Sathony_Agathodaimon

Lord Pale from the Full Metal Mayhem team pinned down guitarist Sathony from German metallers Agathodaimon. Artwork, vocalists and gothic tinges were discussed.

Hail Sathony thanks for agreeing to this interview. Well alot has changed since 'Rebellion' and yet 'Chapter III' still sounds very much Agathodaimon. The production on Chapter III is a lot sharper and heavier than previously, wasthis due to a bigger recording budget or just something the band aimed for?
[Sathony] We didn't have a bigger budget this time, we just used the money more efficiently. You know, last time we thought it's the best thing to record in Romania, as we wanted to have Vlad in our ranks again. Therefore the whole band hadto pay travel costs, hotel etc, and this time we recorded again in Germany, in a studio that is only 30 km away from our rehearsal room. Therefore we had the possibility also to work on a pre-production, which helped us a lot when we started the final recordings. We knew on which things to focus, and work went along much more fluently than in Romania, where we also had to improvise a little in the studio, and also had to deal with lots of stress. Of course, also the producer here in Germany have more experience with metal-bands, while those in Romania rather are focused on pop or techno.

Please tell me, to clear up the rumours, what is actually happening
with the original vocallist of Agathodaimon? Is he stilling writing material for you? is he with you yet or has he left the band?
[Sathony] Well, we didn't make a secret out of it. I suppose you're talking about Vlad, he's still in the band. But he didn't contribute to Chapter III, the whole album was written and recorded in Germany without him. He's still part of the band and will participate on our next european tour, as well as on the next album.

Also what happened to Byron? Did he not fit into the band or was he
only a session vocallist? I found his vocals incredible on 'Rebellion' and was a little disappointed that he didn't feature on Chapter III.
[Sathony] No, he was only a session vocalist, as he's romanian, too. But we also want to work with him again. But we thought we better feature both, Vlad and Byron, on the next album, as we also want to work with them on the songwriting. Therefore we need enough time to work together, and this wasn't possible this time.

One thing I have always liked about Agathodaimon is the way your music and album covers fit the same mood and all present a similar theme across your three albums. Will this continue in the future and stay as a common theme for Agathodaimon releases?
[Sathony] I don't know, as long as we think the artwork suits the music, everything is possible. I even discovered a drawn cover this time, but another band already took it away before I could get the rights for it. But I think we'll maintain a certain style with every album, artwork and soundwise.

Do you or any of the other members of Agathodaimon see any drastic future changes to the band's sound, as you seem to be moving further into gothic sound scapes on tracks like 'Sacred Divinity' (which sorely misses Byron's vocals) and 'Past Shadows'?
[Sathony] Nooooooo, we don't like gothic bands. I do like melancholic athmospheres sometimes, but not those whimpy gothic bands. Sacred Divinity was an experiment, as Body Of Clay on our secound album was, too. I don't know if there'll be a drastic change in sound, but I'm sure we'll have some more very surprising songs for the future, while we'll maintain our roots on others.

Personally I find your mix of clean and abrasive vocals highly refreshing in your chosen sound and image, as most other bands who try similar ideas are either viking orientated or do it just for the sake of it (token clean vocals). Are there any other rising stars in the field of German blackmetal? and is their style similar to yours?
[Sathony] Hmm I didn't recently discover any really outstanding german newcomer, but to be honest, I didn't pay attention to the underground scene in the past months. Surely there are lots of good bands, but as there are so many newcomer in Germany, it's hard to keep an overview. Anyway, we don't label ourselves black metal, because we're not focused to that style ;)

Before we close off, is there anything you can tell us about the next Agathodaimon release, and what does the future hold for the band?
[Sathony] Well, we're currently working on our european tour with Aeternus, Hecate Enthroned and M�rk Gryning, and then we'll start rehearsing for the next album. There are some interesting ideas which need some time to develop into good songs... but we'll surely don't want to wait another two years before we release the next album. Oh, and if chances are good, we might even do a gig or two in the States this year. Nothing's sure, of course.