Kalopsia finds the beauty in yucky things



Please give us a short introduction of yourself?
My name is Matt Medeiros, I manufacture murderously memorable metallic moshing madness with the legion of schizophrenic sociopaths known across this and neighboring planets as Kalopsia. My vocular brutalification and rampaging guitarmageddon are, as you know, the very stuff of legend. Most people probably know me from the article in Time magazine about America's 6 most influential people and their death metal bands. I was number 3, shameful bronze.

Kalopsia: The delusion that things are more beautiful than they are. If I say your CD is quite beautiful, does that mean you are total crap or do I drink too much?
Well you do drink too much Roel. This isn't so much an interview, as an intervention. We're here to tell you that we love you, but your drinking has gotten out of control. You need help.
As for Kalopsia, well, beer-goggles, that's a kalopsia. Basically the name reflects the fact that we find beauty in yucky things like death, defilement, brutality and tax evasion.

What other bands did you guys play in before forming this nice piece? You handle your instruments very well or is this just the delusion of the good production?
I've been in various bands over the past 10 years, but the only notable ones prior to Kalopsia were Eschaton, a melodic death metal band, and Retroversion, a metal / hardcore band with Sebastian Russo, now known for his over-the-top death grind fusion experiment Dripping. Since then I have sullied my good name in HIV plus.
Of our current lineup, bassist Mike Hussey is currently pulling double duty, crushing skulls with the resurrected NYDM act Dehumanized, and drummer Mike Heller is pulverizing the kit with Malignancy. The production on the record only served to display my fantastic guitar playing skills and my angelic voice. The next record will sound even better because this lineup is by far the best Kalopsia has ever seen.

You seem to have a very own sound but still you remind me a lot of the old school early 90's deaththrash bands your country brought us. What do you think of the new wave of brutal deathmetal your country brings us nowadays and are there other bands around your area that are interesting or are you the only ones?
Well we're all big fans of second wave death metal, the early nineties stuff like Malevolent Creation, Gorguts, Deicide, Dismember, Grave, etc. so that comes through in the songwriting. I'm definitely into a lot of current death metal, Impaled, Aborted, Lividity, Waco Jesus, Vomit Remnants, etc. As for the hyper brutal bands of the current scene, there are some that are totally killer, and some I can go without. Basically I like catchy songs. So Cryptopsy post None So Vile doesn't really do anything for me. There's a ton of bands with that approach, all fast, all blast, and it's not interesting to me. If I want something super fast, I'll throw on some Regurgitate or Birdflesh. Stuff like Krisiun and Hate Eternal I get tired of pretty quick, though the solos are great.

As for the ’local’ scene, I'm in NJ, and we practice in NY, so depending on what you call local, there's a ton of bands. Obviously we're brothers with Dehumanized and Malignancy, so that speaks for itself. Of course Jersey has Mortal Decay, Digested Flesh, Funebrarum, Evoken, Abazagorath, so there's a lot of good heavy bands. Then of course there's the bigger bands like God Forbid and Dillinger Escape Plan, so there's enough metal to go around. Then of course there's a billion NYDM bands that I'm not going to list here.

If I may refer to your lyrics. Why didn't you slaughter the girl on the front cover yourselves? Or is she a friend of yours?
Well we were going to, but she had that damn meat cleaver. Fucked up my hand pretty good. But I got her face, that one side's pretty much all bone now.
Take that bitch!

When can we expect an official CD release by a (big) label and following tour? Do you have ambitions to do a big tour and what countries you would love to play? If you use drugs you should come to the Netherlands...
Well, when a big label comes along and wants to put us out, I'm all for it. As for right now, we're working on some new material, and we're going to shop it to various labels and take it from there. If we get a satisfactory offer, than it's all good.
As for touring, believe it or not, Kalopsia has only played one show ever, and that was back in 1999. Now that we have a (nearly) full line up (still looking for a second guitarist), we can start playing out again after we get a couple more songs down.
I haven't played a show since the final Eschaton show in June of 2000, so I'm anxious to play anywhere. Obviously I'd like to hit the Northeast coast of the United States, and try to do a show or two in the Midwest, California, Florida and Texas, and wherever else in between.
Japan is a big one for me. I would love to do a week or two there with Vomit Remnants. Plus I would just love to hit the tourist spots and see the sites. I think I might be a little mislead though after too many Takeshi Miike films.
And I would actually love to play the Netherlands too. I have some friends over there, Kees and Yvonne from www.emptywords.org, who I've worked with since 2000. We have never met in person. They've only been in the states once and unfortunately I couldn't get to Florida at the time. I'd love to have them come out to see Kalopsia perform on their home turf. I'm sure they could teach me a few things to say in Dutch that would make me look like a fool, haha. Nobody in the band does drugs and two of us don't even drink, so I'm afraid we're kinda boring in that respect, but there are other things to do in a red light district I'm sure.

Are there any things worth mentioning about your lives besides this band or is this your main occupation?
Kalopsia is far from my main occupation. I work with computers. Otherwise I am in HIV plus, the stupidest band on the planet. Right now I'm trying to get Kalopsia back on track after nearly two years of total inactivity. Heller is in Malignancy and Hussey is in Dehumanized, so we all manage to keep pretty busy.

If you would have to choose a new singer for major break through in the charts. Would you choose X-tina or Britney? Would you still use dual vocal parts? (very recommendable).
X-tina. Totally. No question. First of all, her lows make Ruben from Devourment sound like Mickey Mouse, and her highs make Dani Filth blush. So with our powers combined, I think we'd be the most brutal front line in death / grind history. Plus, she's hotter. She doesn't have Britney's down syndrome face. Obviously, if a girl was to become the singer in the band, I'd be banging her. In fact, it'd be in her contract.

Thanks any final words or did my unprofessional approach piss you off?
If you want a brutal slab of death metal with a heavy thrash influence and a three way vocal attack, check out Kalopsia, our debut album ’Exquisite Beauty of the Defiled’ is available for $12USD domestic, $15 international, cash or money order (made out to Matt Medeiros) to Kalopsia - PO Box 3172 - New Brunswick, NJ 08903 - USA. Or don't, and be a poser, poser.
I would thank you for the interview, but your unprofessional approach totally pissed me off. I am a serious musician damnit! Jokes and laughter are untrue!

Last rites?
Didn't you just ask me if I had last words? Well here's some more last words. Go to these websites, they're hotter than burning angel.
http://www.kalopsia.org
http://www.myspace.com/kalopsia
http://getit.at/hottieswithaids
http://www.dehumanizedny.com
http://www.malignancy.com

Thanks to BRUTALISM for the support! Oh, and fuck you Roel, you drunk!