Interview with SOUFLIKAR
!!!BLACK/THRASH METAL FROM ARGENTINA!!!
Welcome to the FILTHY DOGS OF METAL Webzine.
Tell us a few things about SOUFLIKAR (Members, Starting Year etc).
Souflikar began in 2021, being formed by Korgull The Executioner (Vocals), Warlock (Guitars) and Shadow Bittaker (Bass). That was the former line-up, which gathered up with the purpose of doing some Black/Thrash influenced mainly by Sarcófago, and another various classic influences like Hellhamer,early Sodom, Beherit and others. Later in 2022 Naturan Demonto joined the drums, so the band started doing a few rehearsals, but then sadly the thing get "on hold" for a long time. without even a meeting. The situation ended with Shadow Bittaker leaving the band, she was then replaced by Kanashibari from the band Ghetto. Up from that point we returned to activity and recorded Junkie Ritual first demo at Naturan Demonto’s house, with very unexperienced mastering/mixing but finally giving birth to our Black/Thrash act. So we started playing live at different venues across our city, while we were working on another demo that came up a few months later. Recently we’ve recruited Goatripper (from Toxic Goat and live member for N.Demonto’s Suture) for live appearance,since Warlock got some health-related problems. Anyways he's still a friend and we hope he can join us soon to record our new stuff.
You have recently released the compilation of your demos ''War Mauled Alcoholic Mess''. What is the feedback from your audience as well as from the press?
N.D: I think most of the feedback that we get is from our closest friends and underground Buenos Aires scene, which is reflected on our live presentations and shows in which we approach to all these people. Apart from that, I think we are a little far from getting international recognition or anything like that, but we are satisfied with the actual band’s activity, also because we don’t really take care of popularity but about how pleased we are with our effort.
K: Music in general has become more easily accessible today with the media available. And with more possibilities of getting an instrument, it leads to a lot of people forming their own bands, but not all of those people necessarily come together in the same scene, there are many variables that can be transcended or not, such as age. , music genre, the city area, etc. We are in our particular circuit, in which people really follow what bands do and their really enjoy our music, and I think we are all trying to make our scene grow further.
Label or DIY and why?
We have worked with Underground independent labels of Buenos Aires Scene such as Enterrado Vivo, Up The Hammers and Argentina Thrash Metal. Also with other independent organizations like Nunca Más, Escabbio Fest and Metal Eterno Prod. Anyways, we are not actually committed to a label, I mean, in an official way. I guess we work with anyone as long as the treat is good and how well we do with those organizations. Also, our work is very independent in the sense of developing our recordings, live apparitions, footages and even artworks or simply promoting the band. Everything is part of our personal effort for Souflikar. Fortunately for our taste, working with these organizations is not even close to what it is like to work with a label. In Argentina we don't really find a great offer of labels to work with, and what there is, we are not interested in.
Is there any funny or weird story from the recordings or from your live shows that you would like to share with us?
Some organizers have warned each other how messy the fake blood issue can get with live Souflikar shows hahaha. We have also been cursed for quite some time by technical difficulties every show, Or we can mention a few times with the whole band being pointed out because of the bassist had beaten up some disrespectful people and sent them to the hospital. While the rest of us knew nothing about it until we open our social networks. The recording for Junkie Ritual demo was relatively very short since it was a period of 2 weeks. The very last day we recorded Nymphomaniak almost improvising and at the end of the day we mixed the songs an uploaded them rapidly. This was only because we wanted to put the demo out on Friday the 13th. The Horrors of War demo was also released on a Friday the 13th but in October of the same year, but without such rushing as with the previous demo. At a show in San Fernando location, Naturan Demonto got wounded because of pogoing, he fell on the broken floor tiles and had a cut on his knee. This was before we had to play, so he had to play the full set with his wound bleeding through the ripped trousers. After that, he was sutured with 7 stitches at a hospital. Once again, the rest of the band was completely unaware of it until next day.
Do you prefer Vinyl, Tape, CD or Digital Format and why is that?
Up to the date, Souflikar only has released physical stuff on CD and Cassette formats (with the help of Enterrado Vivo Fanzine and Up The Hammers respectively), we would be pleased to release some vinyl stuff but seems difficult for us to pay for that. We support physical formats but we don’t have the economic possibility of, for example, releasing on vinyl. And about digital format, we have all of our music on both Bandcamp and Youtube, because we do agree with sharing our music in every way possible.
Your music style is Black/Thrash Metal. Which are your main influences (Favourite Artists / Bands etc.)
We play Black/Thrash and try to include several influences and dynamics, so that we all can include our personal influences and those which we share with each other. The first and main influence is Sárcofago, as I said in the first question. But other important ones are Hellhammer, Tormentor, Sartan, Profecium, Blasphemy, Goatlord, Holocausto, Bathory, Immortal, Exterminator, Sodom, Darkthrone, Beherit, Bestial Summoning, Merciless, Von, Mayhem, Profanatica, Sadistik Exekution, the Colombian ultra metal scene, and several others.
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?
As a band, we obviously sacrifice time, money, and even physical effort. For example, we always have to move around from one place to another, because we all live in different locations, and for every show or rehearsal we have to travel at least more than hour and a half from home. And regarding some of what I mentioned above, we also invest most of our effort making artworks by ourselves, recording independently, approaching to other people for organizing live shows and etc. That’s pretty much all what we do in order to make the band grow further, we don't reach what we want only with a few clicks or with some shitty cash, you know what I mean. Each band and person has its own view of the meaning of success, it also depends on which is the aim. We want to be the band that we would like to see and hear, something that particularly here in our country we do not find in the way we are looking for. But beyond that, our existence as a band is part of a struggle itself, for our values and our identity in order to prevail.
