One of the first people I thought of interviewing was Alexander Dela Cruz, he of In Dark Purity Zine has been busy transitioning from Singapore based Death Metal critique slash record and merch collector to Turd World Horror Death Metal armed-with-a-Flying V advocate. I know him through a mutual friend and for me he has generated considerable buzz for being one of the few non sugar coating metalhead motherfucker still around the scene
Hello Alex, so how is the coronavirus crisis treating you?
Hey Archie, What's up? I hope all is well with you. My family just finished repacking rice to give to our barangay's frontliners. Just trying to help out the people who are taking good care of us. I told myself that come 2020, I will start to look for a job again in Manila or start up a small business to get back on my feet and COVID-19 ruined everything! It's tough for me because my daughter is in Laguna and because of the lockdown, I haven't seen my daughter for a while. Fortunately, there's Facetime and I try to call her every day. Her birthday falls at the end of the quarantine so I'm looking forward to spending time with her soon!
Yeah, this is a strange time for all of us. I also didn't know you don't have a 9 to 5 rat race at the moment. You're one of the few people around with this immense passion for music and metal in particular, how do use it to cope? and what other things help you to go through all this?
That’s true. I hope we get through this the soonest. I have just been listening to records most of the time. Particularly Autopsy’s discography. I’m stealing a lot of ideas from them. Haha! I’ve been re-reading books and I have been watching a lot of Tomo Fujita’s videos on YouTube and I’m learning a lot of things from him. He’s a damn good teacher! I only hope I’ll be able to apply it to my playing.
I just play records most of the time. No distractions. It helps me get through the day.
I'm interested to know because I am uninformed, did you have any bands before Punebre?
I used to play in a death metal band called, Carrion, we have a two-song (“Deliverance” and “Dwellers From Within”) rehearsal demo tape recorded at our backyard. We played gigs here and there but the band folded when our lead guitarist started his own family. Unfortunately, we don’t have a copy of the demo, this is why I don’t talk about this band. I have no proof but pictures.
Our vocalist/bassist, who is now based in Australia was our only hope but when he went home for vacation to look for the copy he said it was destroyed because of the flood.
Was IDP already circulating when you had that band?
No. This was during the 90s. When I was still in college.
< --- Sa Kabilang Anyo... Thanks list. That’s us!
So that was quite a gap between Carrion & Punebre? at what point did you decide to focus on the zine? you even had a website or blogspot right?
Yes. After Carrion folded, I stopped playing. I’m not comfortable playing with other people and I just devoted my time to being a fan. By the late 90s most of the local zines were inactive and thought I’d start my own so I started writing to people I was trading with who were also in bands and asked them if they were down to be featured and they said yes and that’s when the zine started. Yes, I was one of the few that time that embraced technology. Haha! Purists didn’t like the idea of having a website for their zines or even an e-mail address.
I also asked Roel of Tripalium this question. We are of the same age and somehow are fortunate enough to still trade tapes and zines through the post, how would you compare it to the convenience of the digital age? by we I mean me and you, not me and Roel haha are kids lazier? bands more entitled? We are fortunate. It was part of the listening experience. You need to dig in the underground to get music and merchandise and you appreciate it more even the ones that suck! You will still listen to them because that’s all you’ve got! Haha! Technology helped me a lot. Now I don’t worry about money losing in the mail, I get the correct item I ordered, etc... Back then everything was a gamble. It takes time for correspondence. I get the wrong item or shirt size and there’s nothing I could do about it. Now everything is served in a silver platter.
Haha! Roel from Tripalium is a legend for printing his zine in Saudi Arabia! I still remember his old website where I contacted him. He is definitely older! Haha! You could say that. I see people complaining about orders not received that were only placed two weeks ago! The longest time I had to wait for an order was six months. With bands, yes, they are lazy. If you are in a band these days, I see no excuse for them not releasing material. Facebook killed the forum. It was way easier to use Facebook so it was all good. Man, I haven’t even checked the blogspot in years! Haha!
