About.com caught up with Sewage at the Maryland Deathfest. Sewage discussed what’s next for Impaled; what it’s like to learn and play Wolves In the Throne Room material and possible plans for Impaled’s back catalog.
Justin M. Norton You played with Ghoul here, right?
Ross Sewage: I can’t answer that.
What is Impaled up to?
We have an EP of stuff that didn’t make the last record, stuff that didn’t make The Last Gasp. We just need to find an appropriately disgusting cover. Or maybe we’ll just put unicorns and flowers on it and blow everyone’s minds and make a new trend in death metal. We’re also talking about the next thing we are going to work on. We are trying to make sure stuff happens with our back catalog and stuff that’s incredibly difficult
to find.
Is there a question about getting rights to certain Impaled albums?
The big question is whether we want to make the recordings or just the songs
available. It’s a long involved process. Other than that we did a big round of touring last year.
How did you hook up with Wolves In the Throne Room?
I also play with Ludicra, a black metal band. I play in far too many bands. We’ve been friends with Wolves for a long time. We played the club in Olympia, Washington they were running and have been fast friends ever since. They came down here and played and they had a guy they wanted to play bass but he couldn’t wrap his head around their material well. So he stepped aside and I filled in. They have decided, finally, that they need a four-stringer along with them, much to my agreement. I was happy add some low
frequency to their sound.
How did you figure out their material, which is pretty dense and involved?
It’s long and you have to remember what number you are on. Aaron
(Weaver) is a solid drummer to play with and throws a lot of cues that you can pick up on. Once you practice the material it’s not so hard, but it’s definitely a challenge to keep up with the pace because it’s extremely aggressive material that comes punching from the first note out. There’s not a lot of drops and you aren’t looking for the mosh part in the middle. You are going from one atmospheric extreme blast part to the next. But once you are practiced they are easy to follow and play. Aaron has the most incredible endurance I’ve ever seen. He is really the brain of the band. He always seems to be mind linking with you from some cosmic third dimension.
There’s such a different dynamic and aesthetic from Impaled and Wolves in The Throne Room…Do you ever feel a sense of spilt musical identity?
It was very interesting coming back after playing a festival with Wolves and a few days later I’m playing grindy death metal where I am going from riff to riff. There’s definitely a different mindset on stage. When I play with Wolves there’s a different stage presence than I am going to have with Impaled, where we are rocking and being aggressive. Wolves is more intense and moody. It’s not like I’m all of a sudden going to play Mingus. But there is a different mood and you need to get used to it. From the first moment I’ve played bass I’ve had to pick up riffs as quick as possible. I’ve been schooled in other people's music with all the different bands I’ve played in.
How did you feel about being named to About’s 10 best death metal covers of all time? (for Choice Cuts)
I was sickened and saddened with what I have done with my life. What a pathetic bastard I am. This is the legacy I’m going to leave to mankind…that I have a gross record cover. So, I hit my head against the wall a few times. Then I had a beer. Then I had another beer. Then I finished a 12-pack and felt pretty good about myself. So I’ve been in a
continual state of inebriation since that came out.