Country of origin: United States
Location: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Status: Active
Formed in: 2010
Genre: Black Metal/Punk
Lyrical themes: Murder, Rape, Zombies and Satan
Current label: Horror Pain Gore Death Productions
Years active: 2010-present
MEMBERS
R.W.: Bass
Luke Sweger: Drums
See also: Horde of the Eclipse, ex-Shades of Memory, ex-Kajaja Force-tek
Andy Craven: Guitars (lead)
See also: ex-Algol, ex-Winterfell
Danny Starkiller: Vocals, Guitars
THE BEYOND (INTERVIEW WITH R.W. (BASS)
Obviously, you guys don't give a fuck about offending anyone with this material. You've even recorded a cover of G.G. Allin's "Cunt Sucking Cannibal" that seems to go along nicely with "Roto-Cunt" and "Goat Sodomizer." What are some of the comments you've received from other people about your material and your thoughts about those comments? What do people generally think about your act?
Honestly, we've received a ton of shit from people, but in the same breath, we've gotten a lot of praise for it as well. I think it really just depends on your sense of humor. Danny's # 1 priority was doing a G.G. Allin song. I picked out Cunt Sucking Cannibal since we haven't heard of anyone covering it. We got a comment from a fellow on how he prefers his woman hating music incomprehensible, ha-ha. He brings up a good point though, since our vocals are fairly understandable it's been more offensive to people than say Cannibal Corpse singing Fucked with a knife. I'm seeing a lot of hypocrisy aimed towards us. We can be offended, but not if we can understand it (laughs.) But, as you stated in the first sentence, We do not give a fuck about your PC attitudes. All in all though, the reviews have been extremely positive, a lot of people are getting what we are trying to do.
Talk about the recording process for the disc. Where did you guys record it, how long did it take and did you run into any problems?
Ha-ha, we ran into all sorts of problems during recording. We actually started to record the album last June, but our friend that was drumming for us was a grindcore drummer and just couldn't get the punk vibe we needed. We were able to borrow Lucas from our friends in Horde of the Eclipse and he nailed it. We practiced for a few months and then went in to record over a weekend in November. Our music is really easy, so it didn't take long at all. We recorded at Wellfare Line outside of West Chester, Pa with Mike Kirchner from the band American Speedway. Mike knew exactly what we needed and pretty much killed it for us. Any bands in the area looking for a great studio should head his way.
How in the hell did you guys come up with the title Frostbitepanzerfuck? It seems like a jumble but comes off as something fucking brilliant when it rolls right off the tongue.
It's really just a joke and an ode to all the old black metal bands from the early 90's. That whole frostbitten mountains of Norway, Darkthrone's Panzerfaust influence and G.G's fuck off attitude. I really think it's a perfect title to what we are and do. That's been another sore point for people (laughs.) Nobody seems to get the whole tongue in cheek shtick....bunch of uppity pussies.
Obviously G.G. Allin's an obvious influence to the band, but let's talk about you other influences. What black metal bands do you take inspiration from? What bands are you guys currently jamming now? Any bands out there you want recognized?
G.G. of course, like you said and then early 90's Norwegian black metal: Darkthrone, Burzum, Mayhem and Gorgoroth to be specific. Some of the new material is modeled after the True Black Dawn from Finland and early Hellacopters. I'm jamming tons of music right now, so I could literally write down twenty+ bands. The new AIRS album "Adore" is absolutely brilliant if you’re into gloomy shoegaze music. Our drummer's band Horde of the Eclipse just straight rules, very early Dissection..esque and of course my favorite USBM band Haethen, a bunch of Philly dudes who basically sound like they were transplanted from Norway's dark forests (laughs). Everyone should really check these three bands out. I also have to mention how awesome the new Incantation is. Their bassist Chuck is an old friend and is definitely an idol of mine when it comes to playing the bass.
You've said that you get many of your lyrics from horror films and grindhouse flicks. I'm a huge fan of this stuff and I'm looking for some of the best (worst) out there. What are some of your favorite films and what are some of the most fucked up films that you've ever seen? Are there any films in particular that inspired some of these songs?
I wish Danny could answer this one since he writes all the lyrics. He's seen more horror movies than I've ever heard of. Right now though, my favorite horror..ish film has to be "The Poughkeepsie Tapes". Holy shit, that's a cool movie. It hasn't been released on film or dvd. I had to watch a streamed version of it on one of those movie sites. Basically, it's about a bunch of tapes found in an abandoned house that a serial killer filmed. It's kind of done in that documentary style. As for the songs, "Splatterhouse Maniacs" is based on the movie Blood Sucking Freaks and "Attack of the Zombie Brigade" is of course Night of the Living Dead.
Lets talk tech. Obviously, you guys have a very analog/traditional way to making music and I respect that. What kinds of instruments do you guys use? What kinds of amps, tubing, effects pedals, exc? What kind of drum kit? Any brands you guys prefer? What made you guys decide to start playing music in the first place?
All the guitars are played through Marshall heads and cabs. Danny plays a Gibson Les Paul and Cray Cray plays a 1970's era Gibson SG. So, they use just straight up rock n' roll gear. No pedals were used for the recording of the guitars. I play an ESP bass through a Hartke head and I use an overdrive pedal to get that filthy sound. I played it through an Acoustic cab, which really gave us a cool sound. I have no idea what kind of set Lucas uses hahaha. Danny and I started playing in a black metal band back in the mid 90's when he was 16 and I was 19, we really just wanted to play music we loved. At that point, there was only a small amount of black metal bands in the US, now it's over populated and diluted, but the media does a good job of pretending a lot of these bands are important.
What do you guys do when you're not playing music or doing shows?
Nothing exciting really, we all work and I have a family, so it's really just hanging out and playing/listening to music. I live over 3 hours away, so we'd don't get to hang out together that often.
What do you think about the state of the world? You think someone needs to impeach the president, so they can drag him out by his ears? You think we're headed for global economic fucking meltdown? You think in five or ten years there will be guys dressed in spikes and leather with fucking iron helmets trying to steal your gasoline like in Mad Max? Will you be those guys?
None of us really care about politics, so it is what it is ha-ha. I think this country is headed in wrong direction, but who am I? We all work our asses off and now we get less money in our paychecks than before while the leeches of this country get a free ride. I hope when my daughter grows up she has something more positive to look forward too. Ha-ha, I know there are a lot of people hoping for a global meltdown so they can start attacking people and not feel guilty about it. Let's return to the basic human nature of rape and murder, we've already written the soundtrack.
You guys have been playing shows for quite a while. What are some of the craziest moments that you guys have had during a show?
There was this one time when one of us had sex with a mother and daughter combo.....oh wait, that was Def Leppard. There's been nothing worth writing about really, I'll just say we've met some really nice girls.
Who came up with the band name The Beyond and what does it mean? What does it mean to you?
Danny came up with that name. He's a huge Lucio Fulci fan, so it was a no brainer for him. It doesn't really mean anything other than that we love horror movies and violence.
More Questions Here:
http://newnoisemagazine.com/interview-w-the-beyond-bassist-rw-by-eric-may/
