These guys have already been around for like ten years now, but due to a whole lot of business related bullshit unfortunately never really got the opportunity to gain bigger media attention. All of their previous releases always got released through pretty small underground labels and therefore were lacking in a proper distribution and promotion. The fact that no established company took notice of the band as of yet is another really sad reflection about the state of the art of our current scene and how it is being run these days. People with almost no knowledge about real, honest Metal rather invest big amounts of money in pushing all their faceless bandwaggon hoppers instead of going for those who still prefer to play this music straight from the heart. A more carefully selected number of unique acts would easily help to make the whole situation a lot more ebjoyable again. And promising bands like THE CHASM certainly would benefit from that, because musically speaking this is a very strong unity for quite a while already. Their mixture of traditional oldschool Heavy Metal with dark, brutal Death Metal works out perfectly fine as you can find out for yourselves by picking up their latest full length "Conjuration Of The Spectral Empire". Unfortunately it was this particular album which caused them a lot of problems as you will find out in the interview later on. We are not here to decide who’s wrong or right in that case, so we won’t voice our opinion for one side or the other. Just let me explain to you that we were forced to drop the original album’s review out of our review section, because Witches Brew (the company who released it overhere) accused us of promoting a bootleg version (which we received directly from the band, because Witches Brew aren’t interested in sending out promo copies)… To clear those things up a bit more, but generally to introduce you to these guys in a way bigger feature, we contacted guitarist / vocalist Daniel Corchado, who didn’t hesitate to take some time off to answer our in-depth interview questions in a very dedicated manner…

Daniel, you formed THE CHASM way back in 1993 after you had left CENOTAPH… So the first obvious question which results out of this is – what made you leave such a respected underground band as CENOTAPH at the time?
"It was about time, I mean things weren’t really working out anymore, when I started playing guitar in Cenotaph, like 3 months before my departure, I expected a little bit more of support form them and also I think they really didn’t like the new music I was writing. I was getting very unhappy, so I decided to quit…"

In retrospect – do you consider your time in CENOTAPH as a good learning experience? Did you make many mistakes that during your time with that band that you managed to avoid in THE CHASM later on?
"It was definitely a good experience and I learned a lot… of course some mistakes were made, but you always have to learn from those bad decisions and I really applied that to THE CHASM. I’ve been trying to do what is best for the band and for me avoiding these mistakes and keeping both feet on earth."

Where do you see the main differences between CENOTAPH and THE CHASM – musically as well as the bands in general?
"I think that THE CHASM always has been more dedicated, what I mean is that I remember that I was always doing flyers and a lot of mail (still do) to promote the band, and Cenotaph really didn’t do a lot of that, since they thought that OZ was gonna be doing everything for them… also a big difference is that we have always kept and fight to maintain a style and they really changed a lot with every record."

What inspired the band’s name and did you already go with its connected term "Death Cult" right from the start?
"The band’s name is a reflection of the way I see my own existence, the void and painful anxiety that sometimes oneself confronts in this existence, is like falling into a never ending abyss, a very spiritual chasm. I also wanted a name that really didn’t show any boundaries, musically speaking, and to have some level of originality and authenticity, like the music we were planning to create back in the day. The name has fitted perfectly into our style, and has stood strong through the test of time. The "Deathcult" term and meaning was something that we adopted a few years later. By the time we were creating the songs for "From The Lost Years", around late 1994, we realized that the dark and true feeling of this music was getting lost in the scene, musically speaking, so we decided to bring back that cult and aura of the lost years. In the booklet of the mentioned CD appears a small sentence were we dedicate the album to all those followers of this cult, all those believers who still feel the magnificent meaning and aura of this music. I always have considered THE CHASM to be a Death Metal band, mostly because our philosophy and passion for this music, not only for the sound, I mean, our entire concept and entity are bonded and created with the sole purpose of praising death and the victory of the own spirit, and the medium to expose this ideology is the Heavy Metal that we play."

Did your musical influences change throughout the years? I mean, would you say that you’ve became more open minded when you grew older?
"I don’t know, probably not. I think I’m more close minded now, specially with all the crap that is out there, not only in Metal, the other style of music that I’m really into is progressive rock from 70’s and 80’s. Some bands are very intricate and dark sounding, some even more than a lot of so-called evil Black Metal bands… Anyway, my influences are still there, they are all the same, but now more than influences I call them inspirations. Bands from the golden years of Metal. Once again, I think we have been able to create our own personal style, so we are pretty much influenced just by ourselves when we create music, but the big and powerful inspiration to continue the fight and to give us power and wisdom comes from those majestic bands from that era."

