Interview: Cultist

Here’s an interview I did with the deathcore band Cultist.

Hey, I hope you’re doing well, despite the current pandemic. Let’s get things going by telling us your name and role in the band?

Yeah, I’m doing well, I’m still working. Hey, I’m Jon, Cultist is my solo project, meaning I write the songs, the lyrics and I do the vocals myself.

What’s your musical background and how long have you been making music?

Sure thing. I’ve been making music since high school. I had this I pad and I and my buddy from home would just crank out songs. But I started making music seriously maybe three years ago.

What is the current lineup of Cultist and have you had any past members consider that you guys are relatively new?

Currently, I don’t have a lineup but I’d love to have members. At first, I had some homies from college but they felt more comfortable playing in a different genre. So I figured I’d form another project with them.

Cultist sounds like a peculiar name for a band consisting of Christians, what’s the meaning of the name and what led you to choose it? Do you guys have a central theme that you plan to tackle as a band?

The idea behind the name came from observing other religions and noticing how similar they were. Cults are about serving and placing your faith in a human whether that’s worshiping another human being or worshiping yourself.

What’s the story behind the songs, Preacher I and II?

Preacher 1 and 2 were both about prosperity gospel preachers the first being people like Joel Osteen and the last being about something that went down at the college I went to. One of the bandmates actually told me the story.

What is your creative process like?

Normally when I write songs the lyrics come last, I try to write the hardest songs I can and the lyrics flow from there

For a more personal question, could you share how you came to saving faith in Jesus Christ?

I was originally raised catholic and had a warped view of God up until I was about 13. But then I went to a Christian Bible camp and I experienced a completely different view of God and I’ve been following him ever since.

What are some bands you guys pull inspiration from and what in general inspires you to make music?

Varials, the last ten seconds of life, spite, dealer, sleep waker, and knocked loose to name a few. Honestly, I love making music. I especially love making heavy stuff.

What does your discography look like and how can readers of Beyond The Grave check out your music?

So I have two albums, The preacher and An Observation of Grief. The first album is on YouTube (I have yet to get it out on any other platforms). The second one is still in the writing process but hopefully, it’ll end up on all streaming platforms when it drops.

Are you guys currently signed to a label or independent?

Cultist is currently independent, I’m not sure if I wanna get signed.

There’s been a lot of talking about how streaming platforms are ruing the music industry, what’s your take on this issue? For or against it?

Streaming platforms help get my music out there. If it weren’t for people preferring certain streaming platforms, I’d release all my songs primarily on YouTube.

What’s next for Cultist?

Once the album drops, I wanna look for band members and hopefully start playing shows.

We’ve come to the end of our interview, any final words?

Thanks for interviewing me I appreciate it, and I appreciate all the people that enjoy my music. I don’t have a set date for the album yet due to the whole virus thing, but I’m working on it.