There’s no denying that The Gates of Slumber was one of the most important metal bands to ever come out of Indianapolis. They may have been singlehandedly responsible for getting the ball rolling on our city’s current doom fixation and produced plenty of excellent staples along the way. Fortunately, guitarist/vocalist Karl Simon has continued to leave his mark on the doom scene with the 2016 debut album by Wretch, which also features Gates drummer Chris Gordon and bassist Bryce Clark, formerly of Teenage Strange. I spoke with Karl about the new Wretch album along with a few Gates tidbits and the attitude that comes with adjusted priorities.
Indy Metal Vault: Wretch just released your debut album last year. How do you think the reception has been compared to your efforts with The Gates of Slumber?
Karl Simon: It’s been warmly received which is really cool and humbling. We worked really hard and had a lot of setbacks.
IMV: I assume that Wretch is named after The Gates of Slumber’s 2011 album, The Wretch. What led to the decision to make Wretch’s debut a self-titled album?
KS: It just made sense to take the name and run with it. Jason was very sick when we started and TGoS wasn’t going to be a band without him…. also there are differences. The album has a title? What’s in a name? Honestly so much time is spent on that and really to me it’s much more fun to allow the listener to name it in their own way. If it were up to me we’d never name any release – they’d be known by their covers.
I mean what’s the purpose of a name? Me telling you what the album should evoke in you? Like with TGoS. The brave and in your face “war doom” we were making was chock full of posturing: Conqueror! Suffer No Guilt! This isn’t that. It’s not so easy. These songs aren’t about barbarians slashing away, these songs are about a guy: me, coming to terms with the fact that given free reign I will drink myself to death. That unless I keep my demons in check I am the kind of guy who will commit slow suicide. They are about how miserable I can feel. In a sense it’s intensely narcissistic – like anyone wants to hear me moan about what a fool I am; but the hope is to make a connection with others, because I’m not the only person who’s driven to distraction by the world. Me writing about these personal things and then trying to give them some cool name? Yeah no. There is no title because how silly. How goofy. Nah I don’t think about it because it’s not important in the grand scheme.
IMV: The songs on Wretch seem to have a looser, more jam-based feel than your past material. What was the writing process like? Were there any additional songs written that didn’t make the album or are being reserved for future release?
KS: I would come in with a skeleton and we’d jam it out. Try to feel our way through. Bill Ward talked about how Sabbath had changed after he left it became a “time” band under Vinnie and Cozy and the others. Strict time… I didn’t want to do that with Wretch. I just wanted to make music with feeling, like the early Sab records. I don’t think about scales or theory much anymore. I know a bit, Bryce probably knows more. I just don’t care about that stuff anymore. I’m trying to write sick riffs, not give myself a complex… you want technical shit? There’s too much of it out there, shouldn’t be hard to find some. We’ll be here crunching away.
IMV: I personally consider Rocka Rolla to be one of Judas Priest’s most underrated albums and was pleased to see your cover of “Winter” on the album. What was the inspiration to include it and were there any other covers considered or recorded?
KS: Rocka Rolla is my favorite Priest record. Chris was bound and determined to play that song and it rules so we did it, and it fits with the other stuff. A lot of people don’t seem to know that it’s a cover. Which is sad, but the way things are I guess. All that stuff is fading away… fewer and fewer people care every year. I’m sure in another 10-20 years all this stuff will be passé. Replaced by who knows what. We also recorded a version of [Motorhead’s] “Sweet Revenge”… I have no idea what Bad Omen is going to do with it.
IMV: How do you feel the doom metal scene has evolved over the years and where do you see your place in it?
KS: I don’t think about things like that anymore. LOL couldn’t care less about doom or metal or a scene or where I fit into any schema like that. I have some friends and I have a family and a job and volunteer work that I do. I spent a lot of years, wasted a lot of years on those kinds of thoughts. I like some of the stuff I’ve heard. But hell man, this week it’s been Manic Frustration, Born Too Late and Bayou Country by CCR… I’m not “with it”. Hahahah
IMV: What are the goals that you hope to accomplish with Wretch in 2017 and the future in general?
KS: I’m writing and we are planning Euro stuff here in Spring. Probably something this summer here in the US. Who knows?
IMV: If I may go back to The Gates of Slumber’s Hymns of Blood and Thunder era for a moment, one thing that I’ve noticed over the years is that there are some phrases in the lyrics that remind me of “In for the Kill” off Black Sabbath’s Seventh Star. Was that an intentional move or something that just kind of happened?
KS: Intentional. I love that album.
Originally published at Indy Metal Vault on January 30th, 2017
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