How did you hook up with the guys that completed the original line-up of THE CHASM, who were they and how much influence did they have on the band’s musical direction?
"Well, Antonio is an original member. He has been part of this band since the beginning. He has stood all the tests of time. Back in the day he used to play in a band, which was ok, the name was HELLNOMORF, him and the bass player, I asked them if they wanted to join and help me in this new venture, when I left Cenotaph. They agreed and with time they decided to be a part of THE CHASM 100%. I gotta say that 95% of the music on the demo until "Deathcult For Eternity" was created by me, but with the very important input / style of Antonio, I think he’s been responsible big time in the creation and development of our style."

Did you play all originals right from the start or did you rehearse and CENOTAPH tunes (or other cover songs) as well in your early days?
"No, we went straight to the originals. I already had a lot of music ready, and this guys already had some experience as a band, so it was a very smooth process of composition. We just practiced for like 3 months before we recorded the demo. Once in a while we played ‘Cromlech’ from Darkthrone, ‘Extremely Rotten Flesh’ from Grave or ‘Messiah’ from Hellhammer."

It didn’t really take you long until you were able to record / release your debut demo, "Awaiting The Day Of Liberation"… Tell us a bit more about that demo, like which songs were on it, how much time you spent on the recordings and how it was received in the worldwide underground?
"The demo included 4 songs: ‘The Cosmos Within’, ‘Stair To Aspirations’, ‘The Gardens Of The Blind’ and ‘Descend Into The Chasm’. Yes, as I mentioned, we really took a short period of time to create these songs, they were ready in my mind, and Antonio, since the beginning, showed to be a very gifted musician, a little bit rough, but I knew he was the man. So with intense practice (I think that in those days we rehearsed 5 days a week) songs became reality. The response on the demo was very good, I think because the style was still a little bit more ‘normal’ Death Metal, still with a lot of weird ideas, but overall the sound was more ‘acceptable’ for people, specially in Mexico, because our next release was treated pretty much like shit…"

In 1994 you managed to hook up with a label called Bellphegot Records, who put out your debut album "Procreation Of The Inner Temple" in a limited edition of only 1.000 copies. How did you get together with those guys and what was the intention of releasing a debut album in such a small number only? Tell us a bit more about the material which was featured on it and if there’s a chance that it will get re-released sometime in the future.
"Yes, Bellphegot offered us to release a 2nd demo (they released the first). I mean, we paid the recordings and he released the tape and at that time I think he believed in us, and also, since the response on the demo was positive I think he thought that a new release will do good… Anyway, the plan first was to release a 2nd demo. Then we decided to release it as an official album on tape and finally he stepped up and decided to release it on CD, which was really good… The problem with this album is that we couldn’t record it in the same studio as the demo, which was our plan. We had to go to a really cheap studio this time and the final result was terrible. The recording plus the new sound we were creating resulted in a very miserable acceptance from the people in Mexico. There were some good reviews, but it wasn’t the same as with the demo. People expected something very similar to “Awaiting…” and we definitely fucked them up, because “Procreation…” is our most bizarre record to date. I’m proud of it, but the production ruined a lot of the energy and atmosphere of the music. With time the tape and CD totally sold out and these days it is very hard to find. I just saw like two weeks ago that one copy got sold on ebay for $70.00!! I really don’t know what to think about it… There are no plans to re-release it, however we have serious thoughts of re-recording a couple of songs to release ‘em as a limited edition vinyl."

