by Christopher Mygrant

Been longing for the days when the airwaves were filled with your favorite metal acts? Well your wait is over. Finally, a fresh and invigorating sound has emerged from Indianapolis, Indiana. Consisting of Nate Olp, Scott Wilson and Ben Parrish, Demircious is the purest of pure when it comes to what metal is all about. Raw, fast, gut-wrenching.

World of Fandom met of with the guys during their recent stint in Florida. So without further a due, live from the State Theater in St. Petersburg, Florida, I present to you – Demircious!!!!

World of Fandom: Since the inception of Demircious in 2001, have you both found your choice to become musicians as fulfilling as what you thought it would be?

Nate Olp (vocals/bass): I don’t think I can measure it yet because this is only our third tour and it’s really actually our first tour because this is the first full U.S. tour. Right now it’s like getting a taste for what it’s like to have a career in music. The other part about being in a band, you know, hanging out with your friends and writing music - absolutely. Right in there getting creative, exactly what we want to create. That part of it, yeah. But the other part, as far as touring and figuring out how shitty things can get or how good things can get, is just starting. Can’t really touch that yet.

Scott Wilson (guitar): When we first started, we had no idea we would make it this far. The first four years, or whatever, we were just playing around just being in a local band. Not really playing around the states too much. But now we’re on MetalBlade Records, you know, and it’s like totally ridiculous. That happening (being signed) is just out of control. That’s our dream come true right there. Just that - period.

WOF: Have you grown accustomed or acclimated to the type of schedule and lifestyle that comes along with being a musician?

Nate: It’s something that you definitely have to get used to. It isn’t like you just jump in and your like; ‘This is perfect!’ Every once in awhile you’ll just be like, ‘Wow, fuck’, you know, ‘What the hell?’ We have nights where we will finish a song and nobody (the audience) does anything. They're just standing there staring at you and then we’re like – all right? Then you don’t sell one shirt. That’s when it’s like, ‘Why are we doing this?’ But then at the same time, the next day we will have the most raging crowd. Then we’re like; ‘This is awesome.’ So, I know a lot of it is what you make of it.

I mean if you’re bored, that’s your fault. And if something sucks, then work it out. Talk about it or something. But it’s not the easiest thing to get used to. I mean especially being away for like months at a time from all your best friends and this and that. But I mean at the same time, all of us have tried school and tried having jobs and stuff and we happened to be those kids where it wasn’t for us. So what am I’m going to do, hate my life at school or work again and waste all my money and stuff?

Scott (interjecting): Or hate my life everywhere around the country…

(Laughter)

Nate: We had an opportunity so we’re gonna run with it I guess and see what happens.

WOF: Scott, what are your feelings on reviews of the band and such? How does it make you feel seeing an audience go ballistic over your material?

Scott: It makes me feel awesome. It makes me feel like maybe there are people out there who were wanting to hear the same music as we wanted to hear. When somebody gets it, it’s great because there are a lot of people who don’t get it - especially on this tour. We’re playing to a bunch of 14-year-old kids with hairdos and white belts and shit like that. The other bands (Still Remains, Nodes of Ranvier and If Hope Dies) are like metalcorish, especially Still Remains. Good guys and everything is amazing, this tour is great, but like I said, playing to those people it’s kind of like, ‘What the hell are we doing? Are we doing anything?’ But when you hear a good review, or whatever like that, you’re like, ‘That’s awesome. There are people out there who get it.’

WOF: Nate, what about the negative reviews? Will you change something in the music because of someone else’s comments that could possibly enhance or improve the product – in their opinion?

Nate: The only thing we’ll change or the only reason we would change is if somebody in the band says, “I don’t like that. I don’t like what we’re playing right now.” That has happened. Sometimes we’ll be like, “What are we doing? I hate that song.” A review is one person’s opinion and the more you read them, the more you just get that that’s all it is. It’s cool to get good and bad because when you get a bad one, use it. You’re like; “Aw we suck? Well all right, then come to a live show and if you don’t like the music, we can hang out. Whatever dude.” But getting bad reviews is like…I mean, dude, I feel like we get a bad review every night on tour.

Scott: Sometimes

Nate: A lot of times these kids don’t really know where we are coming from. They’re younger, so on this tour you’re getting an 80% bad review probably every night. But that’s just because of the tour. But you’re just like, ‘All right, who cares? At least I’m having fun doing it.’

Scott: Yeah and then you know, you just say like, ‘Well, they don’t get it or whatever.’ I’m not gonna write a song that somebody else wants to hear. I’m gonna write a song that I want to hear. I don’t even know if I would be able to do that (write a song for another person’s taste). I think if I tried to do that, it would suck even worse.

WOF: Yeah, but when you see a crowd dying (not literally of course) before you, how do you accept that?

Nate: Well, it will piss you off, but you can’t please all the people all the time so whatever. If there’s a bunch of 14-year-old kids that don’t know what we’re doing, that’s not our fault. I don’t know, you either like it or you don’t. Like if we get a bad response, then whatever, then I’m just gonna get more drunk that night.

