Real Talk: Sakatat

Turkey's Sakatat have been working at it pretty hard in the past couple of years and lucky for us Semih, singer for these grind bastards, was able to lend a few words. Humble beginnings between high-school friends Onur (guitar) and Semih (vocals) in 2005, they've progressed to tour Europe, release 8 splits/eps (with a handful more to come), and worked to create a grindcore scene within Turkey. "I think we hadn't even realized we were about to start a band, that is probably why we picked up such a random word to be our moniker which means "offal" and obviously has nothing to do with what we stand for now." Even though their name might allude to goregrind (for Turkish speakers that is), it's obvious this band's sound doesn't rest in such a gimmick. One listen to their superb split with Dispepsiaa and you'll find yourself in some kind of grindcore time-warp; not sure if it's '87 or what.

Finally completing their lineup in 2008 with the addition of drummer Kaya, the band began recording and touring. "We have been pretty active after he joined in 2008, recorded bunch of split 7"s, played shitload of great shows, toured as much as we could..." vocalist Semih concludes. In light of there being almost no grindcore scene, and a very small punk/hardcore scene, Semih and co. have found ways to flourish by playing in some of Europe's biggest extreme festivals and consistently playing within Turkey and not being negative at the current lack of a scene.


Ucuz Can Pazarı

"As for playing grindcore here, well even though the interest in grindcore is growing, most people still have no clue about what grindcore really is, people tend to think it is same thing as brutal death metal or just some kind of joke. We have been offered to play shows with fascist bands more than once and people were really surprised when we rejected the offers and explained them why! On the bright side, many local punks and metalheads order our records and shirts and people seem to be aware of us, there are recently good number of people at the show when there is a good foreign grind band so there might actually be a grindcore scene here soon."

Beyond Turkey's growing metal scene, Sakatat themselves have had quite a time with the recent Bloodshed Festival in Holland. With big names like Magrudergrind, Suffering Mind, Weekend Nachos and Idiots Parade, not only was it a pleasure to the ears, but an event in of itself. "Bloodshed Festival was a blast[...] Personally I spent the first day catching up with the the homies[...] another good thing about touring, you always get to play with and see great bands." The band isn't short on notches on their belt as they've played at both Obscene Extreme and Play Fast or Don't, along with the recent Bloodshed Festival.

When asked about touring and productivity Semih claims "...we usually end up spending almost one month of each year on tour. We really enjoy it when we play those new songs live while they are fresh! I don't know if you noticed that already but we always try to have some kind of wholeness on our records, if that is the right word. Meaning that we try to make the whole record sound like one single cut not like 5 or more tunes put together. That is the case with the shows too. We like to play the next tune without giving a break in between and make each bunch of sets sound like a single song."

As all this touring, festival playing, and recording continues it's only logical that the band would approach the idea of a full-length release. "We never wanted to rush things when it comes to recording a full-length and finally it seems like the right time to do it. We have the general outline and ideas for a full-length already like the songs, cover artwork, concept etc... so we might give it a shot really soon. Interested labels shouldn't hesitate to contact us."

With great music comes a great attitude, as Semih exclaims " I think the charm and sincerity [of grindcore] would go away if let's say, a grindcore band made a deal with a major company. We listen to all kinds of weird shit, from obscure metal to punkrock and we are involved in many different activities like 'zines, radio show, setting up shows, booking tours, hosting touring bands and more so whatever we do, we keep it DIY and encourage our friends to do so. DIY, on the other hand, might have different definitions depending on who you ask. Our definition would be something like keeping it as capitalism-free as possible, not for profit, sincere and always partying like there is no tomorrow!"

And as for last words:
"I'd like to add that we have a split 7" with MESRINE coming out soon, it will be released by To Live A Lie in the States, Grindblock and Useless in Europe and Bucho Discos in Brazil, also the rough recording of our show at Bloodshed will soon be released on tape by Death Agony & Screams. Moreover we will record another split 7" soon, this time with our comrades MATKA TERESA and we might even go on a tour in summer if we manage to get the full-length out by then. You can check the other news and tour dates at our web-site: www.sakatatgrindcore.com"

Beyond Sakatat you can stalk their members in a few other projects:

Semih co-hosts an online radio show/podcast that you can check out here.
Semih's zine, Impact Drill
Nettlethrone, drummer Kaya's former band.

