Untimely Demise Interview

One of the best thrash albums of recent years, "Black Widow", was just released by Saskatchewan's Untimely Demise. These guys offer one of the most interesting and unique brands of black/thrash I've ever heard. The band gave a great interview a few years back, so I wanted to contact them again to get some insight on their new record, as well as their upcoming Canadian tour. Many thanks to Murray and Matt Cuthbertson for this great interview!

Skull Fracturing Metal (SFM): It's been about 3 years since the release of your last record. What has Untimely Demise been up to in that time?

Murray Cuthbertson: The band has been extremely ambitious and active in the last 3 years since our last interview. Touring in Europe for the first time ever was a watershed moment for our group. In May of 2014 we played a 2 week tour of Europe, consisting of 9 shows and fests in Leeds and London, UK, Oberhausen, Aalen, Hamburg, Dresden & Siegen in Germany, as well as playing in Brussels with Pestilence for their final show. It was a surreal experience getting to support our friends and mentors from Florida Death Metal legends 'Massacre' and it is something that was key in building our band name out there. We also toured with Into Eternity in 2013, which was a blast and great bonding experience - Matt now actually plays guitar in the band and Bryan from IE drums with us, so I think that tour was the crux of bringing together our current lineup. Another highwater mark was playing support for Death-To-All, Obituary, Massacre and Rivers of Nihil in Western Canada in late 2014, which was an absolute dream come true. Again, playing with people that have influenced us so heavily was a boon and it was nice getting to know everyone and have some beers. Also noteworthy in the shows department would be playing direct support to Sacrifice and Razor at Manitoba Metalfest in April of 2015. Just had a few killer gigs with Zimmers Hole in Edmonton and Calgary last weekend which ruled and helped us get ready for our upcoming Cross Canada tour with Act Of Defiance (ex-Megadeth/Shadows Fall/Scar The Martyr) that starts with our CD release show in Saskatoon on May 28th. We are going all the way out to Quebec and back for a total of 13 shows (half with AOD and the rest as headliners). Can't wait to defend the FAITH!

Speaking to the new record itself: the level of musicianship, songwriting and hunger is at an apex with the writing, recording and release of our 3rd full length album, Black Widow. The amount of time, thought and effort invested in this record is significantly greater than anything we have done in the past. We sought to juxtapose brutality and beauty with the construction of this album insofar as the heavy riffs and passages are always balanced with intricate classical/jazz sensibilities that make it memorable and listenable to the beholder. Introducing a virtuoso drummer, that being Edmonton's ambidextrous Bryan Newbury of Into Eternity, has really elevated the sonic attack of the group. His impeccable double kick, blastbeat and jazz-influenced percussive approach makes the songs standout from our previous releases. Matt's singing, lead and rhythm playing is sicker than it has ever been on this album - he laid down about 35 solos on the album which makes every track sound super complete and punishing. Speaking to my bass playing, I have really worked hard to bring my game up on Black Widow, looking to make the basslines lock in with the drummer and always trying to compliment the frontman's musical statements. This also marks the first time as a metal band that we have recorded entirely in Saskatchewan. We love working with ex-Megadeth guitarist Glen Drover (who produced our last 3 albums) but many factors outside of our control led us to make this a 100% Saskie production. It was an absolute pleasure recording in Regina with Into Eternity/Third Ion producer/guitarist Justin Bender handling engineering and co-production duties. His keen ear, knowledge of the recording software, and dedication to our subgenre of metal made the process a joy. Working with him at Blue Door Studios and Retro Sleep studios allowed us to be extremely meticulous in the the recording, mixing and mastering phase of this project. Having ex-Megadeth and current Act Of Defiance drummer, Shawn Drover contributing guest drums to the thrasher 'Anticolonizer' is a cool moment on the album that really bolsters the exposure possibilities for this independent release. Also having my brother's Into Eternity guitar genius bandmate Tim Roth playing an epic guest solo on 'Calling Me Back From The Light' is something people should take note of. Finally, the vocals Matt tracked for this album blow everything else we've done out the water. Each track has a unique vocal approach, jumping back and forth between clean powerful thrash singing tantamount to the work of Testament and his harsher 'Death' influenced timbre. With all of this said we are totally stoked to get this album released and tour in support of it.

SFM: How did you find the writing and recording process different from the previous albums?  

