Interview with SACRIFIRE

Automatic translation. Improvements are constantly being worked on.

“The music itself invited me to turn a part of myself inside out.”

2 Facts:
– Sacrifire is a collaboration of musicians from Disbelief, Warpath and Décembre Noir, among others.
– The individual band members live in different regions of Germany.

We talk to Sacrifire about their latest album “The Art of Decay” and how to keep a band going when you’re in a long-distance relationship.

Orkus: You could almost be described as a supergroup. What was the idea behind the founding of Sacrifire and how did it come about?
Fabian Regmann: The term “supergroup” has been used a lot recently. However, I see us more as a bunch of good friends who have created something independent alongside their main bands. The initial spark came from Joe and Dirk, who have been good friends for many years. When the first song ideas were born, I joined as drummer and the three of us recorded the first EP relatively quickly. Joe did both the guitar and bass recordings. Since it was clear to us from the beginning that we also wanted to be active live, we started looking for three guitarists. After a short brainstorming session, we decided on our preferred candidates – and they all agreed straight away. As unbelievable as it may sound, it was clear from the first rehearsal that this was the perfect line-up for Sacrifire. Since that moment, the former trio has grown into a full band.

Influences
O: Musically, you have a lot of influences. Were you already clear about the direction you wanted to take before you formed the band?
FR: We had a rough course – or rather common preferences for different styles of playing, which are not the immediate focus in our main bands. Joe and Dirk are really into Devin Townsend, for example, especially his masterpiece “Oceanmachine”, which I hadn’t really had on my radar before. I’m probably the one who is most rooted in doom and grew up with bands like My Dying Bride or Type O Negative. In the end, I think you will always recognize a certain Disbelief touch, because Joe is the main songwriter and Alex and I were also active in Disbelief for a few years. Dirk’s vocals give it a character all of its own, which in the end always makes it sound like Sacrifire.

Scattered
O: As you are all still busy with other bands and projects, how do the rehearsals work out?
Alex Hagenauer: Because of all our other musical commitments, we are forced to plan ahead. This applies to both rehearsals and live shows. What’s more, we live all over Germany, from Hamburg to Bavaria and Saxony to North Rhine-Westphalia. This only works with a lot of homework and rather infrequent rehearsals. Of course we would like to meet up more often, as we also like each other off stage. Unfortunately, this is rarely possible, but is celebrated all the more extensively when it is.

O: How do you organize the songwriting?
Dirk Weiß: So far, Joe has written all the material. He composed all the songs for “The Art of Decay”. We only worked on the arrangements occasionally, solos were added to the songs by the guitarists and the tasks were distributed as to which guitarist would play the composed notes. Most of the songs for the next album are already finished, also composed by Joe! Rafael has also written a song for the upcoming album and I have something up my sleeve too!

Emptiness?
O: The “The Art of Decay” is a very atmospheric and thought-provoking album. What themes inspire you for the lyrics?
DW: In many ways, I approached the lyrics with completely different thoughts than I usually do. The music itself invited me to turn a part of myself inside out, to address issues that affect me as a person. Nothing world political, global. I wrote the lyrics to “Emptiness” in a state of complete exhaustion. It was like a conversation in which I gave shape to my exhaustion. It was a similar story with the lyrics to “Arms of Morpheus”. I have been suffering from insomnia for some time. The text describes this recurring agrypnia and the longing for sleep. The album is very personal, lyrics and music contributed in their performance and execution to create an atmosphere with a lot of depth and dedication!

Katalysator?
O: How did the rather unusual but very atmospheric track “Transmigration” come about? Jochen Trunk: “Transmigration” was created after a very sad and emotionally stressful situation at my sister-in-law’s deathbed. That really touched me and this piece of music helped me to express this powerlessness. Unfortunately, it was not the only difficult experience after the loss of three family members within 15 months.

Light-hearted team spirit
O: What keeps a group of individuals like you together?
JT: I think we all have a lot of fun experiencing music together, the whole thing, having a carefree time together on stage, in the rehearsal room or at the bar! Everyone finds themselves in Sacrifire and can contribute creatively and develop musically! It’s quite different from our main bands!

Sam Oeder

Line-up:
Dirk Weiß – Vocals
Alex Hagenauer – Guitar
Jochen Trunk – Guitar, Bass
Rafael Dobbs – Guitars
Boris Pavlov – Guitars
Fabian Regmann – Drums

Watch the clip for “If They Could Speak” here: