Interview with GRAND SUMMONER
!!!BLACK SPEED METALPUNK FROM FINLAND!!!
We had a conversation with P. Nefarious. Enjoy!
Welcome to the FILTHY DOGS OF METAL Webzine.
Tell us a few things about GRAND SUMMONER (Members, Starting Year etc).
Greetings to you Stavros and the readers of FILTHY DOGS OF METAL webzine! Grand Summoner is one of my solo projects. To be honest it's pretty new one as well. I composed the songs in the end of September 2024 and recorded vocals in the beginning of the November. Finally it was released on 27.11.2024. At first I was supposed to do some new songs for my black metal project called Mana, but the new songs ended up being a bit too "punk" for that project so I decided just to make a new one. I've always wanted to do songs influenced on the first wave of black metal sound and attitude so now I have a medium for those. It's hard for me to put a label on the genre for Grand Summoner, but the influences are in first wave of black metal and punk music.
You have recently released your EP ''Grand Summoner''. What is the feedback from your audience as well as from the press?
At the time of writing this the release is still quite new, so basically this is the first press contact for the project. So no reviews or anything like that yet. People have given me good feedback on the overall attitude and the sound of the bass. I'm personally quite happy with the final mix as well because I haven't released a lot of own music yet and it's easily the best I've done production wise.
Label or DIY and why?
DIY. I consider this release to be more of a "demo" what Grand Summoner might be in future. I'm listening to label offers, but for this release I did not look for label up front. I love pushing myself to learn to do things my own, but I will admit I suck at marketing so a label could be a big help in that area.
Is there any funny or weird story from the recordings or from your live shows that you would like to share with us?
Well, I guess the most funny thing was how I composed my favourite track on the release in one sitting, in like three hours. Woke up early in a morning and drank a lot of black coffee and it just happened. I'll let you guys guess which song. Haven't done any live shows with my solo projects yet but one of my other solo projects, Moss Gate, has a principle that the composing and recording has to be as fun as it can be. If it doesn't make me laugh like a maniac while doing it, it's not gonna end up for a release.
Do you prefer Vinyl, Tape, CD or Digital Format and why is that?
This is a tough one. I used to lazily collect vinyls but I ended up selling or giving them away, because I found them quite a hassle and expensive. Nowadays I buy tapes from small local gigs from bands I want to support. I love the listening experience and a touch of 80s sound, and tapes are cheap and easy to move around. But mostly I listen in digital format. I don't use streaming services but rather Youtube or Bandcamp because I want to listen to the full album from start to finish.
Your music style is Black Speed MetalPunk. Which are your main influences (Favourite Artists / Bands etc.)
The biggest influence has to be early Sodom followed by some first wave black metal bands like Venom, Hellhammer, Bathory and such. I also like hardcore/dbeat punk because I just love simple drum beats that force you to bang your head along the rhythm. And no matter what type of music I make, you will always hear Black Sabbath and Motörhead in the bass.
How difficult (or easy) is it for a musician to compose all the tracks by himself and what difficulties did you face during the recording your EP?
This is a great question! I'm a bassist and I have always been playing bass in bands so the stuff I can play with guitar is really dead simple. I have to really push myself with guitar. You can actually hear my first proper guitar solo ever in the Black Brew Alchemy track! Drums are also something I find a bit tough. I would love to collaborate with a real drummer to get real drums recorded but it's hard for me to find people who would like to play such a simple stuff. I use a finger drumming pad to come up with a beat with the right feel for the song and for some fills later, but there's some drum programming involved as well.
Which things do you think a band should sacrifice in order to succeed? Have you ever sacrificed anything in your life for a better future for your band?
For me it's mostly been time and effort. I really needed to learn a lot of stuff to be able to do things DIY and it required for me to sit down and practice. For non-solo bands it's that and also some money. I've been taking singing lessons (mostly clean singing) which can cost quite a much, but I think about it like an investment to an instrument I acquire in the long run.
