All that is about to change with the upcoming release of Albert Mudrian's 'Choosing Death' via Feral House. The author's attention to detail, love for his subject and unfliching curiousity have spawned a terrific read. Charting the very genesis of the extreme Metal scene via exhaustive chain of interviews with key players such as Jeff Walker, Shane Embury, Justin Broadrick and Earache's own Digby Pearson, 'Choosing Death' is a heartening story of kids making music for the sheer love of it and enjoying an adventure or three along the way. Check more at www.choosingdeath.com

In the meantime let Albert explain more.....

You've titled your book 'Choosing Death' - is this an attempt to inject a sense of danger and controversy into what is essentially a very basic story of an ordinary group of people capturing a moment in time?
No, there was no intent to sensationalize things with the title. In fact, the original working title was 'Mass Appeal Madness', which I was quite happy with for nearly a year. Then one day a friend came up with 'Choosing Death'. Ultimately, I decided to use that because I just thought it was kinda funny. I think I needed some comic relief after nearly two years of work.

The sub-heading of the book is 'The Improbable History of Death Metal and Grindcore' - why 'improbable', and how difficult was it to restrict the parameters of the book only to grindcore and Death Metal, presumably at the expense of Black Metal, Doom Metal, Thrash etc, all genres which crossed with your subject matter at various times, and even merged and mutated as the scene progressed?
There are a few of reasons for using 'improbable' in the subtitle. For example, I don't think anyone could have predicted that John Peel would be so supportive of Napalm Death on national radio, or that Morbid Angel would release a pair of albums on a major label in the United States. Regarding the other genres, I had to deal with black metal, doom metal, thrash, punk, noisecore on a cursory level, at least, to illustrate some progression beyond death metal. Members of Darkthrone, Paradise Lost, and even Earth Crisis are interviewed to provide context, but their own personal histories aren't really explored. And 95% of the time, it was pretty clear to me which artists should be considered death metal and grindcore bands.

Chuck Schuldiner

Who was the first person you interviewed for the book, and were there any people you wished to interview that you couldn't get access to? One major omission is Chuck Schuldiner, one of the most influential players in the story - are you happy that your research carried you as far as you could go in terms of detail? Earache founder Digby Pearson was actually the first person I interviewed. I initially conceived of the project when I spoke him in May of 2000 for a label profile coinciding with the release of the Earache's 'Immortalized' box set. A friend suggested that there was strong enough of a story within that 1,000-word piece to form the skeletal outline of an entire book documenting the history of death metal and grindcore. I put off the idea until January of 2002, when I worked up enough courage to begin working on the project. There were people who took months to track down and/or convince to speak with me, but, with the obvious exception of Chuck, I spoke with everyone I really needed to or wanted to.

How many interviews did you conduct for the book overall and how many individual people were interviewed? Did you have any idea at the time you started how many people you would need to contact? Which central characters provided the backbone of information for the story?
Overall, I conducted over 150 interviews with well over 100 people. When I started, I naively thought I could put everything together by interviewing half that many people, but over the course of a year and a half, the interview process just continued to grow. Often, someone I'd interview would suggest that I interview two or three other people, and one of those people would, of course, suggest that I interview another person, so it really felt like an endless chain of chatting for a while. As for the characters, it's difficult to pinpoint central characters, because the book covers such a protracted period of time and approaches the movements from a global perspective. But obviously, people such as Digby, Jeff Walker, Shane Embury and Trey Azagthoth play greater roles in the development of the story than, say, J Mascis.

How did the process for writing the book differ from writing articles as a journalist, apart from the obvious fact of writing more? Did you start with a wish list of people to talk to, and was the angle and theme you started out with the same as you ended up with on completion of the book? I don't even think I had an 'angle' when I started writing it! But as I began working on the initial drafts, I realized that I needed to let the bands - and the people involved with them - simply tell the story. I think the book succeeds in doing so.

Digby, Ken and Albert

Glen Benton	When considering the content of the book, how did you ensure that it didn't just become a listings guide detailing a bunch of important albums.......was your focus more on the individual stories and therefore the collective 'human' element of the tale? Fortunately, many of the personalities in the book were so strong that the human element couldn't help but shine through. Just between Mick Harris, Nicke Andersson and Glen Benton alone, you get a pretty amazing cross section of personas and attitudes - and each of them rarely, if ever, censors their true feelings on any given topic.	Mick Harris
	How were you able to persuade John Peel to contribute to the book, and what do you feel his endorsement does for the integrity of 'Choosing Death'?

I had to chase down John's agent for a few months regarding interviewing him for the book.She eventually gave me John's phone number, so I called him up, had a great chat, and he said, "If you ever need anything else, just give me a call." Later, when I was determining who could do a great introduction for the book, he was the first person who came to mind. So I just called back and asked him to do it, and he immediately said yes. I couldn't believe it. Ultimately, I think he can help legitimize the music for a lot of people that might otherwise dismiss death metal as something they never listen to or consider a viable form of music. There must have been many conflicting points of view concerning the details and opinions from the various people involved in recalling the story.......what's your view on the way what was essentially a bunch of kids dealt with the subsequent machinations of the music business? None of these people were experienced businessmen, and yet the success that they generated meant that a lot of characters changed rapidly as things got bigger........

