Chud are an industrial death metal band that play a style of metal that I absolutely love and their latest release Dead is a real ball tearer of a release and is one you will want to have turned up all the way. Check out our Interview with Chud this is a great interview and well worth the read,then go crannk that dial right up as you blast out some CHUD.\m/
Chud Industrial death metallers from Australia thank you so much for taking the time to go through some questions for Crannk our readers and myself Jai ‘That Aussie Metal Guy’.Congratulations on your latest release “Dead” it is a freaking great listen and really good to see Chud getting some really good feedback and response to the album.
Jai Q:But first off for those who haven’t heard of CHUD who are Chud and how did the band form?
– Thank you for the kind words Jai, glad you dig the new album! CHUD started in late 2009, a group formed around a mutual taste for dirty, industrialized, and percussive music.Mechanically delivered, but not inhuman.
The name Chud is an old Slavic word which roughly means ‘tribe’ or ‘folk’, something that has perpetually been at the heart of this band.
People coming together to create something bigger than themselves. The sound hasn’t changed drastically over the years, it has become more honed, taken a direction of its own making. The entity that is ‘Chud’ is the driving force itself, it just got us onboard to assist in getting the word out. Sometimes we’re not sure if we manifested Chud, or it manifested us.
Essentially, we play hard & we play fast. We want to rock the fucking kazbah, we want to see the walls bleeding.
Jai Q:How and when did you first get into playing music?
– It seemed like a good idea at the time,play a few shows, have a few laughs.Our guitarist grew up around places like the Hammerhouse in Sydney & Party Pig studios out in the west. We all came across instruments in our youth, and it stuck with us.The trouble started around 16, 17. We’re all from working class backgrounds, it wasn’t anything other than a fantasy up until our twenties. We decided individually at points to do something with the skills we have.
Jai Q:How’d you get into heavy metal music?
– It was either that or be a Western Sydney crime statistic. Both Kate & Whiskey heard Deicide in their early teens and the rest was all downhill from there.Matt got his first mullet shortly after being introduced to The Hetfields, with the denim jacket & sleeveless tees coming shortly after.Then it was a matter of navigating the seedy world of garage bands and blossoming into the shiny beast that Chud has become today.Lots of watching Rage in our formative years.
Jai Q: What are some of the influences that have helped and inspire you as a musician?
– Death & getting old is the greatest motivation of all, but ultimately, inspiration comes from everywhere. Early Australian bands like, The Berserker, Devolved, Sadistic Execution, Damaged, Mortal Sin, Nitocris, Abremalin, Psycroptic, Jerk – these are all bands that have inspired us collectively. We saw them, felt the music. It was something we could do, it wasn’t just something we saw on TV. Bands we grew up watching live. Many other bands, almost too many to mention – Slayer, Nailbomb, Metallica, Bathory, Pantera, Gallhammer, Abbath and Immortal, Ministry, Strapping Young Devy. A lot of music outside the sphere of Heavy Metal too – Aphex Twin, drum & bass in general, Squarepusher, Die Antwoord, early punk like The Descendants, Suicidal Tendencies, and classics like Link Wray & Dick Dale. The bands & sounds that have stuck with us as individuals and as a band. Not the tastes that come & go, but the keepers. The stuff we always go back to.
Jai Q:Dead is the latest album from CHUD as i mentioned earlier and it has received a really good response thus far,I reckon i seen on your CHUD feed you even made it into a metal publication from Botswana that must feel good hey?
– The response from people has been nothing but positive. Appearing in-print in a magazine on the entirely opposite side of the world is a massive trip & we are stoked to see that. Absolutely stoked. Words can’t really convey it.Heavy & hard music is something that a LOT of people still love & have a great passion for. To be included in any of that, we are eternally grateful for. Especially Botswana, because we’ve never been there, certainly don’t know anyone there. The music we wrote got through to someone. They liked it. They got the message, got the beat. That’s the real deal right there.
Jai Q:How did you approach the song writing and song creation on Dead?
– Well, the first album was mostly written with the drums & bass first, ‘What sort of beats, rhythms do we want to exploit here’, with the guitars done afterwards, filling it in. Off the cuff in some cases, what sounds great straight off the bat, don’t overthink it. Just get amongst it & make something awesome. Only 3 songs off that were pre-concieved before hitting a studio. This time we had written & played some of the tracks live a lot, tweeked them as we went. Going back over some of the recording and changing it, to fit how we altered it live. Re-recording guitars & bass. We don’t really have a set approach, we go by feel. Don’t lose focus on the ‘song factor’ though, keep it cohesive. Don’t waste time in the studio, time is money.Banks can’t lend time to people, only money. Be creative, but not tedious.As far as production & song-writing goes, we did want it to be made up of short, sharp & aggressive songs.
Jai Q:I’d like to ask about a couple of the tracks I really Dug on the album and what they mean to you the first being “In Cult We Trust”?
– Start your own cult. Believe in yourself.Don’t be distracted by ideologies.You are the voice of your own god.You don’t need religion, religion needs you.Otherwise it’s just another dead god,and religion knows that, that’s why the mono-god religions try so hard to retain absolute control. Without us, the people, their pyramid scheme will just collapse in upon itself. All life has a right to freedom of choice, thought and safety.
