Pessimist

interview by - Wouter Roemers

Over a year ago it was announced that Pessimist would be laid to rest. In an interesting turn of events the band has now reformed with 3/4th of the line-up of the band's first two classic albums "Cult Of the Initiated" and "Blood For the Gods". Masterful Magazine recently had the opportunity to chat with Pessimist founding member Kelly McLauchlin. McLauchlin was enthusiast to answer the interview and his answers are elaborate and informative. Subjects include the reasons for reforming, how the line-up got back together and the plans Pessimist has for the upcoming year.

First off, I'd like to thank you for taking time to speak with me today. What is presently going on with the band? What new things are happening for Pessimist right now?

Right now Pessimist is in the process of re-forming, with the original line-up!! This line-up includes founding members Kelly McLauchlin (myself) on guitars, vocalist Rob Kline, plus drummer Chris Pernia - and joining us on bass is Kelly Conlon, (ex-Death, Monstrosity). We're getting ready to release a new CD, "Evolution Unto Evil" on Pathos Productions.

Well, I guess I'm bound to ask the inevitable question here. What prompted you to re-form Pessimist after some years in hibernation?

Well, it sort of just happened - a series of events that brought us (the original line-up) back together. It has been over a year now, since I made the official announcement that I would lay the band to rest, and the band has not been active really since 2002. During that time, I had some personal issues going on in my life, and had to set a few priorities straight. I've also been playing in some other bands, such as Diabolic, Unholy Ghost, and Equinox.

Most of the original line-up of the first two albums is back now, alongside Kelly Conlon (ex-Monstrosity, ex-Death) handling bass. Under which circumstances did the line-up decide to start composing music again?

I've had a few riffs laying around, song ideas that I've come up with, that I have just held onto for a while, and not used for any other projects. I always thought that these riffs were of a certain style, that sounds like Pessimist! Getting the opportunity to work together with Kelly Conlon is really something special, because he is such a talented and well-known bass player, having played on Death "Symbolic", as well as Monstrosity "Millennium" and "In Dark Purity" CDs. I've known Kelly for over ten years, since back in 1997 when Pessimist opened up for Monstrosity/Vader/Broken Hope on Extremities Tour. We had stayed in touch, and so I contacted him about the line-up re-forming, and asked if he would be interested in playing bass for us, on the upcoming Pessimist CD!

I'm especially interest to hear how vocalist Rob Kline came on board this second time. When we interviewed you in October 2001 for "Blood For the Gods" you made it clear that he had no loyalty nor interest in the band, not doing shows or even rehearsing. Tell me something about his return.

Well, a lot has changed since that time - Rob and I had actually lost touch for several years, although we had each stayed in contact with drummer Chris Pernia. I found out (through Chris) that Rob now lives in Florida, not far from where I live in Tampa, FL. I decided to get in touch after all these years, just to see how he was doing, you know - and as it turns out, Rob had been doing quite well for himself, and his family. In the past, and during the time of our last interview, Rob was at a point in his life where he just did not have the time (or interest) to commit to the band, because of

his school, and his profession. We never wanted to ask Rob to leave Pessimist, but at that time it seemed that his schedule was holding us back, and we reached a point where we could no longer accept that. Nowadays, he still has obligations in his career, as a forensic psychologist - but, he has more freedom than in the past, as far as his schedule is concerned. So, after getting in touch, I asked what he was doing nowadays, and he said he was still writing some songs, you know, and so naturally I asked if he would ever consider writing for Pessimist again, and if this was something that he would be interested in - and I was glad to hear him say that yes, he would be into that, and it would be great for us to jam together again! Especially since we were already in touch with our drummer, Chris Pernia, and so we started discussing the idea of a reunion, of the original line-up.

Your new release "Evolution Unto Evil" comes to us by way of Pathos Productions. Were you free of contractual obligations with Lost Disciple Records after the release of the blistering "Slaughtering the Faithful"?

Yes, that is correct. After "Slaughtering" we had fulfilled our contractual obligations with Lost Disciple. That was our third and final album for that label, and at the present, Lost Disciple is in the process of shutting down. We are very grateful for all the support that Lost Disciple has given Pessimist over the years! Pathos Productions is another great friend of ours, who we have known for many years, and they have released several important CDs in the underground such as Dehumanized, Pyrexia, and Godless Rising. When the opportunity arose for us to work together towards this new release, we were very interested! "Evolution Unto Evil" is not a new studio CD, but instead will feature rare and previously unreleased tracks, early Pessimist demos and live studio versions of songs which have never been released on CD, plus cover songs from Possessed, Kreator, and Death! Pathos has great distribution and we know that "Evolution Unto Evil" will definitely be widespread in the underground!

Since Pessimist went into hiatus couple of years ago you have kept busy with various bands, including the prestigious but short-lived Unholy Ghost and more recently with the reformed Diabolic. Won't the Pessimist reactivation impact the workings with Diabolic too gravely?

Well, it can definitely be challenging to be involved with two bands at the same time, and it will be interesting to see how things work out. Unholy Ghost was a killer band, and I'm proud to have been an original founding member of Unholy Ghost - things took off really fast, and we signed with Century Media/Olympic Recs, and released our debut CD, "Torrential Reign"! But, that band is of course since disbanded, and there are no plans to resurrect it anytime soon - most obviously because 3/4 of the lineup from Unholy Ghost is currently in Diabolic!! Things with Diabolic are going great - we just signed a deal with Deathgasm Recs to release our latest two EPs, "Possessed by Death", and "Chaos in Hell" on one CD! That should be out early 2008! Also the band has just been confirmed to headline three festivals in the US, in 2008 - NC Metalfest in March, Mayhem in May in Louisville KY (co-headlining with Incantation!), and Michigan Deathfest in July. Plus, we are already writing songs for the next Diabolic CD!!