Matt Cuthbertson: This is the first album where album where every song was written and demoed without a drummer present as Bryan was not officially a member of the band yet and he lives in Edmonton. I would pick tempos, then come up with a collection of riffs that worked together and would then record a rough demo on our digital multitracker. These were sent to Bryan and he composed the percussion a head of time. A couple days before we hit the studio in we jammed out the tunes at our place in Stoon to make sure we all had the same vision for this album.

As far as recording goes, 'Black Widow' is the first album we've recorded in Saskatchewan and the first time Untimely Demise has worked with Justin Bender. I personally had recorded some vocals for a song I did with Glen Drover called 'Walls of Blood' and I'd also layed some solos down for the new Into Eternity album 'The Sirens' but this was a first for UD. 
Some of the biggest differences in the recording process between 'Black Widow' and our previous albums would be the layering of my vocals. We double tracked all of the distorted singing and then added some more traditional thrash tones as well as a few falsetto lines for texture. 

Another first was the re-amping of the rhythm guitars. Everything was tracked digitally with JB in Regina and we sent that to Ryan Forsyth in Winnipeg where he ran through tracks through a Revv amplification generator and the end result is the killer organic rhythm tone that we have on the album.

SFM: One thing I really loved about “Black Widow” is the fact that it’s almost overwhelming in terms of the sheer number of guitar solos. Was this meant to be an increased focus of your music on this record?

Matt: A lot of the more intricate well composed solos were written at the same time as the rhythms of the songs. One of the many things I learned from Glen was that you listen to your song after its been recorded and find the parts that could be enhanced by a solo or lead melody. As well, I like composing half of my solos and freestyling half so the music sounds more diverse almost as if there were two different guitarists playing them. All in all, the fact of the matter is, the old school thrash/death metal that we like has always had lots of solos and that is the sound we are going for.

SFM: The new album has quite a few guest musicians on it, including Shawn Drover. What was the process of getting these guys involved, and how did you enjoy working with them?

Murray: It was a lot of fun incorporating guest musicians into this album as it adds more variety to an already eclectic album. We brought in Shawn Drover while he was still playing in Megadeth. He had a few weeks off of his intense 'mega' schedule and was doing some studio drumming in Ontario with Glen at Eclipse Studios. Glen called us up and said there was an opportunity to get Shawn involved in some session drumming for the album to which we gladly jumped at. We sent demos of a bunch of tunes on the album that we felt would compliment his percussion style. He chose 'Anticolonizer' and after we sent him a scratch guitar track that we recorded with Mike Lefebvre at The Sweat Shoppe studios in Saskatoon, Glen tracked and engineered Shawn's drums which they recorded in Ontario. It was very cool having him gracing our album with his playing and helped build a cool international buzz on sites like Metal Hammer UK and Bravewords. When he said that he liked the band and that it was fun to be recording 'real metal' again we knew that was gonna rock the boat with his (at the time) current band; little did we know that him and Chris were about to leave Megadeth for good months later. As for guest lead players, we knew right away that we wanted to get Matt's bandmate and our good friend Tim Roth from Into Eternity onboard as he is, in my humble opinion, the metal Mozart of Canada. Tim happily responded to our request and in a short 2 take session laid down a massive solo at the end of 'Calling Me Back From the Light' which really compliments Matt's solo that precedes it. For bringing Justin on board it was something that we all just cooked up in the studio and thought it would be fun to get his lead style on the song 'Cancer of the Heart' - it was a joy to have him play on the album and we love what he brought to it both as an engineer and as a guest player. Finally, with our current best pal and former guitarist Sam Martz, we had him play the leads that he had already been playing with us live on the road whenever we played 'Anticolonizer' and 'Calling' live during the DTA tour and other live actions. Sam is a stellar George Lynch influenced player and it was a shame that after playing in so many bands over the years he had never played on a widely released album. Sam tracked his leads in Winnipeg with Ryan Forsyth of Dissolution, a magnificent player and insanely talented engineer (work with this guy if you can people). Ryan also reamped all of the rhythm guitars on the album to give them a punch organic feel through his Revv Generator 120 amp setup - it sounds sick, listen for yourselves, and yes, if you are listening Revv we would love an endorsement cause we love the way your products sound.

