So then, when and how did Confessor come into being?
Brian: Confessor came about back in 1986 when Scott and Graham's high school band broke up and they got together with my brother (Jim Shoaf) to jam. Me, living in the same house I just jumped in on guitar, and Cary knew my brother so....there you go. My brother left sometime in '87? to persue a career doing roadie work and Steve replaced him. The sound changed at that point to much more technically inspired music.
Steve: Scott dropped off a Tape of his new band Confessor when I still lived with my parents. He and I had never met though we knew who each other was because we were in rival high school bands. Soon after that I met Graham at a show. We really hit it off right away and for the next year I tried to convince him that Confessor needed me as it's drummer. We finally played together one afternoon just before Jim quit, so they fit me right in once he did leave.

What were the musical influences and inspirations for the band and did you deliberately set out to sound different from the Death Metal bands which were in the ascendancy in the early 90's?
Brian: I don't know that we set out to do anything.....We just wrote what we liked toplay, and listen to which at the time was a lot of Trouble and Black Sabbath for me.
Steve: Yeah, back then we all loved Trouble and to varying degrees Nasty Savage, King Diamond and Destruction. We had already defined our sound by the time Death metal really began to take over underground scene. We all shared the opinion that 'heavy' played slow is totally different from 'heavy' played fast so we continued to do our thing and left the buzzsaw riffs and blast beats up to the bands who really felt that whole vibe. At the time it really seemed to me that much of the allure of Death Metal was that is was fast & dark. Many people equated speed to heaviness which just seemed completley misguided.

Did you consider yourself as having anything in common with the Death
Metal scene, or did you perhaps see yourselves more at home in the doom
scene, or even the technical Metal scene?
Brian: We are in the Technical Death Doom scene.
Steve: We where a part of the Death Metal scene in that we were all a part of the underground metal explosion of the late 80's early 90's and people who do not know the music refer to any band that is obviously Metal but obviously not Poision or Judas Priest as 'Death Metal'. We fit somewhere between Doom and Tech. Metal. Too much groove for one, too interesting for the other.

At the time did you see Confessor as a unique entity, or could you see where comparisons with acts like Cynic and Watchtower might have been drawn? Brian: I always thought we where unique, but I am sure most guys/gals in bands say that when asked this. I could see why comparisons to Watchtower would be made though. But to be honest with you the first time I heard Watchtower was after someone said "hey, you guys sound like Watchtower". Steve: True! I thought we had our own thing going then. Ten years after all that I am realizing how unique we really were. As for comparing us to certain bands, yeah, I understand people doing that. Fans love their comparisons. It's how they describe music. "Yeah dude they sound like -blank- meets so and so" I went through a spell of listening to Watchtower quite a bit, but they were all tech all the time. They were rarely even mean and never heavy. Confessor's groove was very different, even during our 'difficult parts'.

What was the local scene in Carolina like, and did you find a welcoming place amongst the local bands? Corrosion of Conformity came from Carolina, right?
Brian: It was and still is great. COC helped us out a bit as well as the local college station for NC State. 88.1
Steve: Raleigh is a small town, so much so that it cannot support smaller 'sub-scenes'
the same cand be said of the art community here. Everyone knows everyone which is nice and comforting but it is hard to pack a big club or gallery opening. Having said that, our shows were always fun for all involved. We were a real musicians band, so two thirds of our audience were other local musicians. I love hearing people's romanticized memories of old Confessor experiences now. It makes you realize that it did actually touch some people.

How important was technical ability and prowess to Confessor? - the music is far from sterile which is what a lot of more technical bands seem to fall foul of - instead there was real depth and groove alongside the obvious ability of the players.
Brian: I think heavy groove takes priority over the technical prowess, but usually by the time Steve gets done with his part of the writing process.... Well then it's going to be technical.... and heavy.
Steve: I kind of learned how to play drums in Confessor and I really liked how the entire feel of the part can change with a slightly different snare placement or by adding or subtracting a note. A lot of our 'technical prowess' was really just a way to avoid having to hear the same thing four times in a row. It is one thing to listen to stuff like that, but to us, it was more fun to put some twists in.

