Rockezine.com interview with Satariel on Feb 01, 2002

with Pär on Feb 01, 2002

Not long ago I was amazed by the quality of “Phobos and Deimos” the new release of a relatively “new” Swedish metal formation that combines the best elements of death, thrash and heavy metal. The songs that this combination deliver sound very refreshing and in some way also original and renewing. This really is a band with good musicians and the right vocalist who mixes a death grunt with clean vocals and even some whispering parts. All in all Satariel certainly has a proper base to conquer the rest of the world in the future. And when you know they were in the same studio as Devin Townsend. On the other side of a computer line connection is vocalist Pär willing to answer all my questions about his band.
		First of all: Can you tell me something about the history of the band? I can imagine that there are lots of metal fans that have never heard of Satariel before. Well, we started in 1994. Recorded two demos and a promo tape before signing our first deal in 1997 with Pulverised Rec. In 1998 our debut album Lady Lust Lilith was released after being recorded in Sunlight Studios with famous Tomas Skogsberg. After the release Pulverised didn´t do much whatsoever in regards of promotion or other stuff, so things went slow and silent for us untill we recorded a few new songs in 2000 which we sent to some labels. Hammerheart got us first. So here we are.
		I personally was very surprised of this nameless debut. I even bombed it on the first spot in my year list. But I was wandering, how are the reactions so far and why did it take so long for the debut to be released? Hmm... Well, our recent album is first of all called Phobos and Deimos, second of all it’s not our debut (oohps, thought so, TJ).
		I really enjoyed the almost perfect combination of death, thrash, black and the more experimental parts on this release. Do all the band members have the same taste of music or does that differ? Oh, it differs very much. So I suppose that is one of the reasons to why we sound like we do for sure.
		Where would you like to place Satariel in this big metal world, or how would you like to describe the kind of metal Satariel plays? I would describe it as melodic extreme metal. Heavily rooted in death metal. I think we have a rather personal sound which makes us stand out from most other bands.
		How does Satariel compose their songs? Is it a band kind of thing or is there a single individual responsible? It is basically me (Pär-vocals) and Magnus, one of our two guitarists that write all the music. Sometimes I write my stuff by myself, and so does Magnus. Other times the two of us sit down together.
		What does the name Satariel mean? And is there a deeper thought behind this release, both lyrically and visually? Yes there is a deeper meaning in the sentence that things are supposed to actually deliver an impression, both lyrically and graphically. In general you could sum up the lyrical concepts as dealing with darkness. Both in an occult perspective and a more general emotional one. Satariel means “the concealed/the concealers” and is the name of a dark force in goetic magick.
		Can we see Satariel as a full time band? Absolutly!
		When can we expect to see Satariel live on stage in Europe? In June this summer we will hit the road for Europe together with Necrophobic, Sinister, Dismember, Blood Red Throne and Mercenary. The tour will go under the name Generation Armageddon Festival. There will be further info in all the big metal media’s regarding exact dates and places, so we hope to see you all then.
		Is there a sixth band member coming along than, for the keyboards? No, we don’t use much keyboards anyway, so it makes no real difference to our sound. On the studio recordings we only use it very modestly to slightly increase the atmosphere, but it never holds a great role in the music.
		What is the official website of the band? come.to/satariel is the new address. At the moment I am writing there still are some things under construction on it, but it should be up and fully running when people read this.
		Anything you would like to add to this interview? Hope to see all our fans on tour or festivals this summer! Hold the banners high!
		(Teun Jans)