I don't really understand why a band wouldn't really have recording original material as an ultimate goal. But to each his own I guess.
If these kind of bands just want to play like that it’ll be better for everyone if they just stay in their own garages or home studios. If you form a band and want to penetrate the scene, you might as well offer something that you call your own.
Well there are bands who would rather go the route of making "friends" first to hit the scene which is fine, but I guess with today's cheaper alternatives, there's no excuse to not come up with any release.
Exactly. Imagine even a technophobe like me was able to pull it off. It sucks but I’m proud of it. That was me at that period of time.
Has anyone hated you for a bad review or article about them? Yes. I think a lot of people hate me but it’s all part of running a zine. Someones got to do the job.
It's really weird , i read a lot of metal and rock magazines and there are really a lot of scathing remarks - that I think is what real journalism is about.
Is the hate more of a local thing? It’s weird! Local people can talk shit about foreign bands but not with locals?
I got more threats locally than overseas! Haha!
Well, it is what it is, they're probably just that, nothing but threats.
In absorbing music or even works of art is originality and honesty more important for you than technicality? and do those 2 things generally describe how you review bands in your zine?
I prefer bands that are honest. It’s a plus if they can come up with originality but I’m not expecting especially in this day and age. For me it’s a matter of delivery.
If you could narrow it down to 5 bands, that define your taste, who would they be?
Oh man, I can trim it down to three! Autopsy, Immolation, and Malignancy!
hoho there goes your Swedish loyalty
Swedish Death Metal is more on my preference with what I want to personally play.
Anyways, they owe it all to Autopsy so it’s still counted!
Just imagine Autopsy songs with the HM-2. You’ll get Dismember! Haha!
hah! I get it! I have to admit I have only listened to Mental Funeral
To me that is their “Reign In Blood” Now that you pointed it, doom bands today still copy their riffs from that album. Yes! That’s like a riff bible for most!
Personally, it’s where I steal riffs from and I’m not ashamed to admit it. You mean for Punebre? You got some really technical dudes in your lineup. Yes. For Punebre. It’s funny ‘cause I made them regress! Are you focusing on that now? or do you have zine material lyng around?
I have zine material, I have an outdated interview with Abhorer and Immolation and a couple of rants but I get lazy! Haha! I have been checking the promo materials I have been getting from labels I’m still in contact with since the lockdown but I’m just not able to focus writing down what I think of them. I will finish the zine but I don’t know when.
For Punebre, we were supposed to jam a new song and start recording but COVID-19 happened. Punebre songs' theme is obvious but I know you started as one man with drum machine which went to human drummer and now a full lineup, are we expecting any changes with its local horror theme? With that how important is humor for you in writing and life in general? I started Punebre as a way to piss off lazy local bands. If a zine editor with a guitar skill in the minus scale can release music independently what more for established bands, right? I’m sure they can do better! After getting back into the instrument, I have been posting random videos on my wall and Calvin (Pulverised Records, Raspatul, Onset, Offset) saw my Autopsy cover and told me he’s started playing drums (He’s a guitarist) and asked me if I want to jam sometime and I said yes. He’s a long time friend of mine in Singapore but we only talked about music and never imagined we would make music together and we clicked! We ended up recording a rehearsal demo at TNT Music Centre using my GoPro camera and we made 66 cassette tapes of it. When I moved back to the Philippines, I thought of making Punebre a full band but only if I get to have my friends play with me and I’m glad Ryan, Christian, and Ian said yes. Punebre’s theme will remain as a homage to local horror films. As they say, when you find humor in a difficult situation, you win. Funny you asked, when we were working on an untitled song we just called it “Sausage”, Herbert Bautista’s dog in the “Mananggal” segment of “Shake, Rattle & Roll.” It’s little things like that that makes things fun even if we are trying to make horror music. Haha!