Unreleased album cover, from their boyband days

It was a great pleasure to interview these Turkish upstarts; my converts and I seem to have a lot to look forward to.

-F

Sakatat/Dispepsiaa Split

Sakatat Myspace Dispepsiaa Myspace
Released: 2010
Release Type: split 7" wax only
Label: Bringer of Gore Records
Genre: Grindcore

Sakatat and Dispepsiaa are a modern day explosion of grindcore that’s shrugged off the past 20 years of recording technology and happen to be the best surprise in awhile for me. Heavy grindcore played for heavy dudes (and dudettes).

I think Sakatat’s the first band I’ve ever heard from Turkey, strange huh? Good place to start I guess because these guys absolutely rip. With six splits under their belts and numerous tours in Europe I’d expect them to get snatched up quite quick like by one of those overseers of grindcore (Earache, Willotip, Relapse, etc). Stomach churning grunts, machine gun blast beats, dizzying moments of tension and breakout d-beats and shrieks makes up their approach. Songs are all about the trip, no 2 minute blast beats, there's actual writing here.

Adım Adım Elerki by SAKATAT

The songs maintain a catchy kinda quality that's more about rhythm and quick shifts in vocals and riffs, a very punk nod.There’s a Sore Throat cover that’s pretty good, they manage to make it shorter by 40 seconds, which is like half a Sore Throat album right?

Brazil’s Dispepsiaa (consisting of members from Rot) strikes fire right away with a very “Suffer the Children” beginning to “Falsa Realidade” and burns straight through with 5 other songs which all clock in just under 6 minutes. I love everything about this band; the guitar has that really flat low tone, the bass is just a monstrous rumble, the drums are perfect (the mid paced blast beats with hi-hat on quarters possess a hypnotic quality; a rarity in grindcore) and the dynamic vocals are a much appreciated homage to Vane/Jones.

Anormal? by Dispepsiaa

Example of those hypno-beats

As their side progresses it seems to just get heavier and heavier until we hit “Algemas Da Bibila” which stands at some kind of heaviness zenith with its pummeling breakdown and final blast-beat. It's a shame these guys called a quits.

Put down your Rotten Sound records, stop fussing over what Napalm Death’s doing and for fuck’s sake turn off whatever’s passing for grindcore these days and pick this up. This is two bands who are trying their hardest to replicate the noise of a steam roller strapped with a hundred jet engines running over miles of glass and bodies; this is defiantly a good way to spend 3 Euros( I don’t know about who has this stateside).

-F

Comp Crazy pt 1 - Illegal Grinding

Release: 2009
Tyle: CD
Label: Various

Next to word-of-mouth and blind luck, compilations are the best way to discover new bands. And since I live in a city devoted to Indy Rock and being Politically Correct, word-of-mouth is not going to get me very deep into the grindcore industry. So comps it is. They are also rather frustrating, since most of these bands have a woeful lack of material, that being primarily on 7" splits. Therein lies the other issue: many people do not own a record player, which makes it tough for the band to get an international following. It's a double edged sword. On one side, if the records don't sell, the band does not get heard. On the other, assholes like me ripping the vinyl for your listening pleasure get the band much-needed exposure, but the release does not sell. Thankfully, this comp is on CD and is supported by good distribution. Maybe we can all do our part...

Illegal Grinding starts off with a cover band. I use "cover" in a tongue-in-cheek way, but also as a term of endearment, as I like the band. They are Bloody Act Of Terror, a band who, even if you have never heard them, will sound very familiar. In the titular song they play a poor man's version of the mosh bit from Napalm Death's "Mentally Murdered." Then comes "Lets Talk About Nothing," which is actually "Burning Inside" by Nasum. Same drums, same riffs, same vocals patterns. It appears only the title changed. The rest of their tracks ring with the same familiar sounds, but I will leave you the task of spotting which bands get emulated - and really, this is fine, seeing the whole imitation/flattery thing. I am only disappointed that their page on the inlay card does not devote a few lines to giving credit where credit is due.

