Blasphemous Creation Interview

Where were you born and where did you grow up?

IW: I was born in a small town called Moab, Utah. It’s near Canyonlands National Park and Arches National Park. It’s very beautiful there. I don’t remember it though because I only lived there until I was 2 years old.

What sort of kid were you growing up?

IW: Growing up I was the “class clown” in school ha ha. I was always getting in trouble because I was always a lot smarter than the other kids so I was just really bored with the assignments. I didn’t want to be skipped up grades or put in any special classes though because I didn’t want to be considered a “nerd”. Outside of school, I had a typical childhood, though we were really poor so I was just outside all the time, riding bicycles and playing with sticks in the mud. We did have a Nintendo but those games would get boring real quick ha ha.

Were you into music at an early age or did that come later on?

IW: Oh yeah I was about 6 years old when I got into music. I had two older brothers and I remember when we first moved up to Reno, Nevada in 1987 we moved in with my Dad. He had no TV or any technology. All we had was a telephone and a little radio. My brother had a tape recorder that we listened to tapes on. It was our only entertainment and all we had was a Motley Crue “Girls, Girls, Girls” tape and Bon Jovi “Slippery When Wet”. We wore those out fast.

So when did you discover the world of metal? Were there many radio stations where you lived or many stores that stocked metal around the time before the band formed?

IW: Once again my older brother brought home some Metallica tapes in the early 90s. “And Justice For All” I think was the first metal album I heard. We also finally had a TV by then and Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” video was always on MTV. There was a radio station called Z Rock that would play heavy shit late at night and there was a couple of record stores we would buy albums at in the mid-90s. Mirabelli’s and The Wherehouse.

So what event or events led to you discovering underground metal? What were some of the early bands you heard and liked? Are you still a fan of these bands now?

IW: A couple of things happened. First, we watched the movie “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective” where Cannibal Corpse plays Hammer Smashed Face and also there was a girl that rode the bus to school with my older brother and one day she gave him some Obituary, Deicide, Unleashed and Morbid Angel CD’s and said here this shit is way heavier than Metallica. He put those on and I listened and was like “Holy shit!” I never heard anything like it.

Now, what made you decide to pick up the guitar? Were you self-taught or did you ever take lessons?

IW: For my 15th birthday in 1996, I received a Samick guitar and a Slayer – Show No Mercy, a Slayer – Reign in Blood and a Metallica – Master of Puppets tablature book. I remember trying to learn tremolo picking and gallop picking and after a while, I gave up. It was really hard to play those fast songs but that is what I wanted to do. I didn’t want to play slow as shit! I tried again and after a couple of years around 1998, I finally figured it out and was playing all the songs in those books and even the solos.

Now how did the coming of Blasphemous Creations come together? How many members did you go through before you came up with the line-up that would you record your first release?

IW: Around 2003 a couple of friends and I were drinking and partying and listening to Kreator and old Sepultura albums and we said “Let’s start a fuckin’ band that sounds like this!” It didn’t really work out so I joined a punk band for a while. The drummer from that band and I started jamming and we came up with the name “Blasphemous Creation” since it was the only name that wasn’t taken out of like 1,000 band names we wanted to use. We recorded our first release in 2006 with the original lineup.

Now how long was the band together before you started to gather up and write the songs and then record them for your 2006 “Rest in Pieces” release? How long were you in the studio for and how did things go would you say looking back?

IW: We were together for 3 months when we recorded that. I think it took like 20 hours. We recorded that in a basement on some really primitive equipment. We could have made that sound a lot better in a real studio.

How did you come up with the band name and were any other names thrown around?

IW: As I said earlier, we threw around all kinds of names and they were all taken. We wanted to call the band Butchery but there was like 20 bands called that. All the cool one-word names were taken so we just settled for Blasphemous Creation because there were no bands called that. I kind of regret naming the band such a complicated name but now it’s too late to change it.

How was the response to this release at the time? What are your thoughts on this release these days and can you even listen to it?

