Interview: Internal Bleeding
Is it the most slam-filled album we’ve done? Yes. Is it sonically dynamic and pummelling? Yes. Does it sound like Internal Bleeding? Hell yes, it does.
Settle All Scores, the crushing new album from Long Island, NY death metal crew Internal Bleeding sees the band return after seven years to unleash this long awaited follow up to the Corrupting Influence album, and it has been more than worth the wait for prime, razor sharp death metal with enough slamming grooves to satisfy any Internal Bleeding fanatic. To celebrate the return of the band and ahead of the release of the new album, which is out on October 17th on Maggot Stomp records, Gavin Brown caught up with Internal Bleeding guitarist Chris Pervelis to get the lowdown on Settle All Scores and talk about a whole host of topics including death metal, Long Island, hip hop and his albums of the year so far.
E&D: Your new album Settle All Scores is out soon. As this is your first album in seven years, do you feel reenergised to be back?
Chris: It certainly feels good to have another album coming out! Seven years is quite a long time to wait to get an album out, but when everyone has jobs, wives, and families and lives all over the country, it’s a lot tougher to get things out than when everyone is from the same town. I am glad it’s wrapped up and cannot wait to release it.
E&D: How has the death metal landscape changed since you brought out Corrupting Influence?
Chris: The most notable thing I have observed is the substantial influx of a younger generation of fans. When we were touring for Corrupting Influence, the general fanbase ranged from 22 to 40; now it has expanded, with a large swath of pre-20-year-olds coming to shows. This growth has made shows more dynamic and exciting, and I think it’s healthy not just for the band, but for the overall scene.
E&D: Was the creation of Settle All Scores a smooth experience?
Chris: We thought things were going smoothly, then Covid hit. During that time, Chris McCarthy (IB’s other guitar player) and I listened to everything we had written and decided to trash the entire thing. We took a half-album worth of songs and just threw them all away, save for a couple of riffs. The problem was that the material we wrote felt disjointed and pushed a little too far into the experimental territory. We felt as though we had accomplished our goal of expanding our sound, but we overextended it and forgot who we were and what we do. Once we figured out what went wrong with the initial writing sessions, things came together quite easily, and I enjoyed the entire process.
E&D: Have you still got plenty of scores to settle?
Chris: Plenty my friend. Plenty.
E&D: Is the title of the album also a testament to the resilience of the band and how you will never stop?
Chris: Never stop? Well, obviously, we’ll stop eventually. I am not sure when that will be, but when it happens, it will be at a time that I choose. That said, the album is more of a testament to the fact that no one can stop us. For years, many in the metal press and industry in general have tried unsuccessfully to pigeonhole us, write us off, or ignore us. Try as they might, we’re still here 30+ years later, and many of those who have criticised and tried to put us down are no longer around.
E&D: Do you feel that this is the most relentlessly brutal Internal Bleeding album to date?
Chris: Good question. I don’t know if ‘most relentlessly brutal’ is a term I would place on this album because that defines the album one-dimensionally. Is it the most slam-filled album we’ve done? Yes. Is it sonically dynamic and pummelling? Yes. Does it sound like Internal Bleeding? Hell yes, it does.
E&D: Your former vocalists Joe Marchese, Jay Lowe, and Frank Rini all feature on the album. How was it having those guys back on an Internal Bleeding album?
Chris: Having all these guys back on the new album was a thrill for me as well as the fellas in the band. The way I look at things is that Internal Bleeding has always been a family, and though we may have to go our separate ways, we may end things on a sour note, etc., we always manage to patch things up and keep the history of the band alive. I am sure the band has been an essential part of these guys’ lives, just as it is a part of mine, so being able to all be together on another album is quite simply priceless.
E&D: Sherwood Webber of Skinless and Mikey Petroski of Never EndingGame also provide guest vocals on the album, how was the experience of working with those guys?
Chris: Working with them was great. Sherwood is a real pro and knocked it out of the park immediately with almost no direction at all. Even better, he slipped some ‘secret messaging’ in his growls for us, which was very touching. I gather Mikey was a bit nervous doing something on a death metal record, but we let him have a lot of freedom and basically said, “go for it”. He wrote the lyrics for his parts, phrased them the way he wanted to, and they came out fantastic.
E&D: Who would you love to feature on an Internal Bleeding album in the future?
Chris: Well, in my fantasy world, Tony Iommi would do a guest solo on our next album, but more realistically, I’d like to get Ray Lebron from the Driven to Conquer album to do some guest vocals, as well as John Gallagher from Dying Fetus (we already had Jason Netherton on one album) and Travis Ryan from Cattle Decapitation. I think that’s a pretty good list.
E&D: As it is thirty years since the first Internal Bleeding album Voracious Contempt, have you got plans to celebrate this anniversary?
Chris: We celebrate the album by playing songs from it and releasing some special merchandise here and there, but we will never do a “30th Anniversary Tour” or something along those lines. There’s only so much I want to do to mark the milestone because it’s not fair to the guys in the band now who weren’t there to have to slog through a bunch of 30th Anniversary stuff. Besides, it’s 30 years in the past; I’d rather look forward than backward.
