Interview with

Interview with Allen Scott of THORNS OF THE CARRION. 8/15/01-by 'Skullcrusher' Angela

• SKULLCRUSHER: *The Shadow Masque* will be your next release, when should we expect it, and what would you say was the main inspiration for the lyrical content of this recording?
• ALLEN/THORNS OF THE CARRION: Our next release will be the re-release of our 1995 demos *The Willow Weeps for Me* and *Darkness in the Elegy Season*,Season, remastered along with a new track called 'The Story of the Leaves', plus the conclusion to the original short story. We will also have a new track available on mp3.com called'A Relic of Joy'. We are working very hard on *The Shadow Masque*, and have recorded 5 or 6 songs on a 4-track to share with labels and such. Hopefully, we can get *The Shadow Masque* out by early next year, if a label is willing to step in and support us, then maybe sooner....Main inspiration for the lyrical content? Everything that hurts in this world.
• SKULLCRUSHER: How will *The Shadow Masque* be different from *The Scarlet Tapestry* album from 1997?
• ALLEN/THORNS: It's a whole different animal, so to speak, but it will be a concept album. Where *The Scarlet Tapestry* was really only 5 songs and 4 interludes, *The Shadow Masque* contains 11 songs. By far, the best material ever written by us...Though I am proud of *The Scarlet Tapestry*, we are years ahead of that album, we have grown as musicians and songwriters since 1997. *The Shadow Masque* is THORNS OF THE CARRION at our peak. It's the most dark, depressing songs we have ever written... I am even more proud of the new songs.
• SKULLCRUSHER: What studio will you be recording *The Shadow Masque* in? When recording, what do you look for in a studio?
• ALLEN/THORNS: We haven't decided yet, we have been looking around in Cincinnati and abroad... we will not be back to the studio where we recorded the last two CDs, however. Things have changed a lot over the years when recording. We went from an 8-track analog demo in 1993 to doing *Eve Songs* in a completely digital setting, on 32 tracks with computers, full automation,etc...The main concern with studios is equipment and their rates. We have been around long enough to know our sound, and what we want to achieve sound-wise in the studio. Nowadays, that means having 40+ tracks to work with, at least, very good mics, and computer support. The sky is the limit, and we take full advantage of the new technology to get our message across.
• SKULLCRUSHER: What do you enjoy the most about playing live?
• ALLEN/THORNS: That single moment when the band, the sound, the lights, the crowd, etc., fall into perfect unison and everything just slows down. That feeling where the pain and frustrations of life just pour from your fingertips. I can look at the rest of the band and know they're not thinking about the arrangements, or their playing, it's just raw emotion and you get lost in the music. It doesn't happen every time out, so it's elusive, but when it all comes together, it's the closest I have ever come to a religious experience. Thats why we're still together after almost 8 years.
• SKULLCRUSHER: What is the most important advise you could give to a band starting out in the underground?
• ALLEN/THORNS: Have a sound, a message, be tight and don't talk shit. I fucking hate idiots who have no regard for other bands, that take 45 minutes to set up, play over their set time, then leave the stage as soon as they're done to let everyone kiss their ass. Fuck that! Play music because you live, breathe, and die for music, don't get into a band to get laid or be a fucking star. Everyone in this world wants to be a star. I just want to create art,and live and breathe and find joy. If you can't give your life to music, then stay at McDonalds and let MTV lull you into stupidity. I also hate these so-called 'bands' that are not bands. The whole 4-track, 2 guys with a guitar and a bass and an album all of a sudden. If you can't play live and deal with a full band, then you shouldn't even try. Don't give into trends, be original, create something new.
• SKULLCRUSHER: What is your true opinion of love?
• ALLEN/THORNS: What a question, thanks for putting me on the 'spot'. My opinion doesn't mean shit, but I know what love is, because I have seen the other side of it too many times in my life. True love will last forever, and I found mine almost a decade ago. Suffering drives THORNS OF THE CARRION, but it's the love we find in life that makes it worth living. Life is a very tragic endeavor by nature, as we watch family and friends die around us, so without love it wouldn't be worth it. To not know what this is, I'd rather be dead.
• SKULLCRUSHER: What was the last book you read and what did you think about it?
• ALLEN/THORNS: I read books constantly. It is, after all, a dying art. I just finished *The Naked and the Dead* by Norman Mailer for the second time in my life. It was written in the late 40s, revolves around World War II, and was the first book by Norman Mailer, written when he was 25 or 26, around my age. I connected a lot to the emotion behind the storyline, the thoughts and dreams, even though it's 60 years later. It taught me that as mortals, we all have the same fear of death, of life. No one can conquer mortality. It's a classic for a reason.
• SKULLCRUSHER: When thinking about the tri-state area (Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio) which area do you think has the best scene and why?
• Ohio, by far, both for recent scenes and the music scenes from years ago. Cleveland has the best, then Cincinnati and Columbus. Ohio is a bigger state with more population, Indiana and Kentucky have their spots, but overall it is not as together as Ohio, the biggest cities are spread too far apart.

• SKULLCRUSHER: Please read the tarot cards for THORNS OF THE CARRION...
• We'll put out *The Shadow Masque* CD, accomplish all of our goals and dreams, then the minute we find mainstream success, I'll quit it all and move to the mountains and write a few books... or we'll all die in a plane crash. This is going to be a busy year, so to everyone out there, keep checking back with us. We're going to surprise a few people with our variation of fucking raw DOOM METAL. If you see that we're coming to your town, come to the show with some buds and beer and hang out with us. Look for new releases and call, write, bribe, beat, or kill those neccesary to get us a deal so we can keep making sweet, happy music for all the happy people in this world. Thanks for the great interview, Angela, and to all you stupid FUCKS out there who are waiting for the next big thing, get off your ass and check out your local scene, it's what's in the bars and in the underground. Don't wait for America to sell it to you. Think!!! Don't exist merely to be entertained, because THORNS OF THE CARRION will just make you fucking miserable.

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• Contact: THORNS OF THE CARRION, P.O. Box 3537, Cincinnati OH 45201, bloodthorn@mailexcite.com, http://www.thornsofthecarrion.com