Sickening Horror
Wywiad przeprowadził Wouter Roemers
Greece is besides the neighbouring Italy the newest haven for high quality extremity in both death – and black metal terms. Sickening Horror is, together with bands like Cerebrum, the most promising of its kind. Combining classic death metal with electronic – and industrial bits their second record "The Dead End Experiment" builds upon the foundation of its well-received 2007 debut "When Landscapes Bled Backwards". Masterful Magazine arranged an interview with founding member/main composer George Antipatis (vocals, guitars) to talk about the creation and recording of this second album, the response and touring surrounding their debut and how it is working with an new record label for this new album.
Hello George! Thanks for doing this interview with us! What are you and the rest of Sickening Horror currently up to? Answering tons of interviews, I suppose?
They are not that many actually! These days we mostly work on the songs for the 3rd album which will be quite different from what we've done so far.
Your first album "When Landscapes Bled Backwards" was released in 2007 by Dutch label Neurotic Records. The album was received positively in most metal press. Were the press – and fans reactions anywhere near what you expected?
It was received quite well indeed! We knew that we had worked really hard - as always - for that album. We are perfectionists in terms of writing/arranging music and lyrics, so we expected that it would be well-received.
In March-April 2008 you supported Israeli black/thrashers Melechesh and US death metallers Immolation on their month-long European tour. Was this the first extensive tour for Sickening Horror? How was it sharing the stage with institutions Melechesh and Immolation?
It was our first tour and we couldn't be happier playing with one of our favorite bands - Immolation! All the bands in the tour - Melechesh and Goatwhore - were great but watching every night Immolation on stage was something unique, they own the stage! It was a great opportunity to learn many things and develop our playing on stage.
What factors led to the termination of the recording contract with Holland's Neurotic Records? Were the contractual obligations fulfilled or was there anything else what led you to SoulfleshCollector Records?
Neurotic Records made a fantastic beginning having bands like Spawn Of Possession, Ulcerate, Psycroptic in its roster, but somewhere along the way they somehow lost it. They stopped supporting their bands, there was no communication at all and we felt that there was nothing more they could do for us. So, we decided to leave and sign with SFC where everything works smoothly and we have great communication, quite the opposite of Neurotic.
With George Kollias (drums) defecting permanently to Nile and George Bokos (guitars) having full-time commitments to Rotting Christ, was it difficult for you and Ilias Daras (bass) to find a new second guitarist and drummer?
It is not difficult to find a guitarist, there are tons of guitarists. The thing is that we wanted someone to be not merely a great guitarist but as a person to fit with our personalities. Andreas Karayiannis does both. Drumming is another thing. There many drummers that claim to be great, but in rehearsal they can't catch a beat. We did many rehearsals before we hired Jose Theodorakis, but luckily after that we got Alex Zachos immediately.
Tell us something about your new drummer Jose Theodorakis who recorded the album with you. Was his involvement merely limited to laying down the drums for the recording sessions at Baseline Studio? How did you come in contact with his successor Alex Zachos?
Yeah, we got Jose in a quite critical point of the band. The first album had just come out and we didn't have a drummer to tour. If there has been a delay at that time it would have held us back. Of course that didn't happen and we went on tour with Immolation and after the tour he recorded the drums for "The Dead End Experiment". When we decided to get a new drummer we watched some videos of Alex blasting it up and we were amazed! I know this guy for more than 10 years and I didn't knew he had improved that much. I gave him a call and everything worked out!
Andreas Karayiannis has since joined the line-up filling the second guitar slot. Was he in any bands previously that we should be aware of? In what ways is he able to complement the band's sound?
He has various projects, mostly brutal death metal, but nothing ever worked out to a full band with live shows, recordings etc. He had helped us very much first and foremost on live shows. We always needed a 2nd guitar because there are so many parts in our songs that require so. The sound on stage has become much more massive and aggressive. It is also better to share guitar duties because now I can concentrate on the vocals even more.
With "The Dead End Experiment" you have kept the production it rather low key this time around. Neil Kernon (Behemoth, Cannibal Corpse, Nevermore, Nile) didn't return for the mixing and Alan Douches of West West Side Music (Aeon, Origin, Suffocation, Vital Remains) didn't do the mastering. Was that done out of financial limitations or just to let the music speak for itself?
We decided to do everything on our own. This had to do with financial reasons a little bit, but mostly because we wanted to create a strange sounding album, something non-commercial that people would not expect. We wanted to combine the heaviness of Dismember's "Like An Ever Flowing Stream" with the blurriness of Korn's "Issues" with a touch of Dodheimsgard's coldness. If we were in a professional studio counting recording hours, worrying how it will cost, we wouldn't have the time to take our time and experiment enough.
The new album also features guest vocals by Immolation's Ross Dolan on the track 'The Universe Within'. Is this a result of touring together extensively in 2008?
Yes, on that tour we had great time with all the bands, hanging around all the time and became good friends. So, when we asked Ross if he could contribute some vocals on our new album he accepted immediately!
For "The Dead End Experiment" you've enlisted up-and-coming Finnish graphic designer Marko Saarelainen (The Project Hate, Pestilence). How was it working with him compared to the artist you used for the debut album?
In the first album we worked with Eliran Kantor, he did a great job and we had great communication. Eliran has a more abstract approach in his work which suited the first album. This time we wanted a different approach so we got Marko, who has a darker style. Everything worked out perfectly again. I don't know, all the graphic designers are fantastic guys! Most likely we'll have a new artist for the 3rd album as well.
This new album was released through Russian label SoulfleshCollector Records. How has the cooperation with them been thus far – are you happy the way they've pushed and promoted the album so far? Are they much different from your former label Neurotic Records?
Everything has worked out just fine with SFC Records so far and they do their best to do things as planned.
In support of this record toured Russia under the banner of "Dead Conception" tour in late November-December 2009 with Cephalic Impurity and progressive death metal combo Thelema. How was it playing on stage with the new line-up? Any stories from the road that you feel like sharing?
Oh yes, "Dead Conception Tour"! Now that was something we're not going to forget for a long time! The shows were awesome, the new line-up worked perfectly on stage, we had the double guitar attack and we had tons of fun with the guys of the other bands! About stories, funny things happened all the time with everybody being drunk after the shows, but won't seem funny if I just tell you; you'll have to check it out live! Personally since I like cats, I would say that I loved that all the guys in Russia had cats doing crazy stuff every night!
Greece is mostly known for its legendary black metal scene with bands such as Astarte, Necromantia, Rotting Christ, Septicflesh and Zemial. Death metal seems on the rise as bands like yourself, Cerebrum, Inveracity and the recently reformed Nightfall serve to prove. What has kept death metal so low key for the longest time?
Maybe it's that death metal is more demanding it terms of technicality and musicianship. Although I wouldn't categorize Nightfall as death metal, exactly. These bands you mentioned and some others like Dead Congregation and Terrordrome have quite high standards for playing death metal.
Thanks for the interview, George! Good luck with all your future endeavours. I would like to extend my praise to you for a killer second album. The last words are yours.
Thanks a lot for this interview and your words for "The Dead End Experiment"! Keep an open eye for our upcoming tunes!
Info/booking: www.sfcollector.ru/
