Interview with TAUNTED

 

Questions by Tomek/Nevermore (Pure Metal magazine)

The readers of Pure Metal magazine had a chance to become familiar with Taunted with their debut album, 'Zero'. In 2008 our zine went on an indefinite hiatus, but is slowly coming back. We didn’t have the opportunity to talk about your second album, so during the wait for your third full-length release I wanted to go back a little and ask a few questions about 'Bleeding Black'.

JUST WANT TO SAY THAT WE REMEMBER YOU AND WE THANK YOU FOR STAYING METAL AND CARING ABOUT TAUNTED!

the following answers are by JOEY GENONI and JACQUES SERRANO the founding members.

Pure Metal: 'Bleeding Black', in my opinion, sounds like early Metal Church meets Overkill from 1989-90. In addition, there’s the Mercyful Fate-esque feel. The whole album kills, and the riffs are 'thick'... How come such a deadly album didn't’t reach general popularity and Taunted didn’t make the first pages of metal zines? 

Jacques/Joey:

THE PRAISE! WE HAVE MANY INFLUENCES IN OUR BAND ESPECIALLY SINCE WE HAVE BEEN A BAND FOR SUCH A LONG TIME. METAL CHURCH, OVERKILL, MERCYFUL FATE ARE ALL MAJOR INFLUENCES FOR US AND WE STILL LISTEN TO ALL THOSE BANDS TO THIS DAY BUT OBVIOUSLY WE LISTEN TO MANY OTHER BANDS TOO. AS FAR FAR AS THE POPULARITY, THAT IS OUT OF OUR CONTROL. WE DO AS MUCH PROMOTION AS WE CAN AND WE DO HAVE LOTS OF UNDERGROUND SUCCESS BUT WE NEED MORE PEOPLE AND ZINES LIKE PURE METAL MAGAZINE TO KEEP PUSHING AND PUMPING US TO THE MASSES! WE DO BELIEVE WE BELONG AMONGST OUR PEERS AND  HOPE WE KEEP CLIMBING THE LADDER!

PM: Is 'Bleeding Black', lyric-wise, a concept album?

Jacques/Joey:

BLEEDING BLACK IS JUST A PURE DARK THRASH ALBUM! CONCEPT ALBUMS ARE SO GREAT WHEN DONE WELL BUT THEY DO REQUIRE A CERTAIN FLOW UNLIKE CONVENTIONAL ALBUMS. BOTH STYLES ARE FUN AND WE HAVE ENJOYED DOING BOTH AND ANOTHER CONCEPT ALBUM IS NEVER OUT OF THE QUESTION.

PM: 'Bleeding Black' seems less straight-ahead than 'Zero', it requires the listener to pay more attention. It doesn't’t enrapture immediately, the listener needs to let it sink in slowly...

Jacques/Joey:

INDEED

BUT EVERY ALBUM BY ANYBODY EFFECTS THE LISTENER DIFFERENTLY AND SOME SAID THAT "ZERO" WAS THE SAME WAY IN NEED OF MULTIPLE LISTENS.  WE/TAUNTED JUST WRITE WHAT COMES NATURALLY AND BELIEVE IN WHAT WE DO AND HOPE THE LISTENER ENJOYS OUR EFFORTS. BLEEDING BLACK IS NOT CONCEPT BUT THERE ARE INDIVIDUAL SONGS THAT ARE STORIES AND CONCEPTS WITHIN THE INDIVIDUAL SONG.

PM: 'Bleeding Black', as the title suggests, is a very dark album, instrumentally as well lyrically. Why the constant exploration of man’s dark side?

Jacques/Joey:

