Interview by Braindead
Interview by Martelgang (in Dutch)
Interview by Iced Metal
Interview by Gore Deathgrind
Interview by Culture club
Interview by Necromaniac zine
Interview by Brutalism
Interview by Lords of metal (in Dutch)
Interview by Delicious Bowels (in German)
Interview by Never ending hate magazine
Interview by Braindead
Questions to Susan (guitar) of Desensitised. (May 2002)
Braindead: The first question's for Susan: you must have heard that question before, but what's different for a girl to be part of the death metal/grind underground which is a mostly male world? I mean you're my first female interviewee in years...
Susan: Haha, yeah, I have heard this question before! To me it doesn't make any difference whatsoever. I have been in the scene for many years and I know what kind of music I want to make and what I want to put across.
Braindead: Some of the members of Desensitised were also in the band Catafalque. Can you explain what happened to Catafalque, sum up what you did with this band and perhaps give a run-down of your releases? Also what is different between Catafalque & Desensitised?
Susan: Well, basically we have always had problems with our line up (even now!). Somehow there are too few people around here who want to play this kind of music. So with Catafalque it didn't really work out although we played quite some gigs with this band. A run-down of our release(s) : "Your final ride "demo ' 96 Haha! The main difference between Catafalque and Desensitised is that Desensitised is a much more mature and serious band. Not that Catafalque wasn't serious, but when I started with Catafalque I only played the guitar for nine months, so I still had a lot to learn back then....
Braindead: How would define the music you're playing? Is it alot of work to put that kind of songs together? How much much do you rehearse etc...?
Susan: A good description would be death / grind. It takes quite some effort to write the songs as I think a song should sound logical and should not just have some randomly chosen riffs put together. I try to rehearse as much as I can. My goal would be to rehearse every day. However, due to lack of time this is not possible. With the band we rehearse once a week.
Braindead: I think Desensitised sounds original but still, what bands you think influence your work, consciously and not? I know there must be Carcass, but besides that, what old bands or newer bands do you listen to alot?
Susan: I think all our influences happen subconsciously. We have never said : "we wanna sound like that band, so let's play their kind of music", but as you know I'm a big Carcass fan so I take that with me into our music. We all listen mostly to extreme music, but that may vary.
Braindead: Can you talk about Netherlands a bit? What is it like where you live? Do all the members of the band live in the same area? Are you in touch with other bands in the Netherlands? Do you know people from bands like Inhume, Last Days of Humanity, Maggots etc... ?
Susan: I like living in The Netherlands. I live in a small village only 1 km from the German border and only a 5 minutes' drive away from Belgium, so that can come in really handy sometimes! Our drummer lives 15 km from where I live and our singer lives in Eindhoven (which is about an hour's drive from here) but he'll probably move this year. Yeah, we all know the guys from Inhume and LDOH (Hi guys!!). I saw Maggots for the first time live one week ago.
Braindead: Desensitised. Why did you decide to call the band that?
Susan: It sounds good, but also rather harsh.
Braindead: I didn't get the chance to read your lyrics, but I think you do write lyrics, am I right? If so, what are they about? Are they part of a concept or something like that?
Susan: Yeah, we definitely do! They are about different kind of things like e.g. the phenomenon called 'spontaneous human combustion' or genetic engineering etc. They're not part of a concept, but they do mean something.
Braindead: You're about to have a MCD out. What can you say about it? What label will be releasing it?
Susan: We are really glad that we have finally recorded something! Our drummer wanted to quit but we all decided that we wanted to record and release something after 7 years of work. So that's what we did. We recorded this CD in only one day and mixing it took us about 4 hours. Although it's done so fast we are really chuffed with the result. The guys at the studio did a great job! They knew exactly what we wanted. I also have to say that we entered the studio well-prepared. As we only have seven songs the CD will be released as a split CD with the Dutch band Exposing Innards by the Dutch Bleedin' Hemorrhoids label.
Braindead: Do you have more future release plans? Do you know what release you'd like to do put out after that Cd?
Susan: After the release we'd like to play as many gigs as possible. We'd also like to release a full length CD in the future. Some singles would be good as well.
Braindead: If you could pick a band to have a split release with, which one would it be?
Susan: Nice question!! Hard to decide really. If Carcass still existed it would be definitely them! But bands like Pungent Stench, Arch Enemy or Haemorrhage would also do nicely!
Braindead: I know you did perform live a few times with Catafalque. Is Desensitised a live band also? Do you think touring or playing a few dates soon or later?
Susan: Absolutely! Once we have completed our line up we are going to play live again!
Braindead: That's about it, thanks for answering all that crap! Hope the questions weren't too dull. Please add any comment you want!
Susan: Thanks for this interview!! Keep your eyes peeled for our debut CD "Thriving on carnage"! Anyone interested in Desensitised can send an email to: desensitised@mail.com or go to our homepage: http://listen.to/desensitised
Cheers!
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Interview by Martelgang
Martelgang: Onlangs knalde er met veel geweld een schijfje met de sobere titel 'Promo 2001' op mijn deurmat. Desensitised heet de vaderlandse Death/Grind-band die deze cd op zijn geweten heeft. De titel doet vermoeden dat slechts de pers, zaalprogrammeurs en vrienden van de heerlijke takkeherrie mogen genieten. Reden te over om als de donder contact op te nemen met gitariste Susan, met de prangende vraag: is dat zo?!?
Susan: Haha, zeker niet! We hebben deze promo gemaakt om zo de aandacht op de komende cd te vestigen, waarvan de release helaas erg lang op zich laat wachten.
Martelgang: Die cd, 'Thriving on Carnage', zal als split worden uitgegeven. Met wie?
Susan: Op dit moment vind ik het best 'gevaarlijk' om daar al te veel over te zeggen. De plannen zijn om de cd als split met Exposing Innards uit te brengen, maar daar is sinds enige tijd weer onduidelijkheid bij het label over. De reden waarom we het als split uitbrengen is omdat we te weinig nummers hebben opgenomen om een full length cd ervan te maken.
Martelgang: Wijken de drie nummers op de promo veel af van de zeven op 'Thriving on Carnage'?
Susan: Nee, in principe niet.
Martelgang: Zijn die andere nummers eigenlijk ook al opgenomen?
Susan: Ja, de hele cd is klaar. We hebben die promo in eerste instantie gemaakt om naar labels te sturen, maar zoals gezegd: we zijn al bijna vijf maanden op de cd-release aan het wachten en we hebben de promo naar een aantal online bladen gestuurd als een soort voorproefje op de volledige cd.
Martelgang: Jullie bio vertelt dat jullie in 1994 begonnen als Catafalque. Jullie zijn uit elkaar geweest, hebben een nieuwe line-up en een nieuwe naam. Zijn jullie eigenlijk nog wel dezelfde band?
Susan: Haha, dat is een goeie vraag! Op dit moment ben ik nog als enig oorspronkelijk bandlid over... want onze drummer, die ook vanaf het begin erbij was, is een maand geleden opgestapt. Qua muziek hebben we wel altijd dezelfde ideeën gehouden.
