Infest will play at Quantic Club on saturday, 25th of November, alongside Eufobia, Maltworm and Saddayah. You can check the event page here. As a prequel to the show, we had a chat with the mainman of this legendary Serbian band, Vandal.
Hey, Vandal! First of all, i would like to thank you for talking to us. How have you been lately?
Hello my dear friend. Thank you very much for your invitation! Everything is going on the good side, lot of stuff to prepare for the next shows, but still I enjoy it!
Infest has been there for over 20 years, 21 to be more specific. You’ve already been there for more than half of your life. What changed since the early days in you, as a musician?
A lot of stuff had changed, to be honest, but the energy required for making music is even wilder so it can erase all the bad things that happened around me. To be honest, I believe that I’ve grown as a compositor, and I had to make many mistakes in order to gain experience. I do believe that I did the right moves for the band and for me as well. The energy and the aim for aggression are still there, and as I said, it’s all even crazier than it was 20 years ago.
What advice would you give to the younger version of you, the one that started Infest?
It would probably be: DO IT THE SAME WAY! We all made a lot of mistakes, but within them, we made ourselves stronger, better, smarter… It’s very hard to decide what was good or bad enough, but I don’t look at the past. If there were some mistakes on that way, something would be different on another way, so I would rather just avoid the past. Future is waiting, and i also want to enjoy the moment where I am now.
Recently, one of the few Batushka bands had to cancel a show in Serbia because of threats and appeals from church related entities. A few years ago we had some scandal in Romania with Marduk and Dark Funeral concerts. How do you feel about the church and the conservatory parties meddling with the metal scene?
It’s crazy! I couldn’t believe what I heard. How it happens that any kind of organized religion can produce the cancellation of a show. I mean, there are so many bad things happening around us and we all look the other way but when it’s time to prove yourself as a man of god, or whatever, people go crazy. For me personally, it’s madness. I don’t have any nice words about it. If religion has no room for anything beside its own way, then it’s inquisition, not religion. Have you ever seen metalheads demonstrating against any church choir? Crazy…
What’s there in the future for Infest? Six albums and two ep’s in the span of 21 years is, in my personal opinion, quite a lot. Is there more to come anytime soon from you?
We’re working on a new album at the moment and planning a festivals and not only tour for 2024. Lot of stuff to do, but we are very excited about it all. We can’t wait for it all to be done and recorded, so we can get back to touring. Even during this recording process we have a few festival dates in Germany and Slovenia because we would never miss the chance to spread metal across the places where we are invited.
What would you say was the biggest reason you started playing all those years ago? Who was your biggest inspiration at that point and is it still the same?
I believe that without music, I would be empty. It was and is my shelter and my gun in the same time. I could say everything that makes me mad, anything that triggers me to explode, and i’d make a channel for that anger through music. My biggest inspiration is the world around us. Even if only one of my messages is caught by a metalhead, and makes him think about it, I will be satisfied.
I see musicians as bringers of messages from the life as it is, and you, as a listener, decide what to take out of it.
How’s the local scene growing in Serbia? Are there any underground or young local bands you’d like to recommend for our readers?
There are a lot of great bands, but it’s very hard to mention all of them. People can check something like -serbian band- on YouTube, and a lot of suggestions will appear.
Some of the best for me are Bombarder, Svartgren, The Stone, Gavranovi, Alitor, Kolac, Quasarborn, Dead Joker, Nemesis, Jenner… and many more.
Thank you for the talk, Mr. Vandal! We’ll see you soon in Bucharest on the 25th of November. Throw a few words for the readers and get over here, we’re ready for a blast!
I am very excited to come in my other homeland between my brothers and sisters.
WE ARE LEGION! SEE YOU IN QUANTIC. Thanks my brother!
