Downlord – On Their Way "Down"
Besides being own of death metal best growlers, Dave Ingram has been at the forefront of the respected British death metal scene for years. Now, with a new band and a new life in Denmark, we caught up with him with some details about his past, present, future, and his trip to Tel Aviv with former band Benediction.
Hey Dave! I'd like to start with current events within the band, its just been published that Reno Killerich is joining the band, is that as a full-time member?
We asked Reno if he'd like to work with us on our next recording session which will probably be between 3 or 5 songs. He agreed to help us out, which was just the BEST way to start 2006!! We can't wait to get into the studio with him. Hopefully these recordings will get us a recording deal, and maybe we can ask Reno to be in on a full album and maybe any tours we can get. It's pretty exciting for us at the moment, and there's a lot of hard work to come. But we're used to that, so it isn't a problem. In fact, we look forward to it!!
What's the story behind him joining the band?
He worked with our 2 guitarists, Donovan Spenceley & Rene Falther, a couple of years ago and remained in contact. We've all been celebrating his achievements throughout this time and all stayed good friends, so asking him to work with us after Jesper (Frost, ex-Iniquity) returned to his commitments with his other band was the ideal thing for us to do. We're also still good friends with Jesper, there was no "disharmony" in him leaving us, just he has his other band and their project was planned a long time ago. Getting to work with Reno is yet another boost for us….Damn! We just can't wait to get started on the drum tracks!
What about a release for the band, when can we expect it?
your guess is as good as mine at the moment. We have an old demo which is the old line-up. The next 'release' will be the new recordings we're doing now. We're gonna use them to shop for a deal and, of course, put some up on the site for free download. They'll be online as soon as they are finished and we're all satisfied with them.
How would you describe your material?
Downlord are very much influenced by old-school Death Metal, and you can hear that in our tracks. It's brutal stuff, probably the first time I've worked with such an extreme style (and that's in no way disrespectful of all the other bands I've been a member of) as I've never put vocals over blast/grind before. I could name a long list of bands that influence us, but I'd really like people to write and tell us what they think.
During your time in Benediction, you wrote a lot about serial killers (Child Of Sin, Down On Whores) do Downlord's lyrics also deal with that subject?
In a way, yes they do. I'm trying to expand a little more lyrically these days, owing to my recent life-experiences. For example, one of our tracks is called "Nailing You In" and that covers the subject of a psychotic mortician, who commits murder by nailing people into coffins and listening to them suffocate. For me, this was a way of writing about a person who has a deep psychological problem which they can't come to terms with in reality, so they act out their fantasies. It was a similar thing for me when I was suffering my own psychological problems (Although not quite as extreme as those lyrics, obviously).
Can you give us the history of the band, how did all of you decide to start a band together?
Rene (Falther) wanted to get an extreme Metal band going so hooked up with some friends of his an started writing & rehearsing. He approached me to do vocals and Donovan (Spenceley) came in on second guitar at the same time. We fired the original bassist, as he wasn't doing enough work for us, and got Thomas Fagerlind (ex-Iniquity) in very soon after. Then the drummer was asked to leave, since he had another band and we really needed full-time 100% dedication to us. Jesper Frost came in for a short while to help out, and we began recording a new demo. Unfortunately, the first set of drum tracks didn't turn out how we wanted them to, so we had to start over. Unfortunately, Jesper had recording commitments to another band which he had to do, so seeing as we didn't want to wait while he was away, we asked Reno to work with us.
Why is the band called Downlord?
We were having a 'choose a name' party at our old rehearsal room (which became a very big drinking session!) and we wrote down the names we all liked so that we could choose one. I think we tried to write the word "download" onto the paper, but we were all pretty wasted, so when we sobered up the next day we saw it looked like 'Downlord' and the name – which was By the way, just for the sake of history…..originally the band was called 'Full Scale Hatred'
Being from different countries, how do you work together on a regular basis?
That's easy, as we all live in Copenhagen, Denmark!!! I moved here in 1998, Donovan got here in 1997 (I think) and the rest of the band have been here all the time.
Your last band was Bolthrower, why did you quit your position as vocalist there?
