This is the original version of the interview we have done with SinisterDivine from the Greek BLOODCULT zine. This zine is written in Greek, so to all the Greek metal fans: get in contact with the BLOODCULT crew - I really recommend this zine to you!

1. I saw in your website that you've been around since 1995. I wonder why the hell you haven't signed to a label all this time, as I believe Singular is really a worth-noticing album in the underground.
How is your cooperation with Dragon Design and Medusa Productions so far? Any other offers from bigger labels?

Medusa Production wasn't the first label which offered us a contract or a cooperation. We got the first offer back in 1998, but the label seemed very suspicious to us, so we refused that contract. The second offer came half a year before we entered the studio to record "Singular" but there was also the same problem, we couldn't trust them, cause there were too many broken promisis, and so we decided to cancel the cooperation before we signed the contract (which we never received anyway - one of the broken promises...). This was one of the reasons why there was such a long delay between the recording and the release of our first CD. We had contacted Mike from Dragon Design earlier, because we wanted a cover artwork from him. Later he told us he wanted to start his own promotion agency to promote some bands he had drawn for. This was the chance we needed and so we took care of the production of our CD and he manages the promotion and distribution. Until now everything works out very well - the first time ever that we can trust someone from a label!
And to answer your last question, no, until now we had no offer from a bigger label. But we hope to get more attention in the future due to the release of "Singular".

2. You play a strange mixture of atmospheric metal with some proggressive elements and lots of Black/Death references. what nbands have influenced you to form your sound?
In some of your songs I really see a resemblance to - my personal favourites - Novembre from Italy and even Opeth. Any comment on that?

Thanx for this compliment, cause being compared with OPETH is really a honour for us - although we know, that compared to them we are really unprofessional . Opeth belongs also to our fave bands. Beside that I think we are more or less influeced by bands like My dying bride, Anathema, old Paradis Lost or Cemetary. But the cause for the wide range of our musical spectrum are all the other bands we are listening to. Our musical faves reach from Wave to Black Metal, Folk, Industrial, Gothic, Rock and Metal in general.
 
3. I realise that you have played lots of gigs so far, with lots of leading Metal acts such as My dying Bride, The Gathering, Night in Gales etc. Have these experiences been helpful for you, in terms of spreading your music to the fans? How was the recent gig you played in Bavaria?

Our last gig was also the first gig for our new members Michael Knöringer (vocals, flute, jew's harp), Arpad Jakap (Bass Guitar) and Christian Löbering (Guitar) and it was a big success for us! We had over 130 guests and the reactions were almost all very enthusiastic. After a concert break of about 1 1/2 years the feeling was nearly like a first gig.
Gigs with bands like My dying bride are always helpful to get more attention, because you have the chance to present your material to a much bigger audiance than normally and because of that gig with MDB we were featured in two big german metal magazines with live reviews. It's also great to play on such a big stage, because the sound engineering is on a much higher level and if you get treated well, everything is perfect!

4. I find your lyrics really interesting. Where do you get inspiration from? Books, etc? Any favourite authors or lyricists?

The song "Nemesis - my childe" for example is directly inspired by Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" but most of the other lyrics are self made storys. It's a little bit hard for me to answer this question, cause I don't write the lyrics for Somber Serenity. Maybe this will change in the future. If I'd write lyrics witch are inspired by books, it would be in the style of H.P. Lovecraft, Algernon Blackwood or August Derleth. I really like this old style of fantasy and horror literature.

5. I've to ask you this because the zine deals with such subjects. Have you got any interest in vampire aethetics (films, music, lifestyle, erotica etc.) and the dark arts?

Yes, I'm interested in "the dark way of living", but it's not so much the vampire asthetics, it's more in the Black Metal direction (more the grim and cold Darkthrone / Satyricon style and not so much the Cradle of Filth style). And when it comes to films, the last two which I've seen were "from hell" and "the others" - two really good films in my opinion.

6. Are you currently working on new material? When is the new album going to be out?

Yes, we are working on new songs - until now we have finished two songs and at the moment we are working on the next ones. If everything works out right we will release a MCD at the end of the year. Beside the new songs we have also rearranged/rewritten the old demo track "Cold Embrace", and maybe we will release this new version on the MCD, too.

7. In "Singular", what does the front cover represent? By seeing the cover, I sensed a connection of that little and desolate rock island with the title "Singular". What is the main concept behind that?

You're right with that connetion! The cover should express "solitude" in a relatively cliché-free style, so we choosed this rock island in a very meagre landscape. We used the titel "singular" because a title like "solitude" would be too obvious. The connection between the cover and the songs of our CD is, that many lyrics deal with solitude and loneliness in some different ways, and the cover is just another perspective of that main concept.

8. From your earlier demo you've got this reference about "Swallowing the sun", which appears in the "Singular" album as well. Any comment on that?

The Song "swallow the sun" deals with the night-conquers-day topic and was /is our hymn to the night! We recorded that song for "Singular" again, cause we think this song belongs to our best ones and therefore it should be on our first CD.

9. OK, these are the questions, Thanks for the interview!!!Any last words or comments?

Thanx for this interview, it's really a honour for us to get attention from greece! Feel free to check out our website under http://www.ofdarkness.de or get in contact with us...

Sinister Divine

Contact:
Nikos Stavridakis
Ethn. Antistaseos 69
74100 Rethymno-Crete
Greece

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