Interview with Deformatory

What got you into music, and if you had not gotten into music what would you be doing today?

I really got into music when I was 10 years old and was gifted a stereo system with a milk crate full of Black Sabbath & Ozzy vinyl records. I remember throwing ‘Master of Reality’ on, and listening to it over and over and over again in my basement bedroom until I would fall asleep. I couldn’t listen to anything that didn’t ‘sound like that’ from that point on. The next year, I started junior high and had a fantastic music teacher that let me sign out a classical guitar to bring home every day until my parents could afford to get me my own. I got hooked hard and never wavered since - going on 30+ years - and I honestly can’t even begin to picture what I would be doing without music. I’d probably be rotting in the ground somewhere.

What do you like to do when you are not playing music and how does that influence your creativity?

Aside from the responsibilities of life (work, raising a family, etc.), spending time away from the city & technology is an important element in my life. There’s an inherent need to disconnect & isolate in the woods. I’ve always had that compulsion. When I do, it seems to be one of the only times I can think clearly and unencumbered. With absolute certainty, this influences certain aspects of my creativity. Most of the crazy concepts and lyrical ideas I have conjured have stemmed from these disconnected trips into the wild.

How long has your band been around?

DEFORMATORY has been around since 2008. We originally started under a different name (Tual-Masok) and made the change to what it is now in 2010.

Where are you based out of and how did that influence your music?

We’re based out of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Our musical influences are varied but include Cryptopsy, Hate Eternal, Angelcorpse, Origin, etc. Our main influence when it comes to writing music is “giving it an atmosphere”; where we pull from what we’re feeling at the time, often the result of aggression we release in a calculated fashion to accentuate the lyrical themes we want to explore.

How did you come up with the name of your band and what does it mean to you?

We created the name in order to fit where we thought the music was going. We wanted a name that could automatically define what we’re about and what will happen if you press play.

Tell me about your most memorable shows.

Our first show back in 2009 will always be memorable. Everything about that night was exhilarating. Looking back on it now, we can see how amateurish we were in many different ways and it served as a crucial baseline for improvement across the board. We also will always remember how goddamn hot it was that night! It was one of those suffocatingly humid summer nights, where it felt like 38C. We were drenched in sweat before we even hit the stage. We were all very surprised none of us passed out from a heat stroke on stage.

What is your favorite venue to play at, and do you have any places you want to play that you have not already?

A really cool venue we played was called The Spill in Peterborough, ON. It was pretty much a coffee shop with a small stage by the front window. It was such a tiny spot that at least one of us had to step off the stage and play in the crowd. For extreme metal, it was as intimate as you can get and it just made everything that much crazier. The venue had this rad crash pad upstairs, where we could get some sleep after our set, but it was creepy as hell. It always reminded us of the house from The Peacock Family in the X-Files. We were always expecting some deformity to roll out from under the bed...

If you could play any show with any lineup, who would be on the ticket?

Cryptopsy (circa 1995-1997), Deicide (circa 1992-1995), Morbid Angel (circa 1998-1999) & Vitriol

What is some advice that you would give to someone who is just getting into playing in a band and some advice that you would give to your younger self?

Decide what you want out of being in a band before you join one, and then seek out people who are aligned with your goals. It’s will be a massive waste of your time and talent if you jump on board something that doesn’t go in the direction you want it to. It’s vital to be aligned with people who share a common goal, interest and values. You will be spending a significant amount of time with these people and pouring a little bit of yourself out every time you meet to write, rehearse, record and create. Don’t cast your pearls before swine!
Advice for my younger self? Invest in better gear earlier on.

If you could go back in time and give yourselves advice, what would it be?

We would likely advise ourselves to not delay any decisions regarding evacuating toxicity & lethargy from the ranks.

Of your songs which one means the most to you and why?

There’s only one song that was written that is incredibly personal and that’s ‘Myiasis’. It was a cathartic lyrical process that emancipated me from an incredibly dark period of depression.

Which songs are your favorite to play and which get requested the most?

Dehumanized off our first album is incredibly fun to play and always gets the crowd going.

We also really enjoy playing the 4 new songs that are on our upcoming EP ‘Harbinger’. Every single one of them is fun as hell, challenging and incredibly heavy.

What is the creative process for the band, and what inspires you to write your music?

We meet every week to rehearse and write in our jam space aptly named ‘The Cell’. We don’t write anything in Guitar Pro, or write riffs/songs at home in advance. Every single element is written spontaneously and organically in the rehearsal space, with everyone’s input.

What kinds of messages do you like to get across in your music?

Every song, no matter how steeped into a concept it may be, has a double or hidden meaning, We are always conveying our own misanthropic viewpoints in everything we do.

Do you ever have disagreements in your band, and how do you get past them?

Of course! When you have passionate people pouring their creative and emotional components into a project, you’re bound to have some disagreements on direction, output, goals, timelines, etc. When we were younger, we were less understanding and more prone to volatility.

Being a duo has certainly alleviated a lot of major disagreements. We both have to compromise in order to move the machine forward. No matter where we may stand on individual items, we are congruent & aligned for the greater goal. This is was allows us to move past disagreements with relative ease.

What are your plans for the future, and do you have anything that you want to spotlight that is coming up?

At the time of this interview, we’re getting ready to release our new EP entitled ‘HARBINGER’ which comes out on September 13, 2022. This is our most violent offering to date and we’re incredibly excited to unleash this dose of madness into the world.

Concurrently, we’re busy writing new material for a full-length album & auditioning members for a few positions to help resume live shows, both of which we hope to unveil in the coming year or so.  

Deformatory.ca | Facebook.com/deformatory | Instagram.com/deformatory | Youtube.com/deformatory | Deformatory.bandcamp.com

EP Teaser -

Short video on the making of “Harbinger” is available on YouTube at

Full EP Music Video -