RUMPELSTILTSKIN GRINDER

Rumpelstiltskin Grinder play extreme Burglar metal or at least this is how they want to call it. Intriguing isn't it? I won't say more...Read the interview I did with guitarist Matt Moore and learn what it is all about...

1. HELLO! I READ IN YOUR BIO THAT YOUR BAND IS SOMETHING ORIGINAL AND ALSO A STATEMENT AGAINST THE TRENDS OF THE PRESENT HEAVY METAL SCENE. IN WHICH WAYS DID YOU ACHIEVE THIS AND WHICH IS THE WORST TREND IN THE MODERN HEAVY METAL SCENE?

answered by Matt Moore, Guitarist:

  • Hello, and thanks for the interview!  We strive to create metal that you don’t need to know a damn thing about to enjoy.  If we can’t make your head thrash or your teeth grit just by our live show or recordings, we will have failed.  We are encouraged by the success we have had so far and will continue on in this fashion.  Our brand of metal does not really fit comfortably in any known sub genres.  Metal is a broad term and there are many different aesthetics within it, and we feel we have created metal that is distinct and unique.  It is not an attempt at “crossing over”; we are just creating music that displays the intensity that is often lost when music is labeled.  I think melodic metalcore is the hot thing right now, and many of the bands playing it have nothing new to offer.
2. DO YOU BELIEVE THAT MANY BANDS ARE JUST COPY CATS OF OTHERS ONLY BECAUSE THEY DON'T HAVE AN IN DEPTH KNOWLEDGE IF THE MUSIC THEY TRY TO PLAY? TO BE MORE SPECIFIC, DO YOU THINK THAT A METAL MUSICIAN NEEDS TO LISTEN TO MANY METAL BANDS AND ESPECIALLY THE OLDER ONES?
  • To be honest I don't believe that is truly necessary.  I think a metal fan should listen to whatever the hell they want.  That's what being metal is about!  If someone tells you a band is "classic" and you think they suck, it is weak to listen to them.  It is hard for a young band to create something new and good.  The main reason for this is you need a high level of musicianship, which takes time to develope.   If you like a band or scene very much it is hard to deviate from their/it's sound.  If you are going to take influences from someone, make sure they are the best at what they do!  A good musician has internalized what makes metal good, and is able to express it in a fresh, skillfull way. 
3.SOME MEMBERS OF R.G. HAVE PLAYED ALSO WITH SOME VERY WELL KNOWN EXTREME UNDERGROUND METAL BANDS. CAN YOU NAME US THOSE BANDS AND TELL US THE MAIN REASONS OF YOUR DEPARTURE?
  • Ryan our lead guitar player was the bass player for Divine Rapture who's debut "The Burning Passion" is out on Listenable right now.  After they recorded that album, but before they got the deal with Listenable, the band had a hiatus.  During that time Rumpelstiltskin Grinder started to develope and Divine Rapture's remaining members were doing their own thing, so things kind of stayed that way.  Divine Rapture are still huge friends of the band.  Ryan is a lead guitarist by nature so his place in Rumpel is more appropriate. Pat (drums) and Ryan are both in the rockin' black metalish band Solace in the Shadows.  That was actually my first band, but i left to pursue other musical possiblilties, and then it made perfect sense for Ryan to replace me.  They have a new release called "The Screaming to Survive Ep" which is out this month.  It Fucking Rules!  It will probably be sold through www.redcandlerecords.com even though it is self released. Pat, Ryan, Jason (vocals), and myself were all members of the band Evil Divine.  Our album just came out on Metal Age Productions from Slovakia.  This was the first band that all four of us collaborated in together.  Besides Shawn (bass) that is everyone in Rumpel.  It was a fun time in that band, but we were too unprofessional to last.  Check out the cd "Dawn Behind the Dawn". Finally, Jason and myself are the psychos behind XXX Maniak which is an EXTREMELY OFFENSIVE sexual goregrind project.  Our debut album "Harvesting the Cunt Nectar" is mastered and the artwork is being finalized.  This is a joint release between Red Candle Records and Crooked Crosses Records and features some killer guest vocalists like members of Agoraphobic Nosebleed and Total Fucking Destruction.  This stuff crosses the line and will make the most hardened metalheads cringe.