SFM: I always thought that Systematic Eradication was one of the more unique cover arts done by Ed Repka, whereas 'Black Widow' is a little more traditional to Repka's style (but still awesome). What was the process for coming up with the cover art?

Murray: Ed's distinctive artwork for our band has always been a keystone that holds everything together and draws people to the band that would have otherwise been oblivious to Untimely Demise's music. He is the man! Ed gives us a lot of latitude as to what we want just the only stipulation is that the art has to work with the title and make sense. After writing all of the songs for the album we started sifting through the track titles and looked for one that was simple and monolithic. Black Widow just made sense to us. I had written the lyrics a few years back after being fascinated and shocked by the epidemic of female Chechen suicide bombers - I like the brutality of the music to be matched by equally incendiary lyrical content; essentially it is art imitating life, not the other way around. I sent the title to Ed as well as the song and lyrics as he likes to work things into the piece that is derived from the music itself. We agreed that we wanted it to be hard-hitting but cartoonish enough that it wasn't too serious (hence the gigantic rack). Then right after the art was complete the Paris attacks unfolded which worried us (we have friends that live there and were literally 2 blocks away from the epicenter of the attacks), but then we realized that people that like our music will buy the album and those that are offended wouldn't have supported us in the first place. Ultimately, we value human life and unfortunately the atrocities that occur in our world will never end. As metal musicians we have an obligation to report the news without bias or sugarcoating. When we received the final art we were 'blown away' with the impeccable job that Ed did - the characters, colour scheme and perspective is classic Repka which speaks for itself. We hope to have it pressed on vinyl soon after we sell out our initial CD run. 

SFM: The last record was released on Punishment 18 Records, but I believe this one was an independent release. What caused you guys to go the independent route again? Are you still looking for a label for this album?

Murray: Necessity and commonsense always dictates the trajectory of our business decisions with this band. We love the crew at Punishment 18 records as they are 100 percent dedicated to the dissemination of thrash metal and are very appreciative for their help in spreading our music in Europe. We could definitely see working with them again in the near future. Once all of the work was complete on Black Widow, Matt and I sat down and looked at all the options and realized that the way to get this album out in the most 'timely' manner would to be going back to the DIY independent route; we already composed all of the music, raised the money through our own personal contributions, an arts grant through Creative Saskatchewan (wonderful organization) and a successful crowdfunding campaign to record, mix, master and press the album, then commissioned the Repka art and layout so for a label to get involved they would have to be able to give us a deal that would help shoulder some of the financial burden that has been crushing us over the last few years of touring. We shopped the album to all major and solid independent labels and still don't have an offer that we feel is suitable. Like with 'City Of Steel' we are expecting that the band will be picked up by a label and the album will be reissued on a wider scale. For now we enjoy having control over our intellectual property/masters and when we make a sale the money immediately goes towards paying off the debts incurred bringing 'Black Widow' to fruition. Long story short: we are looking to partner with a label that believes in the band and wants to work with us to take it to a higher echelon. Until that happens we are happy to have the album out and be touring on it rather than holding our breath waiting for this industry to figure things out.

SFM: What can fans expect of your upcoming tour with Act Of Defiance, and then the solo dates that follow in terms of mixing in the new album with the old stuff?

Murray: Good question, Scott! We will be playing the 'hits' off of Systematic Eradication, like The Last Guildsman, Navigator's Choice and Spiritual Embezzlement, but other than those songs the focus is the new album tracks and a secret cover that people will have to attend to shows to find out about. We are quite proud of all of our previous releases, but simply put, Black Widow is better, and thus we want to take this opportunity to showcase what makes our band unique and a contender in the metal scene. Rather than forcing Bryan to have to emulate Scott Cross' nuanced drums from the previous 3 albums (Scott rules by the way in case people didn't already know that) we wanted to let Bryan engage with the music that he actually arranged the drums for. The technicality and moxy of the new songs justify loading up the set with them. When you are playing with players as accomplished and dangerous as Chris Broderick, Matt Bachand, Henry Derek and Shawn Drover you want to make sure to bring out the armour-piercing tunes live.

SFM: I've also heard rumblings of some dates with Besieged. Is there any truth to this?

