Interview mit DUNGEON

DUNGEON aus London haben am 14.03. als Vorband von SAVAGE MASTER bei uns in der Gerber 3 gespielt. Nach einem Wahnsinns-Auftritt haben wir mit der Band noch einige Biere gelehrt und gefeiert – was mit starken Kopfschmerzen am Folgetag geendet ist. Für uns war die Band an diesem Abend eine totale Neuentdeckung, die uns komplett überzeugt hat – garstier Metalpunk Sound, der live mit viel Spielfreude zelebriert wurde. Nach dem ausgiebigen Hören der ersten LP „Purifying Fire“ haben wir den Briten ein paar Fragen geschickt, die sie ausführlich beantwortet haben. Viel Spaß beim Lesen.

1. Hi DUNGEON! Introduce yourselves!

Hello Trvefrykt! DUNGEON is Luke Drew on guitar and vocals, Daragh Markham on guitar, Olivia Airey on bass, and Chris Parker on drums.

2. You have recently released your first LP with the title „Purifying Fire“. How long did it take to finish this record? Who writes the songs in your band?

Daragh: Luke generally brings the riffs and ideas into the rehearsal room, which we then work on together until the finished song is a product of all of us. Half of the songs on the record go back to our earlier days as a band, the others were finished just before we went into the studio, more or less. The recording took place in deepest, dankest south London over three days. However, the mix/mastering process was dragged out for many months due to heavy substance abuse, lost files, lost minds, and a recurring, inescapable Phil Collins drum sound.

3. You played some shows with SAVAGE MASTER this spring. How was the tour and which show was your favorite?

Daragh: The tour was excellent! Both bands really loved being on the road together and we had some good party nights. London was our hometown show so it was great to see it packed and to show Savage Master a good time in our city. However, our favourite show overall was Berlin, we have good friends there too. Our favourite venue was, of course, the first night in Weimar!

4. The new LP is out, you did a short tour through Germany, Belgium and UK. How will Dungeon continue in 2018? Are you writing new songs?

Luke: We are keeping shows to a minimum until later in the year. Until then, yes, we will be focusing on writing for the next release and sorting more tours. Olivia also plays in the uber-awesome Maggot Heart so she will be busy with that over summer. Daragh had a hardcore band that is now finished so he will be busy crying over that.

Chris: Next show for us is with Grave Miasma and Sadistic Intent on the 16th of August at The Boston Music Room.

5. On the subject of tours: Where do you want to play the most? With which bands would you want to tour?

Daragh: More of Germany, more of Europe! Italy. Scandinavia. Eastern Europe too. South America totally! Japan. Anywhere that isn’t London haha! We also hope to make good on a promise with Savage Master to hit the States with them.

Luke: Aside from SM, we would love to tour with anyone that has no rockstar bullshit or ego issues. Punk, crust, heavy metal, extreme metal, any of our favourite bands from those styles…

Olivia: I know the guys really wanna get on the Foo Fighters tour next year so……

6. You play a totally aggressive Speed Metal. Which Metal bands especially, have influenced your sound?

Daragh: Razor, Sodom, Bathory, Nifelheim, Venom, Judas Priest, Mercyful Fate would be the main metal bands. Luke had this kind of stuff in mind when he started conceiving Dungeon. Once we got together with the D-beat fury of Chris, it opened up room for more of our other influences to bleed in (see below)… Discharge especially… until we started to resemble Into the Realms of Madness-era Sacrilege and Judas Priest, fighting each other.

Olivia: Dark Angel, the foo fighters, Sarcofago, Nifelheim, Razor, Discharge, Slayer, Sepultura, Sacrilege and WASP. I guess!

Luke: Who are the Foo Fighters?

Chris: Mercyful Fate

7. Which bands are personally important for you and maybe even influence your music, that have nothing to do with Metal?

We love and hold important a lot of the same bands, within various styles of music. But here is a member-by-member breakdown…

Daragh – Iggy & The Stooges Uber Alles. Bill Withers. Poison Idea. Turbonegro. Queens of the Stone Age. Discharge. Disrupt. Anti Cimex. Repulsion… many hxc, crust, D-beat bands. I still love some metal bands too, even if I’m now a grumpy punk. Judas Priest always…

Luke – To me bands like Discharge had such a big influence on the development of metal (whether or not some people want to admit it) I put them under the same umbrella these days. As for my non metal favourites, I’ve loved everything by The Manic Street Preachers pretty much since childhood….add Queen to that as well! I also love stuff like Neil Young and Townes van Zandt, post punk like Siouxie & the Banshees, and soundtrack type stuff like Goblin, Keith Emerson, Fabio Frizzi etc. And Tina Turner.

