Interview: SAD (2025)

Interview by Jeger

Greece’s SAD is an anomaly. They are a Greek Black Metal band that sounds like a Finnish Black Metal band, and they sound better than half the Finns out there. SAD music is unapologetically Scandinavian-influenced and unwaveringly New Wave of BM-inspired. 20 years worth of spreading true Black Metal has been SAD’s career, and according to SAD’s NADIR, they are not going to be slowing down anytime soon. The most prominent aspect of this band’s drive is their genuine love of the genre as enthusiasts and as students: always discovering and always learning, all the while as they create genre-proud BM of their own.

The Scandinavian influence is indeed undeniable! SAD creates Black Metal that represents that style but with Grecian passion. Frigid, somber and hopeless. Life is pain! SAD embraces that pain and they turn it into BM of trueness and of a staunch pedigree. During this interview for This is Black Metal, SAD (UNGOD and NADIR) get into their ideals as a Black Metal band, their style, their passion and a look at their latest work, “Fullmoon’s Bestial Awakening”, scheduled for a Hallows Eve release via Purity Through Fire.

This Is Black Metal: Hails! And welcome to This is Black Metal. You’ve been at it for 20 years now. Congratulations! Your discography is an impressive one, and I’ve always admired your unflinching dedication to the art of true Black Metal. Let’s begin with a little background. What was your vision going into this endeavor and what are some of your values as a Black Metal duo?

UNGOD: My main musical expression was always towards the Black Metal genre. At that time, I wanted to start a project with a slightly different approach towards Black Metal than what I had already done; an approach that would be more at the raw and minimal side of the Black Metal spectrum. I had much in common with Nadir about these choices, so we started SAD together.

NADIR: Although our music has evolved through the years, our values regarding music stay the same. We serve the genre by staying old school, expressing the same grim and dark feelings that Black Metal should be expressing. We release music that we like, not searching for new audiences or anything further.

TIBM: The band moniker, “Sad”, is simple yet it speaks volumes. What are some of the experiences or revelations that have contributed to the desolate conceptual nature of your music?

UNGOD: I always write music driven by my passion for Metal music as a listener and fan. I don’t recall any special or deep “mystical” experience that makes me write music. I live and breathe through Metal music, and this is enough to translate all my feelings into songs.

Hiizurukuni No Naraku (20th Anniversary of Soul Destroying Black Metal)

TIBM: Your sound is unwaveringly a throwback to the New Wave of Black Metal a la 2000 – 2005. What’s your take on contemporary Black Metal and the genre as it stands today?

UNGOD: There are modern approaches in today’s Black Metal that I don’t like at all, but all the eras of Black Metal have tons of great bands that keep the old flame burning. I say that SAD is such a band. Of course, now and then, some bands introduce some elements that might sound refreshing, but at its core, Black Metal is based on its old-school fundamentals.

TIBM: I’d say that Sad’s style of play is more redolent of the Scandinavian sound, as opposed to the warmth and the drama of the Greek way. Do you draw more influence from the more frigid approach to the craft as conveyed by the Norwegians for example?

UNGOD: We don’t consider our music typical Hellenic Black Metal. Our main influence is certainly the Scandinavian scene and particularly the Finnish scene. Of course, you can’t get rid of the influence of the Norwegian sound!

NADIR: The Greek Black Metal style has many great representatives that continue the tradition of the early Black Metal bands of our country. We don’t belong to this category and we never intended to.

TIBM: Some folks, specifically Michayah Belfagor of Ofermod, believe that true Black Metal is a Satanic art. I’m of the mind that as long as it is genuine and pure in spirit, then it is true. What’s your take on this? Do you draw any inspiration from the spiritual side of Black Metal?

NADIR: I don’t think of Black Metal as a mandatory statement of loyalty to Satanism or any other belief. Black Metal can be Satanic, Occult or anything else that can derive from a perspective that can give out grim, dark, aggressive and desolate emotions. So, I will agree with you that “as long as it is genuine and pure in spirit, then it is true”.

TIBM: You’re on the cusp of a new album release in “Fullmoon’s Bestial Awakening”, scheduled for a Hallows Eve release next month via Purity Through Fire. Can you explain some of the ideas that power the record thematically?

NADIR: Thematically, this album can be summed up by the phrase written on the inlay: “This album is dedicated to the unbearable void of loss.”

UNGOD: From my part, although the theme described might sound like the music would be a bit softer, I chose to express it in an aggressive way, similar to our last album “Black Metal Craft”.

SAD

TIBM: As usual, you’ve taken a rougher, not raw, but a more modest approach to engineering. How would you describe the recording process and what is your take on the opposite, more sanitized way of producing?

UNGOD: Our recording process is unchanged the last, maybe ten years. We record all strings and vocals to our home studio and the drums are recorded on a physical drum set at a professional studio. Through mixing and mastering, we want the final result to serve the compositions by letting the riffs to be heard clearly and all the instruments to be distinctive. This doesn’t include a “sanitized” approach, as this would ruin the feeling of such music.

TIBM: This opus is a comprehensive one; jam packed with proud, substantial compositions. Would you say that “Fullmoon’s Bestial Awakening” is your most meaningful record?

UNGOD: We are very satisfied with the final result on this album, but we had the same feeling for all our past releases, so it is difficult to say if this is the most meaningful record. Every album that we have released has it’s own value for the time that it came out.

NADIR: To say that there is a special meaning or value in a certain release is the result of a retrospective process on an ended “musical journey”. And we don’t intend to stop our “musical journey” anytime soon!

TIBM: Some artists, The Magus, for example, feel as though Black Metal should not be played live and that the Black Metal experience should be a much more personal matter. Others, like Jim Mutilator, thrive on playing live. What is Sad’s position on live rituals?

UNGOD: Any music that is aggressive is perfect for playing live. Some sub-genres of Black Metal may be difficult to present live, but this could be a challenge. In the last years, we have had a steady live lineup, and we had some great live experiences here in Greece and abroad. We rehearse to be ready to play a live gig if we think that it will be a good idea. We already have some gigs planned and we will plan more in the future.

TIBM: When you look back on your career, what would you say you are most proud of? What continues to motivate you?

UNGOD: I live through Metal music. I don’t need any special motivation. I will release Metal music till the last days of my life, no matter when the time will be. If I had to use the word proud, I would say that I’m proud about the dedication and the consistency.

NADIR: I will agree and say that our road is straight. We never took a detour or a shortcut.

SAD

TIBM: Do you have a message for the Hordes?

UNGOD: We go by these cliches that we’ve used in our 20 years of existence as SAD:

“Pain is life, life is pain”

“No Gods, No Masters”

“Support the Underground.”

TIBM: A special thank you to SAD and Suspicious Activities PR.