Crematorium

Album: Horrified (1989)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • While Matt Olivo and Scott Carlson did 75% of the songs on Horrified, "Crematorium" was a collaboration by Aaron Freeman and Scott Carlson.
    In Precious Metal: Decibel Presents the Stories Behind 25 Extreme Metal Masterpieces, Scott Carlson tells us that "Crematorium" was one of the few songs on the album written around the blast beat, as opposed to throwing it in as an afterthought. It is definitely one of the last three songs they wrote for Horrified, and in fact "Crematorium" was written only a couple of days before it was recorded.
  • As you listen to the drumbeats on this song, contemplate drummer Dave "Grave" Hollingshead's lament, also in the Precious Metal interview: "Well, Scott kept pushing me. Every practice: 'Could you, uh, play a little faster?' And as far as doing a one-two beat, like the classic Slayer thing, I hated going any faster because I couldn't double-time with my right hand, my hand on the ride, and it was like... cheating, until we got so fast it was, you know, ridiculous."
  • A common refrain heard in independent music is "keep circulating the tapes." Independent media, after all, always gets around by word-of-mouth and "bootleg" distribution at first. So after forming in 1985 and recording this album as a demo (originally titled Slaughter of the Innocent) in 1986, it didn't get produced for three years until circulating the demo through various friends (including Shane Embury of Napalm Death and Jeff Walker of Carcass) won them a signing. The band had already broken up and gone their separate ways when they got the news!

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Carol Kaye

Carol KayeSongwriter Interviews

A top session musician, Carol played on hundreds of hits by The Beach Boys, The Monkees, Frank Sinatra and many others.

Max Cavalera of Soulfly (ex-Sepultura)

Max Cavalera of Soulfly (ex-Sepultura)Songwriter Interviews

The Brazilian rocker sees pictures in his riffs. When he came up with one of his gnarliest songs, there was a riot going on.

Zac Hanson

Zac HansonSongwriter Interviews

Zac tells the story of Hanson's massive hit "MMMbop," and talks about how brotherly bonds effect their music.

Jack Blades of Night Ranger and Damn Yankees

Jack Blades of Night Ranger and Damn YankeesSongwriter Interviews

Revisit the awesome glory of Night Ranger and Damn Yankees: cheesily-acted videos, catchy guitar licks, long hair, and lyrics that are just plain relatable.

Alice Cooper

Alice CooperFact or Fiction

How well do you know this shock-rock harbinger who's been publicly executed hundreds of times?

Rob Halford of Judas Priest

Rob Halford of Judas PriestSongwriter Interviews

Rob Halford dives into some of his Judas Priest lyrics, talking about his most personal songs and the message behind "You've Got Another Thing Comin'."