1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording of the new album?
D.Rdrgs: We haven’t stopped composing since the making of “The triclavian advent”, since we had a handful of riffs unused and ideas are still flowing, we simply continued from there. But since there’s no rush to present anything new yet we’ve been also looking for gigs to promote the debut album, working on a remarkable live set is big part of what we believe metal is about.
J.K: we have played some shows in Ireland and have been trying things out live with the addition of a bass player. The latest development has now been organizing shows outside of Ireland. It’s always good to play to a new audience and get to see somewhere different.
2.You have an album coming out in April, how would you say your style of blackened thrash metal differs from other bands playing the same genre?
J.K. J.K.: Some harsher elements perhaps. Both our tone and vocals are not in league with what has somewhat become the norm for this style in recent times. While we certainly do take a lot of influence from 80’s thrash and the Australian blackened thrash metal sound I think that we have managed to put our own spin on it, a bit more violent in ways and a bit darker.
D.Rdrgs: Also, not sounding deliberately thrashy I suppose. I don’t want it to sound as if I advocate against the style itself since I like many new/newer bands playing it and not just the classics, but we definitely don’t try to emulate any particular act from the past and probably have captured mostly the energy of earlier Death/Thrash in Black Metal form.
3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the new album?
J.K.: Being Irish there are always inspiration for things to write about around us, countless stories and atrocities which have been carried out by the church. It should be noted that we do not write about such things in a satanic sense as many bands do and have done for years in metal now. We pass more of a judgement, perspective or story onto the chosen subjects of our songs.
4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Sacrilegia'?
D.Rdrgs: Subverting sacred or established moral values that we oppose. Note that “Sacrilegia” is a plural word, and we’re not just shouting against a higher belief we disagree with, but focusing on many smaller aspects that either Christianity or modern beliefs display to our discontent.
5.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the album cover?
D.Rdrgs.: The art was entirely developed by Chris Kiesling of Misanthropic Art, I gave him all the titles and an overall idea of the themes and he basically went from there, so I could only present my understanding of it. But the triptych depicts a central image of the crucifixion scene where Christ is fixed upon the cross with 3 nails, hence the album’s title. The catholic church has rejected the notion of only three nails being used (instead of 4) in the occasion and deemed this allegation as heretic. Now, can we think of anything more banal to provoke such a stir on an established organization? The matter was discussed and represented by artists in years to come since the crucifixion has proved to be both a defining moment in history and a powerful symbol of devotion, but personally that moment was also the spark of insurmountable atrocities committed in the name of a limiting ideology, and also the cause of several struggles that afflict modern man’s thinking. The side images carry the buried remains of both characters in the central scene, as a reference to the ill-fated end we all must endure no matter what side we once stood for.
6.The band is from Dublin, Ireland and while I have heard plenty of extreme metal bands from that area your music is a lot more different than what I have heard from there, do you feel you have a different style than most other Irish metal bands?
J.K. Yes, we do have a totally different sound to the bands which are coming out of Ireland in the past few years. I don’t recall an Irish band ever having the type of sound that we do or anything close. The Irish bands tend to be heavier into the death metal spectrum of the genre, some even excelling in the more chaotic realms of sound at times. We are a different beast to the bulk of the Irish bands altogether and this is exactly what we set out to be.
D.Rdrgs: Ireland’s death metal scene has been on the rise in the last few years with bands working in several interesting ways to stripe away the “cheerful” stereotype most people assume Irish metal is supposed to have. Malthusian plays extremely disturbing and dissonant music, Vircolac veers on a more horror-inducing lane and Coscradh makes use of local obscure tales to envelop their chaotic death metal, to name a few. I myself am not Irish, so despite some lyrics do relate to Irish affairs, the general idea doesn’t necessarily focus on local subjects but on our visions of man’s inner struggles and philosophical anathemas.
7.Out of all the shows the band has played so far which one did you enjoy the most?
J.K. For me it would have to be our very first gig last July as a last minute replacement to support Possession. Not even a full set had been established at that point but we managed to pull the music together in no time once the pressure was on. It has become my favourite out of all of the shows so far because I will only experience the thrill of fronting a band for the first time once, nobody else is there other than the drums pounding behind me. The set was fast, corrosive and a success. It became the real defining moment and turning point for the band as a whole.
