Interview with Nihilitus!

Band: Nihilitus
Facebook
Genre: Technical Death Metal

Q: Where did the band name "Nihilitus" come from?

Nihilitus is a play on the word "nihility" and it very much came from Me loving Decapitated. I had a lot of other names lined up but I wanted to keep it short and to the point. Nihilitus also means full of nothing or nonexistence.

Answered by: Justin Harris

Q: You've played with several big name bands: Aborted, Arsonists Get All The Girls, Cannibal Corpse, and Cattle Decapitation, to name a few. Which band has been your favorite to play with thus far?

Oh man, I'll condense this list because every show has been amazing. For the larger acts, it has been Cattle Decapitation, Dying Fetus, Between The Buried and Me, Veil of Maya, Cerebral Bore, and Origin. The list of local/underground acts is just as large! Some of our closest friends in Skoffin, Deceive, Doctor Professor, Infinite Death, Insentient, Death Inquisition, In Fathom, and Madrost have been nothing short of awesome to perform along side with. We definitely recommend checking these amazing acts out!

Answered by: Edwin Haroutonian

Q: Why did you choose to play the style of music you play, and not just regular death metal?

As far as what style of music we play, I mainly write whatever I'm feeling when I pick up the guitar. The writing process basically consists of me sitting down jamming out some riffs that I have the basic ideas for and going from there. I try really hard to not stick to any specific genre when I'm composing because I listen to everything from like Steel Attack to Ingested.

Answered by: Justin Harris

For me, I've considered myself more of a writer than anything. I enjoy writing poetry and short stories. There is always a beat going on in my head when I write lyrics. I know I'm not a typical death metal vocalist nor do I consider myself one. When I write, I envision myself performing it out in my mind. I also don't write in the typical death metal fashion but it seems that both things I don't do in a death metal band are what make this a uniquely different death metal band. I want people to not only understand the message in the lyrical content but to also take something from my performance of it. I have a purpose for everything thing I do vocally, lyrically, and theatrically on stage.

Answered by: Edwin Haroutonian

Q: Your band started in February 2012, it has almost been a year since then, how has the experience been for the first year?

None of us could have imagined that when we first started we would end the year having played 2 major festivals (Summer Slaughter and California Metalfest VI), several all day fest's throughout the year, playing out of state twice, and ending the year with just under 50 total shows, most of which were accumulated from July till now.

The amount of support from our family, friends, local/touring acts, promoters, and some of the sickest people we know, our fans, have made this year absolutely amazing. Our future success will be due to all those listed above and continuing hard work and dedication to simply want to make music that makes people question things around them and then pit their fucking hearts out!

Answered by: Edwin Haroutonian

Q: You're endorsed by Imperial Cymbals and Keep It Heavy Clothing. What is it like to be endorsed, and what is it like to be endorsed by those two companies?

Endorsements, big or small, are awesome and very much needed and deserved by every hard working band out there. Being in a band is expensive as far as equipment is concerned. It is every bands dream to perform often and see the world, but gear isn't forever so even small endorsements where artist can get discounts is still better than watching a band go under because they simply can't perform their art. Imperial Cymbals is a great independent company and come with high recommendation by our drummer, Josh.

Keep It heavy has definitely been "heavy" with not only the support to us and the other acts on the roster, but also putting together some great shows and also helping support us at most of our shows. A company with a great mission statement that we definitely stand behind and support 110%. We encourage everyone to check out their page and their merchandise!!

Answered by: Edwin Haroutonian

Q: You're not signed to a label (yet), what label would you like to be signed to if given the chance?

So many great labels with amazing rosters to be apart of but to name a few, they would be Metal Blade, Sumerian Records, and Razor and Tie.

Answered by: Edwin Haroutonian

Q: Besides other bands, where does your band draw its influences from?

I'm kind of the odd man out when it comes to influences. I listen to bands like Tool, Periphery, BTBAM, and a growing list of unknowns that I find through sites like Bandcamp and Soundcloud. Since I don't have any real death metal influences to draw on when writing, I'm not sure what a DM bassist is supposed to do, and end up emulating the prog music I'm used to.

Answered by: Chris Hicke

Besides other bands, I would have to say I draw most of my influences from my friends and family for the most part. I also loathe most of the world as a whole and my general disgust for things probably helps contribute a lot to the writing process.

Answered by: Justin Harris

It's simple... Life and all it's gloriously imperfect parts make for great music, whether instrumentally or lyrically. There will never be a shortage of great music as long as there is never a shortage of great musicians to transpose what life gives you.

Answered by: Edwin  Haroutonian

Q: Any shout outs to give to the readers?

We would like to thank all of our family and friends who support us crazy bastards and our crazy music, our crazy ass show schedules, and our even crazier off stage brotherly interactions! Some of the promoters that have given us opportunities to showcase our music through the year, you know who you are\m/. Our very awesome friend, Adrian Mejia, from Metal Warzone, who is such a big support of the Underground scene here in LA, taking photos and video at no charge and promoting the living shit out of them!

Last but definitely not least, Our fan base, which seems to be all over the world according to Facebook. You are what makes all the hard work pay off for those 30 minutes on stage. We simply can't thank you enough and we promise to continue working hard and pushing ourselves even more to produce what you've come to expect from us, pure, unadulterated, sexually charged technical death metal. See you all in 2013! \m/

Answered by: Edwin Haroutonian