(interview) Dead Dog Summer:’Nitko te nikad neće doći spasiti ako sam nisi spreman za promjene. A svaka promjena kreće od nas samih.’

Dead Dog Summer dolaze iz mog grada, sviraju hardcore i bilo je krajnje vrijeme da porazgovaram malo s njima za ovaj webzine. Na pitanja je odgovarao Igor, gitarist/vokal benda.

1.KAKO BI UKRATKO PREDSTAVILI DEAD DOG SUMMER ČITATELJIMA KOJI JOŠ NISU ČULI ZA VAŠ BEND?

Za početak ti puno hvala na mjestu što si nas ugostio na stranicama tvog webzina, cijenimo to i zahvalni smo. Dead Dog Summer je bend iz Čakovca koji je nastao negdje krajem 2020. godine, baš u ono vrijeme kad je još trajala pandemija i nitko nije znao što će iz svega toga biti. Sama ideja se u meni kuhala jedno 10 godina, radio sam neke stvari, snimao ideje. Još od vremena od kad smo završili priču sa bivšim bendovima i ostali tu gdi smo bili, nigdje. Nije da nismo bilo aktivni na sceni kao promatrači, ali ta želja da ne budemo samo promatrači je uvijek negdje gorjela u nama. Nakon što smo osnovali bend počeli smo raditi nove stvare, aktivnije imati probe i krenuli ozbiljno.

Članovi benda su Krešo Žerjav na bassu i vokalima, Boris Strahija na bubnjevima i ja, Igor Bistrović ko vokal i gitara.

Dead Dog Summer je post-hardcore bend recimo, ako bi muziku svrstavali u neke žanrove, ali to je u biti muzika koju svakodnevno slušamo. Recimo da ima svih stilova izmiješanih, od punka, do hardcore-a, do nekakvog hardcore-a koji se svirao krajem 90-ih.

Dead Dog Summer je uvijek pripadao toj nekoj D.I.Y. hardcore punk sceni, premda se možda glazbeno ne uklapa u taj kalup, ali ideje koje stoje iza benda i iza naših života su uvijek dolazile s te neke punk scene čiji smo dio već više od 30 godina.

2.OBJAVILI STE PRVI DUGOSVIRAJUĆI ALBUM, OPIŠI KAKO JE PROTEKAO PROCES PISANJA, SNIMANJA, DO FINALNOG PROIZVODA. KAKO STE ZADOVOLJNI FEEDBACKOM? FIZIČKA KOPIJA VS DIGITALNA KOPIJA, ŠTO JE ZA VAS BOLJE? GDJE SE ALBUM MOŽE NABAVITI/PRESLUŠATI?

‘A Place of Someday’, naš prvi album je izašao u rujnu prošle godine, prvo kao digitalno izdanje na Geenger Records, a ove godine u svibnju i kao vinil za naš d.i.y. label My Last Station. Mogu reći da je pola albuma bilo gotovo prije nego što je uopće postojala ideja za Dead Dog Summer, to su bile neke ideje koje sam ja doma snimao, većinom instrumentali jer smo tekstove počeli raditi tek kad smo ustvari počeli snimati album.  I kad smo napravili prvu polovicu albuma, ostatak albuma je samo izletio iz nas. U pravilu uvijek prvo radimo muziku, pa onda na to radimo tekstove, uvijek neko ima neku ideju i onda se iz toga nešto izrodi ili se jednostavno baci.

Nakon što smo snimili album prvi puta, slušali smo ga neko vrijeme i skužili da to nije dovoljno dobro, tj. da to nije nešto s čim želimo ići van, a pošto sve snimamo sami za sad, odlučili smo uložiti još 2 mjeseca u snimanje iz početka i sve odradili puno bolje. Neke stvari smo izbacili van, dodali 2 koje nisu bile na prvoj verziji albuma… Nakon što smo snimili materijal, čuli smo se sa Sixom iz Geenger Recordsa i dogovorili da to izađe za njih digitalno. Prvo je izašao prvi singl ‘Diamonds and Thorns’ i reakcije su bile odlične, feedback publike i „kritike“ je bio odličan, krenule su svirke po regiji i uvijek su nas pitali zašto nemamo fizičko izdanje. Nakon par upita, odlučili smo uči u tu investiciju i raditi vinil jer je to jedini format koji danas nešto vrijedi. Ploče su poslane u štampariju, no taj proces obično traje dosta dugo tako da je ‘A Place of Someday’ vani od 5. mjeseca i na ploči. Naravno dostupan je i na svim streaming platformama od Bandcampa, Spotify-a, Deezera, Apple Musica, Tidala i svega što se danas koristi.

