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Karybdis – Hordes X 2022 interviews

Forked Tongues: Karybdis – Hordes X 2022 interviews

The Hordes X 2022 interviews continue, and we’re sticking at the top this round, with our Stage 2 headliners, Karybdis.

Hailing from London, they self-describe as melodic death metal, but don’t let that lead you to think of softer sounds. This is hard hitting, and fairly technical stuff. Some of you may know them from appearances at the likes of Bloodstock or Techfest. Others may be aware of their recorded output. Their last release, Order & Chaos, for example, was a belter! But why an EP? Why not push the boat out for a full album?

Mitch McGugan (drums): “The way we approached writing Order & Chaos was completely different from any of our previous releases. In the past we all lived in the same city, so getting together in a practice room, and working on riffs and ideas was the way we operated. With the pandemic, and having half the band not living in London, we had to find a different way to write together.”

“We started sharing ideas over Discord, and it became immediately clear that the songs that were coming together were very different to anything we’d written before.

“Violin and orchestral sections were shaping the songs, with guitars being added later. More melodic passages were happening, and Rich was pushing his voice into areas he hadn’t before. We saw a smaller release as an opportunity to really push the boundaries of our sound, and take risks a band with no label backing like us can’t really afford to take on a full length release.”

Karybdis then re-invented the EP in a way, putting it out there as an instrumental release. It seems very unusual to present it as a whole in two forms. What was the motivation for such a move?

Mitch: “It’s something we’ve been asked for in the past. Screaming vocals are not for everyone, and while that’s a shame, we certainly recognise it. So, now there’s versions of the songs that don’t upset our mothers.“

Karybdis – Order & Chaos (EP)

Release date: 03rd December 2021||Genre: Melodic/technical death metal||Label: Self released

This 2021 release from Karybdis may be a short-player, but it packs one hell of a punch!

Melodic indeed, as stated, yet also technical, and heavy as a sack titan skulls. Symphonic elements collide with crenellated brutality, bristling with the spears of fully extreme metal. The two are forced to co-exist. It’s hard to not employ comparisons to The Black Dahlia Murder, but they are justified. Challenging, heavy arrangements frequently drop into monstrous grooves, but then give way to stringed orchestration. And not just as a fleeting moment. They really go for it, getting in way up past the elbows. Some may call the extensive use of classical music a bold move. However, it isn’t new. It’s just new(ish) to Karybdis records. What is a strange move is what followed: a complete rerelease of Order & Chaos… Sans vox!

Grade: A

Slow Dragon

So, in the middle of putting that release together, and in the wake of covid, they had a bit of a member change. How did that work through? Was it a challenge to bring in new blood amongst all that?

Mitch: “Dave Klussman is our sixth guitarist, so member changes aren’t entirely uncommon for us! We’d had a bit of bad luck with our good friend James Humphries who joined us in 2019 suffering a serious wrist injury (which he is still fighting to overcome), that forced him to step down from the band. Shortly after that Pete Rogers had to step away from the band for personal reasons. Fortunately we’d known Dave for many years and as soon as we started working on new songs with him, it was obvious that it was going to be a good fit.“

On the live front, Karybdis have actually been fairly busy. A Metal 2 The Masses guest spot last year, basically an English tour in April. And all capped off with Tech-Fest! Did it take a lot to get that together?

Mitch: “Booking shows as an independent band is a bit of a nightmare! Sending hundreds of emails and hounding promoters is almost a full time job in itself.”

“Our first show back was the Metal 2 The Masses guest slot at the Red Lion in Gravesend. It was towards to the tail end of the pandemic and was moved outside to meet with the restrictions at the time. Just being part of the audience before we got onstage was amazing, seeing people head banging, moshing and having a great time is something you take for granted after going to gigs for so many years, but it felt so special after such a miserable year.”

“Being onstage was even better, it’s probably the longest most of us have gone without playing since our late teens so it was incredible to be back up there. We’ve got another small run of UK shows in October and then we are going to get on with writing album number four!“

Get your Hordes X 2022 tickets HERE to catch Karybdis live this month!

Event details

Hordes X 2022

Venue: Beat Generator Live, N Lindsay St, Dundee

Date: Saturday September 24th

Doors: 3pm

Ages: 14+

Entry: £25

Artists: Saor, Karybdis, Catalysis, Drekavac, Shadow’s Far, Volcano X, Aeons, H8teball, Bloodthread, Nocturne Wulf, Extort, Primitive Vices, Alpha Signal

Ticket link: http://t-s.co/hord5

Facebook event page: https://m.facebook.com/events/398016725067653/