Embedded Files
Music Interview: SEPTIC FLESH
SEPTIC FLESH
English Version:
ANCIENT DAEMONS
- Exclusive interview with SEPTIC FLESH
by Demogorgon
Done in April 2003
Will be published on the 2nd issue of Dragonland Magazine
It is wonderful to get an opportunity to do an interview with Septic Flesh! Sumerian Daemons is such a great album that I love it quite, take my congratulations!! Please tell us something about Greek Extreme Music Metal scene first, Necromantia, Rotting Christ, Varathron...
Sotiris V.: Although we hail from a small country like Greece there is a lot of talent and strong will on the bands here to create their own sound and prevail. After a lot and continuous effort, the Greek scene has been put on the European metal map and this is important. But of course the work must continue and new good bands must arise.
Is there a great union among Greek Metal community?
Sotiris V.: We have no conflicts with the other bands if this is what you mean. Fortunately the majority of Greek metal musicians realize that the wider success of a Greek band brings the attention of the foreign labels distributors, magazines and wider scene in general, on Greece and so it is something to be praised and not envied.
Septic Flesh is one of Greek Metal pioneers without any doubt, but many people cannot understand why you sing Greek Myths less and less while many other bands write songs for your ancient Gods and heroes - Manowar, Virgin Steele... Is it because it is not Dark enough to fit for the moniker - Septic Flesh? We all remember your first mini-LP Temple of the Lost has strong connection to the dark side of Greek Mythology.
Sotiris V.: Well, although the references on Greek Mythology have been lessened, the treasures of the ancient Greek philosophy are always present. In fact the title of the new album has an ancient Greek word that infiltrated to a lot of foreign languages, the word Daemon. In Greek mythology the daemons were invisible beings appointed by Zeus to every mortal to attend to, protect and guide. In the general sense, the word had the meaning of the spirit and of the expertise on matters of knowledge. Now, why the meaning was distorted through the ages into something negative and fearsome is something that deserves a lot of discussion. Some paths of knowledge have been kept secret and labelled forbidden for a reason. In Sumerian Daemons we praise the restless minds that dare to open all doors of knowledge.
I think I understand you mean well – since my pseudonym has the form of a derivative of “δήμος” and “γοργός”. Does “Daemon” have exact connection with “Demo-“? So I am not agree with the viewpoint of it is only a corruption of δημονγός… Can you tell me if and how the great work of Scholiasts like Boccaccio or Ariosto influence your music?
Sotiris V.: Ariosto's work was the most celebrated of the Italian Renaissance and not without a reason. He is simply great! And of course Boccaccio besides being the creator of great books as the "Decameron", is considered as one of the earliest humanist. However, although I am aware of their work I can’t consider them as an inspiration to my work, at least as a conscious inspiration. As for the words δήμος and δαείμον (daemon) there is no apparent connection. Your nickname is a good example of how Gnostic theology in order to support its dualistic theory of good versus evil stigmatised demiourgos (meaning in Greek the artisan), the creator of the material world as someone evil by nature. They used Demogorgon, an ancient Greek name again in Latin “clothing”, as the means to built a scapegoat. Demogorgon was according to myth a deity so dreadful that it was forbidden to know its existence and whose very name was capable of producing the most horrible effects… It is interesting to note that if you translate the words demo and gorgon separately you will have the rough meaning of: people / monster. In fact gorgon’s head alone (the gorgoneion) became a symbol to frighten, or protect…
Why Septic Flesh sings so much about Sumerian Mythology this time? Is it because Sumerian culture is the most ancient culture as far as we know?
Sotiris V.: Exactly. The Sumerians, besides their general accomplishments that raised them way above the other human tribes at the same era, possessed an increased amount of knowledge on matters of science. If you do a little research you will be amazed from what you will learn about this civilization. In addition, I always had a great interest for the Sumerian mythology, for it is an obvious inspiration to the writer of the infamous book of Necronomicon.