I was suffering a severe depression, and had a bad mental & nervous breakdown. I needed time to get my life back, and put my mind in order, so it would've meant Bolt Thrower having to wait for me which I didn’t want them to do as i really just didn't know how long my recovery would have taken. It just wouldn't have been fair to them, after all the years of hard work they'd already put into the band. We're still in contact, and they'll be coming here to Copenhagen in April, so I can't wait to hook up with them again!
What do you think of their new album?
Wow, it rocks! I have it on constant play on my laptop AND my iPod! It's a solid slab of Bolt Thrower. With no compromise.
I understand you went through a tough personal period lately, how are you feeling these days?
These days I'm a lot better. I have my bad days, but I now have the mental strength to get through them, and not dwell on them. My wife & son, also the band and my friends, help me through the rough moments. I love ’em all for it!
How different is the material by Downlord to the kind of death metal you were involved with your previous bands?
It's a lot faster, a lot of the tempos are set at 210 – 220 beats per minute, with plenty of grinding/blasting going on. Check out the tracks on the site for more idea of our style of brutality (The more people to visit the site, then the better!)
Its difficult to miss the fact that you're a big Queens Of The Stone Age fan, what is it you like in the band, and do you see yourself involved in a band making similar music?
Hell Yeah!!!! There's something about the music of Joshua Homme that really get's to me. I've said it before and will always say it, but that guy is a fucking musical genius!!! Everything he's done has affected me in such a good way, whether it be QOTSA, Kyuss, Desert Sessions or Eagles Of Death Metal! The only description I can give is that listening to QOTSA (and, of course, the other bands) gives me EXACTLY the same feeling as I got when I was 7 years old and heard Black Sabbath for the first time and just KNEW that Metal was going to be with me all my life. QOTSA did that for me as well. Yeah….I'm a nut for that band.
I remember seeing you performing with Benediction in Israel, some 12 years ago or so, during the show you tore off your shirt and unveiled a huge Alien tattoo, if I remember correctly, do you recall that?
yes, I remember that. Very well in fact. (I wonder if Yochi Klapholtz remembers me as well? Help in contact, anyone?) I still get tattoos from time to time, when I can afford it – it's pretty expensive here in Denmark. I now have several, including the Bolt Thrower Chaos-eye on my arm. Which is my favorite, Did you guys know that I got a tattoo done at Johnny Two-Thumbs place while in Israel? I'll have to take some photographs and add them to this so you guys can see.
What do you remember from that time in Tel Aviv?
A distinct lack of sleep, lots of beer, a killer show & after-show party, Jochi Klapholtz, and also not to go into the sea after you have had a tattoo on your leg. Ouch! We got to see a lot of Jerusalem & Tel Aviv, and had some video cameras filming us all around the places we went to. I still have the tapes here, after I've finished this I'm gonna have to go watch them and get all nostalgic!!
The band's video sessions, in your web-site, are humoristic, to put it gently, why did you decide on that approach instead of the usual straight-forward documentary style diaries?
Simply because all standard, straight-forward documentary styles are boring! We wanted to make the whole experience fun. Death Metal sometimes has a tendency to be too goddamn serious for it's own good, and this only makes it dull and somewhat retarded….why not inject a little visual humor into it? Most bands would agree that they have fun making this style of music, so why hide it? There's a hell of a lot of humor within Downlord, so why not use what we already have there and share it with everyone else. If people want to know anymore about what went on (if they think they didn't get enough data from the vids) then they just gotta write and ask. It's no problem.
Is it correct to ascertain that you're also a big Simpsons and Dr. Who fan?
It most certainly is. D'oh! Anyone who doesn't believe me will be Exterminated! 😉
What are the band's current plans, regarding live shows and such?
We'll see what the future holds for us, but at the present time we're primarily a studio band until the line-up becomes a lot more set in stone. Once a deal is procured then we can see about getting out on the road, to bring the Lords of Down to the masses.
Final words?
Thanks for the interview, great to get it done. You brought a wave of nostalgia back to me with talk of the trip to Tel Aviv! Greetings to all there in Israel, and IF ANYONE does know Yochi Klapholtz then please get in touch….it would be cool to catch up after all this time!
