Can you tell me a little bit about the beginnings of the band?
The band was formed when Clase Baja split up at the end of 1999 and beginning of 2000.

Drummer Carlos "Yagui" Castro came from that band and got together with old friends to form Sabathan, that within a week was playing live. In that moment there was Axel laying the guitar that later would go to the interior of the country. Today we are Yagui on drums, Hugo "Chacal" Menguele in vocals, el "Gordo" Diego on keyboards, Víctor "Vomitus" Santillan on bass and "Vainilla" on guitars.


¿How could you define the music that you make?
We let that definition to the listener, it is just a fusion of our brains. A lot of people say that it is close to death metal with a lot of black metal elements.


Are you composing new material? How would you describe it?
If a band stops composing new material they would extinguish and we define it as challenging as always. What we have in our heads this days is an album or an advance of it. And it would be in the same vein than "Fuego Eterno", without that much keyboards.


Do you have in mind releasing your music through a label or independently?

The idea is releasing, no matter the way. We think that the most probable way would be independently. We are conscious that the possibilities that a label looks into an extreme music band are almost zero this days.


How important are the keybords in the band?
They are ideal to create atmospheres that make the listener dive in the ambient where we want to transport him. We don´t use them as a basement, but to give intro and closure to the songs, and that does not mean that we are going to stop using them.


Which is the vital factor in Sabathan´s music: speed, power or dark atmospheres?
It is an alchemy that we think conserves all this things in their right way.

There is not a factor that is more important than the others, the important thing is their combination.


Looking back... Would you have changed something in "Fuego Eterno"?
Yes, obviously we didn´t like the mix, but we have to adapt ourselves tothe budget (and always have). Regarding the rest it is what we wanted to express and there would have been no changes.


How do Sabathan´s songs arise? Do they arise on rehearsals or each one composes by himself?
Noth ways, always adding the style of each member on theidea that someone brings. Somebody brings an idea to the rehearsal place and on it we start working untl we finish the song with everybody´s work. 


Which are the bands that have influenced Sabathan´s music?
Each member has very wide tastes, so we respect from Thrash to Noise, Traditional Heavy, etc. It is obvious that we like more the most extreme things and a lot of bands mark our way, but in a band were there is a lot of mixture it is really difficul to mention specific influences.


Do you have ome shows planned to promote "Fuego Eterno"?
Of course we are always ready to play nad we are always invited, we can not complain about that. We play once or twice a month in the west zone of Gran Buenos Aires and we hope to do it in the Capital and the rest of the country someday.


Which topics are on Sabathan´s lyrics?
They are social topics focused from a dark optic. They are of the style "hell is here and you are not going to escape". No way our music could be about other things than what we express on it.


How do you see the heavy scene in Argentina? ¿Do you believe that black/death metal is an ignored style here?
All the other way round, it is a style that is growing. What happens is that they are the less accepted style and they don´t have so much followers, but they are the most loyal ones.. Our scene is very healthy today with a lot of bands fighting to continue advancing..

Something more to add?
Yes, we want to thank you for promoting this scene and we hope to meet you personally some day. Don´t stop going to concerts to discover and support the bands and if you can write us to our email address:
mailsabathan@yahoo.com . Muchas gracias por el aguante.

 

Interview by Federico Marongiu

 

SABATHAN - DISCOGRAPHY

Fuego Eterno - CD

 

ACTUAL LINEUP

Yagui - batería

Hugo"Chacal" Menguele - voz

"Gordo" Diego - teclados

Víctor "Vomitus"Santillan - bajo

"Vainilla" - guitarras.