Can you introduce Satyrian in few words for Tunisian metal heads?
Satyrian is a new gothic rock band and also a collaboration of different musicians from different countries. The story of the band goes back to December 2002, when we started recording our debut album “Eternitas”, which was released in March this year.

Can you explain to those who may have known Danse Macabre why did the band “split up”? By the way, can we call what happened “split”, or is Satyrian a natural evolution of Danse Macabre?
The band did not ever split up, in fact Satyrian is a direct continuation of Danse Macabre since the musicians, the songwriter and the music and the whole concept - also the visual side - are more or less the same. The line-up of Satyrian is the same as what we had on the previous Danse Macabre album “Eva”, except for the singers. Though our female singer Judith Stüber was already singing on that album. We started these “Eternitas” album recordings as Danse Macabre, but after we fired our ex-singer we finished the album recordings with our new vocalists Roman Schönsee and Kemi Vita as Satyrian.

What basically happened was that already for a longer time we didn’t feel comfortable with our ex-singer. And the reasons for this are pretty much personal. The band didn’t share his ideological views which seemed more and more to take over his time and life. Also from the artistic point of view we started to wonder if he has his own political agenda that he tries to put into his lyrics too, even if that was in a disguised form. There were many cases where you could ask at least for the motifs behind some lyrics. So that was really an unpleasant situation.  Needless to say that we are a rock band and not a political medium of any kind. Anyways, the co-operation was ended in May 2003 and after that we found a new singer in Roman. With the recording line-up: me, Milos, Merijn, Judith, Kemi Vita and our producer Oliver Philipps we played a summer tour in Finland in 2003. After the tour everybody agreed to join the band as full members. Soon we also started using our new name. In the spring of 2004 we finished the album with the new members.

In fact we could have continued as Danse Macabre as well and our label back then wanted us to do that, but that didn’t feel right either. Their argumentation was surely based on the commercial grounds, but in the end that would not have been the right thing to do. Also, we wanted to take distance from the reputation of our ex-singer and use this opportunity to create something new and leave the past behind. Now we only use the old name for forwarding people to Satyrian’s website. Unfortunately the ex-singer seems not to be able to move on and he uses every opportunity he gets to attack and accuse us, which only shows how little he really cared for the band or the good years we also had. That is sad to notice and shows little respect towards our common past. Anyway for us things look bright indeed and a huge burden was lifted from our back which opens a whole world of new opportunities, especially music wise.

Why have you also moved from Hammerheart Records to Lion Music?
The reason is quite simple: at a certain point I noticed that Hammerheart were not singing any new bands and some of the old were leaving too, so I asked what was going on. We had a valid contract for this album and Hammerheart had financed the recordings. Well it became obvious that they would be closing down the business. So I asked if we could emigrate to another suitable label, in which they agreed – if the terms were right. The first label which got my serious attention was Lion Music, because of all the guitar and progressive stuff they release. After talking a long time with the label boss Lasse in person, it became obvious for me that he runs the label for the right reasons: for the love for the music. The switch of labels went down in a very friendly spirit. I believe Lion Music has done a very good job for us and it is a real pleasure to work with them.

Do you feel any change with this new label?
Yes, the first thing I noticed was the attention from the USA and from the progressive rock scene. We never had any reviews or interviews in that scene before. Also the promotion works fine and there are plenty of people interested in the band. Considering that Lion Music is not a major mainstream label or anything, I think they have worked pretty hard when seeing all those reviews and interviews and other offers we receive.

Why have you chosen Satyrian as your new band’s name? What is the story behind this choice?
The name comes actually from the name of our Gothic Club in Amsterdam: The Cave Of Satyr. I used to run that club with our bass player Milos for some seven years here. In the spring of 2003 we had to close down due to the fire department regulations, so the name of the club was commonly mentioned in our discussions. I think that when we started making lists of possible band names, this Satyrian just popped up into my mind and it felt like a perfect description for the band. I’ve always been fascinated by these creatures which seem to be kind of party goes and troublemakers of the antique times. By the way, the band logo I borrowed from a tattoo Milos has on his right shoulder: it’s his own design and represents the devil. I found it suitable for Satyrian since it’s not really an evil devil, but rather a kind of curious creature I find, but with horns like Satyrs also have…

While listening to your album, and also when consulting many reviews of it, I found it hard to classify the band simply as a gothic rock one, because so many genres are melted in the album (and the melting is perfect, may I add). But don’t you agree that you have evolved from a classical gothic rock genre, to another one, a new one you may have invented?    
Ha-ha, that is hard to say if we have invented something new. In one German magazine I saw the style described like Gothicprogressivefolkdancedoommetal or something. I’m sure that is a new genre anyway – never heard that before. But seriously, you are right that the music is very hard to categorize in any certain way. There are just so many different approaches and atmospheres present on the album. But that is something I enjoy when doing an album. I don’t like to limit myself to a certain genre when writing the music, since I like so many different kinds of music myself. From techno to Black Metal there are nice songs here and there. I also find often whole albums getting boring towards the end if they are of the same style. Maybe this is something which I got with me when working at a radio-station where you always have different music going on. Or at least our station had, that was the time before these one format stations. Anyway, one thing I’m sure about that you won’t find on any upcoming Satyrian release: happy music. That is something I just am not able to write. So thought “Eternitas” might sound very varied, the most of the songs have this sad undertone nonetheless. I guess that we Finns just don’t write happy music=)

