No Mercy: First of all, thank you for taking part in this interview, I just
wanted to ask a bit about the origins of the band since 2017. How was the
songwriting process divided across the course of all these years, was it spread
out or product of a very short time frame when time allowed it?
Emeld: Thanks for your interest and time! Scenic
Lucid Decay is a continuation of Embers
From Cremation, which started in 2003 but had ideas going back to the late
90s with jam bands and solo project ideas. It was time for a new name, and to
start from scratch to an extent. The songs on the latest album Revenge Obsession were written in
2013-2015 and I never wanted to use drum programming on them. The one exception
is the song for the betterment of mankind which was written in 2021.
No Mercy: What do you
think of the worldwide death metal and extreme scene today?
Emeld: There's so much stuff these days, it's really hard to keep up on it!
No Mercy: What can you tell us about your line up, and will you introduce other members? what does it do to you to have Lord Marco (the killer god of drums) has been a part in several great bands like Vital Remains, Vile, Six Feet Under and many much more?
Emeld: I'm Emeld. I compose the music on the guitar and also do the vocals, on past releases I also played bass and did the drum programming on until the worms comeback. The bass player Vittorio is from Italy and I met him in 2021 while travelling in Europe and was thoroughly impressed by his playing, he is currently also playing with the Italian band Onirikas they work on new material. It's great to have Marco playing on this album, it gave the songs a lot of life, and I couldn't imagine anyone else playing this stuff. I knew of him from bands like Braindrill, Six Feet Under and Waking The Cadaver.
No Mercy: What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name Scenic Lucid Decay?
Emeld: It's basically about
my love of old decaying structures and ghost towns, though it can have other
meanings.
No Mercy: What are your plans
for promoting the album? Can fans expect tours, music videos, or special events
in 2025? Any fav bands to get on stage with?
Are there any upcoming tour, videos, or other projects? What are the immediate plans for the band after having released.
Emeld: No plans other than getting more and more physical media and putting
the music in record shops.
No Mercy: What can you tell us about the lyrical themes?
Emeld: For the first two releases they're apocalyptic, the rotting and
collapse of society, and about end of the world conspiracies. For Revenge Obsession it's a little more
personal. For example, Nights Grace
is about overcoming one’s dark experiences in life, which can lead you to the
light so to speak or give you wisdom. Revenge
Obsession is about wanting revenge but also about the negatives impacts
that feeling has on ones well being
No Mercy: Your last release Revenge
Obsession is very brief compared with Your previous release what can you
tell us about? Andwhy did you modify a bit your logo band?
Emeld: This release takes a lot from my dark and black metal type sound, and
the logo represents that.
No Mercy: Until The Worms Come Back
artwork is very nice. How did you collaborate with him to visually represent
the themes and essence of the music?
Emeld: That was basically just a pre-made
image, but I had Georgi add some
giant worms to it. I'm glad you like it.
No Mercy: Can you tell us a
little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the new EP cover?
Emeld: It represents the lyrics to Revenge
Obsession really good, and adds to the theme. For example, the person is
drowning in their own hate, with the acidic green ooze representing the hate.
No Mercy: After 2017, what challenges have you faced as a band, and how have you
overcome them to remain a dominant force in death metal?
Emeld: The biggest challenge is just getting people to hear your music and
find live and fulltime members. I think this is a huge problem for tons of
bands these days.
No Mercy: Can you tell us more about the recording process at Sound mix Studios in?
What challenges did you face while tracking the album in such a short time?
Emeld: For this release and
the previous release my friend Scott
Moughton(ex- Operation Mind Crime)
helped engineer the album and did a great job. This time around everything but
the guitars were recorded elsewhere. I think it's the best quality I've ever
had, and it still has a raw unhinged style to it. That being said, it had to be
remixed/remastered as I didn't pay enough attention to some of the details
while approving the first mix, so at this point the CD version and Bandcamp
version are the only way to hear the correct mix.
No Mercy: For those that have
never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about ?
Emeld: I've been writing music for a very long time now, since about 1996. I
never wanted too necessarily be stuck in a certain format, so the music represents
that. I am inspired by of all forms of extreme metal, from death to thrash to
black to speed to grind etc and even other stuff like classical, hard rock, and
electronica etc. Though at the end of the day its basically just brutal extreme
music.
No Mercy: Are you satisfy with your label
and witch label fit to your music?
Emeld: We currently don't have a label.
No Mercy: Reinvigorating The God Complexis
the single from the album Reinvigorating
The God Complex what made this track the ideal choice to introduce
listeners to? In any case the track is to pay attention with great dose of
technical brutality?
Emeld: The Reinvigorating The God
Complex album is a re-recording of old demo songs that were under the name Embers From Cremation with their
original drum tracks, the song titles and lyrics were changed. The reason it
was chosen as a single is because it was the first song that was fully written
for embers from cremation back in 2002, and it also represents what SLD is
about these days as well, having more black metal type leanings in the sound.
There is a lot of crazy over the top songwriting on this album, but
Reinvigorating The God Complex sticks out as it's not nearly as crazy as the
other songs from a song structure point of view, while still being quite crazy.
No Mercy: On a worldwide level
how has the reaction been to your music by fans
Emeld: I'm not sure about this, I hardly hear from people on the matter. But from people I know, they say that Revenge Obsession is hands down the best recording yet.
No Mercy: Thank you a lot for
sharing your time with No Mercy Zine,
do you have any particular messages for particular people or any closing notes,
last words are yours?
Emeld: Thanks again for the interview, and supporting and help keeping the
underground alive. If you as reader like what you hear, spread the word to your
music friends.
