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Hey Dan! Greetings from Brutal Carnage web-zine! Thank you for your time and for giving this interview.

Hey there!! Thanks for choosing me for an interview

I think we were quite polite to each other so it's time to move on. The first bunch of questions is about yourself traditionally. How old are you? Where are you living now? Do you have a family?

I am 28 years old, I live in the small city of Ventura, California. I am recently married to my girlfriend of 6 years. She is extremely supportive of everything I do.

Short story but really enough for our death metal web-zine. We should move closer to our subject. What was the start of listening metal music and especially brutal death metal?

My first experience with Death Metal was when I was 8 years old. My dad was actually the one who introduced me to it. He said "Daniel, you have to hear this music!!!", so we drove to the local record store, and he purchased Napalm Death "Utopia Banished". I was instantly hooked, and knew that this was something that was missing from my life.

Your father really rocks! He choose the proper age to introduce death metal to his son! Haha! It seems your were listening do death metal instead lullabies. And do you listen to other kind of music except extreme sounds?

To be honest, I really do not listen to much else besides Death Metal, and to be more specific, Brutal Death. I do own a few CD's that aren't death metal, some random black metal, Rhapsody, Luca Turilli, Hatebreed, and some old CD's from my past that I still enjoy listening to like NOFX, and some really random Crust bands.

I've searched information about you using Internet. I've found that you are really talented person. You are an owner of New Standard Elite, an Inherit Disease's drummer and a creator of designs for music bands in the same time. Wow! Which activity of these is the favorite for you now? For which one of them you spend the biggest part of your time?

New Standard Elite has quickly become the focus of my priorities, and it also takes up almost all of my time. I know it is still small and in the beginning stages, but it is very important to me to keep up with communicating with the bands, helping them in any way possible, keeping up with all the orders coming in, and also all the correspondence between customers, manufacturers etc... There is also the merchandising aspect, making shot glasses and beer koozies for any and every band that needs them.

Inherit Disease usually practices 3 times a week, for a few hours. We JUST finished our 11th and final song for our new album, so we should be getting the recording details set up very soon.

Daniel, I'd like to talk with you about your label in a very beginning because this interview was inspired by it. Could you tell us about the foundation of New Standard Elite, please? How did you decide to start the label?

Brutal Death Metal is a HUGE part of my life, you can call it an and EXTREME obsession. I felt the need to bring the scene back to where it should be. I am very tired of the modern production, especially the fake drumming. I feel that sampling/sound replacing and quantizing are ruining what makes brutal death metal what it is. It seemed that almost EVERY band was doing this, and I was getting very frustrated with the releases that were coming out. There was NO brutality, NO aggression, NO intensity and it was driving me crazy. NSE focuses on these elements. My vision is very specific, and I will never stray from it. There is something about Brutal Death Metal does to me when I listen to it, and NSE will only release albums that give me this feeling. To me, it doesn't matter how popular the band is, or how many CD's I think they will sell, the music just needs to bring me to that place, and revive the feelings of why I like Brutal Death.

Wow! It's real brutal death philosophy. Did you face any problems at the very beginning?

Of course I did.

Could you tell us more about?

The only problems I have had so far are with manufacturers. CD's, Shirts, Stickers, Posters.... everything. I have had problem after problem, it seems I cannot escape from it!!

And how is it going nowadays? Are you still fighting with manufacturer or you've found reliable partners?

I have made many changes to avoid this, and I am slowly working it out, and things are running much more smoothly these days. Luckily the customers and fans have been very understanding, and that really means a lot to me and I appreciate it greatly!! This really is the best music scene there is, filled with the most genuine people.

Browsing official FB label page I found that NSE still sells branded short glasses and beer cozies. It very rare merch for Russia because here we usually have only t-shirts, caps and beanies. Are short glasses and beer cozies really popular merchandise in the US?

I dont know if they are popular or not, but If a band wants them, they legally are not allowed to buy directly from the company, they have to go through a distributor, like me, and these people charge A LOT of money, and I do not think it is fair. So really, I am just trying to help out.

Why did you decide to start this business line?

Well, this started actually from a friend of mine making Inherit Disease shot glasses as a gift for our Visceral Transcendence CD release show. The show was the beginning of our tour, so we took them on the road with us. I had MANY bands ask me where we got them, and how they can get some made for their bands. It was a long process to set up, but I made it possible for metal bands to go through me and get the absolute lowest price possible on this type of merchandise. I also use the highest quality products on the market.

New Standard Elite's roster makes me really happy. I haven't found any weak band here. How do you select the band to sign with label? What are the most important things for you?

Like I said before, natural drumming is one of the most important things to me. It MUST have a natural snare, it will not even consider it for NSE if it doesn't, because in my opinion, a sampled snare ruins brutal death metal. Also, the kick drum must be played naturally, with no quantizing. I would rather hear mistakes than FAKE and perfect.

