Austrian death metal outfit Monument of Misanthropy was supposed to play at Quantic Club, joining Belphegor, Malevolent Creation and Confess for a night of sonic onslaught. However, misfortune hit and, due to some family health issues, the band couldn’t make it to Bucharest. Yet, we succeeded to get in touch and interview George “Misanthrope” Wilfinger and we all hope the band will come and shatter the stage in Bucharest at some point in the future.
DinIntunerec: Hello, thank you for getting on board with this interview.. Let’s start from the very beginning, how did the band come to live in 2010.
George Wilfinger: Monument of Misanthropy was originally founded as a solo project by myself in 2010. In 2012, the project evolved into a studio band with drummer Romain Goulon (ex-Necrophagist) and guitarist Jean-Pierre Battesti, releasing the demo Bandroom Misanthropy.
We then decided to record our debut album Anger Mismanagement, which was self-released, following a successful crowdfunding campaign in 2014. Due to the level of awareness of the founding members, especially Goulon (whose band Necrophagist was on a hiatus at the time and still is), the teasers for the album found their way into the scene media attention. We were even featured in Blabbermouth… [laughs]
DinIntunerec: What’s the story behind the name of the band?
George Wilfinger: Monument of Misanthropy is more than just a name… It’s the philosophy we aim to embody both musically and lyrically. The band aspires to be a monument that fully expresses its deepest disdain and contempt for humanity. But don’t be misled. While you might expect straightforward, brutally heavy fun (which you’ll definitely get), there’s much more beneath the surface. It’s a cleverly crafted work of art. A meticulously sculpted monument of hate for the human race, forged with precision.
DinIntunerec: You’ve been around for a little over ten years, if my math is correct… You already have 4 albums, a live album, and an EP. As a relatively young band, what inspires you to create new music?
George Wilfinger: To be honest, it’s the music that keeps me going. There are so many amazing young musicians out there with incredible talents and aspirations… So, it is making it easy for me to keep the Monument of Misanthropy -train running like a well-oiled killing-machine. I have so many sick ideas for new stories to be told embedded in our brutal death metal musical way, that we never run out of new challenging concepts we want to bring to life. I’m a kind of workaholic. Once an album is completed I’m already doing researches for the next album to come.
DinIntunerec: Many bands and musicians see each album as a child, each one special in its way. It’s a bit of a cliché to say that each new release is the band’s best, but do you consider this fourth album your best work to date? If so, what are the reasons that make this your best album?
George Wilfinger: I think every band does the best with each album. I mean it’s not like with the bands in the last century, where band members stay the same almost over their whole life-spanning careers. Nowadays bands lineups change and with that also their abilities and inspirations.
I mean with the first Monument of Misanthropy lineup the current album would have been far out of reach, concerning technicality and versatility. So it’s not a baby to me, it’s more like how to tell the Monument of Misanthropy thing in a very new way with each album. It’s like inventing yourself new with every new chapter. The aim is, to be more disturbing and sickening, without becoming dull and foreseeable.
I wanna stay entertained and also challenged by our own new stuff myself. Because it’s us on stage that have to play the tracks live for many hundred times. If we get bored playing our own tracks it would be worst and it would show.
DinIntunerec: Let’s speak about your latest album, the theme of the serial killer isn’t new to you, but this time you used it more explicitly. Tell us about Vile Postmortem Irrumatio.
George Wilfinger: We discovered Andriy Tkalenko of Daemorph Art on Instagram when we started to work on Vile Postmortem Irrumatio. And we immediately knew he was the right choice for our current serial killer concept album after Unterweger. We wanted to not only raise the stakes musically and lyrically but also visually with the album cover.
For Vile Postmortem Irrumatio and the Ed Kemper concept, Tkalenko was the ideal choice. The album cover perfectly captures the disturbing imagery I associate with Kemper, particularly the bizarre scenario he once described in an interview. We even recreated that chilling moment in the album’s intro, First Time It Makes You Sick to the Stomach, which transitions into the opening track, How To Make A Killer. So, it’s also part of our inventing-yourself new thing with each album if you like and not becoming predictable, that we always seek to meet with.
DinIntunerec: A lot of brutal death metal fans are also fascinated about horror movies, literature and serial killers. Where do you think this fascination comes from? Or, maybe there is something wrong in our head?
George Wilfinger: Well no. I think it’s a pretty widespread fascination we’re dealing with here. True-crime documentations and serial-killer series have fans far beyond the metal community and have a far bigger audience. It’s not a coincidence why Netflix and all the other platforms spend millions of $s to make their series on this topics.
