1. Serement starts up around the year 2022, what made you want to create the band? Why did you choose the name Serement and what does it refer to?
Our relentless thirst for the extreme music was the key to create this band. Serement means pledge, means oath. Also, if you write it with a “C” instead of an “S” means something else (you can look for it, hahaha)... We chose this name because we like both terms.
2. Shortly after creating the band you released the EP “Deviation from God”, which you have recently continued with the album “Abhorrent Invocations”, how has the writing and recording process of this first album been? What has changed? Regarding the sound of the Ep? What brands of instruments have you used the process?
The process of writing was pretty much the same with the EP. Manolis (guitar) wrote all the guitar parts of the songs and in the rehearsing room we composed the drums the bass and the vocals. After many hours of rehearsing, we hit the studio (different from the first record) and we recorded every instrument separately. We knew we wanted a bigger and brighter sound compared to the EP so we chose another studio and it was a process that took us much longer than before. We used Pearl for the drums, Ibanez for the guitars and the Warwick for the bass.
3. The members of Serement have a past linked to death metal bands, something that is present in the sound of the new album, with a blackdeath style, how would you describe the sound of the album for those who have not heard it yet? What bands and styles are influences for you when composing music for Serement?
Yes, we are linked to Blessed By Perversion mostly (the ¾ of Serement) and our drummer plays also with Sickening Horror.
We’d describe the sound as aggresive, violent & heavy. The production is very solid and tight.
We listen to a lot of music. Death and black metal mostly. Bands as Morbid Angel, Nile, Deicide, Angelcorpse, Belphegor are some of our influences, I think...
4. Going back a little about your style and influences, going from being a Greek band, with everything that your country has contributed to the development of black metal, your influences seem to be more linked to the Polish or Scandinavian black death bands of the nineties, what can you tell us about Polish or Swedish death and how it has influenced you?
Although it's a very big one polish death and black metal scene is not particularly the main influence for our music. On the other hand, bands from Norway or Sweden that take the black metal sound and put it in a more aggressive and death metal perspective are closer to our influences. 1349 or Myrkskog have a significant influence in our sound. Apart from that the great US death metal scene is also a heavy influence. Bands like Immolation and Incantation are some of the names that influenced us the most. At the end of the day though everyone perceives your music differently so the Polish scene is something that we have to consider listening more in the future because we've heard this comment a lot (hahaha).
5. As for the lyrics, you cover themes related to death, war, blasphemy, etc., themes not far from the standards of the genre, why do you deal with these themes? Do you think they are themes inherent to the style you practice? Who is in charge of writing the lyrics for the songs?
We deal with every theme that concerns us, makes us aware, makes us angry etc… Our inspiration is the life around us, the society & the world. Sometimes though, our lyrics can be influenced by stories, myths or even movies and novels that we admire.
6. You have worked at the Ignite Music Studio with George Christoforidis, at what point did you decide to work with him for the recording aspect of the album? What do you think his work has contributed to the final result of the album?
We were looking for a studio to record the album and we found George and Ignite Music Studio by chance, to be honest. After a bit of research and some recommendations from other bands we also found out that it was the most relevant studio to record because other big death metal albums came out from the studio in the resent past years. George immediately understood what we wanted the album to sound like and as a big death metal fan himself, he put his very best and his whole professionalism to help us record. Mixing and mastering was very on point and we are very happy about the results, so George played a big role in the end result and the whole production.
7. Misanthropic-Art has done the art-work for the album, why did you choose to work with them? What does the cover represent and how does it relate to the content of the album?
We chose to work with him because we follow Misanthropic-Art for many years and we knew his works and the quality of them. We wanted to raise our standards with this release and we think we picked a very nice artist for our artwork, in order to achieve it.
The cover has a double meaning. More literally is a horror cover as you can see, inspired by different movies and paintings. There is a hellish environment with bodies trapped there eternally with a dark figure above them which clearly reigns this place. The other meaning, the more metaphorical one, links the aforementioned scene with society and the oppression it receives daily from all kinds of higher power.
You can find correlations with the dynamic and the feeling of the whole album and the lyrics, of course, in each track.
8. Dolorem Records and Iron, Blood and Death Corporation have been in charge of the physical editions of the album, with Iron, Blood and Death Corporation you had already worked on the cassette edition of the Ep, however you have incorporated Dolerem Records for the edition in Album CD, how did you deal with having to work with a couple of record labels to release the album?
We communicated with both labels very easily. In this day and age where the prices are very high it was a good deal for both of them to cooperate for a full release package. Dolorem Records released the CD version of the album, Iron, Blood and Death Corporation will release the cassette version and both will release the LP version later this year.
9. I previously commented on the musical wealth of Greece and the influence it has left on later black metal bands. As Greek musicians, how do you think this legacy could have influenced you? What does the extreme metal scene look like from the inside? from your country?
Greece is a country that has a very strong art scene in general, music, cinema, literature etc. The big problem is that the government rarely helps especially when we talk about extreme metal, things are even more difficult for the bands and the musicians so pretty much everyone, even the bigger bands when they started their career, have to do everything on their own. This alone makes music something that we do because we really love it and we’re not obliged by anyone. So, to answer the question the biggest influence, is that as long as you love what you do and do a hard work to achieve your goals, good things will come. Apart from that we see ourselves as a small piece in the bigger structure of the Greek metal scene.
10. Do you already have some dates closed to present the album live? What can your followers expect from a concert of yours? Which similar bands would you like to go on tour with?
Yes, we already have to gigs booked and we will present our album there. We like to be very on point with our performances so no special effects whatsoever we just go on stage we play our songs straight to your face and that's it (hahaha). We let the music and our energy do the job. Perfect lineup for a tour would be with any band we loved listening to as kids. It would be a dream come true.
11. How were your beginnings in music: first concerts you attended, first albums you bought? What happened in your lives that pushed you to want to be musicians?
First metal concert we ever attendant was Iron Maiden back in 2005 here in Greece. First albums were also Iron Maiden, Metallica, Iced Earth and stuff like that that were popular at the time. Wanting to mimic and recreate the sound of those bands was a big enough motive for us to play music and as the years went by, music became a way to express our personal beliefs and feelings.
12. What album represents for you the essence of black metal? What latest albums have you bought?
De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas from Mayhem is the ultimate black metal album in our opinion. Last album purchase was Vanquish in Vengeance by Incantation.
13. Thank you very much for taking the time to answer these questions for Black Metal Spirit, if you want to add something for Serement followers this is the place. I hope the questions are to your liking.
We would like to thank Black Metal Spirit and all of our fans and followers all over the world that support us from our first days in the scene. Also, for the new fans that will come and hopefully enjoy our perspective and vision in music.
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Imperial Triumphant – Spirit Of Ecstasy 46,99 €
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