Recently The Sludgelord was contacted by Morgan
Gonclaves, editor for the October Doom Magazine (ODM), a respected Brazilian
magazine, (in fact the only magazine) specializing in sludge/stoner/doom metal
in Latin America .
The catalyst for this communication was first and
foremost due our mutual love of heavy music, but more importantly, Morgan
thought there was an opportunity to form a partnership, the purpose of which
was to promote each others work, but more importantly to promote music. We may
speak and communicate in different languages; however the language of music is
universal, therefore over recent months The Sludgelord has begun to contribute to
their magazine, with album reviews from Monoliths and The Human Condition appearing in
their pages.
In return I have promoted ODM via social media, however the recurring question I have had given the
magazine is published in Portuguese was, how can we read ODM in English? It is undeniable
that ODM
are blessed with talented writers, and the need to be able to translate it
became all the more apparent last month, when ODM were fortunate to have a
cover feature on SubRosa.
Fortunately Morgan and his team set about getting the
article translated and today, it gives me great pleasure to reciprocate the
love our Brazilian friends have shown to us and publish our first ODM
article, in the form of their August cover feature with Salt Lake City
October Doom Magazine: Greetings! Can you tell our readers when you formed the band and what
the current line up is at present?
Sarah Pendleton: Greetings! SubRosa was formed in 2005 by Rebecca
(Guitars, vocals) and I.Over the last 11 years the band has evolved into the
very best lineup we could imagine. Rebecca, Kim (violin, vocals), Andy (drums),
Levi (bass) and myself, we are a family.
ODM:
On your first release, the demo “The Worm Has Turned”, the songs were rawer, I
even noted some post-punk influence, but in “Strega” your first full length
released in 2008, the direction of the band became evident. It also looks like
after “Strega”the sound was influenced perhaps by stoner Rock, and the violin
got more emphasis after Kim Pack joined. Am I right?
Sarah: I would agree with that, definitely.
When Kim joined the band, we had the task of layering two violins and making
their interplay weave in with the rest of the instruments. The violin parts
became more emphasized, and the music opened up and took on an unexpected
magic.
Rebecca: I feel like our sound did start solidifying more with
“Strega” … that’s where you can
really hear the direction we were heading in. Sometimes you can’t spot the
evolution or direction of a band until you have two points (two albums) that
can then make a line, with an arrow at the end. JThe
first album was rawer and primal, more blues/folk-oriented, too. “Strega” started showing glimmers of the
doom metal influences that would really start coming out in “No Help …” and that album was the more obvious pointer to the two albums that
would follow; “More Constant…” and
now our new album.
ODM: Including
an element like a violin is somewhat unusual in this type of music. Is this due
to a taste for different kinds of music where the violin is present, or is it
something that came naturally or was it a way to be different from others?
Sarah: Haha, the answer to this is very
simple. Rebecca and I wanted to form a heavy band; she was learning the guitar,
and I was learning the violin, so we just jumped in to see what would happen.
Finding Kim and adding another violin was a stroke of wonderful luck. We didn’t
plan for this, it evolved that way, which is very fortunate.
Rebecca: I actually was very unsure about
having the violin in the band when SubRosa first formed, haha. I wanted to be the
heaviest, loudest and most brutal band in Salt
Lake City
ODM:
In my opinion,” More Constant Than the Gods” was the peak of band’s creativity.
A dense, dark and melancholic atmosphere, musical structures in perfect
harmony... I feel light when
listening to this disc; it has a philosophical, human message. Comment about
the creation process of this disc.
Sarah: Thank you for your kind words. We
are very proud of “More Constant Than
the Gods”. It was a long writing
process, and a lot of work. There was emotional difficulty in our personal
lives leading up to the writing of that album, including the passing of
Rebecca’s mother. We are lucky enough to have been able to turn those
difficulties into the cathartic release of music and expression. It is our
therapy. :)
Rebecca: Thank you. Like
Sarah said, we worked very, very hard on “More
Constant than the Gods”, and it was very difficult pulling together. I sung
about more personal things on this album than I ever had before. Like Sarah
said, “The Usher” was influenced in
part by my mother’s death. “The Usher” points
out that sometimes death comes as a sweet release to those that are suffering
cruelly. I think that is probably the human message you are picking up on.
ODM:
Is your new album a natural continuation of what was “More Constant Than The
Gods” or will you add different elements and changes of musical vision in the
creation proccess?
Sarah:
We can barely contain the excitement we feel about sharing this new album with
whomever will listen. The process of writing this album was different from “More
Constant…” The new album, “For This We Fought the Battle
Rebecca: “The
Usher”was my favorite track off “More Constant than the Gods”,
and we wanted to go even more in that direction with “For This We Fought the
Battleof Ages” – exploring songs that had multiple movements that express
different scenes or moments, almost like a soundtrack, or the movements of an
opera or a symphony. We also tried to push ourselves to try different angles
and approaches to writing riffs, and tried to be more daring with what we were
willing to try musically and take more chances.
ODM:
What is your opinion about this “fight” involving record labels, copyright and
freedom of speech? (I mean, about discs being shared in the internet, YouTube
channels uploading songs and albums, this kind of thing).
Sarah:
In this age, we cannot deny or abolish the existence of piracy, or the Internet.
It is painful sometimes to think about working tremendously hard on your music
and struggling to survive financially. But we didn’t begin making music for
money, and compensation comes in many different forms. However, it is important
for every artist to know their worth and to know that they deserve to be paid
for their work, like anyone in any profession.
Rebecca: It
is definitely a double-edged sword. One wonderful side to the Internet and
piracy, though, is that it spreads your music far and wide. People will
hear your album that might not have listened to you otherwise, and then they
might come to one of your shows. Twenty years ago, bands would have killed for
the tools that we have at our fingertips.
ODM:
Among all the festivals you have participated in – many in all those years – in
which did you have the best experience, both organization and crowd’s feedback?
Sarah:
We have been lucky because the festivals we have played usually had great
organization and crowd response. My two personal favorites have been Hellfest in France
Roadburn in
the Netherlands Calgary
Rebecca: Sarah is right; we have
had very few negative festival experiences. Almost all of them have been very
well run. There was something special about Hellfest
and Roadburn. I also really enjoyed
our first show after a long break at Nathan Carson’s Fall into Darkness in 2012, and Psycho California in 2015.
ODM:
Do think there is a possibility of some day we here in Brazil
Sarah:
We would
love to come and play in Brazil
Rebecca:
My sister-in-law is from Brazil
ODM: October Doom Magazine is grateful for your attention. We will be
waiting eagerly for your new material! Do you have any final comments?
Sarah:
Thank you to every SubRosa fan in Brazil
Rebecca:
Thank you so much for the interview! Obrigado. :)
The End