And then “Fearmonger”?
– There’s always some greedy prick trying to sell you a neat package of shit & fear. Keeping your face down, your ass up in the air. You don’t need that, nobody does.We try to keep the lyrical content ambiguous. It should mean different things to different people. Read into it what you will. What is the song about to the listener?We’re just delivering the message, it’s for the recipient to make of that what they will.Let your own imagination go with it, fill in the blanks.
Jai Q“Can you tell us a little about the recording process for the Dead album?
– Well, that’s an epic saga unto itself. Enjoyable, hard. Long hours. Vats of coffee.It was 5 years between our first album & the new one. We certainly hadn’t intended for things to take so long, but we all had other aspects in our lives that took front and centre.The first album was a case of jumping in the deep end to see if we could swim. The new one had to be about consolidating that, building from what was already there. For us, there was no point in making ‘Ominous 2’, we had to add new flavours, but make sure it was still the same wholesome meal.
This one we did in two seperate studios, the drums were recorded in 2016, the guitars were done in 2017, vocals & bass were done around the end of 2017? We actually had the recording finished and ready to go, but sat on it for a while. A long while. We weren’t even sure if we were going to release it. There was a period of time where we were ready to just let it go & forget about the whole thing. We certainly wanted to make sure it was straight to the point. All killer, no filler.In the end, we had a new album, with new stories & new directions. Something we were very happy with.
Jai Q: I seen you guys recently played with another band I really enjoy and had the privilege of raging out with last year at MUDU The Good Time Aussie Bogalars what was that show like?
– The Good Time Aussie Bogolars should be on the ballot, we should be able to vote for these guys to run the country. Yeah, that was an excellent night, we played a show with them, probably 3 or 4 years ago? We had an absolute blast back then, and we had an absolute blast recently with them too. That was a fucking sweet night, great line-up, great vibes.But, yes, I think these guys would do a great job as our elected officials.
Jai Q:CHUD were announced as playing the Australian leg of the Metal United Worldwide can you tell us a little about that and the show you guys are playing on?
– We’re playing with FATIGUE from up north. They’re fucking sick, some of the best black metal I have seen. They really are something, they have a wild sound. Excellent, intricate sound but still every cohesive as a unit, it doesn’t get boring. They make a lot of music for 3 guys. Very confronting, in a great way.
Also, we are playing with local guys AULD, they have a really cool blend of black metal with some early Doom elements, they have these celtic imagery & themes, which gives them a unique flavour. We’ll be playing this year at the Pot Belly Bar in Canberra, an old school pub, very intimate, but it’s not some sticky dive. It has character, and character goes a long way.We’re also busting a gut onstage, so the night will be a good mix of sound. We plan to see if we can shake some plaster off the ceiling & give the old girl a good run. Scare the neighbours, make the sure the kids are entertained & having a good time, that’s our job.
Jai Q;Chud are playing all over the place ATM and I’ll share all the dates but is there anything else CHUD has planned going into the rest of 2019?
– Hell yes! We have a series of shows on the calendar so far –
* June15 – ACT, MetalUnitedWorldwide
* June21 – ACT, Metal Fiesta with LORD!
* July3 – Sydney, UMACFEST
w/ Trepaneringsritualen
* July19 – ACT, Trapped Under Ice Festival
* August3 – Melbourne, Brewtality Fest
* September7 – Sydney, MetalUnitedDownUnder
We plan to play as much as possible for whoever will have us on! No rest until we’re dead! We love to record & be creative, make new music of course, but we love to play live, that is our jam, that is our forte. That, we feel, is where we’ll make a great impact. Entertain people like we have been, give them something to remember. We’re absolutely STOKED with the album, you can crank it up at home or in the car and FEEL it, but we want to SHOW it to people! We won’t get into Valhalla sitting at home, rusting. ‘Spears in hand’ so to speak. In saying that, we are shooting a video clip for ‘The Wicked’, from the new album & we will be releasing a 4-5 track Live EP via the Bandcamp page in the meantime. These will be available/finished towards the end of July. We’re sorting out the artwork for said live EP right now, still haven’t settled on a name for it as yet.
We would love to get some shows up in sunny Queensland on the itinerary too andget onto some more international supports and reach a wider audience. Immerse people in the ‘Chud Experience’.
Chud on behalf of Crannk and Our readers I really do appreciate the time you have taken to go through this thank you so much and keep Crannking the Brutality all the best and Kind Regards Jai Anderson and CRANNK
– Hey Jai, massive cheers to YOU for interviewing US!! Awesome folk like yourself keep the underground flowing!! Without fans, there would be no bands and without bands we would all be bored shitless!!Without an underground, we wouldn’t have any new bands!! Support homegrown music!!BUY their merch, BUY their music, there is so much great stuff right here in Australia!!
Cheers, immensely🤘
Shout outs to Cal, the General & Doctor Death at Disaster Zone Radio, Michael & Anja from the Metal Roos and ALL the bands, crowds & venues that we’ve raged with over the years!!
WHISKEY, KATE & NOVAK – CHUD
Check out some of the other great interviews from the Crannk team at interviews
