5 Questions With... is your chance to get to know a new or up-and-coming metal band. Ghoulgotha are a death/doom group from San Diego whose latest album is The Deathmass Cloak. Vocalist/guitarist Wayne Sarantopoulos introduces us to his band.

Give us a brief history of Ghoulgotha.
We started in 2012 when I first moved to California. I searched around for musicians into what I dig and found our drummer Charlie.


He introduced me to our old bassist Jonny who then introduced me to the other guitarist Ian. Our musical ideas meshed quite well and we've been going nonstop since then.

Describe the songwriting and recording process for The Deathmass Cloak.
I write everything at home and record rough guitar tracks on my computer. I send the other guys an MP3 of me playing the riffs so they can get an idea of what it's like. Then we get together and fine tune everything, add or remove parts/leads, and that is basically it. I write the lyrics after the song is fully complete.

We recorded the drums and guitars over two days. The drummer usually nails everything in one or two takes, and we practiced every day for two weeks before we hit the studio, so the guitars weren't too tough either. We did this in a cheap studio. Our guitarist Ian recorded the bass at his house and I recorded the vocals at mine.

How would you characterize the style/sound of the album?
It's kind of hard to describe. There's plenty of riffs you won't hear on any other records given the doom/death tag.

I think our oddball timings are probably unique too.

What has been your most memorable Ghoulgotha live show, and what are your upcoming show/tour plans?
Our biggest show was probably with Von in Los Angeles. We're playing a couple shows in March 2015 in LA, then we're flying to the east coast for a four day mini tour with Father Befouled and Encoffination. I'm in all three bands, so it'll be a few busy nights.

What's the state of the Southern California extreme metal scene these days?
Not much happening in San Diego. It takes a big name band to get anyone out. I think Oakland is where all the fun is these days.

Anything else you'd like to promote or mention?
We're recording our next album in February 2015 for a late 2015 release. The CD of The Deathmass Cloak is out now and the vinyl will be out shortly. Catch us at a live show if you can!

(interview published January 17, 2015)