Interviews : BerserkerfoX (Ashish Kumar) – 05/07/2009

Metal just isn’t metal without pummelling riffs, intricate guitar duelling, point-locked harmonies and screamin’ solos. To top it all off, add growling vocals, trunk-rattling bass and double-kick drumming and you have all the makings of some very powerful, very addictive music.

And with an album on the horizon, Melbourne’s BerserkerfoX are coming to show the broader Australian public what they have to offer. MetalObsession.net caught up with guitarist Ashish Kumar to talk about the new album.

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MetalObsession.net (Brendan Amos): Greetings, and thanks for joining us here at MO. How are thing’s going in the Berserkerfox camp at the moment?
BerserkerfoX (Ashish Kumar): Hey Brendan! Thanks loads for having us. Things in the BerserkerfoX domain have definitely been calmer compared to this time last year; we have been focusing all resources on completing our debut album.

That said, although we are not playing shows as sporadically as we used to, we are
definitely taking our brand of melodic death metal to a broader audience. Since
September 2008, we have had the opportunity to play shows in Gippsland, Ballarat and Frankston. Repeat performances are coming up in the near future and a barrage of city gigs will be cropping up after the album completion and launch. Think of this as the calm before the storm.

MO: Now the band has a new album on the horizon, how has the recording process been so far, any issues along the way?
B: After a tonne of deliberation and brainstorming, we decided to self produce this
album – mainly to get the most bang for our buck and assume creative control. Besides, as an independent band we really can’t afford to get the recording quality we want right now!

So, we purchased our own equipment for digital recording, got a hold of some multitrack software, and away we went. Our drummer’s house provided the most ideal venue for laying down tracks and sessions were held there, regularly, at our most sober convenience.

We commenced serious recording in January 2009, with the vocal patterns and guitar solos still being finalised. The process is a lengthy one; taking the helm of producer/engineer duties on this album, Ashish’s obsessive-compulsive pedantic,
HITLEResque nature meant that everything from vocal enunciation, guitar phrasing,
drum patterns and bass playing underwent a fair number of improvements and rewrites.

In the end though, all bands only get one shot at their first album, and we want ours to stick. Of course, it’s only going to get more refined, focused, and epic come album two.

MO: Did you head into the studio with a 100% set idea on the songs you
recorded, or was there more of a ‘play it by feel’ idea and a bit of editing in the studio?
B: When we started recording, the songs were already written out and road tested.
BerserkerfoX played it’s debut show in September 2007 at the Arthouse, and since then we’ve been able to see which songs worked well, what parts needed rewrites and which sections should be reprised. It also aided with writing the remainder of the abum, making sure we didn’t repeat ourselves – the new tunes have structures that are slightly varied, but still retains our signature spicyness and tang.

Certain elements in the recorded music have been tweaked to retain a sense of rawness yet locking in optimum deliciousness and flavor. During the mixing phase, everything from natural reverb, AM/FM radio interference and speaker meltdown has been deliberately left somewhere in the music to add character and capture the mood of this album – hopefully making the music standout when shuffled on your iPod.

Saying that the music was written with a 100% set idea of what it would sound like
couldn’t be further from the truth! This album is sounding nothing like the original
demos we recorded, but that’s not a bad thing.

MO: I understand one of your main influences in heavy metal, like many many other bands, is the mighty Metallica. How big does this influence show up on the new record, and what other influences did the band infuse into the tracks?
B: As with many metal guitarists today, Hetfield is probably a massive influence in their playing and proficiency as guitarists. Ashish for one adopted his wanton disregard for technique and opted to downpick every note under the sun. Naturally, this playing style has been incorporated into the writing process, for which he retains the lions share.

As a band we took the rapid, fluid and aggressive, yet somewhat melodic approach that many bands from the 80’s thrash movement did. But hey, we’ve been influenced by countless other bands, some older than these thrash guys, and some of much more recent origin! You’ll just have to listen to our album and try to pick out the influences for yourself.

We won’t name any names, but we can hear a bit of In Flames, At The Gates and Arch
Enemy, with a side serving of Britney Spears, Tina Arena and Christina Aguilera thrown in there for good measure. Elements of fusion/blues are extremely prevalent in the solo guitar work headed by Anannd (Thambirajah), while Liam (McRae) has injected generous doses of progressive jazz into the bass playing. Rory’s drumming style would be the most diverse, with beats ranging from Carcass swing, Sepultura tribal rhythms, to Psycroptic machine gun kicks – and of course some cowbell in there to tickle your taste buds.

MO: And I guess the main question I should be asking is when exactly will we be able to hear it?
B: Hahah! We wish we knew too. But we’re gunning for an early August release. But you can definitely expect some new singles to hit local, international and internet radio in the coming month.

MO: The BerserkerfoX name has been rotating on gig flyers around the
Melbourne metal scene for a couple of years now, seemingly playing whenever and wherever you can. How important is playing in the live environment to you and the band?
B: What can we say, we live to play live! (a little wordplay there why not?). There is nothing we enjoy more than getting up and going absolutely psycho on stage. For those brief 30-45 minutes on stage, we aim to get heads banging and moshpits churning – and failing that, it’s some pretty solid cardio!

We want our fans to get their money’s worth. In fact, we get grotesquely pissed off with bands that ultimately stand on stage, fixated square on their instruments, and continue to play their set with little or no compulsion to entertainment.

I think we are trying to meld the stage show and energy of (don’t shoot us) emo and
hardcore bands (think Fallout Boy and Dillinger Escape Plan), with the guitar proficiency and complexity of death metal bands (Dark Tranquility and Soilwork).

In the coming months, expect to see changes in our live set, with an emphasis on sound and production quality. Also, Muzzi should be focused on getting his legs toned to match his ripplingly ripped upper torso! The rest of us will be growing obese… or at least growing beards if we can.

MO: Looking into the foreseeable future, what is the likelihood of playing
outside of your Victorian base in the coming year?
B: Very damn probable! It’s not an easy task touring Australia with the long hauls
between our nation’s wonderful cities, but it’s something definitely in the works! We do have pretty demanding jobs/university schedules, but we’ve managed to travel to Sydney in the past to record, so future interstate touring is at the top of our list of priorities.

MO: Onto the local scene – any local bands you’ve checked out recently that you think deserve a shout-out on the site?
B: Thrash metal band Nothing are a solid bunch of guys, with an amazing live show and a penchant for bone-crushing tone. They are supporting Five Finger Death Punch when they come down to Australia, so make sure you buy their stuff. Special salutes to Kaamora, Damnations Day and Orpheus who are up and coming in the wide world of Melbourne metal.

MO: Any final words to the Metal Obsession readers?
B: In the current climate of global financial meltdown, sniffle pandemics of swine origin, coupled with the suspiciously high rate of celebrity deaths, it’s important that the metal community band together and make a difference. You can do this by buying a BerserkerfoX T-shirt – your support will stimulate the economy, quicken the arrival of spring and simultaneously reduce global warming by providing you comfortable, 100% cotton induced warmth. Plus you’ll give us the fuel money to travel to your town and play!! That’s a Rock ‘n’ Roll Win-Win! (Or just a break-even)…… Oh well.

MO: Thanks a lot mate!
B: No no sir… thank you! It was our pleasure.

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Band: BerserkerfoX
Date: 05/07/2009
Origin: Melbourne, Australia
www.myspace.com/berserkerfox

Questions: Brendan Amos (Metal Obsession)
Answers: Ashish Kumar (BerserkerfoX Guitarist)