Naravno da je lakše i jeftinije napraviti i izdati samo digitalno, ali nama je u tom trenutku trebala fizička kopija, htjeli smo ju imati makar za sebe, pa ako se nešto proda super, ako ne, nema veze.

Album  možete preslušati na svim platformama, a do linka najlakše dođete tako da posjetite naš web https://deaddogsummer.com

Fizičko izdanje tj vinil je uvijek dostupan na koncertima, preko Bandcampa, Geenger Recordsa, preko nekih distribucija u regiji. Ako je netko željan da ima album na ploči, nek nam se samo javi u inbox pa ćemo dogovoriti što je najpovoljnija opcija, puno nam to znači, a isto tako nam i znači ako netko želi pomoći oko distribucije, uvijek smo otvoreni za trade za vaša izdanja. Cijena ploče je 16 eura.

3.TEKSTOVI SU PISANI IZ VRLO OSOBNOG KUTA. IMA LI NASLOV ALBUMA NEKO DUBLJE ZNAČENJE? POSTOJI LI SKRIVENA POLITIČKA PORUKA IZA TEKSTOVA? POŠTO DOSTA LJUDI SA SCENE SMATRA DA HARDCORE BENDOVI MORAJU ZADIRATI U POLITIČKE TEME TEKSTUALNO.

Da, svi tekstovi na albumu su vrlo osobni, jer je to moj neki ispušni ventil da izbacim svoje emocije iz sebe, svoja mišljenja, ono kak se osjećam u tom trenutku i što želim podijeliti sa svijetom. Ime albuma je ‘A Place of Someday’, a to je ono mjesto na koje nikad nećemo stići ako ne krenemo danas graditi svoju sreću, ako ćemo stalno odgađati stvari i živjeti tuđe živote, samo da bi se drugi osjećali OK. Ako stalno živimo u strahu, s nama je najlakše kontrolirati. Nitko te nikad neće doći spasiti ako sam nisi spreman za promjene. A svaka promjena kreće od nas samih.

Ponekad/uvijek treba sebe staviti na prvo mjesto, svoje potrebe i želje, naravno bez da druge povrijediš. Zato je i taj omot s vrtuljkom na kojem su bezbrižna djeca, jer mi kad „odrastemo“ gubimo tu neku razigranost i bezbrižnost u životu i prestanemo se igrati jer nas pojedu druge brige za koje nas uče da postoje u životu i koje nasljeđujemo od svojih predaka koje postaju traume iz kojih je teško izaći. Negdje sam pročitao dobru rečenicu, We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing i pokušavam da mi to bude neka vodilja u životu.

Što se tiče političkih tema, davno su Embrace rekli ‘Your emotions are nothing by politics’. Mislim možeš se ti derati fuck the system, ali ako nisi u glavi posloženi kao početak tog lanca, što će se dogoditi kad padne sistem? Naša stvar ‘Neverending Story’ je recimo politička stvar ako baš moramo to tak nazvati jer govori o strahu kojem nas hrane svakodnevno kroz televiziju i medije. Prvo nam je bilo super, pa je došlo nešto, pa virus, pa je počeo rat, pa je virus nestao, pa su cijene počele rasti u nebo, pa inflacija, pa svjetska kriza, pa sad kao nešto oni spašavaju da nam bude bolje. Jer tko će ih hraniti ako će ljudi razmišljati svojom glavom. I to je taj začarani krug koji se ponavlja već godinama jer je ljude najlakše kontrolirati kroz strah, to je najmoćnije oružje.

Naravno da ćemo se uvijek angažirati i podržati neku inicijativu koju podržavamo i neću reći da smo apolitičan bend.

4.KAKO IZGLEDA DEAD DOG SUMMER KONCERT I ŠTO SE MOŽE OČEKIVATI?

Hm, teško pitanje. Mi ćemo uvijek pokušati dati 100% sebe, nekad uspijemo, nekad ne. Sviramo set od 35 minuta cca, ponekad govorim između stvari o tome da ljudi znaju o čemu se mi tu deremo, a to bi volio i više raditi jer mi je bitno da se zna da se u punku ne radi samo o žestokoj muzici. Najviše volimo svirati u malim klubovima, makar smo svirali i neke velike festivale i to nam je uvijek izazov, totalno drugačiji osjećaj, ali i super iskustvo.

