As Dave Ingram (Benediction) is one of the iconic voices in death metal, saying his name is much the same as saying DEATH METAL! In capital letters and with deep growls! Screaming our lungs out! That’s why the chance of sitting down with Dave before Benediction‘s show at Posada Rock Festival 2024 was a chance which had to be grabbed. Also, an honor and a pleasure!
DinIntunerec: Hi, Dave, first of all, thank you for getting on board with this talk. Benediction is a band with 35 years of activity. However, you left the band in 1998 and came back after 20 years. Why did you decide to leave the band back then and how come you came back after all these years?
Dave Ingram: Well, I moved to Denmark and I live in Denmark now, so I moved from England over there and it was an entire new life in Denmark. That was really the reason pretty much. And moving to Denmark meant I had to sort of put my new life first. I couldn’t just leave and go back and do gigs. There were a lot of tours that Benediction wanted to do and I just couldn’t take it on. But it worked out well… Then, at coming back they phoned and asked me: “Do you want to rejoin?” And I was like, “Sure, okay”.
DinIntunerec: Benediction‘s most recent album, Scriptures, is a masterpiece. Each track is an absolute banger of epic propositions. You’ve definitely raised the bar very high. It is also your first album after you returned. What does this album mean to you?
Dave Ingram: Well, again, it’s all about new chapters and new paths of life and that album is very much the same thing. It is a new chapter in the band, a new era. So, it does mean a lot, because, you know, writing those songs, it was just after I rejoined. I just said: Guys, let’s start the new album!
So, almost immediately I began writing and then the pandemic came in and we couldn’t tour for it. So, this album sort of means a lot because we missed out on that initial punch when the pandemic hit so we couldn’t go out and record and tour. Yet, when we could, we were just so goddamn excited.
DinIntunerec: Also, what’s next? Is the band any near to releasing a new album soon?
Dave Ingram: Actually, we have just finished recording an album. I’ve just finished my vocals. I think there’s a couple of guitar parts left to do. Besides that, yeah, I think the new album will be out in January, maybe February. It depends on when we can get it to the record label. Right now it’s being mixed.
DinIntunerec: I’ll take you back in time now… After two iconic albums – The Grand Leveller (Benediction’s best one in my opinion) and Transcend the Rubicon, you’ve taken a bit different direction with The Dreams You Dread – everything went slower, gloomier and it was a noticeable change within the band’s style. Why was that?
Dave Ingram: I just think it was part of what was going on within the music scene at the time… And we took some influence from that. Also, we still added the Benediction particulars to it. I think that was mainly what it was. It was just down to the time period. We’re very happy with all the album. So, we have no problems with with any of them.
DinIntunerec: Benediction has fast, slow and very groovy songs. What’s the direction for the next album? Are you going to combine these, or do you intend to go old-school and rely on more crushing songs?
Dave Ingram: I think musically it’s going to be old school and it’s going to be very Benediction. Lyrically, it’s a little darker here and there and also on occasions a little funnier. It also sort of reflects my personal interests. But that’s not overly obvious. It’s very subtle. And when people will ask me about what does this song mean, they’re going to be at least a little bit surprised.
DinIntunerec: Have you ever done clean vocals? Do you have any plans to try it at some point?
Dave Ingram: No! (dramatic intonation)
DinIntunerec: In the past, bands used to meet, play together, work on the ideas and then record new music. Now, most band members don’t even live in the same country… So you have to resort to file sharing. Do you find it difficult to make new music like that?
Dave Ingram: No. I work with a guy called Rogga Johansson and he’s done a lot of death metal bands. He and I, we’ve actually written I think 10 albums. We’ve performed together on 10 different albums with different bands. I’ve never met him. Really, we’ve done 10 albums and we’ve never met. So it’s very easy to do that. The internet is a most wonderful tool for this kind of thing. And every band should use the internet. It makes everything easier.
DinIntunerec: You have been involved in a lot of projects: Down Among the Dead Men, Echelon, Formaldehydist, Hellfrost and Fire, Stygian Dark, Troikadon, Ursinne are still running projects, but there have been so many more, including Bolt Thrower, Just Before Dawn and more. Is it an urge for you to make music all the time?
Dave Ingram: Yeah, Down Among the Dead, that’s with Rogga. Yes, it is kind of an urge… because it’s art. It’s not about making money. If I wanted to make money, I wouldn’t be in this business. But what it’s all about is art and being an artist and putting art out to the world for people to hear. Because most of those bands people don’t know about. When they find out about it, all the albums have already been sold. The only way they can hear it is maybe on Spotify or on YouTube or something like that.
I don’t care as long as people hear it. That’s what it’s all about for me. It’s not about making money. Also, it’s not about making fans. It’s about me expressing myself through music and for other people to enjoy it. That’s all it is.
