After a decade of silence, Ukrainian thrashers Violent Omen return stronger than ever. Vocalist/bassist Serg MP reflects on reconciliation, resilience, and the rebirth behind their explosive new chapter, Locomotive of Chaos.
1. After
a decade of silence, what emotions and motivations fueled the return of Violent
Omen in 2024? Reuniting
after ten years is never simple. What ultimately convinced you that the time
was right to bring the band back to life?
Aloha! My emotions are very positive because this is a huge event in my musical
life. A lot of time has passed, more than 10 years, since I left the band, and
there were still many unresolved issues within the band itself and between the
members. But as you can see, time heals everything, and fate itself leads you
to the right decision at the right time. To be honest, I thought it would never
happen, but I was wrong.
2. Serg and Yuriy, you had unresolved conflicts in the past. What changed
personally and musically that allowed you to reconnect and create together
again?
I had a conflict with drummer Yuri and guitarist/vocalist Dmitro. In fact, it
wasn't something spontaneous, because it had been building up for a long time.
A band is like a family, and sometimes there are moments of crisis between
members, so it would have happened sooner or later because there were
misunderstandings and hidden resentments towards each other. Since we were
still young and inexperienced, these misunderstandings turned into a huge
public scandal and mudslinging. Now, with the passage of time, Yuri and I
deeply regret allowing this to happen, because the band was at its peak with
three albums and had great prospects, but unfortunately, we destroyed
everything ourselves. Ten years later, I happened to meet Yuri near my home,
and we were able to talk and resolve all our issues from the past. After that,
we decided to create a new death metal band, Tria Prima, and only then did the
idea of reviving Violent Omen come up. I hadn't seen or spoken to Dmytro since
2014, when he left the band. When Yuri suggested that they get back together,
he refused and said that he was ashamed that he had been involved in it and had
accidentally ended up in Violent Omen. Dmitro was always strange, so I'm not
surprised by his response.
3. The new single “Path of Illumination” introduces Locomotive of Chaos. How
does this track represent the direction of the new album?
The new single is based on the book Angels and Demons by American author Dan
Brown. Angels and Demons is a fascinating journey into a world of mystery and
intrigue. I had this idea back in 2014 for a new album, but as you can see, it
took more than 10 years to realise it, but better late than never. In fact, we
planned to make another song the first single, but due to problems with
electricity in the country caused by rocket attacks, our plans changed, because
everything was already ready for the track Path of Illumination, and we really
wanted to release our single on the band's 17th anniversary, because it was
very important and symbolic for us. In part, this track reflects the direction,
and in part it doesn't, because we ended up making all the songs on the album
different so that they wouldn't sound alike, and you'll hear that for
yourselves later, but at the same time, this track shows our crazy thinking,
which is also present in other songs on the album.
4. Violent Omen evolved from thrash/black metal into a more technical thrash
sound over the years. How would you describe your current style compared to
albums like Infernal Express or L.U.N.A.C.Y.?
As a band, we have always evolved from album to album, and it has always come
naturally. On our first album, our skills were still amateurish, but with Yuri
joining the band that same year, we grew significantly as a band and as
musicians in a short period of time, so we started playing more complex music.
We also didn't want to be just another boring thrash band playing primitive
riffs plagiarised from other famous bands and singing about beer, Satan, sex
and parties. That's not our level of thinking; we've always been closer in
philosophy to bands like Coroner and Mekong Delta. Now we play the same
old-school technical thrash as on our second and third albums, but now it's
more mature and professional because we've become much more experienced since
then.
5. With the band now operating as a trio—Serg on vocals and bass, Evgeniy on guitars, and Yuriy on drums—how has this streamlined lineup influenced songwriting and dynamics?
We have always been a trio, even before Yuri joined in 2010. We always wanted to have a separate vocalist after Faunus left and a second guitarist, but there was never anyone around who was suitable in terms of skill and mentality. From 2010 to 2014, the golden line-up of the band emerged: Serg-Yuriy-Dmytro, but since Dmytro refused to revive the band, I took on the duties of vocalist, as I already had experience with the band Cosmic Jaguar, and also brought in professional guitarist Yevgeniy Maestro, with whom I have been playing since 2014 in many of my projects, and as the result showed , I was not mistaken in this choice. Because, no matter how you look at it, Evgeniy is much more skilled than Dmytro in all respects, and this gave us the opportunity to reach a new level of performance, as well as finally adding full-fledged and crazy guitar solos, which our previous recordings always lacked. Maestro is also a good arranger, which helped us a lot to make the songs better. Evgeny and I had already worked on several albums together before, so we were able to write new songs quickly and without any problems. Maestro's arrival had a very positive impact on all aspects of the band. He is a true professional, and we complement each other!
