INTERVIEW: Rainer Düsing – Embedded

WORDS: James Weaver

Brutal death metal is a genre that doesn’t cater for experimentation. With such a specific formula that makes this sub-genre so ferocious, bands often have to stick to the formula which has led to an over-saturation of the scene. Germany’s EMBEDDED have been on the scene since 1994 and ahead of the band’s fourth studio record, the blood-drenched Bloodgeoning, we caught up with vocalist Rainer Düsing to talk about the record, the band’s inspiration and whether the brutal death metal scene is in a good place in 2016.

Your latest record, Bloodgeoning, is just about to be released? What can fans expect from the record?

Rainer: I think it is a great mixture between modern brutal death metal influences and some old school sounds. It has pretty much to offer for fans of some technical stuff, but also headbanger-moshpit riffs, which will crack your neck. Besides that, we focused more on songwriting, ending up with longer songs as we used to write. All in all, I am very satisfied with the new material. Although all songs have been written by our drummer Markus, due to the departure from our former songwriter André, it still sounds and feels like EMBEDDED.

It has been seven years since your previous effort, Beyond The Flesh, why wait so long before writing your next?

Rainer: Because we are fucking lazy bones… Besides that, we had a lot of trouble with our line-up since André left the band. Markus, Christian, and I weren’t very satisfied with the replacements on bass and second guitar, so that we didn’t put much effort into EMBEDDED for quite a while. We all have full-time jobs and weren’t satisfied with the situation, so that we let things slide, but which changed with the new members. I have the impression that the current line-up is better and stronger than ever. After Wolfgang and Daniel joined the band, we put the album together quite quickly and booked the studio immediately.

And with such a long wait in between albums, has it enabled you to produce a record of higher quality?

Rainer: In my opinion “yes”! Not only because of the new songwriting by Markus, who is an excellent guitarist by the way, but we were also able to improve our skills over the course of time. Additionally, we booked a longer studio time to have more degrees of freedom during the production. We entered the Soundlodge Studio run by Jörg Uken again, who really pushed the production and the songs. I would say it is the best EMBEDDED album ever.

Lyrically; what themes does Bloodgeoning explore?

Rainer: There are two different topics, which the EMBEDDED lyrics explore. Most of the songs are about serial or mass murderers. The lyrics are not the typical gore, hack, and slash stuff, but more about the inner conflicts, obsessions, and compulsions of the offender. Most the lyrics are written from the ego perspective, to get an impression of the inner world. I think most of the murderers do not only have fun in killing people, but lots of inner conflicts and dialogues. This is what I am interested in and what I want to present. The other lyrics are critical examinations of religions and religious beliefs, partly wrapped in the “spooky” and fictional stories that religion provides us with. I think religion is complete bullshit, which is only created to oppress people and get them to do what they are told to.

Musically, the record is a brutal assault of your ears with enormous riffs and guttural vocals. What bands have inspired you or does all your musical inspiration come from within?

Rainer: Oh, there are plenty of influences of course, but we never intend to sound like band x or y. Sometimes it is very hard to distinguish what comes from within or what is inspired by music you listened to. I think it is always a mixture of both aspects. When you listen to a specific band for a couple of time it will automatically influence your writing. I think Markus is a big fan of bands like GORGASM and DEEDS OF FLESH and you will hear this in one or another part. From a vocal perspective, I try to do deep vocals, but which are still comprehensible for a certain degree. I was always a big fan of Glen Benton and George Corpsegrinder Fisher and added some deeper exhale parts.

The brutal death metal scene today is very competitive and it’s becoming increasingly difficult for bands to stand out. In your opinion, what makes EMBEDDED stand out in the scene?

Rainer: First of all, we have been around since 1994, which is quite a long time. Besides that, we always presented a good mixture of technicality, brutality, and groove. I mean, nowadays most of the bands go either this or that direction, playing fucking 300bpm (while forgetting about songwriting sometimes) or doing completely boring midtempo stuff all the time. I think it is this variety what let EMBEDDED stand out in the scene as compared to a lot of other bands.

You have been active since 1994 – over 20 years! How have you seen the death metal scene develop?

Rainer: I think the strongest development has taken place in the technical experience. In the 90s, we were making music just to express ourselves, and we did not learn our instruments in a formal way. But nowadays, the technical standard is that high, because the kids start to get professional musical education very early. Just as an example, LPs like DEATH’s Symbolic album was highly technical for us, but it isn’t anymore. If you have a look at youtube, you’ll find dozens of cover version by very young musicians, doing a very good job at their instruments. I find this very impressive, but also frightening somehow.

Do you think brutal death metal and extreme music is in a good place now?

Rainer: It has always been a good place…. There are so many excellent bands around that you can pick and choose what kind of music you want to listen to, but it’s also agonizing to have to choose. Personally, most of the time I stick to the “old” bands I already know, because I have not the time to keep track of the complete scene. Sometimes I get a good recommendation from friends, but that’s it. But generally speaking, it became easier for the consumer to find good bands, since it became increasingly easy to obtain material from different bands through internet and so on. This development especially helped smaller bands to publish their stuff. So, yes, it is a good place for brutal death metal now.

And with the release of Bloodgeoning what’s the band’s plans for 2016?

Rainer: There are no concrete plans, but with Apostasy Records in the background, we are hoping to play a lot of live gigs in the next couple of month. So, watch out for our live shows, I promise you won’t be disappointed!

Bloodgeoning is out now via Apostasy Records.