Rendered Helpless is a Slamming Brutal Death Metal project from Christchurch New Zealand. It was birthed in 2012 as a one man project by Alex Paul (vocalist from Christchurch’s Organectomy). In January 2016 Unstoppable Parasites was shared by Slam worldwide, now with over 1500 views, and shortly after he was signed for the same album by Inherited Suffering records. Alex is also currently working on his new album; Entities of Trans-Dimensional Emergence which, like Unstoppable parasites, features artwork by Mark Cooper and a logo by Steve crow.
I was lucky enough to interview Alex about his project;
Q. What influenced/inspired you to start Rendered Helpless
A. Initially when I started Rendered Helpless it was just a way to inspire me into practicing and improving my skills as a vocalist, guitarist and just really start being a better musician all round. At the time I had recent started to really delve deep into the Slam/Brutal Death Metal scene and had found my first, and still to this day, most influential band: Cephalotripsy. I had known immediately that the vocal style of Cephalotripsy was something that I wanted to recreate with my own twist on it and the guitar/instrument work was something that I could easily be done at my then current level of skill.
Q. When you started your project, what outcomes did you have in mind/still have in mind for it?
A. As mentioned in the previous answer, part of the outcome that I was hoping to accomplish was simply just to become an all round better, but also a unique musician. I always wanted to do some kind of vocal work since getting intensly into metal partway through Highschool, then when I found bands such and Cephalotripsy, Disfiguring the Goddess and Devourment it just drove the want to improve even further and I knew that I just wanted to be brutal yet not like everyone else in the scene with both vocals and the writing style. Which is something I still strive for to this day. On top of that I just hoped to get to a point where people would enjoy and want to hear more of my music.
Q. What programmes do/did you find the most helpful in the writing process/production of Rendered Helpless
A. Honestly, none. Or at least very little outside the use of my DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) and the Drum Machine that I need to use to simulate a drummer while recording/writing. I never liked to use software tools such as Guitar Pro to write out songs and music. My admittedly somewhat short attention span just doesn’t allow for it, hahaha. The way I write my music is segment by segment, riff by riff, and drumbeat by drumbeat. I don’t like to write out full songs on tablature then record them much like a traditional band. It’s just not my style/the way I operate, and this is quite often reflected in my music as it can become quite eratic at times.
Q. When/what would you say started your interests in making music?
A. The start of my music making career was when, on a whim, I decided to download the beat making program Fruity Loops (now FL Studios.) I had been shown and gotten quite interested in Drum and Bass and Electronic Music at some point during my early years of Highschool and had thought “You know what. I’m going to try and make some of this myself.” So through trial and mostly error I eventually managed to create a handful of songs with the stock samples and sounds that came with the, most definitely not pirated, program. Eventually I started learning the basics of extreme metal vocals and began doing covers and uploading them to YouTube. I then started intergrating these freshly learnt vocals and starting putting them into my electronic music in a poor attempt at my own brand of Aggrotech. Upon hearing the songs and that I had a means to record my own music, a few of my friends recruited me to help them record a demo for their own newly formed band/project. (Who now are known by the name Vargafrost.) Then, after multiple sessions, of both the recording and illicit kind, and a lot of listening to the fresh wave of Slam/Brutal Death Metal that had just rolled in, I found my inspiration and influence, and asked to borrow a guitar and amplifier from the pre-Vargafrost group to start my own musical project. And thus… Rendered Helpless was spawned.
Q. What do you feel is the biggest obstacle for musicians today?
A. The biggest obstacle for musicians nowadays would, in my opinion, be just getting any kind of exposure or fanbase outside of your own town or even just your friend and family circle. While there are mediums that you can use such as YouTube, Bandcamp, Soundcloud, and a myriad of other spaces to publicly showcase your art. It almost always comes down to pure luck whether or not you gain a following. There is just so much competition out there who all want to have their own moment in the spotlight, and now that nearly every beginner musician can afford a halfway decent quality instrument and usually has access some level of recording gear, the number just keeps increasing. You’d be hardpressed to find scene of music that doesn’t have people fighting over each other for a spot of luck and attention. A secondary obstacle would be that even if you do manage to grab someones attention to keep them entertained you have to constantly pump out fresh material or risk being dragged back into the ‘crowd.’
Rendered helpless fans have now been treated to the production of merch, including t-shirts, tanks, and CD’s. To follow the project, buy Rendered Helpless merch and music, and see the progress of the new upcoming album, tune into the Rendered Helpless Facebook page!
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