E&D: What newer death metal bands are killing it for you at the moment?
Chris: Man, there are many of them; the scene is incredibly vibrant now. Let’s see: Vomit Forth, Final Resting Place, Mutilatred, Sickbay, Molder, Bodybox, and Fuming Mouth are just some of the great bands out now. However, we cannot forget bands that have survived the slog and are still putting out strong material, such as Incantation, Immolation, and Morta Skuld; things are really picking up, and it’s very exciting.
E&D: What are your favourite venues for heavy music in Long Island?
Chris: There is only one place — AMH — Amityville Music Hall. The best place on Long Island for heavy music. They recently re-did the venue, and it looks — and more importantly — sounds fantastic.
E&D: Who are your favourite ever bands/artists from Long Island?
Chris: My favourite bands and artists from Long Island? That’s a long list my friend! Billy Joel, Public Enemy, Crumbsuckers, Suffocation, Pyrexia, Necrosis, Afterbirth, Welt, Blue Oyster Cult, Vanilla Fudge, De la Soul, Glassjaw, Neglect, EPMD, Vision of Disorder, Cross Fade, and so many more. Long Island has a wealth of great musicians!
E&D: How does Long Island and New York in general influence he music and mindset of Internal Bleeding?
Chris: Long Island is expensive, overcrowded, and filled with hustle and bustle. If you want to survive living here, you must be tough, resourceful, innovative, and determined. The reason we have survived this long is due to the environment in which our music was created. It’s sink or swim, and that shows in our recorded material and live performances; it’s relentless, driven, and determined to get you moving.
E&D: Have hip hop and hardcore always been an inspiration for Internal Bleeding in terms of your heavy grooves?
Chris: Always and forever; that’s what set us apart in the first place. I always like to say that Voracious Contempt was truly the first hip hop death metal album. Some may not like the fact that hip-hop influences us to such a high degree, but it does, and we make zero apologies for it.
E&D: What are some of the heaviest grooves you have ever heard in music?
Chris: I could go on for hours about this subject. My definition of ‘heavy groove’ may be different than yours, but some of the best grooves I have ever heard are on the first five Black Sabbath albums, anything featuring Eric B. and Rakim, the first three Public Enemy albums, The End of Silence from the Rollins Band, and most of the recorded work of Robert Johnson, which oddly enough doesn’t feature drums, but grooves like hell. Let’s throw in Charlie Parker and Mahavishnu Orchestra as well.
E&D: What is your favourite ever breakdown in extreme music?
Chris: Oh lord, that’s a near impossible question, but I’m going to say the opening section into the main riff in ‘Corpulent Carrion’ from Damonacy. It’s the perfect buildup that launches into an incredibly cool riff that pulls you in and makes your body move. It’s a world-class breakdown/riff.
E&D: What are some of your favourite hip hop artists and albums of all time?
Chris: My top 5: Eric B & Rakim: Paid in Full and Follow the Leader (tie), Public Enemy: It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back , Wu -Tang Clan: Enter the Wu-Tang , EPMD: Strictly Business, KRS-One: Self-Titled.
E&D: How have your recent live shows gone and how has the music from Settle All Scores gone over?
Chris: Our shows lately have been incredible. I really couldn’t ask for more. The crowds are large, the fans are enthusiastic, and we are really having the time of our lives up on the stage! As for the album songs, we haven’t played them yet; we’ll get to that once the album comes out.
E&D: What shows have you got coming up for the rest of the year?
Chris: Well, right now, we’re looking at some regional runs this fall, plus some festivals over the winter. We have our eyes out for some large tours if they happen to come our way, but we’ll see if that happens.
E&D: Will you be doing any touring overseas in 2026?
Chris: YES! We have two tours in the works, but I cannot mention them right now because I don’t want to jinx things and I don’t want to announce things until we are 100% certain they are happening.
E&D: What have been some of the wildest live shows that Internal Bleeding have ever done?
Chris: Two come to mind. The first was in 1994(?) in Amqui, Canada, where we played in a sold-out hockey rink. The show was so wild that we ended up doing our set twice because the fans wouldn’t let us off the stage. The second was the HammersonicFestival in Indonesia. I cannot explain what a head-trip that was, playing in front of thousands of kids who were going completely bonkers. The best part of that festival was walking into the crowd afterwards and meeting fans and taking photos with them. Not a word of English was spoken by anyone, yet we all communicated on the level of shared passion for music.
E&D: What have been some of the other most memorable shows that the band have played over the years?
Chris: We recently played a few hardcore festivals in Florida and New Jersey, and they were absolutely bonkers. I am glad to know that, finally, after all these years of trying to play with hardcore bands, we have been embraced by the hardcore community.
E&D: What are your albums of the year so far?
Chris: So far, I’d have to say Cryptopsy – An Insatiable Violence, Putridity – Morbid Ataraxia, Gaffed – I Can Feel Myself Rot, Deliquesce –Saviour / Enslaver and Unmerciful – Devouring Darkness.
Photo by Paul McNeill
