Change is a powerful thing. Accepting its inevitability can lead to quiet revelations and grand upheavals. Life is never static – it moves in unpredictable waves and coming to terms with this fact can have profound consequences. Seattle’s Filth Is Eternal (formally Fucked & Bound) are embracing the newest phase of their existence, adopting a new moniker and unleashing their second album of sordid hardcore on the post-pandemic world.
Love Is A Lie, Filth Is Eternal, the four-piece’s forthcoming album (and first for UK heavyweight label Church Road Records) is twenty minutes of white-knuckle nastiness, a visceral thrill-ride so confrontational you can practically smell its awful breath across your face. Its songcraft is bolder and more fleshed-out than last year’s Suffrage – a strong album, but one that already feels like it belongs to a whole different era, as is often the case with life in 2021.
We spoke to Filth Is Eternal drummer Matt Chandler about his band’s new chapter, their new album, and their philosophy on all things filthy.
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Thanks for doing this guys, how’s life in Seattle at the moment?
Thanks so much for having us! Life has been a blur in Seattle since we got back from our East Coast tour last year. Covid hit the city hard and times were pretty bleak and scary for a while but fortunately it seems that things are finally beginning to come back to some level of normalcy. I actually went to a show last weekend and it was kind of surreal.
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What has been your primary reaction to the events of the last eighteen months?
I’ve been pretty depressed and feeling stir crazy like everyone else, but we’ve managed to stay busy and productive during the lockdown. Can’t stop won’t stop!
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You recently changed your band name, what was the reason(s) behind this?
The name resonated with all of us in the sense that we felt an actual emotional attachment to its meaning. We’ve made it our mantra as well as our album title and we’ve all learned to embrace the filth from which we came. Ultimately, we were faced with the choice to live or be cast into the void.
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Does Filth Is Eternal allow you to be anything different to Fucked & Bound?
It allows us to really step into a new realm, a new chapter, a new vibe. We’re still the same hellraisers, just with a “filthier” approach.
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The songwriting on Love Is A Lie… is really strong, it seems like a step forward for you guys. What were your main goals this time around?
Thanks! We’re really happy with it. I personally feel that our goal setting out was to make a record that was even nastier than Suffrage while also experimenting with some different textures, layers and sounds. Suffrage was a bit more of a brash, unapologetic hardcore record and Love Is A Lie… is more intricate and emotionally engaging.
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Does the finished product resemble what you’d envisaged it to be during the writing stage? Is it at all different?
Honestly, I wasn’t sure what the end result would look like but I knew I liked where we were going with the material. Each song came out slightly different as we wrote them, and yet they were all equally fun to play. It blew my mind how much the tracks all made sense together when we had finished the process.
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How much did the pandemic affect the writing/production?
We took a short break from jamming after our east coast tour last year, but we picked it back up pretty quick and have been busy ever since.
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What are some of the main themes/targets of the album’s lyrics?
As B-town put it: “When love has become so cheapened by those that abuse its goodwill, we shall turn from it and again embrace the filth from which we came as our true salvation.”
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You recorded your track ‘Zed’ with Tad Doyle, how did that come about, and what’s Tad like to work with?
We actually tracked all the instruments with Robert Cheek and Lisa [Mungo] did the vocal sessions with Tad. I have only met Tad a handful of times but he seems like an absolute sweetheart. A gentle giant, if you will. I’ve heard only good things.
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I feel like yourselves and Tad (the band) share similar lyrical fascinations – the grimy, dirty and (for lack of a better word) filthy underbelly of the world, is this an affinity you’ve noticed/thought about?
Absolutely. Tad is definitely an influence on us, musically and lyrically. The guy is a legend.
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I’m interested in the way you talk about the concept of ‘filth’, it’s almost John Waters-esque, what’s your band’s philosophy on filth?
It’s an aesthetic, a vibe, a feeling and it has become our reality. If cleanliness is next to godliness, who the fuck wants to be clean?
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Are you optimistic for the future? In terms of your band and on a larger scale?
Hell yes, very much so. We have so many exciting endeavors in store and so many things to announce in the near future. We’re about to rise from the ashes of this pandemic like a phoenix. Don’t blink…
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Love Is A Lie, Filth Is Eternal is out 27th August on Church Road Records. Order here.
Words: Tom Morgan
