Rockezine.com interview with Salacious Gods on Dec 01, 2001

with Steakelhorn on Dec 01, 2001

The sun is gone The Dutch black metal scene is becoming a force to be reckoned with and one its exponents is Salacious Gods. For the sake of doing something out of the ordinary the prelude to the interview is a short history lesson courtesy of ‘teacher’ Steakelhorn. In 1994 Salacious Gods was initially formed under the name Profanatica. It was due to Profanatica (US) that we had to change our name. Almost one and a half years later the band emerged from the session-room with a stable line up and a new name: "Salacious Gods". Through performing with bands like Altar, Liar of Golgotha, God Dethroned, Ancient Rites and Enthroned the band gained experience and tightness. Salacious Gods can be placed in the category atmospheric black metal. Some of our musical influences are: Old Tiamat, Samael, Sabbat and Kreator. The first demo entitled The Slumbering Silence was released in February `99 and limited to 100 copies. Shortly after this release the band was signed by "Coldbloodindustries" (the label of God Dethroned front-man Henri Satler and Berthus Westerhuis: "The satanic Twins"). Both the debut album, released in the fall of `99, as well as the new record were done at Frankies Recording Kitchen and produced by Berthus Westerhuis. The first album is bears the title Askengris and their latest album Sunnevot. These album-titles are both dialect words, which respectively mean `As grey as ashes` and `The sun is gone`. The dialect is spoken in the Northern part of The. The release of Sunnevot will be followed by a European and a Dutch tour with God Dehtroned and Aeternus.
		Congratulations with your new album ‘Sunnevot’. My first obvious question is of course if you are completely satisfied with the way the album turned out? What have the reactions been like up to now? So far the response has been great and also the media was very positive about the album. We recently did a short Dutch tour with God Dethroned and the audience’s reaction to the new material was also good. So we can not complain.
		One of the main aspirations of Salacious Gods is to create an unique and distinguishable sound. In what way would you say that you have achieved this particular goal with ‘Sunnevot’? I think with Sunnevot we achieved that goal but we aren’t that busy with achieving that goal. We just want to make albums that rock. And I think we achieved that.
		When I reviewed your album one of the things that struck me was the fact that it all sounded more mature. What would say are the main differences when you compare the new album to the debut album ‘Askengris’? Thanks for the compliment. The songs on Askengris were a lot older than on our lastest album. And therefore they were modified over and over again. The songs on Sunnevot are more spontaneous because they were written in a shorter period. On Sunnevot the keysboard parts are not that dominant anymore which gives the album more power. But it’s still melodic.
		The band’s background is partly reflected in the pseudonyms / names of the bandmembers, and also in the album & songtitles.
		Has this been a conscious choice? Are there any other ways in which this particular background is reflected in the lyrics or music? In the Netherlands there are several dialects. The dialect we speak is called Drents and ‘Sunnevot’ is also a dialect word which means something like ‘the sun is gone’. And also our first album ‘Askengris’ is a dialect word which means ‘as grey as ashes’. If you read the lyrics of the song Sunnevot itself you will see that the chorus of this song is also in Drents. By using our dialect we try to distinguish ourselves from other bands.
		I read on your website that hard work and discipline are keywords in the band’s development. There are still numerous black metal releases overflowing the market.
		What do you think the odds are for Salacious Gods to grow as big as for example Dimmu Borgir or Cradle of Filth? I think we won’t be that big and we don’t want to be that big as these bands. We started out in 1994 as a sort of hobby band with the goal to record a album and not to become big in any sense.
		Where do you picture yourself in let’s say 5 years from now? Are there specific goals you are aiming to achieve with Salacious Gods? Time will tell us. I don’t know and don’t care. But I hope to be active in the blackmetal. We just do our thing and we’ll see where it brings us.
		Recently a lot of quality black metal releases have emerged from the Dutch scene. In for instance Scandinavia, and more specifically Norway, the blackmetal scene is more or less a closely united group.
		Is this something that you also encounter among the various Dutch black metal acts? We have some contacts with other Dutch bands. But I think you can’t compare the Dutch and for example the Norwegian scene with each other. The scene in Holland is smaller and I guess therefore less tight.
		What can we expect from Salacious Gods in the near future? Any touring plans or festival-gigs scheduled or can we perhaps expect something in the form of a video for the new album? A European tour is in the pipeline and indeed there are plans to shoot a video as well. But the gigs with Aeturnus in Januari are certain. This also goes for a couple of other shows. We’ll play with Liar of Golgotha in December and at Christmas we will do a gig in the Buze in Steenwijk.
		When surfing on the Internet you can find a lot of great sites of blackmetal bands. Do you think that the Internet has contributed to the growing popularity of metal music in general? What is you personal opinion on the Internet? I agree with you that you can find a lot of info about black metal (bands) on the internet. Even the underground black metal bands have a page. Internet is a powerful tool and therefore a very useful one to promote a band or a label. Personally I think internet is just an information tool. Of course we have our own website www.salgods.com and www.coldbloodindustries.com
		Is there anything I have forgotten to ask you or that you would like to add to this interview? No, thanks a lot for the interview and good luck in the future.
(Maura Kampstra)