You’ve had the opportunity to meet Polwach already through the interview in my other webzine, Rubber Axe (done by the great J. R. Preston) but because this Thai musician is such a nice person, I’ve decided to devote this foray into Thai underground to him.
So, without any further unnecessary delay, let’s get the interrogation begin.
Hello, Polwach, how is it going over there in Thailand? I guess weather is still nice, beaches and water welcoming as always…
Hey Rudolf and Indokult! Always cool talking to you man. Thanks for this intie. Well, beaches are nice here in Thailand but in Bangkok it’s hot and rainy as hell hahaha!
This one will be a very silly one, but I feel very strongly about this, so let’s get Shakespearean for a moment: “To ping or not to ping?” 🙂 🙂 🙂
To sound organic over plastic!
To talk to you about your musical journey so far will require some time (haha), as you are a very prolific musician and music creator. But there’s always a starting point for every musician – what was that point for you? When did you start to get interested in music in a more serious way than just a casual listener?
I bought a cassette copy of “Diabolis Interium” by Dark Funeral and got totally hooked by the insane drumming. I then thought it would be cool to be able to drum fast like that and started hitting some tables and various things and finally a drumkit. Also, heavy music grew big on me when I was around 14 when one of my great friends made me listen to Slipknot (not sure it was the self-titled album or Iowa). I then started to seek heavier shit to listen to.
Your quest for musical stardom 🙂 has started with the pop-rock band called Babylon. What year we’re talking about and what can you tell us about your experience in this band? You’ve mentioned previously that the singer from the band is now a famous pop star…and I’ll be damned if I don’t want to know who that is… are you still in touch with him?
Babylon was formed around 2003-2004. It was the first time I entered a rehearsal room. I was always happy to practice with them who were my high school friends. We would do that after school. We entered the annual music contest in our school and we won first prize thanks to the great voice of the singer Tom. Now Tom has become a famous pop star (search “Tom Isara” and a handsome guy with glasses will pop up, that’s him). We are still in touch here and there through Facebook.
However, the question arises – How does one go from pop-rock to extreme fringes of music such as brutal death metal, goregrind and gorenoise? Was it something like a musician’s curiosity…let’s see if I can play that, or have you been – slowly but surely – sinking into the aural depravity? 🙂
Well I always liked extreme music since the first day I was on the drumkit but I couldn’t drum fast those days and the guys were searching for a drummer so I got in the band. As mentioned, I enjoyed being with them, but I always wanted to form a “heavier” project. After Tom moved to the USA we changed the band name to Saddest Crying and played mainstream emo. I know it’s gay but guess we were still very young and of course I enjoyed the time. I was like “fuck yeah now I can play heavier shit.”
In 2005-2006, goregrind and brutal death metal started to grow bigger on me, and I could drum faster and do blastbeat. I guess I was ready to create some goregrind. I formed a goregrind band and asked Natpannawat, who was in Saddest Crying, to join the band on guitars. That’s the initiation of Smallpox Aroma (before I came up with the name, I wanted to call it Gonorrhea). I guess I told my close high school musician friends around about my intention, so they knew about this project. Out of nowhere and to my surprise, Pratchaya said he would love to join the band. He then asked Apirak to join the band and he agreed on it. I remember being fucking glad to finally have full members.
So I’d say it’s both a musician’s curiosity and that I was slowly sinking into aural depravity.
Back in those days, what bands have influenced you in this going-over to the extreme side of music? Do you remember any essential album from back then you would listen to thinking…I want to be able to play drums like this guy?
Although Dark Funeral’s Diabolis Interium is the first “real metal” album I bought, but I was merely amazed by the drumming. I didn’t understand black metal that much at the time. I remember the first “real metal” album I entirely enjoyed at the time is “Hate Crew Deathroll” by Children of Bodom. I then sought heavier shit and bought “Bloodthirst” by Cannibal Corpse. It took me a few listens but then it grew big on me super fast. Other bands that influenced me were Devourment, Disgorge (Both US and Mexican), Fleshless, Last Days of Humanity (first time I heard the vocals I got scared but fell in love with them), Gut, Nasum, Pustulated, these are just among all of them. Speaking of “I want to play drums like this guy” the albums were Diabolis Interium aforementioned (Mattias Modin), and “Hymns of Indigestible Suppuration” by Last Days of Humanity (Marc Palmen). Also that YouTube video where Jon Engman (Brodequin) plays the song “Slaves to the Pyre.” You know, fanboy mode.
To be totally honest, with you it’s really hard to know what band to start with 🙂 However, Cadavoracity have a brand new album out this year, so let’s start with this interesting brutal death metal tornado. First things first – How did you end up in this interesting mix of Indonesian brutal death metal musicians?