Monstrosity is out of your top 3 although your zine name if I'm not mistaken is derived from one of their albums
I love Monstrosity. Lee Harrison is an old contact. I love “Imperial Doom” and “Millennium” the most. I get that a lot but the name of the zine is not taken from their album. It’s simply how I describe my passion for metal. It’s in dark purity. Speaking of Monstrosity, I got to meet Jason Gobel who played guitar on “Imperial Doom” when he was in Singapore. He’s cool.
oooppss..
I like “In Dark Purity” too but I really prefer their releases when Corpsegrinder was with them.
You're one of the few people I know who treat record collecting almost like a religion, what are you most prized possessions you can't let given that you Marie Kondoed your stuff last year
Collecting music and merchandise used to be my life. I wish I documented it or made a list but I used to have a lot and when I say a lot, I mean a lot. I started when I was in fifth grade and stopped when my daughter was born. I still buy from time to time but not as much as I used to. When I got into music I didn’t want anything else. I just wanted more and more music. I slowly started to let go of this lifestyle when I got married and had to move to Singapore in 2008. I sold my punk, hardcore, and thrash metal collection to a collector in the US to make some money and kept mostly the death metal stuff. I couldn’t bring everything to Singapore but I made sure to bring what I have from the three bands I mentioned earlier, Autopsy, Immolation, and Malignancy. When I was settled in Singapore, my younger brother occupied my room and they randomly boxed my things and stored them wherever there’s space. Some stuff at the storage room was destroyed by Ondoy. A part of me died. Haha! From that point, I wasn’t as attached to my stuff as I used to. I know I can’t bring them to my grave but I want to enjoy them while I’m alive! Haha! I kept moving in Singapore too. In my eleven years there, I moved seven times. Moving is a bitch especially with vynil records. When it was time to move back to the Philippines, I decided to sell everything as I’m tired moving this shit! Haha! To answer your question, I just can’t let go of my Autopsy, Immolation, and Malignancy stuff. These three bands mean so much to me but if I will only get to pick one from each band it would be the first pressing of “Mental Funeral” (Green Vinyl) that I got from the band, the first pressing of “Dawn Of Possession” from my late uncle, and “Inhuman Grotesqueries” (Black Purple Splatter Vynil) because it was released on my birthday!
damn, please send me some images of your collection including the ones you let go!
( he did send me pictures of his massive collection but they were not posted in this article )
But even you mellowed down on record collecting I think you diverted your attention to musical gear right? Walk me through your gear right now. What set up and sound you're trying to achieve?
Life begins at 40. I have always wanted to own a 7-string guitar but I was scared of the extra string. Haha! It was now or never and I decided to buy one on my 40th birthday. This reignited my passion for the guitar. Guitar and gear in Singapore is not as expensive as it is in the Philippines so I was able to buy things on a regular basis. One day, I was looking at my guitars, I was like, I don’t need of all this, I’m old and I only have a few years of playing time left and I might as well play my dream guitar. I saved money and I bought a Gibson Flying V. I have a simple set up as I only want to chainsaw. I have a Boss TU-3, NS-2, and a HM-2 on my board and Peavey Bandit 112. The music I love to listen to are the bands that I have been mentioning, Autopsy, Immolation, and Malignancy but the music I want to play is Swedish death metal. I just love the guitar tone. It’s evil!
It really looks like you're pretty set with the gear and the sound that you'd like. But any chance of experimenting especially with probable influence and prodding of your vocalist?
That’s all I’ll ever need. Ha! No. As much as I want to. I’m not skilled enough to keep up with any of them.
What format are planning to release after recording on? It depends on our budget but we’ll definitely get them out on CD first to get it moving.
I'm sure you guys are gonna be off on it like rabid dogs once this shitshow is over. Are you recording at Demiurge Digital or somewhere else?
I’m looking forward to recording. Yes, we will be recording at Demiurge Digital. This will be my first time to record in an actual studio so I’m nervous and excited at the same time.
Pro tip bring lots of this:
That's the engineer's favorite
Ha! I better start hoarding them so he’ll be in a good mood.
