Terror Fest Interview: Agoraphobic Nosebleed
By Kevin Curtin, Fri., June 15, 2018
Agoraphobic Nosebleed has never played Austin. The East Coast grindcore project sprung from the cranium of bedroom-metal-Beethoven Scott Hull in 1994 and existed as a fascinating genre staple for two decades before staging its first proper concert at Maryland Deathfest 2015.
"Scott finally found a way, technologically, to have the drums come across live the way he wanted them to," explains co-vocalist Richard Johnson.
Hull, known for his fretwork in Pig Destroyer and Anal Cunt, orchestrates ANb's often inhumanly fast and complex drum parts via computer. Johnson reveals the breakthrough as having each drum sound on a separate channel, and a PA onstage to push the results.
"Playing shows opens up a whole new element for the band," says Johnson, who screams alongside Jay Randall and Kat Katz.
Encapsulated by 2003's Altered States of America, which came on a 3-inch CD with 100 songs, ANb involves ridiculous tempos, micro lengths, and confounding themes. 2016's Arc EP thrived longer songs, doomier tones, and truly visceral emotion.
"It's just extremely personal," Johnson said of the latter, written and sung entirely by Katz. "She dug really deep."
The former says Saturday's set list at Barracuda samples all the group's recordings. He hopes it's an up-close-and-personal affair.
"For Kat and I, it's all about connecting with the audience," he says. "At the Housecore Horror Festival [in Satan-Tonio in 2015] there was a barrier and we couldn't see the audience. So I don't know if we reached them, which is what we always want to do."
