Brad Buldak is a death metal lifer if there ever was one. Hot off the release of a split with Ruin, we sat down with the Morgue/Absconder frontman to discuss his work, past and present, and the enduring strength of death metal.
When did you first get into metal?
Well I grew up in a big family. I have 5 older brothers, all of whom were very into buying music, going to concerts, buying magazines and shirts and shit, so it was very early on in my life. I remember listening to 8-tracks of Van Halen’s first album, Judas Priest’s Hell Bent for Leather, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, UFO, Robin Trower, Ted Nugent, etc. in the late 70s. At that time, having 5 older brothers was a godsend for me. Who knows if I would have ever heard that shit if not for them.
From there, when did you first discover death metal?
Hmmmm…well my brothers started taking me to arena shows and bigger club shows around 83/84. I would get fliers from people at those and was always reading about bands in the Illinois Entertainer or hear shit on RPM (Real Precious Metal, a Chicago radio show). I also was spending all of my paper route money in the import section of Crow’s Nest records and always standing in their magazine section reading Kerrang, so I just started hearing about these bands who were called death metal. Obviously it was just a progression of the releases of that time where the thrash stuff was getting more and more agressive and heavy. By then you had Terminal Death, Master, Death Strike, Devastation locally and shit like Death, Possessed, Massacre, etc. releasing shit. Once I was 16 and had a license, I would try to get to any and all all ages shows I could, so I found more bands that way. Around that time, I went to a show where I bought a zine called Thornado from this dude Mark Kadzielawa. That’s when I started doing my zine, Grimm Death, which introduced me to so many more death metal bands, which then got me to meet my first tap trader buddy, Jeff Johns. By then, I was getting all sorts of rehearsals, demos, live shows of the super early death metal demo bands.
After a couple demos with your band, Morgue, you put out Eroded Thoughts (1993). While it’s praised for being a classic exercise in pure death (and rightfully so), I don’t think it gets enough credit from a musical standpoint. I always felt Morgue’s musicianship rivaled some of the best technical acts of the time. One should look no further than “Severe Psychopathology / Personality Conflict”. How did that/those song(s) come to be? The segue into “Personality Conflict” reminds me of the intro to Ozzy Osbourne’s “Diary of a Madman”.
Yeah we were a well rehearsed band and I’d say everyone but me were very technically proficient on their instruments by the time we recorded. Ted (Vantilburg) was always the best drummer I knew growing up. Darrel (Moore) was the first guy I ever jammed with and was very, very much from the Randy Rhoads school of guitar playing. Ryan (Jerzak) was giving guitar lessons at age 15 I think and still maybe the most gifted musician I ever played with. I always felt my strongpoint then was helping with arrangement of the riffs. Maybe I would have a title or vocal idea and scramble the riffs a bit differently. I don’t know, but I just recently did a play though of the album on my bass for the first time in about 20 years. To say my arms and fingers were sore after would be an understatement. I don’t know back then it was considered technical, but looking back on it or comparing it to modern tech metal, it’s laughable. It is what it is though. We put a lot of time in rehearsing those days, that’s for sure.
Morgue opened for Autopsy on the Acts of the Unspeakable tour alongside Incantation and Vital Remains. How did that happen and do you have any memorable stories from that tour?
Hahaha, just like I said to Christ (Reifert) in the minute I got to chat with him at that last Autopsy show in Chicago: “It was the best of times and it was the worst of times.” Yeah it all came about through our label who knew a guy who had started a booking company. This “agency” put together a full US tour for the package of Autopsy/Incantation/Vital Remains/Morgue. Prior to this, we had already done a mini tour with Vital Remains, I knew Incantation through buying a demo from John (McEntee) at either Milwaukee Metal Fest 3 or Michigan Death Fest and writing to him, and did an interview with Chris from Autopsy for my zine Grimm Death prior. As a bunch of young dudes getting to tour with some of our favorite bands ever, for Morgue it was a dream come true. But the tour routing was horrible, the pay was bad, and the booking agent failed to tell us that he had pocketed some percent of guarantees up front. The pay was so bad that after the first half of the tour, Incantation said “Fuck, we’re going home because we’re worried we won’t make enough to even get home from California.” So yeah, it was real bad. Some turnouts were horrible, others were great, and it was Autopsy’s first FULL US tour mind you. They didn’t do full US tours for Severed Survival or Mental Funeral. More so than anything, THEY deserved better. On a side note, it’s why I’m so happy those dudes finally started back up and pulling killer turnouts. They are the kings in my book and deserve every bit of it.
There’s plenty of memorable stories, but too many. Some would include our van getting side swiped 20 minutes after parking out front of the club for the first night of the tour in NYC and getting the rear view mirror ripped off and the guy not even slowing down or stopping. Someone got hit in the face with a baseball bat outside of the Cleveland show when we were loading out/driving away. There were killer crowds and shows in Rhode Island, Cleveland, Chicago, LA. Divine Eve and Absu each opened a show in Texas. We had an awesome shaving/whipped cream fight with the other bands at a gas station/rest stop somewhere near the deserts. In Arizona, we got pulled over and the cops literally searched our whole van finding only Jeff Gruslin’s mic stand, some pornos, Larry’s cigarettes smashed everywhere, and super smelly clothes. At the end of the tour, we did a whipped cream attack on Autopsy in San Francisco at the Stone. Getting to play places like that, Hong Kong Cafe, Joe’s Garage, Flashes, etc that are all legendary clubs (R.I.P.). Getting to sweat it out with some of my best friends in a crazy time of touring where there was no computers, laptops, cellphones: just an atlas, payphone, calling cards and an xeroxed tour itinerary to guide you. We got to see the entire country in a matter of a little under 2 months. Fuck, I could go on and on. It was the best of times and the worst of times!