Yeah, it is unbelievable for such an ancient culture to invented lens and battery! Melechesh is another good example when we talk about this, am I right? How do you see other bands’ music about Sumerian subject? Absu, Morbid Angel (especially their Formulas Fatal to the Flesh album), Kataklysm and etc. Which side Septic Flesh stands? Tiamat or Marduk?
Sotiris V.: There are a lot of implications dictating that Enuma Elish is indeed the epic of creation but from a planetary point of view. If you take Tiamat and Marduk as celestial bodies it is silly to pick a side between them. However there are more than one attributes to the names and symbols. In that case you can say that I resonate with the symbol of the dragon Tiamat.
It is embarrassing for me to ask the next question - how do you see there are almost no bands write songs for ancient Chinese culture or mythology?
Our Middle-Kingdom definitely deserves to write... although it is not so old as Sumerian culture. I remember Angelcorpse write one song for the great Mongolia conqueror, but in the mean time they said it is a bit far from the regular song topic. How do you see it? Because it is not Dark or not worth writing for?
Sotiris V.: I think that the main reason is that the educational system of our countries focuses on the achievements of few specific civilizations. There is lack of available information and motive to learn about your civilization. Unfortunately, most people and of course metal artists "know" as much about ancient China as what they have seen in movies or what they have read in best selling novels. So, simply there is not an in depth awareness or emotional connection to the specific topic to write a song.
So do you think read and study are very important for musicians to write great songs that could be classics? But it seems that more and more youngsters do not want music too deep and complex – they only need music to be a form of entertainment. Do you want to raise a warning finger?
Sotiris V.: I know quite a few bands that don’t read or study and yet they still make classic songs. The most important is to put the authentic power of your emotions and thoughts to your songs. And of course each musician has its own view on life and about what is important to him or not. I am not a preacher to raise a warning finger on people and tell them what to listen to and how to treat music. This is their choice alone. I have made my own choices and I am proud for them.
I just learn that a Brazil Heavy Metal band TUATHA DE DANANN released a Celtic album Tingaralatingadun. How do you see it? Is it necessary for a band only to focus on their own country or culture?
Sotiris V.: Of course not. There is no point in restricting your self without having any logical reason to do so. An open mind can enjoy the pleasures of art culture and knowledge beyond regional limits.
Concerning Revolution DNA, the music of Septic Flesh steps into the realm of the 4th chapter of Hellraiser - ancient demons in modern days and future days. How do you see Biochemistry and how do you decide to bind modern technology with ancient mythology? (I can tell you Biochemistry was my major!:))
Sotiris V.: If you think about it, man now has more power available in comparison to the powers attributed to most of the ancient Gods. Scientists search and utilise the hidden order that exists behind cosmos in order to manifest a specific effect (under Will) into reality. The same goes for authentic magicians. True magic is not Hocus Pocus and the superstitious nonsense that most so-called magicians believe to. This is just self-delusion. Knowledge is the key that opens the doors of power and there is a reason behind every cause.
Can I say “perfect science”=”magick”? Frankly, I always agree with this thought. DNA has too many similarities to the serpent in various ancient cultures and belief systems. Then how do you see genetic and clone technology? Should we sop our search at the gates of unknown?
Sotiris V.: George Z. arrived on the band to handle the keyboards for our live shows. He helped the band in our Revolution Dna tour and we decided to keep him on board. However, he had no input on the recording sessions of Sumerian Daemons as Chris was again responsible for the parts and arrangements and Spiros was behind the samplers.
Spiros A. (best called Set<'h> now?), why did he choose to change his pseudonym?
Sotiris V.: Spiros besides being the growling voice and the bassist of the band works as a painter and artist. He is behind the artwork and covers of a lot of other bands under the pseudonym Set<'h>. Finally he decided to adopt his nickname on Septic Flesh also.
Egyptian culture also influenced Septic Flesh, could you unveil some secrets here?
