Diazepam Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?
Mike: We are Diazepam, a sludge band from Lewiston Idaho. We have been around for a few years now and have recorded two demos, a split CD with Pressor and Soom, and now have just released an album called Chemical Justice. The album can be streamed for free on http://diazepam.bandcamp.com or purchased for a $5 download. Other format release details coming soon.

2.Recently you have released an album, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?
Mike: I would describe it as heavy and extreme, while still retaining a certain stoner sound. Chemical Justice is bad trip music.

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
Our lyrics are about evil, hate, depression, drug addiction, anger… stuff like that.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Diazepam'?
Diazepam is a chronically over prescribed drug, Valium. Diazepam can be viewed as one of the drugs that are in the center of our society being a society of drug users and addicts, whether legally or illegally. This societal drug addiction is something we look at through our music. Beyond that, we thought it was a cool sounding word, and there weren’t already a million other bands using the name.

5.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?
We have had the pleasure of playing with some bands we love, like MDC and Today is the Day, which were a blast. Shows we play with local bands like Rasputin or East Sherman are awesome too.
Our stage performance consists of me playing drums, Matt and Freddie playing guitar and Drew singing while acting like a lunatic. Drew really gets into it and goes into the audience and stuff. It’s hard to describe. You’ll have to just see it some time.

6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
I think we have a local show coming up at the end of next month. No tour plans right now. We don’t play tons of shows because we live out in the middle of nowhere. We try to play live once every month or two, usually in Spokane Washington.

7.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?
Well, originally a label was going to release Chemical Justice but that fell through, so we decided to just put it out ourselves. I think Overkill Records is going to do a cassette release, and we’re going to do on LP. Maybe CD too. If a label came along asking we might do it through them, but we aren’t out there looking really.

8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of sludge and doom metal?
Feedback has been good! People are listening to Diazepam all over the world and the response has been excellent.

9.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
We have been working on some new stuff in a lower tuning. The new riffs are really heavy and direct. It’s sounding pretty cool so far.

10.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
We are influenced by Black Sabbath, Saint Vitus, Eyehategod, Corrupted, the first Iron Monkey album, Bongzilla, Autopsy and many, many others.
I’ve been listening to the New Saturnalia Temple album. Great band! I’ve actually been listening to Seige’s Drop Dead album a lot lately too. Just a lot of random stuff. I listen to a lot of death metal and I really like the most recent Vanhelgd album (and all their stuff).

11.What are some of your non musical interests?
As a band our interests vary, but include pipe smoking, dogs, guns, art, women, tattoos, etc.

12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Thanks for doing this interview! Fans of heavy sludge/doom stuff can check us out at http://diazepam.bandcamp.com