Unreedemer Interview

 

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?

Sure! We formed officially in early 2019, when I moved to Finland from Croatia, and we started rehearsing in a full lineup.

Pretty soon we had a couple of local gigs, and went to record the first EP. More gigs and another EP followed, and we were preparing for our first show abroad when our drummer and friend Jani passed away suddenly.

We did that show in his honour, and took some time after to consider our options.

In the end, we decided to go on, onboarded new drummer and a bassist, and are working on new material.

Initially we were considering ourselves to be a death-thrash, or groove metal, but someone suggested after a recent gig that we sound like "blackened thrash", and we liked the sound of that, so we decided to stick with it.

2.So far you have released 2 ep's, musically how do they both differ from each other?

They were recorded and produced in different studios, and featured different drummer and bassist.

Additionally, 4-19-23 was recorded live, with very little track editing, so it's more raw and "dirty", and Word Become Flesh is a bit more polished, and dare I say, mature.

Also, we experimented with some electronic sounds for the intro, and ended up sticking it to the first track on 4-19-23.

That's why we re recorded it on Word Become Flesh - so you don't have to listen to a 2 minute intro track to get to Defiance :) 

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band has explored so far with the music?

The topics vary wildly, but what all have in common is that it must be a personal experience. So, either something directly from my life, or something that touched me enough to leave some kind of mark.

For example, "Shewolf and an Oak" talks about my wartime memories, and my parents' experience of raising kids during wartime in Croatia, where 4-19-23 is about some gruesome murders that happened in Croatia, and made me wonder about human capability for cruelty. 

"Lutrizio" is full of personal memories about the friends that are no longer with us, and "Underdog" is inspired by being looked down upon as an immigrant.

So yeah, all over the place, but with a common theme of being my personal therapy vessel 😂

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Unredeemer'?

It represents a reversal of the religious concept of redemption, where all humans are by default relieved of sin, and therefore responsibility for their actions.

Remove that certainty, and you put the human fate back into their hands, set them free, for better or worse. 

5.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the last ep cover?

"Word become flesh" was inspired by an inscription on an old german executioner sword, but we interpreted it more like "put words into action", so the cover is actually a photo of my arm while I was having the band's logo carved into it.

6.The band members also come from different parts of the world, what impact does this have on the musical style that you play?

There is a bit of that, how different geographic regions prefer different types of metal on average, but I think it's more about individual preference in such a small group. 

We had a number of bandmates come and go, and I like to think each of them left a bit of themselves in the music.

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

Most notable ones were the Pannonian Rock festival in 2023 in Croatia, which we did in Jani's memory, and the one on a Shadow Room event in 2022 when we had a person doing hooked suspension during the show.

And about the performance - well, personally I don't like to see a band just climb the stage and play the music, there's got to be some energy in it. In lieu of that, I alway give my best to explode with energy and transfer it to the audience, even if the audience is just 4 drunken guys (and we played shows like that :) )

8.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?

Only confirmed gig we have for now is next year's Tyyne Rock festival in Finland, but we're actively looking for gigs to stay in shape, so here's an open invitation to any producers and venue owners to book us!

9.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?

Haven't really thought about it, so far the indie thing has worked for us, but who knows, if something comes along..

 

10.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of extreme metal?

Hard to talk about global - the online comment we got were positive :D 

We heard only good stuff wherever we played live though, so working on spreading the word.

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

Actually, our plan was to just release a series of singles as we make them, and then make a "singles compilation" at one point. Considering the digital distribution landscape and today's audiences' attention span, that looks like a good strategy. 

A year or so it takes to record a full album just looks like a long time to be silent, especially considering we already had a year long hiatus.

It could be a subconscious reaction, but since Jani's passing, the music we're making is a bit darker. We shifted the tuning, and introduced more of "blackish" influences, so prepare for something more sinister in the future.

12.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?

When we all came together it was all about the thrash and groove classics: Slayer, Patera, Sepultura, and a bit of newer stuff like Lamb of God, Meshuggah, Gojira, but we picked up some new favourites lately, and like I said previously it's generally a bit more dark and extreme.

Personally, I'm into more extreme genres, especially if the vocals are doing weird stuff, like Cattle Decapitation, Anaal Nathrak, Lorna Shore, or Archspire.

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

We end all our shows with the same message, so why not the interviews too:

We are Unredeemer, and you have all just been unredeemed.

https://www.facebook.com/unredeemer.band

https://www.instagram.com/unredeemer_band/

https://unredeemer.bandcamp.com/

https://open.spotify.com/artist/4ocpHtIVIQ9xrmZOL88ZxG

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCp6DrCNmbKhPSBmznpzIHcw

https://music.youtube.com/channel/UCFtjKtzY7ROeQp9_GbnbQlg