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| INFERNAL MAJESTY - One Who Points to Death LP | |
HRR 531, ltd 500, 200 x black + 300 x transparent blood-red vinyl, 425gsm heavy cardboard cover, insert, poster | |
| Chris Bailey - Vocals Steve Terror - Guitars Kenny Hallman - Guitars Eric Dubreuil - Bass Kris DeBoer - Drums | |
| 01 Death of Heaven 02 Pestilential Eternity 03 One Who Points to Death 04 Honey Tongue of Satan 05 Virgin Blood Tastes Purest at Night 06 Cathedral of Hate 07 Angels and Acid 08 Hysteron Proteron | |
| SOLD OUT! | |
Infernäl Mäjesty’s third album was first released in 2004, and yes, that means there was a six-year hiatus between this and their previous record “Unholier Than Thou”. Vocalist Chris Bailey explains why it had taken the Canadian Thrash Metal horde so long to record a new album: “Ultimately relocating the band from Toronto to Vancouver was more time-consuming than anticipated. A lot of soul searching went on. Looking for a new drummer to replace Kevin was probably the biggest of our challenges that set us back once settled in.” A lot had changed in the Infernäl camp, as not only the drummer had to be replaced, but also the bass position had to be filled with a new man. Eric Dubreuil and Kris DeBoer replaced Chay McMullen and Kevin Harris, respectively, and for a number of reasons: “When the decision was made to move to Vancouver Kevin had already left the band. We started getting into a lot of conflicts with him and the relationship became rocky. We parted ways. Chay had a business and responsibilities in Ontario which made it difficult to juggle both. Especially when the long-term future of the band didn't look good at the time. It was a good breath of fresh air for the Infernäl camp when Kris DeBoer joined and did the drumming for this album. Metal is always evolving, pushing boundaries. Kevin was a great drummer but refused to do blast beats or stay up to date with new techniques and the ever-growing competition out there. Kris was where we wanted to bring the level of drumming up too for this one.” No wonder then that the drumming on “One Who Points to Death” usually gets a lot of praise: “Kris is a beast behind the kit and we just let him loose. We wrote ‘One Who Points…’ completely different than we have composed any album previous or after. We only jammed these songs out in the studio so everybody had input. The first time we heard them played back was during the recording process.” With such a free approach, did Infernäl Mäjesty set themselves any goals at all for this record, especially with regard to the songwriting? Yes, absolutely: “Our goals were to write a good album, to bring blast beats into our song writing, and to secure a European tour. We did all three with this album followed by an extremely successful European tour with Cannibal Corpse and Dark Funeral and a Canadian tour with Dead Jesus.” Looks like they had achieved what they wanted. From today’s perspective, what is Chris’ favourite track on “One Who Points To Death”, or the most meaningful song(s) on this album? “’Angels And Acid’. The lyrics oozed effortlessly from my mind. The research behind ‘Hysteron Proteron’ was enlightening. To me it’s the song with the most meaning because it’s a historical based song, as is the title track ‘One Who Points To Death’. It’s about Vlad The Impaler. It’s raw and barbaric.”
Infernäl Mäjesty’s third full-length album was recorded at Profile Studios in Vancouver, British Columbia. “Awesome atmosphere, and the crew was relaxed and professional. A friend of the band, Terry Sho Murry, recorded and mixed it with assistant engineer Sean Shikara and Ken ‘Fucking’ Turta. It was mastered by the great Pierre Remillard at Wild Studio in Quebec. It was in excellent hands from beginning to end.” Most people know Infernäl Mäjesty for their outstanding debut “None Shall Defy”; but for Chris, the third album is of equal importance: “This album more than any other after ‘None Shall Defy’ was pivotal to where we are now. It was this album that helped bring new oxygen into the Infernäl flame that shines now. ‘No God’, our newest release, would not be coming out April 14th 2017 if ‘One Who Points To Death’ had not been completed. This is why I feel strongly that ‘One Who Points To Death’ in many ways is now being released for the first time, as far as I'm concerned. The quality with High Roller Records is exceptional. It doesn't get any better. The vinyl weighs a ton. It feels good in hand and even better on the ears.” Thank you, that’s music in our ears. But this is about the record, not about the company. So does Chris still remember how press and fans reacted to this album when it first came out? “Hell yeah. My favourite quote was ‘It’s a Riff-O-Rama'’! There were definitely more comparisons to ‘None Shall Defy’ compared to what people said about ‘Unholier Than Thou’. The songs slay live and the fans loved them.” One reviewer said that “One Who Points to Death” was the logical follow-up of “None Shall Defy”, Infernäl Mäjesty’s legendary debut, taking it one step further to being a death metal album. What’s Chris’opinion on that? Was this album a conscious effort to go back to where Infernäl Mäjesty started out with “None Shall Defy”? Chris: “I agree that it seems a logical follow up though there was no conscious thought-process concerning ‘None Shall Defy’ that went into this album. It was like it didn't exist. We were in such a rhythm of showing up at rehearsal and jamming out these songs until we got to the point after a year or two we didn’t think we could take them any further. Then out of the blue, three years ago that changed. Terror thought we could go further. Kenny and I looked at each other and just rolled our eyes. Steve then recorded some sample music he put together for us to hear a taste of what he had in mind. It was wicked. We have five of the songs done so far. We have no idea what year it might be released. I don't like calling it a redox. It’s more of an update. It’s going to be an amazing compliment to this one.”
In their review, one German online magazine complained about the sound, saying it was too little polished and too traditional, too obviously rooted in 80’s death-thrash. Maybe this judgement was due to the year being 2004? Chris: “It is without a doubt rooted in 80's death-thrash. Those are our roots. I don't recall listening to a lot of drumming in the 80's that sounded like what’s on this album but its roots are there. So he is exactly correct, though like with artwork, everyone has a different opinion. It depends on what strikes a nerve inside. You can't tell someone what to like.” Alright, we just leave it at that and turn our attention somewhere else, namely to the cover artwork for this album. Is there a story behind it, or does it mirror the lyrics in a certain way? Chris explains: “The cover artwork was done by the Dutch artist Kierston van de Kraats. Friends of the band told us about her. There is a surreal dark beauty felt throughout her works. Steve and I went over our concepts. She captured exactly what we were looking for. It’s all about the darkness within humans. Throughout time the devil has always been the root of man’s misfortunes. It’s fascinating, especially if you look at it from a sociological perspective.” Absolutely. Chris also has some final words to say about “One Who Points To Death”: “We are extremely proud of this album. It represents many months of hardship and uncertainty, pushing all obstacles out of the way to complete this offering. We hope many of you are enjoying ‘One Who Points To Death’ for the first time. Like all our albums we put a lot into it. We eat, breath, and live for our music and fans. We hope to inspire many young musicians learning their craft to follow their dreams. Hails from Infernäl Mäjesty.”
Ulrike Schmitz