by Jay Snyder
February 22, 2007

The swamplands of Florida have been known to spawn some of the heaviest and most devastating, subsonic frequencies in the USA. Many of these great acts spanned a number of different genres and helped blur the lines of what was cool to be doing musically at that certain time period. Influential genre masters Cavity, Floor, Assuck and Dragbody can all be named when referencing the best of the Florida scene. You have Torche leading the charge these days. I'm also sure no one can forget about the Floridian death metal movement, even if you weren't a fan. And you never know, maybe somewhere out there Henry Wilson is secretly planning to bring Dove back to the front-lines. Hell, count the hugely over-looked Railsplitter as another band from Florida who will hopefully resurface one day and give us another blast of crushing aggression.

That is not to say that the scene down there is dying. Not at all, in fact it is just the right time for some new miscreants to pick up the flags of their fallen comrades and bring us a special twist to the music we love so much; a twist that can only be delivered from that corner of the country by individuals ready to blur the lines once again. That band is Consular and their time is now, on the horizon of the release of their debut full-length Don't Cross the Swine. With the help of the almighty Shifty Records (collaborating with Makeshift Origami and Abort the World), Consular are set to bring their unique brand of sonic annihilation to a larger audience. Without further ado, let's delve right into the heart of this experiment in amp-scorched, audio destruction.


Hellride Music: Hey guys, I want to say thanks a lot for taking the time to do this. Introduce yourselves to the readers and give us the history of how Consular got together because I really can't claim to know anything about you guys other than the fact that the music kicks ass.

Consular: We wrote a bio for Makeshift Origami records a while back and that pretty much sums up the history. When Consular was just a concept all four of us didn't know each other, and we all didn't even play the same shows. Consular came together because of an idea, and that idea was simply to be a "sludge" band, which at the time was lacking in Miami. After the giants like Floor and Cavity died there was no more heavy bands, of course with the exception of Torche in very late 2004.

One thing we did have in common is when we all saw the brutal-ness of Examination of the… at the ALLEY in Miami in 2002 and 2003. When my brother and I saw this band, we decided that we wanted to play music like that: Passionate, simple, and above all HEAVY. I put up a message in late 2004 to see if anyone would respond to play in a sludge band. The first response we got was Jon Suarez. Jon, myself and Angelo started to perfect the stuff we were jamming for a couple of months prior to that, but we still had no singer. My brother and I were in a band called kissthesungoodbye at the time and played a bunch of shows with bands from Ft. Lauderdale.

One of the bands was I'm the Devil. Matt Cleer was a vocalist for that band, and after a few times of seeing them, our friend Zac from Boca told Matt we were looking for a singer. Matt came out to practice and from then on we have been the same lineup. We played our first show with the intention of this being a side project and truthfully at that point had no idea what type of thing this would become. Consular consumed us musically, and from side project to main project, our other bands, with the exception of noise-grind kings I'm the devil, all died. To date we have been on two US tours, we have a series of CD's, 7"s, and LP's out and are now just taking a break from real life bullshit, but soon enough we will be back on the road.

This project is made up of Andrew Santa Lucia-Guitar, Matthew Cleer-Vocals, Angelo Santa Lucia-Drums, and Jon Suarez-Bass. The ride is continuing and the only thing we have learned is that nothing is certain and we would love for this band to take us places we have never gone, meet people we would have never met, and make music like it was the only thing that we strived for. We only are certain that this will last until we cannot do it anymore, and we will tour and play as loud as we possibly can until it is not feasible to.


Hellride Music: What releases have you put out there so far? Is there more than just the 7" and the upcoming full-length, Don't Cross the Swine?

Consular: We have a couple versions of our demo in circulation which was self released in 2005, Self titled 7" (Fatal Apathy Records) 2006, Don't Cross the Swine in so many fucking versions, tour summer 2006 CD (Abort The World), LP (Makeshift Origami), and soon to be official CD (Shifty Records and Abort The World Records).


Hellride Music: When is the official release date of Don't Cross the Swine? I think I left that one out of my review, haha.

Consular: There is no official release date, but one brutal fact was that we released the 7" on 6/6/06.