What happened to Erick, the guitar player from the demo, and how did you hook up with Rodolfo, who joined you on bass at the time?
"Erick is living in Seattle these days and he formed a band called SERPENS AEON. In those times he moved with his family to a different state, that’s why he had to leave the band in the "Procreation" period. Rodolfo was and still is a real brother. He also played in Cenotaph for a few months. Before playing with us, we just asked if he wanted to join, since we were looking to do this very “progressive” thing with two bass players. It really didn’t work out as we expected, but we did it and that’s the main point… It was a good experience…"

But it seems Rodolfo didn’t stay in the band very long as you took over the bass duties on your next album "From The Lost Years…" yourself… So, what was the problem?
"Well, as I mentioned, it just didn’t work out. We just decided to let him go and he was cool with that. He knew things weren’t going well, musically speaking. In fact, he is still a friend of ours, so there was nothing personal in the split, only musical… And due to the fact that we were getting tired of looking for the right members I decided to record the bass on "From…" It was better and more relaxed in the studio, since I already had a lot of bass lines / ideas in my head… I was still looking for that “progressive” bass feel in our sound, something that we found years later with Roberto and then Alfonso…"

What have you done in between "Procreation Of The Inner Temple" and "From The Lost Years…"? Did you manage to play a tour in support of your debut or something?
"We have never done an official tour. In those days we were playing a lot in Mexico, especially in the demo period. But when "Procreation" was released the response from the people really went down. They were not ready to hear this music on CD, so it was even worse live. Those were hard times for us in the live area. Around that time we decided to stop playing live, due to the mentioned circumstances."

"From The Lost Years…" was released in 1995 by The Art / Reborn Records, another totally unknown label to me… Tell us a bit more about the co-operation and why it didn’t last very long either.
"This co-operation was created when we were looking for something better for the band. Both guys from these labels were also friends of ours and I think they believed in what we were doing. We told them, separately, that we needed to go to a more professional studio, with some bigger budget and since the economy in Mexico always has been fucked we all decided that the best thing to do was to work all together, especially them, with the money. So, in early 1995 we went to Tequila studios were I already have been when we recorded the first Cenotaph CD. Also Antonio was familiar with the studio, his band recorded their demo there. It was like the Sunlight or Morrisound of Mexico, all the extreme bands started to record there. The production was a step forward from the past release, but still it lacked a lot of power, it has good atmosphere, but something is missing. Anyway, it was an improvement from the other releases and that was what we were looking for, we still do. Always looking for the best for the band and try to improve in every possible aspect. It’s not that I’m hard to deal with, like the poser from Reborn said in a review I recently read, it’s only that we are always moving forward, but sometimes plans don’t go as planned. I’ll explain further why we changed to OZ."

As this album is also not very easy to find anymore, I was wondering if that was another limited edition again?! How many copies were made of "From The Lost Years…" this time?
"Yes, all releases back in the days were limited, not only ours. The budget of the labels was small and also we were much more unknown and underground, so we really didn’t expect to sell more than 1000 copies. “From The…” was also released on cassette, so overall we sold 2000 between tape and album."

In 1997, during the recording sessions for your next album "Deathcult For Eternity", you decided to relocate the band from Mexico to the US… How long did you have something like that in mind already, what were the main reasons for it and what kind of problems started to occure because of this decision? How did the members of THE CHASM at the time react on this? Was Chicago your number one choice right from the start?
"I had this idea first in ’95, after I came back from a small tour I did with Incantation. It wasn’t my first time in the USA, but it was the occasion I expended more time here. And also I saw the US territory from a different perspective, from the Metal scene view. It was very interesting and the same year I came to Chicago with Cenotaph, to help ‘em out doing vocals for a show they got. The singer didn’t have a visa, so he couldn’t make it. They asked me for help and I did it. That’s when we met a lot of people especially Mexican, and we realized that there was a chance to get here and start a new life, specially for the band. We saw that there were more opportunities to take our music to the next level. If you have an ok job here you can afford to pay a practice room, get much better equipment and even have cash to record in a good studio. Of course all is a matter of working hard and be smart with your money, but the overall situation was much better than in Mexico. I told the idea to the others in the band, and at first it was only that, an idea. Nobody was really sure about it, not even me… So a few years later, in late ’96, I rejoined Incantation to help ‘em out for another tour, this time a longer one, so we decided to go to the studio before I split. That was late ‘96 / early ’97. The songs were ready and the time was right and since we knew I was gonna be out of town for a while we decided to record the album and just wait and be patient for its release. The recording process was an intense one, because this album was harder to play and much more direct in all aspects. Sadly the final mix wasn’t what we expected, the engineer fucked up the first mix we did when I was still there, so he decided to remix it without me, when I was already here in USA. Obviously the final result was very poor. I was so pissed and depressed, because this album meant a lot to us, it was our masterpiece at that time, and the sound ruined a lot of feeling and power. This was another vital point in deciding to move the band, to look for a better production next time… Also by the time I was touring with Incantation a lot of stupid rumors and backstabbing started to appear in Mexico and the worst part is that it was coming from supposedly close friends. So, I was like, fuck it, I‘m not going back with those fuckin’ traitors. I decided to stay with Incantation for a longer time and started to think about the future of THE CHASM here. It was a hard decision and it took some time to do it, but in the end, the important persons to make the plan work agreed to join me in this difficult task. One is Liliana, my long time soulmate and the other was Antonio, the only ones who believed in me and THE CHASM 100%."

