Godly Enslavement: An Interview with Jeremy Kibort of Desolate

What's happenin' Jeremy? How're the holidays in New England treatin' ya?

Josh brother, things are real good, holidays echh, just waiting for them to be done, another year full of disgust at how a "holy" day is used as a money reaping tool by retail industry.

Alright, what brought about the reunion of Desolate?

Haha funny you should ask..after seeing the fb page you started for Desolate, we could see there was still some fanship there after many years, so we decided to do a reunion just a few shows with the original members..Todd/guitarist just wasn't happening and Eric Roy was just too busy with work stuff to really commit to a practice schedule and basically had to back out. Mike Clayton was into the idea and took up his old drum spot and invited his friend Drew to come jam. Drew had 5 songs down for our first practice and all the songs learned in another couple weeks. We've just felt real good and started writing new stuff. ..

I know you guys have been quite busy playing festivals and shows since the resurrection of the band. How has that been going for ya and what would you say are the big differences from the early-mid '90's to now?

Yeah we've played through the summer and its been great..martyrdoom fest in Brooklyn was definitely a highlight . Things that have changed the most. .the venues I think. There are still a ton of places to play, but quality has suffered as many small clubs don't mic anything but vocals, and the overall sound really suffers. Still the same amount of shit joker promoters as there ever was. .bands too, holy fuck there are so many now. .tons. .some are real good, some are shit. .too many paint their faces and dress all black metal without actually taking the pain of writing dark compositions..not out to start calling false this and that, but fuck! Try writing scary music first. .

1993

John (Pathos) compiled and released your two demos as well as two previously unreleased tracks. Could you tell me how that came about and could you give me a little history on the bonus tracks as well?

Yes, sanity obliterated. .John Dwyer contacted me one day and said its about time for a discography. We had recorded a couple songs before we broke up in 97 , so John had it all remastered to get the songs to sound a little more consistent with each other. .were all pretty happy with it. The two songs at the end of the disc. .Blessings End and Graceful Denouncement are two of the four songs we had most recently written before breaking up and show a more mayhemic, blackened style of Desolate.. a direction we are continuing now. .

I gotta say... watching you guys live (unfortunately only through Youtube ) always puts a smile on my face as the rage and intensity that you exude is unmatched. I always hated bands that just "stood there" looking bored. Is this a conscious thing on your part or are you merely "going with the flow"?

Well thanks dude, no, just going with the flow. .but honestly a band thinks of songs and goes through the trouble of practicing and defining a distinct sound, getting shows, so when its time to play, you're just going to stand there like you cant be bothered? Fuck that. .I'm going to take this song and drive it down your fucking throat. ..why waste the moment you know?

I understand you guys are working on your long awaited debut album. How's that going and what can everyone expect to experience?

Yes we are currently busting ass to get ready to record an album of epic, sick, tale weaving blackened death the way we play it. .for some reason were having trouble shaking the term "old school death metal" which isn't bad, but I can guarantee that's not going to be the listeners first impression

New England's always had a sketchy history as far as death metal bands go. On one hand you have a handful of bands that have sort of been the "flagbearers" of the region (Vital Remains are the first to come to mind) while so many others have for some reason or another remained WAY underground. What are your thoughts on this and where does Desolate fit in? Also, are there any bands from the New England area that you'd like to give mention to?

Yeah from the old school days not many bands survived, Vital Remains certainly has but in general we prepped a good many fans for what was going to become the wave of shitty metalcore and deathcore garbage that followed .. desolate anyways had a very loyal following from the beginning, at times wish we would've thought big picture and stayed together ... in New England nowadays I'd love to give mention to some acts we admire. .Vaettir, Martyrvore, Cold Northern Vengeance, Infested Prophecy, Blessed Offal, Blood Stone Sacrifice ..I'm sure there's a few others that I'll hear and be impressed by and some others that will come off as shit. .

What are your thoughts on the current state of metal, death metal in particular?

There's still some pretty good bands out there, but it's just very saturated. .sooo many bands and perhaps they might have a good singer but the riffs suck, or vice versa. .and part of the sorriest state is all the "core" bands that have stolen from this artform and label it theirs, and unfortunately the labels that used to put out the bands you and I grew up with have flocked to that lame style of shit!

I know there are many who wonder... will Jerry ever resurrect Warhorse?

Haha. .hmm I've asked him and everyone involved with Warhorse is heavily into other projects, all of them quite different. Jerry, myself, Terry from Martyrvore and Dan from Scattered Remnants have been jamming some Warhorse tunes that were never finished and some new stuff also. .we're calling it

"Conclave"

If you could only pick three albums to take with you into the afterlife (any genre) what would they be?

Shit thats tough, I guess Darkthrone - Transilvanian Hunger, Elliott Smith figure eight, Alice in Chains s/t .. fuck depends on my mood upon said day of death.

Alright Jeremy... thanks a million for your time. Last words?

Josh, thanks for always being a supporter of Desolate, you will not be disappointed with the new album. .Get Evilution back together Brother!!

Desolate's 'Sanity Obliterated' is available through Pathos Production's and I seriously recommend you all to vamp a copy or two of this as quickly as possible!

Check out Desolate over at Facebook.