SOMETIMES WE ACTUALLY HAVE SONGS THAT SOUND DARK BECAUSE OF THE ACTUAL LYRICS BUT IF YOU PAY ATTENTION TO THE MEANINGS AND HOW THEY ARE REFERENCED THEY ARE NOT ALWAYS AS "EVIL" OR DARK AS THEY SEEM AND SOMETIMES ARE JUST STORIES BUT OBVIOUSLY TAUNTED WRITES ABOUT DARK SUBJECTS. IT IS JUST WHAT MAKES US TICK AND MAKES US WANT TO PERFORM AND WRITE. SOMETIMES WE FEEL ITS LIKE WATCHING A SCARY MOVIE OR A GRAPHIC NOVEL.. PEOPLE THAT WRITE BOOKS AND MAKE MOVIES ARE NOT ALWAYS EVIL PEOPLE BUT THEY ENJOY DIVING INTO THE DARK SIDE ONCE AND AWHILE AND THAT IS WHAT WE DO AS MUSICIANS. IF WE SEE A MOVIE ABOUT VAMPIRES OR END OF THE WORLD TYPE SUBJECTS WE FEEL IT.... AND IT INSPIRES US.... ITS JUST FUN  DELVING INTO THE DARK SIDE WITHOUT ACTUALLY BEING AND DOING DARK THINGS.. JUST A SIDE OF HUMAN NATURE. NOT TO MENTION THAT MERCYFUL FATE/KING DIAMOND THING IS AN INFLUENCE. HA HA.

PM: Also, there’s a lot of devil in your lyrics...

Jacques:

I HAVE ALWAYS REFERENCED THE DEVIL BUT AGAIN IF YOU PAY ATTENTION THERE ARE SOME SONGS THAT IF YOU REALLY PAY ATTENTION ITS STATED THAT USUALLY THE GOOD SIDE WINS. JUST BECAUSE YOU SAY "HELL" OR "SATAN" IT DOES NOT MEAN WE SAY GO THAT WAY... FOR EXAMPLE, ON OUR FIRST RECORD "ZERO" IT IS ABOUT A GHOST STORY SO OBVIOUSLY YOUR NOT GOING TO BE TALKING ABOUT FLOWERS UNLESS THEY ARE BLACK ROSES HA HA.

PM: Who designed the cover art of 'Bleeding Black'?

Jacques/Joey:

OUR DRUMMER AT THE TIME HENRY MORENO WHO'S AN AWESOME FRIEND, MUSICIAN, GRAPHIC ARTIST.

PM: How did the creative process go?

Jacques/Joey:

EVERY ALBUM IS DIFFERENT. YOU HAVE TO BE THERE FOR EACH STEP OF THE WAY, EACH IDEA, EACH RIFF. WE KNEW FROM THE BEGINNING WE WANTED OUR SECOND FULL LENGTH RECORD TO BE DARK, EVIL, MELODIC, AND HEAVY!! SO THAT IS ALWAYS HOW WE BEGIN EACH DEMO,RECORD WE HAVE EVER DONE. EVEN OUR FIRST DEMO BACK IN 1992 WE HAD CONCEPTS INFLUENCED BY EDGAR ALLEN POE OR SONGS LIKE OUR NAMESAKE "TAUNTED" THE NAME TAUNTED DOES NOT CONJURE HAPPY THOUGHTS BUT AGAIN IN ALL OUR SONGS IF  YOU PAY ATTENTION TO THE LYRICS, JUST BECAUSE WE SAY A WORD LIKE "DARK" OR "DEVIL" IT DOES NOT  MEAN GO THAT WAY.. ITS JUST TELLING A STORY OR MAKING YOU THINK ABOUT STUFF.

PM: Jacques Serrano sings rather aggressively, akin to David Wayne. Who among the many metal vocalists is the guru of your front man?

Jacques:

I HAVE ALWAYS LISTENED AND BEEN INFLUENCED BY HEAVY SINGERS. WHEN I WAS YOUNGER AND IN MY BEGINNINGS I WAS HUGE INTO ROB HALFORD, PAUL DIANNO, IAN GILLAN AND THEN AS I PROGRESSED AS A SINGER I BEGIN LIKING PEOPLE LIKE CHUCK BILLY, BOBBY BLITZ, DAVID WAYNE AND I HOPE THAT ALL THOSE INFLUENCES COME OUT OF ME AS WELL AS SOME WEIRD STYLE THAT I CAN CALL MY OWN. I TRY TO BE AS HEAVY AS I CAN BUT ALSO TRY TO ADD MELODIC MELODY AND ALL THAT COMBINED IS ME.

PM: Does Joey Genoni receive any offers to play in other, more widely known bands? I’m asking because he has a brilliant creative sense, also he’s a terrific guitarist. The great riffs and solos in songs such as 'One Demon at a Time' or 'Dead Buried' are a testament to his skill.