Besides the relocation, what caused the big delay in the release of "Deathcult For Eternity" and what can you tell us about Oz Productions, the new label you once again started to work with?
"Ok, ”Deathcult…” was originally supposed to be released by The Art / Reborn Again. We were pretty satisfied with what they did with “From The…”. They agreed to release the new one, so they said they were gonna pay for the studio, etc. So, we were like “Sounds good, let’s go for it”. A few months after the recording I started to talk with these guys, and actually Julian fron Reborn was the one to tell me that they didn’t have enough cash to pay for the recording and also that the album was so good that we needed to look for a better label to release it. So it was their decision to change the label, not ours. That’s why I don’t understand the stupid shit about me, saying that "I’m a hard person to deal with”, yeah right… Anyway, now the task was to look for a new label. And first we found Angel Dust Records from NY, who’s owner, Rob from Morpheus Descends I met because of Incantation. He was impressed with the rough mix I showed him and he agreed to release it. But for several reasons he just went bankrupt. He decided to terminate the label. All this was happening during the whole 1997. The CD was getting extremely delayed, a total chaos… In December of that year I went to Mexico for only three days, to get a new visa and I met with the guys from The Art / Reborn and Oz. We all agreed that OZ was gonna pay for the recordings and that they were gonna be in charge of the release. We really didn’t have any other option, and I think that at that time OZ was a more serious and Death Metal oriented label, so we were ok with the deal. They did a good job for the album, which was released in early summer ’98, almost two years after we recorded it."

Was it any difficult to reform THE CHASM with new members once you arrived in the US? Did the new members have any effect on the musical direction or something?
"Well, it wasn’t really hard. First with Roberto Valle, we knew him since around 1994, when we played in his town, we became really good friends, and he was a total THE CHASM maniac. So, when I asked him to help us playing bass for the Metalfest in 1998 he agreed quickly. He didn’t play with us on that fest due to some really childish attitude. He also got an offer from Cenotaph to play bass at the same show, but under the condition that he won’t play with us, only for them. And he came to Chicago because of us! Talking about backstabbers… He decided to stay with Cenotaph, they were also planning to stay in Chicago for a longer time and give it a try, but things didn’t work out for them. We asked Julio to help us out on the Metalfest too, which he did with no problems and conditions at all. After a few weeks we also asked him to join permanently because we knew that he was getting disappointed with Cenotaph. He wanted to keep creating music, and everybody in his band was too busy working and making money. He made the final decision, he chose the best for him, and time has proved him and us right… Anyway, after the Cenotaph split Roberto decided to stay here in Chicago too, and he also wanted to keep doing music for real. So after a few months of talking and getting everything straight we all decided that he was the man to take car of the bass. He is a really great bass player and one of our greatest brothers. Even right now, we are still in touch. At this moment he is in Bagdad fighting the war, that’s fucking hardcore, he’s in the special forces, a killing machine, that’s someone with fuckin’ balls. In a few months he’s actually gonna be in Germany to take care of some business for us, we respect him a lot, a true defender of our cause…"

Did you notice any improvement throughout the years, in terms of an increased popularity of the band or something? Would you say that each new label you worked with brought THE CHASM to the next level?
"Yes, the recognition and respect for the band has actually improved over the years, not dramatically, but we now definitely have more people into our cult, individuals who understand and believe in our cause and we respect them a lot. I think that every new release has been part of the foundation for this expansion. Every label has done whatever they could to promote the CD they released, except Witches Brew, so I’ll say that yes, every label has contributed to bring the name of THE CHASM to a new level."