IW: There was some good response by critics but it was also given some bad reviews due to the poor production. I cannot listen to it anymore nor do I promote it or have it online. It sounds like a completely different band. The songs are just poorly written. I mean listen to some of the demos from the 80s of now-legendary bands and they are just horrible lol. I think every band has the crappy demo phase.

What do you remember about your 1st live show and who did you play with and where was it?

IW: I remember it was at a place called Club Underground. All kinds of things went wrong of course. Amps failed and the second guitarist’s strap broke off and he played half the show kneeling haha.

Now in 2007, you were right back at it again with another EP release called “Black Winter”. Was this release easier to put out seeing as you had a previous release under your belt so to speak? What was the overall response to this release?

IW: It went pretty much the same with the whole self-recording thing. This one managed to sound worse than the first one looking back. Some people like that lo-fi stuff though.

The “Fire” compilation came out on “Gorification MusiX”. Was that just songs from your 2 previous EP’s?

IW: Yes, it was the 2 demos combined.

In 2008, you released a 4 song demo on CD called “Shadows of Evil”. Did you release this to the public or was this for record labels only or both? Did you even send this to any labels? If so, did you manage to get any label interest at the time?

IW: Now this time we finally went to a real studio and we sent this one out to labels. This was the best of the demos by far. We did get some label interest. I remember a guy that worked at Century Media said he liked it and would give it to the A&R guy. We never did hear from them. I imagine it is because we don’t tour. Labels aren’t really into bands that don’t tour. We do weekend stuff and one or two weeks here and there. The big guys want you to quit your jobs and live in a van ha ha.

Were you playing more live shows at this time seeing you had a bunch of releases under your belt? Did you have a good local following?

IW: We had a pretty good local following and we always played at a place called The New Oasis where we opened for a bunch of big-name acts.

In late 2009, you hooked up with Apocrypha Records and released your 1st full-length release called “Diabolical Kingdom”. Any particular reason why this title for the album? I love your logo, who came up with it?

IW: Diabolical Kingdom was the name of a song we had written when we got our new bass player TJ Laughlin. At first, the song had a different title but we changed it to that. It’s about an evil dictator taking over the world. Cristophe Spajdel designed the original logo. He was the guy who drew Emperor’s and Warbringer’s original logo and thousands of others. We met Christophe randomly while doing a show in Chico, California and he loved our music.

You also did a cover of Dismember’s “Of Fire”. Any reason why you picked this particular song? How long were you in the studio for and did things go smoothly or were things a pain in the ass at times?

IW: That song was a big influence on my songwriting. It is one of my favorite songs. We still play it live sometimes, it’s such a fun and brutal song. This time we went back to self-recording again because we were broke at the time. The playing was better than ever but the production was bad again like the demos. We put 15 songs on it so it took forever to record.

How were things working with Apocrypha Records, who only released 4 releases and this was the only time you worked with them. Is this release still for sale that you know of?

IW: Apocrypha Records was a really good label. They even got our album into Best Buy stores. Unfortunately, the label tanked due to the recession.

Now it took 3 years before you released your next release. Any particular reason for this?

IW: We took a little break for a while from writing and just played shows. When we resumed we decided to try to make the songs more catchy and coherent. We also upgraded our equipment.

Now we move to 2012 and you worked with HeadXplode Records and they released “Battle of the Ancients”. Was it easy, even after being away for 3 years, to go right in and record this album and get it out? How was it working with HeadXplode Records? Who came up with the cover art?

IW: This time we went to a real studio again and for the first time recorded with a click track. This album was light years ahead of anything we had done. The clicks made recording way easier and faster and made the music sound amazing. I came up with the concept of the art and Tony Koehl painted it. This was the first album of our Ancient Alien concept album trilogy. We wanted to break away from the typical killing and Satan lyrical themes that most extreme metal bands have. HeadXplode was a Russian label and it was hard to communicate with them so we didn’t stay with them long.

Did you get to do any touring or any out of state shows at the time to support this release? Is it still for sale? What are your thoughts on this release these days?

