Chat with Serpent from Extreme Metal Band Booze Serpent

Where were you born and where did you grow up?

Serpent: First thank you for the interview. I hope you are all good in these hard times. I was born/grow up in Antalya/Turkey. Which is a very hot summer city.

What sort of kid were you growing up?

Serpent: I was a dreamer; I loved to watch VHS movies, mostly horror movies. I was a hyperactive kid but did not diagnose until the age of 31. Later on, I went to the doctor by myself and I have been diagnosed with ADHD. I don’t know maybe my parents were afraid to take me to the doctors. But I remember I was very struggling to concentrate.

When did you start to like music, now not underground music just yet?

Serpent: I always loved music. But I discovered metal in late 1995 when I was 13 years old.

Now how did you discover underground music? What were some of the first bands you heard and did you like the style from the first time you heard it?

Serpent: My first underground cassette was “Voluptuously Minced” by “Cenotaph”. I was blown away by the record. It was brutal death metal but holy shit! I was like holy shit! It was like love at first heard 🙂 I loved it and I still like an underground band.

Now I know you have your own one-man-band. Now, what instruments do you currently play?

Serpent: Currently I play the guitar and do vocals.

Did you try to find members for the band or try to join an established band that needed a member in it?

Serpent: No, Booze Serpent is my own one-man-band project. I have 2 other bands, Gorebringer (death metal), Daelkyr (Raw Black Metal).

How did you come up with the name Booze Serpent and were any other names considered?

Serpent is my stage name, I wanted to use that nickname and I really like booze, that is all.

At what point did you say, fuck this I’m just gonna do this on my own for now? Would you ever consider finding members for the band?

Serpent: Yeah I always wanted to create some heavy shit on my own. I do vocals for 2 bands at the moment (Gorebringer-Daelkyr), but I wanted to try something different. Booze Serpent is my solo project I don’t want to add someone to this project, at least for now.

Now how long had the band been around before you released your 2020 EP release? Where did you record it and how long did it take you to come up with the music and the songs for it?

Serpent: In 2019, I started t record songs under the name Booze Serpent. I have recorded all songs in my home studio. It took like 4 or 5 months.

How was the response to the EP? Did you send it to any record labels or was this release more about getting the word out about the band?

Serpent: Ep was very personal (lyrics etc.). So I did not send any labels. I have just sent them to my friends.

How long did it take before you started work on your latest release, which is the “Slices of Death” release, which came out in 2021? Now I saw you did everything but the drums. Was there a drum machine used on this release?

Serpent: After the first Ep, I have started to write new shit for my full-length album. In the first Ep, I used midis for drums, but in my full album, I wanted to use real drums but due to covid, I could not record drums by myself, so all drums are recorded by other drummers around the world. “In Slices of Death” all instruments recorded live.

Now how has the reaction been to this release? Who did the cover for the release?

Serpent: People really like it; the album received positive reviews from a couple of blogs. One of my closest friends did the cover art. And it is hand drawn. I really like it, it fits the album vibe.

Has any label taken any interest in releasing this?

Serpent: I have sent my demo to a couple of labels and it released from Plague Demon Records (USA) (hi john-Chris)

Now, how serious of a band is this and would you, if asked to join a band, would you do it?

Serpent: Booze Serpent is my one-man band; I don’t want to add anyone to this project.

How would you rate yourself as a singer, guitar player, and bass player?

Serpent: Wow, it is very hard to answer; of course, I am not a technical musician or guitar virtuosos. But I can say that I can write catchy songs and my screams are powerful.

Would you ever get some session musicians one day to gather up and play live shows one day?

Serpent: It really depends, but for now, I don’t want to play live shows with Booze Serpent.

For someone who has never heard the band, what would you say you sound like musically?

Serpent: Alcohol fueled terror. Drunk on metal, and Horror Movie / H.P. Lovecraft themed blasting old school death metal.

How is the scene in Turkey these days?

Serpent: There are lots of good extreme bands. But due to covid, they cannot play live. But the extreme metal scene in Turkey is awesome nowadays.

Horns up for the interview, any last words to wrap this up?

Serpent: Thanks for the interview, I want you to enjoy our music and support me in my efforts to make the band bigger. I hope they liked our music, so stay tuned for more. Keep your horns up guys always.