PSYOPUS

Shitting on people

This is without a doubt one of the craziest and most fucked up bands on the planet Earth. Since 2003 they've been torturing ears with ultra- extreme, technical death grind stuff, full of weird scales and incomprehensible algorithms. So far these sonic killers have released three albums: "Ideas of Reference", "Our Puzzling Encounters Considered" and „Odd Senses”- the newest (and definitely the sickest) PSYOPUS offering, unleashed just a few weeks ago. Guitarist Chris Arp answered some serious questions concerning the album.

-Hello Chris! How are things? Hope that everything is going well and you are ready for another battle...
Things are busy. Somewhere along the lines I heard „A busy musician is a successful musician.” So things must be good, right?

-Right. Let's start the interview from a silly question. Have you ever listened to any PSYOPUS' CDs in your spare time? Did it hurt? I'm deadly serious...
I have listened to Psyopus. I love the music. It did not hurt. I follow the trip. That’s because I have the inner scoop, though. Haha.

-OK, so how does it feel to know that you gave birth to one of the sickest and most fucked up bands that ever existed on this planet? Is that a goal you've always wanted to accomplish, or it just...happened without any particular reason?
If that is true, that I feel accomplished. It definietly was one of the driving forces when I started. I was very influenced by the local band Kalibas, who at the time were just as extreme as it got. They were fast and fucking ugly! I ate it up. So immediately Psyopus was spawned with that attitude in mind. Since then I have developed as an artist with different experiences and different goals BUT, I try not to forget what it is all really about – shitting on people.

-PSYOPUS is considered to be one of the most original extreme metal bands. On the other hand, many people don't understand any single note of your music. Many metalheads describe your new release „Odd Senses” as the most annoying album of 2009. How do you respond to that? Do you care what people say about your music?
I would be lying if I were to say I don’t care about the bad press. But, I know it comes with the territory. I read some of the peoples interpritations of the music and realize they have no clue what is going on. Again, misunderstanding is just part of the territory. When I read the negative press, I just brush myself off, think of the criticism Frank Zappa often got and then think of the fans I have made proud with every release. Lastly, I recite a though ‘Fuck them!’ to myself in regards to those who don’t get it and don’t care to.

-In fact, „Odd Senses” is not only very extreme and complex album, but also unbelievably weird. In other words- your music is sick! I find it hard or just impossible to get into. On the other hand you guys have figured out a great way to stand out from the crowd. And you succeeded! Are you complex, technical and weird just for the sake of being complex, technical and weird? Just curious...
We are what we are for the means of experiementing. Also, because some of this intensity is exciting to us. We get it. We hope others do as well. We have had many bands tour with us explain how they didn’t get it at first but, as tour went on, they heard the songs more, and they now LOVE them. That’s the goal at times. Songs rich with ideas and depths that overwhelm with experience and ideas.

-By the way- are you guys self-taught?
I am. Currently the other members are not self taught. All are self driven.

-Do you ever feel like technical piece of shit will reach a creative dead end, when all the potential for all those weird rhythm changes, tricky signatures and schizophrenic melodies will just run out of steam?
I think that too many people think we are doing this stuff for the pure reasons of being techincal. That’s too superficial. I think there will always be new ideas and relevenet retakes on old ideas. As long as there are hearts and minds making music, anything is possible.

-Do you play that kind of music to prove something like „we are the most technical and the fastest band in the world”?
Nope.

-Is PSYOPUS music in any way actually based on math or is that just a bullshit moniker made up by some stupid music journalists some time ago?
It’s a word that works fine. I think the word ‘math” references the idea that numbers are looked at and considered in a deeper way when composing a lot of these tunes. The word works fine by me.

-It's pretty hard to describe your music style since it's very complex and unpredictable. But you are considered to have some death metal, grindcore, matchcore and noise influences in your sound. Would you say that you are inspired by any bands coming from the aforementioned genres?
Sure, Pig Destroyer, Burnt By The Sun, Kalibas, Lethargy, Dep, and every other bastard moment heard under the sun. Know your voice and you can translate anything with music.

-With all the rhythm and riffs changes that you guys have in your songs, is it difficult to play that stuff on live? How often do you get lost during a live show?
It really is not as hard as some think. We usually mess up about three times a tour.

-Talk about your third full length album „Odd Senses” that was released a few weeks ago. Where do you see differences between that album and your previous recordings? Would you say that PSYOPUS has evolved since 2007 when you released „Our Puzzling Encounters Considered”?
The new album is darker. The new album has lyrics meant to terrify, less than the introspective rage of the last album. I think the new album’s music translates some abstract psychological ideas related to the themes of the music a tad more. Maybe not. Perhaps how we got to these themes were a bit different on the last album.

-Talking about the new album I'm curious how you write your songs. Is there a certain formula, any kind of writing system that works perfectly for you guys? How long does it usually take to write a song for PSYOPUS?
It could take forever to write a song right after the last song took five minutes. Each song is it’s own beast driven by it’s own threads of inspiration. So one can never say how it’s going to come about and how long it’ll take. I will say that variety in the song writting formula is welcome.

-Your new album features some really strange songs, such us „Boogeyman” for example. Where did the idea for that song come from? Was it hard to fit that puzzle pieces together?
It was time consuming for sure. That song stems from an idea I had a long time ago. The song is about multiple personality disorder and the severe forms of abuse that cause the disorder. The different grinders are suppose to represent different personalities within the victimwhile the nursery rhymes inbetween are suppose to represent the different happenings outside of the individual that caused the shattering of the ego.

-Could you also tell me some words about the last track on the album, I mean instrumental "A Murder to Child". What the f**k is that?
It’s a psuedo-chamber piece I wrote in school back in 2001 I believe. It’s another song that tells a story – a very abstract one – about child abuse, the influence upbringing has on ones maladjusted personality, and then ultimatley ends in ironic revenge.

-What drugs were you on when you did „the hidden track” featured on „Odd Senses”?
None.