A Dirty Dozen with TAYLOR NORDBERG from INHUMAN CONDITION – April 2021

According to a recent press release: “Florida death metal legend Terry Butler (OBITUARY, DEATH, MASSACRE, SIX FEET UNDER) has joined up with fellow former MASSACRE members Jeramie Kling (also of VENOM INC, THE ABSENCE, GOREGÄNG) on drums/vocals and Taylor Nordberg (THE ABSENCE, GOREGÄNG) on guitar to form INHUMAN CONDITION. New on the scene, the group is set to release their debut album, Rat God on June 4th.  The trio previously announced their partnership with Blood Blast Distribution to release the album on digital formats, a vinyl deal with Black Serpent Records (set for an August 6th release), and will self-release the CD via Kling/Nordberg’s Listenable Insanity Records, as well as several licensing deals with labels world-wide to release additional CDs.” We get guitarist Taylor to discuss new music, influences, and more…

1. Tell us a little about your latest release.  What might a fan or listener not grab the first or second time they listen through?  Are there any hidden nuggets you put in the material or that only diehard fans might find?

Rat God is our first album (of many!), and it’s 9 songs of death metal/thrash originally written intended to be the new Massacre album. Jeramie and I left and decided to bring the tunes with us since we wrote it, so we hooked up with Terry Butler on bass, and then Jeramie took the vocal job, and boom! Inhuman Condition.  There are all sorts of nuggets, but I can’t tell you any…I’d have to kill you.  The music has several nods/tributes to bands we were influenced by as well, but that’s been going on since music began.

2. What got you into music, and can you tell us about the moment you realized you wanted to be a musician?

I was hooked on Michael Jackson’s music since I was 3 or 4, and that continues to this day, but it wasn’t until I heard the early Aerosmith music around 11/12 where I decided “I want to do THAT!”.  I had a Queen greatest hits album, and Aerosmith’s Classic Live II and I didn’t know the difference between guitar and bass, so I’d ask my brother “hey what’s this part? Is that guitar or bass?” and I ended up liking the guitar stuff more, so I begged my parents for a year or two, then they finally got me one for Christmas when I was 13.

3. Building on that, is there a specific song, album, performer, or live show that guided your musical taste?

I saw Aerosmith with my aunt when I was 12 and it blew my mind, so I think it’s safe to say that was a game-changing moment for sure.  I think when I heard “Back In The Saddle” I was hooked. Any of the first 6 Aerosmith albums are just godly to me, and still influence me to this day.

4. Who would be your main five musical influences?

Aerosmith, Megadeth, Death, Alice In Chains, and Rush.

5. If you could call in any one collaborator to do a song with, who would it be, and why?

Probably Paul McCartney. He’s one of the most talented song-writers and singers of all time, and his sense of melody is just amazing.

6. How would you describe your music to someone who’d never listened to you before? What is the one comparison a reviewer or fan has made that made you cringe or you disagreed with?

I think the music is a blend of 80’s/90’s death metal and thrash metal, with a pinch of NYHC. Some people say “Oh it just sounds like Massacre”, which doesn’t make me cringe, but I also think “duh…it was supposed to be a Massacre album, so thanks!”

7. When your band is hanging out together, who cooks, who gets the drinks in, and who is first to crack out the acoustic guitars for a singalong?

Jeramie is the pro cook, and we don’t drink, so it’s likely to be a sparkling water, or coffee, and we also don’t do too may singalongs, haha! Although I hope Terry decides to serenade us one day on the back porch.

8. When was the last time you were starstruck and who was it?

I don’t think I get “starstruck” anymore, thankfully.  After a while you realize that most musicians you look up to are just people, too.  I was pretty shocked when Dan Swanö posted about my guitar playing at a Massacre gig he went to.  We’ve all been fans of his for a long time, and it’s pretty awesome that he’s just a buddy now!

9. What is the best part of being a musician? If you could no longer be a musician for whatever reason, what would be your dream job?

The best part is that I’m doing what I want to be doing.  I think going past what my goals were at 13, and still being motivated and in love with music now is the best part.  If I couldn’t be a musician, I would still record, mix, and master music here at Jeramie Kling and I’s Smoke & Mirrors Productions.  If I couldn’t do that, I’d be a professional dog petter.

10. What is one question you have always wanted an interviewer to ask – and what is the answer? Conversely, what question are you tired of answering?

I’ve always wanted an interviewer to ask “What is one question you have always wanted an interviewer to ask – and what is the answer?”!!!! And there’s your answer. I’m tired of hearing questions about COVID, but I suppose that’s a current event that people like to discuss… oh look, COVID question down below!

11. Looking back over your career, is there a single moment or situation you feel was a misstep or you would like to have a “do over,” even if it didn’t change your current situation?

I don’t think I would change anything, because whether it was a positive or negative for my career/life, I have learned from my experiences.

12. If you could magically go back in time and be a part of the recording sessions for any one record in history, which would you choose – and what does that record mean to you?

Metallica’s Black Album.  There are a million albums I’d love to be there for (any Beatles album, Pink Floyd’s Animals, any Frank Zappa album, etc.), but I think the Black Album is just one of the best records of all time.  The mix is unreal! I would love to be there from an engineering perspective, but also as a musician it would be wild to hear those songs take shape.  It was one of the first albums my brother gave me a cassette copy of when I was 8 or 9, and I used to listen to it every night before going to bed.

BONUS QUESTION – Due to the current world situation with COVID-19 / quarantine / shelter in place, what have you discovered you miss the most from your life before the pandemic struck?

I miss shows! I miss playing them, of course, but I miss going and seeing bands on tour.  I’ve actually loved the lock-down partially because I generally don’t like people, and it gave me a chance to get a ton of music written and recorded.

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