In 2014, I was introduced to a band called The Oath who quickly became one of my favorite bands that year. Just shortly after the release of their stellar self-titled debut album The Oath disbanded. In the blink of an eye The Oath left the scene just as fast and mysteriously as they arrived leaving fans of the band wondering just what the fuck happened.
Before 2014 could even come to an end, I was ecstatic to hear that lead singer/songwriter Johanna Sadonis had formed a new band called Lucifer. I was honored when she reached out to me to do an interview about her new band so I jumped right on it. Johanna took some time out from her insanely busy schedule in Berlin to talk to me about her new band Lucifer, the bittersweet breakup of The Oath and the positive things that came from a somewhat negative experience. It was so great to catch up with Johanna again and I hope you’ll enjoy reading all about the new chapter in this awesome persons musical journey. Enjoy!
Hey Johanna, thank you so much for taking the time to talk today. How are you?
Hi, Don. I’m doing good. It’s good to talk to you again. I’ve been busy.
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The last time we spoke The Oath was just about to release its debut album and it quickly became one of my favorite albums this year. At the end of it all, were you pleased with the end result of this album?
Yes, I’m really proud of this album. We just had 10 days in the studio to do it and once it was done I couldn’t listen to it for quite a while. I listened to a few tracks from it not too long ago and I felt like is really quite a cool album and I’m satisfied with it.
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Is there anything you’d go back and do differently with it?
No, not really. It was done according to the chemistry of the band. I wouldn’t have done it any differently. I’m very proud of that album and it was a great thing for the band that it was.
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I don’t want to get too deep or gossipy but can you tell me what happened with The Oath and why it came to an end so quickly?
The Oath was like a really intense love affair where the fire was burning really fast and also dying very fast. It was great in the moment but it just wasn’t meant to be anything more. It was good for what it was. The band disbanding with the release of the album was not very pleasant for anyone but it made way for my new band Lucifer so maybe it was just the destiny of it all. At the time, even though it was a difficult moment I’m very excited about what is happening now.
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It’s that old saying, “When one door closes, another opens.”
Exactly.
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Band breakups are both emotionally and artistically hard. After The Oath split up, did you need some healing time before moving forward with your new band Lucifer?
No, I didn’t need time to heal. Actually it made me very hungry to do just the opposite and go for something that I truly want to do. It’s like a survival thing. I’ve had some big setbacks in my life and I kind of feel like nothing can really hurt me or hold me back anymore. After a while, you just get a bit tougher and you get a thicker skin.
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So tell me about your new band Lucifer. How did this come to be?
It came to be with the disbanding of The Oath and really seeing the positive side of that. I could do what I really wanted to do and I could create something in my own vision without any compromises. When The Oath was no more, I plotted out my concept for Lucifer. I got in touch with Dino Gollnick who was Ladytron’s live bassist for many years. We stayed in touch and when I told him about the new idea he was fire and flame and wanted to be a part of it. I started jamming with Dino and at the same time I was writing with Cathedral’s guitar player Gaz Jennings. The drummer is Andy Prestidge from Angel Witch who played with me in The Oath and he really wanted to be a part of this.
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So how does Lucifer differ from the sound of The Oath?
Well, you can hear a little similarity to The Oath of course because ½ of The Oath was me writing [laughs]. Now it’s just me and other people. Some of the influences are the same intermixed with the guys I am working with now but I didn’t want it to be the same obviously. I want it to be a different band and concept. The Oath had much more of a heavy metal, old school, doom, and hard rock influence with that NWOBHM influence very present. With Lucifer you won’t hear so much of the heavy metal side that The Oath had. It’s much more of a heavy rock sound than a metal sound.
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You stated that with Lucifer you didn’t feel like to you had to make any compromises. This must have felt…
Very liberating. That’s why I see Lucifer as positive development. I feel so thrilled about this. I loved The Oath and I love that album but I think that Lucifer is even more so my thing.
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Is it a little sad to think that The Oath never really got its opportunity to make its mark past putting out the debut album?
It was at the time but I don’t feel bad about it anymore. I have such a great feeling about Lucifer. It’s kind of like when a relationship ends with somebody, like a love affair, when you break up it’s sad but once you fall in love again it doesn’t matter anymore. It’s just in the past.
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It’s a necessary step for you to achieve ultimate happiness.
Absolutely. I’m not dwelling on it anymore at all. I’m proud of what we did but I’m happy about where I am at now.
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It’s no secret that the occult and the dark arts are what make up a lot of your lyrical content. Are you ok being categorized as occult rock?
Honestly, I feel like anybody who gets labeled with that may be a little tired of it [laughs]. I mean, people keep talking about this whole “occult rock hype” thing. Actually, these are the kind of bands that I’m influenced by and these bands have been around for 40, 50 years so it can’t really be a hype thing. I think that good, classic hard rock and metal music is good music that will last and it’s not a trendy thing. Yes of course the lyrics are touching the spirituality and occult things. I actually gave this music a new term. I didn’t think The Oath was really occult rock. We were more of a metal/NWOBHM thing so it wasn’t really a category for me anything. I just call it magic rock maybe?
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Occult Rock is definitely not a new thing. I mean, even back when you had bands like Venom and Pentagram who were doing that very kind of thing.
I mean, wasn’t that always part of heavy metal and hard rock culture; to be dark? What can be trendy and wrong about that?
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There seems to be somewhat of an occult rock renaissance with bands like Lucifer, Blood Ceremony, and Jess and the Ancient Ones. From a spiritual side, this a good catalyst for you to share your believes with the masses?
It’s not so much about reaching the masses. I’m just doing this for myself. I write lyrics about the things that I want to sing about and that touch me. If it’s spiritual, it’s because it’s something I need. I just write about the things that I feel I need to write about myself.
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When did you get into metal music?
I actually started going to my first metal shows when I was 13 and heavy metal was a new life for me. When I was in my late teens I was really into black and death metal. I went through phases musically. I was just always introverted and I was the only one at school that was into dark stuff. I’d walk down the hallway at school and they would say, “Hey Morticia” as I floated by with my black dresses and white face [laughs]. As I got older I lightened up and became open minded [laughs].
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The last time we talked about The Oath, you talked about how you didn’t care so much about playing live and that you preferred being in the studio. Are there any plans to take Lucifer out on the road at all?
Yes, absolutely. I would still say the same thing. My favorite part about being in a band is making songs and being in the studio but of course we’re going to go on tour and play some shows. I’m actually really looking forward to it too. For a person like me, it’s a bit against my nature.
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But you also know that this is the best way to get Lucifer’s music out to the people.
Absolutely and that’s why I’m actually looking forward to it.
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So what can you tell me about the album? When will it be released?
The single comes out in February and the album will come out in May on Rise Above Records.
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What are your hopes and dreams for Lucifer.
Actually, the album title is going to be Lucifer I so I hope that this will be the beginning of a new journey.
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Well you named it Lucifer I. That means you have to do a II now.
[Laughs] You know the saying “”Nomen est omen”, the Latin saying which is basically “the word is the omen.” If you write something on the wall then you kind of conjure something [laughs]. Be careful for what you put out there because it might come true [laughs]
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Johanna, thanks so much for taking the time to do this. I’m so happy to hear you moving forward and you have such a great band. The songs you sent me I just love and I can’t wait to hear more.
Thank you so much, Don. That really means a lot to me. Thanks so much for your interest and it was great talking to you again.
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