Iron Cemetery call Missoula, Montana home. Comprised of three deranged shredders operating under noms de guerre—“Night” on guitars, “Rot” on drums and “Void” on bass/vocals—, everything about Iron Cemetery has been stripped down and burned off until only the most vital, most deadly aspects remain. That’s why their songs are so short and their onslaught so viciously unrelenting.
“To be in a metal band out here in Montana means to live a frustrating, ostracized, lonely, and dirty existence. Towns are small, and very far apart. A lot of driving. Our tires wear more studs and chains than we do. It goes without saying that we don’t live in Montana for the music scene. We’re here for the beautiful and rugged desolation.
“There’s a small metal scene, but it’s mostly unbearable hippie shit around here—jam bands, ‘jamgrass’ and hippie rap. Very few metal tours come through Missoula, which is a shame because audiences are extremely enthusiastic. It doesn’t help that there are no venues for underground shows. The only such venues in Missoula all closed down recently. We had to drive all the way to Portland to see Aura Noir last year.”
According to the band, they all “met at the VFW,” and their first practice was “under a full moon on a frigid winter night in January 2017 with temperatures below zero.”
They worked on their demo for about 8 months, they say.
“Time was spent sharpening our ideas, getting faster and more aggressive . . . eliminating any dull, commonplace elements. Our goal is to distill everything to absolute fury as much as possible . . . We made an effort to purge any part that didn’t reach our standards. Any part that gave off the slightest whiff of filler was discarded. Only the strongest material survived . . .This process continues to the present.”
While one can only snag certain lines here and there, it’s clear that the rabid snarls of Iron Cemetery are as acerbic as their music is violent. According to the band, their lyrics deal with “hatred of weakness, both within and without. Blasphemy against all gods, religious or secular. Butchering the sacred cow. Going insane, worshipping Satan, joining a religious cult and committing suicide, you know, all the simple, good stuff.”
Iron Cemetery went to Black National Recording in their hometown of Missoula to record their demo with Chris Baumann.
“BNR is the best recording studio in Missoula . . . [Chris] is a great guy and did fantastic work. We recorded fast and simple.”
The band says while they’re “happy with the results,” they aim to “hit harder and deadlier next time.” (I know, I’m scared, too.)
Released back in May, Iron Cemetery’s self-titled seven track demo was bound to catch the attention of some labels eventually. Lucky for them, it was the Austin-based label Night Rhythms who hit them up first to release a tape version of their demo. While Warhead Art is behind that brutal cover. Thus the most bloodthirsty and off-the-rails demo of 2018 is given the presentation it deserves.
When asked what’s next for Iron Cemetery, the band can’t help but reveal their true priorities.
They plan on “writing new material, [and] playing some shows,” but, the band says, most of all, they’re “preparing for another brutal winter.”
Besides that, they’re looking to play outside of Montana soon as well. Seems then that we’ve all got some preparations to make.
