I would open by asking you to give a history lesson on Cardiac Arrest, but the bonus DVD on Haven for the Insane does just that, and quite thoroughly too.  Does that sort of thing ever get tiring for you guys (digging up and disseminating band history)?

Adam Scott:  It does get tedious from time to time. I have no problem explaining certain things in interviews, like asking about a certain era from a past release. That certainly shows me that they or anyone in the press has done their research.

David Holland:  It only gets tiring when we actually have to dig up the corpses of past members, and disseminate the bodies to the local authorities.

Jim Deabenderfer:  I’ll take the hit on this, and say, YES!  We’re glad people want to know more about the band, but, everything they need to know is easily found on the web, and on the DVD.  It’s more annoying in press, than anything else.  There’s more to talk about than the fact that Adam started CA originally when he was in high school, and how the four of us came together.  Let’s talk music, eh?

Anything not included in the DVD that we should know about you guys?

DH:  I’m taller than Jim.  Calmer than Tom [Knizner].  And prettier than Adam.

JD:  [smirks] Check out the next DVD.

Haven for the Insane was released by Ibex Moon Records in June.  How has the reaction been thus far?

AS:  It’s been a great reaction I think. More people hearing us who haven’t heard of us, or for that matter, haven’t gotten around to hearing us. All around very positive.

DH:  I’ve been specifically told NOT to read our own press so I can’t comment on that, but people seem to dig the live nonsense. Crowds are getting consistently bigger, and raucous. Meeting all kinds of people that have good things to say about the album. It’s all been so therapeutic for me in helping me deal with my various social anxiety disorders, and phobias.

JD:  We’ve been floored by all the positive reactions from the press, as well as fans.  As Tom would say, it’s the respect of our peers that means the most… and it does.

The album is a perfect sloshing together of abrasiveness, classic death metal filth, and beer.  Were there expectations or intentions when writing began?

AS:  The only intention that really came to mind is just playing the music we like and that we want to hear. I’d like to think that comes across well.

DH:  Well…I was usually stoned, and mooching beers off Tom, and I thought we were gonna write a doom record. I had to compromise a lot.  The only thing we kind of mutually agreed on was to avoid getting technical with the riffs, and keeping the riffs per song to a memorable number…the songs are usually spur of the moment at practice now. Someone starts playing a riff, and we’ll start from there.

JD:  I think we always try to do things a little different each time out, even if we’re not sure how that will manifest.  The only preconceived ideas we had going in were not to repeat ourselves, and write the best record we could.  Dirtying up the production was also a clear goal.

“Rage On…Fuck Off” is, for me, the most enjoyable track on the album.  The line: “one, two…one, two, fuck you!”  Is that an homage to Slaughter?

AS:  It sure is!!!! Totally paying tribute. Up all night, sleep all…OH WAIT!!! Wrong Slaughter.

DH:  The cool Slaughter. Not the gay Slaughter.

JD:  Yep.

Haven for the Insane is your first album with Ibex Moon.  Previously the band was with Epitomite Productions.  Can you explain the reason behind the switch?

AS:  We figure [we would] shop around on this record, [and] a couple of different offers came our way. Ibex seemed to be the suitable way to go. The split with Epitomite was amicable, and we’re still on good terms.

DH:  I treat the business end of things with an almost careless indifference. I show up. I work hard. I enjoy myself, and get to be creative. After that I have little involvement. I would if I was needed, but the other guys got it covered for now, and why have a fourth hand in the there? My uninformed guess would be that Ibex is a logical next step. Von [Young] is a cool dude though.

JD:  We were ready to take the next step, and Ibex Moon was that next step. He asked, we accepted.  That’s it.

How was Cardiac Arrest’s experience on the Campaign for Death Metal Purity Tour?

AS:  It was our first actual tour as a band; with that there were a lot of eye openers and lessons learned with how things should and shouldn’t be done. Definitely not all fun and games that some outsiders think it is. With that there were a lot of fun moments and [we] met lots of great people.

DH:  For the band? Excellent. For myself it was a campaign to find a dark, quiet place to sleep for at least six hours.

JD:  All my expectations were dashed, both good and bad.  Things I thought would be horrible weren’t, and the things I thought were going to go smooth didn’t.  Ultimately, the tour was a great success, and I’ll never regret doing it.  It was a tremendous learning experience.

Adam runs the extensive Death Dealer Distro, and Jim appears to be the wizard of video editing…what do the other guys do behind the scenes?

DH:  I speak the truth. Second guess it. Tom just tells me to shut up and play.

JD:  Aside from side bands (Severed, LBDC, Sallah), there’s not a lot of hobbying in the CA camp.  Music is our hobby, I suppose.  I love to read, catch a good stand up show, but, yeah… as a whole, CA is where it’s at.

Since Cardiac Arrest appears to be a band comprised of horror fans, what is your favorite horror genre, and within that genre, which film do you think is an absolute must-see?

AS:  Ouch!!! Just one movie? Of course one can’t go wrong with the Italian flicks from the 70s/80s. Catchy soundtracks, effective gore, and sweet plots. I’m big on a lot of the old Hammer Horror films myself, ex: Plague of the Zombies, Horror of Dracula, etc. Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee are two of the greats!!! See, I’m a terrible candidate for this question.

DH:  I’m a fan of the monster, and zombie flicks. A must see horror movie…hmm…how about Avatar? No wait…that was just horrible…

JD:  I like the old slasher flicks the best – they’re what I grew up on.  The old Hammer flick, The Asphyx, is a must see.  I dig zombie flicks from time to time, too.

What is the band working on now?  What lies ahead for Cardiac Arrest?

AS:  We are always writing new music, looking to go record in the winter time. We’re playing this year’s New Jersey Deathfest at Dingbat’s in Clifton, NJ on October 22 – 23. Other than that we’ll be doing some more shows/tours come next spring so we’ll hope to see a lot of you on the road again soon.

DH:  I heard a vague, whisper of a rumor that we record again this winter. I believe the New Jersey Death Fest in October is on my itinerary.”

JD:  The new record is almost written, and, as has been hinted, we are recording it this winter and yes, it will be on Ibex Moon records.  The NJ Deathfest will be our last show of the year.  Look for us on the road in some capacity in March.

Is there anything you’d like to add?

AS:  Thanks a bunch for the interview, Jodi. Also thank to all who read this and thanks for everyone’s continued support!!!! HAILS AND ROT!!!!

DH:  Thanks to everyone for all the support. It is appreciated.

JD:  Think for yourselves, people.  The measure of a person is not the number of patches on their jean vest, their CD collection, or their underground knowledge.  Thanks for the interview, and thanks to the fans for all their support.  Cheers!

Visit:

www.cardiacarrest666.com

www.ibexmoonrecords.com