Unholy greetings my blasphemous brother of Metal. What’s up? Hope everything is going well in the D.O.M. headquarters?!
"Hello Hacker! Everything is ok right now with D.O.M. As we are now taking a long break, for the reasons of concentrating on other things. Jim just bought a house here in Jersey and he has a lot of work to do to it! Also he plays in a BLACK SABBATH cover band called SACK BLABBATH! At the moment I am working on a Dark / Ambient solo project called METHADRONE which should be out on CD end of summer or fall! It is definitely different, very dark and mesmerizing! The best way to describe the sound of METHADRONE is along the lines of LUSTMORD, RAISON D’ETRE, LAIBACH, SWANS. I will be shopping the CD around to different labels upon compilation! Also we are all very busy with work, for we all have very good jobs, Jim is an auto mechanic, I drive a garbage truck, Ronny drives a tractor trailer, and Mike does auto body work! So we are very busy! We will probably start working on new D.O.M. material in the beginning of 2001."

Please explain the world of D.O.M., what are your ideologies, your concept?
"The best way to explain D.O.M. is sheer brutality in the form of unrelenting oldschool (INCANTATION) way of playing , the way it was meant to be played!! Where we left off after "Onward To Golgotha" and "Upon The Throne Of Apocalypse", and also our own original way of delivering total apocalyptic Death!! When we write it just comes out very naturally like fucking or taking a big shit!!!! Lyrically it is the same way for me!!! It just comes from deep within my rotted brain! Very naturally!!!!"

Why didn’t you print your lyrics in the booklet? It seems that they are as blasphemous as the stuff you sang during your INCANTATION time.
"We figured it would save space for the cover, so it is more affordable since we pressed "Prelude To Apocalypse" ourselves. I probably will post the lyrics on our web site at http://artcon.rutgers.edu/artists/say10/DOM.html We will see!"

Let’s talk a little bit about your time in INCANTATION. The debut album "Onward To Golgotha" is nothing but a Death Metal masterpiece. I know many, many people who call this album a classic. Are you proud that you’ve recorded this album?
"Onward To Golgotha" was a great achievement for us! But I still think to this day it could have been better! I was not satisfied with the record, but I do feel strongly about it! I think it definitely was a stepping stone within the Death Metal scene, and still is today! But it is a piece of history, and should be left alone! I would not attempt to play the songs again or to re-do them!"

It seemed that you left INCANTATION without any harsh feelings toward John McEntee, cause later you helped him out recording the "Forsaken Mourning…" MCD and the "Tribute To The Goat" CD. What was the reason for your split with John and INCANTATION. Could you imagine to work with him again in the future?
"We all left on bad terms, first Ronny, then Jim, and then me. It was all for the same reason, John is very hard to work with, his communication level towards members is very cold. He did not want to let us know about the business part of the band, like where the money was going, and why he was getting new equipment, car, etc. So things started to really fall apart after "Onward…"! Also I did not live with my parents, as did with the other guys, so every time we would tour, I would come back to nothing! I was pretty much homeless and jobless during INCANTATION. And that was another reason for the departure for me! As to work with John again, it would never happen! The reason for me helping out on "Forsaken", and "Tribute" was the fact that I was not doing anything musically at the time and I had a very bad addiction to Heroin! So my judgement was cluttered!"

Are you still in touch with John? Do you know what he thinks about DISCIPLES OF MOCKERY? Have you ever played a show together with D.O.M. and INCANTATION? What do you think about the new INCANTATION album "The Infernal Storms"?
"I see John some times if they’re doing a show locally around here, and we will say hi to each other. That’s about it! He does have a copy of our "Prelude To Apocalypse" and he likes it very much! We have not played with INCANTATION yet. But who knows, we might eventually or maybe never! As for the new INCANTATION album, "Infernal Storm" I did not hear it yet! But the last album I did not fancy too much, they are alot different of course today, and constantly are going through member changes, so I would imagine that the sound varies from time to time! I have to consider INCANTATION John’s solo project, because that’s what it is!!"

The band before D.O.M. was called WOMB. I’ve never heard one of your songs from these days but I’ve read (in Metal Maniacs, August 1995) that WOMB sounds nothing like INCANTATION. Please describe the sound. Is it true that you used two basses? Did you only change the name or is D.O.M. a new / different band? Cause in my ears D.O.M. plays a very similar style of Death Metal to INCANTATION.
"WOMB was formed first after me, Ronny and Jim had left INCANTATION, It was a Doom / Sludge project that had only two bass guitars, drums and vocals! It was very heavy!!! We recorded a 5-song demo in ’95 that was never released! But now we are going to release it on CD with the D.O.M. 3-song promo (that is now sold out!) as a split CD!!! It will be out this summer! And available through us for $10 (U.S.) / $12 (world) to DISCIPLES OF MOCKERY / WOMB, 153 Oaktree Av., South Plainfield, N.J., 07080, USA. And also available through Necroharmonic Productions (Roy Fox) at www.necroharmonic.com D.O.M. was formed later in ’98 by Me, Ronny, Jim and second guitar player Mike. The D.O.M. sound is of course different from WOMB’s sound, but the slow doomy parts in D.O.M. are very similar to the WOMB sound!! For I do all the Doom / sludge writing, as I did for WOMB! So you can look forward to hearing WOMB very soon!!!! You won’t be disappointed!! We re-mixed the WOMB songs and re-mastered them!! So it sounds a hell of alot better!!!"

