I had the opportunity to talk to guitar player, founder and main man Kelly McLauchlin from the death metal band Pessimist. And I managed to get some pretty interesting answers out of him. Read below and find out what is happening in the world of Pessimist these days.

Could you start with a brief band history?
The original Pessimist was in 1989, in Los Angeles. It was really just me and a drummer, and a 4-track demo tape, Tunnel Vision. Back then, it was like a side project for me as I was only 19 and playing in other bands around LA, thrash bands like Resistance, Death Force, and a deathgrind band called Demolition. Later, I moved to the Tampa, Florida area and played in Cauldron, a metal band featuring Matt Barlow [now of Iced Earth]. Anyways after playing around all these different bands I went to Delaware in '93 to visit my family and called up some old friends, a drummer and bassist and started jamming originals. A month later, we played our first show. Later we added another guitarist and vocalist Rob Kline. We continued to play as many shows as possible - opening for nationals, recording demos [Dark Reality I & II, Absence of Light], and networking the underground. In 1997 we recorded Cult of the Initiated and signed to Lost Disciple Records. Since then we've appeared at most major US fests, recorded for some comps and tributes... in 1999 we recorded our second CD Blood For the Gods and did our first European tour.

What's happening in the Pessimist camp these days?
We just returned from a couple shows out in CA, and the November to Dismember Metalfest. Right now we're busy writing music for our third CD.

You were a part of the Metal Search 2000 on MP3.com and as far as I recall, you would have won the contest if it only was about getting most votes and promoting yourselves 'cause as I recall you were way ahead of the other competitors - what went wrong?
No one knows, for sure. We worked hard to promote ourselves in the contest as did some other finalists...the online poll only counted for like 5% of the judges' final decision - the rest of the scoring was based on things like creativity, originality, marketability... stuff like that. There was some fierce competition and some very talented bands in the finals. A lot of people thought we were going to win, and we thank our fans for showing their support! But in the end, the judges chose The Fallen, out of 10 finalists. Even though we only got runner-up we were honoured to even have been chosen as [the first] finalist, by mp3.com and Metal Blade staff.

Has it opened any doors being a part of Metal Search 2000?
Well if anything it opened some more peoples eyes to Pessimist, you know as far as getting the name out there! The exposure was great since the contest was featured on the Metal Blade web site as well as mp3.com.

I know you've had some line-up problems in the past; do you feel you have a stable line-up now?
In reality we had a pretty steady line-up from about '95-'99... then over the last year was a series of temporary fill-ins, until suitable replacements were found. Line-up changes are sometimes inevitable. Some people have different priorities. After years playing in bands, you start to realize this; many death metal bands go through several line-up changes. I feel very confident with the new line-up, all of these members are more experienced, committed and professional, plus I feel musically we are more compatible in terms of both talent and creativity. There's such a good vibe in the band right now, better than ever before. Everyone is focused and ready.

It must have been difficult to build up a new line-up or what?
Well around this area, there are not many death metal musicians, especially of the caliber that this band requires. Everything happens for a reason, and we're fortunate that things worked out the way they have. Our new bassist/vocalist is Ralph "Reaper" Runyan, of the NJ-based death metal band Corrupture. Our new guitarist Bill Hayden and drummer John Gorden, are both from FOG [formerly Fear Of God].

Have you heard the Psychotogen demo?
No...

When can we expect another Pessimist CD?
We're currently completing the writing process, we have about 6-7 songs working for the new album. We plan to record in March or April, and we've just signed to Lost Disciple Records for the third release. No release date is set, pending some possible licensing deals in the US and overseas - but at the very latest promo copies should be available by August.

Any titles ready?
Yes, some of our favourite's song titles are "Summoned to Suffer", "Resurrected Torment", and "Infernal Abyss". The album title will be revealed at a later date.

What about the Resurrected Torment EP, will the 3 songs from that EP be on the next full-length?
Yes, although there is the possibility also of remixing the EP at a later date for release on CD, and if that were released we've discussed including some never-released material and live bonus tracks.

