(Interview done w/Joel of Hideous Mangleus)
I wanted to start out and say that “All Your Friends Are Dead” is GrindCore at its finest…looking forward to your next release.
Joel:
Thanks a lot…. we put a lot of sweat, blood, and arguments into that album (Haha). It’s nice to be commended for it.
When did Hideous Mangleus spew onto the earth and who are the founding members?
Hideous crawled from the earth in April of 1989. Hideous is a tight union between: Feev, Curt, Sam, and Joel.
What is the current line-up and everybody’s position? Do you have the same line-up as in the beginning? The reason why I ask is that I see that Sam Biles is still throwing out the vox. I remember him from back in the day.
Hideous Mangleus was, is, and always shall be: Feev-Guitars, Curt-Drums, Sam-Vocals, and Joel-Bass. We’ve always had a good chemistry when writing and never felt the need to replace anyone. We were all friends before we started Hideous, so that helps. Yeah…Sam’s vox are just as sick, if not sicker, than ever…He has kept up his sickness level over the years and he has his vocal control down to a science.
Why was the name “Hideous Mangleus” chosen to represent your music? Is there a story behind it?
Yeah…Hideous Mangleus is derived from the Latin word…. No, just kidding, it’s actually a gruesome story. I was talking with Sam on the phone about what was going to spawn from the embryonic stages of Hideous, when I looked out the door and saw my cat on the porch giving birth. It was sick…some of them were coming out all mangled. When I relayed this info to Sam he said “Eeww…Hideous Mangleus”, and the name stuck.
Who is the driving force in the band as far the decomposing the music and lyrics? Or do all of you take part in the creation?
Generally, we all collaborate together to write our songs. We get the basic structure down, and then each of us fine-tunes our parts. If one of us comes with a part, we basically see what ideas it sparks in each other. It’s impossible for one person to come to a rehearsal with a full song written and think it is not going to feel the wrath of the Hideous grinder! We wouldn’t have it any other way!! For the most part, Feev, Curt, and I write the music. Sam writes most of the lyric, although I have written around 9 or 10 songs and Feev wrote 1.
Aside from “All Your Friends Are Dead”, do you also have other releases available to the public nationally or internationally? If so, what are they and where can we pick them up?
We released our first demo “All Your Friends Are Dead” in March of 1990, which sparked interest from Thrash Records (France). In June of 1990 we released the “We live…You Sleep” 7”. Good reviews of this 7” in MRR lead to us working with Ecocentric Records (Germany), so in 1992 we released “Unearthing Grandma’s Grave” 7”…This release was supposed to be followed by a full length album…But, life had already gotten in the way at this point…College, work, and moving had put Hideous into a temporary dormant slumber. Then, in 1995 we were able to get things back in order and start writing again. So, in March of 1996 we finally finished our first full length “All Your Friends Are Dead”. We named it after the demo because as far as we knew at that time this was going to be the last thing Hideous was going to release. It contains nearly every song we had made up to that point in time. Usually if you go to a good search engine like “Google” you will be able to find someone selling the first two 7”. As for the CD it can be purchased from: Ecocentric Records-Drosselweg 6-D.65812 Bad Soden/Ts-Germany…or you can contact Sam Biles at uniteduniverse@yahoo.com.
I see that Ecocentric Records in Germany have done distribution for you in the past, are you currently still with them?
I believe they are still distributing the “AYFAD” CD, but we are presently working with Repulse Records (Spain). Things are coming slow, due to the fact that Dave Rotten basically resurrected us.
Is there a specific studio that you go to, that you feel represents HM the best?
You hit a nerve!! I fucking hate studios. Basically you’re paying some opinionated, glam metal, bitter because they didn’t “make it” moron to turn knobs when you already know what needs to be done. Nothing but a middleman who just happens to have the equipment you need. I think I feel this way because we got spoiled our first 3 studio visits. A very talented man by the name of Bob McCutcheon of Penn Hills recorded the first 3 releases. In 1990 not many people wanted to be bothered with Grind (or even knew what it was!!) Bob was very tolerant and we left his studio satisfied every time. Unfortunately, Bob no longer runs his studio. Every experience we have had since then sucked. So now I have a new studio, rent the Roland VS-1680 from PNS and record in my crusty dungeon basement!
If you had to pick a cataclysmic event to describe your sound, what would it be?
The terroristic bombing, then derailing, of a high-speed passenger train.
Are there any local or national acts that are influential with providing Hideous Mangleus their sound?
