In this Thrashville special, we talk to vocalist Jordan James Phillip and guitarist Jake Wilkes from brutal Queensland death metal act, Disentomb.
Metal-Roos: Being in the metal scene since 2009, when did you guys first hear of Thrashville, and how long have you been wanting to play here for?
Jake: This is our first time. I only heard of it a year or two ago, and I saw that King Parrot were playing it. I was talking to the King Parrot dudes, and they said it was an awesome time.
Jordan: I think seeing King Parrot play here exposed this festival to other extreme metal bands.
Metal-Roos: What do you reckon the rough percentages of open air shows to indoor shows you’ve done have been like, since you first started as a band?
Jake: It’s probably 98% indoor. I could probably count on two hands the amount of times we’ve played outdoor stages, but it’s always a good time.
Jordan: We’ve played at Blacken Festival near Alice Springs twice. That was a really cool experience. Thrashville reminds me of that. It’s always cool seeing the mix of people that come out to these types of festivals. It’s a really good opportunity for us to expose the obscure music that we play to different crowds.
Metal-Roos: With a few albums under your belt now, along with a few international shows tours, there surely was a time back in the day for Disentomb when you guys were seeing each other all the time, the minds were melding and the sound was coming together. Now you guys can step back from that, with songs in the inventory that are ready to go?
Jordan: We were talking about this yesterday. When we were in university, we used to meet up and jam for 12 hours at a time, then take breaks, hang out and play handball in the jam room. For those first few years, we really spent a lot of time writing obviously, but also coming up with the sound that we wanted. So, you’re 100% correct.
Metal-Roos: Some real highlights I was discovering from you guys went back to 2016, when you toured with The Black Dahlia Murder, and in 2018, when you toured with Aborted and Psycroptic. How did you guys react to getting those offers?
Jordan: That Black Dahlia tour was, I think, 48 shows in 51 days. That was a six week tour across the US, and we were still a pretty underground band. With the style of music we play, we’re always gonna be pretty underground, but I think that tour really helped to raise our profile. We got exposed to how big those shows were, and so many new people who probably hadn’t heard our style of death metal before. That really set us up. Then when we returned in 2018, we definitely saw the fruits of all the labour we had put in.
Metal-Roos: That was, of course, before we lost dear Trevor [Strnad, late Black Dahlia frontman, who died in 2022].
Jordan: Many, many years before that. He was an absolute legend. I think it was Trevor that helped us get onto that tour. He was a fan of our first album. I remember finding that out in 2011 that he was a fan, and it blew my mind. We chatted here and there, and he actually featured on one of our tracks on the second album, Misery, that we did back in 2014 [‘Forced Adornment of the Funerary Crown’]. He got us on that tour, and it really helped us out. Rest in peace for that legend.
Metal-Roos: You guys have been signed to the American label Unique Leader Records since 2019. There have been some big names on the label, like Brand Of Sacrifice, Rings Of Saturn, Party Cannon and your mates in Psycroptic as well. How did your lives change after you were signed to Unique Leader? Did the opportunities get bigger and better for Disentomb?
Jordan: I think they pretty much stayed the same. Before we were on any label with international recognition, we were still doing big tours and touring overseas. Obviously going down the route with Unique Leader got our music out there to more people, but things didn’t change too much. We’re still putting ourselves out there a fair bit. It’s a bit of a DIY ethic, I think. We’re not relying on anyone else, just doing it.
Metal-Roos: What’s coming up next for Disentomb? Some more recordings or festival slots?
Jake: We’ve got the next album fully written, we just need to get it recorded and released. Then we’ll hopefully get back on the road and overseas.
Jordan: Our next album, Inverted Salvation, is going to be out next year, and it’s going to be sick. I know every band says it, but it’s definitely our most accomplished work so far. Probably our most brutal as well. We’re super stoked for people to hear it.
Metal-Roos: Let’s get these guys endorsed by some big guitar companies!
Jordan: If anyone from Kia Australia is watching, we would love to have a Kia Carnival endorsement. They’re a fantastic car with a great safety rating and a fantastic amount of boot space. If anyone from the band Karnivool can get in touch with Disentomb, I’d love to set up some sort of multi-collaboration between Kia, IKEA and Karnivool. I just think we could get something really multifaceted but mutually beneficial for all parties.