D.Rdrgs: I second that… after so many years playing, the excitement of starting a new band and finally showing what you’ve done to a new audience has reached nostalgic levels in our first ever gig with Possession last year.
8.Do you have any touring or show plans once the new album is released?
J.K. Yeah we have some plans to do a decent amount of touring and are currently in the midst of getting organised for them. Firstly we plan to head to the UK and Scotland since they are close to home and easy to get to without much trouble. After that some dates Europe and at some point I think that we will have to make an appearance to conquer a US and Canadian audience.
9.On the new album you had also done an 'Armoured Angel' cover, do you feel this band is very underrated compared to the other Australian bands while there history goes back even further than most bands of that country?
J.K.: Armoured angel are a band I think are criminally underrated for pushing harsher elements into thrash metal and getting the Australian scene some of it’s early exposure. It’s a shame they never got to the level they deserved especially after releasing the 1988 demo and Communion in 1991. Although the band did slightly lose some of their thrash metal charm as they went on to produce more of a death metal sound as many others did in the 90’s they still had their own sound which is what made the band what they were.
D.Rdrgs: They were just a killer band, especially the demos, although I was spinning their “Mysterium” EP just yesterday. I’ve seen so many killer bands not even being mentioned in the international underground scene, at least they got their notoriety and cult status. Definitely one of the most underrated bands ever, but maybe that’s just what was meant to happen for them, isn’t it?
J.K..: Armoured Angel to Sacrilegia holds significance because I remember them being one of the very first obscure underground bands we discovered each other was very into. It was this which led us to cover Armoured Angel from the wings of death record. One of the things we played a lot in the earlier stages of the band.
We also have a story to us recording the cover to do with the band themselves. We were recording in Rome with Marco (Demonomancy/Devil’s Mark Studio) and had just finished all of the instrument tracks for the cover when I realised I had no copy of the lyrics and they were not available online. The next step was to see if anybody had a copy of the record at home to send us an email with the lyrics. I recall Darragh (Invictus) having a copy lying around so he was one of the people we had asked but no luck. About an hour had passed of us almost getting ready to scrap the idea for another time when Darragh sends us on they lyrics which had been typed up for us by none other than Lucy, founding member and bass player of Armoured Angel which Darragh was able to get in contact with for us. Cheers Lucy!
10.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of black and thrash metal?
J.K.: So far the response for the album has been very positive and we are delighted with that. All of the adversity and problems we had early on had been overcome to produce a record not only that we could be proud of but that people have been getting into based on a couple of tracks. Some reviews have of course picked up on our obvious influences but have also mentioned that we have successfully added our own flavour which is mission accomplished for us.
11.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
J.K. Already our sound has developed but is still true to our original blueprint, we’re just getting better at our songwriting and giving everything more thought having learned a few things while recording the album. We have a much better idea of what we want, how we want to sound and how to achieve it.
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?
J.K.: All of the usual black, thrash and death and heavy metal bands but more notably for my own style and influence it was bands like Sodom, Dismember, Entombed, Possessed, Slayer Metallica, Gospel of the Horns and Nifelheim really changed how I listened to and played metal.
Lately bands such as Demonomancy, Coscradh, Malthusian Ancient Rites, Obliteration, Malokarpatan have been on heavy rotation for me but of course I switch it up still listening to all the classics you would expect from someone in a black metal band.
D.Rdrgs: Apart from what Jason has already mentioned, I’m a huge Destroyer 666, Beherit, Archgoat and Impaled Nazarene fan, so if the Aussie’s influence is a bit more present on our music, the Finn’s are not so obvious, but it’s certainly there, just played a tad faster. I usually listen to a good deal of Darkthrone and I’m also particularly fond of the Chilean scene nowadays, especially Force of Darkness, since for me that’s just the Black Metal counterpart of Slayer earlier career…
Lately though I`ve been spinning the Obliteration and Funereal Presence albums, which are just refreshing in anything both Death/Thrash and Black Metal styles represent...
13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
D.RDGS.: Well, thanks for taking the time to investigate our work with Sacrilegia. We hope you and your readers can catch us live anytime soon!
https://invictusproductions666.bandcamp.com/album/the-triclavian-advent
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