Thrash metal band Sadistic Ritual stopped by the Masquerade’s newest stage, Altar, this past weekend to play a hometown show. They were fresh off their most recent tour supporting Colombian death metal group, Masacre.
Prior to their headline set, guitarist and lead vocalist Charlie Southern, sat down with The Technique to talk about their music, touring and the metal genre, as well as to answer some extra fun questions.
To start off, what would you describe your guys’ genre as?
We are originally a thrash metal band. Lately, we’ve been trying to get weird with it [and] kind of putting in psychedelic elements, but still ripping and heavy. So yeah, I would just call it thrash metal.
What made you decide to start [the band]?
I’ve always been a huge thrash fan. My mom started me on Megadeth and Metallica when I was in fifth grade or something, so I’ve always been infatuated with it. But as of recent – like the 2000s [maybe] – the whole thrash revival thing has been really [cringey]. I’m a big lyric guy and I don’t want to hear another [song] about zombies and nuclear waste. Like, give me something real, you know? So I made this band to kind of fight that. It’d be like, “Yo, thrash metal can be pure, it can be real, it can convey emotion and real [stuff].”
So when you’re writing music, what do you draw from?
Lyrically, I [use a lot of] my personal disgust with humanity. Something will happen to me throughout the day, and I’ll make a song about that. [I take] personal experiences [and] basically make it poetry, or brutal poetry or whatever. That may not be the right word, but I don’t know.
For example, our song “Area Denial” [is about] being so disgusted with someone’s existence that you just phase them out, you block them out, they don’t exist… you give them no conscience, [stuff] like that. I try to keep everything real and relatable, or personal, and that way, on stage, it’s more personal to me to deliver the vocals if it’s something I’ve gone through or felt.
In terms of your “sound,” who would you say were your “inspirations,” both growing up and specifically with the band?
Sepultura, Metallica, Slayer… Megadeath, Rest in Peace…they’re the best for a reason [and] the more we can emulate them, the better we’ll be. But, you know, I said we started getting [into] incorporating psychedelic stuff. So like our last album we wrote was over quarantine and I wasn’t really listening to that much metal because I was living in a house full of rock and roll dudes. And [so] I wrote that album listening to [basically] nothing but Pink Floyd. So I try to incorporate other genres of music, but like, tastefully? I don’t want to [just] start mashing genres together. Yeah, but I want to, you know, tastefully put my own spin [on it].
A lot of these thrash revival bands [are] just emulating bands. You’re never going to be remembered if you’re just an emulation of someone else. I’m interested in bands who push the genre to new boundaries, like yes we’re playing [stuff] that’s been played for 40 years, but I want to take it somewhere else that’s memorable. Like, if you sound just like Slayer, well, I’d just rather listen to Slayer.
When it comes to actually playing shows, would you say there’s a lot of difference between you onstage and you offstage?
Oh yeah, definitely. I’m a pretty shy, reserved person normally, but I, you know, had to learn how to be like a frontman. It’s taken a long time but I’m coming around to it.
Would you say that the band name plays into any “misconceptions” about you guys? I know hearing a name like “Sadistic Ritual” probably gives people a specific idea.
That we’re like grungy Satan worshippers? Well, we are….nah I’m just kidding. [I feel like] any metal band you talk to or hang out with, they’re all the goofiest nerds you’ve ever met. But I will say [for] my band’s aesthetic, I like to keep serious. I don’t want to come off as goofy or whatever because it isn’t the message I’m conveying, [which] is very serious. But offstage I am, just like the goofiest [person].
And where did [the band name] come from?
There’s no “special story” behind it. We were 14 when we started the band, and we were just like, “Oh, I like the name ‘sadists,’ ‘sadistic’s’ cool. “Sadistic Ritual,” okay.” But it’s worked. We’ve got the same name and same logo since we were 14. I’m 30 now, so it’s worked out. I remember mailing the artists $20 cash in the mail to do the logo. And he sent me the internet files. We still use that logo to this day.
Okay, so how long have you guys been on tour?
We just got back like two weeks ago. But we did a four-week tour with Masacre from Colombia. And it was [absolutely] awesome. They’re the coolest [people] and the goofiest [people]. It was really awesome. It was our first time touring the West Coast, [and it] went really well.
What’s your favorite part of touring?
The shows. Everything else is like saying, “Hurry up and wait,” get here at 4pm and sit till 10 o’clock, you know? So it’s a lot of just sitting around staring into space and driving. Luckily, hopefully, the van doesn’t break down or anything, but the shows [are like the] release. That’s why you’re out there, that’s why we do it.
Who’s the best driver?
I’m gonna say that I’m the best driver, and I probably do most of the driving, but I am not great with the trailer. So my drummer Matt – I’ll get to the place, and I’m like, “Matt, wake up dude. Get us parked.”
Who’s the neatest?
Definitely not me. Probably my guitar player Alex. He complements my playing very well. I’m the creative end, but he’s like a virtuoso…he owns his own studio [and] records all of our stuff. And he also helps manage the band for the most part too. So he’s definitely got his [stuff] together the most outside of him just playing guitar.
In terms of people who don’t normally listen to metal, what would be things that you would want them to know about your band or the genre in general?
I don’t need them to know anything. I’m confident enough that [anyone] who walks into my show to see us is going to have a good time. I don’t care who you are. We will turn your head and we will convince you. I’ve always said that, and I stand by it; all you’ve got to do is get [people] in the door. A lot of times I’ll just be like, “Yeah, I’m a rock and roll band” and they show up and they love it, you know? People generally like high energy shows and we bring it. You can’t have a bad time.
After the interview, Southern and the rest of the band hung around the venue while the opening bands played their sets. Southern’s parents were in attendance, and his mom and girlfriend made sure to get right up front when it was time for Sadistic Ritual’s set.
Taking the stage, the band members themselves look like they walked right off a plane from 1970s Britain with their long hair, metal band T-shirts and Southern’s black leather vest. Their star-shaped and V-shaped guitars were exactly the picture of “metal.”
True to Southern’s words, the band put on an energetic performance. The group delivered fast-paced drumming, intricate guitar riffs and Southern’s intense yet skillful vocals. Fans packed closer to the stage while they played, leaving a gap for several moshpits to open throughout the night.
Throughout the entirety of Sadistic Ritual’s set, their energy started up high and stayed there, never faltering for a second. By the end of the show, Southern’s confident statement from earlier rang true: you can’t have a bad time at their show.