Listening to Devils Of Loudun is like the sound track for slaying something evil. Devils Of Loudun bring a core of rapid paced melodic death metal masterfully blended with serpentine vocals and keys that transition from creepy to elegantly macabre. Rising from and with the growing Tacoma, Washington heavy music scene, the gentlemen of DOL bring a creative grit to their technical brand of metal. Our thanks to these Northwest metal musicians for sharing their thoughts in this exclusive hurdcore.com interview with the members of Devils of Loudun.

How do you prepare your throat for the brutality of serpentine vocals?
DOL: It just comes naturally but a little Green Tea or any other smoothing beverage definitely helps.

I was amazed by the prominence and diversity of keys in your music. The keys transition from the classic creepy augmentation to the metal sound to a purer layer of beauty which weaves a lot of depth into your sound. I know the keys are a recent addition, but were keys an original element in the band’s vision or did the concept to add them evolve over time?
DOL: Long before Ben joined the band we had always discussed having a keyboardist and the depth it could add to our bands sound. Unfortunately we were never able to find a keyboardist who shared our vision for the band and so we continued without one but always had kept the idea in the back of our heads. We had actually started writing songs with keyboards included in them a week or two before we had even found Ben’s craigslist add; and once Ben tried out we knew right off the bat that he was the man for the job as he shared our vision, influences and ambition to write intense, dark, melodic death metal.

Keys have become rather sexy as of late in pop and post hardcore but still not as common in sounds as purely metal as yours, how do you find the balance of when to use and not to use the keys?
DOL: When writing a song we do not have any preconceived notions of how many parts need or do not need keyboards. Most of the time while writing we find that we can almost always make a certain part/riff/chorus sound better by adding a keyboard part; and so with most our songs we would say that our keyboardist Ben has a lot more parts than a typical metal keyboardist would have. Keyboards are a versatile instrumental that can really add depth and layers to music when used correctly and so we tend to favor a more keyboard heavy sound.

All genres have their bands that are one dimensional with every song basically blending into the next, you have crafted a very technical sound that seamlessly showcases each component of your band. How much of your sound is painstaking technical efforts and how much of it is a function of cohesion and improvisation during your practices?
DOL: We tend to keep our practices and song writing very structured and down to business, so there is not much room for improvisation or jamming. The songs are usually written well before we ever get into the basement to practice the song, and then while actually playing the song we will tweak or adjust any sections/parts that need improvement.

Your name derives from 17th Century French “religious fanaticism and demonic possession,” are you that versed in Huxley’s historical narratives or did you discover the tale as you were hashing out potential band names?
DOL: Everyone in the band is interested and influenced by history, mythology, and theology. When we were passing around band names we found that most were either taken, generic or did not represent anything we wanted to express with our music. Our singer Grant had come to us with the name “The Devils of Loudun” from a book of the same name by Aldus Huxley and we immediately found it to be fitting. We loved the story of the book and how it weaved real historical events with themes of religious deviance and political corruption. We also felt that with a name as encompassing and ambiguous as “The Devils of Loudun” we would be able to play any type/genre of death metal we felt; something that is very important to our band as overtime we plan for our sound to evolve and grow.

Devils Of Loudun is in the process of recording and sending out demo’s, are you going totally grassroots or do you have a team helping you get the word out?
DOL: The effort has very much been a do-it-your-self task but we appreciate and respect all of our fans/friends/family who have helped us spread the word about our music; and there have been many. Domo arigatou.

Are you all Washington natives?
DOL: Drew, Grant and Ben were all born in Washington State. Jamey and Scott were born in California, but both grew up on Vashon Island, WA from an early age. Jose was born in Costa Rica and moved to Washington when he was 10 years old. Regardless, we all have much love and pride for our home state Washington.

What are some of the most encouraging things emerging from your local scene that those who aren’t from your area may not be aware of?
DOL: The most encouraging things emerging in our local Washington metal scene are the promoters and venues who go out of their way to help not very well known bands like us get more exposure. One of our favorite promoters who has helped since our very first show would be a man named Lonnie Local. The amount of work he puts into helping book and promote Washington state metal bands is very admirable. He just recently has started his own webisode series which on the very first episode interviewed us, another awesome band named Helles and the owner and operator of Sumner’s D4 venue, Curtis Everett. The interview also contains live clips of both our bands and we encourage everyone to check it out HERE.

Devils of Loudun (Death Metal – Tacoma, WA) is: Guitar – Scott Hermanns, Bass – Jamey Pierson, Drums – Hosbo, Lead Guitar – Drew “Tuelshed” Tuel, Keys – Ben Velozo, Vocals – Grant Loudun. Keep up to date with shows, songs and news about their upcoming release at the DOL Myspace.

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I have come to call sinners to turn from their sins, not to spend my time with those who think they are already good enough. – Jesus

If Ashylus were a musical triathalon, with each of the three tonal ranges being the legs of the extended race, then Ashylus would be a seamless bike through rumbling lows, run through mid range breaks and swim through swirling highs that pierce through each song. If fans dare to participate in live performances from these Tri Cities, Washington rockers, they may want to bring protective gear as no fan will be guaranteed to escape without a proper bruising. Their name which stands for Ambition | Strength | Heart | Youth | Love | Understanding | Sacrifice serves as a certain rallying cry that has set these young men well on their way to establishing themselves as a presence in the hardcore/metal circles throughout Washington and Oregon. Rapid fire drums are complimented by consistent screams and blazing guitars which test their metal with looping solos to craft an entertainingly core-blending orchestra of brutality. Ashylus offers scene shattering depth in both their musical creativity and their lyrical sincerity, working to build a fan base that shares their drive for enjoying the moment as well as challenging the flimsiness of many truth claims.

