Hegemony is an extreme black/death metal group that was formed in Birmingham, Alabama, in 2015. Their music has drawn comparisons to the likes of Diocletian and Revenge and with their Demo MMXVI due for re-release via U.K. label Goatprayer Records in the coming weeks I thought it was time to try and find out a little more about this secretive group.
Thanks to Terry from Goatprayer Records for the initial contact and the Hegemony Demo which you can stream in its entirety at the foot of this interview.
Interview by Trevor Proctor.
Hi, many thanks for agreeing to an interview with The Lair of Filth, your time spent answering these questions is very much appreciated. For the benefit of those reading who may not be familiar with the band could you tell us a little about Hegemony, its beliefs/aims and music?
Hegemony was founded in Autumn of MMXV. Our aim has always been to create punishing and barbaric deathnoise that embodies and glorifies war, chaos, and desecration. We reject ALL spiritual/religious and structural/political mindsets. The only thing of significance to Hegemony is mankind’s most primal attributes and motivations - conquest, domination, violence, hedonism, victory.
How did you come to select the name Hegemony and what does it mean with reference to the band’s aims and lyrical content?
The name was settled on before the whole lineup was even formed. Hegemony is the process of a dominant culture or group exerting its power and influence on a lesser group. The ties to our music and lyrics should be clear.
I understand your band features member(s) from Ectovoid, do any of the other members play in other bands and can you divulge who plays for Ectovoid?
Yes, we share members with Ectovoid, but we will decline to comment further on this.
You’re signed to an excellent UK underground label in the form of Goatprayer Records – how did a band from Birmingham, Alabama come to be signed by a UK underground label and are you familiar with many of the other bands Goatprayer has released music from?
We were contacted by Goatprayer shortly after we released the demo independently. They were obviously legitimate and so we agreed to conspire with them. We had heard several of the bands they had released prior to us.
Goatprayer Records is set to issue a second pressing of your debut demo ‘Demo MMXVI’ - who issued the first pressing and have you any plans for releasing new music in the near future?
We issued the first pressing ourselves. We are currently working on new songs for future recordings.
Terry from Goatprayer Records was kind enough to send me the digital version of your demo and I’m very impressed with it, how happy was the band with the final recording and could you tell us a little about the recording process – duration, location, etc.?
The demo was recorded in a single day in the dungeon studio of our ally J. Freemon of Hellgoat/Demonic Christ. The recording was suitably primitive and crushing and we were satisfied with it.
On the 27th of August Hegemony will support Profanatica and Father Befouled, how does it feel to playing on such a high standard billing and will this bring any added pressure to the Hegemony performance?
We are proud to share the stage with these deadly and esteemed bands. It will surely be one of the most devastating shows of the year in our area.
I’m aware your debut live performance was on the 8th of September last year supporting Abysmal Lord, a bill where Ectovoid also played. How do you feel your first set went and how did the members who are also in Ectovoid cope with playing double sets?
Our debut show with Abysmal Lord and Ectovoid was pure chaos. Our impact was felt immediately.
Has Hegemony played many live dates since last September and which was your most memorable?
We played with Demonic Christ, Abysmal Lord, and Ritual Decay several months ago. It was an elite show with powerful performances from all involved.
Have you any further live dates planned for the rest of 2016 and can we hope to ever see you perform in Europe?
We have some plans in the works for future shows but nothing we are ready to announce yet. We will definitely storm Europe at some point in the future.
Hegemony formed in 2015 and you’ve had a hell of a great start what with those live dates and also the release of your exceptional demo – how the hell do you plan to improve on this fantastic start and what are your plans for the rest of the year?
We are currently writing material for our first album. We also have some tentative plans for other recordings which will be developed further in the near future.
Which bands would you say have influenced you most on a personal level in the past and also which do you feel have influenced Hegemony’s sound the most?
We take influence from a wide variety of bands. Early death metal, first wave black metal, as well as more modern bands that keep these sounds alive in the present era.
At present our underground is enjoying its most productive period ever with multiple bands seemingly being formed every day – do you think this is a good or bad thing and do you feel extreme metal will still have the same audience in 5 years’ time?
The bands that are worthy will rise to the top and achieve recognition, regardless of how many other new bands are being started at the time. This will always be a positive thing in the underground even if 90% of the bands being formed aren’t deserving of anyone’s attention.
What do you feel the future holds for underground music and what are your long term plans for surviving and keeping the band on people’s radar when there are so many bands competing for our attention at present?
We will stay on the path that we are on. We will continue to create and destroy as we see fit and will not compromise anything for the sake of competing with other bands.
Thanks again for taking the time to answer these questions; any closing comments are all yours….
DEATH AND RUIN TO ALL BELIEFS, POLITICS, AND IDEOLOGIES.
Demo MMXVI is one of three tapes currently available for pre-order from Goatprayer Records - a label and webstore that's fully deserved of your support - just give Hegemony's Demo a listen below and head on over to Goatprayer Records to pre-order.
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