Interview with death metal band from Italy - SEPOLCRAL.
Answered Cristian, Kev and Daniele, thank you!
Translated Duzl, thank you!
Questions prepared Jakub Asphyx.
Recenze/review - SEPOLCRAL - Scourge (2023):
Ave SEPOLCRAL! Greetings to Italy. I hope everything is fine with you. I was really looking forward to your new album „Scourge“, I have always had a lot of fun with previous records and I was happy to come back to them. How did the new piece come about and why did it actually take so long?
Hi there! Here is Cristian, guitar from Sepocral. First of all thank you for the space you dedicate to us and the esteem. Scourge's genesis was long in gestation. The idea of making a new album had been in the air for some time but the focus was lacking. We started from where we finished from that live grind death and with the idea of being fast, direct and dynamic and this takes up time in songwriting, stylistically we wanted to be fierce, from lyrics to mood. Of course it's our best product to date, it sounds true and pure, and we can't wait for Scourge to make some ears bleed.
The new album is your second long-played album so far. However you have been playing since 1992 so it is not that much. Why so? What was the problem – money, time…?
C. The first embryo of Sepolcral dates back to the early nineties. We were little more than 15 both me and Kevin the bassist, we made demos and a posthumous album but soon after, also thanks to ominous misadventures, the project ended in 97. There is a time gap of about 20 years. We resume to commemorate the historic singer Denis, who died prematurely and was a founding member. At the beginning with some live shows and first drafts of new songs. Things work out and during the first lockdown we decide to release new material spending a lot of time looking for sound and identity. The rest is history.
The lyrics in death metal are sometimes underestimated. You sing about darkness, death and Satanism. What are the new album´s lyrics about and who is the author? Do you want to share some message with your songs?
Hi, here's Kev, the author of the lyrics and of course bassist of Sepolcral.
Lyrics into scourge are what the title says, scourges.
They're about violence in every form, sex and religion dogmas, and personal experiences. In general lyrics are written with the intent to let the listener give 'em his own interpretation. I didn't want to teach something or share a precise message. It's just another trip into the darkest shit inside a human brain.
How does SEPOLCRAL compose? How the whole process works when you compose new material? Who is the author of your music?
C. The compositional process of Sepolcral is certainly reasoned and careful to give dynamism and adrenaline to listening. You know, making a genre like ours it is easy to repeat ourselves but for this very reason everyone's collaboration becomes our best compositional weapon. We are not a band that works or improvises in the hall, we work very individually. Usually I start with a draft of the Song complete with arrangements, Kevin gives the first feedback, Aleks the drummer composes his parts paying obsessive attention to the fills and Daniele vocals gives the final touch to the atmosphere and impact of the finished song. Each piece is chiseled by everyone and modified until approval is awaited.
I love the sound of this album. It is dark, cold and sharp at the same time. In what studio did you recorded your album? Did you talked about the final sound and mastering?
Daniele here (singer). For the entire production of Scourge we decided to team up with a quite young and talented producer from our area, Jei Doublerice. He suggested us a great studio to record drums and the same care he took about guitars, bass and vocals. Once the recording process was done we talked about which direction to také about mixing and in the first couple previews he had already nailed it! With the mastering he crafted a unique and powerful sound that we simply loved. As you say it is dark and sharp at the same time, deep and intense. We couldn't be happier of this result.
You released your album by Italian Time to Kill Records. Why did you choose this label and how are you satisfied with their work?
D. We can say that the relationship with Time To Kill Records was born almost by chance. When the album was ready we were sending around a listening link to some friends, and it was one of these who put us in touch with Enrico from TTK, who immediately showed interest. After an introductory phone call and some more detailed emails we understood that Time To Kill would be right for us and with Enrico and his staff we started a precise planning of the various steps necessary for the publication and promotion of Scourge. The process was challenging but with the help of skilled people like them we went on with it and still continue to do so with high expectations as there are still some things in store for you…
Your band was born in 1992. How did you even get the idea of playing death metal? Who was your idol? Please tell us something about your history! How was playing death metal in 90ths in Italy?
C. In the 90s everything was magic and experimentation. The scenes were well defined and you couldn't find two albums that sounded like each other. For example think about what Entombed, Carcass and Morbid Angel released at the time... Voices, riffing all different sounds and textures and this was the 90s divided but all tremendously inspired scenes. In my opinion, thanks to the lack of social media and the consequent homologation of the sounds. In Italy it was very difficult but beautiful. We communicated with letters and phone calls, we exchanged playlists on tape and we saw and organized gigs by word of mouth. Everything was an event but you know that the Italian extreme scene has planted many flags of innovation. A band that inspired me a lot was the Mondocane project, formed by Necrodeath and Schizo members. If you haven't already, I suggest you listen to it. You will be surprised and you will be able to understand how many bands have drawn on that sound.
And what about the underground scene in your country in general? Does it live in Italy? Are you from San Vito al Tagliamento, it's a small city, do you meet somewhere for death metal? If I visited the city, where should I go to the concert? And what about the fans? Do bands support?
C. Precisely we are from Latisana in the province of Udine in the north east of our Peninsula. The scene now is quite thriving. Lots of bands in our region. We live in small towns so I'd say it's a regional scene rather than a city scene. Unfortunately there are fewer and fewer meeting places and spaces to see gigs, but those that resist become a mandatory destination. Good friendships, good contacts and lots of beers hahaha... We live in a special area on that side but people are very trained to do it by tradition. Yes, metal is seen with enthusiasm and the live shows in the provincial capitals work with the support of all the guys who are passionate about this music.
Do you have any dreams with the band? In the underground you have a good name, but you want to move somewhere higher? I mean, are you attracted to a tour with a big name, to play at a big festival, to release another record at a well-known label? What dreams and vision do SEPOLCRAL have?
C. The priority now is to introduce Scourge to as many people as possible and I must say that the guys at Time To Kill records are doing an excellent job. Serious and passionate people. Yes, at the moment our aim is high..you know, after all, I play an instrument to be my own rock star haha...we'd like to gain even more experience and compete with different audiences in terms of culture and taste. The festival dimension is the one that I personally prefer. Live shows become a party and you never get bored with the continuous exchange of ideas and new knowledge. We are now promoting this new album but we are creative by nature so we are already crafting a worthy successor. With this label we are reaching the highest point of our career so we are more than satisfied for now and I don't think about what the future will offer us.
What does death metal mean to you? Why did you choose this style? How did you get to it and what kind of musicians were your role models when you started? Do you perceive death metal "only" as music or is it also a lifestyle for you? You can look at this page philosophically.
C. Death metal and metal in general for us is a philosophy of life I think. Something that belongs to us. We can't find a better way to externalize what we are inside. Personally I started playing metal at 10 - 11 years old, Metallica were my gods and I wanted to be like James when I grew up. His rhythm was fundamental for my artistic growth. But the extreme album that certainly brought me closer to these sounds is a first pressing vinyl that I jealously guard. Necroticism by Carcass had everything I was looking for in music, violence, technical, rot, blast innovation and negativity. For me death metal is culture, for those who listen to it and produce it. It's a gym for the mind, sounds, techniques, messages, visions, death metal is physical power and a brain shock that creates addiction.
Thank you so much for the interview. I'm going to play the new „Scourge“ again. It's great! Good luck and I hope that we will meet somewhere at the concert and have a beer together!
C. Thanks to you it was a real pleasure. Yes we hope so too but remember that aftershows are our favorite sport, cheers!
Recenze/review - SEPOLCRAL - Scourge (2023):
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