Yellowtooth
Country of origin:
United States
Location:
Michigan City, Indiana
Status:
Active
Active since:
2008
Genre:
Sludge/Doom Metal
Lyrical themes:
Assassins, Drugs, Misery of the Human
Current label:
Unsigned/independent
Members
Peter Clemens: Bass, Vocals
See also: Invasion, Sea of Tranquillity, Skullview, ex-Shades of Grey, ex-Termination, ex-Nocturnal Torment
Henry: Guitars
Ed Kribbs: Percussion
See also: ex-Chronic Disorder
THE INTERVIEW
1. If you could, describe the process in making this album. What was the toughest part of that process?
Pete: It was very grueling & time consuming to get this cd released. The longevity between recording sessions was insane. We lost our original studio due to a litigation dispute & only retained the drum tracks, which we then transferred to the new studio, but found out during recording that a couple drums tracks were accidently deleted. After that it was just a matter of time and money to get the sessions done. In all actuality it took us over 3 years to get the album completed.
2. What albums/bands are the most influential to your sound?
Pete: I would think the likes of Weedeater, Motorhead, Crowbar, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Sabbath have lent us their influences in creating "Disgust." We all listen to a variety of music & it shows in our songs. I'm big on bands from the 70’s like Black Oak Arkansas & Ozark Mountain Daredevils along with early thrash/death bands like Venom, Sodom & Destruction. Ed & Hank dig all different bands too. Early Testament, Biohazard, Clutch, the list goes on. We are all open to the heavy spectrum of music as well and I think everything combined goes into the sound of YELLOWTOOTH.
3. You guys have played in a lot of bands over the years, and you've seen a lot of trends come and go. What are things in society, or the music scene in general; that you wish would hurry up and go already?
Pete: There are a lot of different musical styles I’d like to see disappear. Not a big fan of emo or whatever the hell they call that stuff. Also, I’m not big on the noise thing. Hey, I love feedback from an amplifier too but 25 minutes of it does not constitute music. Seriously? But is that music or just ambient noises?
4. Who came up with the name Yellowtooth, and what does it mean?
Pete: I got the name from my old drummer several years ago. I played bass in a band called Skullview and we were practicing for a trip to Germany. My guitar player had this fat chick staying with them & she got real mouthy with our drummer one night and he basically told her “Go fuck yourself you fat yellow tooth bitch” and the name stuck in my head. I told him I was going to write a song about the whole incident but instead I just kept it for a band name. Classic stuff!
5. Some of the tracks on this album seem to have stories attached to them, like " On The Trail Of Lewis Medlock" and "The 11th Hour." Can you talk about some of them?
Pete: “On The Trail…” is a song written about a movie released in the 70’s called
”Deliverance” that we all had watched over the years. Our guitar player Henry had seen it on TV & got the initial idea. We ended up piecing things together and wrote it out during rehearsal. We had discussed changing the title several times but it just fit the song so we went with it. Most of our songs have stories attached to them (Soulstalker, The 11th Hour) but some of the lyrical styles are deliberately vague and let the listener develop their own ideas behind the storyline & what we are trying to convey.
6. I have to commend you guys on continuing to make music as long as you have. You guys aren't making any sort of major profit, even going as far to sending out bootlegged mp3's just so that folks can check it out. What do you think of the internet, and it's ability to take people that have been making music for years, and allowing them to finally be heard by the entire world?
Pete: Basically, it’s the world at your fingertips. If you’re looking for information on any band, place or person it just takes a search engine to find what you’re looking for. As for music, it just helps get the word out to anyone who might dig our sounds. Because of our work schedules it will almost be impossible to tour properly, but that doesn’t mean will quit writing music and doing what we enjoy. If we get one person to listen to our song that enjoys what we are doing then it’s worth it. We aren’t into this for the almighty coin. All we are doing is just passing on what we’ve enjoyed over the years and giving it our twist.
7. What do you think of sites like bandcamp and others that allow users to "name their own price" on albums? Do you think this is the future, especially for lesser-known bands?
Pete: Yes, it is. Sell your song for .50$ and let the person purchase the actual cd if they want. Or allow them to download the whole cd & if the person is “true” to the underground they’d purchase something from your band, be it a shirt or sticker. Most of these sites (Reverb Nation, Bandcamp, Last FM) will allow you to peruse other music & find bands that are similar to what your looking for & it helps in promotion. There are a plethora of bands out there and I think these sites help a great deal.
8. Are there any current bands out there that you guys are particularly fond of?
Pete: Lately I’ve been listening to the new Orange Goblin, Dozer & a band from the UK called Helvis. Also, Lazarus Blackstar is real good too. Hank has been listening to Black Country Communion a lot and as for Ed I’m not sure what he listens to anymore!