Next up was your "Promo ’99", which you recorded shortly before your appearance at the Milwaukee Metalfest XIII in order to find a better deal. Which songs appeared on that promo and have those recordings been used for labels exclusively or did you also spread them among the fans of the band?
"Yes we recorded that promo to find a new label. We decided to look for a better deal, since we were in the USA, we thought that it was time to explore new frontiers. There was nothing against OZ, as I said, they did a good job promoting and distributing “Deathcult…” but it was time to move forward. So we saved some cash and recorded six songs, and we only used four for the promo. These are ‘Spectral Sons Of The MIctlan’, ‘The Scars Of My Journey’, ‘Return Of The Banished’ and ‘Storm Of Revelations’. All these also appeared on "Procession To The Infraworld”, with a different recording and mixing. We never used these versions for anything else, until now. Two of them are gonna be part of the double “Conjuration…” vinyl, something extra and special for the true believers."

There’s been talk of several labels that had shown interest in THE CHASM at the time – would you mind telling us some names and what you made sign with Dwell Records in the end?
"Well, actually there was not really a big interest. Well, there was no interest at all!! I remember the Metalfest, going table to table, label to label, giving promos personally and explaining the situation to every potential person who may be interested in working with us. Weeks after the fest we were still waiting for a response and the only one who showed real interest was Jerry Battle from Dwell Records. He has always been at our side, hails to him."

In the year 2000, your next album "Procession To The Infraworld" saw the light of day… Did it fullfill your expectations in the new line-up and label?
"Yes, we signed with Dwell in late ’99 and we decided to go for it because Jerry was really into the band. He really liked what he heard on the promo and he was very enthusiastic about releasing what was gonna be our first North American release, with a very professional production etc. And believe me, everything was working very well, the only things they fucked up is that they never got us on a tour and that they never did distribution overseas. They were much more oriented in only North American / Canadian territory, this really helped us a lot to get the name of the band more known here, but in Europe the CD was almost non existent. But overall the deal was very good. I mean, we were not asking for much, we know our potential but also our limitations, and so far they did everything they promised. Musically speaking the album turned out better than we expected. This time we had a real production and the music was our strongest to date. It was like a new beginning for us and I think it really shows within the music. The response was overwhelming, much better than I expected. We really thought that we were gonna get to the next level, let’s say at least be able to tour and get a much better recording budget and treatment for the next album, which obviously didn’t happen."

How did you get your old bandmate from CENOTAPH (and also ex-SHUB NIGGURATH), guitarist Julio Viterbo into the line up? Was he already living in the US at the time or did he relocate just in order to join you in THE CHASM overthere?
"Julio and I never played together in Cenotaph. He joined the band years after I quit. I helped Cenotaph to play the Metalfest with us in 1998, so the band came to Chicago weeks before the show. I talked with Julio and Cenotaph if they were cool with the idea of him playing session guitar for us. Everybody agreed, especially Julio. He was totally into the idea, he already helped us out years before when we played with TIAMAT in Mexico City, and I already had helped out Cenotaph a couple of times before. Those were good times, but with time everything changed. As I mentioned before, weeks after the Metalfest Antonio and I were talking about starting to compose new songs. It was about time. We were dormant for almost two years and it was time to strike back. That’s when we asked Julio if he wanted to be part of the band, and believe me, we asked him because we really didn’t saw any real interest from Cenotaph to keep doing the band, and Julio knew that. Idiots say that I “stole” Julio from Cenotaph and that is so fuckin’ idiotic. I mean, I didn’t put a gun in Julio’s head in order to make him stay with us, haha!! Anyway, time has proved that he did the right thing… we believe and feel Death Metal, and that’s all we want to do."

Was it easier for you to get gigs ever since you lived in Chicago? I mean, you already played with an incredibly big number of quite wellknown names in your career (a.o. Therion, Suffocation, Morbid Angel, Nile, Disgorge, Unleashed, Rotting Christ, Scepter, Thornspawn, Cianide, Bloodstorm, Black Witchery, Mayhem), so was the majority of it in the US or also still back in Mexico?
"A big amount of bands that we shared the stage with was done in Mexico, especially the ’bigger’ ones. We were fortunate enough to get these gigs and gain a lot of experience as well as to be in the same stage as them. After our attack at the Metalfest, people took notice about us and we got offers here and there to play shows. The scene in Chicago showed a very strong support for us and we really appreciate it, since we came from a different country. I thought it was gonna be more difficult to get along with the scene here, but I was wrong, the majority of people here has been with us almost from the beginning."

