Those familiar with the dark, doomy depths of Death Metal know Asphyx as one of the genre’s true pioneers. After a seven-year silence, these Old School Death Metal titans from the Netherlands and Europe stormed back in 2007—delivering relentless, savage performances ever since. Founding drummer Bob Bagchus kindly agreed to answer our questions.
MORBIDZINE: Hails to European and Dutch Death Metal legends from Turkey! Firstly, Paul and Bob, thank you so much for accepting this interview. How is it going? What has Asphyx been doing since the reunion?
BOB: Hail Turkey! It's going fine over here, thanx. We did quite a lot of shows and festivals and right now we’re busy writing new songs. Also there's a new EP from us released on Iron Pegasus Records which contains a new track called "Death... the Brutal Way" and a Celtic Frost cover named "Os Abysmi Vel Daath".
MORBIDZINE: Where was the first show of the band after the reunion? Can you tell us how the audience reacted to the return of Asphyx?
BOB: That was in Bad Berka, Germany at Party San Open Air. The audience was excellent — we got big hails!
MORBIDZINE: Was there a problem with motivation or keeping the old mood for you?
BOB: Not anymore. We had that problem in 2000, that’s why we split up back then. But now everything is great and we have a lot of motivation in the band again. Like the old days!
MORBIDZINE: About the single "Death the Brutal Way" released in May. We saw a Celtic Frost cover called "Os Abysmi Vel Daath". How did the band decide to cover a Celtic Frost song?
BOB: That was for a Century Media Anniversary album. At first, we wanted to do a Grave song, but another band already did it, so we decided to do the Frost song — which turned out excellent.
MORBIDZINE: Can this single be a messenger for a new album?
BOB: Yes, but we also have much slower songs as well. Real doomy, crushing stuff...
MORBIDZINE: When you founded the band in 1987, what were your first musical influences?
BOB: Celtic Frost, Mayhem, Messiah, Mantas...
MORBIDZINE: What are the differences between the late 1980s and today’s Death Metal scene in your opinion?
BOB: The ‘80s featured REAL Death Metal with no nonsense. Today’s Death Metal (if you can call it that) is all about how technical one can be, how fast they can play, and stuffing 1000 riffs into one song without caring about the actual song itself. They all try to outblast each other… to me it’s crap. Real Death Metal should have no more than 4-5 riffs in it and should be repeated frequently — easy to remember and with a raw old school sound.
MORBIDZINE: We think The Rack was a classic and important album for Death Metal marketing — with sick vocals, chainsaw guitars, and choking drums. Did the band want to define an era of slow-paced Death Metal with this album?
BOB: Technical? Asphyx?? Hahaha! You must be drunk! Hell no! We just did what we wanted to do without compromises. It turned out perfectly and represents Asphyx 100%.
MORBIDZINE: Have you been inspired by Doom bands or Van Drunen’s Pestilence?
BOB: We are inspired by Hellhammer/Celtic Frost and maybe Black Sabbath in a way. We’re definitely not inspired by Pestilence — although Consuming Impulse is a classic album which I like a lot. In fact, it’s the ONLY Pestilence album worth mentioning.
MORBIDZINE: After Drunen joined, do you think Pestilence elements were injected into the band?
BOB: No, absolutely not.
MORBIDZINE: 1996’s The Embrace Death was recorded in 1990. What was the main reason for this delay?
BOB: The record company broke up in 1990 and soon after that we had Martin in the band and started focusing on The Rack instead.
MORBIDZINE: On God Cries, the band was consisting of two members. Did you face any difficulties while working on this album?
BOB: No, it was very easy.
MORBIDZINE: What were the reasons that led the band to stop after On the Wings of Inferno?
BOB: Eric decided to call it a day and lost all his motivation. Also, the feeling got lost quite a bit.
MORBIDZINE: Asphyx has worked with many different vocalists on albums. Did this cause any balance difficulties in the band?
BOB: Not really. We got away with it quite easily each time. It was just the way it was.
MORBIDZINE: How do you characterize the band’s musical progression from the first album till today?
BOB: None. Just doing the same thing we always did — and that will never change.
MORBIDZINE: If it isn’t inconvenient, I want to ask about Theo. His death was sudden and afflictive. How did this event affect the band?
BOB: We had already split up after God Cries, but still it was a huge shock nonetheless. Eric and I went to his funeral and that was heavy.
MORBIDZINE: What can you say about the rumors of Theo’s suicide?
BOB: Nothing...
MORBIDZINE: Which bands or musicians do you mostly listen to? Can you give us some specific examples?
BOB: Well, Majesty, Celtic Frost, Venom, Necrovore, Slaughter, Necrophagia, Messiah, Infernäl Mäjesty, Hellhammer, Bathory, Grave, etc. They all mean much to me and to Asphyx.
MORBIDZINE: Now, a question apart from music — which alcoholic drinks do you mostly enjoy? Beer, vodka, whiskey, etc.? And have you ever tried Turkish Rakı? :)
BOB: Desperado – Mexican beer. I’ve never tried Turkish Rakı, however — it sounds quite strong, right?
MORBIDZINE: Thank you so much for your time, Bob. If the conditions allow, we hope to see Asphyx in Turkey for some gigs. Would you like to send a final message to the fans?
BOB: Yes! It would be great to play in Turkey! Support real Death Metal and remember — Death... the Brutal Way. Cheers!