Albums of Purgatory interview Saprogenic

Firstly, whats the band up to right now?

We just finished playing a few shows: The Maryland Deathfest, a local show, and a show in Cleveland the other day. Now we're settling down to write our second album. We've got about five songs done, and five or six more to go.

How would you describe the Saprogenic sound?

Brutal death metal with a lot of grind. We try to mix it up a bit, throw in some New York death metal parts, and some Morbid Angel parts as well. We also have some contemporary Deeds of Flesh/ Gorgasm sounding parts.

How did you get involved with the band?

Jeremy (vocals) and I got to talking about how we both were really into death metal and since there aren't too many bands around here playing that kind of music, we decided to get together and start the band.

Can you remember your first gig (how did it go)?

Our first show was awesome. We got a great response. We had been together for about a month and we played six songs. It was a pleasant surprise to be able to pull off everything live so well.

Are you involved in any other projects and if so how do they compare to
Saprogenic?

Thankfully, no one in Saprogenic is involved in any side projects. Even though we don't play a lot of shows, we keep busy writing and rehearsing. I know for me, it would be almost impossible to find the time to do another band.

What are your favourite Saprogenic tracks?

Oh crap, I never ever remember any of the song titles! I know all the songs by number though, but that won't do you any good. I dig the title track to our new album a bunch, it's called "The Wet Sound of Flesh on Concrete". "Force Fed Excrement" is always a crowd pleaser.

What are your favourite all time songs?

Immortal Rites by Morbid Angel: that song has it all, classic. Under the Surface by Neurosis is unbearably heavy. There are just too many to list.

What the first record you ever bought?

I can't even begin to remember, I think it was Lick it Up by Kiss : What did I know? I was in third grade!

Which album was it that got you into metal and can you explain why?

Master of Puppets, I think it's pretty obvious why that would get me into metal. What the fuck happened to that band? Yikes.

Whats the last album you purchased and what did you think of it?

I got the new Skepticism after years of waiting. It's so heavy, it conveys such dense misery. I'm a big funeral-doom fan, it suits my general disposition perfectly.

What would be your dream band line-up?

The original Morbid Angel line-up. Enough said.

If you could do a cover for a tribute album to any band, which song of which
band would you pick and why?

Can I go with Immortal Rites again on this one?

What do you think of the position of metal and music in general today?

I think some of the more accessible forms of metal (nu-metal, metal-core, melodic/sewedish death metal) are turning into commodities which is unfortunate as that dilutes the artisitic credibility in the music. Also, it's very easy to record and release an album these days, which has positives and negatives: the worst part being a general flood of music being released, which can overwhelm consumers.

Which other bands stand out for you at the moment?

Deeds of Flesh, they're great one of the best death metal bands at the moment. Sad it's taken so long for them to finally start getting the recognition they deserve.

Do you have any funny stories about the band you can share with us?

One of our friends teabagged the old singer for Dislimb when he was sleeping - man, was he ever pissed. That's about as funny as we get. We're lame.

and finally, what do you see in the future for Saprogenic?

Our album, "The Wet Sound of Flesh on Concrete" will be out in July - it's available for pre-order from Deepsend Records www.deepsend.com. Hopefully, we'll have our next album recorded by the end of 2003. That's about it. Check out www.saprogenic.com for the latest news on what we're up to.