Interview: Bokluk - Drummer Corey

Bokluk

Interview with: Drummer Corey

E-mail Interview conducted by: Lady Kat Chaos

Date: 2014

OCZ: Hails! Corey, Thanks for taken your time out for this interview. Presently, you are working on you first full-length album, “Taphonomy”, which will be released in April or March on Memento Mori. Will Alex be recording vocals on your full-length or is he still studying in another country? Who will be taken over the vocals until his return?

Corey: Hi from Spain shit hole! Taphonomy is totally finished, on February we'll upload the first advance on digital format. All vocals are recorded by Álex with some collaborations of several

friends, of course, he is the Bokluk singer. He was studying six months between ending of 2012 and beginning of 2013. When he was not, we recruit a good friend as singer for some live shows.

OCZ: Did Alex continue to write lyrics that have a lurid and gross atmosphere on plagues, human degeneration and death? Have you thought about writing about other topics such as malformations and abnormalities?

Corey: Yes, all lyrics are written by Álex, they tried to create a gross and lurid atmosphere of classic Death Metal lyrics about Death, plagues or human degeneration but nowadays he's reading about new stuff Iwhich he explain in lyrics like diseases, deviant people, malformations, paranoias etc. etc.

OCZ: You like starting with crusty d-beats because it reminds you of telling people in general to stop the bullshit, the games, foolishness and a big fuck off. How will your new album offer something new as far as your sound and riffs go?

Corey: Our new album is an improvement about the demotape "Moat Realm", essentially is old school Death Metal with more Crust Punk/Grindcore riffage, blastbeat and d-beat drums, slow parts, sick vocals... We are very proud with the final result.

OCZ: You're influenced by and like composting songs in the veins of both American and European Death Metal, Crust Punk and Grind-core bands. Some of your influences are: Entombed, Autopsy, Obituary, Death, Carcass, Napalm Death, Dismember, Morbid Angel, Discharge, Wolfpack and Grave. How do you try to create your own style without the media saying you're a carbon copy of a few of your influences? Would you describe your music as disgust for everything, savage and full of hate? What new songs would you say would be the most obscure or chaotic?

Corey: Yes, we are very influenced by all of these styles, we we try to compose and play what comes from within us, we pay tribute to all of these Extreme Metal bands we like, wether american or european. We never pretended to be a copy of any of the bands that influence us, we hate all those bands who want to be a "wanna be" of X band, if I want to listen swedish Death Metal probably I listen Left Hand Path album (for example), not a copy of something that was done better 20 or 25 years earlier. Very few actual bands get my attention.

OCZ: Will your songs be sung in English or Spanish or a combination of both?

Corey: All lyrics are wrtitten and will written in english. We don't like much lyrics our language.

OCZ: What's your thoughts about trigger drumming these days?

Corey: Trigger drums it's the worst thing that could happen to the drums. All it get is to create an artificial sound and cheat the listener, all natural sound and all the feeling is lost.

OCZ: What are your thoughts about clean productions and being technical in the Death Metal scene?

Corey: The same opinion that in the previous question. I think that Death Metal (and Extreme Metal generally) are styles that other ways matter; the atmosphere, the rawness, darkness, sense of violence, hate... I don't like all those technical bands with clean productions, triggered drums, guitar solos only for guitar-heroes fans etc. Of course, there are exceptions with bands like Portal or Deathspell Omega but those are bands that have already gone a step further and are inimitable. Far away of that bands, if I want listen technical music probably I listen to jazz music or 70's rock before this crap and bored bands.

OCZ: Are writing eight new songs for your upcoming release or will you be adding songs from your demo, "Moat Realm"?

Corey: No, "Taphonomy" is composed entirely of new songs.

OCZ: Speaking of your of your five song demo, "Moat Realm" its being reissued by the Chilean 'zine/label CAI CAI Vilu 'Zine. How did this offer come about? What format will they be releasing it on and how many copies will be made?

