SacriFist

Sammy, Michael, Byron, Shaun and Dwayne have one aim – to keep the heart of Melodic Metal beating strongly in South Africa!!
SacriFist is one of the longest running metal bands in South African history, with some of the highest selling album and merchandise sales in the local metal industry. But live is where the true SacriFist is revealed!

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We got hold of SacriFist to take a moment out of their busy touring schedule to answer some very important questions that we had ready to be catapulted their way. The band launched a very successful counter-attack and assaulted us with the following answers!

Interview By: Scream

Published: 2009-10-10

HeadbangToday: Right, I just had to start off this interview with a very important question. Byron, your guitarist has resigned from the band just recently due to a heart related issue. We grieve with you at the sudden loss of a very important band member and this could not have happened at a worst time after your tour in Germany. We wish Byron all the best and a rapid recovery!
Are you going to get someone to fill in for him now that the tour is finished? Where do you go from here?

SacriFist:
Michael: Well the good thing is that Byron is OK and the tour was finished as planned. However there were quite a few scary incidents while we were on tour. To fill his shoes, that is going to be quite a task indeed, but we will just take it one day at a time. There are no hard feelings or any bad vibes between Byron and the rest of the guys, so we will still perform at the shows that we have committed to; such as Ramfest, Mutherfudd and the Thornrose festival. If it is with Byron or a new guitarist, we will have to wait and see how things work out.

Sammy: Firstly thanks for the interview! Yes it’s a setback but we have to push forward and we’re going to have a hard time filling Byron’s shoes because all the members have a very close relationship with each other.

Shaun: Lucky for us, Byron’s love & commitment for SacriFist has seen him & us through our German tour. Thank you Byron m/

HeadbangToday: Tell us more about your tour in Germany. What’s the
response been like from the audience?

SacriFist:
Michael: For me going to Germany is more than just another tour. My entire family is there and throwing back a few beers with all the relatives is always good. We traveled about 7500km’s, slept very little at times, drank unconceivable amounts of beer, had some shows, made plenty of new friends along the way. Conclusion: – the next tour is already being planned.

Sammy: Germany, oh man what can I say, wonderful people, wonderful culture; we’ve made so many new friends over there and I cannot wait to go back.

Shaun: We have had a very positive response from the German audience. They really seemed to enjoy our music & our merchandise.

HeadbangToday: You’ve been in the South African metal industry for 15
years now, and you’ve clearly built yourselves a solid fan base back home with the release of five sucessful albums. What’s your take on the metal scene in South Africa?

Do you think we need more headbangers in South Africa or is it the industry, promoters and record labels that need to pull their weight in order to uplift the scene a bit more back home?

SacriFist:
Michael: The metal scene in SA is most certainly on the way up. I think the biggest hurdle in SA is to get everyone, from the bands, the promoters, the organizers, all to work together in order to bring the metal scene in SA to the heights that it really can go. At this point it is still quite a bit everyone for themselves, except for a select few.

Sammy: We can always do with MORE people supporting the local scene, I think it’s picking up and the younger generation contributes A LOT.

Shaun: The metal scene has gotten better, however there is still a lot more work that needs to be done in South Africa.

HeadbangToday: There you go kids! The future of SA metal is in your hands! Now put that Eminem CD away and help yourself to some SacriFist! This is what real men listen to anyway!

In your 15-year reign you’ve seen members come and go. Tell
us a bit more about that. Obviously your band is stronger than ever with the
most experience a band from the South could have in the past decade. Why have members left in the past?

SacriFist:
Michael: It is always very difficult when a member is no longer with the band. One thing that Sacrifist has always and always will be is we work very hard on the friendship and trust level between the band members. If something threatens this bond we fight back with everything we have. But we also need to realize that life changes and that people have personal things to attend to. We as a band respect that and when those times come, well, such is life.

Sammy: In South Africa, It’s VERY difficult to keep a band going, People’s priorities change, some become better people and some are just not worth knowing, some start families and some just never learn, I mean I’ve personally lost jobs because of the band due to a heavy gigging schedule BUT this is something that I love so much that losing a job is not so scary to me at all.

Shaun: People’s goals & passions change after a few years. You can’t really blame them. It’s human nature I suppose.

HeadbangToday: We love heavy, therefore we love SacriFist! We would also love to know a bit more about the processes involved when you write your songs.

SacriFist:
Michael: Sometimes before we get into a serious band practice I will be warming up, just randomly jamming something, Sammy might join in with a riff and a seed is planted. We have a track that we have been working on for about 3 years ‘the one that will never be done’, /laughs/.