Unfortunately Dwell Records turned out to be another wrong decision in the label department, as they closed doors pretty quickly after you had been signed by them… So, have you ever been disillusioned because of all the record label shit you had already been going through at any time?
"Yes, that was a big turn off. The thing was that Jerry resigned, he knew that things weren’t working out at the label. The main owner really didn’t know shit about this music, and he expected to make big money from us and Coffin Texts. Of course it didn’t happen and he decided to let us go. So there we were again, without a label, and at that time I thought that after the strong response for “Procession…” that it was gonna be relatively easy to find a new deal. How wrong I was. After months of waiting and wasting time nothing never happened. So yes, we were very down and disappointed, but at the same time we were getting’ much more fuckin serious and destructive with our music."

I suppose the decision to form a label on your own in August 2001 was pretty obvious in your case, so tell us a bit more about the origin of Lux Inframundis Productions and if you had to face any difficulties with that as well (financial problems or anything)?
"Yes, we came to a point were we didn’t see any good future for the band, label wise speaking, so I decided to create Lux Inframundis in order to release our next attack. We were wasting a lot of time waiting for the response of some labels that supposedly were interested (WW3 and Renegade). Nothing ever happened and we already had material ready for a full length, so I took my chances and got a loan in order to buy recording equipment and to press the CD. Well, to this date I still haven’t recovered all the investment, the MCD was released in November 2001 and still is not sold out. So, it was a very disastrous financial move, but I don’t regret it. I did what I think was the best for the band and I’m really proud of it."

The first (self financed) release was the mini CD "Reaching The Veil Of Death" – tell us a bit more about that and what kind of business experiences you made, being a label owner on your own all of a sudden.
"We recorded the MCD in our practice room, with almost no knowledge of digital recording and using very simple / basic stuff. We even had to use cheap Radio Shack microphones to record drums. Our budget was very tight. In the beginning it was more like an experiment, we wanted to check if the recording was optimal enough to be worth it of being officially released. In the end we were all satisfied with the final result. I mean, under the circumstances I think the production was good enough, and the feeling of the songs was captured, so we finally decided to release it. I think that the biggest mistake that I did as a label in a way was to not be able to trade, since I had to recover and pay the money I got. That’s why the MCD is still available, but a lot of people understood this and supported our cause. There were several distros that agreed to pay for the CD instead of trading, that gave me some strength in keep pushing as much as I could the CD. ”Reaching The Veil Of Death” is a very important release in our career, it is the sign of independence and spirit of the band. We really didn’t care to take a step back from our prior release and deal, because the bottom line was to keep creating and releasing the music we believe in."

And by now your most current album "Conjuration Of The Spectral Empire" is available and already got a very enthusiastic feedback from Metalion in his latest issue of SLAYER MAG… How does it feel for you to finally get noticed and honoured in such a positive way, from someone who’s been around for so long as well. Do you think THE CHASM will benefit from that after all?
"All this tremendous response has been overwhelming, to tell you the truth we really didn’t expect it. I mean, we believe and back up our music 100%, but from past experiences we really thought that the new album was just gonna do ok. Of course the people who are into THE CHASM know that they won’t be disappointed with our new releases, but those who are not familiar with our sound sometimes don’t get into it, and with “Conjuration…” a lot of people who have never heard about us have been extremely pleased with this album. Metalion got in touch with me at the time when we were promoting “Reaching…”. He asked me for a promo and I sent him one. He really liked it and I was glad. As you said, he’s been into this for a very long time, so when I sent him “Conjuration…” I really didn’t know what to expect, since it’s different from “Reaching…”. That’s why when I got his news that we were going to be honored with the cover of SLAYER I really fuckin’ flipped, I couldn’t believe it! I remember when we got earlier issues in Mexico, all this obscure and extreme bands etc, is one of the ultimate magazines, and still active… It really is such an honor for us, specially coming from him. And I also have to mention other real supporters like CERBERUS,TERRORIZER, UNRESTRAINED, 7 GATES, THRASH ‘EM ALL, LIVE4 METAL, DARK DESIRE, HIDDEN THRONE, WORMGEAR, METAL COMMAND, SAMADHI, NECROMANIAC, BW/BK, DESECRATION OF VIRGIN and now yours. Also some more who have been with us through good and bad times, real believers of the Cult of Death."

