Interview with Steve Jenkins of Democratus

By Linzi Anne

Democratus are a melodic death metal band based in Cwmbran, South Wales.

Forming in late 2014 these guys have played alongside such bands as Desecration, Hecate Enthroned, Reign Of Fury, Shrapnel, Laceration, Kirkebrann and Skiltron.

Hi Steve thanks for taking time out to speak with us today!.

MG You guys have got Bulletfest 2016 coming up on Saturday 28th May at the Dolls House in Wales, have you guys got anything special lined up for this?

DEM We’re opening up the first attempt at a 2 day event. Its been going for a couple of years raising tons of money for good causes, so it’s an honour to be a part of it.

With good friends on the line up we’re hoping there’ll be a good crowd to get fired up for the days shenanigans!
MG When entering competitions such as ‘Metal 2 The Masses’ for a spot at Bloodstock, what goes through your mind when competing?

DEM I gotta admit, I loathe BOTB events. Usually they’re just a see how many friends you can bring regardless of if you can play, but M2TM is the exception. Whilst this year’s South Wales branch missed the judges because of it being hastily re-arranged from promoter issues, the quality of the set up still worked. It was a greatly fought contest and so many of the bands could easily play future Bloodstocks on merit alone. Much love to Simon Hall and Fuel Rock Club head honcho Rob Toogood for their work!
MG You have recently released links on soundcloud for ‘The Diety Demo’ containing ‘Life for a Life’ and ‘Deity’, what are the meanings behind these tracks?

 

DEM ‘Life For A Life’, is about corruption. Everybody has their price and if matched you’ll burn bridges, walk away and kill to do what you deem is best for yourself.

‘Deity’, I always give this explanation at gigs. It’s a love song……about religion…..and how its all full of shit! I’ll avoid the rant here, but my lyrics explain basically, that religion has become the go to excuse for hatred of others. That science is still rejected in favour of being controlled to believe there is something after we die and that an all seeing, all knowing lord needs appeasing in order to gain him as a friend. It just doesn’t sit right with me….

 

MG You guys had a few problems at one of your shows such as broken pedal bars, travel issues etc, what keeps you going when you encounter issues such as these?

 

DEM Being gluttons for punishment? Haha, no. We hate letting people down. We want to be as professional as possible. So if there’s the possibility of making sure we finish the gig, we’ll do it!

MG You guys have got an amazing gig coming up with Warlord  on Saturday 23rd July at the Angel Hotel, are you guys excited about this and what can we expect from you guys at this event?

DEM Absolutely. We played with Warlord at last years Eradication Fest. Brutally good band. Couple that with the chance to catch up with our friends in Outright Resistance it’s going to be a busy day!
MG You guys played Eradication Festival at the Fuel Rock Club in Cardiff this April just gone, how did you guys find that?

DEM It was great. As mentioned we also played last years event. We weren’t going to do this years but after a band pulled out our friend and the festival’s promoter ran a little competition so we entered and ended up winning it! We opened up the day, it was fuller than expected so it was an absolute win. Gavin has a special little thing going on for extreme metal in South Wales. I’m glad we’re a part of it!
MG What else have you guys got lined up?

DEM Gigs! We’re hunting high and low to get ourselves everywhere. With the demo getting a good response we’re hoping this will lead to some great opportunities and of course we’ll be getting more songs written and recorded in due course! Watch this space!

Thanks for that Steve, you have been a blast to talk to, we hope to catch up with you guys soon!.

 

https://www.facebook.com/democratusband/?fref=ts

 

 

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