INTERVIEW WITH MIKE HRUBOVCAK OF THE BANDS MONSTROSITY AND AZURE EMOTE

         If you haven't seen Monstrosity LIVE since Mike has joined the band, you don't know what you're missing. Having met Mike Hrubovcak and Lee Harrison back on July 6, 2009 was a great experience that I'll never forget. Not only did I get to interview Lee, but I had also filmed them LIVE. The link below will show you what I saw with a former friend of mine. 3 songs featuring Firestorm and Final Cremation. Anyhow, here is the latest interview of Underground Noise! Below is a link to the footage of what I filmed!
1) What was the first band you were in?


The first band I was ever in, was in middle school when I was like 13, but it went until I was around 17 or 18. It was called "DISILLUSION" and was more like grindcore, a cross between Bolt Thrower, Cianide and Obituary. Actually the first song I ever covered was "The end complete" by Obituary. We would play battle of the bands shows, house shows, and stuff like that. It was really fun. I was later replaced though by a Metallica sounding singer because of all the pressures of people not understanding the vox. (as is the case with most non-death metal people - "I like the music, I just can't get past the vocals"haha) This was good for me though cause then I went and joined forces with my brother to create DIVINE RAPTURE (total death metal) which later exploded and went on to be signed by Listenable Records and was really the start of my whole musical career if you will. 


2) What has been your biggest accomplishment in your life?


Haha, hmmm, that's a tough one. not sure, I don't think it's come yet. if anything maybe getting this new AZURE EMOTE album done, just because it's composed by myself musically and artistically. It's nice to know i could put something awesome together that's "my baby" and not just playing for someone else's "baby" ya know.
Recording with Monstrosity at morrisound studios was definitely a big highlight though,
and doing all the amazing tours I've done with them. If anything, my biggest accomplishment was balancing all the different things, the illustration, the music, the tours, plus maintaing a day job, and being able to make everything work, that's the hardest thing of it all. keeping the machine going and still juggling all the different projects and still following through with them. I'm happy and surprised i've been able to do that for so long.


3) Do you have a career outside your music?


Yeah, well I guess you can say I was an artist before I was doing the music thing.
Painting, drawing, etc. My career is in art, graphic design and illustration. I've been doing
http://www.visualdarkness.com in my spare time forever now which is my real love, but have worked as a graphic designer in the Adult Entertainment industry for over 12 years now. (designing DVD covers, Magazines, Sex Toys, etc). It's pretty hilarious and fun. I love it actually and presently work as the Art Director for one of the biggest sex toy companies on the east coast.


4) How often do you practice your growling technique?


To be honest I'm out of practice these days! I need to keep up on my chops haha :)
but whenIi'm preparing for an album or a tour I'll growl all the way driving to work, growl all the way home, growl recording scratch tracks for my bands at home, and any time I'm driving for extended periods of time. I drive back and forth from NY and philly all the time and will usually growl along to stuff then too. It's funny when I see people drive by me giving me weird looks and I'll just stare right into there eyes and keep on growling haha. I prolly look like an angry lunatic speeding around yelling at everyone.


5) Do you feel that death metal has gotten more popular or do you see it as still underground?


It's definitely gotten more popular. Over the years I remember people not even hearing or knowing of the term death metal, but nowadays everyone even parents know the term.
It has somewhat branched out into a fad in places, and it really bothers me when kids in bands today call themselves death metal, and it's not even close. it really makes me angry. I think true death metal will always be underground. There's really only a select few out of a crowd that truely understand it. Over the years, you'll observe a lot of people fazing in and out of the metal scene, leaving only the diehards.


6) Who are you currently listening to?


Too be honest I still listen to a lot of old school stuff. My itunes mainly consists of older material,
but there are still a lot of great new bands, you just have to search harder for them, cause there's also a lot more crap out there these days. Right now I'm really digging the new Septic Flesh. Decrepit Birth, and Kartikeya, I've been listening to a lot of Thy Disease, Lykathea Aflame, Carach Angren, etc...


7) What made you want to become a musician?


I never really thought about it. I just like being creative. It all started in middle school and high school doing "stomp" type things with friends in the hallways and lunch, we'd end up making some hilariously fun and awesome beats/tunes. Also being apart of a band since i was younger it just kind of ended up that way, and the lifestyle that i was pulled too. All I ever cared about was art and music. So obviously i ended up in a band instead playing football or sports or whatever.


8.) Where has been your favorite performance?


Hard one. Hmmm. Some of my favorite one's were when i was on tour with VILE. real small clubs but super crowed and energetic. I was also in my prime physically at that time too i think, so my energy was nonstop. The big festivals in front of 10,000 people with Monstrosity have been great too, but overall i think my best performances have been the small clubs in europe right up front, lifting people up to crowd surf, and the super dark, hot, sweaty realism of it all is better in those environments. total brutality. 


9) Who are your influences?


Musically? I guess Dan Swano, Peter Tagtgren, Devin Townsend, Frank Mullen, Glen Benton, Laibach, Dead Can Dance..


10) Any last words for Underground Noise?


Thanks for the inti bro! Great questions too! Hopefully I'll see ya around on tour again one of these days. For everyone reading -  NEW Monstrosity and Azure Emote albums coming soon, also look out for a Europe tour with Vile this year as well!
HAILS!




http://www.myspace.com/video/evilvengeance666/monstrosity-at-lost-horizon-7-6-09-syracuse-ny/62142707