Hellride Music: How did you guys get hooked up with Shifty Records and how has the initial relationship been so far? I've always known Gary as a stand-up dude with a good ear for music and as a man that has patience when I get tied up and can't send my orders out exactly when I say I will (sorry Gary, I'll get better with that)!

Andrew: Gary is definitely one of the most stand-up dudes I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. This guy met four young dudes in Ohio after some conversations over email and MySpace and he totally gave us such a great opportunity to work with one of the best music labels in the underground that we have loved for so long. It is almost surreal that we have Shifty pushing our music. Gary is the fucking shit!

Angelo: Gary is a scary dude haha. Nah but he’s one of the nicest, down to earth guys we've met in a while.

Jon: Coolest dude we met in Ohio. Gary's a big dude, you better send him his shit.


Hellride Music: What is the song-writing process like for Consular? Are you guys normally ready with the material as soon as you hit the studio, or do you go in with a basic battle-plan that is easily adjustable if new ideas come about?

Andrew: Honestly, we don't practice as much as we should, but we definitely jam stuff all the time considering my brother and I practice as much as we can together, so we always have fresh ideas, which usually will manifest themselves as either fast or real slow songs, and when Jon gets in the mix, he brings that mid tempo Eyehategod, Iron Monkey stuff into the mix. The balance is great honestly. Then Matt comes in and fucking screams like a madman and we have a song…do that ten times, we have an album.

Angelo: It's crazy, sometimes we'll go in the studio and have a song ready to go, and then change it up, or tweak it after we hear the playback. But the fact that Andrew and I live together is pretty easy to write songs. It’s like "Yo, Drew, lets jam." Jon really serves as the balance between me and Andrew, cause I'll wanna keep things slow and drew would want to speed things up, so Jon just tells us to shut up and listen to his mid-tempo riff. Matt does nothing, I hate him.

Jon: It's tough writing with 2 brothers. I kind of have to be the mediator. But it always works out in the end. And yeah, Matt does nothing.

Matt: I do absolutely nothing. I hate those guys. Writing vocals is usually done when I’m in the studio, at shows I’m usually putting stuff together to see what sticks. Since we don't get to practice much (I live an hour away from everyone else in the band) shows are really the best (only) practice we get.


Hellride Music: Was the writing/recording process for Don't Cross the Swine different than the earlier material, or had you guys already had a decent amount of music prepared when it came time to record a full-length?

Andrew: Funny story, about 7 days before we entered the studio for Don't Cross the Swine, we didn't even know we wanted to do a full length. We had been practicing, no lie about 6 to 7 hours a day for the 7 days leading up to studio time. We went into the studio already knowing this would be something special. We went recorded at Southern Noise, with the almighty Jon Nunez (Torche/Shitstorm/Adore Miridia) and we did three full nights of live recordings with him. We tried something new for these recordings, which was to record the base tracks live, which would be me, Angelo and Jon, all at once. This technique really captured the feel of the intensity we have live, and we have not gone back since, that is the only way we do it now a days.

Angelo: We had maybe about 3 or 4 songs leading up to the week before recording and we threw together open your mouth, torn face, and living life in the land… during those long, arduous practices the week before recordings.

Jon: That week was rough, but for some reason the songs came together pretty quickly that week. For some reason, we end up not sleeping whenever there's a recording session. We were awake for like 32+ hours when we recorded the 7-inch.

Matt: Yea we really pulled shit together pretty fast for “Don't Cross the Swine.” Going into it we had only a couple of songs written before hand, and there was at least 2 written in the studio. The songs get written pretty fast, usually within 2 shows, or practices or whatever we do.


Hellride Music: What type of inspiration is needed to write songs that are so goddamn heavy? Feel free to speak in terms of both influential bands and moods.

Angelo: I definitely get my inspiration from all over the place; Celtic Frost, Morbid Angel, and Bathory, to Terroizer, Napalm Death, and Repulsion, to Melvins, Godflesh, and Floor, to Dead Prez, Wu-tang Clan, and Sleep.

Andrew: For me, its Miami, Florida, Cuba, 2 Live Crew, Miami drum and bass, Melvins, Nirvana, Celtic Frost, Floor, Cavity, Dove, Iron Monkey, Eyehategod, Noothgrush, burritos, and thick Latinas.

Jon: Jack Daniels.

