On October 15, the new album by the brutal Chilean Atmospheric/Post-Black Metal band, SOL SISTERE, is scheduled to be released, for this reason we decided to interview them to learn more about them and their new album... This new album will be released by the Cult of Partenophe record label.
First of all, thanks for accepting the interview, we started.
1. SOL SISTERE was born in 2013, tell us a little about your beginnings, how
you, Ricardo and Pablo (founding members) decide to create an Atmospheric/Post-Black Metal band, why not another style of Metal.
Ricardo: "In 2013, I decided to compose a couple of songs mixing my classic
influences of Melodic Black Metal from the 90's like Dawn, Dissection or
Sacramentum with the current atmospheric currents, but I did them more as a
compositional exercise than as a lasting proposal. I showed them to Pablo, whom
I had known for a short time, because I thought he would like them. Indeed,
they were to his liking and, talking about influences, we realized that our Black Metal side was quite related. It was he who came up with the idea of
developing that musical concept in a real, stable band and as a totally serious
project, which of course I agreed to, since it was a type of music that was
quite fulfilling for both of us. Together we continue to develop the musical
path that we wanted to tackle, meeting new relevant influences currently on the
scene and looking for the chord musicians to finally form the band. Like most
groups, the beginning was not easy and involved several musicians, but we
released the first EP and since then we have not stopped working.
Why not another style? It was not a calculated choice; it was rather an
inevitable impulse due to our musical tastes. Although we had both been in
bands of other metal currents before, that point in our lives led us to get
fully involved in Black Metal."
2. We know that the name of the band SOL SISTERE, comes from the Latin "solstitium", which means "The Sun stays still." Regardless of the language, for centuries, in various cultures, the summer and winter solstices have been taken as times of festivities and celebrations, since they indicate new beginnings. Why did you choose this name for the band?
Ricardo: "Indeed, "SOL SISTERE" literally means "still sun"
and that whole concept means "solstice" in Latin. The sun has always
been very significant for many cultures, it can represent immortality (because
it is reborn every day), the bearer of light (as in knowledge), the phases of
the Earth (or of life itself). In our case, in addition to respecting all these
meanings, we want to focus the essential idea on a more humanistic look and
think of the sun as the spirit of the human being, the solstice being the highest
point that we can reach."
3. For the year of its formation 2013, South America was not well known for
having good Atmospheric/Post-Black Metal bands, except for a few, in recent
years this trend has changed and there are very good bands from both Atmospheric
and Post-Black Metal, what do you think this is due to? What bands of those
styles in our continent could you recommend us?
Ricardo: "I feel that in some way, the Latin American scene in general tends to
be more conservative and tends to focus on paying tribute to the great classic
bands of the 90's. Although I mentioned that it was also our case in the
beginning, at this point we have already abandoned those influences of our
sound a bit, now that we have undoubtedly found a more own label. As a consequence
of the scene as a whole looking strongly to the past, I think it takes a while
for innovation and trends to explode in this region. By the early 2010s there
were very few Black Metal bands that dared to incorporate subtle and ambient
elements into their sound."
Some bands that I like are: Lluvia (Mexico), Urantia (Colombia), Thy Light
(Brazil), Sunvher (Chile), Missa Mortvm (Chile), Drimys Winteri (Chile), and
although they are not atmospheric current, I cannot stop mentioning Selbst
(Venezuela / Chile), Gates of Tyrant (Chile) and Los Males del Mundo
(Argentina)."
4. Since their first album, "Unfading Incorporate Vacuum", in 2016, the band quickly gained worldwide followers and with their second album, "Extinguished Cold Light", in 2019 the way to the consecration and final line up of the band was opened. Taking it to participate in prestigious festivals. Did you expect such a success with so little time of formation?
Ricardo: "The truth was surprising to receive the good reviews that Unfading had, and the interest it generated. It is likely that part of that magic was the good moment the Atmospheric Black Metal subgenre was on in 2016. But I guess I can’t leave out that the constant work we do as a band goes far beyond the musical part, management effort that keeps us always active working on how we can enhance our art, our image, our exposure to the media, etc.
The idea is always to try to be more, give more and reach out to more people, I hope we can achieve it."
Cover-art: "Unfading Incorporate Vacuum".
