Interview with UKHEL
!!!DEATH METAL FROM CROATIA!!!
Welcome to the FILTHY DOGS OF METAL Webzine.
Tell us a few things about UKHEL (Members, Starting Year etc).
So we are a 4-piece death metal band from Croatia, Dubrovnik. I myself am handling the guitar and vocals, S.S. is behind the drumkit, M.K. is handling the bass and G.R. is shredding the 2nd guitar. Initially the band was formed in 2016 as a 3-piece; G.R. joined us around 2022.
You have recently released your album ''Bred to Conquer''. What is the feedback from your audience as well as from the press?
The feedback has been great so far! What I appreciate the most is that the topic of favorite song on the album varies a lot from person to person.
The cover artwork has a dark atmosphere! Tell us a few things about it.
Ever since we settled on the topic of Mongols and the history of their conquest, I knew Khaos Diktator Design had to be the one to pain that vision of war we had in our minds. The artwork essentially depicts a Mongolian soldier gazing into a pyre that's depicting his own bloody future that awaits him. Khaos Diktator went to great lengths to make sure the armor the soldiers are wearing are all historically accurate, which I immensely appreciate. It is a great piece of art, all in all.
And what about the lyrics?
The lyrics are telling a broader story of some of the bloodiest feats the Mongols accomplished. For example, Crimson Sand is about the sacking of Baghdad; Apterous Pestilence is about the corpses infested with black plague being used as catapult fodder to infect besieged cities; the title track Bred to Conquer is about Genghis Khan himself, etc. In that sense, you could say it's sort of a conceptual album.
How did your cooperation with Black Flame Rebellion occur? What do you prefer, Label or DIY and why?
Kris contacted us by e-mail shortly after we released the album. He showed real enthusiasm and belief in the quality of the record and that was enough for us to warrant a collaboration with him. We are leaning more into the DIY side of things, due to our daily jobs taking up most of our time, we don't want to be chasing anyone's deadlines that aren't our own.
Is there any funny or weird story from the recordings or from your live shows that you would like to share with us?
Well we had one gig in Split a while ago where we were appointed as the "headline" act with 4 other bands playing before us. It didn't really sit well with us because the concert was starting pretty late, which meant we wouldn't be able to start drinking until midnight at least haha. However, midnight would've been an amazing result, because in reality, after a couple broken guitar strings and drunk on-stage-rants, we finally got the chance to play at 2 AM! The venue was half empty by then and most people (other bands included) forgot we were still supposed to play! But despite that, it was still a great night haha.
Do you prefer Vinyl, Tape, CD or Digital Format and why is that?
I prefer vinyl due to sound quality and the art and effort that goes behind designing the product. The whole process of preparing yourself to listen to a vinyl record, perhaps with booklet in hand, just feels the intimate and authentic.
Your music style is Death Metal with Black Metal elements Which are your main influences (Favourite Artists / Bands etc.)
There's a lot of them that we could mention. For me personally it would be bands like Scythian, Behemoth, God Dethroned, Marduk, etc.
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?
I've sacrificed only my time! Hahaha. Ideally you shouldn't sacrifice much else besides that. For us this is a pure passion project; we're not putting all our chips down on becoming the next big thing. This is a very difficult genre to make money out of as we're all aware, so what we'd rather do is just enjoy the ride, play some gigs or tours here and there around Europe, have a couple drinks and meet new likely minded individuals.
Describe your ideal live show as a performance band. Have you already experienced that?
Just an endless sea of bodies crashing into each other, screaming in ecstacy as we pummel their skulls with one riff after the other. Also if I could stop sweating like a pig, that would be great, too.
What do you think about the rise of AI in music production?
I think nothing good of it. I think in a couple years you'll need to "factcheck" every new band you stumble upon, just to make sure it's comprised of actual human beings. One thing we can hope for is that the world of live performances will not usher in an era of hologram Slayers and Black Sabbaths.
What attributes do you think that a new Death Metal Band should have in order to gain identity and be unique?
Just gotta be yourself and practice, practice, practice. Identify which bands are your biggest inspiration, understand what makes them so great, and eventually apply that knowledge to your own craft and give it a spin in order to break through the mould.
Do you believe that Digital Platforms help the new Death Metal Bands? Which, do you think, is the ideal way for a band to promote its work?
I am still very new to the promoting and marketing of one's own material, so I don't think I can say much of substance here. You just have to be persistent and toot your horn on every possible platform. Youtube, Instagram, Spotify, etc. It's not something I'm very comfortable doing, because it all feels a bit masturbatory haha. I'd rather be focused on creating new music instead. I think these platforms offer a great deal of help to newcoming bands, but with the amount of new music being released every day, it's easy to fall between the cracks and into obscurity. That is why you have to stay loud and bother everyone!
From your experience in the music industry, what would you tell to a new Death Metal band to avoid or what to do?
I would tell them to avoid recording albums by themselves hahaha. It's a pain in the ass.
Tell us a few things about the New Underground Metal Scene in Croatia (Bands, Fanzines, Webzines, Metal Clubs etc.)
The metal scene in Croatia has given us some really great bands recently, such as Emberam, Morkera, Metuzalem, Decrepit Altar, etc. The most active city in terms of metal concerts is definitely the capital, Zagreb, with the most prominent clubs being Mochvara, Tvornica Kulture and Boogaloo. There's also a fair number of festivals happening around the country, such as Bear Stone, Dark Circle, Nebesa, Barbarians, etc.
What does Metal means to you? And give us 10 metal albums that run in your veins.
Metal to me means the freedom to be what you want to be, and not letting toxic/jealous people bring you down and trample on your dreams. It would be very difficult to come up with a top 10 I'm 100% certain in, but I will try haha.
1) Immolation - Close to a World Below
2) Bolt Thrower - Those Once Loyal
3) Demolition Hammer - Epidemic of Violence
4) Dismember - Like an Ever Flowing Stream
5) Septicflesh - Sumerian Daemons
6) Repugnant - Epitome of Darkness
7) Cryptopsy - None So Vile
8) Dead Congregation - Graves of the Archangels
9) Acid Bath - When the Kite String Pops
10) Ulcerate - Shrines of Paralysis
Do you know anything about the Hellenic Metal Scene?
Considering that two of my ten favorite metal albums come from Greece, I'd say I know a bit! You have amazing talent coming from there every year. Septicflesh and Rotting Christ were some of the most important bands to me when growing up and developing my taste in metal. Then came Dead Congregation which cemented my love in old school death metal. Then there's Macabre Omen, Kawir, Katavasia, Varathron, Kvadrat, etc. Hellenic black metal is just something else, man.
What are your future plans?
We will soon start working on our next album and hopefully we'll have some gigs underway starting from December. Unfortunately we are too busy with our day jobs to start gigging any sooner than that.
Thank you very much for your time & keep up the good work! The closure is yours.
Thank you for having me! I wish you and your readers all the best, and I hope our paths cross at some gig sooner or later!
By Steve the Filthy Dog.
UKHEL CONTACT:
https://www.facebook.com/ukhelband/
https://www.instagram.com/ukhelband/
https://ukhel.bandcamp.com/album/bred-to-conquer
https://open.spotify.com/artist/1tu5MkADdGClXl9Zz0wnPC