Martelgang: Die heroprichting was in '98. Jullie debuut komt in 2002. Hoe komt het dat het vier jaar heeft geduurd?
Susan: Tja, we hebben eigenlijk altijd met line-up wisselingen te kampen gehad, waardoor alles nooit echt van de grond gekomen is. Zoals dus nu ook weer: vlak na de opnames zijn de drummer en bassist opgestapt waardoor je dus ook niet echt verder komt... Blijkbaar zijn er te weinig mensen die echt voor de volle honderd procent achter datgene staan wat ze doen...
Martelgang: Ja maar... Nemen Grindcore-bands niet al hun repetities op om op cd uit te brengen? Dan hadden jullie nu... effe rekenen hoor... als jullie één keer per week repeteren, 52 weken per jaar, vier jaar lang... Dan hadden jullie al 208 albums uit kunnen brengen!
Susan: Hahahahahahaha. Zo hebben wij er nooit over nagedacht!
Martelgang: Oké, pardon, weer even serieus: zien jullie jezelf meer als een Death Metal- of meer als een Grindcore-band?
Susan: Ik denk dat de zanger en ik ons meer als een Death Metal-band zien, als je het dan al in die termen moet benoemen. De drummer zag, of wilde ons zien, als een Grindcore-band. Dat is ook de voornaamste reden waarom ie gestopt is. Persoonlijk vind ik het heel belangrijk dat de muziek, ondanks dat het snel en bruut moet zijn, echt wel goed en strak in elkaar moet zitten en fatsoenlijke nummers met een kop en staart moet hebben. Dat is iets waar ik me dan ook vooral op richt met het maken van nummers.
Martelgang: Waarin zit eigenlijk sowieso het verschil? Ik bedoel, zo veel bands noemen hun muziek Death/Grind, maar wat is dat nu eigenlijk?
Susan: Bij ons hebben we die combinatie gemaakt omdat we naast de Death Metal-invloeden ook graag een Grind-riff of soms een Crust-riff in onze nummers verwerken. Het is trouwens al lastig genoeg om een stempel op je eigen muziek te moeten zetten, maar aangezien mensen graag willen weten in welk genre je zit is deze term voor ons het beste van toepassing.
Martelgang: Hebben jullie teksten een 'boodschap'?
Susan: Ik denk dat iedereen de teksten voor zichzelf moet zien te interpreteren. Het zijn teksten die weldegelijk ergens over gaan.
Martelgang: Wat gaat er schuil achter de songtitel 'Masochistic Masculinity'?
Susan: Dat is grappig dat je dat vraagt. Het is namelijk de enige tekst die ik geschreven heb. Het gaat over het feit dat er mensen zijn die ervoor kiezen in een bepaalde situatie terecht te komen waardoor ze 'lijden', maar dit zelf zo willen.
Martelgang: Het heeft niks met reacties van mannen te maken? Ik kan me indenken dat het moeilijk is om als vrouw in de masculiene Metal-scene een volwaardig participerende muzikante te zijn. En dan dus niet zo'n frivool huppelende gothic-zangeres.
Susan: Ik vind het helemaal niet moeilijk. Ik weet precies wat ik wil, hoe de muziek moet klinken en wat ik over wil brengen. Mensen reageren wel eens verbaasd bij optredens als ze een vrouw op het podium zien staan die gitaar speelt, maar de reacties zijn eigenlijk altijd heel tof. Ik persoonlijk vind dat het helemaal geen verschil maakt. Van mij mogen er wel eens wat meer vrouwen in de Metal komen, in de brute dan wel!
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Interview by Iced Metal
Iced Metal: PLEASE START BY TELLING US A BIT ABOUT THE BAND, MEMBERS, AND HOW THE BAND STARTED.
Steven: The band was founded in 1994 by our current guitarist Susan, a bass player named Jozef and a drummer named Rutger. The band was named Catafalque back then. They played gigs with bands like Dead Infection, Rot, Inhume and Agathocles. Due to line-up problems the band was forced to stop for a while, until in 1998 I joined the band. As a threesome (Susan on guitars, Rutger on drums and me on vocals) we wrote a lot of new material and had several gigs. In late 2001 we decided to change our name to DESENSITISED and recorded our debut album 'Thriving on carnage'. Unfortunately, Rutger left the band in 2002, which left Susan and myself looking for drummer and bass player. Recently Jeroen Gelissen of Sectarian has joined us on the bass guitar.
Iced Metal: YOUR NEW ALBUM IS SET TO BE RELEASED AT THE END OF JULY, ARE YOU GUYS LOOKING FORWARD TO IT?
Steven: We definitely are!!! We're really happy with the recordings and we've had a lot of positive reactions from people who have already heard the stuff. We're putting a lot of work in promoting the band and the album. We're sure the death/grind fans will appreciate our work!!
Iced Metal: “THRIVING ON CARNAGE” WAS RECORDED IN SEPTEMBER OF LAST YEAR, WHY DID YOU WAIT SO LONG TO RELEASE IT?
Steven: Errr...well. First of all the records labels took their time to check out our recordings. After several months we decided to release the album on Bleedin' Hemoroids Records. The initial idea was to release our stuff as a 2-way split CD with another Dutch death metal band. Due to many, many problems and miscommunications it took several months to finally close the deal. In the end, our album will be released as a MCD which contains 7 songs of brutal death/grind.
Iced Metal: HAVE YOU HAD ANY SUCCESS IN FINDING A NEW DRUMMER AND BASSIST YET?
Steven: As mentioned above, we've found a new bass player in Jeroen (from Dutch metal band Sectarian). We're still putting a lot of effort in finding a new drummer. So if there's anyone out there who's interested, please contact us E-Mail and check out our website Desensitised
Iced Metal: ONCE YOU FIND ACCEPTABLE MUSICIANS FOR THE BAND, DO YOU PLAN ON DOING ANY TOURING TO SUPPORT THE NEW ALBUM?
Steven: Sure!!! The best thing about being in a band is performing your stuff live on stage. We're really anxious to get out there and play our material. It's the best way to promote our album.
Iced Metal: DO YOU HAVE ANY ONE BAND THAT YOU USE AS A MUSICAL INFLUENCE WHEN WRITING YOUR MUSIC? WHO ARE SOME OF THE PERSONAL INFLUENCES?
Steven: Susan must be the world's biggest Carcass fan and probably gets a lot of inspiration from their music. I think Jeroen listens to a lot of different kinds of metal, which counts for me as well. I enjoy anything from technical death metal to dark doom metal.
Iced Metal: WHO IS THE MAIN SONG WRITER?
Steven: The more recent DESENSITISED songs were constructed in the following fashion: Susan comes up with a set of killer guitar riffs to which we add the drums. We then cut, copy and paste it into a complete song. As for the lyrics, I've written almost all of the recent stuff, which involves all kinds of subjects.
Iced Metal: WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE CURRENT UNDERGROUND METAL SCENE? DO YOU HAVE ANY FAVORITES?
Steven: I'm not all that interested in the underground metal scene myself. There are a lot of people in the scene who are totally untrustworthy and are completely full of shit. As for bands, there are a lot of great bands out there, in the underground scene and in the more 'mainstream' scene as well. My personal favourites are Nasum, Pungent Stench, Monstrosity, At the gates, Blood Duster and many many more...
Iced Metal: WHAT IN YOUR OPINION DO YOU THINK OF THE WORLD WIDE METAL SCENE?
Steven: As mentioned above, there are a lot (too many) of very strange characters in the scene who make false promises and try to use you for their personal gain. As a band we're trying to stay true to ourselves and follow our own path. I really appreciate people like yourself, who enjoy running an internet-based magazine and give the underground metal bands an opportunity to promote their music WITHOUT expecting anything in return!
Iced Metal: IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO ADD, OR THAT I MAY HAVE MISSED?
Steven: Thanks a bunch for this interview and good luck with the zine!! To all the death/grinders out there: make sure to visit our website Desensitised Homepage which contains several tracks of our upcoming album there and all the info on the band that you want.
Cheers!!
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Interview by Gore Deathgrind
Gore Deathgrind: Hell-o Susan! Let's start a intie?
Susan: Yep!
Gore Deathgrind: Early you were called CATAFALQUE, so, who was the main inventor of this band?
Susan: We didn't actually form a new band. DESENSITISED evolved from CATAFALQUE. When we decided to record a CD we just wanted to start anew. Besides, there was another band called CATAFALQUE at that time and it would simply look stupid.
Gore Deathgrind: What's different between CATAFALQUE and DESENSITISED in your mind? Is DESENSITISED a more serious band?
Susan: Yeah, DESENSITISED is much more mature. We know exactly what we want with this band.
Gore Deathgrind: I think, it's hard to meet the female person in death and grind scene. So, how many years you were old when you started to play guitar? What was the cause to enjoy the underground scene for you? What was your first extreme band and album you have listen?
Susan: I was eleven years old when I started listening to metal. I started with bands like Ozzy, Iron Maiden, Metallica, etc., but very soon I discovered more extreme music. The reason why I got into contact with underground music was the fact that my sister had discovered a radio programme which only broadcast metal. One day they asked all the listeners to come to the studio and play their own music. One guy had taken the "Symphonies os sickness" album from CARCASS with him. They played the song "Reek of putrefaction" and it completely blew my mind!! From then on (I was 14 then) CARCASS has been my favourite band and always will be! I think "Symphonies of sickness" is one of the best albums ever! That was also one of the main reasons why I wanted to play the guitar. Unfortunately my parents didn't really like the idea (haha!), but I was persistent and bought my first guitar when I was 18. I've played the guitar for 9 years now.
Gore Deathgrind: It seems that you have a CARCASS influence. Do you like this band? For me CARCASS always associated with "Reek Of Putrefaction" album. So, what are your favourite Carcass album?
Susan: You’re right there! (see also question no.4!) Although I'd like to point out that we don't want to sound like CARCASS on purpose, but if you play or listen to the music of a certain band you will subconsciously take that with you into your own music.
Gore Deathgrind: What other bands are you listen mostly? What about other music directions?
Susan: I love bands like Arch Enemy, Pungent Stench, (old) Entombed, Extreme Noise Terror, (old) Napalm Death, Exhumed, Supuration, etc. Apart from death/grind I also like old heavy metal bands like the first few albums from Iron Maiden and Ozzy and every now and then I also listen to more guitar oriented music like Satriani or Vai.
Gore Deathgrind: LAST DAYS OF HUMANITY is a really killer band from Netherland, also I know INHUME. So, what's about other bands? Can you introduce us in Netherland underground scene?
Susan: There are loads of good Dutch bands: Occult, God Dethroned, Suppository, Acrostichon (RIP), DeadHead etc. I think our scene used to be brilliant in the early 90s! Unfortunately the whole scene destroyed itself….
Gore Deathgrind: Are you in the deal with any label now?
Susan: Yes! Our CD is set to be released in July by the Dutch Bleedin' Hemorroids label.
Gore Deathgrind: Is it hard to find good labels there in Netherlands? Can you mention any killer label from your place?
Susan: It’s really hard I think! Especially for a Dutch band I guess. Somehow it seems that you get more appreciation abroad. I can't think of a Dutch killer label (sadly enough!)
Gore Deathgrind: Whats about lyrics? Do you write it? Who writes it? So, what are they about? Are they in death direction, or in any other?
Susan: Our lyrics are about different topics, but they always deal with the macabre. Our singer Steven writes almost all our lyrics.
Gore Deathgrind: So, what can you say about your upcoming full length? Is it on the way to be released? Can you give us a tracklist?
Susan: Our CD will be released as an MCD as we only have 18 minutes of music. Our first idea was to release it as a split CD, but something went wrong with the other band which only delayed things even further. The tracks are: 1) Flock 2) Torchure 3) Miscloned 4) Masochistic masculinity 5) Cover up 6) Hidden in the ground 7) Sacred slaughter If everything works out well it should be for sale in July/August this year.
Gore Deathgrind: What your plans for future? Any other releases? Gigs?
Susan: As you might know we are facing huge line-up problems again: after the recordings our drummer and bassplayer decided to leave the band. So we're really busy at the moment trying to find some suitable replacements. As soon as we have completed our line-up again we'd like to do as many gigs as possible of course. We'd also like to release a full length CD as we still have enough songs left, but at the moment our main concern is to get the band together again.
Gore Deathgrind: That's all for now. Thank for taking your time to answer these questions. Is there anything that you would like to add to the interview that I might have left out?
Susan: Thank you for this interview!
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Interview by Culture club
Culture club: Hey, I just want to know this one first, was Desensitised a black metal band before? It's because I've read in the biography that you started out as Catafalque, and I know a least 2 Catafalques who play black metal so I was curious ....
Susan: No!?!?! I only know the Belgian band Catafalque and the Dutch Katafalk and I think none of these bands are really black metal bands. If you've read our bio properly it says that we started as a death / grind band in '94.
Culture club: There was a split CD planned, why hasn't it come through? Where you very disappointed? It's probably very interesting for a rather young band to do a split, since it has some adventages.
Susan: It depends on how you look upon it. We wanted to do a split CD because we simply didn't have enough time to record more songs for a full length CD and it's true: releasing a split CD has some promotional advantages for both bands. On the other hand, it's also nice to have something of your own, like a MCD in our case.
Culture club: You used almost the same layout for the promo and the MCD ... What's that with Desensitised and the skulls? By the way, I think your logo looks like a drum'n bass logo, which isn't a bad thing coz I like experimental drum'n bass every now and then.
Susan: We did this on purpose because our promo CD featured 3 songs of our CD "thriving on carnage" . The promo was intended to draw the attention to the upcoming MCD and to get a deal. About our logo: I really don't see the connection! (Culture club: Yet there is, should check underground D'n B flyers ... they often use the same style of font and stuff) Anyway, we all loathe the kind of logo's which take you about an hour or so to read. We wanted a simple, straightforward and clear logo.
