interview
Armed with Hammers
Israeli Death Metal, that we have not had here yet, such is the band SONNE ADAM with only one release thus far, "Armed with Hammers" EP from this year. If you search very dark and creepy old school Death Metal which shiver down your spine, at which you will feel mysterious, occult atmosphere full of frightening unknown feelings, you're best at. The band has a very high potential in the underground and if it will go on in such a way, we can look forward to the future, for me personally is "Armed with Hammers" one of the best and most surprising acts of this year. Shadows begin to move arbitrarily; in your attic room is living something you would like not to know...
Hell greetings to the SONNE ADAM band, how and under what circumstances your band was raised? What can you reveal about your earlier EP "The Sun Is Dead" which is officially not mentioned in your discography?
Salute, Mortuary!
SONNE ADAM was raised during late 2007 from the ashes of an unnamed dead project. Death Metal was in the heart and ears of us daily so it was a natural decision to wander there, yet to bring along the darkness we adored and that was more available in Black Metal. We always made music we wanted to hear for ourselves yet was nowhere to be found.
"The Sun Is Dead" is in fact a yet to be released EP that should be out around mid-late 2011 on a 7" vinyl through Imperium Productions. We aim this release to be very limited, as it was recorded very early during our life as a band. The production and musical vibes to be found on this release are different from "Armed with Hammers" and our upcoming album, "Transformation".
Your new EP "Armed With Hammers" is perfect, even at first listening I had shivers down my spine and a more detailed listening has confirmed that you clearly belong among the bands who know what they want, it is my personal view. What kind of reactions have you got to the new material?
The reactions so far are very satisfying! From what we know, all of the copies that were printed should be sold out by now... so it's a pleasing thought to see there are more people interested in our offerings.
I like that your music and entire band are as one, I mean that everything harmonizes together, from composition, through the atmosphere, way of riffs playing techniques, tempos, lyrics, the band's whole image and even the vocals are perfectly put to it all. What do you think of it?
We really try to make our music as "organic" as possible. We really spend a lot of time thinking about the ingredients that will make the music what it is. Sometime we jam riffs out, sometimes they just come in a moment of clarity, but we always try to be aware to how the end result will turn. Sure, we want too hear what we play, but we don't just put the riffs out there. We try to make good songs like in the old days.
What expectations have you had from “Armed with Hammers” before entering the studio? Has the result come out exactly to your expectations? How much are you satisfied with the result now?
"Armed with Hammers" was being recorded, mixed and mastered totally by us and by us alone, so in a way it's our first little demonic baby. We're very pleased with its production values as they fit perfectly with the musical tones - and that's the only thing that counts. We always keep on hearing people saying that production should be raw and shitty or vice versa - that it should be as high-end as possible. We believe things should be organic and that every production should be treated according to what it should bring to the listener. If you make cold, dark music that sounds like it's being played by a cult inside a cave - go with a production that will make that stick out!
Personally I think the key words for your music are Dark Death Metal and atmosphere, also slowness, heaviness and mid paces ... how exactly would you describe your music?
We play Death Metal the way it's meant to be played as we see it.
Although I feel the impact of INCANTATION in your music, I think you create original enough Death Metal, some riffs are extra hard classifiable. How much is originality important to you? Is originality important to you at all?
Originality is important for us, but it is just one of many parameters that we consider while writing. Good songs need more than just originality; they need to be really good ones - songs that you want to listen to and most importantly, songs that will infect you with
D A R K N E S S. We do not try to invent the wheel but we try to develop it.
The book has already been written, but you can write more chapters in it.
Can you say which studio was "Armed With Hammers" recorded in, how long did recording take and what are your impressions from the recording? What was the atmosphere in studio? Are there good recording studios in Israel? By what have you chosen a studio that you chosen?
We knew how "Armed with Hammers" will sound from the beginning, so we didn't spend much time on the process. As mentioned earlier, it was recorded on our equipment and we produced, mixed and mastered it by ourselves for complete control.
Are you pleased with the final sound? In my view, all the instruments are in a natural balance, when I’m listening it on my Koss Porta headphones, it's just something indescribable, and especially drums have thundering and occult sound...
We are pleased with the results.
Likewise as NECROS CHRISTOS from Germany also you are focusing more on the slower compositions. Is it intention? Are those passages best fit to you? Can you imagine fast paces in your music? I mean really fast blasting...
It's hard to say what will be in the far future but for now we will stick to our mid-paced and slow tempo. There are more than enough d-beat and blastbeat bands out there.. We like a lot of them but this is not our way.
How are your songs created? Who brings the most ideas and how you consult the songs? Aren’t there collisions between some members of the band then?
We usually gather to jam or to try and materialize further riffs\song demos each of us wrote himself. We travel in the realms of the unknown searching for more ways to reflect the thing we thrive most. We never really had collisions music-wise, as we are all attracted to a driving force which is UTTER DARKNESS.
