Hi there, Sick Drummer Magazine! My name is Polwach Beokhaimook; I play drums in various bands, selectively including Ecchymosis, Biomorphic Engulfment, Smallpox Aroma, Cystgurgle, and Genocidal Sodomy, varying from brutal death metal, grindcore, goregrind, gorenoise, death metal, and black metal. I play shows with them both locally and overseas. The first extreme band I formed was the grindcore act Smallpox Aroma, which was founded in 2006 when I was in high school.
Polwach’s Links:
https://linktr.ee/polwachbeokhaimook
Polwach Beokhaimook Interview:
SDM: How old were you when you started playing?
Polwach: I started learning to play drums when I was around 14, approximately in 2003.
SDM: Did you play in a school band or any drum corps?
Polwach: Yeah, I did. I joined a band in high school before the formation of my first extreme band, Smallpox Aroma, aforementioned. It was a pop/rock band, but that was a great start. I remember being awkward upon the first rehearsal.
SDM: Who are your top 5 metal influences?
Polwach: I can’t call Last Days of Humanity metal, but these guys are my top drumming influences.
– Jon Engman (ex-Brodequin)
– Marc Palmen (ex-Last Days of Humanity)
– Brad Fincher (Devourment)
– Alfie Vienneau (Orchidectomy)
– Alexander Fursov (Inopexia)
SDM: Who are some of your other favorites?
Polwach: Tons of them… Ricky Myers, Daniel Osborn, Lille Gruber, Sunyaluxx Saengtham, Isaac Horne, Jordan Valera, Bryan Fajardo, Randyl Manglicmot, Renz Victor Picache, John Davao, Terrence Manauis, Robbert Vrijenhoek, Romain Goulon, Kyle Christman, Eihar Unamuno, Temma Takahata, Kyosuke Nakano, Alexey Tsypchenko, Rene Martinez, Matt Kilner, Max McMullen, Alexander Mitsch, Albert Rios, Max Van Over, Peter Sengvixay, Jarda Haž, Mike Hamilton, Evan Daniele, Jonathan Rushforth, Markus Saar, John Michael Martin, Ricky Nunez, Arief Rahadian, Asep Rosidin, Yogi Praja Bimantara, Wawan Setiawan, Oki Fadhlan, Thorsten Bertram, Chad Walls, Henning Paulsen, Andy Vincent, Kane Chen, Cody Davidson, Antoine Paponnet, Forrest Stedt, Luca Romeo, Ryder Quant, Nikhil Talwalkar, Dante Haas, Vagelis Voyiantzis, Nikos Prapas, Brennan Butler, Tomasz Pilasiewicz, Roman Tyutin, Milan Moškon, Ángel Pérez Matesanz, James Read, Dan Klein, Chris Vasquez, Nate Burgard, Ryohei Kikuchi, Yuya Yakushiji, Daniel Smoo, Brennan Shackelford, Florian Musil, Nils Fjellström, Janne Jaloma, Berk Köktürk, Tobias Schuler… the list goes on.
SDM: Let us know 5 bands in your current personal rotation.
Polwach: Submerged, Celestial Bifurcation, Defeated Sanity, Regurgitated Entrails, and Human Mastication.
SDM: What do you do to warm up before a show?
Polwach: Well, sometimes I don’t, and sometimes I do. When I do, I grasp both sticks next to each other with both of my hands and twist my wrists, and stretch my arms. Hard to explain. I do that for only 30 seconds or 1 minute. To relax my muscles.
SDM: Do you read music? Whether you answer yes or no, please tell us how it might have affected your playing.
Polwach: I can but suck at it. When playing, I don’t. I rely on my muscle memory. It helps sometimes, though, when I write my drum parts, trying to add odd signatures.
SDM: Can you tell us about the gear you use?
Polwach: Admittedly, I don’t own a drumkit; I usually use any in-house drums and cymbals available at the venue. Anyway, I always bring my gear, and these are what I currently use.
– Tama Speed Cobra double pedal (old model, 2011)
– CMC Prelude Steel 14"x7" snare
– CMC Prelude Piccolo 14"x4.5" snare
– Sabian 17" AA Holy China Brilliant cymbal
– Meinl HCS 14" Crash cymbal
By the way, I didn’t buy the cymbals; they were given to me by Daniel Smoo of the brutal death metal band Lithopaedia when we met at Asakusa Deathfest in Japan. Thank you, Smoo!
SDM: If you could give one piece of advice to younger drummers, it would be…
Polwach: I’m neither influential nor professional enough to give professional advice, but I’d say this sincerely. Practice well before you enter the studio, and don’t cheat when you either record or get your drum tracks post-processed. Deliver your real talent and sound as much natural as you can. Also, exceed your limit.
SDM: Who gave the best live performance you’ve ever seen?
Polwach: Defeated Sanity, Cephalotripsy, Human Mastication, Zygoatsis, Lithopaedia, Strangulation, Shinda Saibo No Katamari, Devourment, Disgorge (USA)… again, the list goes on.
SDM: Aside from drumming, what else do you like to do?
Polwach: I love collecting vinyl and CDs, listening to music, watching drumming videos, playing with dogs and cats, and drinking good beers.
More Video Links:
With Ecchymosis, live at Asakusa Deathfest https://youtu.be/N4mnT-5whTk
With Smallpox Aroma, live at Scumfest #1 https://youtu.be/ZGWAp-R9qKw
With Biomorphic Engulfment, rehearsal https://youtu.be/Lp2m0oPTR5w
With Cystgurgle, drum tracking for the 2nd full-length https://youtu.be/lZ3TPt8WeFg
Covering “Anal Skewer” by Gorgasm https://youtu.be/PSd-abDavk0
Blast endurance/random jamming https://youtu.be/eIN1KQXiVQs
