Sartegos Interview

1.Can you give us an update on what is going on with the band these days?
Hello, these days I'm working on new tracks for a future split with Balmog and any future releases that may come next. Besides that, I'm waiting for the Sartegos/Ysengrin split 12” vinyl to be released through I, Voidhanger in Europe and Nuclear War Now! In America.
The past year has been a little bit inactive for the band, as I moved to London and stayed there for more than one year, but now I'm back on track again.

2.So far you have released 2 demos and an ep, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on all of the recordings and also how do they differ from each other?
The music is a mixture of Black and Death Metal inspired in the beginning by bands like Demoncy, early Tiamat, Mortuary Drape, Mayhem, Profanatica, early Rotting Christ and Varathron, Mystifier, Acheron, etc.
“A Serpe do Escarnio”, our first demo tape, is probably the one which is more different from the other two releases. Some of the riffs included there are not really into the same style of the second demo and the EP.  Also, drums are not real in this release. I used a drum machine. Sound achieved here is good for what it is, but a bit artificial due to the drum machine.
“Mortualha”, the second demo tape, is more organic and drums are played by a human, which makes all more real and compact. This demo is also darker and more obscure than the previous one.
“As Fontes do Negrume” is the band's first MLP and so far it is the best Sartegos release. Production is better and fits more our purposes and the selection of tracks was carefully chosen. To sum it up: it is better than the demos in all aspects, I would say.

3.Your lyrics cover some Satanic, Luciferian and Occult topics, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in the black arts?
I am interested in occultism and satanism, but to some extent. I mean, I'm not a practitioner and I don't follow the guidances of any particular sect, path or group. From time to time I like to read about these subjects but they don't take all of my time. I'm interested in other things and I have to say also that Sartegos lyrics deal with more things than only the Occult and Satanic topics.

4.Also you write a lot of your lyrics in Galician, what was the decision behind using this language instead of English or Spanish'?
Well, the reason behind using Galician instead of English or Spanish is just that Galician is my native language; the language I speak everyday. This makes easier for me to write the lyrics the way I want. Why should I use then English or Spanish? You might think that only a few people can understand the lyrics and that with English I would reach way more people but the truth is that if people is really interested in the lyrics, they can ask me for translations and I will be happy to provide them. Moreover, Galician is very similar to Portuguese (actually, they should be the same language) so a lot of people can understand the lyrics actually.
By the way, ALL Sartegos lyrics are in Galician.

5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Sartegos'?
Sartegos is a galician word which means sarcophagus. A “sartego” is a medieval coffin made of stone and you can see a lot of them still at some churches here in Galicia. I chose the name because of the connection with death and the beyond, and also because of how it sounds.

6.Originally the band was a solo project but now is a duo, what was the decision behind adding another member and also are there any plans to expand into a full line up in the future?
The reason why I decided to recruit a drummer after the first demo was basically because I wanted real drums in Sartegos recordings, and I cannot play drums. Also, I wanted to start regular rehearsals, cause I was bored with playing the tracks alone on my guitar.
I don't have any plans to recruit any more members for the moment. Some people keep on asking me if I would be up to recruit some session members to play some live shows but to be honest, I never liked the idea of session members on itself. Right now, if someone is going to join the band, this has to come naturally and I would need the right feeling with the person in question, not a mere session member.

7.According to one interview you also have worked with a music zine, are you still involved with this zine these days?
Yeah, I worked with Apokatastasis zine for a while and as far as I know, the zine is dead since some years ago. Basically I wrote a couple of reviews for the first issue (the best one, in my opinion), and did some interviews and reviews for the second one. But the mastermind behind Apokatastasis was my comrade Karles.
For me, writing for a zine was ok for a while, but after I did it, I found out it was not really my thing, you know.

8.The last recording was released by both Bloody Productions and Caverna Abissmal Records, do you feel these 2 labels have given your band a great amount of support?
You are forgetting here I, Voidhanger records, who released the vinyl version (Bloody Productions released the CD and Caverna Abismal/Egg of Nihilism released the tape).
All three labels did the hell of a job and I'm really happy with their efficient and good work. Besides, the communication with all of them has been always clear, so no complain about them at all. I'm very grateful for the support given.

9.There has been no music released in the last 2 years, can you tell us a little bit more about what has been going on during that time period?
Actually, Sartegos last MLP was released on November 2013, so it's a year and a half now since that.
Just after that release, I moved to London and stayed there for more than one year, so things got a bit stagnant for Sartegos and rehearsals had to stop for obvious reasons but anyway, during that period I managed to record two new songs for that split 12” with Ysengrin I mentioned before. During that period I didn't compose any new tracks besides those two but now I'm back again and new riffs and ideas are coming to my mind. Also during that period the first Sartegos t-shirts were printed by the mexican Mors Omnibvs and the tape version of “As Fontes do Negrume” was re-released by Caverna Abismal with an embroided patch as a bonus.
I have to say that I prefer to take my time doing things with the band. No rush or self-imposed schedules. This is about creativity, not a job. I prefer quality over quantity.

10.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of black and death metal?
So far, the feedback has been good and positive, I would say. Reviews usually are very good and some people into the Black/Death Metal underground seems to really like Sartegos. I got feedback from different places such as Malaysia, South Africa, Australia, South and Central America, Europe and the United States.
Besides that, Bloody Productions sold out 1000 copies of the cd version of our MLP in one year, and Caverna Abismal sold out 200 copies of the tape in a few months and re-released a few more soon after that. To be honest, I didn't expect such a good response.

11.When can we expect a full length and also where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
The next move will be to record one track for a split 7” with Balmog, and then I guess I will focus on composing tracks for a full lenght, but I know this will take some time, maybe a few years.
Musically I think I will continue exploring the same paths as those on “As Fontes do Negrume” but always taking one step further.

12.What are you currently listening to nowadays?
Well, these days I'm listening to Stargazer “A Great Work of Ages”, Merciless “The Awakening”, Sargeist “Let the Devil In”, some King Crimson, Sadistic Intent “Ancient Black Earth”, etc. Right now the theme song from True Detective tv series is playing here on the computer and soon Grave Miasma's “Odori Sepulcrorum” LP will start spinning on the turntable.

13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
If you liked Sartegos previous releases, keep your eyes open for the upcoming split with Ysengrin, which should be out during Summer. The two tracks included are two of the band's best efforts so far.
If you are interested in the band, just write me at:
sartegos@hotmail.com