Genre: Black/Speed Metal/Punk
Interviewer: Luke Hayhurst
One of the most exciting bands I have heard recently are Unholy Night from Moscow, Russia. Here is my interview with the band in which we discuss their participation in a new 4 way split release, the war in Ukraine and how the Russian public have responded to the crisis.
Greetings to you from the UK. Thanks for taking some time to speak with me. How is life in Moscow right now?
Hello! Life in Russia is now a continuous problem, we are isolated from the rest of the world, but we are trying to find a way out of this situation
I've only recently heard your music, on the new four way split release through Wise Blood Records. How did you come to be a part of the split release?
The guys from Wraith and Black Knife offered us to participate in this split, of course we agreed. At that time, two members left the group and all production fell on the shoulders of our guitarist Pavel. Due to lack of funds for recording in the studio, we decided to record at home. As a result due to the lack of high-quality monitoring and experience in mixing, our sound is a little weaker than the others on the release and we hope that this is compensated by the quality of the tracks themselves haha. Now we have two new cool members joining us and in the future we will definitely re-record them in full force
Have you had a chance to listen to much of the other three bands' work? What are your thoughts on the bands you share the release with?
We have been familiar with the music of Wraith and Black Knife since their first releases, and we learned about Graveripper a little later. We really like everything that all three bands do and we are proud to be on the same release with them
You play Black/Speed Metal and so your sound fits in well with the rest of the split. You also have a huge Punk influence. Who would you say are Unholy Night's main musical influences?
The main influences were bands like Motorhead, Discharge, Venom,
How about influences from outside of the musical sphere? Do you let real world issues filter into your lyrics? Do you let your views on political climates filter into your music?
In addition to music, we draw inspiration from books, movies and video games. Lovecraft and King, old horrors from VHS times, horror games are all food for the lyrics of our songs. By the way, even the name of the band was taken from an old Super Nintendo game! Speaking of political agenda, then it affects us only emotionally, we don’t know how to write songs about politics
Speaking of real world issues, what is life currently like in Russia with the current war against Ukraine on-going? How do the Russian public feel about the hostilities?
Now it sucks to live in Russia. Everyone who could, have already left here. When the war had just begun, there was a wave of protest, people said no to war by all available means, but very quickly the punishments were tightened and for the poster there was no war, people were imprisoned or issued huge fines. in this regard, the protest gradually ceased. Of course, propaganda works well and there are many people who believe in the state and think that this war is good, but there are also many people who disagree with this, but cannot do anything about it.
I briefly mentioned in my review of the split release that there is a 'Hate/Cancel Russia' agenda right now, cultivated by the western media and governments. As a Russian band, what kind of experience, if any, have you had of any kickback from people outside of Russia when trying to promote Unholy Night to a wider audience?
No, we did not encounter any kind of hostility for our nationality, I think this is because the metal and punk communities around the world are quite close-knit. We often see videos on the Internet with polls on the streets where they show that Russians almost without exception support the war in Ukraine, but this is not so, the percentage of dissatisfied is quite large. People are simply afraid to say such things on camera.
To date you have put out demo, EP and split releases. What plans do you have for a full length release in future? Or is it a conscious decision to keep to more underground release formats?
At the moment, we have gathered a new line-up, learned the old material and started writing a full-length album. We hope to have it ready by the end of next year!
I've been having a look at some of your gig photos on your social media. You look like you have a crazy scene over there. Who would you say you play live with more? Extreme Metal bands, Punk bands or is there a nice mix? Also, are there any Russian Extreme Metal or Punk bands that you would like to recommend? Which Moscow bands should we be listening to?
Yes, we have a good metal punk scene. Most often the concerts here are a mix of metal and punk bands. Of the Russian bands, I would advise you to evaluate Fatum, Vendel, Mystic Storm, Tanator, Duke Nukem if you like metal, and Regime, Further Charges, & Swinger Killers if you like punk
Thanks very much for answering my questions. The last words are for you!
Thanks for the interesting questions Luke! Long live rock'n'roll!
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