Murray: Myself and Matt are good friends with the Besieged brothers Nolan and Tristan Smit from our extensive time playing in Winnipeg and we all thought it would be cool to get the clans playing together on an ultimate next generation Canadian thrash tour. Both their band and our band have always had line-up issues and we talked together about Nolan playing 2nd guitar for us on tours while Matt and I would help with guitar and bass duties for them. At present other commitments are preventing both of our bands from touring together but never say never. We have so much respect for those guys and are bonded by blood, so if something arises at the right time for us to all work together we will contact Skull Fracturing Metal immediately.

SFM: As a reviewer, I have to say I was really impressed with your attitude towards promoting the new release. It isn't often that bands are willing to mail copies of the album to writers/journalists, and based on what I've seen on Facebook, you guys sent quite a few copies around. Could you speak a little bit about your strategy for promoting the new album?

Murray: Well we we know that luck is the residue of design so we feel that every disc you send out is like buying a lottery ticket - good things can happen when you have a solid album and get it in the hands of the right girl or guy. Being raised in Saskatchewan has made tenacity and a hardwork ethic intrinsic in our approach. We have so many friends and family members that work their asses off everyday to accomplish their goals and raise their families so we have garnered significant inspiration from their approach and applied it to music - not just in terms of playing but also in the operation of the business. We have a policy of always being approachable to everyone and reaching out whenever we can. Sending out copies to labels, mags, radio, likeminded bands and agents has yielded great results in the past so we continue to follow that template. The best way to get people to buy into you is to improvise, adapt and overcome all obstacles. We are huge sports fans too so that ethos of always regrouping and giving 100 percent has to carry over in all aspects of Untimely Demise. As far as sending out copies of our album, it only takes one to make a huge difference so like a gambler at a craps table we are letting it ride 24/7.

SFM: What sorts of things are you guys listening to these days?

Murray: All of our old favourites (Megadeth, Death, Kreator, Sacrifice, etc) never get too far away from the CD player or turntable but for new(er) stuff it would be Exmortus, Act Of Defiance, Generichrist, Planet Eater, Striker, the new Obscura, Gruesome, Obituary's Inked In Blood, The End (Florida) and a zillion other albums I can't think of right now. I was talking to Gene Hoglan in Calgary last week about him completing drums for the new Testament album and I must say from what he was telling me I can't wait to hear that release. Never can stop listening to Maiden and Priest either - they fucking own.

SFM: Thank you again for taking the time to do this interview! Any last words for the fans out there?

Murray: Buy our new album 'Black Widow' direct from the band on Bandcamp here:https://untimelydemise.bandcamp.com/album/black-widow , get in touch with us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and come check us out on tour. Thanks for your continued help and keep supporting local bands by attending shows and snagging merch - that is what keeps the metal scene alive.

Untimely Demise – Black Widow

After 3 years, Canadian thrashers Untimely Demise are back with their third full-length album: “Black Widow”. While their previous album was very strong, “Black Widow” is an even more impressive offering. It manages to encompass a variety of styles and sounds, yet still has a very distinct focus. The band’s playing is extremely technical (listen to some of the crazy licks in “Forgotten In Time” for one example), yet this never dominates the music. In other words, these songs are still excellently crafted despite how absurd some of the riffs are. Additionally, the band remains immediately unmistakable from their peers due to the wild vocals of frontman Matt Cuthbertson. Though he employs a couple of different voices on this record, his most prominent is a truly wicked blackened thrash voice. It would be futile trying to sing along to this record because you’ll tear out your vocal cords in the process, which is unfortunate because a lot of these songs are incredibly catchy. Even though Matt’s voice is incredibly aggressive, it is still easy to decipher the lyrics on this record.

The highlight of the album is the opener, “Forgotten In Time”. While some of the early parts might be a little bit jarring, the chorus and subsequent post-chorus are incredibly memorable, with some fantastic vocal patterns that will be stuck in your head for a long time to come. The use of the post-chorus is especially effective because it acts as a method of amping up the intensity of the track. The best part of the song, however, is the entire second half: the band launches into a lengthy instrumental section featuring stupidly impressive guitar acrobatics. Of almost equal focus, however, is the bass playing, which pops out with some Steve Harris-esque lines. Much like on numerous Maiden songs, the bass isn’t necessarily playing a solo, but still has distinctive lines that complement the guitar work. “Forgotten In Time” isn’t the only long instrumental section, as the title track does something similar near the end, but it is the most impressive.