Januaryo (bassist/drum programmer back then) asked me to join the band. I had already been a fan and thought it would be great to cooperate with these dudes so I agreed.
The difference between the drum-programmed 2014 debut “Remnants of Chaotic Apogee” to 2021’s “Vitiosus Forma Exilium” EP is evident to anyone with functioning ears, but from your point as a drumming berserk behind the drumkit, how would you describe the difference, or – say – progress from “Vitiosus” to the latest album?
Vitiosus Forma Exilium, when it comes to drumming, has more dynamics, and also more mistakes (of course, since it’s real drumming by me!), than Remnants of Chaotic Apogee. To me it’s sloppier and shittier, which is great! Ha!
Many of musicians and drummers already know that but I’ll clarify again. Real drumming, through a natural production, tends to have more dynamical range than drum programming. Of course it’s to each their own, but personally I prefer real drumming than drum programming, BUT the drumming has to be processed through a natural production. When it’s done right, it yields more dynamics despite possible human errors/mistakes here and there which I consider them a charm.
Vitiosus to the self-titled full-length (latest) one kinda gives the same vibe. The full-length however has more blastbeating and longer tracks.
How much of an artistic freedom do you have in Cadavoracity as a drummer? Do you come with your own suggestions as to where should be what blastbeat and such?
100% freedom. Since I joined the band I always come up with my drum parts fully with my own suggestions first then the guys continue from them.
From your own conversations and interactions with the public, how well – in your opinion – is this latest Cadavoracity offering being received by the BDM audience?
Very good feedback so far!!! They love the non-stop blasting. At least as far as I have seen! All the feedback goes appreciated!!!
Is it safe to ask about the next step in Cadavoracity’s musical onslaught? Anything already in works?
The band is unfortunately done now and the latest self-titled album is our last one. We might have the final show in Indonesia sooner or later and that’s it.
(Concerning Cadavoracity): We have no future. The project itself was founded in 2012 as a studio project. The only live show we did was in 2016, and that wasn’t really turned us on. Now, we even have differences looking through the last release. So yeah, we will put this down soon.)
Januaryo Hardy
This interview also provides the opportunity – at least for me, but I hope others will share the same sentiment – to learn about many of your obscure bands and projects you’ve been associated with, as for the majority of those there’s not much info available anywhere. For example, those bands and projects of old, such as Fecal Sac, Parasitic Infestation or Shark Pussy Shock… what can you reveal about those and roughly, where in the time-map of your musical activities would they be located?
Fecal Sac was a short-lived goregrind band. I jammed with the dudes from local goregrind act Dash the Brain Out for fun and it became Fecal Sac. We released one cassette album which is the split with Dash the Brain Out themselves. For Parasitic Infestation, we just changed the name to Biomorphic Engulfment. Shark Pussy Shock was a goregrind band with me on vocals. The dudes from brutal death metal band Intricated recorded some tracks just for fun and they asked me to put my vocals on them.
I can’t remember the exact years, but Fecal Sac and Shark Pussy Shock might be active around 2008-2010. Also, we Biomorphic Engulfment went under Parasitic Infestation in 2015-2017.
Vomitoma …. people in the gorenoise scene know immediately what we’re talking about, but for those, who don’t – how do you recall the co-operation with Jen Lazarus in her now definitely legendary gorenoise output? Encyclopaedia Metallum mentions Vomitoma as your past band, does it mean the co-operation with Jen is over and will no longer continue?
Jen asked me if I could join the project. Like Cadavoracity, I had been a fan and collected many Vomitoma albums so it was a yes without hesitation. Now Jen is back to applying drum programming but I still support her here and there. Totally honored to cooperate with her.
Talking about gorenoise, I think it’s worth mentioning you are among the few extreme musicians who also take a step further and reach to depths of even more extreme genres, like aforementioned gorenoise, harsh noise, or harsh noise wall (HNW). And not only that, but you also run a label – Perpetual Abjection – dedicated to the small run HNW/experimental releases. From gorenoise we’ve been talking about Vomitoma already, but here are also your other gorenoise projects like Epiploenterocele Pusliquid Wormchunk or HNW/gorenoise Gonococcus and also HNW projects like Chamber of Tapeworms, Arboreal, Unsignified Death, Red Tiles and harsh noise Corporal Stains. No need to say, for unitiated that’s all just noise :), but for those connoisseurs of the unlistenable, can you tell us a bit about your exploration of other sonic realms and briefly describe those projects above…how do they differ?
