While Rottenness may not be the first name that comes to mind when people start slinging around names of death metal-infused grindcore mainstays, since 1994 the ever-morphing Mexican/Americans have been long plying their trade on the subterranean circuit with countless bouts of DIY touring and a handful of small-scale releases along the way. Decibel has long admired the band’s chameleon-like ability to incorporate elements of brutality and their inexhaustible work ethic. You might even recall a “My Awesome Day Job” feature we did in the magazine a couple years back on guitarist, lone original member and driving force, guitarist Jaleel “Jay Garbage” Castillo when he was working as assistant tour manager for the favourite and most unattainable fantasy man of North American housewives, Ricky Martin.
Things have been quiet on the Rottenness front for a while, but the band is ramping up again and aiming to keep busy throughout 2017. This includes a new video for a song called “A Perpetual State of Destruction” (which you can watch below), a couple of upcoming releases, a handful of shows in their native land next month and a planned summer European tour capped off with an appearance at Obscene Extreme 2017. We hit up Jaleel for the specifics.
“After so many years, Rottenness definitely needed a video in 2017. Because we have a new line-up that’s only a few months old, we had the idea to make a video for one of the songs from our upcoming EP, and what better place than the rehearsal place in our drummer’s hometown. Thanks to Wilberth Villagrana from Maus Sounds for providing the cameras and taking the time to record and produce this video.
“The band is still active and playing shows. We met [drummer] Andres Santamaria and after a few chats, now he is part of the band. That gives the band a more Mexican feel, but we still have enormous support from [vocalist] Matthias Joyce of Invidiosus, from Minnesota, USA. We spent a few hours working on some ideas and choose to show the band more than having a story or tale in the video. What you see is the band playing live. Period.
“Now, we’re ready to premier the video and we hope it will be a great promotion for the upcoming European tour in May/June. We’ve also signed a contract with Gore House Productions from Los Angeles and will start to record a new album as soon the European tour is finished. Now that the band has more a steady line-up on Mexican soil, it will allow us to focus more on shows and new material.
“I also want to thank Decibel for the great “Awesome Job” report from a few years ago. I don’t work for Ricky Martin anymore, but I’m truly happy that the support is still there and have a great friend in Ricky Martin and their management every time they show up around here. I had a great time traveling with them and it shows that no matter how hardcore are you, there are people who support you!”
