By Bradley Smith
For some reason I feel a brief history is in order since I know very little
about you guys and I am sure most of our readers feel the same way.
It's pretty simple actually. Vic and Doomy were trying to get a thrash band
together for some time but couldn't find a drummer. The band I was in finally
broke up so I joined. This was in 2000-2001 I believe..
What drew
you towards playing a completely old school thrash style? Do feel that there is
a current push towards a thrash rebirth in the scene?
Well I'd like to think that we're not part of some "retro" trend or
whatever..basically, we loved the old thrash metal and felt that metal has
gotten way too overproduced and slick..too "professional" these days..we missed
the raw naivety of the early black and thrash bands..There was a "retro" trend
brewing around '97-'98 or so but that kind of died off since most of the bands
didn't take it very seriously in my opinion..I don't think thrash will ever be
as "important" as it once was..it's been usurped in extremity by death and black
(which are both pretty tired and passe nowadays as well) metal but there are a
few bands out there doing it well. AURA NOIR, TOXIC HOLOCAUST, SABBAT, NOCTURNAL
FEAR, and a few others that I can't remember right now..
I've
recently heard you have an upcoming new album. When will it be released and
will the style be basically the same? Now that I think of it I have heard your
upcoming album compared to a mix of old Sarcofago meets Motorhead. Would you
say that's accurate?
Well the writing is about 80% done. We have to tweak the songs and give them
that extra "something" to make them better. I think we're going to record it
ourselves somehow but when and how, I don't know yet. The foundation of the
style will be the same: KREATOR, SODOM, SLAYER, DARK ANGEL, etc. but with a
little more of an early black metal touch. So that means more CELTIC FROST
riffs..SARCOFAGO meets MOTORHEAD sounds great to me, though haha..
Also which label will release it? Have you had any interest from larger
labels?
Who knows? No interest in larger labels from our end ha..we'll get to worrying
about this when the album is done..
Obviously Sauron's name stems from J.R.R. Tolkien. How much of an influence
has this literary legend had you and your band members? Do you feel his moods
and atmospheres are similar to the aural ones you guys create?
The name was already chosen when I joined the band and there are many other
Sauron's in existence as I'm sure you know. Personally, I think writing lyrics
about LOTR is almost a cliche in metal but we focus on the evil side of the
books and it seems to fit. If we capture anything aurally from the books it
would be an army of Orcs storming through a forest killing anything in its
path..
And since
we are on the topic, what do you think of the LOTR trilogy that Peter Jackson
did? Do you think he should go ahead and make the Hobbit since he has Rights to
it?
I think he did a good Hollywood version of the books. I'm sure he had his hands
tied with all the money going into that epic. He might as well make The Hobbit
now..most viewers are used to his interpretation of the books and it would
connect them pretty well I think..
Early Kreator is an obvious musical influence on your musical style. Would
you say anyone else has had a similar impact on your compositions? And you guys
covered my favorite Kreator song, Total Death, for Thrash Assault. What is it
about this song that possessed you?
Our influences would be: KREATOR, SODOM, SLAYER, DARK ANGEL, POSSESSED, MASTER,
CELTIC FROST/HELLHAMMER, BATHORY, VENOM, VOIVOD, AUTOPSY, SARCOFAGO, MOTORHEAD,
EXODUS, DESTRUCTION, etc. As for "Total Death"..it just kills..
I take it from
out limited correspondence that you aren't planning any big musical
progressions. Do you feel that you can stay the same and still retain your
creative edge?
Yeah absolutely. We
don't feel "limited" with Sauron because this is how we want to sound. If I
wanted to do a different kind of band or a different style of music, I'd start
another band. We've got enough ideas for at least 6 or 7 albums, no problem.
Plenty of bands to rip off haha..
How much of a
role does your own personal philosophical beliefs play in your musical artistic
expressions? Do you feel that there is any relation between the two? And what
are some of your beliefs?
Well just the basic idea of art over commerce I guess..the idea for the band is
a conceptual thing. It has to be dark, evil and raw..it's more of an aesthetic
than a philosophy. I haven't come to any absolute conclusions as far as my
"beliefs" go..if I have any at all. I reject all religion personally and maybe
all "supernatural" elements as well..but I don't know for sure and I'm
comfortable with that.
Sometimes I feel
that the metal underground in the states is ignored and the European scenes get
most of the credit. How do you feel about being from the US and has this
hampered your success at all?
Well the Europeans are usually ten steps ahead and that's the reason why they
get all the credit. We've had some classic bands here (DARK ANGEL, SLAYER,
POSSESSED, AUTOPSY for example) but I think Europe has produced a greater
quantity of quality metal. I guess if we were European we'd have more bands to
play with and hang out with..we're pretty isolated here..which is ok..
