INTERVIEW WITH MOISES PIMENTEL
08/23/20 | J.Proust
Tattooing and heavy metal have always gone hoof in hoof, and this corner of The Call of the Night will peer deeper into this relationship by bringing in tattoo artists who are also metal musicians. The Mark Thy Flesh corner will also present exclusive The Call of the Night-inspired flash. It’s our privilege to host this first interview with Moises Pimentel, bassist of Seattle deathmongers Deconsecration as well as the doom/death heavies FOUL. Moises tattoos at Hidden Hand Tattoo, also located in Seattle. [Editor’s note: This interview has been lightly edited for clarity at the request of our subject.]
Thanks for chatting with us here at The Call of the Night. Yours is an interesting name. Where are you from?
“Well, my last names are Portugese and Catalan, but I was actually born and raised in Mexico City,” Moises tell us. “Like many others from the American continent, I carry a name and surnames given after the Spanish conquest.”
We mention how Moises’ artwork, whether his death metal or his fleshwork, portrays death, decay, destruction and other forms of benighted mayhem. We wonder, when did he notice he was drawn to dark things and the darkness?
“I had the luck to grow up surrounded [by] people who encouraged me in painting and other forms of art,” Moises remembers. “Of course all types of knowledge, but sometimes [there were] some kinds of esoteric, spiritual, ‘occult knowledge’ available. Looking and reading back, as well as watching movies and listening to the elder’s stories, I found myself more attracted to ‘organic’ shape, the forms and textures we can find and observe in nature. On the other hand, I have some fascination for the ancient cultures, the esoteric, for all those things that for some people could be described as ‘not part of the human world.’ To me that makes a great mixture to appreciate and admire dark, grotesque imagery. It’s very powerful and full of expression. It keeps the projection and the reflection of the darkest human feelings regardless of the technique used. Part of the beauty of the ‘dark imagery’ or extreme music resides on the fact that the majority of the observers/listeners would rather keep it in the shadows as it reminds them of those things that they would rather forget or leave it in the unknown.”
We ask Moises, when and how did he get into death metal? Which came first, we ask, the metal or the drawing/wanting to be a tattoo artist?
“Drawing has been part of my life for as long as I can remember,” Moises says. “I guess that’s what made me always try to pay extra attention to the shapes and the colors of the world around me. I think around middle school my friends and cousins would share music with me and I was very impressed with some of the album covers. I tried to copy some and sooner or later some of my classmates would ask me to paint their backpacks, notebooks or some jean vest/jackets—mostly Iron Maiden designs. I remember hearing Cannibal Corpse and Sepultura for first time because I got asked to draw their logos. It was mind-blowing! Of course after that I was always looking for faster, more aggressive, heavier music.”
As for the tattooing, Moises says it was only a matter of time. He continues:
“As a fan of extreme music and alternative culture I admired tattoos a lot. The fact of being able to wear pictures and become a walking ‘canvas’ is just fascinating to me. I started to get tattooed when I was 17 and started to spend more time and more time around the craft. I just really wanted to become a tattooer.”
Moises says he does draw to metal, but says he also likes to “listen the news just to remind [him] how unpleasant the human world could be.” He continues:
“Both things work for me very well for artistic inspiration in general. It’s definitely the best way for me to give the time to any record and try to get the most from it. “I don’t really have a particular favorite record to work to. After decades of extreme music there’s so much cool shit out there. Lately I have been revisiting Anhedonist - Netherwards, Anatomi - Dissected Humanity, and Phrenelith’s demo compilation.”
We throw a curveball at him next. We ask, do you regularly experience or are you capable of any kind of supernatural phenomena?
“That’s a very interesting question,” Moises admits. “The only thing I can say is I definitely have experienced many things that i couldn’t find a ‘logical’ or ‘scientific’ explanation for. There are other realities besides the one that we live in,” he adds, but doesn’t seem inclined to go on.
Your tattoo artwork has a distinctive look to it, we tell him, seeming to pull in old school Sailor Jerry-style tattoo art, old school graffiti, plus a healthy dose of Thorncross-style visuals pulling for the metal side. Who and what are some of your biggest influences on your art?
“It’s hard for me to name a favorite artist, there are dozens of artists that I really admire and I get influence from,” Moises says. “Some that I have keep in mind are Gustave Dore, Francisco de Goya, Albrecht Dürer. I’ve had the chance to experiment with many different techniques, oil painting being my favorite one (even if don’t use it much lately). I love ‘traditional’ paintings. I just can’t find a niche on a style or technique. I started doing graffiti in 1994 and still sometimes do, mostly tagging and throw ups. I love to work on nasty designs for bands, too. With my tattooing I keep many doors open, I probably do work with black ink for the most but on the other hand I always love traditional and japanese tattoos. I actually wear, for the most part, traditional Japanese-inspired tattoos. It’s just like extreme music, there’s just so many awesome kinds.”
Exclusive The Call of the Night-inspired flash courtesy of Moises Pimentel.
How are death metal and tattooing similar from your perspective?
“Both forms of expression have become hella popular in the last 25 years and the quality of execution at this point is crazy,” Moises says. “People keeps raising the bar all over the world either with new forms or mastering the old ones. It is very hard to have a part in the game nowadays. More people than ever get exposed to both of them so anyone trying to become the creative part has to work extremely hard. There’s not much room to fake shit and try to impress people with mediocre stuff. Sooner rather than later someone is going to call you out. I try to do my best with both music and artwork but there’'s always so much to learn in order to keep my skills growing.”
Exclusive The Call of the Night-inspired flash courtesy of Moises Pimentel.
What can you tell us about Hidden Hand, where you tattoo?
Moises explains, “Hidden Hand Tattoo is located in Seattle, Washington and is owned by Jeff Cornell. It is a well known shop in the city and I feel very lucky to work there and share the space with such talented tattooers. I really enjoy tattooing traditional flash,” Moises continues. “It is always really fun to do. Of course I love when someone wants any of my designs regardless of the style. Dark stuff is always great. I’m definitely not looking for anything very geometrical or designs that are very trendy thanks to Pinterest.”
Regarding his latest death metal endeavor, Deconsecration, Moises says, “I play bass. I had talked to some of my friends and we were looking for death metal with more dynamic rhythm changes and a more traditional style. Not necessarily faster but perhaps shorter songs than Foul.. And I think the diversity of our influences help us a bunch in order to put together those elements.” As for Foul, Moises says, “Our new material Of Serpents is out now on all formats under Vermignosis Productions. Five songs full of evilness, the proper stuff for the dark times we are living in today.” And on working with Caligari Records, Moises says, “On my end I am very glad to work with Caligari Records. It has been a good experience with great quality stuff. They have a large catalog that shows Caligari is on top of its game.”
Throughout, Moises says he’s been brainstorming “new ideas and designs for future merch for Foul and Deconsecration. Plus music material for Deconsecration’s full length album.”
Once things return to some kind of normal, Moises says he will continue “with [his] tattoo career at Hidden Hand and keep working hard on both band projects.” He says, “I'm really looking forward to going on tour with both bands.
Moises says in closing, “Thank you very much for inviting me to collaborate with The Call of the Night and please keep an eye out for new releases from Deconsecration and Foul.. We are very happy with the results and hopefully the two of them will be well received. Listeners play an important role in the creative process. Stay in the shadows.”
