Damn, what are they putting in the water over in Virginia? It seems like there’s not a day that goes by without another awesome band emerging from the state, and Occultist are no exception.

After dropping one of last year’s most devastating demo tapes, all ears were on Occultist to see if they’d deliver the goods on their first full-length outing. Thankfully, ‘Death Sigils’ is one of the finest outbursts of ripping, crust laden fury you’ll hear all year, backed with an arsenal of riffs that could sustain a dozen lesser bands over the course of three more records and a keen ear for song craft that easily surpasses that blistering demo (if you’re not screeching along to the anthemic title track by the end of your first listen, maybe it’s time to shave off that mohawk, head back to law school and admit that this whole crust punk lark just ain’t for you).

Sure, the standard crusty reference points are all present and correct (a hint of Discharge here, a smidgen of Hellhammer there, a great big dose of Sacrilege over there), but there are also shades of death metal’s first wave in there (not to mention a pungent whiff of Bolt Thrower, especially on the bludgeoning ‘A Hell For The Innocent’), and a couple of blackened riffs that Nocturno Culto is probably kicking himself for not writing first. The overall effect is not a million miles away from New York’s sorely missed crossover kings Atakke, albeit with a murkier, more ominous atmosphere, and some death growls thrown in for good measure too.

We caught up with guitarist Jim Reed to find out more about the making of ‘Death Sigils’, how the band got together, and whether the band is planning on bringing their raging riff rampages to the UK any time soon…

WORDS: Kez Whelan

WHO ARE THEY: Occultist

WHERE ARE THEY FROM: Richmond, Virginia, U.S.A.

FOR FANS OF: Atakke, Hellhammer, Sacrilege

LATEST RELEASE: ‘Death Sigils’ (Primitive Ways Records)

WEBSITE: FACEBOOK & BANDCAMP



Could you tell us briefly how Occultist formed?

Jim (Reed, guitar): “Occultist formed in the Fall of 2009 when myself and Leland Hoth (formerly of Battlemaster, he has since moved on to Vorator) were tossing around ideas about starting a band, Kent came into the fold shortly after. We’ve had several member shifts since then but have solidified on the currrent lineup of myself on guitar, Kerry Zylstra – Vocals, Nathaniel Warmaster- Bass, Death Vocals, Kent Jungle – 2nd Guitar and Brandon Whittaker – Drums”

Did you have a specific sound in mind when you formed the band, or did that grow and evolve as you played together?

Jim: “In the beginning we all knew we wanted to have several elements of things we enjoyed about the nastier, weirder spectrum of the DIY punk/ metal realm with a stripped down approach. We all have a bunch of influences so the sound took time and grew organically as we felt each other’s abilities and individual tastes out to determine what worked the best.”

What kind of stuff are you and the rest of the band into? Who would you cite as influences?

Jim: “Musically speaking we all enjoy a pretty wide swath of all things dark, weird and heavy, Brandon loves Whitesnake though. I’d say as far as influences (musical and other) that are important to the band: Sacrilege (UK), Celtic Frost/ Hellhammer, Bolt Thrower, Candlemass, Discharge, Amebix, Skaven, The Plasmatics, Neurosis, Japanese and Scandi hardcore/d-beat, the occult (obviously), dark art, weird films, obscure history, war, grid collapse, religious wingnuts, nuclear fallout, iron fisted regimes- you know the finer things in life.”

‘Death Sigils’ is sounding absolutely killer, and is a big step up from last year’s demo! How did the recording process go for this one?

Jim: “Thanks. We recorded over at Slave-Pit Studios in Richmond VA which is owned by the guys in GWAR. Our friend Dave Gibson engineered and co-mixed it, additionally it was mastered by Dan Randall at Mammoth Sound Mastering. The recording process was great but went slowly but surely on our end due to our crazy conflicting schedules at the time and some technical/ equipment issues that had to be remedied. We tracked drums in about one day with no click-track for the purpose of keeping the sound as lively and raw as possible with the ability to still discern individual instruments in mix. ”

How does the writing process normally work for Occultist? Do you tend to jam stuff out together, or will one person write stuff separately and then bring it to the rest of the band?

Jim: “We do a bit of both, there have been times where we jam on a riff or a rhythmical concept for a bit and try many different phrases what fits the best for the bigger picture of a song, other times some of us have brought in a nearly finished tune, usually on guitar, fill in the gaps with the other instruments and vocals/ lyrics.”

What’s been your best moment as a band? And on the flipside, what’s been the worst thing to happen to you in music?

Jim:” Speaking personally I think the best show/ moment that I can recall was at this past years Skullfest in Pittsburgh PA- I felt we played well, had high energy and the crowd was bonkers- we love Pittsburgh. The worst was probably The Charleston in NYC a few years ago when we were somehow accidentally double-booked on some crappy indie rock show, didn’t play until almost 3am and the staff were complete assholes from the get go for no good reason.”

Richmond seems to be a bit of a hotbed for awesome bands at the moment. Are there any bands out there we should know about?

Jim: “There’s so many good bands here in Richmond that this will become a pretty long list pretty quick and I’ll probably leave out a few by accident, here’s some I think that should get more props that may be less obvious than other great bands already mentioned frequently elsewhere: Unholy Thoughts, Barge, Nighstalker, Sinister Haze, Unsacred, Vorator, U.S. Brass, Humungus, Bermuda Triangles, Street Pizza, Asylum, Mens Room, Druglord, Gritter, Organ Donor, Olde Shame and many more honestly, the town just cranks out freak-jams like nobody’s business…”

You’ve been touring with loads of great bands at the moment, have you picked up any top tips for tour survival?

Jim: “Well I’ve been working more for other killer bands (as a driver or audio dude) than touring myself with Occultist, but that is changing. Tour tips? Here’s a few, some of them I follow better than others: Learn to laugh even when you don’t feel like it, do laundry whenever the chance arises, check the fluids in the van at every stop, don’t hold passive-aggressive grudges against a bandmate if they piss you off, have realistic expectations- you’re doing this because you feel compelled to, love it and might be slightly insane, not because you think you’ll make a bunch of cash.”

Is there any chance we’ll get to see Occultist over on this side of the pond anytime soon?

Jim: “We’d love to as soon as a kind booking person from out that way gets in touch with us: unholydeathcrust666@gmail. com ”

What’s next for you guys?

Jim: “We’re playing our “official” (and belated) record release show in Richmond VA @ Strange Matter on 12/20 w/ Pig Destroyer, the A389 Recordings 10th Anniversary Pre-Fest Bash on 1/16 @ The Sidebar in Baltimore MD, a West Coast U.S. tour in the works for April plus we plan to record a new E.P. or split in the early spring, hopefully hitting other parts of the U.S. in the summer as well.”