Corey: Juan, of the Cai Cai Vilu 'Zine label, wrote us interested in re-release the "Moat Realm" demo in the same tape format with an limited edition of 150 copies and distribution along all South America. We have a percentage of those copies for distributing it here.

OCZ: You're demo was first recorded in your practice room by your guitarist Tukas and you self released it. Back in the day bands would record their demos through a radio's tape deck and on cassettes, explain to me how your demo was fully recorded the old fashion way?

Corey: Not much to say, really. "Moat Realm" was recorded in our practice room, was recorded in 2 or 3 days with thousand failures in execution but I think that is the special charm of a first demotape. I very like the guitar sound, reminds me to the swedish Death Metal guitar sound of the HM2 pedal although this pedal was not used, our guitar player Tukas is a fuckin' sound freak haha.

OCZ: How have you updated your rehearsal room since then to make new releases or do you plan on using professional recording studios from now on?

Corey: "Taphonomy" was recorded in a professional studio. Was recorded in the Estudio Treboada of our town A Coruña by Paco Liaño. In the future we'll record some splits or EP's which will be recorded in our practice room, I think that kind of recordings collected better atmosphere in the rehearsal room. For full length albums we will continue going to professional studios.

OCZ: What bands to you feel nailed it with conviction but made it with passion in 2013?

Corey: 2013 was a good year, really. Portal, Mold, Coffins, ZOM, Inquisition, Grave Miasma, Undergang, Repuked, Imperium Dekadenz, veteran bands like Autopsy, Darkthrone, Machetazo and the Aftershock by the fuckin' Motörhead it's killer!

OCZ: If you were able to set rules for Death Metal bands what would they be?

Corey: I don't think that we might be one to set any standard for any band. The only thing I respect in a band is honesty; honesty, attitude and play with passion and conviction is the most important quality in a band. Without this, you can fuck out with your posser band.

OCZ: Bokluk, was formed by you Corey and Tukas in 2007, first started playing Grind-core, 2009 you were having issues somewhat finding the direction you wanted to head and in 2011 is when you decided that you wanted to direct yourselves more in depth in the Death Metal scene besides you've became more established when Alex and Iago took part. How hard was it for you to find members and why do you think it was so difficult back then?

Corey: Yes, the band was formed by Tukas and me. Really was not hard to find members, it was difficult to get time and a rehearsal room where play all those years. Álex and Iago are friends for long time, in fact, Álex and me previously played together in a Black Metal band called Noitébrega. The only thing we had to do was "Hey dude, do you want to play in the band?" From there was when Bokluk really born.

OCZ: When your translate your band name in some countries it means; garbage, filthy place, undesirable, piece of shit, and something disagreeable. Were you and your friend having a night with a few drinks that turned into a night of insulting each other for fun and that's how your name came about?

Corey: The name has its origin in one of the first rehearsals when a friend from Bulgaria that we had many years ago, started saying us swear words and insults in Bulgarian to reach Bokluk, was a very retarded situation, like us really...

OCZ: You're planning a mini tour this coming March in Madrid, Barcelona and Santander. Where else would you like to tour this year?

Corey: Apart from this mini-tour, we plan another dates that are not yet closed and we will be ahead. Also we'll play some live shows in our town and another cities in Galicia soon.

OCZ: In the past you've played shows in the Iberian peninsula, why are shows not always allowed or are you selective to what shows you want to play on?

Corey: We played our first mini-tour last year with our comrades Kill As One (Death/Thrash Metal band) and only a show more after. We are some selective with the shows like another underground band I think, if the conditions we order (pay expenses, lunch, lodgement...) are right for us, we'll play.

OCZ: Are many bands playing in their own rehearsal places, homes for just their own family, friends and fans instead of going out and gigging?

