The history of SONNE ADAM (which roughly translates into "hate humanity" in Hebrew) dates back to 2007 when a young Israeli duo consisting of Davidov (all instruments) and Dahan (vocals) started a musical project to create "death metal in the vein of early PARADISE LOST but with a more shamelessly evil and blasphemous touch and some MORBID ANGEL thrown into the mix." The band's first recording was an EP entitled "The Sun Is Dead" (which so far remains unreleased), followed by another EP called "Armed With Hammers". The resulting underground buzz culminated in renowned German magazine Rock Hard naming it "Demo Of The Month" and predicting the band would become a hot topic among all death metal maniacs.

After seeing SONNE ADAM developing into an amazing, highly promising underground act, Century Media Records picked them up for the release of the band's debut album, ‘Transformation’, in cooperation with Imperium Productions, who will handle the album's vinyl version. The cornerstones of SONNE ADAM's sound are heavy, downtuned, diverse and all-consuming lava-esque riffs, unholy, triumphant vocals, thundering drums and song-writing filled to the brim with fascinating twists and turns. Combined with metaphorical, dark and blasphemous lyrics, ‘Transformation’ ultimately stands out from the masses as an authentic, occult and earnest metal opus that leaves nothing to desire and should find many new supporters among extreme metalheads worldwide. It's an album that propagates originality, implying respect for the original precursors and creative ingenuity in equal measure.

In order to get to know all about SONNE ADAM's debut album we tracked down Dahan (Vocals, Bass) to answer some questions. Here you can read what he had to say to the readers of Metal-Experience.com.

First of all, how are you doing? Could you start this interview off with a short introduction of the band and an explanation of the origins of the band’s name?

Dahan: Hey man, I'm good, thanks. We're Sonne Adam, started by me and Davidov around late 2007. We have recorded 2 EP's and an album which was just released lately under  a collaboration between Imperium Productions and Century Media. Lately we added two new members to our line up, Steel and Mayer, so now it's possible to perform live and everyone can focus on their own gear. The band name is something which is pretty much lost in translation from Hebrew to English, but generally it's Sonne = Hate or Hater, Adam = Humanity.

How did you launch into writing material for your album ‘Transformation’ and how much time did you spend creating the songs?

Dahan: Most of ‘Transformation’ was written by Davidov in something like three months totally dedicated to writing. We work in those kind of workframes as this is what reality allows us. Also working under a deadline is something we prefer. It may be stressful but the results are much more satisfying.

What were the goals you had in mind when you started to record ‘Transformation’, any elements you definitely wanted to include on the album?

Dahan: To make the most evil and killer death metal album we could. The way things are looking now, this will forever be our goal, at least when it comes to releases under the name Sonne Adam. The elements are simply the things we adore. We like dark motives, we are attracted to the occult. The fact this is being reflected into our music isn't surprising.

How did the recording process proceed and how much time did you spend in the studio?

Dahan: The recording itself was something like 2 days for drums, 5 hours for vocals, and around 2 days for guitars and bass. We used re-amping technique for the electric guitars, which meant we could record and edit the perfect track of direct guitars ourselves, and then play that track through an amplifier and simply choose the sound we liked without having to think about playing performance issues. We went in that direction as it's simply a really good money saver. We hope that on the next album we won't have that kind of problem and will be able to record straight to the amp like in the good old days.

Could you please describe the implications of the title ‘Transformation’, what does it stand for and is there a special meaning behind it?

Dahan: ‘Transformation’ was picked mainly because it sounded good and it related to the overall release. It was picked up from the title track with the same name, which talks about Transformation through flames, which is like a test you need to pass in order to reach a higher understanding or to be consumed by the flames.

Where do you get your inspiration from, can you tell me a little more about the songs?

Dahan: If you're talking about the lyrical side of things, then they come from different aspects of our personal lives. We are using very dark metaphorical phrases to describe them as there's no other way to go. The words must fit the music perfectly.

How important is it to you that people pay attention to the lyrics apart from listening to the music?

Dahan: I did my best  so that people will understand the words without even needing to look at the lyrics in front of them. It's important that the vocals have a meaning, both lyrically and technically as in how they sound on the music. We tend to dislike vocalists where you just listen and you ask yourself what the fuck is he singing about.. When you understand the words, even some words alone, the song gets much more personality, which is always a good thing for us.