Describe your ideal live show as a performance band. Have you already experienced that?
In our live shows we just throw all our shit and release our personal discontent, or otherwise just enjoy the performance and the space. Often we use Corpsepaint or Warpaint, we carry our inverted crosses, bullet belts, bones and skulls, and sometimes use blood as part of the show. We try to generate a certain atmosphere according to what we do, and we always have new ideas or proposals for live desecrations or stuff like that, so we might not have a clear specific idea of an ideal live performance, but releasing ourselves and expressing with our brutal music, just like the bands we admire.
What attributes do you think that a new Black/Thrash Metal Band should have in order to gain identity and be unique?
We believe that somehow you gain some identity by expressing yourself honestly, without trying to copy something for the sake of it working, or looking for the "winning formula". We all listen to a lot of music and that will always be reflected when inspiration strikes us to compose. The personal way of writing a lyric, of combining the elements of the music that we like, with the sound that comes out... all of this always has a touch of distinction.The places we come from, the reality of these lands and the scene that precedes us, all of that darkness we believe is reflected in our sound and we hope so. So it can combine with the obscure meanings of the songs. Those things are personal, so it can make you be unique at your own way.
Do you believe that Digital Platforms help the new Black/Thrash Metal Bands? Which, do you think, is the ideal way for a band to promote its work?
Fans of these genres are very dedicated and we are always hungry for more, which is why digital platforms are a good tool to continue finding bands, promoting ourselves and creating links between us. Staying active both on social media and with live shows can be useful for a while, but in order to promote your work you need to make use of all the resources available today, to try to extend the physical reach of your live shows, your recorded stuff and merch. And then working hard over a well settled construction of bridges (between all the actors involved in this community).
Do you see any differences between the Argentinian Metal Market & the EU Metal Market (Labels, Bands, Fans etc)?
Since we are not part of either of them, so to speak, we could not give an unbiased opinion regarding some things, especially due to the distance with the European world.As far as we know, the work of labels in the European market is pretty much bigger and more active, as well as there is more people in Europe who listen to a higher diversity of genres and bands. And it seems that they have a better purchasing power to get more material, in a comparison of numbers, at glance. But the few of us here are very dedicated and passionate, and it's difficult not to consider the terrible economic moment that our country is going through. As for the bands, I think that each place or country has its distinctive sound and scene.The differences in possibilities at a material level have made many people think that we have always looked towards Europe from these lands
and it has rarely happened in the opposite way. Maybe because the markets in Europe have grown and in South America the underground has taken on other notions and dimensions. I am referring to, for example, among other things, the possibility of participating in large (or not so large) festivals, and stuff like that. There is a huge level of "third world" in such things like labels and promoters here in Argentina, so everything is up to us, and we believe in other ways to grow... About fans I think we're all diehard heavy metal maniacs.
Tell us a few things about the New Underground Metal Scene in Argentina (Bands, Fanzines, Webzines, Metal Clubs etc.)
A lot of fresh blood has arrived recently in the underground scene,we have some kind of waves from time to time,I guess like everywhere. There are people who come and go and people who remains... at this moment there is a lot of activity from many bands, there aren't as many fanzines as there were some time ago, a lot of venues (many "historical") have closed their doors due to different reasons, and we could say it's a different world than it was before the pandemic. Still there are many metal radio programs and underground festivals are very active, so you always have something to do on the weekend. There's a good diversity in genres and styles, and the shows are very different too,there are many self-managed, independent shows, with neighborhood spaces gaining prominence and there are also shows in public spaces, but mostly they take place in a not very open circuit of nightclubs. Whatever the case, party is guaranteed. We really enjoy bands like: Retrosatan, Devastación, Satanachia Agliareth, Bloodfiend, Social Shit, Morbum, Nekrocvlt Desecration, Metaluria and Asfixiados.
Do you know anything about the Hellenic Metal Scene?
Yes and in fact we do like bands like Rotting Christ, Unholy Archangel, Goatvomit, Zephyrous, Cult Of Eibon, Varathron, Mortify, Thou Art Lord, Sarcastic Terror and Necromantia. Very obscure scene that we enjoy and hails to you so then!
The last 4 years, worldwide in the world, we have faced many dark, strange & new situations in our everyday life (covid, lock-down etc.) Did all of this affect you positively or negatively?
It has certainly affected us, like many people, economically and psychologically. But those of us who have had bands before this one, we haven't been stopped by any of that,neither hunger, nor police control, nor distance, nor sickness could stop the need for this music. Just the necessary precautions, and resist until everything got better. And fortunately when Souflikar was still forming, the strain of Covid-19 was already being controlled and fading away, we can say that the band started to exist just after the pandemic ended, which was such a luck for us.
What are your future plans?
Our idea is at this moment to keep with the shows dated up to this moment, and then continue working on the new stuff. We plan to release an LP album, and then go on tour to all the places we can, that invite us and that we can afford.
Thank you very much for your time & keep up the good work! The closure is yours.
Thank you very much for considering us for this interview. We feel very honored, it is also our first interview for a foreign media, so it's an extra pleasure.We believe it is our task to keep the flame alive, remember where we come from, and give content to what we do. We cannot create a separate world, but we can strengthen our metal values and beliefs, in the face of a plastic world. To be real, we have to become part of reality and truly understand it. And thus face what threatens our existence.
By Steve the Filthy Dog.
SOUFLIKAR CONTACT:
https://www.facebook.com/bandSouflikar
https://www.instagram.com/souflikar_band/
https://souflikarblackthrash.bandcamp.com/