Silent Saga is a new (female fronted) metal band from Hamburg, Germany. Last year they released 3 EP’s (Ball Of Vanities, Immortal and The Path) and at the end of last year they launched a crowdfunding campaign to finance their debut album. This was successful within a month … Now they are preparing the release of their debut full-length debut album “Rise”. Check out the following interview we did with Renato, Alex and Sabrina of Silent Saga.
TMR: Hey guys this is The Metal Resource from Holland, how are things going there in Germany ?
Hi, well things are very good here in Germany. We are being well received and we have a lot of gigs planned for 2018! This year is going to be a very loud and heavy one!!!
TMR: Will you Introduce yourself and the band please ! [name and instrument]
I am Sabrina Todt, I am the singer and I play the flute. Renato Angelo play nowaday bass, Alex Mancini the guitar and Daniel Sapcu drums.
TMR: How did you get into metal?
Renato: Two words: Iron Maiden.
Alex: When I was a kid, my neighbour bought an cool album, with an awesome cover art called Powerslave! Well… after listening it I was totally hooked! Next day I went directly to a music store and bought the first album from the same band I saw… it was nothing less than Piece Of Mind! After that I just couldn’t listen to anything else… just started buying anything I could related to Iron Maiden and the metal genre.
Sabrina: At an age of eleven I was already listening to Ozzy Osbourne, Iron Maiden etc. along with my friends.
TMR: What is your musical background ?
Renato: I started learning Organ/Piano at the age of 6. At 13 I started learning guitar, and most recently bass. I am also interested in music production, recording etc.
Alex: As I said, I started with Iron and classic metal in general.. then, when I started playing, I got into tons of different styles, from fusion, to blues, jazz, progressive, etc.
Sabrina: I come from a family that has always played together classical music on weekends, my mother at the piano, my grandfather at the violin, my sister, my aunt and myself at the flute. And in the school I sang in the choir.
TMR: Tell us the brief history of Silent Saga.
Silent Saga is the successor of brazilian metal act Amazon. We moved to Europe and decided to change the name in order to avoid conflict with the online retailer 🙂 We have known Alex for a long time now, and he was available so it was a bit natural that he would come play with us. And Daniel happens to be a very skilled drummer from Hamburg, so we pretty much met him around and invited him to join. We made some sessions and it was clear that we could have fun and make good music together, so here we are.
TMR: Why the name Silent Saga ? Is there a story behind it ?
We were looking for a name to replace the former one, “Amazon”. After brainstorming a lot, we were kind of tired and started complaining about how hard things are for a musician everywhere in the world, about how we need to put a lot of efforts in things that people can’t even imagine in order to make music, that being a musician is a saga that no one notices… and there it was: a Silent Saga. It’s a name that pays tribute to the efforts that every single musician in the world have to make in order to follow his passion.
TMR: Who writes the music/lyrics in Silent Saga ? … how do you get in the mood for writing music? And which bands/situations have influenced you for writing music and lyrics ?
Usually, me, Renato or Renato’s brother, Danilo, also ex-bass player from Amazon. Well it differs every time I can’t put it so easily into words how the hole process begins, but we are in sink, sometimes one does a riff, or part of a lyric or I don’t know it just happens. Some of my lyrics were wrote in a specific situation in my live, for example suicide note, where a person very close to me was suffering with depression.
TMR: What are some key principles or philosophies that you hold onto as foundational stones as who you are as a person? [everyone]
Renato: “Don’t be an asshole.” I think that it is a great start. As long as you are not harming other people, you’re doing fine. If you are actually harming anyone, stop.
Alex: Freedom for sure is key in my life. Also, honesty and education. You need to know what the hell is going on around you… like a mentor used to say, “if you’re playing poker and you don’t know who’s the sucker, you are the sucker!”
Sabrina: “Don’t do something to another, that you don’t want for yourself”.
TMR: Is there a highlight you will always remember, since the beginning of Silent Saga ?
Renato: Silent Saga is too young under this name. I’m surprised with the amount of people supporting us right now, even enough to get a crowdfunding campaign to go through successfully that soon.
Alex: I guess it was when we started getting those awesome feedback from our fans about the songs we were releasing. That was awesome!
Sabrina: Finding people that are determined to make history together, that is not only the band itself but the fans.
TMR: And the worst thing were ? (if there is one)
Renato: Nothing. We’re awesome.
Alex: Well… I have to say, our first concert! Kind of a shitty place, and the sound was terrible. Couldn’t hear anything.
Sabrina: Nothing so terrible comes to my mind that should be mentioned.
TMR: What is your favorite drink and food ?
Renato: Pizza and Barbecue.
Alex: Hum… pasta for sure! Like a good italian!
