Doomed Confessionary: Gebre, Rigel, Tomeu & Miguel (SolNegre)
SolNegre is a doom/death metal band from Balearic Islands, Spain. The band was recently formed by Gebre and Rigel, bandmates since 1995 and founders of the doom metal sextet Helevorn. They are surrounded in the project by Tomeu Crespí (Golgotha) and Miguel Serra.
The musical inspiration is taken from the old school greats of doom/death metal from the ’90s, referring to well-known bands.
SolNegre’s debut album »The Spiral Labyrinth« was released on October 6th, 2023 via Meuse Music Records / Tragedy Productions.
The album is divided into six pieces, with an approximate duration of 9 minutes each. It’s a conceptual journey through different scenarios with the common denominator on the pain, the anguish, the hypersensitivity and the struggle with a highly functioning depression, which is absolutely based on a real condition.
The music can be approximated as doom/death metal with a strong old school vibe, here bands like My Dying Bride and early Anathema and early Opeth might come to mind, and maybe among the current scene we could mention Shape Of Despair, Ahab and Doom Vs.
Can you say a few words about your band?
First of all, thank you for having us here. First thing I could say about us is that we are not a conventional band. We do not play live, we do not tour. We don’t do band photos no one cares for; we keep our identities discreet. This allows us to pour our inner universes into our listeners, as water or wine is poured into a new recipient. We do not have urges to succeed, hence we also lack the frustration of failing as a band. We are our own truth made music. We expose ourselves as we are; angered, fragile, ill, unbalanced. We don’t make this other than for to share the burden and the regret for our own personal failures.
What was the biggest challenge for the band last year?
To create is always a painful process. It’s like when you grow as a kid, you feel something that’s off, it’s painful in many cases and it’s a rather terrifying experience because nothing is ever the same again. In 2023 we released our first singles and a full album called »The Spiral Labyrinth« later that year, with a surprisingly good reception and massively good critics. Having said this I didn’t feel this as a challenge in technical terms; after all we’ve been tied to the scene in prior projects for the last 20+ years and participated in multiple releases in the past but to be honest It’s rather frightening to intimately overexpose oneself to the public this way, but the doom crowd seemed to love it and embraced us within this community in a way that we never expected.
What can you be most proud of so far?
Extremely proud of the personal direct messages we’ve got. These are personal stories that I will never forget and are direct answers to each one of the songs that compose »The Spiral Labyrinth«. It’s amazing to be able to touch some other human soul when we are even continents apart. I even got messages from people that were not into doom metal at all, which seems unbelievable. It’s all vibration, and it’s extremely rewarding when you feel in the company of other lost souls, withered as ours.
What was your biggest regret?
I feel regret for all the times I’ve got to say yes and said no. I feel regret because I’ve massively failed to people who trusted me and expected me a little better. I feel regret because my illadvice and my lack of attention sometimes caused real problems that will never solve. I feel regret for the times I would had to answer a call and did not. But I also feel anger for all the times I’ve been manipulated, tricked and used. These are the fundamentals that move the dark conceptual universe of SolNegre.
What was the best concert/tour last year and why?
As I mentioned before we do not tour. We used to do in the past, in a prior life. Maybe 19 countries, two continents, all good but all fake. I detest crowds. Covid 19 triggered a massive agoraphobia in me. Also I despise the current state of bands becoming textile retailers and most of all I detest the double standard of acting like hooligans visiting Disneyland and then acting sad and transcendent as the concert begins. Doom Metal is pure isolation and self harm, it’s a poison to consume alone. Of course I got no remorse of having done that back in the day, it’s only that to me it looks ridiculous to see guys on their 40+ and 50’s in disguise travelling 300+km to bring in a 20 guys attendance and take a picture where you see more band members than attendance saying “Thanks, amazing night!”, but hey this is what it is. Don’t blame them, just that is not a thing we are doing anymore.
What was the biggest surprise on the music scene for you?
There is no scene at all in my opinion. Only broken people trying to fix things that were wrong probably in the 90’s and traumas that never fully healed. No one communicates with anyone, and everyone is pushing it’s own agenda in a desperate attempt to get attention. This wave will die with us. As per the music yes, the number of releases nowadays is just massive and there are massively good doom metal as the requisites to record and produce music are at arm’s reach. But one thing does not match the other one. Like 16 bands per each fan, I guess. Hence, doing this for success is a double mistake.
What is currently in your heavy musical rotation?
I just took a look at my Spotify and what does it shows? The Oak, Ahab, Illimitable Dolor, Somnent, my dear Clouds, Mesmur, Golgotha, Colosseum, Cult Of Fire, Sojourner, If these trees could talk, Last sighs of the Wind, Aeolian, Yob, Funeral, 40 Watt Sun, Ars Onirica, Evadne, Sorrowful Land, Dudkh, Imber Luminis….of course I listed to the old regular stuff like old MdB and first two Anathema and so on, but all this works of art impacted me deeply during these last times.
Can you say something more about the music scene on the Balearic Islands, Spain?
Oh it’s really amazing, couldn’t tell otherwise…on the extreme side of things you have Aeolian which is excellent melodic death black, Cartesian Ghost which is a bit more on the prog side, then is Marasme, also the legendary doomsters Golgotha, a big bunch of growing death metal acts like Impur, Ferest among others, you have Inferitvm which is old school BM. Virtual Chaos is also an interesting modern metal act, and also is Trallery. As every self-respecting scene, no one checks on other’s live shows but I guess this is the norm nowadays.
Where can we see you live this year (concerts/tours)?
As mentioned before, this is never going to be our aim. We respect for the ones who do.
What are your plans for the future as a band?
At the moment we are about to release a very long single (like 20+ minutes long) which will probably be part of a second album in 2025. We believe in keeping our listeners In with new material, to nurse them and thank them for their care and attention towards what we do. For us it’s unthinkable to be years without publishing because it’s a real urge we have, so yes we’ll be back very soon with this new challenging track of which you will soon hear of.
How can people best support your band?
Of course in our Bandcamp profile as well in our Instagram and Facebook profiles @solnegreofficial. We welcome and answer any DM and it’s a great way to share interests and ideas. Also, all physical sales from our albums include some discreet merch like stickers and a personal note with some thought or meditation for the moment. All proceeds from the sales are immediately given (100%) to animal shelters, we keep nothing for us. SolNegre is not a venture, is a kind of therapy so we thing this makes sense.
Do you have any message for your listeners?
Only to thank you again for your kindness if you reached this point on the interview, stay doomed!
Links:
Website | Facebook | Instagram | Bandcamp | Spotify | YouTube
Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well