Teufel's Tomb » Interviews » An Interview With Mike Majewski

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Devourment

An Interview With Mike Majewski by Teufel

Teufel: I know this is a question you probably don’t want to answer, and it’s a question I shouldn’t really be asking about, but I’m a total asshole, so I’m going to ask anyway. Why is Ruben in jail?

Mike: Well he is in jail for violating his parole. We played a show in Colorado, and he was arrested there because he was not supposed to leave Dallas. I won’t say why he was on probation though. I think it had something to do with killing some filthy whores.

I know since his departure to the big pen to become Miss Rosas, the band recruited vocalist, Wayne, from your demo sessions to come back as lead vocalist. How were you able to get him into rejoining the band? I know in my old band I kept quitting and they kept getting me to rejoin by buying me beer, and plenty of it, any similar deal involved here?

Wayne has remained our friend since his departure so naturally we wanted him back. He was excited to be a part of Devourment again.

When Ruben left was there any serious consideration of splitting, or was the band dedicated to staying together and continue playing regardless?

We actually did officially split up, not only because Ruben was gone, but because of a lot of personal problems in the band with a different member. He’s gone now and will record our second CD very soon.

When Ruben is released, will he be rejoining the band, or is he officially out of the band for good?

I’m not exactly sure when his release date is, but if he wants to sing for us, the door is wide open. I’m actually hoping to get him and Wayne singing on the new CD. We’ll see how that turns out.

Okay, enough about him and his newfound ability to hit the high note, let’s move on… you recently released 1.3.8. on Corpsegristle Records. First of all, why did you choose to re-release all of your older material, considering 8 of the 12 tracks are already available on your United Guttural release Molesting The Decapitated?

We were never happy with the way our demo tape sounded so we re-mastered them and they sounded the way we intended them to at the time. Plus we recorded a new song, "Babykiller", for a CD compilation, so it seemed like a good idea to just throw everything we ever recorded, fully re-mastered on one CD.

Why the departure from United Guttural, and why did you sign to Corpsegristle?

I’m very good friends with Hound who runs CG. Combining that and the fact that he is close by which allows me to get more involved and see whats going on with our stuff just seemed like the logical way to go. He also takes great care of the bands on his label.

The new track on the album, is it a preview of things to come?

The new track is a small preview of things to come. It will be on the next CD. Our new stuff is way more straight-forward, less technical bullshit, way more brutal, zero boring shit, zero weak shit, just 100% brutal, extreme shit the whole time. Almost every fuckin’ band tries to progress or change their style. Fuck that shit, we’re going backwards man, our new shit is more raw!

I also understand you’re currently working on a new album and are planning to enter studio in September. How is the new album shaping up? As brutal as ever, or more intensely sick than anything you’ve done to date?

We are hoping to enter the studio in August, but you know how that goes, something always gets delayed. Realistically we hope to have it in your hands by October or November.

What’s the deal with the Devourment vocals? Everything I’ve heard from your band, regardless of which vocalist, has the same sick gurgles. Now, be honest or I shall beat your groin with a singapore cane while screaming "I HATE YOUR COCK" in a vengeful tribute to Satan’s God… are any studio tricks used to make the vocals appear that sick? If not, what exactly do you feed them? Fertilizer and vodka with shards of glass?

It must be something in the water down here, but I assure you, those horrific sounds come straight out of their throats. Its pretty amazing. We just feed them steady amounts of beer and beef jerky.

Mike, I may have this wrong, but since I’m never wrong, you may as well lie and just make shit up, but I understand you’ve had some involvement in artwork for a couple of bands, including your own. What bands have you done work for and are you working on anything at the moment?

I have done stuff for Viral Load, Prophecy, Repudilation, Immortal Suffering, Vile, Deeds of Flesh, and like tons of zines. At the moment I’m working on some stuff for our next CD sleeve.

Apart from the two CDs, is there any other Devourment merchandise available?

We have a bunch of T-shirts, and Hoodies.

Are members of the group involved in any other projects?

One of the guitarists we are using for our recording plays in a band called Dead Industry, and Kevin is playing around with Prophecy.

What can we expect from Devourment in the near and distant future?

A brand new CD, new merch, and hopefully some touring.

I’m out of questions except for one last one; why did you put a picture of a naked beheaded fat man on the cover of Molesting…? Couldn’t you at least used a picture of when he still had some pants on? Actually, I often had thoughts of decapitating several people, former and current co-workers and band mates especially, but never once have I thought about taking their pants off, beheading them then taking pictures of it… that’s just wrong. Apart from that, any final comments not involving fat naked headless men?

We chose that picture for the cover because it just seemed so morbid, and really sets a dark mood, almost like a nightmare kind of vibe. It was because of the mood it sets, not because of that guys little weenie. I appreciate the interview bro, good luck to you, and to anyone reading this, watch for Devourment’s new CD, Butcher The Weak this fall. Later.

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