It's totally clear that you're drummer, haha! Everything goes to drums. How do you usually find each other?

I have found NSE bands while searching for new music, also, friends of mine have recommended NSE to other bands, and vice versa. For me, NSE is friendship based, not business based, and I try to keep everything very friendly and casual. The friendships I have made with the bands on NSE are very important to me, and I try to always go above and beyond whenever I can.

Oh! Your reputation works for you now. But it's important your bands be honest and friendly to you too. What band you will never sign even if it plays the best brutal death on planet Earth?

Hahahahah, funny question. There are some bands that I personally have no interest in musically, mainly because of personal conduct, and overall character of members etc...

It's very diplomatic answer, bro! OK, let's continue our conversation about NSE and left behind that sad stories about bad bands. From my point of view it seems that it's not the best time to start such kind of business now. Sales value of CDs decreases because of services like itunes or bandcamp where you can buy cheap mp3-files. Pirates and free-downloading are the second problem. Labels, who have a huge history, are slowing down or even stop but still have a big part of this market. How does your label survive in this Internet jungles?

I agree with what you are saying, but like I said, I really am not interested in the amount that a CD will sell. That would never be why I would sign a band. Yes merchandise sales fuel NSE for the next release and more things I can do for the bands on the NSE roster, and it seems that their are many fans, like myself, who are lunatics when It comes to supporting this scene.

And what about downloading?

Illegal downloads are horrible, and this is not biased because I run a label and am in a band. I have always felt this way. The fact is simple, if you love the music and the scene, then you MUST support. If you download music illegally, the you are stealing from the band, and the label. This is not an opinion, it is truth. So, SUPPORT and enjoy a thriving scene, or STEAL and watch the scene die.

I'm afraid that your point of view isn't clear for those who download illegally. They can't see the connection between purchasing a CD and next album release. Do you have to compete with other labels?

I have had a lot of support from other labels, who have the same mindset that we are NOT competing with each other. BUT, there are also labels who purposely try to sabotage NSE and constantly bad mouth me. These are also the labels who are known for ripping off customers and fans, so it is not hard to figure out who these labels are, and I personally do not support them, and I feel it is very wrong to do what they do. NSE is here to end this problem with rip off labels.

I can't believe in this shit! Who needs to bad mouth another label without serious reason? Does anybody help you with the label or you have to do everything by yourself?

I run it all by myself. My wife will help me with orders if I ask, also some close friends let me know that they are available if I need them. I have made a lot of changes, and things are much more efficient and streamlined then they were in the beginning. I feel very confident in NSE maintaining its reputation for being reliable and trustworthy.

Wow! Lucky you are with your wife!

Yes, I am a very lucky guy.

Could you tell us about label's support for new bands?

Each band is different, I have a pretty standard offer, but it is customized for each band based on what is important to them. My goal is to be able to support bands 100%, so they do not have to worry about anything. I want them to write music, and tour with no stress.

Oh! About tours by the way! Thanks for mention. As far as I know it was New Standard Elite Tour across the US this summer with the bands from your label: Abhorration and Ossification. How it was?

It was great! The bands had a lot of fun. There is now "The New Standard of Sickness II" that will be hitting the U.S. this summer. Scatorgy from the UK will be headlining with Ossification, Iniquitous Deeds, and Abhorration supporting NSE and two opening acts not on the NSE roster. It should be really sick!!! I already have some Ideas brewing in my head for 2014 tours

You look far forward. Was it the first experience of making tour or you are the master of it already?

The two NSE tours have been set up and organized by Shane of Ossification. I am able to help with contacts that I have met from touring with Inherit Disease, but he has done all the foot work. I am very grateful for this.

Is there any sense to tour for brutal death bands now? What do they gain there?

Touring for Brutal Death bands is more for getting exposure and spreading their fan base. Inherit Disease has been on many tours, and have always come back in the negative. But it has been the greatest times, and I the memories are more valuable to me than money. I think that this is the same attitude for most bands touring and playing Brutal Death.

Nice to see person who is so devoted to underground scene making it grow and move on. I'm sure that your label's name attract new bands because it's famous enough. Should we wait for any new insane releases from New Standard Elite in a short period of time?

Yes, there are new releases out right now, Scatorgy(UK), Seminal Embalmment(AUS), Laceration(UK). Also, Abhorration full length, Ossification full length, Abhorrent Castigation full length and Iniquitous Deeds full length should be out this year.

Are you going to sign any new bands by the way?

I have some great signings in the works, but these are secret for now. Just be prepared for 100% NSE style sickness!!!

It's hard to acquire secrete information talking to you. You can work for CIA, man! Could you tell us, please, why don't you trade with other labels?

There are many reasons why I do not trade. I want to focus 100% on the bands on NSE. I do not plan to carry a distro at the moment. I do whole sale, and many labels have no problem with this. If you prefer to purchase from a local distro, request that they carry NSE titles, and have them contact me.

