Pictured: INHERIT DISEASE

A while ago I got the opportunity to chat with bassist Josh Welling from the American deathers Inherit Disease. The band is currently working on new material, but we mostly discussed their latest CD Procreating an Apocalypse, the process of recording, artwork as well as the adjustments that recently has been made in the line-up.

Procreating an Apocalypse has been out for a while now. How has it been received?
It has been out since October of 2006. It seems that it has been received fairly well. I have heard a few say people that it is a little bland, but that's cool because I find it a little bland sometimes too. But the response has been way better than expected.

Musically it sounds like you're inspired by bands like Suffocation and Deeds Of Flesh to name two. Could you say something about what you think is good death metal and what is not?
I guess good death metal is well written songs that have parts that actually compliment each other with the sick vocals. Bad death metal, not sure, I guess the first thing that comes too mind is songs that have skank beats for days and incessant drum fills.

Unlike a lot of other death metal bands you don't rely much on blastbeats and playing fast. Is there any particular reason why that is?
I thought we played quite a few blast beats, I guess we just only play one kind of blast beat. Not really too many single footers. No reason for that. Will be faster and have all kinds of blasting on next CD.

You recorded Procreating an Apocalypse in Avalon Recording Studios. What made you go for that studio?
We went to Avalon Recording Studio because Eric from Unique Leader recommended it and it was our first time in a studio so we didn't want to take too many chances. We had a great time and the owner of Avalon, Kip, is an awesome guy to work with. Plus it was pretty close to home for us.

The bass is very apparent in the soundscape. Was this something you aimed for right from the beginning?
No. In the studio Kip thought it would be cool to add some gain to my tracks after I played them. After that, I kept telling him to turn the bass down but it still came out a little loud, I think. I swear Kip was secretly turning the bass up every time I turned my back to the console. Maybe if it just had less distortion to it and more low it be would better, but it still came out pretty good.

Erik Lindmark and Jacoby Kingston from Deeds Of Flesh did some guest vocals on a few songs. How did that come around?
They live real close to the studio, so it was really easy for them to stop by anytime. Obie just found some parts that would be good for them to sing and they came in and laid it down in a few minutes.

You've only released two demos prior to getting a deal with Unique Leader. How did the deal come around?
Well the deal definitely was not from our fist demo. It sounds like it was recorded under water, awesome. Seriously though, we just kept sending demos to Unique Leader and I even think I gave Erik a one song demo at a show in L.A. a few years ago as well, between our two official demos. After they had seen us live a few times and heard the last demo it was on.

Has it changed anything soundwise that guitarist Sean Kennedy has left the band and Dan Osborn has joined?
Well Dan Osborn is now our drummer. Our original drummer, Andy, quit a couple of months ago. Dan is a much better drummer than he is a guitar player, so that works out for the better. We are trying a new guy out on the guitar and he is learning everything really fast. The sound in general has basically just tightened up since the line-up changes, since we actually practice almost everyday now and we used to practice only twice a month!

Procreating an Apocalypse was recorded in 2005. I assume you've written some new material since then. Can we expect a new album from Inherit Disease in 2007?
We have written one complete new song and we have enough riffs for another, but we just have to arrange shit around for a while. New album will most likely be in 2008, but if we could get to the studio by the end of the year, it may be early 2008. It's still all up in air for the time being.

Pär Olofsson did the artwork. Was it painted out from specific ideas you had or did you just leave it up to Pär to come up with something? Either way I think the result is incredible!
We gave Pär the original idea, told him the album title, asked him to make the cover a representation of those things and he basically gave us exactly what we wanted. He was cool and easy to work with because he could make changes to the artwork based on our feedback in a matter of hours, so it was easy to go through a variety of rough drafts before we came to the finished product. The cover came out perfect in my opinion.

Do you think it's important that the artwork represents the feel of the music?
Yes, I think it is important that the cover ties in somehow with the lyrics and the music because it makes the album more of an experience, rather than just 10 songs on a piece of plastic. Something that makes you want to buy the CD and not just download it or whatever.

Pictured: INHERIT DISEASE

The Californian death metal scene has played a prominent role when it comes to shaping brutal death metal. How is the scene these days in your opinion?
The scene is pretty intense right now. I guess I can't really say I'm a Californian, I'm actually from Ohio, but I guess I'm part of the California death metal scene. Anyway, there are a ton of bands out right now that are crazy. Bands like Condemned, Cephalotripsy, Parasitic, Divaricate, and Banishment are some newer sick Southern California death metal bands that I'm into right now.

You were supposed to have toured Europe with Pyrexia and Decrepit Birth, but the tour got cancelled. What happened?
I just heard that someone over in Europe didn't start booking the shows in time so everything fell through. Not sure if that's what really happened, but that's all I know.

Any plans to tour Europe in 2007?
None so far, we have not had any offers lately. When new guitarist is official we will try to book a tour.

Anything you wish to add to conclude this interview?
Thanks for the interview. Look for Inherit Disease to resume playing shows in the near future.