Necrophagia's Killjoy Reveals What Makes a Great Horror Metal Song

Posted on Apr 21st 2011 1:00PM by Amy Sciarretto Comments

Season of Mist

Necrophagia haven't released an album in six (six six) years. However, the gore metallers, who've been shedding blood since 1983 with godfather of Gore Killjoy at the helm, are going a little more old school on their brain-driller of a new full-length, 'Deathtrip 69.' Killjoy, who told Noisecreep that he considers the "godfather of gore" tag to be "the one title I actually do like and agree with completely," revealed that there is no pre-determined way in which to write a good gore metal song!

"To be honest there is no set formula or single element that makes for a good 'horror/gore' song," Killjoy said. "It's a combination of things including atmosphere/mood, lyrical content and how you execute those elements and incorporate them into a song without losing focus on the actual song. We use so many different mediums to get our sound; sometimes it's a sample. Other times it's the eerieness of the riff or vocals. Sometimes it's obscure soundscapes interwoven into the song or a keyboard part. Sometimes it's a combination of all those things and more."

One thing is firm and that's Necrophagia's unyielding "passion/obsession" with the horror metal genre! Killjoy even went as far as to say that "we understand it better than any other band. It's not just an image to us. We live and breathe horror. It's honestly that simple." We wouldn't have it any other way.

While Necrophagia have endured plenty of lineup changes and Killjoy even tabled the band at one point before being convinced to resurrect it by Pantera's Philip Anselmo, he doesn't tire of the instability of revolving door membership. "Life -death, if you will- goes on," Killjoy said with a laugh. "Line up changes have never hindered the progress of the band. It has actually kept things interesting to say the least. I can tell you having Boris in the band has made my life a lot easier and has truly sparked creativity more than any other point in Necrophagia's career. I think having him in the band has certainly added some more years to the bands future."

Watch 'Deathtrip 69' trailer