Band Interview: Skitarg
Games, Brrraaains & A Head-Banging Life are pleased to bring you an interview with Thrash/Black/Death band ‘Skitarg’ who refer to themselves as ‘clown metal’.
1. Tell us how you got started.
Me and the other lead vocalist Necofilip wanted to start a band that sounded really pissed off and SKITARG means “pissed off” in Swedish so we didn’t really waste time picking names.
After recording a demo or two our friends seemed to like the music so we figured we´d get some more band members to play live. Since then our following has grown and we’ve gotten to play all the major metal festivals in Sweden and most of the smaller venues too. We’ve also released four albums and made six music videos, but this isn’t a job interview, so let´s move on…
2. How would you describe your sound?
We call our style of music ‘clown metal’. It´s basically a mix of melodic metal, thrash and black metal, topped with catchy choruses and sprinkled with elements of rage, comedy and absurdity.
3. What bands/artists would you say have influenced your style of music?
Usually it´s me or Necrofilip who writes the songs but I can only give account for my influences: Satyricon, Pantera, Testament, Meshuggah, Soilwork, In Flames and Metallica.
4. Has the rise of YouTube & music streaming helped or hindered you as a band?
It has absolutely helped promote our band to new followers, along with social media like Facebook and Instagram. However, it has also drastically cut the revenue we would have gotten if people payed for our product. I get that we should be thankful for people listening to us and for our music being distributed virally, but it would also be nice to afford to print new albums, record music videos and create merchandise without having to borrow money or take from our own pockets.
In case the reader doesn’t know who we are, we are a middle-sized band in Sweden and most people in the metal scene know who we are. So if a band that size can’t make ends meet, how could any of the smaller bands?
5. What do you enjoy doing when you’re not making music?
Absolutely nothing. God, I wish I could do nothing for just one day. That would be awesome.
6. What are your future plans musically? Tours?
We released a new album this spring and will be playing smaller venues around Sweden up until summer. Then we hope to play some of the major festivals this year, since we took a break this last summer. Other than that we are working on new material for the fifth album, and hope to see you live!
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We’d like to thank Skitarg for taking the time to speak with us. You can listen to their music over on Spotify, TuneIn & Apple Music. Find out more, keep up to date with news & listen to select tracks via their website, Facebook Page, Myspace, Twitter & YouTube Channel.
