When a pair of Reading
University students decided to form a black metal band, they were
knowingly embarking on a journey that would take them all the way to
Reading Town Hall
In 2012, Reading
University agricultural science students, James Ervin and Timothy
Stoddard, decided that they were going to form a black metal band.
“We were both in
the second year of our degrees,” recalls James. “Even with our
studies, we still had quite a lot of free time on our hands. Also, I
think we realised that after our exams we would probably want to
settle down and have careers and families. It was a question of: Are
we going to do this now, or are we going to wait until we retire?”
The pair were keen
musicians who had already played separately in a number of local
indie bands, but both agree that their true love has always been
black metal:
Timothy: “I
was five years old when I first heard Welcome To Hell by
Venom. I had never experienced anything even remotely like it before.
It totally blew me away.”
Rather than expand
their line-up, they opted to remain a duo, with multi-instrumentalist
James handling most of the music, while bass and lead vocals were
delegated to Timothy:
“I'm a pretty
decent keyboard player,” says James. “Tim can shriek like a man
having his ribcage drawn-out through his anus. By the way, that's not
an idle boast. That's the legally documented opinion of an
independent medical professional with over 30 years experience.”
Musical talent
aside, the pair were under no illusions about what a long,
frustrating, and fraughtly bureaucratic process forming a European
Union-based black metal band can be:
James: “We
were aware in advance that it was going to be hard. In the past a few
of our friends had tried and failed. At the same time we had a clear
vision of what we wanted from the outset. We knew that as long as we
kept our end goal in sight we would achieve it, regardless of the
obstacles.”
Timothy: “A
lot of contemporary black metal draws on folklore and traditional
instruments. We admire that, but it wasn't an area that either one of
us wanted to explore creatively. James and I saw ourselves as
operating within the traditionalist model of black metal, juxtaposing
Christian iconography against a repellent image palette of blood,
gore, disease, human filth and medical waste.”
James:
“There's a fallacy, perpetuated by mainstream media, that black
metal begins and ends with growled songs about inseminating the
virgin Mary using improvised apparatus manufactured from the
unsterilised shin bones of John the Baptist. For people outside the
genre who lack in-depth knowledge that's certainly the most visible
part, particularly among bands who thrive on shock value. What people
don't appreciate is that underpinning this is a lot of paperwork and
red tape.”
Since 1989 black
metal bands operating within the E.U. have been subject to some of
the toughest legislation anywhere in the world. Band members must have a
licence and abide by a mandatory code of practice:
James:
“There's ongoing debate as to whether these laws have stifled the
genre. I prefer to think of the legislation as a framework that
leaves us with no choice other than to raise our game and be the best
that we can be.”
backwards7:
“Have these rules and regulations hampered the growth of black
metal? Recent government figures for the UK indicate that 81% of all
black metal bands dissolve within 6 months of forming, usually after
failing to acquire the necessary permits.”
James:
“Well I think that you have a point there. The rate of failure has
been an issue. 81% is an unacceptably high figure.”
A common stumbling
block that has brought many black metal bands to a premature end is
deciding on a name. This must then meet with the formal approval of
local councillors, operating under EU guidelines - a document over
500 pages long:
Timothy: “I
cannot stress how important it is to find the right name for your
band. The UK government provides financial support in the form of
grants and repayable loans that can be put towards funding
consultants and public focus groups. I would advise anyone following
in our footsteps to take full advantage of these. You should also
expect to dip into your own savings.”
James agrees:
“No one will
tell you what you're entitled to so it's worth doing some research. I
recommend arranging a meeting with your local citizen's advice
bureau.”
By March 2012, the
pair were ready to begin the process of whittling down a lengthy list
of possible names: AIDS Blood Gum Drops was
among the first to be rejected:
James: “It
was a bit unwieldy. If anything, it sounded a little too
psychedelic.”
Timothy:
“We were concerned that a cure for AIDS might be found in the
future. Anything like that would instantly date us.”
Another name to
fall at the first fence was Whoretopsy:
Timothy: “While
the term 'whore' is gender-neutral, it is usually applied in the
derogatory sense to women. Throughout the naming process we were
mindful of not wanting to alienate the female demographic. Also
James' girlfriend didn't like it.”
James: “It
sounded good at the time but in hindsight it made no sense. I can't
think of one reason why the autopsy of a prostitute would be any
different from, say, the autopsy of a cook or a geologist.”
Timothy:
“The best monikers are often single unembellished words. Names like
Prolapse or Dissection would have been great, but they
have already been taken by other bands.”
James: “At
the other end of the scale we toyed with Bethlehem Funk Ensemble
but were concerned that this might mislead audiences as to our
musical direction.”
In another heated
session Mecha-Jesus was dismissed as being “something that you
might call a stoner rock group.”
Timothy: “In
the end we narrowed down our list to five candidates: Gutted
Disciple, Seraphim
Vivisection, Faecal Papacy, Septic Entrails and
Gangrenous
Stigmata. After a
further week of discussion James and I both agreed that Septic
Entrails was the way to go.
In the interests of accuracy the pair
immediately began researching sepsis, drawing on articles in medical
journals and supplementing their knowledge with visits to hospitals
where they interviewed patients with septicaemia:
James: “The last thing that
Tim and I wanted was for people who had first-hand experience of
septicaemia to be querying whether our music really embodied the full
horror of the condition. It was important to us that we had their
blessing and that they knew what we were trying to achieve with our
music.”
At the beginning of July, with their
paperwork completed James and Timothy travelled to Reading town hall
where they submitted the forms to the town clerk. Their application
to form a black metal band was debated the following week in a closed
session of the High Council of the 13. No-one from the band was allowed to
attend:
James: “After the hearing was
over the clerk came out and pinned the verdict up on the board
outside the chamber. Our application had been turned down. No reason
was given.”
Timothy: “The paperwork took
us an entire weekend to complete. It was so mentally and physically
exhausting, and then to have it thrown out and not know why...”
James: “I know that the nephew
of one of the councillors is in a black metal band called The Ides
of Acheron. It's possible that we were seen as a potential threat
to their domination of the Reading black metal scene.”
With the future of Septic Entrails
dependent on an appeal, scheduled to take place a month after the
first hearing, James and Timothy did not rest on their laurels:
James: “We hardly slept that
month!”
Timothy: “We organised public
meetings around Reading. James went on local radio. We had growing
support from survivors of septicaemia, all passionately defending our
band's moniker. We knew that would count in our favour.”
Unlike the first hearing, band-name
appeals are heard in open sessions:
James: “The atmosphere in the
council chamber was so tense. When they voted to over-turn the
rejection by a majority of 9 to 4 it was such a release. We were all
in tears, even my step-dad.”
Two weeks later Septic Entrails
were one of the opening acts at the Thames Valley Gorefest, which
takes place annually in music venues and community centres around
Slough and Bracknell.
With the final notes of Aftermath of
the Infernal Sodomy reverberating around a packed Britwell Youth
Centre, an exuberant James bounded off the stage and bear-hugged me.
Later, in the dressing room he proudly
showed my a letter the duo had received from the Vatican condemning
them to hell if they did not repent.
“My advice is to be as organised as
you can. Document everything on spreadsheets. Practice efficiency –
remember that rejected band names can be re-purposed as song titles.”
Timothy shares his band mate's
enthusiasm:
“It took us 18 months of solid graft
to to get where we are today, but when you see those rows of corpse
painted faces mouthing the lyrics to Glass Dick Messiah back
at you, it's suddenly all worth while.”
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