Thirty Years of Celtic Wartunes with Suidakra

The almighty Suidakra is celebrating 30 years of metal excellence, and slams into the battlefield with their latest auditory epic entitled DarkanakraD – now available worldwide via MDD Records.  The Celtic wartunes founds within are destined to set the imagination in flight, featuring standout selections such as Unraveling Destinies, A Tainted Dominion – and even a powerhouse At The Gates tribute that concludes the album with a grand amount of sonic intensity.  Highwire Daze recently interviewed guitarist Sebastian Jensen to discuss the world of DarkanakraD, the other absolutely amazing Suidakra masterworks, his connection with the Los Angeles area, and a whole lot more!  Read on…

Is there any overall story or concept behind the DarkanakraD album title? I know it’s a backwards title, but what’s going on with that?
That’s right, yeah. That’s a backwards title, that’s right. It’s a conclusion; it’s the end of the trilogy. So, there are two albums before, and that’s basically the end of the storyline. That’s why it’s called DarkanakraD. So it’s the beginning and the end; that’s why it’s written forward and backward. It’s the meaning of Armageddon or the end. So that’s directly transferred through that.

Let’s talk about some of the singles. Unraveling Destinies, tell me the story behind that one song.
Unraveling Destinies is one of the songs of our last album. It’s, as you all know, a story concept. So one part of the whole storyline—the end of the whole chapter. And not to spoil a lot, but it’s ‘Unraveling Destinies’. So it’s his destiny, of Odoric, and it will be shown in the song in a textly way if you can say so.

Okay, well, listen to the song and you’ll hear it.
That’s right.

I’m going to pick two more songs. A Tainted Dominion. Tell me about that one.
‘Tainted Dominion‘ is the next song after that. Basically, it’s more going into what happened in his previous life, and what’s going on right now, what he takes from his previous life, takes right now into the future. You never know what’s happening in the future because it’s kind of an Armageddon going on. But you’re not sure what’s happening afterward. So that’s more kind of a you-never-know-what-happens song.

At the very end of the album is the At The Gates Medley. Tell me a little about that one, and what made you decide to do an At The Gates Medley?
We are into the band, At The Gates, for a long, long time. Basically, from the beginning, I would say, because we’re so old. At The Gates was always on our minds and was a big influence in the beginning, right now as well. SWe always were thinking about maybe writing a song for At The Gates, for us, for At The Gates as a tribute. We thought now is the best time to do it. We had the At The Gates album The Red in the Sky Is Ours, which is a great album, but the sound behind that, it’s so old. We always thought it’s such an amazing album. We wanted to record it in a better, up-to-date way. So, we chose now as the best time to do it with DarkanakraD and throw it out there. We started writing and putting some songs from The Red in the Sky Is Ours together in a new format, as you can say, and that’s the final result.

When was the last time Suidakra played here in the States? I believe it was 2012, but I’m not sure. And is that something you’d like to do in support of this new album?
I really don’t know when we played last there. I have to check the homepage, actually. But 2012 could be right. We played several times in LA as well, I remember, and the whole States, actually. We wish to come back, it’s a plan. It’s nothing more, unfortunately, yet, but we wish to come back. It has to work out all the parameters, if you can say so. It has to be right to do something like that again. We always enjoyed playing in the States. We did it several times, it was always great. So, we definitely would like to come back as soon as possible.

Were you here at the Los Angeles shows? And if so, what did you think of Los Angeles?
Actually, I’m working for a company that is working around the world. I’ve been to LA, I guess, like 60 or 70 times already. So I know the area a bit, even though Los Angeles is quite a big city. I really enjoy LA, I like being there, and it’s great. It has a nice music scene. It was always a lot of fun playing there in front of the dedicated metal fans.

I guess the next time you guys all come here, they’ll be all excited and you’ll be going, “Oh, no big deal.”
It’s always exciting. Just getting out of Germany is exciting for us.

