死亡沼泽 - 英国Death / Doom Metal乐队Slimelord专访

今天采访到的是来自英国的Death / Doom Metal乐队Slimelord，2019年有Ryan S，Andy，Xander组建，最初乐队取名为SWAMP RAT，但是在不久之后乐队更名为Slimelord，2019年乐队发行的EP专辑“The Delta Death Sirens”一经发行就受到广泛的好评，2021 - 2022年的两张EP专辑同样受到了一致好评，在经过三张EP专辑的洗礼之后乐队成为了目前炙手可热的乐队并且很多音乐节也邀请Slimelord乐队参加，2024年乐队在美国20 Buck Spin厂牌发行了他们的第一张专辑，残暴的Death Metal加上缓慢泥泞的Doom Metal，让歌迷感受到了死亡前的绝望，如果你喜欢Incantation乐队的，你一定要找到Slimelord乐队的作品来感受一下他们的魅力，在前不久我与乐队的鼓手Ryan S取得联系进行了一次专访！

（V: 代表笔者 R: 代表Ryan S）

Today's interview is with Slimelord, a Death / Doom Metal band from the UK, formed in 2019 by Ryan S, Andy, and Xander, initially named SWAMP RAT but renamed Slimelord shortly thereafter, and in 2019 the band released the critically acclaimed EP album ” The Delta Death Sirens” was released in 2019 to critical acclaim, and in 2021 - 2022 the band released two more EP's to critical acclaim, and after three EP's the band became one of the hottest bands in the scene and were invited to many festivals, and in 2024 the band was featured on 20 Buck Spin in the US. The band released their first album on the 20 Buck Spin label in the U.S. The brutal Death Metal coupled with the slow and sludgy Doom Metal gives fans a sense of despair before they die, and if you like Incantation you'll want to seek out Slimelord's work to get a taste of what they're all about, and I had a chance to talk with the band's drummer, Ryan S. Sullivan, a little while ago. Ryan S, the band's drummer, for an exclusive interview!

(V: for the author R: for Ryan S)

采访对象：Ryan S（Slimelord乐队鼓手）

采访时间：2024.09.09

V: 你好兄弟很高兴见到你，非常感谢你参加这次采访，我想这是你们乐队第一次接受中国杂志的采访，首先跟中国的粉丝们打个招呼吧，Slimelord乐队成立于2019年，是一支比较年轻的乐队，是谁发起成立这支乐队的？

Hello brother nice to meet you and thank you very much for participating in this interview, I think this is the first time your band has been interviewed by a Chinese magazine, first of all say hello to the Chinese fans, Slimelord was formed in 2019 and is a relatively young band, who initiated the formation of this band?

R: 大家好！我是Ryan S，英国死亡金属乐队Slimelord的鼓手！感谢你们邀请我们，很高兴听到Slimelord沼泽般的恶臭已经蔓延到了中国！Slimelord是由Xander、Andy和我组成的，灵感来自演奏一些病态的缓慢而沉重的Swamp Death Metal。Xander和我在第一次即兴演奏之前从未与Andy在任何场合创作过音乐，尽管我们是多年的密友。最初这个项目叫SWAM PRAT但我们后来决定叫它Slimelord……

Yo what’s good! Ryan S here, drummer of the UKDM bug Slimelord! Thanks for having us, pretty awesome to hear that the Slimelord swamp stench has reached its way all the way over to CHINA! SLIMELORD was formed by Xander, Andy and myself with the inspiration of performing some sick slow and heavy swamp death metal, Xander and I had never created music with Andy in any context before the first jam, even as longtime close friends. Originally the project was called SWAMP RAT - but we later settled on the Slimelord…

V: 你们乐队保留了第一代阵容并在2023年邀请吉他手Travis Jordan加入乐队，Travis Jordan是如何加入乐队的？你对他的工作满意吗？

Your band kept the first generation lineup and just invited guitarist Travis Jordan to join the band in 2023, how did Travis Jordan join the band? Are you happy with his work?

