(Here we present Zoltar‘s interview of Malte Gericke, bassist and vocalist of the pan-national death/thrashing band Sijjin, whose new album Helljjin Combat is out now on Sepulchral Voice Records.)
“I couldn’t be happier man.” Malte Gericke, aka Mors Dalos Ra, is relieved for probably the first time since the band’s split in 2021 not to be asked about Necros Christos, the cult and highly-mystical death/doom beast he led out and back to the abyss for over two decades. And he deserved the right to, as Sijjin, the to-the-point and proudly stuck in the ’80s thrash/death new band he had put together even before NC took their final bow, has proven not to be the expectative derivative but an entity on its own, far less entrenched in occult and cryptic atmospheres and doom-laden circumvolutions, way more straight-forward and unapologetically METAL, as in denim-and-leather-patches-furious-headbanging metal.
If their 2019 demo, later reissued on LP, and their debut album Sumerian Promises were treading on early Morbid Angel territories, as he once again puts it himself, their long-awaited sophomore and very riff-oriented album Helljinn Combat goes even more “back in time”. Old-school to the bone!
With your debut, some said that you were stuck in 1987. If we follow that thread, does it mean that with your new album you’ve moved on to 1988, so to speak then?
I think we even went a lil’ bit more back in time with Helljjin Combat. The songs have a way more thrashier approach, and considering the influence of albums such as Show No Mercy, Hell Awaits, None Shall Defy, Peace Sells, Beyond The Gates, Eyes Of Horror and Indulgence, we have reached the mid ’80s with the new record, imo.
Production wise, everything here is very dry, as if to emphasize more than ever on the very thrashing riffing. As a matter of fact, to my ears, most of the songs here have more in common with, say, the twirling nature of Destruction music circa Release From Agony than, say, Morbid Angel… Do you agree?
Absolutely. Besides the aforementioned records, German thrash has been obviously in my blood since my youth. I love everything from Destruction up until 1989, Pleasure To Kill, Persecution Mania, Possessed By Fire and Into The Dark Past, all of them have left their mark on me.
Talking of which, considering the very thrashy and raw nature of the music – even more so on this new album – don’t you see a misbalance in between it and the quite esoteric and intricate lyrical content? I mean, with such frantic riffing and the all-out ’80s metal vibe, one would probably expect matching lyrics about, I don’t know, chopping somebody’s head off or raising infernal overkill, if you see what I mean?
Hmm, no, I see no misbalance here. Some of the newer Sijjin lyrics are actually pretty satanic, as i.e. in ‘Fear Not The Tormentor’, ‘Five Blades’ or ‘Death Opens The Grave’. I also can’t see the quite esoteric content; nearly all Sijjin lyrics right from the start were more dark Horror stories in comparison to the obviously very esoteric nature of the ones which I wrote for Necros Christos.
Actually, with the arrangements getting even more complex and the songs even more epic, wasn’t it a good time to add another guitar player? Or were you afraid it would break the fragile balance of your inner circle?
That’s indeed something we have talked about and we even already considered our good old friend Nikolai Wurk aka The Reverend of Necros Christos fame as second guitarist. But yes, over the years, we have gained such a good and natural working flow as a trio, plus we got used to the great transparent live sound and everybody beating the shit out of his instrument, that we took the decision to stay the power trio that we are.
It says in the credits that the album was recorded live in a studio in the Basque country last October. Is it literal? Or were some overdubs had to be done still?
We always record the main frame live — means drums, bass, and first rhythm guitar in full takes. The vocals, second rhythm guitar, and solos were recorded as overdubs.
I guess that picking the longest song as the opening track was a way for you to do a statement of some sort, innit?
Well, not really. The first three minutes of ‘Fear Not The Tormentor’ were originally meant to be a separate intro called ‘Evil Wakens’, but we decided to take it as a whole composition so we just realized in the end how long the track actually is. Since we already agreed on having it as the opener, it was kind of a coincidence.
Are the Sumerian and Ancient Egypt mythologies still the basic foundations for your lyrics?
No and it never was actually. A lot of the lyrics have different topics, and especially on Helljjin Combat, only ‘Trance Of The Mummified’ and ‘The Southern Temple’ lead into the direction you mentioned.
Then again, it seems that this time around, you nevertheless decided to have as well more direct lyrics. I mean it doesn’t get clearer than when you cream out “Fuck your religion/Go fuck your God” on ‘Religious Insanity Denies Slavery,’ don’t you think?
Oh yes, absolutely. ‘Religious Insanity’ is the first socio-critical lyric I ever wrote and is a strong criticism according to all religions. It mentions some disgusting examples of how far men go to subjugate others, especially women. Young girls are married to perverse old bastards, just because they have their menstruation early. If this isn’t legalized pedophilia, I don’t know what is, absolutely sickening. Women must endure genital cutting to avoid any lust during sex. How fucked up is that?
Clerics abuse children, people are getting tortured, raped, killed and beheaded just because they have the wrong faith. Fuck that shit! Religious dogmas were surely invented only to control people; religion in itself is a slow poison which infests the human mind and takes over. Fucking patriarchy! Power, greed, control, and perversion, four out of many pillars in the temple of their so-called God, no matter which name it holds. Fuck all of it and put your shitty dogmas far up your dirty asses!
Why did you contract the words ‘hell’ and ‘jjin’ together for the album’s title?
No clue, maybe because it sounds weird and great at the same time? The title came to my mind when I chose the cover artwork and when I had a look at the painting, seeing all this suffering and torture, the scenery just appeared to me as being in a Helljjin Combat.
When reissued, your debut demo used as a cover an old etching of an angel in black and white being begged by a kneeled old man. What about the cover of Helljjin Combat? Did it matter to use another old depiction of someone’s faith being challenged?
Your comment about the demo cover is not correct and I assume you do not own the original cassette (my bad, meant the official vinyl reissue on Sepulchral Voice). The wood engraving by Julius S. von Carolsfeld was used on the tape since its first release. We only put the logo as cover on bandcamp. The reasons for using a detail from The Last Judgement by G. Northwic for Helljjin Combat are simple. It looks absolutely horrifying and gruesome.
Actually, one could say that if you’d drop that type of harsh vocals and go for something more traditional, you could become a full on speed/thrash band and thus, potentially, have access to a much wider audience. What do you think?
Interesting thought. Honestly, if I could sing like John Cyriis, James Rivera, or Mike Sanders, I would never do anything else, but since I can’t, you have to get along with my voice. On a side note, we give a damn fuck about becoming accepted by a wider audience. If you like us, it’s great, if not, be well.
Are you happy that for once someone did NOT ask questions about Necros Christos?
I couldn’t be much happier mate.
What’s next for you guys?
We wanna promote the album live as much as possible. There’re plans for a European Tour with Chilean Mayhemic and other shows are in the making. The business sucks and it is hard for every band to find its tiny spot, so we will do our best to bring our Death Thrash madness out to all of you folks! Thanks for the interview, appreciated!
https://sijjin.bandcamp.com/album/helljjin-combat
http://www.sijjindeath.com/
https://www.facebook.com/p/Sijjin-100063482105195/