Skeletonwitch’s Chance Garnett Lays Down His Faves on ‘Breathing the Fire’

Want a tour guide for some of the deadliest, most charred tracks on Skeletonwitch's 'Breathing With Fire,' which is due out on Oct. 13? Fine, we got vocalist Chance Garnett to play along, to hold your hand and walk you through his favorite songs. But we will first issue a warning: Those with weak stomachs and pregnant women should proceed with caution before hopping on this ride!

'Crushed Beyond Dust': "This was the first song I completed for the new record. It came very easy! It's a song about basically stomping the s--- out of someone, killing them with your bare hands, pulling them apart and ripping their life away. The sort of actions that would make someone say to you, 'Stop beating him. He's already dead.' And the reply would be, 'Not dead enough!' There you have it, 'deader than dead, horribly quashed, crushed beyond dust!'"

'Submit to the Suffering': "It's about having dreams of torture, of being totally consumed with visions of skinning, burning and dismembering living people. And then, of course, growing the balls to make your dreams a reality. At first, the suffering of the living feeds your need, but the visions won't stop. You can't tear the eyes out of your own mind."

You may be slowly backing away from the computer right now thanks to Garnett's subversive statements. But metal is evil, man! Or so says Garnette. "Other topics I've delved into on 'Breathing the Fire' are the desire of demonic possession, the worship of sickness and plague, the inextinguishable fire of hatred and hordes of the undead brought back by the dark lord to feed upon the living. So yeah, good old-fashioned evil, man!"

For 'Breathing the Fire,' Skeletonwitch worked with producer Jack Endino, who built his rep working with Seattle grunge bands in his early days. "He's not afraid to try different things or think outside of the box," Garnett said. "We wanted the overall production to sound big, full, wet and natural. We wanted to avoid the sort of overproduced, clicky, typewriter bass drums and synthetic bass drops that you hear so much of these days. Sometimes less is more, you know? I believe we achieved exactly what we were looking for: a big tube amp warmth and fat drums instead of hospital sterility. We're dirty dudes who play dirty music, and it should sound that way!"

Garnett's parting shot was just as dirty as his band's blackened death thrash and was undoubtedly influenced by the one and only Phil Anselmo. "We're Skeletonwitch from Athens, Ohio, so drink beer, smoke weed and eat some f---ing pussy."