R: Travis是我真正的好友，同时也是我见过的最好的吉他手之一，所以在与我们之前的吉他手分道扬镳时，一切都很顺利。Travis很好地填补了空缺，今年他继续在欧洲各地的舞台上一起表演! 他的表现相当出色！他之前的作品“Abominable Filth”充分展示了他的技巧和激情，即使是作为青少年时期创作和表演的作品，因此我们期待着与特拉维斯合作创作下一首Slimelord作品并真正欢迎他加入我们的行列。

Travis is a real close friend of mine and also, one of the best guitar players I have ever met - so things came together quite well when parting ways with our previous guitar player. Travis has done a great job at filling the gap and has continued to CRUSH! on stage all over Europe this year - he’s doing pretty good! His previous material (Abominable Filth) is a great showcase of his skill and passion, even as material written and performed as a teenager - so we look forward to working together with Travis for the next Slimelord creation, and truly welcoming him into the realm

V: 你们乐队的每个成员都是创作极端金属乐的资深乐手，甚至你们乐队的乐手都同时在同一个乐队，你们通常是如何创作歌曲的？能描述一下创作过程吗？

Each member of your band is an experienced musician in writing extreme metal, and even the musicians in your band are all in the same band at the same time, how do you usually write songs? Can you describe the creative process?

R: 我们大部分的创作风格都是在即兴演奏室里以某种波长的方式形成的，我跟着即兴吉他的旋律演奏或者吉他手们根据我的即兴演奏想出一些东西，Xander用手机记录下来，我们回听并保留好的东西。这很酷因为有时我们几个星期或几个月都不会这样即兴创作，而到那时我们的一些个人影响已经改变了，我认为这样总能保持新鲜感。一旦我们有了自己喜欢的东西，我们就会努力把它们拼凑在一起，填补空白，完成歌曲。我之所以说令人惊讶是因为当我们与你提到的 Cryptic Shift（Ryan/Xander/John）合作时，他们的创作过程会更有条理。Slimelord 的创作更加自由，我认为这一点在我们创作的冒险艺术中得到了很好的体现。

Most of our writing style surprisingly comes together in the jam room on some sort of wavelength where I play along to an improvised guitar riff or the guitars come up with something to my improvisation - Xander records on his phone - we listen back and keep the good stuff. It’s pretty cool because sometimes we won’t improvise creatively like this for weeks/months, and by that time, some of our personal influences have changed - I think this always keeps things fresh. Once we got what we like, we try to piece it together, bridge the gaps, and finish the songs. I say surprisingly since when we work with, as you mention, Cryptic Shift (Ryan/Xander/John) - those writing sessions are a lot more orchestrated. Slimelord is a lot more free within its creation and I think that comes across well in the adventurous art we produce

V: 你们乐队的音乐主题是什么？你们想通过这样的音乐主题表达什么？你们也创作歌词，这些歌词是谁写的？

What is the theme of your band's music about? What do you want to express through such musical themes? You also create lyrics sections, who writes these lyrics and what does he get his inspiration from?

R: 在Slimelord的整体主题和我们创作的艺术作品中，我们非常喜欢整个中世纪黑暗奇幻冒险故事的概念。我们花了很多时间玩“Dark Souls”和“Bloodbourne”游戏，所以你可能会明白这一点。我们还看了很多奇幻电影和类似的东西，同时也对大自然和曾经存在或可能存在的事物充满好奇。Xander承担了大量的编剧工作，我觉得看到他把这些原创概念故事拼凑在一起真的很酷。我觉得有一天他可以自编自导一部电影，谁知道呢。我没有过多参与这张专辑的概念和歌词，Xander和Andy负责了这张专辑。也许在下一张专辑中我可以加入一些想法，我知道我有一些想法。在音乐上我们想推出一些既凄美又有冲击力的作品，同时也要有冒险精神。我们都喜欢挑战自己，挑战彼此的乐器，挑战整体的艺术进步。

