Altered Dead, formed in 2013 in Victoria, British Columbia, is a death metal band that has captivated the underground with its raw and uncompromising sound. In this interview, Mic, the band's guitarist and vocalist, delves into Altered Dead's history, from its beginnings to future projects, while exploring the influences and challenges faced by the band.
Serial Metalbums: Altered Dead has been carving its path in death metal since 2013. Looking back at your formation, what initially brought the band together, and what vision did you have when you first started?
Mic. D: We formed the band all those years ago shortly after parting ways with the black metal band Shibboleth, I was on Guitar and Vocals for the first album, while Julian was on bass(live). We wanted to create a new band that filled a gap in our scene. There was no classic thrashing death metal to be heard, so as a 2 piece we formed Altered Dead. The vision was straight up death metal with an eye towards songs that tried it's best to not repeat(within reason) and take the song structure from A-Z, to make it so that we would enjoy playing them and not get to bored with the repetition at practice. I found myself picking up a 8 string at the local music shop and the songs started to write themselves.
Serial Metalbums: Your music embodies a raw and suffocating old-school death metal sound. What elements do you consider essential to the identity of Altered Dead, and have you ever felt tempted to experiment beyond those boundaries?
Mic. D: One key part is that we play in F standard, it's a very low tuning and it's now what you'd expect to hear from us on every record. With influences of D Beat, Death Grind, European Death metal and Doom, it really shapes everything we do. Since there is large gaps between records I think you'll find the style will hold on to the core elements, but with new takes on the old ways. I'm not sure experimenting too heavily with our sound is in the cards for this band. We all have different outlets to create other music in our other bands. (Dispösal, Legit Heat, Body Rot, Riddance)
Serial Metalbums: Canada has a rich history in extreme metal, with bands pushing the genre in different directions. Do you see yourselves as part of any particular lineage within the Canadian death metal scene?
Mic. D: We don't think of that honestly, we exist, we make music, and for some reason some people like it. When we release music it's on our time, and so it's not beholden to a lineage, it's just when we are happy with the work we release something to the world. If you wanted, you could say it's west coast death metal in the end.
Serial Metalbums: Given the extreme and often chaotic nature of death metal, what does your songwriting process look like? Do you build songs from riffs, lyrical concepts, or something else entirely?
Mic. D: I start by creating the artwork concept and general theme for what the record can be, which kinda makes a road map for the entire album. For songs It varies, some songs are written on guitar first with lyrics to follow, other songs, there is a general idea of the lyrical theme which then dictates the flow of a song and how it gets completed. Everything is thought about in length.
Serial Metalbums: You're preparing a new album for 2025. Without revealing too much, what can fans expect in terms of musical direction and themes? Has the writing and recording process for this album differed significantly from your previous works? Any new influences or approaches that shaped it?
Mic. D: In my mind, the theme of this album will be about the process of dying in a thematic approach from the first minutes, to the decay and the burial by nature from time passing. I think you can expect the music to hopefully represent this, from the speed that life is lived, down to the slow murky rotting process and beyond. There will be alot of familiar bits, but the way the songs flow will definitely be apparent when listening from start to finish. As for influences we'll let you decide.
Serial Metalbums: In 2024, you released the single Psychogenic Burial. Was this track a standalone experiment, or does it offer a glimpse into the sound and atmosphere of the upcoming record?
Mic. D: Psychogenic Burial was a taste of things to come and a lot of firsts on this song. The first song written with the new line up Ben(Bass) and Cam(drums) and the first time we worked with Andrew Kingsley(Unleash the Archers) to record a song. Historically having recorded exclusively with Cody Baresich(Circle A Studios). I'd like to see these two engineers work together in studio to help us create something new sounding for the next release.
Serial Metalbums: Your debut album Altered Dead (2016) introduced your sound to the world. Looking back, how do you feel about that record now? Do you still see it as a defining statement of the band?
Mic. D: I'm proud of that record, it was a demo, that we re recorded and turned full length with the support of Cavernous Records who took a chance on the release. I Iistened to it recently. If I could do one thing to it, I'd like to get a remastering, and possibly remix/re amp. Times and abilities have changed in the engineering front and I think it could come out alot more crushing, while keeping it drenched in filth.
Serial Metalbums: Returned to Life (2021) saw a significant expansion of your sound. What do you think made that album stand out compared to its predecessor?
Mic. D: To sort of go back to some of the other answers, it's all tied to how we approach writing an album and the recording skills that Cody had acquired between albums. Also as a hilarious side note, I didn't reference the first albums tuning. We naturally slipped down to F standard tuning so this album was slightly lower than the first. Being a 2 piece drums and guitar we didn't need a tuner to stay in tune, we just needed to be in tune. So that's a thing that happened accidentally. The concept was around for years before the album was recorded.
Serial Metalbums: Death metal has seen waves of resurgence in different forms. What’s your perspective on the current state of the genre, and where do you see Altered Dead fitting into that landscape?
Mic. D: I like what I'm hearing these days, and have shared the stage with some incredibly talented acts over the years, though I'm old, so I'm usually falling back on the classics. In our scene on Vancouver Island we are fortunate enough to be more involved in the grindcore part than other genres. We might not be a grindcore band but the community and spirit is definitely where we like to find ourselves. We have always just done what we want without compromise.
Serial Metalbums: As musicians in an extreme metal band, what are some of the biggest obstacles you've had to overcome over the years?
Mic. D: A big one is a lack of venues locally and cost of booking the ones that are available here. The other since we live on a island, the cost of playing mainland Vancouver/Seattle with ferries and gas being a barrier for some promoters. It can sometimes be easier and more cost effective to fly out and play somewhere in some cases. But this has never stopped us from doing what we want. It's just a challenge we look to overcome.
Serial Metalbums: Finally, what message would you like to share with your fans, both old and new?
Mic. D: I hope that by now we have reached a lot of you and if you're reading this, you know what we are about! Time is on our side and delivering a thought out record is always the priority, so thanks is for sticking with us and keep an eye out for the new album in 2025! Thank you all!