Melodic guitar playing is actually much more of a focus on this record than one might expect from the typical black/thrash album. Every track is filled with numerous guitar solos, often played by the band’s frontman, but there are also some guest shredders on this record too. Even when the playing isn’t about fitting in as many notes as possible, the band still makes melody an important characterstic of their music. “Cancer of the Heart”, for example, has some melodic undertones throughout the chorus that add a lot more depth to the song and separate it from the remaining tracks on the album. Another song, “Calling Me Back From The Light”, kicks things off with a quieter, more subdued intro, letting a sole lead guitar guide the way before erupting into a more violent track.

Because of the fact that the guitar playing is so prominent on this record, the band’s influences become quite clear. The aforementioned “Calling Me Back From The Light”, for example, has one lick in one of the solos where you can distinctly hear Jason Becker’s influence creeping in due to the way that section of the solo is played. Similarly, the closer, “Holy Man”, busts out some “Symbolic” era Death melodies in its intro. Death appears to be a major influence on Untimely Demise, often in the form of Steve DiGiorgio-like wandering bass lines, as well as many of the odd leads that are prevalent on the record.

It almost feels criminal to get this deep into a review and not have mentioned some of the songs on this record. “Anticolonizer” is a song so good that the band recorded it twice. Ok, not quite, but there is a second version at the end of the record that features Shawn Drover (ex-Megadeth, Act of Defiance, Eidolon) on drums instead of the band’s new drummer Bryan Newbury. There’s definitely a noticeable difference between the two recordings, as Drover implements some fills that make interesting use of toms in a way that is absent on the rest of the record. This isn’t to say that Newbury does a bad job though; in fact, his playing absolutely crushes. The only way to complement musicianship as good as Matt and Murray Cuthbertson’s is by matching it with equally impressive drumming. The reason why Drover’s playing stands out, though, is simply because there’s always a difference when you hear 8 songs in one drummer’s style and then move on to another drummer for the last song. Though this is a great track, it does feel a little redundant to put it on the record twice. Truthfully, either version is more than sufficient of making the final cut, so it probably would have been best to pick one version and go with it. This is especially true given that the second to last track, “Holy Man”, is one of the best on the record, and would make for a great closer. 

“Black Widow” is clearly a record that the band has invested a lot of time into, both in the songwriting and recording process. There are no duds on this album, and every song has more than a few distinct parts to enjoy, alongside the general carnage throughout the record. Untimely Demise already had a unique sound compared to a lot of their peers, and “Black Widow” takes that a step further. This record might be a difficult listen if you don’t like solos because there are a lot of them, but the lead playing doesn’t feel indulgent or excessive. Instead, it adds chaos to an already chaotic record. The end result is that “Black Widow” is one of the most compelling thrash albums in decades, and will be looked back on as fondly as anything from the 80s!  

Be sure to check out and like Untimely Demise on Facebook!

Highlights

"Forgotten In Time"

"Cancer Of The Heart"

"Anticolonizer"

"Holy Man"

Final Rating

4.8/5 or 96%. 

Written by Scott

Untimely Demise Interview

It's been a couple of months since the last interview, but I'm back with another interview from an awesome thrash band: Untimely Demise. I recently reviewed their new album, "Systematic Eradication", and it is an essential 2013 thrash release. Below is my interview with bassist Murray Cuthbertson. Enjoy!

SFM: Hey guys! Congratulations on the release of your new record, “Systematic Eradication”! It was really impressive!

Murray Cuthbertson (MC): Thanks Scott!

SFM: Let’s start with the making of the new record. Did you guys want to or try to different “Systematic Eradication” from your previous album, “City of Steel”?

MC: With our new album we sought to make the songwriting the paramount focus. We wanted all of the songs to be dynamic and have their own individual sonic characteristics and lyrical themes. The band continues to strive for a balanced blend between old-school thrash (Bay Area,Teutonic and Canadian) and Chuck Schuldiner-esque death metal, that highlights intricate solos, bludgeoning technical riffs and some clean bridges that allow the tunes to breathe. Just writing the best metal compositions possible was the only guideline, where we weren't too concerned about following the thrash or death template, nor have we ever in the past. With this one it wasn't just the guitar that was the steering the proverbial ship as we wrote certain songs around inspiration garnered by a drum or bass line. A finished album that was heavier, more technical and listenable than our last release was what we feel we have achieved with 'Systematic Eradication'.

