Preternatural are Latvian metal band founded back in 1999, when two friends Serg and Volod, being obsessed with a long standing common dream of creating a band. The band have created the unique link between their influences of death metal power, black metal grimness and ambient music's keyboard atmosphere. The current
line-up features founders Serg (vocals, guitars) and Volod (guitars), Gin (drums), bassist Serhio and Martin on keyboard. Preternatural have released three demos, one EP and two full length albums, including Angeloid which released in physical form on 15th February, 2014. Short while ago we caught up with vocalist Serg for this little conversation regarding their inception, new opus Angeloid, music structure, future plans and many general things.
Metalhead Spotted: Greetings from Metalhead Spotted! how are you doing? Firstly congratulations on your new album. How did the writing and recording process go for this one?
Serg: Greetings guys! I'm doing well, thank you very much! So, yeah the album is finally released and we're so happy about that. We've been working on that like 5 years. From the beginning we had two tracks-"Cryophobia" and "Reptile Wings", they were included in our EP of 2010, then we started composing other songs and it's funny on how the structures and arrangements are being changed during the period form composing to mastering. I mean ok, you expect a song to sound like that and in the end it appeared a totally diffirent track. The recording process wasn't less interesting for us, cause it is the first record of ours that we've tracked, recorded, mixed, mastered, in other words produced by ourselves. We didn't have a proper budget for this one to book an expensive studio, so we had to act on our own this time and I honestly think we have succeded well. Those knowledge we have gain during our career and the rapid technology growth has helped us a lot.
Metalhead Spotted: How did you choose the name Angeloid for new opus?
Serg: I'm really into sci-fo documentals, movies and literature, so I kinda create stories for our songs. I've invented a theory that humanity isn't going anywhere further, cause we still got physical bodies, so we're basically stuck inside our own bodies without letting our souls to go on. And in order to switch ourselves to a diffirent level of existence - need a common death, an apocalypse, that would create such an ammount of energy, which transforms us into Angeloids - the new spiritual beings. I took the word - angel, the spiritual being and aded endind oid - human like. That's the story for a Hollywood blockbuster, ha-ha.
Metalhead Spotted: “Preternatural“ what does that mean? Are there any etimological origins of band name?
Serg: Preternatural it's a synonim to word Supernatural. The diffirence is that Preternatural is rather archaic word. Honestly, the story behind coming up with the band name is a little bit "preternatural". When we started the band with our guitarplayer in 1999 we decided to have very mystical lyrics, so we needed a proper name for the band and I remember myself suddenly opening my mother's English dictionary and then I just saw that word - Preternatural.
Metalhead Spotted: What are your genuine inspirations? What are some of the influences that are behind your wise and powerful scriptures?
Serg: Well, if you mean beyond metal music, then I guess it's silence. Silence makes my right semisphere creating music oh, and of course, computer games and pop music of the 90's.
Metalhead Spotted: Your music structure seems like typical swedish death metal. Plenty of Gothenburg riffing, rapid drumming, blazing solos, and the traditional harsh vocals, though how will you describe your sound to the readers?
Serg: Well, we use to have that kind of influnce in the past you've just mentioned, but as a description I would call it a mixture of death metal riffs, dark ambient music, electronic music with some black metal elements, kinda that.
Metalhead Spotted: How do you think of electronic work that is extremely well structured into your music?
Serg: Oh, actually it is.unseparated piece of us. It helps us to produce our own "unique" sound. I've always liked electronics and always wanted to put it in our music and I believe we've found that right balance we've been searching for years on "Angeloid".
Metalhead Spotted: Do you think that your sound has grown from your Lifetext EP all the way through to Angeloid?
Serg: Of course, exactly "Lifetext" was really influenced by Swedish scene of those times you've mentioned previously. "Angeloid" is something diffirent,something we're really proud of, something that we can freely call as "our music".
Metalhead Spotted: Of all songs you've recorded, which one is your favourite?
Serg: If we speak about just listening it's D.N.End from Angeloid, but for playing live it's Statical from our so-called debut album.
Metalhead Spotted: The band was formed in 1999, did it undergo any line up changes?
Serg: Yes it did, but only with two positions - bass player and keyboard player (dunno, why). We've had a lot of keyboard players in the past and a lot of bass players. For instance, our previous bass player left the band during the recording process of Angeloid, but we've managed to find the perfect replacement. so I believe the line-up that is now has never been so stable.
Metalhead Spotted: Is there anyone in Preternatural involved in any other projects?
Serg: Our guitar player Volod has a metalcore band which is called Trendkill Method. Our bass player Serhio has a progressive death metal project Biomorph. And, me personally I'm a vocalist in the band of Cradle of Filth's drummer - Martin Skaroupka. The band is called Inner Fear, I'm responsible for lyrics and vocal parts there. Our keyboard player Martin records his solo ambient music (by the way his playing really affected the style of Angeloid). Our drummmer Gin is the only fulltime Preternatural member.
Metalhead Spotted: Having been around for about 15 years now, how do you feel about latvian metal scene?
Serg: Sometimes it's rising up, sometimes it's falling apart. Unfortunately, fallings happen more often. The level of performance has been growing every year, but the level of making songs and composing isn't that great. So, we have cool musicians, playing not so good music and this tendency is growing. Not for every band and project, of course. But, I'd really want that our local music be a "jukebox" music, if you know what I mean.
Metalhead Spotted: Finally what future holds for Preternatural? Are there any touring plans?
Serg: We'll be promoting our album by all ways and means and of course will be booking maximum live shows possible. Right now we've got some summer festivals bookes across the Baltic States and Ukraine, so will see what tomorrow knows.
Metalhead Spotted: It was a great pleasure talking to you Serg. Thanks for taking the time out, if you have something to say, do go ahead.
Serg: Thank you very much Akshay for this interview and your support, the pleasure is mine. See you on tour guys and check out our latest album "Angeloid". You may download it absolutely for free from our website http://www.preternatural.lv and if you have something to ask us don't hesistate and give us your thoughts via preternaturalband@gmail.com Cheers!
Preternatural on Facebook
Interviewer: Akshay Gaikwad
Edited by: Mercy Thoras