Describe your ideal live show as a performance band. Have you already experienced that?
I wish I had. I've had some bad luck with bands breaking up before studio and gigs. One of the few reasons I started making music solo. Not sure about ideal gig but I would really enjoy a smaller tight DIY style of gig with couple of smaller bands and intimate connection with the audience. And everyone having fun!
What attributes do you think that a new Black Speed Metal Band should have in order to gain identity and be unique?
I'm not really sure if I'm in a position to say how to do it, but at least I try to just do what I want without thinking about it that much. That's also the reason I find it hard to put a genre label on my music. It's just me having fun being creative. Also, at least for me the person or the character behind the music matters a lot. If I find a cool project I like I always go to check people behind it, because usually they have multiple projects which all have the influence of that particular person. I'm afraid even the niche genres might end up getting flooded with AI content at some point and in my opinion that emphasizes the point of the actual artists theirselves to stand out from the content robots pushing generated shit.
Tell us 10 Metal releases that have "entered" your blood.
Sodom - In the Sign of Evil
Kreator - Endless Pain
Destruction - Infernal Overkill
Venom - Welcome to Hell
Bathory - Under the Sign of the Black Mark
Hellhammer - Satanic Rites
Darkthrone - Panzerfaust
Abigail - Intercourse & Lust
Deathhammer - Onwards to the Pits
Do you believe that Digital Platforms help the new Black Speed Metal Bands? Which, do you think, is the ideal way for a band to promote its work?
I find the music I listen mostly from genre specific Youtube music channels and referrals from people who like the same kind of music I do. I don't use social medias personally that much so you probably wouldn't reach me there. I also attend local gigs quite a lot and some bands I hear first time live. How most of the listeners find their music I have no idea. I suck at promoting my music.
Tell us a few things about the New Underground Metal Scene in Finland (Bands, Fanzines, Webzines, Metal Clubs etc.)
I don't travel for gigs that often so I can only say about our local scene in central Finland. There's a group called Heavy Metal Thunderstrike organizing a lot of good shows here (keep up with the good work!) and some other collectives arranging smaller DIY spirited shows I love to attend. Also shout-out to punkinfinland forum!
Do you know anything about the Hellenic Metal Scene?
I had to go back to check if I had heard more than the bigger names like Rotting Christ and Human Serpent and to my surprise I found out that Omega is from Greece. Love their stuff!
In the last 4 years, worldwide in the world, we have faced many dark, strange, and new situations in our everyday lives (covid, lockdown, etc.). Did all of this affect you positively or negatively?
Of course it's mainly negative, but I want to say that the reason I finally started practicing DIY recording and producing was because of me staying more home when the initial covid responses came. So there actually was a positive side to it as well. And we're truly living dark times concerning our neighbour here at some parts of Europe. I wish Ukraine gets all the support they need and fast.
What are your future plans?
So much to do! Unless I get some serious label offers or things like that, I'm most likely gonna continue making my music in a bit chaotic fashion where I just do what I want and release the new material with the project it fits to the best. I'm also on a lookout for joining another "non-solo" band or maybe another type of collaboration. Just can't beat having a few beers at rehearsals and playing together with other people! It's also possible that somewhere in future I might look for session players to play some gigs with some of my solo projects - who knows.
Thank you very much for your time & keep up the good work! The closure is yours.
Thank you so much for the interview Stavros and everyone who took the time and interest to read through it! If you like what I do you can find my projects Grand Summoner, Mana and Moss Gate from Bandcamp and Youtube. As the sun takes goes to it's hiding in middle of the darkest Finnish winter I shall succumb to shadows. But behold! Like the mighty sun I shall return back to cast my blasphemous spells from the realms beyond!
https://grandsummoner.bandcamp.com
https://www.youtube.com/@SanctuaryofNoise-bj8kk
By Steve the Filthy Dog.