5.NASVIRALI STE DOSTA KONCERATA IAKO STE RELATIVNO NOVI BEND NA SCENI, KOJA SU VAM DO SADA TOP TRI MJESTA/KONCERATA KOJE STE ODSVIRALI I ZAŠTO?

Baš teško pitanje opet. Teško je odvojiti neka mjesta gdje nam najbolje, ali uvijek nam je super svirati u Čakovcu jer smo tu doma, Prostor je idealan klub za takav bend i svakako bi željeli jednom godišnje svirati u Čakovcu. Ekipa koja vodi Prostor je stvarno vrijedna i kvalitetna i takvu organizaciju i gostoprimstvo kakvo bendovi imaju u Čakovcu, rijetko gdje ima, zato se i većina bendova uvijek rado vraća ovdje. Drugo mjesto gdje smo uvijek super prihvaćeni i koje nam je kao drugi dom je Novi Sad. Ono što oni tamo imaju, takvo srce, ekipu to nema niti jedan drugi grad gdje smo bili. Jako nam je bio drag i prvi koncert u Budimpešti s Ignite, jer smo taj bend slušali ko klinci i još uvijek ga slušamo, pa nam je bila čast i privilegija kad su nas pozvali da sviramo s njima.

6.OBJAVILI STE I NEKE SPOTOVE. KAKVA JE PRIČA IZA TOGA? JESU LI SPOTOVI „OBAVEZA“ DA SE BEND PROMOVIRA ILI GUŠT ILI SU JEDNOSTAVNO NAČIN DA SE DOPRE DO ČIM VIŠE PUBLIKE I POTENCIJALNIH FANOVA?

Pa iskreno, spotovi su recimo nužno zlo, nije da ih ne volimo, ali mislim da je danas YouTube toliko jaka platforma da jednostavno moraš biti prisutan na njoj. Prvi spot ‘Diamonds and Thorns’ smo snimali u Prostoru s Alexom (AirAlex) i to je bio kao nekakav promo za bend jer do tada smo imali samo 2 demo stvari vani, a ova je bila najavni singl za album.

Drugi spot za ‘Sometimes’ je snimala Stela Horvat, a montirao ga je Strija, snimali smo ga kod Žeca u šumi, na dvorištu, on pak je bio tu kao najava za album.

Spotovi su super za promociju, jesu i gušt za raditi, jebi ga tek sam ih 2 u 42 godine života snimio tak da nije tlaka, uvijek su dobar put do novih slušatelja, publike. A i danas ne moraš trošiti brdo para da bi to izgledalo kak spada, uvijek postoji neki frend koji ima opremu, neko ima ideju i to je to. Vjerojatno ćemo ih raditi još kad bude nešto novo vani.

7.POŠTO STE SVI VEĆ DUGO NA SCENI, POSTAVITI ĆU PITANJE KOJE MENI ČESTO POSTAVLJAJU:OLD TIMES VS NOW, ŠTO JE BOLJE? JESTE LI JEDNI OD NOSTALGIČARA KOJI SAMO MISLE DA JE NEKADA BILO BOLJE, A SADA NE VALJA, A VJERUJEM DA NISTE.

Da si me pitao kad sam bio pasivni promatrač, onda bi ti rekao da nekad, ali danas kao aktivni sudionik na sceni, reći ću ti da je danas najbolje ikad. Najlakše je kukati i srati, dok smo mi bili mladi onda je sve bilo bolje. Malo stvari mrzim, al to stvarno mrzim. Jer danas je najlakše ikad raditi ono što voliš. Želiš snimiti album, možeš ga snimiti sam, želiš pokrenuti fanzin ili webzine, treba ti samo malo osnovnog znanja kojeg opet možeš dobiti besplatno, ne trebaš ulagati ne znam kakve novce u štampanje ili fotokopiranje, slanje pisama, možeš pokrenuti podcast, blog, sve ti je tu, s minimalnim troškovima. Danas scena ima takve bendove, takve klubove, festivale, fanzine, organizatore o kakvima smo nekad mogli samo sanjati.

