HeavyHardMetalmania: STONE MAGNUM`s Interview: Mankind thrives on negativity…we are conditioned as such!

Nuno Ribeiro. Hi Band! Thank you for accepting this invitation of HeavyHardMetalmania. Doom metallers Stone Magnum are a “new” band. For those unfamiliar, present us your line up.

Stone Magnum - We appreciate the opportunity to discuss metal with HeavyHardMetalmania! Stone Magnum is a 5 piece metal band that has been given the “title” or “description” of doom metal. We consist of Brad Toth on drums, Jim Brucks on lead guitar, Ben Elliot on bass, Nick Hernandez on vocals, and myself, Dean, on guitar.

N.R. The band is new, but it has a very mature sound, sounds great and smells like veteran!
S. M. - Stone Magnum was formed in the fall of 2010…so we’ve been around for a couple of years now. We are not newcomers to the metal scene. We’re not young kids…we’re older guys who have been playing in various bands for 20-30 years. I consider Stone Magnum a veteran band, not because of the age of the band, but because of the age and experience from the members of this band. I think it is obvious when you hear Stone Magnum that we are not at the stage in the game where we are trying to figure out what our sound should be.

N.R. When I look at bands that have influenced or not the work of Stone Magnum… hell yeah! "Primus Inter Pares"! Despite the influences it is possible to verify a path well outlined in the band's sound, which is the style inside the ramifications of Heavy Metal where "Stone Magnum" best fits?

S. M. - I think the obvious influences for Stone Magnum are quite apparent…Trouble, Venom, Candlemass, Unleashed, Sabbath, Frank Marino, Vitus..etc, but we take influences from bands from all legitimate genres of metal…everything from black metal to hard 70’s rock…heavy metal and hard rock music has always ran through our veins. I think the Doom categorization was the easiest place to classify us into because of the lyrical content, the tempo, and the sound we put forth, but I simply consider Stone Magnum as a metal band. The first song written for Stone Magnum was slower tempo…so the label of doom metal was apparent. But we have traditional heavy metal stylings within our music also.

N.R. Stone Magnum was created in 2010 and have an edited work, a self-titled "Stone Magnum" full-length from 2012 through RIP Records label that makes one year now precisely (February 2012) how was the acceptance of the masses in this band`s debut?

S. M. - You are correct, our debut album was released on Vinyl format from RIP Records. It has been out for a year now….and it’s gaining more fans each and every day. We are an underground band, on an underground label. We do not do heavy promotions or invest to make our band well known. We rely mostly on word of mouth for our name to get out to the metal fans. We expect it will take time. But the response for those who have found Stone Magnum has been amazing. Nearly everyday I receive some form of compliment for the album…so that makes me feel like it’s worth it.

N.R. Stone Magnum appears as an entity of sorrow, misery and woe, it explores the dark forces controlling man’s submissive existence.

Do you believe you are floating here forever in a world of misery and woe?

Is for you the religion one of the great evil of our "sins" by which we are paying?

S. M. - Some people strive so hard to find the good in life. It’s what you are taught to do as soon as you begin learning in this life. This is the influence and deception of the church to further their agenda of domination over weak minded followers. Day after day the only highlights in the news and media are negativity, pain, suffering, crime, and demonization, it is obvious that there is something inherently evil with mankind. The church knows this and uses it as a means to try to dictate how people should live just lives….yet religious establishment have been the biggest proponents of evil, as evidenced in their actions over the course of history. Mankind thrives on negativity…we are conditioned as such. Those who try to laugh off the real truth of man’s innate instinct to destroy and kill, and fool themselves that generosity and kindness will get them further in life is one of the great lies. Trying to find a silver lining to make people feel good is merely a means of setting themselves up for continual disappointment, for in the end they will realize that it was all for not, and the real way to achieve a successful existence is to exploit the weakness of others, just as those who hold the power have done for centuries.

N.R. Please comment on the following statement: Loneliness, sadness, suffering, misery, madness, no hope, penance, tears, are the key words of the self-titled album and more actual than ever in the current world we live in ... they are real!!

S. M. - Emotions, feelings, and circumstances grow stronger as those who control the world power structure continue to build strength and become more and more dominate in imposing their will unto others. Unless you join their forces and become one of them, you too will suffer.

N.R. STONE MAGNUM entered the studio to record their sophomore full-length album tentatively set to be released spring 2013. What can we expect from this new job? Is there something that can be revealed here?

S.M. - You can expect more heavy metal…heavy, dark, straightforward, non-experimental…. with integrity. We are not doing this to reinvent heavy metal. We love heavy metal and we play metal because we love it. As far as the songs…most of the newer songs are pretty long in the six and half to seven minute range, which is not too different than the songs on our debut. The music is clearly Stone Magnum…I think upon first impressions people will notice that immediately.

LOCKSMITH OF MISERY
GRAVE OF CRYPTIC SORROWS
PICTURES OF YOUR LIFE

<a href="http://stonemagnum.bandcamp.com/album/stone-magnum-promo-2012">Stone Magnum Promo 2012 by Stone Magnum</a>

N.R. The band has two shows set up so far for this year: 4/6/13 - NYDM Spring Bash Fest Milwaukee, WI (with Deceased, Nunslaughter, Morbid Saint, and many more) and Stoner Hands of Doom Fest in November.

S. M. - Currently we only have one show scheduled for the year, and that is at Stoner Hands of Doom in November. It is true that we were supposed to play the NYDM Spring Fest in Milwaukee, but unfortunately the promoter of that show fell upon some bad circumstances and had to reconsider arranging this fest and decided cancel the festival altogether, for very good reasons. I’m sure we’ll do a couple Chicago area shows before then…we can play whenever we want locally in and around the Chicago area…but we don’t want to saturate that region with meaningless Stone Magnum shows, so we choose to keep it at a minimum.

N.R. The band sounds great, but I don’t know if it will be worth watching live ... Convince me to see it, why I should not miss this gig? How do you define "Stone Magnum" on stage?

S. M. - We don’t have any gimmicks…we just let our attitude. intensity, and music define the show. We are not a typical “doom” metal band. We don’t just stand in one spot and look bored as we play our songs. We offer an intense atmosphere. I’ve received comments from fans who stood at the front of the stage that have said they were actually intimidated by certain aspects of our performance. Whether that is a legitimate selling point or not…I don’t know. But I thought it was interesting that we had that effect on certain people. Will you experience the same? I can’t really say, but I can guarantee that you’ll see a band who isn’t goofing around on stage trying to make people smile. We are there to play heavy metal! If you find yourself getting into the music on the records…wouldn’t it be even better to actually stand before the band and bang your head along with the band? That is the biggest selling point to me.

N.R. Something that might be relevant, the last lines for the band!
S. M. - We appreciate the conversation with HeavyHardMetalmania! For those who are tired of bands trying to re-invent heavy metal…look no further than Stone Magnum…we just want to continue with the legacy of honest heavy metal music, and we will continue to do so. For those who want to hear Stone Magnum, stop by our website www.stonemagnum.com we have shirts, and vinyl that can be ordered from there, and if you are into the downloading scene…we have made available on our website a download option, and the best part of that is that if you don’t want to pay for it, you can get it free. Not a bad deal in my book. We have official downloads available also at www.stonemagnum.bandcamp.com. Thanks again for the interview and we hope to cross paths someday in the not too distant future!