Although I seldom post these projects and the label on my personal social media but I appreciate you taking notice of that. I’ll go one by one.
Epiploenterocele Pusliquid Wormchunk is gorenoise heavily inspired by (ripping off) pioneering gorenoise acts with watery vocals like Urinefestival, Tumour, Omphalectoicxanthopsia, Lacerated Tissues, Vomitoma, and the likes. At first we applied drum programming but from “The Scat Section” on I started to drum physically on it. I cooperate with legendary gorenoise maniac Bobby Maggard, and also great ex-members like Amos aka Dr. Dung (Uterus Productions, Congenital Interior Defect, Kotzende Brockels, etc) and Kaya aka P.C.B. (Neuromantic Witchcurse, Skulldust). https://epiploenterocelepusliquidwormchunk.bandcamp.com
Gonococcus is also gorenoise but has some experimental elements. In its early days I just overlaid layers of my vocals both processed through pitchshifter and not and put them through reverb. I have later incorporated HNW layers generated through effect pedals and removed non-pitchshifted vocals, leaving only wet and (hopefully) uglier ones on the walls. https://gonococcus.bandcamp.com
Chamber of Tapeworms consists of me and Visarute (of HNW acts Impermanence, Malignant Mindprobe, etc) focusing on harsh and thick walls of sound themed around abstract gore and pathology. https://chamberoftapeworms.bandcamp.com
Arboreal (preferably stylized as arboreal) focuses on calm and “relaxing” walls of sound themed around plants and nature (thematically inspired by the net-label Nature Noise Wall). It’s full of crackles, pops, and hisses. First releases are “noisier” than the later ones. For those who might be interested in knowing this, this type of “harsh noise wall” is called “lowercase noise wall.” All artwork is photographs taken by me, and occasionally by my friends. https://arboreal.bandcamp.com
Unsignified Death is also a HNW project aurally full of crackles, pops, and hisses but focuses on thick and heavier sound themed around the psychoanalytical theory of Julia Kristeva’s abjection and her 1980 book “Powers of Horror.” https://unsignifieddeath.bandcamp.com
Red Tiles is a HNW project with dense and low-bass sound themed around liminal space(s) and its aesthetic. Artwork falling in this project also consists of photographs taken by me with track titles indicating the places. https://redtiles.bandcamp.com
As we have reached this point, I have already mentioned all my HNW projects, I want to send my appreciation to Nemanja Nikolić (Dosis Letalis) and Ken Jamison (Hana Haruna) for guiding me how to create HNW and through the first days of my HNW creation. Appreciation also goes to Romain Perrot (Vomir), Sergey Pakhomov (Train Cemetery, Reason Art Records, etc), Sven Kay (Opaque, Absent Erratum, etc), and Yume Hayashi (Avocado Tapes) for being huge inspirations.
Corporal Stains is a harsh noise project thematically dealing with violence and transgression. Like many other harsh noise acts, I often generate sound using materials rubbed against a contact mic(s) processed through various effect pedals. Inspired by Torturing Nurse, Hanatarashi, Masonna, Astro, and the likes. I just rip off other projects. https://corporalstains.bandcamp.com
One of your longest running bands is without a doubt Smallpox Aroma, a homegrown Thai goregrind unit. By the way, congratulations to your latest album with SxAx, “Festering Embryos of Logical Corruption”! How come it’s the very first full-length in the 17-years long history of the band?
Thank you brother!!! Hahaha, I guess we were just too lazy to make a full-length. It’s only 17 minutes though. Also, as you might have heard, the studio tracks on the releases before the EP “Repulsive Pleasures” are with drum programming. We were too young and too lazy to figure out how to record real drums properly and back then I didn’t appreciate the natural production of real drumming yet.
One can’t but notice the more melodic approach on this album compared to SxAx’s previous material…are you, guys, getting softer? 🙂 Just kidding, of course, but is there a reason for involving more “catchy” riffs (if I may describe them as such) in your music?
I never noticed that myself until you brought this up but I consider this great feedback haha! Well, they might be catchier to you but to me I feel they’re “punkier” and more “hardcore-ish.” As we musically have moved to playing grindcore/incorporating more grindcore (rather than goregrind like we did in the past) elements into our music I think maybe these new riffs come naturally. To me in the past we even wrote “groovier” riffs. We even went slamming on the early releases. But yeah I think we are getting softer too since in the past we tried to be more “brutal” and “gory.” I moved those elements into Cystgurgle. 😉
September 2023 will see you playing with SxAx over in Japan. Will this your first visit in the land of the Rising Sun as a musician? Although this one is a hard question to answer, I guess…what band do you look forward to sharing the stage with the most?
