Interview with Prilzor from Soulgrinder

Hell-O my Necrosexuals of the world. My sincere apologies for the delay in hard-hitting journalism. Your patience will be rewarded with much more regularly scheduled programming. I have a totally grim pipeline of interviews and reviews to share with you all.

First off, Soulgrinder. This band sounds like the creepy music one would hear in a sorcerer's lair. 2018's album Prophecy Of Blight contains thoroughly evil riffs, with a classic heavy metal atmosphere and thrashy precision. Their vocalist, Prilzor, spews the lyrics with demonic delivery. Her voice arrangements are part sung, part shrieked, and also a bit guttural. Either way, her vocal harmonies carry the music on Prophecy Of Blight in a big way. These songs will definitely worm their way into your psyche.

Aside from being a horrifying vocalist and bass player, Prilzor is also a killer artist. She has designed everything from her own clothes, to album covers for bands like Bewitcher. 

Below is an unearthed email interview with Prilzor from Soulgrinder.

HELL-O Pril-Zor, how are you?
Doing well, glad to be here!

To the uninitiated, how do you describe the oozing metal sounds of Soul Grinder?

Ungodly riffs accompanied by a sneering screaming goblin tearing relentlessly through caverns built of bones, leaving behind a decimated trail of blight and chaos. Soul Grinder is a bubbling cauldron of heavy, thrash, death, doom and even black metal - this unusual mixture was birthed from our collective desire to play music that pays homage to all our favorite bands!Who are your heavy metal heroes, as a bassist, vocalist and artist?

Rob Halford, Wendy O Williams, Lemmy, Cliff Burton, Ozzy, Bruce Dickenson, Dio, Dave Mustaine, David Ellefson, Warrel Dane, Geoff Tate, Sean Yseult, Tom G Warrior, Bobby Blitz, Tom Araya and Jo Bench.

What's your favorite song off Prophecy Of Blight, and why?

At this point, my favorite is the final track, and surprisingly our sleeper song, The Rift. This was the last one we learned for the album, so it was really the furthest we had gone as musicians, which is in part why I like this one the best. I have a little bass intro and for this song I pushed myself pretty hard vocally to pull it off, there’s even a subtle high octave layer in the chorus. Also, this song is just downright heavy and mean!

Your corpse paint reminds me of Dee Snyder if he died in a vat of toxic slime and went to hell. What's your corpse paint inspiration?

Thanks! That’s an accurate description! King Diamond, Gene Simmons, Alice Cooper, Abbath and Kvitrafn are the main ones who guided me on this path. Honestly my look came from not knowing when to stop applying eyeliner. I prefer corpse paint as is quick, dirty and gives me confidence to perform and unleash my inner demon!

How did your look evolve over the years, or was it always this way?

The evolution is ongoing, however the first show we played I didn’t have much makeup on. Both my hair and stage makeup have become more extreme overtime I suppose. I also now own more bondage gear than I’d ever imagine I’d possess, so that’s pretty cool!

You also make killer art work, logos, and clothing. What's one of your favorite pieces of art that you made?

Thanks! I like to dabble in creation! My favorite piece to date is The Prophecy of Blight art, maybe a little too on the nose, but in all seriousness, I spent months conceptually building it, followed by months painting it. There was just so much time put into it, the most I’ve ever dedicated to a painting. Finishing it was really an “Ah Ha!” moment and I feel like I leveled up through the process. I’ve also done a couple paintings for the band Bewitcher and I have them to thank, doing paintings for their 7” and t-shirt made me a stronger artist and really prepared me for approaching our full length art.

Tell me about one album that changed your life forever?

Countdown to Extinction by Megadeth. I believe that album is all bangers and such great sing along songs. I love Dave Mustaine's sarcastic tones and angry voice, hearing it as a teen blew my mind. The whole album is so heavy, technical, dynamic and fun! It really opened me up to thrash and more metal from there!

What do you consider the heaviest riff of all time?

Does the Terminator beat count? This is a hard choice, as heaviness varies from band to band, but if I must choose I would say "Where The Slime Live" by Morbid Angel. That shit is nasty and groovin' and evil as hell! And it isn’t just one riff, but a rearrangement of the same riff throughout the song which makes it interesting and not overdone. The guys wanted to add their picks too, as this turned into quite the discussion at the Soul Grinder house. Alex’s choice is one of the final riffs, the breakdown about 5:30 into Bolt Thrower’s 7th Offensive and Kevin’s pick is that bangin intro in Spheres of Madness by Decapitated!

What's your favorite album cover? 

Somewhere in Time by Iron Maiden really has it all! And I'm talking the full album art piece, not just what you see on the cover alone.

Favorite movie?

This is probably tied between Wayne’s World and Cheech & Chong’s Up in Smoke.

Favorite HORROR movie?

Prince of Darkness is superb! The music, the mystery, the terror, and Alice Cooper! That movie is so good!

What are some of your favorite bands at the moment?

Bands who I believe are killing it right now are Idle Hands, Wardruna, Behemoth, Acid Witch, Candlemass, Bewitcher, Roadrash, Mystik, Grave Dust, Weresquatch, Riot City, Burning Witches, Monolord, R.I.P., Silver Talon, Solicitor, Savage Master, Lady Beast, Troll,  Blood Curse, Siren Hex, Cliterati and Bonestripper! 

What else can metal maniacs expect from Soul Grinder and your art business in the future? f

From Soul Grinder, in 2020 we are focused on writing, playing more shows and doing some potential touring on the horizon! For my own art, I’d like to do another clothing collection release soon - I have 100 ideas for projects so I just need to pick one and do it! I’m always looking to collaborate with metal bands for art and logos too! 

Thank you for going one on one with the GRIM-1. Anything you'd like to say in closing?  
Thanks for the interview! You can check out my art, clothing and more at Prilzor.com! And check out Soul Grinder’s music, merch, videos and news on our upcoming shows at soulgrinderofficial.com!