Your songs seem to be of a more somber nature with titles such as “Will We Ever See The Light of Day” or “Unattainable,” what do you strive to communicate through the tone and content of your songs?
Anthony Badziong (Vocals) Well, First off, The song “Will We Ever See The Light of Day” was written about how a lot of bands that work very hard to display a message in their songs get overlooked by people who don’t see the meaning behind the lyrics because they don’t understand the style of vocals, we just want all the bands to be seen for what they are worth. We play our hearts out whether there are 300 kids in the venue, or 5 kids, Ultimately, we just want to have a good time and hope the kids do as well.
“Unattainable” is about how people have their own beliefs on how the human race was originated, but there are really no facts set in stone. You can believe in Christianity, evolution, or any of the other theories, but the point is, we’ll probably never know the truth, so lets just live our lives and get along with what we have.

Your title track “Enslaved By False Belief” has a message thick with political phrase, “They say we need change but what we really need is an awakening…they are the power, we are the blind.” Is this song purely fueled by disgust with the current state of American politics or is there a deeper narrative influencing these lyrics?
AB That is correct, the song is definitely fueled by disgust with the current state of American politics. The government is controlling society like drones.

Do you think we as a society are blind because we want to be?
AB We believe that most people are blind because of denial, such as the older generation, they believe the lies that they are told. People don’t want to be blind, sometimes people just want to believe that they are in good hands… even if they know they’re not.

What do you believe people should do to begin to set things right (can the blind effectively fight back)?
AB Well, were just displaying what we believe, one person can’t make a difference, but if people work together to prove what they stand for, then they can definitely make change.

The hardcore/metal scene has become more than underground but less than mainstream, as a band and on a personal level how do you fight the constant pressure to compromise or blend in?
AB We are always open to constructive criticism. If someone says we should have more leads, or more breakdowns, we will consider what they are saying, but ultimately we will always play what we feel in our hearts. If we don’t make our music the way we love it, then it simply wouldn’t be Ashylus.

So the name is spelled Ashylus but is pronounced uh-shy-lus, what is the meaning behind your name?
AB Ambition | Strength | Heart | Youth | Love | Understanding | Sacrifice.

Having started out in 2007, what have been some of the biggest challenges you have had to overcome as a band over the three years of your existence?
AB We found ourselves, as musicians. That was the first part, then we realized that our personal lives had to be sacrificed in order to actually be able to get our music out there, it’s a hard process but its what we love so we will continue playing music for a long time.

What has performing music taught you about life and music that you didn’t see as clearly before?
AB Honestly, we could answer this in 1000 words, but mainly we learned that in order to achieve your goals in life, you have to make sacrifices and really be motivated by the ones you play with in order to be successful. The attitude of the band just stays positive and we try not to loose track of what we’re trying to accomplish.

You are preparing for the Metal Vaccination Tour being presented by AAP and Monumental Booking with another band Return From Exile, will this be your first tour of this magnitude?
AB Actually this will be our first tour in general, we have played a ton of shows all over the north west, but we are very excited to play in other areas including California, Nevada and Arizona.

How did you get hooked up with all the parties involved with this show?
AB Will from AAP (AAP HC Interview) has known about us since before we played our first show. A few months ago we became a part of AAP management. William has helped us a lot by getting us our endorsements and tour booked. Monumental Booking has been booking shows in Spokane and our home in the Tri-Cities for a while now. Ryan Levey, The Owner of Monumental, offered his help by booking dates and coming along as the tour manager. We’re Stoked.

What are the best and worst features of being on the road?
AB The best, Playing music with your best friends all the time. The worst, Being away from home.

If you could see the end, when you look back on what you were able to accomplish as a bunch of dudes who loved playing music, success for Ashylus would be what…?
AB The continuous growth of our fan base.

Ashylus is: Anthony Badziong – Vocals; Bijan Davari – Guitar; Aaron McKinney – Guitar; Kevin Ubiadas – Bass; Andrew Badziong – Drums. Ashylus will be on a 2010 West Coast Summer Tour from July 18th through August 2nd. Debut EP “Enslaved By False Belief” now recording. Keep up to date with recording and tour information at the Ashylus Myspace Page

Partnering with local bands, artists, venues and promoters to support local music, hurdcore.com posts fresh band interviews every Sunday as well as additional content throughout the week. Covering local bands, concerts and venues from Seattle to Portland, Medford to Spokane, Eugene to Idaho and as well as the Midwest and California. Hurdcore.com supports local music ranging from hip-hop, metal, pop, punk, hardcore, indie and more. Stay tuned to hurdcore.com, friend us on myspace and join us facebook To request album reviews, band bios, interviews or to discuss advertising opportunities email us – hurdcore@gmail.com – be specific in “subject” line.

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6