IMPETIGO interview with Leadguitar Mark
questioned by Yang Yu, Painkiller Mag
(1st. chinese Metal Mag, www.painkiller.de.tf)
One of the oldest both death metal and Grind Core bands is IMPETIGO from Illnois. The legendary band broke up around 93, but a lot of re-releases after that were not less successfull then the official releases. Nower days brutal fast grind core acts are selling very well. I thought it might be interesting to talk with the co-inventioners of the us-styled grind core about related topics...

When you started up with IMPETIGO, did you know what grind core was?
Not really, that was back in 1987 when grindcore didn't really exist as we know it today. We just wanted to play fast and extreme music and were inflenced by bands from metal and punk/hardcore like REPULSION, MASTER/DEATHSTRIKE, CRYPTIC SLAUGHTER, THE ACCUSED, CELTIC FROST, early KREATOR, VOIVOD, early DEATH, VENOM, SLAUGHTER(Canada), MISFITS, early D.R.I., WEHRMACHT, and many more. I'd guess one of the earlist grindcore bands might have been REPULSION maybe. Once the early albums by bands like NAPALM DEATH, CARCASS, EXTREME NOISE TERROR etc. came out, their sound did have a big influence on us. In my opinion, that was really the beginning of what people call grindcore today.

Is IMPETIGO grind core? Why did you decided to play this kind of music? Just to shock the soceity?
I'd say IMPETIGO isn't just grindcore. We took all the elements we liked from grindcore, death metal, thrash metal and punk/hardcore and mixed them together to get our sound. We were influenced by all those types of music. We have the fast grinding parts in most of our songs, but we mix other parts in there too. So I'd say we are not pure grindcore as I define it. A lot of people label us as gore grind since our lyics are about horror and gore. We just decided to play this music as it was what we liked to listen to and I couldn't imagine playing any style that wasn't underground. We had a not intention to shock the society. This music is made for the people who like it and it's very underground so for them it's not shocking and they are usually only the ones who see it.

Are you splatter fan? Some inspirations of the bands ideas for cover art work or lyrics certainly came from splatter movies, isnt it?
I'm a big fan of gore and horror films. But not just splatter films. I like splatter films but I also like atmospheric horror films too. Most of the bands lyrics and artwork were inspired by the cult horror/gore films that we loved growing up and have been collecting and watching for years. It was the perfect mixture to have extreme music with horror/gore films. The music is what Stevo(bass/vocals) referred to as "homage music". Meaning our style was paying tribute to the horror/gore films we loved. We tried to tell a story with each song, so it was like a film put to music.

What is grind core in your eyes? What is the most importent thing in grind core or how shall the music sound like to be called grind core?
For me grindcore music has to be fast, that is the grind part in grindcore. The most important part is the fast drum beats. At least that is what I call grindcore. You have to mix the fast drumming and playing with harsh vocals and an overall heavy sound. Really grindcore is just a label that people put on music that doesn't mean much.

You republished all your old outputs with new cover artworks etc. Why? Are there really that many requests for these?
We were suprised to find out that there was still a lot of interest in our music even though we had been broken-up for about 7 years. I was really shocked to find out that we were not forgotten and there was even bands out there recording cover songs of our songs. We wanted to re-issue our old releases as when they originally came out back in the late 80's and early 90's they had very poor distribution and many people could never find them.
So we thought if someone was still interested we might as well do new versions. We had no choice but to do some new cover artwork as the originals had all been lost by our old record label, Wild Rags Records. Also we were happy to work with Chas Balun as his artwork is great. Also he was a huge influence on us as he is a horror/gore writer and he wrote the GORESCORE books and DEEP RED magazine. Those were very important guides for us to help us build our horror/gore film collections, so it was an honor for us to work with him. I think there was enough interest to re-release our old recordings, but of course with this type of music you are still very underground so interest is limited.

Does IMPETIGO still exist as a real band? What are the others doing now?
No, we broke-up back in 1993 and have been ever since. We do not plan to reform the band even though we've had many requests to do so. Now, it's a trend somewhat to reform the old bands, and to me it's never really the same as it used to be I think. Once you are gone for awhile, when you start up again it's never the same. IMPETIGO had a good history so we just want to leave it at that. All the old members are still in contact although some of us are living in different areas now. We are just working and doing normal life things now, no bands or anything. Stevo and Scott have some children now. I'm living in Singapore now which is cool.