Ronnie, Jim and you did not leave INCANTATION at the same time. Did Ronnie start WOMB because he was the first who left INCANTATION or did you three start WOMB together?
"We all started WOMB together! After Ronny had left INCANTATION he wasn’t playing at all until Jim and me had left INCANTATION, then we started WOMB!"

You’ve played at the GOREAPHOBIA reunion show, how was it? What can you tell us about this cool band? Will they finally release their long awaited debut album?
"Unfortunately we had to cancel the show about a month before the show because Jim is very busy with his house, and we need alot of practice before doing a show, especially Jim! I had gone to the show, and it was great!! GOREAPHOBIA fucking ripped it up!!! It was like back in ’91 at G-Willikers, (a club in south Jersey, Philadelphia area!) I miss those days!!! They were the best!!! Now that Craig and Alex are back together, the chemistry is back again!!! They played all of their old material!! ‘Devious Regordation’, ‘Organ Donor’, ‘Polterchrist Entrapment’!!!! Fucking Ripped!!!! It was great to see my old friends play again!!!! As for an album, maybe they will do one, We will see!!!"

Let’s talk about the New York / New Jersey Death Metal underground scene. There are a lot of cool bands coming from this area, but when I visited New York last year there was absolutely no Metal in this mega city. How do you see your scene? Do you have a good relationship to the NY / NJ bands?
"Well to be honest with you the scene was practically gone by ’95 to ’98 but it is slowly coming back with New York bands and New Jersey also! I don’t really keep up with what’s going on anymore. The scene has really disgusted me with all the clone bands and re-hash! It’s just now as original as it used to be!! Ya know I’m not into the scene as much as I used to be! I listen to alot of darker, obscure bands nowadays!! Bands that just don’t play the same old shit!!"

Why was your demo MCD a live in the studio recording? Did you want that raw live sound or was it just to save money?
"We did it at my friend’s studio in his house and we thought the best way to record us was live, with the resources that we had, it was the best choice!! We also had Paul Crook engineer it for us! He did a killer job!!! Plus at the time, recording live was the best way to really capture our sound!!!"

Craig, after releasing this demo MCD you said to me that you wouldn’t use song titles because you wanted to let the music speak for itself. So, the tracks were just entitled 1, 2 and 3. What’s the reason for using song titles on your full-length CD. The three demo tunes now have titles, too. Why did you change your opinion?
"I thought it was necessary to use titles, to get the message across a little better! The idea with using just numbers was too obscure! So we went on with the titles!"

Your debut "Prelude To Apocalypse" was released a while ago. What can you tell us about the response? I guess every Death Metal fan has to love this album. Did it sell well ?
"The response was killer!!! For the resources that we have (especially putting it out ourselves!) it is getting out there! Our main bulk outlet is Lost Disciple Records, they purchase a hundred at a time. So that’s nice! At the moment I am looking for more distro deals. We pressed 1000 copies and we are down to around 150. So, we are going to re-press soon, maybe with the lyrics inside this time!!! I also get a good amount of mail-order!"

Why didn’t you use any cover artwork for "Prelude To Apocalypse" ?
"We did not want to be typical! I like to use very basic looking album covers, I think they stick out more when you are looking in a record store, plus we used a see through red jewel case!! I think the case looks killer!! No one uses colored jewel cases! So we figured it would be better to be different!!!"

Wasn’t there any label interested in releasing "Prelude To Apocalypse"? Or was it important for you to do it on your own?
"We did get alot of small label interest (including Relapse), but we wanted to run the show ourselves!! I like having complete control over our CD’s, that way I know exactly where the money is going , plus the only person you can trust is yourself! After the experience in INCANTATION I definitely prefer to do the business, as I learned the hard way! Everybody knows what’s going on with the sales in D.O.M., nothing is kept secret!!!!"

Unfortunately the distribution over here in Germany isn’t that good. I only saw one mail-order (Revenge Productions) which sells "Prelude To Apocalypse". What is the reason for that? I can’t believe that no one is interested in such a killer album.
"Like I said the outlet is very limited! At the moment I only deal with Lost Disciple Rec. And that is the only label that is getting it out there to the other independent labels!! Maybe soon it will be more assessable!! It depends on what kind of deals I can get!"

You declared that D.O.M. is a ‘non prophet organization’. So I guess that you’re not a friend of any religious movements. So what can you tell us about people following any leader or god?
"Following a god, and a leader are completely different! Everybody should know that religion is based on fear and weakness! As for a leader, it depends on the leader if he is credible or not! I truly think a nation needs a great leader!! You have to have a leader to get things done right!!! The world had great leaders, and had shitty ones! The great ones will prevail in our hearts!!!!"