Naravno da ako samo čekaš da se nešto desi i živiš na staroj slavi, nećeš ništa napraviti. Jedina stvar je da je danas brdo informacija i sve vijesti jako kratko traju tako da možda moraš raditi više i stalno biti aktualan s nečim novim jer te ljudi brzo zaborave

Nas često ljudi pitaju, kako toliko puno sviramo, dal nas zovu ili šta. Ne, ne zovu nas i sigurno nas neće još jedno vrijeme toliko zvati nego se javljaš promotorima, fanzinima, klubovima koje danas vode oni ljudi koji su nekad bili dio iste scene i svirali u bendovima, i danas su tu, samo rade neke druge stvari kako bi ova naša scena bila ovakva kakva je, predivna. Ako ne radiš i trudiš se, stojiš na mjestu i misliš si da ti je cijeli svijet kriv za sve.

8.KAKO STE OTKRILI HARDCORE I ŠTO JE HARDCORE ZA VAS? KOJI VAM JE BIO PRVI KONCERT KOJEG SE MOŽETE SJETITI?

Ovo sam često pričao, ali prvi hardcore album koji mi je baš postao onako drag, čak najdraži je ‘Start Today’ od Gorilla Biscuitsa. Jer su spajali tu melodiju i odlične tekstove u kojima sam se pronalazio. Mislim, ja ne radim razliku između punka i hardcore-a, al naravno, sve je počelo od Nirvane i Neverminda, pa su onda došli Sex Pistolsi, pa Hladno pivo, Overflow, pa Offspring, Green Day, NOFX, pa Bad Religion, pa Kud Idijoti, možda ne baš tim redom, ali kužiš kaj hoću reći. I onda ulaziš u taj magičan svijet i počinješ istraživati, frend preko frenda presnimi ovu kazetu pa si i ti presnimiš, pa prvi fanzini koji su onda bili jedini izvor informacija pa tamo vidiš neke bendove, pa flyere, pa naručiš neke kazete, pa čitaš distro liste… Moramo se sjetiti da u to vrijeme internet nije postojao. Mislim da mi je prvi koncert bio Hladno pivo kad je izašao ‘Džinovski’ sa 12 i pol godina, nakon toga Kud Idijoti, bili su tu negdje i Sex Pistolsi u Ljubljani, a prvi DIY pank koncert je bio Živjela Komercijala u Murskom Središću gdje su svirali Debeli Precjednik, Running Pary, Why Stakla i Directed Crew. Tamo sam i kupio prvi fanzin, In Medias Res broj 5, onaj zeleni, i skužio, o pa to je nešto što bi i ja mogao raditi. Brzo nakon toga smo već imali bend, radili fanzine, organizirali koncerte, upoznavali ljude sa scene, od kojih sam sa većinom još uvijek prijatelj i koji su još uvijek tu. Baš nedavno kad mi je stiglo reizdanje ‘Džinovskog’ od Hladnog piva sam shvatio koliko je taj punk dao meni u životu, kolko me naučio o svemu, izgradio u osobu koja sam danas. Jer sam princip DIY (uradi sam) scene te gura naprijed, stvara ti mogućnosti u privatnom i poslovnom svijetu. Žao mi je da danas muzika ne igra takvu ulogu u odrastanju klinaca, nama je to bilo sve i još uvijek mi je, bio je neki bunt, sad znamo da su neke ideje možda utopija i da ih nikad nećemo ostvariti, ali smo imali tu želju i strast za životom da grabimo sve pred sobom!

9.RADITE LI NOVE STVARI ZA NEKI NOVI E.P. ILI ALBUM?

Počeli smo raditi nove stvari, još ne znamo dal će ići album ili EP, vjerojatno će ići cijeli album s nekih 8-10 stvari van, plan je da još ove godine možda izbacimo jednu ili dvije stvari pa polako najavljujemo album, al sam procesa izdavanja je dosta spori, pogotovo kad se rade fizička izdanja, jer prvo treba napraviti sve stvari, dovršiti ih, snimiti, pa onda odlučit dal će ići fizičko izdanje, (a vjerojatno hoće), pa treba ploče poslat u štampariju pa čekat 5-6 mjeseci tako da od kad je album gotovo, to sve traje još kojih pola godine do godinu dana. Plan je da album bude vani negdje krajem druge godine, ali to je plan. Još želimo i moramo jako puno svirat i promovirat ovaj prvi.