4. IF I AM NOT MISTAKEN, RUMPLETSILTSKIN WAS A BAD DWARF IN A  FAIRY TALE, WHO USED TO STEALING BABIES. HOW DID YOU CHOOSE THIS NAME? DOES IT HAVE ANY SYMBOLISM?
  • We chose this name because Rumpelstiltskin is a sneaky entity and we are sneaky musicans.  We love to have sneaky riffs in our songs.  Having played in many Black and Death metal bands, we realized that pretenting you are pure evil is unrealistic.  We like to be sneaky in real life, so this name represents us well.By the way the "Grinder" in our name does not represent "Grind, the music" as countless people have seemed to deduct.  Confusing and sneaky, isn't it? 
5. HOW DID YOU DECIDE TO DO THIS SPLIT 7'' WITH JUMBO'S KILL CRANE? WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THEIR MUSIC?
  • It was actually Jason's idea, and I thought it was cool when he presented it.  They are a unique sludge band who sound completely different than us, but we felt they had a similar sense of humor, so we just asked them if they wanted to do a split 7" on Red Candle (which I am a part owner of) and they were all for it.  Their music is a big change of pace for me, but I think they rule at what they do.  They are killer live and always on tour in the US!
6. RED CANDLE IS A NEW LABEL, IF I AM NOT MISTAKEN. HOWEVER, YOU HAVE DECIDED TO RELEASE YOUR DEBUT ALBUM WITH THEM. WHY DID YOU TAKE THIS DECISION? DO YOU BELIEVE THAT SINCE THEY ARE A NEW LABEL THEY WILL GIVE YOU MORE FREEDOM TO CREATE YOUR MUSIC AND PROMOTE YOU THE BEST THEY CAN?
  • To be honest, nothing has been finalized with Rumpelstiltskin Grinder and Red Candle for the full length.  It has been discussed by both parties, but no contracts have been signed.   Being co-owner of the label, it would make sense for my band to be released on it, but at the same time we are a young label and Rumpel has proven that it might be able to move on to bigger things right from the start.  Rumpelstiltskin Grinder will be signed to the label who makes the best offer, but that will likely be Red Candle for the first album.  Of course that would mean unlimited artistic freedom, which everyone in the band is happy about.  A decision will be finalized late in the summer when Red Candle's currently scheduled releases are in the market and Rumpel hits the studio. 
7. THE SOUND OF THE NEW ALBUM WILL BE CLOSE TO THE SONG "EQUIPMENT CRUSHER". SO, WILL YOU INCLUDE THIS SONG IN YOUR DEBUT ALBUM? WILL YOU PRINT YOUR FIRST OFFICIAL ALBUM ON A VINYL FOR THE COLLECTORS?
  • "Equipment Crusher" was written specifically for the split, and will not be included on our debut, but we are not against re-recording it for a future album.  Although we are happy with how that song came out, our full length should be 1000 times more refined and powerful.  We recorded that in a few hours and Ryan learned the song in the studio and Jason made the vocals during the car ride to the studio.   For the full length, the drums will be following a click track.   Guitars will be much tighter, the vocals will fit into the mix better and the overall sound will kick equipment crusher's ass.  We are going to record at Nightsky Studio's which is known for metal.  Divine Rapture, Pessimist, and Solace in the Shadows have all recorded there with killer results. 
8. WHAT KIND OF THINGS TO YOU LIKE TO "HURT" THROUGH YOUR LYRICS? HOW IMPORTANT IS FOR YOU TO HAVE THE PROPER LYRICS FOR YOUR MUSIC? WHICH IS THE MEANING OF "EQUIPMENT CRUSHER"?
  • We like to hurt everything!  Playing metal means you should be a destructive force.  It feels good for us, and it feels good for those who listen to our shit.  Our lyrics are about different things, but they usually follow our sneaky aesthetic.  Equipment Crusher is about acid rain making machines come to life to do battle with each other and crush all in their path.  We tried to make the music reflect that.  The intro of the song should sound like a piece of equipment realizing that it has life and starting to move.  Then the song gets more intense as more things happen in the music.  When we start saying "We will Crush You!" it gets heavy!  When we talk about acid rain we tried to make the music sound like acid rain. Our other songs like "Stealing E.T." and "Grab a Shovel (we've got bodies to bury)" all have their own different themes that are expressed in their own ways. 
