Interview with Trevor of SADIST

The Italian progressive death metallers SADIST, featuring feat. Jeroen Paul Thesseling (Obscura) and Romain Goulon (Necrophagist, ex-Benighted) have signed a new contract with Agonia Records. The band's ninth album, which will be titled Firescorched, is currently in development and is expected to be released in 2022.

In his world metal, it doesn't happen very often that the name of a band includes everything around it, its genesis, material, destination! These are the Sadist from Genoa, Italy, progressivetechnical death metal with their name, be it their music, their lyrics, their path since their foundation in 1991. Until today the sadists Sadist, with one EP, four demos and eight albums, have played on all the top festivals with countless bands, and with a new record deal with Agony Records and a new album, which will be released by the beginning of 2022 at the latest! We talked to him Trevor Nadir, the singer of Sadist for twenty whole years, who is also the lyricist of the band and granted us an interview after all the material!

Trevor welcome to Metalourgio let's start by talking about them Sadist, the members and your career path so far.

TREVOR: Thanks for the invite! I have been fortunate to share my career with great musicians. Tommy is one of the best musicians that I have seen in my life, and he is a brother. Then there is Andy, Oinos and Alessio who are also very talented musicians. Today next to me, besides Tommy, are Jeroen Thesseling and Romain Goulon, two musicians who need no introduction, in their previous bands (Pestilence, Necrophagist, Obscura) they became known for their talent and ability.

How did the band get its name and what does the name stand for? Sadist for your music

TREVOR: The name Sadist means: anxiety, anguish, terror, violence. Things that can easily be found in our music. The band name reflects our sound very well!

How have you dealt with any obstacles during your career?

TREVOR: Life is full of obstacles, you have to have the awareness and strength to overcome them or at least deal with them. Music, like life, consists of beautiful moments and others, which are not so beautiful. I personally believe that even these, the less beautiful periods, can be important, evolution goes through the darkest moments.

Tell us about the subject matter of your albums as a whole

TREVOR: I signed eight Sadist albums. The lyrics dealt with various topics, personal experiences, real life experiences, and others are concept albums, such as: Season in Silence, Hyaena, Spellbound. One thing is for sure about the main theme: evil, sick, angsty, aggressive and violent never fails. I couldn't talk about love or colorful flowers, say.

Your last theme album was inspired by Alfred Hitchcock, tell us about it

TREVOR: Ever since I was a kid I learned to love the films of the great Hitchcock. An incredible genius. Films such as Psycho, The Birds, Frenzy, Rear Window, Vertigo and many others have represented the history of the genre. I think writing an album about his filmography was imperative. Hitchcock and The Sadist were a natural marriage.

Your last two albums Hyaena and Spellbound are quite different from each other. Tell us about those differences.

TREVOR: There are many differences. Sadist's albums are all different from each other, that's our trademark after all. Between Hyaena and the next Spellbound, the differences are many, starting with the production. The first warmer, the second darker, this is also due to the lyrics. Musically the two albums are also different, Hyaena is definitely more studied, searched, tribal, technical, with nuances and impurities of many subgenres of the genre. Spellbound is an honest, creepy album, just like Hitchcock's filmography!

Overall in your discography, what is your favorite record?

TREVOR: Albums are like kids, it's hard to have a favorite. Although I could tell you Crust, which was my first album with Sadist!

Where do we find the band at the moment, are you planning live shows in the near future, what do you think about live shows

The global pandemic has stopped us all. We have an album ready that we planned to release at the end of this year, but it will finally be released in early 2022. We want to get back on stage, but this period does not allow us. It still needs some patience. I don't like live streaming, the warmth of people is very important, I prefer to wait for better times, to come.

Tell us about your future plans

TREVOR: We want to come out with the new album, get back on stage, embrace our audience and celebrate our 30th anniversary in the best possible way.

 So there's a new album coming up, what stage are you at so far? How many tracks will be included and what can we expect from your new album?

TREVOR: As I said before, the new album will be out early next year. We evaluated some offers, from many companies, and ended up signing very recently with Agonia Records. The new album will contain nine tracks. The new songs are very aggressive, violent, although they have kept the Sadist style and the perfected technique that people expect from these musicians here.

We would like you to describe to us the process of creating the lyrics and the music, is it an individual work or more of a collective collaboration?

TREVOR: I personally take care of the lyrics. This is my job and I am passionate about it. As mentioned earlier, this is about personal anguish, dreams, nightmares. Lyrics affect music like sounds affect thought!                

  What do you think of record companies these days?

TREVOR: Nowadays it's really hard, the world has changed and so has the music. Selling music today is not easy at all, luckily our genre, our music, our beloved metal, still lives on in the nostalgic memory. Metal fans are attached to the bands, to the physical support, this means that the labels still manage to sell records. In other genres the discography is dead!

What are the first 5 bands you have on your setlist?

TREVOR: Slayer, Kreator, Death, Carcass, Cannibal Corpse…

Which bands would you like to share the stage with at a festival, that you haven't had the chance to do so far?

TREVOR: We've shared the stage with a lot of bands, including some holy monsters: Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, Anthrax, Rammstein, Ozzy Osbourne, Motorhead, Dream Theater, Scorpions, Korn, Kiss, Alice Cooper… I'd love to to play alongside the great AC/DC, or even Pantera and Death, but that's not possible.

How do you see social media in promoting and establishing a band and their work?

TREVOR: Today it's increasingly an economic dialogue, basically. If there is no investment from behind, it is difficult for young people to stand out, certainly the financial effort must be accompanied by quality. The world has changed, everything is faster, more frantic, as I always say, today Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd would not be the bands they are. Globalization, the huge offer has made many things lose prestige, including music! Even if metal lives from its own history that is traced every day, this is the secret of our species, to live from scratch!

How did you and the other band members experience the pandemic and the extended lockout?

TREVOR: It was terrible, I got the virus in the first wave of the pandemic, in February 2020. I was in the hospital for a week and I was so scared! Fortunately everything went well, although I saw some people die, friends and it hurt me a lot.

Closing this nice conversation Trevor, thank you so much for this interview and everything you shared with us! The Metalourgio wishes to Sadist, all the best for the future and to you personally, and we can't wait for your new record of course! Your message for the Greeks  metalheads.

TREVOR: Me too thanks! I hope to return to Greece soon, I have wonderful memories of your place. I hope to reunite soon with friends RC, a band I respect so much. Greece is a beautiful country, rich in history, just like our Italy, returning there is always a great pleasure. Greetings to all readers and editors of Metalourgio.

Stay raw

Trevor Sadist!

The interview was conducted by Metalourgio