Utter Trash--Crucified Mortals

Metal Missionaries

An Interview with Sebastian Dzialuk of Crucified Mortals

By Bob Ignizio

Utter Trash: How/when did Crucified Mortals get together? Who are the members and what do they play, and how many of you are DJs on WRUW?
Sebastian Dzialuk: Crucified Mortals was started in summer of 2001 as a one piece band by Craig Horval ( guitar / vocals ). These were the very early stages of CM. Craig did release one demo called ‘Hung Out to Die’. In spring 2003 I joined on drums and we started jamming and writing songs. As a 2 piece band we recorded a demo version of the song “Reaper's Blade” for a compilation entitled ‘Cross The Styx’. Zach Rose joined in later as a second guitarist. With Novy (Vader) playing bass as a session musician we recorded our first debut EP ‘Converted By Decapitation’. That was released in 2004.

Currently our line up is pretty much the same. We have had a few musicians play with us in the mean time but its all history and the line up is pretty much the same as on the debut EP. As for the WRUW DJs - it's myself and Zach Rose.

UT: Insert generic "who are your influences" question here.
SD: Ha ha. Well as you can probably tell by listening to our record we are all into 80's old school thrash. Craig will not touch anything else that doesn’t sound old school. Myself… well I grew up watching Kreator and Destruction rise, and Zach likes 80's thrash as well. If I was to name a few bands as influences it would definitely be old Kreator, Destruction, Deathrow, Sacrifice, Dark Angel... and many more. I do listen to a lot of new stuff as well, but the roots are definitely in the 80's & 90's.

UT: On your first CD you had Novy from Vader play bass. How did that come about?
SD: Novy and I became good friends while he was playing with Behemoth. I was always very impressed with his bass skills when I saw him play live at the Agora. I actually mentioned to him once that we were planning on recording an album and he was very interested in doing it. I guess he really liked the demo version of “The Reaper's Blade”. It was really unexpected and awesome to have him give us a hand. He is a great bass player and his studio experience has helped us out a lot during the recording. If there's an opportunity for him to come again when we are ready to record the next album I'm sure he will want to do it again, and I have a good feeling that it will happen.

UT: ‘Converted by Decapitation’ is in many ways a "traditional" thrash metal album. Do you feel an obligation to stay within those boundaries, or will your next album sound like System of a Down crossed with Avenged Sevenfold?
SD: We are in many ways a "traditional" thrash band. We do not intend to change it and it will never change. Craig is the leader of the band, this is pretty much his project and believe me when it comes to "purism" in thrash - he is the very extreme example of it. It is not as much as an obligation to stay within those boundaries as it is our personal preference. We might get more technical and faster with time, but it will still be old school thrash. Maybe just with a strong modern sound of current technology. But we will never sound like System of a Down. If we ever do, then do me a favor and shoot me, put me out of my misery.

UT: Do you approach lyrics as pure fun and fantasy, or do you try to bring something personal, even if only as subtext?
SD: I guess a little bit of both. Our lyrics vary from fiction and gory horror tales into reality such as the Holocaust. I don’t write much lyrics but when I do I try to bring out some personal feelings and emotions into it. I think it makes it meaningful and more brutal.

UT: What do you think of the current metal scene in Cleveland? Is there even anything that could qualify as a real scene in town anymore?
SD: That is a good question. Honestly I can't say it's all that great as I wish it would be. I'm sure it's not the worst scene out there but really there aren’t that many bands out there to play with. The shows I thought could also be more crowded. It is definitely weaker than years ago. I guess we all get old and fade out slowly. The new generation of kids isn't much into 80's thrash. We'll just have to stick around and see what happens.

UT: How much interest has there been in you guys outside of Cleveland? Do you plan on touring at all?
SD: The response we've got so far from our EP has been really good. We were all very nicely surprised. The CD has been distributed worldwide and we have a lot of interest coming from Germany and Japan. We are definitely planning on touring. We'd like to go outside of the country and possibly it will take place next year. Right now we are playing shows locally and within the US. We might do a few small tours this year in the States, nothing long, however. We all have jobs so it’s difficult. We've had a few offers out of state, though, which I'm sure we will try to accept and fulfill.

UT: What does the near future hold for Crucified Mortals? What long term goals does the band have?
SD: Right now we are working on a split 7" with Spawn Of Satan. It will have 2 of our new songs plus possibly a cover. After that we will start working on the second album which we also are hoping to release by summer of this year. New material is coming out nicely and its much more aggressive , technical and fast. In the mean time we'd like to play a few shows as well. We don't want to play out every weekend or even every month. This way it will make people appreciate us more. I think, every two or three months is enough.

As far as the long term goals - it would be nice to get a record deal with some decent label that will finance our recording and pressing expenses. I guess time will show. Our second album will be distributed much better.

UT: Anything else you want to comment on that I didn't ask about?
SD: Thank you for the interview. Check out our web page and listen to the mp3s. We still have a few copies (not many) left of the first EP for sale. Our 7" “Kill Upon Command” should be out any day on Iron Bonehead Records. Our next show will be March 11 at the HI-FI with Embalmer. Come check us out and support your local metal scene. Thrash till death !!!!