All the band members are involved in other bands, projects, so aren’t you afraid that one day, one of them will be totally involved in another band and then unable to perform with you?
Yes everybody is involved with other bands too and sometimes we’ve had to postpone or cancel dates. But I see Satyrian as a circle of close friends and by this nobody is obligated to do anything. If somebody can’t come, then we don’t do it. So in a way we are a band, but also a project. I think this works the best since it is nicer for everybody to enjoy the music and the band than getting this thing too much of a must. In that way also the creativity lives more among us. But you never know of course what the future brings…

What were your major influences when recording Eternitas?
That is totally impossible to say. Maybe Danse Macabre? Just kidding. No, of course I do listen to a lot of music and there are plenty of great bands around, but I don’t think there is any which have been of any influence – at least not on purpose. I just write whatever I feel at the moment and when we do the vocals or other arrangements during the recordings, it is also like that. We enjoy being creative in the studio and a lot of things are done down there too.

By looking to the old artworks of Danse Macabre and to the new one of Satyrian, the woman theme is still present. Does it have any relation with the story of Danse Macabre and now of Satyrian?
Yes, she’s still with us. In fact it really is the same model on the cover than on the previous two Danse Macabre releases and if you look closely into the booklet you will also find our mascot from “Totentanz” album – the drumming skeleton - in there too. I discovered that skeleton in a woodcut of Hans Holbein and then I made a logo out of it back then and he’s still with us too. I’m sure you’ll find him popping up here and there in the future as well.
By using the same girl on the cover I wanted to make clear that the band continues, so also the visual side is a part of it. I like to put a story into my artwork and here is one too. On the cover she represents a captured angel and she has been a long time in the capture. Even her wings have turned into branches. The hourglass represents the term “Eternitas” here. Though she’s captured she looks into the light and smiles and the passion and the power she has in her have made her wings to catch up flame. On the last page of the booklet she is free. The cover is a representation of my feelings when we didn’t know yet how to continue. I felt like captured in an unbearable situation, but I saw also a future ahead of us, like the angel does in the picture. And the solution was in the music itself. By believing in what you do and enjoying doing that you could move on. So the last page of the booklet tells this too: after listening the album and reading the booklet you’ve set your mind free.

Let’s talk about the lyrics. What do they express, mean to you? 
There are a lot of different atmospheres here too. Some lyrics are very personal like “No Tears, No Embrace” which Judith wrote with a friend of hers in mind. Roman and Kemi are fans of fairy tales and horror literature and they use a lot of symbolism to describe deeper emotions. One example I found very touching and that was the lyric in “This Dream”: Summer, winter, spring or fall - If you believe - We will blast and overcome this all - Always stay true – To scatter and to scream, to create this dream. So you might understand that this describes for me the same thing as the covers too. The music is our dream and if you stay true to your beliefs you will overcome all.

What are the goals that Satyrian hopes to fulfil now?
First of all making the new album. I’m really looking forward to that since it has been a while since we recorded “Eternitas”. I’ve already been busy writing new material and there are plenty of new ideas!

Aren’t you afraid of your old fans’ disappointment by the evolution of the band?
No not all, why should I? I can’t help if people wouldn’t appreciate our hard work, but I have no choice either do I? I just write the music from my feelings and nothing has changed with that. On the contrary I feel that we just have received much more recognition than ever before. Not only do I get response from the old fans, but we have opened new doors as well. And of course you can’t please everybody all the time, but you shouldn’t even try either but just do what your heart says. Talking about production or musicianship involved I think it is obvious for everyone that we have grown a lot from the old days. And I might add that also reading this in reviews shows it, which is of course nice to notice.

In the beginning of the adventure, was it hard to find a balance between the two female singers?
Yes, sometimes it was indeed. Many times they already knew which songs they want to do, but sometime they also wanted to do the same songs. A song like “Sacred Lies” is an example of this: on this one they both sing at the same time. Also the last song “Ewigkeit” which was supposed to be only a short outro turned out to a duet between Judith and Kemi. So it was a challenge, but a very nice challenge. A lot of brainstorming and arranging involved indeed!

You played this summer in many festivals, Stonehenge as an example, so how did the public react with your show?
Well we were the only gothic rock band between all the grindcore and deathmetal bands so I guess it was not exactly our target audience ha-ha. And also maybe playing in the bright daylight doesn’t really add anything to our more atmospheric songs let’s say. Nonetheless I’m happy that we convinced some people and gained a healthy dose of experience as well. But I think that the previous gig when playing for 500 in black dressed Gothic people in an old squatted church at midnight was more our thing after all =)

Finally, do you want to say anything to your fans, here in Tunisia?
I’ve actually been in Tunisia once, in Sousse. Visited the old medina, Kasbah and some museums too. It is a long time ago, but I still remember how nice and warm it was. So it brings me back good memories having this chat with you. Anyway, I hope that people down there have a change to check “Eternitas” out and will enjoy it at least as much as we enjoyed of making it. Thanks for everything and take care!
 

Dernière mise à jour : 25-02-2007 14:47

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