Kat does a weekly blog for Terrorizer Magazine. The week ending 15th May, Bonesaw were honoured with a feature. Read how she got on picking our brains here, or below..
I'll make no bones about it; I am often very critical of the UK death metal scene and the seeming lack of quality, old school-style death metal bands that this country has offer (I am always on the hunt to hear more death metal gems, so if you can recommend me some UK death metal bands, tell me!).
And so it is time for a UK band who are one of those rare gems I have come across in recent times, and the first band I have featured from Scotland! This week, I present Bonesaw; the old school, Autopsy-worshipping death metal beast from Aberdeen who have been in existence for over a decade now, and have shared split releases with both Abscess and the Kam Lee (ex Massacre)-fronted Bone Gnawer, as well as having their crushing debut full-length, 'Sawtopsy,' released by Aphelion Productions in 2009. Bonesaw are, in my opinion, one of the best death metal bands this country currently has to offer, and are a great live band too (I put them on here in Durham City late last year and they put on a great show).
Members of this band have been actively involved in the underground music scene for a while, and Bonesaw also features an ex-member of Korpse and members of Ablach. The band's most recent releases are a split 7" with Norwegian death metallers Lobotomized, unleashed by Scottish underground label At War With False Noise, and a split CD on Aphelion Productions with Haemophagus.
I sent some questions to the band about all things death metal and Autopsy, and I got answers contributed by various members of the band which features Andy on vocals, Sid on guitar, Paul on guitar, Barry on bass and Calum on drums!
Hails! Tell us about Bonesaw's background...
"The concept was hatched by Andy Geraghty (vocals) and Barry Henson (bass), sometime around early 2000, the idea being to produce death metal the way we liked it, before ProTools and triggers took over. In essence, the old way. This idea appealed to Sid Brew (Ex-Korpse Guitars), who joined our quest shortly after its inception, initially on drums, but he gravitated to his more natural position of guitar before we did any recording.
"It took until 2003 before we had a stable enough lineup to play shows, which is when we caught Paul Gaunt's (guitar) attention. He was promptly absorbed into our ranks. The following years were plagued with drummer issues; we'd find someone, train them up, record a demo, and then they'd leave. It was extremely frustrating and impossible to build any sort of band mometum from. Calum Carruthers, a longterm fan (and friend) of the band, was already playing for local grinders Ablach, which also included Andy and Barry in it's ranks, so when Bonesaw's drumstool became vacant once again in 2008, he was a very natural choice to step in, finalising our lineup at last - we hope."
Autopsy are a clear influence. What is it about them that inspires you? Who else influences you?
"Autopsy is certainly the band we are compared to the most. No denying that we're fans of the band, but the same can be said of Entombed, Bolt Thrower, Benediction, Obituary etc etc. We all have a multitude of musical influences (not just metal), and we like to incorporate that in our songwriting. So rather than the classic 'verse/pre-horus/chorus"-type arrangements, we're more eclect, being more prone to sudden tempo changes and throwing the likes of punk, rock, doom and even some Voivod-esque weirdness into the mix. Since Autopsy were the first to do that under the flag of death metal, it's easy to see the similarity, but it was never premeditated in that sense. We each put riffs/ideas into the pot, and it comes out sounding like Autopsy! Haha!"
You have also had a split cd released with the Autopsy-affiliated Abscess aswell as the Kam Lee-fronted Bone Gnawer on Aphelion Productions, how did that come about?
"The Abscess split CDEP / 10" vinyl was a dream come true. I (Barry) had been keeping in touch with Chris Reifert via email. The conversation turned to split releases, so i asked if they'd do one with us. He said yes, and the rest is awesome history! I think the fact that Sid knew him personally may have also helped grease the wheel.
"Kam Lee dropped us a message shortly after the Abscess CD came out. He liked what we were doing and wondered if we'd split with his new death metal project, Bone Gnawer. We couldn't believe our luck, in all honesty. We'd started the band in honour of the old school, and somehow we'd found ourselves sharing disc/wax space with them. It was a true honour to be endorsed in such a way."
What are your own thoughts on your debut album and how it turned out? Chris Reifert from Abscess/Autopsy also drew the cover -inlay art for this album, how did that come about?
"We were all really happy with how the LP came out. It's been fairly well recieved overall too. Aphelion Producions will be issuing a vinyl version in Autumn 2011, so sales can't be too bad! Chris Reifert also did the cover art for the Abscess split and our initial intention was to write towards our debut once that was released. Kam Lee paid heed to that plan, but we loved Chris' artistic style and so had already lined him up to do our debut's cover."
What is your opinion on the death metal scene in this country? Any bands you care to recommend to the readers?
"We don't pay much attention to any 'scene' to be honest. Being somewhat isolated up here in Aberdeen, not many bands come to visit, especially UK bands, for some reason. I keep an eye on Festival lineups and gig flyers, out of interest and means of contact building, but very few bands, and especially death metal acts, catch my attention. Some exceptions would be Errata (Sco), The Rotted (Eng), Grave Miasma (Eng), Ravens Creed (Eng), Living with Disfigurement (Eng), Diamanthian (Eng) and The Atrocity Exhibit (Eng) but even then we're starting to edge into grind, black and doom territories...
What are the current plans of the band? Do you have much new material in the pipeline? Much on the live front this year?
We are currently writing material towards our second LP, which is provisionally set for release in Spring 2012. Before that, there will be a split CD / 12" with Sicilian Sickos Haemophagus, which will also be released via Aphelion Productions. The vinyl should be out by October, CD in the next few weeks (May 2011). Our gig schedule is almost non-existant right now, with the sole booking of Bloodshed Festival, Einhoven. We have a few irons in the fire though, so that's bound to change soon enough."
Any last words you want to share with the readers out there?
"We decided to abandon MySpace, although the page is still active for checking out our music, so we set up a blog instead (http://scottishdeath.blogspot..com) to keep up to date with news, higher quality audio, etc. It currently has a track from our upcoming release with Haemophagus. You can also find us on Facebook/Reverbnation etc. Our merch is available directly from ourselves or via the labels - Aphelion Productions, At War With False Noise, HPGD Productions. GO CHECK US OUT!"
www.myspace.com/bonesawuk
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