Uzala Interview

First of all, since Uzala is a new band, give us a short bio of the band so far.

Chad Remains – UZALA started in Spring of 2009 with Darcy and I deciding to drink a bottle of vodka and play music rather than go to an overpriced theater for more of the same Hollywood entertainment pablum. Darcy had a couple of songs she had been playing on acoustic guitar and I had some riffs in my back pocket. We stayed in the Bombshelter playing and drinking until the sun came up and we decided together that forming a band would be a worthy pursuit. We asked Stephen a week later to join us on drums and then went through several bass players. The lineup seemingly solidified when we played a MELVINS afterparty with ATRIARCH and Nick Phit volunteered his services as bass slayer for the recording of our debut full length. Tim “Hammerhands” Harris had sat in for several live gigs while Stephen was on tour with another band and he unwittingly helped us write Wardrums – so we felt it fitting to have him record that one with us as well. Stephen left the band to pursue other activities shortly after our first small tour and we are happy to welcome Chuck Watkins into our family. The lineup feels complete right now even though the history of such a short time seems convoluted. In summation, UZALA is Chad Remains – guitar and vocals, Darcy Nutt – guitar and vocals, Nick Phit – bass, and Chuck Watkins – drums.

As far as I know, “Uzala” is the Hunter in Russian, and most people know the word due to Vladimir Arsenyev’s 1923 book “Dersu Uzala” which was the basis of Akira Kurosawa’s 1975 film of the same name. Is that the story behind the band’s name?

CR – We had all kicked around a bunch of ideas for the name of the band, including some that are not worth mentioning in print. Suffice to say that Kurosawa’s film was indeed the inspiration for naming the band since we all loved it and found it to resonate deeply within us – the expansive and breathtaking imagery of the Siberian wilderness, the incredible beauty and unbearable sorrow of deep friendship, the harsh reality of nature’s cruelty and the insignificance of the individual in the world other than on a purely personal level. The film also shows a stark contrast between those who exist in harmony with their surroundings and live in peace and those who attempt to subjugate and control to satisfy their ego urge.


I have ‘labeled’ Uzala under the new wave of underground doom bands along with the Wounded Kings, Pallbearer etc. Do you place yourselves in any scene? And are there any other new bands that you feel you share the same vision?

CR – Being placed in such esteemed company is an incredible honor for us and we are happy to count these bands amongst our allies for as long as they will have us. Personally I have considered that what we play is traditional doom metal. I have been told by others smarter than myself that our other influences show through. Be that as it may we do not wish to pigeonhole ourselves too early as we wish to grow as our songwriting gets stronger and hopefully our skills are honed. I don’t feel qualified, however, to speak of any other artists’ vision or whether or not we share anything other than an aesthetic sensibility or stylistic similarities. The visions I see listening to another artists music may be entirely different than their intention and that is one of the wonderful and terrible pieces of the human condition and our disconnectedness.


The impressive cover artwork was made by Darcy if I’m not mistaken, and both she and you are tattoo artists. Can you give us a few details about the symbolisms hidden? Do we see a female augur or a Cernunnos druid? Are you guys into pagan/Celtic mysticism?

CR – It has been reported more than a few times that I am a tattooer, but I am making the world a more beautiful place by NOT TATTOOING motherfuckers! Darcy has more talent tattooing than anyone really has a right to have. There is no need for me to tattoo as well. Besides, I am so slow at drawing that I would probably be the most expensive tattooer in the world and hence unemployed.
The runes around the image of the quail eater on the vinyl cover are a simple transliteration of some of the lyrics from the missing track Cataract and the witch woman to me shows the inner beast hidden in beauty. Beauty is only a mask - even though it is very inviting it can hide a real threat.


Since my copy is on its way to my mailbox at the moment, I haven’t read any of the lyrics yet (apart from the “Gloomy Sunday” cover of course, we’ll talk about it later). So, what are the lyrical concepts of Uzala?

CR – Most of the lyrics are metaphorical and I think they are best left interpreted by the listener. Though I think it’s safe to say that most of my lyrical inspiration comes from War and Death and Darcy is more focused on Sorrow, Loss, and Sorcery. We do collaborate on lyrics though, so there is some cross-pollination of ideas as well.


