Interview Doguul

Doguul, a band unearthing the stories of the deceased, discusses their unique music and themes. They blend metal sub-genres to create a "grim yet powerful atmosphere" in pursuit of making death beautiful. The Collector character ties into their band identity, serving as the essence of their art. Doguul seeks to evoke powerful emotions and contemplation in their audience through storytelling. They emphasize the importance of visual elements, not only in their music videos and live performances but also through their online presence, connecting with fans and sharing their dark narratives. Their future includes expanding their discography with longer, harder-hitting songs and a full-length album.

1. Can you tell us more about the origin of the band name "Doguul" and its significance in representing your music?

Seongwoon: We are enamored of anything that belongs to the dead. Therefore, we have no guilt of taking from them. Keeping them buried underground is such a waste - I am only being efficient. And, I have a knack for stealing.

Algos: Doguul (도굴) means ‘grave theft’ in Korean. Upon brainstorming what to rob a grave for, we were stuck with the concept of digging them up for their stories - this eventually became the concept of the whole EP. Like the old saying in Korea, “There is no grave without a story to tell(사연 없는 무덤 없다),” we believe that death can be an endless source of inspiration. Also, it is also our goal to redefine & present death (and death metal) as what can be perceived as beautiful, which also goes in line with the act of digging up a grave for something valuable.

Hongsam: The name ‘Doguul’ sums up our music in one word. Along with the impression that we are telling stories related to death, musically, it also implies finding inspiration from various old, good music like (but not restricted to) death metal and making it our own to achieve the best results.

2. Your band is known for blending various sub-genres of metal. How do each of your individual musical backgrounds contribute to the unique sound of Doguul?

Seongwoon: Things that are under the ground are either garbage or treasure - and only one of those two things. I’ve dug around enough for 20 years to tell which is garbage and which is treasure. Sadly, most of them are garbage, but we come across a gem or two. That is what keeps me digging.

Algos: Before Doguul came to be, three of the current members were in a crossover thrash / hardcore punk band called Wasp Sting Danger, which is where we get the speed from. Seongwoon has played in various Korean death metal bands like El Patron and Terrormight, which greatly influenced our songwriting and riff making. Hongsam has a passion for grindcore and noisecore, and previously had a one-man noisecore project named after himself, and a noisegrind band called Gobchang - that is where the grinding blast beats that allow us to be however aggressive as we want comes from. As for black metal, you could say that it is our common denominator, since both Soohwan and Seongwoon used to play in the Korean black metal band Sad Legend and I was the guitar session for the DSBM band Kryphos.

Hongsam: I really love grindcore and noisecore songs which have aggressive and powerful blast beats, and I try to add that aggression to our songs. For example, the part of the song 'Disemboweled’ where Soohwan plays his solo and the last part of the song 'Inhumed’.

I also like death metal songs, especially with grindcore elements, for instance, the great band Cattle Decapitation. I really love their song 'Lifestalker’, especially its breakdown which the breakdowns in 'Disemboweled’ and 'Immolated’ come from.

As Algos said, black metal is one of our favorite genres. In terms of drumming, I wanted to bring out the unique angst and sadness of black metal songs in ‘Bludgeoned’, 'Inhumed’ and 'Immolated’. Some post-black metal bands such as Asunojokei, Fen were a great references.

3. "If These Bodies Could Talk" is a concept EP with stories inspired by actual incidents. Can you share some insight into the inspiration behind this project and the stories that influenced each song?

Seongwoon: I personally do not care about the stories of the dead. I only ever try to expose to the world what the dead took to their graves. Of course, what I bring may spur some inspiration which then can be transferred to others through stories - but that’s not my role to take. I leave the fuss of talking to Algos.