Culture club: You are really capable of writing decent lyrics which fit the music very well. Are they important to the band? Am I wrong when I tend to read a cynical irony towards the western civilisation?
Susan: We consider our lyrics rather important. Yeah, I guess you sometimes have to read between the lines ...
Culture club: Some things about yourself now. You're a girl in a death / grind band. That's probably not what your dad wanted you to be ...
Susan: Hahaha! I do whatever I feel like, whether other people like it or not, I grew up with this kind of music, so for me it goes further then just listening to death/grind. In a way it's become a way of life ... Don't know, it's rather hard to explain. It's a feeling that should come from within ...
Culture club: Besides the band, what do you do in normal life? I mean do you have delinquent habits like diggin' up old carcasses for necro entertainment? Nah, serious. I sometimes wonder how "psychotic" members in sick death/grind bands really are ... C'mon, what's your most psychotic act? Mine is for example probably that when I went to primary school I collected dead animals and use to have strange pets (like a frog, roaches, a mouse, etc.)
Susan: Hehe! potential serial killer, ey??!!! (Culture club: haha, dude, it ain't me singin' about cut up bodies ...) No, we're just a bunch of normal people who happen to play extreme music. We all have a job besides the band.
Culture club: So far the interview, thanx a lot Susan! Still some words left for exposure ....
Susan: Yeah, thanks a lot for this interview! ! Everyone out there interested in old school death/grind should feel free to contact us.
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Interview by Necromaniac
Necromaniac: Please, tell us something about your band (history, members, recordings/releases, livegigs, label? etc.).
Susan: DESENSITISED was formed in 1994 by Jozef ( bass / vocals ), Susan (guitars / vocals ) and Rutger ( drums / vocals ). As the songs developed, we realised it became more and more difficult to play and sing at the same time, so we decided to look for another singer who was found in the person of Jo. In 1995 we recorded our first demo called "Your final ride". ( The band was called CATAFALQUE at the time).
Jo left the band one year later and we continued as a threesome again. With this line-up the band played several gigs in The Netherlands, Belgium and Germany with bands like Dead Infection, Rot, Inhume, Agathocles, Malignant Tumour, Rebaelliun and many more.
Due to a series of line-up changes the band was forced to stop for a while.
At the end of 1998 we started afresh with the following line-up : Susan (guitars) Steven (vocals) and Rutger (drums). Not discouraged by the fact that we did not have a bass player we started to perform and write new material again.
In September 2001 the band changed their name from CATAFALQUE into DESENSITISED and recorded their debut CD, which contains seven songs of extreme death metal incorporating elements of grindcore.
Early 2002 Rutger decided to leave the band and bassplayer Raets (who helped the band out with the recordings) was replaced by Jeroen.
Our MCD called "Thriving on carnage" was released in July 2002.
Necromaniac: How would you describe your position in the wide-world metal scene? What do you think about the underground movement?
Susan: We are still at the beginnig of it all if you know what I mean. Not that we're a young band, but we changed our name and just released our first CD, so it'll take some time before people will get to know us.
I think the underground scene has changed over the years....For me the late 80s early 90s were the best years for underground death and grind!! There were a lot of different bands with their own style, nowadays there are a million bands who all have a self released CD and just copy their favourite bands...I think the quality has really diminished...
Necromaniac: Which 3 CDs would you take with you to a lonely island?
Susan:
Carcass - Symphonies of sickness
Arch Enemy - Wages of sin
Entombed - Left hand path
Necromaniac: If you had enough money to shoot a video, how would the clip look like?
Susan: Never actually thought about that really.....Would be nice to shoot something like Land of tears from Pestilence.... Or perhaps amidst the ruins of a castle or so.
Necromaniac: If you`ve the chance to change one day of your life. Which will it be and why?
Susan: Haha, nice question: that'll probably the day that I ended up in Carcass' tourbus. That was my chance to talk to them and somehow (I guess it was partly nervousness) I didnt say that much...I mean, me and Jeff talked for quite a while but I really wanted to have talked to Bill as he is my favourite guitarist, but as he is a rather shy person and since my English wasn't that good at that time I just didn't dare to go up and talk to him, hahahaha! What a wasted opportunity....If something like that would happen to me nowadays I would react differently.
Necromaniac: Which song shall be played on your burial?
Susan: Something from Steve Vai.
Necromaniac: If you had the chance to kill someone and to bring back one person in the same way, which would it be and why?
Susan: This is a hard question, I wouldn't know...
Necromaniac: What means metal to you?
Susan: It's a way of life and a good way of expressing yourself.
Necromaniac: What is your opinion on political lyrics?
Susan: It doesn't bother me if bands want to sing about political issues.
Necromaniac: What can we expect from your band in the future?
Susan: Hopefully a lot!! We'd like to record a 7" somewhere around January 2003 and at the end of next year we hope to record a full length CD.
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Interview by Brutalism
Brutalism: Please give us a short introduction of yourself.
Susan: Well, I'm Susan, 26 years old, guitarist of Desensitised and I have played in this band for over 8 years now.
Brutalism: Do you feel the need to say something about the others?
Susan: Sure!! Our other band members are our singer Steven who has been in the band since '98, our new bass player Jeroen and hopefully our new drummer Rick. We have rehearsed twice with him and it all sounded very promising.
Brutalism: When you started in '94 why was it difficult to play and sing together? There are so many people who play and sing at one time.
Susan: Might be true, but the situation was that I only played the guitar for 9 months when I started the band, so obviously it took a lot of time and effort to master my instrument at that time. Once you feel more comfortable with your instrument there's space to do some other things like singing for example.
Brutalism: Why do you play metal? Why not play triangle in a school orchestra?
Susan: Haha! I can give you a very brief answer: 'cause I love it!!!
Brutalism: Can you remember what brought you into the metal scene? When? Which bands?
Susan: I started listening to metal when I was 11. I discovered metal through a radio station. It started with bands like Ozzy, Saxon, Iron Maiden and so on. When I was 14 I was introduced to death / grind bands like Carcass, Morbid Angel, Napalm Death, Entombed, etc and have loved them ever since!
Brutalism: Which people do you admire and why?
Susan: People who stand up for themselves and live their own lives. People who do their own stuff instead of letting others determine how they should talk, live, dress, etc.
Brutalism: What do you attract in the metal scene?
Susan: What attracts me is the feeling of unity and of course the style of music which can be a very good way of expressing yourself.
Brutalism: Do you think you have to work harder because you are a girl?
Susan: I don't think so....I mean, whether you're a man or a woman: if you want to earn recognition you need to practise and be confident in what you want to put across.
Brutalism: What are the prejudice opinions towards women in the metal?
Susan: Perhaps that they think they will be accepted just because of the fact that they are women, which isn't always the case. You also need to have certain skills. There are a lot of women out there who know exactly what they are doing and who are also very good at that!!
Brutalism: Do you have some prejudice remarks towards men in the metal?