I know you've
said in other interviews that you leave politics to other bands but in this
election year where we are constantly (thrash) assaulted with politics do you
feel that you have gained any interest at all in the political side of life?
Are you even paying attention to the clamor being raised in America right now?
Well we leave political lyrics to other bands. I've always had a slight interest
in politics but at the end of the day, I feel like "the more it changes, the
more it stays the same". I'm pretty pessimistic about our situation here. It
seems like we're regressing as a country with Bush in office and it's
disappointing that so many people in the States agree with him and will probably
vote for him next month. I just think it's a good idea to leave politics out of
music or art. I've always felt that music existed on a "deeper" and more
"important" (at least to me) level than politics does..if I want to be
melodramatic about things I can say that the human race will always be doomed.
Communism, Capitalism..any theory that man devises to control his fellow man and
his surroundings will always be met with constant turmoil, corruption, dissent,
etc. It seems the only constant, albeit a chaotic one, is nature. It just "is"..if
Mother Nature could talk she'd probably laugh at our "politics" and "society"..but
that's another discussion and I should shut up now haha..
I was surprised when I saw your favorite lyricists were basically exactly the same as mine such as Carl-Michael and Fenriz. They constitute the more poetic and deeper thinking of the lyrical artists out there. How do you feel that lyrics should affect the reader and what kinds of images do you prefer to imagine?
It's very hard to put into words. What I get from both lyricists is a kind of surrealist take on satanism and evil. Carl-Michael is a bit more dramatic while Fenriz displays a little more humor, I think. They both have such a great way with words and very vivid images spring to my mind when I read them. They make sense on a subconscious level and just seem to be far and beyond what other metal lyricists have attempted. Tom G. Warrior was great too
Being in a thrash band do you feel at all limited to what you can express musically? What about what you listen to? What do you think of some of your contemporaries like Audiopain, Aura Noir, Nocturnal Breed, Vesen, etc.?
Limited but not claustrophobic. We limit ourselves, really. To attempt a freejazz moment in Sauron would be out of place and frankly, it just wouldn't work. I like what I've heard of Audiopain, kind of a modern VOIVOD. AURA NOIR is one of my favorite bands..easily the best thrash band of the '90's. NOCTURNAL BREED is kind of "meh"..some decent moments but nothing I can't hear done 10 times better while spinning the classics. I'm not familiar with VESEN. My listening habits are eclectic..not for any vain "social" reason but just because there's a lot of great music out there. Anything from DARKTHRONE to BOWIE to PINK FLOYD to MILES DAVIS to VELVET UNDERGROUND will find itself in my CD player.
The tag that is heaped upon most neo-thrash bands with harsh vocals is black thrash. Do you think this is accurate or do you think that people are just trying to link the thrash revival to the popularity of the black metal scene? What do you think of black metal? (And I am talking real black metal like Darkthrone and not Keyboard driven pop like Cradle of Filth)
I don't think they're really trying to link it to the popularity of the BM scene, it's just that some of these bands, AURA NOIR for example, have a lot of BM in their sound. What I'd love to accomplish with Sauron is to fuse the German thrash scene (KREATOR, SODOM, DESTRUCTION) with the first wave of black metal (CELTIC FROST/HELLHAMMER, BATHORY, VENOM)..I love black metal, I think it's produced some of the best metal ever. Some favorites would be: DARKTHRONE ('91-'95), BURZUM (first four), BATHORY (first four), SARCOFAGO (I.N.R.I. especially), CELTIC FROST/HELLHAMMER (first few), IMMORTAL (first three), MAYHEM ("De Mysteriis.."), VENOM (first three), GORGOROTH ("Under The Sign Of Hell", "Destroyer"), VED BUENS ENDE (underrated), BEHERIT, BLASPHEMY, ENSLAVED, EMPEROR, DODHEIMSGARD, the list goes on..
Do you like playing live? I remember as a teenager going to see thrash bands live in Tampa and being awestruck. Do you think that you guys retain the power of the old days when it comes to live performances?
I like playing live when the show is good and the bands we're playing with are good. I don't think we retain the power of the old days necessarily because we haven't played out that much yet. We're probably more like KREATOR or SODOM playing their very first few shows haha..not to mention that we're drunk most of the time. We don't really play live to "promote" the band..just to have fun, really. I guess we're "unprofessional"..oh no..
Do you have any parting words of inspiration for us feeble-minded Middle-Earthers?
Check out the site if interested: www.sauron666.cjb.net and listen to old VOIVOD...Thrash 'Til Death!