Hello and welcome to Sentinel Daily and thanks for kicking off in our send of year series for 2018! First off, please tell our readers who you are and what you do in Siegelord? “Thanks for having us! This is Ulfr, and I handle lead vocals, bass and the lore and concept”.

It’s great to have you with us! How has 2018 treated Siegelord? “2018 has been pretty a good year. We’ve played some amazing and unique shows in our regional area, released the Covered in Blood EP, commissioned new art, and have officially started the writing process for our full length follow-up to our debut album Ascent of the Fallen“.

Marvellous news! And thinking more widely about music in general, would you say 2018 has been a good year for heavy metal? “I’m not as in touch with the metal scene as I used to be but I would say yes, 2018 has seen some killer releases and tours and has been good for metal on the whole”.

What was your non-musical highlight of 2018? “Probably our multiple appearances on The Super Satan Show. For those of you that aren’t in the midwestern United States, the Super Satan Show is a DIY show that streams live on Facebook that involves regional musicians, a puppet, and blatantly offensive humour. Check them out on Facebook and watch the archives, you’re sure to have a good time. Also the mastermind behind the mixing and mastering of our releases, Luke Sackenheim, made a set of songs for hacked guitar hero emulators and it features our track The Desperation of a Dying God. I’m not sure how it all works but it’s pretty damn cool. The link to the hacked tracks is HERE – I haven’t tried it out myself yet but according to him it’s as simple as download, plug and play. Enjoy a taste of Cincinnati’s music scene from anywhere in the world!”

A tempting offer – cheers! Did anything worry  you about things that happened in 2018 for  the band? “My worries are minimal, but the biggest setback the band always faces is time. We’ve got some admittedly very ambitious ideas brewing for our sophomore album and beyond but we tend to move very slowly. I don’t necessarily mind the slow pace since art shouldn’t be rushed, but it does make it difficult to generate enough content to hold the people’s attention”.

Yes, that’s an age-old problem, but especially so in today’s instant gratification world of music acquisition. More broadly, what about music in general – any highlights? “Musically speaking I’d say our highlights were releasing the Covered in Blood EP and playing an hour long set for the release party for Brägnarok Beer by the Against the Grain brewery in Louisville, Kentucky. That show was insanely fun. The stage was set up outside on the sidewalk in front front of the brewery and our set began right as the local minor league baseball game next to us was letting out. Countless families and normies stopped to watch part of our set we performed in full barbarian regalia – fully uncensored and without compromise. Our sidewalk freakshow cultivated some interest in passers by and it actually became quite a lucrative night for merchandise”.

Everybody wins! Who were the best live act you saw this year? “As far as established/international acts go I’d say it has to be a toss up between Andrew WK and Iced Earth. AWK is one of the most engaging frontmen I’ve ever seen, so much energy. Iced Earth is just legendary and it was sweet to have them play Cinci, our town gets overlooked a lot. Regionally however I’m constantly floored by Lords of the Trident (Wisconsin), Stagecoach Inferno (Kentucky) and Urizen (Texas). I admit I’m a sucker for costumed bands and gimmicky bands, but all of these guys rise above the gimmicks with superb musicianship and know how to entertain. Check their Bandcamps and dig up some footage on YouTube, you won’t be disappointed”.

Yep, Stagecoach Inferno in particular bring the noise in fine style! What were the best new metal albums you came across this year? “2018 and the fourth quarter of 2017 brought in tons of new material from some of my favourites. As for 2018 in particular I’ve been a fan of Welcome to Bonkers by Nekrogoblikon, I Loved You at Your Darkest by Behemoth, Great Brunswick Forest  by Thrawsunblat and Ghost’s Prequelle. Everyone wants to talk shit about Prequelle but it’s light years away from Meliora. I hated Meliora and I couldn’t tell you why. Also I’m sure the new Elderwind is fantastic but I haven’t had the chance to listen to it yet. However some of the absolute best releases came from Cincinnati locals, there’s a ton of talent here in town. Gehenna Gate by Lucis Absentia is somehow blisteringly heavy and highly introspective and atmospheric the same time. Then two other concept oriented bands Cincinnati veterans released sophomore albums, Automaton and Valdrin. Automaton’s self titled album brings a hearty mix of power, traditional and progressive metal with steampunk flavour throughout and Valdrin’s Two Carrion Talismans punishes listeners with synth driven black/death and lyrical concepts dealing with a lore-rich metaphysical dark fantasy theme. All these releases are brilliant representations of their respective genres and it’s a great time to be part of the Cincinnati metal scene”.

We’ll have to investigate! Which practitioner of your own musical art impressed you the most this year? “Probably Lucis Absentia. After their first release and watching then perform live I don’t know how many times I knew  Gehenna Gate  was gonna be good but I didn’t think it would be THIS good. I’m not just dick-riding my scene either, go to their Bandcamp and see for yourself”.

We’ll gt our Bandcamp guru Ferrum Templor on the case! Now, that’s enough about 2018 – what does 2019 hold in store for you and the band? “In 2019 you can expect Siegelord to be writing with a few sporadic shows in the midwestern United States. Expect to hear new material at those shows. You can also expect new ways to interact with the lore surrounding Siegelord as well as more art to support the mythos. I can’t make any promises but if the album progress goes well we may be able to release a single or two before 2019 is over”.

Anything else you’d like to tell the readers of Sentinel Daily? “Not off the top of my head. Go to our Facebook page and smash that mothafuckin’ ‘like’ button, check out our online merch store, and share Siegelord with your friends (if you have any). Thanks for having us on!”

Thanks again for taking part!