But why are people so obsessed with true crime and serial killers… I think it’s the fascination with the sheer evil and unimaginable brutality that humans are capable of… The darkness that all “sane” individuals try to keep in check. Let’s be honest, we’ve all had that moment where we thought, or even yelled out loud, “I’m gonna kill that bastard!” Whether it was aimed at a parent, boss, your ex or some schoolyard bully.
The urge to think about and even want to kill is ingrained in us. Once we recognize that, it becomes easier to manage—assuming we’re honest with our innermost selves. The truth is, anyone is capable of killing given the right circumstances. Why wouldn’t we be? Every other living creature can kill, even carnivorous plants, so why not humans? So, it’s like looking into the mirror and seeing what we ourselves would be able to do, and that frightens us. Yet, it also fascinates us in a creepy way, obviously.
DinIntunerec: Can you explain the artworks of the first two releases? There is a monster there… A fantastic beast. Then the latest two releases don’t feature this beast anymore… But human monsters and their victims. Can you explain the artwork concepts for our readers?
Monument of Misanthropy- Anger Mismanagement (artwork)
George Wilfinger: In the early days, we collaborated with Remy Cuveillier of Headsplit Design in Paris. He was the ideal artist for our first three album covers. For our initial releases, Anger Mismanagement and Capital Punisher, the Monument of Misanthropy was portrayed as a Lovecraftian, Cthulhu-like creature representing the destructor of humanity.
Monument of Misanthropy- Capital Punisher (artwork)
When we began our serial killer trilogy (yes, there’s one more to come) with Unterweger, we opted for a more subtle visual style… Indeed, depicting the female victim and her killer in a more abstract, almost expressionistic manner reminiscent of Edvard Munch’s The Scream.
I’ve been always a big fan of Derek Rigg’s artwork for the Iron Maiden album ranging from 1980 to 1992. I liked the hidden details he always put into the covers. Same happened on our covers. There are a lot hidden gems to find, especially on the Vile Postmortem Irrumatio album. But also on the first one! You have to look a bit till you find Lady Gaga’s head. A hint to the track Bring Me The Head Of LGG.
Monument of Misanthropy- Vile Postmortme Irrumatio (artwork)
DinIntunerec: What’s next for the band?
George Wilfinger: We’re currently touring with Belphegor and Malevolent Creation, and will be playing a few headliner shows at some festivals this October:
05.10 – AUT – Viper Room, Vienna [feat. Pray For Pain]
10.10 – HOL – Victorie, Alkmaar
25.10 – GER – Mammut-Festival/Matrix, Königsbrunn [feat. Gutrectomy]
DinIntunerec: What was the best or worst, an unforgettable incident, a memory that happened during your stage shows?
George Wilfinger: I’m starting with the worst thing that happened during a show at the Circolo Colony, Italy during our tour with Suffocation and Cattle Decapitation in 2016. I don’t know if it was on purpose or not, but the stage was extremely slippery on some parts with some kind of soap or grease. Being extremely energetic, running from one corner of the stage to another, I was caught by surprise… At some point during the show, I fell headlong off the stage. Nothing really happened to me… But, if it was a prank, this one could’ve gone very, very bad, breaking my neck.
The best show we played so far was the co-headlining festival slot in Barcelona with Wormed. It was the Move Your Fucking Brain Fest in 2021 I think, and the audience was really, really going crazy with us that night. Definitely, a night to be remembered for everyone who was there.
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?
George Wilfinger: There are really many talented bands out there… Yet, also many who just copy their favorite bands. It’s pretty widespread in the deathcore scene, where many bands repeat the same uninspired riffs over and over again. So, if you want to stick out of the masses, you need to find something that makes you special in some way. You need to bring something new and unexpected to the fans that sticks to your brain. A unique style that becomes some kind of your own brand. We don’t need 1000 more Lorna Shores or Thy Art Is Murders. [laughs]
DinIntunerec: What is the most important life lesson that you have learnt so far?
George Wilfinger: The most important thing in life, but also music biz is that in the end you can only rely on yourself. Best things are done by your very self. Don’t wait for some label or manager to do all the work for you. No one is here to hand you success and fame on a plate for free these days.
DinIntunerec: Thank you for your time, any final words for our readers?
George Wilfinger: Well, thank you for having us too! Hope to come to your country for real next time, we’re really sorry but a family emergency happened on our way to Romania. Whatever… Stay strong and brutal everyone, listening to Vile Postmortme Irrumatio. Brutal music for brutal times, as always! See you soon, hopefully!