Corey: No directly in their homes but many bands only want to play in their cities for their fan-friends, I guess that they want to be their idols playing for 10 freaks in a village thinking about they are playing in the Wacken, Hellfest or some mainstream festival, it's very unfortunate really, we try to get away from all that and be able to play so far as we can.

OCZ: You can't stand listening to other vocalist talking to the crowd for ten minutes, which has been done since the dawn of time. I understand you rather hear more music and less talking but perhaps the other members need to change gear for different songs. So, I've heard that you guys are anti-social and won't talk to others before or after your show because you feel your music says it all, what if it was someone important that you didn't know?

Corey: I think that there are people or singers that very very like a microphone, to be the protagonist and to be the center of attention. A band it's a group of people playing music, in a live show yo must speak with your music. Obviously, rest of the band needs to rest, we are not machines. When we play in live , we never speak with the crowd because in my opinion all feeling of the music is lost. The comunication only should be with the music, if you want to speak five or ten minutes with a microphone go to do a meeting or monologue.

OCZ: Are more individuals starting to come to your shows and are you gaining a larger crowd?

Corey: Little by little we are having more fans at our concerts, we're having good acceptance as we play live, people are interested in support us buying some of our merchandise and inviting us to play another time.

OCZ: What would be your most chaotic spectacle and symbolic shows you've had thus far?

Corey: I think that a show we played in Barcelona last year or our second show in our town A Coruña when a bunch of maniacs began to hit them in a mosh ending with head wounds and bleeding.

OCZ: Who was the biggest headlining band you played with so far?

Corey: So far we never played with a "big" band, always only with underground bands like us but next March we will do two shows with Looking For An Answer, I think that, so far, they will be the biggest band which we'll play.

OCZ: What is the Death Metal scene like in Galicia, Spain?

Corey: There is not any scene, it's only a shit hole. There are good bands but only veterans like our comrades Machetazo or Nashgul and other bands like Kill As One, Balmog and a few more... All it have here it's pseudo "Thrash Metal" posser bands worshipping Pantera and similar shit and also very much trending Deathcore/Beatdown or modern metal crap. It's only garbage, sucking cocks each other and "friendship". We like to stay away from any kind of scene, play our music and fuck off the rest.

OCZ: Do you think its hard to gain good reviews when people who are sent to your shows aren't into Death Metal and didn't this happen to you once before?

Corey: All opinions are always welcome always they are constructive, but when someone that doesn't have any idea of Death Metal or Extreme Metal do any review, normally I don't pay attention.

OCZ: I've heard there is a big competition going on with a few bands on who can get the most likes from different countries on their FaceBook page, is this true? How do you try to expand your music world wide?

Corey: Yes, it's totally true. It's the reality of nowadays, internet has much advantages but also has much more hazards it is not used properly. In fact, the last trendy shit here is the called "Crowdfunding", ergo, begging money to people to pay recording sessions, merchandising or another shit through internet by means of bank account, it really pathetic.

OCZ: Tell us about the following bands Nashgul, Inu, Ekkaia, Machetazo, Hongo, Madame Germen and why should people check them out and how they have all helped you with musical knowledge, the business and philosophies?

Corey: We play in some of these bands, our vocalist Álex is the present Nashgul singer and I play bass in Inu. Bands like Machetazo are a total influence musically and as for thinking, they are one of the few veteran bands that remain true to their principles playing with honesty. Ekkaia, Madame Germen are bands that like us for many years.

OCZ: What old school Death Metal bands who've banished from the scene would you like to see get back together or go back to their old roots?

Corey: Personally I hate all these absurd reunions of bands that once were only something and now they suck and only seek economic benefit, the only reunion classic that I respect is the Autopsy reunion, they keep doing the same music they did in 1989 and don't become a pathetic rockstars.

OCZ: Thanks for the interview, any final words . . . .

Corey: Thanks for your support.

For any contact with the band write at boklukdeath@gmail.com.

boklukdeath.bandcamp.com