ENEMY OF THE SUN – Deathgrip On New Life

Special report by Carl Begai

Grip Inc.’s last album, Incorporated, may well have been their last album, period. Since its release in 2004 plenty has happened, with vocalist Gus Chambers joining German bashers Squealer and drummer Dave Lombardo returning to the Slayer fold, leaving guitarist/producer Waldemar Sorychta more or less holding the bag of unanswered questions about what the hell happened and whether or not Grip Inc. has a future. Sorychta isn’t concerned with Grip Inc’s future, however, for he too has moved on. His new band, Enemy Of The Sun, is the outlet for his considerable build-up of musical energy since Grip Inc.’s unofficial demise, and fans of his work will be shocked when their debut is released. Call it Grip Inc. meets System Of A Down, call it a reinvention of Sorychta as a songwriter and musician, the fact of the matter Enemy Of The Sun is his most original work of art to date, making Grip Inc. a distant memory.

“Dave went back to Slayer, and that more or less said ‘Okay, it’s time to do something else,’” Sorychta says of the Grip Inc. split. “I personally believe that Grip Inc. is myself, Gus and Dave; if there’s going to be a Grip album the three of us have to be involved, otherwise it’s not Grip. I still have contact to the other guys so there’s no personal differences, but timewise it’s a problem and we have different ideas about where we should go musically. For me there’s the point that if you’re going to do something you do it 100% or not at all. To continue Grip with another record and then do maybe five shows, that’s not what we want and I don’t think that’s what the fans want. You never know what’s going to happen tomorrow, but for right now Grip is alseep.”
“This is my new family,” Sorychta says of Enemy Of The Sun. “That might not mean a lot to people but it means a lot to me. Family is something that you’re comfortable with and it means that you’ve bonded with people. What’s happening with Grip Inc., it doesn’t really make sense to talk about that at the moment. There’s no place for Grip Inc. in my life right now anyway because I’m so totally focused on Enemy Of The Sun.”

Enemy Of The Sun’s debut album – self-titled at press time – is a staggering shot in the arm. For anyone expecting a Grip Inc. Mark II or dabblings in the realms of Lacuna Coil goth-trend metal, a sound he is largely responsible for as their producer, Enemy Of The Sun will feel like a wrong turn down a dark alley in a bad part of town. One has no idea what to expect from song to song, because you’re just as likely to get flamenco guitars and reggae rythms as you are face ripping double bass and death metal screams.

“If I had to put a stamp on it I’d say this is the best record I’ve ever done," says Sorychta. "Music is a very personal thing and you’re always proudest of the newest thing you’ve done, so it might sound stupid and cliché for me to say that, but I’m not looking at it only from an emotional standpoint. I believe Enemy Of The Sun is the first step of something that could be really, really big. We have no limits in our music and I have people with me that can help me reach any level I want musically. For example, my singer (Jules Naveri), because of his style of his singing, people have asking me if there are two singers in this band. That shows you I can reach any level possible with this guy. I have the perfect singer for melodic parts in the music and for the brutal parts. I have a drummer (Daniel Zeman) who is exactly or even above but definitely not below Dave Lombardo’s level of playing, and I have a great bassist (Alla Fedynitch) who is also an excellent stage performer. I can’t wait to get on stage with these guys; the fire to do that is burning my ass right now (laughs). I have so much fun with these guys, it’s great. The day we were finished the album I was like, ‘Damn, I’d really like to start from the beginning again…’ because we had a great time making it.”
“We did a song a day, and it seemed like one day we had too few songs for an album and one week later we had way too many,” he laughs, recalling the recording sessions. “Everything went surprisingly well doing this album. Now we’re looking for a record company. I mean, there’s no problem finding a record company, but to sign with one and just become a number on a shelf somewhere doesn’t make sense. I think it would be better for us if we signed to a smaller company where the people believe in the music they’re trying to sell to people, because I really believe Enemy Of The Sun offers something for everybody.”

Go to this location to check out Enemy Of The Sun. The band is currently negotiating with label and booking partners worldwide. Interested parties should contact Marblestone Entertainment at www.marblestone.de.