This week, we’re shining the Meet The Band spotlight on Daeva. The trio was formed by Crypt Sermon guitarist Steve Jansson and also includes vocalist Ed Gonet and drummer Justin Bean. Their debut EP is Pulsing Dark Absorptions. Jansson introduces us to his band.
Chad Bowar: Give us a brief history of Daeva.
Steve Jansson: I’ve wanted to do a project like Daeva for years now, but just never got around to doing it until last year. I have an affinity for really aggressive, dark and relentless black thrash and always felt that there were only a few bands really hitting the mark while the majority of the others were just low-rent Motorhead/Venom clones with harsh vocals. The drummer, Justin, and I were in a death metal project together for a while and wanted to do something more relentless. The vocalist, Ed, I’ve known for many years now and I knew he would be perfect for the job.
Describe the songwriting and recording process for Pulsing Dark Absorptions.
I wrote all of the riffs and general song structures at home by myself and then would get together with Justin and show him. We would make some minor adjustments as needed but everything was pretty much brought to practice finished. It was really quite simple and smooth. As far as the vocals and lyrics, we all contributed lyrics but Ed did most of his vocals for the first time ever when we recorded.
What will be your strongest memory of the recording of the album?
Tracking the drums and guitars was really fun for this because we didn’t use a click track because we wanted to keep it as unhinged and frenzied as possible. We were very well rehearsed and tight for this, so there was no need to edit or any of that bullshit. I plugged in direct and just played the songs with Justin just like we practiced them and he crushed it. The guitars took me no time at all. Recording bass, on the other hand, was a completely different story. I loosely wrote some lines but was rather unprepared and it took me a little longer than we all would have liked. I was tracking them in a hot basement on the hottest day of the year. It took me forever and we were all in complete hell.
I initially began tracking vocals myself for this, but after two songs I threw in the towel because I just was not happy with how my voice was sounding over the material. At this point, I got a hold of Ed and asked him if he would be interested in doing some vocals over some material I had and he jumped on right away. We took a break, sent him all of the songs and lyrics and gave him some time to prepare as well as write some of his own lyrics. He showed up a few weeks later to track and crushed the entire EP in like an hour and a half. It was amazing and I’m extremely happy that I backed out of doing vocals myself.
How would you characterize the album’s style/sound?
Relentless black thrash assault from hell!
How did you decide on Mayhem’s “Deathcrush” to cover, and how did you approach your arrangement vs the original?
We didn’t really put much thought into this at all, actually. I can’t remember how he chose this song specifically but it just felt right. We didn’t rehearse it or even play it together before going to record. We just listened on our own, showed up and it got it done. The only thing different from the original are tighter drums and a less brutal bass sound.
What inspired the album title?
Ed came up with the song title and I thought it would be a killer name for the EP as well.
How did you come to sign with 20 Buck Spin?
They were one of the handful of labels that I had shipped it off to and Dave got back to me with a very fair, decent deal with zero pressure. I also liked the idea of being on a label that didn’t exclusively deal with “extreme” bands so that we didn’t get lost in the fog of it all.
What has the response to the album been like so far?
So far, so good. It hasn’t “officially” been released yet so I haven’t seen many reviews or anything like that. I guess it is still too early to tell but people have seemed to like it from what I can tell.
Do you have plans to do any live shows?
Yeah, here and there if we get the right offers. We’ve had some good ones already, so its definitely something that will happen.
Is a full-length in the works?
Yes.
How did you get started in music?
I started playing guitar when I was around 12. It was after hearing Ozzy Osbourne and Metallica that I knew that I had no other choice.
What drew you to heavy metal?
I could come up with this huge and elaborate answer but I was just always drawn to it. I’ve always identified with the escapist aspect of the music and how much freedom it allows.
Who were your early influences and inspirations?
Ozzy Osbourne and Metallica were and still are massive influences on me to this day. Those were my gateway bands.
When did you know you wanted to be a musician as your career?
I knew I wanted to do it as soon as I heard the bands mentioned above and after my first guitar lesson. That said, I’m not a career musician. I work a day job and while I often can’t stand it, it just makes me more hungry to write more music. I think that I definitely value my time and craft more because of it.
Seen any good movies/DVDs lately?
I watch a lot of movies, not all of them new. Some that kind to mind are In a Glass Cage (Spain) and The Tenderness of the Wolves (Germany).
What are some of your favorite albums released this year?
I admittedly have had a hard time keeping up this past year with everything that’s coming out. I love the 4 way split with Abigor, Nightbringer, Thy Darkened Shade and Mortuus. I liked that Lantern album along with Perturbator’s new EP and look forward to the new Desolate Shrine. I have a list of shit people have sent me or told me about that I just haven’t spent quality time with yet.
(interview published November 18, 2017)
