Seraphim
Slaughter
Seraphim Slaughter is the
primitive old school black metal band of Stevie Hayes Compilation, so they
offer another perception and perspective of the extreme sound. Carnifex
answered our questions and managed to enlighten us quite a lot on the bands
aims and plans.
1. FIRST OF ALL, SINCE THIS IS THE FIRST INTERVIEW
WE DO, I’D LIKE YOU TO TELL US A FEW THINGS ABOUT SERAPHIM SLAUGHTER AND
THE BAND’S AIMS…
Carnifex: Seraphim Slaughter has been together
since February of 2002 and we are based in Northern New Jersey. Our
songs are very diverse in terms of style, but our sound could generally
be described as Americanized old school black metal if that makes any sense.
Currently, none of really uses AIM but if anyone wants to contact us we
can be reached at [email protected]
or at www.myspace.com/thetrueseraphimslaughter
2. I READ IN YOUR BIO THAT SERAPHIM SLAUGHTER
HAD A HARD TIME FINDING BAND MEMBERS AND YOU ACTUALLY CHANGED 12 BEFORE
ENDING UP WITH THIS LINE UP. WHY? WHAT KIND OF DIFFERENCES WERE THERE?
WAS IT THE MUSICAL DIRECTION OR DID YOU WANT TO HAVE THE ABSOLUTE FREEDOM
ON THE COMPOSITIONS?
C: Actually we have 14 ex-members as of now.
The reason why we have such a hard time maintaining a lineup is because
a lot of people just don’t understand where we are coming from musically
or what exactly we want to achieve with this band. Also, it’s very
tough to find musicians that are good at what they do and take their playing
professionally. And another major problem is that a lot musicians around
here just aren’t disciplined or dedicated enough to warrant them being
in the band. So to sum it all up, we’ve had to kick out 14 people
because they just didn’t get what we are trying to do or they couldn’t
really pull their own weight.
3. YOUR MUSIC COULD BE DESCRIBED AS BLASPHEMOUS
OLD SCHOOL, PRIMITIVE BLACK METAL. SO, CAN YOU POINT OUT SOME OF
YOUR MOST BELOVED BANDS AND ALBUMS?
C: Well, we all really love a lot of the old
school extreme metal bands like: Venom, Bathory, Mercyful Fate, King Diamond,
Celtic Frost, and Possessed, especially their early efforts. We are also
into the early efforts of Darkthrone, Burzum, Mayhem, Emperor, and Gorgoroth.
Another band that we are fans of is Dawn. Their last CD was absolutely
great. Basically, we all love the bands that have influenced us.
4. RECENTLY YOU HAVE PARTICIPATED IN A COMPILATION
CD BY STEVIE HAYES LABEL CALLED “UNCONSTITUTIONALISM IN THE USA”. TELL
US A FEW THINGS ABOUT IT. WHICH OTHER BANDS DID YOU LIKE FROM THIS COMPILATION?
C: Well the compilation is very diverse
in the fact that none of the bands really sound similar, so unlike some
other compilations out there, this one is worth it. One band from the compilation
that sticks out in my mind is Aliment, because not only do we know Aliment,
but because they have a really diverse sound and are very entertaining
to see live or just listen to.
5. HOW MANY RELEASES HAVE YOU GOT THIS FAR? DO
YOU HAVE PLANS FOR RELEASING A NEW DEMO? TELL U A FEW THINGS AND POINT
OUT ITS SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES WITH YOUR PREVIOUS RELEASES.
C: We have three releases, the To Cataclysmic
Path Demo is our very first release and right now there are only 20 extra
copies available so contact us if you want one. We are also on the Stevie
Hayes Records compilation as well as the Metal Ostentation Sampler Vol.
8. The new demo will consist of three songs and will be produced more than
our early efforts but it will still have that same old school analog feel
and sound.
6. WHAT ABOUT THE LYRICAL CONTENT OF THE DEMO?
DO YOU DEAL WITH SATANISM OR THE OCCULT LIKE MOST BLACK METAL BANDS?
C: Lord Bellator handles all the lyrics so
I’m probably not the most qualified person to answer this but its safe
the say that we don’t really deal with Satanism or the Occult in our songs,
simply because Satanism and the Occult have been done to death already
by countless other extreme bands. Also, Seraphim Slaughter isn’t about
any of those topics. Seraphim Slaughter is much more real, more down to
earth than most other black metal bands so those topics wouldn’t really
be apart of the scope of this band.
7. WHAT’S THE BEST AND WHAT’S THE WORST PART IN
YOUR MUSIC, ACCORDING TO YOU?
C: The best part of our music is the fact
that no two songs sound similar. The worst part is that it’s almost hard
to find due to lack of label support.
8. WHAT KIND OF FEEDBACK HAVE YOU RECEIVED THIS
FAR? ARE YOU SATISFIED BY THE SUPPORT OF THE FANS AND PRESS?
C: So far the feedback has been great. A lot
of people are really digging the material and enjoying it. We’re always
getting new requests for our last demo and we are going to be recording
a new one soon and some people are already psyched about it. However, we’re
never satisfied with anything we do, that is what keeps us trying to constantly
out do ourselves each and every day.
9. BY THE WAY WHY DO YOU USE NICKNAMES? IS IT
BECAUSE YOU THINK THIS WAY YOU ADD MORE ATMOSPHERE AND MYSTERY TO THE BAND?
C: The reason we use stage names instead of
our real names has nothing to do with atmosphere and mystery. It has to
do with the fact that when we play this music we are not our normal selves,
we’re not the people associated with our real names, we’re different people
altogether when we play this music; it’s like our stage names are the names
of our alter egos, the egos that we use when playing our music.
10. YOU SAY IN YOUR WEBSITE THAT YOU WON’T BOTHER
WITH LIVE SHOWS CAUSE THERE ISN’T MUCH SUPPORT FOR THE KIND OF MUSIC YOU
PLAY IN YOUR AREA. WHY? HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT IT?
C: Since most Americans are semi-retarded,
the people in our area just don’t understand raw black metal so there isn’t
really a scene for it. And since it takes a lot to prepare for a show,
we’d rather not waste our time and energy in preparing a show for a group
of people that aren’t going to get it anyway. To be perfectly honest we
would like to put on some shows and gain some greater exposure for our
music, but we would rather play for a more receptive audience than the
one in the States.
11. IF YOUR MUSIC WERE AN EMOTION, WHAT WOULD
IT BE? IF IT WERE A PAINTING, WHAT WOULD IT SHOW?
C: If it were an emotion it would just
be pure fucking malevolence. If it were a painting it would most likely
show a riot happening.
12. IF YOU COULD BE A FAMOUS PERSON FOR A DAY,
WHO WOULD YOU BE AND WHICH PERIOD OF HIS/HER LIFE WOULD YOU LIKE TO HAVE
A TASTE OF?
C: What the fuck kind of a question
is that? Anyway, if I had to be a famous person for a day, I would probably
be Mussolini when he took power.
13. LET’S SUPPOSE THAT SUDDENLY SOME DAY ELECTRICITY
CEASED TO EXIST. WHAT DO YOU THINK WOULD HAPPEN TO EXTREME MUSIC?
C: If electricity didn’t exist, mankind
would come up with some way of recreating the roar of an electric guitar
again, so it would probably be a minor set back to extreme music. If we
couldn’t create that roar again, most likely all the extreme metal bands
out there now would pick up acoustics and keep playing the same music.
14. THANK YOU! IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOU’D LIKE
TO ADD?
Nick "William_Kidd"
Parastatidis
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