Summoning Hellgates Interview

 

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the musical project?

 New Black/Death project coming from Madrid. We know what we want to do and how to execute it, we’re not new to this. Our debut EP, Spear of Conquest, was just released through Osmose last month. 

2.Recently you have released your first full length, can you tell us a little bit more about the musical style that you went for on the recording? 

Trying to describe music with words and labels never does it justice. Everyone should listen and judge for themselves. What we aim to do with Summoning Hellgates is aggressive, violent, frantic black/death with no room to breathe, and with a real sense of structure and composition. I think we’ve already achieved that with our debut (which by the way is technically an EP), but of course there’s still a lot we want to improve and develop in the future. 

3.Both of the band members are also in other bands, what is it that you bring into the music of 'Summoning Hellgates', that you have not been able to do with your other groups? 

A. García comes from a purely death metal background. His previous band SOTA DE BASTOS only released one EP (recently reissued on vinyl by Ixiol Productions), but it’s absolutely crushing. As for me, I come from a predominantly black metal background. So we’re both bringing our experience and previous knowledge to the table while also learning from each other and letting both trajectories collide to create something that feels new for both of us. Personally, it’s my first time composing and playing black/death, so in that sense it’s been a challenge. In many aspects, A. García has set the direction for the band, but I’ve shaped his ideas and pushed Spear of Conquest down the right path to become a competent and worthy debut. Most of the songs start with my riffs, and then A. García throws in his bursts of chaos to push the songs into a more frenzied, unhinged place. It’s been an extremely collaborative process, which is also new for me, as I’m used to writing almost all the music in my other bands.

 4.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band has explored so far with the music?

Most of the lyrics were written by A. García (except for Prisoner of Your Own Flesh, which we wrote together), so he’d be better suited to explain this, but since I’m answering the interview, I’ll try to give you a general overview. I’d say the lyrics are existential and introspective, written in a somewhat abstract, psychedelic and primitive tone, bordering on madness or hysteria. They mix raw and sometimes chaotic reflections about human existence, spiritual decay, identity, hatred and violence. I believe A. García wanted to maintain a certain level of mystery and abstraction, not spelling everything out too clearly, but instead planting the seed of certain ideas through specific phrases and words, leaving space for everyone to interpret. 

5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Summoning Hellgates'?

 The name is pretty self-explanatory, it’s a way of saying we’re invoking violence, destruction, the occult and the corrupt. 

6.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the new album cover?

 As you can see, the cover is a direct reference to the band name. A. García and I shaped the idea of the portal after doing several sketches, and we passed on a rough but detailed concept to our friend Carla from @cardaver.art, who has a lot of experience doing illustration and acrylic painting. She materialized our vision into a truly impressive painting with incredible detail, which I now have hanging in my studio. The combination of that artwork with the logo by Mika / Unholy Designs Art is absolutely brutal. 

7.Currently there are only 2 members in the band, are you open to expanding the line up or do you prefer to remain a duo?

 We’ll probably continue as a duo. We work really well this way, and we’re not particularly interested in anyone else coming in with their ideas or tastes. SUMMONING HELLGATES is the two of us. When we bring the band to a live setting, we’ll work with competent session musicians. And who knows, maybe we’ll manage to assemble a stable live lineup at some point. That’s something we’d definitely like.

8.Can you tell us a little bit more about the masks the band members wear in the promo pics? 

Not much to say, they’re not masks, they’re balaclavas to cover the face. Just an aesthetic and artistic decision, nothing more.

 9.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of black and death metal?

 People around us have responded well, and I’ve seen quite a few positive reviews online. But you’d have to ask the label about sales, that’s the real indicator of how much interest a release is generating. It’s always nice to hear good words, it helps keep you motivated. But to be honest, I don’t really care too much. I’ve been making records with different bands for years and I know when I’ve done a good job, I don’t need anyone patting me on the back. If I put something out, it’s because I believe it’s worth it. And this is the case with Spear of Conquest. I know it’s a strong release, regardless of the reaction. 

10.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

 We still need to get our shit together and sit down seriously to start working on our next release. These things are done with the guitar in hand, spending many hours. But we’ve already talked about it and we have some ideas of what we want to change and what we want to keep. Overall, we’re pretty satisfied with the sound of Spear of Conquest and we don’t plan to change it too much, we just want to refine and sharpen it for a full-length. The project is still very new and we’ve got a long road ahead and a lot of ideas to explore. 

11.What are some of the bands or musical styles the band members are currently listening to nowadays?

We’re both the kind of people who are constantly listening to new bands and new albums. We really don’t relate at all to those types who’ve been listening to the same ten records for decades. That’s just absurd to us. Personally, I could mention bands like Adversarial, Black Curse, Katharsis, Proscription, Of Feather and Bone, Azarath… In the last few days I’ve been listening to the new Perdition Temple and Abominator records. A few months back I liked the debut by Osgraef, etc. 

12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts? 

Thanks for your interest in SUMMONING HELLGATES. S. Augusto

https://bfan.link/SUMMONING-HELLGATES-Spear-of-Conquest