Ricardo: "From an artistic point of view, We think this album is going to be the
definitive consecration of our sound. That is, in the first album we
established our musical proposal, in the second we elaborated it a little more,
and now for our self-titled album we are sure that we have composed a more
mature work that fully expresses who we are and what our characteristic sound
is. This might seem like the reason for naming the album after the band, but
the truth is that we didn't think about it too much, it was quite natural for
us to feel that this new work is very representative of our personality.
Considering our career, it is a bit difficult to know in advance what the
reaction of the public and the media will be. If we look at the scene from a
competitive environment, we are in a period where there are many bands around
the world and the current level of Black Metal is very good. If we also
consider that recording today is much more accessible than it was a couple of
decades ago -and therefore many albums come out every year-, I think it is
difficult to stand out on the global scene. However, we can only trust that we
create a work that fully satisfies us and keep working to spread it as much as
we can. And this energy to continue growing is part of what defines us as a
band, regardless of whether we will continue to be a small band or if the doors
of Olympus open to us after this release."
Cover-art: "Extinguished Cold Light".
Ricardo: "The truth is that it is easy to justify this choice because we are
very satisfied with the previous works. This time we wanted to take advantage
of his talent with line illustrations rather than his ability to paint on
canvas. Personally, this is my favorite cover of the three, I loved the
illustration of the tree with human figures and Chris was able to fully develop
the concept we gave him to work with."
New album: cover-art
7. We know that on this new album the guitarist Carlos Fuentes makes his debut
with the band, who also recorded the instruments in his studies, Sonido Origen,
and was also in charge of mixing and mastering with the collaboration of the
other members of the band. band. The other newcomer is Pedro Chávez, how did
Carlos and Pedro arrive at SOL SISTERE?
Ricardo: "We have known each other with Carlos from the beginning, and the truth
is that the relationship between Pablo, Carlos, Pedro and C (our original
vocalist) goes back to before the formation of Sol Sistere, since all four
participated at one point in the band Animus Mortis, which currently continues
with another lineup alongside its only founding member. The funny thing is,
each one played a different instrument in that band: Carlos played drums, Pedro
guitar and Pablo bass. Perhaps things did not happen so that they could be
there from the beginning for different reasons, but when we needed a new
guitarist, Carlos was available and eager to participate. On the other hand,
when we needed a bass player it was also easy to think of Pedro, and luckily he
was fully available. As you will see, we did not have to meet new people for
this stage of the band, we already have a relationship for years and we know
how to work together.
It would be strange to say otherwise, but believe me I mean it with complete
sincerity that this is the best line-up we have ever had, both musically and
personally."
8. What does the band seek to convey with this new album and its music?
Answer: "We wanted to go back a bit to our roots in terms of the kind of atmosphere our
debut had and always keep the melancholy in our chords and melodies. In this
sense, it is our main intention to transport the listener to an introspective
state - which sometimes fluctuates between the emotional and the taciturn - and
to involve him in a journey with as many energetic as ethereal passages.
As I mentioned before, I believe that this album is the consecration of our own
sound and we want it to speak for us to define who we are and show listeners
what to expect when they think of SOL SISTERE."
9. How was the process of composition and recording of the songs for this new
album, taking into account the restrictions due to Covid-19.
Ricardo: "If I'm not mistaken, the first songs were composed in the second half
of 2019 and we ended the mixing and mastering process in May 2021. It was a
process of almost 2 years, but the truth is that it could have been shorter, as
we had to postpone filming due to the pandemic. We finally started the
recordings in October 2020 in the middle of the pandemic, we could hardly
coordinate according to local laws, since currently only two members live in
the same city. Until recently when we did a photo session, we had not been able
to meet all of us since March, when we arrived in Chile to enter quarantine
from Colombia, where we did a tour with Mgła in 3 cities. Originally Mgła would
continue her tour in other countries, but they were forced to cancel it for
reasons that we all know by now, but that is already a separate story. Going
back to recording, we couldn't all get together at the same time, so we had to
adapt and record separately, always with Carlos as the common denominator.