10.POŠTO SE KLUPSKA SEZONA BLIŽI, KAKVE PLANOVE IMA DDS ZA JESEN I ZIMU? MOŽEMO LI OČEKIVATI KONCERTE I NASTAVAK USPJEŠNOG SVIRANJA SVUGDJE NAOKOLO?

Za sad imamo neke dogovorene koncerte za 11. mjesec, lagano bookiramo i ostale datume, mjesece, jer je plan svirati još jako puno ovaj album bez neke pauze, a u međuvremenu ćemo raditi nove stvari, želja nam je odsvirati i neku kraću turneju od 10 dana po Europi, al to su za sad samo još želje, još nismo krenuli s bookiranjem, pa neću previše govoriti o tome. Ima još jako puno mjesta na ovim prostorima gdje bi htjeli doći svirati, pa ako radite koncerte, slobodno nas zovite, javite nam se preko emaila info@deaddogsummer.com ili preko Instagrama (https://www.instagram.com/deaddogsummer/) ili Facebooka (https://www.facebook.com/deaddogsummer).

11.HVALA NA ODGOVORIMA. ZA KRAJ, KLASIČNO FANZINAŠKO PITANJE, IMATE LI NEŠTO DODATI ZA KRAJ A DA VAS NISAM PITAO?

Hvala ti puno na prilici da se predstavimo na stranicama Kraykulla webzina, svaka ti čast da još uvijek radiš to što radiš, to je jako bitno za našu scenu. Pozivam sve koji će ovo pročitati da nam se slobodno jave, uvijek nam je drago upoznavati nove ljude i povezivati se sa starima s kojima smo izgubili kontakt, ako radite koncerte, javite nam se.

Mi ćemo i dalje nastaviti raditi, a vi nastavite podržavati lokalnu scenu, odlazite na koncerte, plaćajte ulaznice, kupujte fizička izdanja i ostali merch od bendova kad su u vašem gradu ih tako direktno podržate i pomažete im da dalje rade to što rade.

(interview) The Crimson Ghosts – horrorpunk legends are back with ‘Forevermore’!

It’s been more than five years since I talked with German horror punk legends The Crimson Ghosts. This time, they have an awesome new album which I reviewed couple of weeks ago and it was about time to talk with them about various themes.

It’s been five years since our last talk, so what is new in last couple of years?

J: Well I guess the main news would be a pandemic that kicked us all in the teeth big time and our new album ‘Forevermore’ that will kick you all as well but in a much more positive way! 18 years after our debut album ‘Leaving the tomb’ we´re still alive (…and screaming…) and I´d say our newest output proves once more we´re not doing what one might expect from us…

The new album is upon us. So, tell me the story behind the concept of the album? How long was the songwriting and recording? Did you do physical copies or only digital like some bands do?

J: I started writing new material maybe a year after ‘Yet not human’ was released but when the pandemic came my creativity pretty much was gone since I had the feeling writing songs etc makes no sense anymore and no one could say if there will be live shows again or a record release etc…during that time I didn´t touch a guitar for at least half a year maybe longer. Then when there was a light at the tunnel I did a lot of research about instruments routing on stage and monitoring because I wanted to bring in more samples and keyboards without the need of an additional musician. And yeah – as soon as I knew how to achieve that I wrote songs like for example ‘Me or you?’ which has a piano playing along, or ‘From the underground world’ with a lot of in time samples. The last song I wrote for the album was ‘Devil in the white city’ and this was about a month before the actual recordings took place. Looking on the 11 tracks of the album I´d say they couldn´t be more diverse and I am very proud on how they turned out.
We released the new album not only digital (Spotify, Deezer, Amazon, Bandcamp etc) but also as a digipack CD with a fat 28 pages booklet, as limited LP with white vinyl and a 16 pages LP sized booklet and as strictly limited cassette for all the nostalgic people among you.

Could you talk us thematically song by song through the new album?

J: Well it would be easy to do so but since there are certain songs where you can read between the lines and find a complete different meaning than it seems to be on first sight I want to leave that up to the fans and even encourage you all to write to us and let us know what you THINK they are about.

I kind of think you always had problems with changing drummers? Is the line-up now complete and stabilized?

J: Well actually we never had problems with drummers until our original drummer Rev. had to leave the band for health reasons in 2016…then we had a hard time to find a good drummer at all but then in 2018 Ol Nick joined us and is still with us.

I saw that you had some gigs booked for promoting new album. Where do you play, is it going to be an European tour?