Yeah stoked for this tour! Nah I already played in this lovely country 2 times with Ecchymosis and once with Smallpox Aroma. The band I look forward to sharing the stage with the most, in Japan you mean? Hard to choose!!! Hahaha! Many!
Smallpox Aroma is a part of Siamese Brutalism collective, and so is what I am guessing is your oldest extreme metal band, A Good Day For Killing…what is the situation regarding this band? Anything new in works?
Siamese Brutalism is the best brotherhood ever. Before I joined the collective, I had been a fan of them. Never regretted being a part. I appreciate my brother Sunyaluxx (Lacerate, Zygoatsis, Surrender of Divinity, etc), the headquarter for having us. A Good Day for Killing is on a long hiatus now but we have been talking in the band and we plan to record the debut full-length. No rush anyway.
Also part of the aforementioned collective are your other bands, namely Biomorphic Engulfment and Ecchymosis. Both of them released their latest offerings in 2022, and I was surprised to see BxEx’s 2022 release was a demo…does it mean you’re “shopping” for a new label, or was it just an appetizer before the new album?
Both! We were searching for a new label and we would like to give a hint of what we would sound like on the 2nd full-length. That doesn’t mean our previous label Show No Mercy didn’t do a good job but shipping to other countries from Korea was limited and that inevitably impacted the distribution of the 1st full-length. BE and Show No Mercy still remain cool with each other of course. We submitted the demo to Brutal Mind from Indonesia and the owner of the label Deni got us in. Also we have already been friends with Deni so it was a chill out process. We are now writing for the album and plan to release it within 2024.
Ecchymosis released “Psychopatic Concupiscence Towards Homicidal Lacerations” EP also in 2022, as mentioned….what’s the future of the band? Any new activity worth mentioning?
After the Japan trip (for Asakusa Deathfest) in November we will be back to writing for the 3rd full-length. The album will be released by our label New Standard Elite as usual.
I’ve already mentioned your ability to cross over genres, and another example of this is Thai black/death/war band Genocidal Sodomy. I have to say, I have been more than delighted by both of the releases of this band so it’s only logical 🙂 I need to ask the following question – anything new on the bestial war metal horizon from this great band?
Thanks Rudolf, goes appreciated!!! We will have a 5-way split with Muert, Sarinvomit, Fornicatador, and Hellfire Deathcult. The split is entitled “Five Continents of Barbaric Hordes and Storming Hatred” featuring 5 black/death metal bands from different continents. It will be released on vinyl through Demon Seed Records and Black Death Cult, both from the USA. Also we have some new songs already written. Got to write a few more for the debut full-length.
Discussing Cadavoracity (and Vomitoma) I’ve mentioned it was a trans-national co-operation, but these are not the only cases of you adding your talent to the release of the artist other than your native Thai. Let’s talk, for example, about your part in Pizza Burrito, interesting slamming brutal harsh noise wall project from Portland (USA). How do you recall this co-operation with Tim Burkland, how did it actually start and seeing the latest release, the split with Taiwanese gore gigants Gorepot was released back in 2020, do you think you will continue to supply your drumwork for this project again anytime soon?
I think I met Tim online through the harsh noise wall Facebook group. We share the same tastes in music, either noise or brutal death metal. I also released an album by his harsh noise wall project TAB IN/TAB OUT. Tim asked me if I could drum for the project improvisationally and I thought it would be cool to mix real drumming with harsh noise wall (sorry, HNW traditionalists). I am not sure, though, if I would continue doing this since I’m a session drummer for his albums and I’m always so drowned in musical tasks/projects not to mention my job.
Urged, this LIT (Laos/Indonesia/Thailand) project I have already mentioned interviewing Januaryo Hardy some time ago, how come you let Vilikone (Peter) Sengvixay to get you off the drum kit there? What did he promise in exchange for the drumseat? 🙂
Ha! I didn’t let Peter get me off the drumkit but he has been enthroned upon, along with Januaryo, founding the band. Januaryo asked me to join the band as the vocalist after they recorded their first demo. It was an absolute yes since I’d love to do vocals in a brutal death metal band and we three had been close friends so why not. I love hanging out with them. Pete, Ryo, if you are reading this know that I always wanna touch you.
OK, joking aside…but let’s stay with Urged for this question also…how do you feel being in the position of vocalist…I mean, lead vocalist, because, as it’s known, you also share vocal duties in other projects of yours as well…
It’s great to perform differently from my normal drumming duty. I never performed live as a vocalist yet, but it would be great.
…for example, in Theurgy. This technical BDM international unit has seen the co-operation between Italy, Russsia, Thailand, USA and Canada…and, by the way, this project has a really fantastic logo! Will this project continue in the future with your participation again?