A couple years later, Morgue broke up. Why?
A lot of reasons. The booking agent did another run for us that was even worse. There were more lineup changes, changes in ideas of what we wanted the next album to be like, issues with the label. It was just time rather than drag the name through the mud. It was a place and time.
It seems every classic death metal band eventually reunites for one last hurrah. Has there ever been talk or consideration of a Morgue reunion?
Ha, yeah. It had been talked about a time or two, but there’s several reasons why not. First, there were a lot of different people in Morgue over the years and if anyone was left out, it wouldn’t be right. Second, it was a time and place. It was fun, but no one wants to see a bunch of old farts play those songs. It’s just a nostalgia trip. We have been offered, but I’m not into the whole return coat thing. We all have moved on and play in bands we like to play in. I mended most all of my fences with all my ex bandmates, so let sleeping dogs lie.
In the 25 years since Morgue broke up, you’ve gained cult status among a new generation of death metal bands. How does it feel to be recognized by these bands? Who are your favorites of the new guard?
I’m not gonna say it’s not totally flattering, but bands are bands. To me, we’re all contemporaries. Just because we’re old doesn’t make us any better or worse than the younger bands. Death metal is meant to be underground and stay underground for me. So yeah, it rules when newer bands I listen to are like, “Yeah, I really like Morgue or Absconder.” In the grand scheme of things, you’re talking about a music that maybe tens of thousands of people really dig. It’s not like it’s Circus magazine and played on the Loop.
To me, this is a pretty cool time band wise. I’m not saying every new band out there rips, but there’s a lot more to like that has come out in the last 10 years than say the 10 before that.
In recent years, you’ve been making music with Absconder. When did the idea for this band first come about?
Well my ex wife and I had just had our second child and in early 2009, my friend Mark (Baldwin) said, “Hey, I got these songs and I’d like you to sing on them.” At first I was like well, let me hear them. If I dig them, sure why not. If I don’t though, I’m gonna pass. He sent the songs and I was floored. Then he was like, “Look, me and this other guitarist Matt (Filippo) (another mutual fried I already knew) practice literally down the street from your house. How about we find a drummer and practice once a week and do it.” Well I already knew a drummer. I had just went and saw Josh Aliva’s band, Leproso, play and loved them and his style of drumming. I told Josh, “Hey, this won’t interfere with Leproso because I have kids and can only jam once a week. It’s just gonna be for fun, no pressure, no plans. Check these songs out.” He heard them and loved them too, so we started jamming. It was more as just a fun outlet than anything serious. Things just went from there really. We were never looking for labels or shows or anything, but Dylan from Headsplit Records dug it and was like, “Can I put this out” pretty early (I think it’s release number 11 on Headsplit).
And then we got asked to play some coo shows. Eventually everyone got good jobs, got married I got divorced. Josh moved away, but we still stay in contact. Mark and I just write and record in his basement. He lives two blocks from me, but there’s no plans, no pressure, no agenda. We just do what we like and luckily have some good dudes like Dylan at Headsplit and Aaron at Goat Throne who like our shit enough to release it. Josh and Matt are still very much a part of Absconder if we ever play live and are welcome to input, but we just do what works for us when it’s convenient.
Absconder has released a string of demos and splits over the years. Most recently, you put out a split with Ruin. I’m surprised that pairing hasn’t happened already. How long have you known those guys?
I can’t say exactly when I met Mike. Maybe a Central Illinois Metalfest, maybe online, maybe a tour stop of the Cardiac Arrest/Gravehill/Hod tour, but I’m pretty sure it was through Cardiac Arrest playing a lot with Gravehill at the time. Mike and I like a lot of the same shit so it just made sense to do a split with Ruin. I think we pair well with them and it was cool to do. The CD version will come out this summer.
Finally, are there any plans for an Absconder full length or do you prefer sticking with shorter releases?
There’s no plans for a full length. If one does happen it happens, but I’m a short attention span guy. We have a LOT of unreleased material. Fuck, we could have a debut triple album if we wanted to do that. Mark doesn’t get enough credit. He is a songwriting machine, but we like being able to do things at our own pace you know. So we’re hoping to do a split 7 inch with Cemetarian from Texas (GODS!) and a split with Molder (ALSO GODS!) and maybe one other tape/demo/EP release this year. Maybe we will make some more shirts at some point, update our Bandcamp, and get our shit on streaming sites. Who knows? It’s all just whatever works for us. We’re not out to conquer the world, just make and release music we like if someone awesome like Dylan or Arron want to.
Thank you for taking the time to talk!
Thank you Joe for your interest in the underground in general and your website. Cheers to you maniac!