I believe you started in the band in 2009, and then you left in 2010. How did you wind up in the band in the beginning? And why did you leave so quickly?
It was the end of the Marcel era, the former guitarist. He wanted to quit. He wasn’t able to pick up or keep up with the pace of Suidakra, and they were looking for someone to fill in the place. My girlfriend from that time was at the concert of Suidakra in Kiel, Germany, while I was in Phoenix, Arizona, at that time. So, I had no chance to attend the concert. In the end, Marcel and my ex-girlfriend were talking, and Marcel told her that he wanted to leave. They were looking for a guitarist, she brought in my name. So after I came back from the States, I went into some kind of audition for Suidakra, and they picked me. That’s how I ended up in the band in 2008 in the end, but I had to quit so soon because like Marcel, I couldn’t keep up with the pace. Suidakra was touring a lot, I didn’t want to stay in the way of this so-called train riding very, very fast, and I had my work besides that. I couldn’t keep up. So I decided it’s the best for the band and for me to step back, and someone else is filling up the place, even though I never left the band, as you can say. I left the live performance kind of state, but I was always in the background. I was still writing with the band. I was still in contact with Arkadius.

I filled in some gigs the other guitarists couldn’t play. I did some recordings as well in the studio. So I was always part of Suidakra, but not on stage anymore. After a couple of years, the pace of gigs going on went a little bit back, I had the chance to step in full-time again. And that’s what I did.

According to Encyclopaedia Metallum, you did come back in officially in 2018, and then you recorded Cimbric Yarns, which I think is the first official album that you did. When you look back on that album, Cimbric Yarns, and returning full time to Suidakra, what do you think of it now?
The first album I was part of was Crógacht, even though I don’t know the Encyclopaedia Metallum or what it is called, the Wikipedia kind of metal. I don’t know what it says, but Crógacht was the first thing, and the full album, I think it was Cimbric Yarns. I know it’s been controversially discussed. I really think it was the right time for that album. We always wanted to write an acoustic album, and it was the right time for us, but also for the concept. As you know, we write songs and albums by concept, and it just fits perfectly. I still think, for that time, we did a great, great album. I really enjoy listening to it, even though, of course, some fans didn’t like it, and some liked it. In the end, we felt it was the right time. We still think it’s a great album.

You are listed on that Crógacht album as a guest musician. Let’s look back on that album in 2009. What do you think of that album now, in retrospect?
I really like the album. It’s a great album because it was, for me, an awesome one. It was, for me, the first time I was into the writing process and the studio going on. It was just a lot of fun in the end. I had so much fun being with the guys and recording the album. I thought at that time it sounds great. Everything, the vibe, is great. It’s got great artwork. Everything looked so perfect. I still look back to that time in retrospect with great joy, actually. Absolutely.

Echoes of Yore was released in 2019, right before the pandemic. When you look back on that album and the fact that it was released a few months before the pandemic, what do you think of that time in the band’s history?
Echoes of Yore is a re-recording of old Suidakara songs. Former times. It was an anniversary for our band, and we wanted to have some special album coming out—a fan’s album, actually. An album for the fans, from the fans. So they were deciding what songs they wanted to hear re-recorded in a modern way, maybe. It was a lot of work, actually, getting into all the old songs that had been recorded in former times without any click and with kind of a shitty sound, as you can say. So it was a lot of work but absolutely fun to work with the old songs again, re-recorded, being in the studio again, and picking up some memories as well from former times. I think it’s a nice-sounding album, and the fans really loved it, enjoyed it, that their favorite song was re-recorded and, on the album, as well. So looking back, I think it’s a great, great album. Afterward, the pandemic hit.

Let’s go to 2021, to Wolfbite. What do you think of that album in retrospect?
That was the first album we recorded at home, not just because of the pandemic, but we always wanted to go that way. We thought that a studio is good. It worked in former times, but we had the feeling that we could get much more out of the songs and out of our playing if we had more time and took our time to record it at home, and it worked. It really, really worked out quite good. Everyone was recording their own parts at home in their own home recording studio. We put it all together. And then, when we thought it was now perfect and we were all happy and satisfied with that, we sent it to mixing and mastering. That was the first idea. Actually, we had to do it because of the pandemic as well. So, we were kind of prepared for what was going on. I think it’s a great, great album. I’m looking back—a lot of fun as well, writing the songs with a happy and a sad eye as well, because we knew we are writing an album that’s great, but would not receive the attention because of the pandemic that it would have had without the pandemic, of course.

