Exclusive Interview: Writhe talk writing and recording “In Filth”!

Citing influences in Lorna Shore and Humanity’s Last Breath, United Kingdom Progressive Deathcore collective Writhe have created a debut EP titled “In Filth” which places them on the edge the territory of those beasts. A cautionary tale of a sentient AI’s transformation into a Lovecraftian entity of unfathomable horror, the concept record is one to turn bone to dust while searing ear drums in the process. Having reviewed the record and witnessed it performed live at Tech-Fest’s Techabilitiation 2023 now it’s time for the second in our creature double feature of interviews with the dark passengers themselves…

How did your previous experiences writing and recording help to smooth the path of the new record? “I’ve written and produced for a few projects now and I believe the key is working with an open mind. Sharing a vision and willingness to experiment towards that goes a long way. I have wasted energy before as many have by being too clinical, although with everything, balance is key”

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? “I wish I could give a proper answer regarding the writing process but I seem to blackout when I’m in that mode. It’s hard to regain any memory of it and it feels brand new to me every time. I’m still now discovering riffs I made in the past couple years that I have no memory of creating. A riff, a visual, a lyric, so many things can inspire the initial conception of a new song and it’s certainly in no particular order how we approach it.

Once the boys get involved it becomes really special. Rocco and Simon help point out recurring themes and ideas for us to take advantage of a lot of the time and Cam will rewrite the drums to perfection”

What was it like working with Rania Bailey who performs orchestral vocals throughout the EP? “Beautiful! Simon had thrown the idea out early on and we needed no further convincing once we heard it. The light shrouded by darkness became a theme of the EP expressed through our melodies, imagery and making it uncompromisable to have Rania become the vocal expression of that light in the EP. We’re excited to do more with her in the future”

The drums on “In Filth” were recorded with Lucas Fletcher (Anxiety Trip, Apathy, In Constant Sleep) at Shell City Studios in Blackpool. What was it like working with Lucas and what made you decide to invest your cash in the studio time for the drum sound? “Chill AF. Honestly. Instant mutual understanding and respect. Lucas has been a mate of Cam’s since they were teens and I couldn’t recommend him more for studio time in the North. We just did two sessions and he was happy for me to engineer the second. Had enough time for Cam to get exactly the performance he intended to come in with (just a few months after joining). We came out with more than a usable quality of recording, which in this style is a hard task for an engineer. The final mix still has a nice blend of the original shell tones and all natural cymbals with Cam’s articulations cutting through as they do.

I do sometimes find it disheartening that recorded drums have become an anomaly in our scene (although I totally get it). Our decision was made in respect to the importance of a good drum performance no matter what the genre and we feel it was totally worth it to further legitimise the music as well as Cam’s stamp on it”

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? “Potentially Cthulhu himself, though he’s hard to reach on email. Heard he’s pretty swell on the tambourine”

For us gear nerds out there, can you tell us what you’re using gear wise (pedals, strings, drums etc) to get your sound? “Ah yes, we definitely went through quite the sonic journey when trying to find the sound we were looking for.

Neural DSP’s Quad Cortex has a great feature where it can actually trap the tortured soul of an ancient entity (or as people call them – “amps”) for some absolutely spiffing tone. I also use a fuzz pedal – ZVEX Fuzz Factory to make those tortured souls really scream out in pain at times.

Cam actually soared through a maelstrom of mutilated flesh in perfect timing to record what others would call “drums”. I believe Paiste and Pearl were both involved in that. Great pair of cosmic horrors they are.

And of course, with great importance on the bass, we just slapped Rocco through some very dark glass. This was no ordinary dark glass as it was blended halfway with an older entity known only as the Sansamp. All captured for eternal damnation in the prison of the Quad Cortex.

For Simon’s vocals, we just started off with a little demonic implosion, also known as a compressor out of the Quad Cortex.

So in short, the screams of tortured souls mixed with a saucy maelstrom of mutilated flesh and a pinch of demonic implosion all brought us exactly what we wanted with minimal sacrifices. Sure was a challenge to mix!”

What difference would it make to you if you could land an endorsement from a gear manufacturer? “If we ever got that lucky, we can assure that we’ll abuse the absolute living crap out of any gear a manufacturer deems us worthy of to further explore how bleak and tortured we can make our music sound”

“In Filth” by Writhe was released on 24th November 2023 and is available over at bandcamp.