SFM: Both of your records are relatively short (sub-35 minutes). Do you guys create a lot of songs and pick out the best 7 or 8, or do you just spend a lot of time writing fewer tracks?

MC: The finest classic thrash metal albums have always been shorter than a traditional heavy metal or rock record, like Slayer's Reign In Blood for example and the early Megadeth releases. Back in the mid-2000's our band was writing more of the epic length songs that were 6-8 minutes and we found that those could get repetitive and tedious for the listener. The band wants to be concise in our songwriting and be able to make our musical point early in a song. Quality over quantity is what we aim for in our albums and that is what makes them shorter than some groups discs. Usually we won't finish writing a song if it isn't up to our personal standard and it hasn't passed the live crowd 'mosh test'. Once we have 8 songs that we are happy with and feel are solid and album worthy that is when we make arrangements to enter the studio.

SFM: Glen Drover was involved in the production of both records. How did you guys get connected with him as a producer?

MC: My brother Matt (lead guitar/vocals) and I had seen in the fall of 2008 that Glen Drover, who had recently left Megadeth, was opening a private studio and was taking on select clientele. Since we were (and still are) such huge fans of Megadeth and loved what he had done production-wise with his and Shawn's (Drover) band Eidolon, we decided to contact him via Myspace about recording an EP. He checked out some of our previous demos and live videos and liked what he saw. He called me up one day and we had a good half hour chat about recording and our musical views. He said 'you know I'm all the way out in Ontario' to which I replied 'Right on, I guess we should pack our bags and take a trip out East'. Basically, from there we sent him a deposit and flew to Toronto a few weeks later and started recording. And the rest is history!

SFM: I took guitar lessons from Glen Drover for about a year back around 2009-2010 and he’s a phenomenal player. As a guitarist, I was really impressed with his unbelievable legato technique. What impressed you about him as a producer that made you guys want to work with him again?

MC: Many things impress us with Glen, both as a person and as a musician/producer. His playing is without a doubt above reproach and unique in a world of copycats. We knew from the beginning that this was someone that knows exactly what thrash metal production is supposed to sound like. The fact that he is a huge fan of the music and possesses eclectic tastes was another 'selling feature'. Glen works very quick in the studio and uses positive reinforcement throughout the sessions. He has been able to give good advice on things as simple as ending a solo on a different note for example. His notoriety as a metal legend has also helped our albums get noticed, where people and reviewers might not of checked them out if not for the Drover namesake on the production credits. Everyone in our band has learned a lot musically under the mentorship of Glen, especially my brother Matt whose personal guitar style, lead playing and tone is inspired by him. When Glen offered to, and contributed, guest solos to our songs (along with Matt's) we were honoured and knew that he was taking a personal stake in making these the best tunes possible. Not every producer would do that but Glen is a jazz man – a true musical collaborator. Ultimately, we get along with Glen very well and have had a blast every time we have recorded with him and the friendship that has blossomed from there is something we treasure.

SFM: Another individual that was involved with the new record was Ed Repka. It looks like you guys got him to do something pretty different compared to what he has done in recent years. How do you like the work he did for the new record?

MC: Having another industry stalwart like Ed Repka has helped get Untimely Demise recognized. We have so much respect and admiration for him, and his work with Megadeth and Death is legendary. Like Glen, we contacted him out of the blue and have been working together since 2009. As far as cover concepts we give Ed all the creative latitude that he needs on our album covers. The cover creation process involves us sending him the album title/theme and some of the tracks. He is very insistent that the cover art has to fit the album title. In this case he took the sci-fi/50's horror movie angle, which we approved of. Escape from Supermax (final track on the album) was the track we sent him and he tried to incorporate some of the lyrics into the cover scene. We definitely love what he has done for us as an illustrator, and again, like with Glen, he brings positive attention to the Untimely Demise name; album listeners instantly know that they are going to get a thrash/death metal album when they see his iconic, nuanced illustrative style.

SFM: “Systematic Eradication” was released on Italian label Punishment 18 Records. This label is on a roll in my eyes, as it seems like they put out brilliant thrash records constantly. What drew you guys to this label? Were there any complications in releasing the record on an Italian label, rather than a North American one?

