I'm sure most extreme metal fans are super excited for the new Sadus album, right? I had the honor of speaking with Darren Travis (guitar/vocals) about the long-awaited Sadus record and their plans for the near future. Now read on and enjoy our conversation!!!
Hi Darren! I can't tell you how happy I am that on November 17th, 2023 Nuclear Blast Records will release the new Sadus attack. Since the last full-length album was released in 2006, please tell us about the formation and details of the upcoming sixth LP.
- Well, thank you, nice to talk with you. The time just goes by. Sadus is not a profitable band, so when it comes to life in general we have to have a regular job just like everyone. I chose to feed my family and have a place to live. That has been what we have been doing for the last 16 years. Hardly playing music, just for myself. I started writing a lot of songs and asked the guys if they were interested in listening to them and see if we wanted to get together. But no response. Everyone was just doing life stuff. I just kept writing and living for myself until Jon came into the picture. We started looking at my songs and finished like six of them, going into the studio and busted them out...
Fans can already experience 3 new songs/lyric videos out of 10, which is pretty awesome. Personally, I'm very satisfied with what I've heard so far and impatiently waiting for the album to come out. By the way, what was it like working with Juan Urteaga at Trident Studios? How long did it take to record the new masterpiece?
- Three songs and it is a masterpiece? Cool... Anyway... We started off recording six songs with Juan at Trident Studios just like the last album. I of course LOVE working with Juan, he is the local hero around these parts and an extremely talented engineer. He is super cool and locally close to my house, so it really works out well.
We took those six songs, and asked around and an old friend Monte Conner from back in the day, if he knew anyone who would like to hear the songs. He said, YES. ME»! and I work for Nuclear Blast now... So we worked out a deal and went back in the studio to record four more tunes. That was like a year or so, and another year to get everything together towards now November 17th release day...
Your new album is called "The Shadow Inside". Could you enlighten us about its lyrical content? What inspired you to write this time?
- I was in a place, just me alone, writing, playing, not talking with really anyone, out of the scene. So the music and lyrics are very personal. They come from various emotions and inner feelings that I was going through at the time. "The Devil in Me", "No Peace", "Scorched and Burnt", all of them really are a piece of me, the inside of me, and not really a good place sometimes. So when it came time to have a title for the album, "The Shadow Inside" more or less represents the whole lyrical theme...
I can't leave without mentioning the amazing album cover created by Travis Smith. How does the cover relate to the lyrics? Whose ideas was it based on anyway?
- The lyrics and theme was presented to Travis, and we explained the concept. He started mocking up some things to represent "The Shadow Inside", and we worked together to make it what it is today. The large being as big as the universe holding the person hostage inside.
This is the first Sadus album that doesn't feature Steve DiGiorgio on bass, which is very unfortunate, although I know he's been too busy with other bands and projects lately. So who ended up recording the bass parts? And if you're going to perform live, who's going to fill in on bass?
- Steve has never, let me say that again NEVER left Sadus. He is and always will be a part of Sadus. That being said. When it came time to record our new music. He was really too busy to contribute (writing) and didn't feel part of the new material. And again was too busy to take the time to help us record. We pushed on, hoping for his return or just be there again, but he is still traveling way too much to sit and make music that does not pay the bills...
Like I said before Sadus is not profitable band and we do not and have not, ever, made any money from the band, still to this day. We do music just for the love of METAL!! Steve is a professional musician and that is his living, so he needs to pay the bills that way. Also, throughout time my (on and off) playing schedule of writing and playing music is not how he likes to do things. He is all in, and I have a hard time keeping a job and being all in... So when it came time to record the bass I did it. We could not bring someone in and still call it Sadus. Out of respect for him and the band name it could only be original members contributing, and still call it Sadus, otherwise it would be called something else...... We will see what happens live in the near future...!!
In connection with this, will there be gigs, tours, festival appearances in the very near future? If so, please share some details and possible dates.
- Big stuff happening in 2024. That is all I can say as of now.
Your first three albums were recently reissued by Listenable Records. Since these are pretty damn sought-after releases, it was definitely a good idea to re-release them. How do you like the end result? What kind of deal did you do with Listenable Records? Will "Elements of Anger" and "Out for Blood" be re-released later?
- We have no control over any of these albums. The first three are owned by Time/Warner and the other two are Mascot. We have no control over any of them, which is not the case with this new album. I learned from the past and only licensed this new record to Nuclear Blast. We still own the album, so we control our music from here on out...
How did you get involved with Nuclear Blast Records? Is there a special story behind this alliance?
- Yes, I briefly told you the story of how Monte Conner grabbed us up after hearing the first six songs. The rest is now to go...
Tell us a little about your guitar arsenal. How many guitars do you have, which one is your favorite and which one did you use to record "The Shadow Inside" album? By the way, what brand of strings and gauge are you using?
- I recently bought a Kemper amp and made a couple of programs instantly and haven't really changed anything since. I love the instant tone change, everything recorded will sound exactly like the record when we play live, which will be freaking killer!!
Guitars used: SP Custom w/ EMG 81s, Dean ML w/ Fishman, Rickenbacker 4002.
Strings: D'Addario (mix pack 52-09).
Thank you so much Darren for taking the time to answer my questions. Please end the interview the Sadus way and send your greetings to all die-hard Sadus fans in Ukraine.
- Thank you for waiting so long for the interview, sorry. Thank you to everyone reading this, for the ongoing support for the Metal and Sadus!! And all of our longtime super fans in the Ukraine!! Stay STRONG!!