DinIntunerec: Why do you think it’s important for people to go to concerts and not only to listen to music on Spotify?
Dave Ingram: Well, it’s important because going to concerts pays the musicians so they can keep doing this. Just buying a t-shirt, if someone goes to a show. It’s the support. Because we couldn’t do this without support from the fans. It would eventually mean we could only produce like I do with my other projects. Just making music and not playing live or anything. But with Benediction, playing live is our life. It’s an important part of us.
DinIntunerec: Also, regarding your ‘too many projects to mention’, there are only death metal bands. Haven’t you had the slightest interest in trying something different? Is it only death metal that calls to you?
Dave Ingram: I’m actually doing a band right now, Sand Cadaver. And that’s doom metal. And in fact, the drummer will be Gio from Benediction. It’s with a guy from Sweden as well, called Peter. Yeah, it’s different. It’s still heavy, but it’s different. Obviously, a different approach.
DinIntunerec: Speaking about your other projects, I believe Down Among The Dead Man is a hugely underrated band. One of the songs there has guest vocals recorded by your son, Oliver. Haven’t you thought of creating a band with him one day?
Dave Ingram: He’s not interested. He doesn’t listen to metal at all. When my son started to listen to music, I always said, listen to what you want to. Don’t be, you know, don’t follow what I’ve… Walk your own path!
DinIntunerec: Having so many projects, you have turned and played hundreds of shows. What’s the best thing for you about performing live?
Dave Ingram: A beer. Also, obviously, meeting the fans and having fun. But yeah, it’s a party. You have to make the party a part of your life.
DinIntunerec: How de you deal with it when you are exhausted?
Dave Ingram: I’m 55 years old and I have chronic arthritis. I have a very bad time sometimes. So you have to just do what you can. Sometimes I can be very ill. Yeah, I know I can’t do this forever. Someday, I’m gonna have to stop. But right now, I’m not gonna stop. Okay? I’m having too much fun.
DinIntunerec: Do you have a favorite moment, a very dear memory related to life on the road or live shows?
Dave Ingram: There are so many. I couldn’t list them all. There’s just so many. I mean, being around these guys, I love them. They’re idiots. We’re all idiots, but I love being around them. So that’s the special thing. There is a bond between us.
DinIntunerec: You are obviously a fan of science-fiction, the lyrics in some songs, your tattoos and even some of the things you say in live shows are proof to that. What is it about science-fiction that appeals to you? Also, what is your favorite author?
Dave Ingram: Wow. That’s a good question. Science fiction is just a suspension of reality. You just lose yourself in that suspension. It’s also not so much about what could be, but it’s what is to be. You know, years ago, on TV shows like Star Trek, for example, they had iPads and phones. And now we have those. We have iPads and phones, but they were using them back in the 60s. So, they predicted this. Therefore, it’s the ‘is to be’s’ that really interest me. Science fiction is more about the future. The future, which is just a little bit further away.
My favorite author? Well, Harry Harrison. He wrote a series of books called The Stainless Steel Rat. They’re my absolute favorite. You can also say maybe Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
DinIntunerec: How do you see the underground metal scene nowadays? Apart from quantity, as it seems there are a lot of new bands emerging everywhere, do you think there is quality too?
Dave Ingram: Do you know how much death metal I listen to these days? I listen to mainly the old stuff that I listened to when I was a kid. But mostly I listen to Queens of the Stone Age and Black Sabbath. I’m not a massive death metal fan these days. Just the older bands, Immolation and Autopsy and Massacre. I still listen to Carcass and Bolt Thrower. So, you know, that’s important to me, but I don’t listen to new stuff. So I don’t know what’s going on in the scene these days. I don’t want to be a dinosaur and say like: “Yeah, you damn kids get off my lawn and shit like that”.
DinIntunerec: What is the most important life lesson that you have learnt so far?
Dave Ingram: Don’t smoke tobacco. I quit smoking cigarettes about 13 years ago. It was the best thing I’ve ever done. It’s helped my vocals. It’s helped my voice. It’s helped how I taste things. I actually work… My job in Denmark is with cancer research. So do not smoke.
DinIntunerec: How was your experience on stage at Posada Rock Festival?
Dave Ingram: It was a great festival for us. We had a great time. We were… We were young guys all over again. I mean… That’s what a festival experience should be. You need to be young men all over again. And I love that. That’s what we were. Thank you for all that.
DinIntunerec: Thank you for your time, any final words for our readers?
Dave Ingram: Yeah. If you’re going to be in a band, use the internet as a tool. Never give up. Even on the darkest days, do never ever give up. And just, if you believe in what you do, keep doing it!
