Interview with Static Abyss (Chris Reifert)
Can you tell us a bit about how the idea of giving life to Static Abyss came to your mind?
The whole thing was Greg’s idea. It was during the peak of the pandemic and he as a recording engineer was unable to have bands in his studio, so…he was able to set up and record at one of my favorite venues in San Francisco called The Great American Music Hall and perform his wizardry from a safe distance from other humans. One day he asked me if I was interested in recording some noise with him there and without even thinking about it, I said “fuck yeah!” or something like that. Funny thing was, I asked him what the project was going to be and he said he didn’t know and I still said “fuck yeah!” or something like that. It was really cool though. We got together and put songs together on the spot and he recorded them one by one. We had no idea of how things would turn out but next thing we knew, we had banged out an album’s worth of craziness!
How was the work at Earhammer Studios in Oakland, CA , with engineering, mixing and mastering overseen by Greg himself?
Easy as always. We had worked together since years before with Violation Wound, Autopsy, Siege Of Power and other assorted sessions, so we knew exactly how it was going to go down. Super laid back, fun, and SICK!
Which topics have you been exploring in the lyrics of Aborted From Reality?
Nothing myself, Greg or anybody else can understand. Static Abyss is a very strange world and there’s no way I can explain it rationally. I’d say read the lyrics and decide for yourself. Then get ready to call a psychiatrist and have them try to make sense of it all.
Can you tell us something about the eerie artwork of the album?
All Things Rotten did it, just like the last one. I think it might be nighttime somewhere else on that world but I can’t be sure. I just know if you want to go there for a vacation, you should think twice about it. Hawaii would probably be much more peaceful and less fucked.
Which are, in your opinion, the main differences between your last album and Labyrinth of Veins?
The two albums are pretty similar but also not. We have an established style but there are surprises here and there. All in all it’s HEAVY shit and it wants to destroy your mind.
How would you describe a Static Abyss release both to an old Autopsy fan and to a new one?
Again, heavy…also weird, sick, fast, fucked up, slow, twisted, nightmarish, brutal and bizarre.
How do you work when it comes to composing, rehearsing and eventually recording a Static Abyss song?
No rehearsing. That’s the beauty of it. Greg throws riffs at me and I figure out what to do with them and eventually a song is formed. As soon as the song is a coherant entity it gets recorded. Then onto the next one…
Aborted From Reality will be available in multiple physical formats, which are your thoughts about this way of releasing music in this digital era?
I love physical formats personally. I don’t listen to music online at all.
Are you now just focused on the promotion of the album or are you already working on new material?
The corpse of the new album is barely cooling off and on top of that, Autopsy just recorded a new album so we’re not thinking of Static Abyss Volume Three just yet. However, I could easily see it happening when the right window of time shatters into fragments of unreality.
May we expect something on the live side from Static Abyss? Hope to see you guys in Italy, which final message and greeting would you send out to your italian fans?
No plans of live activities at the moment. Static Abyss will most likely remain a studio only band but then again, weirder shit has happened in life and the future is unwritten. Cheers to all the Italian maniacs out there! Thanks for your support. Now treat yourselves to a beer, coffee, gelato or whatever it is you like. See you in the Abyss!
Support this great band HERE!