First off, what does your moniker stand for? It doesn't have anything in common with any kind of cliches, that's for sure, however it's pretty difficult to be remembered at once and, what's most important, difficult to be spelled (for those whose English is rather poor, of course)… ;)

- Well, for what else it could stand than for us ? And it sounds interesting, doesn't it? :) Truly, I really don't know what had happened in my head, but then I proposed this name to other members and they said "yeah, we take it…", so we are "Silent Stream Of Godless Elegy". The bandname means directly how we look to ourselves. It includes tempers and feelings of our music - melancholic, pagan, depressive...

"Themes" appears as the kind of CD slightly spiced with gypsy… erh… well, themes… What's the explanation for that?

- Oh, gypsy themes? What to say about that? I really don't know. I've thought by now our music is spiced with Slavonic elements, but if you treat them as gypsy (I said, "SLIGHTLY spiced". No more than that - ED), no problem, it doesn't matter :) Being not gypsy, I think I can't feel music in their way, you know… We live where we live and roots of our native land just flow in our blood. I find it quite natural…

What about the lyrical canvas "Themes" is based upon? Doesn't it have a certain conceptual basis?

- Not conceptual in usual way. To tell the truth I'm not the one who wrote lyrics. But there is something I can say about them… The last two years of Petr's (our previous singer, the composer of lyrics) life were full of disappointment, pain and troubles so this all has to show in his lyrics. Maybe they appear too abstract for the listeners, but I know they are very deep and intimate confessions… And this is what makes their strange conception…

Particularly, what does "My Friend Who Doesn't Exist" deal with lyrically?

- It's just what I was talking about before… Memories, sorrow, pain - all in an abstract story. It's up to you, up to every listener how to take it…

And what about that "Hrob" ("coffin"??) track? Why have you decided to come up with lyrics in Czech this time?

- It's a certain form of a bonus for our Czech fans, for their support... We composed this song just in recording studio, boozing at night, and the next morning we recorded it...

Black metal voice?! Hey man, weren't you aiming to get black metal horde's attention this way? And just by the way, what's your attitude to black metal?

- Not at all, man, not at all. I'm not too much into black metal (of course I like some BM bands like EMPEROR…) and to tell the truth I don't like this kind of vocal. It was a really big dispute between me and our previous singer Petr...

If I'm not mistaken, "Behind The Shadows", the second work of yours, featured DEAD CAN DANCE's cover. Who came up with such an idea, and why exactly DEAD CAN DANCE…?

- It's quite simple - we love them, all of us. We just didn't agree on choice of the song, so I covered my beloved "Cantara" and Petr did "Summoning Of The Muse"...

Would you mind telling us how you've managed to participate in a couple of tribute CDs, the ones paying homage to MASTER'S HAMMER and WHITE ZOMBIE?

- Well, a tribute to MASTER'S HAMMER was prepared and released at Redblack, so it's clear we took a part in it as-well. To tell the truth, MH "Ritual" album was one of my first vinyls, so I'm happy we could have paid a compliment to them.  As for WHITE ZOMBIE tribute, none of us had listened to WZ before, but we were asked to make cover-song for their tribute album released in USA, so why not? You know, these cover-versions made funny time for us, it's very jolly to "dig up" somebody's song… Arranging and recording took us only few hours, it's quite spontaneous approach, a question of improvisation…

And once again "by the way"; what are MASTER'S HAMMER guys up to now? Aren't they going to re-unite?

- I know just two of their members - vocalist Franta Storm and guitarist Necrocock. Franta is not into music anymore, he keeps his company (some kind of a printery or what) and I'm sure he doesn't think about "comeback". Necrocock, on the contrary, has his own band called KAVIAR KAVALIER, playing a kind of bizzare gothic rock. So he's not into black metal as well… I'm almost sure that MASTER'S HAMMER is "closed chapter".

What are your relations with pagan movements of various kinds? Whom do you consider yourself to be: an atheist…? heathen…? muslim… ;) ?

- You know, I don't want to be related with any movement. I dread of movements and I really don't like to see how the word "pagan" becomes "a fashion". If I'm interested in pagan (or Slavonic, if you want) way of life, in the history and culture, it's my personal point of view. I don't want to say to other people to do the same or to join some "pagan" movement. I'm proud of my land and it's culture, but I'm not nationalist and I hate such kind of people. So what am I ? A man, human being undoubtedly. My life is my religion and people and things I believe in are my "gods". I don't need any fuckin' church…

What kind of recognition have you gained so far, with S.S.O.G.E.?

- Well, I hope we have established quite good name at (doom) metal scene. There're almost very very positive responses to our "Themes" album, both from mags and fans side. It's very pleasant but binding as well…

Seems like Red Stream appears as the label you work at? Why don't you sign any non-Czech acts?

- You mean Redblack perhaps, I don't want to move to the USA ;) You know, our basic idea is to help hopeful Czech bands "to get higher". As we're just small independent label which takes care of six bands now (S.S.O.G.E., ROOT, SAD HARMONY, ENDLESS, FORGOTTEN SILENCE and DARK GAMBALLE), it's simply maximum we can do. Of course, it's a question of money, what else…

It strikes as most of you guys out there, in Czech and Slovakia, get high mostly on death / grind kind of stuff, huh? Wasn't you feared to come up with the band delivering doom metal?

- I wouldn't say most of bands here play grind or death. Maybe just mags and zines use to write about them more, what's a little bit curious for me… For example, all bands signed at our label are more or less into some dark / doom music and without doubt they belong to the best UG bands (not only) in Czechia.

Do you know anything regarding Russia? Any metal bands coming from the country of mine you've heard lately?

- I know just few names, but the only bands I've listened to were Russian MENTAL HOME and Ukrainian NOKTURNAL MORTUM, as we have pretty fine relations with The End Records… Yea, and I really liked GODS TOWER. Don't you know if they have any new album ?

Thanks for taking time to answer this questionnaire. What would you like to say in conclusion?

- Well, thank you for this intie. Hey, I hope you'll enter the world of our "themes" soon and enjoy it! See ya…
Dive into the Stream, Listen to the Elegy !!!

GRAVE

You'll see the Moonshine,
It breaks through the tree-top
In it you'll see a bare-footed girl dancing
On the late autumn leaves.
There is my grave there,
My final destination.

Dark by my sight,
Deathly silent by my soul,
Cold by my feeling and breath,
That's my grave,
Those are pictures in its walls,
Memories I cannot hear.

S.S.O.G.E. contact -
Email: ambersea@redblack.cz