1. ) Hi, Whass up ? Please tell us shortly about the band's bio.

DESENSITISED was formed in 1994 by me (Susan) (guitars / vocals ), Jozef ( bass / vocals ), and Rutger ( drums / vocals ). As the songs developed, we realised it became more and more difficult to play and sing at the same time, so we decided to look for another singer who was found in the person of Jo. In 1995 we recorded our first demo called "Your final ride". ( The band was called CATAFALQUE at the time). Jo left the band one year later and the band continued as a threesome again. With this line-up we played several gigs in The Netherlands, Belgium and Germany with bands like Dead Infection, Rot, Inhume, Agathocles, Malignant Tumour, Rebaelliun and many more. Due to a series of line-up changes the band was forced to stop for a while. At the end of 1998 we started afresh with the following line-up : Susan (guitars) Steven (vocals) and Rutger (drums). Not discouraged by the fact that we did not have a bass player we started to perform and write new material again. In September 2001 the band changed their name from CATAFALQUE into DESENSITISED and recorded their debut CD, which contains seven songs of extreme death metal incorporating elements of grindcore. Early 2002 Rutger decided to leave the band and bassplayer Raets (who helped the band out with the recordings) was replaced by Jeroen. Our MCD called "Thriving on carnage" was released in July 2002. > >

2) Why did you formed DESENSITISED ? and what do you have to offer to the extreme > metal scene ?

As you could see in the former question, Desensitised wasn't really formed but gradually evolved from our previous band Catafalque. What do we have to offer? True old school death / grind! We play the kind of music we all grew up with, we're not a band who just bluntly copies their examples. I mean, we all have our idols, but that's normal I guess. > >

3) Please explain, why did you choose " death metal " as your music style > instead of others ?

It's the kind of music I have been listening to since I was 14 and I always wanted to make ever since. For me it's a very good way of expressing myself (not that I'm an aggressive person!) but you can do away with all the stress and so on. When I play the guitar I feel free and relaxed. > >

4)Tell us about your album " Thriving On Carnage "., the recording process. > and on what label ?

We recorded this album at De Studio in Asse (Belgium). The whole album was recorded in one day and it took us about four hours mixing it. The Dutch Bleedin' Hemorrhoid label has released our CD. > >

5) Who is responsible to write the lyrics ? where do you get the inspirations ?

Our singer Steven writes most of our lyrics. He writes about his everyday life experiences or things he saw on Discovery Channel for example.

6)> Tell us about your song writing process.. Who wrote the music ?

I almost write all our songs. I usually have some riffs and while rehearsing we try to blend them into a song.

> >7) Being as a woman in death metal bands, did you ever had problems with the > fans or other bands ? > Or did they treat you with " nice special " treatment considering that > you're a woman ? >

No, not at all, I haven't had any problems so far. I feel I'm being treated normally.

>8) We all know these days there's a lot of porno gore grind band, do you got > offended by any bands who use women as some sexual exploitations, sexual > harassments, inside their lyrics ? how do you deal with it ? >

Haha, I guess you have to take that with a pinch of salt. I can really see the humour of it all. I mean, I love bands like Gut or Dead.

>9) What do you & the guys do beside the bands ? school ? work ? hobbies ?

We all work besides the band and I guess we all share the same (major) hobby : making music!

> >10) What are your fav. bands from your country ? old school & new school.

Acrostichon, Korsakov, (old) Gorefest, Occult, DeadHead, (old) Asphyx, Desecration, (old) Sinister.

> 11) > What bands are influencing you the most ? Please tell us your top 5 > favourite metal bands. And tell us what are you listening to lately.. Do you > always listening to metal ? or is there any other music that you like to > listen to ? >

My top 5 fave bands would be Carcass, Arch Enemy, Pungent Stench, Napalm Death, (old) Entombed. I usually listen to death metal and good grind bands. The last CD I bought was the new one from Driller Killer. But I don't always listen to extreme music, I also love the classic heavy metal bands like the first CDs from Maiden and Ozzy, or recently I discovered Phantom Blue. Damn, these girls know how to play!!

>12) What do you think of the Nu metal genre these days ? do you into that stuff > ? Do you consider them as metal bands ? > Please explain. >

Personally I don't like this kind of music. I wouldn't consider it metal. The only good thing about it is that there are more 7 string guitars now, haha!!

>13) How is the scene in your local area ? Did you often performing in your area > ?

> The local scene is not bad. We have performed rather often at the local venues, but you should be careful not to play too often in your own area.

>14) Can you inform us the bands from Netherlands that you think is cool and > worth to check them out ? >

See question no 10!

>15) What Is your opinion about internet metal magazine ( webzine ) ?

I really like the so called webzines. Especially those which are updated every two or three weeks. There's always something new then!

> >16) Do you know something about the Indonesian metal scene ?

I know some magazines but I hardly know any Indonesian bands. ( JASAD is on FOREVER UNDERGROUND Records (USA) , FUNERAL INCEPTION is on WARPATH Records ( Fra ), etc. Just visit www.rottrevore.mainpage.net to explore more about Indonesian extreme metal bands )

> >17) Inform us about the future plans for DESENSITISED ?

At the moment we are rehearsing with our former drummer again as we couldn't find a new one. He was willing to help us out with some gigs, because we want to promote our CD obviously! We'd like to record a 7" at the end of 2002 and hopefully a full length CD in 2003. If we have a steady line-up that is....

> 18) > Do you got any merchandise ? how can we get them ? >

Yeah, people who are interested in our MCD can order it for ? 10 / $10 (incl. p&p) : DESENSITISED, Randenborgweg 119, 6118 GJ, Nieuwstadt, The Netherlands. We are planning to have some shirts printed but they will probably not be available until the end of October, but check out our homepage regularly for new merchandise!

>19) Is there anything else you like to say ? wanna add something ? last words ?

Thanks a lot for this interview and good luck with the mag! Anyone interested in Desensitised feel free to contact us: [email protected] or go to our homepage: http://listen.to/desensitised

Thats it ! the interview with this nice woman Susan Gerl from DESENSITISED. Visit their website and make sure you have their debut MCD. Prepare for the carnage !