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Sathanas
Here is a long overdue interview with Paul of Sathanas so check out his great band and this interview:
MC: Have you always lived in the Pittsburgh, PA area and what sort of child were you growing up and what were some of the things that you were into?
Paul: well actually I live in beaver county. its about 27 miles from Pittsburgh. I've lived here since 86. I lived on long island,NY. before that. before playing in a band I raced bmx. I was decent. almost went B pro. I still enjoy riding bike. but I don't race anymore.
MC: Did come from a big or small family and did you have many friends or were you more of a loner?
Paul: My family was normal size I guess you could call it. I had 3 brothers, and one sister. my sister was the one who turned me on to metal,rock. she made me listen to Sabbath,kiss and many others. once I heard that shit I was into it. at age 5. I was the youngest of them all. so I guess I was a loner hahahah.
MC: What did you want to be when you were growing up?
Paul¨play in a metal band!!! or a professional bike rider.
MC: When did music enter your life and how did it enter your life and what were some of the first bands your ears heard?
Paul: like I said, I heard my first music as far as I could remember about 5. maybe younger. also led zeppelin was a influence for me. the guitars really caught my ears.
MC: When you heard your first bands and all did you really start to get into music or not really?
Paul: hell yes. that's what did it for me. I wanted to make albums and be on stage performing
MC: Now when did the wonderful world of heavy metal enter into your life and who introduced you to that and what was it like for you?
Paul: my sister was main person I would say. but my brother duke also listened to rock. so I heard it also from him. and watching the old show on TV called don kirshners rock concert on weekends. seen bands like Sabbath,blue oyster cult and so forth on there. good ole days
MC: What were some of the first bands that you got into and if you remember what was the first underground metal show that you went to? What were some of the other shows you saw in the early days?
Paul: Sabbath was the first heavy band I heard. for concerts WHITESNAKE,QUIET RIOT was my first show. underground metal show. hmm?? there was a band called mastema. from NY I seen at a club. I was 14 I believe. but right after that I seen SOD,and SUICIDAL TENDENCIES in Brooklyn. that was my first underground show.
MC: Now when you started getting into the underground did you discover tape trading and fanzines and did you read a lot of zines and did you do any tape trading at all?
Paul: yes. that's how it all started. ordering the old Xerox black death metal zines. then ordering demos and trading soon after. great fucking days!!I think I have about 200 original demos. if they still work hahaa. I haven't listened to them in 20 years. since I can listen to music online. no need to break em out. plus I don't have a tape player any more
MC: I sure you went to Edie’s Records in Pittsburgh, PA back in the day. What was the store like and did they pretty much stock all the underground metal at the time?
Paul: yes many times. that was the main place for getting what you were looking for. before I moved here from NY I used to go to a place called record stop. they have everything. or they would order it. I started the LP collection from there. DESTRUCTION,MERCYFUL FATE,SODOM ect. that was exciting!!!
MC: Were into a lot of the “demo” bands at any time and if so what were some of the bands that you got into?
Paul: Now based where you were at the time was there a decent underground metal scene and any clubs for bands to play? Did you pass out various flyers for other bands and zines when you were doing mail? NIHILIST,MAYHEM,RIGOR MORTIS, also bands from pa. like DREAM DEATH,DOOM WATCH,BIRD OF PREY, and my buddies NUNSLAUGHTER. the place we mostly went was THE ELECTRIC BANANA in Pittsburgh. seen a lot great shows there. Metal and punk.that was the first club(bar) sathanas started playing.
MC: At what point did you decide you wanted to play guitar? Did you take many lessons and how fast did you pick up playing?
Paul: when I was 5. I don't take lessons till I was like 13. but that only lasted like 2 weeks. I wanted to play the good shit right off the bat. Randy rhoads,hendrix, so forth. but the teacher didn't have that in mind at first. so I quit. started teaching myself. I wasn't patient enough back then to learn notes and reading music. I would like to now. but I don't think sathanas would sound any different if I could read music. I have idea what I want the songs to sound like.
MC: When did you decide you wanted to form a band? Were you in any bands prior to Sathanas?