Matt: Vocally my biggest inspiration is probably JR Hayes from Pig Destroyer, and Mike Williams from EYEHATEGOD. Personally, my only role model has been Jerry Lee Lewis.


Hellride Music: The vocals are pretty vicious and I must be honest that I can't really pick-out too many lyrics, which you won't hear me complaining about. I'm a brutal dude I guess, haha. What exactly is Matt screaming about? Is it personal, societal, political, etc.?

Andrew: To this day I believe Matt has no lyrics, but he actually does write stuff and usually does an amazing job with throwing it on top and creating a cohesive sound. He is brutal though, and very indirect, at least I think so.

Angelo: Matt definitely writes about personal shit, but I have no clue what he’s saying, I guess that's what makes it so intense.

Jon: He's white, we don't get him.

Matt: OK first, I do have lyrics, but they change a lot until we get to recording. The songs are definitely personal, at least for Don't Cross the Swine. All those songs were really personal, I was going through a pretty bad time in my life and it all came together right before we started recording, it felt like there was a war in my head. The full-length is really about how after our tour last winter I had an Existential Crisis, so most of the songs are about my disillusionment with things at the time. They're about dying, or wishing that I died, and just not knowing where I was going.


Hellride Music: This isn't an insult or a rip-off statement but you guys really remind me of Cavity. That is actually a huge compliment. I miss those guys and the first time I heard your material, it hit me as hard as I got hit when I first heard "Drowning" and "Somewhere between the Train Station and the Dumping Grounds". The familiarity is not even stylistic but just in the way that the sheer density of the music really makes me want to take a sledgehammer to everything in my room. How much of an influence is that almighty band and their fellow almighty brethren (Floor, Dove, etc.)?

Andrew: That band is the influence, for me at least. When I first got into that band, I was floored by it. To me, to even be compared to them is the best feeling. Every time I read one of your reviews of us, I am fucking ecstatic.

Angelo: Ya, being compared to them is pretty weird, considering they're one, if not the biggest influence to all of us. Pretty crazy that we get compared to them.

Jon: Being from South Florida, we know those comparisons are going to come up. I think we do a good job of being heavy without ripping them off but those bands are definitely big inspirations.

Matt: Yeah it’s pretty sick.


Hellride Music: What is the Florida scene like these days? Things seem a little bit quieter than they used to be. Are they any bands down there that people should keep a watch for?

Andrew: Funny you mention that. Last night I was hanging with some dudes from Torche, Shitstorm, and Mehkago NT, and we were talking about how Florida is truly back in full swing, as far as a lot of genres of music. You have hard-core bands, post- hard-core bands, metal, sludge, thrash, crust, punk and we were talking about documenting this in all forms, CD comps, LPs, 7", DVD… who knows… it's a good time in Florida right now, very reminiscent of the 403 chaos days. As far as bands to look for Mehkago NT, Dukes, Shitstorm, Suspect, Dead Friends, Merkit, Coffin Dancer, Capsule, Monarcs, Goemek, The Wreck, Tony Rome, Behold the Human Ghost, Die Area… there are a bunch.

Angelo: Florida is bringing itself back, and hard. You have bands like our boys Shitstorm and Mehkago NT fucking tearing shit apart in the crust/grind fucking way!! Honestly is all about the 305 DeathSquad.

Matt: The scene is doing pretty OK, but there are still a lot of shitty attitudes going around, jock shit and close-mindedness. There needs to be more of a DIY attitude, but all the bands they mentioned fucking rule. Most of the bands we get to play with down here are fucking awesome.


Hellride Music: What is the normal response to a Consular live set? Do you have people worshipping the volume or are they all headed for the doors in fear?

Andrew: We always have good responses at shows, and our friends are never disappointed, we always have a fun set. We have cleared out rooms before, but not as much. Here’s an anecdotal story: Cavity's first show was at Uncle Sam’s in South Beach, and they cleared it out in 5 minutes.

Angelo: Personally, we've definitely made the move from clearing places out to people actually watching us and enjoying what they hear.

Jon: I remember playing the shows where we were completely out of place on the bill. I love seeing people walk out with their fingers in their ears. At the same time you have people really enjoying it. There are people who get it and people who don't.