Joey:

THANK YOU FOR THE COMPLIMENTS I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT. TAUNTED IS MY FOCUS AND IT ALLOWS ME COMPLETE CREATIVE CONTROL OF THE MUSIC DIRECTION. IT ALSO ALLOWS FOR EXPERIMENTATION SO THERE IS NO NEED TO PURSUE OTHER MUSICAL OPTIONS. THE HOPE HAS ALWAYS BEEN TO SPREAD THE TAUNTED MUSIC AS FAR AS POSSIBLE AND SOMEDAY IT WILL BE MORE RECOGNIZED GLOBALLY I BELIEVE. I AM COMPLETELY SATISFIED WITH THE TAUNTED SITUATION BUT OF COURSE IF IRON MAIDEN EVER CALLED ME I WOULD GLADLY SEIZE THE OPPORTUNITY!

PM: Does 'Bleeding Black' comprise purely new songs, or did you use some of the older ones?

Jacques/Joey:

“OLD MAN GLOOM” WAS A REWORKED VERSION OF A SONGCALLED “BODY OF LEAD” FROM OUR 1994 DEMO. BLEEDING WAS ANOTHER SONG THAT WAS NEVER RECORDED PROPERLY SO IT WAS AN INTERESTING EXPPERIMENT. AS WE RE-RECORDED "TAUNTED" FROM  OUR FIRST DEMO ON „ZERO” WE THOUGHT IT WOULD BE INTERESTING TO HEAR THESE SONGS MODERN WITH A DIFFERENT CAST OF MUSICIANS. ALL ARE GOOD AND IT’S NICE TO HEAR THE DIFFERENCES FOR US AS MUSICIANS. THEY WERE REDONE MORE FOR US BUT ALSO FOR OLDER FANS TO REMEMBER THE OLD BUT HEAR THE NEW.

PM: Why did you release your second album at your own expense? Did your (awesome) material fail to interest any of the bigger labels? I don’t get it. What are the bosses of Metal Blade or Century Media waiting for?

Jacques/Joey:

EVEN IF YOUR A REAL GOOD BAND THE MONIES ARE NOT THERE LIKE THEY USED TO BE BUT OBVIOUSLY WE BELIEVE WE SHOULD NOT HAVE TO CARRY ALL THE EXPENSE. FIRST OF ALL, WE DID HAVE SOME OFFERS EARLY ON IN THE BLEEDING BLACK RECORD BUT NONE WERE WHAT WE TOTALLY WANTED. WE ALSO TOOK 3 YEARS TO RELEASE THE CD AND WE WERE SO EXCITED TO LET THE WORLD AND FANS HEAR IT AND SOMETIMES IT TAKES A LONG TIME FOR RECORD LABELS TO GET BACK TO BANDS AND WE JUST DID  NOT WANT TO WAIT THAT LONG. AFTER WE RELEASED BLEEDING BLACK WE DID INK A DEAL WITH A DIVISION OF SONY AND BETWEEN THAT AND SOME SMALLER DISTRIBUTION COMPANIES THE ALBUM DID GET A FAIR SHAKE AND MADE IT  IN THE HANDS TO LOTS OF FANS. BLEEDING BLACK ALSO HAD A SMALL RELEASE ON VINYL IN GERMANY!  ZERO ALSO SAW A FAIR SHAKE AFTER WE RELEASED IT OUR SELVES IT WAS PICKED UP BY VISION METAL RECORDS AND SAW DECENT DISTRIBUTION. LARGER LABELS SHOULD PAY ATTENTION TO US A LITTLE MORE AND WERE HOPING OUR NEWEST EFFORT "9 SINS" WILL SEE MORE LIGHT THAN ANY PREVIOUS RELEASE. WE DO HAVE A COUPLE OF OFFERS ON THE TABLE BUT WE WILL BE SHIPPING IT TO SOME LARGER LABELS VERY SOON BUT AGAIN WE DO NOT WANT TO POSTPONE THIS NEWEST DISC VERY LONG SINCE IT HAS BEEN ANOTHER 3 YEARS SINCE THE LAST RECORD. I GUESS WE ARE A EVERY 3 YEAR BAND HA HA. THIS ONE IS OUR BEST!!! WE PROMISE!!

PM: How often do you play live?