Stevo is the front man, he was the main songwriter and drew the most of the art works. Is he the leading head of the crowd?
Yes, Stevo was definitely the creative force behind the band. I was the main person who did most of the mail and had the contacts with the record label and people. So I handled the communications and Stevo was the main person who created the bands music, lyrics and visuals. Scott and Dan were really just local friends who wanted to play interesting music and didn't really care what type it was. Stevo is easily one of the most interesting and creative individuals I've ever met!

Do the sales of your re-releases go better than the original publishings back than?
They are about the same as the original releases I think. We really never got much information from the old labels with how many copies were sold so I don't really know the numbers. It's not too important to us as we are just doing the music for fun and because we loved the underground. Our re-releases are selling pretty good considering the fact that some people already have them from before. Today there are new people still discovering our music for the first time which is great I think.

You are married now and have your own family, and a normal job and everything ordinary. The rest of the band members, too. Is this what you expected of 15 years ago? Does is fit into the image of IMPETIGO?
Our lives are pretty normal now. Three of us are married and Scott and Stevo have kids. We are working regular jobs like everyone else just trying to make a living. Stevo and I still are interested in the extreme music and films like before but just not as active in the music scene. It is what I would have expected from 15 years ago I think. We only played the music for fun and becaused we loved it. It was never to make money or to be a job for us. So we all knew we must work regular jobs like everyone else. There really wasn't any image for IMPETIGO. We were just regular guys doing things we liked. We just happened to have an interest in horror/films and underground music. Otherwise we are just like most other people and only have to please ourselves.

In the art works and also in your lyrics is all about cannibalism, rotten flesh and all that stuff. Do you think this is good for the youth? How wish you to see your fans to take this? You know what I mean?
I don't think are music and lyrics are for everyone but I think most people if they are interested in that type of stuff can handle it okay. We hope that everyone will take our lryics and artwork the same we that we think of it. To us it was nothing more than fantasy and entertainment, just like the horror/gore films that we have loved since children. It's pure fantasy and nothing else, meant to create an atmosphere and feeling of horror. We have no interest in real violence or death and hope that people understand that. I suppose there are some unstable or mentally sick people who are influenced too much by gore/death/horror. But I think those same people could be influenced by all the sick death/horror/violence that exists around the world in everyday life just as much. It's much easier to be exposed to that on a daily basis. I think most intelligent people can be interested in gore/horror and still function normally in society.

At the end of the 80's every one was into Thrash Metal. Did you have many fans back than?
We had a small and loyal following, our early musis had some thrash parts in it. I'd say over the years our following has grown a lot though. By the standards today, IMPETIGO isn't that extreme anymore. But we fit it well with the grind and death metal of the end of the 80's and early 90's. At first many people didn't really understand the band, but our music was meant for the underground and for those people who back then were looking for the most extreme and brutal music.

IMPETIGO and NECROPHAGIA are seen as the Fathers of Grind Core, how do you see this? NECROPHAGIA is still alive, if I am not wrong...?
Well, I wouldn't say that NECROPHAGIA is grindcore at all. They were death metal early on and now since they've reformed I would describe their sounds as death/black metal. They really don't play at the high speeds that most grind bands do. They were one of the pioneers for sure of horror/gore metal though. People have said that we are one of the first few bands playing the gore grind (mixing grind with gore/horror lyrics) style, which may be true. For me the real fathers of grindcore are bands like CARCASS, NAPALM DEATH, EXTREME NOISE TERROR, REPULSION and those bands. The first NAPALM DEATH album "Scum" really inspired us to increase the speed and heaviness of our music!

What ever, you indeed influenced a lot grind bands of nowerdays generation. You even received an Tribute Complilation. Do you know all the bands (MORTICIAN, HAEMORRHAGE, EXHUMED, BLOOD, LIVIDITY, C.S.S.O., SANITYS DAWN etc.)? What do you think of the todays grind development? Do you thing everything is o.k. what is going on?
The "Wizards of Gore" Tribute to IMPETIGO CD was really a huge honor for us! I don't think it could have been done any better, great band line-up, great artwork and sincere liner notes. I was familiar with most all of the bands on the tribute CD. Many like BLOOD DUSTER, DECEASED, MORTICIAN, EXHUMED, BLOOD, HAEMORRHAGE, etc are old friends of ours from back in the early 90's. I also know a lot of the newer bands now too. They all did a great job using their own style to do our songs! I think the grind and gore grind scenes today are very strong. It has developed like I thought it would. Bands have become more and more extreme as time goes on, as people are always looking for the most extreme stuff these days. For me, some of it has gone to extreme for my tastes or they only use gore for the sake of being sick and not really telling some story. But everyone has their own style and tastes.

