1. Necrosexual was formed around 2011, with you as the sole member at the beginning. Over time, you've recruited several more musicians who have joined the band's lineup in recent years, and you're still solely responsible for Necrosexual. What led you to create this project? Why did you choose the name Necrosexual, and what did you want to convey with it?
I burst onto the scene performing stand up routies at comedy and burlesque shows. I chose the name Necrosexual because it was both a satire and celebration of the heavy metal I grew up listening to. The “Necro” portion deals with all things grim and the “sexual” aspect speaks to my dark sense of humor. I also began interviewing a lot of classic bands on my youtube channel beginning in 2012. Steve Grimmett from Grim Reaper went on to say I was the favortie interview he ever did, which means a lot to me now that he's gone.
Anyway, I love metal and I also play bass and guitar. So it seemed fitting for me to elevate Necrosexual to a musical project as well.
2. The arrival of Anthony "Vigo" Gabriele in Necrosexual in 2015 can be considered a pivotal moment for the project. Years later came the first full-length album, and other musicians have joined since then, giving the band greater solidity. What has the band's trajectory been like over the past decade and a half? Did you imagine when you started Necrosexual that you'd still be active today?
It's been 15 years since I started, but I feel like I'm just hitting my groove on the musical front. Necrosexual is part solo project and also a collective. I welcome collaboration, but I am always prepared to do it all myself. The less people I rely on, the less variables for disappointment!
Vigo and I go way back to the early 2000s. We met when we worked together in the kitchen of an upscale restaurant. He was lead chef and I was the dessert guy. I always looked up to him, and knew he could shred too. So Vigo was the first guy I called once I had Necrosexual music ready. He played his first show with Necrosexual just days after the birth of his first born son. The Vigo has been a consistent member, playing leads and co-writing a fair number of songs. Otherwise, I'm the primary mover.
3. “Road to Rubble” is Necrosexual’s second album. It’s been a long time coming, but it’s finally here. With such a long gap between “Grim1” (2018), how do you think the band’s sound has evolved between the two releases? What level of involvement have the new members, Miles and Nick, had in the process? What brands of instruments did you use during the recording?
I think I've found my voice as a vocalist and songwriter on Road To Rubble. This album encapsulates all my heavy metal heroes. Since GRIM-1 in 2018, I released two EP s and two comic books, and even got to perform at a heavy metal burlesque festival in Portland, Oregon. The time between albums allowed these new songs to simmer in my mind's eye.
Road To Rubble is my most ambitious album in terms of song writing and sheer number of personnel. But it's also the most DIY album I've ever done. I recorded all the rhythm guitars, bass and keyboards from home. Anthony and Nick just showed up to lay down solos from my home studio. Miles and I jammed a little bit together to figure out the drum parts, but most of drums he recorded in the moment with only my demos for reference. I was in the recording room with him conducting the songs as we built the tracks hit by hit.
For equipment:
A Peavey 6505 was used for reamping the rhythm guitars. For Anthony's leads we used a Mesa Boogie Triple Rectifier lent to us by Ed Gonet III from Wild Beyond and Daeva. (Thanks Ed)
I recorded the bass straight to my computer with a sans amp driver attached to my pedal board, on a Music Man Sting Ray 5 string.
I played analog Casiotone and Yamaha keyboards for all the synth parts.
I recorded most of the rhythm guitars with a DiPinto Galaxie IV with Seymour Duncan pickups and a Gothic Ephiphone Futura Explorer, also with Seymour Duncan pick ups. I believe Anthony Vigo played his solos on a custom Warmouth Stratocaster and a Jackson modified Frankenstein stratocaster. We all have a lot of guitars between us, so it's hard to keep track of exactly what we played when.
4. Upon first hearing Necrosexual, the name alone might conjure up images of a grindcore band. However, the cover art doesn't exactly inspire optimism, as it seems to aim for a relaxed atmosphere. Yet, once the album starts playing, the content is brutal and distinctive. We could discuss countless elements: a taste for 80s metal, thrash, speed, hardcore, synthesizers, a retro feel in many aspects, and a hint of classic heavy metal. In short, it's an immense work that is thoroughly enjoyable and difficult to describe. How would you describe the album's sound? What bands and styles influenced the composition and recording process?
To quote my own music, I'd describe this abum as “High voltage and heavy doses!” I'm certainly a child of the eighties and the Road To Rubble spans all my musical influences without sounding too much like any single band. It's a love letter to classic heavy metal with my own blood injected throughout.
5. Something similar can be said about the album's themes; there's an ambiguous tone to them. The topics can be taken seriously and profoundly, or, conversely, their more humorous side can be explored. Where do you find inspiration for the song themes? How do you balance the more serious aspects with the more humorous ones? Do the lyrics adapt to the music, or vice versa?
One new technique I did for this album is I recorded the choruses to the songs first, and saved the verses for later. It allowed me to really nail the hooks and then have extra time to flesh out the lyrics and get the delivery perfect.