Susan: I guess this might not be a prejudice: the type of men who swallow everything meekly just because of the fact they see a woman on stage. Who just keep staring instead of listening. I mean, there's also a lot of crap female performers out there.
Brutalism: What do your parents think of the metal scene and about you being metallized?
Susan: They still can't understand it all even though I have been in the scene for so long. In my opinion they take everything too seriously. I mean, it's all tongue in cheek....However, they do like the fact that I play in a band and that we have released a CD. I sold the first CD to my mum, haha!
Brutalism: Do you believe in born and die with the metal? Think metal is a seperate chromosone?
Susan: I have never thought about it like that. For me it's something I grew into.
Brutalism: Can you remember your fav toy in your childhood?
Susan: No.......
Brutalism: What is the musical difference between Catafalque and Desensitised?
Susan: Desensitised is more serious and more mature.
Brutalism: In my opinion there should be guitarleads in brutal DM. So why are there none in yours?
Susan: I agree! We also have songs with guitarleads. The main reason why there aren't any on our MCD is the fact that everything was recorded in one day, so there simply wasn't enough time. Our next CD will have leads though!
Brutalism: What makes a good song to you? Are there specific elements that has to be in a song?
Susan: A good song should have a good punch. It should sound logical so that you can remember it easily. It should also be varied and that doesn't necessarily mean that it has to have 1000 different riffs, which many bands do nowadays. That's something I don't like.
Brutalism: Is there a song that is the number 1 song to you? Can you explain why?
Susan: No, there are lots of songs I really like. However, "Reek of putrefaction" from Carcass is a very special song to me as it introduced me to the band. Carcass is a band I really admire (still...)
Brutalism: Describe your feeling when you see someone in a Desensitised shirt?
Susan: I wouldn't know as we haven't printed any shirts yet, haha! But we are considering that.
Brutalism: How does a gig look like? In other words how do you behave on stage?
Susan: Naturally, I'd say. We express what we feel at that time. We don't want to force ourselves into something that others might expect from us.
Brutalism: When you rehearse do you also practice some dancemoves for the live gigs?
Susan: Wahahaha.....!! I know that a lot of bands do this but it's something that wouldn't work for me.... Like I said in the previous answer: we do whatever we feel like when we're on stage.
Brutalism: What will you never do with your body?
Susan: Have it tattooed.
Brutalism: Say something that makes people want to contact you?
Susan: I have enormous tits!!! Hahaha!! (Might work though!) No, seriously, what can I say?? I think, people who still have this early 90s death metal / grind feeling will like our stuff and can always contact us : desensitised@mail.com
Brutalism: Last rites?
Susan: Thanks a lot for this interview!!
BACK
Interview by Lords of metal
Lords of metal: Susan, op de mcd staan maar 7 nummers die samen 16 minuten duren. Is dat alles wat er is?
Susan: Nee hoor, toen we in september 2001 de studio ingingen hadden we nog meer nummers klaar. Maar door line-up problemen kwamen we in tijdnood. Drummer Rutger wilde stoppen en om dat we niet wisten hoe het verder zou gaan met de band besloten we om met hem toch een aantal nummers vast te leggen. Door die situatie en weinig budget hadden we maar 1 dag studiotijd. Toen de dag om was hadden we dus 7 nummers kunnen opnemen. Op dit moment hebben we zo´n 13 nummers klaar. Dit zijn gedeeltelijk nieuwe nummers, maar ook gedeeltelijk nummers (of stukken uit) de ouwe Catafalque periode. Op de mcd moet je maar eens naar ‘Torchure’ en ‘Miscloned’ luisteren, in die richting zal de ontwikkeling verder gaan.
Lords of metal: De Catafalque periode is dus niet voor 100 % afgesloten?
Susan: Nou, voor een deel zijn we nog die ouwe band ja. En we gebruiken dus nog ideen van toen voor de nummers van nu. De belangrijkste reden om de naam te veranderen was eigenlijk ook het feit dat er al twee bands met dezelfde naam bestonden, eentje uit Groningen en eentje uit Belgie. Die demo deed toen niet veel, en dat is niet erg. Ik speelde toen net twee jaar gitaar en achteraf hoor je dat natuurlijk. Voor mij is ‘Your Final Ride’ gewoon goed jeugdsentiment.
Lords of metal: Je sprak net al over ‘Miscloned’. Ik haal uit jullie teksten allerhande zaken zoals dus cloning, maar ook mannelijkheid, godsdienstwaanzin en dikke vrouwen. Zijn de teksten voor jullie van groot belang ? En begrijp ik ze goed?
Susan: Onze teksten gaan wel ergens over ja, en wij vinden dat ook wel belangrijk. Er zit niet echt een bepaalde boodschap of zo achter. Wij vinden dat iedereen de teksten op zijn eigen manier moet interpreteren. Haha, misschien begrijp je het af en toe verkeerd want de tekst waarvan jij denkt dat íe over dikke vrouwen gaat, gaat eigenlijk over het verschijnsel “spontaneous human combustion”, maar dat boeit niet, zoals gezegd, mensen mogen dat er uithalen wat ze erin willen lezen.
Lords of metal: Tussen de opnames van de mcd en het verschijnen ervan zit bijna 1 jaar wachten. Hoezo?
Susan: We hadden dus in september 2001 opgenomen. Toen kregen we van Bleedin´Hemorrhoid Records (BHR) in november de toezegging om begin 2002 een mini cd uit te brengen. Later kwam het idee om i.p.v. de mini een split cd te doen. Dat zagen wij wel zitten, maar om een lang verhaal kort te maken was er veel miscommunicatie met die andere band. Na eigenlijk te lang te hebben gewacht besloten we uiteindelijk om de mini dan toch alleen te doen, en nu is íe gelukkig uit.
Lords of metal: Hoe is de deal met Hemorrhoid ontstaan?
Susan: BHR is een sublabel van Firebreath Records en beide labels worden gerund door Cees Ladestein. Ik ken hem nog uit onze Catafalque tijd. Hij kreeg de promo van mij, was tevreden en bood meteen aan om de mini uit te brengen. Cees is een echte liefhebber en als hij iets goed vindt, dan gaat hij ervoor. Hij regelde ook al optredens voor ons.
Lords of metal: En de reakties en doelstellingen tot nu toe?
Susan: We mogen niet klagen. Wij als band en Cees hebben samen nu zo’n 200 cds verstuurd. Het schijfje is nu een maand uit en de reacties zijn uiteraard gevarieerd, maar tot nog toe zijn we nergens afgekraakt. De meeste mensen zijn positief. Natuurlijk willen we zo veel mogelijk verkopen, maar we weten ook dat de markt erg druk is op moment. Ik hoop dat we via deze cd aan regelmatige optredens kunnen komen.
Lords of metal: En wanneer kunnen we nieuwe releases verwachten?
