It's a refreshing feeling after all these years when someone was always ready to quit or always looked to be kicked out. [Laughs] [...]

SKRATCH: You're saying you've known everyone for a while? Like Dan-you knew him before he joined.
JON: Yeah, Dan and I were in a band together in the late '80s/early '90s. [...] Dan and Joe grew up on the same block. They went to school together and everything. So we've all known each other for 15, 20 years or longer in some cases.

SKRATCH: He was the first person who came to mind when you knew you needed a new singer?
JON: Absolutely. At first we couldn't believe the General quit. [...] We were sort of expecting, it but we didn't expect it when it happened. At first we thought he wasn't serious about quitting and that [he'd] come back, but after a couple days it became apparent that he was done, so the first thing we had to decide was: Are we gonna continue on as a band, or are we gonna throw in the towel? Or are we gonna change the name of the band. And we just said, Fuck it. The General wasn't the identity of Usurper. Everybody else was still ready to go 150%, so once we decided to think of somebody else to front the band, Dan was the natural choice.

SKRATCH: Well, that's good he wanted to do it, right? [Laughs]
JON: Yeah, it worked out. [Laughs] He didn't have a choice: he had to do it, or else!

SKRATCH: We have to talk about the album. How would you say it compares to past records?
JON: I think it's more aggressive than the other albums. In the older stuff, especially, we had a lot more mid-paced parts, a lot more slower, heavier, dirge-sounding elements, and this one is more high-octane. There's still the classic heavy-metal, Usurper, mid-paced crunchy stuff, but a lot of it is just a little more over-the-top. And having Joe back in the band playing drums [...] With the old drummer we sometimes had to write songs to cater to his inability to play really fast, so a lot of the songs got stuck where we could only work within a certain boundary; but with the line-up we have now, we can play anything, so we figured, Fuck it-let's just go totally balls-out. Also this album was more spontaneous than the others. We threw the whole thing together in a few months and went in the studio and banged it out in record time. There was this vibe, this immediacy, when we were recording and writing it. We just felt we had to keep moving on-"Let's write another song." We were so excited with the line-up and with the way the songs were coming out. [...] Usurper is not a thinking-man's band. [Laughs] So, the more planned it is and thought-out...it doesn't work. This one was completely spontaneous, and I think it really worked to our advantage.

SKRATCH: You've played some of these live already?
JON: We've played "Kill for Metal" live.

SKRATCH: [Laughs] I was gonna mention that. I can picture everyone singing along to that one.
JON: Yeah, it really seemed to come out as the anthem. That was kinda the idea when [Rick] was putting it together. That's the natural live song. It really just has that sing-along quality. We were inspired to write a song like that [for] when we play Europe where no one really speaks English but everyone seems to know the words "heavy metal" and "kill"-the classic metal sayings. [...] That's a chorus where anyone anywhere in the world, if they're into it, can totally remember it and chant along. It's always fun to make that connection when you're playing live, to connect with the audience at that kind of a level-especially if you're in a another culture in a different country, where if you're talking in between songs they don't understand anything you're saying. They look at you with a blank face. [Laughs] [...] It came out to be a pretty catchy tune.

SKRATCH: I guess you'll see how it works [when you tour] South America [later this year].
JON: Yeah, the proof'll be in the pudding. Either it'll be great and they'll have a riot and destroy the place, or it'll suck and they'll riot and destroy the place.

SKRATCH: Lyrically, what inspires your love for the macabre? Just that you're "weird" guys or whatever?
JON: I guess so. I don't know if we're inspired by being weird [or] because we're weird makes our inspirations what they are. It's hard to really pinpoint it like that. I never really thought about why we think the way we do. I guess it's more of a deeper philosophical discussion than I'm prepared to get into in a music magazine. It's just the way we all are. I think it's from being poisoned in the metal scene for so many years. We're all über metal fans obviously. I think it's just part of that culture. Music to us is just as much a part of life as eating food or taking a shit. [...] [Metal] has been such a part [of me] for so long.... It's hard to separate the man from the beast, I guess.

SKRATCH: From the "cryptobeast."
JON: [Laughs] Yeah, the weird man from the cryptobeast.

SKRATCH: What would you like people to know about Usurper?
JON: Goddamn.... Basically, just to give our music a chance. A lot of times we got slammed early on as being a Celtic Frost rip-off. They're a big influence on us, but we've been still getting this comment, even on the last couple albums. I think an album like CRYPTOBEAST doesn't sound like Frost much at all. Especially since the General's gone, the vocals are different. We're still getting those comments, and it drives me fucking crazy. Just listen to the music-don't listen to the name Usurper or any of the bullshit you might've heard about the band. See if you like the album, just see if you like the music, and take it from there. If we could get a fresh perspective, I think we'd have more of a chance of being respected a little more, because it seems sometimes we're considered a novelty band almost.

www.usurper.us

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