Where did you find Scott Jeffreys and can you remember your thoughts when your heard him sing for the first time? Brian: Refer to question # 1 in this interview. I always have liked Scott's voice. Steve: A lot of things about Confessor are acquired tastes. If you were to change the riffs, the rhythm section or the vocals then it would not be Confessor anymore. Scott's vocals do not seem nearly so extreme to me now. I can not imagine anyone else singing for Confessor. You must have known that such a voice would polarize opinion - how confident were you that this was the voice for Confessor? Brian: Well, our polarized view was that we liked his voice, and it fit nicely. Plus..... you try to work a vocal melody out over 'Condemned' and get back to me. All of the music to our songs is written first then Scott finds a melody over it. His job is not as easy as you would think. We didn't want your typical 'grunt' vocals. No offense meant to anyone by this, I listen to bands with those style vocals but it's just not what we want to do.

Describe the progression and development between each of the three demos ('The Secret' (1987), 'Uncontrolled' (1988) and 'Collapse' (1990) that the band released before recording the 'Condemned' album. Were there tunes on these demos that didn't make the album? Brian: Only one song did not make it ('The Secret') was from the first demo. All of our fans can hear that one once Digby re-releases the album with the demos tacked on.... (Hint... hint.) As far as progression from demo to demo I'd say the last demo was much more technically oriented than the first.

Even the look of Confessor was different; in the promo photos there was a slightly hippy-ish/Eastern feel to Scott that set you apart from the other bands of the time who all wore band T-shirts at every opportunity. Again how, much of this was a concious decision and how much was just down to you simply being somewhat 'removed' from the extreme Metal scene in general?

Brian: The only thing I remember from those promo shots was how hung over I was. I don't think anyone really paid much attention to what they where going to wear. But of course as a JOKE Steve brought in a bunch of old 70's clothes and shit to the photo shoot.... Of course guess what picture made it onto Earache's website? And the moral of the story is NEVER give a record label anything you don't want them to use! Steve: Yeah in that regard we were definately 'removed' from extreme metal. We could not have kept a straight face in all the 'interesting' facial hair. We never dressed that way and photo shoots were awkward enough anyway.

Before signing with Earache the band contributed to both Metal Blade's Metal Massacre compilation series and Peaceville's 'Vile Vibes' compilation - was record label interest in the band therefore quite high and what other offers did you receive?
Brian: If by quite high you mean 1 offer then yes.... Interest was quite high... Or maybe YOU guys where high? haahhah... Actually I think Peacville wanted to do something also but just didn't have the $$ at the time. Then here comes Earache to the rescue and the rest was history.
Scott: The only real interest was from Peacville. Hammy sort of kept us on a string for a while wanting to sign us but in my opinion did not have the funds. Finally when Earache decided to make a serious offer we called Hammy just to let him know what was about to go down, really sort of to give him one more chance. Metal Blade never really showed any serious interest.

How did the deal with Earache come about and did you imagine that you would end up on a label that was predominately all about Death Metal at the time? Brian: Like most other bands of the time, and most guys in unsigned bands reading this, we didn't care what else was on the label as long as WE where on the label! Scott: We had some friends in a local Death Metal band who were friends with another Death Metal band who where recording with Earache in Florida. Evidently that band was talking us up in the studio and I suppose that made Earache start thinking about maybe actually making us an offer. So I suggested to our management to give them a call. After that the ball started rolling. That's how I remember it anyway. We didn't care about who else was on the label, we where just happy to have an offer.

The anguished lyrics contained on 'Condemned' certainly had a 'doom' feel to them in more ways than one - I wonder if the band name itself was conceived as a concept for dealing with either personal or universal failings and shortcomings?
Brian: Not really, we where just throwing suggestions out there and I think Confession was one of them, that turned into Confessor. Sounded cool.


Why did you put the slogan 'without any hope there is no need for pain' on the album sleeve? Do you see any irony that for a band with such a pessimistic outlook Confessor actually showed plenty of guts, determination and hope by the very fact that you sounded so unique and dared to be different?
Brian: What are you talking about man.... We broke up right after that ha ha ha ha..... It isn't so much guts and determination really. We are just playin what we like to play.

Production-wise did you achieve the sound you wanted on the 'Condemned' record? Another aspect that set Confessor apart was a very dry, coarse sound that clearly separated the space between each individual instrument.
Brian: Well, I myself would have liked the guitars to be a bit more dominant, maybe add another track there. Overall the recording is very transparent though, which I like. I believe the fewer effects used in the recording chain the better.

