| INTERVIEWS |
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From Metal Only Which is the oldest, the band or the rec. company? Hello Metal-Only! Please describe the philosophy of the company. Sentinels initial intention of releasing a compilation of Irish Metal bands from across the country and then to continue to develop into a Record Label. An Irish Metal mail-order was established in the hope that we could continue to stock and sell everything released by Irish Metal bands from demos to CDs and LPs and also stock shirts, and any other related merchandise. We are striving to be a centre point where people from across the country and throughout the world can purchase Irish Metal goods by various bands from the one location. Although we have stuck to home-grown talent so far, Sentinel is not exclusive to releasing Irish Metal as you will see with our next release, the Uk band BASTARDSUN(feat S.Anstis ex-CoF). How much time (appr. per week) do you spend on rec. company business? After I come home from my normal day job I spend at least 2 hours on label business which may include the usual answering of e-mails, posting promos, sending newsletters, looking for new magazines etc and communicating with demo bands etc. Sometimes it is far busier and therefore more time must be spent doing stuff. It would be great to be able to spend the full day working on it but alas this can't happen here but will in the future. Then there is band stuff to be done too so I do have a bit to do. How's business? What about distribution channels? Which are your biggest markets? What are your developing plans for the company? Business is going well but could be better. I think there is a bit of a slump worldwide at the moment in people buying cd's etc and it affects both the big and the small companies. But this is the way things go sometimes. We've got distribution in most countries now from Europe to Asia to North and South America and Australia-over 100 companies and shops worldwide. Please check our site for an outlet near you. As far as our world distro list goes Ireland is probably the best market as we get to sell our cd's at gigs here too to it is easier to access our stock for those at home. We've just signed a contract with PHD in Canada for all our releases so that is a major push for us and will increase the awareness of our titles. This year we will release the debut cd from BASTARDSUN. This was originally supposed to be an Ep release but things have progressed since the initial talks and we are now happy to have their first full length. Some of you might know the main guy Stuart Anstis(Ex-CRADLE OF FILTH and songwriter for Vempire,Dusk and her Embrace,Cruelty and the Beast). The line-up is complete with Ross Adams(voc) with more session members to be confirmed in the near future. This release should see Sentinel propel to the forefront of small independent labels. As with most things money dictates the future of small labels and we are always making plans and making provisions for the future of Sentinel. We will do a 7" series of split vinyl's with Irish and foreign bands in the near future. What will happen in 2003 with the company and MOURNING BELOVETH? We will continue to promote and sell the 'Dust' rerelease as long as
possible, getting it into more territories and increasing our mailorder.
As Mourning Beloveth are now signed to AFTERMATH RECORDS in Norway we
must rely on them for the future endeavours of the band. Sentinel will
release a 7" pic disk split this year. The other band is called LUNAR
GATE( atmospheric Prog/Doom) from Ireland. This is limited to 300 copies.
MOURNING BELOVETH recorded a new song for this release last month and
I must say it is one of our best songs ever. This song won't be recorded
again so I would recommend that anyone interested in buying a copy should
contact Sentinel asap. How many copies have the Sullen Sulcus sold? Any idea? Which is Sentinel's best-seller? We have no idea how many copies have been sold yet. MOURNING BELOVETH
should get a statement from Aftermath in a couple of months I guess but
until then we can only speculate. From various posts on Doom-Metal.com
and MetalIreland.com we can see that people are getting them into their
hands but I reckon the next few weeks will see a lot more sales. After
the distributors get their copies and some ads have been placed in various
magazines along with reviews, things will be clearer. Which would you rather do, play in Mourning Beloveth or run the record company? Ooohhhh a tough one. Fuck, I could upset both sides here so I better be diplomatic. No not really. They are completely different and separated for me. One makes the money and the other can be played with. Mourning Beloveth will always be number one in my book anyway but hopefully I can eventually make a living from Sentinel. There is little difference as far as which one is more important than the other to me as I love the work of both parties. What do you think of the future for metal in Ireland? The future of doom in the metal world? The future for metal in Ireland is better than it was 3 to 4 years ago in my opinion. This is due to people getting off heir asses and supporting the local bands and backing off on the bitching and negativity which brings down the spirit of metal. Ireland has been ignored for a long time as regards international bands touring here but this has been rectified by the good work of Emerald Promotions who are into their 3rd year of existence. A Metal magazine called Metalworks was launched last year. It's the first ever professional magazine aimed at the metal market and the 3rd issue is out this week with Slayer on the cover. All the people working on the magazine have been involved in the scene here for many years and they all know their stuff pretty well. Irelands PRIMORDIAL have been going from strength to strength and are currently on tour across Europe with Rotting Christ. Their new album on Hammerheart Records is real class and its cool to have such a big name come from ones own country , especially somewhere as small and backward as Ireland. Bands from the North and Rep of Ireland are getting more professional every year with better demo/album releases and better attitudes allround. I would really appreciate it if you could mention these Irish websites: Band Homepage Cheers for your time, Miggo |