There
are still bands who believe in the old ways that keep the unholy
flame of black/death/thrash alive. One such band in particular, is
HEXORCIST from Florida. They are one of my favourite new bands and
feature veterans and former members from DEVASTATOR. Enjoy
the conversation, and remember: IF YOU ARE FALSE, DON'T ENTRY!!
AVE!!! To inaugurate this interview, please tell us what Hexorcist is all about with an idea of your sound and influences.
Hails and thanks for the opportunity to be interviewed by your zine. The idea behind Hexorcist was to make music we’d listen to. Like most metalheads we miss the old sound of Metal. Not just the production and sound but the rawness of the music, the energy behind it, the fact that styles weren’t as defined as they are today. Black and Death metal were mixed with Thrash and it was all just a cauldron of evil sound. Our influences range from Celtic Frost, Possessed, Kreator and Morbid Angel amongst many others to list. Once you listen to “Evil Reaping Death” you’d be able to pick out all of our influences, we try to make it obvious through our sound what they are, without plagiarizing.
How was the band initially conceived and what is the connotation behind the name?
In 2019 we tried to restart a band where we had all played called Devastator. The reunion didn’t happen because we couldn’t get all the members to come back. We decided then to switch the style to incorporate more of our other influences like Sarcófago and Morbid Angel instead of a more Black/Thrash sound we had in Devastator.
The name was a pain in the ass for all of us to agree on. We went through at least 6 or 7 before we made a final decision. The guitarist came up with the name, with the idea that an Exorcist removes the evil from within, but the Hexorcist hexes evil into the body.
The music just flows naturally, there’s actually not an intent to make it sound more evil or darker, it kind of just happens. Making happy Death Metal is also contradictory to the genre itself. Some people have said that we have some of Black Metal’s darkness in our sound, that may stem from us being highly influenced by It.
The lyrics are simply a combination of real hatred with songs about the occult. With the lyrics we also wanted to bring that old school, back to the beginning feeling. When lyrics were about evil, and darkness. No politics, no society, no zombies and pizza. The lyrics have to represent what the band is about, even though the band is a hobby we take it very seriously and the lyrics represent that.
What are the key differences between the demo and full-length? Are you satisfied with the final outcome and product? How are the reactions so far?
The demo and the full length are not very different besides maybe some production aspects. Most of the songs you hear in the full length were already done by the time we recorded the demo. The full length is more of a continuation of the demo. On the full length we had a change of bassist too, who also provided solos to some songs.
We are very satisfied with the way it came out. We were lucky to work with a great sound engineer that managed to catch the essence of what we were going for. Good sound but not over produced.
For the demo the response far surpassed what we hoped for. Initially we were just going to make 50 cassettes ourselves and give it to friends. But we were lucky and now we are even getting a 7” from Headsplit and Tenebrous Aberrations and a cassette repress from Goatthrone. The reviews and listener feedback for the full length has also been amazing. Reviews as well as listener feedback are full of praise for both the demo and the album. It is still early for the album but all reviews have been very positive.
Your music is quite straight-forward, yet the members in the band are verily capable musicians. I’m particularly impressed with the guitarist and how the solos are able to rip through my brain. Is there a certain limit to which the members apply their skills?
Thank you for the compliment! Well, there are 2 different guitar players both playing leads and Bass, one did all the rhythms and leads, the other mostly all the bass and leads. The idea was to have two different guys playing two different styles but to be honest, it’s hard to tell which one played which lead, they sound like the same guy. The drums are meant to follow and emphasize the music as a whole, no showing off, or unnecessary fills.
Can
you tell us a little about your cooperation with all the record
labels you’ve worked with so far? Are you content with the support
you’ve been getting?
We have worked with some of the best underground labels. Starting with Dark Recollections and Goatthrone for the demo, to Memento Mori, Godz Ov War and Unholy Prophecies for the full length. We also worked with Old Skull Productions on a European cassette release of the demo and are working with Headsplit and Tenebrous Aberrations on releasing the demo on 7” vinyl.
All the labels have been great. Them as well as us are not in this to make money or become famous, we do this because we love Metal. Getting feedback from them and just the fact they want to release our music is a compliment, because it’s not a business transaction it’s more of I like what you’re doing let me help you spread it.
I believe it was Wagnar Antichrist who asserted: “We did everything we did for fun. Business kills real feelings and real music! To be in it and treat it like a business is the first step to do FALSE METAL!” - what are your thoughts regarding that sentiment and is there any “fun” in what you do?
He couldn’t have said it better. We can see that in many of the older bands, once it becomes a business all the fun and the feeling behind the music dies. For Metal that is especially true, that is why most bands best albums are usually the first. Because then it becomes a race to play what people want to listen to instead of what comes naturally. With Hexorcist we approach each song as unique. We just get together and play what comes naturally, we don’t over-think it too much.