9. What do you guys do when you're not making music?
Pete: We all work full time at our different jobs so that takes up a bunch of time. Hank & me work out in the steel mills near Gary, Indiana and Ed drives a truck all over the state of Indiana. Outside of that we try and cookout, listen to music, hit the beach and checkout new bands to the area. Hank is a gamer so you can always find him blasting out zombies or things with his Wii and Ed is a computer hacker & keeps himself busy rebuilding his computers.
10. Are there any books, movies, computer/video games you guys would recommend?
Pete: Lately I’ve been reading a horror/fiction writer by the name of Brian Keene who has some pretty good books out including Urban Gothic and Castaways. His writing technique is based in gore/horror styled writing. Good stuff really. Another writer to checkout is Jack Killborn/J.A. Konrath. You can find their stuff on Abebooks.com or through Amazon.
11. You guys have been around a while, for sure. What do you think of all this doomsday talk? And if the shit really did happen, what would you do? (I'm talking no power for years.)
Pete: Honestly, probably try and adjust to the situation if possible and see what happens with society and the general population. I’m sure people would be freaking out losing their electricity, not having cell phones & such that it would turn into a huge riot. I have several friends who are big on survival techniques so I think I’d be keeping them close to my family/friends and me. As for music, we’d pluck away on our acoustic guitar!
12. Alright, what would you guys do in a zombie apocalypse?
Pete: Again, go to my friends’ home with the biggest weapons arsenal and blast those fucking things to hell and back. Don’t need them coming back a 2nd or 3rd time.
13. Our planet is pretty much fucked to say the least. If you could, what do you think are some ways that we could possibly fix this mess?
Pete: Good question. As for global warming I think that’s a reality and eventually New Orleans, New York & Florida will be covered by 12 ft of water. There are a ton of problems with society & mankind in general. Famine, homelessness, overpopulation, poverty, etc. I don’t really know where to start. Hate to end this interview on a bum note but you said it my friend. The world is a mess.
Great work on the disc guys, definitely one of my favorites. Make sure you check it out, especially if you like bands like Acid Witch and Vore. Thanks for your answers, and keep making great music.
Pete: Thank you sir! I’m glad you like the disc. We have already written 4 songs for our 2nd cd, which we hope to start recording by this time next year!!!
THE REVIEW
Yellowtooth - Disgust (PR2012) - First off, these guys have been around for a while. Chances are they know a bit more about metal than you do, and chances are that they're also much older than you. Because yes, all of these guys are in their 40's, and they haven't lost any steam with age. But like a fine wine, these guys have matured gracefully, as such has their sound. These guys do stoner/fuzz/death/sludge metal, in the style of bands like Acid Witch. Coming from bands like Chronic Disorder, Shades Of Grey, Sea Of Tranquility, and Skullview; these guys have been around the block more than once.
Henry McGinnis's vocals sound like a stoned devil, but his riffs both echo with a raw noise and some intricate melodies. Ed Krib's drumming thunders in just the way that it should, definitely sounding like he's pounding on a real kit. His hits are just what it takes to bring the band into full gear. Finally, let's mention the bass player Peter Clemens. Yeah, this is just three guys; but they make some incredible music.
Check out "John Wilkes Booth 4:52" for some interesting prog influence that plays with the bluesy/southern riffs. This is definitely the perfect package I could offer you, if you're looking for some music to drink to. Or smoke to, whatever you dig. But let me warn you, these vocals are fierce and demonic. Whether or not these guys are playing real melodic shit like "75 Black Pontiac 4:45" or real heavy shit like "Decaying From Within 4:41" the vocals still sound like a whiskey soaked Satan. But that doesn't meant that this Satan can't play guitar, because he most certainly fucking can. This album has some great classic rock solos, and they're not afraid to pull them off.
This band is really a menagerie of all their influences, and all the bands that these guys have played in. The songs keep the same style of music, but aren't afraid to experiment with that style of music, producing some really killer material. There wasn't a track here that I did not like. It's definitely the kind of record that you can jam out too, and you can do that over and over again. It's great when you're going down the road, smoking a bowl, getting drunk with the crew, or whatever else you want to do. Might even work during sex. But probably better than the shit most people play during sex.
Throw these guys a bone. They've been giving shit away, just to get out there. But if you're broke, then give this a listen anyway. And if you like it, blow up Twitter, FB, your blog, forums, whatever. Let these guys be heard, because they're fucking great, and they've been doing it for a long damned time.
Highlights: All (10 Tracks, 46:00)
10/10
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