J: yes we will play a few single shows in Germany during mid 2023 but the main event is coming during October/ November 2023 when we will go on tour finally! And even if I can´t go into details but the band that we share stages with on said tour hasn´t been seen for a long time and EVERYBODY in the horrorpunk community will probably cry tears of joy when they read the name on a tourposter.

You are so tight as a band, there are years of experience here, but I always wondered, how many times a week do you guys practice?

J: Usually we gather once a week but when there was a longer break during holidays and a show is coming up we do rehearsals twice a week

How does Vlad keep his voice so great and so beautiful? He sounds the same on the records and live and he is for sure one of the best voices in the scene? Do you guys have formal musical education or you learned it all yourselves?

J: The blood of countless virgins. Thats the key.

Question like a blast from the past, taken from your songs. Who is Mary you sing about, and who is Ophelia?

J: Well since the 4th chapter of the Necrobabe story (‘Of a guilty man’) is released on our new album I´d say it´s a blast from the past as well as it is mega present. Mary was a girl that was loved by a sick and driven man who murdered her only to keep her for himself…in the end he did regret his deed but it was too late of course. And that’s where the lyrics ‘Of a guilty man’ start.
I am afraid i can´t tell you anything about Ophelia since that’s one of the song lyrics that the Rev wrote back in the day…    

How is life in Koln besides the carnival, I know practically nothing about your city. I am lying I know you have a nice cathedral there.

J: I´d say Cologne is as every other big city..lot´s of people you don´t wanna see or hear…noise…dirt…I´m rooted to this city but I know all of its dark sides and therefore prefer to stay home.

Are there any new music you would like to recommend? What are you listening to at the moment?

J: I am not good when it comes to discovering new music I am more that ‘yesterday’s stuff is best!’ guy…so when not listening to ‘Live shit, binge and purge’ at least once a week it´s probably 90’s death metal, 2nd wave black metal or some nice and lovely aggrotech…but I can enjoy stuff like Wardruna or Heilung during work pretty much!

How do you like all these new horror movies that are coming to cinemas, kind of mainstream cinema horror, did you like new ‘Evil Dead’, ‘Boogeyman’ and couple other new horror movies or do you still prefer oldies goldies.

J: Long story short – new movies mostly suck. Lack of innovation, the only goal seems to be that it has to be more gross than any other movie before no matter if the script is shit etc…I couldn’t recommend a good horror movie that came out in the last 5 years.

That is all for this time. Hope you come to Croatia one day. Is there anything you would like to add and I didn’t ask you?

J: Hell yeah we wanna play Croatia! SO – if any Croatian promoter reads this – GET IN CONTACT! Until then – check out our new album ‘Forevermore’, join us on tour and stay undead!

(interview) Solnegre – ‘Nowadays extreme metal is part of pop culture and probably a great part of the magic is lost.’

Solnegre from Spain intrigued me with their music, so it was about time for me to talk with them a little for this webzine.

For start, classic fanzine question: how would you describe Solnegre to the readers of this webzine that didn’t hear of your band before?

We are a Doom Death Metal band from a small island amidst the sea. We try to process our negativity and our frustrations into something with purpose, not only as a mean to express how fucked up we, which is easy, are but also in order to turn this darker being into something beautiful and controllable.

What does doom/death metal, mean to you? Or extreme metal in general?

Extreme metal as a way of taking things a bit beyond is a language through which one can connect the dots of its darkest self. It’s the realization of the fact that Art is not always about being constructive, extrovert, or joyful. It’s the supreme recognition that a darker self exists and that it deserves to be heard above the social conventions that pushes everyone to show its best happy face in order to be successful. We were teens in the 90’s teens, so we’ve experienced the extreme metal in its rawest form, when the concerts were stopped or best case you were bombarded by ice cubes from the crowd and people called you ‘nothing but noise’. I recall those as a very good time, a true fight. Nowadays extreme metal is part of pop culture and probably a great part of the magic is lost.

You are releasing single called ‘Vessel Part I: The Night Within’. What can you tell me about this single? What is it about? Is there some deeper concept and philosophical meaning behind the music and lyrics?

Vessel reflects how easy it is to become prey for anxiety and depression, how easy it is to give up and to surrender to an existential void that nothing can fill. This is the inner night we refer to and can be there until the last day you live. The point in my opinion is to reach a non-aggression pact with this feeling, as trying to eliminate this darker self is impossible without being destroyed in the process.