What kind of deal is it that you have with the German label Witches Brew and what do you think about their stupid attitude in terms of promotion?
"Ok, here we go. I’m gonna write this only once, because I have no time to waste in a stupid internet war of words. If they really have a serious problem with me they have my email and even my phone number. I’m easy to reach and I prefer to fix this situation face to face. Someday I’m sure we’ll meet and then we’ll see if they can back up their words, for example: they want to get me in trouble with immigration??That’s what I heard. Fine, do whatever you want, but that is a serious, personal and even racist matter. But that is ok, I won’t bitch too much, I’m ready for whatever it comes, I have no fear, I’m used to be in the eye of the storm and I’ve been in much worse situations. I don’t bend easily and I’m a man of action and not words. Time will tell, and the future is gonna bring a very big surprise to them, if they keep talking shit. Believe me, we have major legal backup. I know, people may think I’m full of shit, but once again, you’ll see in the near future, and this is not a threat it is a fact… Well, I gotta say that "signing" (if you can call it like that) with them has been our biggest mistake as a band so far. They really ignored the album from the beginning. First they delayed it for almost five months because they were "too busy on vacation”, how supportive. Then they came up with non sense excuses about having problems with the video. It was a really bad relation from the beginning, lack of communication, specially from their side… Now they have been talking a lot of shit about me and the band, make us look like we are the ones who fucked up and "backstab" them, and its something that doesn’t really worries me. But every person has its limits and if I haven’t responded to this crap is because,once again, I don’t have time for it, and I have the notion that we did the right thing for THE CHASM. We have a lot of people supporting this cause, because they know us, and they know that we are not a stupid trendy gay band. This is a serious entity, we have been defending our cause at all cost for a little over ten years. And this girl has been playing to be a label for only two years, so I’m sure people will decide who is right or wrong. But in the end, we know that we stand still and strong, with pride of whatever we have done. Life has so much worse things prepared for everybody of us, that this really is only another drop in the sea of bullshit. Damn, we just lost our bassplayer! That’s important! If we decided to release the CD here was because of their neglect and apathy for the album, and their attitude of ignoring the real Metal media, and people in general. People out there knows that. Shit, if they only knew how many out there really talk shit about them, a lot of people have told me that they are still waiting for a response from them. People send emails requesting info / trades or whatever and they do not respond. What the hell is that? Of course they do not mention that in their newsletters, but people should know that we did the right thing and that we never ripped them off. We did our part of the deal, they gave us $1000 and we gave them a full lenght, artwork and even a video, they released their 1000 copies as agreed , so what is the fuckin’ problem?? They are calling our release a bootleg, something so idiotic that is beyond comprehension. We authorize the release of the CD here because we own the songs. They are registered in ASCAP, it’s our own creation, our band and name, and we don’t have to ask anybody’s permission about what we can or can’t do with our fuckin’ music. If they think that they can own the CD, our fuckin’ time, sweat, dedication and rent money for our practice room for only $1000 they are totally wrong. Next time you, Frank, or somebody else getting a message from these people, trying to scare you to get you in legal trouble, ask them for the legal contract, where it says that they own recording, songs, artwork etc., with my fuckin’ signature. We do have legal papers, we own the name, we own the songs, I even fuckin’ pay taxes for Lux Inframundis. Does it sound like a bootleg to you?? If this is a bootleg, it is the best fuckin’ looking /sounding bootleg I have ever seen!! Once again, we did this because of the lack of support and promotion. Shit, we only pressed 1000 copies too, for the american market, with the only intention of giving the album the right promotion and distribution that it really deserves, especially here. Because we have a stronger following here than in Europe. It’s not like I want to compete against our own album, that would be so retarded, we are selling it really fuckin’ cheap. Why?? Because there is no interest from our side to make some quick extra cash. All the fuckin’ money we get is used for mail and more promotion. That’s why we have regular stupid jobs, we have never intended to make cash from our music. This goes beyond that, but that is a big problem, they are not musicians, they don’t comprehend all the fuckin’ trouble and sacrifice that any serious band has to go through. Sure for them it is really easy to just pay a couple grand to release a CD, but what about the whole