Next up comes my first encounter with the west coast two-piece act Goner. They sport two mics, one guitar, a drum kit, and a DIY recording budget. It's a recipe for grinding madness. The set list felt incredible short, but it was enough to capture my interest. I liked their guitar tone, the pure grind riffing and definitely the consistent use of varied drum patterns (as opposed to Blast And Thrash I have come to expect from most young/new bands.) It doesn't hurt that the band is supported by To Lie A Lie and Bullshit Progaganda, two labels I have tremendous respect for. The labels have obviously heard the band more than I have, so just by liking this I think it's safe to assume that more goodness is just over the horizon. Aside from the shortness, my only issue is that they broke my unwritten rule of having a song with the sample longer than the music. Thankfully it was the final tune, so in a sense it is easy to overlook. Speaking of easy, Goner is a band I could easily see being brutal live. I'd like to hear them do a split with Gate or Shitstorm. Those records would sell.

The third band on the list plays grind influenced thrash, and they do it right. Starting out with "Contamination," a classic Sepultura meets Abscess type of tune, Haemophagus introduce themselves as a band worthy of a full length. True to Thrash 101 requirments they sound like accomplished musicians having a right good time. I will be the first to admit that some of this sentiment might be from the juxtaposition of coming after Goner and before Sakatat, two heavy, no compromise grinders. Either way their songs were fun to listen to (great General Surgery cover) and made me want to look further into the band. Isn't that the point of comps? When I track down their new CD, it's mine. Simple as that.

After the thrash interlude comes Sakatat, a band more people should be familiar with. They play a brand of grind double-steeped in punk, an approach somewhat but entirely unlike powerviolence. Their songs are short, raw and in many ways rather simple, but it's about as pissed as a punk with an exposed nerve on a cold, windy day. Aggression counts for a lot in these parts. I've said it before and I will paraphrase it again: I will take simple riffs played with passion over great riffs played by the numbers, any day. Sakatat is another band that probably slays live. Their songs are over before you know it, which does them little credit on the comp. But an EP from them would be a vicious assault.

This brings us to the only band without new material on the comp: D-Compose. Contrary to what their name generally implies, there are no d-beats to be had here. If anything the "D" stands for Dissonant. All the songs were taken from their album in 2004 skillfully reviewed here. D-Compose write songs like a death metal band: they stand alone, each following their own progressions. There are no forced tempo changes or any parts that are extreme for extremity's sake. Very well rounded band. Hopefully their inclusion on the comp is to build up interest as they've been rather quite since then.

And finally, just to keep anyone from feeling left out, there is the deathgrind super group Splattered Mermaids, comprised of members from Deranged, Visceral Bleeding and Havok. Deathgrind and me rarely get along. We can trace the genre back to at least Genocide, who were nice enough to disband before following up Horrified. Then their is Harmony Corruption, whose only fault is that it followed up FETO. The list goes on - it seems that each time a band does deathgrind right, they go and change everything up on their next release, if their is a next release at all. That said, it's hard coming up with a better way to end this comp. Splattered Mermaids do not have the attitude I was hoping for, but they have a style that is not represented otherwise - which is another point of comps: something for everyone.

I really enjoyed Haemophagus, Sakatat and Goner (and was stoked that they all fell in line on the playlist.) The other bands are good in their own right and I would happily go see them live. You can give the disk a listen here. I picked this up as a means to check out new bands, but also to support To Live A Lie, because I love that label. The other labels that helped fund this release are: Corrupted Harmony, Jennifergrind, Bullshit Progaganda, Teriak, Extreme Terror Productions and Goregeous Productions. Show your support by picking the comp up here.