1.Hello Nyoman please introduce yourself to the readers?
Hello, my name is Nyoman Sastrawan. I am from Bali, Indonesia. I am a singer for the band Devoured.
2.When did you first discover metal music and who were some of the first bands you heard? Who are some of the current bands that have caught your attention?
I listened to metal music for the first time way back in 1993. Slayer, Metallica, Megadeth, Sepultura, Iron Maiden, Morbid Angel are bands that have influenced my mindset.
I mostly listen to old school death metal bands like Bloodbath, Lik, and a few others nowadays. There are also black metal and doom bands
3.I believe you started your journey into the underground metal music scene back in the late 90's what is it that has kept you going after all these years?
Metal music for me is not just music, but it is a part of my life style, my passion. I also have a hobby of collecting CDs, vinyls, tapes, and merchandise from the bands that I like.
4.Back in the 90's i know fanzines were huge did you read alot of fanzines back in the day?What do you feel made a good fanzine?What were some of your favorite fanzines to read back then?
Before the digital era; fanzines, newsletters, magazines are very influential for us in Indonesia. We used to get a few fanzines every time we ordered something. I had Corpse Gristle zine, and several others. Currently I also have a webzine called Indogrind Webzine. But the webzine is pretty inactive now since I'm concentrate on my label (Sadist Records) and band (Devoured) now.
5.Are their any current fanzines that you read?Do you try to keep up with any of the web-zine's that are out these days?If yes what are some web-zines that you like to read and keep up with?
Currently I only pay attention to local media. But that's nothing much. Nothing makes interesting, original content, interesting reviews and interviews.
6.Besides fanzines i know tape-trading was huge as well did you ever do much tape trading?What were some of the early demo's and releases that you traded for?
I have done tape trading with several people in the USA, Europe, Japan and several other countries since 1997. I have fun doing tape and CD trading until now. I trade CDS from bands and Labels overseas.
7.Nyoman I believe you started Devoured back in 1998 what gave you the idea to start this band? And how did you choose Devoured as the band name?
Yes, Devoured was formed in Yogyakarta back in 1998. The name 'Devoured' was taken from one of Cannibal Corpse's song title from ’Vile’ album. A name that is short and easy to remember!
8.How would you best describe the bands musicial style over the years?Who would you say are Devoured's biggest influences and have they remained the same over the years?
We always bring songs from USA Death Metal bands such as Deicide, Dying Fetus, Deeds of Flesh, Disgorge, Prophecy, etc. And that put a lot of influence into our songs on our debut album. But for this second album, our music concept totally change into Swedish Death Metal!
9.The Curse Of Sabda Palon is the bands second full length release how long did it take the band to write the music for the new release? How long does it usually take the band to complete one song? It is a long wait for this 2nd Album release. Our first single release in January 2016 "Sabda 13: Gemuruh Air Puluhan Ribu Dosa".All songs recorded during 2019 until 2020. I also wrote a concept lyrics narration on each song on this album which then compiled and narrated it into a book.
10.Besides the The Curse Of Sabda Palon release are the bands previous releases still available to purchase? Besides physical releases does the band have any other merchandise currently available if yes what is available and where can the readers purchase it?
We released this album on CD format as well as two version of t-shirts individually for local and international metalheads. Please contact me for both.
11.Devoured Comes out of Indonesia's death metal scene what are your thoughts of the death metal scene in Indonesia over the years?
Most of the Indonesian death metal scene are influenced by USA Death Metal. Because of frequent media coverage on US Death Metal bands the style influenced the mindset of metalheads in Indonesia... There are some who are influenced by European Death Metal’s, but not many. For Devoured, we are different. We really into the styles like Dismember, old Entombed and a few others.
12.Who are your all-time favorite bands coming out of Indonesia and are their any new bands you could recomend to the readers?
In my opinion, Suffocation is a death metal band with a strong character that influenced most of Indonesian metalheads. There are many good Indonesian bands such as Viscral, Deadsquad, Jasad, Death Vomit, Trojan, and many more.
13.What does Underground Metal mean to you?
Underground is a system that unites the love of heavy, dark and brutal music with others from all over the world that have the same passion and interest.
14.Nyoman besides the band you also run the label Sadist Rec. when did you first get the idea to start a label? Are you happy with how things have progressed with the label over the years?
Before I had a band, I first had a cassette / CD distribution called Sastro Distribution in 1996. I traded a lot of tapes at that time. And finally in 1999 I released a cassette compilation entitled Sadist (Sastro Distro) Compilation. Since then I start of the label. But in 2000, my house was robbed and made me bankrupt. Re-active in early 2016. And then released many bands.
15.Do you run the label by yourself or do you have some friends that help you run it? How many hours a day would you say you work on label stuff?
I have a team within Sadist Records, they help me in various fields such as recording studio, video, marketing, CD / Merchandise production and CD distribution and our products. They make this label even better and last longer. I can't count how many hours worked on this label, because I was doing it all time. : D Especially this past year, during a pandemic that made me lose my main job. I am now focused on this label
16.What do you look for when signing and releasing a band? Are you currently searching for new bands to sign and release or is the label full right now?
We always listen together to the demos offered by a band. If that interests us, I will contact the band back with an offer to release their materials.
For now, our label have a full release schedule that will last until the end of 2021.
17.What are some your current releases that are available for the readers to purchase?Are their any upcoming releases that the readers should keep an eye out for?
We will release Tvsk / Indonesian Black Metal, Tragedy Kereta Jenazah / Indonesian Brutal Death Metal, Thousand Year War / USA Black Metal. Drosophila / Indonesian DoomDeath, Melata / Indonesian Black Metal
18.When you need to take a break from working on band or label business what do you like to do in your free time?
I have many children, and I will spend time with them. Family is number one priority.
19.Thank you Nyoman for taking the time to fill this interview out do you have any final comments for the readers?
Thank you Patrick, happy to be able to share information and correspondence. For readers, if you want to know more about the Indonesian Metal scene, do contact me
SADIST RECORDS
JL. SRIKARYA NO. 1
DENPASAR – BALI
INDONESIA Label Contacts https://sadistrecords.com/ https://sadistrecord.bigcartel.com/ https://www.facebook.com/SRjogjakarta https://twitter.com/sadistrecords https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgY2euvqpWZVxKQ7Md741Rw https://www.instagram.com/sadistrecords/
