posted on 17.04.2025

Interview with MEATWOUND

Enter the Macho era: a slow march progressing in bursts of productivity followed by months/years of refinement. There were multiple demos, rewrites, new tracks built at the last minute, etc. before finally entering Candor Recording Studio in the Summer of 2024. Candor owner/producer/engineer/mastermind Ryan Boesch harnessed the creative nonsense inhabiting the brains of these musicians and maximized the sound of it, remaining patient throughout. Bolstered by the experience and enthusiasm of Boesch, the band delivered something better and worse than before (allegedly).

Let’s start with the obvious — Macho is your first full-length in more than five years. Why the hell took so long?

- Jobs and covid shit. The tour for Culero wasn’t great. New drummer. Many things slowed it down. We also did two rounds of demos figuring out what worked and what didn’t. And we took some time off to watch Purple Rain on a loop to get better at life.

There’s a line in the press text about "reticence and frustration." Can you unpack that? Is making music more painful now than it was 10 years ago? Or just louder?

- A bit of that was due to starting over again in 2020. Getting drummer number five up to speed is frustrating, no matter how good they are. Dimitri is great though, so no knock on him. There is also the frustration with turning down shows because some of us travel for work and can usually only play on the weekends.

- Making music is the same as it’s always been. Shows and crowds change but writing and recording songs is all the same. Of course everything costs more now and it looks like that is going to continue getting worse. Honestly, the raggedy ass state of reality is more painful than making music.

From Largo to Culero to Macho, the sound keeps mutating. What’s the thing that always stays the same in MEATWOUND? What’s the part you refuse to compromise on?

- Obvious answers would be the bass lines and guitar noise. Me yelling about cops and animals hasn’t changed. I don’t think we’ve ever had to compromise anything, as far as I remember. But we have to compromise with each other at times, like “how long you think we can leave this shit ringing out at the end? I’m losing interest.” Then we pick apart the garbage tracks and try to pare it down to only the “interesting” garbage. We all have a different tolerance for ignorant shit in the studio.

Ten years passed since the release of Addio, how did the band evolve in this time? What would you different if you could go back to the beginning?

- We aren’t recording guitars through two looped practice amps anymore. If we could change anything, and I think we all agree on this, we would mix the early records differently. But can’t fuck around too long in the past, better to just write new songs and mix them better. Which is what we tried to do with Macho.

“Mount Vermin” is the lead single — what made that one stand out? Did it always feel like the single, or did it just end up being the least confusing track?

-I think that one just seemed like the most immediately catchy song? Or it sounded more like Meatwound playing regular music? Not sure really. We all hear different shit in that song but somehow all agreed that it made the best opening single.

There’s mention of a “shadow drummer” and “pedal abuse masquerading as dynamics.” Can you talk about how the electronic elements made their way into this record without turning it into an industrial mess? (Or maybe it is a mess?)

- Sounds like I was just talking nonsense in the press release. Basically, Marty started buying lots of gear to make music at home and would send us tracks. I had never done vocals on electronic stuff at all so I wanted to hear what it would sound like. Some of it, Marty built songs around specifically. Some came together in the studio differently than intended. We like having options so there are more electro trash ballads incoming. Clap tracks and all that. 808 meathead shit.

You’re a band where most members are pushing or past 50. How has age affected your approach — to performance, writing, or just surviving in the scene?

- Shit, I saw a video of my younger self and realized that I used to move around the stage a lot more 20 years ago. Luckily, Marty and Ari handle that now so I can stay still and focus on my feelings.

- We have had discussions about not getting stuck playing in certain circuits where it’s just the same nostalgic dads and bands over and over. Cause that’s boring. None of us want to just play local shows to get out of the house on the weekend. So we are trying to do more out of town shows again with different types of bands.

MEATWOUND has played with everyone from Melt Banana to Torche to Author & Punisher. Do you feel like you actually “fit” anywhere? Or is discomfort part of the mission?

- Probably a stock answer but we just play the shit we play. I don’t know where we fit. Could I try and sing like other dudes and help us fit more correctly in the noise rock scene? No, because I can’t really “sing’. I can only do the sound I do, so that’s what we get.

- Parts of Meatwound overlap with different music so I think we are comfortable playing any kinds of shows. I remember being stoked when we played with Gruesome because I never got to play in a metal band but playing with metal bands was close enough. Staying in any kind of rigid stylistic shit is boring. 90s Tampa would have shows with all kinds of bands playing together and that was normal and that’s how we came up. I’m not against those fests where it’s just 10 black metal or hardcore bands that basically sound the same but I can’t watch all that. Meaning, we would be equally happy to play with Godflesh or JK Flesh.

With the last question, let us take a look at the scene: Tampa is home to many different metal bands. How did they influence you and do you have a favorite? Are there still great bands in Florida or has the scene past it’s prime?

- The first Deicide LP is still in my top three death metal albums and I like Legion too but after that, I struggle to get through a whole record. So the influence I take from that is don’t stop making good songs(and don’t get rid of the etch a sketch Slayer leads in favor of ruffled shirt fruit metal leads). Personally, Assuck was more of an influence in every way than Tampa’s metal bands. Those dudes were instrumental in helping build the Tampa DIY scene throughout the 90s and forever remain one of our top exports to the world.

- I’m not dialed into the Tampa scene as much since I moved away a couple years back. I know the guys in Vacuous Depths are still going and Heaven’s Gate recorded a second record not too long ago. Cannibal Corpse and Obituary out on tour again. Death Metal in Tampa will never die. “You’re welcome” - Florida

Thomas Wunder