Jacques/Joey:

WE PERFORM LIVE ANYTIME WE GET A CHANCE. WE HAVE PERFORMED LOTS AND SOMETIMES WE TAKE LOTS OF TIME BEFORE WE PERFORM. WE HAVE TOURED AND DONE LOTS OF LOCAL SHOWS BUT AT THIS TIME WE ARE OLDER AND MORE CAREFUL AND DO NOT JUST PLAY ANY SHOW TO PLAY. IN THE OLD DAYS WE USED TO PERFORM EVERYWHERE AND ALL THE TIME TO GET OUR NAME OUT TO THE MASSES BUT NOW WE ARE KNOWN AND ARE LUCKY WE DON'T HAVE TO PERFORM ALL THE TIME. WE DO MORE MEANINGFUL SHOWS. WE LOVE PERFORMING AND HOPE WE CAN DO SOME REAL KILLER SHOWS BY THE END OF THIS YEAR INTO NEXT YEAR!

PM: What groups did you get to share the stage with?

Jacques/Joey:

DRAGON LORD, VICIOUS RUMORS, CANDLEMASS, RAGE, DEATH ANGEL, OVERKILL, METAL CHURCH, ETC ETC, ETC AND HOPEFULLY MANY MORE TO COME.

PM: Did you ever play in Europe?

Jacques/Joey:

WE PERFORMED HEADBANGERS OPEN AIR IN GERMANY AS WELL AS BALLROOM HAMBURG. WE ARE TRYING TO GET BACK AND WOULD LOVE TO PERFORM IN POLAND!

PM: The closing power ballad, 'The Candle Burns Black', leaves a great impression. Who is the author?

Jacques/Joey:

MUSIC JOEY, LYRICS JACQUES. THIS WAS OUR FIRST ATTEMPT AT SOMETHING THIS MOODY AND SLOW. SOME PEOPLE CALL SLOW SONGS BALLADS BUT HOW DO YOU CALL SOMETHING THIS EVIL AND DARK A BALLAD. HA HA. WE ENJOYED DOING THIS SONG AND ALWAYS KNEW WE COULD PULL SOMETHING LIKE IT OUT OF THE HAT.  

PM: What about the third album? It was supposed to come out in 2010, then the date was moved to the beginning of 2011, we’re halfway through 2012... and we’re still waiting! What’s going on?

Jacques/Joey:

THERE IS ALWAYS MULTIPLE REASONS FOR BANDS DELAYING ALBUMS. FOR US IT WAS FIRST THAT WE WANTED TO CREATE OUR BEST RECORD AND THAT TAKES TIME. WE ALSO PERFORMED AND PROMOTED THE "BLEEDING BLACK" RECORD FOR SOME TIME. ONCE WE BEGIN WRITING "9 SINS" WE WERE EXCITED AND IT TOOK ABOUT 7 MONTHS TO COMPLETE THE BASIC WRITING OF THE ALBUM. ONCE WE WERE DONE AND BEGIN OUR PRE-PRODUCTION OUR DRUMMER HAD TO MOVE FAR AWAY WITH HIS JOB AND THAT CAUSED LOTS OF SOUL SEARCHING AND DELAYS. WE DECIDED TO CONTINUE WORKING WITH HIM AND AT FIRST IT WORKED WITH ALL THE MODERN DAY TECHNOLOGY BUT IN THE END IT JUST DID NOT WORKTHE WAY WE WANTED IT TO. THIS TOOK LOTS OF TIME AWAY FROM US, OTHERWISE THE ALBUM WOULD OF ALREADY BEEN RECORDED.  IN THE END EVERYTHING WORKED OUT AND WE WERE BLESSED TO HAVE LARRY HOWE OF VICIOUS RUMORS FILL IN. YOU WILL HEAR HIS GREAT PERFORMANCE SOON BUT ALL OF THIS IS WHY THE ALBUM TOOK LONGER THAN EXPECTED.

PM: You already published the tracklist, apparently there are going to be 9 songs. Can you disclose something about the contents? How long did it take to create?

Jacques/Joey:

AFTER THE BASIC SONGS WERE DONE WE SPENT TIME PERFECTING DETAILS OF EACH SONG LIKE SOLOS AND BACKING VOCALS. THERE ARE LOTS OF COOL THEMES IN EACH SONG. FOR EXAMPLE, THERE IS A SONG CALLED ROOM 237 WHICH IS ABOUT THE ROOM JACK NICHOLSON VISITS IN THE MOVIE "THE SHINING" WE ALSO HAVE A SONG CALLED 7 COLORS WHICH IS ABOUT EDGAR ALLEN POES "THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH" THOSE OF YOU THAT KNOW US FROM OUR FIRST DEMO MIGHT REMEMBER WE VISITED THAT SUBJECT WAY BACK THEN AND WE THOUGHT IT WOULD BE COOL TO REVISIT IT AGAIN BUT IN A DIFFERENT ASPECT OF EDGAR ALLENS STORY. EVERY SONG IS "COOL" BUT OBVIOUSLY WE LOOK FORWARD TO THE PEOPLES OPINIONS TO COME.

