Okay, so maybe the (free!) Suffer Mental Decay demo isn’t quite as showy as a mass rock plateau suicide, but, good goddamn, the not-overly-modern-death-metal-with-a-twist of Masada sure is an awesome breath of fresh air in these deathcore-laden days. Featuring ex-members of Immolation and Goreaphobia and fronted by Crucifier’s “Black Lourde of Crucifixion” Cazz Grant, this is a band set to deliver a gore-soaked cannonball splash in the underground metal pool, as clearly evidenced by the below stream of the barnburner “Toxic Unreality.” Founder/guitarist Chris Milewski briefly chatted with the Deciblog about the track, choosing the Masada moniker, the potential for a death metal revival similar to the thrash blast from the past of the last few years, and whether free downloads are the modern day equivalent of tape trading:
“The song ‘Toxic Unreality’ is about how the blinded masses are brainwashed by the media and how their lives are ruled by the distorted false reality they see on television. Just look around, it’s not too difficult to see what I mean!
“The band name was chosen really for one reason. Masada is an ancient mountaintop fortress where hundreds of Jewish zealots committed mass suicide rather than becoming slaves to the Romans. It can be seen, rather hypocritically, as a great victory of pride…but we chose the name because it perfectly illustrates how brainwashed fools, in this case by religion, will ultimately come to an end, either mentally or physically, as a result of their stupidity.
“While I can appreciate the fact that there are still many Death Metal bands around, the sound today just isn’t the same and I personally don’t like it. I think a Death Metal revival of the old sound would be pretty killer actually, just as long as the scene was not filled with clones — a typical problem we can all attest to. It seems many of the old-school bands are getting back together and releasing new albums. Some are still hitting it while others miss the mark. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see…time will tell!
“We decided to make the demo available for free download for two simple reasons. Firstly, we’re not doing this to make money. We’re doing this because it’s something we enjoy and we want others to enjoy as well. There’s just no point in charging for a download. The second and quite obvious reason is that it’s much easier to promote and spread.”
Toxic Unreality by Decibel Magazine
