Interview with Seplophile

Seplophile, Mesonoxian CD release show at The Funeral Home – 2/9/13:

Seplophile is:

Colin Winkelman - Vocals
Greg DiPasquale - Guitars
Matthew Backlas - Guitars
Shawn Gomez - Bass
Allen Malkiewicz - Drums

Seplophile is a death metal band from Buffalo, NY that formed in 2010.  Their first full-length CD, Mesonoxian, was co-released by Butchered Records and Sevared Records in February 2013.

Although Seplophile has been together for only 3 years, some of its members have been active in the underground metal scene for 10-20 years.  They have already played with some of the biggest acts in death metal including Cattle Decapitation, Devourment, Internal Bleeding, and Suffocation.

I recently sat down with Al, Greg, and Matt to discuss Seplophile, their new album, and the underground death metal scene in general.
 

HA:     How many years have you guys been active in the underground scene in Buffalo and what are some other bands you were in?

Al:       Probably close to 20 years.  I was in Three Below and From This Day.

Greg:   About 10 years for me.  I was in Three Below/From This Day, Herod, and Sons of Azrael.

Matt:   I’ve been in Herod, The War We Create, and a bunch of other random punk rock bands.  I’ve been involved in the scene about 10 years, if not more.

HA:     What are some of your main influences for the sound of Seplophile?

Greg:   Older death metal bands.  Cannibal Corpse.  Pretty much any fast death metal
             I liked.

Matt:   My big influence for everything was Entombed.  That’s where I was coming from.  Not that it was going to sound more Swedish, but it was definitely going to sound more like Sunlight Studios, where all the first Swedish death metal records like old Unleashed were recorded.
 

Greg:   Autopsy for doom parts.  We get the Vader comparison a lot.  I like Vader but I never was a crazy Vader fan, but somehow we must be doppelgangers.
 

Matt:   The influences we list on our website are Stockholm, New York, Buffalo, Tampa, and Birmingham.
 

Al:       Probably anything pre-2000.
 

Greg:   Earache records, 1989-1993, Roadrunner Records, 1988-‘95.  Napalm Death, Carcass.
 

HA:     How do you feel about the general reception of your album around here and in the United States, and have you gotten any positive reception from overseas?
 

Greg:   Around Buffalo people seem to dig the record.  We had a really good turnout
            at our CD release show.

Matt:   A lot more people showed up to that show than some of the national act
            shows around here.

Greg:   We had an 8/10 (review) in Decibel Magazine a couple months ago.  We’ve
             been getting contacted from people in different countries: Iran, Singapore. 
             A Korean energy drink company tweeted our Youtube video of “Under
             Shifting Sands.”

HA:     Why?!

Greg:   I don’t know.  We couldn’t read it!

HA:     You guys have played some pretty cool events in the north-east region.  Can
            you give us highlights of some of your favorite events/bands you’ve played
            with?

Matt:   My favorite show so far was "Brutality Reigns II" last year in Rochester
           (hosted by Sevared Records).  The show was amazing.  All the bands were
            incredible.

Greg:   Our first show was with Malevolent Creation.  We got to play with Kam Lee
            in Massacre for a night (an old school death metal band from Florida).  This
            led to us being asked to be a part of the reanimated Baphomet line-up.

HA:     You also have a couple great shows coming up this summer and fall.  Can you talk about those?

Greg:   We have a show in about a week in Pittsburgh with Abysme and Rottrevore. 
             Then we have “Summer Sleaze II” in August with Incantation, Embalmer,
             and Mausoleum, there’s maybe 12 bands, in Johnstown, PA.

HA:     I know you’ve been working on a few new songs lately.  Do you have any
            plans yet for a new recording?

Matt:   We’re either gearing up for a split or some kind of EP.  If someone wants to
            put it out on 7 inch, that’d be cool because vinyl’s always cool, otherwise
            we’ll find someone who wants to put it out on CD for us.
 

https://www.facebook.com/seplophile
 

And be sure to check out Seplophile and a ton of other sick bands this September at “A Day of Death 2013.” See you there!!

https://www.facebook.com/events/491976784201940/?fref=ts

Burnt by the Sun – The Perfect is the Enemy of the Good (2003)

Hardcore/Grindcore (New Brunswick, NJ)

            Burnt by the Sun were very influential in the underground scene when they were active.  The Perfect is the Enemy of the Good was their second full-length.  All of Burnt by the Sun’s releases are available at Relapse Records.

http://burntbythesun.bandcamp.com/album/the-perfect-is-the-enemy-of-the-good

Uphill Battle – Uphill Battle (2002)

Grindcore/Hardcore (Santa Barbara, CA)

            Uphill Battle is the band/album that got me into grindcore.  Their CDs are available at Relapse Records.

http://uphillbattle.bandcamp.com/album/uphill-battle

Candiria – The Process of Self-Development (1999)

Hardcore/Hip-Hop/Jazz

            Candiria are a hardcore band from Brooklyn, New York.  Their fusion of hardcore, hip-hop, and jazz creates a groundbreaking sound that is still unmatched to this day.

Gorepot – Fermenting the Chiba Seeds (2012)

Brutal Death Metal/Goregrind (Taiwan)

            Gorepot plays slamming brutal death metal with a twist of goregrind.  Fermenting the Chiba Seeds is their third full-length, available at Brutal Reign Productions.

http://brutalreignproductions.bandcamp.com/album/fermenting-the-chiba-seeds

Cerebral Effusion – Impulsive Psychopathic Acts (2010)

 

Brutal Death Metal

            Cerebral Effusion plays slamming brutal death metal from Spain.  Impulsive Psychopathic Acts is their third full-length.  The CD is available at Comatose Music.

http://cerebraleffusion.bandcamp.com/album/impulsive-psychopathic-acts

Inopexia - Myocardical Biopsy had a Lethal Outcome (2012)

Goregrind (Russia)

            Inopexia play goregrind in the vein of Last Days of Humanity.  This CD is available at Coyote Records.

Facial Humiliation (2005)

 

Goregrind/Pornogrind

            Facial Humiliation features Anal Penetration (Netherlands), MDK (Brazil), Methadone Abortion Clinic (US), Obese (US), and Uterus (US).  This CD is currently distributed through Last House on the Right.