We were influenced by old punk and hardcore, (old hardcore, not the new “it’s not cool to be metal, so we’ll call ourselves hardcore” hardcore). Bands like: The Accused, Cryptic Slaughter, 7Seconds, Misfits, Septic Death, old Napalm Death, Dayglo Abortions, Dead Kennedys mixed with old Death, Kreator, Infernal Majesty, Possessed, and any other band that had death in their name (Haha) No…pretty much the UG music scene of 1985-1990.
I see you guys’ hail from Allenport, PA. How is the scene out there?
Sam is from Allenport, it is basically a bunch of houses lining either side of Route 88, because Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corp. is there. There is no scene. Although I can say I’ve seen the Pittsburgh scene grow to be more accepting of UG music. I saw many shows at the Electric Banana (R.I.P.), but back in the day they were really the only ones who would bring in anything cool. When we were starting out people weren’t so accepting of those who braved the unbeaten path.
How would you describe your live shows?
Well, Sam goes nuts, best way to describe it, he just freaks out…I rock out, beat up my bass and have fun…Feev’s guitar shrieks like a finely oiled machine and Curt does his best to keep the energy level on 11 with out passing out (Haha).
In your opinion, what type of crowd does HM cater too more?
Well, we seem to attract a diverse crowd. But I’d have to say I see more death heads than anyone. We attract a lot of grindcore and goregrind fans as well as hardcore…even the straightedge crowd makes an appearance occasionally. But as for catering to a particular crowd, it doesn’t happen…we write and what ever comes out comes out. We’re not really out to impress anyone but ourselves. We just like to make songs.
What goes through your mind when you’re performing on stage? Does the crowd affect your performance?
I personally try to have as much fun as I can, but I stay focused enough to make sure everything sounds good and tight. The crowd definitely affects a performance. I put everything into it whether the crowd is moving or not. I know when I go see a show; sometimes I just don’t feel like moving, that doesn’t mean I’m not having a good time. Sometimes I just want to relax have a few beers and hear the band. Some bands get offended if the crowd just watches, but this doesn’t bother me. Although, you can’t compare to a crowd that is moving and having a great time.
What could your fans expect to see at a live HM show? Some blood, some craziness, some theatrics, some movement, some more blood. Haha.
Are there any local acts out there, that you guys would like to jam or collaborate on projects with in the future?
Forced Under, we are good friends with Pat. Those guys are intense songwriters! If you ever get the chance to see them live, I highly recommend that you take the opportunity. We have a mutual respect and some day we hope to have Pat make a guest appearance on a Hideous release.
Have you performed or toured with any national acts?
Yes, a few that were known at the time, and a few that went on to be known: Disharmonic Orchestra, Incantation, Immolation, Brutal Truth, A.C., Mythic, Rottrevore, Deceased, are some of the artists we were fortunate enough to share the stage with.
So what lies in the future for HM? What are some of your goals?
As of now, we are trying to work on a release for Repulse, we are hoping to have 15 songs of relentless skull crushing grind for our patient supporters, although the burdens of life are making this difficult. After the Repulsive Release, (as of now anyway) our plans are to at least put out a 7” to celebrate every Halloween, until one of us finally passes on to the next realm of existence. 70-year-old grindcore players would be funny as hell to see. Just do our best to make sure Hideous never dies!
If clubs or bands want to book you guys, whom would they need to contact?
Sam takes care of that aspect; he can be reached at uniteduniverse@yahoo.com. Or, Hideous Mangleus c/o Sam Biles P.O. Box 236 Allenport, PA 15419.
Are there any people that you want to give a shout out or extend a hardy ” fuck you” to?
Yeah I like to throw out my respect to: Jarrod Russell of Bodyworks Tattoo (www.geocities.com/kasey004) (Hideous is exclusively tattooed by Jarrod), Forced Under (www.forcedunder.com), The Zitheads (www.zitheads.4mg.com), Circle of Dead Children, and MaggotEater (www.maggoteater.4t.com), As for the “fuck you’s”, I have a few, but I’d rather not even give them the mentioning.
Do you have any final words you would like to share with everybody?
Yes. To those of you who have supported us over the last 12 years we appreciate it, hopefully we can return the favor with a brutal slab of intense grind for your listening pleasure. For those of you who have never heard Hideous, but are interested you can get a listen at www.deathmetal.com/hideous, you can also hear Hideous at mp3.com.
Thanks for your time Chris, I wish you the best of luck with Freek and I’ll be sure to catch a performance someday. Maybe we can share the stage again as when you were with Leprosy in 1990. Until then keep up the good work with the Pittsburgh UG webzine. It’s nice to know someone cares enough to let the rest of us know what’s going on. \m/
Thanks alot and keep us posted on upcoming HM shows!
KEEP IT BRUTAL!
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