The Whipping Post presents...

Paramaecium Interview - Added 08/31/01

Despite a very busy schedule, Andrew Tompkins of Paramaecium agreed to answer a few questions for The Whipping Post regarding their upcoming new release, past releases, and his writing interests. Read along as this maker of slow music shows his speed in this short interview... 

Whipping Post - You guys have a new album coming out really soon. How close are you to having things done, and when do you expect the new release to hit the streets? 

Paramaecium - There's no release date set yet and I still have a bit more work to do on it so I can't say at this stage. Hopefully some time this year. 

WP - So, what will the new album be like musically? Will it resemble any of your past releases or will you forge new ground? 

P - Similar to "A Time to Mourn" and also in some respects to "Exhumed". It's still going to be doom death metal. 

WP - Most Paramaecium fans I know like all of the material you guys have released. However, a couple of people have complained that you guys didn't just stay with the brute heaviness of your first release and not ventured out as much. Obviously, you all don't want to become stagnant as a band, but have you all ever considered these opinions and thought, "Hey maybe we ought to get back to our roots a little more"? 

P - We've never written music for a particular audience per se. We've just sort of written whatever came to mind. And if we were market minded we probably wouldn't be playing doom at all. But each album has had its own character and everyone has their own favourite. I quite like the slow plodding nature of some of the material on Exhumed and I've incorporated that into the new album. 

WP - How difficult was it recording "A Time to Mourn" with Ian Arkley living in Europe? 

P - Not very difficult. I spent a week with him in England. I'd already written most of the music and just inserted some of his riffs into it. They seemed to fit perfectly and we ended up with a musically seamless product. When it came time to record, I flew him out to Australia and we recorded the guitars. He wasn't here for the completion of the album, just for his guitar parts, but the result was a great success. 

WP - Have you all had any label interest lately (Christian or secular) or do you just plan on staying independent? 

P - We'll release the next album ourselves, as we have with all of them, and then look for license deals. 

WP - What do see in the future for Paramaecium? How long do you plan on making music? 

P - For as long as we can. As long as it's viable, we'll continue to do it. 

WP - You do a lot of writing other than the lyrics for Paramaecium. In fact, you have a website (www.andrewtompkins.com) totally devoted to your writings. Is this more of a priority now than Paramaecium? 

P - It is in many ways. I see writing as my calling and it's my main priority now. I'm working on a novel at the moment and I have a number of short stories in development and have just had my first short story published in a professional journal so that aspect of my life is just now beginning. 

WP - Any final comments? 

P - People can keep up with progress on album 4 on our website at paramaecium.com and can join our mailing list there to receive updates from me. Thanks for the interview.