Algos: As mentioned above, we believe that death can be an endless source of inspiration. Also, the stories behind each death can provide a new insight to life and being itself as well. That was where we started out, and from there I would search for news articles, videos, historical records, etc. about death for inspiration before writing lyrics for each song. Out of respect for the actual victims and their family, the details of incidents were changed slightly, but they are inspired from actual events & people. For example:

- Disemboweled: a student kills himself by throwing himself off a cliff, over the frustration of being misunderstood by his parents and bullied by classmates. he ends up disemboweled, ironically showing the world who he is on the inside => inspired by personal experience & suicide video of a Chinese student where people taunt them to jump

- Bludgeoned: obsessive-compulsive and insecure bodybuilder killed by a barbell falling on his head while performing a “skull-crusher,” death in pursuit of beauty => inspired by gym accident videos and news article about a guy who was killed by a barbell landing on his neck.

- Inhumed: a jealous woman who was always denied recognition kidnaps and buries her friend alive. the fine line between hate and love, jealousy => inspired by an actual murder case in Korea where a woman abused an old friend, used her for prostitution, and then buried her alive. Changed the plot as a whole to focus more on the theme of jealousy

- Castrated: woman who is sexually abused by her father castrates him with a broken mirror and kills him => inspired by the Brigitte Harris case.

- Immolated: 1950, in the Korean war, a farmer’s boy who applied for military service gets killed in action, with no one to retrieve his body or name tag. => inspired by my grandfather’s life, and many others’ during the Korean war. Dedicated to the nameless remains of soldiers that died back then, still being excavated from the mountains today

The full stories are viewable on Doguul’s Facebook page.

4. The EP features an introduction of the Collector character. How does this character tie into the

overarching theme of the EP and the band's identity?

Seongwoon: I AM the Collector.

Algos: In the album, the Collector is a being who digs up corpses from forgotten graves to collect their stories of death. The intro melody of the first song is a funeral hymn for the dead as the Collector sets out into the rainy mountains, in search for the dead which constantly call out to him. You could say that this character is the one who uncovers the stories of the dead in the other songs. Like the last line of lyrics from his song, The Collector, he collects these stories because of his will to explore death and the inspiration it provides - this is the identity of the band.

“Shovel the dirt from the graves, Uncover the nameless faces. Unravel their forgotten tales,To face what humanity fears.”

Hongsam: The Collector is Doguul. We dig up and collect old, forgotten, and buried things and tell stories about them in our own way. He is the identity of our band in itself in both musically and thematically.

5. How do you approach the songwriting process when creating music that aims to reinterpret the darkness and rawness of old school metal while incorporating modern production?

Seongwoon: From Black Sabbath to Periphery, I dig everything up, and I take what I like. The more I consume, the richer my brain grows. I am a being of black magick. The darkness is my home, and distortion is my voice.

Algos: Music-wise, we try to be simple and straightforward. We focus on whatever we feel is hard & raw and just make it happen - and you know it’s hard and raw when it hits you. As for the technical requirements for quality modern production, we give our thanks to iRE Recording Studio for their detailed engineering & professional assistance throughout all stages of production, be it recording, mixing, or mastering.

6. What are some of the challenges and rewards of infusing storytelling into your music, particularly with themes as dark and intense as those found in your EP?

Seongwoon: Nothing is a challenge. Ironically, the most important trait in our trade is physical strength. Grave theft and metal music literally is a form of manual labor. We need our bodies to be stronger, so that we may grow darker.

Algos: I also wouldn’t call this a challenge, but the fact that Korean audiences are not that open to metal music, and getting them to understand that there are actual lyrics and stories that we put a lot of work into is close to impossible was always a bit discouraging. That is partially why we decided to stick to using mostly English, to reach out to a bigger audience outside of Korea. Besides that, the creative process of telling these stories is the reward in itself - we want to put out something that people do not usually get, something that creators do not usually approach aesthetically. In short, we just take pleasure in making death beautiful, and having more people thinking about & appreciating death.

7. Your music is described as having a "grim yet powerful atmosphere." Can you elaborate on how you achieve this balance and what emotions you hope to evoke in your listeners?

Seongwoon: All senses are connected. Our imagination draws visual images from our auditory perceptions, and what we see also invoke sounds that ring in our minds. I dream every day, and I record my dreams in sound. It would be most ideal if my dream manifests itself in the listener’s mind, but it is okay if it does not. Everyone has the freedom to imagine.