Paul: when I was about 14 o.ni jammed in the band I mentioned earlier MASTEMA. only for practice or 2. I wasn't any good back then. I was 14. plus I was filling in for guitarist they all ready had. but they were playing like the whole kill em all album, old slayer ect. I couldn't keep up hahahahah. then when I moved to beaver county I started band called MONSTROSITY. that's when I met mike smith)ex vocalist). we did couple shows. when we decided to form SATHANAS. we asked drummer bill smiley to join us. and that was the birth of sathanas.
MC: Tell me how the band Sathanas came to be. Where did you end up finding other members and did you go through many line-ups before you came to the core line-up?
Paul: I met the original members hanging in a school parking lot. seen mike smith wearing an EXODUS shirt then I knew I was in crowd of metal heads. one thing led to another. we were joking and saying lets form a band. yes I went through many changes. the line up I have now is the best. my bass player been with me since 94. and my drummer been here since 2004. we get along great. that's the key. no attitudes.
MC: What were some of the early practices like and did you jam on any cover tunes? When did you start to begin to write original songs?
Paul: we used to jam in an old meat locker.(freezer). in the back of a store. wasn't bad. but the sound was very treble. due to the metal walls. we covered songs like SLAYER(DIE BY THE SWORD) SLAUGHTER(NOCTUNAL HELL). which we still do. others from VENOM,BATHORY,KREATOR. every now and then we throw out a cover tune.
MC: How long after the band formed did you play your 1st live show? Do you remember the club and who you played with?
Paul: I would say it was about 3-4 months. I think we recorded the demo. then played show when we got the tapes.we played the electric banana. damn that was a long time ago. cant think what bands played. might have been DOOM WATCH,EVICTION,DREAM DEATH,CASTLE BLOOD, or maybe DEATH MASS. MC: At what point did you decide you wanted to play guitar? Did you take many lessons and how fast did you pick up playing?hard to say the exact moment. when I heard Sabbath, or maybe after I seen pics of ace freyley of kiss. fucking sunburst les paul.. I was like damn that's sick! I took a lesson and said fuck this, I am teaching myself. I think about 16-17 I got more into it. practicing couple hours a day. then I noticed I was getting better. all practice
MC: When did you decide you wanted to form a band? Were you in any bands prior to Sathanas?
Paul: I believe it was summer of 87. the original singer and I started MONSTROSTY that only lasted couple months. then we started SATHANAS.
MC: Tell me how the band Sathanas came to be. Where did you end up finding other members and did you go through many line-ups before you came to the core line-up?
Paul: We all met in the new Brighton school parking lot. we went through many changes. but been with this lineup for along time.
MC: What were some of the early practices like and did you jam on any cover tunes? When did you start to begin to write original songs?
Paul: we did covers of old slayer,venom,celtic frost. but i started writing songs at the beginning. it was exciting. I wrote SATHANAS in early 87. then JAWS OF SATAN soon after.
MC: How long after the band formed did you play your 1st live show? Do you remember the club and who you played with? I would say about 2 months after we formed.
Paul: I think we played a fire hall in new Brighton. or maybe an outdoor show. in a field. cant remember.it was with MINDLESS AGRESSION and another band NUCLEAR ?? cant think of last name.
MC: At what point did you decide to go and record a demo? Where did you go to record it and how many songs were on it and how happy were you to finally have some finished product to sell?
Paul: couple months into pr acting. we recorded it at guys house on 4 track. 4 songs, JAWS OF SATAN,SATHANAS,BLOOD SACRIFICE,HAIL LUCIFER. we were happy for back then. it was rough demo. we got about 100 copies made. then I started trading,sending to zines ect. we sold out in short time. there are still copies floating around. copies ect
MC: After the demo came out I am sure you sent it to zines and stuff. How as the response to that demo and did the mail start coming in?
Paul: yes it was cool. the response was very good. also mail from different countries asking for the demo. I became addicted to doing mail every weekend hahahah.
MC: Now how many demos did you put out before you got signed? What label did you sign with and what year did your album come out and looking back are you happy with it and how as it working with the label you were on?
