1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording and release of the new ep?
Since the release of our latest EP we toured Europe for 3 weeks alongside our Finnish friends, Rats Will Feast, and we had a great time playing in a lot of new places and visiting countries we haven’t been to before.
At the same time we haven’t slowed down and have been continuing writing songs for our upcoming LP, so far we have around 12, more or less, ready tracks. We will continue fine-tuning them and maybe will write a few more songs. Currently our aim is to start album pre-production this fall.
2.In March you had released a new ep, musically how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?
Looking back at the EP, it feels like those songs serve as a bridge towards the more complete and better defined album or at least this is what I am telling myself. The EP songs were written mostly more than 2 years ago already with the thought of having more repetitive parts and longer, more thought out song structure. Harmony of Discordance EP songs came out sounding somewhat more metal influenced than our previous stuff, but as I don’t want to write the same album or song twice, each next release will continue the evolution of whatever Sociasylum will end up sounding like.
3.This is also your first release since 2018, can you tell us a little bit more about what has been going on during that time frame?
Since the release of our last LP “Crossroads” we were focusing on playing as many shows as possible and did two European tours with different friends from around the globe. Up until the end of 2019 when our then singer, Heindrig, decided to quit the band and move to France. Losing our vocalist slowed us somewhat down and then while we looked for our new frontman, we decided to try to take things slower and focus more on songwriting, which wasn’t very productive at that time. Then eventually Covid period and lockdowns started and while a lot of people wrote full albums during the downtime we managed to only squeeze out 4 songs, out of which 3 made it to our EP some years later. So in conclusion taking things slower made us too relaxed and eventually all of us were sidetracked by being involved in multiple different musical projects, but now it’s quality over quantity approach and we are working towards making sure that the upcoming album is the best representation of what Sociasylum currently is.
4.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the newer music and also how would you describe your progress as songwriters over the years?
Our lyrical topics have always focused on the negative and sad aspects of humanity or about our personal struggles involved with either personal stuff or different events occurring around us.
Over the years I think that I have progressed enough that I can finally write the songs I always wanted to write for Sociasylum and play them with ease, at least this more related to the upcoming full length release.
Lyrically it’s too early to know where we will go next with the album.
5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Sociasylum'?
The name is put together by combining two words, social and asylum, into one word.
The founding members had their own definition for the name, but I personally like to define the name as a safe haven within our society where everyone can belong and feel welcomed enough to unleash their inner energy.
6.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the ep cover?
With the EP we didn’t have a concrete vision for the artwork and we decided to send songs and lyrics with highlighted keywords and some vague ideas to Erik Hallik to get inspired and draw whatever comes to his mind.
7.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?
There've been a lot of fantastic shows, most of the funnest shows happen in our hometown at our DIY punk venue Ülase12, it’s always a blast to play there. Definitely one of the highlights that comes to mind is when we played Tallinn Music Week in 2021 to a fully packed venue and everything felt right. Also shows in Tallinn with Hexis have always been very memorable in all the different venues.
8.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
We just recently finished our 3-week long European tour and have been planning to focus on finalizing our next full-lenght. Once the new album is on its way to be released we will definitely plan some followup tours.
9.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?
We have been trying to find a label for quite some time, have pitched our EP to a lot of different labels, but EPs aren’t as attractive enough as full-length releases or maybe we were pitching it to the wrong labels at the wrong time, who knows. Will definitely look for a label to have our upcoming full-length album released and hopefully we find someone that we can have a great cooperation with.
10.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of black metal and hardcore?
Sometimes it feels like we are too much in-between different genres and we aren’t purely one specific genre to be liked by all the fans of one specific style of music. I think throughout all our releases we have been too punk for metalheads and too metal for punks.
11.When can we expect a full length and also where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
Musically I feel like I am finally at my comfort level, where I am able to write songs at the needed level that I have been trying to reach all these years. Which means writing blackened hardcore songs and mixing them with grindcore sprinkled with all sorts of modern hardcore influences and dosed heavily with d-beat.
Currently all the new songs have been heavily influenced mostly by the recent releases from Wormrot, Full of Hell, Harm’s Way, Terror, Dying Fetus, Year of the Knife and Implore, all of these bands have released recently some of their strongest releases.
Regarding when the full length will be released, it’s too early to tell, not before the second half of 2025.
12.What are some of the bands or musical styles the band members are currently listening to nowadays?
We are trying to keep our musical palates very variable and we consume everything from hip-hop to black metal and from techno to grindcore.
Personally, I have been again stuck listening to the latest releases from Full of Hell and Wormot.
13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Yeah, don’t become a people pleaser-workaholic and life will be more beautiful and SKA should be banned :D
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