Interview: Scott Lewis from Carnifex

Californian deathcore legends Carnifex may look and sound like they’ve just stepped out of a horror movie, but for over a decade the quintet have used their uniquely savage approach to share profound and meaningful messages to their fans. Their upcoming sixth studio-length album is no exception. We caught up with frontman Scott Lewis to find out the vision behind ‘Slow Death’, the concept behind latest music video Drown Me In Blood, and the secret to Carnifex’s highly acclaimed live performances.

Congratulations on the new album! Have you got any celebrations planned for the release date?

Well we’re going to be on tour. I think August 5th – the day it actually comes out we’ll be in Denver, Colorado. But other than playing the show probably nothing too exciting.

What was the overall vision for ‘Slow Death’?

We spent a lot of time really trying to establish an atmosphere and a tone for the album as a whole. There are 10 songs on the album and we wanted each song to have it’s own individual identity, but at the same time we wanted a certain tone and mood that tied the entire album together. It was a big focus for us throughout the writing process, so I guess the vision as it were was to try to have different songs that could almost fit into different genres on their own but also fit together in the context of the album.

We wanted a real cohesive piece that from start to finish took you to places and it wasn’t just one-dimensional the entire time. So if you heard song one, you wouldn’t have essentially heard song 2-10.

What was the songwriting and recording process like this time around?

We spent a lot longer writing this one than we did any previous album. We took 28 months between release dates and albums, and spent the majority of that time writing and touring. We probably re-wrote each song seven or eight times so while there’s only ten songs on the album, I feel like we’ve probably written about 80 songs – just finding our way to the 10 that ended up on the actual record. It was a long writing process for sure!

When it came time to recording we went back to Audiohammer Studios where we did the last album. We worked with Jason Suecof – Jason tracked it, and then Mark Lewis who mixed and mashed it.

Which song on the album do you most relate to?

Hmm. I don’t know the answer for that! I think all of them are personal and all of them have a piece of me in them. I don’t if I can pick one over the others as far as ‘relating.’ I mean there are a few tracks that kind of seem more fun to play live than others – just going off on crowd participation, but I don’t know that I relate to anyone more than the other.

The cover art by Godmachine is incredible! How did you come up with the design?

When I was thinking about a cover I really just went back to what the theme of the album was lyrically, and lyrically the theme of the album talks a lot about depression and isolation. And the idea behind the title ‘Slow Death’ wasn’t necessarily a physical slow death as it were, or a slow death on the outside; it was more about feelings of depression and isolation. As you go through those emotions they take their toll on you, grind you down a little more each time and that is the slow death.

It’s more of an emotional or internal slow death. And so what I wanted to do with the cover was really try to establish that bleakness and starkness. What Godmachine and I came up with after having a conversation was to have an essential, singular image and leave everything else black and void, really trying to convey that sense of aloneness. That’s how we arrived at the cover and from there he ran the concept and did the actual illustration, but that was the thought process of mine for the cover. 

The music video for ‘Drown me in Blood’ is pretty cool. How did you come up with the idea of the band transferring their blood to drown you in the well?

I wrote the treatment about four or five months before we shot it, and really the concept there was again trying to convey the subtext of the song which is those feelings of depression. This song specifically talks about cutting, self-harm, and those types of things. While you are definitely hurting yourself of course, you’re also hurting the people around you. It takes a toll on them.

So the idea is that as I’m dealing with my own problems, the people around me – in this case represented by the band, are bleeding out through my actions and in the end we all get f*cked. Executing and actually being able to shoot it was a pretty big challenge when dealing with all the liquid – 2500 gallons of blood, but it turned out pretty good. 

Just out of curiosity, what did you use for blood?

We came up with a mix of stage blood, food dye and diluted water. It was really a challenge to find out how we could get the quantity so large without spending our entire video budget just on stage blood (laughs). 

Definitely! Was it difficult to wash off?

Oh no, not really. It all came out pretty easy!

Your vocals are terrifyingly awesome! How did you first find that specific timbre of sound?  

I started screaming in bands since I was like 14 so it was just something I’ve been doing. I never thought it would turn into a clearer job or anything like that. You just get better the longer you work at any instrument. I’ve had a lot of improvement over the years and I’m probably still going to grow. 

Have you ever used your vocals to prank someone or orchestrate a Halloween scare?

(Laughs) Ah, no I haven’t. 

One of the things Carnifex is best known for is your live performance. Why do you think Carnifex stands out from other heavy rock bands? 

I think it goes back before we even get on stage. We work real hard to write authentic songs; songs that have meaning and value to us and we’re connected to. I think once you do that and go on stage you’re not just acting out a bunch of emotions; you’re actually expressing feelings that mean something to you so I think that’s probably a lot of what people are seeing.

We’re performing songs written because they needed to be written rather than just being a band that fits into a certain genre or sound because they think they’re supposed to or somebody has told them they’re supposed to. I think that’s why our live shows stand out more than a lot of other bands.

What do you hope the next few years will hold for Carnifex?

Well I know what they hold is a lot of touring (laughs). Being in a metal band is basically a life sentence of touring so we have a lot of stuff lined up for the rest of the year. We’re trying to get back down to Australia in January or February – we’ll see if that happens. But yeah, just a lot of touring, it’s kind of the only way to make a buck. We don’t really make any money selling the album. You’ve gotta go out there and play shows!

Carnifex’ new album ‘Slow Death’ is set for release on Friday, 5th of August.