Besides your involvement with Diabolic, you also play in Equinox. I take it those projects are quite low profile and have no priority whatsoever over Pessimist?

Equinox is a killer band, and a lot of fun for me to play in. We just played a gig last October, on Halloween weekend in Orlando, FL. For Equinox I don't do any of the songwriting so far, and so I'm really just a live fill-in guitarist, which for me is a lot of fun! We've played several Florida-area shows, even opening up for Exodus in 2006. The guys in the band are great friends of mine, and the music is killer!

Now that the news has spread over the global underground, I take the interest in the band is renewed. Can we expect the band to return to Europe once the new album has been written, recorded and a fitting label has been found?

Yes! We are already working on planning for a European Tour later this year, a co-headlining tour with both Diabolic and Pessimist!! Our friends Godless Truth, from Czech Republic are helping to set up the tour. Pessimist last toured Europe (Czech Republic and Germany) back in 1999, and Diabolic toured all of Europe in 2002, with Behemoth and Destroyer 666. So, we are excited to return to Europe in 2008!! It's just in the planning stages at this point, check our web site for updates and more info!!

The last Pessimist album "Slaughtering the Faithful" was recorded at Mana Recordings in St. Petersburg, Florida with famed producer Erik Rutan. Are you going to use his facilities as well for the new record that is currently being written?

No, I doubt that we will record with Erik for the new CD, or in the future. At the time that we recorded "Slaughtering", it seemed like a great opportunity for us to record with someone such as Erik, since he was guitarist in Morbid Angel, and he had already recorded such killer bands as Krisiun and his own debut CD for Hate Eternal. But, after working with him (and engineer Derek Roddy) in the studio, the results speak for themselves - out of all Pessimist CDs that we have ever recorded, that is definitely not the strongest recording or best mix we have gotten. We [the band] and the record label definitely had higher expectations. More than likely, we will record the new Pessimist at D.O.W. Studios in Tampa with producer Juan "Punchy" Gonzalez - who I have recorded with before, in Diabolic and Unholy Ghost - and who has also recorded bands such as Equinox, and the latest Morbid Angel CD, "Heretic".

Despite being around for a similar time Pessimist has never reached the same type of commercial success and general recognition compared to bands as Deicide, Malevolent Creation, Morbid Angel or Obituary. Has this made you work harder over the years to finally break out of the underground?

Well, Pessimist was formed in 1993, and our first CD "Cult of the Initiated" was released in 1997 - by that time, the bands you mention (Deicide, Malevolent Creation, Morbid Angel or Obituary) had several albums out already, and on major labels! So, Pessimist has not really been around nearly as long as those other bands have, and we don't really try to compare ourselves to them at all. At the time that Pessimist formed, we were all fans of those bands, of course - and, we have had the opportunity to open shows for them (except for Obituary)! Pessimist has opened for Deicide, Morbid Angel and Malevolent Creation, on several occasions, and those are all bands that we look up to! They are true legends of Death Metal!!

Both "Cult Of the Initiated" and "Blood For the Gods" are true genre classics. I take it you are confident that the new material with match or overclass those records in song writing craft, intensity and speed, in general?

I expect the new material to be very similar to both "Cult Of the Initiated" and "Blood For the Gods", especially because of the songwriting - Chris and I are working together on the arrangements, and Rob will be writing most of the lyrics - we are already working together on a few song ideas and titles for songs. Actually we have already recorded some demo tracks, with Kelly Conlon on bass and we're all really stoked about the way it turned out!!

You have always been interested in the occult, symbolism and numerology. You designed the band's own Nonagon, which even got tattooed on your right arm. Will this interest surface again on this upcoming record?

I expect that lyrically, Pessimist will always have some references to the occult. However, I think that nowadays the references are a bit more obscure, and we instead focus more on the darker side of human nature, or just life (and death) in general. Rob will be writing most of the lyrics, and as you know from his contributions to "Cult" and "Blood", the lyrical content will also lean heavily toward his career in forensic psychology, and so it will deal with topics you are already familiar with: serial killers, murders, etc. - but from an intellectual point of view, and not strictly the "gore" element.

What are you doing outside of the band? Any interesting jobs, studies, hobbies?

For the most part, I try to keep my band life separate from my personal and professional life. I have a really interesting job, as an Audio/Video Technician - I've been involved in the AV industry for about ten years now. I have a degree in Electronics Engineering, and so it's great to have a career that is technically challenging, where I can use my skills and I enjoy the work. Aside from that, I live a fairly normal existence - I don't hang out [in bars or clubs] much, so I'm usually at home with my family... I'm working on getting my home recording studio set up. Every chance I get, I'm out riding my motorcycle!! All the rest of my spare time goes towards band stuff.

How is the Tampa, Florida scene doing these days? The classic genre acts are still very much alive. Is there any young talent out there that you feel isn't getting properly recognized?

Probably the most exciting new band to come from this area in some time is Success Will Write Apocalypse Across the Sky, or SWWAATS for short. Those guys have been getting a lot of attention, and they just signed to Nuclear Blast!

To conclude, what can we expect from Pessimist in the next year?

Nothing is for certain, except that we will write and record some new songs, and the "Evolution Unto Evil" CD out early 2008! I would expect an CD/EP out later in the year, with (hopefully) a European tour, or maybe some fests in the US. Keep your fingers crossed!

Anything else we might have forgotten to mention? The last words are yours.

Thanks for the cool interview!! Everyone get in touch, check our web site www.pessimist.com or www.myspace.com/pessimist for updates and info! Hope to see you on European tour in 2008!! KEEP MUSIC EVIL!!!

Booking: pessimist666@pessimist.com
Site: www.pessimist.com

Pessimist

interview by - Wouter Roemers

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