Fuck man the guys are fucking geniuses except me. I mean, the musically, all my other bands are caveman shit compared to Theurgy. Must work hard to lay my vocals on these songs. I love the logo myself. Daniel of New Standard Elite made it. Looks like my pubic hair, messy. Yea we are working on the debut full-length. I will continue doing vocals for this band, except they kick me out.
I am already accustomed to see various genres being joined, but I’ll admit, mixing death metal, black metal and noise, I am not aware of such a combination before, yet that’s exactly how your project (or band) Audduekhon Ausswad is described. First of all – what does the name mean? And a second thing… Tell us everything about it! 🙂
To me these black/death death/black “war metal” bands got some noise/lo-fi music elements to some extent, more or less (and that’s appropriate). Anyway, some bands focus on noise more than other bands, for examples, Nyogthaeblisz, Tetragrammacide, Subduer, Methgoat, Nirriti, Tsalal, Brahmastrika, etc (check out the circle of Indian bands falling in this scope, Kolkata Inner Order Propaganda).
Audduekhon Ausswad, as far as I know, means black smoke. The vocalist Haris came up with the name. He formed the band with the noise pedal guy, and I joined them not too long after. Before I joined the band I remember they played some dark ambient/harsh noise shit. They released some stuff which I’m not sure was only available online or they did some extremely limited physical copies. After I became a member, we played some kind of funeral doom metal mixed with noise, for the album “Sacrificial Phobias.” Now I guess we are in the same style of those bands abovementioned. We are unoriginal as fuck and just rip them off, again, hahahahahaha.
The journey through your musical output will be finished with one more band. We’ll gonna discuss ๛,and I hope the web browser will display this strange Thai character correctly. Described as dark ambient / drone in its beginnings and later as black/funeral doom…how does it feel to slow down to a painfully unbearable slowness?
It was great to get this project back to being active again! It died out in 2013 after only 2 splits and 1 compilation. Played 2 small exclusive shows in Japan in 2017. That was it. Now it’s back with new genre(s) but still has the same vibe, I guess. I keep this one dark and slow.
You are also known for being a guest session musician and also a design artist… is there anything else connecting to the music you’d like to try…for example, to be an event organizer perhaps?
I actually have Cacophonous. It organizes noise/experimental gigs here and there in Bangkok. But you know, regarding the musical genres, it’s always small venues with low budgets so I don’t want to call ourselves a team of organizers. Just a group of noise musician friends spending time, drinking booze, and jamming shit.
Before we finish this long interview, let’s talk for a second about the current Thai scene. Are there any new bands our readers should be aware of and check out? Anything catching your ear lately?
I don’t wanna sound narcissistic but we Siamese Brutalism are selective about choosing bands to be with us. So you can check out the bands from the collective, varying from grindcore, goregrind, death metal, brutal death metal, to death/black metal. If you are on Facebook, search “Siamese Brutalism” and the page will pop up. Look for the photo album which consists of photos of bands, their details, and links to their official pages. Other bands outside the collective deserving more recognition I can think of right now include Atheism, Lotus of Darkness, กาฬพราย(Kan Prai), อัฐิ(Atti), Religion Malediction, Torturation, Shambles, Abyssal Ocean, Remains, Bottle Strike, Face Melting, Rotten Head Cock, Promitqus, LowFat, High Voltage, Whispers, Born from Pain, A-Zero, and Monument X. These vary from black metal, brutal death metal, death/doom metal, funeral doom metal, thrash metal, grindcore, goregrind, hardcore punk, and hardcore.
Thailand is fairly visited by people from abroad… for those wanting to experience Thai music live, any good tips for brutal shows in the near future? You know, so people can plan their travels accordingly…
There are tons of upcoming shows in Thailand, generally Bangkok, lately. I’m sorry I can’t list them all but again if you’re on Facebook you can search the group call “Punk Rock Bangkok” and it should have posts that cover all the upcoming shows.
And finally…the last one! You know, Indokult.com started as a web dedicated to the Indonesian cultural landscape, but slowly transitioned toward the Asian cultural experience. As one of the well-known musicians from Asia, what would your final message to the readers of Indokult would be?
I’m just a nobody making noise and there are many more musicians better than me but I appreciate you considering me that! Man I have been a fan of your page so I’m totally honored you have me here. Thank you Rudolf! To all the readers, if you have read to this point, have roughly read this interview, or even have skimmed it, I appreciate all of you. Total salutation to all the followers of weird aural chaos and of course to you and Indokult! Cheers!!!
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/polwach.beokhaimook