creative process that went through the preparation of this album? And what about the belief that we have in our band and music? Sure they never thought about it, but for us every release is of vital importance. That’s why we got so pissed and disappointed with the poor treatment they gave to the CD. It was like they spit right on our faces. No support and no real push from their side. For them it was only another record to fill their rooster, for us it was another piece of our hearts, souls and blood, put into plastic and it was treated like shit, as dramatic as it may sound. Anybody, not only musicians, but anybody who really believes in what they do, whatever it is, will have to agree with me. This goes beyond a few’ fuckin dollars over time. We have lost so much money in this band that it’s ridiculous, but there’s no regrets. All we do is for the good of the band… These people think they are Sony Music or something? We are not fuckin’ Cradle of filth, we don’t sell thousands of copies. They are acting like they are loosing millions, c’mon. Now, the fuckin’ CD is really hard to find here, let’s talk about promotion. They say that sending promos is a waste of money and CDs, ok? What about the support and backup that they were supposed to do for us?? I mean, I asked for only three fuckin’ promos first, for good magazines, and they respond me like that "it’s a waste". What the fuck… once again, they are pissed because supposedly they are loosing money, yeah right. If they are loosing money it’s because almost nodoby knows about this fuckin’ CD. Because there is no promotion at all! Not even a fuckin’ miserable printing of cheap flyers. Sure, they said they do everything through the internet, but obviously they don’t realize that a lot of people, specially Metal people don’t even own a computer and in Mexico it’s even worse. People are poor over there they have to think about putting’ food in their mouths before thinking about buying a fuckin’ PC. And that is a good market for us. How the hell are they gonna know down there that we have a new release out?? Ok, they now have an ‘office’ down there. Same shit, all done by internet and run by a real backstabber. I really cannot believe that Julian Nunez from Reborn Records, has transformed himself in such a big ass kisser of these people. Another greedy person who is pissed and talked shit about us just because he’s "loosing money". Fuck, how in hell he expects to make money if he is selling the CD for 16 dollars, in Mexico?? And he sends the CDs with no case, talking about being cheap… That brings to mind another issue, supposedly they expended 3000 dollars in the production of the CD. They released 1000, so that’s 3.00 dollar per CD, right?? And they are selling it for $15.00?? I just cannot understand where is their loss. Actually, this seems to be a fuckin’ good business for them… I’m just writing the truth, and they know that. Before they called me a fuckin’ child, a complainer and even a poser. I was gettin’ ready to negotiate and offer them copies of the US edition, no bullshit, and fuckin’ Julian knows that. I talked with him before this fuckin’ person sent me this disrespecting and insulting email (I never ever disrespected them before, and I always told them that I was grateful for what they did with the CD). I knew they were part of this production, that’s why I wanted to give ’em copies, but they never give me a chance. They just went berserk and fuckin’ shut me down. Once again that’s fine, I know you (Cheryl and Hartmuth) are reading this and I still have a sense of respect and gratitude for whatever you did releasing the fuckin’ CD there. If you don’t believe me just check the credits on the CD. It clearly says executive production by Witches Brew, Lux Inframundis and Utterly Somber, because I really hoped that we were gonna negotiate and make an agreement, all for the good of the band, not thinking about money. But how wrong I was. Now it’s up to you. If you want to continue this shit, if so, so be it. But be prepared to take it to the next level, because with international publishing right you just don’t fuck around and is even worse if you want to go personal, do you people need USA’s Immigration’s phone number?? I can give it to you, I’m actually in good terms with them… and to all those pathetic fags who are talking shit about us without even knowing us, or having anything to do with this matter, your time will come… that’s all I have to say…"

Ok Daniel, I suppose we finally have reached the end of this interview. I hope you enjoyed this historical journey a bit. If there’s anything else you’d like to add, feel free to do so now. All the best from here!
"Thanx a lot man for your strong support and belief in the band. It was a long, but interesting interview. It just sucks that I had to use a lot of space explaining the stupid situation about COTSE. Anyway, you out there buy any version you want, but make sure to get it if you’re into authentic Metal of death… In the end the truth will arise, people will see and THE CHASM has been and still will be…Thanx to all the followers of the Deathcult and real and honest Metal in general. www.enterthedeathcult.com."

Frank Stöver

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