Susan: Als het goed is rond de jaarwisseling. We willen heel graag een single (7-inch vinyl) uitbrengen. Waarschijnlijk een split-single. We moeten wel nog kijken bij wie. Dan willen we eind volgend jaar de studio weer in om een volledige cd op te nemen. Op deze release zullen dan ook nummers komen die compleet nieuw zijn. Het zal een mooie mix worden tussen ‘vers’ geschreven nummers en het materiaal dat nu nog niet is opgenomen.
Lords of metal: Dat is mooi, dan is het ook te hopen dat de line-up bij elkaar blijft. Waarom wilde Rutger stoppen?
Susan: Oei, dat is moeilijk om zo eventjes uit te leggen. Laat ik het zo zeggen: Wat ik met Desensitised heb, heeft Rutger met Suppository. Bij Suppository kan hij voor 100 % zijn muzikale ei kwijt en bij ons lukte dat niet helemaal. Rutger wil graag recht toe recht aan rammen, positief bedoeld, maar bij ons werkt dat niet altijd. Vandaar dat het voor hem beter was om zich volledig op Suppository te concentreren. Daar kwam ook nog bij dat de voortdurende line-up wisselingen binnen de band op een bepaald moment ook demotiverend begonnen te werken.
Lords of metal: Wat is de actuele line-up? Kun je al namen en info geven van mensen die jullie nu inwerken?
Susan: Op dit moment is de huidige line-up:
Steven - zang
Susan - gitaar/backing vocals
Jeroen - bas
Rick - drums
Jeroen en Rick zijn beiden afkomstig van Sectarian. Jeroen zit al een paar maanden in de band en Rick heeft nu 3 x met ons geoefend en dat gaat heel goed. Zodra hij de nummers onder de knie heeft gaan we weer optreden (eindelijk!).
Lords of metal: In een interview met Martelgang gaf je al eens aan dat het moeilijk is om in deze muziekstijl toegewijde muzikanten te vinden…
Susan: Ja, ik weet ook niet precies wat dat is. Misschien heeft het wel met de tijdsgeest te maken. Kijk, onze muziek is extreem en het wereldje is klein. Dus je komt steeds dezelfde mensen tegen. Maar ik heb vaker het idee dat de mensen die nu naar stevige Death Metal luisteren niet meer 100 % doorzettingsvermogen kunnen opbrengen om zelf dit te doen. Het gevoel van binnen is weg. Op vandaag begint men een band met de gedachte “ als we nu net zo gaan spelen als Nile, dan zijn we cool”. Men zit in een band om cool te zijn, niet omdat het essentieele van binnen brandt: zelf muziek maken die je geweldig vindt. Als het coole er vanaf is, en men moet voor de muziek echt gaan werken, dan stopt men ermee. Het is op vandaag ook gemakkelijk om alles te krijgen wat men wil. Je kan alles downloaden en branden. Je kan 25 releases per week beluisteren. Hierdoor groei je niet meer naar een langverwachte plaat toe. Het zeer intensief beluisteren van een plaat is weg. Ik ben nu al 8 jaar met deze band bezig, toen wij begonnen was er nog variatie in de Death Metal. Nu hebben we de cd uit en nu verzuipen we in de massa releases.
Lords of metal: Je moet de column van Lord Marco maar eens lezen, die zegt hetzelfde. Wij beiden vinden Desensitised trouwens eerder ‘old school‘ Death Metal. In mijn recensie noem ik zelfs de eerste Entombed als richtpunt.
Susan: Dat vind ik een vet compliment. ‘Left Hand Path’ staat ergens in mijn top 10 allertijden. Het gitaargeluid van die plaat is echt te gek ! Ik denk dat wij inderdaad meer met dit soort Metal te maken hebben dan bijvoorbeeld de nieuwe Nile. Die van Nile zijn waanzinnig goede muzikanten, maar 1000 riffs in 1 minuut hoeft niet, de nummers blijven niet hangen Ik zal wel mensen tegen het hoofd stoten nu, maar geef mij maar kracht door eenvoud.
Lords of metal: Even los v/d mcd nu, wat is voor jou de grootste kick van het spelen in een band zoals Desensitised?
Susan: Dat je met je favourite muziek heel intensief zelf kan bezig zijn. Dat je jezelf kunt uitdrukken d.m.v. je favourite muziek. Plus gitaar spelen natuurlijk.
Lords of metal: En wat is het meest negatieve?
Susan: Pfff, dat je er zelf heel hard voor gaat, maar dat je soms merkt dat anderen in de band dat niet hebben. De line-up wisselingen hadden hiermee te maken. Er waren mensen die niet dezelfde ‘drive’ hadden om met deze band door te gaan. Dat geeft oponthoud en dat frustreert.
Lords of metal: Lijstjes zijn altijd leuk. Wat is de beste cd/concert/band van het laatste half jaar?
Susan: Dat is makkelijk: 3 x Arch Enemy. Hun cd ‘Wages Of Sin’ moet je horen ! Ik heb ze pas op Graspop gezien en Angela kan het live echt allemaal waarmaken. Ik heb ze hiervoor 3 jaar geleden gezien in van die kleine zaaltjes, ze zijn zo gegroeid, de podiumpresentatie is beter, mega !
Lords of metal: Susan, bedankt voor het interview, zijn er nog Famous Last Words?
Susan: Ha, mijn Famous Last Words zijn eigenlijk altijd gelijk: Jij bedankt voor het interview, en mensen die interesse hebben: neem gerust contact op !!!!
BACK
Interview by Delicious Bowels
Delicious Bowels: Hi Susan, gibt es was neues aus dem Hause Desensitised? Und Glückwunsch zu euerer MCD, gefällt mir sehr gut.
Susan: Danke! Im Moment sind wir viel am proben für die kommenden Gigs.
Delicious Bowels: Unsere Standardfrage: Wie bist du zum Metal gekommen?! War es vielleicht ganz zufällig ein Radiosender? :P
Susan: Haha, ja! Wie kommst Du da drauf? Meinen Schwester hatte einen Metal Sender 'entdeckt' und sagte mir ich sollte da mal reinhören. So gesagt so getan und seitdem (war damals 11) höre ich Metal.
Delicious Bowels: Könntest du uns kurz mal eure Bandhistory erzählen und den Leuten vielleicht erklären, wie es zu eurer Namensänderung gekommen ist?!
Susan: In 1994 habe ich die Band mit einem guten Freund (Jozef / bas) gegründet und schon schnell fanden wir Rutger (drums). Nach ungefähr einem Jahr kam Jo (vox) hinzu und mit ihm haben wir ein Demo aufgenommen. Mit diesem Line-up haben wir einige Male live gespielt. Jo verlies in 1996 die Band und wir sind wieder eine Weile zu dritt weitergegangen. In 1998 kam Steven (vox) in die Band. Die Paar Jahre danach hatten wir andauernd Probleme mit dem Line- up oder unseren Proberaum. Es wurde so schlimm das Rutger mit der Band aufhören wollte. Da wir aber 7 Jahre zusammen gespielt und Songs gemacht hatten wollten wir nicht so ohne weiteres aufhören und haben deshalb beschlossen um erst noch die MCD aufzunehmen so das nicht alles um sonst gewesen war. Wir haben unseren Namen geändert weil es inzwischen eine andere Band namens CATAFALQUE gab und das würde einfach blöd aussehen....