Haha, Have you drawn out a plan for the release party / parties yet? You are good friends with both members of the metal community and the hardcore/stoner/doom worshippers. No concrete plans yet but we definitely want to celebrate with friends when everything is ready.
Well, I wouldn't want to spoil it all but we sure are all in anticipation of that. Going back to IDP so you mentioned of tons of materials still out there. What are your plans for future issues?
I was planning to make the seventh issue as the final print issue and then just continue doing the zine online. I simply do not have money to get them printed these days. Postage keeps on increasing too. I definitely want to keep printing but honestly, I no longer have disposable cash like I used to but we’ll see.
If anyone out there is interested in getting physical copies of your zines, trade records, browse your online archive or simply debate you about Gothenburg being better please share your how we can access it or contact you.
Fuck Gothenburg! Only Stockholm is real! Ha! You may contact me through my Facebook page or my e-mail. I move a lot so if you need my snail mail address, send me a message and I will give it to you.
Any memorable zine interviews? Your favorite ones? Or the craziest and fucked up ones? The first is always memorable. Chris from Internal Bleeding. I always get a weird look from the post office staff whenever I send letters to them ‘cause their band address was called “The Department Of Inhuman Suffering” Haha! He was very supportive when I told him I was going to do a zine. Internal Bleeding was also the only band, so far, that I interviewed twice. I featured them again in IDP VI. I love all the local interviews. I was even planning to compile the local interviews and print a special issue but I’ve been lazy! The Deiphago and Iconoclast interviews stands out in a way. These bands can’t be at the same place if you know what I mean. Haha! I was able to feature them in the same issue. I love them both. What is your opinion of the mainstream metal scene or is there really such a thing here? How do you define it? and do you tend to steer clear of it? The reason I ask this is because you have in depth knowledge of how the scene works outside of the Philippines, and we're all aware it works differently there. Especially when it comes to money.
It’s easier for me to define the underground and that is to exist apart and independently from the mainstream. If that even makes sense. Ha! We are all exposed to the mainstream but what I personally do is not to have any of my projects get involved with how they work. We like minded people can work on our own.
But being the same age as you are, take your time and tell me about your exposure to metal during the early and mid 90s. I remember death metal being a trend then, if you'll allow me. mall record stores had all sorts of death metal tapes available and a lot of death and thrash bands around colleges. It was prevalent even in the provinces. How did it all start for you? I’ll try to make it short. I owe everything to Mike Miraflores. He is the nephew of my grandmother’s boarder and we became friends. I was in fifth grade and he was in senior high school. I was exposed to music ‘cause of my father but it was Mike who got me interested in it. He introduced me to punk, hardcore, and metal. The underground culture. It destroyed my mind! When I got my hands on Metallica’s “Kill ‘Em All” it made me want to focus on metal and play guitar. This is probably why I love the Flying V. Hetfield and Hammett used them in that era and I have always wanted one but my father gave me a Stratocaster as my first guitar but that’s another story! Haha! Then I got my hands on Death’s “Leprosy” and Obituary’s “Slowly We Rot.” That was a life changing moment. What the fuck is this? I fell in love with death metal. I couldn’t get enough of it. I started to make a list of death metal bands I saw on thanks lists, interviews, shirts (I thought NekRomantik was a band at first ‘cause I saw Chris from Autopsy wearing NekRomantik shirt and my uncle kept telling me he can’t find anything from that band! I found out later on that it’s a film. Haha!) and asked my relatives abroad to get them for me. I have an aunt in New York City and she helped me get most of my early stuff. This also explains why my backbone in death metal, so to speak, is the East Coast death metal ‘cause that was what my aunt could easily get for me. I was also through her that I got a copy of my favorite zine, The Grimoire Of Exalted Deeds. They were given away for free at the record store. I started writing to bands, magazines, zines, other people who are into death metal. This is how I discovered bands that are in my age group. I was a trouble maker when I was young and almost got expelled from school. My family and relatives supported me with my music in exchange of behaving and finishing school. Death Metal saved my life. Haha! You can say that. Most people call anything new as a trend anyways. With any trend, there will always be people who will remain devoted to it. Apart from the zine, how do the posers get a hold for merch / shirts? Are they still available? The shirt I made for In Dark Purity? If so, it was a short run of 30 shirts with the Arif Suhaimi artwork and they are gone. Kent Co from Wolf’s Lair printed those for me.