We are really into the whole medieval dark fantasy adventure storytelling concept within the overall themes for the Slimelord and the art we create. We spend a lot of time playing Dark Souls and Bloodbourne games, so you can probably get where that is going. A lot of fantasy movies and things like that, as well as just a general curiosity for nature and the possibilities of what once was or what may be. Xander does a lot of the writing and I think it’s really cool to see him piece together all these original concept stories. I could see him writing and directing a movie one day. Who knows. I didn’t get too involved in the concept and lyrics of this album, Xander and Andy took the share for that one. Maybe on the next one I could throw in some ideas, I know I have a few. Musically we wanted to put something out that was both pretty dismal and hard hitting, and again adventurous. We all like to challenge ourselves and each other at our instruments, and overall artistic progression

V: 你的乐队的标志是独特设计的，是谁为你们设计的这个logo，你们的专辑艺术品设计的也很独特是谁为你们设计的这些艺术品？

Your band's logo is uniquely designed who made your logo and your album artwork is beautifully designed, who made the artwork for these logos?

R: 艺术家是Marcin Libisz我们老吉他手的朋友。Logo很酷我喜欢它代表乐队的方式。完全可读，完全恶心。美术设计由艺术家BRAD MOORE完成，作为他的超现实主义艺术的粉丝，很高兴能与他一起参与这张专辑的制作并感谢他为我们制作的作品。这张唱片很好地捕捉到了唱片的氛围，我对他为我们的专辑艺术所付出的时间、精力和创造力感激不尽，太完美了。我希望能在下一张专辑中再次与他合作，希望概念上的想法能与他的作品相吻合。

The artist was Marcin Libisz - a friend of our old guitarist. Pretty cool logo and I like how it represents the band. Totally readable and totally disgusting. The artwork was done by the ART WIZARD BRAD MOORE - as fans of his surrealist art it was great to be involved with him for the album and thank him for the piece he produced for us. It really captures the vibe of the record and again I cannot be thankful enough for the time he spent physically, emotionally and creatively working on OUR ALBUM ART. So perfect. I hope to work with him again for the next record, hopefully the conceptual ideas fit

V: 你们的乐队与20 Buck Spin唱片公司合作发行了一张专辑，你们是如何与该公司取得联系并进行合作的？

Your band released an album with the 20 Buck Spin label, how did you get in touch with the label to collaborate?

R: 在我们按下停止录制键20分钟后，我给Dave发了一封电子邮件，里面是我们的专辑样带录音，这只是我们在练习室一起现场演奏时录制的一段很酷的练习。他可能在几小时内就给我回了信，表示愿意与我合作录制完整专辑。我觉得这很自然，因为我们之前的EP在美国和世界其他地方都取得了不错的成绩。能与Dave和20buckspin合作真的很高兴，因为我们的很多朋友也签约了这个厂牌，有朝一日能与20BS合作肯定是我们的梦想。

I sent Dave an email of our album demos recordings about 20 mins after we hit Stop Record. It was just a cool practice session we recorded in the practice room together playing live some time. He got back to me maybe within a few hours offering a hand in working together for the full album. I think it came naturally, with our previous EPs doing well in the United States, as well as the rest of the world. It’s really nice to work with Dave and 20buckspin because a lot of our friends are also signed to this label, and working together with 20BS one day was a dream of the group for sure

V: 首先祝贺你们今年发行了第一张正式专辑“Chytridiomycosis Relinquished”，你们的专辑给我留下了非常深刻的印象，厄运般的氛围，激进凶猛的Death Metal乐段，你们将Doom和Death Metal完美地结合在了一起。你们的编曲非常复杂，完美地展现了你们的技术才华。你们的作品让我想起了 90 年代，你们对自己的作品有什么看法？

First of all, congratulations on the release of your first official album “Chytridiomycosis Relinquished” this year, I was very impressed by your album, the doom-like atmosphere, the aggressive and fierce Death Metal Riffs, you guys have done a great job of combining Doom and Death Metal. Death Metal is a perfect combination of Doom and Death Metal, and your arrangements are very complex and show your technical talent perfectly. Your work reminds me of the 90's, what do you think of your work?

