Metal Anarchy

Time for the next edition of Metal Anarchy’s “new music showcase,” the feature where I introduce you to artists that readers of this site may find interesting. This time I have an exclusive Q&A with STORMGREY.

METAL ANARCHY: Tell me a little about your band:

STORMGREY: STORMGREY was formed in 2011 when three ex-members of old school (90’s) Lithuanian Death Metal band DISSECTION – Raimondas Kieras (guitars), Liudas Remeika (Bass) and Laurynas Sadauskas (vocals) joined forces with Arūnas Mikolajūnas (guitars) (ex-DAHMER, ex-MISOPSYCHIA) and drummer Viktoras Mogilo-Žano. Just a few months after, the band already opened for VOIVOD with some brand new material. This solid start was hindered by an unexpected departure of Laurynas, but soon he was replaced by another character from the Lithuanian metal scene, Rimtautas Piskarskas (ex-GROL, BURYING PLACE). With a strong line-up established, the band continued to write the material inspired by old-school Death/Thrash bands like SEPULTURA (old), OBITUARY, NAPALM DEATH (Death Metal period), DEATH (old), BENEDICTION, POSSESSED and SLAYER. Frequently playing local gigs, STORMGREY soon established a rabid fanbase and had 10 songs ready. They were recorded at the Muzlab Studios (Vilnius), and mixed and mastered by Dan Swano (Unisound).This in 2015 became the band’s debut album “Pray.Crawl.Suffer.” Upon its release by Vic Records (Holland) in September 2015, the band played a couple gigs in Holland with DEAD END and PENTACLE. The album got great reviews from the media and fans were headbanging like crazy. This is what the legendary Kam Lee (DEATH, MASSACRE, MANTAS, BONE GNAWER, THE GROTESQUERY) had to say about our first album:

“Great fucking band for those of you who like your old school Death Metal!!! Their debut album “Pray. Crawl. Suffer” is the kind of metal that as soon as it comes in it induces the listener into doing windmill headbanging spins… When a track comes in and in less than 30 seconds & can get the listener that enthralled… you know this is going to be fucking kick ass!! Just heavy as fuck and mind melting brutal!! Fucking kick ass death metal the way it’s meant to be played…”

Unfortunately, drummer Viktoras Mogilo-Žano left the band in 2016 due to health issues and later on passed away from cancer. This was a huge blow. The band tried to forge on with a new drummer Mantas, but after two years it became apparent that it would not work out. During that time also the vocalist Rimtautas decided to step down. Still, the main core of the band was writing new songs and looking for a way to push forward.

In 2018, which can be viewed as a new beginning for STORMGREY, finally it all came together. Two other veterans of the Lithuanian Death Metal scene of the 90’s – drummer Arūnas Staugaitis (ex-BURYING PLACE, SULLEN GUEST) and a brutal growler Andrius Šaulys (ex-ANOMALY) – joined the ranks of the old death-bastards. Now with the most solid line-up in its existence, in the span of just one year STORGMGREY hammered out 9 brand new tracks brimming with a much more brutal and angrier approach. The material was recorded at the Muzlab Studios by Paulius Simanavičius in Februray 2020, mixed by Dennis Israel at Clintworks Studios (Germany) and mastered by Jens Bogren at Fascination Street Studios (Sweden). The second album titled “DNA of Chaos” is a killer soundtrack for the current fucked-up world. It is performed in the true spirit of old-school Death Metal by the longest surviving Lithuanian Death Metal players from the 90’s scene.

METAL ANARCHY: Who are your main influences?

STORMGREY: In regards to the lyrics, the main influences are the dark side and stupidity of the human race, the wars, violence, and murder of which it is capable, and of course all that bullshit of Christianity. Musically speaking, influences range from bands like OBITUARY, BOLT THROWER, DEATH, SEPULTURA (old), ENTOMBED to NAPALM DEATH, etc. However, it is important to point out that this is just the context in which we operate. There’s no denying that these are our roots, but we believe that with the second album we have already found our own sound and musical expression.

METAL ANARCHY: What is your latest release and why should readers of this site check it out?

STORMGREY: Our latest release is our second album titled “DNA of Chaos.” It was released at the end of 2021 in digipack CD format by a French label Great Dane Records. A vinyl release is scheduled for June-July 2022. The new album consists of eight tracks of pure old-school death metal. It was mixed at Clintworks Studios by Dennis Israel who has worked with Incantation, Misery Index, Siege of Power, etc. and mastered by Jens Bogren at Fascination Street. We are pretty satisfied with the reviews the new material has been getting so far. Voices from the Darkside described it as “Simply crushing!”, whereas Metal Archives/Encyclopaedia Metallum went so far as to declare that(…) “you probably won’t find a much better album this year in that sub-genre.” Mr. Kam Leealso seems to be convinced by our second shot at an album: “Check out the new STORMGREY promo… fucking kick ass Death Metal done the old school way… The way it’s meant to fucking be!!!” So yeah, all is good at Stormgrey camp now, and if you are into old-school death metal, definitely check out our new release at https://stormgrey.bandcamp.com/ or https://www.greatdanerecs.com/eshop/web/.

METAL ANARCHY: What can people expect when they go to your live shows?

STORMGREY: For us, live shows are first and foremost about intense interaction between the band and the audience. Headbanging together with fans on stage, sharing some beers with them, stagediving – you name it. What goes around comes around, and this energy interchange between the band and the audience needs to happen for it to become a good gig. We grew up when stagediving and moshing at gigs was absolutely the norm, and that’s what we expect and encourage the audiences to do. The more cramped and packed the club is, the better for us. So simply put, a STORMGREY gig is about a good dose of old-school death metal and beer-soaked headbanging for sure.

METAL ANARCHY: Where do you see your band heading in 5 years?

STORMGREY: Five years is a long time, especially in this fucked-up state the world finds itself in now. But if we take a shorter perspective, the band is already writing new material for a third record, so this will keep us busy this year. This latest lineup is the most solid and it is definitely working for us. We are all good pals, we’re having good fun and there’s a total match musically. Ideas keep on flowing, we have just finished rigging up a new rehearsal studio, we have some gigs lined up in Poland and Lithuania soon, so it is a busy time at the STORMGREY camp. Fans can for sure expect some new STORMGREY records in the coming years. Cheers!