Extreme music in Taiwan might just be on life support, though despite the public’s disinterest un all things brutal, a select few are stirring up a new era of extreme in the heart of Asia. While vocalist Larry Wang (Gorepot, Fatuous Rump) can be pinpointed as an extreme savior, one must look to the musicians in the bands he fronts, such as brutal death metal act Emasculated Vituperation, to get a sense of the new, creative blood on the scene. Yuru Wei, guitarist and songwriter for EV, can be named a major driving force in this recent surge of Taiwanese aggression. I speak with him about EV, being the “frogman” vocalist in pornogrind act Lesbians Tribbing Squirt and his newest project, Ferocious Fetal Formulas.
You play in a few bands with Larry Wang. When did you initially meet him?
Currently, I have formed four bands with him. I first met Larry when I was 18 years old. At that time, I was actually paying attention to domestic and foreign SBDM bands and wanted to try to create this type of music. When I found there was a crazy boss named Larry in Taiwan, I quickly sent him the demo I had recorded, hoping to collaborate with Larry.
What is the writing process like with Larry with each project?
Larry’s music creation process is very simple. It’s all about efficiency. If we find any problems with arrangements or recording, we will correct them immediately.
You’re the frogman in Lesbians Tribbing Squirt. How did you approach doing vocals with Wang? Are frog vocals something he cannot do?
Larry mainly sings by exhaling while I sing by inhaling. The two voices are obviously different. We will allocate sections for the recording part. This is the latest album that I participated in but it has not been released yet. I am very much looking forward to the release of the new album. It’s crazy!
Murray Chen is also your partner in crime, drumming for Emasculated Vituperation and Ferocious Fetal Formulas. What is your history with him?
In the beginning, it was just me and Larry. At that time, Larry and Murray Matt were producing Abyss of Gehenna’s EP. Then Larry showed the demo I had recorded to Murray and Matt, and they decided to join. It was very sudden but I was also very lucky to meet such an excellent musician.
The cover art for Emasculated Vituperation’s Rape Trauma Syndrome is one of the more striking, brutal and memorable album covers to come out in quite a while, even compared to other brutal death metal band album art. Who came up with the concept? Is it based on anything that has happened in reality?
The cover was designed mainly because I very much like slasher films from the ’80s. I wanted to create a simple, violent horror and morbid theme without too many complicated ideas thrown in.
Purulent Menophilic Hematospermia recently came out in September. I imagine it was a challenge to top Rape Trauma Syndrome musically and thematically. What was your approach?
The overall arrangement speed is faster than that of the first album, making the music sound more hysterical, and then connecting to the slam riffs to give the music more emotional ups and downs. It even incorporates the pornogrind bridge, making the whole album sound wilder and more diverse.
Already being in Emasculated Vituperation, a new project emerged – Ferocious Fetal Formulas, with your first album coming out in September. What did you want to do differently here compared to Emasculated?
Compared to Emasculated Vituperation, Ferocious Fetal Formulas has more technical expressions and more melody lines. Of course, slam is indispensable.
All of these projects are extreme, from the art to the music to the song titles. How has the reception been to them in Taiwan?
The acceptance of this type of music in Taiwan is still very low. Regardless, will continue to promote this type of music. Even though metal music is a serious stereotype among Taiwanese, we will still stick to it because it is definitely a good form of music and culture.
All of these bands have ties with Indonesia via their Brutal Mind label. Is Indonesia more open to this type of music compared to Taiwan?
I think this is correct. There are many excellent and powerful bands in Indonesia, and there are also many people who support them. Compared with Indonesia, extreme metal still has a very weak presence in Taiwan.
Larry seems to unveil a new band or two every year. Are you working on any other projects with him that have yet to be revealed? If not, what are you working on with your current bands?
None at the moment. Currently, we are mainly continuing to plan the existing bands’ new album work and live performances.
How do you see the future of extreme music in Taiwan?
I remain optimistic about the future of extreme metal in Taiwan. Although the support for extreme metal in Taiwan is not as high as in Southeast Asia, Europe and the United States, as long as bands like us exist, we will continue to promote this type of music culture.
Purulent Menophilic Hematospermia | EMASCULATED VITUPERATION | Brutal Mind (bandcamp.com)