MC: I was contacted by Marita at Punishment 18 records back in January of 2009 when we had just begun previewing our 4 'Full Speed Metal' EP tracks on Blabbermouth and Bravewords. We were offered a record deal by them but turned it down because we were looking for a North American agreement at the time. Nonetheless, I recognized that they were passionate about thrash metal, Megadeth (hence the name of the label) and Repka cover art, as our we, so I felt that we would be working with them at some point in time. Then when we independently released our first full-length 'City Of Steel' in December 2010, it was our friends in Japan (shoutouts to Tatsumi at Rock Avenue Records and Miki at Rock Stakk) and Punishment 18 that bulk purchased the album and helped spread our music around overseas. We could tell that they were serious about supporting our band and kept that near our heart. Upon leaving our previous label we sought to find another deal with someone that was personally invested in making the band succeed and sure enough it was Marita and Corrado at Punishment 18 that came through. With them we have strong international distribution, especially in Europe where we want to continue building our following. For North America people can buy the album from us through our Big Cartel merch site http://www.untimelydemise.bigcartel.com/ , so that is fine with us. A North American deal someday would be great, but we cannot wait around for these fence-sitters while we want to go out and get things done today.

SFM: Despite being Canadian, I have to admit that I know pretty much nothing about the metal scene in Saskatchewan. I know there are great bands from Alberta (Striker!), but what are some of the best bands from Saskatchewan? Is the scene there pretty active, or is it lacking in terms of show turnout and bands?

MC: Fuckin' Eh, Striker rules and we have been good friends with them for the last half decade! To answer the question, Saskatchewan has an exemplary metal scene with a plethora of bands from all ends of the aural spectrum. Progressive Death Metal juggernauts 'Into Eternity' are our favourite Saskatchewan metal band by far, but I would also include Lavagoat, Wrathed, Singularity, Rehashed, Shooting Guns, Kelevra and many others in there. We have definitely seen the scene grow in Saskatoon over the last 5 years and it is kick ass in Regina too. Show turnouts here on weekends are strong and even midweek shows can be huge. Our last couple shows in Saskatoon have been soldout events (200+ people for a bar show), which speaks for itself. Per capita we have a stronger than average scene and have had great opportunities to play support for bigger touring bands because of it. A lot of touring bands will comment that they are impressed with the venues, bands and strength of the scene in our hometown, remarking 'this has been the best show of the tour'.

SFM: Now that the album has been released, what are the band’s immediate touring plans?

MC: The band has had a busy 2013 year, touring Eastern Canada in March, Western Canada this past summer with Into Eternity, as well as support shows for Skeletonwitch, 3 Inches of Blood and Goatwhore. We just had two hugely successful album release shows in Saskatoon and Winnipeg and are now making plans for 2014. We are working on Europe right now, in addition to Canadian touring that will occur. There are a couple other things up our sleeves but we are not privy to tell at this point in time. We will keep the Skull Fracturing team apprised of any developments.

SFM: Your sound is an interesting combination of thrash/death/black metal. Is it fair to say you guys are primarily a thrash band first? Where do you draw your influences from?

MC: I think because we like to implement speed into each of our songs that would position us to be deemed a thrash metal band. Every song is going to be comprised of a lot of thrash riffs without a doubt. If we are only allowed to identify as one subgenre of metal it would have to be thrash. With that said, in order to move forward and progress as a band we didn't want to get pigeonholed into just one facet of metal – we are heavily influenced by the band Death and the Florida Death Metal scene, and hence we wanted to institute those elements in our songwriting as well. Matt and I really like European Melodic Death Metal and Black Metal and felt that those flavours could work in our songwriting schemes. Everyone in the band is a through and through metalhead, and we like everything running the gamut from Judas Priest to Suffocation. The Bay Area and German thrash scenes have inspired us a lot but we feel that every subgenre of metal can fit into our sound, we just give it the 'Demise' treatment.

SFM: Any last words for the fans out there?

MC: Thanks for supporting us and spreading the word about the band! We appreciate it immensely and realize that without you we cannot exist. Tell your local brick and mortar record stores to stock Untimely Demise albums! Please continue to come to our live shows/tours, enjoy the music and scoop a shirt or disc off us when you can. Like us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/UntimelyDemiseMetal) and follow us on Twitter (www.twitter.com/UntimelyDemise1) We look forward to playing for you live in the new year!