In some songs you used the soft keyboard or acoustic guitar to pull out the atmosphere. Has it come up in the studio while recording or you had it thought out before entering the studio?
We all have small studios in our houses for demo writing. We usually write everything down before going to the studio, that's including the atmospheric parts. When it comes to recording them with proper gear, we aim as close as we can get to gain maximum effect.
Your music is full of darkness and fear, of course also the occultism and mysticism. Are you interested in the occult in more depth? Is occultism integral part of SONNE ADAM?
We are attracted to all things dark.
You come from Israel; you are probably quite often asked about it ... don’t you have any problems in your country for what you play and how you present yourselves? They say MELECHESH has moved to the Netherlands because some similar problems.
We're as underground as you can get in Israel and we don't aim to perform live here a lot. We're under the radar so there hasn't really been anything to worry about, for now.
What is your view to ORPHANED LAND band? Do you know them personally? Do you like their music? Can you recommend any other Israeli bands? How does underground works in your land? Are there fanzines, concerts, labels etc.?
None of us know ORPHANED LAND personally and we can't say we dig their music.
As for the underground... there is no scene in Israel.
How can you see the future of the band? Are you preparing some new stuff and his propagation?
For now the future beholds a debut album called "Transformation". We learned a lot from earlier releases and decided it's time to jump into the deep, dark waters and bring an album to the table. All we can say is keep an eye out for this one. Should be out early 2011 on vinyl by Imperium Productions, and on CD by Imperium Productions\Century Media.
We're probably going to perform live somewhere around 2011 in Israel for a very limited number of shows, and it's more or a less a fact that we will play live on the lands of Europe around September of the same year - we hope we could say more for now.
How did you get to Imperium Records? Who first contacted whom? Are you satisfied with their activity?
Philipp is the man! He contacted us and soon after we signed a deal for "Armed with Hammers", "The Sun is Dead" and "Transformation". We always felt he got the right ears and soul as a Death Metal label manager and we are more than satisfied with working with him.
Cover art of your EP is certainly worth to mention, can you reveal something more about the artist which created it? Was it drawn directly for you? Will you work with this guy in the future as well?
He is a friend from Israel called Ofer Inbal. We had very specific demands from him on what to do. The proper direction in our artwork is very important to us, and we are satisfied with the end result. We will work with him in the future.
Ok, it would be all on my part, thank you for this interview and if you have message for the Slovak and Czech fans, you have the space. Wish SONNE ADAM only the best for the future, have a good time, amazing band, amazing music, HORNS UP!
Thanks for the interview.
http://www.myspace.com/sonneadam
Sonne Adam 20. 12. 2010 Mortuary
Hell greetings to the SONNE ADAM band, how and under what circumstances your band was raised? What can you reveal about your earlier EP "The Sun Is Dead" which is officially not mentioned in your discography?
Salute, Mortuary!
SONNE ADAM was raised during late 2007 from the ashes of an unnamed dead project. Death Metal was in the heart and ears of us daily so it was a natural decision to wander there, yet to bring along the darkness we adored and that was more available in Black Metal. We always made music we wanted to hear for ourselves yet was nowhere to be found.
"The Sun Is Dead" is in fact a yet to be released EP that should be out around mid-late 2011 on a 7" vinyl through Imperium Productions. We aim this release to be very limited, as it was recorded very early during our life as a band. The production and musical vibes to be found on this release are different from "Armed with Hammers" and our upcoming album, "Transformation".
Your new EP "Armed With Hammers" is perfect, even at first listening I had shivers down my spine and a more detailed listening has confirmed that you clearly belong among the bands who know what they want, it is my personal view. What kind of reactions have you got to the new material?
The reactions so far are very satisfying! From what we know, all of the copies that were printed should be sold out by now... so it's a pleasing thought to see there are more people interested in our offerings.
I like that your music and entire band are as one, I mean that everything harmonizes together, from composition, through the atmosphere, way of riffs playing techniques, tempos, lyrics, the band's whole image and even the vocals are perfectly put to it all. What do you think of it?
We really try to make our music as "organic" as possible. We really spend a lot of time thinking about the ingredients that will make the music what it is. Sometime we jam riffs out, sometimes they just come in a moment of clarity, but we always try to be aware to how the end result will turn. Sure, we want too hear what we play, but we don't just put the riffs out there. We try to make good songs like in the old days.
What expectations have you had from “Armed with Hammers” before entering the studio? Has the result come out exactly to your expectations? How much are you satisfied with the result now?
"Armed with Hammers" was being recorded, mixed and mastered totally by us and by us alone, so in a way it's our first little demonic baby. We're very pleased with its production values as they fit perfectly with the musical tones - and that's the only thing that counts. We always keep on hearing people saying that production should be raw and shitty or vice versa - that it should be as high-end as possible. We believe things should be organic and that every production should be treated according to what it should bring to the listener. If you make cold, dark music that sounds like it's being played by a cult inside a cave - go with a production that will make that stick out!
