An Interview With Dave Matrise from Jungle Rot
I love Jungle Rot. I own five of their records, two hoodies, five t shirts, a bunch of other random merch and I’ve seen them live twice. I’ve also met two members and keep in touch with them on Facebook and at shows. I’m a bit of a fan is what I’m trying to say. When I heard they were being added to the
Mayhem Festival lineup I couldn’t have been more excited. Of course I was excited because I would get to see them play live again but also because this is a band who has been in the trenches fighting for a really long time and for them to finally make it to a big North American festival like Mayhem, let’s just say it’s long overdue. So when I was asked if I’d be interested in interviewing the last founding member and frontman of the band, Dave Matrise at the Mayhem Festival in Toronto, it was a no brainer. Needless to say I was nervous but excited to meet someone I’m such a big fan of and looked up to as a musician for such a long time. After a few drinks to calm the nerves I headed to the meeting place for my first interview ever. A few delays and complications getting backstage later, “the Sergeant” himself, Mr. Dave Matrise appeared and greeted me with a smile and a firm handshake.
One thing I’ve noticed over my years of going to shows and meeting some of my musician hero’s is that some of them turn out to be conceded dicks and you almost wish you had never approached them in the first place because it just ruined your perception of who that person was. Other times they turn out just as cool as you expected or even cooler sometimes. Dave is definitely the latter, he was super cool and made me feel at ease when talking with him, almost like we’d met before. That being said I still probably made him feel awkward because I was so nervous and rushed through my questions like an amateur but he handled it like the metal veteran that he is. After all, I’m sure he’s had some terrible interviews over his long career in heavy metal. In fact he told me it happens all the time and that it’s 
nice to be interviewed by fans of the band rather than schmucks who just write a bunch of questions knowing nothing of the band they are interviewing. I know he was probably just being nice but he even called me a natural!
Dave Matrise formed Jungle Rot in 1994 and has put out a total of nine full length studio albums including their latest release, Order Shall Prevail. Order Shall Prevail came out on June 30th through Victory Records and is available through the Amazon link in the sidebar. I will be reviewing Order Shall Prevail in the very near future so stay tuned for that. I would like to say a huge thank you to Dave for taking the time to do the interview with me as a rookie and also taking the time to take some photos and talking with me as a fan, you truly made my day. Check out Jungle Rot’s new music video for the track “Paralyzed Prey” on YouTube, pick up a copy of Order Shall Prevail and go see Jungle Rot when they come to your town, you won’t regret it!
Shawn “Short-Fuse” Carter
JUNGLE-ROT.COM / FACEBOOK: IGOTJUNGLEROT / TWITTER: JUNGLEROT / YOUTUBE: JUNGLEROTMUSIC
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