It's not easy to find your releases in a small distro especially in our country.

Sorry, buddy, but I wont go into details about why I do not trade, many of them are personal, and have to do with bad reputations and rip off labels, but I do not want to badmouth them.

I totally agree to close this topic. It's time for next question. Which underground labels you can emphasize at the moment? Could you make a peer review of extreme music market?

With all the contact I have with labels, I have found that Comatose, Sevared, Ossuary, Amputated Vein and a very small amount of other labels are trustworthy. I have had problems with others, and also refuse to deal with certain labels until they become more reliable and treat their bands correctly.

Give some advices for those guys who want to start their own label.

This is simple. Sign what you like, do not worry about what others will think. Be honest, and treat your customers and bands with respect.

It seems so easy to start, hahaha! Let's talk now about you as a musician.

OK. No problem.

First of all tell us about your one man project Misanthropic Carnage. What is that? :) I read on metal-archives that the band is active but it has got only 2-track since 2008.

Hahaha, Misanthropic Carnage was a small project of mine, but it is now defunct. As you can tell, it was a Severe Torture styled band, which was really just music that was rejected by Inherit Disease, so I decided to compile a few songs with the riffs.

Is it alive or we can forget about it?

You can forget about it, hahahah, was nothing special.

OK. Let's talk about your main band. Tell us, please, how you came to Inherit Disease.

This is a very long story, but I will keep it short. I contacted them in 2006, they needed a guitar player, I didn't play guitar very well, but I went to a band practice to support. They asked me to bring a guitar, so I borrowed one from my friend. They taught me a song, and the following week, I started learning the rest of the CD. The drummer quit early 2007, So I took over the drumming position.

Interesting! I didn't know you play the guitar. Do you take participation in composing music for ID or only a couple mates do it like in many others bands?

The music writing is split up evenly, so our music is varied as far as styles go. We all have our own writing style.

Imagine that you have to choose between them because you can continue the only one. What would you choose?

Wow, this is a hard question. I would never choose one over the other. They are both very important to me, because they are both part of the scene I care so much about, and they both contribute the same, just in different ways. Inherit Disease members are very supportive of NSE and it is great. I am lucky to be in a band with such great people.

Over two years passed after kick-ass Visceral Transcendence. How long your fans (me as well) have to wait for the next album?

As I said before, we JUST finished the 11th song last night at practice. Should be out this year.

I saw the news about writing the new staff on ID facebook-page in September and no more news since then. So I'm really happy to know these news about new album. Tell us about new ID's guitarist. Where did you find him?

Tom played in a local metalcore band. I was alway impressed with this playing abilities. He is a great guy and an AWESOME addition to Inherit Disease.

Do you need Tom to create new music staff or is he for heavy brutal sound on stage in live performance?

He has 3 full songs of original music on the new CD. I think the fans will really enjoy his writing style.

It's a perfect idea to address the question about your band and Unique Leader Records collaboration. You know what I'm talking about. Is it the best label for Inherit Disease now or you can nothing to do because of contract?

Hmmm..... This is an interesting question. I can not go into too much detail, but my personal opinion is that I think ULR is heading a different direction than what it is known for. We have actually shortened our contract so this next album will be our last under ULR. There are MANY reasons why we did this, but I feel it is a bad idea to go into detail about it. I am sure you understand.

Oh yes! You did not mention ULR in your short list of reliable labels. Haha! Let's close the theme about other labels. And I think it would be great to finish this interview with question about your design activities. What do you think?

It's a good idea, brother.

You've made lots of logos for bands who are really famous and not so. I have to note mighty Gorgasm for whom you've rearranged logo and designed "Orgy Of Murders" album-title. Tell us about.

The Gorgasm members contacted me for the Orgy of Murder logo and the redesign of the classic Gorgasm logo because of the work I did designing the "Sadichist" logo, which was Gorgasm before they decided to reactivate Gorgasm. Kyle Christman is a good friend of mine, and he asked me to do it. Not sure why to be honest, hahaha. But I like helping as much as I can.

Design is just a hobby for you or is it your another job in the music underground?

It is a very small hobby.

How did you start it?

I guess it started when I drew the Misanthropic Carnage logo. People contacted me about it, and I told them I would draw theirs for free. After a while, I started charging a small amount, because I feel people would take advantage of my offer. But, I still draw logos from time to time, I like doing it, It is just a lengthy process, and I am usually packing orders or working on projects for NSE bands. So I am selective when I am contacted about it.

Now I don't have any questions to you. Thank you so much for this interview, bro! Long live New Standard Elite! Best wishes for you personally.

Thanks to you buddy!!! I appreciate you taking the time with all of these questions!!! Hails and thanks for the support!!!!

 

Daniel

NSE

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