R: 谢谢！我觉得你说得很好，虽然我们的音乐不是对上世纪90年代的回敬，但我可以说作为该流派的乐迷，我们受到的很多影响都来自上世纪90年代。我觉得Slimelord为当前的英国Death Metal乐坛带来了一种真正的自然邪恶，一种无人能及的阴森能量。与我的朋友们一起推陈出新、创造艺术是一件很酷的事。

Thank you. I think you nailed it pretty well. Whilst our music is not a payback to the 90s I could say that it is definitely where a lot of our influence comes naturally as fans of the genre. I feel the Slimelord brings a real natural true evil in the current UK Death Metal scene, an eerie energy which no one else harvests. It’s cool to push the genre boundaries a little, and create art with my friends

V: 除了新专辑，你们今年还在做哪些新东西，能透露一下吗？

What are some of the new things you guys are working on this year in addition to the new album, and can you shed some light on that?

R: 巡回演出、写作、吸烟、乘凉......

Touring, writing, smoking, chilling…

V: 你们乐队参加过哪些音乐节，哪些音乐节给你们留下了深刻印象，能描述一下音乐节的氛围吗？你们在 2023 年发行了一张现场录音专辑，这张专辑是你们参加过的音乐节的录音吗？

What festivals have you bands been to, and what festivals have impressed you, and can you describe the atmosphere? You guys released an album of live recordings in 2023, is this album a recording of that festival you attended?

R: 现场录音是在英格兰纽卡斯尔的一次演出中录制的，为我们当年支持EP的演出画上了圆满的句号。我们参加了在哥本哈根举行的Killtown Deathfest，就像与20Buck合作一样，这是我们作为一支乐队一直想做的事，所以在新专辑发行之前就在那里完整地演奏新专辑真的很特别。来自世界各地的朋友们都参加了音乐节，第一次见面并一起玩耍的感觉太棒了。这也是Slimelord首次在英国以外的地方演出。在音乐节上与一些传奇人物见面的气氛很棒，这也是老派风格的伟大传统。音乐节上有很多真正的死亡恶魔。我们还参加过一个名为超自然的超级怪异音乐节，感觉很酷。那场音乐节在英国的一个农场举行，感觉很合适，因为我们可能是目前英国当代最怪异的乐队。

The live recording was just from a show in Newcastle England, to round off the cycle of shows we had done that year to support the EP of the time. We got to play the Killtown Deathfest in Copenhagen which, like working with 20Buck, was always something we wanted to do as a band - so playing the new album there in full before it had even released was real special. Friends from all over the world were at the festival and it was awesome to hang out and meet for the first time. It was the first Slimelord show outside the UK too. Awesome atmosphere to be at the festival and meet some legends in the scene, and a great tradition to the old school style. A lot of true and real death demons at that festival. We played a super weird festival called Supernormal and that was cool. That one was here in the UK on a farm and it felt fitting as we maybe are the weirdest of the contemporary UKDM acts at the moment.

V: Slimelord是一支很棒的乐队，我会继续关注你们，也希望这次采访能让更多的中国乐迷注意到你们，在采访的最后你有什么想对中国乐迷说的吗？

Slimelord is a great band and I'm going to keep an eye on you guys, and I hope that this interview will bring your band to the attention of more Chinese fans, is there anything you'd like to say to your Chinese fans at the end of this interview?

R: 是的，请继续支持UKDM，看看我们的最新专辑，看看strodeath sci tech thrash乐队Cryptic Shift，我们的朋友和英国兄弟乐队Cryptworm、Seprevation。总有一天Cosmic Realm会来到中国！

Yes - please keep supporting UKDM - check out our latest album, check out the astrodeath sci tech thrash Cryptic Shift - our friends and UK brothers in Cryptworm, Seprevation. One day the Cosmic Realm will come to China!