From the days of The Doors and Janis Joplin to Motley Crue and Poison, L.A. has always been a hotspot for musicians. But what about the not so mainstream bands like hard core metalists Archaic Plague? If their very loyal and expansive following is any indication, Southern California is the place for them as well.
As one of SoCal’s most popular hard core/death/thrash metal bands, Archaic Plague formed in 2006, when lead singer Eric Cortenbach and guitar player Josh Duffy got together. The band was soon rounded out by drummer Sal Diaz, who joined the night he completed his zombie tattoo, bassist James Ruiz, who hooked up with them in 2007 and guitarist Kevin Langely, who completed the band later that same year.
Described as “Metal straight up, served like cold black coffee”, Archaic Plague cites Mudvayen, Metallica, Lamb of God, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin and even Stevie Wonder as their musical influences. Having recently completed enough demos for their CD, including the highly requested “Blood Bath”, this top rated, yet unsigned band is seeking representation to get their music out to the masses. In the meantime, they will be playing at Suzy’s in Hermosa Beach on July 3rd, with more shows to follow.
When not thrashing on stage, Archaic Plague also puts on a Halloween maze called Satan’s Chop Shop. While the name pretty much says it all, you can check out a video for a preview of what this band’s twisted minds have been coming up with for the past few years at www.leisherbros.com.
LA’s the Place recently caught up with four out of the five members of Archaic Plague to discuss their music, their fans and what they think of their critics.
LA’s the Place: What drew you to the hard core metal genre?
Eric Cortenbach: The aggressive hatred.
Josh Duffy: The aggressiveness of the music just felt so damn good.
James Ruiz: I always liked metal.
Sal Diaz: My oldest brother. He would be blasting metal and it would catch my attention as I was coming home.
LATP: Describe a typical Archaic Plague fan.
EC: Drunk and ready to break their bones in the pit.
JD: Loud, obnoxious, heavy drinkers, people that love scars!
JR: Nowhere to be found most of the time, then pops up out of nowhere.
SD: Someone brutal that can tear shit up.
LATP: What do you draw from when coming up with ideas for songs?
EC: Everyday life.
JD: I like to listen to what’s going on at the moment in the scene, throw out the bullshit, integrate true metal roots and do what feels right. As long as it’s fast and brutal!
LATP: Where is your favorite place to play in Southern California?
EC: Anywhere!
JR: Suzy’s gets the best crowds and pits.
LATP: You’ve developed a strong fan base. How was this accomplished without the benefit of representation?
EC: We have some kick ass friends that spread the word and support us at shows by bringing more and more people. And before and after our shows we go talk to our fans and the people who made it out to see us.
JD: We are just true to what we do, METAL. We are not wearing the latest fashions; we are not trying to follow anyone’s ideal image; we just want to play the way we want to play and hold our middle finger high to those who don’t get it.
LATP: What do you see as the biggest progression or change in the metal genre over the years?
EC: It has become heavier and much more dominant.
JD: Metal has definitely gotten more technical and much more interesting, but it’s never lost the chugging riffs, and intensity that makes metal what it is.
JR: Pro Tools made it possible for horrible bands to make decent albums. Then when you see them live, you realize exactly how horrible they are.
SD: Many bands are getting unique with their style and people get into it.
LATP: Hard core metal is by no means mainstream. Do you feel it will ever gain more acceptance? Is that something you would even want?
JD: It has already on a global scale, but in the U.S.A. it’s all about lame ass “hold my hand” bands, as we like to call them. Europe is huge on metal of all kinds as well as South America. Everyone wants to hear happy songs around here, to make their lives a wee bit brighter, but we keep it real. Life is brutal, and so are we. I don’t care who accepts this as music, this shit is hard to play and takes a great deal of dedication and talent, unlike most of the crap on the radio. Metal will march on like it has for the past 40 plus years, unlike 80’s music, grunge and the rest of the douchebags you hear as you flip through the station on your stereo.
LATP: What do you say to the critics of death metal who write it off as just angry, violent noise?
EC: I think any critic who can sum up metal in one paragraph is full of it and must think that bands like Linkin Park are metal.
JD: Stop listening to Backstreet Boys and Michael Bolton. Open your eyes and take a look around, you are living in a fairytale. Our music isn’t one tenth as brutal, angry or violent as LIFE!
JR: Critics will never like death metal. If they did, it wouldn’t be as angry, violent or noisy.
SD: They’re idiots cause I hear it a lot from people saying that it just sounds like noise. They just can’t appreciate brutal music cause they listen to love songs and makes them want to cut themselves. What a bunch of emo bastards.
It seems their brutal honesty is a perfect match for their brutally raw music.
For more information and to check out a few of their songs, go to Archaic Plague’s MySpace page.
Hey this is Hannah um i just wanna say that you and your band is really awesome i have basically read all of your readings about your band and how yall basically got together and came together as a band and i really think that it really rocks and i really wished that i was in a hard metal core band that i could actually scream and everything i have always wanted to be i a band like that i swear i have like i have always listened to alot of hard metal core music and i still do and i always will no matter what and it really rocks my world IT FREAKING ROCKIN ROLLS BABY YEAH ROCK N ROLL 4EVER KEEP ON ROCK N ROLLING BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!!