In this offering, we get up close and personal with brother, friend, writer, graphic designer and musician Arash Khosronejad. Arash sings in the Tehran, Iran based death metal band Witness the Existence. He writes about music on his blog, Columnist From The Abyss, and also he writes album reviews for Heavy Music HQ.
The first record I ever bought with my own money was…
Metallica’s Master of Puppets. When I was a teenager I was very good at painting and drawing. I think I was twelve or thirteen years old when a friend of mine commissioned me to paint a large Chicago Bulls logo for him. I did it and bought the CD with the money I got.
The record that made me want to make music was…
Iced Earth’s Night of the Stormrider. Although other musicians like James Hetfield or Jeff Hanneman should have encouraged me to become a guitarist, the main reason I started playing guitar was Jon Schaffer. Night of the Stormrider is a masterclass in writing complex and catchy guitar riffs, and it changed everything in music for me at that time.
The record I’ve played more than any other is…
Exodus’ Exhibit B: The Human Condition. I’ve always liked Exodus. But when Rob Dukes joined the band, their music became more important to me. Rob somehow brought NYC hardcore essence with him to the band, and that’s why their music got groovier. I love Dukes-era Exodus and for me, Exhibit B is their most cohesive, strongest and heaviest album.
The record that always make me feel good is…
New Day Rising by Hüsker Dü. It could be a lot of titles. It could be any album by Bane, Bad Religion, INXS, early Green Day or Iron Maiden’s live albums. But if I want to name just one album, I will definitely choose New Day Rising.
The record I turn to when I’m feeling down is…
Like the previous question, this can be a lot of titles too. When I’m sad or feeling down, I need some music to sympathize with me. So I turn to any albums by My Dying Bride, especially A Line of Deathless Kings. But there is an album that is always my first choice; and that is The Courage of Others by Midlake. That album is a magnificent piece of art.
The record with my favorite cover art is…
This one is a really tough question. Because I am a graphic designer, so I always have a special and close look at album covers. For example, many of Slayer album covers have been amazing to me, such as South of Heaven or Reign in Blood. But if I have to name only one cover I would definitely choose Sulphur Aeon’s Gateway to the Antisphere, which was painted by Swedish artist Ola Larsson. That album cover completely pictures the essence of HP Lovecraft’s horror themes.
The strangest CD I own is…
Maybe this is not the right answer to this question, maybe it is, but one might not believe that I own a first pressing of The Sign by Ace of Base in my music collection. It is strange for me too, but I love it!
The rarest CD I own is…
I really don’t think I own a rare CD in my music library right now. I have a large collection of Metallica bootlegs, many of which could have been among the rarest bootlegs twenty years ago, like Metallica with Berlin Symphony Orchestra, November 19, 1999. But now the internet has become a monster and certainly all of them are available on YouTube or elsewhere.
The last record I bought was…
Stare into Death and Be Still by Ulcerate. Undoubtedly, they are one of the most phenomenal bands today.
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Witness the Existence released their debut, Enshrined Twice, on December 2, 2020. Digital download available.
Links
https://columnistfromtheabyss.tumblr.com/
https://twitter.com/arashkh
https://www.instagram.com/arashkhosronejad/
https://witnesstheexistence.bandcamp.com/releases
https://heavymusichq.com/
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