Sammy: I usually come up with some riff then Michael and I put it together, then we present it to the rest of the guys and then the chopping and changing starts until we’re all happy with what we’ve got. THEN Dwayne would write lyrics with the help of Shaun.

Shaun: Musically we build on what Sammy has come up with in terms of riffs, melodies etc. Lyrically it’s between Dwayne, Byron & myself.

HeadbangToday: How does the beer in Germany compare to the beer in South
Africa? (Answer very very carefully)

SacriFist:
Michael: Well being a German I think my answer will be very biased. /laughs/ Let us just say all beer is good!

Sammy: /laughs/ OK I will try to answer carefully… hmm it doesn’t, there is just so much beer there that it’s bloody scary to even try to compare it to SA, Black Label is still my thing though!

Shaun: I’d move to Germany just for the beer! That is my heaven!!!

HeadbangToday: During an earlier conversation you’ve mentioned that you,
as a band are very good friends with extreme metallers, Mind Assault,  which we interviewed earlier this year. Do you think there’s a possibility that you guys might collaborate one day and pull out some heavily mixed awesomeness from a hat?

SacriFist:
Michael: Sounds like fun! I think had we been located in the same city, we would have already put something like this together, but who knows.

Sammy: Of course something like that may happen. I think it’s just hard to get to do something like that due to the fact that we’re all busy with our own things…

Shaun: We love our brothers from Cape Town & if we could someday sort something out like that, that would be awesome!!!

HeadbangToday: We always ask this question to all the bands we interview,
but i personally feel that your answer would matter the most to new bands that
are starting off their journey. What advice would you give them?

SacriFist:
Michael: I have to ask the question, why do you play an instrument? For me it’s because I really love to play drums. That is all that matters. There is so much bullshit and manipulating that goes on in the music industry, it can really tear you apart. But if you remind yourself why you do this and focus on the good and enjoyable aspects, this keeps me going.

Sammy:  GO FOR IT! And never forget why you play in that band because it should first and foremost be for the love of your music…

Shaun: Work hard! Stay true to yourselves & never let the sun shine out your arse!

HeadbangToday: Tell us about some of your worst and best gigs as well as
some of the weirdest shit that has happened to you while gigging.

SacriFist:
Michael: Without a doubt we have had our share of really bad gigs, organization a mess, things go technically wrong, equipment gets stolen… you name it and we have had it! The important thing is that as a band you analyze what went wrong and try your best that it doesn’t happen again. However I promise we have had the same thing go wrong many times. This is just part of live performance and you need to accept it, and move on. Best gigs, luckily they outweigh the bad ones.

Sammy: hmmm weird shit… seeing tits in your face is weird. Seeing Agro naked on stage is weird (VERY WEIRD), Worst gig had to be “Street Café” in Edenvale. Best gigs everything else.

Shaun: My e-string snapped in a song, I put on a new e-string as fast as possible. As I start the next song, the new e-string goes & snaps again.

HeadbangToday: Wait a minute… Agro naked on stage? Now that’s a bit weird indeed!  What’s the first thing you want to do as soon as you get
back home?

SacriFist:
Michael: SHAG!

Sammy: Chill with my family, play games.

Shaun: Shag & then ride my bike!

HeadbangToday: Well… Shag away! The human race are known to be the bunnies of the primate family! How does your new album compare to your previous releases?

Has your music matured along with the band or did you keep and maintain
certain elements?

SacriFist:
Michael: Every band has their unique element that stays forever, but musically you need to evolve or like you put it ‘mature’ to keep the audience interested. If you stay on the same level, then people get bored and move on. I truly hope that we have managed to keep the audience interested by the changes we have made from album to album. Well that is our aim anyway.

Sammy: If you mean Surrealist Plague, I think our music has matured a lot also we’ve opened up our minds to other things such as keyboards as well and even a little bit of clean vocals.

Shaun: Our music has certainly matured over the years but we have held on to certain elements that make us SacriFist.

HeadbangToday:  Now that you have claimed Germany, which country will be your next target?

SacriFist:
Michael: As mentioned we are already planning the next Germany tour. Why not USA or any other country you may ask. The potential market in Germany is so big that we can tour in Germany twice a year for the next 10 years and still break new ground. It’s like selling a new brand of beer. You choose a market, a geographical location,… all part of the strategy, and you put all your effort into this section. Once you have ‘claimed’ it and it is supporting itself, then you move on. USA is however on our list and we will be there in the near future, but I think we will be spending a lot of time in Europe concentrating on Germany for quite a while still.