(Laugher breaks out)

Scott: I have too much hair to see what is going on anyway.

(Laughter)

Nate: You kind of learn to just not care. Not to sound like an asshole, but you’re kind of just like, ‘Alright man, you know, I’m having fun.’

WOF: In the corporate world, businesses have mission statements. What is Demiricious’ mission statement?

Scott: I’ve been telling other interview people that ask, “What do you want other people to get out of your album?” I’ve been saying, like, ‘We just wrote an album (ONE (Hellbound) that like is inspired by old thrash and basically this is an album that you can get drunk with your friends and break your favorite stuff to. You know, wake up in the morning pissed off.

Nate: It’s hard to just say or sum it up or whatever. We’re asked, “What is your message?” I’m like basically our whole message is we don’t stand for…like we’re not a religious band, we’re not a satanic band, we’re not political, you know? We’re just dudes doing what we pretty much want to do.

Scott (interjecting): Just having a good time.

Nate: Yeah, have fun with it. I don’t know. If I tried to make like a big political statement, it would be like, “What is he talking about?” It would just be stupid.

Scott: I wouldn’t even know what to talk about. I couldn’t even make a political statement if I tried.

Nate: I don’t know, just have fun at what we are doing.

WOF: When watching a live performance, does one get the sense of rawness or technologically advance in the sense your sound is clean and always tight?

Nate: We did everything in the context of a punk rock band - even recording. We wanted everything to be, just totally, almost unproduced if we could. Just keep it exactly like a practice room. I mean obviously we had to make it really tight, but at the same time we didn’t want any super, freaked out guitar effects and weird shit on the drums or stuff you can’t do live. I can’t think of anything that is lacking from the live show that isn’t on the record.

WOF: Is Demircious a band that you both would go see? Prior to your band days, would Demircious be in your CD player?

Nate and Scott: Yeah, yeah… totally

Nate: …that’s kind of like the point of our band. All we are is the band that we never heard growing up.

Scott: Yeah, well one that I haven’t heard in a long time. I’m inspired by a lot of older shit that…

WOF: Such as?

Scott: …Pantera, Slayer, Testament, Exodus, old Megadeth, old Metallica, old Sepultura. Yeah, that’s some serious shit. To me, that’s the shit that hit hard as fuck, you know. So if I could even be mentioned in the same breath as those people, that would be awesome to me. But even so, that doesn’t even matter. I want to make music that I want to make. That’s the only reason that we’re doing it I guess and to have fun.

WOF: The record deal has happened, you guys are on tour, what is the next goal that needs to be accomplished?

Nate: The first thing that we have to do is get a drummer. We only have a touring drummer right now and when you have a touring drummer, there is always something lacking because you can’t write together.

Scott: I’ll be excited when we start writing the next album and I feel like it’s good. Cause right now I’m like, ‘Oh, man, okay, our first album is pretty awesome.’ When I think about the second album, I’m like, ‘Oh man, is it going to be good?’

WOF: What is your writing process like?

Scott: It’s a group effort all the time, but we haven’t had a drummer for so long we haven’t really been able to do that. I don’t want to say I’m nervous about the second album, but when it comes out and I feel like we’re on a schedule like where we can write good songs, then I’ll be like, ‘Oh, awesome.’ That’s what I look forward to. Writing the next shit.

WOF: Seeing the CD in stores across the States and abroad must be something of a high.

Scott: It’s ridiculous. It is. It feels fuckin’ weird as shit.

Nate: I remember the first time I saw it, I was like; ‘That’s our cover, that’s our record – holy shit.’ I didn’t even think about it. I just saw it and I was like whoa.

Ben Parrish

Scott: What’s weird is like when we’re on tour 3,000 miles away from where we live and we go to a record store over there and see it, you’re just like; ‘Wow, what the hell?’

WOF: What is the band’s strongest attribute?

Nate: I think what is going for us, is that (chuckles) none of us are into any of the newer stuff at all. We got lucky with like the timing of when we came out with our stuff because I guess not a lot of people were doing it; like the older thrash with like a little modern stuff in it. So I guess it just has to do with, I don’t know. We pretty much avoid anything cool or hot. We don’t dress up on stage. We don’t want any gimmick at all. It’s metal, you should be rippin’ as hard as you can. I mean, if you need fucking make-up and shit…

Scott: (interjecting) Your music is not good.

Nate: Yeah, like what the hell? Do what ever you want, but I just don’t get that.

I can honestly say, a gimmick Demricious is not. Along with Ben Parrish (guitar), Nate and Scott just burned up the stage with their allotted 20 minutes. As mentioned, the crowd was not a “metal” crowd. However, there was a handful of individuals that were very much into the band.

Demircious can only be defined as, ”Metal at its finest”. ONE (Hellbound), the band current release, is a throwback to the heyday of good ol’, fucking, head-banging music. If the band hits your area, by all means give them a chance. I truly feel you will not be disappointed.