Hey Mark, thanks for doing this interview! You've been in the underground for so many years, tell us how you first got involved. What was the first band you were in?

Mark: Whats up Razorbill...... yeh years ago i was playing in a thrashy band w/ an old time friend, we played a show w/ a local band who wanted to trade me some videos for audio tapes , these were demo's of Sadus ,Morbid Angel ,Autopsy , Hellhouse ,Deranged .Before that I was into all the current stuff that was available to my knowledge like Slayer , Celtic Frost ,Possessed etc..and around then I seen a few printed underground zines in a local record shop and by this time I started to tape trade and write to bands and zines etc..so I decided to start my own mag ...the 1st official underground band I was in was Rottrevore.. before that I was playing w/ Scott.. the old drummer for Nunslaughter /Doomwatch for a while ,but we couldnt pull things together as a band and there was a bit of a driving distance between us.

I know you did a zine called Infernal Bleeding, tell us about that. What issues did you do, and what was your favorite part of doing a zine? Today's scene seems to have hardly any printed fanzines left. What are your thoughts on this? What's your favorite current webzine? What do you think of webzines?

Mark: Yeh I'm surprised you remember that old zine , hah.. I only did 2 issues and they were kinda limited copies , me and a few local pals all did it together ,it was alot of fun and I met some way cool people , some of whom I am still in contact w/ today.. yeh I guess printed zines are a dying breed , its still cool to get em though ,something to read while on the toilet..now they are all posted on the web.. its very rapid fire reviews , the old days were glorious getting big packages of mail in.. like x-mass every day , some killer webzines out there Voices From the Darkside , Metal- Side, Mondongo Canibale , Rottrevore..hah ,and of course Braindead .

I don't want to make this a Rottrevore interview, since everything about them has already been discussed in your recent interview in Voices from the Darkside(amazing oldschool webzine!), so please briefly discuss what happened to Rottrevore after the release of your debut CD. Why did the band break up? How come the band never got back together? What did you do in the years after?

Mark: It seemed like at the time b4 I left , Chris and I werent getting along musically and heading in different directions ,plus there were things going on in my life that I wanted to concentrate on more like my family & job, career . We never reformed fully after that because most of the other members had the same things going on in their lives , Chris got other members and tried to keep it going but I dont think there was the chemistry to keep it together..after I left I got my claws dug in w/ a good job and started a family w/ my wife..also it seemed like between the years of 94-98 there wasn't a whole lot of bands that interested me..

Tell us about how EVISCIUM first got together. When did you start jamming? When did you record the 3 song demo that's available on your web site for downloading? What was the motivating factor in you starting up a band again?

Mark: Me and John are old friends and we wanted to try to start something up together around early-mid 2000 I think , after we had a few basic songs to work w/ I asked Jared , who was a local tattoo artist that was into heavier music to join up w/ us, he's been solid since then . Sharon was the last to join us ,I knew she was between Derketa projects and was very familiar w/ the underground and would make a great addition. Well definately one of the motivating factors in starting another band up was , almost everyone in the current line up is at the point in life where we can actually do this w/ out any holdbacks.. well maybe a few but we seem to work out the schudule for practice days and recordings.. plus we are doing a style that has become a bit overlooked in the scene in the past 7 plus years ,I think we'll have alot to offer some older styled listeners , and maybe some new school heads as well..

Today's death metal scene is totally different from the older days. Tell us what you think is different about it, and if you like it more now, or more back then? What are soome current bands you like today that are playing death/grind? What are some of your older faves?

Mark: I think todays scene is really in light speed.. w/ the internet and being so accessable to so many bands at once , I think people have a tendency to simply right click and download.. then just as fast to delete that same mp3.. it's more non personal than it was years ago.... I have a habit of doing it my self w/ online bands that have songs to download.. some bands that I dig now are.. BLOODBATH ,CBT , FUNEBRARUM , LENGTCHE ,INHUME ,...some classic older stuff I still listen to are MACRODEX , CRYPT OF KERBEROS , NIHILIST ,ETERNAL DARKNESS, DEMILICH ,ABHORRENCE ,CARNAGE ,DEMIGOD, really most all brutal heavy stuff that came out in the late 80's early 90's.. just way too many to name..

The sound that EVISCIUM is going for, seems to be the earlier 90's style, mixed with a bit of today's more modern, extreme sound. Tell us about some of your influences, and ideas for the band. What's the lyrical content like? Seems to be pretty gory so far, but done in a more horrific style.

Mark: Yeh I guess we all draw most of the bands sound and style to earlier death metal but w/ a few modern day elements , we try to concentrate on a heavy guitar sound mixed w/ alot of time changes and heavy riffs.. I really hate 2 riff bands and no change up's.. it keeps the song somewhat interesting and unpredictable.. I would say the riffs are mainly in a traditional style that is early Swedish , Finnish , Scando / Euro .. but w/ the brutality of American styled drumming and some current day styling as well..our lyrics range mostly from the darkend perspective of life and death , we try to distance away from the gore and black overtones..... how many times can you really sing about blood,guts,medical terms ,rotting flesh ,satan , hell... blah blah ,I have nothing against that style of lyrical content because I listen to alot of that stuff ,but we dont care to write about it.... I personally dont have a message in the lyrics..its just something creepy to bark as we are playing a crushing riff ........ that simple....maybe I could compare them to reading a good suspense / horror novel or something...hah

The band has a 6-song mini-CD in the works for Still Dead prod. from Poland coming up, tell us about this release! Any other releases in the works? Will you guys be doing any 7" ep releases?