Sotiris V.: From my younger age I was attracted from the mystery and enigma behind the ancient civilizations. I started studding the Hellenic that it was the first and most easily available to me as besides being Greek, my mother is a teacher of ancient history and ancient Greek language. Then after a lot of research I found a strange “link” and followed it. The trails I was after were leading backwards passing through Egypt and then to Sumer…
So Egypt is a part of the “chain”.
With the time passed, Doom elements are less important while atmosphere became the point Septic Flesh think the most, do you agree with me?
Sotiris V.: The evolution of our albums comes out naturally. The most important for us is to make good songs no mater if they are doom, fast or mid tempo. Sumerian Daemons has a lot of fast paced songs because we just missed the ultra blast speeds and so here they are.
I think both slow parts and the blasting beats can create great atmosphere, this is also why Septic Flesh is one of my favourites – never boring. How do you think of those bands that beat the drum from the first second to the very last?
Sotiris V.: Personally I cannot listen to a whole album containing songs played in the same speed. After three or four of songs I am getting really bored as the monotony of the rhythm prevails, putting on the background whatever good musical element the song has. But that is just my case.
The intro of "Behold... the Land of Promise" reflects the main title of The Omen's soundtrack, right? What's your original thought?
Sotiris V.: We wanted a strong and dark song for the beginning of the album and Chris composed the "Behold... the Land of Promise". He listens a lot to soundtrack music and probably he had the hellish atmosphere of Omen as an inspiration for the specific song.
Hellraiser must be a main inspiration for Alahouzos Brothers and Septic Flesh doing the artwork, am I right? Can you tell us how you meet them and how the main idea of the artwork created?
Sotiris V.: Our drummer Akis made the contact with Alahouzos bros. As he works as a movie critic in magazines, he had the chance to meet them in person and find out that they listen to old bands like Deep Purple and Black Sabbath. Of course he didn't missed the opportunity to ask them if they would like to collaborate with Septic Flesh. They were positive. They are professional FX artists in Greece and they work appears in a lot of local movies, advertisements and TV- serials. But their deepest love is science fiction, horror movies. When we actually met them, we spent a lot of time talking about our favourite splatter moments in movies as The 7 th Gate of Hell or Brain Dead. Finally, they created the background for the photo shooting under the directions of Seth. They were also responsible for the make up of the band and the model. We wanted to have this movie atmosphere to our artwork, as our music has a lot of parts that could easily fit to a soundtrack. Hellraiser is indeed a movie that comes in mind when you see the pictures, especially as the band members are looking ready to become Cenobites surrounded from all these hooks and long nails.
Could you talk about what horror films done to your music? I notice there is more and more draw influence from the well of thrillers nowadays. (Iced Earth is a good case in point maybe.)
Sotiris V.: On Sumerian Daemons we used some samples from horror movies in two songs. You can hear some lines from the movie "The book of the Dead"(Evil Dead) on the song Unbeliever and the voice of Vincent Price on the song Faust. It was an idea of Akis again. If you meet him you will say that he is a very quiet and polite person. However he is probably sicker than all the other band members together. He is spending a fortune to collect memorabilia from old horror movies and he is a dedicated fan of the Italian Horror master Dario Argento.
Now, Cradle of Filth has Cradle of Fear and Necrophagia has See through the Eyes of the Dead. Does Septic Flesh have any plan to make a film?
Sotiris V.: To make a movie you need first someone to invest some money on it. If we find someone interested, it would be grate to participate in a movie as our music has a lot of film elements.
Somebody don't like the second album of Chaostar, they also think Natalie Rassoulis' voice is too operatic and too classical to fit for an Extreme Metal band. They just see Metal is a kind of music for savages and her performance only can be a part of classical music group. How do you think about this viewpoint?
