Interview: Nerve Debt's Alex Angell
1. Hi Alex. Thank you for being part of this today and the first interview for a 'new' Metal Riot lower key blog. How did Nerve Debt get off the ground? The material scratches such a killer noisy itch and I know that like me you are a big Today Is The Day advocate. How did you and OG drummer Brad meet?
Alex: Thank you for having us and for your kind words! Brad and I linked up on social media around 2020-2021 through a group called Noise Rock Now, but didn’t speak much. Some time passes, and around late 2022 I got a life-threatening lung sickness which landed me in the hospital. Post-covid septic pneumonia with empyema. Surgery went perfectly and I was released from the hospital to take a mandatory two-week bedrest. During this period, Brad messaged me saying that he lives in the same city as I do, and if I wanted to get together to make some noise we should do that. I was terrified; this dude has been tied at number one for favorite drummer since I was 15. So we talk a bit and decide to have a dinner hang with his family to make sure the vibe check is passed, then do a jam to see if the blend homogenizes. Both encounters went off without a hitch; at this point we’re all family friends who see each other damn near every weekend.
2. I love that you dedicated your Pleural Hymns record partially to departed musician Chuck Stern. As you may know I played in a band Divest with Dave Bodie who introduced me to Chuck when they were playing together in Time Of Orchids. Chuck was so brilliant and I love that you are in a small way helping more people learn about him. Care to add anything to that sentiment?
Alex: Holy shit, I didn’t know you were in Divest! Smallest, sickest world ever. So about Chuck: I have a lot of “top threes;” if asked, my top three bands are King Crimson, Today Is The Day, and Time Of Orchids, in no order. The music of Chuck Stern is like no other. He was another person who became an internet friend over peak covid times. We’d talk for hours, sharing music, philosophical takes, discussions of music we were working on, things like that. Another situation where “Don’t kill your idols; befriend them” applies. Seems to be a running theme. He’d go out of his way to show me a record, say something funny, give a deep analysis of something I made or was a part of as often as he could. Encouragement and appreciation from someone you’ve looked up to for years and never thought you’d cross paths with is one hell of a feeling, but the true honor lies solely in being lucky enough to have called him a friend. There is no person like Chuck, and no music nor lyrics like his.
3. When I was considering a full binary transition Chuck was very encouraging and told me I would be very beautiful, which was incredibly supportive and sweet. Anyhow...Did you, as it kind of seems, have a specific sound in mind for Nerve Debt from jump?
Alex: I knew I wanted this new-at-the-time project to be the most dissonant and aggressive thing I have done so far, but I wasn’t exactly sure how it would manifest. I started getting really into Bartók and Xenakis, and the same time Guillaume de Machaut and the Bulgarian State Radio & Television Female Vocal Choir; all this great music with dissonance and protracted tension. What I do is nowhere on that level of complexity and execution - [I can’t say the same for Brad, he is the most astonishing drummer I have ever met], but one thing that music taught me is this: “If this chord were made by a string quartet, a four-voice choral group, or a grand piano, would it sound just as unsettling // more unsettling as it does on a low-tuned distorted guitar?” If the answer is no, I put it on the back burner.
4. I am about a year behind on helping you promote this one, haha. Life has been pretty crazy. But I knew I had to talk to you first for the blog because you have such an infectious enthusiasm for the arts and a lifer's spirit. What is going on with the band currently, what music is currently inspiring you and how are you adjusting to this toxic climate that is so anti art, anti working class and downright fascist?
Alex: Oh yeah, I sympathize entirely; it’s all we can do to push the buttons and get going in terms of basic necessities sometimes. And thank you; I’ve always seen you as a kindred spirit in that regard. We’re almost done writing the next release which will be called Houses Settling, as well as working on songs for splits with Long Cold Stare and Vacuist - two bands that should absolutely not be slept on. Other bands that continue to inspire me that we have not mentioned yet are Bathe, Abacus, Lament Cityscape, Colonial Wound, Fawn Limbs, Slugcrust, Caspar Brötzmann Massaker, HIRS, Dead Register, and Zao. And for classics: always, always, Confessor, Sepultura, Celtic Frost, In/Humanity, Blind Idiot God, Knut, Zeni Geva, and Starkweather.
