It seems these days that death metal bands are a dime a dozen with much of the lyrical focus set on topics like serial killers, human atrocities, and the zombie apocalypse. With all the Cannibal Corpse or Suffocation clone bands exisiting in the metal realm, it's refreshing to see one band which leaves listeners with their jaws on the floor and impeccably unmatched in style. Welcome to the world of New York's Immolation who have domainated the death metal scene for almost two decades now.
With a sound of their own, Immolation is uncompromising in their sinister tone and rollicking drum rolls fit for a true metal fanatic. Here to shed some "unlight" on the sound and ways of Immolation is guitarist Bob Vigna.
Ultimate Guitar: How has the European tour been going? Any good road stories from the Immo camp?
Bob Vigna: The European tour has been going great. We're out with Melechesh, Goatwhore and Sickening Horror, and its been a lot of fun! There are plenty of stories, but none that I can tell you about! Haha! Had some great shows in Poland, Metalmania Fest, Romania, Holland and Germany. Even Sweden and Norway were really great crowds. Some big shows, some small but all really good.
Are you still using Mesa Boogie amps on the road?
Actually I recently purchased a couple of Peavey Triple XXX amps. I am using those with Vader Cabinets in the US. I like the tone on the Peaveys and the Vader Cabinets drive it home. Suffocation had them out on the tour we did with them in November and I met the owner Adam. He is a really cool guy and is really into extreme music. So we are really happy with this set up.
Here in Europe the touring company we work with, Massive-Music, also happened to have the Triple XXX heads too, so I was happy about that. So we are using those on all our touring. They are very similar to the rectifiers, but they are just more dry and clear, which I like. When you are playing this kind of music you want it to be heavy, but you want it to be clear and audible too. Too much distortion can really take away from the power and clarity of your sound.
Is there a practice regimen that you use when preparing to go on the road?
Yes, I actually pick up the guitar and practice, hahah. When I'm home I rarely get to play as I work a lot. So I usually only get to rehearsing when it comes time to tour, and to record albums. Although I should work on stuff more, in doing it this way I have noticed that I am more into it after taking long breaks of not playing. And when writing its good to stay away from the instrument for a while, this way everything I'm doing is more new and fresh.
Although I wouldn't deem your playing style as unothrodox, it definitely is one of the more different techniques seen in death metal. What players help mold you as a guitarist growing up?
I always liked guitar playing with a lot of feeling. Growing up with listening to bands like Possessed, Metallica, Mercyful Fate, Iron Maiden, etc, when it came to creating my own stuff that was my early base. Of course that's not everything, but over theyears I have learned to like a lot of different kinds of music and get inspired by many different things as well, both metal and non-metal. I think having an open mind and checking out different kinds of music allows you to be creative when composing your own.
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| "I always liked guitar playing with a lot of feeling." |
Were you self-taught or did you have the patience to sit through lessons?
Mostly self taught, although I did take some lessons early on that didn't last that long. I wish I stuck with it though. I would just listen to different music and try to learn it and the solos, etc. Then it was just all about creating our own. I am not a great musician by far, but when it comes to Immolation I know what works for that.
What led to your change from your early days of using B.C. Rich guitars to Jackson?
I loved the custom BC Rich I had, but it had been out on the road a lot and it just needed a rest. At this point it may need a little work, so I didn't want to destroy it. I have been using Jackson since the beginning. I used my Jackson on all the records. Recently I contacted them, and they were very receptive in working out a great deal. So I now own a few Jacksons. I have a couple of the Dinky DXMG's out on the road with me now. These are not the most expensive, but they are extremely reliable and always in tune. I also have a couple of Rhoads guitars, I am just waiting on cases for these. I am not a big fan of the flying V, but the Rhoads has that unique shape, with the smaller side. They are really sharp looking and I've been wanting to try them out for a while now, so I just went for it. I look forward to taking those out on our next tour.
Do you change your strings after every show?
No not at all. I can probably go for many shows, but I usually will change them, like every 5 shows, just to be safe. I only changed my strings like 5 times tops on this past tour. I am not a hard player though. I do swing my guitar around like a maniac on stage, but I am usually pretty light on the strings themselves. I think that is more of a preference as to the way you play. And sometimes the strings do get a bit dull, so you need to change them out to have that brightness. But that is something you just have to feel out.
I can't think of another death metal band that uses pinch harmonics as well as you do. So what is the trick for acheiving a good pinch harmonic?
I don't know, I just happen to write them into the music when it seems right. No tricks or anything, just whenever it works.
Do you incorporate a heavier gauge string for your playing?
Yes I use D'Addario 13-56 gauge strings. We tune to C, so this gauge is heavy enough to keep the tension on the strings tight, but for me the strings are still comfortable enough. I've been using them forever.
Are you using any alterbate tunings for "Shadows In The Light"? I read somewhere that you primarily tune down a whole step for almost every album.
We just tune standard C. Nothing fancy. We've tuned the same since our first album in '91.
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| "It's not the type of music you are going to make a fortune off." |
Is all the material written first for guitar and then presented to your drummer? Meaning, it sounds as if the drums follow your playing rather than the usual method of songwriting.
Yeah, all the music is written first. Most of the time I'll have ideas of drum beats with the riffs. But we always go over it with Steve and find the best way once we get together to learn everything. I think the drums are very important to the feeling of the riffs. As you may have noticed we don't often use standard beats, and if we do its usually what fits the feeling we are trying to achieve best. I like to have the drums emphasis the riffs and we often will try a number of things in order to find the right approach.
After Tom's departure, you had recruited Bill Taylor from Angelcorpse. Did he have any difficulty adjusting to the playing style of Immolation?
No not at all. He jumped right in and learned everything without any difficulty. Luckily he writes everything down, because now before we go on tour, I'm calling Bill to go over old songs to make sure I have them right! Haha! We are very lucky in that both Bill and Steve are such quick learners, it really helps in our situation where we all live in different parts of the country.
What advice would you give for guitarists looking to play in a field as extreme as death metal?
Go to college!! Become a doctor or lawyer! Hahaha! Seriously, it's not an easy field. You have to be very passionate about the music and what you're doing. It's not the type of music you are going to make a fortune off of either, so you really have to be ambitious and driven.
Interview by Ryk Weston
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