Do you think that moving back here will push you to focus more on Punebre given that less metal gigs happen here compared to Singapore? Yes. For some weird reason days seem longer in the Philippines compared to Singapore. You can do other things than just work. Also I think Punebre will be more productive now it’s a full line up. I can just focus on stealing riffs from Autopsy, Dismember and Impetigo and not worry about anything else. In Singapore I had to do everything on my own. I just have a clear vision on what I want to accomplish with Punebre. I just love the style of the bands I mentioned and I want to play it with my friends. My band mates can play Punebre’s music in their sleep but we are having fun and it’s all that matters. Especially after a jam. We usually go have dinuguan and a couple of beers! That’s considered a luxury in our age. Haha!
Is the central concept confined in local 80s horror films or beyond to the 90s? I honestly think it's genius as I don't think anyone has focused on a similar theme before, plus the potential to use it as a socio-political commentary is there We even touched the late 70’s. We have a song about “Itim” that was released in 1979 but yes, mostly it will be around that time frame. That’s when these films had an impact on us. I think so. Some local bands may have written songs inspired by local horror films but none have totally focused on it. Again, I stole the concept from bands like Impetigo and Mortician. Haha!
What labels do you recommend? this might help the clueless and the young ones to avoid the many rip offs and scammers out there.
There are a lot but these are the labels and distros that comes to mind.
LOCAL:
One-A Records
Delusion Of Terror Records
Dethrone Records
Analog Ammunition Records
MYO Distro
Donut Hole Distro
Metal Havoc Productions
Davao Hellbangers Production
OVERSEAS:
Pulverised Records
Brute! Production
Moribund Records
Obliteration Records
Dismal Fate Records
Headsplit Records
Transcending Obscurity Records
Goatgrind Records
Willowtip Records
Sevared Records
Rising Nemesis Records
Comatose Music
Haunted Hotel Records
How about the legendary Berdugo Records? hah!
Legendary my ass! The label is on hiatus now but I’m still moving what I have left in the distro. I only have three (100 CD) boxes left to liquidate. I stopped trading in bulk too. I will do an inventory by next week to see what I have left. These are less than 300 that’s for sure.
Is the Berdugo facebook page updated with all the releases so far? Can you give us a list here for all the lazy bastards?
actually just checked and thankfully it’s updated. I will add the year of the release later though. I can’t remember right now.
Chamber 69 - Labanan Ng Malilibog
Pus Vomit - Vomit The Andominal Pus Pus Vomit / Down From The Wound - Split Disembowelment
(I worked with Roel Tripalium with his label, Condemned Records)
Phlegm Thrower - Premature Ejaculation 2007
Pus Vomit - Degrade The Worthless
Pus Vomit - Stoned To Death
Death After Birth / Surrogate Prey - Burning Water
Gangrene - Chapters Of Decay
holy shit I didn't know it was you behind that infamous Chamber 69 release. Someone gave me a copy of that it was like a cdr haha The band made limited. copies with a black and white cover. I can’t remember the exact number though. Mel Manyak and I planned to make new copies with a different cover. It’s a shame it didn’t push through. The last time I saw him was at my daughter’s baptism in 2014. After the reception we went to my place to drink. He is greatly missed!
Well, that was a blast! Thanks for this opportunity and there will probably more articles about IDP and Punebre after this! Advanced Happy Bday to Isis and hope to see you around! Thank you! Isis’ birthday is going to be memorable because of COVID-19. I hope we all get through this pandemic so we can continue killing posers in the scene! Haha! Stay sick!
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