With Condemned to the Breaking Wheel days away from its release (April 5), Adam from Ischemic kindly discussed with us the creative process behind the album, how Isabelle is the conduit for their expression, and more.
ATN: Can you tell us about the creative process behind your latest album Condemned to the Breaking Wheel and how it differs from your previous work?”
ADAM: So a major difference on this album was that two of the songs were written by our drummer Mrudul Kamble, and for both of us I would say that we more or less came out with fully finished songs and merely added leads or harmonies over each other’s work, as opposed to work shopping a vague skeleton via jamming.
ATN: What themes or concepts inspired the songs on the new album, and how do they reflect the evolution of Ischemic‘s sound?
ADAM: From my end, I would say I was a lot more drawn to concepts that evoke imagery of ancient evils and pain, whereas Mrudul leaned more towards gloom and futuristic dystopias. In the end, these ideas worked well to tie together into an overall concept of an ancient evil emerging as a fog, condemning the world to torture via abhorrent machines – leaving only rust and bones, resulting in the abandonment of all hope in the end.
ATN: How did working with Mrudul Kamble and Victor Bullok influence the recording and mastering process of the album?
ADAM: Well, Kamble was involved on the recording of our last album, Ischemic, with our then bassist Anthony.This time he had full reins of the job and since he and Isabelle live in Waterloo, it made things somewhat less of a grind for everyone else involved. He was able to do drums entirely by himself, and was able to do vocals with Iz, whereas last time, to conserve people’s time and money, we did Ischemic all in two days with everyone there together. Viktor was great and timely, and was really able to master the record with the Triptykonian-edge to the levels we were hoping to get from him! Apparently, our record was the last thing he was working on before going back to jam with Triptykon/Celtic Frost and that made us ecstatic. We really hope he said Hi to Tom G and the rest of the band for us!
ATN: Ischemic has been known for its intense live performances. How do you translate the energy and emotion of your music from the studio to the stage or vice versa?
ADAM: Isabelle tends to be the main conduit of expression for the band, and she does an amazing job of expressing the tonality of the music physically. During active and violent passages she’s not afraid to push the crowd and get in people’s faces (to the backdrop of the rest of the band whirlwind head banging). During slower, creepier doom passages, she isn’t afraid to huddle into a ball of cavernous vocals, while I play in a decrepit motion with my eyes rolled back and the rest of the band hidden behind hair.
ATN: The band’s formation in 2012 marked the beginning of a journey through evolving sounds and themes. How has Ischemic’s musical identity evolved over the years?
ADAM: I don’t think our identity has shifted too much from our themes and being a death/doom and/or extreme doom band, but there are some minor changes that can be seen at this point. Musically, I would say we’ve somewhat updated our approach, as we tuned to A on this album from our OSDM standard of C on previous records, and in terms of lyrics, we tend to focus more on sinister imagery with some gloom, where as before we focused a lot more on gloom and the malfunction of the body/death.
ATN: Can you share any memorable moments or challenges you encountered while recording the album?
ADAM: Recording in A definitely has its sets of challenges in terms of guitar setup, there were some issues with unequal intonation between the two guitars used on this album that required an extra trip to the guitar tech and rerecording a few lines on one song, but other than that it was pretty smooth sailing for this album.
ATN: How do you balance the influences of classic and modern doom elements in your music, and what do you hope listeners take away from the experience of listening to the album?
ADAM: I would say I lean more on different era’s of doom based on the type of passages I write but that nothing is ever entirely pure in that sense. For more belligerent and crushing riffs, such as those found on the title track, I definitely channeled more modern bands like Conan, Ahab and Triptykon in utilizing big, slow yet violent power chords, while still maintaining the air and room to breathe similar to classic doom bands like Reverend Bizarre or Disembowelment. For creepier or more gloomy melodies like Tomb Fog, I lean towards the classics like Candlemass, My Dying Bride and Thergothon in using single strings that are then harmonized with minor keys to give them a creepy or gloomy feeling, but the melodic sensibilities of those riffs were still somewhat informed by modern death/doom bands like Mortifierium. For Mrudul’s stuff, I know he channeled Electric Wizard and Agalloch for a big yet gloomy sound, as well as Triptykon for his more abrasive doomy riffs. As for how I would hope a listener walks away from Condemned to the Breaking wheel, a sense of emptiness and gloom, paired with the weight of an incomprehensible, ancient void leaning on them should follow after listening to the album and its final track. Perhaps, a sense of mystery as well…
ATN: Ischemic has shared stages with various bands over the years. How have these experiences influenced your approach to live performances and musical collaboration?
ADAM: I would say that there’s been somewhat of a resurgence in trying to get our whirlwind headbanging back on point, which is motivated by similar goals echoed by our sibling band Mors Verum (that Mrudul and Lyndon are a part of and whose other members jam at the same space as us). I’ve always been a fan of evoking an otherworldly presence, which I try to do by adding disjointed movements into the slower passages I play. I know Isabelle is very influenced by Mel of Fuck the facts in her live approach, although we will only be playing with them for the first time this summer!
ATN: As you prepare to unveil Condemned to the Breaking Wheel, what are your hopes and expectations for the album, and what do you envision for the future of Ischemic?
ADAM: Playing a lot of shows mainly!
SAME 3 QUESTIONS WE ALWAYS ASK
ATN: Artist / band that you feel is the most underrated and why?
ADAM: Thergothon
ATN: Artist / band that you would like to collaborate with and why?
ADAM: Autopsy
ATN: Artist / band that you would like to tour with and why?
ADAM: Mortifierium or Tzompantli