Is the commercial success of grind core the break through out of underground or the grave where it will be slaughtered for the money?
There has been some commercial development for grindcore, but really I think it will always be underground for the most part as there will always only be a limited number of people who can listen to such extreme/fast music. I don't think it's really hurt the scene too much. When some old band changes or leaves the scene there is always new blood to replace it.

Your wife is an asian lady if I didnt remember wrong and you moved with her to Singapore (?). What is your profession now? And do you like the place you are living now? There are a lot of extreme bands and a enthusiastic scene down their, are you still active with music? What kind of music do you hear now?
Actually my wife is not Asian, she is caucasian too. But yes we did move it Singapore in January. It's because of her job that we moved here. She works for a U.S. company in there branch office in Singapore and travels around Asia-Pacific region. So when we left the U.S. I quit my job at Mitsubishi there. Now, I don't have any job. I've been traveling too much to work at this point. I'm gone almost every month now. I don't know if I'll work in Singapore or not as I'd have to find some company to sponsor me to work. We like it here in Singapore, but the heat is always extreme. The scene in Singapore is small and not very active, but it's much busier in nearby Malaysia. I went up to Kuala Lumper in April to see NAPALM DEATH gig there. They played with my Singaporean friends band DEMISOR. It was great show, big crowd and I met many crazy old IMPETIGO maniacs there. I've also met a few of them here in Singapore. I'm not really playing music anymore, but I keep in touch with the people and still listen and collect some extreme music. These days I like grindcore / fastcore type stuff the most! I love the Japanese scene especially with bands like 324, C.S.S.O., DIE YOU BASTARD, SENSELESS APOCALYPSE, TERROR SQUAD, SLIGHT SLAPPERS, DEFILED, SHIKABANE, and many more. I've always been a fan of all types of music really.

Well, you have been in Hongkong, did you have been on the main land China? How about visiting Beijing and jam around with some underground bands in lousy clubs, just like old days?
Yes, since I've been in Singapore I've been traveling. I've been to Hong Kong again, Shanghai, Malaysia, Japan again, and soon I'll go again to Hong Kong and a little later to Bangkok. I really enjoyed Shanghai a lot, it was my first visit to main land China. It's a cool city and we also visited Suzhou which has some good gardens there. Great food in China too. I am planning to come to Beijing with my wife in October if everything goes okay. She has to work there and I'll just come along for fun. It would be cool to see some of the clubs and meet with some people there. I don't really play/jam anymore but it would be great to see how the bands/scene is developing there! Hope to see you later!

Anything special to say to the chinese kids or something to add?
Ni hao. It's great to get some exposure in China and I hope the music listeners will be able to hear IMPETIGO and will enjoy our music even if we are long dead! Hopefully I'll meet up with some of you later this year if I come to Beijing! Keep up the hard work and soon Chinese underground music will be a world force!! Thanks to you Yang for the interview and best of luck with PAINKILLER!

What do you think about the so called gurgel grind (with extrem low voc like bullfrog) or porn grind (BDSM, Torture, rape etc.)? This Kind is a lot in coming these days. There also some other bands like Macabre, Yattering or Virulence doning a more progressived kind of grind. But the kids only want brutal stuff...
Personally, I'm not really into the gurgel grind type of vocals. I don't mind low or extreme vocals, but I prefer if you can at least understand a little bit of them. I prefer the vocals like old CARCASS, REPULSION, EXHUMED, old GRAVE, MASSACRE etc. I guess the more old bands mabye. Also, I'm not really interested in the porno grind image. If bands want to sing about that it's okay as it is there choice. The music is still good but I don't really care for the image/lyrics. Both these styles as you said are very popular these days. As you mentioned most underground kids want the most extreme and brutal stuff these days which is how the scene has progressed. I've never heard YATTERING or VIRULENCE but MACABRE is one of my all-time favorite bands. But they really aren't brutal grind style. They are maybe the most original underground band ever. Whenever you hear MACABRE you know instantly it is their music. They have their own style and they are the best. But I agree that it's not for everyone. Some people love them and some people hate them. I think it's important to have a more open mind with the underground so you can experience the great stuff out there. MACABRE are growing more popular now with their recent activity. They are good old friends of ours as we were from the same state in the U.S. and played some shows together.