Satan's Satyrs

Here is an old interview with Satan's Satyrs, conducted back in September 2010.

1.  Can you give us a brief history of Satan's Satyrs?

       

Well, Satan's Satyrs was formed in August 2009 by the Ghoul and I. It was a summer of horror movies and weed. We were just getting stoned and listening to music like old 60's Rolling Stones, Black Flag, Electric Wizard, Black Sabbath, the first High Tide. We had been talking about ideas for a band for a little while, so when I wrote the song "Satan's Satyrs" it just formed from there.

2. What bands have the biggest influence on your music?

I'd say the two biggest influences are Black Flag and Electric Wizard.  I liked the speed, aggression, noisiness of Flag and the heavy, down-tuned psychedelic horror movie worship of Electric Wizard. I wanted to fuse these elements. And both these bands have amazingly fucked-up guitar tones. I just love that crushing wall of noise sound. I'm always dialing my amp to get my own nasty tone, something people can recognize. Also, Pentagram has a huge influence on me just for being the greatest band in history! Hail! 

3.  How did you come up with Satan's Satyrs as your band name?
 

Well the name was inspired by an old biker flick called "Satan's Sadists". I remember first seeing the trailer for it around the time the band formed. It was perfect west-coast 60's exploitation Americana. I really dig that old trashy type shit. I wanted to have a name like some vintage biker gang intertwined with the occult. Satan's Satyrs are a gang of goat-devil outlaw bikers who ravage the desolation of the desert. Also, the film Werewolves on Wheels was a big influence on the idea of SS. Perfect mix of biker and occult vibes.

4. Satan's Satyrs only has two members as of now.  Are you planning on getting a third member and gigging or are you going to stay as a two-piece?

Actually, I'm really the only member of Satan's Satyrs nowadays. I kicked the Ghoul out in spring because of his lack of dedication and distantness. It was just holding shit up. I wrote and recorded everything on the upcoming 7" in May. I've been writing shit on my own since then. I actually got back in touch with the Ghoul around late August because I wanted him to play live guitar and jam with me. So now he's back on live guitar, I'm on vox and bass, and our friend AJ is on live drums. It's sounding better than ever. Really loud! So now I'm focusing on jamming with those guys, but I'm the one writing new shit and I will eventually record it myself. I know what I want and I know how to get it!

5. How has the response to your demo been? Labels in Chile and Austria have released different versions of this tape, correct?

In general the response has been really good. People seem to really dig it. Some people have called it metalpunk, others call it crust punk, others call it black thrash, some call it rock 'n' roll. Goat 'n' Roll eternal!

It's been sold out from me for a while. Devil's Poison Produktionen from Chile reissued it but that’s sold out now too. Black Trash records from Austria released the Euro version, but I don't know what's up with that guy. Maybe it's sold out, who knows? I'm thinking about putting out another round of 100 tapes because I've had to turn quite a few people down when they ask for a tape.

6. You use sound clips from movies in all of your songs. What movies are they from?  I'm guessing that the clip of the woman screaming is from Psycho.
 

The opening clip is from Werewolves on Wheels. It fits great because the opening track "Lycancycler Cult" is all about that movie. It is an essential movie in the SS creed! The clip in "The Dread Persists" is also from Werewolves on Wheels, that movie has a shitload of great clips. And the scream at the end of tape is from Dracula 1972 AD. What a groovy flick with a great ritual scene. Pure Hammer class!

7. You will be releasing a 7" soon right? Will the songs be punkier, doomier, or both? Do you have any plans to record a full-length in the future?

Yes the 7" should be at the press as I type. It's called "Lucifer Lives!" and it’s coming out on Emptiness Productions from Finland. It has three tracks: "Devil Deeds", "The Black Casket", and "Lucifer Lives!” It doesn't sound exactly like the demo but I think it’s still executed in the same way. It’s a noisy and sloppy fucking mess falling apart all over the place. I think some tracks have a kinda Venom-Welcome to Hell vibe to 'em. It wasn't intentional, it just kinda ended up like that. I think I got some pretty nasty guitar tones on it too. As for a full-length, I have had one offer. I'll see what kinda response the 7" gets and if any other labels are interested and then I'll probably get to work on some new tracks. It will probably take a long time to get enough tracks for a full-length though. I'm a slow motherfucker.

8. Have you done any covers (rehearsal room, live, etc.)?

Well early on we used to do a cover of "Free Country" by Witchfinder General. We would do Black Flag's "Nervous Breakdown" too. I actually recorded a 33 rpm version of that song. Maybe it will be released one day, who knows? We play "Barbarian" by Electric Wizard the most though. We got it down pretty good.

9. Has Satan's Satyrs done any gigs?  If so, then who did you play with?

So far we haven't done any gigs. The only show we have played was a live radio show. I really do wanna play some shows. Playing live is when these tracks come alive. Fucking walls of sound! We have plans to do a show with Fleshtemple sometime in December. Hopefully everything comes together.

 

10. Thanks for the interview! Feel free to say whatever you want here.

Thanks for the interview! Check out Emptiness Productions for the new EP!

Contact: satanssatyrs@gmail