Sotiris V.: Obviously I don't share this point of view and to tell you the truth we never heard complains about the operatic singing of Natalie. On the contrary we had some complains for the absence of Natalie on Revolution Dna. Her voice is simply extraordinary. And Metal always flirted with classical music. From Deep Purple to Celtic Frost and Metallica, there are a lot of cases indicating that metal music and classical music make a very interesting marriage. It is only a mater of taste, either you like it or not. As for Chaostar it is definitely not a metal band. It is a project that experiments solely on orchestral - soundtrack music.
I think some of they are the ones who constantly against Metal and Classical music come together – They only see Metal as an offspring of Jazz and Blues. Narrow-minded… But others fall into a pit of “concepts”. They mistake “Good” as some other words, such as “Evil”, “Good”, “Aggressive”, “Smooth”, “Dark”, “Light”… We know that “Good” has different meaning to different people, so do you want everyone had better leave this word alone and never use any other concept to replace it? Which word is “good” to Septic Flesh?
Sotiris V.: Sometimes the dream of someone is the nightmare of another… For us whatever gives us pleasure, makes as stronger and dosen’t harm us is good.
Btw, there is a critic (http://www.murkyart.net/dormant/chaostar.htm) said that Threnody is “Tasteless and lose the direction of music”, the last track “Mantis” is a “Septic Flesh-version of Musique by Theatre of Tragedy, too popular and too commercial”. The reviewer claims there are less sinister and evil elements in Threnody, but I doubt if he knows what the song titles mean well.
Sotiris V.: Ha! When I read such reviews I don’t know if I must be angry or laugh.