What impressed me most on the album is the variety of directions your music draws. From the avant-gardism of “Batholith” to the proto-death of “Fracture” and “Wardrums” and from there to the threnody doom of “Ice Castle”. Is this due to a variety of influences trying to find their way into your music, or a result of endless experimenting?

CR – Batholith started out as just a guitar ditty that I thought would sit nicely between some “real” songs and I had worked out the entire arrangement by myself. When we got into the studio everyone had ideas flowing about lyrics, vocal melodies, bass parts, and on and on. At first I thought it would be a total nightmare since I was unwilling to let go of what I had created, but it ended up being one of my favorite pieces to record BECAUSE of all of the collaboration. Blake Green (producer) played the tremolo picked guitar and the feedback solos on that one and it really worked for me to have him share in creating this with us.
Fracture is an early one for us as it was written right along with The Reaping, Cataract, and Plague. The difference between the demo version and what we recorded for the LP is not just in distortion and velocity, but also the aggression and spite of it. The lyrics were inspired from Conan stories by Robert E. Howard and the music was very much inspired by Celtic Frost and Dark Throne. It’s anyone’s guess where Ice Castle came from… it’s still a mystery to me. It seems like one day we didn’t have Ice Castle and the next day we were working out the small details of it. It’s a strange one. We do try different arrangements when things don’t seem to be working quite right, but other times the song just seems to write itself – for example a new song which has only been played live, Burned. We have scrapped a couple of songs in our short existence as well, and we may do so again if the emotion isn’t there for us anymore.


“Cataract”. How can such an enormous song be ‘dropped’ as a cassette-only track? Personally, it’s my favorite Uzala track.

CR – We felt we had to make a tough decision with that one. We cut another song from the record as well just because of the time constraints of the medium. Sequencing the record in the right order was something we felt was just as important as making a setlist for a live gig. Cataract was cut in favor of making the sides of the vinyl flow properly and also we felt that since it was also on the demo that maybe that would be okay. But we’ve heard a lot of people say that they aren’t happy with that decision and that they want Cataract on vinyl! So we have chosen to do a 12” 45 rpm single from At War With False Noise that will feature Cataract on side A and Death Masque on side B. Both songs are from the same Visual Arts Collective recording session. It will be made in a special edition and we are working on the details as quickly as possible.


Tracks like “Plague” bring Earth (the band) to my mind in a strange way. Do you consider this band as part of your influences?

CR – Earth has been a MASSIVE influence on me since 1991 or 1992 when I first heard them. They have been a mainstay for Darcy and I for our entire time together. Earth was the first live show I took our daughter Freya to in Seattle. She was three at the time and Earth was just Dylan and Adrienne. We had pizza after the gig and they came in to the place to eat and Freya was FLOORED. I think she thought she was in the presence of the gods! For about six or eight months after that any music she heard she would judge by whether or not it was “as good as Earth”.
I even owned one of Dylan’s old SUNN 6x12” guitar cabinets for a time, so yeah… Earth is a big deal for us. I hope to hunt elk with Dylan one day like we’ve discussed in the past.


The cover of “Gloomy Sunday” is simply amazing. Why did you choose it and how was working with one of the saddest tunes ever and a song ‘bigger than life’? And why did you choose Desmond Carter’s over widely known Sam M. Lewis’s lyrics, was it because of the Diamanda Galas cover?

CR – Exactly. Listening to Diamanda Galas changed forever my perception of what can be done with the human voice. We were not trying to even touch what she had done with that song, but we wanted to make an attempt a guitar based arrangement of it to express our deep love for the tune. The Desmond Carter lyrics are gorgeous and in any version the song is in the status of a standard and I think it is important for bands to trace their roots in a deeper fashion than to just do a cover or two of songs that are popular only in the framework of their very specific genre. The myths and legends surrounding the song are also absolutely fascinating and it’s worthwhile to dig up all of the different lyric versions to explore how a song is crafted. The original lyrics are crushing and horrifying. It’s no wonder so many suicides leave some form of the song in their farewell notes or leave it playing on the phonograph next to their shuffled coil.


Uzala’s plans for the near future? Some touring or upcoming releases maybe?

CR - We are in the midst of planning our Western Lands Tour, which will stretch 21 cities in 22 days across 13 states. We have a few releases scheduled for later this year, including a 10” vinyl pressing from King of the Monsters and three split 7” vinyls including a very special one with our friends PALLBEARER – and a couple of surprises.