Sammy: The plan is to go back to Germany in 2010, and then in 2011 we would love to play the states…

Shaun: Hahaha – you’ll have to wait for that news

HeadbangToday: Have you ever thought about doing unplugged versions of
your songs? Let’s call it melodic accoustic.

SacriFist:
Michael: I would like to be a little more adventurous and try things like that, but everything in Sacrifist is discussed and decided upon. Majority rules.

Sammy: Not a fuck, We’re a metal band. We’ve done that once and that was enough.

Shaun: Yes we have already. It’s called Ghostly shores. We played ghostly shores on Tv when we were interviewed by Barney Simon.

HeadbangToday: That is what defines a metal band… honesty and keeping it metal! Let us in on some exclusive information… When will a new
album be in the pipeline?

SacriFist:
Michael: This is always a very difficult question because as a band you only want to press the album when you are 100% happy that it is complete. But this is never the case. You always find things to change, improve, and add elements that you only think of when listening to a rough studio mix. But somewhere you have to draw the line and say now it’s time to press. New album is in the making, but no recording date fixed or anything like that. Between us, /laughs/ there is a strong possibility that we will be recording the next album in Germany.

Sammy: We’re currently putting material together, and it’s good thus far, personally I am very keen to get one out before we go to Germany again.

Shaun: Probably in the early year of next.

HeadbangToday: In our secret underground labratory, we’ve done some sick experiments on a couple of unfortunate headbangers. We have discovered however that they tend to get very emotional when we expose them to commercialism. Have you guys ever considered releasing commercial songs in order to reach a wider range of audience?

SacriFist:
Michael: Sadly yes, however when we sit down to write a ‘commercial’ track, we always find ourselves scrapping it half way. It just isn’t Sacrifist! Our general consensus is if you like our music then great, if you don’t, well that’s one of those things. Sorry for you.

Sammy: /laughs/ Yes we have thought of it but IF we do that then all that we are is lost, SO no I don’t think we will ever go into that direction.

Shaun: It just would not be SacriFist then!

HeadbangToday: Tell us about a typical day in the life of of SacriFist.

SacriFist:
Michael: Sex, drugs, rock and roll. /laughs/  No not really. We are normal people doing normal things just like everyone else. However we have been blessed to be able to perform for so many years and do what we truly love to do. There is no real typical day. When we tour things are really crazy, hectic, tiring, partying,… but back at home it’s just like everyone else’s days.

Sammy: Work, get home, spend some time with the family… this routine usually ends on Friday and then we have practice or shows… IF there are upcoming shows then we usually put in some more practice.

Shaun: We all basically still have day jobs, so our lives are still very similar to everyone else’s.

HeadbangToday: Give us your thoughts on:

The future of metal in South Africa:
Michael: It’s definitely on the way up. Big things to come I think!

Sammy: Thumbs up for sure.

Shaun: Needs a lot of work but it’s on the right path.

Your future material and what we can expect:
Michael: We will always try to improve on the previous, make it more diverse but we will always keep the balls that make Sacrifist.

Sammy: We have to top Surrealist Plague.

Shaun: We hope not to disappoint!

The idea of headlining for a Headbang Today festival in the future:
Michael:  /smiles uncontrollably/

Sammy: That sounds like a fucking sweet plan!

Shaun: FUCK YEAH!!!!!

The past:
Michael: Let’s not dwell in the past. A wise pig once on said: ‘You got to keep your behind in you past’ or something like that.

Sammy: Is where all bad things must stay.

Shaun: Having good times with good people

The present:
Michael: There is no time like now. You want to do something, now is the time. Seize the moment because tomorrow comes quicker than you think.

Sammy: LIVE IT UP! You only have one life to enjoy it and don’t make the same mistakes twice.

Shaun: Enjoying life with SacriFist!

Time travelling:
Michael: hmmmmm. I suppose I can go back and have a second chance to shag the high school hottie that got away. /laughs/

Sammy: Geez, after seeing “The Time Machine” I’m not interested in that shit.

Shaun: I wish!!! I’d never run out of beer then!!!!

HeadbangToday: Any last words?

SacriFist:
Michael: Thank you to everyone that has supported us! I can’t say much more. THANK YOU!

Sammy: Thank you very much for the interview, it’s great to have people like yourselves who support local metal!

Shaun: I hope we can get together real soon for a few beers!!!!

SCREAM: Oh we will Shaun, we WILL! I’ll see you guys on the 10th of December!

Official Website: http://www.sacrifist.com

Check Them out on Myspace!! http://www.myspace.com/sacrifistband

INTERVIEW BY: