Exclusive Interview: Cult of Sobek talk writing and recording “Petsuchos”!

Crocodiles, occult writings and riffs ripe for worship. It’s all found in the debut offering “Petsuchos” from Edinburgh Doom Metal trio Cult of Sobek. Taking influence from Grandmasters in the likes of Goblinsmoker and Electric Wizard they’ve begun a journey down the same left hand path that others have trodden before them, but doing things their own way. The results speak for themselves so naturally the interrogation chamber beckons and our second conversation with them went a little bit like this…

How did your previous experiences writing and recording help to smooth the path of the new record? “Most of us had never actually recorded anything before so this was a completely new experience for us, one we are excited to do again”

How does the writing process of a new track start? Melody, riff or rhythm first? How does it evolve from there before you consider it the finished article? “Usually the process starts with bass riffs that are mainly written as the main melody. We then develop them give some tweaks etc. If it needs more variety, we figure that out then settle on song structure and work out any final kinks and that’s it really”

You chose Tommy Duffin at 16 Ohm Studios Glasgow (Headless Kross, Coffin Mulch) to record and mix “Petsuchos“; what was it like working with him? “Tommy Duffin is a man who can have a suggestion of recording processes thrown at him and he can figure out a way in which we can incorporate how we want to record it as well as throwing his own suggestions in so ourselves and him can find the perfect middle ground. We were delighted to receive his initial email to record us, a consummate professional and is especially impressive, considering we only had two days to record the EP”

If you had the opportunity to work with a guest in the studio next time around, who would you like to work with and why? “We would love to collaborate with our main influences, Adam [Kennedy, vocals and guitars] from Goblinsmoker, Jon [Davis, vocals and guitars] from Conan, it’s a big dream of our frontman to actually be featured on another bands record too!”

For us gear nerds out there, can you tell us what you’re using gear wise (pedals, strings, drums etc) to get your sound? “Bass wise, Fender Jaguar and I try to only use boutique pedal builders wherever possible, using pieces from Does it Doom, Earthquake Devices and Blackhawk Amplifiers. Guitar wise, The PRS tremonti with his signature bridge pickup for high output and for effects I like the minimalism of amp modelers so I use the Boss GT 1000 to capture the sound and effects. Drum wise, I specifically like to use Pearl Drums, Meinl Cymbals and Vic Firth sticks. I’ve used other brands but these are the ones I’ve always fallen back to”

“Petsuchos” by Cult of Sobek is out 22nd July with pre-orders available over at bandcamp.