On a personal level playing and releasing albums is my addiction. Nothing beats that feeling of getting your music on a physical format for the first time. This for me is 100% a hobby. There’s no intention to make money off of this at all. Our plans are whatever money is made through sales gets put towards the recording of the next album or something band related. I have been playing for over 20 years and I have spent 1000 times more money than I’ve made, and do not regret a single moment.
Tell us about the excellent artwork for “Evil Reaping Death” and what your vision for it was. Did the artist meet your expectations?
That artwork was actually purchased months before we even had all the songs ready. I think about mid 2020. I am a big fan of the artist and previous paintings he’s done. One night I was just looking at his page and saw he had posted that painting and I immediately contacted him about purchasing it. It resembled exactly what we thought the album was going to sound like. The artwork just looks like Demons bringing Evil Reaping Death. We are definitely thinking of using the same artist for our second full length.
Your opinion on the following:
The vatican: Would love access to their library of witchcraft and historical satanic texts! Besides that they’re nothing but a bunch of pedophiles.
Fanzines:
Essential!!!
Satan/God: We are all Satan and Gods!
Sadistik Exekution: An excellent band! The Magus is a classic. They not only inspired many bands to follow in their footsteps musically but also visually. ROK’s artwork is very distinctive and unique.
What can you tell us about Doug Humlack and your tribute to him?
He was a good friend to the guitarist, he passed away last year and was a big influence and played in a lot of the local bands that he grew up seeing and associating with. Doug was an exceptionally great guitarist who didn’t flaunt his abilities. He could play anything as ugly as Blasphemy to something as precise as a Malmsteen song. Sentry At The Seven Gates is a small tribute to his memory. The latest band Doug was involved in was Spiritus Infernus, a band with virtually zero promotion and lack of good packaging/presentation on any physical media (some CDs were made) but the music is evil, and sick as well as the lyrics. Real witchcraft!!
Satan/God: We are all Satan and Gods!
Sadistik Exekution: An excellent band! The Magus is a classic. They not only inspired many bands to follow in their footsteps musically but also visually. ROK’s artwork is very distinctive and unique.
What can you tell us about Doug Humlack and your tribute to him?
He was a good friend to the guitarist, he passed away last year and was a big influence and played in a lot of the local bands that he grew up seeing and associating with. Doug was an exceptionally great guitarist who didn’t flaunt his abilities. He could play anything as ugly as Blasphemy to something as precise as a Malmsteen song. Sentry At The Seven Gates is a small tribute to his memory. The latest band Doug was involved in was Spiritus Infernus, a band with virtually zero promotion and lack of good packaging/presentation on any physical media (some CDs were made) but the music is evil, and sick as well as the lyrics. Real witchcraft!!
Why did you choose to cover the band Devastator? I actually checked them out and was thoroughly impressed! Quite underrated I may add.
When we started the band it was supposed to be a Devastator reunion. When it became obvious it wasn’t going to happen we felt we wanted to do one last Devastator tribute. I was the original drummer from Devastator and the guitarist played in it for a short while back in 2002. In Devastator we were just a bunch of Cuban refugee kids playing Black/Thrash and drinking three times a week, we just wanted to make music and record. The fact that we managed to record 6 albums with the amount of time we spent playing dominoes and drinking it’s crazy. The spirit behind Hexorcist, if not the music, is very similar to what Devastator was about.
What is your opinion on the current state of the underground? Some say it’s dead, while others still believe in its ethos. If it was dead, would we be doing this interview at all?
The underground is not dead, saturated yes, but not dead. I do believe there’s way too many bands doing the same thing. Too many bands with more shirts than songs. But on the same note there are some really great newer bands. Anything coming out of Chile is just amazing and then you’ve got bands like Putrid, Evil (Japan), Morbid Messiah, Rapture (Greece), and Oath of Cruelty that are just killing it. The old days where everything was new and original are never coming back, but we can enjoy the many styles that came out of that era and are still being represented today. We are never going to get another “Altars of Madness”, or a “666” by KAT, at least not on those levels of perfection.
On the support side there are many more avenues for promotion than back in the day. There are many printed and online zines that do a great job helping newer bands like us get our names out there.
The latest releases I’ve been listening to a lot are the latest Apostasy from Chile. It's just an amazing album, definitely worth it for anyone that’s a fan of late eighties Death, Thrash, Black Metal sound. The latest from Insane (Swe) it’s a great Thrash Metal album. Rapture (Greece), their last two albums are beyond most stuff being released nowadays.
Thank you for your time! I wish all the members in Hexorcist an eternity of hell and darkness. You may now hurl a final insult at all whores, posers & cunts out there…
Take your own life today, it’s not too late we believe in you!