nothing's sacred

by Lounge Lizard

Photos by Absence Of The Sacred

Citing Bay Area thrash metal and black metal as part of its influences, Absence Of The Sacred (www.myspace.com/absenceovthesacred)is made up of Lionel Michael Leong (vocals, guitars), Hans Yan Ming (drums, keyboards) and Justin Tan (bass). Aging Youth speaks to frontman Lionel Michael Leong aka Mike about technology, humanity, religion and parental approval.

Absence Of The Sacred is a book written by Jerry Mander which describes the relationship between society and technology and how technology has overwhelmed our daily lives. Was the inspiration for the band’s moniker?

Mike : Yes, “In The Absence Of The Sacred”, to be precise. The band’s moniker is a perfect description of what is currently going on in this world; religion being an excuse to usurp existing political systems through the use of fear, innocence being defiled through hardship and turmoil, industries exploiting our natural resources in vain and technology being used for the sake of complacency at the sacrifice of our own humanity in a way of industrialized suicide. Nothing is sacred in this world any longer, and thus I personally thought that the moniker was apt in the impetus of our band’s conceptualization.

I like this phrase on ‘My Vendetta’: “ Global web of deceit/ Robes cast from gold and greed/ Spreading their calculative lies/ In front of sheltered eyes”. I gather you are not a huge fan of organized religion.

Mike : Thank you. I personally believe that organized religion is basically a cult with more members. What defines a cult? A paradigm of belief that has no basis in reality. I grew up in a Roman Catholic household, although I retained a sense of atheism that has prevailed up to today…the reason being that I had experiences in my life that have conditioned me in such logic. Hans has similar views on religion as well, although Justin is a practicing Christian, which is his choice, ultimately.

Absence Of The Sacred operates as a trio. There are some guitar interplay on ‘Fallen On Obscurity’ and ‘Atrocities That Birthed Abominations’. How do you perform those parts in the band’s live sets?

Mike : For the live performances of ‘Fallen Into Obscurity’ and ‘Atrocities That Birthed Abominations’, I normally play the lead guitar parts while Justin covers the rhythm parts on his bass. We have recently recruited Darren of Disinterium on lead and rhythm guitars, to increase the aural and visual dynamics in our live shows.

I love the arrangement and dynamism of ‘Atrocities That Birthed Abominations’ and ‘Our Glorious Dead’. How are you going to pull that off live?

Mike : Thank you again. Hans composed the keyboard parts for ‘Atrocities That Birthed Abominations’ as he came from a classically-trained background in piano, whereas I composed the main structure of all the songs in the album. We have played the above-mentioned songs live as well as the rest of the album. But we normally cut out the keyboard parts for ‘Atrocities That Birthed Abominations’as Hans would be concentrating on the drums.

The acoustic section of ‘Our Glorious Dead’ is also played but I would leave the solo out as the bass alone would be insufficient to provide the necessary atmosphere in the rhythm section.

It’s interesting how you mention that how the band works around its limitation as a trio for the live shows. My preferences lie with the epic and grandiose tracks as mentioned earlier. How do you decide which songs are ‘chuggers’ and which ones you’d fit into a dynamic structure with keyboards and acoustic guitar breakdowns?

Mike: Basically it all comes down to how the general structure of a song emotes to the listener. Some song structures cry out to be made epic and grandiose, especially the ones with slow, melodic parts that can be further emphasized by using additional (or different) instruments or soundscapes. The ‘chuggers’ are usually the more fast-paced song structures that do not have much or even any slow parts to fit in any further emphasis except that of an additional lead/rhythm guitar for harmonization, solos or interplay. We work on the basis on those perceptions, and it is really quite effective!

On the band’s MySpace page, you cited jazz as one of your influences. How does that fit in the sound of Absence Of The Sacred?

Mike: On our Myspace page, I quoted “ However, the current material is a much more focused and ferocious effort, incorporating black metal, brutal death metal and even jazz elements into the music”. For jazz being an influence on our music, it can be either a direct jazz part (like in the title track ‘Atrocities That Birthed Abominations’ ) or more through the usage of the structure and chords in a death metal delivery. Bands such as Atheist, Cynic, Voivod and Death are great examples of legendary metal bands that use jazz chords and song structures in their music.

For our sophomore effort, I’m planning to use a little bit of Jazz structure and chord-work on several songs to make things a tad spicier. We are a metal band after all, and there are certain boundaries in which we have to work within.

Are you guys moving into the jazz-metal territory?

Mike: Not for our sophomore effort. As for our future records,I highly doubt so. Although there is a probability, that might happen.

The band name checks quite a few Singapore metal outfits in the album liner notes, especially thanking Shyaithan of Impiety. Whatever happened to them?

Mike : All I am allowed to say is that Impiety still lives! That is the only answer I am able to provide you at this point of time. For future updates on Impiety, do check out http://www.mightyimpiety.com.

We do give our undying support to bands such as Oshiego, Disinterium, Roughcast, Massecration, Celestial Serenity, Draconis Infernum, Arbitrary Element, Rudra, Infernal Exekrator and so forth for the sole reason that they produce excellent music that are of international standard or soon to be. Don’t support local music blindly. Support good local music that is the result of hard work and creative efforts.

Amen. While it’s not totally so, it seems that Blackisle Studios is the place for metal acts to record. You guys have chosen Focal Pro Solutions instead. Is there a reason behind that?

Mike : Focal Pro Audio Solutions was first suggested to us by our ex-bassist who left the band abruptly before any recording even commenced. Hans and I went to have a look around and we liked their equipment. Focal Pro Audio has a relaxing atmosphere, as well as friendly staff who are more than capable of catering to your audio needs. I believe that Blackisle Studios is a respected and professional place to record as well, but as for why we chose Focal Pro Audio, I suppose such things are left to individual preferences.

How was the recording experience?

Mike : The recording experience was both pleasant and professional, unlike our first recording experience in February 2005 at the School of Audio Engineering, which was disastrous as the songs we recorded were constantly being erased due to faulty hardware.

Prior to the recording of Atrocities That Birthed Abominations, we rehearsed intensely for a month as Justin had just replaced our ex-bassist in that point of time before the recording commenced. Due to our additional efforts, the recording in the studio paid off as every member of the band was competent in the songs and possessed the necessary skills at that point of time to carry them out well. We had fun and enjoyed making the record, as much as the staff of Focal Pro Audio who was involved in engineering and mastering our work, I believe.

In our interview with Rudra, they mentioned during their photoshoot that though their spouses are very supportive of their passion and musical pursuits, they are not exactly fans of Vedic metal or metal for the matter. Ever faced the same problem?

Mike : Well, the entire band is currently single! I wouldn’t call it a problem though as people are individuals after all, and individuals have different views on everything. We do have supporters who aren’t even into metal but they appreciate our work in their own way.

And you dedicated the album to your mother. Nice. My parents tell me playing in a band is a waste of time.

Mike : I dedicated the album to my mom because she has always supported me even when I was at my lowest. My dad doesn’t really care what I do as I earn my own keep and I do not rely on him to support myself.

Han ’s parents weren’t exactly very supportive of him playing in a band from the start, but he has since corrected that through his own methods. Justin’s parents are supportive of him playing in a band as long as it does not disrupt his studies and it definitely keeps him out of trouble.

I personally believe that everyone should pursue their interests. If playing music is a catharsis for your emotions, be it anger, misery or euphoria, just go for it and see how things develop from there. Don’t ever succumb to others’ beliefs as the most important belief comes from yourself, through your own experiences. Make your own choices, don’t let others do it for you.