An Interview with Akihiro Muto of Veiyadra
I stumbled across Japanese brutal death metallers, Veiyadra, when the name appeared in my Facebook newsfeed, last fall. I couldn’t recall having heard much in the way of death metal from the island nation and the artwork for their 2014 full length release, “Gehenna”, was beckoning to me like a twisted fairy tale. My curiosity was fully rewarded with a crushing dose of sick riffs, guttural roars, and bruising percussion.
I was very excited to be granted the opportunity to talk with vocalist Akihiro Muto about “Gehenna”, lyrical inspiration, and the death scene in Tokyo.
Derek: Hi Akihiro! Thank you for granting me an interview! I first heard of Veiyadra through a recommendation on Facebook around October of last year. When I listened to your full length album, “Gehenna”, I was absolutely blown away! Its fifty minutes of relentless, savage death! I couldn’t believe I hadn’t heard of Veiyadra sooner. Can you tell me a little about how the band came together and your signing with Bloodcurdling Enterprise?
Akihiro: Hi Derek! Thank you too; it’s an honor to hear that you enjoyed “Gehenna”. We started up as me and our Go (guitar) meeting in a local show after we both quit our bands at 2011. Then I brought my friend Reichi (bass) and Koju (drum) who is a senior of my university to the band. We started off as an old school death metal band however because Koju was a technical drummer, we changed our style to brutal death metal.
The owner of Bloodcurdling Enterprise (Amputated Vein Records) was my friend and invited me when I was talking with him in Twitter. Bloodcurdling Enterprise (Amputated Vein Records) is the only brutal death metal label in Japan and it was a pleasure for us to join them.
Derek: Are you going to be touring in support of “Gehenna”? Is there any chance that Veiyadra will pay us a visit in the US?
Akihiro: Yeah, actually we already did a mini domestic tour in Japan. If we have a chance, we’ll love to.
Derek: There is some terrific apocalyptic imagery in your songs, along with many references to demons and angels. What do you use for lyrical inspiration?
Akihiro: It all comes from my imagination. I may have got some inspiration from RPG games and Disgorge lyrics.
Derek: Who did the cover artwork for “Gehenna”? It’s fantastic!
Akihiro: I know! Marco Hasmann did it for us. I think he’s one of the best artists in the world.
Derek: What is the death metal scene like in Tokyo?
Akihiro: There’s not really a scene here, I mean there are bands but not active enough, especially brutal death metal bands. Also not many listeners, it sort of sucks.
Derek: Now it’s time for The Marvelous Three Round of Questions! What’s your favorite breakfast cereal? Most metalheads have large concert t-shirt collections. What’s your favorite band t-shirt? And last but not least, are you a cat person or a dog person?
Akihiro: I like the chocolate flakes, forgot the name… My favorite band t-shirt this Defeated Sanity. I’m a dog person. I have a Golden retriever.
Derek: Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions! “Gehenna” is a fantastic album and I hope to hear much more from Veiyadra in the years to come!
Akihiro: Thank you too for giving me this wonderful opportunity! We’re now writing some new songs and hopefully can show it to you soon!!! Let’s keep it up Derek!!!
Check Out “Diabolical Aberration” from “Gehenna”