Craig, I disagree heavily with your opinion, in my eyes it’s definitely not useful that one person/leader has all the power. A blind follower is a blind follower, so it’s the same to follow a leader / dictator or a god. Could you please name some great and some shitty leaders?
"That’s your opinion, and everybody is entitled to an opinion! But I truly believe that every nation needs a strong leader!! I will not name the leaders that are in my opinion great, for I might be misunderstood."

Your album was produced by yourself and Paul Crook. I’ve heard that he also worked for ANTHRAX, but I don’t know which album he produced. It wasn’t one of the older albums, was it? Wasn’t he very expensive? Will you work with him in the future again?
"Yes, Paul does work with ANTHRAX, but that is not the reason we did. He is a good friend of ours!! As for which album he did with ANTHRAX, I couldn’t tell ya, I don’t know! Working with him was great and within our budget! So it worked out great!! We would like to work with him again, if he is available in the future!!"

What can you tell us about your web site? Do you think it’s important to present your band through the internet nowadays? What is your fave web site?
"Absolutely!! The internet is the way of the future!! It is a great way to get your shit out there!! As for my fave web site, I don’t have one! I just go online to find out information that I need and it really comes in handy!"

Craig, here comes the unholy standard question No 1: What’s your definition of Death Metal?
"POSSESSED, HELLHAMMER, NECROVORE, NECROPHAGIA (old), AUTOPSY, SLAUGHTER, KREATOR (old), you know the real shit!!!"

What can you tell us about your time in CEREMONIUM? Did you record anything with this band?
"I was with them briefly when I was living in Staten Island in ’95. I did not record anything with them, just played a show! I really enjoyed playing with them! They are still great friends of mine!"

To which album you’re listening while answering this interview? What are your five fave albums?
"I am listening to LYCIA’s side project BLEAK! My five favorite albums that I listen to nowadays, would have to be, LAIBACH – "Slovenska Acropola", LAIBACH – "Krst Pod Triglavom-Baptism", SWANS – "Cop / Young God / Greed / Holy Money", LUSTMORD -"The Place Where The Black Stars Hang", CORRUPTED -"Llenandose de Gusanos."

What about D.O.M. live shows? Let me know what is happening during your shows. Do you have any plans to play some shows in Europe?
"We just play our guts out! That’s about it, no special effects or anything like that, just go up there and fucking crush!!! We might play Europe, it depends on if it is worth the trip! I think it will be hard for us to go there!"

What are the latest D.O.M. news? Future plans?
"Well like I said before we are taking a break at the moment, I am doing this project called METHADRONE. So keep your eyes peeled for that!! It is very dark / ambient!!!"

You toured through Europe with INCANTATION back in 1994, I saw your show in Cologne. Did you have a great time back then? Were there any cool moments you can report us from?
"Yes, I had a great time!! I would love to go back again! In fact I was in Vienna in ’99 for 9 days! I stayed with Alex Wank (PUNGENT STENCH), great friend!! I hope to go back again soon, maybe Deutschland this time!!!!"

Okay Craig, that’s all for now. No more questions from my side. Thanx a lot for your time and support. Take care my friend. The last words are yours…
"Thanks Hacker!!! If anyone wants to know updated info on D.O.M./ WOMB / or METHADRONE you can e-mail me at: twocount@bellatlantic.net. And our web: http://artcon.rutgers.edu/artists/say10/DOM.html"

I have seen on your web site that D.O.M. played its last show in October. That’s really sad. So could you please explain our readers what happened?
"The main reason being that we feel D.O.M. has now completed its main objective! Also we all are committed to other things within our lives!! I have now joined the band GOREAPHOBIA (good friends of mine!!) to do vocals, and play guitar!! We (GOREAPHOBIA) will be recording a SODOM cover ‘Nuclear Winter’ for a Dwell Records compilation!! So look for that!! Also we (GOREAPHOBIA) will be playing this November in LA California!!"

Your new band is called "STURMFÜHRER", What’s that? Why did you choose this very controversial name. Why didn’t you use the old name METHADRONE?
"STURMFÜHRER is just an electronic experimental solo project that I just completed! It is a 4-song CD that is 41 minutes long! And I changed the name from METHADRONE to STURMFÜHRER because of the content of sound I experimented with! The names of the songs are ‘Nie Vergessen’, ‘Das Bunker’, ‘Sturmführer’, and ‘Einsamkeit’!! The best way to describe the STURMFÜHRER sound is across between LAIBACH and LUSTMORD! Very dark!"

As I said before I heavily disagree with Craig’s opinion concerning a ‘leader’ and I really hate the name and the song titles of his new project STURMFÜHRER. These topics really suck and it’s not ‘cool’ to provoke with this NAZI shit from the Third Reich. But I really hope that this is just a poor provocation and not a serious political ideology. I met Craig at the final D.O.M. show in New York but unfortunately we couldn’t talk about this shit…

Contact:
DISCIPLES OF MOCKERY / WOMB
c/o Craig Pillard
153 Oaktree Av.
South Plainfield, N.J., 07080
USA
e-mail: twocount@bellatlantic.net

Interview and live pics by Hacker