EMQ’s With The Occult
EMQ’s With The Occult
Hi Everyone! Welcome to another EMQs interview, this time with Canadian Alt-Metal/ Rock band, The Occult. Huge thanks to their Vocalist and Songwriter, Eric Savanis, for taking part.
What is your name, what do you play and can you tell us a little bit about the history of the band?
I’m Eric Savanis, lead singer & songwriter for The Occult. The idea for this band started in 2011 when I first wrote the songs that become the 1st record. After countless line-up changes, existential crises, giving up, starting over again & every other obstacle imaginable, I finally got my act together and found some guys to start playing and releasing the material. We just put our first full-length out August 19th and couldn’t be happier with the reception we’ve been getting from everyone.
How did you come up with your band name?
I was on the phone with my former bass player, Gianni Berretta, of House of Dusk fame, and we were coming up with these really lame generic names for our respective bands. At the time, I was reading a great book by Colin Wilson called The Occult and just blurted it out as a good example for a band name and we both started laughing. The rest as they say, whoever the hell THEY are, is history.
What Country / Region are you from and what is the Metal / Rock scene like there?
We hail from Montreal Canada. The scene here is small as Montreal is a smaller city than most musical epicentres in North America, be it Toronto, Austin, New York or Vancouver. Despite its size, it features some great bands like House of Dusk, Double Crossed, Guttrott & Ruby Slipper. We’re fortunate to have either already played with these bands or have upcoming shows with them. This city, despite being small, is brimming with talent so we consider ourselves fortunate to be immersed in such a rich scene with so many talented people.
What is your latest release? (Album, EP, Single, Video)
Our first full length came out on August 19th. 2 weeks prior to that we put our 2nd video for our song ‘Watch You Die’. Our guitarist Raf did it and it’s fucking incredible. He probably spent 160 + hours working on it so everyone should definitely check it out. It’s definitely something else.
Who have been your greatest influences?
Growing up in the 80’s you couldn’t help being influenced by all the great music on the radio. We have to remember back then, even our Pop musicians, be it Madonna or Michael Jackson, could actually sing, there was no auto-tune so you had come out punching right out of the gate. All that stuff was great, but when Metallica came out with the ‘One’ video, I knew a door opened that could never be closed. Something changed in me when I saw that. To me, Metallica was a force to be reckoned with in the 80’s, especially with all that great competition coming from bands like Slayer and Megadeth. If I had to pick one band it would be Metallica. Despite us not being a thrash band by any stretch of the imagination there’s a bit of Metallica, be it music or attitude, permeating in everything I write.
What first got you into music?
I mean, I don’t know if there was a moment per se when I first got into it. I would say that I was simply born to play music. It was something that was just there. Music was a magnet that pulled me to it – even if I wanted to not do it, I don’t think I really have a choice.
If you could collaborate with a current band or musician who would it be?
The guys in Type O maybe. Maybe Life of Agony. I would certainly love to have Paul Bostaph or Dave Lombardo play drums on a song that I wrote. Maybe even Matt Cameron. The 80’s & 90’s, particularly the Thrash stuff and the music coming out of Seattle were just too good. Anybody growing up then was spoiled rotten, the music was just so goddamn incredible.
If you could play any festival in the world, which would you choose and why?
I mean, we’re from Montreal so playing Heavy MTL would be really cool. Wacken or Hellfest would certainly be awesome as well.
What’s the weirdest gift you have ever received from a fan?
Nothing yet but the guys and I certainly like free stuff… you guys and gals can send us Bitcoin, that would be awesome haha!
If you had one message for your fans, what would it be?
That we’re just getting started and there’s a lot of material coming your way.
If you could bring one rock star back from the dead, who would it be?
To pick one is really hard because I have at least 5 on the list. Peter Steele, Kurt Cobain, Randy Rhoads, Layne Staley and Cliff Burton. I mean, how the hell can anyone just pick one?
What do you enjoy the most about being a musician? And what do you hate?
Just writing songs. Creating something out of nothing, granted I don’t even think I’m the one at the wheel, to be honest. I think we’re just a filter for whatever it is we’re downloading from Satan knows where consciousness or what have you. We are the vessel for these sounds & rhythms that we filter through our experiences. Long answer short, creating. What I hate, I mean the anxiety or butterflies you get before performing really sucks. I don’t enjoy that at all, granted I think it serves a function of some kind, probably tied into the fight or flight mechanism that we all share. As a performer, I think if you went on stage without that, it wouldn’t be the same.
If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?
Being independent, the band is not immersed in it at all, to be honest. We book our own shows and press our own records, so we don’t have to rely on anyone else. It would be nice to go back to the glory days when a label threw money at a band and grew with them but the internet came along and removed that option, so we’re left to our own devices. Whether bands are better off or not remains to be seen.
Name one of your all-time favourite albums?
“Aion” by Dead Can Dance. It’s spiritual without any religious trappings. Beautiful and extremely melancholic which I love. I consider Lisa Gerrard & Brendan Perry to be 2 of the greatest musicians to ever walk the earth. We’re really lucky to have them.
What’s best? Vinyl, Cassettes, CDs or Downloads?
Downloads are garbage. I would pick a physical format over them any day of the week. The fact that cassettes actually came back is pretty cool, but they still and always will sound like shit. I mean CDs definitely sound better than anything but having a record on vinyl, with the artwork in your hands is really the coolest thing ever.
What’s the best gig that you have played to date?
We had some pretty good ones, but our last show was our record launch and that went super well. The turnout was great, and people were singing the words to some of the tunes which have been happening more and more. Seeing people do that certainly floors me and the guys in the band. It’s just a really cool thing to have people participating and liking what we do.
If you weren’t a musician, what else would you be doing?
Probably assassinating politicians ha ha! Is there a worse way to live than masquerading as someone who wants to help humanity and then doing the complete opposite? I can’t imagine a more disgusting way to spend your time on earth than being a professional liar.
Which five people would you invite to a dinner party?
Dead or alive? Peter Steele, Kurt Cobain, Layne Staley, Chris Cornell & Cliff Burton. Finding a way to bring them back from the dead would be an added bonus as well.
What’s next for the band?
We have a big show coming up in 2 weeks with our friends in House of Dusk opening up for Wednesday 13 at a legendary local venue called Foufouness Electrique. Playing on the same stage that Kurt stood on, Trent stood on or Peter Steele stood on is a huge mindfuck as well as a complete honour. After that, we will be releasing a new song around Halloween and then working on our next video.
What Social Media / Website links do you use to get your music out to people?
The obvious one would be Bandcamp https://theoccultband.bandcamp.com/releases where you can buy the record directly from the band be it on CD or the FLAC files. Our linktree has all our social media stuff so be sure to subscribe! https://linktr.ee/officialtheoccultband
Time for a very British question now. As an alternative to the humble sandwich, is the correct name for a round piece of bread common in the UK either a Bap, a Barm (or Barm Cake), a Batch, a Bun, a Cob, a Muffin, a Roll or a Tea Cake
Man…I literally have NO idea haha. Should I have googled this before answering? Would that be considered cheating?
Thank you for your time. Is there anything else that you would like to add?
That we appreciate the interview and that if anyone wants to support us they can purchase the record directly from our Bandcamp or subscribe to your YouTube channel. Every little bit of support helps us. Thanks!
Disclaimer: This interview is solely the property of Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this interview, unless you have the strict permission of said party. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.