6. The upcoming album Locomotive of Chaos will be released via Nocturnus Records. What does this partnership mean for the band at this stage of your career?
For us, this means stability and comfort first and foremost, because the owner of this label is my friend Igor Simonenko. We have already released three albums with our other bands, and we have never had any problems with him, unlike with Western labels from Europe and the United States. Although his label is small and underground, Igor is a professional in his field and always keeps his promises, unlike Western labels, with whom communication is very difficult, and there is a high chance that they will take a long time to do something or not do it at all. I already had a negative experience with a scam label from Holland, where a contract had already been signed to reissue 4 Bestial Invasion albums on vinyl and a 5th new one, but Mario, the swindler, cheated us and didn't release anything, even though the contract had been signed. Working with Igor, we have no problems with any of this. As for the larger labels that our music deserves, we simply cannot even get a response/feedback when we try to contact them. So we just gave up on all that and chose the path of comfort and honesty with our label Nocturnus Records.
7. You previously shared stages with legendary acts like Artillery, Dying Fetus, and Morgoth. How did those experiences shape Violent Omen’s identity and ambition?
Yes, during our golden period from 2010 to 2014, we performed in many places and shared the stage with these monsters! We even opened for Artillery twice, in 2013 and 2014. They were really cool guys, we got along well with them, and at the second concert, Artillery's drummer even lent his drum kit to Yuri because of a mistake made by the organiser, for which we have enormous respect for him! We also caught Morgoth with vocalist Mark, which was just fantastic. I still keep in touch with him to this day, and he made a guest appearance on my other project, Cosmic Jaguar. He is one of my favourite death metal vocalists. Also, in 2012, we were supposed to play on the same stage in Kyiv with Coroner, but due to an unscrupulous organiser, we were unable to do so... Even though we were already on the posters... This is one of the most unpleasant moments in our career during those years, because we are all Coroner fans and have always looked up to them in many ways.
8. Recording took place at Morrison Studio in Zhytomyr, with mixing and mastering at Nuts4all Studio in Zaporizhzhia. How important was it for you to keep the production rooted in Ukraine?
We don't have any principles about doing everything in Ukraine; we just don't have the budget or the opportunities to do it in Europe, for example. We are currently living in a time of war and have very serious financial problems, so it is very difficult for us to find even a small amount of money to get good results in these studios. You understand that all albums are made at a loss and studio expenses are never recouped, so for us it's like an expensive hobby. Thanks to Morrison Studio and Nuts4all Studio, we can achieve decent sound quality on a reasonable budget. We have already recorded three albums with these studios and will definitely continue to work with them because we have good communication and results with them. The sound engineers at Nuts4all Studio are also sound producers for us, and they give us a lot of advice on how to become even better and improve our quality.
9. The Ukrainian metal scene has endured immense challenges in recent years. How has being based in Zhytomyr influenced your resilience and creative drive?
Yes, these are not the best times for the Ukrainian metal scene because of the war, but I hope that better times will come and it will become even stronger. Zhytomyr is to the capital Kiev what Brooklyn is to New York, a suburb with its own specific character, and this can be seen and heard in the people who live there. Although Kyiv is only 130 km away from us, we were often perceived as savages on the local scene because of our ambitions and fanaticism. The same was true of our main band, Lucifugum, in the mid-90s/2000s when they came to Kharkiv, which was the centre of Ukrainian black metal. Yuri, by the way, played in Lucifugum in the early 2000s and experienced all of this too, and our first vocalist, Faunus, was its founder, which is why we had black metal roots in the beginning.
10. Looking ahead to spring 2026 and the release of Locomotive of Chaos, what do you hope listeners—both long-time fans and newcomers—will discover in this new chapter of Violent Omen?
Of course! We have already received a lot of positive feedback on the single from both old and new fans. The new album will show a new and mature level of the band, so maybe it was worth the 10-year hiatus to end up with such an insane album! It's a worthy comeback after 10 years of the band's unsuccessful period without my participation. Thank you for the interview! Stay tuned for news! You're sure to love our new album!
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