ANATOMIA interview (2006)

One of the latest release of the mighty NECROHARMONIC label, a surprising band from Japan called ANATOMIA in totally AUTOPSY worship. Formed by two ex-TRANSGRESSOR, ANATOMIA can be considered as a fresh body that will soon decompose and putrefy very well. Putrefactive effect guaranteed, ah! ah!


-Hi Takashi! Please make an autopsy of ANATOMIA as the band is still unidentified!

First of all, thanx a lot for this killer interview!! I used to get many interviews before when TRANSGRESSOR existed but I haven't got any one lately so this is really great!! OK, let's start talking about how the band was started. It was early 2003 when me and Yoshio and Jun got together to start something new beside TRANSGRESSOR. At that time we were still under the name of TRANSGRESSOR (our old band existed from early '90 to 2002) but we decided to change the name to ANATOMIA. The reason was simply because we just wanted to start another band and thought it was a bit difficult to maintain the same band name and style which had existed for that long time. So the line-up was just the same as the last TRANSGRESSOR one and just the name was changed. That was the start of the band ANATOMIA and we all agreed to play old-school doomy early to mid '90 death metal.

-You and Yoshio came from TRANSGRESSOR, what are the mains differences between both bands? Can you give us the reasons that led TRANSGRESSOR to the split?

Musically I think ANATOMIA plays more simple and straight-up death metal with more AUTOPSY and DEATH influences mixed with some doomy parts. Lyrically we now deal more horror/doom/twisted sick materials compare to that of TRANSGRESSOR. Songs we have so far are just simple and straight but we're planning to have some more complicated and twisted ones in our future materials! We're also planning to have some keyboard parts! Regarding the band name, we discussed a lot whether we should continue TRANSGRESSOR or not. It was just hard for us to keep the same style, as mentioned above, with a different line-up. So we just ended up with changing the name and started all the things new!!

-Your style is in pure AUTOPSY worship with many doom parts heavy as fuck! What is attracting you in this music?

Yeah, we are playing straight-up pure old-school death metal with some doomy and catchy riffs that you would ever heard them before!! That's the style we really like and we really think that is the way it must be!! I think the straight and simple songs can give more influence or impact to the listeners and we can feel more power and do represent emotion of the sickness and twisted thoughts! I think playing just fast and heavy or playing way too technical are not really necessary in this type of music, or at least in the "true" underground death metal!!

-“Dissected humanity” is a mix of AUTOPSY and NECROPHAGIA “Holocausto de la morte” & “Black blood vomiturium” era. Do you agree with this comparison? Would you add more influences?

That's right! We're all influenced by bands like AUTOPSY, NECROPHAGIA, DERKETA, INCANTATION and those '90s pure old school death and thrash metal as well!! Maybe bands like ROTTREVORE, FUNEBRE, GRAVE, MACABRE, VOI VOD, SLAYER, KREATOR, CELTIC FROST, SEPULTURA, OBITUARY, MASSACRE, etc. could be added and those are our bands commonly we like since our youth!

-The sound of the CD is pretty good; not too much clean but really heavy. Is Yoshio Hasegawa the owner of the Morgue Studio? Did he record music for other bands?

No!!! Yoshio doesn't own any studio! We just used that name "Morgue" instead we used the real studio name because we hated the owner of the studio!! We recorded at the studio all the drum parts and some vocal parts and others were recorded at Yoshio's house by using the equipments that he owns. We spent more time at Yoshio's house so that's another reason! We could ask some professional engineer which way would cost more so we didn't. I think we will continue our recording works done by using Yoshio's equipments and the "Morgue Studio"! This is more fun and easier!!!

- How did you get in touch with Roy Fox and Necroharmonic? Do you like some stuff released by his label?

I used to write to Roy and traded some stuffs long time ago around '91-92 so we've known each other since then. I found his Web site Necroharmonic and first contacted him to buy off some stuffs so that was the first time I got back in touch with him!! I sent him our demo CD-R 2003 and he liked it so we started to talk about releasing the full-length album! Yeah, I really like all the bands and stuffs on Necroharmonic! It’s a total underground label dealing a variety of death/grind/black/metal musick! I like all Necroharmonic bands like AUTOPSY, DERKETA, ROTTREVORE, Dr. Shrinker, ABSCESS, FUNEBRARUM, MUCUPURURENT, FATAL, GOREMENT, DISCIPLES OF MOCKERY, CORPSE MOLESTATION, BLOOD STORM, DRIPPING, and tons of more great releases are coming out on the way!!!

-I like the cover of “Dissected humanity”: a macabre black and white drawing representing a naked woman laying down next to entrails, skinned animals body parts…without any blood stain! It’s far from usual death/gore stuff. Is there any meaning?