IW: The album is still for sale and I still love it! I listen to it all the time. We got to open for Morbid Angel and Nile in San Francisco because of that album. I remember it was Morbid Angel’s 20th anniversary of “Covenant” tour. There was like 75 bands that applied to play and their management selected us because they really dug our stuff. (nice-chris)

Now it took another 3 years (2015) to see another full-length release from you guys and this time you were with another label (Power Back Records). I’m gonna assume you weren’t too happy with this label seeing as you were the only release the label has put out to date or am I wrong?

IW: Powerback has released several albums. I’m not sure if they released any after ours. The label was good but we left so we could try to get on one of the bigger labels with our next release.

Now how did the coming of these songs come together? Who came up with the incredible cover? Now throughout all these releases, were you going to the same studio or different ones?

IW: These songs came together easier as we now had a formula going and more experience writing. I came up with the cover concept again and Tony Koehl painted it. This was the same studio again.

What was the response to this release? Do you feel with each release you were getting better and better and at what point do you think you came up with the Blasphemous Creations sound so to speak?

IW: This was probably the point where we had our own defined sound. I did feel we were getting better each time. This release was the best yet.

Did you play many live shows and what is a live show like? Are any shows up on You Tube and any of your social media sites and stuff?

IW: The live shows are always really fun and people go nuts if it’s a packed place. There is some footage on You Tube, but nothing professional or showing huge crowds. I think there is some footage of our show with Morbid Angel somewhere on You Tube.

Now the band, even up to this point had been around over a decade, at any point did you want to just break the band up and go and do something else?

IW: Sometimes I feel that way but then I think man, these songs are really good and it would be a shame to not get them out to the world and just waste them.

Now we come to your latest release, which you ended up putting out on your own called “Forsaken Dynasty”, which I love as it is a blasting, unrelenting display of black/thrash that should be heard. How would you describe the music on this release?

IW: This one is actually going to be released by Horror Pain Gore Death Productions on August 27th 2021. This time the music is a mix of black, death and even power metal. The songs are fast and are the catchiest songs we have ever written.

How did the songs for this release come together? Did you approach any labels about releasing it? Did you get interest or did you just say at the time “fuck it” we will put it out ourselves?

IW: At first, we said fuck it but then we got some label interest from a pretty cool label.

Do you think your sound as changed much over the years and at what point do you think you finally came up with the “Blasphemous Creations” sound so to speak?

IW: It has definitely changed. At first, we were going for blackened thrash and then we went for blackened death metal. Now we finally have developed our sound and I would say it is death/thrash metal.

What are some great shows you have played over the years and some great shows you have seen over the years?

Isaac: Playing I would say the show with Morbid Angel, the show with Nile, there was one we did with Dying Fetus and a really epic one in a small bar with Exhumed and Incantation. We played a punk basement with Toxic Holocaust which was nuts. We did some killer shows with Deicide, Exodus, Possessed, Death Angel, Malevolent Creation and Cattle Decapitation. Shows I have seen that were killer were probably the 5 times I saw Judas Priest, The time I saw Dio and Iron Maiden in ’03. The 5 times I saw Slayer. Those were my favorite ones.

Don’t you hate when bands change their sound over time and releases and totally abandon their old sounds?

IW: sometimes that sucks but sometimes they end up with something better because they found their sound. A lot of bands starting out are just playing their influences only and not playing from the heart or they are playing a style they aren’t good at first before they find a style they are good at. We pretty much abandoned our old chaotic sound for something more coherent which is a good thing. There are still some elements of our old sound though, fast and thrashy for example. Now when a band plays fast shit and then gets slow, that pisses me off ha ha. (oh big time agree with you on that-chris)

Obviously with COVID there are now shows so far in 2021. What is the band’s future plans going forward?

IW: We had a cool management company that we were signed up with that was getting us some killer shows and small tours in Europe. We are going to sign back up with them. We have 2 huge shows booked in December in Russia with the legendary German thrash metal band SODOM. We have a couple other gigs lined up but we are really just waiting for this covid thing to be over so we can really get booking again.

What merchandise do you have for sale?
IW: We have several items for sale at www.blasphemouscreation.bandcamp.com