Personally I think the key words for your music are Dark Death Metal and atmosphere, also slowness, heaviness and mid paces ... how exactly would you describe your music?
We play Death Metal the way it's meant to be played as we see it.
Although I feel the impact of INCANTATION in your music, I think you create original enough Death Metal, some riffs are extra hard classifiable. How much is originality important to you? Is originality important to you at all?
Originality is important for us, but it is just one of many parameters that we consider while writing. Good songs need more than just originality; they need to be really good ones - songs that you want to listen to and most importantly, songs that will infect you with
D A R K N E S S. We do not try to invent the wheel but we try to develop it.
The book has already been written, but you can write more chapters in it.
Can you say which studio was "Armed With Hammers" recorded in, how long did recording take and what are your impressions from the recording? What was the atmosphere in studio? Are there good recording studios in Israel? By what have you chosen a studio that you chosen?
We knew how "Armed with Hammers" will sound from the beginning, so we didn't spend much time on the process. As mentioned earlier, it was recorded on our equipment and we produced, mixed and mastered it by ourselves for complete control.
Are you pleased with the final sound? In my view, all the instruments are in a natural balance, when I’m listening it on my Koss Porta headphones, it's just something indescribable, and especially drums have thundering and occult sound...
We are pleased with the results.
Likewise as NECROS CHRISTOS from Germany also you are focusing more on the slower compositions. Is it intention? Are those passages best fit to you? Can you imagine fast paces in your music? I mean really fast blasting...
It's hard to say what will be in the far future but for now we will stick to our mid-paced and slow tempo. There are more than enough d-beat and blastbeat bands out there.. We like a lot of them but this is not our way.
How are your songs created? Who brings the most ideas and how you consult the songs? Aren’t there collisions between some members of the band then?
We usually gather to jam or to try and materialize further riffs\song demos each of us wrote himself. We travel in the realms of the unknown searching for more ways to reflect the thing we thrive most. We never really had collisions music-wise, as we are all attracted to a driving force which is UTTER DARKNESS.
In some songs you used the soft keyboard or acoustic guitar to pull out the atmosphere. Has it come up in the studio while recording or you had it thought out before entering the studio?
We all have small studios in our houses for demo writing. We usually write everything down before going to the studio, that's including the atmospheric parts. When it comes to recording them with proper gear, we aim as close as we can get to gain maximum effect.
Your music is full of darkness and fear, of course also the occultism and mysticism. Are you interested in the occult in more depth? Is occultism integral part of SONNE ADAM?
We are attracted to all things dark.
You come from Israel; you are probably quite often asked about it ... don’t you have any problems in your country for what you play and how you present yourselves? They say MELECHESH has moved to the Netherlands because some similar problems.
We're as underground as you can get in Israel and we don't aim to perform live here a lot. We're under the radar so there hasn't really been anything to worry about, for now.
What is your view to ORPHANED LAND band? Do you know them personally? Do you like their music? Can you recommend any other Israeli bands? How does underground works in your land? Are there fanzines, concerts, labels etc.?
None of us know ORPHANED LAND personally and we can't say we dig their music.
As for the underground... there is no scene in Israel.
How can you see the future of the band? Are you preparing some new stuff and his propagation?
For now the future beholds a debut album called "Transformation". We learned a lot from earlier releases and decided it's time to jump into the deep, dark waters and bring an album to the table. All we can say is keep an eye out for this one. Should be out early 2011 on vinyl by Imperium Productions, and on CD by Imperium Productions\Century Media.
We're probably going to perform live somewhere around 2011 in Israel for a very limited number of shows, and it's more or a less a fact that we will play live on the lands of Europe around September of the same year - we hope we could say more for now.
How did you get to Imperium Records? Who first contacted whom? Are you satisfied with their activity?
Philipp is the man! He contacted us and soon after we signed a deal for "Armed with Hammers", "The Sun is Dead" and "Transformation". We always felt he got the right ears and soul as a Death Metal label manager and we are more than satisfied with working with him.
Cover art of your EP is certainly worth to mention, can you reveal something more about the artist which created it? Was it drawn directly for you? Will you work with this guy in the future as well?
He is a friend from Israel called Ofer Inbal. We had very specific demands from him on what to do. The proper direction in our artwork is very important to us, and we are satisfied with the end result. We will work with him in the future.
Ok, it would be all on my part, thank you for this interview and if you have message for the Slovak and Czech fans, you have the space. Wish SONNE ADAM only the best for the future, have a good time, amazing band, amazing music, HORNS UP!
Thanks for the interview.
http://www.myspace.com/sonneadam
Sonne Adam 20. 12. 2010 Mortuary