By Carrie Gibson

The Horseman of Epoch-o’-Bliss

Pestilence guitarist and vocalist Patrick Mameli spoke of his career as if 25 years were 25 minutes. Which is impressive, considering how much there is to talk about. Now, to get you acquainted, take yourself back to the ’80s, if you can. No, not the fluorescent, double denim, MTV-sporting part; I’m talking about the decade in which HEAVY METAL was born, a prodigious period in which the genre morphed and evolved.

The year was 1986, and a young Danish metal band going by the moniker Pestilence made a daring leap from the prevalent thrash metal market to a trailblazing new style baptised as… death metal.

Genre inspirations were extensive and varied, which made Patrick’s stated inspiration all the more surprising and intriguing.

“As a kid, I found this band, The Osmonds, and this song called Crazy Horses,” Patrick espouses. “I was probably four or five years old, just noodling on a guitar.

“I became fascinated with this music from a very young age. I knew I had to become a musician. I wasn’t interested in school – it was music that made me happy.

“Now approaching 57, it still makes me happy,” Patrick enthuses. “I still love everything about it. The composition, the creativity and, of course, performing live.”

And so, with some crazy horsepower driving this engine, Patrick set out to fuel a style that continues to drive Pestilence today.

When you are The First at something, you have the authority to colour outside the lines. Before long, the market was awash with death metal denizens, swiftly turning the unique into the saturated. Bands popped up like weeds, and the market became incredibly competitive. The incursion of Possessed, Death, and Morbid Angel—underpinning the Floridian Death Metal movement—opened the floodgates to a tidal wave of bands from the US.

Meanwhile, Pestilence was forging the Scandinavian heavy metal market, casting a shadow over Europe with help from a then-fledgling record label called… Roadrunner Records. Pestilence found itself at an incredibly opportune time within heavy metal and grabbed it by the horns.

“I was 16 years old with a record label,” Patrick comments. “It was a chaotic journey. This business is not all beer and skittles.”

In 1991, Pestilence gained ground in Europe and saw significant success with its third release—Testimony of the Ancients—which became the cornerstone of their sound. It was a bold stride in a different direction.

“For us, making this album was a triumph. There is a level of sophistication there that cannot be replicated.”

The artists emerging at this fertile time were visionaries, innovators, and experimenters, people with whom inspiration and motivation can ping back and forth. In a bold bid to stand out, Patrick floors me with his second unexpected revelation this interview: the calculated decision to refrain from listening to any style of heavy metal… Ever.

“When I realised this need to sound different, I stopped listening to heavy music,” he confirms. “I get my inspiration from nature, not through offshoots of other styles or a hybrid of other bands’ sounds.”

Referring to this as a “soup of death metal”, Patrick listened to anything but metal, instead indulging in a rich listening diet including jazz and electronic music.

“These subcultures have a completely different perspective on how music is produced”, Patrick exclaimed. “When you play music like we do, you work within certain dynamics – distorted guitars, lower than low, at the same frequency of the bass, and faster and faster.”

Patrick sought different dynamics for Pestilence.

“But the birth of death metal was a very exciting time,” Patrick reflects. “This was at the height of tape trading, and the music coming out of the States was like a portal had just been ripped open, and this brand new world was there for the taking.

“I loved this time in my life, and I feel blessed that I grew up when I did,” Patrick continues. “I looked up to the bands leading the way and knew I had to be a part of it. The journey taught me to understand this style and what our music meant.

“Musicians and fans alike, we took this journey together. It has its ups and downs, but it is everlasting. Metal is timeless.”

The Pestilence Consvming Avstralia Tour rolls into The Baso on Friday, 8 November. They are joined by the genre-defying technical wizards Alarum and the ferocious death metal force from Wollongong, Gosika. Tix are $71.40 via Oztix.