Lyrically, this album deals with a lot of destruction hence the adage “All Roads Lead To Rubble.” “High Times In Hell” is about self destruction, whereas the title track deals with societal collapse and environmental decay. “Kiss The Knife,” “Brimstone” Brothel” and “Hard Leather Woman” details a fetishistic aspect with sadomasochistic humor and horror themes.
Usually I have the riffs first, and a chorus or song title will pop into my head, and then I'll build the rest of arrangement around those lyrics.
6. Regarding the recording, mixing, and mastering of the new album, there isn't much information available. Did you handle this process yourselves, or did you work with someone in a recording studio?
The majority of the guitars, bass and keyboards I self recorded. Drums and vocals were recorded at Permenant Hearing Damage Studio, and the album was mixed by Steve Roche. Arthur Rizk also mastered it.
7. The album is being released in physical format by the record labels Fiadh Productions and The Black Metal Archives Label. How did the opportunity to release "Road to Rubble" with them arise?
This is the first time I've had an album available in the UK via Black Metal Archives label, and Road To Rubble is the first release of their catalogue. A high honor!
8. Regarding the cover art, there seems to be a connection between this album and the first. Is that possible? Who designed the cover for the new album? What does it represent, and how does it relate to the album's content?
Our dear confident and high class pervert Scott R Johnston illustrated both my LP covers. He is a true diamond in the Philadelphia nightlife scene. The green Mustang on the GRIM-1 album cover is based on Vigo's car. He really drives a neon green Ford Mustang. So it made sense to incorporate into our album art work. For Road To Rubble I asked Scott to design a more apocalyptic element. “ZZ Top Eliminator meets The Road Warrior” is the term I used.
9. It seems we're experiencing a surge in black metal with new bands drawing inspiration from the more retro sounds of 80s extreme metal for their latest releases. Do you share this perception? How does Necrosexual fit into the US extreme metal scene?
Nostalgia is a hell of a drug. I grew up listening to thrash metal in the early 2000s at the height of nu metal. Old school shit was NOT popular back then. These days, I see people walking down the street in Mortician long sleeves, or kids dressed like Max Cavalera in the eighties with the high tops and denim vests, and I chuckle.
I'm a disciple of the old school, but I think it's also important for artists to find their own voice. Elevate the art form into the future. I simply hope Necrosexual stands the test of time and people will be rocking Road To Rubble loudly in 20 years.
10. How would you define the Philadelphia black metal scene? How are the album release shows going? What can your fans expect from one of your concerts?
Philadelphia has a long and storied heavy metal scene, across all genres. Bands come and go, but I'm still here. I'd recommend listening my collaborators in Morgul Blade and Wild Beyond, for starters.
11. How did the idea for a music video for a track from the album come about? Why did you choose the song “Nocturnal Ignition”? What was the video recording process like?
"Nocturnal Ignition" is the odd ball song of the bunch, but in a charming way. Anthony wrote the keyboard parts for it way back in March 2020, the same day everything went into pandemic lockdown. A few years later I got around to listening to it again and wrote the song around it. And Lord Klauf from Morgul Blade actually played drums on this song, because we had began recording it prior to the rest of the songs on the new album in early 2023.
The music video is an homage to INXS "Guns In The Sky." Each shots begins with the doors opening and the camera moving backward in the hallway, and repeats. I should mention that I also act as the video department for most of my stuff. That means, I'm the one who gets stuck editing the footage. So I wanted something that would be easy to film and quick to edit! I worked with my two long-time collaborators Chris Koontz and Liam McGlynn on camera, and also got to include some of my burlesque friends as dancers. We had it all set up and wrapped in about three hours.
12. What were your beginnings in music like: the first concerts you attended, the first albums you bought? What event in your lives pushed you to want to become musicians?
First metal concert: Slayer, Roseland Ballroom NYC in 2002
Some of the first albums I ever bought that really blew my mind:
Slayer - Reign In Blood
Metallica - ...And Justice For All
Sepultura - Beneath The Remains
Kreator - Terrible Certainty
Morbid Angel - Gateways To Annihilation
13. Which album represents the essence of black metal for you? What are the most recent albums you've bought?
For me, the quintessential black metal album will always be VENOM Welcome To Hell. They really nailed the attitude, the arrogance, the look and the sound. It's a perfectly crafted weapon from start to finish. Honorable mention to De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas by Mayhem, another haunting and horrifying album.
Recent albums I've bought in the last month:
Voivod - Killing Technology
Entombed - Clandestine
Blur - Parklife
Jeff Beck - Flash
Cradle Of Filth - Dusk...And Her Embrace
Dark Funeral - Secrets Of The Black Arts
14. Thank you very much for taking the time to answer these questions for Black Metal Spirit. If you'd like to add anything for Necrosexual fans, this is the place. I hope you enjoy the questions.
Thanks a lot for reading this. If you've made it this far I implore you to listen to my new album ROAD TO RUBBLE. But more importantly: Play heavy metal music loud, party all night long, quit your job for rock and roll!
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