5. Dead Register were so good live when I saw them in San Diego. What is the first concert you remember seeing, big or small, that just knocked you on your ass and made you think you wanted to try your hand at music?
Alex: I grew up relatively sheltered, so I didn’t see much live music until I was a bit older and the instances where I was able to do so were highly regulated, but I remember the exact moment I knew I had to make music, knew what kind, and knew I had to play the guitar and bass. My aunt had the soundtrack to The Crow, I was 8 and on vacation, Helmet - “Milktoast” [that’s how it was spelled on the back cover] came on, and it was all over. That song is the most significant song in my young musical development.
6. That is awesome. I am seeing Helmet next month with War On Women. I haven't seen Helmet in decades live. Excited. So, One thing that pisses me off so much is what a fucking poseur trump and these fake saviour broligarchs are. Nothing but piss has ever trickled down, and they aren't even pretending. I noticed Conald got plenty of tribute dollars to help tech dudes get out of legal issues but Trump hasn't said anything to help the working class, like, "Hey, I have enough money. Why don't you gazillionaires fund the entire rebuild of North Carolina's impacted Helene areas." Thoughts?
Alex: I look around at what has been made of this swine country, and it makes me think of an abscess, with him and the whole MAGA movement holding a warm compress onto the surface with an unwashed lance in their other hand that they don’t want to use in the first place. It’s a right Accelerationist wet dream; the cruelty and delusions of superiority are the point... I refuse to be gaslit into believing otherwise. This reactionary vibe is nothing new - much like Antifascist Action - but what we’re seeing is an emboldening and radicalization of even younger folks than we did in 2016 and the few years before. They’re the ones coming for the kids.
“Bazooka Joe” by Big Black comes to mind, but instead of a war making the titular character easily swayed by hate and it’s supposed wellspring of power and self-actualization, it’s the volatility of youth. Wanting to get back at one’s bullies. High empathy, low boundaries. The right is actively recruiting. And I’m not shocked any of them haven’t batted an eye while completely ignoring the life-altering and fatal damage done to WNC and its inhabitants. They aren’t capable of aiding anything but profit and fanning the flames of the culture war. Without those two elements, they have no platform. This dopamine-releasing vibe of “individual toughness by proxy” that Trump supporters have as he guts life-saving programs for the sake of austerity and disenfranchisement will produce diminishing returns. Some are already starting to see it, like the women who didn’t think gutting DEI would hurt them because of the color of their fucking skin.
7. It says on your socials that the band collectively write the lyrics and music? Is that true or does Zach do most of the lyric writing?
Alex: It is true, but on this one the lyrics were written by me; they were done before we brought Zach on board. He sings everything live, but on the record he sings on “Skin Worms” and “Binding,” and I sing on “I Always Forget, I Always Survive” and “With Empyema.” Zach is one of the most evocative yet savage vocalists I know, and a stunning lyricist at that. He and I have have been best friends and have made music together in Waft [sludge metal] for around 10 years now. I’m excited to see his lyrics shine on future material.
8. Did you have a lot of these riffs sort of kicking around ahead of time or did it spill out once the wheels started rolling? Also, how do you feel this has made you grow as a musician or person? Will you continue to work with Foreign Sounds?
Alex: One song, “Binding,” took me about six years to get right. Once that happened, the rest flowed out of us very naturally, allowing us to focus on details and bits that, at least to us, made all the difference. I am so insanely proud of this band and release; not counting high school bands, this is the first project I have been a founding member of, and the primary songwriter for. Far more importantly, making music with Brad has skyrocketed my musicianship and songwriting. He’s the drummer I hear in my head when trying to fish for a riff or progression. He’s been that for years, and kind of without me knowing. Listening to his work and being in the room with him are two entirely different vibes. As a person, I feel more strength and competence than ever before as I am surrounded by the best friends anyone could ask for. And we will definitely continue to work with Foreign Sounds. Christopher Ashley is SC noise hardcore royalty, and - once again - a person I grew up listening to and looking up to who became a friend and collaborator. To me, that’s as sick as it gets.
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