Who's writing the lyric's these days since it was Rob Kline who did it in the past?
Well although Rob wrote almost all of the lyrics for the 2 albums, [except for "Dungeonlorde", which was co-written by me and Rob] I had written all the original Pessimist songs before he joined the band, and a couple of the songs on our Dark Reality demos. Even on Cult of the Initiated and Blood For the Gods I would often come up with the song titles, the vocal patterns, and some words and concepts for the songs. So, naturally I'm writing a lot of the new stuff as well as Reaper, since we'll be doing all the vocals. Gorden and Hayden are also contributing to the writing process for the new album, and it's working out great.

It seems to me that most of the old stuff deals with the dark sides of the mind, right?
Some of it, yes.

Which topics will the new songs be dealing with?
Well of course we'll still be dealing with the same stuff, the dark psychological themes but we'll also be dealing with darkness of a more evil and violent nature, after-death scenarios, reincarnation, and straight up brutality.

How would you describe/categorize your music?
Pessimist is a death metal band, and we always will be. Some people call it black/death metal, or evil death. We used to call ourselves "dungeon metal" just to set ourselves apart from a lot of other death metal bands, but people started getting the wrong idea. Our new album, you'll have to see it for yourself. Its death metal, perhaps along the lines of Krisiun, Hate Eternal or Angelcorpse. But in a unique way, that still sounds like Pessimist!

How's the new stuff compared to the old I assume that there must be quite a difference since you're the only remaining member from the previous CD's?
Not to worry...I wrote all the music on Cult of the Initiated and Blood For the Gods anyways, except for a few riffs on Cult [thanks Tom "Missing" Persons]. Pessimist has always been my project from the start, problem is that [some] musicians in the band essentially had creative differences. Of course it's an entirely new band now and believe me it's for the better!! The new stuff is much faster, which is where I wanted to be anyways, more like our 1st album...very dark, and oppressive. And it's more brutal than our second album, and even more technical. It is very refreshing to work together with musicians that are willing to push the extremities of death metal, in terms of speed and technicality, and have a similar vision, in terms of creativity. This album is going to surpass our previous albums in many ways, yet you will find a continuity throughout all our releases, that is the evil "Pessimist sound".

I've noticed that the spoken intro on Mens Rea is from TV series Millennium, is the part on "Unspeakable Terror" from the same series?
I'm sorry, I can't discuss that.

I've heard a strange story about your guitar being stolen by a fan and then he later returned it claiming that it was cursed, is this true?
It happened in Amityville, NY around Halloween 1999...we played with Gorguts, and Withered Earth, some other bands...anyways it was a killer show I don't know how we never missed my guitar not getting loaded up in the van that night. The next night we had another show in NYC; we got to the club and noticed my black Jackson Kelly was gone! So we called the club in Amityville, the guitar was not there. I was real depressed; you know that's my favourite axe! Fortunately I had a spare guitar to play that night [Ibanez Iceman, for pics see www.pessimist.com] Well about 2 weeks later the club owner finally calls, and that's the story was that some guy had found it in the club and took it home, after having spent hours wandering around in a daze, vomiting his own blood! After being plagued by nightmares a few days later and convinced that it was protected by a curse, he returns my guitar to the club owner, begging him to return it and end the curse...I received the guitar three days later, in perfect condition. I don't know if it's true or not.

Any plans for a re-release of the Absence of Light EP or some of the old demo stuff?
Conspiracy Evolve [CA] was going to re-press Absence of Light on limited-edition splatter vinyl 8" at one time, we had worked out a cool deal and were really psyched about it, but the label has dissolved. Maybe some years from now we'll re-release all the demos on CD.

Are you happy with the deal with Lost Disciple Records?
Definitely...as I mentioned we've just re-signed to Lost Disciple for the third release [our previous contract was for 2 albums]. Rich has always treated us fairly, and he believes in our music. The deal is better this time, for us than on our first two albums...a better recording budget, and increased tour support. Sure being on a smaller label sometimes leaves a lot to be desired but Lost Disciple has worked hard to promote our albums, and we've seen the label grow...the distribution has improved greatly. Some other larger labels have also shown significant interest, and there's the possibility we could license to a larger label in the US and overseas, which would mean even better distribution.

