Night Ritual web-zine


Interview with Sathor of Ars Macabra:

I was very happy to discover ARS MACABRA, a black metal band from Italy.
Their music was full of aggression, anger, passion, and darkness - so of course, I liked them!
I wanted to learn more about the band, and fortunately guitarist Sathor agreed to do this interview.
Read our chat below:

At what point in your life did you know you wanted to write and play Black Metal?

(Sathor) It was 1998 when I listened to the first Dark Funeral MCD and I finally realized I wanted to play fast and extreme music in that way , with good production like the classical Swedish death metal but still grim evil and obscure.
Then I saw them in concert and met Nero Baratro (bass) that has the same ideas..


Was it hard to find other musicians to jam with?

Absolutely……is….hell…..people sometimes don't even know what they really want or why they want to play.
The worst are those that show off too much, very superficial when it comes to be serious practicing and playing.
And also for dedication. on the other side you can find tons of kids that play and already feels like a rockstar or behave like that or intend music just like a matter of dry technique,
so they are kind of snotty to more raw and fast music that’s why in Italy many idiots think that just power metal or progressive metal is a level up just because is technically more complex,
(which is relatively true also) so we are full also of really boring music.
On the other side many beginners kids intend black metal only when its minimal boring and badly played and that’s the “True black metal” current which is for many bands,
just another way to hide their lack of ideas and musicianship skills after all….

Do you write all the lyrics?
I did in the past and I will do some in the future, although Myst will take charge of that. I want to concentrate more on the music.

Where do you get the inspiration for your lyrics?

Mostly I would say ..are introspective.
I try to channel my rage into words that can go along with the music I play, I don't believe that much in taking inspiration from issues that don’t involve me personally
cause I don’t feel them to know….
that's why I avoid explicit reference to Satanism or political, war issue and so on…though I've my own ideas and they come out in between the lines …
I think that is the best way for me to express thoughts.

5- Which is the difference between all your releases, how did you get the contract with Elegy?

the demo is more raw and primitive , we had the contract with Elegy because Elegy wants more extreme stuff and bands and has a huge catalog of cult and extreme bands...

I like the more straightforward, fast and aggressive approach to Black Metal,
it seems you do as well.
I think if you want to have opera, violins, and things like that, fine, but don't call it black metal - it should be called another thing.
What do you think?


I think yes. You can hear a lot of bands that if it wasn’t because they wear make up and have some kind of attitude you would consider them just heavy metal or ambient music…..
this is the other side of bringing your music into the so called black metal stream….
music speaks for itself and in the end it is weird to see people that wear spikes make up and talk and refer every line to “Satan” and when you hear their music you know is all so fake and weak…..
its so funny to me….the most funny things is to see them in their simple common day to day life and realize they are not what they say….


Is Christianity a big influence on the day to day lives of most Italians?

Well… yeah to a lot of people with no cultural background or not that much education or interests it is a source of comfort,
especially for old people in Italy which are statistically the majority of the population today.
Then there people that grow up with Christian values but aren’t orthodox….then there are immigrants that’s another issue…

Do you have any opinion on all the terrorism happening in the world right now? Do you think it will influence people in the middle east musically, and soon we will see Muslim Death Metal?

Is all happening in the end because of money…..and who can make to take decision by the political parts,
War and turmoil in middle east hardly would ever stop wherever there is a war there is an interest of money and profits.
And even if somewhere it will stop it will start somewhere else there is an attrition of interests ,
peace or non war is just a balance of power in all between there is a lot of speculation between so called pacifists on one side,
and greedy people that would betray everybody and prostitute for money.
The terrorism is a desperate way of some to in part respond to conventional war on one side
and on the other just gather money and power through terror but in the end their aim is not the religion or integralism it all comes down to their interests,
like Bin Laden who is a millionaire and those who fights and die are poor desperate fanatics, everybody is fooling out somebody this because people is stupid and ignorant….
Yea why not? there are death metal bands from both Israel, Arabia, and Philippines ….I wouldn’t be surprised …


Is it difficult to play gigs where you live?
I live in Los Angeles, and so there are so many clubs here I could go to a show everyday if I wanted to.
However, not all clubs like to book metal shows because they are scared of mosh pits.
Actually, it's more like they are afraid of getting sued if someone gets hurt.
How are the clubs in Italy and how do they feel about extreme metal bands playing live?


Here things are different because the point is that they just take in consideration the convenience of the event,
they just want to fill up the club with people they don’t really care what kind of music you play and if you do mosh pit and all that stuff,
security is not a priority , money is….if a guy get hurt is not gonna sue anybody ..cause here justice doesn’t work like in U.S.

Are there any other bands in your area that you would recommend checking out?

I like Abgott which are Italians but they live in the UK, then Mater Tenebra but I just got their first CD, then all other bands I like are from other countries….

How has "Daemonolatria Hypnotica" been received by other metal fans and press?

Although unfortunately is not well distributed all around, my impression is good,
reviews are pretty positive I wasn’t expecting that really, cause is it already an old CD for us and we have better ideas and more energy to put in new songs etc.
so we know we can do better both on the music and production but so far so good, more underground than this…LOL


Think you'll ever come play here in the US?

We hope so!! depends if anybody is willing to promote us there and like our music….

I want to thank you for your time, and wish all the best for ARS MACABRA.

Thanks to you and for your interview!