Cara neir-Sublimation therapy EP (2012)

I recently posted about the Cara neir / Ramlord split (HERE), this time it's about Cara neir alone. The duo from Dallas released in august an EP called Sublimation therapy (17 sons-17 min). Cara neir is used to release songs within a wide range of styles in extreme metal. This EP is no exception, this time they explore the more grind / powerviolence side of their music (modern grind, more like Nasum or Noisear than early Napalm death), with touches of math rock and also some melodies here and there. they also keep the black metal feel of their music with the vocals and some guitar parts. something else that don't changes is their ability at writing good and memorable songs.
so we have with Sublimaiton therapy an other really solid release by Cara neir. recommended, especially if you like grind oriented music with a different and original direction. they also released this september a 4 way split with Horseback / Venowl and Nijiqahdda, more in the slower and more melodic vein of their split with Ramlord. their 3 songs on this split are also really good.

Check their releases on their Bandcamp 

Garry Brents and Chris Francis, the two members of Cara neir, answered to the questions I sent them. read it below :

-To start with can you present the band ?  are you a trio, a duo or a duo with some other associated people?

Cara Neir is a duo but we've included a recurring cast of session members. Dorian Rainwater (Noisear, ex-Kill the Client, Phobia, Artortured, etc.) has been featured on every release since Stagnant Perceptions in some form. He has an intro guitar lead and solo on 'Dethroned and Leprous', a middle solo on 'The Bridge of Despise' and backing vocals on those tracks. He also did backing vocals on the song 'Wilted Blue' and the rhythm guitars on the song 'Family Dirge' from our split with Ramlord, the solos on all three songs from our 4-way split, and all the rhythm guitars for Tracks 01-06 on Sublimation Therapy. One of our friends also performs occasional backing vocals throughout our discography since Stagnant Perceptions. Our friend Drew (Lonesummer, Angelcrust) also did backing vocals on 'Cradled by Apathy' from our split with Ramlord. We plan on having him throw more backing vocals for us in the future. With all that said, we intend on staying and writing as a two-man project.  

-what about the EP sublimation therapy, do you decided to record something more grindcore oriented?

It was more of a spontaneous decision for us to just let loose.

-what about the 4 way split with Horseback, Venowl and Njiqahdda, who had the idea?

Our friend Jon Rosenthal of Venowl asked us last November if we wanted to be included on this split and we gladly accepted.   

-the 3 songs on this split sounds a bit more like your other records, a bit more melodic maybe, do you wanted to go back to your more usual sound after Sublimation therapy?

Actually, all 3 songs were written and recorded last December before we had the idea for the Sublimation Therapy EP. However, the split was released several months later than the EP by Handmade Bird Records, considering their release schedule was backed up at the time and that our EP was ultimately self-released. 

-on the other side was the songs on the split with Ramlord like an exploration of the more melodic and “post-rock” side of your music? How did you get to do this split with Ramlord?

It was somewhat of an exploration and perhaps a revisit to our influence of post-rock in some of the material. Jan from Ramlord approached us with their song already complete, asking if we wanted to do a split with them.   

-how do you write the songs and how do you explain your ability to write good songs mixing different styles of while keeping a strong Cara neir identity,? Was it something you wanted when you started the band?

Usually, I (Garry) will write the guitar riffs first or compose drum patterns and formulate sections of a song based on either patterns/riffs until the song structure is deemed complete. Then I record the bass and any guitar leads/extra guitars. Whenever I finish the instrumentation to a song, I send it to Chris and he will spend time writing the lyrics and vocal patterns to them. I'm not sure how to explain keeping an identity or a specific sound, especially since we do mix different styles. We just put everything we have into our music and whatever we feel that fits will be there. Our first release (Part I/Part II) was actually written backwards with Part II as the "sound" we were aiming for but I had the idea to write something that was contrasting to that material and so the songs to Part I were conceived, something that we would expand upon. We didn't necessarily intend to implement as much different styles as we do now. But, it is inherently a trait in a lot of the projects we've been in respectively as well as our previous projects together. 

  

-are you more from a metal or a crust/punk background?

Garry: I definitely got into metal first but I've grown to enjoy crust/punk/hardcore more than metal over the years. 

Chris: I also grew up a strict metal-head before I dipped into the hardcore/punk gig.

-what about your lyrics? What subjects are the more important for you?

Chris: Some of my more recurring themes are regression and derision. However in the way of significance, there isn't a single facet of life that I don't consider important when writing. Not unlike our music, I want the lyrics to encompass all dimensions of experience.   

-which bands were the most important for you?

Chris: Gorguts, Cacophony, Rune, Metallica, Pig Destroyer.  

Garry: Ulver, Neurosis, and Majority Rule have been the biggest influences on me. A few other bands that were (and still are) very important and influential are Taake, Envy, His Hero Is Gone, and Pg.99.

-which band from your area (or from anywhere) would you recommend?

Great bands from the North Texas area: Tyrannosorceress, Cleric (evil homage to old school Swedish Death Metal that shares members of Tyrannosorceress and Chris from Kill the Client), Akkolyte, Dead to a Dying World, Steel Bearing Hand, Terminator 2.   

-how do you choose the artwork for your records? I think the one for Sublimation therapy is not as good as the others, but maybe it has a meaning that’s important?

We usually choose others to do our artwork, sending them the music and some ideas beforehand, so that they have some form of inspiration for the artwork. On the EP, we decided to go out in a homeless part of a nearby town and take photos for the artwork. 

The meaning behind the images is more of an open interpretation to the music on the EP for the listeners.

-I read on your Facebook page that you started recording a coming LP, can you tell us more about it?

Thanks to Broken Limbs Recordings it's gonna be released on vinyl. We're just about done, too, with only vocal tracks for a few songs remaining.  

-do you play your songs live or do you intend to?

We are a recording project but are interested in playing live under the right circumstances. Finding session members is the main obstacle.  

-a split with Thenn is also coming isn’t it? Do you think you’ll continue to write and record that much in the future?

So long as the opportunities flow in, we'll gladly continue to write for collaborations! As for full-length material, we have no intention of putting on the brakes. We plan to start work on a concept album relatively soon. 

-something to add to close the interview?

We thank you for your interest in us and for giving us exposure on your website. Thank you everyone for the support.