Paul: well we released the ripping evil demo,then we split up. I formed BATHYM for couple years. releasing demo,7 inch. then I decided to re form SATHANAS. we recorded a reh demo. then I got label interest in late 93 from HELLFIRE records from Sweden I believe. but they fell through. as many labels did back then. kept trying till I was contacted by CONQUISTADOR recs now BARBARIAN WRATH recs. to release the ARMIES OF CHARON. that was first label to release a cd.
MC: Now I know you have 5 releases you have put out. Were they all on different labels and tell me a little bit about each one and what label they were on and are all still in print?
Paul: actually we have 8 full length releases. and 2 mcds. like I said first label to release a cd was CONQUISTADOR RECS, but they sold contract to SUPERNAL MUSIC from England. in which they ended up releasing ARMIES. that's out of print.then we had BLACK EARTH released by BLACKMETAL.COM and same time they released a new cd THY DARK HEAVENS. Black metal.com was cool to work with. they released the CDs also LPS in 2 different versions. the next release was on DEATH TO MAKIND RECS fro Spain titled HEX NEFARIOUS. decent cd. but had bad promotion. most people never heard that release.then were contacted by PULVERISED RECS from Singapore. founder Roy yeo wanted to release MCD. but had some problems. so we got DRAKKAR PROD of France to release CRUENTUS DIABOLOS. not long after PULVERISED was back in business so we released ENTERING THE DIABOLIC TRINTY for them. satisfied with their promotion and interest in sathanas. we decided to also release CROWNED INFERNAL for PULVERISED. Roy began signing on a lot of bands at that time. so I decided to look elsewhere for label that could more time into SATHANAS. as far as promotion. so we contact PAGAN RECORDS of Poland. tomasz was interested in releasing a full length release. so we decided to release NIGHTREALM APOCALYPSE through PAGAN. I forget to mention PAGAN also released the mcd FLESH FOR THE DEVIL back in 2004. and PAGAN also just released our newest effort LA HORA DE LUCIFER. so PAGAN RECS have been great label for SATHANAS at this point in time.
MC: Is there any unreleased stuff that you have that you might release one day or how about your demos on cd. Is that something you would like to see?
Paul: FROM BEYOND PROD. from Holland released the JAWS OF SATAN cd back in late nineties. that contain the SATHANAS demos, and BATHYM demons. plus reh and live material.
MC: How many different line-ups did you go through and what is the current line-up now? Has there been anytime during all this that you just wanted to break the band up and what keeps you motivated and stuff nowadays?
Paul: yes we went through some members. not a lot. the lineup now consists of PAUL TUCKER(guitar vocs) BILL DAVIDSON (bass) JIM STRAUSS on drums
MC: Obviously the music scene has changed big time over the years. What are some the things that you like about these changes and what are some things you are not a fan of? Paul: Vinyl is making come back hahaha. seems like a circle. now thrash is making comeback. dueling leads. Blackmetal is bigger than ever. the internet has helped far as promotion and contacting booking agents, setting up shows. it was slower back in the day.plus it was better scene back in the day. at least in Pittsburgh.. people came out to see bands. now days people are too lazy or they can get online to watch shows. facebook fanatics. Europe still has good support. those people come out rain or shine!!!
MC: Out of all your releases do you have a favorite release and a not so favorite release? How about the same thing songwise?
Paul: I think its toss up between CROWNED INFERNAL and NIGHTREALM APOCALYPSE. I reason being we mixed and mastered those album in Sweden at NECROMORBUS STUDIOS with tore sterjna. That made a world of difference. songs is tough one. I actually like some songs from HEX NEFARIOUS but the production sucked. if I had choice to re record an album it would be ENTERING THE DIABOLIC TRINITY with tore sternja. That would kill
MC: How would you rate yourself as a singer and a guitar player? Is it at all difficult to sing and play guitar at the same time?
Paul: I think im a decent guitar player. I think I have a unique style and sound. it was hard in beginning to sing and play. I been doing it for about 23 years now. I can do it without thinking now hahahaha
MC: Did the band get to do any type of touring over the years and what was the farthest place you ever got to play out live? Is there any live clips of the band on say You Tube at all?