Algos: Although we try to focus our art on bringing death to light, we do not wish it to be taken lightly as it is a very dramatic experience for people. That is why “grim” and “powerful” are the two keywords in our aesthetic -we want our listeners to feel overpowered by the darkness and grimness of our music, and at the same time full of the power and cathartic pleasure it gives.

Hongsam: Genre-wise, I believe it is the mix of death metal and black metal in our music that gives it the said atmosphere. 'Bludgeoned' is a good example. A powerful riff blasts at the very beginning of the song, which is followed by a sad and darker riff. As a drummer, I wanted the powerful riff to sound like those in death metal, especially brutal death metal, and the sad riff to sound like those in black metal. And indeed its instrumentals sounds like what I wanted. As a result, 'Bludgeoned' is the heaviest and strongest song on our EP, but it still has that underlying tone of misery. Although each song emphasizes a slightly different mood, we tried to make a sorrowful but intense atmosphere through this combination of genres.

Personally, I hope that through this atmosphere, listeners can feel the destructive and bleak side of death and its causes. I don’t want them to forget the misery of death while they fully enjoy the catharsis of destructive power.

8. Doguul's music delves into the concept of death. How does your music explore this theme, and what message or experience do you want your audience to take away from it?

Seongwoon: Death is not something that can be ‘experienced’ by the living. Death is equal to all, death is where we belong, the womb of being - therefore, it is freely open to everyone’s imagination. That is why stories of death are inviolable and should not be judged, criticized, or belittled in any way. Should anyone try to do so, I will make them experience death.

Algos: With our first EP, we tried to express the theme of death by telling stories. Although they are stories of death, they are also an insight to certain aspects of life and human emotions. Our so-called “messages” might ring differently for audiences, so we would like to leave that to them to decide. We are but puppeteers that entertain with shadows in front of the fire of truth - all we are meant to do is put on a great show, and the audience will take what they like from it.

Hongsam: Because death is a natural process which also has a great impact on people, our exploration of death eventually leads to stories about human life and emotions. I hope that listeners will think about death once again while enjoying our music and these stories.

9. Can you tell us about the creative and artistic choices behind your album cover art and how it connects to the EP's content and themes?

Seongwoon: They were created through the audioization of the shadows in my mind, which were then visualized through the language of art. To me, visual perception is but a tool for auditory perception - I can imagine photorealistic pictures in my mind without using my eyes.

10. Doguul's music has a strong visual and thematic identity. How important is the visual aspect of your band, including your live performances and music videos, in conveying your message?

Seongwoon: I am a student of black magick, and I am a mystic. Visibilia ex invisibilibus. When darkness falls, and the moon prevails the night I leave my house with my shovel, and I dig away. A grave theft is never witnessed.

Algos: We are diggers, and we work with corpses and dirt - I am sure we appear to be as such when we perform.

We are also preparing some video projects in 2024, which will be uploaded to Youtube & other social media.

Hongsam: Personally, I don't attach much significance to music videos, but I think it's important to visually show that we are tireless grave robbers in live performances.

11. As a band with a significant online presence, how do you use platforms like Facebook to connect with your audience and share your stories and music?

Seongwoon: Anyone who wishes to contemplate the ancient darkness and one’s true self is welcome to engage in conversation. We neither flock with birds, nor lead sheep. We dig up things to consume and/or study.

Algos: All stories that were written for our EP have been uploaded to Instagram and Facebook. We will soon start uploading some video material to Youtube soon. However, we won’t do internet lives unless we are playing an online show.

12. What's next for Doguul? Are there any upcoming projects or goals you'd like to share with your fans and the metal community?

Seongwoon: I found some more graves to dig up. They will be dug, and what we find will be shared by all.

Algos: As the concept EP songs were quite short (partially to fit the 666-second concept), we are working on some longer songs that tell longer stories, about harder subjects. Our goal is to come up with enough songs to put out a full-length album. We might put out some singles along the way, so stay tuned.

Hongsam: We are writing songs with the goal of producing our first full-length album with a large number of more powerful songs and sufficiently long running time. Until our first full-length album is released, we will continue to tell the stories we have collected through live performances & more.

Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/doguul666

Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/doguul666

Youtube : https://www.youtube.com/@DoguulBand