Viscera Trail (Brutal Death Metal from Israel)

Official Facebook Page - http://www.facebook.com/VisceraTrail?ref=ts&fref=ts

Exclusive Interview with Tomer Hasenfratz - "Guitar and Vocals"

Vishal - What are you doing nowadays?
Tomer - Well actually alot, We're preparing for our huge 10 year anniversary show here in Tel Aviv, celebrating 10 years of activity with a huge production, lots of entertainment incuded and special guests, supporting us are Holocausto Canibal from Portugal, whom we are speicially hosting here in Israel to celebrate this occasion with us.

Also we're about to anounce the annual and 4'th Tel Aviv Deathfest that we run with lots of foreign and local bands.

We are also releasing our new MCD "Treats of Torture" under Pathologically Explicit Recordings in the next couple of months.

Vishal - Can i get the story of your band and biography? What is the meaning of Viscera Trail exactly means to the band?
Tomer - Well a 10 year story is long so I'll try to sum it up:)

I founded VT in August 2002 in order to bring Israel this genre of extreme music that I love so much and start one of the most Brutal and Sickening bands to ever come from here.

We've been the longest and most of the time till now the only active Brutal Death Metal band in Israel and have Released 1 demo, 2 Albums and did numerous shows around Israel and Europe.

The band went thru alot of line up changes whereas I am the only remaining founding member, but the band became stronger and meaningful as we all bexame best life friends, and this meaning has taken a real meaning onto our vibe as a band, the vibe that the crowd gets from us is all about being truthful and real to one another, no arrogance and no judgment.

Viscera Trail for us, is not only self fulfillment, it's a mission to bring something else into Israel and spread the world, and moreover to bring something else into the extreme metal scene around the world, if you see our shows you get that we bring somethign totally different and it is simply - have fun even though everything is so horrible. We like to give people a different view on Death Metal while exposing them to the extremity and atrocities of humanity and the world we live in.

Vishal - What are the lyrical themes you use in your song?gore, horror, politics, anti religion etc..
Tomer - First of all as we state in all our abroad shows, we are not about Politics surely not about Religion we have respect for the ones who choose to deal with these themes, but we're all about Death Metal, yeh it's all about the Music and putting the Violence and Horrors that are always being over looked in the faces of people to except. It's all over the news, everywhere, all the time. So yes the lyrical themes are about Gore, Violence, Drug abuse, Domestic Violence, Accidents, and everything horrible - that's the topic we choose to talk about:)

Vishal - How it feels to be in a Underground band? And for how many years you are in this scene?
Tomer - I can only say that the worldwide underground Brutal Death/Gring scene is amazing. It's a family that loves support and gives you a place to live your dreams and fulfill you desires. I love the underground, as much as I love the "Mainstream" Metal scene - for me they both have a different magic the other can't supply. I love the fact that a small scene feels warm and supportive, where a huge scene feels so powerful and amazing.

I've been in the undeground scene since 12 years I guess.

Vishal - Which are the bands that have influenced your band most?
Tomer - I have to say that my influences diversed over the years, but I could sum them up mentioning: Deaden, Visceral Bleeding, Fleshgrind, Malignancy, Suffocation, Devourment, Fate, Goratory, Nile, Defeated Sanity, Inveracity.. and many other genres such as Hardcore Punk and Black Metal.

Vishal - What are the future plans of Viscera Trail? any tours, releases, recordings etc.
Tomer - Yeh, we're touring east europe in end of March 2013 with Obnounce from Slovenia. We're also playign Extremefest in Germany in May 2013 Working on some other plans aswell for this year.

As I said "Treats of Torture" will be released early this year and we have just practiacally finished the writing of our new full lenght entitled "The sound of musick", to be recorded this year as well. You can expect a real crazy deal of world music genres mixed into our style of Brutal Death Grind:)

Vishal - What is your opinion on sites posting Underground Materials?
Tomer - To tell you the truth, I think the demise of media such as cd's and vinyls is inevitable and there's no point in fighting it. People will keep downloading it and spreading it thru the internet, moreover I think it's great for underground bands especially cause it means alot of free promotion, seriousely these people and sites serve the bands a free worldwide promotion that is unquestionable great.

I myself am a collector of cd'sand so I belive that who ever has the true love for hard media will keep buying it no matter what and it makes it more special.

I do belive though, that if you love an album, Buy it.

And if you wanna support the band even more in these times of internet downloads, buy their merch, it helps alot gettign a band on their feet to manage bringing more music to their crowd.

Vishal - How do you feel about the classifications in metal? like deathcore, metalcore and other subgenres..
Tomer - I will shortly answer that I love Music - persay. I love the fact that new genres start all the time and people manage to reinvent the wheel. I really don't see anything wrong in ANY musical genre. I see music as a gift of nature, and I enjoy it in any form.