Paul: we have played 12 countries over the years. one of the better shows SATHANAS has played was in Poland. where we met tomasz from PAGAN RECORDS. that show was insane. killer crowd,great respect for SATHANAS in Poland. hope to make it back soon. yes there clips on youtube from that tour also.
MC: How did you come up with the name of the band and were any other names considered? To your knowledge has any band ever done a cover tune of yours or ever bootlegged any of your stuff?
Paul: my original vocalist mike smith came up with it. I think got it from the movie EVIL SPEAK. they chant it in the movie. no that was the first name.
MC: How long do you see the band being around and do you think there is too many bands and labels nowadays that it makes it tougher for the good and great bands to get noticed at all?
Paul: it will be here as long as we have people that enjoy hearing SATHANAS. there are a lot of labels and bands. but if the bands like what they are doing they will keep at it. we went through tons of labels and delays. ITS METAL!!!
MC: Do you have master copies of everything that you released and many old flyers and zine and record reviews buried somewhere?
Paul: yes I have the original recordings. also stack of old zines we are in from back in the days. reviews on the demos so forth.
MC: What is your favorite band and what is the best show you ever saw live?Paul: that's tough to say. we recently played show in NY with WATAIN. those fuckers kick ass. one of the best bands out there. DARK FUNERAL was another killer show. many great shows, NILE,IMMOLATION!!!
MC: For those reading this and have never heard the band, what would you describe the band’s music? What were some of your early influences and would you say the band changed a lot over the years, but still kept the core sound?
Paul: Blackened thrash I would say.old morbid angel,venom,celtic frost,sodom,kreator. SATHANAS has tried to keep the sound from changing much. keeping the music basic and catchy. some hooks here and there.
MC: Did you think in a million years when you 1st started practicing and putting out your 1st demo that you would be hear many, many years later still talking about the band?
Paul: not at all. surprised in still doing SATHANAS actually. I though about hanging it up few times. but its in my blood. I been doing this band since I was 17.
MC: Do you still talk to any of the old band members at all?
Paul: yes. im in contact with the old drummer bill smiley,the old bass player Dave smith, and im still in contact with the old vocalist mike smith. he's had some problems throughout the years. but we might do side project in the coming months. keep you informed on that.
MC: What do you think of sites like My Space and Facebook and have you reconnected with any old times from back in the day on there?
Paul: the technology as crazy these days. yes its cool to contact people you have seen or heard from in years. but its seems people are so damn addicted to facebook or even texting. put the fucking phone down and take walk through the woods hahahaha.
MC: What is the best and worst thing about being in a band?
Paul: making music,recording and playing in front of a crowd. the worst thing loading equipment,traveling,getting ripped of for money!!
MC: What did your parents think about the band and did they ever come to see you play live?
Paul: yes my mother came to see my first show. she was always behind me and the band thing. my dad was glad that I was playing music. he didn't really understand the metal music. he was more old school. but he knew I was interested in guitar and making music. he bought me a custom les Paul when I was 14. which I still have. my parents were cool and was behind me and the music.
MC: Has Sathanas been the only band you have ever been in?
Paul: yes the first real band
MC: What do you like to do when your doing non music stuff? Any none metal music that you like or are you into any of the sport teams at all around your area?
Paul: bike ride, watch horror movies. head to the bar! drink!!!! wing night!!!!!
MC: Plug any websites you have and any merchandise you currently have for sale?
Paul: we have shirts, cds, lps,patches. getting hats soon, beenies. get in contact!!
MC: Paul mega horns up for doing this long ass interview and I hope the trip down memory lane was fun. Any last words the floor is yours?
Paul: thanx Chris, been along time brother. we are currently writing music for the next album. it will be the BEST!!! SATHANAS to come. keep eye out for it. I will mention title online in the coming months!!! thanx for the support!!!! HAIL DEATH!!! HAIL SATHANAS!!!
Email: sathanaspaul@hotmail.com