The track 'Collapse Into Despair' certainly had all the heart wrenching trademarks of a Confessor tune. Everything from the lyrics, the riffs, the brittle production, hinted at turmoil and a certain 'breaking point' being reached. So far as Confessor had a signature tune would you consider that song it, and what other particular faves do you have?
Brian: 'Collapse...' is one of my personal favorites, but 'Condemned' seems to be the one that gets the most attention live. I prefer the new stuff we are currently working on though.

Your doom influences were resurrected on the 'Condemned' 12" which came out to tie-in with the Gods of Grind Tour. Were those tracks recorded in the same period as the album and why did you chose those Trouble covers in particular?
Brian: Those tracks where recorded shortly after the album was finished. Basically Earache wanted some B-sides and we knew a couple of Trouble tunes so there you go. The reason we knew the Trouble tunes to start with is that they where one of our favorite bands.



What are your memories of the European 'Gods of Grind Tour' with Carcass, Entombed and Cathedral, and did Confessor tour America to any degree? You also toured with Nocturnus, another progressive band, that must have been quote an experience? Can you recollect standout shows, and also any confrontations with audiences who had a hard time understanding a band as original as Confessor?
Brian: The Gods of Grind tour was better than I could have even hoped for. Greatclubs, bands, and lots of people. As far as confrontations the only one I remember was Scott going off on a guy in Germany that was being a dick the whole time we where playing. ( I never even noticed the guy ) but apparently Scott did. I just remember right after that last note while I'm shutting my amp down hearing Scott yell at the guy, he pretty much told him to go home and get his band if he thought he do better.
Nocturnus tour was a bit of..... shall I say.... smaller scale than the Gods of Grind tour. Not much promotion, small dives to play in. But there where a few high spots in there, just not as many as the GOG tour.

You also contributed to the Masters of Misery Sabbath tribute with an awesome version of 'Hole In the Sky' - why did you choose that song in particular, it certainly seemed to fit the pace and groove of Confessor perfectly. Did the band ever jam on other covers?
Brian: Well, when we were in doing the B-sides we figured hey.... No way can we do 3 Trouble songs, we better throw in a Sabbath tune. Steve suggested 'Hole in they Sky'. We have never actually played that one before or since then. The only other covers we have done live would be 'Symptom of the Universe'. The two Trouble songs usually end up in live sets also.

Are you aware that the LP is now one of the most sought after Earache releases, so much so that there is a definite Confessor cult always looking for news on the band's possible return or re-release?
Brian: No, I was pretty shocked to find out how many people out there are still keeping up with us. After I left the band in '96 I thought I would never play any of these tunes again. Of course Ivan's passing, and the benefit show that followed, changed all of that.

Confessor of course filmed one promo video for the track 'Condemned'. How was the filming of that and was the concept to display the band virtuosity to the full?
Brian: We didn't want a whole 'storyline' kind of video, just us playing live and that's pretty much what we got.


After recording 'Condemned' the second album never materialised - why was that?
Brian: I think we just burned ourselves out. Ivan left to go back to school and then Scott ended up leaving as well. That was the end of Confessor.

Fans of the band will be sad to hear of the passing of Ivan Colon quite recently. Wanna pay tribute to you colleague?
Brian: Ivan was a great guy. As Scott has said half the people Ivan knew considered him their 'best friend', that's just the way he was. It just goes to show you that you never know when your time is going to come. Doctors are not always right, sometimes they miss things and in Ivan's case it cost him.

Despite the loss of Ivan, there are plans for a Confessor reunion in the near future, if the rumours are to be believed?
Brian: Well it's not DESPITE the loss of Ivan, more like DUE to the loss of Ivan we are back together. Not that he was keeping us apart by any means, just that I don't think anything but the death of one of our members and the resulting benefit show would have brought us back together. But we are back, and will have a new demo very soon. Our website Confessorband.com should be up by the time this interview is out.

What have you been doing personally since Confessor split? Brian: Mostly working a day job providing technical support for mail inserting machines. Have you kept up to speed with what the extreme Metal scene has been producing in the last few years? Do you have any favorite new acts and can we expect to see any new influences on the Confessor sound? Brian: I have not really kept up with the scene. I mostly listen to stuff like Queens of the Stone Age, Sabbath, etc. etc. The other guys have a wide variety of taste but nobody really listens to the extreme metal stuff though. I do still throw Carcass in the player every once in while... like this morning. OK, thanks for the interview and lets hope Confessor's planned reunion will let those who didn't find out first time around just what a special band Confessor is, right? Brian: Lets hope so Dan!!