Please say something to your Chinese fans at last! All the best! I know SF is also Science Fiction! Bring revolution and Metal Spirit with new idea!!
Sotiris V.: Open the gates to the Daemon inside you!
Chinese Version:
魔 神 人
——独家专访希腊黑暗金属乐团SEPTIC FLESH
被采访者：乐团吉它手、歌词创作者及清声主唱Sotiris Vayenas
采访及文字：Demogorgon
浪漫主义的希腊，不仅仅诞生了一个伟大的古老文明，无数学者与诗人，还有黑暗金属：ROTTING CHRIST（腐烂的基督），NECROMANTIA（死灵术），NIGHTFALL（夜幕降临），VARATHRON（深渊）……其中，组建于1990年的SEPTIC FLESH（被感染的躯体，解散重组后已经改名为SEPTIC FLESH）凭借七张专辑当仁不让地成为中坚力量之一。他们将黑暗金属混合上原声音景，纷繁复杂得让人迷乱；他们定义的声音为其它乐团打开了一扇诗意的大门，到那门后，你将直面自己的内心。借助《苏美尔魔神》（Sumerian Daemons）的发表，我获得了深入采访SEPTIC FLESH的机会。
Demogorgon：首先祝贺你们新作发表，请介绍一下希腊极端金属圈子的情况吧。
Sotiris V.：尽管我们来自于一个希腊这样的小国，这里依然有着大量天才和有力的乐团，他们创造自己的声音并且获得胜利。大量持续的努力之后，希腊圈子已经被放到了欧洲金属地图上，这很重要。但是当然，工作必须继续下去，也必须要有新的好乐团起来。
Demogorgon：希腊金属圈子的关系如何？
Sotiris V.：我们和其它乐团没有冲突。幸运的是希腊金属音乐家们大多数都意识到希腊乐团的广泛成功通常带来外国发行商和更广阔的前景，在希腊这通常都会获得称赞而非妒忌。
Demogorgon：SEPTIC FLESH毫无疑问是希腊金属先锋之一，但是很多人不能理解为什么你们越来越少地歌唱希腊神话，而与此同时，非常多的乐团为你们的古老神祗与英雄写下为数众多的歌曲——例如MANOWAR（战士）、VIRGIN STEELE（白钢）……原因是否在于这些内容不够黑暗，以至于无法适合于你们的团名？我们都记得你们的首张作品《失落的神殿》（Temple of the Lost）与希腊神话的阴暗面有着强烈的联系。
Sotiris V.：好的，尽管希腊神话的参照减少了，古希腊哲学的宝藏一直都在展现。实际上新专辑的标题就有一个渗透进入很多外国语言的古希腊词语，“魔神（Daemon）”。在希腊神话里，魔神是被宙斯指定的陪伴、保护和守卫每个凡人的看不到的生物。一般意义上，这个词具有对于心灵有专业知识的意味。现在，为什么这一含义被世世代代的扭曲而成为了一些负面的可怕的东西呢？这值得花很多时间去讨论。某些知识的路径已经成为了秘密，或是出于某些原因被贴上了禁止入内的标签。在《苏美尔魔神》里，我们赞颂那些敢于打开一些知识大门的不愿沉眠的思想。
Demogorgon：我想我明白你的意思。因为我的笔名是由“δήμος（人）”和“γοργός（可怕的）”派生而来。“δαείμον（Daemon，魔神）”是否与“δήμος（Demo-，人）”有关？我并不同意它只是“δημιουργός（Demiourgos，物质世界的创造者）”的讹传。
Sotiris V.：关于δήμος和δαείμον，没有明显的联系。你的笔名是个很好的例子，说明了诺斯替教派力图支持他们善恶对抗的二元论而丑化物质世界的创造者δημιουργός（希腊语意为“工匠”）为本性邪恶的存在的努力。他们再次使用拉丁语“包装”了Demogorgon这一古希腊的名号，就是为了创造一只替罪羊。根据神话，Demogorgon是一位如此可怕的神祗，以至于被禁止知道它的存在，这一名字能造成最可怕的结果……有趣的是注意到假如你分开翻译demo和gorgon，会得到“人/怪物”的粗糙含义。实际上单单gorgon的头（gorgoneion）已经成为威吓或者守护的标志……