9. ALTHOUGH YOU STATE THAT YOU DON'T HAVE INFLUENCES FROM THE MODERN SWEDISH MELODIC DEATH METAL GENRE, I BELIEVE THAT YOUR SOUND HAS SOME TOUCHES FROM THE 80S SWEDISH DEATH METAL. DO YOU AGREE? WHICH BANDS AND ARTISTS DO YOU THINK THAT HAVE INFLUENCED YOU?
  • No question we have some of that old Swedish stuff in our music.  We were playing music like that in our old bands.  Solace in the Shadows should have been from Europe back in the mid 90's when we started.  That kind of playing will never fully leave us, but hopefully it won't make us blend in and be forgotten.  While I think At the Gates ruled (and still does rule) I have never really liked In Flames all that much.  A lot of that new Swedish stuff is lame and weak.  Other guys in the band have different tastes, but I would say some bands have inevitable influences on us.  We don't deny that we are at times inspired by Death (especially), Hypocrisy, Sepultura, Mercyful Fate etc.  For us it is impossible to not let some of our influences leak through.  Let's hope we will always be able to control it.
10. WHICH NEW BAND AND ALBUM IN SPECIFIC DID YOU LISTEN TO LATELY AND LIKED IT A LOT? WHY?
  • Everybody should check out Arsis- "A Celebration of Guilt" on Willowtip records.  I heard a bunch of mp3s of this band in their demo days and was blown away.  Now their debut full-length is even more intense!  It's like Death Metal meets King Diamond!  The musicianship is top-notch.  If Red Candle Records had started a little earlier, we would have offered them a contract.  It's too bad we heard that band in our fledgling stages when we had other priorities and wouldn't have been able to make them a reasonable offer. 
11. DO YOU HAVE ANY PLANS FOR LIVE SHOWS? WHAT SHOULD THE FANS EXPECT TO SEE IN ONE OF YOUR GIGS?
  • We play live all the time in Philadelphia and surrounding areas.  Since we only have one song recorded we focus on having the most kickass performances possible.  We spend all of our money to get the best possible gear so our sound is pretty decent.  All of us know it is important to have high energy while on stage.  Our crowds have been awesome and continue to grow, and we feel a personal responsibility to make everyone in the audience freak out.  If somehow people looked bored, we would get pissed at ourselves and turn the energy up a notch.  Our job is to destroy through music and live performance, and we always keep that in mind! We will start doing small tours after the full length, and as we continue to pick up steam we will act accordingly. 
12. IF WE LIVED IN A WORLD WITHOUT MUSIC, WHAT WOULD YOU DO IN SUCH A CASE?
  • I would probably focus on sports.  If I can't play heavy music I will want to be aggressive some other way.  Or maybe I would be a lawyer because I would get to be sneaky.
13. IF YOUR MUSIC WERE AN EMOTION, WHAT WOULD IT BE? IF IT WERE A PAINTING, WHAT WOULD IT SHOW?
  • If it were an emotion it would have something to do with violently knowing you are better than anyone or anything.  As far as a painting, I think our graphic designer Mike Hrubovcak www.visualdarkness.com perfectly embodies us through his art.  The way our website is designed represents us visually quite perfectly. 
14. WHICH WORDS DO YOU THINK COULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR MUSIC?
  • Sometimes we like to call ourselves Extreme Burglar Metal, or Special-ops Burglar Metal, or even Criminal Thrash Metal.  Think of the slow driving parts that Hypocrisy has mixed with the technicality of Death and the thrashiness of old Metallica and you might be close.  But make it more devious.
15. THANK YOU! HAVE I FORGOTTEN TO ASK YOU ANYTHING AND YOU'D LIKE TO MENTION?
  • I would like to thank you and Behind the Veil for the killer support towards Rumpelstiltskin Grinder and Red Candle Records!  You guys are keeping the scene alive!
Nikos "William_Kidd" Parastatidis
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