Monday, June 27, 2016

Surtur Interview

Q. Can you give us an update on what's going on with the band these days?

A. We are rehearsing regularly. Composing new songs for our first full length album. We are doing some shows in Dhaka as well.

Q. In November you had released an ep,how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?
A. We are an old school thrash metal band from Bangladesh. Influences came from 80s,in particular from late 80s. As you can see later 80s bands were digging the darker side of metal,they rode in a sonic speed and vocals were in a screaming fashion. We felt the essence and  the music came from this spirit naturally. I can't exactly tell how the sound on the ep really is as its mixed up with our own thoughts. But that's our music.

Q. The band has been around since 2012 but waited until 2015 to release any music,can you tell us a little bit more about the first 3 years?

A. I formed the band in 2012 with 3 of my friends. But the lineup was never stable until 2014. Then I met Rifat(our drummer) in mid 2014. We jammed for a while. Meanwhile I met Riasat(our vocalist) through a mutual friend. Then Efaz (Our bassist) came along with Riasat. We jammed for a while and everything went so perfect back then. We started appearing in local gigs with our originals and hit studio in June 2015. Finally we released our debut EP on November 2015.

Q. What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?

A. The hate toward everything that is unjust. We like to share our mental states through the music. Sometimes we like to focus a mans  innermost quest to freedom. We like horror fictions a lot. Our lyrical ambitions are limitless infact. Above that a common fact is that the music ,the riffs,the lyrics they mean something. Like "Maggot Filled Brain" means a so called great and hypocritical mind we tend to see all around.

Q. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Surtur' ?

A. Our vocalist Riasat came up with the name. Surtur is a Nordic fire demon and prophesized to set  the world in flames. We thought this character fits with our kind of music that demolishes all the barriers.

Q. What are some of the best shows the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?

A. We recently played a show named 'obituary for the living'. It  was fantastic. Lineup was great. Shared the stage with death metal monsters Warhound(Bangladesh),bone crushing thrash metallers Enmachined(Bangladesh), Exalter(Bangladesh) who just had their second ep and Dissector,Burial Dust,Killgator were lethal too. All the bands were like minded and old school. We supported each other like brothers. And talking about the performance, I  believe each of the members of a band should know the lyric properly based on the song itself was composed. That's what we do. And the energy it comes naturally with the music on stage for us.

Q. Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
A. Yeah some organizers from abroad contacted us. Let's see how things gonna work.

Q. According to the Metal Archives page the band is signed to Witches Brew,when did you get in contact with this label?

A. Our drummer mailed them the bandcamp link of our ep. They liked our music and immediately replied. They re-released the EP in pro CD format on 26th February,2016. Hell lotta thanks to them.

Q. On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by the fans of thrash metal?

A. Feedback's been killer. Lots of radios,zines,blogs featured us worldwide. People from all over the world randomly ordering our ep. Not only the thrash listeners but all kind of metal listeners like black metal heavy metal death metal listeners are also digging our music. Some are mentioning us a death/thrash or black/thrash act often. Some even termed our genre  black/thrash/death!  But thats good to hear as I've always wanted to do something new. I never liked being stuck in any kind of barriers of a single genre. It's always about breaking the law you know. So,being a new band we are really overwhelmed by the response.Thanks to Qabar Extreme Music PR, The Metal Detector Music Promotion,Cheryl from Witches Brew,Raimi from Faithcraft productions,all the distros,radios,zines,blogs and of course all the die hard metal maniacs.

Q. When can we expect a full length album and also where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

A. As soon as we are done with the song writting you'll hear from us. Talking about musical direction I can't really tell where we are going. We've always let the music,all the madness come naturally. Like If I write a song that's based on something that was going around on my mind that time. So we'll never write another "Descendant of Time". Let's see what happens in our sophomore release.

Q. What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

A.Sepultura,Razor,Sadus,Demolition Hammer, Merciless,Protector,Morbid Saint to name a few. I am listening Ripper(Chile),Armament(India),Deathhammer(Norway),Perversifier(France) these days.

Q. What are some of your non musical interests?
A. Reading a lot of horror fictions,playing Table Tennis, playing video games are some of them.

Q. Before we wrap up this interview,do you have any final words or thoughts?

A. To the metal listeners-listen to good music. Support underground bands and labels. Don't just listen to bands because of their region but for the music. There are a lot of new bands worth of checking out. The scene worldwide is getting better day by day. And finally thank you for the interview. Have some good time ahead brother!


Answered By Shadman Omee (Guitarist of Surtur)

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