Demogorgon：像乔万尼•薄伽丘（Giovanni Boccaccio）或者卢多维可•阿里奥斯托（Ludovico Ariosto）的作家都提到过Demogorgon的含义，能否说说他们的伟大作品是否或是如何影响到你们的音乐的吗？
Sotiris V.：阿里奥斯托的作品毫无疑问是意大利文艺复兴期间最出名的作品。简单地说，他很伟大！而当然，薄伽丘不只是伟大如《十日谈》（Decameron）的作者，还被认为是最早的人本主义者之一。但是，尽管我很关注他们的作品，我并不将其视作我的作品的灵感，至少不是有意地作为启迪。
Demogorgon：为什么在这张专辑里SEPTIC FLESH唱了那么多苏美尔神话？是否是由于苏美尔文明是我们目前所知世界上最为古老的文明？
Sotiris V.：当然。苏美尔人，在总体成就让他们超越同时期其他人类种族之外，还拥有关于科学问题的大量知识。如果做一些研究，你将会惊讶于自己能从这一文明中学到些什么。此外，我一直对苏美尔神话有很大兴趣，因为那对《亡灵书》（Necronomicon）这本著名书籍的作者有着显而易见的启迪。
Demogorgon：是的，那么古老的一个文明竟然已经发明了透镜和电池确实难以置信！MELECHESH是另外一个例子，你怎么看其它以苏美尔题材创作音乐的乐团？ABSU（阿卜苏）、KATAKLYSM（巨变，早期）、MORBID ANGEL[病态天使，尤其是他们的第六张专辑《给予肉体的致命公式》（Formulas Fatal to the Flesh）]等等。SEPTIC FLESH会站在哪一方？蒂阿迈特（Tiamat）一方还是玛杜克（Marduk）一方？
Sotiris V.：有很多关于相关作品写到《埃奴玛•埃立什》（Enuma Elish，古巴比伦-阿卡德创世神话）确实是创世史诗，可那只是从现世的观点而言。假如你把蒂阿迈特和玛杜克看成是宇宙实体，那么在他们中间选择一方就显得傻了。但是那名号和标志不只有一种属性。那么看来你能说我和巨龙蒂阿迈特的标志有着共鸣。
Demogorgon：我有点惭愧地问下面这个问题：几乎没有乐团就中国古代文化和神话写歌，尽管我们古老的中央帝国（Middle-Kingdom）绝对值得去写——虽然并不像苏美尔文明那么古老。我记得ANGELCORPSE（天使之尸）曾经为伟大的蒙古征服者写过一首歌，但是同时他们说那与寻常的歌曲主题相去甚远。你怎么看？是否是因为不够阴暗而不值得写？
Sotiris V.：我认为主要原因在于我们这些国家的教育体系关注于少数几个特定文明所达到的成就。缺乏关于你们的文明的信息和动机。不幸的是，大多数人，当然也包括金属艺术家们就古代中国“知道的”仅限于他们曾在电影和畅销小说上看到的那么多。所以，没有深层次的关注或是情感联系来就这一特殊题材写歌。
Demogorgon：你认为阅读和学习对于音乐家写出精彩的经典作品十分重要？但是似乎有越来越多的年轻人希望音乐不要太深奥复杂——他们只是需要“娱乐”的音乐。是否需要就此提出一定警示？
Sotiris V.：我知道没几支乐队不需要读书和学习却能写出经典歌曲的。最重要的是把你的情感和思想里的可信力量做到你的歌曲之中去。当然，每位音乐家都有他自己的人生观，什么对他重要而什么不重要。我不是一个提出警示，告诉人们该听什么以及如何对待音乐的传教士。这是他们自己的选择。我做出了我自己的选择，而且我对做出这些选择感到自豪。
Demogorgon：我新近得知一支巴西重金属乐团TUATHA DE DANANN[爱尔兰女神达努（Danu）的人们]发表了一张凯尔特专辑《矮人叛乱》（Tingaralatingadun）。一支乐团是否必须要专注于他们自己国家的文化呢？
Sotiris V.：当然不必。如果没有任何逻辑的话，没必要限制你自己。一个开放的思想可以享受艺术超越地域限制的乐趣与知识。
Demogorgon：看回《解放DNA》（Revolution DNA），SEPTIC FLESH的音乐踏进了地狱《魔鬼复活》（Hellraiser）的第四部——古老的魔鬼到了现代和未来。你如何看待生化技术的？又是如何将现代技术与远古神话结合到了一起？