Mark: For us this is a long awaited release . the last 3 songs on the mini were recorded in late last year and we are due to record 3 new songs very shortly.... it was delayed largely on the timing of everything....Julius had some troubles in his personal life and wasnt able to meet the deadline on when it was supposed to be out ,it was originally supposed to have only 3 songs so we decided to add 3 more tracks and make it a 6 song mini cd , we're hoping it will be done and out by late Sept or early Oct...we were also supposed to have a split w/ NJ's FUNEBRARUM... but it never gelled , .. maybe it will sometime in the early to mid 2004

Sharon from DERKETA is also playing in the band. How did she get involved? How long have you been friends with her?

Mark: As far as Sharon goes.. she's been in the band for almost a year now... we've known each other since the old days.. around late 87- 88 I think we met , I asked her if she was available for the bass position last year and since then she's been great to work w/ and a huge help w/ promo stuff for the band ,...she almost wasnt able to record on the demo because when she joined we were scheduled to record the songs almost in a weeks time , but she crammed the rehearsals in and learned them quickly...since then she has literally been my wing man for sharing the promotional aspect of the band .....we've become really great friends since she joined up that its almost scary..we dont hold any punch's w/ each other .. she's a scrapper and sometimes we even argue as if we are a couple ...but w/ out the sloppy make up sex...hah!

The scene in Pennsylvania, especially Pittsburgh, seems to be growing and doing really well. There's EVISCIUM, DERKETA, MAUSOLEUM, etc. Any other bands you'd like to mention that you've heard lately from your home state? What do you think of other early 90's death metal style bands that have been doing stuff lately, like FUNEBRARUM? Do you think this sound/style is making a comeback?

Mark: For some of the local bands..there is Circle of Dead Children ,Sathanas ,Leprosy ,Funerus..as far as other bands playing the heavy ass older style. I say KUDOS to them.. maybe this style will make a swing around.. I am burnt out on some of the 10,000 mph drumming ,shallow riff's , no time changes bands poluting the scene now.....its been kind of a trend the last few years to play the fastest , have the most garbled harmonized vocal effects ,.... just mostly recycled grinding death that's been the same for a while now... it's mainly newer kids in the scene that have been around for only a few years that really never had the pleasure of doing late 80's-90's tape trading ,zine swapping ,flyer and ad mailing ,snail mail ,stuff like that ya know?.

I know you have started a family and seem very dedicated to it, which is great! What does your family think of the music you're into and play? Are they understanding/supportive of it? What's it like in the Mastro home when you're not out playing extreme, down-tuned death metal!!? What are some hobbies you enjoy and side interests?

Mark: Well my wife Becky has definitely been there through all the years of my zine , tape trading , Rottrevore ,and my kids are fortunately a little too young to completely grasp what daddy is doing ..they both know that I am in a band and go GROOOOWL ,but for the dark side of the underground I will keep that hidden from them till they are much older.. some hobbies of mine are fishing , hunting ,internet surfing , artwork ,golfing,underground music, surfin porn sites..hah

Tell us about the planned EVISCIUM/FUNEBRARUM split 10" LP that I heard about? Is this still coming out?

Mark: As mentioned in Q # 7.. we were tenatively supposed to do a split w/ them on Nuclear Abominations in Italy w/ Michele (cool guy),, but once again it was a timing issue.. he wasnt able to release it until early 2004... we just couldnt wait that long and we wanted to get something else out there b4 then.. maybe it'll still happen in 2004 we'll see , I hope it gets put together , we are 2 bands playing similar styles and will be a good release for older heads into heavy music

You have one of the most extreme, and lowest sounding vocals ever in death metal! How do you get your voice to sound like that naturally, without any f/x at all? It's almost frightening sounding! Does your voice hurt when you're not playing afterwards?

Mark: Thanx alot Bill ,yeh I try to get them as low as possible w/ out using any harmo fx... I dont think there is any trick to it except they really just have to come from down in the gut and not the throat... I remember a few years ago right around the time when me and John had a few of our earlier songs recorded on a rehearsal tape.. I was driving around during the day listening to the tape and trying to add some key spots where I think the vocals and lyrics should go.. at the time it was quite a few years that had passed since I tried any DM vox ...I was gagging and spitting like a school girl on prom nite.. I had to pull my van over and have a coughing fit.. after a few minutes I had to laugh my ass off..if you dont use them you lose them.. I had to completly re- train my vocals...since the Rottrevore days I hadnt done them and a few thousand cigarrettes later it took me about 6 months or so before I could really take it down low....my voice doesn't really hurt when I'm not barking.. just a little raw for a while.. but ocasionally I do get a skullcrushing ice cream headache that lasts for a few minutes after a set from the straining .

You've done artwork/logos for your bands, along with others. Tell us about some other bands you've worked with over the years. Did you draw the IMMOLATION logo?

Mark: I've always liked doing some sort of artwork , I went to school for it years ago ,more in the traditional form for layout and illustration... I've done some logos for bands like Immolation ,Funerus ,Abominator ,Exit 13 ,Derketa ,Chaotic Plague ,most of the Rottrevore covers eccept the backround on the Relapse 7" , Eviscium .

Well Mark, these are all the questions I have. Thanks again and tell us some final words. Keep up the great work and I'm really looking forward to hearing more from EVISCIUM!

Mark: Billy thanx for the interest in the band , hopefully we'll have the 6 song mini cd "Underneath the Buried" out on Stilldead Prod. in another month or so ,right now we are in the process of working in another guitarist ,we should be ready to play live again in another month or 2 ,if anyone is interested in shirts ,we now have them , the design's are posted on our site.. well thats all for now..thanx again Billy..