Your release, new opus is coming out in October as far as I understand. How was the writing and recording process? How do you write songs? What comes first, riffs or lyrics? As far as I understand your lyrics deal more with spiritual and personal themes. Are you a spiritual person? What do the lyrics mean for you? Are you more reclusive or open person privately?

I call this form of composition ‘channeling’ because I realize that I’m not 100% conscious of the process. I can be doing some other stuff and here it comes, an idea, a vague melody, a riff…then another, then an arrangement…so I pick the guitar quickly and start recording everything and in minutes, there you have: a song. After this there’s of course a process of trimming down, restructuring and arranging, but the main thing works this way. My best songs come from the worst moments of victimization, from my imposter syndrome, from my sleepless nights, but it’s not like dropping into a rehearsal room and trying this and that, once you start channeling you get full blocks from somewhere else. On our prior projects we used a somewhat more ‘standard’ way of composing but honestly all you get is a soup of riffs, no intention at all and above all, hours of procrastination and wasted time. I always have some concept in mind, and I know what I’m writing about, which is possibly about some personal failure, someone I’ve fucked up, something or someone I will have no more…there’s always purpose in desperation. As per my mood, in general I’m quite misanthropic, I live in my own world and I hardly see the good side of things, or I don’t give a fuck in general what people do. The Pandemic didn’t help and now some agoraphobia breaks every now and then.

Do you guys tour? Did you play anywhere outside of Spain? Do you like to play bigger festivals or smaller club shows? What can we expect if we go to your live gig?

We toured extensively with our past projects, but SolNegre is about studio work only. I don’t feel the need to play these songs live, or at least in front of humans. In fact, I would be ashamed to conduct this exercise of self-exposure live.

Do you know something of Croatia? Do you know any Croatian bands, or have you played in our country?

Of course, we know a lot from you buddies. Even I have some indirect family ties with your country, but never got the chance to play there. Talking about bands, let’s mention the classic and super cool Ashes you Leave from the 90’s especially, and there’s an amazing Doom Metal band called The Old Night that I’ve been following since long ago.

How is the underground music scene in the place where you live? Do you have a strong scene there? How is life in Spain in general?

In general, the Balearic Islands have an amazing scene being as small as they are. Mainland Spain too, of course, but the islands are disproportionately productive in all the areas of extreme metal, and some funny guys call this ‘little Sweden’ not only for the number of Scandinavians trying to get laid and drunk but also for that reason. Having said that I wouldn’t call this ‘a scene’ because each band does its own little war, with a high degree of success by the way. Life in Spain is good if you like to socialize, good weather, good food, cheap drinking and giving a fuck on everything else. None of this I like except food and the drink thing, but hey, this is what it is.

Are there any notorious or scary urban legends in the area where you live?

On a mysterious island amidst the sea? Sure! Hundreds! Lights in the sea, caves that are gates to the underworld, water maidens, monuments from lost civilizations, dragons, lone wanderers on the mountain range, talking animals…. with 8 years I witnessed a mourning lady dressed black running full speed through my grandma’s house and fuck I swear that was real, I recall even the cracking of the floor and the air moving. That thing physically existed. Insane.

Let´s talk about horror. Do you love horror movies and literature? If you do, what are your favorites? Mine are old Hammer horror movies and found footage, also golden era slashers from early eighties. As far the literature goes, my favorite is H.P.Lovecraft, then James Herbert, Adam Nevill, Graham Masterton, Dan Simmons…

Hehe, that’s cool. We grew up with Saturday-hangover horror sessions on the times pre-dating internet, so all that zombie/slasher/weird Sci-Fi/paranormal thing is something we love and admire. About HP Lovecraft yeah, he’s the grandpa of us all and in fact the post-legacy is mostly enjoyable (Derleth, Campbell, Bloch). On Sci-Fi I like Scott Westerfeld, Simmons too, but I’m more on the classics and especially love stories about dystopian worlds. Not really much into horror literature lately but definitely much more into occultism, kabbalah, automatic writing, psychology, anthropology, demonology and things of that sort.

What are plans for immediate future? Classic for the end, is there anything you would like to add? Thank you for being part of Kraykulla Webzine.

We’ll release Vessel on the 29^th this month. After this probably a second single probably in June and a full album down the road, probably in October. We are sincerely thankful for your time and for keeping it real and pushing the scene forward. Big cheers to our Croatian friends. Stay Doomed!