John Peel

It's pretty easy to put the blame on the record labels as they were drawing up the contracts for these young kids to sign. But - at least in some cases - I think the labels were doing the best they could just to keep their doors open early on. As the labels, became more successful, however, these young bands demanded more out of them and rightfully so. That's when a lot of the conflict and resentment really started. But out of every band I've ever interviewed, I don't remember ANY of them saying, "Boy, we just love our label soooo much!" So it's all relative, I suppose.

How do you think the influence of the underground grindcore/Death Metal story sits next to other genres - certainly there is none of the sensationalism of Black Metal (murders, church burnings, extreme philosophies) or even Rap (more murders, drugs, gangs, guns etc) - in that respect the story of 'Choosing Death' might seem quite....ordinary?
Most of us have never reduced a church to a smoldering pile of ashes or committed a random homicide, so, with that said, I think it's much easier to relate to the characters in 'Choosing Death'. I don't think it necessarily makes these people more 'ordinary' as much as it makes them more real. Most of these people have the same flaws and qualities that you or I do.

Carcass bootleg

In your opinion what was the main reason for the scene's initial expanding success and also the reasons for its longevity? Ultimately, the music was something new and exciting. In the late '80s, most people hadn't heard ANYTHING remotely like Napalm Death, Morbid Angel or Carcass, and I think that initial impact and enthusiasm resonated with a number of people who were exposed to it. You can attribute the scene's longevity to a healthy balance of bands progressing beyond the early boundaries (Nile, Opeth, Akercocke) and bands staying true to the brutality of the music's roots (Napalm, Cannibal Corpse, Immolation).

The book also takes in extreme Metal's attempts to infiltrate the mainstream, especially via Earache Records' unlikely union with Columbia in the mid-'90s.....

.....do you feel that the association was doomed to fail from the beginning, or do you sense that it was something of a missed opportunity? The mainstream probably wasn't ready for Carcass, Napalm and Entombed at the time - although Morbid Angel had a lot of success with their major label deal with Giant Records in the States. Even though the bands distributed via Columbia each delivered their most accessible records to date, they were still pretty extreme by mainstream rock and metal standards. None of them really had the traditionally sung hooks that have helped propel bands like Slipknot to platinum status. However, I do think the Earache bands could have been more successful - albeit marginally - if everyone involved in the deal was on the same page.

Morbid Angel 3rd Gig bootleg

Are you nervous about the kind of reaction the book will receive - as you know Metal fans are sticklers for correct detail, are you happy that you have all your names and dates absolutely correct :-)  ?
I'm sure I would treat the release of a book like this with a healthy does of skepticism if I didn't actually write it. But I really have gone over the facts again and again to get everything straight. Sometimes even the artists themselves aren't the best sources for dates and locations, so you really have to expand the research to documentation from labels, producers and managers. That said, I'll take full responsibility for any incorrect information in the book.

You must also be hoping that the more general music fan will pick up the book.......what aspects of the book do you hope will appeal to people who might never have heard of, for example, Napalm Death or Carcass?
Ultimately, as you stated before, it's a very human story. It's quite easy to root for these kids as they enter the music business, most of them so naively and innocently. And I think anyone can empathize with their plights when their dreams don1t go according to plan - as is often the case throughout the book. In fact, I think just about any devoted music fan can enjoy the story.

And for those fans of the bands and labels featured in 'Choosing Death', what do you think will be the most surprising and revelatory parts of the book?
You mean the good stuff? C'mon, Dan, you know I can't I give away too much! Actually, I think longtime fans might be shocked to discover the outrageous things some of their favorite artists had to do in order to get attention in their formative years. And if that doesn't seem too interesting, there are always the pretty pictures to look at! In fact, there are well over 200 rare photos in the book, most of which have never been published before.

What have you learned about the music scene you obviously admire and have a deep interest in, from writing the book? Has it shattered any illusions, and equally, has it provided any inspiration?
Since I've been writing about extreme music for almost a decade, it didn't really shatter an illusions. Over the years, the artists I've met are all - for the most part - just regular folks. The faith and trust they invested in me to tell their stories was the most inspiring thing. I really didn't want to let anybody down with the final product. It really drove me at times.

How do you assess the future for Death Metal and Grindcore? The music has become more popular and as a result it has become much harder to shock, irritate, amaze, annoy, innovate and interest people, all of which were strong points of the scene in its formative years - has Death Metal become too 'safe' to have any dangerous value these days?

I think the genre's future hinges on what I mentioned earlier - the ability to strike a balance of good progressive bands and those staying true to the brutality of the old school. But I do believe many listeners have become a bit desensitized over almost two decades of extreme music. So it's not that death metal and grindcore have become too safe, it's just that I think bands such as Converge and the Dillinger Escape Plan are a lot more extreme to a new generation of kids these days than, say, Cannibal Corpse or Morbid Angel.

Converge

Do you think that there can be another kind of underground movement like the one described in 'Choosing Death' in the future? The most powerful part of the grindcore and Death Metal scene in its infancy was surely the organic and totally dedicated way the scene developed? Well, the world's a much different place today. The internet has almost completely replaced tape trading and letter correspondence, so I don't think an underground movement could ever happen the same way. All the information on any band or any scene is just a few clicks away. So without any true underground network, I think the development of any movement like the one portrayed in 'Choosing Death' is pretty unlikely. Although, I'd be happy to be wrong about this. Dillinger Escape Plane