Delicious Bowels: Gibt es bei euch immer noch Line-Up Probleme oder hat sich jetzt wer passendes gefunden?
Susan: Zum Glück haben wir jetzt einen festen Bassisten ( Jeroen) aber das mit den Schlagzeugern bleibt ein Problem. Entweder wollen sie es aber können es nicht oder sie finden nach ein Paar Proben heraus dass es doch nicht so deren Musikstil ist... Im Moment proben wir wieder mit unserem guten alten Rutger (hehe!) der uns mit den Gigs für die CD promotion so lange aushelfen will. Wir hoffen aber einen festen Schlagzeuger zu finden!!
Delicious Bowels: Vor nicht allzu langer Zeit habt ihr eure MCD "Thriving on Carnage" rausgebracht. Erzähl uns ma ein wenig über die Scheibe, es gab da ja auch einige Probleme dass den Release um einiges verzögert hat.
Susan: Ja das stimmt. Eigentlich war geplant die CD als Slpit CD mit einer anderen holländischen Band heraus zu bringen, aber leider ging da einiges schief (auch durch blöde Missverständnisse), weshalb alles sehr lange dauerte und wir letztendlich beschlossen haben die CD alleine als MCD raus zu bringen. Wir sind an sich sehr froh mit dem Ergebniss obwohl wir alles an einem Tag aufgenommen haben.
Delicious Bowels: Ist vielleicht sogar schon was neues in Planung bzw. gibts vielleicht schon 1-2 neue Songs?
Susan: Wir wollen Ende dieses Jahres eine 7" aufnehmen und hoffentlich Ende nächsten Jahres eine full-length CD. Wir haben jetzt ungefähr 6 neue Songs und noch ein haufen alte Sachen die bearbeitet werden können.
Delicious Bowels: Ihr selber beschreibt euren Stil als Death/Grind...in manchen Reviews habe ich aber auch die betitelung Crust/Grind gehört, die ich persönlich auch ganz passend finde. Was sagst du dazu?
Susan: Ja, kann schon sein. Manchmal wird es auch als Hardcore / Punk touch umschrieben. Meiner Meinung nach ist das ja nicht weit vom Grind entfernt. Also es ist schon okay wenn verschiedene Leute etwas anderes in unserer Musik hören.
Delicious Bowels: Wenn man sich so die stellen anhört wo du singst, kommt wirklich ein wenig zweifel auf, ob du wirklich weiblich bist, haha. Willst du etwa Rachel (Sinister) Konkurrenz machen?
Susan: Haha!! Ja, heisse eigentlich John! ;-) Nö, will niemanden Konkurrenz machen, wieso sollte ich?? Jeder soll das machen wozu er Lust hat und um ganz ehrlich zu sein: ich finde Rachel bei Sinister übrigens gar nicht so gut....
Delicious Bowels: Was mir gut gefällt ist, dass du anscheinend gut Deutsch kannst, was mir die Arbeit mit dem Interview ein wenig erleichtert hat, hehe. Wie oft kommst du denn rüber nach Deutschland und wo könnte man dir evtl. begegnen?(Konzerten, Locations...) Wie ich gehört habe hast du es ja nicht gerade weit bis zur Grenze.
Susan: Das stimmt. Der Grund weshalb ich so gut Deutsch kann ist das ich in Deutschland geboren bin, wohne aber schon seit meinem 4. Lebensjahr in den Niederlanden, aber irgendwie verlernt man das nicht. Bin fast jeden Tag in Deutschland weil es nur wenige Meter bis zur Grenze sind. Gehe zB immer in Deutschland tanken oder einkaufen weil da vieles billiger ist. Haha, wenn Du mir begegnen willst dann hättest Du vor ein Paar Jahren zur Rockfabrik (Übach-Palenberg) kommen müssen, war fast jedes Wochenende da. Haben da auch mal mit CATAFALQUE gespielt. Gehe auch manchmal zum Musikbunker in Aachen. Meistens bleibe ich für Konzerte hier oder gehe auch mal nach Belgiën.
Delicious Bowels: Wann kommen denn endlich mal Merchandiseartikel wie Shirts von euch, oder gibts die schon etwa und ich hab einfach nichts von mitbekommen?!
Susan: Sind gerade dran Shirts machen zu lassen. Hoffentlich sind die im November fertig.
Delicious Bowels: Was machst du/ihr noch neben der Musik? Ich denke mal nicht das ihr allein von der Musik leben könnt, oder?!
Susan: Hahaha, natürlich nicht!! Wir haben alle einen Job.
Delicious Bowels: Könntest du den Leuten, die zu faul sind sich eure Texte, im Booklet durchzulesen, kurz mal eben erzählen, worum eure Texte handeln? Scheinen ja ziemlich spoialkritisch zu sein.
Susan: Manche Texte sind schon sozial kritisch aber sie handeln auch um allerhande Sachen wie zB das Phänomen 'spontaneous human combustion'.
Delicious Bowels: Wie schauts bei euch mit Live-Gigs aus?! Mit Catafalque hattet ihr ja schon einige aber mit Desensitised ist da noch nicht soviel, oder?! Und was müsste ein Veranstalter so für euch berappen und warum sollte er gerade euch holen?! :))
Susan: Wir haben mit DESENSITISED noch nicht live gespielt weil wir ja offiziël auseinander waren. Aber die letzte Zeit läuft alles ziemlich gut nach dem Release der MCD und Rutger hat sich, wie schon gesagt, bereit erklärt ein Paar Gigs mit uns zu machen. Unser erster Gig (nach 2 Jahren!) wird am 20.10 sein und bis jetzt haben wir noch zwei andere im November. Kommt drauf an wo wir spielen was ein Veranstalter für uns berappen muss. Ist doch logisch wieso er uns holen soll, oder!?! Hehe! ;-)
Delicious Bowels: Wie siehst du den Holländischen Death Metal Underground und wo siehst du euch darin?! Es gibts ja zahlreiche Bands bei euch um nur ein paar Aufzuzählen: Sinister, LDOH, Virulent, Occult, Severe Torture, Inhume, Pulverizer, God Dethroned(Live Gott,hehe) und noch einige mehr, kennt man sich da untereinander und welche Band aus euremLändle findste persönlich am besten?
Susan: Ich fand unseren Underground vor 10 / 12 Jahren am coolsten! Es ist schwer zu sagen wie wir uns darin sehen, da wir ja im Grunde am Anfang stehen obwohl es uns schon lange gibt. "Thriving on carnage" ist eigentlich das erste "richtige" Produkt das es von uns gibt. Ja, ich kenne sehr viel Leute von den anderen Bands. Manche sogar seeeehr gut! (Mein Freund ist der Gitarist von Occult) Was ist Virulent für 'ne Band?? Die kenne ich nicht. Holländische Bands die ich gut finde sind: God Dethroned, Acrostichon, Asphyx, Dead Head, Occult, Defcon One, und noch mehrere....