Sotiris V.：如果你思考这一问题，人类现在已经拥有了比认为是大多数古代神祗的特征的更大的力量。科学家们寻找利用宇宙背后隐藏的秩序，以在现实里证明一个（意愿之中的）特殊效果。真正的魔法师们也是这样的。真正的魔法不是《女巫也疯狂》（Hocus Pocus）和大多数所谓的魔法师相信的迷信的荒唐事。这是一种自我欺骗。知识才是打开力量之门的钥匙，在任何动机后面都有着理由。
Demogorgon：也许“完美的科学”=“魔法”？坦率而言，我一向持有这一观点。在不同的远古文明和信仰体系中，DNA（脱氧核糖核酸）都与蛇有着太多的相似之处。你对基因和克隆技术怎么看？我们是否应该在未知的大门前踌躇不前呢？
Sotiris V.：我鼓励对我们有利的扩展可能性的范围的努力。基因操作与克隆技术的研究正在打开力量之门。获得新的力量没有任何错误。但是当然，我们也必须接受这些力量带给观看者的责任。
Demogorgon：更广阔的情绪，更流畅的编曲，我最近一直在听《苏美尔魔神》。注意到新键盘手George Z.的表现，讲讲关于队型的事！
Sotiris V.：George Z.是为了我们的现场演出而加入乐团负责键盘的。他在我们的《解放DNA》巡演中帮了不少忙，于是我们决定把他留在台上。但是，在《苏美尔魔神》的录音期间他没有输入什么，因为这次还是Chris负责创作和编曲，Spiros负责采样。
Demogorgon：Spiros A.（也许现在最好称呼他Set<'h>？）为什么换了艺名？
Sotiris V.：在乐团的吼声主唱和贝司手之外，Spiros还是名画家和艺术家。他以艺名Set<'h>为很多乐团做设计和封套。最终他决定在SEPTIC FLESH里也采用这一艺名。
Demogorgon：埃及文化也影响到了SEPTIC FLESH，能透露点秘密联系吗？
Sotiris V.：很小的时候我就受到古代文明背后的神话与迷题所吸引。我最开始研习的是希腊文明，不但因为这是作为一个希腊人最容易的，还因为我的母亲是一名古代历史和古希腊语的教师。然后在大量研究后我找到了一条奇怪的“联系”，跟随着它，这条轨迹引领着我追溯到了埃及，然后就是苏美尔……所以，埃及是“链条”的一部分。
Demogorgon：随着时光流逝，厄运元素有所缩减，氛围成了SEPTIC FLESH最优先考虑的一点，是这样吗？
Sotiris V.：我们的专辑的进化是自然而然发生的。对我们最重要的是写出好歌，而不管它们是厄运的、快的还是中速的。《苏美尔魔神》有大量高速的歌曲，是因为我们怀念那超级的速度，于是就这样了。
Demogorgon：我认为慢速的部分和爆炸性的鼓击都能创造出精彩的氛围，这也是SEPTIC FLESH吸引我的原因之一——永不生厌。让我们假想那些把鼓从头打到尾的乐队……
Sotiris V.：个人而言我没有办法听一张歌曲速度不变的专辑。三到四首歌曲之后，单调的节奏就会胜利地让我非常厌烦，不论里面有多好的音乐元素也只能做背景音乐。当然，这只是就我个人而言。
Demogorgon：“看啊……应许之地（Behold... the Land of Promise）”的前奏映射出《凶兆》（The Omen）的电影配乐，你们最初的想法是这样吗？
Sotiris V.：我们想写一首有力的黑暗歌曲做专辑开头，Chris就创作了“看啊……应许之地”。他听很多电影配乐，可能把《凶兆》地狱般的氛围作为了那首歌曲的一个灵感来源。
Demogorgon：在Alahouzos兄弟和你们制作封套时，《魔鬼复活》一定是个重要的启迪。你们如何与他们合作的呢？设计的主要构思是怎么来的？
Sotiris V.：我们的鼓手Akis联系到的Alahouzos兄弟。因为他在一本杂志上写影评，他就有机会与他们面对面会晤，之后发现他们听些像DEEP PURPLE（深紫）和BLACK SABBATH（黑色安息日）的乐团。当然，他没有浪费机会询问他们是否愿意与SEPTIC FLESH合作。回答是肯定的。他们是希腊专业的特效制作师，为很多国产影片、广告和电视连续剧工作。但是他们最爱的是科幻和恐怖片。当我们与他们会晤时，我们花了很多时间谈论我们最喜欢的片段，例如《地狱七门》（The 7th Gate of Hell）和《群尸玩过界》（Braindead）。最后，他们在Set<'h>执导下创作了照片背景。他们还负责乐团和模特的化妆。我们想让我们的封套设计有一种电影化的氛围，因为我们的音乐有很多部分很轻易地就能适合于一部电影配乐。《魔鬼复活》就是你在看到这些画面时想到的电影，尤其是乐团成员在那些铁钩和长钉围绕下看起来似乎就要成为切割会的修道士。
