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Responsible for the growls in one of the best Death Metal albums of all time, vocalist Bryan Cegon tells us a little bit of his history as a vocalist before, during and after the release of Disincarnate’s only album: the devastating Dreams of the Carrion Kind
Mondo Metal: I will start by thanking you for the opportunity to get to know you better and asking you to introduce yourself.
Bryan Cegon: You’re very welcome. Thank you for your interest & support. I’m Bryan Cegon, vocalist for Disincarnate
Mondo Metal: What/who inspired you into metal and what made you start singing?
Bryan Cegon: I’ve been a metal head since early childhood. My brother Paul is 3 years older than me. We would share Lps & cassettes. It was the early ’80s, by the time I was in 3rd grade I had a respectable collection of Sabbath, Ozzy, Priest, Maiden, Dio, etc. Lps. I wanted to learn guitar, but I have hand-eye coordination problems. It takes a huge effort just to write legibly. I used to scream along with my records & one day just decided to be a vocalist.
Mondo Metal: How much effort has it taken for you to get that ultra low death growl of yours? Have you ever taken any singing lessons?
Bryan Cegon: Never took a single lesson, completely self-taught. It wasn’t nearly as hard developing the ultra low tone, as it was learning how to “sing” in a death metal growl. While looking at pics of me from the “Dreams” sessions, I noticed that I used to make a contorted face where my whole chin would disappear. The problem was while using that method I could only achieve 1 tone. I wanted more dynamics. I started practicing to a lot of Pantera & Paradise Lost. Eventually I evolved into a far superior vocalist.
Mondo Metal: Dreams of the Carrion Kind is one of the best Death Metal releases of all time. A true masterpiece. Can you tell us how you got involved and what was like to work with James Murphy, one of the best Death Metal musicians of all time?
Bryan Cegon: I knew James Murphy kind of in passing. He worked at the legendary Ace’s records in Tampa, when he wasn’t touring or recording. The year was ’92 & I had heard through the grapevine that the bassist/vocalist that James had recruited was kicking ass on bass, not so much on vocals. I invited Murphy to watch my band Infernus rehearse. Although I was using an old bass rig for a p.a. he was impressed enough to invite me to morrisound studios! The legendary Scott Burns gave me his stamp of approval & I was in. BTW I wasn’t the only member of Infernus James was impressed with Jason Carman ended up in Disincarnate too.
Mondo Metal: The album has got subtly intense and powerful lyrics. How/where did you get your inspiration? Can you walk us through the lyric writing process back then?
Bryan Cegon: I was still a teenager at the time. I had mostly only written about typical death metal subjects ie. Satan or the Holocaust. James taught me a lot about sublety & symbolism. The 3 demo songs, “Stench of Paradise burning”, “Soul erosion”, & “Confine of shadows” were all James’ concepts. He wrote the lyrics to “Stench” before I came into the picture. “Soul” & “Confine were collaborations. “Beyond the flesh” was mostly me.(if memory serves) “In sufferance” was mostly James’ concept, but I wrote some of it. “Monarch of the sleeping marches” was James’ concept & was based on the Sandman graphic novels, but we wrote it together. “Entranced” was mainly me & was based on an H.p. Lovecraft story. “Deadspawn” was James’ concept, based on Brian Lumley’s Necroscope series. We co-wrote the lyrics. Finally. “Sea of tears” was based on Clive Barker’s Hellraiser graphic novels. The lyrics were a collaborative effort. The best way I could describe my contribution to the “Dreams” lyrics, would be to compare it to writing a masters thesis on several subjects & books at once.
Mondo Metal: Most of us were left perplexed by the fact that, after your amazing performance on Disincarnate, you did not get involved in other bands after. Any particular reason why?
Bryan Cegon: I can see how people could have gotten that impression, but I actually stayed at it for more than a decade after “Dreams”. It’s only the last 10 years that I haven’t done much. The metal scene around The Tampa area changed drastically in the mid ’90′s. After Korn & the nu metal craze hit, it became almost an insult to be called “death metal”. Back then I was naive enough to think that any band I got into would be instantly signed. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Eventually I stopped even thinking about success. I focused on writing, recording, & performing songs I was proud of, nothing more. I experimented with different effects, & vocal styles, but always kept it Metal. The misconception that I “fell off the face of the earth” is partly why I’ve been so eager to get the 4 recordings from 3 unsigned bands online for all to hear.
Mondo Metal: James Murphy has recently revealed there will soon be a second Disincarnate album. What can you tell us about it?
Bryan Cegon: I can’t tell you much more than James has already said. It’s still in the preliminary stage. All 4 original members are on board. Disincarnate is a big part of why I recently moved back to Florida. Tommy Viator will be moving here soon as well. There are no song titles yet. There are 3 or 4 songs worth of riffs from an old jam room rehearsal tape that Tommy saved & burned for us. The cool thing about this is that we’ll be completing songs we started 20 years ago. I think this album will be an awesome blend of past, present, & future. I can’t wait to start.
Mondo Metal: You have been involved with some other projects. Can you name them and tell us a little bit about them?
Bryan Cegon: Before Disincarnate me & Jason Carman were in Infernus together. After “Dreams” I joined PainFactor a 4 piece thrashy kind of band. We recorded a 3-song demo that I’m still very proud of. It will be available free of charge at reverbnation.com very soon. After PainFactor fell apart me & the bassist Chris Mullen formed LowLife. We were a 4 piece metal band with industrial overtones. Our 4-song demo is available for free @reverbnation.com if you’re interested. After an amicable split with LowLife I joined Strict-9, a very heavy rap/death metal band. We were kind of in the vein of Stuck Mojo. I was in Strict-9 for almost 8 years. We put out CDs “9 from the 9″ in ’97ish & “Ultrasonic Hate” in ’01. Both of these are on reverbnation.com. Just make sure you add the town name of Clearwater in your search as several acts have since stolen our name. The same goes for LowLife as well.
Mondo Metal: What bands do you usually listen to?
Bryan Cegon: I mainly listen to older metal, a lot of Slayer, Pantera, Zombie, Obituary, Grave, Unleashed, Fear Factory, Paradise Lost, My Dying Bride, old Morbid Angel, Old Amorphis, Acid Bath etc. I also really like Mindless Self Indulgence.
Mondo Metal: Changing the subject a little bit, what are the first things that come to mind when you hear the word Brazil?
Bryan Cegon: When I think of Brazil Sepultura is the 1st thing that comes to mind. Brazilian bikini wax is the 2nd. Carnival is the 3rd. Wasn’t Sarcófago from Brazil?
Mondo Metal: Thank you very much for sharing your experiences with us. We wish you all the best with your new projects! It is now time for a message to all your fans, especially the Brazilian ones!
Bryan Cegon: The best advice I can give any metal head is not to be afraid to try new things. Never abandon your roots. Great art is born of suffering.
Listen: Deadspawn