I love metal - and I love the fact that it broadens into different styles - I don't get any people that hate newer styles of music just because they're heavy on changes. I love changes, just listen to my music:)

Vishal - In general term metal isn't appreciated by Society what do you have to say on this?
Tomer - Always been like that, and it's part of the beauty of the Metal world in my opinion.

Vishal - Ok, what do you want to tell those peoples who rips off the band hard work and illegally downloads their music?
Tomer - I believe that people don't appreciate the hard works band do and the years put into every cd, and that will not be changes, So I would say to all those people if you like an album buy it, if you download it anyway at least give it credit and share it. Spread the word.

Vishal - Beside Viscera Trail do you have any other projects too?
Tomer - Yes I have a very Big band coming up with Hati our drummer, it's been a project of mine since 1999 and it will be out soon to the world, it's nothing like Viscera Trail, it is Metal and I can't say anymore for now:)

Vishal - Is it hard surviving in underground Scene?
Tomer - It is, very hard. There's no money in it and it's hard to get support. But when you finally get that support and the experience you go through are so strong and satisfying that it gives you stregth to go on. The self satisfaction and memories for life are unreplacable/

Vishal - Metal has to be underground or metal has to go mainstream, what's your opinion?

Tomer - I see the beauties in both man:) Metal doesn't HAVE to be anything - that's another beautiful side of Metal to me.

Vishal - What is your opinion on the current state of underground metal?

Tomer - It seems like social networks have made it much bigger, and I like it. The underground changed alot, bands don't sound like they used to, like old brutal detah metal bands in the late 90's early 2000, were so much different then today. But I love them both equally. It's very dynamic. I do know people have been much lazier since they have all they want on their computer. or phone. They don't go out to shows anymore and it's much harder to get a good turnout nowadays. The work is much harder today on the real world whereas on the internet it's so easy to get the word out.

Vishal - Which is the album you want to take to your grave?

Tomer - There are 2 major ones, "At The Gates - The Red in the Sky is ours" and "Nirvana - Unplugged"

Vishal - Can you recommend us some good bands from your country for our readers?

Tomer - Yes, there are many great bands here but I will recommend the Exteme Metal bands that I like, Eternal Gray, Magor, Winterhorde, these are superb Death and Black metal bands in my opinion.

Vishal - Support Underground Metal, how much you agree on this quote?

Tomer - If there was a scale from 1-100, I'de agree 666 ;)

Vishal - Where do our readers can buy and listen Viscera Trail music and any other merchandise?

Tomer - They can contact us on our facebook page and message us personally on www.facebook.com/VisceraTrail

we also have a facebook store here:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Viscera-Trail-Store/250805991653602?fref=ts with all our merch ever

our BIGCARTEL store aswell http://visceratrail.bigcartel.com

This helps alot!

Vishal - Do you remember your first show with Viscera Trail, How was it and how did the crowd reacted to your first show?

Tomer - Ofcourse I do, it was May 14, 2004, the place was packed with a 100 people and they went balistic, there were no bands like us at that period and the crowd went crazy, there was no place to move, one of my best memories. The Israeli crowd in general is one of the sickest crowds in the world.

Vishal - Metal Fans from Nepal doesn't have a proper way to reach your records and any other such bands,  Is there an easy way so we can also get the hold of cds, shirts etc.

Tomer - Just enter the links above or write to us personally on facebook and we will get you what ever you want

Vishal - Do you have any plans to come to Nepal in coming days?

Tomer - That would be awesomeand we would give you the sickest show you've ever seen, our shows are a theatre of gore and macabre entertainment, and we are a band that looks to play EVERYWHERE in the world - it depends on you too Vishal:)

Vishal - What do you hate in Underground Metal?like, anything..

Tomer - I don't like where people act as arrogant as they preach against in the mainstream scene. But there is nothing to Hate in the underground, it's the fucking Underground bro!

Vishal - Your dream metal fest line up.

Tomer - At the gates, Autopsy (although we played with both on Neurotic 2011), Hemdale, Paradise Lost, Bridequin, Marduk, Obituary, Goratory, Suffocation, Deaden, Kreator, My Dying Bride, Slayer, Inveracity, Enslaved.

Vishal - Quick top 5 albums we must have in our collection.

Tomer - Fate - No Sense, Inveracity - Extermination of millions, Enslaved - Eld, Defeated Sanity - Psalms of the Moribun, Cathedral - Forest of Equilibrium/

Vishal - Lastly, a space for you anything EUMSN have forgotten to ask you can tell us here?

Tomer - Look for our live shows on Youtube, it really is something you gotta see and surely not something you've seen alot before, our show is an inseperable part of our entity. Check out Tel Aviv Deathfest videos and our our annual lineups as well, we work hard to bring the sickness into Israel so if you have any friends who play extreme metal have them contact us and we might be able to book em in Israel!

www.facebook.come/visceratrail

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Viscera-Trail-Store/250805991653602?fref=ts

Visceratrail.bigcartel.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUILJV5Ud44