Matt: I think it's usually a polarized reaction- love or hate. The people that are into sludge or doom or anything are really into it and give us pretty positive responses. When we play at shows where it's a bunch of hard-core bands then people seem to just sit around and stare at us.


Hellride Music: Have you guys done any touring out of the area or has all of the live action been on your home turf thus far?

Consular: We have gone out on two tours in the last year, a winter short tour, and month long summer tour covering about 22 states, and some weekend shows around Florida, and it was a blast. Good responses, shady promoters, shitty shows, Great shows… good fucking times. Always fucking loud!!


Hellride Music: Will you be doing any extensive touring and promotion for the record once it gets out there?

Andrew: We will be definitely hitting the road for some fests this year and hopefully a 2 to 3 week venture to the West Coast. Hopefully we will be on Emissions of the monolith this year in Texas. We are definitely pushing for that. We have some upcoming weekend shows in Florida with our friends from The Wayward in March, and we will be doing 4 Florida dates with our friends from Across Tundras (ex. Examination of the…, Spirit of Versailles)


Hellride Music: Is there any show that you guys have played that really sticks out thus far? Any crazy injuries, memorable moments or bands that were just damn cool to share the stage with? Feel free to take this one in any direction you want.

Andrew/Angelo: Definitely sharing the stage with Anal Cunt and High on Fire was pretty nuts. The Nirvana cover show, St. Louis, and the Torche house show a year ago were also great memories.

Jon: I got to drink a half gallon of beer at this venue in Houston. Can't remember the name of the venue. There are also rumors of a pretty big reunion show in Miami. I'm not going to say who, but if that one works out, that will definitely be at the top of our lists.

Matt: All of tour last summer with The Kidcrash and Coffin Dancer was amazing. I think the shows with Hoth in Tennessee, El Minotaur in Springfield Missouri (Big ups, spring break 07), and the big band show in Houston were fucking out of control, although I was pretty drunk for most of the shows. Oh also, living in the Trump Tower for a week. That ruled.


Hellride Music: What is up next for Consular? Are you thinking about future releases already or have any new material that you guys will be getting ready to unleash in the not so distant future?

Consular: We always play with asking awesome bands to do splits, but right now in the works are bunch of split 7"s with Hoth (from Tennessee) and Gallo de Rinia (from Argentina). Who knows, we would love to split with Monarch and Migraviolenta, which are two fucking brutal doom and thrash bands our right now. We def want to release another full length, but do not know if it will be this year, maybe just a bunch of 7"s and comps.


Hellride Music: What does the Consular collective have in rotation in their respective CD/Tape/Record players these days?

Andrew: Dead Prez, Silvio Rodriguez, Ali Primera, Eyehategod, Metallica, Wu Tang Clan, Cavity, Dove, Napalm Death, Siege, Celtic Frost, Sarcofago, Melvins.

Jon: Eyehategod, Asschapel, Bongzilla, and The Holy Mountain have been the main ones these past few weeks.

Matt: Always the Melvins, and then a lot of electronic shit. Venetian Snares, Agoraphobic Nosebleed, Bong-Ra, Curse of the Golden Vampire. My taste in music is pretty schizophrenic, it jumps from jazz to grind to doom or opera or whatever. I think this band is probably has the most diverse taste in music. For example I know on the same night Andrew and Angelo went and saw Hank Williams III, Jon saw Eric Clapton and I went to go see Kayo Dot and some grind bands.


Hellride Music: Is there a certain goal in mind with how far you guys want to take this? Music is always about fun but of course there are always goals to set that you look back on at the end of the day.

Andrew: Tour Europe, Japan, South America and only pay for plane tickets. Also release good albums and put Miami back on the back for the brutality it really has.

Jon: There are still some states I haven't been completely trashed in yet. I'll get there. Note to bands on tour: drinking heavily gets you out of long, late night drives. This has been a lot of fun so far, I can’t wait to see where it goes.


Hellride Music: I want to thank you one last time for doing this, the pleasure has been all mine. Thank you for the great music and I can't wait to hear where you guys take this insanity next. Close this interview in anyway that you like.

Andrew: Shout out to the 305 DeathSquad.

Angelo: WHOA! That was… SCARY!

Jon: Dio ruined Sabbath.

Matt: Keep the churches burning.


Visit Consular on the web at www.myspace.com/consular