Olivia – YES, Bikini Kill, The Lunachicks, L7, Sex Pistols, THE RAMONESSSSSS, Wu-Tang, Gorilla Biscuits, F-Minus, ODB, Body Count, The Descendants and the list could go on forever

Chris – SADE.

And actually, all of us love Tina Turner.

8. For us in Weimar, Punk belongs in DIY and Underground-Gig Culture. How important is Punk for you? Do you get involved in the Punk Scene?

Daragh: We all love punk and its various subgenres. Dark UK hardcore like Discharge and Swedish D-beat has come to be a big influence for Dungeon. Chris has put on shows by DOOM, Deviated Instinct, and GBH at his pub in Camden. We have a lot of friends in London who are punks or play in punk bands or put on punk shows. Daragh and Olivia have played in their own punk bands. Luke plays on stage in a Discharge vest. Most of Dungeon are miserable vegetarians. We go to punk shows in London but Dungeon itself is still in the metal ghetto… for now! We are not political, Dungeon do not write about or portray political things, but we are against fascism and intolerance and stupidity. And we are still heartbroken over not being able to make the Berlin show where Disfear, Crude SS, Wolfbrigade and Cyness played…

Olivia: I’ve been involved in various punk ‘scenes’ since I was 14 years old. I was involved in the riot grrl London Chapter,, the hardcore scene and even dabbled in a bit of ska punk! Haha, the shame! haha. Punk has meant everything to me since I understood what it was, coming from parents who were very supportive of my interests, I didn’t have to rebel against them. I think studying music alongside kids with active 5 string basses who thought slap bass was cool kicked me in the punk direction, I soon realised I could relate to Dee Dee Ramone and Lemmy a lot more than Les Claypool or Billy Sheehan for example.

9. Do you see yourselves as a DIY/Underground Metal Band in the future or do you want to storm bigger stages?

Daragh: Hopefully both. We will never be able to scrub the stink of London gutters off our flesh (or that of Chris’ pub’s toilets), but we definitely want to tour more and play bigger shows and to make more allies. We have always done things our own way without following trends, scenesterism, rockstar nonsense, or kissing asses. We do not have a record deal or anything like that (FOAD-DP). We are scumslobs from the Dungeon.

Olivia: The underground shows (especially in mainland Europe) are so much fun to play and the promoters and hosts are so kind!!! especially compared to most of England (no-one get offended), but of course we wanna play bigger shows, not for the ‘fammmeee” , we’re a speed/thrash metal band, we know what it means, but we’d love to play some big festivals and go bezerk and have an audience in front of us going bezerk, that’s what it’s all about, travelling and playing and losing your minds for people who get it.

10. In the year 2018, some newer bands have accomplished to get a lot of fame in the Metal scene. Like POWER TRIP and VENOM PRISON. What do you think about these bands? Is that a good sound for you?

Luke – My tastes are pretty much all over the place to be honest so something needs to be really good for me to pick up on it..some of my favorites of the last few years have been Borrowed Time (RIP), both Mausoleum Gate albums, the Stone Dagger demo, the first Ranger EP, the new Antichrist, the last couple of Vomitor albums and the new Wolfbrigade. And the new Nifelheim EP!

Daragh – It is cool that bands like those you mention are approaching metal with their own punk/crust/hxc influences, it is not dissimilar to how we sometimes approach things in Dungeon. However Power Trip in execution comes off like boring thrash metal to me, and Venom Prison I have not heard. So, grumpy I remain. Come back Inepsy!!

Chris – I like Power Trip. Im not massively into Venom Prison but its nice to see bands with a little more of a grind influence infiltrating the mainstream. Maybe with both those bands getting bigger more people will start turning their heads to the underground again. Who knows.

Olivia: I also haven’t heard Venom Prison so can’t comment. Power Trip aren’t really my cup of tea but they’re a great band and I’m just happy for a band that gets recognition for the hard work that you have to put into playing in a touring band. ALSO INSURGENCY IS THE ONLY BAND WORTH LISTENING TO IN 2018.

Luke: If we’re talking about new UK bands then yes, Insurgency! Also Vuil, Venomwolf, Aggressive Perfector, Heavy Sentence and Live Burial need to be heard.

11. Finally: If you could listen to only one album for the rest of your lives, which would it be?

Luke – Venom – Welcome to Hell. Or the Manowar 1982 -1988 box set that I just conceived.

Daragh – Feel The Darkness

Olivia – Dont ask me that! Ok I’ve never got bored of the The Devotchkas Annihilation EP. But also RocketToRussiaReignInBloodAltarsofMadnessCovenantDomination. Is also the album I could listen to for the next 40 years.

Chris – Diamond Life by Sade

 

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