One of our good friends "Eiichi" did the artwork for us again. He did the cover for the TRANSGRESSOR CD "Recollected Limbs" too. We all like his artworks because it’s got more originality and its in the way more old-school. We wanted to express our thought that this type of music has to be more analogue and human-like rather than relying too much on the today's computer works!! We all hate the computerized music around today!! We gave him the concept for the album and he drew that one for us! That's another great cover art again!! I think we'll continue to ask him for the future covers!!

-On your website, I saw that you play many gigs in Japan. How were the gigs with NUNSLAUGHTER? Any plans for USA? Europe?

Yes we play many gigs in Tokyo and even outside of Tokyo lately. We've played twice last year at the area called "Aomori" which is located far north from Tokyo about 10 hours drive!! Also we went down south to Osaka and Nagoya. Playing gigs are really fun!! Yeah, that gig with NUNSLAUGHTER was just great! Many people came up and met old friends there!! Great time! We really hope someday we'll play outside of Japan like touring the U.S. and Europe... We don't have any plan yet for now though...

-When talking of Japan metal scene, some names come to my mind: DEFILED, SABBAT, METALUCIFER, INTESTINE BAALISM, VOMIT REMNANTS, ZOMBIE RITUAL… Do you like some of the bands mentioned? Some bands to recommend?

Yeah I like all bands you mentioned above. I think there are so many great Japanese bands today and the Japanese death metal/grind core scene is much bigger than before! I would recommend bands like COFFINS, BUTCHER ABC, GALLHAMMER, CATAPLEXY, DEADLY SPAWN, TASTE, VOMIT, MORQUIDO, REEXAMINE, BLOOD OF STEEL, DEATHCOUNT, FASTKILL, CHURCH OF MISERY, GRIDLOCK, GORE BEYOND NECROPSY, ETERNAL ELYSIUM, and lots of more grind death doom bands around here to mention!!

-Most of people who will read this interview are French (or European). How European scene is perceived in your country?

I really don't know well about the French death or doom metal scene today so please someone help me telling what bands to recommend!! Or maybe bands or anyone who read this interview must write to me and we'll trade our stuffs!!?? I think European scene is much more bigger than that of Japan needless to say because more and more people are into metal! Compared to that, Japanese people mostly tend to listen pop music or some wimpy dance and rap music!! That really sucks!! When I visited Wacken Metal Fest 2 years ago, I thought and felt that difference! Everything about metal is bigger in Europe than that in Japan.

-If you’ll have the opportunity to create your metal fest, what would be the bands involved?

Well, that's a difficult question! I think there are many good bands around the world whom I would be interested in asking to play at my metal fest!! I would definitely ask bands like GRAVE, ENTOMBED, ABSCESS, INCANTATION, NECROPHAGIA, DECEASED... but if all these bands get reformed; DISEMBOWELMENT, AUTOPSY, GOREAPHOBIA, DERKETA, ROTTREVORE, IMPETIGO, SHUB NIGURATH, CENOTAPH (Mexico), CARBONIZED, FUNEBRE, Dr. SHRINKER, POSSESSED, NUNSLAUGHTER, SADISTIC INTENT, CORPSE MOLESTATION, SUPURATION (France), VOI VOD, SLAUGHTER, etc. and lots of more friends and bands whom we ever played shows with before!!!!! Wow, this would be a lots of fun!!! I think we would be more interested in the underground and old bands existed around '90 although they must already be broken up...

-How is the everyday life of Takashi Tanaka? How people feel when talking with you? Did your girlfriend known she’s sleeping next to someone obsessed by death, murder and mutilation (in reference to the lyrics of “carnal mutilation)?

Well, I am aged 34 this year and working as a full-time worker so I'm comparatively just an ordinary person! Have no long hair anymore and wear business suit during the weekdays!!! A typical Japanese business man!! Ha ha ha! And I have my wife knows what our lyrics are talking about death, sickness, brutality, mutilation, etc. dealing a lot sick materials!! She hates horror stuffs so she only knows we deal that horrors but not the details of the lyrics! Only my older brother in my family understand the horror stuffs!!!

-All life ends! Thanks fucking much for your time Takashi! Keep playing your metal of death! I let you conclude.

Thanx a lot for this interview again!! I hope many more people get to know ANATOMIA and will buy our CD "Dissected Humanity" after reading this interview!!!! We will keep playing old school doomy death metal and will release more and more stuffs in the future so keep supporting!! Check out our web site too (http://www.geocities.jp/anatomia_jp/)! I think we are one of the true underground death metal bands so we'll keep crushing new school shits!! Keep listening and supporting underground old death!! All life ends in every different ways!!