The mixing process was a bit complex because we had to make a series of
decisions and each perceived things differently depending on their speakers and
headphones. Carlos sent us samples and different versions, so we listened to
them and made our comments via WhatsApp. It took us more to reach agreements
than it would have been possible in person, but we finally achieved a result
that left us quite satisfied. Finally, once we were able to establish a
relationship with the Cult of Parthenope label, Giulian made some observations
that he thought pertinent to improve and we had to modify some details, so the
final version of the album was ready last May. It was a difficult process and
slower than usual, but at the same time we know that we achieved the best
production of the 3 albums of our career."
10. We know that Ricardo and Pablo have another Black Metal project, AD FINEM
OMNIA, which already has a 2020 Demo and they are working on a full-length
album that is in the pre-production process, what can you tell us about it?
project, personally from what I have been able to hear is a very different
Black Metal from SOL SISTERE, which sometimes reminds me of the Black Metal
that is made in cold Finland, tell us a little about AD FINEM OMNIA.
Ricardo: "Since our creative efforts are usually focused on a more atmospheric
and ethereal side of Black Metal, we wanted to unleash our more raw, minimalist
and natural side, with shorter but intense songs, responding to a more oriented
type of compositions. to the Finnish and German sound. We always maintain a
melodic approach, but I would say that the intention and the way we apply those
melodies are different from the melancholic and emotional music that we are
used to composing.
Ad Finem Omnia tries to be something visceral, simple even, but totally direct
and dark."
Cover - art AD FINEM OMNIA: Demo MMXX
11. We see with curiosity that everyone in the band uses their first name,
except for the vocalist who uses only "S" to identify himself, why is
this?
Ricardo: Everyone has the freedom to appear as they prefer. Nobody else wanted
to choose to use pseudonyms in the band, but curiously and coincidentally, our
vocalists have preferred it that way. The original singer was called Cristóbal
Jorquera and he preferred to appear simply as C. The current one, on the other
hand, is called Alfredo Pérez and his motivation is based more than anything on
differentiating himself from his different bands. He is a very busy musician
who sings on other projects, and the letter S comes from his pen name Sulfur
used in Concatenatus, where he plays drums and sings.
S - Vocalista
12. What do the members of SOL SISTERE do when they are not making music for
their different projects?
Ricardo: "I think the most important answer is on the side of our respective
jobs. As we know, having a metal band (especially in Latin America) is not a
lucrative activity, so everyone has their own way of making a living. Pablo is
a speech therapist; Carlos is a sound engineer; Pedro lives a country life and
also operates a drone; S is a medical examiner; and I am an English-Spanish
translator.
Besides that, I think something we have in common is that we all enjoy cinema
in its different facets."
Ricardo Araya
13. During your live performances, what do you think was the best, what funny
anecdote you remember, and what is the worst thing that happened to you live.
Ricardo: "It is difficult to choose just one date, but I think I should choose
our presentation in 2019 at the Dark Troll Festival in Germany. I think that in
addition to having given a great show (not the best, but it was good) and
getting a good response from the public, it was the whole context in which that
show took place, in a pleasant festival atmosphere and sharing the stage on the
same day with Influential bands for us like Winterfylleth and Mgła.
An anecdote from that same festival is that there was a place for bands to
relax and drink, something like a VIP sector. We were there and suddenly I
recognized the German band Sarkrista, which I personally like a lot. I wanted
to greet them and talk a bit with them, but they gave me a very cold greeting and
left. We always remember that and laugh about it, but I have no resentment for
his "contempt", perhaps a cold and apathetic attitude is actually
more consistent with his music. On the more positive side, we do share beers
and a good time with other bands, including Winterfylleth, who have been an
influence since our inception. We also met Saor, but especially we got on well
with his guitarist Paolo Bruno, who is the Brazilian genius behind Thy Light,
very friendly."
Pablo Vera
14. Without further ado for the moment, we thank you for your time in answering
this interview. A few last words that you want to dedicate to your followers
around the world.
"Thank you for your interest in us and our music. And for the fans, get ready
for this new full length called Sol Sistere, because if you appreciate it as
much as we do, you will agree that it is the best we have released to date."
Credits:
- Interview by: FEBRUUS FENRAEL.
- Photography: MARISOL CORREA CORALES.
Link to listen: "Unfading Incorporeal Vacuum".
Link to listen: "Extinguished Cold Light"
Link to listen: Single promo.
Link to listen AD FINEM OMNIA.
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