If someone was only going to read the lyrics and not listen to the music, what would you hope they would take from them?

Dahan: I would hope they would get lured into actually listening to the damn music. Haha.

What is the utmost important ingredient for a song according to you?

Dahan: This is a really good question, as it shows how normally a lot of bands put 90% of their effort into a single element instead of looking at the whole package. Even when we write our demos, before  we even have the general structure of the song, we always write drums as well. A simple riff should go with drums and vocals. Writing this way, for me at least, really saves time afterwards where many simply stick with a lot of good guitar riffs that simply can't work with drums or with vocals for example.

How would you describe this album to someone that has never listened to the band before?

Dahan: I don't know, I don't remember myself pushing the album in any direction other than close friends. I guess I'd say it's oldschool mid-tempo death metal drowned in some doom and black metal elements, but that's quite long, right? Haha..

When I listen to ‘Transformation’ I feel a lot of energy and power coming back, is this something you felt as well during the recording process?

Dahan: Sure man, it's music. If you wouldn't get anything from it what's the point? We don't seek "energy" or any other terms people define for themselves while listening to the music they like. We went naturally with what gave us the chills, what we felt was totally right. Glad to hear you got something out of it as well!

Which element of the CD are you the most proud of?

Dahan: There's always stuff to improve, and some elements aren't exactly the way we want them to be because of things beyond our control like money and time, but all in all we are very pleased with the overall release in each of its formats. Everything you see in this release from the sound way into the special edition artwork went through our hands, so it's not a surprise we are proud of it – this is us.

Can you tell us a little about yourself and the kinds of things that motivate you in your writing, your poetry, and your lyrics? What are you personally into?

Dahan: Motivations aren't clear as day. We do what we do because it feels right, period. We don't stop to question why, as it's irrelevant. Our personal lives are boring as fuck man, trust me. Nothing too flashy or rock star like.

Could you respond to the following terms in just one word or sentence:

Metal : My cup of tea

Underground : My cup of coffee

Internet : Probably the best platform for bands to rise on

Religion : No god

Politics : No thanks

The Netherlands : Great drugs

Israel : Not so great drugs

What is your opinion on the metal scene in Israel and how difficult is it to be in a metal band in your country?

Dahan: As a band, It's the home we never wanted to be born in. It's very hard for a metal band to exist in Israel, but not because of the reasons many Europeans think. Our everyday lives are quite normal and boring. The war and politics don't interfere directly with our lives and freedom of speech lets us sing about whatever we want. The problem is when you want to tour, the nearest country is overseas. Equipment is very expensive and people aren't as organized and united like in Europe, at least this is what it looks like from here.

I think most people in Europe and the US do not know much about the metal scene in Israel. Could give us some facts about your country and could you recommend any up-and-coming Israeli bands which could be interesting for our readers?

Dahan: I have no idea what kind of facts people wanna know. It's a very political and troublesome country that goes to war once in a while. Boring stuff really, google it up and see. Upcoming bands? I dunno. If you want a heart-full recommendations I can say Tangorodrim and O.B.E.Y. – for the lovers of black metal.

What makes Sonne Adam different from the other death metal bands out there?

Dahan: Every band is different in its own way. Some for the worse and some for the better. I have no other comment about that, sorry.

Which goals did you have when the band started out and how do those goals stand now after finishing your debut album?

Dahan: It all started just for fun, we didn't have any big plans for the future, we made this totally for ourselves. It took us some time to realize people were digging our music, so we feel we want to do some quality shows in Europe, we hope to achieve this in the summer.

What can we expect from Sonne Adam in the near future? Any touring plans?

Dahan We are going to write our next album in the next months and hopefully do some shows in Europe. A tour will probably happen, but I find it hard to believe we will manage to do everything in one summer. Maybe next year or somewhere in between. Hard to tell.

A last statement?

Dahan: Thanks for the interview, Eugene.

Members:

Dahan - Vocals, Bass

Davidov - Guitars

Mayer - Guitars

Steel - Drums

Albums:

Transformation – (2011)

EP’s:

The Sun Is Dead – (Unreleased)

Armed With Hammers – (2010)