Demogorgon：能讲讲恐怖片和你们的音乐的关系吗？我注意到当下越来越多的乐团从恐怖片里获得影响[也许ICED EARTH（冰封大地）是个很好的例子]。
Sotiris V.：在《苏美尔魔神》的两首歌里我们用了一些来自恐怖电影的采样。你能在歌曲“非信徒（Unbeliever）”里听到一些电影《亡灵书/鬼玩人》（The Book of the Dead，The Evil Dead） 里的一些片段，在歌曲“浮士德（Faust）”里则是文森特•普雷斯（Vincent Price）的声音。这也是Akis的主意。如果你遇见他的话，你能说他是个非常安静的人，彬彬有礼。但是他可能比乐团里其他成员加在一起都更病态。他花了很多钱去收集老恐怖片的记录，而且他是意大利恐怖大师达里欧•阿吉恩图（Dario Argento）的忠实影迷。
Demogorgon：现在CRADLE OF FILTH（污秽摇篮）拍了《恐惧的摇篮》（Cradle of Fear），NECROPHAGIA（食腐）拍了《透过死人的双眼》（See through the Eyes of the Dead）。SEPTIC FLESH有没有拍摄电影的计划？
Sotiris V.：拍一部电影首先需要有人投资。如果我们找到感兴趣的人，参与一部电影一定很好，因为我们的音乐里有着大量的电影元素。
Demogorgon：有人并不喜欢SEPTIC FLESH分支CHAOSTAR（混沌之星）的第二张专辑，他们还认为Natalie Rassoulis的声音太歌剧化、太古典化，并不适合于一支极端金属乐团。他们只是把金属看成是一种野人的音乐，Natalie的演绎只能属于古典音乐团体。你怎么看这种观点？
Sotiris V.：显然我并持这种观点，告诉你一个事实，我们从来没听到过任何关于Natalie的歌剧唱法的抱怨。与之相反，我们接到过一些关于Natalie在《解放DNA》历代缺席的抱怨。简单地说，她的声音卓越非凡。而金属一直都是与古典音乐若即若离的。从DEEP PURPLE到CELTIC FROST（凯尔特人的霜冻）和METALLICA（金属），有大量例子指出金属音乐和古典音乐有着非常有趣的联姻。这只是个口味的问题，你喜欢或者不喜欢。谈到CHAOSTAR，它绝对不是一支金属乐团。它只是一个管弦乐-电影配乐的实验计划。
Demogorgon：我想他们中间一部分人一直反对金属和古典音乐的结合——因为他们只是把金属看成是爵士和蓝调的后裔。狭隘的思想……但是还有些人是掉进了“概念”的深渊，他们将“好的”误解为一些其它的词语，例如“邪恶”、“真的”、“激进”、“流畅”、“阴暗”、“光明”……而我们知道“好的”对不同的人有着不同的含义，那么你是否希望大家最好抛开词语的含义，永远也不用其它概念去替代“好的”呢？对于SEPTIC FLESH而言，什么才是“好的”？
Sotiris V.：有时一些人的美梦正是其他人的噩梦……对我们而言，给我们带来乐趣的，让我们强大的，而且不会伤害到我们的就是好的。
Demogorgon：顺便说一下，我在很多地方都看到一篇关于CHAOSTAR的评论（最早来自于http://www.murkyart.net/dormant/chaostar.htm），里面写到《哀歌》（Threnody）是“最大的感觉是平淡.chaostar好像忽然失去了音乐上追求的方向”，最后一首歌“预言者（Mantis）”“简直是Septic Flesh版的THEATRE OF TRAGEDY电气金属新专辑Musique:(.太流行与媚俗了……”。这位评论者宣称《哀歌》“没有了铺天盖地的嚣张邪恶”，但是我对他是否能理解歌曲标题表示怀疑。
Sotiris V.：哈！当我读到这样的评论的时候我不知道是该愤怒还是大笑。
Demogorgon：最后请对你们的中国乐迷们说点什么。SF不只是SEPTIC FLESH的缩写，还是科幻（Science Fiction）！为进化和金属精神带来新的想法！
Sotiris V.：打开通往你内心魔神的大门！
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