Surgent returns with "Ruthless Logics," a ferocious new single that pushes their progressive death metal sound into even darker and more aggressive territory. In this interview, the band discusses the song’s origins, themes, video, and upcoming album.
1.
Congratulations on the release of "Ruthless Logics." What inspired
this track, and why did you choose it as the second preview of your upcoming
album?
Jaan: The
main themes are about 20 years old and I was listening to a LOT of Nasum at
that period. So I believe this was the direct influence. But more deeply
ingrained influences are the Pantera TGSTK era (Suicide Note pt. 1) and some
black metal.
We chose
this song just by listening to the album's demos and everyone agreed that it
just grooves and works.
2. The
song is described as your most intense and uncompromising material to date.
What pushed the band toward creating something so aggressive and relentless?
Jaan:
Pushing our boundaries and expanding our musical palette has always been one
key aspect of Surgent’s music. So having this song in our repertoire was a
natural choice. As I mentioned earlier this song is fairly old and writing
these riffs came naturally, the aggression was not intentional. Before Surgent
none of my previous bands wanted this song, but Surgent was the first band
crazy enough to actually choose this song. And in the upcoming album context it
certainly adds tempo and movement to the overall flow of the album.
3.
"Ruthless Logics" blends grindcore influences with black metal
elements and your signature progressive death metal sound. How did you approach
balancing these different styles within such a short track?
Jaan: I was
just jamming on the guitar and the main theme (grind) and the chorus (black)
just came out of me naturally. And somehow they worked well together. I didn’t
over-analyse it stylistically.
4. At
just over two minutes long, the song delivers a powerful impact in a very
compact format. Was brevity an intentional creative choice from the beginning?
Jaan: Actually,
the initial idea was to have a more elaborate bridge section where we discover
the previously covered themes more thoroughly. But it somehow lost the impact
and we ditched it after some experimentation.
5. The
lyrics explore the moral dilemmas faced by individuals living under
totalitarian systems. What drew you to this theme, and how relevant do you feel
it is in today's world?
Jaan: I'm
fascinated by history and human nature. Many of my lyrical ideas are inspired
by books on these subjects.
In this
case, I was reading about social psychology experiments exploring obedience,
authority, and the darker aspects of human behavior, such as the Stanford
Prison Experiment and the Milgram obedience experiments. Although these studies
are viewed more critically in modern psychology, they demonstrated how ordinary
people can begin abusing their power under certain circumstances.
This is
exactly what totalitarian systems rely on—ordinary people being pushed to
extremes and committing horrific acts against "the others." For
example, many guards in Nazi concentration camps and Soviet gulags were
ordinary people who may not even have supported the regime, but had little
opportunity or courage to resist.
Although it
may seem impossible today, pre-Nazi Germany was also a modern democratic
society. The Nazis gained power gradually, while many ordinary people turned a
blind eye to what was happening around them. Eventually, there came a point of
no return.
The moral
of the song is simple: don't turn a blind eye to the changes happening in
society. Otherwise, one day it may be too late.
6.
Despite its extreme intensity, the track still carries the progressive
characteristics that Surgent is known for. How has your songwriting evolved
since the band's earlier releases?
Jüri: I
believe we’ve sharpened our focus a little bit, compared to the debut album
that contained all sorts of weird stuff - occasional bossa nova and shuffle
riffs. We’re happy that we did all of that, but we wanted the new material to
be more consistent and a little more straightforward than the debut.
7. The
accompanying music video was created using traditional analog photography
techniques. What inspired the decision to move away from modern digital
production methods?
Jüri: The
analog photo techniques are my personal little hobby, and once I had come to
the idea to use Lomography multi-lens photo cameras, I wasn’t able to let go of
it and over time it became clear I need to actually get it done to get it out
of my system.
8. Jüri,
what were the biggest challenges involved in capturing, developing, scanning,
and assembling every frame through this analog process?
Jüri:
Finding the film camera that would actually serve the purpose - balancing
between quality of the image, effect and quality of the camera to be able to
actually shoot the ~50 rolls of film without breaking down. This took quite a
bit of time to experiment with different cameras, evaluating the results and
understanding if what I have at hand is something I can get everything done
with. Capturing was relatively easy - only half an hour per band member. The
rest of it just took a lot of time but it was much more straightforward.
For anyone
who’s interested, subscribe to our YouTube channel as we’re soon releasing a
more in-depth video on making the music video.
9. How
do you feel the video's visual aesthetic complements the themes and atmosphere
of "Ruthless Logics"?
Jaan: The
song is quite hectic and the visual framing supports the tempo and rhythm
perfectly. It creates almost a bit of a frantic and unsettling vibe. Also the
black & white tones and the imperfections of analog film complements the
overall raw and heavy nature of the song.
10. With
a new album arriving this autumn, what can listeners expect from the record as
a whole? Does "Ruthless Logics" represent the album's overall
direction, or is it just one extreme side of the band's sound?
Jüri: I
think it’s fair to say that Ruthless Logics is “the odd one” on the new album,
but odd in a new kind of way. The rest of the material is likely more aligned
with Dismantle / Replace”, the first single from the forthcoming album, which
we released in March this year.
11.
Looking ahead, what are Surgent's goals for the rest of 2026, and what message
would you like to share with fans eagerly awaiting the new album?
Jaan:
Releasing and promoting the album are the priorities. Before the album we will
release another killer video single, so subscribe and follow our channels to
stay in the loop for more no-bullshit metal.
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