MARK KLOEPPEL (SCOUR, MISERY INDEX): “We Hope To Keep Non-Stop Blasting Until We Can’t”

Scour band photo
Photo: Ari White

Extreme Metal band Scour are set to release their first full length album entitled Gold on February 21st. For anyone that’s unfamiliar with Scour, the band features a stacked lineup of Phil Anselmo (Pantera, Down) on vocals, John Jarvis (Agoraphobic Nosebleed) on bass, Derek Engemann (Phillip H. Anselmo & The Illegals) on guitar, Adam Jarvis (Pig Destroyer) on drums, and Mark Kloeppel (Misery Index) on guitar, making this a band you don’t want to sleep on! Mark Kloeppel spoke with Metal Express Radio about the band’s formation, their upcoming debut album, working in Phil Anselmo’s studio, and more. Check out the chat below!

Metal Express Radio: How did the formation of your band come about?

Kloeppel: If we’re really taking things back, John and Adam were in a band called All Will Fall, and me and Derek were in a band called Cast the Stone in the St. Louis scene of the early 2000s. That’s where we all met. We kept in contact throughout the years and through our journeys in various higher-level bands. Around 2012/2013, Philip organically found Adam and John’s side project, Fulgora. That turned into them meeting up and recording at Philip’s studio. Around 2014/2015, Derek and John started Scour as a fun studio project while John was tour managing a band Derek was in. They sent the music to Philip, and he said he would “kill it!” The guys recruited Adam Jarvis on drums for the Red EP, and around 2017, shortly after the Red EP came out, they tapped myself to join the band on lead guitar.

MER: You are set to release your new album entitled Gold on February 21st. What can you tell fans about your upcoming album?

Kloeppel: Deepening the experience set forth on Scour’s previously released EP trilogy, Gold pulls the listener through a blistering vortex of speed, aggression, and, above all, absolute horror. Drawing from a deep framework of literary horror masterworks, Gold guides the listener beyond the realm of death and through the metaphysical anomalies of a disheveled and decaying mind. Within this, the pall of a savage universe is lifted, an inconceivable puppet master is revealed, the remaining self of the listener is excruciatingly dissolved, and they are left asking, “Who is it that pulls the strings?”

MER: How was it getting together, writing, and recording your first full-length album?

Kloeppel: Derek had all the music written just before we hit the studio in February 2023. We recorded everything at Philip’s studio, with Philip at the producing helm. We always have a great time together, so it was lots of laughs, “rev-ups and rev-downs,” dive bombs, and blasting. We were there for just under two weeks and then spent the rest of 2023 getting mixes together while Philip wrote lyrics. He recorded vocals in November. We spent February 2024 in Pantera’s backstage recording backup vocals and reviewing mixes along the way. After we were satisfied with mixing, and had all the tracks in, Jens Bogren mastered it, and we started planning the release. We were originally shooting for a Halloween or Devil’s Night release, but tour schedules and other logistics got in the way of shooting videos on time for that. So we pushed it a bit to get all of our ducks in a row. We are glad we took the extra time to make things right.

MER: You recently released a song from the album entitled “Blades.” Do you feel like this song represents the album well?

Kloeppel: Yeah, it’s a lot of the ripping blasting you’ve come to expect from us mixed with some head banging catchy bits. It’s a good quick sample. However, the album as a whole has a lot more depth to explore. “Blades” is a fun one, though.

MER: In the spring, you’ll be playing the Milwaukee Metal Fest. What are your expectations for the gig?

Kloeppel: Should be ripping! We love Jasta and the MKE crew. We’ve all played it with other bands in its various iterations, and it’s a top-notch affair. Very Metal, and very glad Jamey took the reins and resurrected this fine event.

MER: What else do you see as plans for you and your band for 2025?

Kloeppel: We’ll see what the cat drags in and what we can squeeze in between Pantera’s and everyone else’s schedule.

MER: Members of your band are involved with other projects as well. Do you see Scour being a priority for you and the rest of the band?

Kloeppel: The motto in the band is “anything for Scour,” so it definitely is a priority and is becoming more of a priority as time goes on and we grow as a band.

MER: How would you explain to a fan how Scour differs from the members’ other bands?

Kloeppel: It’s all distorted guitars and blast beats in the end, right? This brand of distorted guitars and blast beats is sort of a modern and minimalist reimagining of Black Metal’s beginnings and more punk roots. It tries to not forget minimalism and primitivism as being part of the sound. That part seems to have gotten lost along the way. That said, we don’t want to be one of those nostalgic “throwback” type bands either. So it has modern atmospheres involved. We don’t overthink it, though. We just rip.

MER: Who could you see yourselves touring with and why?

Kloeppel: Gojira, Dark Funeral, Cannibal Corpse… We seem to oddly fit with some of the upper-card-type bands, and we 100% fit with extreme bands. I’m not sure how much touring is in the cards for us. We are more of a festival band, but nothing is ever off the table.

MER: What are your hopes for your band’s future?

Kloeppel: We hope to keep non-stop blasting until we can’t!

Author

  • Matt Zaniboni

    Matthew is an interviewer here at Metal Express Radio. He started his passion for music journalism back in his college radio days serving as the Heavy Metal Director at WKKL out of Hyannis Massachusetts. During Matt’s tenure in radio, he has had time working for commercial stations in Boston Massachusetts such as WAAF, WZLX AND 98.5 The Sports Hub before landing with Metal Express Radio. Anytime you want to talk heavy Metal, hockey, Guiness, and dad life, Matt is your guy m/

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