PM: The album’s title will be '9 Sins'. There is no title track among the published songs, where did such a name come from then and what does it mean? What nine sins did will it be about?

Jacques/Joey:

NOT THAT HARD TO FIGURE OUT.. "NINE SINS" HENCE 9 SONGS. WE HAD SEVERAL TITLES AND THIS ONE JUST HIT THE SPOT! WE CAN'T WAIT FOR THE FANS TO HEAR OUR 9 SONGS OF SIN. HEAVY, EVIL, MELODIC, BRUTAL, THE NEW CD IS TOTALLY "TAUNTED"

PM: Did you already play the new songs live? If yes, how were they received?

Jacques/Joey:

WE PERFORMED SOME EARLY VERSIONS OF TWO SONGS AND THEY WERE RECEIVED VERY WELL BUT THOSE FORMS OF THE SONGS WERE OBVIOUSLY NOT WHAT THEY SOUND LIKE TODAY. WE DID IT TO TEST THE SONGS AND ALSO DOING NEW SONGS LIVE HELPS THE BAND STAY FRESH AND EXCITING.

PM: I read that Vicious Rumors’ drummer, Larry Howe, will appear on the album. Why didn’t Henry Moreno play on it?

Jacques/Joey:

AS MENTIONED PREVIOUSLY HENRY MOVED FAR AWAY FROM US AND IN THE END IT JUST DID NOT WORK OUT. HENRY IS STILL PART OF THE TAUNTED FAMILY.  WE WERE BLESSED WHEN LARRY HOWE AGREED TO DO OUR NEW CD. TO HAVE SUCH A RESPECTED PROFESSIONAL TAKE PART WAS A GREAT EXPERIENCE AND BESIDES HIS GREAT PERFORMANCE THAT YOU WILL ALL LISTEN TO VERY SOON, HE BECAME PART OF THE TAUNTED FAMILY AND IS SUCH A "COOL" MUSICIAN THAT WE NOW CALL FRIEND.

PM: Taunted’s  newest addition is the bassist Elena Repetto. How did she find her way into the band?

Jacques/Joey:

VERY FEW KNOW THIS BUT BACK IN THE YEAR 2000 WHEN TAUNTED STARTED WORKING VERY HARD AFTER A FEW YEARS OF DECIDING WHAT WE WERE GOING TO DO WITH TAUNTED, ELENA WAS ACTUALLY IN TAUNTED. WE ALWAYS KNEW HER FROM HER AND OUR PRIOR BANDS. IT WAS A GOOD FIT BACK THEN BUT IN THOSE TIMES IT WAS HARD GETTING TAUNTED OFF THE GROUND AND OTHER OPPORTUNITES CAME AROUND FOR HER AND WE GAVE HER OUR BLESSING TO MOVE ON. WE ALWAYS REMAINED FRIENDS AND IT NOW HAS COME FULL CIRCLE THAT SHE IS BACK IN TAUNTED! SHE IS PROBABLY THE EASIEST PROFESSIONAL MUSICIAN WE HAVE EVER WORKED WITH. WE ALL LOVE AND LISTEN TO THE SAME STYLES OF METAL!

PM: That’s it for now, many thanks for your time and for the interview - I’d like to carry out another one after you release '9 Sins'.

Jacques/Joey:

MOST DEFINITELY!! WE CAN NOT WAIT FOR EVERYONE INCLUDING YOU TO HEAR THE NEW CD AND TELL US WHAT YOU THINK! UNTIL THEN..... STAY METAL!!! AND KEEP IT KILLER!! TAUNTED!!!

PM: Big thanks...

Jacques/Joey:

THANKS! LET US KNOW IF WE CAN DO ANYTHING ELSE TO HELP OUT AND HOPEFULLY ONE DAY WE CAN MAKE IT TO A FESTIVAL IN POLAND!!