by Cosmo Lee

In Greek mythology, the lotus was a fruit that had a narcotic effect when eaten, inducing a feeling of escaping reality. That’s indeed the Swarm of the Lotus experience. The power this Baltimore band unleashed on its debut, “When White Becomes Black” was phenomenal. Sludgy, downtuned riffs combined with Converge-style swing and howling vocals for a beautifully punishing listen. The album’s hard to find, but track it down at all costs because it will knock you on your back.

“The Sirens of Silence” is the band’s newest and it’s likewise a monster. More sonic colors are in the mix now, thanks to production by Converge’s Kurt Ballou, and the band has a fierce new dual vocalist attack. Visceral images of death, blood and love gone wrong spill across the lyrics with lines like “Whispers blowing like dreams through a river / While our futures erode into the sand / And the heavens are crashing upon us / While our hell burns beneath our feet”. Dante himself would be proud.

Modern Fix caught up with guitarist/vocalist Peter Maturi for a glimpse into hell (or Baltimore, depending on whom you ask).

What’s going on with Swarm of the Lotus right now? I understand you’ve had a rash of bad luck with tours?
Pete Maturi: Right now, we are in the process of reforming the band. We have a new drummer, Jimmy Rhodes (current-All Else Failed, ex-Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza) and everything between us is working out awesome. Currently we are trying out some other players for the bass and other guitar positions. Things are going well with that too. Hopefully it will be soon when it all works out and we can get back to touring and writing new music. Bad tours happen often and some people don’t survive them for whatever reason. Being on the road can be tough and people will do what they feel they need to do. There is no bad blood or anything since the split with the most recent members. Everyone has their own path, that’s all.

Your website mentions a recent show with a shady promoter, a baseball bat and a call to the cops. What exactly happened?
Man, that situation was fucking crazy. Bad show gone REALLY bad.Too many details to get into but the basic gist was that we showed up to play along with the other bands on tour with us, it was a weekday, turnout was kind of bad but we still showed up and played. We questioned how well the 16-year old promoter, which we had no previous knowledge of her being that young, did any promotion at all for the show. Regardless, show goes on and when we went to get payed or whatever they refused to give us anything and it just escalated from there. Apparently, the club had just changed owners and had only been there a couple weeks or something. It was obvious that they were new to handling a venue that has touring bands come through. They just didn’t get it. Words were had and the owner dude went out of control and accused us and all the other bands of stealing stuff from the club, which didn’t happen. Police came, immediately saw that this dude was insane, searched the vans a little, found nothing of course and let us go. We later heard that at the same club a few weeks earlier, the same dude pulled a gun on another band that I know of. It was just an ugly scene man, we’ll never play there again and will do our best in our power to make sure none of our friends’ bands play there either.

How did you hook up with Kurt Ballou (Converge) to produce your album?
Well, our old second guitarist, Cole, had previously met and knew Kurt. I had liked productions he had done before but didn’t know the extent of his credits until I looked into it further and was like, “oh wow, he did THIS album,” etc. We all agreed it would be an awesome marriage and the best option for the band at that point. I’m quite certain we will work with him again in the future. It was really something else. Genuinely a great experience in every way. He’s a cool dude, awesome gear, knows his shit and nothing but good ideas and input. I wouldn’t have traded the experience for the world. We spent three weeks recording that record with minimal breaks, ten hours a day. Pretty intense but in a good way. I learned so much from that guy. I really hope that the band can get back together quickly so we can plan to work with him again in the future for the next record. We owe him a lot for the “Sirens” record, he worked so hard on it.

How’s the scene in Baltimore?
I love the scene in Baltimore. There are a lot of really great bands in and around the area, and in general, there’s a lot going on musically in bands of all types. It’s quite the melting pot with a good variety of bands and a lot of really cool people. We are also very close to other cool scenes like Philly, New York, and D.C., who all have some really great bands as well. We see most of the touring circuit come through our area too, anybody on the road usually makes a stop in ‘Charm City’ so we are always buzzing.

Does your geographic location influence your sound?
Yes, I would say that would influence any band. We live in a fast paced, crazy environment with a lot of musical activity. The city life in general is hectic. Baltimore is a weird town. It offers a lot to get involved in. It definitely has it’s ugly, nasty side but it can be a lot of fun too. There’s a lot going on here. I’m sure that being part of this community has a great influence on my personal playing for sure.

The album has some palm-muted, harmonic-type riffs that recall Fugazi. Are they an influence on the band?
I like Fugazi yeah, but I wouldn’t say they would be a heavy and direct influence on the band overall. But, I have respect for that band and I’m a fan as well. I feel flattered that you would say that.

The artwork on the album (by Kristin Fialko) is amazing. What was the concept and how does it relate to the title?
Kristen did an amazing job yes. Many kudos to her as she and Jamie worked very hard on it. We were all so pleased with the final results. The basic concept of the record deals with the downfall and degradation of mother earth and all the species of the planet. The apathy involved and the continuing downward spiral of the human race and how everything screams for change but falls on nothing but deaf ears. The character on the cover is supposed to be mother earth on her knees with her hands over her bleeding ears. I think the art and the music couldn’t have gone together better.

You recently shot a video for “Hookwork” with Carlos Batts. How is the video experience with Swarm of the Lotus?
Shooting the video was nothing but an awesome time. We had so much fun doing it we almost couldn’t believe it. Working with Carlos was amazing just the same as working with Kurt and Kristin. This whole album we worked with a lot of talented people and we feel so grateful for all these opportunities. We shot it in two locations, a regular studio setting where we did all the zombie sequences and for the live cuts, we shot it in an old, abandoned L.A. zoo. Took two days of filming. Most of the work was editing which, Carlos and his crew worked very hard on and deserve so much credit. All the people we personally worked with when we were out there were pro as well in every way and such cool people. Fucking great time. Carlos rules.

Rumor has it there are plans for an upcoming DVD. If so, what are the details?
We were playing with the idea of putting out a DVD with the video, which has two versions, all the behind the scenes making-of-the-video stuff, as well as clips from live shows at home and and the road, and some crazy tour footage stuff. In light of the recent split with some members of the band, all that got put on hold. Something similar still might happen in the future but the main emphasis right now is putting humpty dumpty back together again. We’ll see what happens from there.

What’s the worst personal hell you can think of?
Living a life where you never followed any of your dreams or interests. Realizing none of your potential in any of the things that you love to do.

swarmofthelotus.com

2005 “The Sirens of Silence” (Abacus)
2004 “Withered Am I” picture disc 7” (Reptilian)
2004 “When White Becomes Black” (At a Loss)