So, we knew it’s an album that would kind of fade away, if you can say so. So happy and sad as well, but still a great album. I enjoyed.

Wacken is a festival I’ve always wanted to go to. I see you guys have played there at least once. What was that experience like playing the famous Wacken festival?
Absolutely awesome. We played there five or six times already. We are just fortunate. I can probably say, every metal band wants to play Wacken, and we had the opportunity to play there many times. So, we are very, very happy. I would say Wacken is the greatest, still-awesome metal festival in the world. It’s just awesome to stand in front of that passionate crowd from all over the world, not just Germany, here in Wacken. It’s just great being on that stage and partying with the fans and with the people at Wacken. It’s amazing. The last time we played there was 2019. And I hope to play there soon again. We will see. Maybe there’s something happening quite soon. I don’t know. We’ll see.

On this new album DarkanakraD, you worked with Dan Swanö from Edge of Sanity. What is that experience like working with that legend?
It was the first time we worked with Dan, and it was just great. This time, we did all the recordings and the mixing by ourselves in the studio of Arkadius. But in the end, there’s the mastering process going on. We want to make sure that it’s going to be the best finish we can get for our album. We decided right quick, we came up with Dan. He’s just a mastermind, playing music for decades, and great bands, did some recordings, masterings, and everything.

We are great fans of Edge of Sanity and Dan Swanö. So, it was not a long thinking of what to do. Arkadius got in touch with him, and he was very quick. He was listening to some songs. He was like, “Oh, yeah, that sounds great. Let’s do it.” It was absolutely great working with him because he’s just an absolutely professional guy. He knows music and everything, the whole system around it. It was a lot of fun being in touch with him, working with him, and the result is great. I really enjoy it, and I hope to work with him again soon for the next album. At least, that’s the plan.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of Suidakra. You haven’t been in the band the entire time, but you’ve been in it quite a bit. When you look back and realize it’s been 30 years that this band you’re involved in has been together, what do you think of it now in retrospect?
It’s amazing. Especially for Arkadius because he’s the founder and still into music in his own band, with his name written backward. So for him, it’s just insane.  But for me, I’ve been in the band for quite some time, as I said. That’s right. It’s a humble, crazy experience. Not every band makes it that far and continues writing songs and staying together. It is the love for music. We have passionate, long, dedicated fans. That helps us as well, keeping track and going further and continuing that and just humble. What else can I say?

And what is currently going on with the other band, Dragonbreed?
Not much, actually. Stefan Fiori, he’s doing his music with Graveworm, touring around. Last thing I heard, he was in Mexico and doing stuff with his band. We were busy writing in Suidakra and Fall of Carthage as well. So Dragonbreed is kind of hanging around in the background, unfortunately. But it’s not a closed story. It’s just something on hold, maybe. We might be able to continue soon. I don’t know. It’s nothing we put aside, or it’s nothing we quit. We put it aside at the moment. That’s how we can say it.

What’s up next in the new year for Suidakra?
We’ve got some gigs happening next year. I think three or four are already confirmed. There’s some more in the pipeline. I’m really looking forward to playing live again, especially with some songs from the new album. I would say that’s probably what we do it for. Recording everything is a lot of fun, it’s work, but it’s a lot of fun. But being on stage—the whole band together and not recording at home in separate ways—is the goal. That’s the main fun. We are looking forward to playing some gigs and festivals. And we are thinking of maybe starting writing some new material, maybe the end of next year. We’ll see. That’s all the plans for right now.

And do you have any messages for Suidakra fans here in the States who are reading this right now?
Thank you for being so passionate and for your long-time support. Really appreciate that. We definitely would like to return soon to the States. That would be a dream come true again. I hope that will happen anytime soon. That would be awesome.

Let’s cross our fingers on that. That would be fantastic.
That would be fantastic!

You’re here in Los Angeles all the time. Drag the band along. How’s that?
That sounds good to me…

Line-Up:
Arkadius Antonik – Vocals, Guitars
Sebastian Jensen – Clean Vocals, Backings, Guitars
Ken Jentzen – Drums
Hauke Oje – Bass

(Interview by Ken Morton)