Sabrina: That’s a tough one… Manioc, mashed Potato, steaks and hamburger… the list is long…
TMR: So what makes you laugh?
Renato: Nonsense jokes.
Alex: Funny series like Curb Your Enthusiasm, Seinfeld and things like that. Also, friends for sure. And playing, I’m always in a good mood when playing!
Sabrina: Puppys and little things…
TMR: What is your biggest fear ?
Renato: Heights.
Alex: Have to go back to work in an office in the country I used to live.
Sabrina: To lose my mind or myself in it.
TMR: What is the last album you bought?
Renato: ??? I don’t remember…
Alex: Dystopia, from Megadeth
Sabrina: Final Frontier from Iron Maiden to give as a gift to Renato.
TMR: What are some of the things you like to do away from the band?
Renato: Cooking, building stuff, rc models, books, computer games.
Alex: Reading, listening to audio books, running, coding (kind of weird but it’s true ;-p), eat great food and drink some good beers.
Sabrina: I like to read, listen to music, create thing like clothing, neeting & crochet, building furniture, learning something new…
TMR: Speaking of recording, what can you tell us about your upcoming first full length album “Rise” [such as the recording process, the songs/lyrics, record label, release date etc.]
We had a good time producing the album with Sander [Gommans] (After Forever/HDK/Phantom Elite) and Amanda [Somerville] (Avantasia, Kiske/Somerville). The lyrics a very varied with a strong message behind them. It will be released independently really soon as it is in production at the factory right now.
TMR: About the cover artwork. Do you think it is as important as your music? Does it visualize the lyrics of your songs or what’s the actual story behind its concept?
Yeah, we do. As you may have seen we are very visual, so this is as important as the music itself. It actually visualize the lyrics of the songs as you mentioned.
TMR: How do you promote your band and shows ?
Well, through the internet with facebook, the website, instagram etc.
TMR: Tell us about the hardrock/metal scene in your area please?
We are still discovering it, but Germany is known to be friendly for rock and metal bands since the 80’s or so. So we have a good feeling about it.
TMR: How do you prepare for a show?
Renato: Practice, practice, then practice.
Alex: 30-60 min warm up, double check everything, and cheer my fellow bandmates.
Sabrina: Like Renato said: practicing.
TMR: What is your favorite Silent Saga song to play live? Renato: Immortal
Alex: Ball of Vanities
Sabrina: Three Lives
TMR: What is your favorite concert that you saw and what made it so good?
Renato: Nightwish in 2002, Century Child tour. It was awesome back then. Innovating yet humble and honest music.
Alex: ????
Sabrina: Scorpions in 2005. They know what they are doing on stage.
TMR: What is the most embarrassing music on your phone or in your collection and how do you justify it to others?
Renato: I’m not embarrassed to listen to any music, and I don’t have to justify anything to anyone.
Alex: Maybe… Shania Twain?! Well… she’s beautiful and has an amazing voice!
Sabrina: Hanson… my brother gave this CD to me… well, I was like wtf man?!Then he showed me my real gift it was a Sepultura CD ( Roots ).
TMR: If you could pick a band to tour with, who would it be? And where would the tour go?
Renato: Currently probably Amaranthe, as it is my favorite band from the last years. I’d be happy to play with them anywhere.
Alex: Iron Maiden or Megadeth for sure…. touring in the US would be awesome!
Sabrina: Delain, anywhere.
TMR: What is the dumbest question you have ever been asked?
Renato: “What happens if Batman gets bitten by a Vampire? ”
Alex: “What is the dumbest question you have ever been asked?”
Sabrina: I don’t think there are dumbest questions, maybe the answers are to obvious.
TMR: What are the biggest obstacles for bands ?
A band should be conducted seriously, so a plan should be in place, without it you don’t know where you are going or what do you what to achieve. This is a very serious matter, when you are organized enough and have everyone aboard doing each assignment everything else comes to place. So the biggest obstacle is to find people who are so committed as you are.
TMR: As a band today, what do you think is the biggest challenge you face?
Planning, perspective, as mentioned above.
TMR: What are the plans for the near future (Upcoming shows, touring ?)
We plan to play meanly in Germany in 2018 to prepare the upcoming tour for 2019.
TMR: Thank you, lady and gentlemen for your time and the interview. We wish Silent Saga all the best for 2018… Is there anything you wanna say at last ? [any final statement ?]
Keep following our work in facebook and website, you will see we have a lot to show you guys 😀
Upcoming Shows:
Friday, April 6th – Grüner Jäger, Hamburg, Germany
Weblinks: Facebook / Twitter / Website / Instagram / Kickstarter
Video for ‘Ball of Vanities’
Video for ‘The Path’
Video for ‘Immortal’