SOURCE – What impact has releasing death metal classics such as the demo tape Horror Infinity in December 1990 and the acclaimed debut album Imperial Doom on May 26, 1992, had on the band’s career?
Lee Harrison (Drums) – Well, of course it had a huge impact. Those were the very first things we did. Back in those days, we genuinely wanted to take over the world. It was pretty much sheer determination that drove us to make it happen. So that is exactly what we did. We sent the Horror Infinity demo everywhere we could find. Pat from Hellwitch gave us a list of fanzines and underground contacts, and we would just sit there dubbing boxes of tapes, packing them up with our merchandise list, and mailing them out to every address we could get our hands on. We would show up at the post office carrying brown paper bags stuffed with dozens of envelopes, each one containing a cassette. Before long, we started getting reviews in magazines and fanzines, and orders began coming in from all over the world. This was all long before the internet, of course, so it felt incredibly cool to hear from people in far off places.
We traded demos with bands like At the Gates from Sweden and Old Funeral from Norway. I still remember getting tapes from them and sending ours back in return. It was just a really cool time, that pure, underground excitement of trying to spread our music as far as possible.
SOURCE – Monstrosity toured Brazil, which resulted in the release of the live album Live Extreme Brazilian Tour 2002. What was it like performing in Brazil and releasing a live album that captured the energy of Brazilian audiences?
Lee Harrison (Drums) – Unfortunately, the circumstances surrounding that show were far from ideal. I still remember how brutally hot it was outside, but the moment you walked through the door it felt like stepping into a wall of heat. You were instantly drenched in sweat. There was no ventilation whatsoever, and the room was packed with around 1,500 people. Seventeen bands played from 4:00 p.m. all the way until 11:00 p.m., so everyone was sweating heavily. On top of that, the elevation made it genuinely hard to breathe. Once we started playing, it became even worse. I remember having to stop halfway through our set, go outside for about fifteen minutes, and just try to catch my breath. We played horribly, everything was too slow, and the whole show felt like a nightmare. And of course, it was all captured on vinyl, preserved for eternity. I always joke that the record should have a sticker that says “File under Comedy,” because it is honestly more of a comedy album than a death metal one.
The very next night in Recife, everything was perfect. That was the show that should have been recorded. We had proper ventilation, great equipment, and we played a near perfect set. I still wish that was the one pressed to vinyl instead of the Sao Paulo show. That said, it was still fun meeting the Brazilian fans and getting to experience the country. We also did a redemption show in 2010, but unfortunately that one was not much better either, with more equipment issues and external factors related to time and logistics that kept it from being what it could have been. It was not until our third trip to Brazil in 2023 that we finally had a really good show.
SOURCE – The Passage of Existence was released in 2018. What were you doing during that time to write and prepare Screams from Beneath the Surface?
Lee Harrison (Drums) – Well, I actually began writing for Screams from Beneath the Surface during the mixing sessions for The Passage of Existence. I wrote four songs, “Banished to the Skies,” “The Atrophied,” “The Thorns,” and “Dark Aura,” all during the mixing of The Passage of Existence. The idea was to get ahead of schedule so the next album would not take as long to release. We did some touring and a few one off shows for The Passage of Existence, and then 2020 arrived. The pandemic hit and everything shut down. I was just starting to finish the writing for Screams from Beneath the Surface, so I began recording a bunch of demos for the songs that eventually ended up on the album.
SOURCE – What can you tell us about the songwriting and production process behind Screams from Beneath the Surface?
Lee Harrison (Drums) – We started recording in early 2023. I went over to Audio Hammer Studios in Sanford, Florida, with producer Jason Suecof, and we spent a few weeks working on the drums. It is a really relaxed situation over there, so I never felt rushed. We could take our time and make sure we got the best possible tracks. We would record a song, then switch out the cymbals or change the drums around, record the same song again, listen back, and decide which version we liked better. We did that several times, mixing and matching different combinations, until we settled on the final versions. That is why I love working at Audio Hammer for drums. I could never afford to work that way at Morrisound or a similar hourly studio. It also makes things easier on Jason because there is no stress. We are both more relaxed, and if there is a tuning issue or a small squeak, we can actually take the time to fix it instead of just living with it. From there, we moved on to guitars with Matt Barnes and spent a long time tracking at his home studio. Then we came back to Audio Hammer to record the bass. We did not have to do it there, we could have done it at a home studio, but Jason really wanted to make sure the bass sounded exceptional, so we recorded it at his place. That meant Mark had to fly down three or four times for the sessions, which obviously extended the process. But in the end, the result is what matters most. After that, we went into Morrisound for vocals and some additional guitar work. Once everything was done, we sent it all back to Audio Hammer for mixing, then brought the final mixes back to Morrisound for mastering. So, it was a lot of back and forth, but the results speak for themselves. We are really happy with how it turned out.
SOURCE – Florida will always be a significant hub for global death metal. What is the scene currently like there?
Lee Harrison (Drums) – There is still a really strong scene here. A lot of dedicated friends and supporters from the old school death metal days. The last few times Cannibal Corpse and Obituary played, they were opening for Amon Amarth or Meshuggah in a small arena, which is pretty significant for this kind of underground music. So, the scene is definitely still growing, which is cool to see.
There are more mid size venues hosting shows now, and the music is reaching bigger stages, but the underground shows are still going strong too. A lot of people continue to support the music and keep this whole thing alive.
SOURCE – When you released the demo Horror Infinity in 1990, the recording industry was quite different. What is it like to write, produce, and release a death metal album today?
Lee Harrison (Drums) – We are just glad to still be able to do it in 2026. It is a lot easier these days because of technology. Everyone has a home studio now, which makes the whole process smoother. In the old days, we would have to try to remember our ideas, and a lot of the time when we came back to them later, they would have changed, because we had not remembered them correctly. That is one of the biggest advantages of writing an album in this day and age. It is still a lot of work, though, coming up with original ideas and making sure there is something at the end that we can genuinely be proud of.
SOURCE – Monstrosity’s albums are released several years apart. How do you plan to keep Screams from Beneath the Surface at the forefront of fans’ minds until the next album is released?
Lee Harrison (Drums) – For now, we are going to be promoting the record, doing some touring, and playing a few festival shows, so we plan to stay out on the road. There are some other plans in the works as well, but I have learned not to get ahead of myself or announce deadlines, that never seems to work out. I have definitely learned my lesson on that front.
SOURCE – Is there anything you would like to say to those who have supported you from the beginning and to those who are just now discovering your music?
Lee Harrison (Drums) – Well, we really appreciate all the support we have received for the record. We always seem to get good reviews, which is great, but I think this album has gotten even better ones, which is awesome. You always worry that people might not like it. I saw the reaction to the Dark Angel album, and honestly, I did not think it was that bad, so I was sitting there thinking, “Man, what are they going to think of our album?” But so far, the responses have been really positive. Anyway, thank you for all of the support.
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