I noticed that you've played on quite a few festivals like the Milwaukee Metal Fest, March Metal Meltdown and November to Dismember - did you enjoy playing at these shows? - 'cause I've heard/read quit a few complaints from both fans and bands about these festivals mainly because of the legendary curtain that divides the room/stage in two, bands playing time being cut down to almost nothing and the chaotic conditions that rules there.
We always enjoy playing fests! Milwaukee Metalfest is still the biggest and best festival in the US...others like March Metal Meltdown and November to Dismember have had some problems, like the curtain, and two stages in the same room! The November fest in LA was better; the curtain was heavier and was better at isolating the sound from the two stages. Our set time has been cut short in LA and in TX [Nov. '99]. March Metal Meltdown has been good for us, we got on a good stage - the same as Hate Eternal, Angelcorpse, Skinless, Immolation and others. Other fests we've played that have been cool are St. Louis Slaughter fest, and Ohio Death Fest 2000. Another popular US fest that we're on this year is called New England Hardcore and Metal Fest, held near Boston, Mass which bands have included Morbid Angel and Cannibal Corpse. For us, playing a fest is a great opportunity to play in front of bigger crowds, make new fans and friends in the underground. We plan to play all of the upcoming fests including New England Hardcore and Metal Fest, March Metal Meltdown III and Milwaukee 2001.

Have you played in Europe before 1999?
No, that was our first European tour, in '99 with Godless Truth, and Fleshless. We played about 6 shows, in Czech Republic and in Germany, including a show with label-mates Pandemia...it was a blast!

Any plans to return to Europe in the future?
We'd like to return to Europe in 2001! But it will depend on our US tour plans, after release of the new CD.

Will the tour bring you to Denmark?
Hopefully, yes. We want to tour more countries this time, and the tour will be longer, about 20 shows.

Heard any new bands lately that you'll recommend?
The new Diabolic is killer! Of course Dying Fetus, if you haven't heard them yet you need to go kill yourself! If you like old-school thrash metal you should hear Dreams of Damnation [Jim Durkin, ex-Dark Angel's new band].

Do you know/heard of any Danish bands?
Sorry, I don't know of any. Perhaps if you named some I would recognize the names or even heard their music.

What are your favourite bands and which are you inspired by?
Morbid Angel, Deicide, Suffocation, Possessed, Destruction, Slayer, Disincarnate, Dark Angel, Gorguts, Immolation...

I've noticed that you've played on quite a few tributes [Death, Megadeth, Possessed, and Kreator] - do you chose the songs to be covered by yourselves or does the label choose the songs?
On the Possessed and Kreator tributes, we were able to choose our own songs. For the Death and Megadeth tributes, it was more limited available songs to choose from, depending what was set up by Lost Disciple and Dwell Records [CA].

Don't you think it's getting out of hand with all these tributes that are being released at the moment?
It seems like a trend, so many tribute albums in the last couple of years...we did a couple tributes at first just to help spread the name, since the Dwell tributes have excellent distribution. Others, we are honoured to be on tributes to Kreator, Possessed, one other we're looking into is a tribute to Dark Angel, which would be awesome to be a part of. Otherwise, we won't be doing any more tributes for a while.

How's the scene in the Maryland/Baltimore area I know there's some cool bands besides Pessimist, like Dying Fetus, Aurora Borealis and Psychotogen?
There are a few other death metal bands around here, perhaps most worth mentioning is our friends Severed Head, they are killer death/grindcore. Also Tortured, Decapitate, Black Mass...of course Dying Fetus and the other bands you mention. But there are not many clubs to play this extreme style of music in our town...for us it is better to travel out of state to play shows.

Any last words?
Thanks Per for the cool interview!! Everyone get in touch; check out our web site, we'll see you on tour! Keep music evil!
Pessimist
http://www.pessimist.com
pess666@ix.netcom.com
6670 Washington Blvd. Elkridge, MD 21075 USA

Lost Disciple Records
http://www.lostdisciple.com
rich@lostdisciple.com
PO Box 340 Winthrop, MA 02152 USA