Delicious Bowels: Irgendwo hatte ich auch mal gelesen das du mal im Tourbus(??) bei Carcass mit dabei warst, erzähl uns da mal mehr drüber. Und wie ists dazu gekommen?
Susan: Hahaha! Das war ein cooles Erlebnis für mich! Wie es dazu gekommen war? Ich wollte die einfach mal persönlich treffen und Autogramme für meine Heartwork CD ( die war gerade veröffentlicht worden) haben. Es war im Januar und ich stand mit einem Freund drausen vor dem Tourbus und wir warteten brav bis Jeff & co aus der Halle kamen. Ich hatte Jeff schon getroffen und der sah uns vom Tourbus aus stehen und fragte uns reinzukommen da es draussen so kalt war. Ja und so haben wir da 'ne Weile gesessen und geredet. Die wollten uns sogar den nächsten Tag mit nach Amsterdam nehmen!
Delicious Bowels: So, das wärs dann fürs Interview. Hoffe man sieht euch hier bald ma live spielen. Letzte Worte?
Susan: Hoffe ich auch! Vielen Dank für das interessante Interview!
BACK
Interview by Never ending hate magazine
Never ending hate: Hi, Whass up ? Please tell us shortly about the band's bio.
Susan: DESENSITISED was formed in 1994 by me (Susan) (guitars / vocals ), Jozef ( bass / vocals ), and Rutger ( drums / vocals ). As the songs developed, we realised it became more and more difficult to play and sing at the same time, so we decided to look for another singer who was found in the person of Jo. In 1995 we recorded our first demo called "Your final ride". ( The band was called CATAFALQUE at the time). Jo left the band one year later and the band continued as a threesome again. With this line-up we played several gigs in The Netherlands, Belgium and Germany with bands like Dead Infection, Rot, Inhume, Agathocles, Malignant Tumour, Rebaelliun and many more. Due to a series of line-up changes the band was forced to stop for a while. At the end of 1998 we started afresh with the following line-up : Susan (guitars) Steven (vocals) and Rutger (drums). Not discouraged by the fact that we did not have a bass player we started to perform and write new material again. In September 2001 the band changed their name from CATAFALQUE into DESENSITISED and recorded their debut CD, which contains seven songs of extreme death metal incorporating elements of grindcore. Early 2002 Rutger decided to leave the band and bassplayer Raets (who helped the band out with the recordings) was replaced by Jeroen. Our MCD called "Thriving on carnage" was released in July 2002.
Never ending hate: Why did you formed DESENSITISED ? and what do you have to offer to the extreme metal scene ?
Susan: As you could see in the former question, Desensitised wasn't really formed but gradually evolved from our previous band Catafalque. What do we have to offer? True old school death / grind! We play the kind of music we all grew up with, we're not a band who just bluntly copies their examples. I mean, we all have our idols, but that's normal I guess.
Never ending hate: Please explain, why did you choose " death metal " as your music style instead of others ?
Susan: It's the kind of music I have been listening to since I was 14 and I always wanted to make ever since. For me it's a very good way of expressing myself (not that I'm an aggressive person!) but you can do away with all the stress and so on. When I play the guitar I feel free and relaxed.
Never ending hate: Tell us about your album " Thriving On Carnage ", the recording process and on what label ?
Susan: We recorded this album at De Studio in Asse (Belgium). The whole album was recorded in one day and it took us about four hours mixing it. The Dutch Bleedin' Hemorrhoid label has released our CD.
Never ending hate: Who is responsible to write the lyrics ? where do you get the inspirations ?
Susan: Our singer Steven writes most of our lyrics. He writes about his everyday life experiences or things he saw on Discovery Channel for example.
Never ending hate: Tell us about your song writing process. Who wrote the music ?
Susan: I almost write all our songs. I usually have some riffs and while rehearsing we try to blend them into a song.
Never ending hate: Being as a woman in death metal bands, did you ever had problems with the fans or other bands ? Or did they treat you with " nice special " treatment considering that you're a woman ? >
Susan: No, not at all, I haven't had any problems so far. I feel I'm being treated normally.
Never ending hate: We all know these days there's a lot of porno gore grind band, do you got offended by any bands who use women as some sexual exploitations, sexual harassments, inside their lyrics ? how do you deal with it ?
Susan: Haha, I guess you have to take that with a pinch of salt. I can really see the humour of it all. I mean, I love bands like Gut or Dead.
Never ending hate: What do you & the guys do beside the bands ? school ? work ? hobbies ?
Susan: We all work besides the band and I guess we all share the same (major) hobby : making music!
Never ending hate: What are your fav. bands from your country ? old school & new school.
Susan: Acrostichon, Korsakov, (old) Gorefest, Occult, DeadHead, (old) Asphyx, Desecration, (old) Sinister.
Never ending hate: What bands are influencing you the most ? Please tell us your top 5 favourite metal bands. And tell us what are you listening to lately. Do you always listening to metal ? or is there any other music that you like to listen to ?
Susan: My top 5 fave bands would be Carcass, Arch Enemy, Pungent Stench, Napalm Death, (old) Entombed. I usually listen to death metal and good grind bands. The last CD I bought was the new one from Driller Killer. But I don't always listen to extreme music, I also love the classic heavy metal bands like the first CDs from Maiden and Ozzy, or recently I discovered Phantom Blue. Damn, these girls know how to play!!
Never ending hate: What do you think of the Nu metal genre these days ? do you into that stuff ? Do you consider them as metal bands ? Please explain.
Susan: Personally I don't like this kind of music. I wouldn't consider it metal. The only good thing about it is that there are more 7 string guitars now, haha!!
Never ending hate: How is the scene in your local area ? Did you often performing in your area ?
Susan: The local scene is not bad. We have performed rather often at the local venues, but you should be careful not to play too often in your own area.
Never ending hate: What Is your opinion about internet metal magazine ( webzine ) ?
Susan: I really like the so called webzines. Especially those which are updated every two or three weeks. There's always something new then!
Never ending hate: Do you know something about the Indonesian metal scene ?
Susan: I know some magazines but I hardly know any Indonesian bands.
Never ending hate: Inform us about the future plans for DESENSITISED ?
Susan: At the moment we are rehearsing with our former drummer again as we couldn't find a new one. He was willing to help us out with some gigs, because we want to promote our CD obviously! We'd like to record a 7" at the end of 2002 and hopefully a full length CD in 2003. If we have a steady line-up that is....
Never ending hate: Do you got any merchandise ? how can we get them ?
Susan: Yeah, people who are interested in our MCD can order it for ? 10 / $10 (incl. p&p) : DESENSITISED, Randenborgweg 119, 6118 GJ, Nieuwstadt, The Netherlands. We are planning to have some shirts printed but they will probably not be available until the end of October, but check out our homepage regularly for new merchandise!
Never ending hate: Is there anything else you like to say ? wanna add something ? last words ?
Susan: Thanks a lot for this interview and good luck with the mag! Anyone interested in Desensitised feel free to contact us.
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