NAME: Blaspherian
THEY ARE: Raw, Satanic death metal
FROM: Houston, Texas USA
FOR FANS OF: early Immolation, Incantation, Imprecation
LATEST RELEASE: 'Infernal Warriors Of Death' (Deathgasm)
SONGS TO CHECK OUT: 'Desecration Eternal', 'Exalted In Unspeakable Evil', 'Invoking Abomination'
WHERE TO FIND THEM: FACEBOOK

I've always found American death metal very hit or miss; back in the early 1990's I worshipped at the altar of Florida death metal and the eastern USA tri-state scene (Immolation, Suffocation, Incantation, Mortician, Rottrevore, Goreaphobia etc) but in the mid-90s the American scene got swamped with too many death metal bands who lost the whole concept of how death metal was supposed to sound and look. Recently I have come across newer bands that stay true to the dark morbid aesthetics of old school death metal, bands such as Deathevokation and Funebrarum, and more recently Blaspherian, a self proclaimed "old school, Satanic death metal" band from Houston, Texas, a region not exactly famous for producing stunning death metal but that spawned the legendary Imprecation, who are connected with this week's featured band through guitarist Wes Weaver.

Wes helped found Blaspherian in 2004 and the band have unleashed a series of demos and splits and a couple of full-length albums, the latest of which is the devastating 'Infernal Warriors Of Death'. This bulldozes its way through eight tracks of prime evil death metal, equal parts early Immolation, Incantation and strong hints of Imprecation: dank, murky, oppressive atmosphere like a flooded, grime-infested ancient crypt stinking of damp, rotting corpses, a crushing heavy sound that matches the band's old school approach. I sent Wes some questions.

Your latest album is a fine slab of brutal death, are you happy with how this album turned out? What are your favourite tracks?

"I think it came out good, considering the time we had in the studio. As for fave tracks, that's a hard one. They're all like my kids, we worked hard on all of them, so to pick a few as favourites is a difficult thing to do"

The album artwork is awesome, I am sure you have heard this so many times already but it does remind me of 'Dawn Of Possession' by Immolation.

"Well, obviously that's what we were going for - that vibe, for sure. Basically I gave my ideas to Juanjo, he sent a rough draft, we made a few changes and that was it, basically myself and Juanjo working together. The dude is an amazing artist, fuckin sick!"

The production on the album is great too.

"We'd worked at the same studio twice before, so it was very comfortable for us. What you hear is exactly what went down in the studio, with just a basic mix. The record isn't really even mastered, just light compression to raise the overall volume, that's it! It came out very heavy and kinda harsh, which to me is the way death metal should be, fuck all the over-produced, clean, weak production. I hate that."

How is working with Deathgasm Records?

"Deathgasm have done an amazing job, it's already been repressed because of the demand. In Europe you can contact Deathrune records, it's available on CD and vinyl through them."

What are your lyrical concepts the album?

"Lord Apollyon [vocals] wrote the lyrics, all song titles and concepts are mine. I wanted to keep it with basic Satanic, Antichristian themes, which to me fit the music very well. Blaspherian is and will always be Satanic death metal."

How seriously to do you take the whole Satanism aspect of the band?

"Let's say that Blaspherian is a way for me to vent my hatred of the white light religions, through music and lyrics. I consider myself a Satanist, but I would never adhere to only those principles. I take some things from other sources as well and apply them to my daily life, so for me, and well really us, it's a part of our daily lives. We all await the time when all religions crumble, although it's hard to imagine the sheeple in this world ever waking up to the reality that they've been lied to for thousands of years."

For more on Blaspherian and all her Band Of The Day interviewees check out Kat's blog.